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[Errol]

There is only so many ways I can write "shoot it with a bow".

Um. Try to re-enact that scene in Meet The Sniper with bow and arrows by killing three lizards in quick succession. With headshots. Okay, one would be good too.

[Dwarmin]

There is only so many ways I can write "shoot it with a bow".

You know, with Jaffars tinkering ability, I could give you a Green Arrow-esque arsenal of trick arrows to use. Tell me if you want some-and get me the parts.

ex.

Sonic arrow!
Fire arrow!
Ink arrow!
Glue arrow!
Boomerang arrow!

[Talarion]

Boomerang arrow!

Impossible :I

[_DivideByZero_]

With magic science, it is!

[Zebrian]

Boomerang arrow!

Impossible :I

Ahem...
http://www.xkcd.com/939/
'Nuff said.

[_DivideByZero_]

I'm thinking I should make this a bit more compact next time...

Roll 8

Locations:
Centauri University of the unknown
-Exam Room (Everyone)

Actions:

Kayle gritted her teeth and returned her rifle to her back, drawing her blade in the same motion. It was analogous in form to a spatha, custom made for her by her tribe's weapon smith, and she was confident in both her ability with it and her armor's durability. "Come on," she growled at the lizard running towards her, moving to impale it through the throat.

Kayle Silvertaugh-Kayle, gritting her teeth, put her arm through the sling on her rifle and proceeded to draw her sword. It very much resembled an ancient Spatha, albeit with a larger pommel in order to house the fusion cell. Kayle was confident in the blade's power and her armor's strength, and proceeded to meet the lizard head on.
The lizard, with lightning speed, lunged at Kayle's throat. [7+3 vs 10] Kayle, anticipating the attack, immediately pointed the sword at the lizard, trying to shield as much of her face as possible. [6+1 vs 7+1] The rampaging beast swatted the sword out of the way, however, and Kayle had to jump backwards to avoid the next swing of its claws.

Jaffer saw one going for him, and one maybe going for Kayle. He hoped she was smart enough to have some sort of melee weapon. Alot of well to-do Metalheads who wore big armor and big guns sometimes forgot little stuff like that.

Jaffer thought back, as he watched the lizard creep toward him. He remembered a long time ago, how he met up with a voracious PsychoRoach-the pet of the local junkyard owner-on Typhoid III while scavenging for parts.

He had goaded it into charging him, and stepped aside at the last moment-sending it into a nearby matter deconstructer behind him, and probably saving his life. Round 2?

Action: Drop the rocket launcher. Back up a bit-closer to the wall, while taking out sonic mace in my off hand, and firing my rifle one handed at the one lizard that seems to be going for me. When it lunges, I drop my rifle and sidestep, hopefully slaughtering him on the razor wall behind me. If he stops a bit short, just go town on it with my mace, aiming for the joint muscles.

Jaffar Cole-Remembering his last encounter with an extremely stupid critter, Jaffar realized that this lizard won't expect him to use his environment as a weapon. After all, most predators he had encountered were reliant on their own natural weapons. Jaffar had never met a creature that could think its own actions through. Dropping the bazooka and positioning himself in front of the spiked wall, he taunted it, upholstering his sonic mace in the process. The lizard stood up to roar in response, and started clambering towards him, its claws creating a loud clunking sound as they impacted the hard metal floor.

At about five meters, the lizard jumped. [4] Jaffar sidestepped immediately, and the lizard, already in the air, frantically reached for the ground before hitting the spiked wall face-first and being reduced to a gory pile of lizard.

Pull out the Gauss Rifle, and shoot the lizards going after my allies.

Caplus Orange-Caplus loaded his gauss rifle and rushed over to defend Ivan. He signaled for Herros to come close to and help out while [8+2 vs 6+1] shooting one of the offending lizards in the leg, shattering its bones.

Rocks will obviously kill them! Hurl rocks!

Ivan the Adventurer-[5] Ivan reached into his inventory and attempted to get out a rock. His bandaged hands, however, could barely grasp anything. He managed, however, to find a chunk of obsidian, which he threw at a the only unhurt lizard he saw. [7 vs 7+1] it bounced harmlessly off the creature's scales.

