Turn 1
Calla"I am worried about today, how can you be so confident about such an ancient and terrible evil stirring, I could probably break you right now if I wanted, and I am still mostly human, but this is not something that I have not yet said a hundred times"
"Sophie, there you are, how are you feeling today"
Calla forces herself to calm down, the combination of Impending doom and her own power increasing, making her fidgety and she was already weird enough without her hair moving of it's own accord
[4] - The faintest flicker of - shock? fear? - on Captain Stirling's face is the only sign that she's surprised by your words.
'You shouldn't be talking like that, Calla. The prophecies have foretold our victory,' she says, smiling at some memory. ''And yet shall the soul of humanity stand fast and repulse the Doom of Atlantis as They rise from the depths.' Think of what we can learn from these beings once we've won!'
So you were right - the Return is already on the horizon. How much, you wonder as a bout of anxiety grips you, how many days of blissiful ignorance remain?
You don't dignify Stirling with a response. There are others you're much more keen of talking to.
Sophie smiles when she sees you, her eternal, loving smile. You don't answer how one person can contain so much compassion and empathy, no matter her faults. Sometimes it annoys you to no end - but she's the only family you've got. And recognizable as such, though your... unique ancestry manifests somewhat differently in her. Her 'hair' was similar to yours when she was young, but you barely remember those times. The Fellowship cut it off, for whatever reason. She still hasn't fully recovered, patches of fleshy, purple nubs and proto-hair only barely hiding the scars from view.
'Hello, Calla. I am feeling fine, thank you,' she says, glancing at Doctor Murdoch at her side. She's dressed in similar robes, sticking out in the group. 'Doctor Murdoch? You were saying?'
The greying scientist glances at his feet uneasily. 'Actually, my dear, I think we ought to go now. There are preparations to make, sacred oils, symbols, all that sort of thing.'
Sophie nods. 'I understand. Calla, please meet me upstairs before the ritual. I... have something to tell you.'
With that, the pair of them leave without as much as a goodbye and stomp off into the depths of the complex. You're left standing alone in the corridor, with Captain Stirling and Doctor Milic hovering nearby, the former looking like she'd want to rant more on the Prophecy. The latter is looking at one of the TV screens, set to display atmospheric pressure and temperature outside. A few people shuffle past you and head on upstairs.
Calla - Abyssal Hybrid
Health: Unharmed
Inventory: Empty
Traits and Powers:
*Beyond Human (As an Abyssal half-breed, you possess incredible physical and mental capability. You are capable of mental 'psychic' warfare and considerable thought suggestion, and of easy genetic manipulation by touch on-the-fly, even to fatal extremes. +1 to mental power, +2 to mutation and genetic alteration)
*Aura of Terror - INACTIVE (You share the Deep Ones' incapaciting presence, which causes deep fear and anxiety in the mortal psyche. You are currently suppressing your aura.)
Current Effects: None
Location: Second Level Corridor, Fellowship HQ
Alex looked at Theo along time before finally saying, "Somethings returning, something terrible, I can feel it. We need to get out of here as fast as possible. The...thing in the tsunami feels terrfyling famliar."
There's a moment of silence after your proclamation. Then one of the junior agents lets out a burst of nervous laughter.
'Don't be ridiculous, Alex, you're just imagining things. I say we-' he starts, but Theo stops him by placing a muscled arm on the other's shoulder.
'Shut up,' Theo says. 'The boy knows what he's talking about. Greyson told me this might happen. But not this soon, damnit, no this soon. We're not ready...' he trails off. The other agents stare at him with dawning understanding and horror. Nobody says anything for a moment, and you realize you can't hear anything aside from the ocean - the birds and animals have all gone silent.
'Alright. Take us back to the beach. We need to get you two into a safe location,' Theo finally says. The yacht lurches onwards again, out from the cover of the rocky island.
You don't object, though you feel like reminding them they're in much greater danger than you two. Lucia grips the railing tighter, her eyes fearful. One of the agents is moving over to comfort her when the second earthquake hits.
