Roll 41
Events:Amatin decided to take a closer look at Van Buren while the others were figuring out how to remove the
Griffin.He, with permission, took some of the bandages off of Van Buren to get a good look at his comatose face, and also to remove what he had in his pockets.
Van Buren himself spoke rather poorly of Polarians and Cyrians, and stated he wasn't Ross. If these were true, his race would narrow down to either Aroth or Centauri.
But Van Buren lacked the short stature of the Centauri, and the pale, frosted skin of the Aroth. He also lacked an accent that Amatin could pin down.
Amatin wasn't aware of any races other than the five. Any organization separate from one of the five main governments was still of that particular race, as far as he knew--the Cyrian Democratic League came to mind.
Van Buren wore a regular business suit, complete with a black tie and coat. In his pockets, he carried nothing but a single communicator, branded with a logo from some company Amatin never heard of, "Black Star Enterprises." Interesting name.
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Zakroff searched the room, looking for something complex that he could manipulate. He naturally looked for some kind of crane--not the large kind, but a small one that he could manipulate.
[1] He located one in particular, but even that one was at least three meters high.
[1] Disappointed, he decided to grab a chunk of a nearby fighter's engine, and mold that into a robot. He managed to get a short frame together, but the joints snapped and the limbs fell to the ground.
[5]
Varron, on the other hand, managed to simply use his powers to drag the ship back, not only freeing it but honing his powers in the process. The ship was now ready to fly.
Everyone got in, except for Zakroff, who entered his own fighter.
On the count of three, they took off, leaving the
Aurora to spiral away.
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Admiral Burton: Hey, anyone there? I've been pinging you guys for a while to see if you got in yet...
Amatin: Right here, Admiral Burton.
Admiral Burton: Ah, good. So, now plan. You disabled the ship, I saw. I was planning to use a special weapon I requisitioned from an engineer at the university, but it seems there's been a ceasefire. How did the confrontation with the Admiral go?
Amatin: The Ross Grand Admiral is in our custody. However, this isn't his doing. I will explain later. For now, tell us where to land, and we'll hand him over to you. We have matters to discuss, however. Important ones.
Admiral Burton: Alright, I can do with that course of action. So are the Ross still hostile?
Amatin: Currently, they're wondering what is happening to the Admiral. I'm going to have him use the ship's communicator to call the attack off. Give me some time.
Amatin turned to the Ross Admiral.
"You're turn. Call it off. Now."Amatin configured the viewscreen to broadcast the Admiral's image at full resolution to help the Ross fleet's facial recognition software. He also set the sound quality to '11.'
Ross Admiral: Ross Fleet! This is your Admiral speaking. I will wait so your AI's can recognize me.
Alright. So the attack is canceled. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience, but I will not be able to accompany the fleet back to the headquarters, as I have matters to settle with the Centauri regarding this attack. Trust me, this is for the greater good of both nations."
The Ross vessels immediately complied, the comms received several acknowledgements from the ships in the Ross fleet.
Admiral Burton: Alright, that was good. Now head to Centauri-Prime's launch loop platform. The station is under lockdown to handle a few important repairs tha need to be made. More specifically, one of the glass domes actually shattered somehow, likely from a railgun shot. Strangely enough, our tests have proven repeatedly that the NuGlas™ dome is easily the most resilient part of the entire station... We will have to see. But for now, simply land at the launch loop, and take the loop down to Empire City. We shall meet at the coffee shop right outside the lift station in order to avoid the media. Simply park your ship in the bay with the others as to not draw attention.
Amatin: Roger, we'll be there in about two lines...
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The group was there. The ship was parked at the Magistrate's Starship Hangars. Nearby was the King's Coffee Shop. There, the eight and company walked in, wearing their armor, but blending in with the other Centauri soldiers who had also returned and stopped by for coffee.
Burton began to debrief the group.
"I see you have six additional persons with you... no wait, make that seven. One of you is missing..."
Amatin pulled out the sword and slammed it on the cinnabar table.
"He's no longer with us.""Alright, I'm sorry about your loss..."
He trailed off for a moment.
"But anyway, regarding the guests, can you introduce them to me? That would be nice."
"First, and foremost, this is the Supreme Admiral of the Ross navy. In person.
Next, we have four Ross soldiers. One needs medical attention... as you can tell by his dented armor and his state..."Amatin was referring to the Ross Ensign who was struggling to sit up on one of the benches in the shop.
"I believe the Centauri warfare guidelines state that combatants who switch to our side are granted complete amnesty and citizenship, in fact. I'll have them come with me to the palace so I can have them pardoned and given some housing until they decide whether to return to their homes or not."
"Sounds good," remarked Von Fredreich.
"Next up, we have a... peculiar individual named Charles Van Buren. He claims to be a businessman, and we know that he is capable of telekinesis as well as some... magical form of social engineering. He, we believe, may have something to do with this whole attack. I recommend that until this fellow is interrogated, the Ross Admiral should not be held responsible for war crimes. That is my suggestion, however. You have the last word, however.""Hmm, race?"
