Dominique WakemanDom nodded, crossing her heart with her left hand. "I promise. Me and you, we'll make this work - whatever it turns out to be. I'll see you in the hangar, Taric." She left the room and addressed Emily. "Emily, where's the armory? And do you know if there's any heavy armor in it? The kind that, when you wear it, you just look like a generic tin can or something, if you catch my meaning?"
Dom asks Emily the above, and if Emily answers in the affirmative then she goes and switches out her armor for it. If not - or afterward - she'll head to the hangar and look at the available craft.
Emily's voice is with you the second you finish forming the question. "No, there is nothing in the armory that will make you look like a simple food preservation device. However, if you are referring metaphorically to suits of armor that will blend in, there is nothing in the armory that will stand out more or less than what you have. Lord Taric will make identification for you, and it won't matter what kind of armor you're wearing. However, you may want to go to the armory to repair damage."
Considering that this armor makes you look ready to kill everything within arms reach, you're not sure if you should trust Emily's perspectives on 'blending in', but repairing the suit is at least a polite thing to do before you turn it back in.
Heading down to the armory requires two checks of direction with patrolling immortals, but you arrive considerably faster than you would have if you'd been forced to find it yourself. Two overgrown immortals, the kind with ridged spikes growing out of their arms, regard you emotionlessly as you pass. You wonder about the people inside those suits... whether or not they're salvageable under the parasitic chitin.
Not really your problem.
Getting the suit repaired is a simple manner of stripping it off and placing it in a deep bin filled with partially charged liquid. Dozens of tiny swimming robots swarm the armor, adding material to the gouges, filling the cracks, and reshaping the dents. [Repair 21] After a minute or two, there's a low hum from the pool. The density of the liquid changes, floating the repaired armor back to the top. It looks brand new, without a trace of the autocannon fire that had scarred it earlier.
"Remarkable, isn't it?"
You whirl to face the buzzing voice, leaving your armor floating on top of the pool. It's an immortal, but unlike any you've seen before. The others were significantly larger than human, a necessity as they needed to be able to fit a human inside them. This one is smaller, leaner. It's taller than you, but that's hardly uncommon. You don't think it would top six feet, and you don't think there'd be any way it could effectively encase someone. It's also colored wrong, a pale grayish blue color instead of the usual bred in green camouflage the other immortals have. The odder thing is that it sounds like it meant its comment about finding the repair pool remarkable. You didn't think immortals had the capacity to find anything remarkable.
"I know you are leaving," it says, it's tone very... human. "Would you take this with you?" It extends its hand to you, offering a small object the size of your thumb. It looks to be made from the same bluish chitin that makes up this immortal's body.
Health: 128/128
Stamina: 120/120
Carried Weight: 166/210
Attire: Harlequin Uniform
Inv:
Dominique's Abassy Heavy pistol -laser sight- [6, 8lbs]
.50 pistol clip (7 0.2lbs) x5
Artemis Railgun (3/3 A, 3/3 E 18lbs)
Size S-3 rail spike pack (3, 0.6lbs) x2
Cerico Shotgun (24/8 A, 16lbs)
12 gauge shells (8, 0.3lbs) x5
Stun club (50/50 11lbs)
Advanced Medical Kit (10/10) (5lbs)
Energy Cell (Full, 0.5lbs) x5
ORS (3) x2
Status: Fine.
---
James Evan Alright... before James focused on getting Tarran out, he needed to figure out where "out" was. And as such, leaving Tarran alone for a moment, James slipped through the crack and tried to figure out what was going on. And why did his chest itch?
Before you try and crawl out, you examine your chest. [Observation 2-1] It's itchy. 'Why' isn't apparent to you even after feeling yourself extensively.
[Mobility 2-1, 2-1, 13-1] [Luck 4] [Luck 10] It takes you three attempts to crawl up and out of the crack. The first time ends with you losing your grip after slicing your hand on a jagged piece of metal. (Armor -3, -2 HP) The second time you get halfway up, then slip in the thin coat of slime still clinging to the wall and land on Tarran's cracked ribs. [Tarran Soak 22] Aside from eliciting an unconscious grunt, this seems to have no ill effect. Now, however, you've managed to pull yourself through, and you can finally observe the outside world.
The good news is, you're in New Hensfield. The bad news is that News Hensfield appears to be on fire. [Observation 14-1] The Virtue seems to have landed on her back, and you've just crawled out through a crack in her belly. Smoke fills the air, and you can see fire in pretty much every direction. Most notable is the strip of fire that outlines the impact gouge the virtue created when it 'landed'. You can see movement to the southwest and to the west, but you can't tell who's who. Gunfire comes in staccato bursts, and the crunching explosive sound of heavy kinetics being used is equally frequent.
[Luck ?] After a moment, you identify a figure in the smoke that's heading straight for you. [Intuition 8-1] It's somewhere in the human sized region and very vague, you really can't discern anything else about it.
A psychic beacon flares to life somewhere to the south. You don't know who set it, or what it's meant for, but you could find your way over there blindfolded. Well, if it weren't for the intervening fire.
Health: 72/88
Stamina: 31/100
Carried weight: 171/300
Attire: Exarch Dress uniform [8lbs] James' Light Body armor 37/50 (50/50) [25lbs]
Inv:
Renfield SMG (10/30, 10lbs)
Riot shield (10lbs 1/30, in hand)
Piru Gauss Rifle (E5/5 A5/5 16lbs)
.45 Gauss slug clip (5)
Simone's Song (6lbs 3/7 -Frangible Rounds-)
.50 caliber Frangible pistol clips (7) x1
Irin Combat Shotgun 3/6 (15lbs)
Dybbuk Flechette Canister Rifle (1/2 35 lbs)
20 mm flechette canisters (x2, 1 lb)
Emergency VIP Drop Suit (30lbs, Armor 35/35)
Status: New Hensfield, atop the Virtue. Mild Concussion, next save [2].