Herros COntinues firing, if one lunges at him, he steps to the side and punches it, discharging a burst from the gauntlet

Herros Machlan-Herros noticed a second lizard lunging at him. He shot it repeatedly [12+1 vs 4+1], eventually severing its head from the rest of the body via thousands of tiny fast-moving particles. "Now that's a death by a thousand cuts!"

There is only so many ways I can write "shoot it with a bow".

Um. Try to re-enact that scene in Meet The Sniper with bow and arrows by killing three lizards in quick succession. With headshots. Okay, one would be good too.

Milia Kurasaki-Milia thought to herself about possibly shooting three lizards in quick succession. If there were three lizards in sight, she would be able to do so. Turning around, however revealed two lizards heading towards Ivan and company. [5+2 vs 5+1] She notched an arrow, and loosed it at one of the lizards, breaking its other leg and immobilizing it.

Change my weapon for a Durgen Industries Impact Hammer. Enchant the hammer to Detonate a portion of impacted matter on hit, with portion being relatively small but always enough to send the target flying.
If Varron's lizard is still alive and on the ground, test my hammer by launching the reptile onto the sonic spikes.
If it's not, run to the south-western part of the map, stop next to Kayle and Jaffar.

Amatin Seathunder-Noticing Varron's attempt, Amatin removed his Impact Hammer and channeled his detonation power into it. Running towards Varron's lizard, he tested his hammer with a swift blow to the side.
[10 vs 10+1] The lizard braced itself from the impact, and lost some of its scales from Amatin's ability. However, its footing barely shifted, and Amatin suspected that the hammer really doesn't work against massive targets. After all, the lizard does appear to be about five hundred kilograms, at least.

If there is a group of them, make a column of gravity to send them all flying into the roof.  If there isn't a group, just choose the closest one to smash into the roof.

Varron Carse-Varron laughed on the inside. Bah, I know these creatures. They're Dinosauri from the Vulcanus system. Really strong, but really stupid.
He smiled at Amatin.
"I'm afraid that's not going to work. But this will. Watch."

[6] Varron created a column of intense gravity underneath the lizard. The lizard, unable to grab onto the smooth floor, reached for Amatin, [3] who narrowly dodged the creature's arm. The lizard flew into the ceiling head-first, breaking its neck. Varron then released the lizard, and it fell down onto the ground, nearly every bone in its body being cleanly shattered and dislocated.

Lizards left: 2

GAME EVENT:

The spiked walls begin to retract, first with the spikes falling inwards and retracting. Now that the fight is practically over, the lighting in the arena changes to a cool blue, causing the blood splattered everywhere to seem purple. A bridge opens up at the south (not on map), allowing access to a now-opening steel door. The two remaining lizards scurry off into a corner, the light scaring them into a docile state.

Varron reminds himself of something he learned at the university: the Dinosauri hunt only when the blood red light of Vulcanus Prime--the red giant--shines on the planet's surface. When the cool blue light of Vulcanus Minor--the white dwarf, which orbits the outskirts of the system--shines at night, the Dinosauri inexplicably panic and return to their burrows. Any attempt to figure out why has remained unfruitful, but it remains very useful as a method of taming them.

The viewscreen reads, for the last time, the results of the final wave:

Round 3, Over. Score: 10/10.

Exam Grade: A-

You guys get a turn to do whatever, scavenge weapons, recover lost items, etc. This is getting a bit boring, I hope I can make it a bit more interesting. Does anyone have any experience in making an RTD not die? I really like this one, but I don't want it to be "shoot this, shoot that" etc. Also, how can I make the intermissions a bit more interesting? As in, when there is no clear objective other than "go to point a to find out what to do?"

