I wonder if they will ever figure out I only ask for votes when stalling for time.
The Oversights are sold at a secret international auction sponsored by the project (5) for half of their creation price. +20R
Two new Brighteyes are produced and given to the troops formally equipped with the Oversights. -40R
Phase 3/4 Battle Report:
A military satellite tasked with locating paranormal activity found something interesting. A beam of light shot into the atmosphere from the British isles, in the middle of a rural mountain range. The satellite quickly went to work examining the area, sending photographs of the site to its home country who in turn sent them to PROMETHEUS, who placed them on a white board in the front of the room for its personnel to see. The result was a sword sitting in the middle of a crater, with rubble surrounding it. It is a simple sword from what the photo shows, though it is obviously not a normal one.
A task force was immediately sent to retrieve it...from both sides, it seems, and the enemy was just a bit faster. The monitors show our team looking at the Brighteyes (now capable of piercing the skin of the assault vehicle) which show a group of hostiles moving away from the target zone. The team immediately jumped into pursuit, a brighteyes operator helping the driver navigate through the terrain despite the inky blackness outside. Several zombies had been left behind to slow the team down, but with the forewarning they are easily avoided allowing the team to move down the rocky path forward. The team is gaining on the target when several creatures consistent with Skeletons break off the back of the object. Our driver begins moving to avoid them when a cracking sound fills the monitors. The vehicle skids to a halt-the Brighteyes warning that a creature has knocked down several threes in the path. As it stops, a log flies into the side of the vehicle, denting it greatly before bouncing off (though the soldiers remained thankfully uninjured).
The soldiers immediately exit the vehicle and rush for cover as several fireballs light up the surrounding area, sent by two imps hiding near the Skeletons. The Skeletons seem to be acting as spotters, making the imps more accurate than usual (though their attacks are still slow moving and are typically blocked by cover). Our soldiers have their own spotters, the Brighteyes allowing the Imps to be defeated after a short volley of fire. Just as it looks like a short victory is assured, a skeleton moves through the air as if flying. It directly hits a brighteyes operator, who is knocked to the ground by the force of the impact (and with it, his equipment, which hits the ground hard). The skeleton lands on the man's chest, raising its sword to land a killing blow. Before it can do anything noteworthy, the H.O.S.E operator kicks it off of him, gluing it to the ground with a burst from his weapon. An aura retreats from the skeleton, as shown by the sensors.
In the darkness among the fallen trees was the culprit. Standing higher than a man was a suit of black armor, carved in runes that seem similar to those found on the skeleton's equipment. A devilish red glow emanated from its eyeslits. In one hand, it was holding up a skeleton by the skull, in the other was an AKM assault rifle with a bayonet attachment. It casually threw the skeleton through the air, launching it like a bullet towards the nearest soldier. The soldier ducks to the ground in the nick of time, sending it flying overhead were it smashes against a tree (an aura leaving the spirit indicating its "death"). Out of subordinates, the Armor proceeds to stand out in the open. Its rifle began spraying fire from the hip, hitting an unfortunate soldier twice in the torso. He falls back to the ground, were he remains unmoving. Gunfire flashes out in response, sparking off the armor with hit after hit. Multiple explosions light up the night, as grenades detonate around the feet of the Armor. It almost doesn't react to the first-going off only several feet in front of it. It only reloads at the second-not two feet from its right. The light vanishes from its eyes and it crumbles to the ground after the third-five feet to its left. No less then five auras similar to the Skeletons leave the wreckage.
The soldier hit by the skeleton was able to walk away with minor bruises, but the shot soldier died on impact. He will be remembered as the first human fatality in this war. All dropped equipment and the fallen soldier were brought into the vehicle as it miraculously starts up once more. Soldiers hopefully checked the undamaged Brighteyes, the targets nearly having escaped from its range. After all we have done to succeed in this mission, that is unacceptable. The assault vehicle moves forward with renewed vigor, dodging around obstacles as fast as it can possibly handle them.