---
Tyrin and AnnaFire that Broadbeam. THEN drop it or lay it down to a place where I can easily draw it.
Stick with the Marshal. Get updated on the situation.
Marshall Feuer gives a quick shake of his head to Anna's suggestion of sniping the presbyter. "Two people that strong doing the monster mash, everything gets strange. What you see isn't where you see it, and trying to get a bullet to go in a straight line is about as possible as getting beer out of piss. For now we sit tight, get the bystanders out of the way, and shoot 'crats." [Observation 14+1] Feuer looks at Anna more closely, noting her ragged breathing and wavering stance. "You've been pushing yourself way too far, too fast," he says, dropping his voice to make it almost inaudible over the sound of Hensfield burning. "You're a leader, Witheld, you aren't allowed to be tired." Feuer turns back to his men, his tone growing back to a Marshal's voice. "Hickie, give the captain a stick of the good stuff before you see to the gutwound. Jeremiah, help that colonist get Laveros behind the cover. Wigs, cover. I need to mark whatever the hell Laveros lights up."
Tyrin fires shortly before Jeremiah grabs him under the elbow opposite from the colonist, sending a laser burning through the smoke to the south-east. [Marksman 16-2+4] The first shot of a brand new battle strikes through the smoke, ( Armor -35, Health -9, -7 Negated) the tightly focused beam super-heating the Destroyer's armor and inflicting superficial burns. Tyrin lowers the rifle as soon as the shot is complete, letting the other two drag him off.
[Feuer Mark 12] The Marshal chases the laser mentally, tagging a psychic beacon onto the Destroyer. For better or worse, the Destroyer is now findable by every psychic in the vicinity. (Marshal Stamina -3)
Anna follows stays with the Marshal, not noticing the little man coming up behind her with a needle before it's too late. [Hickie Medicine 22] (Stamina +22) There's a sharp pain from the injection, predictable after getting an injection from a medic nicknamed Hickie. Then pain starts fading away and borderline nervous energy fills Anna as the stim's cocktail of chemicals goes to work.
Health: 18/79
Stamina: 47/85
Carried weight: 52/150
Attire: Colonist Worksuit, Limbo Medium Body Armor (78/115, 35lbs)
Inv:
Medical Kit (9/10, 5lbs)
Bandages (4/5, 2lbs)
Combat Knife (1lbs)
ALR Broadbeam (8/10 E, 14lbs)
.30 Cal pistol clip (10) x1
Status: New Hensfield, South-east. Moderate Bleeding (Loses 7 stamina per turn until health and stamina equalize, then loses health slowly)
Health: 96/95
Stamina: 42/105
Carried weight: /130
Attire: Colonist Worksuit, Lethe Armored Infiltration Suit (36/50, 20lbs)
Inv:
Kapre Light Rifle (11/15, 16lbs)
Renfield SMG (10/30, 10lbs)
Combat Knife x2 (1ls)
.30 cal rifle clip (15/15) x1
.115 spike pack (30/30) x1
Status: New Hensfield, South-east. Stimpack (3)
Red Hollow Face: Armed Colonist
Green Hollow Face: Unchained Psionic
Green Hollow Face on Dark Green Background: Unchained Kineticist
Dark Green Hollow Face: Unchained Marshal
Light Blue Hollow Face: Anna
Deep Blue Hollow Face: Tyrin
Teal filled face: Trooper
Teal filled face with gold background: Sharpshooter
Cyan Face with gold background: Sniper
Cyan Filled face with light-grey background: Destroyer
White Filled face: Damien
---
Damien SmithDamien raises a hand to the com-link built into his helmet. "Negative. I got this. Keep your eyes peeled, and for the love of the gods, please make sure that your safeties are off. Not calling you incompetent, but this one time..." Damien trails off and goes prone. Something about this doesn't add up. "Stay frosty, guys. I don't like this. It's quiet. Too quiet."
Not three seconds after Damien drops and delivers his warning for the soldiers to stay frosty, a lance of green light burns through the smoke, striking the Destroyer squarely. An instant after that, a psychic beacon flares up and pinpoints the location of the heavy infantryman. Resistance, definite resistance. Good for them, it was always easier to break something when it showed spine.
Chatter from soldiers fills Damien's receiver, most of it useless communication between grunts. Damien screened out everything but the useful details. "Contact! North and west, at least one Unchained armed with a high-energy laser weapon. Firing triangulation identifies origin on the north side of the colonist structure."
Health: 79/79
Stamina: 79/85
Carried weight: 105/150
Attire: Technocrat Uniform, Asgard Shield Armor 75/75 (150/150, 35lbs)
Inv:
Hellhound Beam SMG (30/30, 15lbs)
Abassy (7/7, 8lbs)
Laelaps Laser Rifle (12/12, 17lbs)
.50 cal pistol clip (7) x4
Energy Cell (Full) x8
Ichneumon (2/2, 25lbs)
Field Surgery Kit (10/10, 5lbs)
1" sabot rounds (2) x8
Status: Hensfield field, mindbar
Author
Topic: Deviation-22. The End of All Things. (Read 527481 times)