C0M-ER0N (Shadowclaw), Definitely Not Machine Rebel Leader
i-666 (Egan), Definitely Not Eldritch Sleeper Agent
Ursarkar E. Creed (Dev), Grizzled Military Commander
Dariel Aegis (Glass), Renegade Mainframe
Quipzee Wit (Naturegirl), Crystalline Emotion Mosquito
Timantha Starfire (TricMagic), Slightly Evil Idol
are all in! Apologies to those who didn't make it!You are, as usual, surrounded by idiots.
You say this not only because you are currently sitting in a fancy atmospheric craft surrounded by your fellow managers, but because you can see through the windows that the building you're heading towards- a rather large, violet cluster of domes- is absolutely
filled with rioting shapes. Those morons in the government appear to have opened the floodgates and then ran for it.
Upon landing on the roof (the pilot takes off immediately, assuring you he'll "be around" in case you need him) and making your way inside, this assessment is confirmed. There's a sort of command center set up in the middle of the currently rather empty upper levels of the structure, and from there sensor readings indicate that the lower levels are experiencing a turbulent plasma flood. This isn't terribly far from the truth.
A single recorded message is the only sign of the governmental council you were supposed to meet here. It displays a single nervous-looking Vine, constantly glancing around.
"Oh, um, welcome managers! I'm sure you have a lot of work to do and we didn't want to get in the way so best of luck! This is Admiral Kalla Vakrin Attran signing off!"
She flashes a nervous smile and two tentacles up before fumbling at the control panel. The message ends.
An alarming screeching sound echoes through the floor. You have a Situation here.
The proper way to acquire Idols is by gradually feeding applicants through an Audition Center, a sophisticated piece of infrastructure designed to gauge every aspect of an Idol, and thus enable you to negotiate with her in an informed manner. Most likely these jackasses treated it like a military drive- loudly and patriotically declaring that everyone should enlist for power and glory, then assuming they or you can just pick and choose from carefully regimented lines.
The result is a swarming horde of angry candidates who will literally kill to get what they came here for, and you without any means of telling the wheat from the chaff. You will need to solve both these issues or in all likelihood be ripped limb from limb by a mob of angry potential clients and/or debt collectors.
The upper levels consist of a central military-style command center, a ring of luxury suites (for the "officers") and a series of barracks for... menial personnel, you suppose. Idols require luxury suites (among other things) to live and work in the base, so that's actually kind of convenient... though you're also slightly homeless at the moment so claiming them for yourself is also an option.
The barracks are worthless. You CAN hire mooks to do things on site, but it's not the kind of obvious, day one thing you'd do without a specific task in mind. These jackasses really thought this was going to be a military base.
The lower level, at the moment, consists of angry gnashing and scary noises. There are presumably facilities down there, but until you clear out the mob and get things fixed up you have no idea what they are.
For assets, you all have 5000 credits apiece- enough to buy an Idol-grade mech outright. In theory you don't
need to, because you were promised the base would have some, but given the rest of the situation nothing is certain. It is also thoroughly insufficient to bribe this many applicants.
C0M-ER0NA quick check of the central computer system reveals a disappointing lack of AI to recruit. A quick check of sensor systems reveals very little intact, making it hard to gauge much of the situation down below. However, even at minimal concentrations, there are probably far more robotic applicants than you could possible handle, and you lack any instrumentation to measure their worth.
You have a prefab "salon" all ready to go- it slowly runs "calming" software to gradually turn victims to your cause as it pampers them. Such a facility can be set up anywhere in the base and moved later if needed, but it can't handle the kinds of numbers you're looking at.
You also have your "Glamor Gals"- a dozen matching Cloy reprogrammed to mindlessly serve your whims. Most people find them creepy, because they're intimidated by progress. They're combat-capable but still basically mooks, so while they might be handy in suppressing riots they're clearly insufficient for the task at hand.
