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[_DivideByZero_]

Port Anchorage, Northern Ridge, Askarian | 233d/3008AD | Von Hapsburg System

Askarian Shores
Snow (Low visibility. Actions toward distant objects incur a small penalty based on distance)
Freezing Wind (-1 to all actions when exposed)

"Orion, I see just two options, either you shoot yourself in the face and die or allow us to imprison you somewhere safe. I don't see anything else you could do.

"I don't have options. I am talking about yours. You should be cautious, you don't know what you're getting yourself in--"

A massive splash causes the floating platform to told, sending you and Orion to the floor, as well as other Guild agents. The repairmen, returning with a large meta tube, release their cargo at the sudden shock. It begins rolling toward the water. The spaceplane remains unmoved, its landing gear bolted firmly to the dock.

Looking out to sea, you spot the high, foamy wake of a jetski. Zooming in with your visor, you see a figure riding it in a blank, featureless spacesuit. You are unable to resolve details for sure, but it could be a pirate.

He does, however, have a machine gun bolted to the handle, which is reason enough to run for cover.


The platform you are on is but one section of a dockyard split up into multiple floating platofrms, separated by metal sheets to walk on and large chains holding the platforms together. Each platform floats via foamy pontoons lining the underside, but is otherwise unrestricted from moving. As the waves from the explosion subside, the platforms stop juggling and settle in at unnatural angles. Some chains may have snapped.

The platform with the plane on it has a number of crates as well as a tank of liquid hydrogen currently placed near the plane. The crates contain spare parts, control systems, and turbine components that the repairmen brought to use while fixing the shuttle.

...

Habitat Ship Gamma, Askarian Orbit | 233d/3008AD | Von Hapsburg System

Urban Station
City Manners (-1 to first impressions)

Continue to float above the crazy woman while releasing more spores!

"Police! Anyone! Help! there is a crazy person trying to chainsaw people!"

Find a weak point and attack it.

Initiative
[4] Slvia
[1-1 = 0] Nidoma
[5] Tree

(1) vs [2]: The tree monster raises its limbs off the ground, preparing to strike again.

Slvia, [6] vs (2): Your spores are working! The woman's attacks by now are a dizzy, weak mess, and with her last swing she drops the buzzsaw and falls to the ground.

Nidoma: With no initiative, you sure aren't ready to attack. The golden sphere person must be using some kind of mind-ray, or maybe it's the golden mist... Either way, you are incredibly dizzy and unable to fight. [3] vs (3) You hack at the tree one last time, merely scratching the bark before dropping the axe and falling over. The world seems to be spinning beneath you, and you find it difficult to stand up without losing your balance and falling over.

[-2 to combat and initiative rolls next turn]

"I thank you for your assistance. Bring me the container now that this... glorified savage is finished."

The tree awaits the container. Inside the building, you find the container where it was previously, next to the deactivated robot body of the french guy. There are, however, other Guild agents in the room, two reclining on a couch, one drinking at a table and enjoying a large sandwich at the small cafe, and one just walking through. They are just agents, though, so they might not care for the container if you were to snatch it.

...

The Jolly Roger, Franz| 238d/3008AD | Von Hapsburg System

Zero Gravity
All items have no weight penalty.

Zero-G Flood
Laser weapons suffer a -2 penalty
All weapons have -1 accuracy

Yet he uses computer parts, and gets memory wiped by being shot out of a cannon.
I might need to get one of those G-spot hacking programs, then I wouldn't have to worry anymore.

"(Radio) Well, Robot is a step closer than Human, which is a step closer than me, because I've barely ever used these things. In fact, f*** this thing!"

Shoot the computer with the heavy rifle, shoot all the computers with the heavy rifle.
Then go to the tube, I got a cooling bank to destroy.

[4] You blast the three computers in the room. There were no survivors.

That doesn't stop the monitors, however. The monitors are linked to the ceiling/wall/other floor via cable wrapped around a pole that braces the monitor in place. The touch screens still work, but they all bluescreen when you touch them. You take note of this before also shooting the monitors. Then you reenter the tube against the constant flow of water.

The tube keeps going forward, and you notice green flashing lights of various colors up ahead, reflecting specularly off the inside of the glass. The crewmen take potshots at you through the hatch, and you see bubbles vaporizing through the glass where the lases hit. Not a good sign.
You can also go back. It doesn't seem like there is a bulkhead closing down. Maybe the computers had something to do with it...

[Happy Demon]

Oh, free kills, and this guy is annoying.

