RP XSDF Roleplay Thread: Vanguard of Forseti

[Taxor_the_First]

“Simple… we can’t beat her, and she knows it. No matter how hard we fight, or try to rally, she was not lying when she said she could squash us at any moment like she did on that mission. She is toying with us… to what end, well I am going to take her word on it and say she wants to toy with us for fun. We need a saving grace and fast. Whether it be your daughter makes a breakthrough or we capture one of them alive, at this stage we are fucked my friend, no putting it lightly.”

“Indeed,” the former Overseer said, surprising Samantha. “You’re right, of course. Currently, we do not have the military power to overcome an army equipped with the technology they demonstrably have, we simply cannot compete. There’s evidence too that they have an intelligence network that rivals our own, if it isn’t completely superior. But…” He smiled. “If it was as bad as that sounds, I think a lot more of the people on this ship would have quit already. I believe, moreover, that this Trismegistus is making the same mistake Phobos did years ago - giving us time. Whatever her obsession with this ‘great game’, if we properly harness this opportunity, we can still close the gap.”

Samantha nodded. “And if us soldiers get the equipment, I think we can use it to secure victory. We just need that time.”

“Well let us see if we indeed have enough time, cause I fear it may be shorter than we even all realize.” The android seemed to rub his face as if tired and he took a deep breath. “But that also means we need good soldiers to become great, and great soldiers to become better. Which is why…” Ezra pushed off the bar and turned to look at both Isaac and Samantha respectively. “I need you to train me.”

Samantha swallowed. “Wha…? I’m not… well, I mean. I could. It’s just… well…,” She rubbed an arm nervously. “My strategies may not exactly fit you. And I haven’t done normal rifle combat for a while. I’ve been using the LMG for so long…”

Isaac frowned. “Cut it out. You’ll be fine.”

“Not just her, Isaac. If the stories are true, you were quite the capable one as well and I am sure you have some knowledge to pass down. Besides, these types of adventures need an old geezer in it.” Ezra jabbed as a joke.

The ‘old geezer’ looked mildly miffed for a moment, but relaxed after a moment and laughed. “I suppose I might have a few old tricks up my sleeve that I could pass down. Not like I have anyone else, since Sam finds precision unnecessary.”

“I never said that!” Samantha huffed.

Isaac glanced disdainfully at her. “Actions speak louder than words. From what I saw of your mission, that’s what your opinion is. I think you hit maybe three percent of your shots? At best?”

“I have an LMG! They’re not exactly precision weapons meant for long-range takedowns, like your sniper rifles.”

“Which I guess is your first lesson,” Isaac said, turning back to the android. “Roles. Where a weapon succeeds, and where it fails. The intricacies of a plan can hinge on that.” He placed a hand on his chin. “What class were you again?”

“Good old rocketeer. Ordinance weights nothing to me so I am basically an Infantry with benefits.” He stated.

A grin appeared on Samantha’s face. “Well, that’s something at least,” she said. “I’ve had to fire a few rockets in my time. Not as many as Pillar, our old explosives expert, but a few.” She gestured to the cripple beside her. “He can help you with the rifling side of things, I suppose. I’ll stay away from that, never was good with anything with a clip smaller than thirty shots.”

“Oh, I know,” Isaac muttered, a memory resurfacing. “From your role, I don’t think you’ll be going for spraydowns. You’ll want to learn first to burst-fire, and then to control those bursts. Learn the patterns of the rifles you use - how accurate they are, how much stopping power they have, where they kick when you fire, and so on. Learn them well, because you can't rely on your weaker, hard-to-draw-in-a-pinch secondary sidearm if you mess up. So my advice?” He leaned forward. “Don’t mess up.”

Ezra rubbed his chin and he smirked. “Well I am not inept, Anderson. I have the knowledge, I just need the practical experience. Though considering how my last mission went, I will need to relearn some things as well.”

Isaac shrugged. “I can’t exactly make a judgement on that unless I see it, and I’m not willing to sit on a SHIV in the middle of a firefight just so I can watch your technique. We’ll have to make use of the firing ranges at some point,” he mused, “so that I can get a better grasp of your methods.”

Ezra snickered, imagining Isaac riding a SHIV into battle. “Well… that should be an easily accomplishable thing to do. If you have had enough already to forget what we even started off talking about, I think now is as any good a time as any. Unless you two were going to shag after this little excursion.” He looked at Samantha. “Trust me, if I had to do that I would drink too.”

The response was a heap of stammered statements from the both of them, half ‘why would you’ and half ‘it’s not like that’. After collecting himself again, Isaac exhaled and rubbed his forehead. “I’m too old for this shit,” he muttered, before straightening and placing his hands on his wheels. “Very well,” he said, “If you wish to begin now… then I shall grant your wish.”

“Lead the way then sensei.” Ezra pressed his hands together and took a bow, all the while his tone reflecting a stereotypical ninja.

 

[Mangrale]

To Take a Chance, Part 1 - Normalcy

Forseti Colony
Feather Song Coffee Shop
March 18, 2044, 7:23 PM

The atmosphere was pleasant and peaceful in this medium sized coffee shop. The midday rush had long passed, leaving only a relatively few customers, who although less interested in the delectable stimulants the shop was known for, given the time of day, still spent their time there, given how quaint the decor is and how friendly the staff is. The scent of coffee beans thinned out significantly as night neared, which the french pilot rather liked. Narcisse was able to get a table for himself next to one of the two sizable windows on either side of the styled wooden entrance. It gave him a very nice view of the approach of night.

Narcisse had, of course, gotten elongated looks from some of the other patrons as well as passive glances from others who at least tried to hide it. With his datapad in his right hand resting on the table and a ceramic cup of tea in his left, he looked over the local news for anything of interest. A faint smile came across his face, not because of anything he found, but because for a moment he mused that the current situation he was in - reading in an old fashioned coffee shop - just seemed so ordinary, in a good and soothing sort of way - like he was a normal, well rounded person. The only thing that would make the scene any better, in his opinion, would be if he had a physical book to read instead.

He looked at his simple, industrial strength watch for the current time, which caused him to grunt in annoyance. Guess he’s going to be late…

However, the cyborg deactivated his datapad and put it away. He was far too distracted to enjoy himself as much as he would like to. This place reminded him so much of the picturesque locales he frequented back in Europe. Any recollections related to Earth rarely came without eventually leading to thoughts of his loved ones. And any thoughts related to his loved ones rarely led to any feelings other than warmth, followed by very real regret.

Narcisse sighed heavily, confident that he wouldn’t be heard over the casual, friendly conversations happening feet away from him deeper inside the establishment. He let his fingers leave the handle of his cup and wrapped both his hands around it, gingerly tracing its edges with his thumbs. The subject of looking at his reflection in his drink did come up in his mind, but whenever he did something like that, he usually didn’t like what he saw looking back.

The images of his three loved ones - his caring mother, his loyal butler and his good friend - filled his mind. Their expressions were warm, leading to a dismal reaction on his part. They’ve done so much for me… and I so little for them… I… I turned my back on them… To him, this would be a fantastic time for a good cry, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to do so in public. He simply took a deep breath and slid his index finger and thumb under his lenses and rubbed the inner corners of his eyes. He then lowered his hand and felt the moisture in between them.

Narcisse turned his weary eyes leftward to a group of the clientele near the main counter. The pilot’s staring was more discreet at first before becoming more obvious. Still none of them noticed, to his eventual relief. The interspecies friends appeared to be enjoying their time together, with one of them saying the occasional joke that sent the rest into a brief fit of laughter. He chuckled and grinned, taking a sip from his cup and letting out a satisfied huff of air leave his mouth. Just then he noticed one of them, a young female Balmaadar turn towards him and he jerked his head away. With not a single, audible indication that they were going to engage him, he relaxed and took another sip, doing so as quietly as he could.

Bellrose considered introducing himself to them, they seemed open and friendly enough. Yet instead he just huffed in slight scorn at himself, at odds with his confliction in regards to his inner conviction. What the hell is the matter with me?... This was enough for me before right? Their smile made me smile… Isn’t that enough anymore? The voices of his memory provided an answer for him, one he desperately didn’t want to be true.

The French man gave a low, somber murmur, opting to turn his attention to the stars outside that were beginning to shift into view. As painful as the recalled sentiments were, the thoughts of the individuals who gave them made him smile thinly. But the warmth he felt didn’t last long and he allowed his face to portray his sadness, now that no one in the shop could see it. All of them… Mother… Timothy… Louis… Silva... Celeste… everyone I meet… it’s like I’m living as though I’m never going to see them again…

Even on the edge of known space with new, exciting and vibrant stars to gaze at, along with all the sense of perspective and wonder they bring, Narcisse somehow couldn’t rid himself of his remorse. “Not one to take chances” he mocked, remembering his behavior as of late. I always took chances… but they were always with my own life… and the lives I’ve taken…

The airman was motionless as he stared at the sky, internally trying to suppress his feelings lest he lose control. His inhibitions won over and he sighed shakily, anguish somewhat evident, as a single tear escaped his right, trying to make a dash for his lower jaw but being swiftly wiped away instead. He closed his tired eyes, not wanting to feel anything in particular at the moment.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” spoke a kindly voice from behind Narcisse and he cautiously turned to meet the owner. It was a waitress in her mid twenties, with mid length, chestnut hair and wearing the shop’s warm colored uniform and apron.

“I’m sorry, what?” Narcisse asked, trying to buy time so he could regain his composure.

“The stars, I mean.” She smiled down at him. “Whenever I’m not working, I always enjoy stargazing until the sun comes up.”

“That sounds really… nice, miss,” Narcisse said, sharing her smile to an extent, grateful for the distraction. She had a nametag on her, but seeing approximately where it was located, he really didn’t want to bother reading it. “I think it’s a good hobby to have.”

“Yes, it is.” Her smile widened a bit, arranging some strands of hair away from her eyes. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new to town?”

“Yes I am. I arrived recently aboard an XSDF battleship.”

“Wow, really. That’s interesting. We get plenty of people from the XSDF here, but I’ve never seen anyone like you before.” Upon realizing she was staring at him, she profusely waved her hands in embarrassment. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

Narcisse laughed amusedly, a hand partially covering his mouth before removing it while he responded. “That’s fine, really it is. I should hope you haven’t seen anyone like me, for all our sakes.” She wasn’t sure how to take the comment until he laughed some more, and she quickly joined in.

“I’m Felicity Rogers by the way.”

“It’s great meeting you Felicity. My name is Narcisse Bellrose.”

“That’s such an awesome name!”

“Really? I never thought so,” he said playfully. “I can’t say my last name without thinking of the overrated red flower covered in sharp thorns. Lovely, until you touch it.”

“You don’t say. Well, I don’t get that impression at all from you.” Felicity placed an arm on his shoulder, and they both exchanged grins.

“Of course you don’t.” Narcisse chuckled. “Not after I’ve had a good cup of tea,” he said, finishing off his cup.

Felicity watched, intrigued. “Um, Narcisse… I know this might be a touchy subject - and you’re free to not answer it - but I was wondering. Just how did this happen to you?”

For an instant, the pilot portrayed a air of surprise and panic. Luckily, he quickly scratched his left eyebrow to mostly hide such trepidation from her. No… not his time… Narcisse casually motioned to all of himself from the neck down. “Ah, you mean this thing. I’ve needed one of these most of life. In a way it could do more than my old, feeble body ever could. It’s a living.”

Felicity hummed in fascination, yet looked at him skeptically. She obviously wasn’t completely satisfied with his response.

“Oh, I’m sorry to trouble you…” Narcisse began before she could continue. “... but could I please have another cup of black tea?”

 

[Mangrale]

To Take a Chance, Part 2 - Alive

“Sure, no trouble at all.” Felicity carried his cup with her and tended to some of the other few tables. After several minutes, she returned with a fresh teacup in hand, handing it to him.

“Thank you very much.” Narcisse touched his lips to the drink, ultimately deciding to wait until it cooled more thoroughly.

“No problem.” Felicity had a similar smile she had when she first met him, perhaps even a little wider. “So Narcisse, what brings you to coffee shop at this hour? I’d imagine you’d have more exciting things to do on your shore leave than come to this old place.”

Narcisse adjusted his glasses and chuckled. “I could be traveling faster than the speed of light for days on end at times. So whenever opportunities present themselves, I tend to enjoy relaxing on the solid ground.” The cyborg looked skyward out the window again. “The view is also something I miss while being stuck on a battleship.”

“I… never thought about it like that before.” Felicity stepped next to him behind his seat, also watching the stars. “You know… from here you could almost make out bits and pieces of constellations.”

She pointed to a distant cluster, minutely faded due to the nearby streetlights. The cozy indoor lighting didn’t help matters either, but the two of them could still see the heavenly bodies, if only just. “Look, there’s the old god Shamash.”

“What? Shamash?...” Narcisse queried, eventually straining to make something out of the majorly brilliant yellow stars that seemed divided into two kinds: those that congregated together to form the main body and those that formed crude, wavy branches from that body.

“Yeah, it’s a constellation I knew since I was a kid.” Felicity began, growing in excitement. “It’s supposed to depict an ancient being from the stars. It traveled whole systems alone for untold eons, the last of its kind.” Narcisse didn’t notice, but she closed her eyes as she talked at one point, as though she were reciting. “As the story goes, it came to a wayward race of people, to guide them to an era of prosperity.” The waitress opened her eyes, a tad saddened. “But the people eventually enslaved Shamash, forcing him to empower their misguided ambition across other worlds.” She blinked, turning back to him, a little flustered. “That’s the gist of it anyway.”

Narcisse was quite impressed. “Hmm. You have an admirable amount of knowledge about constellations. I’m starting to think you weren’t kidding when you mentioned you stargaze through the night.”

“You got that right.” Felicity was as perky as usual. “Have my own telescope and everything.” She then mulled something over in her mind, before speaking again. “I… I don’t tell very many people this... but I think constellations and even individual stars have the power to… excite and enchant and well… enrich our lives, almost as if they were real people.” She looked him in the eyes earnestly. “I-I know that may sound strange. I mean after all, they’re technically not alive and can’t really…”

Narcisse shook his head. “Not strange in the slightest.” He drank a portion of his tea. “It’s true that stars may not be alive in the same way most people would define life.” He faced the night sky, she doing the same. “But they are still born, they grow and… and the emotions and feelings we have towards them, they’re real… They could still brighten our day and night like a normal person would.” He chuckled along with her and scratched some hair at the back of his head. He then spoke in genuine consideration “I guess what I might be trying to say is, in the end, maybe… person or star, both can shine just as magnificently.” He shook his head bashfully. “... Sorry. That came out came out a bit overly sentimental, didn’t it? I kind of have that habit.”

