Verdant Refuge [Semi-Open roleplay, Revamped]

[Teloch]

10 minutes ago, Rakawan said:

"Hold for a moment." Alan says. "I must examine this."

He sends a small tendril of pure void energy into the crystal.

Dixon begins scanning the crystals with his codex scanner. Philip notices the extended crystal and his slides his blade from its sheath to stand in a ready position.

 

the crystal glows bright blue in return for a bare second. Then, the impulse goes deeper into the geode, lighting up its deeper contents and making them glow from under the cracks of geode's solid "shell". In a moment, all "geodes" within the room and even in the reactor hall begin to glow mostly with blue ever so slightly. Something above - something massive - had shifted again. The 'touched' object, however, seemed to consider this manipulation as an act offense or, what is worse, a harassment, and suddenly ejected its small yet needle-sharp crystal at Alan, losing light and any signs of 'life' without its feeding element in return of damaging shields of its offender more seriously than one would expect from a piece of glassy rock.

"A sensor network that turned into a mine filed," Siger commented the event and nodded at the bridge, which was now glowing with overly aggressive formations as a Christmas tree glows with decorative lights. "Going loud, then" he said and readied his range weapon to shoot the "mines"

{open fire at the nodes that are too close to the path ahead} {attempt to thread through the "danger areas" near formations} {attempt some parkour}

 

[(XBOX)chillichillman]

16 hours ago, Rakawan said:

The Kirin whinies as if asking for confirmation.

"Y-yes. Take m-me there"

[Rakawan]

Just now, (Xbox One)chillichillman said:

"Y-yes. Take m-me there"

The Kirin takes off at a fast pace through the woods, moving faster than any other animal you have seen. The ground shakes and as a behemoth steps into its path. The Kirin trots to a halt as the behemoth turns to look down at you, its massive limbs shifting. The kirin inclinces its head slightly and then waits.

After a few tense minutes, the behemoth rumbles and proceeds on its way.

A few minutes later the Kirin stops at the edge of a grass covered cliff. It steps towards the ledge before it, as if to walk down, then nervously steps back and whinies. It seems reluctant to proceed any further.

[Rakawan]

7 minutes ago, Teloch said:

the crystal glows bright blue in return for a bare second. Then, the impulse goes deeper into the geode, lighting up its deeper contents and making them glow from under the cracks of geode's solid "shell". In a moment, all "geodes" within the room and even in the reactor hall begin to glow mostly with blue ever so slightly. Something above - something massive - had shifted again. The 'touched' object, however, seemed to consider this manipulation as an act offense or, what is worse, a harassment, and suddenly ejected its small yet needle-sharp crystal at Alan, losing light and any signs of 'life' without its feeding element in return of damaging shields of its offender more seriously than one would expect from a piece of glassy rock.

"A sensor network that turned into a mine filed," Siger commented the event and nodded at the bridge, which was now glowing with overly aggressive formations as a Christmas tree glows with decorative lights. "Going loud, then" he said and readied his range weapon to shoot the "mines"

{open fire at the nodes that are too close to the path ahead} {attempt to thread through the "danger areas" near formations} {attempt some parkour}

 

Philip brings his blades up in a blocking position.

Alan draws his Akstilleto and readies it to fire upon the formations.

Dixon... pulls out a pair of dice and rolls them.

{Question what the dice are for?} {Order him to get ready.} {It's Dixon, stop him before he does a thing.}

[Teloch]

6 minutes ago, Rakawan said:

Philip brings his blades up in a blocking position.

Alan draws his Akstilleto and readies it to fire upon the formations.

Dixon... pulls out a pair of dice and rolls them.

{Question what the dice are for?} {Order him to get ready.} {It's Dixon, stop him before he does a thing.}

 

 

"Got an idea, trickster?" Siger asked, still being ready to go proceed in a more aggressive manner.

Edited February 20, 2017 by Teloch

[Rakawan]

Just now, Teloch said:

"Got an idea, trickster?" Siger asked, still being ready to go proceed in a more aggressive way.

Dixon seems to sigh in relief as the dice lands on 17. When you ask him he rolls again. 10.

"Maybe." He says, picking up the dice and preparing to throw them at the one of the formations. As he does you notice the dice are made from prisma crystals and glow ever so slightly. As the dice hits the formation, discharging a small "static shock" of void energy into it, Dixon dodges the needle blast from it, rolling out of the way so it strikes the formation behind him. The dice lands on the floor, rolling to a stop.

20.

[Teloch]

41 minutes ago, Rakawan said:

Dixon seems to sigh in relief as the dice lands on 17. When you ask him he rolls again. 10.

"Maybe." He says, picking up the dice and preparing to throw them at the one of the formations. As he does you notice the dice are made from prisma crystals and glow ever so slightly. As the dice hits the formation, discharging a small "static shock" of void energy into it, Dixon dodges the needle blast from it, rolling out of the way so it strikes the formation behind him. The dice lands on the floor, rolling to a stop.20.

 

 

2

Siger would probably give Alan a reproving look, as if asking "whom did you bring with us" but the nodes reacted as a single mind and began to shoot out their "loads" in clusters all around, forcing the party in covers or at least to crouch to prevent most of the hits. One of the shards hit Baast's armor, making her hiss aggressively. What is worse - the fiber-ish veins (that remotely remind those orokin-made cables for neural and energy transference) placed on the hallway walls and on the bridge began to glow dim gray and twitch slightly. Some of the larger tendrils appeared from the bottom of the pit and began to move as tentacles clad in molten metal plates, trying to reach for a sloppy intruder and to drag him down. It appears that the group had troubled the malformed "immune system" of this ship for a number of times, inviting the center of the web for a hunt.