Get out, move towards the hatch, behind the meatshield, put the oxygen tank on it's back, then push the body forwards.
When it's outside the hatch, shoot the oxygen tank, the shockwave should stun/disrupt the gunmen, but water density may keep it me unaffected, then go through and use the spear to poke the gunmen.

[Happy Demon]

((Fluff time, silly fluff.))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Walker Tanks

On the swampy ground of the Great and Lesser Fernswamps, wheels and threads are inefficient to travel with, so the Arktos company decided to use legs on their tanks instead.
The Walker Tank has 2 big mechanical legs, which it can easily pull out of the ground if a step was placed wrong. Walking one step at a time, the Walker Tank always have one leg on firm footing.
The lower body, with legs, pelvis, and waist (mechanical equivalents, but whatever), is 4 meters tall, while the upper body is 3 meters tall, making the fully stretched Tank be 7 meters tall.
It can only fit one person however, making it different to pilot than normal Tanks. It has arms on it's sides, to allow it to hold onto nearby terrain, in case legwork wont be enough to free itself from sinking.
The Walker Tank's weaponry primarily comes in the form of handheld weapons, it does have a hull machinegun though, in case things get nasty. The hull machinegun is loaded from inside, manually.

The pilot enters through a hatch on top, then places their legs into a chamber where their legs are covered with a motion tracking harness, which is easier to use than levers and such everywhere.
The pilot's waist is secured with a variety of straps, while the upper body is free to move, the arms are controlled with a pair of joysticks, and can be aimed at separate targets.
There's also a linked aiming mode, letting the pilot only need to use a single joystick to aim both arms, letting them use the other controls with their other arm.
They also come with arm harnesses, but they're far more easy to take on and off, so they can easily use the controls.
Some also use the melee harness for ranged weapons, simply for it's similarity to normal gun usage.

There's a huge variety of weapons available for the Walker Tanks, from guns to knives, even swords, since they just can't resist some good old mech combat with big swords.
Melee weapons are mostly for novelty, used in rich areas just for the heck of it, though they do sometimes see battlefield use.
The Walker Tanks are much less efficient than the Swamp Tank, but there's just something about them that makes people buy them.

There are also some variants, like the Speartail Walker Tank, which utilized a tail harness, giving them another grasping appendage.
Then there's the Humanoid variant, with a head, which allows the pilot a much better view.
There's the Stalker variant, which has retractable spikes used for climbing (and some for self defense), a camo net, much better optics, and is much more silent.
The Melee variant, which has harnesses for most of the body, to allow better combat performance, it doesn't have the hull machinegun though, it's mostly used for fun.
And finally there's the Ironclad variant, which is big and bulky, made to tank hits like a... tank, though it's movement is slower, it doesn't have full arms, instead just building the guns into the arms.

Edit: ((More fluff time, with something a bit silly.))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Power Gauntlets

While some do with their swords, spears, knives, and bows, there are some who go for a more personal approach, the Power Gauntlets.
These may appear to simply be simple armor gauntlets at first (though a bit bulky), they don't have the shiny lights technological things often have, but under the plating lies ruthlessly efficient machinery.
The Power Gauntlets, when used to punch, will emit a kinetic shockwave when it hits, it also pushes the user, but not nearly as powerful as what happens to the target.
The force of the punch, with the kinetic shockwave, is akin to being hit by a heavyweight boxer. The recharge time is 0,25 seconds, but with the gloves being separate, that's 8 punches a second.
Power Gauntlet wielders appear from time to time, and the Power Gauntlet is upgradeable, to pack an even bigger punch (pun not intended).

The most common upgrade is the Capacitor Extension, which doubles recharge time, but doubles the punching power.
Then there's the Recoil Dampener, which, as the name suggests, counteracts the recoil, which it does by releasing jets of gas (exhaust from the power source) from the sides of the gauntlet, pointing backwards.
The Recoil Dampener does make the Power Gauntlets a bit dangerous, as you could accidentally burn your arms if it triggers while your arm is bent.
Sadly, there's not a whole lot one can do with the Gauntlets alone, so there's the Boxer Rig, a metal frame mounted around the arms and upper torso, which absorbs much more force.
The Boxer Rig allows for the Hercules Rig to be installed, which boosts upper body strength, doubling the punching power, but also doubling recharge time.