Felicity raised her eyebrows, inhaling deeply and breathing out steadily through her mouth. “N-No not at all. I… I couldn’t have said it better… Is that really how you feel, Narcisse?”

“Um, yeah. I’d say it is.”

“Oh, well then… m-maybe we-we could go stargazing together later tonight, i-if that’s fine by you.” She stammered, her face turning red. “... I’m off in a couple of minutes, a-and I know a spot with very little light pollution.”

Narcisse was astonished by the proposal and stood slowly from his chair to face her. “Really Felicity?... Y-You sure you want to go out with someone like me? You hardly know me,” he said, a shade of red on his cheeks as well.

“W-Well, what better way for us to get to know each other, than while doing something we both enjoy.” Felicity giggled light heartedly. “Besides, when we talk to each other… I could just tell you’re not a bad person. I-I think I can trust you.”

Bellrose flinched. To a certain, minescule yet potent extent, her words stung him, and his nervous smile faded before he cleared his throat uncomfortably. If his body could sweat, it would right about now.

 

[Mangrale]

To Take a Chance, Part 3 - Night Sky

“Ha-Have I said I said something wrong, Narcisse? Really I-” but before she could finish her stuttering thought, she was called away by another table. She looked back worriedly to find the french cyborg thoroughly and vigorously gulping down his remaining tea where he stood.

Narcisse tapped the cup loudly on his table and let out a hot breath of air quickly. His hand trembled as he reached into his coat to take out what he calculated to account for his bill along with a monetary tip for her. Reaching a faint type of panic mode, he placed his payment on the table and made his way for the wooden entrance. However before he noticed fellow pilot, Fidel Villalobos, walking alongside the window of the shop, and he went to meet the Spaniard at the door.

“Oh, hello Narcisse!” Fidel gave him an amicable hug that the cyborg, although clearly uncomfortable with, took it with the expected uneasy but calm demeanor.

Bellrose laughed in attempted mimicry of Fidel’s own enthusiasm and gave the pilot from Pelican Squadron a few pats on the back, at least until he let him go.

“I’m sorry for being late. I had to deal with something. I’ll tell you all about it, once inside.”

Narcisse led him inside, the sense of being trapped hard showing itself on his face, and would be hard to mistake if Fidel got a good look at him. They came closer to the main counter and gained the attention of Felicity, who cheerfully walked over to the pair. She was also without her uniform, instead wearing a casual orange sweater and black pants.

“Hey Narcisse! Have you thought about my… offer? Hm? Who’s this?”

The french native stepped in and set a nonchalant hand on his crew member's shoulder and shook it playfully. With his other hand, he cordially gestured and looked between them. “Right! Well, Fidel Villalobos please meet Felicity Rogers. Felicity Rogers please meet my… good friend, Fidel Villalobos.”

Fidel was vaguely confused. “Huh? But Narcisse, we barely- Hello there! Nice to meet you!” He’d of objected further, but greeting Felicity took precedence, and the two shook hands.

“Hello there!” Rogers then addressed the french man, pleasantly. “Narcisse, you didn’t say you were expecting company.”

“Oh? I didn’t?...” he lifted his right hand to scratch his left shoulder nervously, laughing doubly so.

Felicity stepped towards him expectantly, slightly raising her arms, separately and closed fisted. “So?... What will it be? Would you like to… see stars with me?” She was more confident than she was before, despite her shaking knees.

Fidel’s subsequent good-natured teasing was altogether ignored by Narcisse, decided to buy himself even more time by claiming his intentions to retrieve the money he’d left on his table, relieved that neither of them were following him, Felicity internally kicking herself over how she’d forgotten something so obvious.

Narcisse reached the table, slowly and hesitantly grabbing his money. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, how he wanted the night to end. The fatigued cyborg sighed wearily, standing away from the patrons and facing the window. He pulled back his right sleeve and delicately touched his right arm, longingly nostalgic. His expression lightened for a second, but became very serious the second after. The augmented pilot breathed deeply and returned to the others, acting as if nothing had happened, while he made the full payment for his tea.

“So... what do you say?” Rogers persisted. She wasn’t going to take another delay this time.

Narcisse displayed a delightful smile and made eye contact with her. “Watching stars with you sounds very nice...” His eyes broke away from hers and settled on the ground by her feet. “... but I’m afraid I can’t make it tonight… I… don’t have the time right now.”

“... That’s… too bad.” Felicity’s face sank noticeably.

“Hey, that’s okay Narcisse,” Fidel said. “You go with her. We could have tea another day.”

“No no, it’s quite alright,” Narcisse pushed. “I still have… things I need to take care of, so I have to get going.” He pointed his thumb at the exit. “But don’t let me end the night for you two.” He now placed his hands on either of their shoulders. “The night is young, as they say. Why don’t the two of you spend a little time here to get better acquainted.” The cyborg happily took Fidel’s hand and placed a few pieces of currency in his palm. “First round is on me.”

“Th-thanks Narcisse.” Villalobos grinned back at him and nodded gratefully before opting for a brief farewell hug.

Felicity perked up a measure. “So another time then… f-for us to see the constellations?”

Narcisse nodded. “... Sure thing,” he replied as convincingly as he needed to. “How about we try again sometime next week. I know where to find you.”

“But not when.” She chuckled. “I’ll be around at basically the same time on the twenty-second, twenty-third and twenty-fifth. Let’s meet up those days, okay?”

The frenchman smiled and swayed his hand affirmatively. “I’ll be here.” The new friends shook hands and he turned for the door, pacing swiftly.

“You’re always so busy!” the spaniard called after him, very much jokingly. “Try not to be too lonely, eh?!”

Narcisse’s breath stiffened and he stopped his course abruptly. But he rotated around in a single motion and gladly waved at the couple, who did likewise. He made it outside the coffee shop, only to be greeted by the the chilly evening wind.

The french cyborg looked back at his two friends through the window. They seemed to be having a good time. This would normally be the point in which he’d smile for them, but he couldn’t. His breathing became erratic and suddenly he was just unable to keep his tears from flowing freely down his face. Not wanting to be seen, he hurriedly left the area, traveling along the empty streets alone.

I understand now… Every tear I ever shed... They were never for someone else… They were always for me… Narcisse sobbed freely for a minute at the beginning of an alley beside a closed store, instinctively brushing what he could before they get too far. He placed his black right hand on its wall, feeling as much of its frigid surface as he could. He veered his red eyes to the stars and even the constellation Felicity mentioned.

Bellrose shut his eyelids, weeping bitterly. Somehow, the celestial entities just didn’t glisten as they once did for him in the past.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

New Toys

Location Unknown
March 24th, 1200 Hours

"What was she thinking, laying her cards out like that?!" Manipulator let out a soft, irritated groan, his body's tail wagging back and forth rapidly.

"Are you still on about that?" Berserker chuckled, shifting on her soft, lavish, over-sized pillow so she was upside down. "Who are you to question her methods anyway, slug? You know she could get rid of you in a snap, right?"

Manipulator flinched, nearly dropping the chemicals he was working on. "I... don't be ridiculous, you uncultured harlot! I would never..."

"That's what it sounded like to me." Berserker let out a soft purr, and looked up at the young man massaging between her toes. "What do you think, love?"

"His words and tone both suggest defiant thoughts," Silencer agreed, moving to message her ankles and getting an even louder purr in response.

"Oh, the gimp has spoken." Manipulator sneered at them. "Your attempts to discredit me are noted, but I do not think our... brilliant leader wishes to have brainless followers... present company excluded, it would seem. I only question her reasoning. I never claimed it would result in my disobedience."

Berserker grinned widely as Silencer moved to her legs. "I think you're just playing at loyalty, when you're really afraid of the one person even you can not control."

"Am I going MAD, or did the word 'think' escape your lips?" Manipulator had to resist the urge to slam is vials down. "You were not hired for your brains, you psychopathic airhead!"

"And you're so much more important, huh?" Berserker let out an obnoxious laugh.

"I am the one who the Master counts on for both my brains in the laboratory and my skill on the battlefield. Just remember, never forget! When they pulled you from that lab, you were such a drooling madwoman, you couldn't carry on a conversation without biting someone's hand off." He glared at Silencer. "And you! Friendless, brainless, helpless, hopeless! Do you want to be sent back to where you were? A slave on your... 'home planet'?"

Manipulator returned to his work, grumbling to himself. If his companions were at all affected by his outburst, they didn't show it on their faces. Berserker laid on her stomach, and Silencer sat on her waist, undoing her top and working his magic on her back. Glancing up at Manipulator, he whispered, "I believe we have... pushed his button one too many times, mistress."

"Oh? That is easy to fix." Raising her voice, Berserker said, "You sure seem to be busy there. What are you working on so intensely?"

"Like you care," Manipulator muttered, carefully pouring the contents of one vial into the left chamber of a grenade.

"Oh, come now," Berserker responded in a pleading voice. "You know we love your... little toys."

A familiar, wicked grin spread across Manipulator's face. "Well... since you asked, it an special paralysis explosive of my own formula and design!" He held up a grenade that had been split down the middle, clearly showing his desire to show off. Pressing down the button on top, he said, "It has two chambers within, separated by a mechanized barrier. Press the button, throw it, and ten serics later..." The barrier opened, and moments later, vents opened on either side of the grenade, accompanied by the sound of air being pushed out.

"And what, pray tell, is kept with the chambers?" Berserker asked, rolling on her back so Silencer could massage her chest.

Completely unfazed by his associate's exhibitionism, Manipulator pulled out a device with three chambers, a yellow liquid in the left chamber, a blue liquid in the right. "It is a binary poison, one that attacks the nervous systems! Simply mix my two chemicals..." He hit the button on the top, and the chemicals pour into the center chamber, bursting into a noxious green gas as soon as they touched. "This can affect anybody, even Replitans. I'm even close to getting it to work on those dreadful arachnids!"

Berserker stifled a yawn. "And... what could this do for me? I'm strong and fast enough without them."

Manipulator's grin only widened as he ran a metallic hand over a grenade, caressing it. "But you didn't hear how it works. It completely paralyzes their movement, leaving them primed to be picked off, or captured as test subjects. But it is only their ability to move that is paralyzed! Their nerves... their ability to feel pain... that remains intact."

Berserker returned his grin, crawling over and taking one of the explosives, running a claw around it. "I am going to have... a loooot of fun with you..."

Manipulator snatched it out of hand, chuckling. "Perhaps if the master orders me to give you one, because otherwise, you don't get any!"

Berserker's eyes darkened, and she walked over to Silencer, grabbing her top and whispering to him. Silencer stepped out and Berserker turned back to Manipulator. "I... have a meeting with my men. If you'll excuse me." Manipulator waved his hand at her, not bothering to hide his pleasure at irritating Berserker.

Heading back to her barracks, Berserker was greeted by the soldiers under her direct command. The Captain stepped forward, bowing his head. "You wanted to speak with us, my lady?"

"Who did you assign for that special task?" Berserker asked calmly. The Captain pointed to one of the soldiers, and Berserker slowly approached him. "I asked you to keep an eye of the manipulating little slug. Do you know why?"

The soldier swallowed hard. "I... you... because you... you don't trust him to have master Trismegistus' best interests in mind."

"That's right." Berserker lifted her hand, claws extended. "And what did I find out today? That he has developed a new little toy I have heard nothing about? Now... what can I say? That I'm... very... very... disappointed."

"I-I'm sorry, mistress, I-I... I was afraid I was... g-getting too close..." Berserker ran her hand down his shirt, leaving slits in his shirt, as well as a trail of blood. "F-forgive me, mistress! I... if Trismegistus is... she is f-forgiving of simple mistakes... I-I won't..."

"You're right. Trismegistus is smart enough to know the right degree of punishment. Maybe I should learn myself." Berserker pressed against him, pushing her hand down. Her face reddened, she started panting lightly, and she stared lustfully in his eyes. "Just tell me you'll never fail me again, and all is forgiven." The soldier mouthed silently. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What?" The soldier continued to mutter nothing, blood trickling out of his mouth and down his chin.

"M-mistress, please." The Captain stepped forward. "Don't... please..."

Berserker looked down at her arm, her hand pushed into the soldier's belly. "Yeah... you're right. I'm done here." She yanked her hand back, painting the ground and her legs red. She turned to the Captain, handing him the soldier's stomach. "Feed this to Incubators, and find someone to replace him. If that individual fails, this will be your fate next time."

She seductively walked out as the soldiers got to work cleaning up. Silencer followed Berserker, looking her up and down. "I believe you are in need of a bath. I shall prepare..."

Berserker grabbed him, pinning Silencer to the wall and shoving her tongue in his mouth. After several minutes pressed against him, she stepped away, wiping away the trail of saliva and running her blood covered hand over Silencer's face and neck. "Looks like we both need a bath now..."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “The Hippocratic Oath, Part 1”

High Orbit over Forseti (March 24th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1513 Hours, Ailey Standard)
Floor 9: Terminal Elevators

"Finally got approved, huh?" Sharron, the hopefully last security guard assigned to watch Volupta, asked the four armed alien. "Bet you were get really tired of having to wait. Impatient with all the red tape, huh?"

"No, not really," Volupta answered, looking around and trying to memorize the path to the infirmary.

Sharron looked over her shoulder. "R... really? Because... I know I would have been."

Volupta smiled, despite her mask hiding the expression. "Despite my youthful appearance, I am quite old. Young by my people's terms, but ancient by yours. I waited fifty of your years on a frozen planet. What was another couple of weeks. If I was impatient, it was only out of a desire to help."

"Oh." Sharron grinned. "Still, bet it was boring. And I bet you're glad to get rid of us escorts."

Volupta placed a hand on Sharron's shoulder. "Only the unpleasant ones."

The pair stepped into the infirmary, and The guard waved her hand inside. "Here is your main place of work. One of the doctors will show you around."

"Thank you, Sharron. I hope to see you again soon." Volupta vowed her head, and got a bow on return before Sharron took off. Now... who to talk to...

A doctor wearing the typical white medical clothing of XSDF doctors - consisting out an outer white coat an a very light gray shirt and pants - exited one of the doors adjacent to the infimary. She handed a clipboard to one of the other doctors. "Just a sprain. They'll be back on duty in a few hours."

"Got it. Seems like the mechanics are the ones that end up here the most," The other physician joked.

Irina simply shrugged, a motion so slight it was easily missed, and turned to walk the other way. However, out of the corner of her hazel eye she noted the Humiliata waiting patiently, and walked over curiously. "Can I help you?" Irina inquired, believing Volupta a patient since the tall alien hadn't recieved medical clothing tailored to her stature yet.

"Perhaps." The tall alien bowed, sweeping with her two right arms. "I am..." Wait... what was the name I gave... oh! "...Volupta'ba-sumama. I have been assigned to work as a doctor on your delightful ship. Can you... help me get acclimated?"