After dodging the initial barrage of shards flying all around, the heavy opened a suppressing fire at the emerged tendrils, forcing them back to where they came from and giving a remotely safe "gap" for the party to move through the bridge.

"To the next hall, now," he barked, "suppress on the run"

Minus those three "tentacles" that Siger was pinning, there were five more of them to the sides of the bridge. There were still some "shooting" geodes waiting.

Edited February 20, 2017 by Teloch

[Rakawan]

1 hour ago, Teloch said:

Siger would probably give Alan a reproving look, as if asking "whom did you bring with us" but the nodes reacted as a single mind and began to shoot out their "loads" in clusters all around, forcing the party in covers or at least to crouch to prevent most of the hits. One of the shards hit Baast's armor, making her hiss aggressively. What is worse - the fiber-ish veins (that remotely remind those orokin-made cables for neural and energy transference) placed on the hallway walls and on the bridge began to glow dim gray and twitch slightly. Some of the larger tendrils appeared from the bottom of the pit and began to move as tentacles clad in molten metal plates, trying to reach for a sloppy intruder and to drag him down. It appears that the group had troubled the malformed "immune system" of this ship for a number of times, inviting the center of the web for a hunt.

After dodging the initial barrage of shards flying all around, the heavy opened a suppressing fire at the emerged tendrils, forcing them back to where they came from and giving a remotely safe "gap" for the party to move through the bridge.

"To the next hall, now," he barked, "suppress on the run"

Minus those three "tentacles" that Siger was pinning, there were five more of them to the sides of the bridge.

Philip parries the needles, his blades moving so fast they appear to be multiple weapons. Alan seeks over, while Dixon dodges through the barrage. 

As they move forward, Dixon pulls out his Talons and tosses them at the tentacles, sticking them and detonating at odd intervals to keep them off balance.

Alan supresses two of them and Philip keeps his hands on his blades preparing to slash any that move too close.

[Teloch]

4 minutes ago, Rakawan said:

Philip parries the needles, his blades moving so fast they appear to be multiple weapons. Alan seeks over, while Dixon dodges through the barrage. 

As they move forward, Dixon pulls out his Talons and tosses them at the tentacles, sticking them and detonating at odd intervals to keep them off balance.

Alan supresses two of them and Philip keeps his hands on his blades preparing to slash any that move too close.

 

The tendrils seemed to be resistant to regular projectiles but rather vulnerable to electricity discharges and somewhat disposed toward cutting,

As Siger moved behind the group, he shot the remaining nodes before the others entered their detonation zones. He rolled under one lash of a "tentacle" and forcefully slashed the second one upon recovery. However, a particularly massive tendril stroke and coiled around the bridge behind him and swiftly began to move towards the gates to another hall, swashing everything on the surface, including side railings. The heavy took a low start and bolted towards the exit. He barely managed to hop in when the massive glowing matter struck the doorway, blocking the retreat path. Something massive above has also shifted, as if following to group that was one or two decks below it. 

The next hall appeared to be the secondary tech hall, featuring all sorts of tables, workbenches, storages with spare parts, tanks with potentially explosive contents, and other artificial obstacles. But beyond normal elements of furniture, the hall was as dark as the first one the party entered, lit only with a considerable number of "armed" nodes, "nests" of tendrils situated in holes and crannies both on the floor, walls, and ceiling, and a number of huge holes in the above-mentioned ceiling. There were two doorways at the opposite side of the hall - one leading left and one leading right; both of them were properly blocked by entangled roots of neural tendrils. The lesser tentacles were moving actively, trying to reach for the party and extending at alarming rates. Some of the larger nodes were emitting beams of light, just like those tripwires. Something massive was stamping somewhere above.

The heavy recovered from the floor and attempted to evaluate the layout 

{look around a bit} {regroup} {bolt to some point}

[Teloch]

On 15.02.2017 at 11:48 PM, Rakawan said:

"Ah, that must be Warlord Seonah." Bill observes. "I've been hoping to meet her."

He places his helmet on his head and steps forward, walking to greet the WTC troops.

"Johnson, Sanders." He calls. "Keep your eyes peeled." 

Two Heavy Archons with Velocitus rifles nod and take up overwatch positions.

"But sir" One of the Archons says. "They are our allies."

"Yes." Bill replies, "But the last time they were here a certain third party tried to assault us both. Besides, it does not do to show sloppiness before ones allies."

He strides forward, flanked by two MKII Archons wielding Soma rifles. A Raptor drone overhead turns to track their movement.

"A while ago the Arbiter compiled a list of how to interact with Tenno based upon their frame." Bill whispers to Theresa. "The section on Valkyr users has kept me alive through many an encounter."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Thinking that frames correspond to pilot's personality is a popular belief, Bill. You will be surprised to know how many shy embers and appeasable rhinos there are," Therese said and paused for a second before continuing, "But I guess this isn't the case. Just... watch her having the introduction word with the contingent and make your opinion while you can"

The officers lined up and saluted with a machinery synchronism once the senior officer arrived. The motely hoard of operatives (who appear to wear anything but the colors the regulars wear) began either to murmur or to twitch slightly. The valkyr passed by the row of saluting officers and turned to see the crowd. she hid her hands behind her back, not far from the atterax hanging on her hip. Judging by her body language, she wasn't impressed by the sight. After a couple of moments, the madam uncapped her primed helmet to reveal a very very attractive face of a woman in her mid to late twenties, with long jet black hair gathered in a strict bun, with slight "oriental" facial features, and with fiery orange energy glow around the pupil of her steely-grey eyes. One would hardly expect a military officer to have the appearances that would make an orokin want to snatch this body, but here she is: pretty as a picture, and, judging by the curve of those lips, cruel as the fate itself.