Finally there's the Rapid Charger, which builds up a large charge over the course of 15 minutes, which can be used to instantly recharge all components for a short burst of time.
With all these upgrades installed, the puncher will have a full second delay between punches, but punch at 4 times normal output.
Activating the Rapid Charger let's them unleash a flurry of punches at full power, but takes 15 minutes to recharge.
When the Rapid Charger is... charging, the recharge time for the Power Gauntlets is doubled. Also, the Rapid Charger must be mounted on a Boxer Rig.
Even with all the upgrades, the sides are separate in terms of power supply, the control for the Rapid Charger is one button, but if they punch with one hand, the other is still charged.

The Power Gauntlets are powered by a battery, it only lasts a couple hours if used a lot, but it can be recharged.
The batteries are fitted onto the top of the gauntlets, to make it harder to hit, as it's one thing to hit the chest of a man, and another to hit the top of their hand.
Any other upgrades installed in the gauntlets themselves must be made so they can withstand the recoil of it's kinetic shockwaves.

[SaberToothTiger]

Throw/push/launch/kick the tank of liquid nitrogen at the jetski and fire at it with a gun.

[_DivideByZero_]

Throw/push/launch/kick the tank of liquid nitrogen at the jetski and fire at it with a gun.

((*Hydrogen

~50 degrees colder. It also explodes more readily.))

[Ama]

Slvia turns around and floats back to the tree.

"Mr Tree, would you mind coming with me and answering some questions to the scientists working here. They had no idea the cylinder was yours and now desire to talk with you and learn about the cylinder. You can have it back after they are done asking questions."

[Happy Demon]

((Ok, time for another corporation.))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The King's Armory corporation, and the Combat Crown.

The King's Armory corporation specializes in cheap (it's still power armor though, which is expensive), tough, and reliable power armor, as most customers are Speartails, which cannot use normal augmentations.
They decided on their name because of their first product, the Combat Crown. There are 3 CEOs, Sivvi Grandeur (Dragon F), Lord Shiv Urist Armoredangels (Speartail F), and Lord Nippa Stabsalot Thorson (Speartail F).
Sivvi is in charge of production, she wanted to join the Sons of Ivaldi, but never got good enough, she also deals with research, along with Lord Nippa.
Lord Shiv is in charge of advertising and selling. While Lord Nippa, who owns part of Mantis Fortress, manages military contracts and research with Sivvi.

It started with Sivvi Grandeur and a handful of other Dragons, who wanted to make some money, they made the Combat Crown, along with some other products (including the Power Gauntlets).
Sivvi is a Lovemark Dragon, and as such, she often got abused by others, so to protect herself, she specialized in Power Armor, it failed at places, but it held up enough.
She later got in touch with some other Dragons, and the most impressive part of her armor, was her crown, which they then started producing more of, and sold it under the name Combat Crown.
3 more products later, with great success, and Sivvi got the attention of Shiv, who was much better at selling their products. Demand did increase a lot, so they hired some more workers.
Then Lord Nippa got interested as well, and could set them up with military contracts and could offer great help with research, thanks to the Mantis Fortress' research facilities.

And so the 3 of them decided to make their own corporation, the King's Armory, and each of them became CEOs.
Originally Shiv and Lord Nippa didn't intend to give Sivvi a spot as a CEO, as she was a Lovemark, she held a lot of influence among the workers, so she could bring the corporation to it's knees.
After a while, Shiv became famous enough to become a Lord. Sivvi didn't, as no Lovemark will ever become a Lord.

Anyway, the first product, the Combat Crown, was different in that it wasn't a helmet, and had strong straps that were fitted properly.
Most head protection was in the form of helmets, which were held there with a flimsy chin strap, and some of the more protective ones limited the view.
The Combat Crown consisted of a metal circlet, 2 metal bars going down at the sides (but in front of the ears), and then there's the chin strap.
This may not seem as much, but it was basically limited protection with no side effects, sword swings would only bruise through the metal, although stabs would likely hit unprotected flesh.
Also, it could easily be upgraded in various ways, so while it wasn't very good on it's own, it had unlimited potential.

Helmet upgrades were made for the Combat Crown, which were rather easy to fit, due to it's standardized construction.
Most helmet manufacturers didn't have as much of an idea how to make very good ways of fitting the helm on your head, so while the helm lasted a battle, it could be easily torn off.
The Combat Crown also had the strap placed so pulling it wouldn't end up choking you, and it was made with tough materials, so it would never break from pulling alone.
So for every helmet sold, of almost any kind, a Combat Crown had been sold for it to be fitted to.
Though eventually, they started making their own upgrades for it.