Spoiler: Ze Map (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Character Sheets (click to show/hide)

Kayle Silvertaugh
Race: Cyrian
Traits: Strong | Overly Honest | Cyrian
Skills: Adept Marksman | Skilled Fighter | Competant Ambusher | Rusty Liar
Passive Abilities: Detection Field
Active Abilities: Drain Life
Armor: Black Bodysuit | Nanosteel Hazardous Environment Suit [19]
Equipped: GC MKIII Laser Rifle [5] (24/30) | Custom VibroBlade (Sheathed) [5]
Inventory(38/150 kg)
Backpack [5]
-4x Reserve Oxygen Tank [4]
-10x Class 12 Energy Cell [10]

Caplus Orange
Traits: Electromaniac | Debater | Ross
Skills: Novice Navigator | Proficent Repair | Adept Sniper | Proficent Gunslinger
Passive Abilities: Liberty Field
Active Abilities: EMP
Armor: Patriot Medium Power Armor [30]
Equipped: M45 Gauss Rifle (6/10) [14] (2-handed)
Inventory(77/125 kg):
HKM-40 UPP (10/30) [5]
Ruger Mark VII Laser Pistol (9/9) [3]
Backpack [5]
-Binoculars [2]
-Duct Tape [2]
-Wrench [1]
Magazine Belt [1]
-3x 20mm Gauss Magazine [9]
-7x Class 9 Energy Cell [3]
-4x 7mm UPP Magazine [2]

Herros Machlan
Traits: Wacky Tinker | Sociopath | Centauri
Skills: Talented Tinkerer | Adequate Ranged Weaponary | Not Observer | Not Judge of Intent | Rusty Manual Labour
Passive Ability: One Sided Tech
Active Ability: Energy Surge
Armour: 4C3 Herroid High Mobility Frame [25]
Equiped: V9R Patented Patent Pending Disruptor Gauntlet [3] | S1NGE Magnetically Coupled Particle Accelerator Rifle (203/300) [7]
Inventory(48/150 kg):
10x Class 15 Energy Cell [10]
Toolkit [3]

Ivan
Traits: Curious | Hearty
Skills: Competent Striker | Competent Dodger | Competent Pacifier | Competant Armor-User | Competent Swimmer 
Passive Abilities: Must... Press.... Buttons...
Active Abilities: Randospelliousus
-Random Element Ball
Armor: Leather Cap | Leather Pants | Leather Jacket | Leather Shoes (All this [3])
Equipped: Silver Longsword [7]
Inventory(15/100 kg):
5x Stone [2]
20x Strawberry [1]
Health:
Both Arms
Upper Body
Left Leg

Milia Kurasaki
Traits: Deadeye | Nervous | Aroth
Skills: Adept Archer | Adequate Tracker | Adequate Dodger |  Adequate First Aid | Backwater Aroth
Passive Abilities: Heightened Senses
Active Abilities: Imbue Shot
Armor: Leather Quiver [7] | Sturdy Clothing | Anti-Ballistics Barrier Shirt [2]
Equipped: Well-crafted Longbow [3]
Hunting Knife [1] (Sheathed)
Inventory(15/100 kg):
6x Bandaid
Herbal Medicine [1]
Disinfectant Spray (3/3) [1]

Amatin Seathunder
Traits: Point-Blank Fighter | Prone to Rage | Aroth
Skills: Talented Leader | Talented Explosives User | Rusty Stealth | Rusty Diplomacy
Passive Abilities: Fearsome Presence
Active Abilities: Detonate
Armor: Impact Suppression Pads ASP02 [5] | Heat-Insulation Suit AIS15 [3]
Equipped: Durgen Industries Impact Hammer [8]
Inventory(45/100 kg):
HKM-40 UPP (15/30) [5]
Revolver Missile Launcher WRL93 (3/6) [4]
4x 7mm UPP Magazine [2]
3x 50mm Heat-Seeking Missile [6]
1x Lead Brick [10]
Durgen Industries Loudspeaker [2]
Durgen Industries Superglue