Everything happens so fast. The cliif behind you shudders and crumbbles, heavy stone sliding into the waters you were at just moments before. The boat is thrown hard to the left, drinking water. Lucia screams, but the noise is lost in the roar of shaking earth and collapsing stone. You keep your hold on the railing, the metal twisting and bending in your superhuman grasp, and turn your head up just in time to see it.
The waters seem to recede and fall in the middle of the sea, rushing in to fill a hole. The boat is pulled away by it, the agent in charge of piloting the thing barely avoiding a collision with the breaking cliffs. And then...
Brilliant glittering coral of all colours, a smooth, inter-woven shell of small rocks fused together, sand and base rock, glistening organic matter. The Titan emerges to the surface resembling a gigantic, hard-backed manta ray in the horizon, atleast three hundred meters from head to back. Your eyes take this all in in seconds, but it takes your brain a moment longer to understand what this means.
The Titan's jewel-like skin scatters sunlight over the coast. A 'holy shit!' from one of the agents tells you they noticed it too as the boat begins stabilizing.
You waste minutes captivated by the sheer mythical beauty of the creature, letting the boat drift in its wake. It surges in and out of water, creating waves that batter the hull of your yacht, letting out a long, reveberating sound of sheer primordial joy.
The strange scene is then broken by the roar of helicopter rotors. You look up to see two black helicopters rapidly descend, disrupting the waves. This snaps everyone of their stupor. Theo is the first to act.
'Get us out of here, now. This is not good,' he orders, drawing his pistol.
The first of the choppers turns and heads towards the Titan. The second, however, turns and heads straight for you. [4] The presence of the actual Titan is overwhelming your senses, but you know with strange certainty there's something more than human inside that chopper.
Alex Vondgas - Imprisoned TitanHealth: Unharmed
Inventory: Empty
Traits and Powers: *
Immortal Prisoner (In the back of your mind, ever-raging, ever-moving, lays 'the Fae', a Titan from before the dawn of history. By tapping into its power, you can take on incredible physical and mental capability. The more of yourself you give in, the more powerful you become, but the higher the risk of losing control is. Your current control level is High. +1 to physical damage, -1 to all taken damage)
*
Slow Regeneration (Your control over the Titan grants you slow wound regeneration. Heal all wounds by 1 on a 3-6.)
Current Effects: None
Location: Back of luxury yacht, just off the coast of Thailand
"Everything is alright, Command. All systems are a go.
But I've spotted something of an Earthquake nearby at the location designated. If there was a Richter scale on board, I would notice. All contained within a strange dust cloud spreading through the forest adjacent to it.
Shall I attempt a close up, Command?"[/i]
Relay find, request if I can get nearer with my aircraft. Try to discern what or where the anomaly is coming from and if there is anything behind it. Figuratively.
'We'll keep that in mind, Operative. Who knows, maybe you'll need to go earthquake-hunting in the near-future,' the voice says, as a joke. You're not so sure.
[1] You fire up your long-range systems and struggle with the complicated arrays of panels and displays. You've been trained to fly, sure, but you're no professional.
Below, you can see the dust cloud spreading as you move closer. Just as you think it's about to dissipate, there's another shuder - you can feel the KOSCHEI shift ever-so-slightly - and a veritable explosion of dry, grassless plain billows up. The dust cloud races up and you pull up as not to get caught in it, though you realize you could most likely keep it all out with your Field.
You bring the plane back around in a wide arc, assuring Ark Command you're fine. And then, of course, it happens for a third time.
You feel the earthquake, this high up in the air. Your Nexus Field twists and buckles, but even so, you have to fight for control of the plane. More than that, you hear the quake, a roar of crumbling soil and crack of splitting earth. Glancing beneath, you see an entire chunk of forest slide down and be swallowed by the earth. Where there were cracks is now and open rift, spreading quickly. How is this possible? You don't have time to describe it to Command, however - that's when the earth itself rises and stands.