Irina's eyes seemed to light up for a moment, but the Frenchwoman quickly brought herself under control. "O-Of course. Please, follow me." Taking the Humiliata ship north first, as they had left the Terminal waiting room, Irina brought Volupta into a laboratory with tall cabinets filled with all sorts of medicines and Tz6 solutions, as well as an assortment of chemicals in test tubes along racks near the work stations.

"This is the biomedical lab," Irina explained. "I work here on occasion, mainly to help devise treatments for disease, but... I have been trying to learn how the Tz6 works and how to apply it." She shifted her feet with a hint of embarrassment. "I don't like not understanding my tools."

"That is a sign of a good doctor. Always learning and relearning. I have been studying the human body quite vigorously myself. It is impressive how well you were able to integrate this... Tz6 into your medical practices." Volupta spoke with a jovial tone, enthusiastically looking about the room.

"Well, it's a miracle solution to problems of different kinds. And the basic variety is easy to produce," Irina responded. "If this is your interest you'll work here more than I do."

"I have an interest in many fields, though I am most concerned in matters that deal with patients." Volupta unlatching her mask, realizing it could be unnerving for said patients. "Tell me... do you have many designated biokinetic healers here?"

Irina shook her head. “We have people with minor biokinetic experience… two neurosurgeons trained to remove biokinetic or biological programming, along with a few that are proficient in the healing variety.” Irina thought for a moment. “There might be a doctor that is more skilled in biokinesis, but none that are solely called upon for that ability.” Unless you count that one therapist, but that’s the nerve stimulation variety, The French doctor added to herself.

“Well, I am skilled with traditional medicine of course, but I would like to use my biokinesis if possible. It is the ability I am most skilled with after all.” Volupta placed her mask on a counter, rubbing her head lightly.

“Understood.” Irina returned her gaze to Volupta, having been looking around the room idly as she talked. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am fine. This might sound unusual, coming from a Humiliata, but I am not accustomed to wearing my mask. I usually do it so I don’t draw attention to myself from the other Humiliata, however few there may be here. Or from anyone else, for that matter.”

Irina noted the Humiliata’s unusually smooth skin. “Because of… your complexion?” She asked, though did not ask how that came to be.

Volupta nodded her head. “I… I am an outcast of my world. I stand out, like any maskless Humiliata would. Then you see my youthful features, and you start to question me even more. Finally you find out who I am, and the Humiliatas would likely either shun me because of loyalty to our people, or outright hate me for my… old connections.”

“In the opposite direction, I think… humans would be more comfortable around you. Because you look more like us, and you don’t seem as… connected to the war because of it.” Irina shook her head. “Not that I’m an expert in psychology… at all.”

“Right… connections…” Volupta held up her hand, a soft green glow emanating from it. “In regards to my appearance… well, if we are to work with each other, it is something you and the others should know, even it is something I find dangerous to make public knowledge.”

Irina put her hands in her coat pockets. “If… you’re fine with telling me.” She shifted nervously. “I don’t… want to force you to talk about something that would make you uncomfortable.”

“It is alright. You seem trustworthy enough. Not the prying sort.” Volupta lowered her hand, and motioned towards herself. “I… I can not use many psionics, particularly when compared to the rest of my race. Maintaining my body means I am, at best, restricted to green psionics. So… I’m actually almost completely defenceless as I am now.”

“Most humans are regardless,” Irina noted. “But I see how that can be both a blessing and a curse.”

Volupta nodded, looking down at her smooth hands. “For so many cycles… well over a hundred years in your terms, I tried to continue my mother’s research into restoring my people’s vitality. I have made some progress, but this is really the farthest I’ve come. And even that required a lot of rearranging of my internal flow of energy. But… I am happy with the results. At least as long as I am not asked to defend myself. I have a few offensive abilities, including offensive biokinesis, but after fifty of your years in isolation, I didn’t have much of a reason to practice it.”

“Hopefully you’ll be able to perfect it over time so that it doesn’t dampen your other powers as much. I can see how that’d make it a difficult choice for powerful Humiliata.” Irina turned to lead Volupta back out of the medical ward. “And the psi labs could help you practice your other powers.”

“That would be nice,” Volupta agreed, following after. “You said you occasionally work in the lab. What is your primary position here, if I might ask?”

“I work on more minor things from my doctor’s office, as well as disease treatment, but like many of the doctors here I could be called upon for treating injured soldiers.” Irina rubbed the back of her neck. “I haven’t been asked to do that yet though.”

“You haven’t?” Volupta tilted her head slightly. “I would think, with the recent battles, this would be something all of the doctors have had to help out with.”

“I was assigned towards working on other projects at the time, and the last mission… either entailed mortal wounds or none at all. Those fusion and particle weapons don’t really have much of a middle ground in the damage they deal.” Irina’s eyes were downcast for a moment, but she continued, “I’d rather work in the area towards the Central Elevators, though.” She motioned a hand to ship east. “There we have the disease treatment center, or DTC, and in the other direction we have the Psychiatry ward. Medical cases here are less about injuries, which is something we’ll be focusing on more in wartime.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “The Hippocratic Oath, Part 2”

The Frenchwoman glanced back over at Volupta. “And that’s why I’d prefer working from the Central Elevator. The ER rooms are back-to-back with the doctor’s offices, ship north of the Central Elevator waiting room, so I could return to those fairly easily if I was needed, but otherwise I’d be closer to the ‘Soldier Patch Center’.”

“I understand.” Volupta smiled. “Your work is very important. There are many illnesses that I can not do anything with. I can only treat them. Your work to prevent them only makes my work easier, and for that, I thank you. I would like to assist you whenever possible. Just as long as you don’t mind my questions while I continue to learn about humans.”

“Of course. Though… I wouldn’t be much help on social matters.” Irina located a horizontal elevator leading to the central waiting room, and hopped aboard the coffin rail, zipping towards it with Volupta aboard as well. “What did you want to know?”

Volupta steepled her fingers in thought. “Well… I am fairly confident when it comes to the physical. But what are the best means in terms of doctor-patient interactions. Do humans like a stern hand? A comforting one? Do they require constant attention, or space. Your species is… quite complex.”

“For the first question, usually the latter. For the second… it depends on the person, and the severity of their injuries. Someone who is badly injured needs to be monitored more, but someone who is less injured can be safely given more space,” Beaumont answered.

“Are humans difficult to work with?” the Humiliata asked. “My own people can be. They have a tendency to think they know more then their trained doctors.”

Irina nodded. “Especially when it comes to deep-rooted habits, like smoking or drugs. The former is permitted on the ship in designated areas, but I have heard rumors that the latter has found its way onto the ship somehow even though it isn’t permitted.”

“I see… that is not good.” Volupta shook her head. “Though I can not act like my people are any better. Are you familiar with our recreational devices?”

“I… have heard of them. Their distribution on Earth is regulated by the XSDF because of how they could be used to permanently abandon reality with life support.”

“Indeed.” The tall alien shook her head. “I believe it was dealt with long ago, but that became a big problem when I was still on the home world. It was only through strict government sanctions that it didn’t turn into an epidemic-level addiction. So while I might not agree with it, I can understand the desire to escape reality.”

The horizontal elevator came to a stop, and Irina allowed Volupta to step out first before following. “I can as well,” she said quietly, but did not elaborate. Guiding the new doctor to the central room, she looked around to refresh her memory of the area’s facilities, but took awhile to respond, her mind wandering a little.

Volupta looked around as well, and give her a concerned looked. “Are you alright? You seem… distracted.”

Irina stiffened for a moment. “It’s… it’s nothing.” Gesturing a hand towards the right, she introduced Volupta to the soldier patch center. “The SPC is that way, close to the elevator for rapid treatment of injured combat personnel. To the left is the stasis rooms where we would keep anyone that was at risk of death but could not be saved due to a lack of preparation or sufficient technology. It’s currently empty.” If only we had those when Kliment was…

Volupta frowned, looking down at her guide. “Are you… sure you are okay? I can sense that you feel… off. Not… not in a psionic way. In a doctor’s way.”

Irina shook her head. “I’m just reminded of something in the past. But it was a long time ago… it’s just a passing feeling.”

Volupta knelt down, and placed a hand on Irina’s shoulder. “You mentioned earlier that you couldn’t help me with socializing. Does this… make you uncomfortable?”

The Frenchwoman nodded slightly. “I-It does, but that isn’t… your fault.”

“Regardless, it is a concern.” Volupta thought for a moment. “Does it have… something to do with me. Or is it something normal for you?”

“I-It’s normal. I’m really… bad with meeting new people… for more than one reason. I… don’t need to bother you about it though,” Irina said with shaky dismissal.

“Alright.” Volupta stood back up. “I will pay the utmost attention to assure this goes as smoothly as possible. Was there anywhere else you would like to show me, my friend?”

“Nothing of major importance… we’ll need to pick out a vacant office for you to set up shop in. They’re mostly the same size and layout, but you could personalize it a little,” Irina explained, seeming to calm down a little.

“That would be pleasant. I do have a simple request, one that I am hoping you can tell me whether or not it would be possible.” Volupta gave Irina a pleasant smile.

“What… would that be?” Irina asked, turning to face Volupta again.

“I have a number of associates. Sectoids that came on board with me. One of them, Tee, is my closest colleague and friend. Would he be allowed to assist me in my duties?”

“As long as he’s joining the Einherjar’s staff as well I don’t see why not,” Irina answered.

“Excellent. I shall make sure he does that.” Volupta started to do a small spin in place, then remembered she wasn’t alone. “Oh… sorry.”

Irina tilted her head slightly. “Do you… do that when you’re happy?”

“Y… yeah.” Volupta rubbed the back of her neck. “I am told I am what others would call ‘eccentric’. I tend to get carried away, even if I try to hold it back when with others. Tee likes to point out all the moments when others would find me silly, though that only wants me to do it more… to annoy him.”

“I… don’t think you’re silly. You seem more… free than most people are,” Irina observed, tapping a foot quietly.

“Well, when you are in the position I was in, you must do what you can to get freedom, in any way you can.” Volupta laughed. “I suppose one could say I am a bit mad, but I’d argue I just know what I like and express as much. As long as I don’t hurt anyone, right?”

Irina nodded, and muttered, “I wish I could be more like you,” quietly. But that won’t happen...

“It… is not very difficult. It is simply a matter of not worrying what others may say.” Volupta crossed her arms. “Then again, I suppose it would be just as difficult as getting me to tone it down, and Tee can attest to such difficulty. Still, while I can sense a lack of comfort from you, you are still pleasant to be around. So do not be too hard on yourself.”

“I-I guess…” Irina responded, though she didn’t seem so sure of herself.

Perhaps it is something she and I can work on, Volupta thought. “So… do you have any recommendations for an office location?”

“Well… there is…” Irina bit her lip. “There’s a spot two offices to the right of mine if you want to work with me in the future,” She offered quickly.

“That would be delightful!” Volupta clapped her hands together. “It is settled. I shall request that office, and we she work together, and be the best of friends! Healing all of this ships ills together, present and future.”

Although taken aback by Volupta’s melodrama, Irina found herself smiling slightly. “Alright then.”

Volupta looked around. “So… who do I speak with about room assignments?”

“Ask someone in the record’s room office… they should have your room number,” Irina explained.

“Very well.” Volupta tapped her fingers together. “Anything else I should know for now?”

Irina shook her head, concluding, “I think that about covers it. Welcome to the team, Dr. Sumama...would it be?”

Volupta’s smile wavered a bit, and she nodded. “That would be right.” She extended her lower left hand. “I look forward to working with you. I can’t wait.” Hesitating only for a brief moment, Irina shook her hand.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Birthday Bash Part One (MarineAvenger, ZombieSplitter53, DarkGemini42601, BMPixy, Frostlich1228)

In Orbit of Forseti; Aboard the Einherjar
0834 Hours Local; March 25th, 2044
Engineering Deck

Nick’s eyes opened slowly he woke up from an uneventful night of dreamless sleep, the teen taking in a deep yawn as he scratched his messy bed head -even though it was the norm of his look now- and threw the blanket off of and stood up, rubbing his eyes as he pushed in his cot and looked around curiously. “Where’s Alice and Hestia… usually they are always here when I wake up. Did she get assigned to another job again?”

He looked around again as if he had missed something and went over to a deactivated shell, this being the longest he had gone without his assistant and best friend. “Don’t worry, once I get done with the last bit of your programming to your personality… you won’t be so mad I left you off for so long… I hope.” The teen took his seat on his computer chair, still in pajamas as he looked up the day’s workload.

The screen contained a minimized page. Clicking on it revealed a display of Nick’s public file as the door opened behind him. A small pair of legs obscured by a large box that should have been too heavy to be carried by a small child slowly stepped in, slowly and silently walking as she was unaware that Nick was awake.

“Uh… Hestia, what are you… doing?” He asked, looking over and grabbing his glasses, putting them on as he blinked to clear his vision a bit.

“Huh?!” Hestia stumbled a bit, and slowly placed the box down. “I… I was just helping Alice do your work for the day. We woke up early to do it.”

“Heh?” Nick scratched his head in confusion. “Why would you go and do something like that?”

“Well, we wanted…” Hestia’s eyes flashed red for a moment, and she bashfully looked to the floor. “Um… no reason. We just wanted to… help you out. We know you’ve been working hard. Hestia just wanted big brother to have a day off.”

He tilted his head, not really believing her story considering he learned quickly what those eyes meant. “And where is Alice then?”

“She’s… making… something for you.” Hestia blinked several times. “To eat! She’s making you something to eat.”
“Alright, I will just have to go see her then.” He concluded, standing up and walking towards the door.

“Wait!” Hestia rushed in front of him. “It… you’ll ruin the surprise! Your… your breakfast surprise…”

He looked down at her a little unconvinced. “You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

“N… no.” Hestia pouted. “Hestia… Hestia is not programmed to lie. If Hestia was hiding something, it would be obvious to big brother. And don’t suspect a thing.”

He smiled and tapped the android girl on the head, rubbing the top of it and ruffling her hair a bit. “Alright, I believe you… so what’s in the box then?”

“Just some spare parts so Hestia can build… stuff,” Hestia smiled. “Stuff… made of spare parts.”

“Oh? Then you won’t mind if I take a look?” He asked with a grin.

Hestia’s smile dropped, and she looked around. “Um… uh… didn’t… didn’t you want to go find Alice?”

“Now I know you are hiding something… and I am going to get to the bottom of it.” Without a second word, he pushed himself around Hestia and ran out the unclosed door.

Hesita rushed after him, grabbing Nick and lifting him above her head. “Wait! Why… why are you so… don’t you wanna play with Hestia!”

“Whoa! Hestia, put me down! We are out in the open, someone might see!” He exclaimed, frantically wiggling around.

