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Voting closed: April 07, 2013, 10:34:35 am

[Tavik Toth]

((I'm going to be asleep/ other reasons for a few hours so when ever a turn happens just auto jack for any turns I miss by having him follow Miyamoto.))

[Lenglon]

"maze, no, wasteful. show past? teach of here?
Make eye contact with Maurice
why? she... why?
Look back at the doors

[Nikitian]

Giving us another chance? Unlikely, but possible.
Tempting us to make more mistakes? Certainly quite possible.

Oh, and I might have said it wrong. What I meant by calling it a maze is that it has a lot of crossroads and alternative paths, many of them leading to our demise and there appears no exit anywhere near. It might be memories - for one, one of the missions I've been on was about catching a, eh, changeling not unlike that strange guy we found, and we failed at it; but I think of them more like either booby-trapped dead-ends, challenges, or... well, displays of different and bizarre things which might be somehow relevant, or maybe not - you know, like visiting an alien museum. And it is quite efficient in its purpose - giving us access to many different kinds of installations and and show pieces. Oh, and I do not know what we are supposed to do with them. Destroy? Study? Ignore, perhaps? I can only guess.
But we will find out. I promise.
Maurice smiled reassuringly.

[Thearpox]

"The gods of the HMRC are willing to provide for any who invoke their aid.  Ask Feyri, if you see her.  I have not completed my studies and training, but each god has a symbol and a proper method of invocation.  I leave the book on ship for safekeeping, but I do have notes on many of the parts."

"You have learned this religion from a book? Only from a book? As in, there weren't any people besides you who believed in this, and agreed to teach you, but everything you know and believe is taken from a single book? Then how do you know it is not just a joke? Or that you might be missing big chunks of the religion that weren't written down?

"Because from what I know, religions are a lot more than magic circles to the right deities. Magic circles is how witchcraft works. Religions are something more. They answer the questions people ask. Like the goal of life. It's purpose. The afterlife. How to live it. I fail to see how what you said to me so far answers those questions. But I may be wrong. I mean, I get that Steve tells us to get some shit and our purpose is to get it. But where does Algis and the others fits into the equation. What do they contribute?

"And I see no reason not to scan the book and read the scan on a tablet wherever we're going. Seems like a good reading material. If you do that, I would like a copy of the scan. I am quite curious about this book. If you don't, do you mind if I read your notes? Not right now, but when we depart to the anomaly. As I said, I am quite curious." Ironic. Before he lost his sight, he loved reading books. And now the first things he would be reading, aside from the mission summaries, would be the deranged fantasies of many fanatics past. Someone who didn't know him might almost have thought he had a bad taste.

((By the way, I think that by the anthropological definition of religion and witchcraft, HMRC Pantheon is more witchcraft than religion. But I may be wrong about it, so feel free to correct me.

And doing talking to people about complex things always feels like monologuing. Just want to clarify that even as I unleash walls of text, I still like to imagine it as an actual discussion.))

[Lenglon]

Giving us another chance? Unlikely, but possible.
Tempting us to make more mistakes? Certainly quite possible.

Oh, and I might have said it wrong. What I meant by calling it a maze is that it has a lot of crossroads and alternative paths, many of them leading to our demise and there appears no exit anywhere near. It might be memories - for one, one of the missions I've been on was about catching a, eh, changeling not unlike that strange guy we found, and we failed at it; but I think of them more like either booby-trapped dead-ends, challenges, or... well, displays of different and bizarre things which might be somehow relevant, or maybe not - you know, like visiting an alien museum. And it is quite efficient in its purpose - giving us access to many different kinds of installations and and show pieces. Oh, and I do not know what we are supposed to do with them. Destroy? Study? Ignore, perhaps? I can only guess.
But we will find out. I promise.
Maurice smiled reassuringly.

Look back at Maurice and maintain eye contact with him during this speech, and for three seconds afterwards. then slowly nod once, close my eyes. take a slow, deep breath, exhale, open my eyes and look back at the doors. squeeze his hand once, swallow, and nod once again.

[TCM]

Grab Piecewise off of ceiling.

[Parisbre56]

((Why is it witchcraft and not religion? What difference does the HMRC pantheon has with the Roman pantheon, or any other religion for that matter?))

[Thearpox]

((Why is it witchcraft and not religion? What difference does the HMRC pantheon has with the Roman pantheon, or any other religion for that matter?))

((Definition of witchcraft from memory: Use of formulas, symbols, and other rituals to achieve results. For example, slaughtering a crow to get rid of warts is witchcraft. Drawing a circle to protect from bullets is witchcraft. Practiced individually.

Definition of religion from memory: An organized form of worship with an idea of explaining the world, and/or bind the group closer together.

Differences: Witchcraft is oriented at individual gain. Religion is oriented at a group
         Witchcraft is used whenever needed (basically magic). Religion happens no matter what you do.

HMRC Pantheon (at least as Father Lars uses it) is oriented chiefly at individual gain, is applied only when necessary, does not have repercussions for not using it, and does not have any central idea or explanation of the world beyond "This guy is angry. Don't use his symbol unless tra-la-la." Explanation enough?))