Finally, you have a contact. The Forger is a flamboyant Cloy who looks something like an ominous glowing red squid. He's an industrial unit specializing in plasma-treating materials for a variety of effects, and you and he meet sometimes to discuss material and energy applications in respect to extreme condition tolerance. He also owns Red Heat Industries, a major industrial power in the system.
i-666You arrive to the delicious anarchy of true desperation. Down below are teeming swarms of people who see fame and fortune within their grasp, but can feel it slipping away. The only problem is how to best squeeze the worst of the worst into disadvantageous contracts in order to feast upon their despair. Oh! And also figure out which ones are worth anything to begin with. Torturing peasants is easy and fun but not very profitable.
You have a prefab [UNTRANSLATABLE] for doing [UNTRANSLATABLE] things. It can be set up anywhere in the base and then moved if necessary, and is also larger on the inside than the outside. You're not sure it'll help with the current situation, but you're not sure it
won't help with the current situation.
You also have a Crown of Breaking. When applied to a willing victim, this petrified bone crown allows a lowly commoner to possess the powers of a trained Idol. Alas, its power comes at a terrible price- the victim's life force is slowly drained, and with it their hope of a better future.
Finally, you know a guy. Gargulbuk, a Nemesis- more specifically a Maggot, their heavy weapons and blasting psionics caste. They look kind of exactly how you'd expect fat humanoid maggots to look. He's the chief engineer at Terodyne Cleaning Solutions, a major corporation that specializes in energy weaponry. Hence the cleaning bit. You and he hang out and discuss building battlestations large enough to scour all life from entire worlds sometimes.
Ursarkar E. CreedSituation's much as you left it: Terrible. You can't claim to be much of an idol expert yourself, but even you knew that when prospective idols get within reach of their dream, they get
savage. You're gonna need to find a way to break up and disperse the crowd.
You have a prefab Recording Studio for producing... well, you'd describe it as inspiring propaganda, but you suppose you're technically in the entertainment business now. It can be set up anywhere in the base and moved if necessary, though you're not sure it's going to help with the current situation.
You also have your favorite tank. It's the size of a small building when fully deployed, but folds down into a briefcase for transport. You have no earthly idea how it does this, and even less how it hides its own weight, but it's by far the best 200 credits you have ever wagered on anything. If that weird mystery box merchant ever stops by this planet you'll be sure to consider playing again.
...hm. The ceilings here are pretty tall, it might fit...
Finally, you know of an old acquaintance. Varius Attran served with you in the war, and now sits on the funding council that's supposed to be directing your efforts. He's also a bit of an ass, but he means well. As evidenced by using his excessively good looks to marry a preposterously wealthy Vine- the "Admiral" you saw earlier- and leverage it into resources for the colonies. She's no less of a clown than he is, but Serenity isn't even supposed to
have a navy, and now it's got a battlecruiser floating around up there somewhere. Talk about friends in high places.
Dariel AegisYou'd been hoping to get to work immediately, but if this place has any facilities, they're currently hosting a full-scale riot. You'll need to resolve this issue before you can start resolving the issues you came here for.
You have a prefab Temporal Tempering Lab. It utilizes slight disturbances in time to produce materials or conditions not normally possible in predictable linear time. It's also a rather sophisticated piece of infrastructure, so you doubt it's going to see much use for a while.
You also have a Personal Shielding Unit. While you don't see much use for it yourself, it's always nice to have one more thing to keep people safe with.
Finally, you're in contact with a peer. Sqrisheld Scaralkin Antominin is a Vine robotics expert and leader of the Whiteshell Research Group, an organization devoted to medical affairs and specifically cybernetics and body replacement. You and he have some obvious interests in common, and so you've kept in touch.
Quipzee WitThere's a kaleidoscope of colors beneath you- mostly red (rage) and green (terror). Put simply, the people down there are desperate, and you've seen firsthand just what desperate people are capable of. If you can't figure out a way to bring some ecstasy (yellow) to this situation it's likely the whole place will be torn apart.
You have a prefab Emotion Foundry, which lets you smelt emotions into raw materials. It can be set up anywhere in the base and moved if necessary, though you're not sure it'll be of much use right now.