First upgrade was a specifically crafted Armor module, which came in the form of head covering plating, basically a sallet, which could also be upgraded.
The Armor module also included venting channels, which work with ventilation systems to let the wearer keep their head cool, even in the Grand Savanna.
The Visor can be easily attached to the Armor module, and gives a clear (one way) and reinforced faceplate which lets people keep their eyes and nose safe, not the mouth though.
Then there's the Mask upgrade, which is armored to work as a mouthguard, has 3 settings, breathe, filter, and gas, which are self explanatory.
There's the more recent Space upgrade, which makes a lot of modifications, so it can be used in, you guessed it, space.

There's also the HUD upgrade, which along with putting some cameras on some more hidden places, projects a HUD on the inside of the Visor, it also can show infra red and zoom (due to the cameras).
There are many other upgrades to chose from, some better, some worse, but they often come without as good of a guarantee like the King's Armory stuff does.

[Gamerlord]

Drag self back inside. We must find fire!

[Happy Demon]

((Fluff))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Gemstone Lizard and Fluff Lizards
Genetically modified reptiles often kept as a pets.

The Gemstone Lizards were made by GenTech, they're lizards with gemstones growing on their backs, big gems and small gems.
The Gemstone Lizard is 0,5 meters long, and has 4 small gems, and 1 big gem growing on their back. The gems are often pale blue, though exceptions do exist.
The gems are basically worthless, as there are many more practical and pretty gems out in the world. Not to mention people don't like when you kill the Gemstone Lizards.
Gemstone Lizard nests are really well hidden, so if someone finds one, they're guaranteed to adopt at least 1, while the others have to either draw straws, or bribe the finder or owner.

The Fluff Lizards were also made by GenTech, they're lizards with fur, fluffy fur, about as fluffy as a Fluff Dragon.
They can be infected with Fluff to make them even more fluffy, they're common in areas Fluff Dragons aren't.
Owners of Fluff Lizards may discard them once they find a Fluff Dragon. There are a lot of stray Fluff Lizards, but the locals keep feeding them, people generally like Fluff Lizards.
Most of the time, when someone wants to adopt a Fluff Lizard, they either buy one, or wait until one of the strays get children and adopt those.
If you take a stray Fluff Lizard, you'll get a lot of hate from the local mutants, as they consider them their shared property, their children are not considered this yet.
Finding a Fluff Lizard nest is about as difficult as finding a Gemstone Lizard nest, and the same rules apply.

[Happy Demon]

((Hey, something going on? I'm kinda worried when the updates stop coming. I want to know what's going on.))

[_DivideByZero_]

((8 hours of college both wednesday and thursday, and I have a lab writeup to finish today. Not fun. :C ))

[_DivideByZero_]

((Usually I update during the weekdays, but this time school was especially time-consuming.))

Port Anchorage, Northern Ridge, Askarian | 233d/3008AD | Von Hapsburg System

Askarian Shores
Snow (Low visibility. Actions toward distant objects incur a small penalty based on distance)
Freezing Wind (-1 to all actions when exposed)

Throw/push/launch/kick the tank of liquid nitrogen at the jetski and fire at it with a gun.

[2] The hydrogen tank won't budge. Quite logically so, in fact. The tank is kept cool by a complex refrigeration system, which will allow the tank to warm and explode violently should the power source ever get disconnected.

[4] Firing at it with a gun would be most prudent if the jetski were closer and the tank is in the water, but neither has happened. Since the explosion would probably kill anyone standing on the platform, including yourself, you decide to stay the hell back.


The jetski assailant isn't firing at the nitrogen tank with the machine gun. He is merely getting closer. The Guild officer, engineer, and pilot all arm themselves and take to the border, but a quick burst of suppressive fire forces them back. The officer is hit, perhaps by a glancing blow. But soon his suit starts to spew relatively warm gas out from the bullet hole, and he rushes inside the spaceplane to get another suit.

...

Habitat Ship Gamma, Askarian Orbit | 233d/3008AD | Von Hapsburg System

Urban Station
City Manners (-1 to first impressions)

Drag self back inside. We must find fire!

[5] The tree does not attempt to finish you off. Instead, the golden sphere floats closer to the tree and starts to converse with it, though the conversation goes over your head. Dragging yourself stealthily through the door and back into the building, you lift yourself up and look around for fire. A guy is smoking an e-cig at a table, but that won't be of use. There is a small kitchen near the lounge so that people can cook food for themselves. One person is frying eggs. The workshop is also just ahead.

Slvia turns around and floats back to the tree.

"Mr Tree, would you mind coming with me and answering some questions to the scientists working here. They had no idea the cylinder was yours and now desire to talk with you and learn about the cylinder. You can have it back after they are done asking questions."

"I shall enter the building. Give me a second."