"I can't tell, Admiral.""Alright then. We shall have him unwrapped and... how capable is he of combat? And how did you sedate him like... this..."
"One of these brave Ross men backstabbed him nonlethally. Yes, I know that doesn't make sense, but bear with me here. Just be careful. I've locked away his connection to his prefrontal cortex, so until I restore control, he is in a full comatose state. You should try communicating with him without letting him go free.""Hmm, we will try that. "
Burton got up and threw away his empty coffee cup. He gestured at someone outside through the window.
"Alright, so we are going to meet again, this time, at the hospital. We'll put this Van Buren fellow through a cognitive scanner to see if we can communicate to him without giving him control of his body and... you said magic capability?"
"Yes. He is extremely dangerous... I saw him create an invisible sword out of air. He has very, very precise skills.""Hmm. Alright. And as for this cloaked fellow?"
"He is a new member of our team. We haven't fully integrated him yet, however."A group of medical personnel walked in, along with two stretchers. They loaded the Ross Ensign in one, and Van Buren in the other.
Two military officials also walked in.
"Sorry for being late, Admiral. Or should I say, Colonel. The real Admiral is at my side."The other official took put on his hat. It bore five stars--the characteristic insignia representing a Centauri fleet admiral.
"Yes, apologies for being tardy, but the Morningstar suffered a delay in warp. Something was jamming the warp field as we tried to reinforce the fleet. I see that you've sorted things out, and oh! Hello there, you must be the Ross Admiral, yes?"The Centauri Surpreme Admiral--Winfield Scott--greeted the Ross one.
"Yes, my name is Admiral Ross Wilheim... it is good to meet you sir."
"Well, negotiations are going to go well, perhaps. I expect an adequate justification for the attack. Before the bureaucratic process kicks in and the issue spirals into sensationalism, of course. People can be a pain, sometimes, yes? I actually commend your goverment. Our king actually does have less authority than you think he does. But there is still a reason why we have a king, and that is where your government falls short--bureaucracy, corruption, rigged elections, such are the bane of a democratic society. By making our system less susceptible to these, making sure that significant power lies in an easily removed yet prominent head of the government whose position is not eligible to any stranger but rather only those trusted by the people, our government can get things done much faster than yours. It is a matter of time before your fleet warps back and reports the loss of their Admiral. We are going to have to do some explaining... thanks to you."Scott turned to the team.
"Like Burton probably told you, we will take it from here. All these newcomers... Burton, they told you who these people are, correct?""Yes indeed."
"Excellent. You may loiter about for a while, as we figure out what to do. Burton will be telling me anything you informed him about, so don't worry about explaining anything to me unless you have not told it to Burton.
...
Dismissed!"He raised his fist, the public Centauri gesture implying victory.
TIME: 1400 CST
So now, you are in the city. You can do all sorts of things that you would imagine you could do. Remember, this universe is pretty much half-cynical, half-idealist, though probably, it will become more cynical after you leave the capital of the largest empire in the galaxy. That, and I have two major plot threads that I am pondering, no, scratch that, three, and two will likely take the story closer to the cynical side! How exciting!
Of course, there are numerous locations you could go.
Some Points of Interest:
-Hospital
-Numerous Dark Alleyways
-Suburban Residences
-Main Streets
-Palace?
-Library
-Construction Stores--you can get materials here, such as steel, alloys, polymers, or lumber if you need it.
-Laboratories--If you can somehow get in, you'll be able to work on chemical experiments, strengthening armor, using specialized equipment, or configuring high-tech gear such as Caplus' shields. Rumors are going around that one scientist resells equipment and chemicals at the black market, it might not totally be accurate.
-Workshops--A necessary public utility in every urbanized Centauri city. You will find a lot of "bring your own stock" workshops which simply charge a fee and allow you to use industrial equipment such as welding tools and other such things.
-Shipyards--Often managed by ship junkies.
-Industrial Bloc (Includes ironworks, etc.)
-Corporation Stores--Some corporations sell components to product manufacturers. You can order electronics, parts for a weapon, etc. Often very expensive, however. Examples of goods you can buy: Biochips, software upgrades, CPU's/RAM/etc, weapon components, etc.
-Markets-Buy consumer goods here.
-Auction houses--to sell vendor trash to people who want it
-Ship Dealerships--You can buy spaceships here. I wouldn't, personally, but you can if you want to.
-Spark District--The name of the city district known for its... lack of effective government. Here you'll find black markets, gun shops, armor shops, firing and bomb ranges, and all sorts of stuff that proper individuals would be abhorrent to.
-Trash Heaps--Where does trash from a major industrial center go?
-Scrap Heaps--Scrounger's den. You'll find plenty of employment here if you're willing to work for Polarian Junkers temporarily.
Oh and everyone starts with 2000 credits or so. I'll have to wedge that into the character sheet. Later, though. I'm tired :/
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Topic: Space Wizard RTD: Rolls. (Read 86121 times)