Inch by inch, the team gains on the target. It comes into camera viewing range where the trees are cut away-near the asphalt main road. The target is an unmarked black van, shinny and new aside from the scratches, mud, and dust it picked up getting to the sword. It immediately turns on the road and speeds away, making good time now that it is on a more established path. Not about to let it get away, the assault van fallows immediately after. We soon catch up on the thankfully empty road (being in a rural area deep in the night), the van fifty meters from the assault vehicle. The back of the van slams open revealing a figure in deep blue robes. He points both hands toward the road speeding by, shooting out a white mist that frosts the road. The assault vehicle skids into a spin as it hits the manufactured icy patch, the experienced driver barely managing to save the speeding vehicle from a crash. The Mage's hands form new symbols, and a wall of ice begins to form a blockade ahead. The AV snails around it, stepping on the gas once back on the road. Despite all the setbacks, the driver manages to catch up once again, getting in a far lane to avoid further shenanigans. Knowing this would be our last opportunity, he speeds up to get next to it while a soldier sits ready in the gun port. Spears of ice fly from the van as the mage throws his attacks, each of which stick in the road unceremoniously. In moments, the van is in firing range. A Ghoul can be seen driving the van with one hand, taking pot-shots through the open window with a Glock in the other. A series of cracking sounds is followed by a popping sound and a skidding sound-the music of our victory as the soldier's rifle rips the van's front tires to shreds sending it into a spin. The Mage is thrown from the back, landing in a way that makes it quite clear he is never getting up again. In the front of the van, an airbag holds the Ghoul for moments as the assault vehicle releases its cargo. The tires are immediately H.O.S.Ed to the ground to prevent escape, and the front of the van is filled with small arms fire targeting the Ghoul. A small whisp of smoke leaves the van and there is no sign of further targets.
Finally, the cargo was secured. The back of the van held only the sword, kept in a block of ice held fast to the floor. Results of the mission: one fatality, one injury, and one recovered artifact. The Mage's remains and equipment had also been recovered, though there was no sign of any vampire remains (the Brighteyes did not detect anything escaping). While a team was sent to recover the remains of the Skeletons and Armor, none were found. They could not find any signs of the zombies either, despite combing the obvious battlefield. Due to the amount of injuries and damage to the assault vehicle, the higher ups only award 50R for this mission.
Something deep with in you all suggests things are going to get a bit harder from here out.
Phase 4 Round 4
Dissection/Development
120R
Current Designs:
M4 Carbine: M9 Handguns: Interceptor Body Armor: M67 Fragmentation grenades
Low/Free/None.
Standard starting equipment. Some researchers theorize that the equipment you receive is old, damaged, or even sabotaged by enemy infiltrators. If true, than even producing clones in house would lead to more efficient weaponry.
SD1 "Oversight"
A basic handheld device with a small monitor attached to it. The device uses a combination of radar, infrared, and other techniques to locate other entities in the rough direction where it's pointed at. Anything detected shows up on the small monitor. The device is small and can be easily stored by anyone.
This device can be used by anyone and can be flicked on, improving our teams' spatial awareness at all times and keeping them from being caught unaware. It's recommended that multiple people get it to provide redundancy, but otherwise one person can operate the device while the rest have their weapons equipped, and the device can easily be stowed if needed.
Very Low/20R/Fragile, Weather Weak
Unobtanium
A heavy bullpup assault(battle?) rifle optimized for accuracy while employing an 8x50mm round. Utilities hyperburst, 2 toggleable 20-round magazines, battlespike, under-barrel 24mm 4-round shotgun, holographic sights, fixed stock, and a cupholder.Initial ammunition types include soft hollowpoint and soft with a hardened penetrating core.Utilities a "shifted blowback pulse" system to produce an extremely rapid two-round burst. Also features full-auto.Magazines are inserted into a conveyor that can be cycled using a bolt on the external side. This allows the magazines to be switched rapidly, permitting rapid switching between two ammunition types or replacing an expended magazine while the weapon is still loaded with a full magazine. This system is made sturdy to prevent mistakes.