Hesita lowered him, as well as her head. “I… I’m sorry, big brother. I…” Hestia looked down the hall to the left. “Alice is down that way.”

Nick took a deep breath, never being one for being picked up, especially when he was younger, and he walked down the hall. “Come on, Hestia, you’re coming with me.”

Hestia took off towards the right, yelling, “Alice! He’s coming!”

“What! You deceiving little…” He ran after Hestia.

He found her with Alice, sitting at a workbench near the entrance. “What do you mean, making breakfast?” She was asking the small android. “Where exactly… oh… good morning, Nick.”

“Okay… jig is up, what are you two hiding?” The teen engineer asked, crossing his arms.

Alice sighed, placing a hand on Hestia’s head. “I was able to keep this from you this whole time. But then this one got curious last night, and decided she wanted to learn about her… ahem, ‘big brother’. So she opened up your file, and discovered something interesting about today.”

“What exactly?” Nick asked, looking at Hestia as if he was trying to read her thoughts.

Hestia gave him a confused look. “You… you don’t know what today is?”

Nick shook his head. “I don’t really keep up with the dates, I just go throughout the days one at a time. I can’t even remember what day of the week it is.”

Hestia and Alice exchanged a glance, and Alice shrugged. “I guess that doesn’t surprise me that much, but Nick… you do know when your birthday is, right?”

Nick’s face seemed to drop a bit and he closed his eyes, just shaking his head. “Alice… don’t worry about my birthday, alright?” He opened his eyes and smiled a bit. “I don’t celebrate it.”

“What? Why not?” Alice stood up, approaching the teenage engineer. “It is an important day for anyone to celebrate. Even I celebrate my ‘birthday’, at least to a small degree.”

“Because it isn’t anything to celebrate.” He told her simply, turning away from her and proceeding to walk away.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Birthday Bash Part Two (MarineAvenger, ZombieSplitter53, DarkGemini42601, BMPixy, Frostlich1228)

Alice crouched down by Hestia, saying, “Go back to our room and get ready for later.” She rushed after Nick, yelling, “Hold on! What… why do you think that?”

“I’ve never enjoyed my birthdays. All they bring up are just some bad memories.” He told Alice, looking down and putting his hands in his pockets.

“Well, don’t just leave me with half a story,” Alice insisted. “What bad memories? What happened that you wouldn’t want to celebrate your birthday?”

“I’ve told you about my parents, Alice… about who they are. But my real ones abandoned me… they left me in some orphanage like a piece of trash. That is why, Alice. It’s just a day to remind me of that fact.” Nick rubbed the back of his neck and kept walking. “Thanks for the thought though.” He told her in a low tone.

“Please, Nick, don’t think like that.” Alice rushed forward, placing her hand on his shoulder. “You’re such a special young man, one who has come so far. I… I’m glad they abandoned you, because they’re the kind of people who didn’t see the person you could become. You can’t let them spoil your life, Nick.”

“You wouldn’t understand.” He whispered, meaning for Alice not to hear it and trying to pull away with his head still down.

Easily able to pick it up, Alice pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him. “Then make me understand!” she insisted. “We’re friends, right? The last thing I wanted to do is upset you with this, but now that I have, I want to help you make it better.”

He closed his eyes, putting his head on her shoulder. “I’ve never liked birthdays… even back home on Megha… when I grew up in Britain, or even when I was back in the Netherlands. You didn’t mean to upset me… and I forgive you, Alice. So let’s just go on like it’s a normal day, okay?”

“Can… can you try to celebrate it? Just this once.” Alice stepped back, holding her hands together. “I know it would mean a lot to Hestia. And… to me.”

He stopped, looking back and scratching his head. “Trying to use our friendship for your own selfish gains… you really have fallen low, Alice.”

Alice dipped her head a bit. “Maybe… maybe you’re right. But… if our roles were reversed, what would you do in my shoes?”

“Probably what you are doing right now…” The engineer sighed and nodded his head. “Fine… we can celebrate it today…”

“Really?” Alice knelt down in front of him. “Because I’ve been working on a nice little gift for you. I’m sure you’ll love it!”

“Yeah, sure…” He didn’t sound all too thrilled but looked down at his choice of attire. “Just let me change first…”

Alice giggled lightly, only now realizing Nick has still in his pajamas. “Of course.”

Nick turned and went back to his workshop, coming back a few minute later, not wearing his usual winter pants and coat, but instead a dark blue suit top with gray dress shirt underneath with both the suit and shirt sleeves rolled up accompanied by a matching tie, his bottoms just consisting of a pair of dark blue jeans, his glasses no where to be seen. “There… I’m ready.” He said embarrassed, as if he was walking out naked.

Alice led Nick out of engineering, saying, “I actually planned this a while ago. Nothing big, just something to include a few friends.” She led him to one of the holo-rooms, giving him a smile. “Are you ready?”

Nick rubbed his eyes, sighing resentfully to himself. “I hate contacts…” He mumbled as if he wasn’t listening.

Alice raised an eyebrow. “I’ll… take that as a yes.” She opened the door and led Nick inside, revealing a simulation of a pleasent park in mid-July. In the center was a series of benches, and number of different dishes from the mess hall arranged on them, and sitting or standing around them were all the friends of Nick’s that were available for him. “Happy birthday, Nick.”

The young engineer couldn’t help but smile at the display, waving his hand meekly. “Hey guys…”

“Hey kid!” James waved, “Nice suit, I see you’re taking after my amazing fashion sense.”

Nick grinned a little uneasily and muttered. “All the more reason to burn it when I get the chance… this is why I hate not being allowed not to pack my own clothes.” He looked around to see who else was in attendance.

“Glad to see the guest of honor could finally show up,” Ayako proclaimed, holding up her omnipresent mug in toast. “Was wondering when they’d finally drag you down here.”

Hermes stood up in order to give a moderate-depth bow. “Good to see you again, Nick. Though I must admit to a feeling that I understand humans often get as well when seeing someone dressed different… I didn’t recognize you at first. Your glasses are part of your overall persona.”

“I think he looks handsome without them,” Korra responded, shoving some food of unknown origin in her mouth.

“I think you look fine either way,” said Brigid. “Thanks for coming down here.”

“Well I was kind of backed into a corner…” He glanced at Alice and rolled his eyes. “Anyways… thanks for coming everyone, I usually don’t do this… sort of stuff a lot, and it’s kind of surreal to see I have so many friends here.” He admitted honestly. “Anyways… totally unprepared and off the top of my head speech aside, have some fun I guess… I am sure some of you haven’t met yet, unless this ship really is that small.”

“I wouldn’t miss it, parties like this really help people forget about their problems, at least for a little while.” Winter smiled.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Alice said, pushing Nick farther into the room.

The door slid open behind them, and Hestia walked in, carrying a large cake. She carried it over to the table and smiled at the others. “Birthday cake for everybody!”

James took a quick look around, “There are a lot of women here, kid’s a pimp.”

“Then what does that say about your presence?” Ayako deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.

“Says he’d have the pick of the litter,” Korra answered, mumbling to herself, “If he had any interest.”

James chuckled, then looked at Ayako, “So you’re the new head of engineering right? What, you’ve only been here a week and you’re already friends with the kid?”

“What can I say,” Ayako replied with a shrug, “I like to get to know those under me who have talent I can put to use.”

“A wise move,” Alice agreed. “Which is why we met. Speaking of which, I’m Alice, as some of you might know. I am Nick’s assistant/partner. I am very happy to see you all. Please, eat up. And although you naturally weren’t required to bring one, please feel free to give Nick any gift you might have brought.”

“Thank the stars. This cake looks…” Korra reached out towards the cake, and Brigid slapped her hand.

“Nick needs to blow out the candles and make a wish,” Brigid insisted. “It’s Earth tradition. Go ahead, Nick.”

He chuckled at Korra’s display of hunger and closed his eyes, blowing out the candles quickly and opening his eyes again. “There… now time to eat.” He told Korra. “Just don’t use your hands, wait for people to actually cut it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Korra mumbled, taking a slice Brigid had cut for her.

The petite Irish woman shook her head, and handed Nick a card. “Here you go. From me and Korra. Extra holo-room time, deducted from our time for you. Not many other places to get you gifts, but I hope this will work.”

“You really didn’t have to…” He assured them, opening the card and laughing at the funny graphic and cheesy punch line.

“Got something for you too, Nick,” Ayako added, retrieving a small data drive from her jacket pocket and tossing it over to Nick. “The complete works of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Can’t call yourself a Brit without having seen them, from what I’ve heard.”

“Good… more excuses for staying up late.” He jested, smiling at Ayako.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Birthday Bash Part Three (MarineAvenger, ZombieSplitter53, DarkGemini42601, BMPixy, Frostlich1228)

“Me next!” Hestia crawled under the table, and returned with a small wrapped gift. Opening it, Nick pulled out a small statue resembling himself made from scraps and spare parts. “I made you more if you lose or break that one.”

Nick smiled, petting Hestia on the head but looking at Alice a little worried. “She isn’t going to stab me in my sleep is she? I think I saw a horror movie that went like this.”

Alice chuckled. “I’m fairly sure that won’t happen. In the meantime, I made you this.” She handed him a small device with a knob and an antenna.

“What… is it?” He asked, turning it over in his hands.

“It is a short range transmission booster, calibrated to the signals of your drones. It has a short battery life, so you can only use it for a small amount of time. But it can come in handy in an emergency when your normal link doesn’t quite cut it.”

“It will come in handy, I’m sure considering my luck…” Nick’s stomach grumbled loudly and he grabbed it. “Uh… we should probably eat more than cake.” He commented, looking at all the food.

“Please. Dig in. You can take the rest of your gifts while we eat.” Alice guided Nick to the bench, making a plate for him. “James, I believe you mention you had something.”

James stepped forward, smirking as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a pink bow tie, “Here kid, I think you’d look good in pink.”

“You know, I’m sure if Glitch was here he would tell you off halfway to Sunday…” He said as he took it.

“Why? Pink is a real man’s color, it’s hard to make work and it requires a lot of confidence to wear in public.” Fancypants explained.

“Hard to work with considering everything I own is somewhat a shade of blue…” He stated, looking at his current attire.

“Listen, you don’t want to wear all the same color when it comes to suits, makes you look boring.” James replied, “A different color tie or at least a white undershirt will help you stand out more. It’s good for interviews.”

Korra pulled out her small notebook. “Interesting,” she muttered, jotting down notes.

Brigid rolled her eyes, and placed an arm around Camillia. “Did you have anything for our guest of honor?”

“Well, yeah, just waiting my turn.” Camellia answered, standing up and approaching the birthday boy, “Hey Nick, I picked out something for you from my personal collection.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking a little bit in anticipation and scratching his cheek. “What is it?”

Winter pulled a coffee mug out from behind her back, on it was a stylized depiction of the periodic table of elements that wrapped around the circumference of the mug. “I know you’re an engineer and not a scientist, but I still thought you’d like it.”

“I do.” He confirmed, taking the mug and looking to Ayako. “Now you have the proper means of which to kill me.”

“Please, I’m a responsible adult,” the head engineer defended. “Besides, killing you’d be a waste of talent and would probably result in my death at the hands of your sisters.”

Brigid and Korra exchanged a look, but said nothing. Hestia wrapped her arms around Nick, and said, “You got that right!”

“She was just kidding, Hestia,” Alice said, smiling widely.

“I’ll just keep to tea for the time being then…” He affirmed with a laugh.

Hermes merely had to shrug. “Unfortunately, as much as I’d have liked to give you something, nothing really comes to mind at the moment, and I don’t really have much money to my name. However…” He lowered his voice. “There is a chance I might be a part-time mechanic soon, and if so I may be able to convince my superior to give you a tour of the ship’s innards.” As long as the Chief over there doesn’t have anything to say about that… but Nick is an engineer…

Nick waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine Hermes… to be honest I wasn’t really expecting much. The fact I got anything was a surprise.” He scratched his head quickly, shoving a pancake into his mouth. “Anyways, I think that is every-” He stopped as his eyes came upon Irina. “Oh… I didn’t even realize she was here…” He muttered. “You guys can talk among yourselves, I have been in the spotlight enough I think…” The engineer stood up and approached the doctor. “Hey!”

Irina seemed to shrink down a little. “N-Not so loud… I wasn’t trying to draw attention to myself,” she explained quietly.

“Oh… sorry, just got excited to see you here.” He took a seat by her and he smiled. “This is kind of a better meeting place than a hospital room, huh?” He joked.

“It would lack the crowd,” Irina replied uneasily. “Though I wouldn’t have missed this either way.”

“R-Really?” He asked a little too excited, clearing his throat. “I-I mean… thanks, that means a lot. I wasn’t exactly… planning to celebrate my birthday, so sorry for the short notice of it all.”

Irina shook her head. “It’s fine. I don’t have many people I know that well, and I want to be there to support those I do.”

“Well then I’m honored to be one of your friends.” He smiled. “Have you eaten yet? We have a lot of food, and I doubt we have enough room in my workshop to store it all. Besides… who doesn’t love cake?”

A few insulin issues came to Irina’s mind, but she quickly dispelled the thought. “Just a small slice… I’m not much of a big eater.”

His smile widened. “You got it.” Nick got up and ran to get her some cake.

Korra smiled at James. “Looks like we have a little competition for Nick’s attention. Who do you think’ll win?”

James put a finger on his chin, “Hmm… I wonder…” After a few seconds he smirked, “I don’t really want his attention that bad, I’m not that into the kid. Besides, I want to see how much cake I can swipe before people get pissed off.”

“How do you know Korra?” Brigid asked. She grinned. “Are you the guy she wanted to strangle a while back?”

“Yeah, but now we’re really close sort-of friends. How do you know her? I’d say girlfriend but since she didn’t even know what gay meant, I doubt it.” James leaned back.

Brigid’s cheeks reddened a bit, but she shook it off. “We’re roommates… and we spend about as much time arguing and fighting as being pleasant with each other.”

“Welcome to the majority of my friendships,” Korra muttered, shoving some bacon into her mouth and smiling blissfully at the taste.

He chuckled, looking back at Brigid, “So, I haven’t seen you around here yet, what’s your name?”

“Brigid O’Brien,” the Irish woman answered. “And you’ll be seeing a lot more of me soon, now that I’m on active duty.” She extended her hand.

His eyes widened a little bit, moving to get a closer look at her, “Holy shit... Are you the daughter of Morrigan O’Brien, the old X-com commander?”

“Yeah.” Brigid blinked several times. “You a fan?”

“Yeah, I loved the old X-com movies! As unrealistic as they may have been…” James laughed.

