Turn 7
Note of the Day: The Mediterranean has remained free of major Abyssal incursions so far. Some argue this cannot be explained by chance alone and that something is actively keeping the Deep Ones outside the region, but findings thus far have been inconclusive.
---
Calla"That's good, I need to take a break now, sorry, almost burned myself out there, but hey, a wins a win right?"
Rest in the choppa
Ribeiro blinks. 'Oh shit, sorry,' he says. 'I didn't realize it'd be so... well, y'know. But it is a win, for once.'
He smiles and leaves Calla to her peace in the back of the chopper. She's faintly aware of radio contact with the sub's crew and the chopper starting its voyage back to the base before exhaustion sets in and unconsciousness takes her.
[1] Her dreams are as dark and troubled as usual. Images of the world drawing to an end, all of humanity subjugated under the Deep Ones, or perishing unnoticed in the war between the Ancients. The oceans claiming everything, the Abyss swallowing up the planet. Strange visions of ancient weapons in the depths, the wreckage of Atlantis - she dreams of the Fellowship coming after her next, hooded figures standing over her at night, or revealing faces of her closest friends. If rest was what she wanted, her brief sleep was nothing such.
Calla wakes up as the chopper is landing back at Stillwater. The dark mass of the outpost spreads out under her, offering safety - or the illusion of such. She senses the sub somewhere nearby, entering its bunker somewhere by the waterline.
Ribeiro joins her once more. 'Uneventful trip back here,' he says, with feigned calmness. 'It didn't come back or call in any friends, thank God. If we're lucky, it stays quiet for a few more days. Or preferably weeks.'
He smiles, but can't mask his worry - not from Calla, at any rate. The constant stress must be eating him up from the inside, but it's no more than anyone has to go through these days. The helicopter touches down soon, depositing them back on solid ground. Ribeiro heads for the control center, but Calla considers just going back to her room. The sub crew will also be getting out soon, though there's undoubtedly going to be processing, evaluation, et cetera, of them before anyone else can get through.
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' incapacitating presence, which causes deep fear and anxiety in the mortal psyche. You are currently suppressing your aura.)
Current Effects: None
Location: Stillwater Station, Colares
"Hell yeah! Let's find the Foundation building and get the fuck out of here!
Alex looks for the Foundation building.
Theo concurs, and the pair of them rush down the street. The agent seems to know where he's going much better than Alex, so he lets the older man take the lead. [5] The soldiers' advance doesn't let any deepspawn past and they make it unharried to the buildings ahead. Theo scans the area and heads towards an office building at the end of the street, the road splitting in a T-junction in front of it.
[1] And... two military cars are parked by it. Theo spots them too.
'Shit,' he breathes. 'Looks like someone got here before us.'
He draws his pistol, edging towards the doors. 'Let's not take any chances. Could be just a coincidence... or could be Sol Cult.'
The latter possibility sets Alex's teeth on edge. They had the pleasure of fighting the Star God-worshippers in Thailand. They came with hybrids of their own - Alex should know, having thrown a helicopter door through one. From what he understands, the Foundation had been fighting them in the shadows for years before the Return. They'd be interested in the same data or artifacts they came here to salvage - it better be just EUROPA soldiers going inside by chance.
[3] His healing is finally kicking in. The leg still hurts, but it could be worse.
---
Theo
*Unharmed
*Heavy Pistol [2/5 - 2] (Fires one shot per turn, -3 to Damage)
*Frag Grenades (2)
*Veteran Agent (+2 to all Combat Rolls, +1 to Dodge, +1 to Hit)
*Squishy Mortal (+3 to all taken Damage, -3 to physical Damage)
Alex Vondgas - Imprisoned TitanHealth: Right Leg:
Moderately WoundedInventory: 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 when out of combat.)
Current Effects: None
Location: East Poznan, two blocks away from the Foundation building
"Alexei Zielkov, working in an investigation related to a disappearance of great military and political importance. Could I have access to the records of these cameras?" the supersoldier asks as he approaches, pointing at the nearest camera to better illustrate his request.
Talk to the man.
[3] The guard looks slightly startled when Alexei speaks, but quickly collects his wits. 'Access the records?' he says, glancing back at a computer. 'Err... I'm gonna need to see identification, sir.'
Alexei figured as much and shows his Society-issued credentials. The soldier looks more puzzled by them than anything. Alexei regrets not coming onto the island on his own in the first place - he'd probably have passed this guard.
'Well... I'm sorry, sir, one moment. I'll have to run this by the base first, sir,' he says, reaching for a phone.
Alexei Zielkov - Experimental Superman
Health: Unharmed
Inventory: Automatic Pistol [12/12 - 4] (Fires 3 times per turn. -3 to Damage.)