The magazines are inserted underneath with a slight offset towards the internal-side. The two magazines together, combined with the internal preference, does make changing magazines a bit awkward, but the other magazine can act as a guide, aiding in blind-reloads.It features a oair of short, sturdy spikes projecting from either side of the barrel. These can be used offensively but are also useful for anchoring the rifle to a soft object to steady it when firing, or to hold it against a single piece of the target's anatomy to unload a whole magazine into the same hole...At the front is a downward-projecting grip which contains a manual-loaded ammunition feed for a bottom-fed semi-automatic 24-millimetre shotgun. The default round of which is 8mm steel balls. This is primarily for destroying soft tissue or deterring a nearby threat.Comes with a standard holographic sight and fixed stock.Features a collapsible horizontal ring midway along the interior edge. This can be expanded to hold spare magazines, shot-bandoliers, or a covered beverage.Very Low/70R/Unreliable
The H.O.S.E.
The HOSE is a handheld device composed of a long sturdy barrel, a trigger mechanism, and a tube leading to a two-tank system attached to the underside. One tank holds about two liters of a fluid, in this case SLUDG, and the other, smaller tank is filled with pressurized gas. (Preferably something non-flammable, like nitrogen or carbon dioxide.) When the trigger is pulled, the pressurized gas flows into the chamber containing the SLUDG. This pushes the SLUDG out of the holding tank and through the tube. A tapered nozzle at the end of the barrel focuses the stream, shooting the fluid up to 100-150 feet depending on the pressure of the gaseous propellant.
The liquid tank can be refilled with other fluids as well, the most obvious choice being an accelerant like napalm or gasoline. Other options could include water or chemical fire retardant for a mobile fire suppressant tool, surface lubricant for tactical retreats, coolant/liquid nitrogen as an alternative offensive approach, or even filling both tanks with pressurized gas and using it with a muzzle mount to launch handheld grenades longer distances. Very Effective/70R/Volatile, Temperature Sensitive, Heavy
SD2 "Brighteye" Scanner
This mechanism is a souped up version of the SD1 "Oversight" aimed at improving the lackluster performance of the prototype model. The SD2 features a beefed up power supply, new, more efficient scanning array, special equipment to specifically detect the new "Aura" phenomenon, side mounted flashlight, easy to read combat display, wifi antenna, and a cupholder. With the new features, this machine is meant to give more information to our soldiers better than we could have before.
Medium/20R/Fragile, Weather Weak
Current Equipment:
2 Brighteyes
1 Unobtanium
1 H.O.S.E
4 Zombie Corpse (Damaged)
5 Zombie Corpse (Heavily Damaged)
5 Zombies ("Live")
Three Skeletons (Damaged)
Three Skeleton Shields/Swords/Helmets
Two Mage Corpses
One Red Spellbook
One Blue Spellbook
Two Imp Corpses
One Live Mongrel
One Mongrel Corpse
One Artifact Sword
Current Enemies:
Zombies
Anemic green humanoids, typically with visible injuries that would normally disable a human. The field has shown them to be highly resistant to damage to anywhere that isn't the head. Slow, shambling, and weak they are no danger to our soldiers in open combat. As such they seem to prefer ambush tactics, and are apparently numerous enough that overwhelming numbers might become an issue in the future. The nature of their weakness means that most zombie corpses will not have intact brains when recovered, however it also means that "live" subjects will relatively simple to obtain. Even small scratches from this creature can lead to a spreading infection. Live subjects have currently been obtained. They don't appear to need oxygen, allowing them to hide in odd places for long periods of time.
Skeletons
Human skeletons, often scratched and damaged. Field testing has shown them to be highly resistant to damage at all points on their body. It seems that they can only take so much damage before collapsing into a pile of bones (which primary testing has shown to be completely mundane). More interestingly, it seems that an invisible force is manipulating it like a puppet. Something is shown retreating from a skeleton on their "death". It can apparently leave the skeleton before death at will, and appears to have been used as a sort of scout for ambushes. They are all accompanied by a sword, shield, and helmet. The invisible force is apparently capable of leaving them at will, making their capture difficult.
Armor
Apparently propelled by the same force as the Skeletons, they seem to be an incredibly dangerous "Upgrade". Much more resistant to all forms of damage than their predecessor, in addition to possessing an impressive degree of super strength and enough function to use firearms, they make a fatal combatant on the field. If a Skeletons act as scouts and spotters, these things act like tanks. Their appearance is that of a tall suit of pitch black Armor covered in runes, with glowing red eye-slits.
