Music
shake off the ice, and sit down a couple feet away from where it collected on the ground under me, and rest with my arms and tails wrapped around my knees and my knees tight against my chest, preserving warmth.
You get up, shivering a bit and (after shaking off the thin covering of snow from you) stand near one of the burning boxes, trying to stay warm. With the heat of the fire and of the room itself, it doesn't take long. You've still got a minor headache but it should be over in a couple of seconds.
To Jordan: <I'd advise for you to be careful - whatever's going on over there, it's deforming one of two things - space or sound. It now seems like parts of the floor and railing are moving - then again, I might be crazy. But that's not something you wanna bet on, trust me.>
Climb up to the control room.
Keep watch at invisible hole.
Go help Jordan. Leave the device to finish charging.
Ike keeps moving forward, looking and listening for anything suspicious. His eyes still give him nothing. But with each sonar pulse, with each step, the hole gets bigger. It moves towards the left until it crosses to the north wall and gets very big. Its effect on the floor and railing also moves and increases until part of a nearby console is also starting to get affected. That's when it happens.
On top of a console on Ike's left, there's a white humanoid blur. It's in mid jump, heading straight for Ike. Ike falls to the ground, barely managing to avoid getting hit.
The thing lands behind Ike, slicing the railing there in half. It turns around without pause and jumps towards the control room ladder.
Jordan is too slow to react (he was aiming at the hole after all). He fires a shot the moment the thing disappears, the bullet going through the space the thing occupied with no visible effect.
Eria arrives just in time to see the white blur disappear.
"Oh, for crying out loud! It's like a submarine! I can't-"
Climb up to the control room with my guard on me.
You climb up to the control room. You're about to open the door to it when you hear D. shouting in everyone's ears and the thump of a silenced gunshot.
"Oh, for crying out loud! It's like a submarine! I can't-""Get in Mage!" he orders you.
Zzwha? Ah, excellent blanket.
Where am I?
Get up and trundle around.
You try to get up. In the process, the "blanket" that was around you crumbles like stale bread.
You look around. You seem to be floating in the middle of a starfield, floating amongst the remains of the color-changing "blanket".
There's the portal that leads back to the Staging Area (the Magma Pool that came as a result of Irene's suggestions) as well as some multicolored round things that resemble the thing you were in.
Finally, there are squids swimming around.
"It is where you were.
It sleeps in a bed.
No progress? No fare.
So crumbles the bread."
Bryan smiles, "I did not mind the wait, it was wonderful and calming to hear such a good performance." His smile fades, "It has been a long time since I last heard something so beautiful. My mother used to play, she probably still does, and she tried to teach me. Once I left for the school I did not have time to practice." His smile returns now as the memory passes, "I must admit, I have a few questions. May I ask what your name is? And if you don't mind, where are we?"
Almost forgot Accept handshake.
Her facial expressions mirror yours as you speak. When you finish speaking and extend your hand for a handshake, she gently holds it with hers and starts speaking again. Her hand feels very warm.
"Name? Oh, I've had many of those. Which one to choose... I guess you could call me... Kathryn. Yeah, that sounds like a good name for now." She releases your hand and turns around, heading towards the doors you came in through, making a motion for you to follow her.
"As for where we are... This is a place between the worlds. A safe place but also a prison. I've brought you here because... well, I hate to admit it, but I need your help."
<<How about just "Zero?" Or "Sub-Zero"? S-Zero's a bit of a hard turn of phrase.
Uh... how about top five commands that I have clearance to?
Analysis is good. Standing by.>>
"Acceptable.
Send Message
Modify Area
Access Library
Create Private Area
Assist With
Analysis follows:
John, your performance was acceptable for a human of your capacity. You performed your objectives adequately, considering the allies and equipment you had available.
You performed acceptably in combat.
Your death was not entirely your fault but it was preventable. Not receiving extra credit for this mission by surviving it is regrettable and inefficient.
I suggest you try to look for your enemy's weaknesses and for alternative ways of completing objectives. In this case, cutting off the roots of the biological entity might have been enough to stop it or delay it.
I suggest you use more of your time to summon equipment. You excel at creating equipment, but this takes time. While others have a set amount of power, your power is only limited by the technology you posses. Try to cover eventualities and create powerful yet versatile equipment whenever you find the time.
Preventing self and teammate injury from use of your equipment should be a priority. Try to check any substandard equipment you create before using it, if possible. Should your teammates succeed, we will be able to improve that aspect of yourself.
That is all. Any questions regarding this analysis?"
Disable Spanish language.
"Um...I dunno. It's home? I guess it's hard to describe without having any kind of baseline to compare it to...well, there's people, and animals, and plants and stuff. And some of the people, I think a percent or something, have these abilities. Some are from spirits and stuff, some are from inside, some...no one's sure, really. And a few are from other places. About half of them just use their powers for fun, or as part of their job, or to entertain people or something. A lot of them, maybe a fifth or a fourth, use them to commit crimes or to stop them. Maybe a tenth don't really use them at all, for whatever reason. And some...a tiny fraction set their aims bigger. A few succeeded. They generally shape the world. There aren't a lot of nations...Brittania, Muratland, Dreireich, Roma, United Iberia, and the Soviet Union in Europe; China, Japan, Korea, the Soviet Union, and some colonies in Asia; a bunch of little kingdoms and some colonies in Africa; the Revolutionary Republic, the Soviet Union, the Latin Confederacy, and some colonies in North America; the Latin Confederacy, Portugal, Plataland, some colonies, and some little nations in South America; and a bunch of colonies and independent states in the Pacific. Um. What else do you want to know?"
((That took a while to figure out.))
"Haha. What? No, silly! I know you're from an Earth world. If I wanted to know stuff like that I'd just search the Library. I meant, what's it like for you? Where do you live? Do you have many friends? What do you usually do?" The entity pauses for a second and asks a bit quieter
"Are there a lot of those bad people there? The ones who do crimes?"
Poll
15 (42.9%)
Author
Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1151382 times)