The ground beneath you seems to effortlessly gain features and a body in the blink of an eye, the jagged rifts detaching a vast humanoid form from the Siberian plain, lying on its back. You thunk yourself on the side of your helmet to make sure you're not seeing things. The packed earth solidifies even more, shifting without any visible source.
'Operative? Please come in. Our equipment is going crazy. What can you tell us?'
Then the Titan opens its vast, cyclopean eye, blood-red and bearing down on you with the weight of millenia. Its mouth opens, and a thundering, ageless roar slams into the steppe, shatters your Nexus Field and shuts down your engine, sending the KOSCHEI screaming into a death spiral towards the now-broken steppe.
---
Status: Unharmed
Location: Russian Airspace, Western Siberia
Equipment: *
30mm GSH-30 Cannon [-] (Fires three shots per turn. -3 to Damage)
*
RUS Guided Missiles [4] (-2 to Damage, -1 to Enemy Dodge)
Special Traits: * Field Booster (Capable of co-opting and considerably enlarging a pilot's Nexus Field.)
Turiel - Star God HybridHealth: Unharmed
Inventory: Empty
Traits and Powers: *
Beyond Human (As a Star God half-breed, you carry within your veins incredible physical and mental capability, but more importantly, innate knowledge of Star God technology and powers, including rudimentary control of your Nexus Field.)
*
Nexus Field - DEFENSIVE MODE (You have the power to control a personal force field that can be used to redirect and turn away attacks, supercharge fired projectiles, energy weapons and physical attacks, or knit together wounds or mechanical damage. Only one mode can be active at once. Defensive: +1 to dodge. Offensive: +1 to damage. Regenerative: Heals all wounds/damage by 2 on a 3-6.)
Current Effects: None
Location: Inside the cockpit of the KOSCHEI Modified Jet Fighter, Western Siberia
Alexei's eyes stay half-closed as he pays attention to any signs of vigilance, being careful to avoid wasting their only chance.
He sends one of his team to place a breach charge and destroy the large doors' lock, using the element of surprise to fling a flashbang inside and roll to cover inside the building, the rest of the team in tow.
"Hmm,let's see if they are up to.."
Erik motions his squad to stay back and reaches for the cultists mind. He seeps the sleeping suggestion into the man subconscious and tries to pry any information about the warehouse interior and cultists inside.
[5+2=6] - Only a gentle mental touch from Erik is required, and the cultist immediately collapses into a deep sleep, banging his head on the walkway railing. The hybrid begins digging through his mind, snatching memories and thoughts before his dream-state muddles them. He - Yuri Gologov, harbor worker-slash-cultist, 38 years of age, wife and a daughter - was nervous. They were starting the ritual, and he had to get outside the clear his head. All these people dead to whet the leader's apetite, in preparation for this day. He's fuzzy on the specifics, so Erik snatches a map of the warehouse from his head and lets him sleep. The majority of the cultists are gathered in the altar chamber, behind the main warehouse space the cargo door leads to. Alexei's team will strike straight into the offices on the other side.
Trusting his companion to be doing what he does best, Alexei orders one of his men to breach the door. They're lacking a charge, unfortunately, but the doors aren't locked anyhow.
[3] Agent Zelenko sends the doors flying with a well-placed kick, and you're ready with a flashbang. The small cylinder tumbles into a wide corridor, and you wrench yourself away from it. There's a rewarding scream, and you storm in with your squad.
A heavily-built man in a janitor's overalls staggers into view, holding his face. Agent Zelenko tackles him and slams him to the floor. Another agent moves to assist, and in an eyeblink they've forced restraints on him. They stand up, pistols at the ready, and you address them quickly.
'Moscow wants no extra bodies, so only fire when fired upon,' you say. It's what the Council told you, but you suppose the order did come from Moscow. 'If there are civilians here-'
You're cut off by three violent cracks in rapid succession, [3][1][4][1] and catch a wild-eyed cultist running in with an automatic pistol, firing at you and Agent Mihailov. [Dodge:4+1+1=6][Dodge:6+1+1-1=6] Both shots whizz past you, [Dodge:4+1+1=6] and Mihailov drops into a crouch the moment he hears footsteps.