[piecewise]

>Make the claws extendable (kept in a space under the sole of the foot) - when the toes are curled, the claws extend in a curve, when they are released, they retract the same way. With diamond-tipped claws, try walking up a steel wall with this method.

Thats fine. The real problem is that you're gonna be trying to hang several hundred pounds from a drywall ceiling by impaling it and ruining it's structural integrity. Just bear that in mind; you won't be clinging to anything not pretty sturdy.

Other then that it's fine.

"Thanks. Eh...Rest? I am joining another mission soon, but I guess I can try to rest or something." he answers.

After talking to AM, head to the briefing room, sit down on a sofa and rest.

((@SerCon: Just noticed your message. Let me see...))

Who volunteered?

You head to the rec room and lay on the sofa.

Resting is weird. Yo.

Thanks for the tips. Now I must continue my training.

Renen sends another message to the Doc.

I'm ready. I will go to the place we trained before.

After the message is sent, Renen goes to the back of the infirmary to wait for Doc, thinking about ways he could use to avoid the bullets.

You head back to the training room in the infirmary and take a seat on the ground, waiting for the Doctor.

Hmm, the best way of avoiding the bullets is probably to work on not occupying the same space they are.

Lars nods to Jack.  "Yes, my friend, I will do so."

Lars gets out his white marker to inscribe Jack's suit.  "O Algis, bless this suit, so it may shield and protect its occupant!  May your shielding hands cover him always!" he says as he makes the mark.  He repeats the process for the longcoat.

((I don't know what kind of weapon you have, so I'll do one for a gun and one for a blade.  Just pick whichever is right.  Never mind, saw your post.  Okay Mister Walking Armory, we'll do both!))

Lars then lays his hands on Jack's firearms.  "O Ingram, may you bless this man's weaponry, so it may well destroy his opponents with extreme prejudice!  May you guide his every shot to the hearts of the wicked!" he says as he inscribes the Arrow of Ingram on each firearm and all their ammo.

Lars then lays his hands on Jack's melee weapon.  "O Vo-Nos, may your speed be ever upon this sword!  May he be effortless on his feet as he slips through the defenses of the enemy!" Lars chants as he draws the Sword of Vo-Nos on the sword.

Bless his gear.

You bless his gear. And everything else in arms reach.

"Also, don't shoot an altered with a bolt action. Nothing will happen."

To Steve :"What about weapons?"

((Jack Hansan, grunt, katana, shotgun, laser rife, gauss rifle and civic defenders longcoat.))

>Already said that. There's a small armory.

Vichislav (Vich) Freidberg: Diplomat. Has MKI suit. Will buy one of Sub-Skeleton models (+3/5 to Str and End). Amp OR Manipulator user. Never went on a mission.

"Steve. Did you say this anomaly does weird space jumps? How do we know it won't disappear somewhere while we're on it, and that you won't reach us for another 30 years? And what exactly is a gravity well?"

Vich notices some religious guy inscribing some symbols. "What religion is this? And what do this symbols mean? And how should you? Father? Or something else?"

((By the way, PW, is it possible to speech check other PC's into doing something? Like convince someone to lower the gun, or jump off a cliff with a speech check?))

(I suppose. It would be against a will check and you'd have to do damn well, but you could.)

>Jumps only happen in specific places. The planetoids leave one jump point and then travel to the other. They won't jump till they reach that point.

And a gravity seep is an area of localized gravity. I'm sure you'll see them later. Word of advice, don't stick your head in.

((For now, anyone wanting to go can put their info in a nice list.  Here's a suggested format:  Name, qualifications, misc info.))

Brother Lars:  Chaplain (Good with divine matters), Rifleman.  Has MK II Suit.

((Actually, most people should bring MkII suits at a minimum.))

((Most people without a mission behind them would have to choose between a MkII and a weapon of some sort, so...

And if it helps,

Anton Chernozorov: Technician/Inventor. Wields the closest equivalent to Force Lightning available, but only in atmosphere; otherwise just has a dinky laser and a shock gauntlet with inexhaustible batteries. No missions yet.))

Anton frowns at the lack of information, but only momentarily. Probably unavoidable considering we're just the second mission to the place, he thinks. Content with the lack of information for now, he begins working with the datapad's software to pass the time till the briefing ends.

Make the datapad receive a video feed from the MkI suit, and start coding a small AI program that can optically recognize an object on a camera feed and keep a virtual reticule on it any time it appears in view. Partly just to pass the time, partly to implement in a later weapon design of some kind.

An AI that can recognize objects? Thats gonna be outside it's capacity. Maybe 2d objects but moving, 3d is gonna confuse the hell out of it.

To Miyamoto:
In charge of science or second in command, no real difference. The team's so small it's mostly going to be autonomous.

To Steve:
Is there any kind of virtual reality stuff down there, or can we bring some? I've found it useful for research and design, so it may be of some use.

To Vich:
Gravity well means that it's an area of higher gravity than normal. To whit: Step into and be crushed under your own weight if it's bad enough.