The treant releases one of its boughs, which sprouts thin legs and arms, creating something that looks like a giant stick insect. It follows you inside, and is apparently capable of speech as it enters the building.

"Take me to these scientists--wait..."

It spots the container, located just in front of the elevator.

"It's in there! Give it to me!"

...

The Jolly Roger, Franz| 238d/3008AD | Von Hapsburg System

Zero Gravity
All items have no weight penalty.

Zero-G Flood
Laser weapons suffer a -2 penalty
All weapons have -1 accuracy

Oh, free kills, and this guy is annoying.

Get out, move towards the hatch, behind the meatshield, put the oxygen tank on it's back, then push the body forwards.
When it's outside the hatch, shoot the oxygen tank, the shockwave should stun/disrupt the gunmen, but water density may keep it me unaffected, then go through and use the spear to poke the gunmen.

You strap the O2 tank to the meatshield's back and give it a shot, sending it off as a jet propels it into the room. You hear a smacking sound, and look through.

[6/4] The body, spiraling out of control, is rocketing around the room, smacking into crewmen. The body first slams into a crewman, [6] its foot hitting the helmet and tearing it straight off. The crewman reaches for it, but is promptly smacked again by the body which is spinning uncontrollably. [5] The body goes on to kick and send flying three more crewmen. [1] Finally, it comes to rest in a corner. One crewman remains, and he is pointing his weapon at you.

Speaking of the next room, it appears to be a sever farm, which several 1x1x1 cubes, probably computers, suspended in a 3d grid of steel bars, ladders, and coolant pipes. Electrical cables line every exposed surface.

[Happy Demon]

"I guess this is what people call ragdoll physics."

Eh, can't risk it, I'll just insta-kill him.

Shoot him with the rifle.

[SaberToothTiger]

Fire at the jetski and take cover. Preferably in reverse order.

[Happy Demon]

((Fluff.))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Techphi, Geddan, and Vulkan subtypes.

The Techphi is a synthetic subtype made by the GenTech corporation, it's a variety of modifications performed upon someone before birth, it's purpose is to make usage of augmentations more efficient.
Those who are of the Techphi subtype require no time to adapt to augmentations, unlike others who it may take weeks or longer.
Most of the best Exosuit users are of the Techphi subtype.

Geddan is a Speartail subtype characterized by the person being capable of great speed, but also makes them react differently to things like tazers.
If tazed, they will begin flailing uncontrollably, and will continue for several seconds, which is done much faster than normal movement.
Some utilize this with deadly effect, holding swords in hands, and spikes on boots, then tazing themselves continuously when in melee.
This does do damage to the body of the person flailing though, as swinging everything at breakneck speeds tears the body and can break bones.
They're also feared by most, so they can simply use their Geddan to hold people back with their presence alone.

The Vulkan subtype can occur to all Dragons, it's characterized by glowing red eyes, heightened body temperature, and dragon breath capable of melting almost any metal.
There's little that can resist a Vulkan Dragon's breath, most armor is destroyed. They're hunted because of this, as nobody is safe with a Vulkan Dragon around.
Because of their higher body temperature, they have problems surviving in hot areas like the Grand Savanna, which requires them to move to the Great or Lesser Fernswamps.
Most Vulkan Dragons are adopted into Dragon Families, but sometimes they're adopted into other families who normally wouldn't, because of their vulnerability and how dangerous they can be.

Edit: ((Super equipment.))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Loki Matrix

The Loki Matrix, made by the Sons of Ivaldi, is an atomic assembler and information database, specifically the information of atomic makeup.
This back module is big enough to fit on a human back, fused with the body of it's host, which thanks to the Loki Matrix, is dynamic.
Capable of storing the structural information of most living creatures, and the consciousness of the host, the Loki Matrix allows the host to shapeshift into many different creatures.
Size is the main limitation, as it has to be big enough to wear the Loki Matrix but there's a limit to how big it can be.
Generally anything between a human child and a 20 foot colossus is allowed.

The Loki Matrix includes a bio scanner, but you can easily see when it's used. It takes about 10 seconds to create a full human body.
The Loki Matrix gives a kind of immortality, as it can recreate any of it's host's body parts, including the brain.
Material for the Loki Matrix is gathered from the surroundings, preferably bodies, and it can store enough to create a host all by itself.
There have been 4 that were made, but all of it's owners appear to have died. It's likely that all the owners simply made a copy of themselves to make everyone think they're dead.
Because of this, all owners of the Loki Matrix are considered missing rather than dead. Because the Loki Matrix is mysteriously absent.