“Yeah,” Brigid laughed with him. “I mean, do you remember the girl who played me? It is bad enough they didn’t bother to find out I didn’t have a thick accent as a kid, but never ask a child actor to put on a fake accent. It’s just embarrassing for everyone. Still, glad to meet a fan of my ma. I’ll be sure to get an autograph or something for you.”

“Makes me wonder how many children of the original X-Com crew are actually here, bet they have pretty interesting stories or at least know things that got cut out of the movies.” He explained.

Brigid pointed at the one-quarter chryssalid. “Well, you got one right there. Considering her family’s status, her genealogy and genetics, and her formerly blind-soldier mother, I bet she has plenty to talk about. Me… my mom just retired. That’s pretty much it for me.”

“Wait, Nick’s therapist? I didn’t know she was a Cross. That’s a fairly odd job choice for the daughter of two famous soldiers and the heir to an engineering empire.” He stated, shrugging.

“Can’t all follow in our parents footsteps,” Korra muttered. “My parents are planetary diplomats. Of course… they’re not exactly the best choices for role models.”

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Birthday Bash Part Four (MarineAvenger, ZombieSplitter53, DarkGemini42601, BMPixy, Frostlich1228)

“Yeah, I’m glad, I wouldn’t want to spend my life polishing my yacht collection and just generally being a spoiled brat.” James responded, “Wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t stop and get my hands dirty.”

The group laughed, and continued to pig into the odd mixture of breakfast food and cake and icecream. As the group chatted and got to know each other a bit, the unfortunate reality of their positions on the ship forced them to leave one by one. A quick wave, a hug, or in Korra’s case, a heavy squeeze, and the party whittled down to Irina, Nick, and Alice. Realizing over an hour ago that Irina was uncomfortable with the crowd, Alice bowed her head to the pair. “Thank you two for coming, even though I know it was hard for you. I do hope you enjoyed yourself, though. I think I’ll leave you two be. Don’t worry about the mess. A couple of the guys on the cleaning crew owed Brigid a favor.”

“Alright… I will see you back at the workshop in a little while, Alice.” He told the android, the teen stuffed to the brim and sufficiently satisfied he agreed to the party.

“Take your time,” Alice insisted, and took off, taking a reluctant Hestia with her.

After the two closed the door, he looked down and tapped his stomach. “Did you have fun?” He asked the doctor.

“It wasn’t bad…” Irina answered evasively.

“It really does mean a lot you know. I don’t think I’ve been able to have a conversation that long with anybody on the ship yet… even if there were some awkward silence parts here and there. I guess it is mostly my fault.” He chuckled.

“I-It’s not… I’m just not great with people,” Irina responded, tapping her right foot absently. How many times have I said that recently?

“Well… I-I think you’re just fine. I mean… I wouldn’t be talking with you if it bothered me, right?” He said trying to reassure her.

“I don’t think I bother other people… I just have trouble understanding them and holding a conversation,” Irina clarified, closing her eyes for a moment. “It’s… not something I really had a chance to do growing up, and after that I never felt like socializing.”

“I guess I can relate. After I was pulled from public school, I pretty much didn’t talk to anyone for a good while before I reconnected with my friends, but then I moved and just went back to being alone. Part of the reason I made my… little assistant.”

“I had Sasha at least, but I didn’t see much of her after high school,” Irina noted, regarding the device on her right arm. “And mostly during just the first half of high school did I get to talk to her.”

“Your friend went on that… horrible mission, right?” Nick asked, still fuzzy on the details since barely anyone wanted to tell him what had went on, the teen inferring things were really wrong from the broadcast the ship had gotten.

Irina dipped her head. “Yes. She’s doing better than she was after all of that, but… I’m still worried about her.”

Nick smiled and he said, “Well… she is your friend, I am not surprised she is doing better… Oh!” Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cube. “Give this to her next time you see her. I thought I would have more fun with it but… well, I have gotten busier. Just say it’s a token of thanks for keeping us all safe.” He said, handing it to Irina.

Irina accepted the gift, peering over it curiously. “What… is it, exactly?”

“It is basically a harder version of a Rubik’s cube… except you have to concentrate harder because there are no colors but instead numbers.” He pointed out, rubbing his arm. “I mean… well… it isn’t much but I thought some appreciation would be liked…”

“We’ll… see if she’s able to solve it.” Irina shifted her weight pensively. “I’m… not sure if she’d be able to or not.”

“Well to be honest, how many normal people actually solve a normal one…” He stated as a question, though he looked down. Nick sat in silence as he thought of something to say, when something finally did come up he blurted it out without thinking. “I-I think… you look… pr-pretty… today…”

Irina appeared confused for a moment, and then carefully responded, “Um… thank you?”

“Y-You’re welcome…” Nick scratched behind his ear and then asked, “Hey Irina… what was highschool like?”

“Not enjoyable,” The French doctor answered honestly. “People were cruel to me and my friend, and other than that I had little interest in much other than studying. You’re… probably lucky to have avoided that.”

“Alright.” He said, taking her word for it. “I… well… I’ve tried taking care of myself more… going to the gym… trying to go to bed earlier.”

“That’s good to hear… just make sure you don’t overexert yourself with your implants. Your research isn’t worth dying over,” Irina warned.

“I-I know… I’ve gotten ahold of some useful notes so hopefully they will become safer as well.” Nick rolled his thumbs over one another. “Do you think if we went to school together, we would have been good friends? I mean… we are… good friends now… right?”

“We are… though I can’t picture an alternate reality easily,” Irina confessed.

The teen took a deep breath and he shook his head, “I’m probably mucking this all up, aren’t I? I must confess, I’m not good with girls, especially…” His thoughts trailed off.

Irina didn’t really seem to understand what he was trying to say, inspecting Nick for a moment. “Especially...what? I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“N-Never mind… you don’t want to hear it…” He told her in a low tone.

The Frenchwoman only seemed more confused, but nodded. “Alright. Is there… anything else you needed? My work starts in about thirty minutes, so I should probably change into my work attire,” Irina indicated by glancing down at her dark-colored garments.

“I just want you to know I really enjoy our time together… and I want to talk to you more. You’re really smart, and caring…” He mentally was face palming himself. “And… and…” I really like you, Irina. “You’re one of my better friends.”

Irina smiled slightly, though it was hard to perceive it initially. “Thank you, Nick. That means a lot to me,” she said quietly, before giving a slight nod and then walking off.

Nick walked back slowly from the holo-room, carrying a bag that contained his gifts and a couple of pieces of cake wrapped up for a later date, the engineer a little lost in his thoughts. It took a little while but he finally returned to engineering, loosening his tie and rubbing his sore eyes from his contacts, walking straight to his workshop and opening the door silently in case anyone was sleeping.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Birthday Bash Part Five (MarineAvenger, ZombieSplitter53, DarkGemini42601, BMPixy, Frostlich1228)

Alice looked up from her computer, smiling. “Welcome back, Nick.” She reached to the side, producing a pair of glasses and offering them to Nick. “So tell me? Do you regret celebrating your birthday?”

He rolled his eyes, taking his glasses and walking over to a mirror to take out his contacts. “No… I guess not…” Nick quickly took out the contacts and put on his glasses. “I guess I should thank you.”

“You… don’t have to thank me, Nick. It was my pleasure.” Alice frowned, turning back to her computer. “I’m just glad you enjoyed yourself. After you told me… you didn’t celebrate your birthday, I was afraid I had made a mistake.”

He was silent for a few moments, wrapping his arms around Alice as he walked over to her, though his did so without much thinking. “No… it was the right call…”

“Are you sure,” Alice whispered, mostly to herself. “After twenty-five years… I still wonder if I know any more about humanity then what was… programmed into me. I know you were uncomfortable. Worse yet, I pulled that poor friend of yours out of her comfort zone. Did I… push you too hard?”

He shook his head, squeezing Alice a little hard. “You… you idiot…”

Alice closed her eyes. “Thank you, Nick. I… I used to do this every year for Sunny when she was younger. But I… haven’t done it in so long. You… you’re…” Alice trailed off.

“Just tell me…” He told her. “I can at least listen to you… as thanks.” He assured her.

“You’re… special to me, Nick,” Alice said, smiling slightly. “I’ve been alone for so long… aside for Sunny, I’ve never had such a good friend as you. So… thank you for letting me do this for you.”

He nodded, letting go of the android and looking around. “Where did Hestia run off to?”

“She said something about putting her statues under your bed in the room to make sure you don’t lose them.” Alice grabbed the one she had left in the work room, running her hand over the rough design. “There is something strange about these…”

“You mean other than the fact that she seems to be going from me being her brother to worshiping me as a benevolent god?” He joked.

Alice chuckled. “Yeah, but it… is related to that.” She handed Nick the small figure. “These are very crude in their design. Despite what she might look like, her programming should be able to make this look a lot better, even if she rushed it. This… this looks less like a machine making a ruse to fool people, and more like a little girl trying to impress her brother. Strange, huh?”

“Maybe… but if she is growing on her own… this could be something… amazing, right?” He asked, scratching his head. “An android that could… grow on it’s own volition… seems like a dream.”

Alice nodded. “Yeah. I mean… my programming was much the same, just with more guidance. The only problem is, if it grows anymore, I won’t be able to transfer my mind into her body. Too much clutter, with two full CPUs. Could damage or destroy hers. So… the question is… do we stop this now, and reset her program, watching her more carefully now… or do we leave her be, to develop into her own person.”

Nick rubbed his palm, but he didn’t have to think long about his decision. “It isn’t in our hands anymore… doing anything against her will at this stage would be the same as destroying you or Glitch… besides, she isn’t the only option we could have… and you shouldn’t be in much danger.” His talk with Sunny raced in his mind, and he soon added, “Just tell me if anyone suspicious follows you, or anything weird goes missing. I won’t let anything happen to you…”

Alice gave him a worried look. “I… I agree with you about her. We’ll let her… carve her own path. But…” She leaned forward. “Is everything alright? Commander Mason is in charge now. Are you… worried about something… or someone in particular?”

“N-No… I’m just still worried about you no matter what. I do care for you after all.” He told her, looking away.

Alice nodded, and stood up. “Well… thank you, Nick. But I’ll be okay, as long as I have you and Glitch to watch my back.” She patted the seventeen year old on the shoulder. “I have some work to do in the loading docks. But I’ll be back later. I did most of your work for the day, so try to relax today, okay?”

“I’ll try, but you know it’s hard for me to stay still.” The engineer still looked like he had more to say, but kept it to himself. “Come back soon… alright…”

“I will.” Alice walked to the door, glancing back. “Happy birthday, Nick.”

As the door closed, Nick looked down at the statue in his hand for a few moments and went to set it down on a table, going over to his computer to put the hard drive he got from Ayako to good use.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Birthday Bash Part Six (MarineAvenger and Alzdude28)

Later that night

The corridor outside Nick’s workshop was at its busiest. 1800 hours. The day shift were clocking off and the night shift replacing them. Among them was Brienne. She stopped outside the door and knocked.

In a little bit, the door opened and Nick looked up, a small smile on his face. “Hey, long time no see.”

“Yeah… it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she replied. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Oh… so even Hestia told you about it, huh? She really went all out finding everyone I knew.” The teen stated, moving so Brienne could come in, shutting the door.

“Yes, she did. How long’s she been on board? I don’t remember seeing her before… well, relatively recently, anyway.”

“She’s been here a while, just kept low key. She is… actually my sister.” He admitted, having a big smile on his face. “Though she was sleeping and staying with my older sister until she had enough and wanted to be with her big brother.”

“That’s sweet. Anyway, I managed to pick this up from a bookshop in Ailey when I was on the surface. I hope you like it, it’s a classic.” She said handing him a carefully wrapped package. “and I think it’s great that traditional books haven’t died out. When I was little my parents were always saying that it would all be e-books in ten years… and yet here we are…” she rambled on.

Nick’s smile widened and he slowly unwrapped it, running a hand over the cover. “So have you read A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy before?” Brienne asked him.

He shook his head, turning over the book. “No, I haven’t. Is it good? I’ve been hearing a lot lately I have missed a bunch of good classics.”

“Good would be an understatement in my opinion. I would consider Douglas Adams to be one of the greatest producers of comedy of the 20th Century. Along with the people from Monty Python.” She said, smiling at the thought of their works.

“Huh… funny you should say that…” He went over to his computer and pulled out the hard drive in it. “I actually got one of the movies from another friend… would you like to watch it with me?”

“I would love to! Which one is it? Life of Brian? The Meaning of Life? The Holy Grail? or one of their others?” Brienne said excitedly. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen any of them.”

“Uh…. it’s Flying Circus, if I remember correctly.” He scratched the back of his head and grabbed a stool for Brienne, while he stuck with his computer chair.

“Brilliant! The dead parrot sketch is a masterpiece!” she sat on the stool, and leant back.

Nick nodded, walking off to the side and grabbing a bag, bringing it over to Brienne and taking out two wrapped piece of chocolate cake. “Hope you don’t mind it a little squished and warm, don’t really have a fridge in here.”

Brienne gave a slight chuckle. “That’s how I used to have it back home.” She accepted the offered slice gratefully.

“I’m seventeen today, by the way.” He scratched his head, pulling his knees up to his chest. “Things have been really weird lately.”

“Weird as in living on a huge intergalactic battleship weird?” she joked.

“Well… part of it. Just a lot of… stuff.” He rubbed his nose and started the movie. “I recently got a hold of some important notes for my implant… I am upgrading Glitch’s programming… I’ve been feeling stuff I didn’t feel back home on Megha…”

“Well, these are weird times. I hope that whatever you’re doing to the implants goes well, considering what happened with them before…” here she broke off and rubbed the back of her neck in discomfort. “sorry about not visiting… but I was snowed under with work… and hospitals give me the creeps.”

“It’s fine, Brienne. I wouldn’t hold it against you.” He put a piece of cake is his mouth and smiled. “I haven’t done this in forever… it really brings back memories.”

“Memories of what?”

“Back home in Chelsea… me and my friends used to do this…” He smiled and looked down. “We would gather around the huge television we had in my house, take all of the cushions off the couch and piled them on top of us… those were some awesome weekends.”

“That does sound good. I used to love movie nights…”

Nick nodded, laughing a bit at the sketch on the computer. “How was high school for you, Brienne? I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about it… and I never attended one.”

“Well, I loved it, myself. It was such a change from secondary school. I was doing subjects that I was interested in, and, this may be stereotyping a little, but all of the wankers I had the misfortune to be stuck with at secondary went to the technical college.” She leaned back further, reminiscing. “As for the social life, it was the second best time I had, next to Uni.”

“Did you fall in love as well? I’ve seen a lot of cheesy shows about that sort of stuff.”

She laughed. “Load of bollocks if you ask me. I hooked up with a couple of people once or twice, but there was never anything serious. There were a few of those ‘cute couples’ around the campus, but they were the exception to the rule.”