[1, 6, 6, 2, 2] Zelenko and Kaminski return fire at once, [Dodge:3-1=2][Dodge:3-1=2] their standard-issue pistols hissing. The cultist topples over, hit [BP:5][BP:3] in the leg and the arm. [Damage:4+3-3=4][Damage:4+3-3=4] He screams, slamming hard on his back to the floor, pistol still in grip.
Shouts and running steps come from behind the corner. There's little cover in this corridor.
Combatants (The Offices)Pistol Cultist
*Right Arm: Moderately Wounded
*Right Leg: Moderately Wounded
*Automatic Pistol [6/9 - 0] (Fires three shots per turn, -3 to Damage)
*Untrained Fanatic (-1 to Dodge, +1 to Enemy Dodge)
*Squishy Mortal (+3 to all taken Damage, -3 to physical Damage)
Approaching Cultists
*Two?
*Possibly Armed
Agent Zelenko
*Unharmed
*Heavy Pistol [4/5 - 1] (Fires one shot per turn, -3 to Damage)
*Trained Agent (+1 to Dodge, -1 to Enemy Dodge)
*Squishy Mortal (+3 to all taken Damage, -3 to physical Damage)
Agent Kaminski
*Unharmed
*Heavy Pistol [4/5 - 1] (Fires one shot per turn, -3 to Damage)
*Trained Agent (+1 to Dodge, -1 to Enemy Dodge)
*Squishy Mortal (+3 to all taken Damage, -3 to physical Damage)
Agent Darkin
*Unharmed
*Heavy Pistol [5/5 - 2] (Fires one shot per turn, -3 to Damage)
*Trained Agent (+1 to Dodge, -1 to Enemy Dodge)
*Squishy Mortal (+3 to all taken Damage, -3 to physical Damage)
Agent Mihailov
*Unharmed
*Heavy Pistol [5/5 - 1] (Fires one shot per turn, -3 to Damage)
*Trained Agent (+1 to Dodge, -1 to Enemy Dodge)
*Squishy Mortal (+3 to all taken Damage, -3 to physical Damage)
---
Alexei Zielkov - Experimental Superman
Health: Unharmed
Inventory: Compact SMG [18/18 - 2] (Fires six shots per turn, -3 to Damage), Heavy Pistol [5/5 - 0] (Fires one shot per turn, -3 to Damage), Flashbang [1]
Traits and Powers:
*Genesculpted Superhuman (Your extensive genetic modification and training have made you superior both physically and mentally to any other human being alive. The Shackled, on the other hand, are another matter entirely. +1 to all Damage taken, -2 to physical Damage, +1 to Dodge.)
Current Effects: None
Location: In the offices, Warehouse 59, Vladivostok
Erik Tourigny - Abyssal Hybrid
Health: Unharmed
Inventory: Empty
Traits and Powers:
* Beyond Human (As an Abyssal half-breed, you possess incredible physical and mental capability. You are capable of mental 'psychic' warfare and considerable thought suggestion, and of easy genetic manipulation by touch on-the-fly, even to fatal extremes. +2 to mental power, +1 to mutation and genetic alteration)
*Aura of Terror - INACTIVE (You share the Deep Ones' incapaciting presence, which causes deep fear and anxiety in the mortal psyche. You are currently suppressing your aura.)
Current Effects: None
Location: By the cargo door, Warehouse 59, Vladivostok
Alfonx jumped up as he saw the bubbling in the water, and yelled "Stop the plane! Don't take off, theirs something wrong with the engine!" Whatever this feeling was it wasn't good, it felt completely wrong, and he had the feeling whatever it wasn't good. With that said he ran towards the cockpit, and began banging on the door "Somethings wrong with the engines! Stop the plane!
Go beat at the cockpit, and tell them to stop the plane. If they don't do it in 60 seconds break the door down, and tell them to stop the plane/or force them to
You're up on your feet and rushing up the lenght of the plane before anyone can react. The plane shudders and jerks as it bounces along the runway, and you have to hold on to the walls to stay upright. Fellow passengers shout you to sit back down, to calm down, or simply screaming something about terrorists. You pass into a mid-way space between business class and the cockpit, occupied by sitting flight attendants.