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: 'Angelfall' Military Zone, Kronstadt Island
"Daniel, tell the others to keep their distance from me when the fighting starts if they can, hell tell them to stay away afterwards to unless its absolutely vital. I have a feeling today is gonna be a bad day ..."
Turning from the withered tree Alfonz reaches into his pockets and fumbles for his pack of cigarettes and the lighter, it takes him a minute as he tries to calm his shaking hands but he finally gets one lit. Taking a long drag he moves towards his position talking all the while to the entity in his head he knew might strike at any moment,
'You'll not win control of me you fucking monster, unlucky for you the both of us are chained together in this damn body so if I go you're sure as hell going with me. The second I start to lose my grip on this body I'll jam that spear through my skull and we'll both go so think long and hard about when you want to die ...'
There's no response from the Reaper within Alfonz. He's not sure he'd understand it even if it could answer. Regardless, it seems dormant once more - perhaps he only imagined it stir.
Daniel gives him a flat look. 'Damn, Wulfric, don't be such a glory hog. There's plenty of them to go around and seriously - we can handle ourselves.'
Alfonz draws deep on his cig, calming his nerves. The forest is silent as the two of them stand in the clearing, waiting for their hunters to come. Daniel starts to whistle but stops a minute later, coughing. Anyone could tell he's tense.
After several more agonizingly long minutes, he opens his mouth again. 'Do you think they'll-' he starts, but [3] Alfonz shushes him down, trying to hear. A second later there's the sound of a tree falling in the distance and heavy footsteps race into their hearing, joined by mechanical whirring a moment later.
Alfonz peers into the undergrowth and, right on cue, the two Walkers come over the ridge. [6] He takes in what he can - they're both around five or six metres, with broad, armoured bodies painted in white and grey. Stocky mechanized limbs smash a path down the soft earth, arms holding large-barreled weapons that look like vastly oversized shotguns. They don't look like standard armament - non-lethal specialist weapons, hopefully?
There's no way the warmachines won't notice them in the next few seconds and they'll be on top of them in under a minute. If there are any last-second manouevers, it's time to do them now.
Alfonz Wulfric - Imprisoned ReaperHealth: Unharmed
Inventory: Imbued Spear (+1 to Damage)
Traits and Powers: *
Immortal Prisoner (Drawing from the Reaper in your head, 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 [3/6] (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: USMW Field Exercises, West Virginia
"We should at least inform them. We want to work with them, if anything. They're human... just like we should be. It's in our interests to work with them... and not leave them to die horribly on their own. If you want to, you two can go ahead. I'll go tell the Major." Aaron said, a grimace passing over his face, before he made his way in the direction indicated by the soldier. He had no intention to let the Major hold him up. He came here because he wanted to help, after all, even if they wouldn't accept his help.
Go to the Major. Explain what has been said to the soldier to the Major.
Aaron can feel Alex's storm of nervousness and anger in her mind as he speaks. There's a burning need to lash out, to use her powers and to utterly, mercilessly devastate the enemy. There's a primal need for destruction in her Aaron hasn't really noticed before. It has to be her blood, the Titanoid part of her, growing stronger with every day of the Return.
[3] 'Okay,' Alex says. 'You tell this major. I'm going.'
With that, she stretches her arms, cracks her knuckles, and jumps. In one, huge bound she lands on top of the APC and stands up. For a moment, all the sound of the battle, the gunfire, the shouted orders, all the movement and action, seems to fade away, leaving only her.
Alex roars.
It is a sound that her lithe body should not be able to contain, a deep, reverberating cry that sends shivers up Aaron's spine. There's something terrifyingly primal in the sound, a reminder of times when Titans walked the earth unchallenged. All other sound ceases at once, the guns falling silent. The entire battlefield freezes, all eyes on the halfblood girl facing the raiders' side of the square.
[5] Without a word, she leaps down and starts walking calmly towards the raiders in their cover. The impossible silence continues for a moment longer - and is finally broken.
'What the fuck?' comes a soldier's voice from nearby, throwing the world back into stunned activity. Several questions in the same vein follow, but then another voice - the soldier from before - barks above them with 'Hold fire! Hold fire!'.
The other side has no such inhibition. [1] Scattered gunfire erupts, all missing Alex by a mile, but in seconds she is the only target the other side can think of. Aaron gets the feeling this might not have been the best of plans, but Alex literally shrugs off several hits and then breaks into a run. A few seconds later gunfire from the soldiers' side joins the cacophony, though from what Aaron can see avoiding shooting Alex in the back - for now.
'God...' Thomas manages from beside Aaron. His eyes are wide and his thoughts are swirling with shocked worry and anger - but he glances at Aaron, his mind returning to the major.
Aaron doesn't waste any more time. He rushes inside the building they were directed to and scans the inside quickly - soldiers at the windows, medics - and a tall, muscular man with major's insignia. He's occupied with shouting orders into his radio, but Aaron cuts right in.
