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[Harry Baldman]

Orders are orders. These overseers seem a bit less patient than the others. Then again, their temporary nature makes that a given, so to speak.

Fly back to the ship as quickly as reasonably possible.

[Digital Hellhound]

The Frigate

Onboard the Ariq, the Heroes gather into the cargo bay as the Aro did earlier. Rather than space themselves outright, however, they are guided to a sleek military shuttle that proves to possess just barely enough space for the group. The lone Project pilot joining them hides his nervousness well, giving the usual banter as he settles in at the front. He begins to run pre-flight checks as the General's voice fills the cramped passenger space.

'Word of warning... you might have to bypass psychic lookouts to get to the station. The shuttle's systems should be able to handle run-of-the-mill scans, but it has no anti-psi defenses. Deal with it however you can.'

With that, the pilot announces lift-off. A series of clicks runs down the shuttle as it is sealed from the world. The pilot takes his place in the airlock dutifully, becoming the epitome of silent professionalism for a change. A few moments later, the outer airlock slides open and the shuttle is in the void.

The Void

Outside, they are joined by Mir-Farilil and his rider and begin speeding away almost immediately. The frigate, impressive as ever, is quickly left behind and the shape of the station grows larger in turn. [5] Soon, the psychics in the party sense something waiting in the distance. The ziyaki minds remain alert, psychic 'spotlights' darting back and forth from the station, invisible to the others.

[6] The pilot hands move rapidly as he makes adjustments to his controls and equipment. The more technically-minded Heroes deduce he's performing scans of his own on the station, looking for a way in - and appears to find one. After a while, he confirms this;

'I've got you a landing zone,' he says, his voice distorted by his helmet. 'Part of the station undergoing repairs, just a few floors up from one of the beacons. We should be able to keep the station between ourselves and those ships. Good luck out there.'

That only leaves the ziyaki psychics the shuttle is fast approaching. They haven't noticed it yet from what the Heroes can tell, but there's always the risk. If they intend to act, they should do so now.

[Harry Baldman]

~Attention, Heroes, this is the Aro, Za-Shaddalac. I can attempt to detect, disable or at least distract some of the mind-guards of the station. Is this desirable?~

Attempt to get an idea of how many psychics the ziyaki have on searching duty as well as any others unless somebody minds. Distance self from shuttle just in case. Try to sense especially powerful ones among them. Should a highly powerful one be located, Psyche Sunder that one if they don't have an Aegis on yet.

[Dwarmin]

Ciper 19 and 20 were oddly quiet, linked hand and hand-they reinforced each other, making their minds-lengths small and difficult to detect...two became one, and then barely one, an echo of a shadow. Not easy to find...

Action: Using Double Team, increasing our Subterfuge to avoid enemy psychic scans

[Xantalos]

~Desirable.~

Activate Aegis and extend a blanket of psychic energy over the minds of the others, hiding them from the psychics.

[penguinofhonor]

Psychic tomfoolery. Best to leave that to the weirder members.

Janus clutches his gun and hums an old War Hounds' tune to himself.

[Digital Hellhound]

The Void

As the shuttle begins its approach, the team onboard (and, in one case, outside) get to work.

Za-Shaddalac: [6] - The psychic guardian and her mount draw away from the shuttle's path, hoping to avoid attracting attention to it if they are spotted. The Aro spreads her mind again, surveying the entire area around the station with her second sight. Minds appear as bright beacons to her, pulsing through the steel and machinery of the vast station.

Strongest are the ziyaki psychics - [1] far more than she first expected. Though the three projected minds that spotted her are perhaps the most powerful, the cruiser seems to be crawling with other psychics. Though it's hard to tell from this distance, these ones seem to be oriented more towards ground, line-of-sight combat and not projection, so they are unlikely to engage them in space. There's around two dozen of them from what she can tell, in any case.

The Aro touches the ziyaki searchers ever-so-slightly, confirming her suspicions - they have active Aegises, preventing purely mental attacks unless she forces her will through first. The psychics on the cruiser are probably unprotected, though she would have to head closer to make sure.