"Line up!" she commanded loudly yet with hints of impassionate steel in her voice.

The crowd quickly attempted to make a proper formation. Still, some were quietly whispering, probably hoping that the no one would hear. Alas, this wasn't the case...

The madam, obviously sensing the level of discipline of the crowd, sighed, turned away for a moment, allowing the whispers to grow louder, and then suddenly turned around, lashing a strike with her motorized whip above the heads of the crowd in some fractures of a second.

"Shut the f**k up and show your dumb snouts when an officer speaks to you!" she snapped and the crowd did shut the f**k up and unhelmeted. It is a question what made them do so: a lash, a cry, or both, but now most of the operatives were looking at her with a bit scared eyes.

She began to thread in front of the first row, looking nowhere in particular for some moments, then, she nodded and began to speak while moving back and forth.

"The realm is fu***d," she stated bluntly, "and so are all of us as parts of it. S**t happens somewhere each hour. Major s**t happens twice or thrice per a day. Each two seconds a person dies of starvation; each five seconds a robbery takes place, each four seconds a person dies to violence; each forty minutes a bunch of grineer raids or sabotages a ship or a settlement, and each f****g second that piece of equine t**t that also known as Enyo brainwashes a naive civ, promising to save them from all the s**t for the price of their savings. The system is a huge Augean stable. "But what does it have to do with us?", some of you would ask..." she stopped and faced the unsuspicious folk, "No matter how screwed the world is, there will always be someone who tries to shovel off all the crap! And by applying to this assignment, you confirm not only that you are as screwed as anybody else but also that unlike the most, you will bleed, cry, sweat trying uncrap this mess along with the other insane m*******s who are too single-hearted for their own good. That's right, you scum, some of you were too scared to try to share our burden on equal terms and applied because this option didn't stress your guts that much, some of you decided that this will be an easy way up, and some applied because they don't know how to leave at least remotely significant mark on the universe before kicking a buket." She began to walk again, "Truth to be told, I'd rather see you suck it up or hide from your fears like the b***y c***s you are, but there are magnanimous people in our army and so we are giving you an opportunity to fail horribly and realize that you're just a pathetic f****r or to grow some balls and greet the ugly world ready and fully armed. This is not a vacation. You will bleed, squirm, cry, share whatever you have with others, including pain and blood, you will not know the comfort you knew in the Origins, you will not know the freedom you had in the Origins, you will not enjoy s***ness some of you enjoyed back in the Origins. You will be disciplined, dogged, and trained to perform a real work that matters"

As she said that, one of the operatives in the front row - the one wearing an atlas - began to shake and finally fainted, hitting the ground at full speed with his nose. The banshee that stood nearby tried to pick him up before Wuzhong turned back, but the head of valkyr's whip struck banshee's palm, forcing her to squeal and return to the row, squeezing the bleeding palm. 

"You wasn't dismissed, corporal!" the madam barked over her shoulder and continued her course after a couple of seconds of incendiary glaring. Then, when she calmed down (a bit), she continued the speech, "You will stay here as a garrison, you will carry out orders of the officers we picked for this task and which you don't deserve to have as your mentors, you will wear the uniform and the colours they allow you, you will study what they teach you, you will receive assignments from the locals, you will warrant the security of this colony, you will have as much recuperation as the officers think you deserve," on her way back, she graciously stepped over the unconscious atlas lying on the ground as if he was a rock land not a living person, "... and almighty God forbid you from violating the charter or the local rule..." she toned down her voice, adding some extra wicked cruelty, "one minor violation, and you will be subjected to penalty works. Two minor violations and you will be flailed. Three minor violation or a considerable one , and you will be judged by the field tribunal with mighty chances to end up as the fuel to an incinerator. Two considerable violations or a serious one..." she paused, approached a certain excalibur operative that was shivering nervously, closed up his face, as if referring him in particular, "and I will personally test how many Torid lobs can your intestines hold before blowing up". The excalibur stiffened and paled. Perhaps he would've swooned as well, but someone grabbed him while she smiled predatorily.

"But I guess that even the stupidest of you will try to avoid becoming my playthings," she said while returning to motion, "Those of you who aren't thinking about exhuming your grandmas to crawl back into their wombs by now may ask "For the sake of what we will do all that?" her face turned from angry to neutral for the first time during speech, "You will suffer for the sake of those whom we brought to this planet today, for the sake of those who accepted them, for the sake of those still struggling, for the sake of those who's struggle is over and done, and for the sake of a distant dream to have a remotely normal life that you and me are dreaming about more or less often. The main point of this assignment is to prepare the new corps - the expeditionary one. This corps will be tasked to stitch together the separated colonies and to secure both them and the routes in between. Some of you will become officers of this corps and train the next waves of soldiers. This isn't a vacation, but we have never turned down the hard work"

Her face became frosty again, "For those of you who don't feel like they can manage, this is the last chance to resign," she said, "those are to make three steps before the line". No one moved at first and no one risked to look around (probably fearing to get hit by an edgy whip). Then, one operative moved forward. The other followed, In a minute of hesitation, there were six out of fifty standing with their heads hung down.