'What do you-' he starts, but his eyes widen in - recognition? understanding?
[4] Aaron and Thomas explain, quickly, not letting him get a word in. They have no intention of wasting time here while their friend is caught out there.
The moment they're done, the major speaks.
'Look, I don't know who or what you are and I don't care, but I can sure as hell use you,' he says. He barks a quick series of orders to his men - an immediate advance and suppressing fire. He frowns at the two of them. 'Now get the hell out there before your friend gets herself killed.'
Aaron Gray - Abyssal Hybrid
Health: Unharmed
Inventory: Empty
Traits and Powers:
* Beyond Human (As an Abyssal half-breed, you possess incredible physical and mental capacity. You are capable of mental 'psychic' warfare and thought suggestion, as well as easy genetic manipulation, especially for war. You have also been blessed with extraordinary toughness and mental fortitude. +1 to physical Damage, -1 to taken Damage, +1 to mental defense.)
* Aura of Terror - INACTIVE (You share the Deep Ones' incapacitating presence, which causes deep fear and anxiety in the mortal psyche. You are currently suppressing your aura. -3 to Combat Rolls around you, fear checks every turn.)
Current Effects: None
Location: In the raided town, Western Australia
Alessa checked the position and speed, comparing hers and the flyers--its better to leave this work finished and done. Like saying sooner than earlier, or whichever the English metaphor was it for.
Going home. We're going home~
To the base!
Feeling no need to waste her ammo and time, Alessa turns her plane around and heads back home.
[6] The small fliers are quickly left behind, becoming little dots in the horizon and then disappearing completely. She rises into the clouds and the Polish landscape begins flashing past, indistinct smudges of forests and fields, dotted by empty, evacuated or overrun towns. Just looking at it makes her uneasy - the only life here is that of the Abyss, the dark swarms of mutation forms and changed earth in between the ruins of just six months ago.
The land seems to grow... if not healthier, more recognizably human, as she approaches the Eastern border. Tilled fields, used roads, towns with signs of habitation. Military outposts dot the area and she can just make out the movements of larger military forces. A flight of standard jets passes her as she arrives in what used to be Belorussian airspace. The Kalinigrad base was lost only a few weeks into the Return and never reclaimed, but the deepspawn have never made it past Minsk - the region was all too happy to let Russia aid in the defense effort, even if it meant allowing Russian troops and aircraft in their bases. It's not quite the cooperation that exists west of Danzig, but it's something.
She lets Command know she's coming. The Ark Projekt's new facility just inside the Russian border isn't the fortified, secretive installation of the Siberian base but it's got everything needed to keep the Nexus Fighters and other front-line projects up and running. This age of closer Moscow oversight has not been welcomed by anyone in Command.
'Katya's just landed,' the soft voice of Artyom Stroyev, Operations Chief, buzzes in Alessa's speakers. 'We're all very glad to have you back. Your cargo'll come in handy soon enough, I'd wager.'
Alessa begins her descent soon enough. There's no sign of the Siberian facility's distinctive launch tubes here. A normal runway sits in the middle of the forest, just by the sprawl of modular buildings and converted warehouses that is the main facility. It's not pretty or ordered, but understandably practical needs trumped looks. The military base on the other side of the patch of forest is both a source of security and a reminder of the watchful eye of the government.
She makes a solid landing. Katya's plane is already being towed inside for repairs and resupply, though she spots Katya herself waiting for Alessa by the runway. The maintenance crews rush to the plane as soon as she's down and powered down, and Alessa climbs out of the MARA, enjoying the flood of clear air into her senses.
Katya's soon by her side.
'I still can't believe that bitch shot lightning at me,' the other pilot says, with a smile. 'Anyway, we're probably expected to go report to Kubantsev, but I don't think anyone will miss us if we slip away to the party. Believe me, you haven't seen anything before you've seen Devdan drunk.'
That'd probably be where the rest of her comrades are - she doesn't know them quite that well yet, aside from Katya, but they've been a fairly welcoming lot. Of course, duty calls, and Alessa's not quite sure if this party is authorized in the first place. Colonel Kubantsev, reluctantly transferred along the Nexus Fighters from Siberia, is in overall charge of the facility, despite the attempts of mainline Russian army generals.
---
Alessa Tairon - 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 - OFFENSIVE 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: Ark Project Secondary Facility
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Assorted random thoughts of the day;
- I'm beginning to wonder why I've put so many players in Eastern Europe/Russia.
- I wasn't sure if I should've left your turn at Alex to see if you'd change your mind, Talarion, but oh well.
- This turn was written in reverse order to avoid the usual fatigue when coming to Tiruin. Whoo!
- I have a lot of NPCs to keep track of. Hopefully they're not totally useless company to you players?
Author
Topic: Their Coming Is At Hand II - an Eldritch Invasion RTD (Turn 9!) (Read 23785 times)