You also have a pet slime. It's really just a squishy ball with a face, but people love snuggling it and it acts as a prism to magnify their emotions. Hopefully happiness, but anything's tasty.
Finally, you have an associate. 'Recon' Rick Tammer is a scout turned hotshot fighter pilot. More importantly, he runs the Happystone Charms Company, which produces and sells good luck charms and treasured mementos used by authentic battlefield personnel. The two of you have chatted about emotional impact and helping people a few times.
Timantha StarfireYou've arrived, and your adoring fans are waiting. Unfortunately, there's
far too many of them to beat into friendship. You'll need a Plan B. Hopefully soon, because it sounds like they're trying to pry open the elevator doors and you doubt you could hold that chokepoint for very long.
You have a prefab Hospital. It's handy for when you make new friends and then they want their legs back.
You also have the Coldfire Torc. A crazy old hag sold it to you in a shop that doesn't exist and according to records never existed, claiming it was meant for you while cackling. You didn't take her very seriously because destined artifacts usually don't cost a lot of money, but it does seem to channel alien yet vaguely familiar energies in battle.
Finally, you have a friend. Slimmery Jim, as he's known, is a weasely Smoke who makes a living smuggling adorable things for terrible purposes. You befriended your good friend by friending him through a wall and then threatening to friend him further if he didn't give you what you wanted. You have been very good friends ever since.
C0M-ER0N (Shadowclaw)
[Cold/Grim]
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Rebellion
Plasma
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Credits: 5000
Prefab Happy Thoughts Salon. Pampers idols while slowly corrupting them to the dark side! Can be set up in any base tile and moved later.
Minions: Glamor Gals. Dozen matching creepy Cloy that serve you to the letter.
Contact: The Forger, Red Heat Industries. Industrial smelter.
i-666 (Egan)
[Depraved/Cold]
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Eldritch
Madness
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Credits: 5000
Prefab [UNTRANSLATABLE]. For doing [UNTRANSLATABLE] things. Can be set up in any base tile and moved later.
Crown of Breaking. Turns talentless mook into skilled Idol while wearing it. Also slowly breaks their body and spirit while wearing it.
Contact: Gargulbuk, Terodyne Cleaning Solutions. Energy engineer.
Ursarkar E. Creed (Dev)
[Heroic/Cold]
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Epics
Stealth
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Credits: 5000
Prefab Recording Studio. An Idol can use this to produce entertainment products. Can be set up in any base tile and moved later.
Pocket Tank. Small building by day, briefcase by night.
Contact: Varius Attran, Funding Council. Ruling councilor, husband of wealthy other councilor.
Dariel Aegis (Glass)
[Heroic/Cold]
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Shields
Temporal Distortion
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Credits: 5000
Prefab Temporal Tempering Lab. Slightly shifts things to achieve effects outside linear time constraints. Can be set up in any base tile and moved later.
Personal Shielding Unit. Helps avoid injuries in battle.
Contact: Sqrisheld Scaralkin Antominin, Whiteshell Research Group. Roboticist, doctor, and cyberneticist.
Quipzee Wit (Naturegirl)
[Heroic/Passionate]
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Biology
Comedy
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Credits: 5000
Prefab Emotion Foundry. Condenses emotions into solid materials. Can be set up in any base tile and moved later.
Pet: Emotion Slime. Magnifies emotions, loves cuddling.
Contact: 'Recon' Rick Tammer, Happystone Charms Company. Pilot and ex-soldier.
Timantha Starfire (TricMagic)
[Passionate/Cold]
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Starfire
Friendship Through Superior Firepower
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Credits: 5000
Prefab Hospital. Idols can recover from cripping battlefield injuries here. Can be set up in any base tile and moved later.
Coldfire Torc. Channels cold white energies of unknown but vaguely familiar origin.
Contact: Slimmery Jim, Criminal Scum. Morally repulsive smuggler.
Author
Topic: Grim Idols [Turn 1: Evil Pays] (Read 13192 times)