"... Demoted to privates and penalized for unscheduled and unpaid work for the garrison until further notice. You took the places others - probably with spines in their backs - could've used. You will work out the fuel, time, and opportunity wasted via dirty manual labor," she said coldly.  

The previously unconscious atlas began to shake and slowly stood to the line where he was previously. He obviously didn't feel well and his nose was bloodied. Wuzhong approached him, making him turn away his gaze in panic. She grabbed him by the chin and looked him in the eyes very closely. Then, she loudly barked him in the face. "Your name, corporal?!" 

"Corporal Bartholomew Worchester, ma'am colonel!" he yelled back, trying not to look her in the eyes.

"What the bloody f*** are you doing here?!" she yelled again

"Applying for regular service in stationary garrison, ma'am colonel!" he yelled again, whincing.

"What will you do in terms of servitude?!" she yelled for another time.

"I will follow the orders, preserve, support, and ward off threats along with others, colonel ma'am!" he nearly squealed.

"Why will you do that?!" she persisted mercilessly.

"To contribute to the return of order, stability, and prosperity, ma'am colonel!" he almost cried in tears.

Seonah not yelled at him this time - just clapped his face for three times as if he was a steed (with the force enough to make him recoil) and half-whispered predatorily, "Good boy". When she turned around to make distance, he almost fainted again, but was caught by the nearby banshee with the bleeding hand. 

"Major Bloom - calm down these scrubs before they S#&$ their pants. Penalized scum - to my heel! If you are S#&$-of-a-soldier, you will remorse in the role of loaders!"

Bloom smiled lopsidedly at Bill and hurried off to provide the contingent with info in a more... encouraging tone. 

 

Edited February 20, 2017 by Teloch

[Rakawan]

2 hours ago, Teloch said:

"Thinking that frames correspond to pilot's personality is a popular belief, Bill. You will be surprised to know how many shy embers and appeasable rhinos there are," Therese said and paused for a second before continuing, "But I guess this isn't the case. Just... watch her having the introduction word with the contingent and make your opinion while you can"

The officers lined up and saluted with a machinery synchronism once the senior officer arrived. The motely hoard of operatives (who appear to wear anything but the colors the regulars wear) began either to murmur or to twitch slightly. The valkyr passed by the row of saluting officers and turned to see the crowd. she hid her hands behind her back, not far from the atterax hanging on her hip. Judging by her body language, she wasn't impressed by the sight. After a couple of moments, the madam uncapped her primed helmet to reveal a very very attractive face of a woman in her mid to late twenties, with long jet black hair gathered in a strict bun, with certain "oriental" facial features, and with fiery orange energy glow around the pupil of her steely-grey eyes. One would hardly expect a military officer to have the appearances that would make an orokin want to snatch this body, but here she is: pretty as a picture, and, judging by the curve of those lips, cruel as the fate itself.

"Line up!" she commanded loudly yet with hints of impassionate steel in her voice.

The crowd quickly attempted to make a proper formation. Still, some were quietly whispering, probably hoping that the no one would hear. Alas, this wasn't the case...

The madam, obviously sensing the level of discipline of the crowd, sighed, turned away for a moment, allowing the whispers to grow louder, and then suddenly turned around, lashing a strike with her motorized whip above the heads of the crowd in some fractures of a second.

"Shut the f**k up and show your dumb snouts when an officer speaks to you!" she snapped and the crowd did shut the f**k up and unhelmeted. It is a question what made them do so: a lash, a cry, or both, but now most of the operatives were looking at her with a bit scared eyes.

She began to thread in front of the first row, looking nowhere in particular for some moments, then, she nodded and began to speak while moving back and forth.

"The realm is fu***d," she stated bluntly, "and so are all of us as parts of it. S**t happens somewhere each hour. Major s**t happens twice or thrice per a day. Each two seconds a person dies of starvation; each five seconds a robbery takes place, each four seconds a person dies to violence; each forty minutes a bunch of grineer raids or sabotages a ship or a settlement, and each f****g second that piece of equine t**t that also known as Enyo brainwashes a naive civ, promising to save them from all the s**t for the price of their savings. The system is a huge Augean stable. "But what does it have to do with us?", some of you would ask..." she stopped and faced the unsuspicious folk, "No matter how screwed the world is, there will always be someone who tries to shovel off all the crap! And by applying to this assignment, you confirm not only that you are as screwed as anybody else but also that unlike the most, you will bleed, cry, sweat trying uncrap this mess along with the other insane m*******s who are too single-hearted for their own good. That's right, you scum, some of you were too scared to try to share our burden on equal terms and applied because this option didn't stress your guts that much, some of you decided that this will be an easy way up, and some applied because they don't know how to leave at least remotely significant mark on the universe before kicking a buket." She began to walk again, "Truth to be told, I'd rather see you suck it up or hide from your fears like the b***y c***s you are, but there are magnanimous people in our army and so we are giving you an opportunity to fail horribly and realize that you're just a pathetic f****r or to grow some balls and greet the ugly world ready and fully armed. This is not a vacation. You will bleed, squirm, cry, share whatever you have with others, including pain and blood, you will not know the comfort you knew in the Origins, you will not know the freedom you had in the Origins, you will not enjoy s***ness some of you enjoyed back in the Origins. You will be disciplined, dogged, and trained to perform a real work that matters"

As she said that, one of the operatives in the front row - the one wearing an atlas - began to shake and finally fainted, hitting the ground at full speed with his nose. The banshee that stood nearby tried to pick him up before Wuzhong turned back, but the head of valkyr's whip struck banshee's palm, forcing her to squeal and return to the row, squeezing the bleeding palm. 