Jaffar Cole
Traits: Thrives on Tension | Low Born | Polaric
Skills: Proficent Repair | Proficient Fighter | Talented Scavenger | Proficient Tinkerer | Diplomacy | Not Dodger
Passive Abilities: Toxin Resistance
Active Abilities: Heartless
Armor: Blue Jumpsuit | Hanover Lt-13 Engineers RIG [10]
Equipped: Tangiers XX Sonic Mace [4]
Inventory(40/100 kg):
MiliTech B4Z O-0KA (0/1) [4]
Blastech Plasma Energy Bolter (45/50) [10]
Utility Belt
-2x 70mm Shrapnel Rocket [2]
-2x 70mm AT Rocket [2]
-1x 70mm HE Rocket [1]
-Anti-Radiation Pills (4/4) [1]
-Plasma Recharger Sphere (5/5) [5]
-Toolbox
--Holo-Mapping System (currently empty)
--4x Oxygen Tank [4]
--Spacer's Rations (3/3) [2]

Varron Carse
Traits: Reactionary | Headstrong | Polaric
Skills: Skilled Melee Fighter | Talented Dodger | Competant Armor User | Competant Gunslinger
Passive Abilities: Motion Sense
Active Abilities: Gravitokinesis
Armor: Clothing | Cobalt Steel Plating [14]
Equipped: X-12 PPC (11/15) [4] | ExxTech VibroBlade (Sheathed) [5]
Inventory(32/100 kg):
Backpack [5]
-Plasma Recharger Sphere (5/5) [5]
-Rations (10/10) [4]

[HighEndNoob]

Collect spare ammo from the robots.

[Dwarmin]

This is getting a bit boring

Well, I made an interesting character that can slap together junk into weaponry-sometimes in the middle of battle-, so It's not boring for me. You'll notice my actions in the arena were somewhat unorthodox then "shoot! Shoot! Shoooot!"

I really like this one, but I don't want it to be "shoot this, shoot that" etc

We'll when you can give us more than an arena to fight in, with more goals than merely blowing up everything that moves, we can be more creative lol. Also-MAGIC.

Really, if your magic system is good, we'll have a lot more to do than just auto-attack.

Does anyone have any experience in making an RTD not die?

Well, you need to have Fun GM'ing it. Depends on your players, and if they're boring or not. 

Also, how can I make the intermissions a bit more interesting? As in, when there is no clear objective other than "go to point a to find out what to do?"

Well, you should give people a chance to pursue their own stuff for a bit-Jaffar will be tinkering with the rocket launcher for ex., obviously. Let people do what they want, drop merchants and allow freeform roleplay, etc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jaffar turned to Kayle

"Good work, yeah? Thought that last one had me for sure...also, you got a little something..on you..." he said, pointing to a Dinosauri spleen that had splatted on her shoulder.

Then, he let out a sigh of relief, as he bent down to reattach the rocket launcher to his backpack. What a mess...he knew they would be shooed out of the arena soon, so he brought out his tool box and started to go work on the nearest cyborg.
 
Action: Jaffar starts harvesting non-weapon parts from the cyborgs-eyes, armor, brains, joints etc

[_DivideByZero_]

Well, I made an interesting character that can slap together junk into weaponry-sometimes in the middle of battle-, so It's not boring for me. You'll notice my actions in the arena were somewhat unorthodox then "shoot! Shoot! Shoooot!"

Your character is great, actually. All of yours are, really, but it's my fault that I'm not letting everyone fully realize their character's personalities.

We'll when you can give us more than an arena to fight in, with more goals than merely blowing up everything that moves, we can be more creative lol. Also-MAGIC.

Really, if your magic system is good, we'll have a lot more to do than just auto-attack.

I have my plans for the magic system I'm just not sure how to implement one gaining skills. Would you prefer it through practice, or through some other action?

Well, you should give people a chance to pursue their own stuff for a bit-Jaffar will be tinkering with the rocket launcher for ex., obviously. Let people do what they want, drop merchants and allow freeform roleplay, etc.

I'll try

Dinosauri

You mean Dinosaurus? Not very creative, I know...