“Huh…” Nick kept silent then on, just enjoying the movie and his snack.

“So… was there anyone back on Earth for you?”

He nodded his head, though his face immediately fell. “Not anymore though.”

She was too busy watching the film to notice his expression. “Well, these things happen.” She laughed as, on screen John Cleese goosestepped around in The Ministry of Silly Walks sketch.

Nick stayed silent again, just watching the movie with a down look.

After the sketch finished, she turned to look at him. “You ok? You don’t look like you’re enjoying the film that much…”

“My minds just wandering a bit…” He stated in a low tone.

“Anything I can help with?” She asked, assuming he was thinking of an engineering problem.

He shook his head. “Not unless you can raise the dead.”

She nearly choked on her cake. “Wh… what?”

“That girl… who was back home… she’s dead.” He told Brienne, putting his cake to the side as he lost his appetite.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Brienne quickly thought back to the conversation. “Oh… I’m… so sorry… I… er…” she floundered, helplessly.

“Nah, it’s fine… you didn’t know.” He tried his best to reconnect back into the movie but he was already out of it, just staring at it.

Brienne sat for a while, trying to decide whether to say anything or not. Eventually curiosity got the better of her. “Do… er… would you feel better if you talked about her… or not?”

“I don’t know what the point would be… it won’t repair anything, and it isn’t like I can wipe my memory clean.” He responded.

“Yes, of course.” She responded quickly. On screen, was the “Mr Hilter” sketch. She watched the same jokes that had made her laugh time and time again in the past, but somehow the humour had left the room.

Even despite the horrible mood, the teen couldn’t resist a smile or a chuckle here or there, all hope not lost. As the night drew on and they got further into the movie, Nick looked up at Brienne. “Can I lay on you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Can I lay on you? On your arm, I’m a little tired.” He retorted.

“Well… ok then…” she replied after a second.

He pushed his chair closer to her and laid his head on her arm, letting out a stifled yawn. “What did you think I meant?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

“Liar.” He stated, scratching his head.

“Well… I thought you asked to lay with me.” She laughed. “I’m sorry, I guess I’m just a little on edge.”

He laughed along with her, shaking his head. “Don’t sound too excited about it…” Nick teased, learning to use the same method Korra had used on him to mess with people.

She laughed even harder. “Nicholas Cauthon! When did you learn to flirt?” She said in mock shock.

“About the same time I earned a… what was the word she used for herself… voluptuous alien girl, my sister, and a couple of other people as friends since coming on this ship.” He laughed again. “And you still haven’t denied anything…” He teased further.

“Well, I hate to crush your dreams, but you’re not exactly my type.” her tone was still very jovial, but there was an undertone of steel.

“No dreams crushed, I assure you… there is already a girl I like…” He explained, blushing a bit.

“Oh is there?” She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “You sly old fox!”

“Shut up!” He said, shaking his head and laying back down. “She has no idea I like her, and she isn’t exactly a woman you can… uh… what was the phrase?” He asked, rubbing his forehead. “Had something to do with dinner.”

She raised an eyebrow, then deadpanned: “Eat ou…” then suddenly remembering who she was talking to, recovered. “I mean, take out to dinner?”

“Something like that…” He explained. “She is like me… totally socially awkward… nervous… but she is so pretty… and she cares a lot about people. Plus she seems incredibly smart.”

“She sounds like my first girlfriend.” Brienne replied with a shrug.

“Girlfriend?” He asked, “Are you like James then?”

She looked a little confused. “Who’s James? Was his first girlfriend like that as well?”

“No… apparently he is a guy who likes other guys. I think the term he used was gay… are you like that as well?” Nick asked with obvious innocence and curiosity.

“Oh.” She started, realising her mistake. “Well, yes, sort of. It’s a bit more complicated than that when it comes to me, but generally speaking, yes.”

“Hm… that’s pretty cool.” Nick let out another yawn, this one bigger. “I think I need to go to sleep. You wanna watch the rest of the movie or go?”

She looked at the time. “I don’t think there’s much left now, so if you don’t mind I’d quite like to see the rest of it.” As she said this a figure appeared on screen. “Oh, it’s the Gumby Brain Specialist! you’ll like this one.”

Nick nodded his head, but it wasn’t long until the teen fell asleep on Brienne.

After the credits had rolled, Brienne looked at him and realised that she had been talking to herself for a while. She smiled, and carefully moved away. At the door she turned back to look at him. “Goodnight, Nick.” she whispered to nobody in particular, put her hands in the pockets of her lab coat, and closed the door quietly behind her.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

XSDF Planetside Mission
Settlement Defense
Operation Incipient Barricade

System: Dapsilis System
Planet: Forseti
Location: Holem, Skansom
Date: March 26th
Time: 0600 Hours, Local Time

Mission Briefing:

Tandarin Forma Delimore has made its first move against Forseti. We’ve received word that a town along the road southeast of Ailey has come under attack by pirates. Rather than this being an act of terror, however, their intent is more focused and clear. Current intelligence indicates that they are targeting the medium-sized Elerium Processing Plant located there with the intent of stealing the resources contained within the warehouse.

However, we will have to deal with them systematically. We cannot afford to split our squad with current reports pointing to some of the TFD troops on the ground possessing plasma and fusion weapons. The squad will first deal with a diversion the enemy has set up alongside some of the local XSDF security forces: several of the pirate groups are setting fire to or otherwise destroying the housing district and offices located to the right of the plant. Once the situation there is under control, the team can advance to the processing plant, and attempt to stop the enemy forces from getting aware with our E-115.

Central has chosen to send a more skilled team alongside two of our special forces members in order to ensure the mission is a success. This is no training mission for the remaining rookies: the first mission of war is vital, both in regards to the standings of the warring factions and the morale of the troops. It must not end like our previous operation.

Number of Soldiers for this Mission: XSDF Soldiers; Four Groups of Five (5) Holem Security Guards [Alloy Suits, Beam Weapons]

Soldier’s Names:

Strike One (Skyranger Mk. II)

{China, F} LT 5 Wong, Sarah [Sniper] (Mindfray, ESP, Animal Empathy, Imbuing)
{Aetherum} SGT A-635, Gelmados [Support] (Telekinetic Field, Blackout, Telekinesis, Psi Inspiration)
{Styx Prime, M} SPC H.H. Ts'kalik-sha, “Al” Zz'khaz [Sniper] (T1 Prosthetic Right Arm)
{France, F} SPC Page, Télesphora [Scout] (T1 Prosthetic Left Leg)
{Italy, M} SPC Restauro, Nick [Assault] (T1 Prosthetic Legs)
1{United States, M} SPC Wolfe, Thomas [Medic] (T1 Prosthetic Right Arm)
{Greece, F} SPC Xanthopoulos, Kiki [Engineer] (Smart Macrophages)
{Nigeria, M} SPC Alamieyeseigha, Onyekachukwu [Gunner]
{India, F} SPC Gopal, Manju [Paratrooper] (Muscle Fiber Density)
{Tamear, M} SPC Lamperouge, Rurūshu [Shadow Operative] (Violet Psion)(T0 Prosthetic Left Leg)
{MmI, Q} SPC cin Ankhor, Osahar (Marauder)
{Ireland, F} PFC O’Brien, Brigid (Aerobic Respiration Boost, Muscular Superstructure (Double-Strength Magnified Bicep Structure and Dextrous Muscle Fibers; cannot be upgraded) (Telekinesis, Pyro-Conjuring, Suggestion, Mind-Merge, Mindfray, Rift)
Cyberdisc One (Gauss Machine Gun)
Drone x3 (Welder ‘Blasters’)

*Squad Leader
Italics are player characters.

Gear: (link)

Terrain:

The district to the right of the storehouses is a planned one. Streets are laid out in a network, having three main roads that run east to west and numerous side pathways that run north to south. The top east to west road will be the primary one the squad will take towards the processing plant, though they may have to take detours to stop pirate forces from laying waste to the area. The landing zone will be just outside of the town through the currently-empty guard station, which we will have clearance to pass through. Beyond there, initially, are residential homes in the gaps between roads and streets, where the arsonists are located, as well as the security forces attempting to combat them. Two of the Buster groups (0, 1 and 3) are responsible for the destruction.

Further inward, there is a first line of defense from the XSDF forces (2 and later 4). The forward troops are set up inside the open-air office buildings where the engineers and workers were before fleeing the enemy before they arrived.

Enemies:

0{The Busters} Five Groups of Five (5) Combat Droids [Ballistic Rifles w/ Alloy-Jacketed Rounds, Phalanx Armor]

1{The Busters} One Group of Four (4) Ardenian Assaults [Gauss Rifles, Basic Power Armor] and Three (3) Balmadaar Infantry [Gauss Heavy Rifles, Aegis Armor]

2{The Busters} One Group of Two (2) Ardenian Assaults [Alloy Cannons, Banshee Armor], Two (2) Ardenian Scouts [Alloy Strike Rifles, Corsair Armor][Magnified Bicep Structure], and One (1) Human Sniper [Gauss Long Rifle, Banshee Armor][T1 Prosthetic Right Eye]

3{The Busters} One Group of Two (2) Human Rocketeers [Gauss Rifles, Aegis Armor; Gauss Rockets] and One (1) Balmadaar Heavy [Gauss Autorifle, Titan Armor; Conventional Rockets]

4{The Shapers} Three Groups of Two (2) Light Floaters [Beam Carbines, Cleric Armor Eq.s][T1 Prosthetic Right Eyes] and One (1) Medium Floater [Pulse Carbines, Seraph Armor Eq.s][L/R T1 Prosthetic Eyes]

5{The Shapers} One Group of One (1) Shaper Engineer [Scatter Blaster, Corsair Armor][T1 Prosthetic Right Arm, T1 Prosthetic Left Hand] and One (1) Shaper Medic [Pulse Stengun, Banshee Armor][L/R T1 Proshtetic Legs]

6{Vanguard of Odin} One Group of:
-One (1) Balmadaar Infantry [Plasma Ravager, Aegis Armor (P1)][Magnified Bicep Structure, Durable Skeletal Structure][L/R T2 Cybernetic Legs]
-One (1) Replitan Scout [Fusion Quakegun, Corsair Armor (P2)][Hyper-Reactive Pupils, Neural Dampening, Adaptive Bone Marrow T]
-One (1) Balmadaar Engineer [Plasma Rifle, Aegis Armor (P1)][Aerobic Respiration Boost, Muscle Fiber Density, Adaptive Bone Marrow B]

7{Vanguard of Odin} One Group of:
-One (1) Replitan Sniper [Fusion Sniper Rifle, Flash Suit (P1)][Depth Perception, Infrared Vision, Magnified Bicep Structure] [Logic Module]
-One (1) Ardenian Assault [Sunspot Cannon, Aegis Armor (P1)][Neural Feedback, Secondary Heart, Hydothermic Skin]
-One (1) Ardenian Medic [Plasma Carbine, Titan Armor (P2)][Chobham Dermis] [L/R T2 Cybernetic Hands]

Conditions for Completing the Mission:

Note – While we can likely not complete all objectives to their fullest, we should do our best to fulfill objectives 2 and 3 as much as possible.

(1) Elimination or Capture of all TFD forces in the area.
(2) Recovery of any Elerium supplies we can recover.
(3) Rescue of as many civilians as we can manage.
(4) Protection of as much property as possible.
(OR)
(5) Safe withdraw to the Skyranger. (NOT RECOMMENDED: Failure of this mission would not only be a setback and prove disastrous for morale, but would put the XSDF closer to being considered ‘unworthy’ by Trismegistus. If she is as powerful as she has gloated, our chances of victory would be nullified.)

Civilians:

-Numerous townspeople will be caught up in the residential district, so we will need to watch our fire and protect them from the indiscriminate fire of the pirates.

-The engineers and workers from the processing plant seem to have fled their posts from the office buildings, but the rest can be found taken prisoner by the two elite groups of TFD operatives within the plant’s warehouse itself.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

AlzDude28, Black0ut, BMPixy, DarkGemini24601, and ZombieSplitter53:
Operation Incipient Barricade, Part 1
Skyranger Mark II, on approach to the outskirts of Holem:

Lieutenant Sarah Wong observed her squad as they steeled themselves for battle, and nodded in approval slightly. Most of them had been in battle since coming to the Einherjar now, and she was confident in the abilities of the one member there who hadn’t. “Listen up. Our priorities are to save civilians and recover any Elerium we can. Property is important to preserve, but we’re not going to be able to save things that are in the process of being razed, or buildings that have already been destroyed.”

The Chinese sniper crossed her arms, a shimmering blue figure wrapping around her shoulder and the handrail to keep her from falling over. “And although we’ve had experiences with the pirates’ cowardice in the past, we shouldn’t expect them to surrender as easily as they have in the past. Now that we know they’re in service to a central authority, we can expect them to behave a little more like soldiers, if not as organized. In addition, we’ve confirmed the presence of one familiar criminal organization known as the Busters among the enemies on the ground, and they’re hardened criminals. As for reports of Floaters… those have been confirmed, though we don’t know who made them.”

Finishing off, Sarah concluded, “In any case, this isn’t going to be easy. We should expect plenty of trouble along the way to the processing plant, and I wouldn’t count out the possibility that there are elite troops like we saw on Layrinxa Two. For all of Trismegistus’s talk of starting the war out easy, if this really is some sort of game for her, she’d probably get bored with just sending the minor actors to ‘play’ with us. Keep an eye out for any weapons glowing orange or purple, and be prepared to deal with shielding with the laser weapons we have, gauss for armor.”

Brigid hefted her laser rifle, happy to have a real weapon in hand again, and asked, “If we get a hold of the Elerium, but need to retreat, how do we secure it?”

Sarah glanced at the large, circular disk laid out in front of the Skyranger’s hatch. “We can salvage some of it with C-1, but honestly, if we need to retreat, I’d suggest using it as explosives against the enemy. Don’t let them have it, but we can’t risk carrying volatile materials with us when we’re under fire.” Unless you want to end up like Fujioka, Sarah thought grimly, but kept that detail to herself.

“Classic save what you can, but if we can’t have, neither can they scenerio. Got it.” Brigid grinned, popping a charge pack in. “Ready to rock.”

Al grunted, clicking a gauss magazine into place and cocking his rifle. “Understood, L.T.”

The Skyranger’s engines shifted downward to slow the dropship’s descent as it came to the guard post leading into town, quickly following up by opening the exit hatch. Staying in disk mode, the Cyberdisc hovered out with three drones dutifully following behind it, providing a vanguard for the rest of the squad to follow. Sarah went to the right side of the gate as the others formed up, typing in an access code and opening it up.