Valoth: [6] - The barbarian psychic draws upon his primitive understanding of his powers and lays a shroud of 'blankness' upon the shuttle and Za-Shaddalac, making them appear lifeless to mechanical scans and completely invisible to psychic scans. With the amount of power he expended into it, it should last them for a while. The Ciphers' mental exercises prove needless, though would have sufficed against most psychics without the shroud.

Shuttle: The station grows larger and larger in the viewports. The ziyaki remain oblivious. The mission is about to begin.

---

Mission Statuses

Spoiler: Janus (penguinofhonor) (click to show/hide)

HP: 35/35
AP: 20/20 [-2 to all Damage]
Passive Effects:
   *+0 to Dodge, +1 to melee Speed
   *+2 to perception rolls, +2 to diplomacy and charisma rolls
   *+1 to mental Resistance
Equipment:
   *Autarchy Naval Pistol [7/7]
   *Keshigi Marksman's Rifle [3/3]
Abilities:
   *None

Spoiler: The Aro, Za-Shaddalac (Harry Baldman) (click to show/hide)

Ability ready
HP: 20/20
AP: 20/20 - Aegis Active [5 turns, +5 CR Damage, -5 Other]
Passive Effects:
   *None
Equipment:
   *Divine Lance
   *Wellstone [3 Uses remaining]
Abilities:
   *Aura of Terror [4 turns, reduces enemy morale]
   *Mental Spike [5 turns, stunning/confusion attack]
   *Psyche Sunder [7 turns, enrage target]

Spoiler: The Arnam, Mir-Farilil (click to show/hide)

HP: 50/50
Passive Effects:
   *+2 to Dodge, +2 to movement CR, +1 to CR
   *+4 to 'unarmed' damage
Abilities:
   *None

Spoiler: Valoth (Xantalos) (click to show/hide)

Ability ready
HP: 25/25
AP (Armor): 15/15 [-3 to all Damage, ignores Flame, +30% damage from critical hits]
AP (Aegis): 25/25 - Aegis Active [6 turns, +4 CR Damage, -3 Other Damage, detonates when destroyed]
Passive Effects:
   *+1 to CR, +1 to melee Accuracy
Equipment:
   *Dragonclaw Sword
   *Temujin Heavy Rifle [8/8]
Abilities:
   *Kinetic Driver [3 turns, armor-piercing lance]
   *War Cry [5 turns, reduces enemy morale]F
   *Shiftspace Jump [5 turns, move/charge to target]

Spoiler: Cipher 19 (Dwarmin) (click to show/hide)

Ability ready
HP: 20/20
AP: 15/15 [-2 to all Damage]
Shields: 5/5 [Absorbs 1-6 damage, +0.5 regen]
Passive Effects:
   *+1 to stealth, charm, agility rolls
   *+1 to movement and combat maneuver CR
Equipment:
   *Steamrapier [Vibroedge, 3 uses]
   *Snubnose Revolver [6/6]
   *Flashspinner [3 uses remaining, stunning]
   *Multikey [3 uses remaining, physical security aid]
   *Flicker Projector [3 turns, dodge aid]
Abilities:
   *Double Team [5 turns, with Cipher 20]

Spoiler: Cipher 20 (click to show/hide)

HP: 20/20
AP: 15/15 [-2 to all Damage]
Passive Effects:
   *+1 to movement and combat maneuver CR
   *+1 to stealth rolls, +2 when stationary
Equipment:
   *Lusitan Light Shotgun [8/8]
   *Chameleoline Shroud
Abilities:
   *Double Team [with Cipher 20]

Spoiler: Magnus Jarnhand (Shootandrun) (click to show/hide)

HP: 25/25
AP: 15/15 [-4 to all Damage, Dual Mode]
Passive Effects:
   *+1 to perception rolls
   *+1 to CR
Equipment:
   *Kalmar Specialist Flamer [3/3]
   *Vendetta Automatic Pistol [24/24]
   *Flashbang Grenades [3 Uses]
   *Disruptor Beacon [1 Use, negates shields in radius]
   *Breaching Charge [1 Use, powerful explosive]
Abilities:
   *None

Spoiler: Catherine 'Knowledge' (HailFire) (click to show/hide)

Ability ready
HP: 20/20
AP: 20/20 [4 turns, +6 CR Damage, -4 Other]
Passive Effects:
   *+1 to non-combat psychic rolls, +1 mental Resistance
Equipment:
   *Enchanted Musket [8/8]
   *Fireheart Vial [3 Uses, willpower boost]
   *Rune of Protection [7 turns, creates protective circle]
Abilities:
   *Falsesight [4 turns, increased psychic precision]

[Dwarmin]

Cipher 19 felt the shroud close over the small shuttle, and the annoying buzzing noise in her mind finally fell silent-it was what one sometimes felt when being 'progged' and it was not unlike the sensation of a q-tip being jabbed in the ear, to put it mildly. You felt like someone was going to damage something with their careless prodding.