"You wasn't dismissed, corporal!" the madam barked over her shoulder and continued her course after a couple of seconds of incendiary glaring. Then, when she calmed down (a bit), she continued the speech, "You will stay here as a garrison, you will carry out orders of the officers we picked for this task and which you don't deserve to have as your mentors, you will wear the uniform and the colours they allow you, you will study what they teach you, you will receive assignments from the locals, you will warrant the security of this colony, you will have as much recuperation as the officers think you deserve," on her way back, she graciously stepped over the unconscious atlas lying on the ground as if he was a rock land not a living person, "... and almighty God forbid you from violating the charter or the local rule..." she toned down her voice, adding some extra wicked cruelty, "one minor violation, and you will be subjected to penalty works. Two minor violations and you will be flailed. Three minor violation or a considerable one , and you will be judged by the field tribunal with mighty chances to end up as the fuel to an incinerator. Two considerable violations or a serious one..." she paused, approached a certain excalibur operative that was shivering nervously, closed up his face, as if referring him in particular, "and I will personally test how many Torid lobs can your intestines hold before blowing up". The excalibur stiffened and paled. Perhaps he would've swooned as well, but someone grabbed him while she smiled predatorily.

"But I guess that even the stupidest of you will try to avoid becoming my playthings," she said while returning to motion, "Those of you who aren't thinking about exhuming your grandmas to crawl back into their wombs by now may ask "For the sake of what we will do all that?" her face turned from angry to neutral for the first time during speech, "You will suffer for the sake of those whom we brought to this planet today, for the sake of those who accepted them, for the sake of those still struggling, for the sake of those who's struggle is over and done, and for the sake of a distant dream to have a remotely normal life that you and me are dreaming about more or less often. The main point of this assignment is to prepare the new corps - the expeditionary one. This corps will be tasked to stitch together the separated colonies and to secure both them and the routes in between. Some of you will become officers of this corps and train the next waves of soldiers. This isn't a vacation, but we have never turned down the hard work"

Her face became frosty again, "For those of you who don't feel like they can manage, this is the last chance to resign," she said, "those are to make three steps before the line". No one moved at first and no one risked to look around (probably fearing to get hit by an edgy whip). Then, one operative moved forward. The other followed, In a minute of hesitation, there were six out of fifty standing with their heads hung down.

"... Demoted to privates and penalized for unscheduled and unpaid work for the garrison until further notice. You took the places others - probably with spines in their backs - could've used. You will work out the fuel, time, and opportunity wasted via dirty manual labor," she said coldly.  

The previously unconscious atlas began to shake and slowly stood to the line where he was previously. He obviously didn't feel well and his nose was bloodied. Wuzhong approached him, making him turn away his gaze in panic. She grabbed him by the chin and looked him in the eyes very closely. Then, she loudly barked him in the face. "Your name, corporal?!" 

"Corporal Bartholomew Worchester, ma'am colonel!" he yelled back, trying not to look her in the eyes.

"What the bloody f*** are you doing here?!" she yelled again

"Applying for regular service in stationary garrison, ma'am colonel!" he yelled again, whincing.

"What will you do in terms of servitude?!" she yelled for another time.

"I will follow the orders, preserve, support, and ward off threats along with others, colonel ma'am!" he nearly squealed.

"Why will you do that?!" she persisted mercilessly.

"To contribute to the return of order, stability, and prosperity, ma'am colonel!" he almost cried in tears.

Seonah not yelled at him this time - just clapped his face for three times as if he was a steed (with the force enough to make him recoil) and half-whispered predatorily, "Good boy". When she turned around to make distance, he almost fainted again, but was caught by the nearby banshee with the bleeding hand. 

"Major Bloom - calm down these scrubs before they S#&$ their pants. Penalized scum - to my heel! If you are S#&$-of-a-soldier, you will remorse in the role of loaders!"

Bloom smiled lopsidedly at Bill and hurried to provide the contingent with info in more... encouraging tone. 

 

Bill's smile grows as he watches the veteran organize the troops. However once Seonah turns to him he wears a formal look.

"Glad to see that among the concerns I must shoulder, the lack of discipline amongst garrison troops will not be one of them." He says gruffly. "Pleasure to meet you, Warlord Seonah. I am Second Commander Bill, I am standing in for the chairwoman today."

A Trinity hurries past the assembled troops to glance at the Atlas and then grab the Banshee's hand. She sets down the pack of supplies she has and pulls out a bottle of a clear, stinging, liquid. 

"Make sure you wash it in this daily and contact a healer if it begins to fester." She says. "It will scar, but hopefully that will remind you not to be so foolish in the future."

She turns to Seonah.

"Are they up to date on their vaccinations?" She asks.

"Katherine." Bill says. "This is not your..."

"Until I am sure they are properly vaccinated and have access to acceptable medical care these are all my patients." She says. "And of all the things they will suffer on duty I will not have it said that lack of proper medical aid was one of them."

 

 

Edited February 21, 2017 by Rakawan

[Rakawan]

6 hours ago, Teloch said:

The tendrils seemed to be resistant to regular projectiles but rather vulnerable to electricity discharges and somewhat disposed toward cutting,

As Siger moved behind the group, he shot the remaining nodes before the others entered their detonation zones. He rolled under one lash of a "tentacle" and forcefully slashed the second one upon recovery. However, a particularly massive tendril stroke and coiled around the bridge behind him and swiftly began to move towards the gates to another hall, swashing everything on the surface, including side railings. The heavy took a low start and bolted towards the exit. He barely managed to hop in when the massive glowing matter struck the doorway, blocking the retreat path. Something massive above has also shifted, as if following to group that was one or two decks below it. 

