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[Empiricist]

From what I can tell, that thing is like a living battery/reactor. So heating it up would only give it more energy and make whatever reaction it uses to provide energy to itself happen faster, unless you could somehow cause it to reach its maximum capacity. Cooling it is a much better idea, since by cooling it you are depriving it of energy. And causing it to shoot is kind of good for us too if you're trying to look on the bright side of things, since it causes it to waste energy.

((Assuming that is correct, there is now a method is neutralize the hostile entity, however, neutralization and elimination are different matters. If amps and manipulators can bring it down below the threshold required for its energy reaction, it will be indefinitely neutralized, though I doubt it would be possible. The other possibility is that it will take a while for it to replenish its energy which means that cooling it only buys you all some more time; depending on the replenishment rate, this may or may not be sustainable (if people regenerate their mind and will points faster, you can do it indefinitely, if they can't, it's just delaying the process). Regardless of outcome, if elimination is desired, a weakness must be found and so far, we haven't found any definite weaknesses yet. Sure you can delay it, but we'll need a way to damage it if you want to eliminate it.
I suppose you may be able to avoid it until the end of the mission and get the Doctor to come down there and vivisect it.))

[piecewise]

((Uh oh, now it's mad... If you manipulator users are feeling lucky, you can try to continue freezing it by doing its legs.))

See if any of the things are pointing in my direction, or will point in my direction if they swing lazily. If yes, rocket out of the way, preferably high up since that thing will probably swing horizontally. If not, stand perfectly still, but still rocket away if necessary. If the thing stops firing, keep crawling away.((I hope my previous experience will help me predict the crystal's shooting directions better.))

You spam your rockets, jerkily flying away from the  like a bottle rocket with flatulence. You spam them till you're out of fuel and skid to a stop a food few miles away.

((Now you dunnit.))

"Algis, shield us from the wrath of this alien crystal!  O Pathmas, may you favor us with your blessings!  Steve, deliver us in our time of need!"

Pray and run.

"Algis, Pathmas, Steve, whoever is listening, I'm calling in a favor! It involves not dying. And not being mangled. But I would settle for not dying."

You continue the HMRC patented "Strategic retreat".

"FUCKING RUN!"

Run as far as possible to the right.

The right? We're really on more cardinal directions...so we'll head west. Quickly.

((Loving this.

Your teammate has decided to use a manipulator. What are the possibilities?

Possibility 1: He fails. Huge explosion. RUN!!!
Possibility 2: He succeeds. Oh crap. RUN!!!))

Not bad not bad. Seems well crafted so far. Let's what we have next.

Read next page. Lower the volume on the coms so I can concentrate. Silently giggle at the running away ants.

You whistle and turn down the coms until you can't hear the screaming.

The heading on the next page is dedicated to "Algis: God of protection; also known as Algis of the Many Hands or Algis of the Shielding hands. "

The images on the opposing page are confusing; there are multiple of them, some of which have been scratched out with varying degrees of success. The scratched out pictures are images of a worshiper kneeling in prayer, being protected from fire by what look like a swarm of giant, disembodied hands. The one that isn't scratched out is similar but the hands are connected to a muscular, badly scarred, multiarmed man who is standing above the worshiper, embracing them while it wards off the fire with outstretched hands. The symbol on the bottom of the picture page is that of a White circle.

"Algis is one of the few Beings in the Pantheon that is considered primarily benevolent and protective of his worshipers. Although he is most known as the god of protection he is in fact the god of order, stability, and safety in general, a pacifying influence against (The word is scratched out), the god of death.  His symbol is most often placed on armor or vehicles, especially hotdrop shuttles, and many worshipers have it tattooed on their chest, a constant talisman against harm.

Just as Pathmas is father to Algis, Algis is father to Emar-i, God of medicine and progenitor of the Medic pantheon. "

((Heh, funny how the guy that started this is the one furthest away, safe from possible harm. Oh the... Irony?

Also, I'd really like to focus on getting the rough exploration done before starting more in-depth investigations. Because once we have everything more or less mapped out, I was going to let you all run more freely, instead of giving detailed instructions like now.))

Doooodge!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9VWofx5XG8

"Oh, shit."
Get higher and farther!

Higher, farther, faster, stronger, less dead.

"Lemme out. Please? Pretty please?"

Wiggle some more.

((You guys are idiots. Remember Ivan? He was fine till I put my gun to his head. The crystal was fine until you took it's fluid, and froze it. Why do we have this insane desire to poke things that should not be poked? Why do you think I shot the goddammed shuttle? To save you from yourselves.))

You continue to wiggle, despite stern warnings to stop doing that.

You've got to be kidding me.

Take to the skies, dodging with 3 axis of movement as opposed to the ground's 2.

((We've even got ammunition (and possible construction material) for any kind of hypervelocity cannon we come up with in the form of the FeSea.))

Running also. Also running.

Hearing the yells and screams of terror, break into a run pn a fiagonal through the zone, away from the crystal- better safe than sorry. Don't go deeper into the zone if I start hearing the weird noises/sounds/voices, or if they affect me some other way.

"Ok, just what did you guys do this time?!"

Wait, aren't you all the way over in the voice zone? Also, whats a pn a fiagonal?

run even faster, try to avoid unexplored and dangerous areas.

((Hey corsair, why dont you try using your manipulator to hyperexcite the molecular structure in a single joint?
You might be able to cause a resonance shatter and detonate a glowing limb.))

"Ahhhh shit!"

Use my rockets to dodge the imminent attack. Don't go too high in case I'm hit.

((If only, I am undoubtedly out of mind points right now))((Also lucky that I am reasonably far away))
"Hmm that..... was arduous... Well shit...crystal death rays RUN!"
RUN attempting to go through gaps in its firing arc

[Running intensifies]

RUN attempting to go through gaps in its firing arc

((Cue the thing spinning like a top.