Imp
Blood red with leathery bat wings. Its main body was small and humanoid, roughly three feet tall with ram like horns and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Capable of shooting out a large, slow moving fireball that doesn't seem to burn anything other than its initial target. Initial tests suggest that it is much different biologically than known Earth animals, despite its relatively similar appearance. It is apparently used as a range unit, supporting the enemy forces from the back.
Mage
Primary tests suggest that these creatures are entirely human. They wear large robes, covering up any sign of their identity. A red bound book filled with incomprehensible runes was found on the subject, which logic dictates is a spell book. The current subject was witnessed shooting flames from his hands, though it is possible they had other abilities. As a human enemy, they possess an intelligence many of our enemies to date have lacked. A second Mage was encountered with Blue robes and a blue spellbook, focusing on Ice spells. This indicates they are indeed capable of using multiple spells each, and there are likely different "Specialties" of mages.
Mongrel
"Mongrels" is the label given to the first werewolves encountered by the project. Though they have a sickly appearance, they are significantly stronger than a normal human, though not to the point of superhuman strength. They have sharp claws likely capable of rending flesh when it contacts, though we are fortunate not to have observed this yet in the field. Their most interesting and intimidating feature of this creature is its ability to heal-shrugging off normal wounds in a matter of seconds (though the pain seems to stun them during that time). Either a killing blow or a certain threshold of damage is enough to overcome this healing ability and kill the monster. They seem to be able to transform for an indefinite amount of time unrelated to the phase of the moon, but return to human form upon being killed. Observations from the field suggest they eat human corpses, though the living specimen is capable of eating the meat of other animals.
Ghoul
What is likely the weakest form of vampire. They seem to command the other paranormal creatures when present, having at the very least human level intellect. Their diet apparently consists of dead human flesh, throwing the figurative and literal bones to their underlings. Despite this, they are capable of drinking human blood. This does not seem to infect the target with its disease, though it is possible it grants enhanced powers to the creature. It has impressive strength and speed, in addition to other abilities that allow it to escape from many situations. All the crosses and other religious symbols had been vandalized and destroyed, suggesting that it has this famous weakness. They are capable of using modern weaponry, and are often come equipped with it as a result.
Current Technology:
S.L.U.D.G
(Semi-Liquid Uniform De-mobilization Glue)
The idea is that it's a cross between spray-able foam insulation and rubber cement. It's a two-step process, featuring one solvent with a special polymer inside stored in one container and another catalyst stored in another. These two are combined in a mixing chamber where the catalyst begins to neutralize the solvent, reducing its solubility. This also produces heat, which in part reduces the strength that the polymer chains have leftover. This mixture is them sprayed out of the nozzle, where the polymer chains cool and as they are no longer held in stasis inside the solvent they reform quickly into long, strong chains that form a thick ooze on whatever the mixture was sprayed on in a matter of seconds. The neutralizing solvent sprayed along with it releases gas bubbles as it undergoes the process, puffing up the goop until it expands and cools into a strong, stretchy foam that can hold a person and possibly something stronger in place where it stands.
The end product is a goop that can be transported in a liquid form and can undergo a chemical reaction on demand that can turn it into a foam that expands and then hardens or at least thickens very quickly as to immobilize whatever it's being fired at. This design hopefully can create a foam that will be strong enough to immobilize something with the strength of an average human, but later versions could up the ante to hold down something bigger like a werecreature or moving vehicle. Having a backup chemical that can dissolve the SLUDG is handy, but not necessarily required so long as the soldiers understand not to point the gun at eachother.
Prosthetic (Leg) 1. Advancements have been made to human prosthetics, with a focus for integrating the human nervous system with electronics. Currently, we are capable of replacing human legs with workable replacements. Further work is necessary to expand the technology to other body parts, with even more research necessary to expand into true cybernetics.
Spectral Sensors. Sensor technology has been further developed, allowing it to work better and longer than before in addition to identifying treats more clearly. Has discovered "Aura", a supernatural radiation that could potentially have tracking and identification uses.