The next hall appeared to be the secondary tech hall, featuring all sorts of tables, workbenches, storages with spare parts, tanks with potentially explosive contents, and other artificial obstacles. But beyond normal elements of furniture, the hall was as dark as the first one the party entered, lit only with a considerable number of "armed" nodes, "nests" of tendrils situated in holes and crannies both on the floor, walls, and ceiling, and a number of huge holes in the above-mentioned ceiling. There were two doorways at the opposite side of the hall - one leading left and one leading right; both of them were properly blocked by entangled roots of neural tendrils. The lesser tentacles were moving actively, trying to reach for the party and extending at alarming rates. Some of the larger nodes were emitting beams of light, just like those tripwires. Something massive was stamping somewhere above.

The heavy recovered from the floor and attempted to evaluate the layout 

{look around a bit} {regroup} {bolt to some point}

Dixon rolls to a stop next to Teloch.

Philip lands gracefully.

Alan lands hard but recovers quickly.

Dixon engages his active camoflage and moves to scout ahead, dancing around tendrils and tripwires as if it were child's play. It quickly becomes apparent why Alan wanted him along. He is able to move forward quickly where the rest of the group has to watch its step.

[Teloch]

8 hours ago, Rakawan said:

Bill's smile grows as he watches the veteran organize the troops. However once Seonah turns to him he wears a formal look.

"Glad to see that among the concerns I must shoulder, the lack of discipline amongst garrison troops will not be one of them." He says gruffly. "Pleasure to meet you, Warlord Seonah. I am Second Commander Bill, I am standing in for the chairwoman today."

A Trinity hurries past the assembled troops to glance at the Atlas and then grab the Banshee's hand. She sets down the pack of supplies she has and pulls out a bottle of a clear, stinging, liquid. 

"Make sure you wash it in this daily and contact a healer if it begins to fester." She says. "It will scar, but hopefully that will remind you not to be so foolish in the future."

She turns to Seonah.

"Are they up to date on their vaccinations?" She asks.

"Katherine." Bill says. "This is not your..."

"Until I am sure they are properly vaccinated and have access to acceptable medical care these are all my patients." She says. "And of all the things they will suffer on duty I will not have it said that lack of proper medical aid was one of them."

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Siger emanated vibes of a working power plant, making impression of a fusion reactor camouflaging as a man, Wuzhong's aura reminded a working industrial mincer - savage and threatening. This hum in the guts intensified once she turned her attention to a bit inadequate nurse.

"No! We gathered a bunch of non-renewable meat bags to see them all die horribly, convulsing in the ponds of their s**t, blood, and vomit caused by the diseases transmitted by local insects and mot*******ng mutant hares!" she snapped with loads of poison and sarcasm in her voice, "Three meters away from my beef chops, NOW!"

Thankfully, Therese grabbed Katherine by her shoulder and dragged her away from the lines, smiling falsely at angry Wuzhong, as if trying to smooth the situation.

"As she said - everyone is prepared for service in lively biomes and have access to medical care. We are not sadists" she quickly glanced at Wu and whispered to Kat, "even though someone looks that way". She then coughed artistically and continued, "your concern and dedication is commendable but unrequired" As she said that, Wuzhong yelled at the crowd again, "Underperformers will be subjected to redeem themselves working as lab rats in local bio-laboratories!"

Some in the crowd gasped, others were either too stoic or catatonic to react. Therese shook her head, sighed, and quietly said to Kat again, "I guess they might be in need of psychological consultations later"

Wuzhong, after reducing those whom she considered "rooks" (most of these "rooks" possessed gear unreachable for an average tenno operative, just to say) she lashed her whip near the flock of freshly demoted operatives and barked at them "To the dropper now! Those containers ain't going to unload themselves"

The group added some paces, heading to the dropship. Wu followed them slowly, overseeing from behind.

"Were you taking part in the yesterday raid?" She inquired Bill drily while moving.

Edited February 21, 2017 by Teloch

[Rakawan]

10 hours ago, Teloch said:

If Siger emanated vibes of a working power plant, making impression of a fusion reactor camouflaging as a man, Wuzhong's aura reminded a working industrial mincer - savage and threatening. This hum in the guts intensified once she turned her attention to a bit inadequate nurse.

"No! We gathered a bunch of non-renewable meat bags to see them all die horribly, convulsing in the ponds of their s**t, blood, and vomit caused by the diseases transmitted by local insects and mot*******ng mutant hares!" she snapped with loads of poison and sarcasm in her voice, "Three meters away from my beef chops, NOW!"

Thankfully, Therese grabbed Katherine by her shoulder and dragged her away from the lines, smiling falsely at angry Wuzhong, as if trying to smooth the situation.

"As she said - everyone is prepared for service in lively biomes and have access to medical care. We are not sadists" she quickly glanced at Wu and whispered to Kat, "even though someone looks that way". She then coughed artistically and continued, "your concern and dedication is commendable but unrequired" As she said that, Wuzhong yelled at the crowd again, "Underperformers will be subjected to redeem themselves working as lab rats in local bio-laboratories!"