The gates slid open fairly quickly, and beyond lay intact houses, untouched by the fighting for the first few rows. Flames in the distance indicated that it was not all so peaceful, however. “Let’s get moving,” Sarah instructed, having the forward classes - including the group’s scout, assault, MEC Trooper, and large machine - advance while the others followed, Sarah staying more towards the back with Al and Gelmados, a Sectoid Commander and the group’s other special operative that had accompanied the Lieutenant.

As the group advanced, the devastation brought about by the enemies distraction led to damaged homes, then decimated ones. Following the screams of a few citizens, the team came to a four way intersection, smoldering vehicles the largest areas to provide cover. Ahead, a group of four Ardenian assaults turned to face the oncoming troops. A human rocketeer peeked out of cover on either side of the street while a Blamadaar Heavy aimed in the center. Under the cover of their allies, the Ardenians advanced, five combat drones following closely behind.

“Spread out!” Sarah yelled. “Don’t let those rocketeers get a lock on a large cluster of us! Take out those Ardenians before they get close enough to use those tails!”

“Initiating counter-assault fire,” Osahar grimly reported as she raised her railgun, letting out a stream of fire that exploded against the asphalt road around the Ardenian assault troopers, even managing to take out one of their accompanying drones with the inaccurate fire.

Under the cover of Osahar’s fire, Al rolled behind a burnt out car, smashed the driver’s window with the butt of his rifle and used the metal frame to steady his aim. He sighted, exhaled, and fired, the gauss round slamming into the human’s chest, knocking him down.

“Nice shot,” Brigid mumbled, taking aim as the rocketeer climbed to his feet, and punched a hole through the damaged part of his armor. Above her, the Cyberdisc opened up, ignoring the hits it took as it tossed a grenade. The explosion ripped through the advancing troops, taking down two more drones and injuring an Ardenian.

Wolfe took aim, spotting the injured Ardenian. A shot from his gauss rifle quickly ended the pirate's life. This shouldn't prove too difficult to finish, Wolfe thought, before ducking back into cover.

Sarah watched as the Ardenians advanced, Kiki and Manju taking down another Drone in a pair of shots. No one is even trying for any kind of… wait! She closed her eyes, scanning the area with ESP, and sensed three more hidden Balmadaar on their left and right. “Flanking troops!” she yelled, and the Balmadaar in question, a trio of infantry, stepped out of cover, one on their left, two on their right. Gelmados threw up an telekinetic shield to block the pair, but the third shot amongst the group, scoring a hit on Nick.

“Three hells,” Osahar cursed, moving to shift her fire from the assaulting Ardenians to the leftmost Balmadaar, however at that moment her railgun magazine ran dry. Before she could reload, one of the Ardenian assaults finally came into melee range. The close-range gauss rifle burst was hastily deflected by one of Osahar’s manipulator arms, while the enemy’s tail nicked at her alloy armor. Quickly powering up the kinetic strike module, Osahar slammed the metallic fist into the assault, crumpling armor and sending the Ardenian careening into an open-air cafe, smashing through tables on their short flight.

“Damn flankers!” Brigid popped a blue pill, unlocking her psionic energy one level, just in time for one of the remaining Ardenian troop to attempt to slash her head off. With a telekinetic push she flew back, her hated short stature the only thing keeping her from an incredibly close hair cut. She leveled her laser rifle, and the Ardenian jumped out of the way as she fired. She wasn’t aiming for him, however, and the unblocked Balmadaar to the left recieved a laser blast to the face.

“Need some help here!” Gelmados yelled. “I can’t keep this shield up forever!” Spotting the remaining human aiming a rocket, Gelmados shifted to block that, leaving the right flank open.

In reply Al turned, leaving his rifle wedged in the abandoned vehicle and unloaded his sidearm into the recovering Ardenian. Dropping the empty weapon he turned back to his rifle and tried to get a bead on the surviving human.

The enemy rocketeer fired, and Gelmados’ shield took the brunt of the blast. Winded, he dropped to the ground, and the Balmadaar infantry took aim. Firing as she ran, Brigid rushed across the battlefield, past Gelmados and amongst the pair of burly aliens. Thrown of by her charge, they couldn’t react in time before she leapt up, slamming her fist into one of their faces to completely knock him out. The remaining Balmadaar aimed at her back as she thought, God, I hope someone covers me.

Finally Osahar received the opportunity to reload, noting Brigid’s predicament as she did so. Quickly taking aim, the Seikron fired a round from her railgun, striking the Balmadaar in the back. At that point the HEAP round exploded, shredding the Muton’s internals and dropping the massive alien to the pavement.

“Thanks, friend!” Brigid yelled, running to rejoin the rest. Onyekachukwu fell to the ground, tightly holding his bloodied arm as the last Ardenian took aim, but the Cyberdisc, repaired by its accompanying drones, shot him down. The last drone reached the injured Nick, but a few rounds from Wolfe saved the assault. The medic knelt down by Nick, getting to work patching him up.

“Son of a…” The last human enemy looked over to the Balmadaar Heavy. “Get those drones over here! We need them more than those burning buildings.” The Balmadaar retreated back as the rocketeer aimed a rocket at Osahar.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

AlzDude28, Black0ut, BMPixy, and ZombieSplitter53:
Operation Incipient Barricade, Part 2
Streets of Holem:

Noting the rocketeer’s attention, Osahar hastily snapped off a shot from her railgun, however the round went wide, instead punching deep into a building’s wall. Before Osahar could ready another shot or move out of the line of fire, the rocketeer fired. A moment later Osahar vanished in a plume of smoke and fire as the rocket struck home.

“Shit! Man down!” Al called out to the medics, still trying for a clear shot, his aim obscured by the terrain. Taking advantage of her ESP, Sarah was able to get a clearer shot, and fired, wounding the rocketeer and knocking him right into Al’s line of fire. Al couldn’t hold back a predatory grin as his sights came to rest on the rocketeer’s head. He squeezed the trigger and landed a perfect headshot.

With the smoke clearing where Osahar had been standing, Sarah rushed forward. “Osahar!”

“I am unharmed,” the Marauder replied, slowly standing from a kneeling position as the smoke finally cleared. “Good thing Nitetis-dhul fixed my flash shield… would have been messy.”

“Hell yeah, it would have been.” Brigid ran up to the amphibian, grinning widely. “Thanks for having my back. You saved my ass.”

“It would have been an unnecessary casualty,” Osahar replied dismissively, as her suit finished redistributing power and she loaded a new magazine into her railgun. “Do not make a habit of such actions.”

“Agreed,” Sarah said, looking around. “Everyone okay?”

“Injured but not out,” Nick answered.

“Drained… but I can continue,” said Gelmados.

“Cyberdisc took a few rounds, but the drones are keeping it afloat,” Kiki commented.

“Good,” Sarah looked around. “That Balmadaar will be back with backup. Osahar, I’d like you to prepare your grenade launcher. We can’t simply wait. You and Xanthopoulos will be responsible for taking down the bulk as we advance, and we’ll clean up the rest.”

“Understood,” Kiki answered, pulling out a pair of grenades.

“Confirmed,” Osahar added, the grenade launcher reticule flashing onto her HUD as the module extended from her back.

Sarah turned to Wolfe. “Looks like most of the civilians have rushed off. We’ll need to save as much of the med sprays for us, but don’t hesitate if you see a severely injured civie.” The medic nodded, and Sarah signaled for everyone to advance.

As the group approached the warehouse, the passed by a few civilians, motioning for the to retreat back to the cleared out area. It wasn’t long until they found the retreated Balmadaar, accompanied for a total of ten combat droids. “Nows our chance!” Kiki yelled, smiling as she tossed her grenades, one exploding one either side of the enemy troops, taking out a single droid, and more importantly, prompting them to huddle towards the center.

And when the enemy troops had gathered together, Osahar fired, a pair of grenades launching in sequence towards the clustered enemies. A moment later the plasma grenades exploded, savaging a handful of the enemy droids and shredding the Balmadaar’s armor.

Al stared intently at the dense smoke from the explosions, taking snap shots at the drones as they emerged, destroying one and damaging two more.

Damn, nice shots, Wolfe thought. Aiming at one of the injured drones, Wolfe fired, his shot puncturing the automaton's armor. Wolfe gave a small smile. I think everything's going to be okay... I hope. The medic thought.

Brigid popped out of cover, firing off a pair of telekinetic orbs of energy, strong enough to blast a hole through the other damaged drone and knock back a second one. The Balmadaar cursed as a sniper shot took it out. Trying to think of a plan, he was caught off guard as one of the two remaining drones fell, followed quickly by the other. He turned to find Rurūshu behind him, his shadow armor powering down. The laser shotgun glowing slightly and ready to take him out, the defeated Balmadaar dropped his weapon.

Sarah carefully approached him. “How many troops should we expect up ahead,” she asked, but only got a series of Balmadaar curses in response. She rolled her eyes, and signalled for Rurūshu to knock him out with an arc thrower. She turned back to her MEC trooper, and asked, “How many grenades do you have left? And what is the status of your armor?”

“Armor is at 90 percent integrity,” Osahar reported. “Three grenades remaining before resupply is needed.”

“Good.” Sarah looked over her troops, starting to show some fatigue but otherwise strong. “As we near the warehouse, it is only going to get worse. Al, I need you to hang back with me. We’ll be everyone’s eyes as we advance, and need to take advantage of our scopes.”

“Aye.” Al didn’t say any more. He knew what was needed. He loaded fresh magazines into his rifle and his pistol, checked the sights, and was about to reach for a cigarette before stopping himself. No… I can’t risk the shakes...

The XSDF troops advanced once again, and finally cleared the residential area. Coming up to the first line of defense, two Ardenian scouts, two Ardenian assaults, and five more drones started to move to intercept, all backed up by a human sniper of their own. Already fighting them was a squad of ten security troops, but they seemed to be in dire straights.

Al found cover by the corner of a wall, watching as the rest of the squad moved past. He knew that he had little to no chance of a clear shot while his comrades were moving, so decided not to take the risk of peeking out.

Brigid ran forward, darting and dodging as she moved to join the security. One fell as she came to their side, another looking down at her fallen comrade in shock. “What are we looking at within?” Brigid asked, shaking her shoulder.

“Uh… a-a lot,” the woman stuttered. “They completely overwhelmed us.”

“Keep your head down, and let us take the risks,” Brigid said. “That’s our job.” Brigid looked over the cover, and was nearly plowed over by an Ardenian scout. With a flick of the tail, he stabbed his blade through the security officer’s chest and took aim at Brigid. The petite soldier snarled, and tackled the larger enemy, surprising the Ardenian and climbing on his back. Panicking, the scout tried to slash her off, and only managed to impale himself in the back as Brigid swiftly jumped away.

Al saw that he should have no issues with potential friendly fire and decided to look for the most pressing threat. The sniper. Scanning the cover ahead with his scope, he eventually saw a tell-tale haze of gunsmoke, and after a second, the sun glinted off a lens. Found you… He positioned himself carefully, and, factoring in the effect of the local gravity on the bullet’s flight, sent off a shot. After that he waited. He couldn’t see whether he had hit them or not, but they had gone to ground at the very least.

Osahar quickly found herself in the fray once more, an Ardenian assault charging towards her once more, inaccurate gauss fire pinging off her armor plates. The Seikron levelled her railgun and fired, the magnetically-accelerated slug shearing off one of the enemy’s legs. With the sudden loss of support, the Ardenian collapsed forward, skidding along the pavement as far as their momentum permitted. A follow-up shot from Gopal finished off the assault, and Osahar turned her fire towards the enemy drones.

Oneyakachukwu and Xanthopoulos took down a pair of drones each, while Brigid tried to help another security officer into cover, only to lose him as well. Both enraged by another loss, and convinced her presence amongst them was only getting them killed, Brigid pushed off the ground, flying into the air with with telekinesis. From her high vantage point, she was able to take down another Ardenian Scout, but left herself open. While not the most skilled fighters, the enemy droids proved to have impressive aim, and a pair of shots nearly burned through Brigid’s armor. She fell to the ground, barely able to stop herself from crashing down.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

AlzDude28, Black0ut, BMPixy, DarkGemini24601, and ZombieSplitter53:
Operation Incipient Barricade, Part 3
Streets of Holem, just outside of the Elerium Processing Plant:

The enemy sniper, missing a chunk of his shoulder armor and bleeding lightly, but alive, didn’t intend to waste the opportunity. Taking careful aim, he lined up a perfect shot on Brigid’s helmet, only to have his vision suddenly swim slightly, prompting the gauss round to bury itself in the ground three quarters of a foot away from his target. Turning in frustration to the source of the attack, he noted a small Chinese dragon dart out of sight. “The hell was that?” He snapped, before realizing his outburst might have given away his position, combined with the shot he took.

Al’s scope had not left the sniper’s last position. He saw the slight muzzle flash, and returned fire, the high velocity gauss round catching his target in the throat.

Kiki rushed to Brigid’s side, where the remaining droids were also rushing two. She flicked her arm back and dived for Brigid, pushing her out of the way of oncoming fire. The grenade she had thrown landed between the droids, blowing them to bits. Rather than fighting or giving up, the Ardenian turned around, making a mad dash for the rest of his allies farther back. However, a railgun slug from Osahar interrupted the fleeing assault, catching them in the shoulder - the HEAP round messily removing the removing the limb and knocking the Ardenian to the floor.

The centurian alien did not resist as Wolfe ran to stop the bleeding. Its blade suddenly rose, but the medic anticipated the treachery, firing into the assaults chest with his sidearm. “Damn it. You should have just let me heal you.”

The remaining security troops made their way over Sarah. After a moment of figuring out which of them was in charge, a women asked. “What should we do? We still have allies fighting closer to the warehouse.”

Sarah pointed back towards the LZ. “Retreat back. Be ready to back us up if we need to retreat. Otherwise, leave the fighting to us.” The security troops nodded, and did as they were told. The XSDF moved on, and before long, had to duck back into cover as they found themselves under fire again.

Five more droids moved to get closer the the XSDF, while above, two light floaters and a medium floater rained down fire, the open space giving them plenty of room to maneuver. Two more light floaters and another medium floater used an overturned truck as cover, firing from the rear.

Osahar levelled her railgun at the truck and let loose a short barrage of fire at the cab, the high-velocity slugs cutting deep into the truck and striking a fuel line, which sent the entire vehicle up a pillar of fire and smoke a short moment later. The light floaters were instantly killed by blast, while the medium floater managed to barely escape, its flesh catching on fire as it hastily jetted to new cover.

Rurushu focused on the unharmed medium Floater, concentrating and sending a spiral of violet energy into it’s skull. With ease that surprised him a little, he was able to seize control of the partially-mindless cyborg, and had it blast one of its lighter-armored companions at point blank with the medium Floater’s pulse carbine. “Go to the abyss, abomination,” he muttered in distaste for the mutilated humanoid he had indirectly slain, then having his puppet finish off its other confused companion.