Simulacrus ("Simus") Ferratum-Inanis: Competent inventor, builder, and scientist, wields mostly custom weapons, also has a Phase Suit. 2 missions.

>Think of this as an intervention.

Oh dear, this is some kind of nano-crap, isn't it? And that could make me a security risk... but still. At least I should give commanding officers some information regarding the situation.

Find a secluded spot somewhere on the ship. Create a password-protected file on my datapad.
Password: 52NaNoGh0st
Content:
"If you read that after my untimely, permanent demise, and have found a strange flask, do not open it, but do take it along. Through a strange twist of fate, I purchased that flask from the mystery monger on the ship, and opened it during the fight against Ivan. It turned out to contain ... something that appeared to me like a neon cloud, but has not been recorded by Steve. Whatever it was, and I suspect nanotechnology, it contained the personalities of dead HMRC members. Though they have lost some of their memories, such as their names, they were able to identify Ivan as an Altered, and another artifact in my possession. They have explained to me that, should I die due to the destruction of my brain, the flask will reappear, potentially in my skull, and I will be part of the... collective in that flask. Either way, should this happen, please give this file and the flask to the Science team upon your return. While it is possible that others in the flask before me did the same, technology always progresses, and a successful analysis of the flask's content may, in the future, hold the key for improved revival. And if they're storing it again to be sold by the mystery monger, ask them to add a note explaining all this to the flask's container."

Copy that file to my wristpad as well.

You write out your last will and warning and leave the file in your wristpad, just in case.

SO will do. Now, I've got a lot of work to do if we can't get any VR equipment down there - I'll meet you when we have to go.

Head to the armory and inquire about getting that generator or rifle - whichever broke before the last mission - repaired. Then head to a functional VR machine and spawn in 3 civilian gauss rifles and two civilian gauss pistols. Attempt to take the coils and mechanisms from 2 rifles and put them around the coils of the third rifle, and hook up the generators, capacitors, and timing circuits to match so they all fire in-sync. Test Frakencivvie Rifle on a MkIII suit.

Still in Briefing mode lockdown, bro.

Open each door in turn and examine what lies beyond them. Don't enter, though.
Think about the whole premise of this training and what the finishing conditions could be. Dismiss the possibility of suicide or any other death-related ideas as unlikely, risky and overall foolish.
So... We have to through this maze. It seems likely that going through other 'wrong' doors would result in punishment similar or likely worse than one I have just brought upon us. The question is, is there only one 'right' door (or, well, more likely series of such, each branching new doors like that one from before), or do we have to visit several of them on our way, and take or do something so that the way out of here is opened?
Or perhaps the whole point of it is to make us understand the meaning of it? We can surely rule out practical jokes, at least; I believe in our hostess not playing useless games with us.
What do you think, Lyra?

You open the doors.

A room that looks like the one where maurice and Renen fought
A sign, "You can't save them all"
Feyri, reading her manual. "Do we really know if he's here?" she asks, looking up at you.

You think about your situation. You simply don't know what to make of all this.

Grab Piecewise off of ceiling.

You grab your lizard off the ceiling.

"Silly piecewise. What are you doing here?"










You all can come out of that room when Miyamoto gives me a roster list. Otherwise I'd never get you all to sit down and agree, you'd be running off everywhere like VR addicted hamsters.

[Parisbre56]

((Yes, the way Brother Lars describes it fits in the definition of witchcraft you have provided, however a) the HMRC pantheon is more than that.Each god has an element of the world he is rresponsible about, many gods have children, likes and dislikes and reletionships with each other. The symbols are rituals used to gain each deity's favour, which brings us to b)many religions promise certain results will happen if you do certain actions. A priest of Poseidon would tell you to make a sacrifice in order to have a safe sea voyage. A christian would tell you that you would gain eternal life if you repent for your sins. And c) the HMRC pantheon brings people closer and forms bonds 1) because people understand that they share a lot with each other, that they have the same problems and worries. and 2) people feel part of an ancient tradition, since the HMRC  pantheon was worshipped in one form or another by most of the HMRC .))

[kisame12794]

"A man of the cloth I see. Sorry for interupting, but since Steve locked us in here, I ain't got much to do. So which religion do you practice?"

((I hope my goggles outweigh the fact that I have nothing else to my name. So far, at least.))

[TCM]

((Is the kitchen up and running again?))

[anailater]

Check for the doctor again.

[MutzelRX]

Zephyris is a freshly awakened inmate (No missions yet). She kinda knows the basics of how to perform medicine (Med 2), shoot things (Con 2) and can think up solutions out of thin air (Intuit 1, +1 Roll-bonus). She's pretty bad at rousing speeches of awesome though (-2 on rolls) and doesn't know jack about the other skills. She also owns a used crystal projector with 7 shots left that she may or may not trade in for an emergency kit. Sadly she only has the basic Mk1 Suit.

They say one should learn from one's elders. Well and I am curious to be honest, so I'll gladly listen to your story if you're willing to share it. My way of 'joining' the HMRC... is probably not as exciting though..

[Parisbre56]

((Is the kitchen up and running again?))

((Are you going to cook piecewise?! ))