Some in the crowd gasped, others were either too stoic or catatonic to react. Therese shook her head, sighed, and quietly said to Kat again, "I guess they might be in need of psychological consultations later"

Wuzhong, after reducing those whom she considered "rooks" (most of these "rooks" possessed gear unreachable for an average tenno operative, just to say) she lashed her whip near the flock of freshly demoted operatives and barked at them "To the dropper now! Those containers ain't going to unload themselves"

The group added some paces, heading to the dropship. Wu followed them slowly, overseeing from behind.

"Were you taking part in the yesterday raid?" She inquired Bill drily while moving.

((Will edit colors later.))

Katherine shrugs off Theresa and pats no heed to Seonah except to click her tongue disapprovingly. 

She finishes bandaging the Banshee's hand and then turns to Theresa.

"I would like to speak to the medical officer that will be serving to make sure they are prepared to deal with any native diseases." She says calmly, in a tone that brokers no argument. "As Healer my duty is to the welfare of all on the surface of this planet."

She then turns to stare at Wuzhong, and an aura flares around her. The Veteran would feel her anger melt away, replaced with artificial calm and feelings of peace. 

"You can flay the flesh from my bones if you think it will scare me." She says to Seonah. "I can always grow more. But I will not be dissuaded from my task as Healer."

She turns back to Theresa and gestures for her to lead the way to the medical facility.

------

Bill replies to Wuzhong before she can respond to Katherine.

"Aye." He says. "I stood beside Melanie as we fought our way into the Fortress." 

He waves away a modified jackal proxy outfitted with forklift prongs. On its back is a collection of tools that would turn construction from 

"Return to Rottweiler to base." He says. "It seems they have volunteers to do the heavy loading."

[Teloch]

38 minutes ago, Rakawan said:

((Will edit colors later.))

Katherine shrugs off Theresa and pats no heed to Seonah except to click her tongue disapprovingly. 

She finishes bandaging the Banshee's hand and then turns to Theresa.

"I would like to speak to the medical officer that will be serving to make sure they are prepared to deal with any native diseases." She says calmly, in a tone that brokers no argument. "As Healer my duty is to the welfare of all on the surface of this planet."

She then turns to stare at Wuzhong, and an aura flares around her. The Veteran would feel her anger melt away, replaced with artificial calm and feelings of peace. 

"You can flay the flesh from my bones if you think it will scare me." She says to Seonah. "I can always grow more. But I will not be dissuaded from my task as Healer."

She turns back to Theresa and gestures for her to lead the way to the medical facility.

------

Bill replies to Wuzhong before she can respond to Katherine.

"Aye." He says. "I stood beside Melanie as we fought our way into the Fortress." 

He waves away a modified jackal proxy outfitted with forklift prongs. On its back is a collection of tools that would turn construction from 

"Return to Rottweiler to base." He says. "It seems they have volunteers to do the heavy loading."

 

 

 

 

Therese shook her head at Kat and replied, "Easy there, ms. Mercy. You will have a chance to speak to our responsible personnel once we finish establishing the perimeter borders and accommodating the personnel. Then, when everyone is settled, familiarized with the charter, and assigned to a certain officer, you will be able to consult our responsible medics. I am not trying to persuade you not to do your job, I'm just trying to inform you that you are interrupting our job, which is, just to say, taking place right now"
_____________________

Despite demonstratively ignoring medic's tirade, Wu responded to Bill rather contended, "It is refreshing to see when people are actually ready to fight for their own and not just counting on us as if we have nothing else to do except guarding them like those sad angels from old monotheistic religions. If there were more colonies that could actually deal with average security issues, we would've been much more ahead than we are now. That is why some of our engineers made some attempts to bolster the combative capacities of our patronized colonies" she said while watching the penalized unloading the containers. "Those suits schematics your boss suddenly decided to share with us isn't useful to us for obvious reasons, but they were not useless in general. You better nab some volunteers for trying on the new gear"

Edited February 21, 2017 by Teloch

[Rakawan]

22 minutes ago, Teloch said:

Therese shook her head at Kat and replied, "Easy there, ms. Mercy. You will have a chance to speak to our responsible personnel once we finish establishing the perimeter borders and accommodating the personnel. Then, when everyone is settled, familiarized with the charter, and assigned to a certain officer, you will be able to consult our responsible medics. I am not trying to persuade you not to do your job, I'm just trying to inform you that you are interrupting our job, which is, just to say, is taking place right now"
_____________________

Despite demonstratively ignoring medic's tirade, Wu responded to Bill rather contended, "It is refreshing to see when people are actually ready to fight for their own and not just counting on us as if we have nothing else to do except guarding them like those sad angels from old monotheistic religions. If there were more colonies that could actually deal with average security issues, we would've been much more ahead than we are now. That is why some of our engineers made some attempts to bolster the combative capacities of our patronized colonies" she said while watching the penalized unloading the containers. "Those suits schematics your boss suddenly decided to share with us isn't useful to us for obvious reasons, but they were not useless in general. You better nab some volunteers for trying on the new gear"

"Then you should get used to my interruptions." Katherine says sweetly. "I have my hands full dealing with the influx of refugees and current citizens. I am not here for my own amusement. If you wish to have medical appproval then your medic will need to be evaluated before they begin handing out tasks."

She pulls out a clipboard. 

"I'm sure you understand why a medical official should be part of the first contact." She says. "Unless to believe that it would be better to expose your troops to new bacteria and diseases before you are sure you will be able to treat them. As a matter of fact there has been a nasty flu going around which we have only recently developed a vaccine for. Considering how closely we will be working it would be better for your troops to be vaccinated as soon as possible."