...

Life is more than numbers and equations-more than the biggest moments, the greatest battles. It was the small things, and nearly every mortal being took simple pleasure in these small acts.

This was why Cipher 19 chanced to lean a bit closer to Cipher 20, once she sensed the psychic field strengthen. Death was inches and seconds away-for them, their teammates, the Zyaki. All the time. It made no difference who. How many loves had perished in this very battle, one could ask? A thousand tragedies so hastily writ, and there was nothing special about them, no.

Life...was fragile. A moments hesitation before the abyss. To grasp anothers hand before the fall, the richest act.

So, Cipher 19 laid her head on her partners shoulder, closing her eyes with a slight smile, and did not think of these heavy thoughts. She had loved him even before the ritual-his casual smile snaring her as easy as his honest laugh. She wanted nothing more in the drift of the universes at that moment but for him to place his arm around her and run his hand through her hair. That is the sum of a mortals life, and it is simple-fragile, yet the sweetest thing-for those that can still perceive it. The moment before all Hell broke loose...Laras mind was filled with a small measure of peace.

...

This was in the moments before she flicked the safety off of her weapon and double checked her equipment. The abyss beckoned...but she was determined for many others to go before they took them down.

Action: Double check equipment and prepare for assault. Also, D'aaaw.

[Harry Baldman]

Plenty of psychics around. At least the ziyaki know how war is made, unlike the humans.

Fly toward the station along with the shuttle.

[Xantalos]

Valoth quietly grinned. During his time in the wars he'd never fought that many enemy psychics, although the Enemy had started employing them just before their hour of defeat.
Trying something new always excited Valoth.

Maintain blankness field, brace for combat.

[penguinofhonor]

Check over weapons one last time. Pick teeth. Dog yawn.

[Xantalos]

At the End

*to be edited in*

[Dwarmin]

Life...was fragile.

Lara and Desmond held hands tightly, facing the End.  Though they had fought hard...it had not been enough. It was the end of what was, and what would ever be-their failure weighed heavily upon them, though who could really have stopped it?

Lara spoke bravely, though there tears in her eyes. She saw her future flashing, fading. There would be no joy de vivre, no rest at the end of path, no happy ending. She would never have children, no grandchildren-and the pain of that was worse than anything. Not enough, not enough time...she knew their deaths would be minor footnotes to the Abominations victory, if it deigned remember them at all. They would serve or be absorbed. The fate of all.

"I wish it didn't end this way, Des."

He reached over, wiping the tears from the eyes of the woman he loved. A simple act of Human kindness and love-a fitting final testament to our people.

"....You know, I wanted to be with you from the moment you heard you sing." He said simply. "Remember? When they had all the Junior Ciphers do the Lusitan Anthem at the inaugural ball? Afterwards, I thought she was about the most beautiful person in the world. And I invited you to dinner..."

Lara's shaky laugh, and the tears flow more freely. "...and I told you to go jump into a solar turbine."

She leaned over, and they shared a kiss. The last one, like the first one-sweet as life itself, and full of memory.

"I'm glad you're here with me." Desmond says, holding her tighter. He won't let her see the horror to come-though he will, facing it with dignity. Protecting her as long as he can.

"It was a good life. It was worth it...I love you, Desmond."

"I love you too, La..."

He never finishes his sentence.

At the end, they were not thinking of anything but one another.

...

Like ink spilling over paper, the Abomination spreads. The towers fall. The gates of paradise crumble. The lights of Heaven drop out of the sky. Even the pits of Hell open wide, and succumb.

The tide rolls out, and the works and hopes of the hands and minds of mortals become as sand once again.

THE END