[wolfchild]

Ahh that was fun, that Ivan is a bit weak but I might be able to do something for him, right now though I have an idea for an awesome bow for Milia to use

Herros Takes a second to use energy surge to recharge his Rifle, then he starts picking up pieces of robot and lizzard, "Don't want to waste good resources" Once somewhere that could possibly be called a workshop, herros creates a mechanically assisted recurve bow, the bones from the lizard make the flexible shaft, with metal re-inforcing it and pullies to enable easier pulling of the chord. A cappacitor will electrically charge the arrows as they are shot

[SeriousConcentrate]

Kayle sighed and put away her sword as well. That wasn't exactly the showing I was hoping for, but at least I passed... she thought, disengaging the safety locks on her helmet and disabling the oxygen feed. With a series of quiet clicks, the locks released the helmet and she took it off, holding it under her arm and against her torso for the moment. There's something to be said for a bit of fresh air... even if it smells like viscera. She wiped her hand against her forehead, clearing it of the sweat that had built up over the battle, and turned to Jaffar. "Meh, I'll live. A bit of gore is hardly a concern," she said. Kayle was a Cyrian, after all. She was long since used to vaporizing her enemies or shredding them to pieces.

Still, she always did hate the smell of a fresh battlefield. "So, I never caught your name," she said to Jaffar. "You fight pretty well for a non-Cyrian." Coming from her, that was pretty high praise as she had a somewhat inflated opinion of her culture's fighting skills compared to the other peoples. "I'm Kayle Silvertaugh."

[Dwarmin]

The engineer was  plucking a disturbingly realistic eye from a half destroyed Cyborg-who made these things?-when he heard the womans voice behind him again. Cyrian, huh? Jaffar wasn't personally acquainted with them. but he had once met some fanatics who called themselves Cyrians.

They had boarded his ship, screaming "ALL HAIL CYRUS, ALL HAIL CYRUS!" while gunning down every Joe and Jane they found in cold blood. Hell, it was only a junker tug. Those people didn't even have guns...bunch of farmers and colonists...and, If Jaffar hadn't hidden in the ventilation duct, they would have killed him as well. At least, that's what he tells himself.

Well, she wasn't what he had imagined. Face as sharp as a hawk. Stark black hair, darker than the void. Big brown eyes-she was all kinds of intimidating, to be honest.

Her face was sort of like those of the pirates-all sharp edged and mean. But, she was sort of smiling, or maybe it was a frown, he didn't know. But, it was something. Those other Cyrians had never shown any emotion whatsoever. Even as they kept firing....clip, after clip, after clip...until everyone was dead. Except for Jaffar Cole, huddling in a ventilation duct below it all, slowly watching the blood drop though the floor panels.

Jaffar broke away from those bad old memories with a violent push. He coughed, and said-

"Cole. Jaffar Cole. Nobody calls me Jaffar though. I don't even know what it means. The man who raised me said the person who dropped me his doorstep when I was a kid thought it was funny-something to do with an old comedy movie. So...just call me Cole."

Jaffar realized his helmet was still engaged-and remembered most people considered it impolite to have a real conversation with your helmet on. He reached up to behind his ear, and fingered the genetic key to open it. Sort of like a clamshell, it parted from the middle with a puff of steam from the antiquated pressure release system, then retracted with methodical slowness into grooves on the side of his head-gears and pumps whirred and buzzed, a sure sign of an older suit.

What was revealed inside-just a man, younger and shorter than you might have thought as first glance-his suit is actually a bit larger than the man inside. Jaffar Cole, with the sunken moss-green eyes, somewhat pale skin and the faded chemical burn that looked like the trail of a comet, going across his forehead. He nodded, sort of afraid to meet her eyes now the helmet was off, but still managing.

"Sorry. Sometimes forget that. Erm, pleased to meet you Ms. Silvertaugh. You fight pretty well yourself...can't say I've met many Cyrians though...

Well met, on Stalwart Prism, on the Green Path, past the Dire Rows, one day closer to the Northern Star."