“I have an idea,” Brigid muttered, and rose her hands towards two of the advancing droids. Pumping energy into her psionics, she froze the machines in place, or at least as best she could. She looked over at Al. “H-hey…. t-take these out, p-please!”

“With pleasure.” The Drake muttered under his breath, taking them down with one well aimed shot each.

Wolfe aimed at the the medium floater still under mind control, blasting it out of the air before it could break free. The remaining medium floater, having put out the flames on its body, aimed at Manju, but a telekinetic shield from Gelmados prevented its attack, and Manju took out his would be killer.

The three remaining droids pulled out grenades, and rushed towards Sarah, wanting to take out the squad leader before they fell.

Wolfe swiveled his gun towards the droids, the movement catching his eye. Upon noticing the droids' grenades, Wolfe had an idea. Aiming at the grenades the machines had, Wolfe breathed in and fired. The round had missed the grenade, but had crippled the lead machine. Shit! I need to let her know about the machines Thomas thought desperately. Hoping that the L.T. could hear him, Wolfe shouted out "Hostiles coming at you, L.T.!"

Sarah quickly turned to the droids, aiming her rifle towards the fallen droid. Using the skills gathered over decades of service, she fired a snap shot that hit the grenade in its hand, blowing it up and flinging the other two droids forward. Before they could recover, O.A. and Rurūshu took them down, leaving the XSDF troops alone once more.

Brigid made her way over to Wolfe, holding her stomach. “You got that medspray, right?”

Wolfe glanced down at the wounded soldier. "Yeah, I should have it." Wolfe said quietly, finding it quickly and spraying the wound. "Damn, you fight well. Where'd you get that kind of training?" The medic asked curiously.

Brigid chuckled, wincing a bit from the spray. “All over the place. I’ll show you sometime. Name was… Wolfy, I think Korra said?”

Dammit, Korra...She's going to make that nickname stick. The big man sighed. "Just call me Thomas. Now," the medic said, slightly annoyed, "How do you know Korra?"

“Roommate. Friend. Occasional rival.” Brigid motioned for Wolfe to follow her to join the others by the entrance to the warehouse. “We can have lunch together if we… when we make it out of here.”

"I'd like that. Just gotta take care of the last bad guys." Wolfe said. Although those were just the regular pirate forces, not the elites. And if we had some trouble with the grunts, all hell will probably break loose when we find the elites... Thomas thought grimly.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

AlzDude28, Black0ut, BMPixy, DarkGemini24601, and ZombieSplitter53:
Operation Incipient Barricade, Part 4
Holem Elerium Processing Plant:

The enemies outside cleared, Sarah quickly instructed the remaining security forces to secure the area, while the XSDF squad walked past the blasted-open gates into the compound. Gravel roads, grass-covered fields, and tarmac runways surrounded a large but simple facility where Elerium mined from peripheral towns was taken to be processed. From there, it would be shipped to Ailey. That is, if XSDF was able to secure it again.

Blasted apart turrets on the gates and vicious holes in the metal signified something more than plasma weapons. Sarah’s expression was set in a grim line as she noted this, leading the squad cautiously along the gravel road, cover being nonexistent, but no enemies showed themselves yet. “They’ve got fusion weapons here, all right,” Sarah hissed over comms. “Keep your eyes peeled. If we get caught out in the open like this, we’re dead,” She stated darkly.

Fortunately for the squad, they managed to make it to an eerily undamaged transport truck, though its cargo had been stripped from it, indicating the enemy had been here. That, of course, was easy to confirm once the squad had made it around to the front of the building. Almost mockingly, a supply barge of pirate make had landed on a runway too small for it, though with the ship being VTOL that didn’t really matter too much. Carrying crates full of refined Elerium and escorting prisoners into the barge were three more floaters, two lightly armored and one with a seraph-equivalent chassis. They were accompanied by their controllers, a human engineer and medic.

The two, equipped with a scatter blaster and pulse stengun, respectively, turned in alarm as the XSDF forces took cover. The Medium Floater went down before it could respond, thanks to a shot from Sarah’s plasma sniper rifle, but the remaining four enemies scrambled to defend themselves, seeming to ignore the civilians entirely in their panic. “Take them down before they can harm the civilians, but avoid hitting those crates, or we’re going to send ourselves sky high,” Sarah both instructed and warned. “And… try to take one of those humans alive. We need to find out who they are.”

Hearing the command, Al took a shot at the leg of the nearest human. His bullet found its mark blowing apart the unfortunate man’s knee. He dropped to the ground, screaming in pain.

The pair of floaters dove down, swerving back and forth to avoid getting hit as they approached the XSDF troops. Télesphora ran to the side, not able to get into cover so instead simply firing back. The scout dodged using her impressive reflexes, but a round blasted into her armor, melting it away and eating into her side. She scored a hit of her own, however, one of the floaters spinning and crashing into the ground with a hard thud.

A well-aimed railgun round caught home in the other remaining floater, pulping it as Osahar imposed herself between the injured scout and the remaining enemy trooper. The MEC fired off another railgun shot, however this one went high, smashing into the side of the pirate’s barge.

The medic jumped back, gaining impressive distance due to his legs. Aiming at Osahar’s head, his eyes suddenly rolled back, and he dropped to the ground, Rurūshu pulling a knife out of his neck. The injured trooper reached into his side pick, pulling out a small capsule and raising it to his mouth. “Drop it!” Brigid yelled, her eyes flashing violet, and the scout did as he was told, sitting back with a confused look on his face.

A burst of plasma larger than any weapon short of a ship-based gun could output flashed from the inside of the supply barge with sudden and ruthless force. The superheated energy tore off Thomas’s left arm, and would have melted the rest of his body had it got any closer. A disappointed Balmadaar Infantry stepped out of the craft, followed by a Replitan Scout with a fusion SMG and a Balmadaar with a plasma rifle that paled in comparison to the leader’s MEC-sized weapon. “So close… just a little more to the center and he’d have evaporated.” he muttered, shifting his cybernetic legs and organic arms to recover from the recoil of the mighty weapon.

“Thomas!” Brigid reached into her satchel, pulling out a red pull and popping it in her mouth. As her energy flared, she flew towards Wolfe and grabbed him with impressive strength. She flew over to a small container, lowering the man. “Thomas, talk to me!”

Seeing the medic struck down in almost the same way that had taken his own arm, Al was sent to the verge of panic. For a split second he froze, then recovered enough to take a shot, but he missed, thrown way off. Breathing deeply, he chambered another round, and kept firing until a click signaled an empty weapon. He ducked back into cover. “Reloading!”

The gauss rounds seemed to be crushed against the form of the Replitan Scout as she darted forward. Gelmados attempted to blind her with blackout, but the alien barely hesitated, her neural dampening more than enough to assist with resisting the psionic intrusion. Closing the distance dangerously fast, the Replitan fired off a burst of burning orange energy, even the small fusion weapon seeming to be like a scaled-down solar flare, and it blasted apart Sarah’s cover. Forced to relocate, she ducked behind concealment, confident that they wouldn’t target the crates and blow themselves up.

The Lieutenant placed her hand against where her weapon’s core was located, imbuing it with a soft blue-green light. “Operatives with pulse weapons, target the enemy and take down their shields! Get me a clear shot on one of them, preferably the big one that talks big!”

“With… pleasure!” Brigid flew out of cover, her entire body covered in a nearly black violet aura. The enraged psion took aim at the leading Balmadaar, a shadowy figure forming behind her and extending an arm. Brigid’s laser rifle flared as she unloaded her weapon on the enemy, while the reflection fired a concentrated blast of psionic energy, drawing it directly from Brigid.

“Yunzito rohoa,” Osahar muttered at the psion’s actions, quickly moving to a position where she could support the charging rookie. The Seikron snapped off a railgun shot at the Balmadaar, though the round impacted harmlessly against the enemy’s shield. She considered firing off a grenade, but deemed the risk of setting off the elerium too high, and instead continued to fire, despite the lack of effect.

A few laser blasts from the rest of the squad finally brought down the confident muton’s shielding, leaving him with only Aegis Armor. The imbued shot soared at him, impacting with his chest and blowing through the armor and a lung, knocking him to his knees although he somehow clung to life. “K-Kill...th…”

The enemy Balmadaar engineer paused with horror for a moment, before pulling out a grenade that glowed orange, and tossed it at Sarah.

The Lieutenant’s eyes widened as she considered where her cover was. That fool! Brigid, stop it! She psied as quickly as she could, only able to hope the mental information would zip to her ally quickly enough to avoid the deaths of everyone in the warehouse.

Brigid looked down at the grenade, a flash of all of her comrades being consumed in an elerium explosion went through her mind. Working off of Brigid’s instincts, her reflection rushed forward. Blasts knocking away psionic feathers, The Morrigan snatched up the grenade and flew up, holding it tightly. The explosion evaporated the reflection, sending a surge of energy back to Brigid. The petite Irish woman hurtled to the Earth, slamming hard into the ground.

Al took the opportunity to load his last rifle magazine. I’d better make these shots count. He thought to himself, as the crosshairs of his scope settled on the engineer’s head. He fired off a shot, then before seeing whether it had hit, switched his aim to the leader, finishing him off.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

AlzDude28, Black0ut, BMPixy, DarkGemini24601, and ZombieSplitter53:
Operation Incipient Barricade, Part 5
Holem Elerium Processing Plant:

“They’re faltering!” Kiki yelled. “Take them out before they blow us all up.” She pulled out a grenade of her own, throwing in front of Brigid to cover her in smoke. Aiming at the Replitan, she punched into the enemy’s shield and tripped the over grown lizard up. “Someone finish that bastard!”

“On it,” Osahar barked, emptying her magazine at the Replitan, doing enough damage to down the enemy’s shield and damage their armor despite the ineffectiveness of gauss against personal shielding.

Switching his aim back to the Replitan once more, Al pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He looked down at his weapon. A missfire? Now of all times? He quickly ejected the round, chambered another, and then fired. The first shot hit the engineer in the chest, soon, a second shot landed between its eyes. As it fell to the ground, Al shouted. “I’m out of ammo here!” He slung the rifle across his back, drew his pistol, and sat back, waiting to see what would happen next.

Now alone and facing overwhelming odds, the Balmadaar pulled another grenade. Several weapons pointed his way, and Rurūshu shouted, “It isn’t worth it! Give up!” Lieutenant… what… do we… Rurūshu’s eyes widened as three more enemy troops ran up, two Ardenians and a Replitan. The latter knelt down and fired his fusion sniper, shearing off the XSDF cyberdisc’s cannon in a manner that no drone would be fixing.

“Dammit! Gopal, O.A.! Pressure on the sniper, keep him from firing again!” The Gunner laid down suppression while the paratrooper sent a few shots into the Replitan’s shield. The Ardenian medic, for his part, suppressed Rurūshu to keep him from disappearing into the shadows, while the assault with his fusion shotgun ran forward, intent on killing Sarah at all costs.

“N… no…” Brigid pulled herself off the ground, cradling a shattered arm. Lifting her good arm, she reached out. Using what was left of her strength, she telekinetically lifted a piece of elerium, and sent it hurtling towards the newcomers before collapsing again.

The shard of E-115 impacted with the medic, heavily damaging his shield and negating that of the sniper nearby him, but the blast barely caught the advancing assault. Sarah realized exactly who he was coming for, and closed her eyes for just a moment to calm herself. “KL2!” Her serpentine Reflection flared to life around her right arm, and shot forward, spitting out an elongated tongue that phased into the assault’s head. The mindfray’s effects came back to hit Sarah with the effects of a neural feedback, though it was dulled enough by hitting Konglinglong instead of her that she was able to disoriente the both of them.

Surprising the assault, she darted forward, letting go of her sniper rifle in favor of blasting him with a pistol, before diving forward, using the momentum to wrest the shotgun from his grasp and blast him with it through his shields. The shot was nearly enough to kill him, but not quite, so Sarah growled, “Tell me how it feels to be hit by your own weapon, why don’t you…”

Seeing the state of the enemy forces, Al braced himself, then ran closer, to back up Sarah and the rest of the squad. Sticking his head above the container he was sheltering behind, he fired off his pistol at the sniper, missing most of the rushed shots, but hitting a few. He dropped the now useless weapon and crouched, claws at the ready if the remaining forces charged. “Hang in there a while longer, and get me some fucking backup, while you’re at it!”

Gelmados did his best to use his psi inspiration to bolster the team’s will to continue fighting as he used his medkit to numb the pain in Thomas’s arm and attempt to stop him from going into shock, and followed up by trying to get Page over to heal her wound with another medkit charge, and hopefully Brigid third.

Rurūshu had vanished from sight, using Brigid’s attack to slip away. Returning back to sight behind the Balmadaar engineer, he grabbed the grenade from its hand, shoved it down the Balmadaar’s collar, and shoved the alien into his ship. The Balmadaar was able to get off a glancing shot at Rurūshu, disabling its ghosting ability, before the grenade went off, coating the inside of the ship with the Balmadaar’s remains.

Sarah moved away from the dying Assault, attempting to preserve the sunspot cannon not on her mind, but rather finishing this operation and preventing anyone else from getting hurt on it. With all of her remaining strength, she hurled the weapon at the sniper and medic, letting it slide along the ground towards them.

“Thanks for that back,” the Replitan sniper jeered as he readied another shot, before seeing his companion collapse from a shot from Sarah’s plasma mauler and realizing what she intended to do. “Shi-” He began, but could never finish, as the fusion-powered weapon exploded in a contained but deadly blast, taking out the Replitan and blasting apart his comrade’s shields and armor.

With a measure of distaste, Sarah concluded, “Rurushu, electroshock the straggler, please.”

“With… pleasure…” The injured shadow operative walked over to the fallen Ardenian, raising his arc thrower. “Night… asshole…” A quick zap, and the four-legged enemy was out. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he glanced over at the other Ardenian assault and the human scout, both of whom had bled out. “Please tell me there aren’t any more, Lieutenant.”

Sarah waited a few seconds, holding her breath as if waiting for someone to prove her wrong, and then exhaled. “I think that is…” She activated her overall comms. “Mission was a success, Commander. Send Big Sky over here… we’ve got plenty of wounded, one in critical condition, another damn well close to it, and three moderately injured.”

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Mission Report:

(1) Elimination or Capture of enemy forces: Complete Success.

(2) Recovery of Elerium supplies: Complete Success.

(3) Rescue of any and all civilians: Complete Success.

(4) Protection of property: Mild Success.

Mission Statistics:

028 Pirate Troopers Terminated
004 Pirate Troopers Apprehended
025 Enemy Mechanicals Destroyed
003 Security Guardsmen KIA
000 XSDF Operatives KIA​