About this time we could have used a squad of well-armed people with projectile weaponry that could shoot the lasery crystacles off with coordinated fire, that weren't currently in the process of running away. ))

Anton turns to look in the direction that could give him a good look at the chaos happening off in the distance, if it weren't for the intervening walls.

"All hell's breaking loose there. Or at least it sure sounds like it."

He turns back to the restrained man. "Morul Mighty-Cashew, or however that goes, I presume? I must say I am very displeased with your methods, and your wrecking of the shuttle that I, among others, will now have to repair, but whether I like it or not, you represent both a valuable asset to said repair-" Anton pauses to see Morul's reaction, "- and also a human being, whom I cannot in good conscience leave in rather possible danger in this situation. So right now I will cut you free, and escort you to the relative safety of the AI bunker, where we will probably have to stay until either this blows over or the base blows up. I would advise you to refrain from escape attempts, and to remember that this shock glove here still lacks a "stun" setting."

Red Hand safety off. Make sure Morul has no access to weapons, including mine (unload the Gauss Rifle), then free him of restraints and proceed, with him ahead and at glove-point, to the AI Core in an orderly, but expedite fashion. Assuming nothing bad or stupid happens on the way there ((not likely in the HMRC, I know)), dial the amps down on the Red Hand to make it as nominally nonlethal as a combat laser coupled with a cattle prod can be.

You unstrap Morul and keep your laser finger pointed at him.

"Up we go. Nice and easy. Gonna go put you down in the ai core. With the computer. The one that we need to live. Put you, the traitor, down there.

Great idea, right?"





It's a bit hard to tell what happens next. The crystal vanishes in a hellstorm of plasma and vaporizing stone, nothing but a cloud of orange molten vapor with crystalline tentacles whipping through it. When it's finished there's a brand new several mile wide smoldering crater of shredded stone with one probably very angry crystal at the bottom. It's begun pouring out more orange stuff and moving forward again as well.

So bang up job all around.

[Tavik Toth]

"What."

Go find miyamoto or flint.

[Parisbre56]

"Whew, that was close. Now, can someone please come and help the injured? Namely me? And maybe pick up my legs from down there?" If they're still there...

((If I remember correctly it moved a hex after it cut my legs and before Corsair attacked it so my legs should still be there.))

[kisame12794]

"How about we skip the AI core, and I go tell you what I broke, hrmm? Why that sounds like a great idea! I'll meet you out there."

Head out to the shuttle, and instruct Anton on where the fragments struck vital parts.

[Unholy_Pariah]

if parisbre's legs exist: go back and grab them before dragging him back to base.
If parisbre's legs got vaporized: drag paris back to base, read roboleg installation manual if theres time.

[Corsair]

"WOOOO I'm not dead... well for now... ugh I've got a massive headache"
run back to miyamoto
"Oh hi boss!"

[Thearpox]

((I'd expect Miyamoto's group to occupy different hexes, if not spread out in an arc. Not only were some people using rocketpods to get away, I'd also expect them to not all be running in the same direction. But maybe that's just me being optimistic.

Also Morul, you're lucky it's not me watching over you. Because I'd shoot.))

Ah, so that's where we see the first dissonance of the creators. With a lame eraser too. What was the official term for this. Done with a left buttock? Or was it simply an ass job?
Not only did they completely fail at erasing, they also did a pretty hilarious job at portraying Algis. To think that he would be catching the missiles himself... well, let's make too much fun of the oversmoked imagination of these guys. It could have been worse.

Wait, was it his images on those hotdrop shuttles that time...don't remember, maybe.

Examine the images. Why would they be scratched out? Are they thematically different, or perhaps artistically.
Does Algis appear to have been drawn from a model? Do the worshipers?
Are there any other details scratched out or contradicting?

[Doomblade187]

((I meant 'on a diagonal'.))

Keep on moving through the head-voice zone and onward, going around if I feel any effects. Once around the zone, commence rock-throwing if nothing out of the ordinary is in the next zone.

[Sean Mirrsen]

You unstrap Morul and keep your laser finger pointed at him.

"Up we go. Nice and easy. Gonna go put you down in the ai core. With the computer. The one that we need to live. Put you, the traitor, down there.

Great idea, right?"

((To be entirely fair, that's one unarmed traitor versus a (nominal) guard and a hardened AI core with self-defense laser turrets.))

Also Morul, you're lucky it's not me watching over you. Because I'd shoot.))

((Who said I won't? I just have options other than "shoot to kill". ^_^))

"Hold it! Стоять, тупица!"

Blast the corridor ahead of Morul full-stream, electrifying the metal walls and floor of the passage so he can't run off. Failing that, try to nail him in the leg with a short pulse, shocking him without puncturing his suit with the laser.

"I said you're an asset to repairing the shuttle, but until I've got the go-ahead, you are to be detained! Need I remind you that half the people out there still want your head on a pike? If you want that to change, stop trying to make people shoot you!"

[Zako]

"...Well shit, now what do we do?"

Regroup and land with Miyamoto. Slap that idiot with the manipulator up the head for not warning us to what he was going to do.

[Corsair]

((well at least we learned something right? also I though a manipulator armed man yelling at something is ALWAYS cause to run))

[Zako]

((Not necessarily. He may be getting dismembered at the time, which is less dangerous than the manipulator effects.))

[Corsair]

((That is true also I only took the action due to the likely-hood of success and nigh impossibility of absolute failure))

[Empiricist]

((Have we considered the possibility that the orange fluid is coolant and that freeing the crystal actually allows to launch another major attack in a much shorter timeframe?))