The Stalwart Prism was the name of first colony ships that founded Polaris, and the "Green Path" was the journey they took-the "Dire Rows" usually meant either the Pirates they had fought en route, the asteroid storm that almost crippled the fleet, or the mutagenic virus that had almost killed everyone. The "North Star" was Polaris Prime itself-home sweet home, and Jaffar sometimes longed to go back there one day.

In short, it meant "We have overcome great danger and travelled long without rest, but for now we are safe, and our goal is just a little closer." A little bit wordy, but he meant it when he said it.

He finished the traditional Polaric greeting by raising his right hand to his collarbone and tapping it three times-the Polaric salute to a female of your age group. It was less well known, that it also meant you were interesting in courting them, but not many "Nonpols" knew that. He could afford a smile, a little inside joke. This woman was more like to cut off his head with that giant knife of hers and mount it over her fireplace than...that!

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Very well, Jaffar Cole. I'll remember that." She nodded to him as she went ahead and brushed the miscellaneous lizard organ off of her shoulder. "Just Kayle, please, though. Or Silvertaugh if you prefer. I don't stand much on formalities." The only time it really mattered what others called her was when formally addressing other Cyrians; she was a Master Sergeant herself, so that meant showing respect to her superiors and making sure her inferiors respected her authority... although hopefully when she came back from the university she would be recognized as an officer, maybe even a Captain. She would have to prove herself worthy of the post, of course, but with this training and her previous record she felt sure she would make the cut.

Jaffar had said he hadn't met many Cyrians. "I could same the same about the people of Polaris. I have seen a lot of non-Cyrians, of all stripes, but I've never spoke to them before," Kayle said with a small smile. "Well, I mean I've flung general vulgarities in their direction but I doubt they heard me over the sound of gunfire, and their minds were probably on avoiding getting shot anyway." If you considered a protracted firefight a conversation, then she and her team had held many long and pleasant discourses with the other peoples of the galaxy. "Honestly I thought the lot of them were soft cretins, fit only to argue over dinner and worry themselves into an early grave over trivialities." Abrasive, perhaps, but she was never good at not saying what she was thinking, which was why she wasn't an officer in her company. She was at least attempting to be friendly, which probably counted for something.

He gave her an odd sort of gesture with his greeting, probably a sign of camaraderie or respect amongst the Polaris or something. She didn't know. Customs, even among the Cyrian, weren't her strong point. She was a warrior, not an anthropologist. Assuming that word meant what she thought it did. Nevertheless Kayle returned his gesture, figuring that was probably the correct thing to do, and continued on. "If I may ask, how did you come to be at the university?" she asked

[Dwarmin]

Jaffar Cole managed not to laugh as the Cyrian commited an unintentional faux pas-it would have been mean, to take advantage of her lack of knowledge. Typically, Polaric women didn't have any sort of greeting toward men-it was one way, though they greeted other Polaric women with the fore and middle finger pointed to the forehead, then extended out palm down. These sorts of things were considered old fashioned, very polite and not often used greetings among the people of Polaris, but it was very rarely used when dealing with outsiders. Cole was clueless when it came to others peoples customs, or even modern customs, himself.

Jaffar heard the question-he had gone over the story many times, but he never seemed to have tired of it. He had done some good, even if he was only saving his skin at the time.

"Yeah, everyone who sees this face asks that question...

He smiled ruefully.

"I was on this bulk transport, see-they had hired me to fix the food processors, in return for passage to the next port. Well, they should have had me in the engine room, since something went wrong not a month out...we drifted. Power systems shot all to Hell. Rescue, seven days away. The Captain told the crew we had enough oxygen for six, and then he shot himself. Cheery fellow...

Jaffar didn't bother telling the part about how the Captain *didn't* die right away...he just sort of put a hole in himself, and he was able to hang around for awhile...

"We'll, I won't take all the credit, but without me none of them would have made it. Still, I could only buy so much time by rerouting systems...rescue ship got to us about four hours past the red line. No one should of been alive, but...some of us were. I can't quite remember what happened, personally-I was plain near dead from blood loss from lack of oxygen at the time.