'There's something wrong with the engine! You have to stop the plane!' you shout as one of the stewards stands up in your path. He places a hand on your shoulder.
'Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. There is nothing wrong with the engine. This plane has been thorougly checked beforehand. Please sit down immediately.'
Useless! Useless! You throw the man aside, but you can feel the plane accelerating around you, racing towards the end of the runway. You push past the surprised attendants and slam your fists down on the thick doors separating the cockpit from the rest of the plane. The metal bends inwards under your might, and one of the stewardesses screams.
[4] An attendant attempts to wrest you away, but you send him flying with a backhand. At the same time, the plane takes off. You lose your balance and fall backwards, sliding down on the airplane floor.
[1] You can't see outside, but the thing in the back of your mind roars at the familiarity of what's happening. You hear screams from the passengers, pointing outside. Then everything goes black in a storm of noise and heat.
Breaking the bubbling water surface with force that sends tidal waves to once again assault the city, a Mother of the Deep rises into New Orleans harbor, thick black shell glistening in the morning sun. A diamond-shaped, curved crest comes into view first, blinking with thousands of lights. It's followed by a pair of enormous claw-like appendages that, with slow, ponderous movements, rise and dig through the Lakefront runway. The rest of the monster's body - atleast a kilometre in height- remains underwater, and the slit-like openings at the bottom of the crest are left straight at water level. Letting out a reveberating, high-pitched shriek, the Deep One opens its 'mouths' and releases its spawn into the outside world.
The battle of New Orleans begins.
[5] You are lucky, in a regard. Flight DY353 is caught head-on by the tsunami caused by the Great Mother surfacing. The impact rips off both wings and a good half of the right-side wall - taking you with it. Of course, those without your superhuman endurance are killed instantly, or when they hit the ground. The rest of the passengers meet another fate, as the remains of the plane rush through the tsunami and crash into the rising crest, [5][Damage:3-2=1] exploding against it without any visible effect.
You are submerged in the tsunami wave, and carried along until it reaches the Airport itself. There you smash into the collapsing wall, [Focus BP:4][Damage:3-1=2][Other Damages:1-1-1=1/6-1-1=4/5-1-1=3/3-1-1=1/5-1-1=3] for a whole lot of pain.
Letting the water wash over you and carry you onward until you bump into a sturdier metal pillar, you stand up in the ruins of Terminal 1, Lakefront Airport. In the distance, behind the rapidly-crumbling runway, something you'd judge to be atleast six hundred meters tall, with more of its body hidden underwater, unleashes a strange noise. A few moments later, you spot movement all around the bottom of its crest.
Around you, in the half-submerged building, you see bodies and wounded. The walls look to be near-collapse, and groan uncomfortably. You can't really feel anything at the death and destruction yet; shock, most likely.
Torso: Moderately Wounded!Right Arm: Slightly Wounded!
Left Arm: Minor Bruise!
Left Leg: Slightly Wounded!
Alfonz Wulfric - Imprisoned ReaperHealth: Torso:
Moderately Wounded! Right Arm: Slightly Wounded! Left Arm: Minor Bruise! Left Leg: Slightly Wounded!
Inventory: Empty
Traits and Powers: *
Immortal Prisoner (Drawing from the Reaper in you rhead, you are physically and mentally superior to any normal human on the planet. You have innate power over the life forces of living beings, and can draw, give and imbue it at will. Your current level of control is high.)
*
Life Force [6/6] (You can imbue objects and living beings with life force to create more potent weapons and combat constructs. You will regain spent life force automatically over time, and by devouring others - though this bears the risk of harmful energy damaging you. You can also draw the life force of others and imbue it as long as you also include some of your own.)
Current Effects: None
Location: Ruins of Terminal 1, Lakefront Airport
Author
Topic: Their Coming Is At Hand - an Eldritch Horror RTD (Turn 10! Spots open!) (Read 33918 times)