But, the Crew that could, said I started acting weird, and cutting on myself. They thought I was a lost cause, but everybody saw as I put on the marks, they could start to breath-I was doing it with my mind you see?

Apparently, I had made an atmosphere bubble, with my mind, helped at least a dozen of us survive. Turns out I have some sort of latent psio-magical whatsit, that only really works when somethings about to kill me...of course, I only heard all this afterwards. In fact, I always tend to black out my memories when I try use my powers. Some of the techs said it's some sort of self defense mechanism-with training, I should get better at it.

The Government didn't know what to do with me. I would have probably ended up a lab rat, but one of the University Professors was able to spring me before that. Said I had potential-got me here. I'm not dead yet, so maybe they're right..."



Cole nodded at Kayle. Her story about "firefights" was a disturbing, but he wasn't sure if she was like the ones he had met. Best not to make assumptions.

"So, whats your story, Silvertaugh? It's probably more interesting than mine."

[SeriousConcentrate]

Kayle listened to his story quietly, not wanting to interrupt but nevertheless quirking an eyebrow when the captain gave up immediately rather than fight to survive. "Good work, then. It sounds like a very useful skill," she said. "Mine are... much valued by my people, but they're not really much use outside of combat." She ran a hand through her hair; it was just long enough for that, but still short enough that it wasn't a hindrance. Most of the men in her company preferred to shave their heads completely, but with the exception of herself all the women kept it long and in a tight bun. She didn't have the patience to mess with that sort of thing herself but didn't want to be mistaken for one of the men, either. "Well, it's not a matter of your appearance so much as being a Polaris. I didn't think any of them would know anything of fighting. Usually they just contact a Cyrian General and hire us out for one thing or another."

Some Cyrians were pirates and loosely organized. She didn't respect that. A Cyrian was meant to be disciplined and fit perfectly into the unit, to follow her superior and have honor. Pirates were just marauders undeserving of respect or mercy. Nevertheless, Jaffar had asked her story, and she had had long enough to think about it. "I was born to First Lieutenant Dunvar and Corporal Kria Silvertaugh. I first entered combat at age sixteen; a little bit of a late start for a Cyrian of the Adaephli Company, but my parents were overprotective as I was their only daughter and they preferred I do something else to support the Company, like become a contract-handler." She shifted her weight to her other foot, her helmet to her other hand.

"Of course I didn't want to. I had many friends who had already entered active duty and I wanted to serve as well. So I did, and I made my way up the ranks fairly steadily over the years. Before I came here, I had been promoted to Master Sergeant for leading my squad through a pirate vessel without greatly damaging it or losing a man." She was quite pleased with that showing. The cruiser had been added to the Company's fleet and had been quite the victory. In her opinion she should've been made a Lieutenant then and there, and maybe if it had been a large vessel like a frigate or a cruiser than she would have been. Still, it was of a respectable size, and there had been about a five to one advantage the pirates had enjoyed.

"It was during that particular mission that my two talents were discovered. The first is an ability I have to sense life around me. It doesn't always work, and to be honest I had never mentioned it to my allies before then because I thought it was something everyone had." She looked a little embarrassed at the ignorance of that thought. Really, she knew it should have occurred to her long ago that the ability was rare if not unique to her; it explained, for one thing, how she was regularly able to get the drop on her enemies. "The other is that I am able to drain the life force from my enemies to heal my own wounds. It's not something I've done or had to do often, but I killed three pirates that way on that mission."

"My squad questioned me about it and I was forced to admit that I didn't think these abilities were anything special. They encouraged me to submit a report about them to General Adaephli and when he had read it, insisted I be sent to this university to further train these talents." She was conflicted on that point, and it was visible in her eyes. Going here and learning was the right thing to do, for both herself and the Company; it was the General's orders, as well. But she still felt like she should be with her squad and she missed actively helping the Company, not to mention her friends. "So... you're a mechanic then?" she said, returning to his story. We could always use one that knows how to fight. I'll wait and see how he handles himself in future combat situations before I ask, though. I'll have to run it by General Adaephli first, too.