-------

Bill nods.

"We have several volunteers available to test any new gear." He says. "And we take pride in being able to defend ourselves. In fact I hope someday we can conduct more joint operations like the raid yesterday."

[Teloch]

30 minutes ago, Rakawan said:

"Then you should get used to my interruptions." Katherine says sweetly. "I have my hands full dealing with the influx of refugees and current citizens. I am not here for my own amusement. If you wish to have medical appproval then your medic will need to be evaluated before they begin handing out tasks."

She pulls out a clipboard. 

"I'm sure you understand why a medical official should be part of the first contact." She says. "Unless to believe that it would be better to expose your troops to new bacteria and diseases before you are sure you will be able to treat them. As a matter of fact there has been a nasty flu going around which we have only recently developed a vaccine for. Considering how closely we will be working it would be better for your troops to be vaccinated as soon as possible."

-------

Bill nods.

"We have several volunteers available to test any new gear." He says. "And we take pride in being able to defend ourselves. In fact I hope someday we can conduct more joint operations like the raid yesterday."

 

 

 

"Yes, I do understand. The problem is that our stuff is currently being instructed. It is not like anyone would leave the garrison perimeter today, so checking in will have to wait for a few hours. Until then, the best option would be to mark the zone as the uncleared one and to warn all locals against breaching it. That will not only decrease the risk of contamination regardless of the original source but also allow us to station faster without people entering the regiment territory. I will make sure that our med crew contacts you as soon as they are available"

_________

"Maybe we will even have the lives of our own back someday" she answered.

The bunch of loader-mercs (or merc-o-loaders) opened the first container and unboxed a carcassed power armor. Wu nodded at it, obviously hinting that it is testing time

Edited February 21, 2017 by Teloch

[LunarFirefly]

On 2/18/2017 at 7:24 AM, Rakawan said:

"As I said before he had those files on him. Or on his computer, behind a firewall." He says. "And you are right that nothing comes free. But that does not mean you must always pay the price. You came here to be trained by Tenno, consider this a test."

He flips his wrist and an ivory blade materializes from below his wrist. 

"I can teach you things." He says, before vanishing from sight. He reappears the same distance away, but at a different angle. "Things the others would be afraid to teach you, things they were afraid to teach you. That is if you are worth the time. You may not need my help, but that does not mean it could not benefit you."

The Grineer noble begins trying to squirm away. 

 

Jezebel fell silent as the tenno spoke not seeming to react one way or another.  Test?  Teach her?  The assassin considered the potential in being trained - and by a Wraith no less.  Was it worth it, though?  Would it really benefit her in the end?  Fingers twitch slightly when he displays the weapon, eyes closing with a calming breath following his disappearance, and reappearance, preparing herself.

"I trained with a Loki." she replied, eyes opening to settle upon him following her statement and feeling the air to try to better sense his presence should he disappear again.  "Before coming here."  she explains, knowing that wouldn't have been on file.  Turning to face him directly, Jez folds her arms casually as if she were completely certain of herself.  Truth is, she wasn't.  Tenno were strong, and while she knew she could fight one well, she wasn't sure she could succeed in winning.

She seemed to ignore the Grineer until he started to try to slip away, suddenly and with impressive speed, sending what began as a twisted piece of paper, burned away into a senbon needle without ever igniting into a flame, into the hip of the Grineer to further impair his movements.  The strike was precise, and merciless, driving the needle deep enough that prying it free would be difficult at best.  It missed the hip bone, but found its mark in the right muscles and nerves to make it paralyzingly painful to force movement.

Edited February 22, 2017 by LunarFirefly

[Rakawan]

1 hour ago, LunarFirefly said:

Jezebel fell silent as the tenno spoke not seeming to react one way or another.  Test?  Teach her?  The assassin considered the potential in being trained - and by a Wraith no less.  Was it worth it, though?  Would it really benefit her in the end?  Fingers twitch slightly when he displays the weapon, eyes closing with a calming breath following his disappearance, and reappearance, preparing herself.

"I trained with a Loki." she replied, eyes opening to settle upon him following her statement and feeling the air to try to better sense his presence should he disappear again.  "Before coming here."  she explains, knowing that wouldn't have been on file.  Turning to face him directly, Jez folds her arms casually as if she were completely certain of herself.  Truth is, she wasn't.  Tenno were strong, and while she knew she could fight one well, she wasn't sure she could succeed in winning.

She seemed to ignore the Grineer until he started to try to slip away, suddenly and with impressive speed, sending what began as a twisted piece of paper, burned away into a senbon needle without ever igniting into a flame, into the hip of the Grineer to further impair his movements.  The strike was precise, and merciless, driving the needle deep enough that prying it free would be difficult at best.  It missed the hip bone, but found its mark in the right muscles and nerves to make it paralyzingly painful to force movement.

The man raises an eyebrow.

"Impressive." He says.

As you feel the air around you you sense three more figures, hanging back a distance away. They make no effort to disguise their presence, unlike Dirge, whose presence seems to waver and distort.

"I was wondering how long I'd have to wait till you actually did something." He says. "That is a neat trick."

It is unclear whether he is aware you are sensing him, or if he is referring to the needle.

Something on his wrist beeps and he tosses you a coin. It is obsidian black with a red skull on one side, and a red dagger on the other. It hums with a strange void energy that reeks of smoke and shadows.

"If you are interested, kill that fool and bring his head and that token to the front desk of the hotel." He says. "The receptionist will know what to do. If anyone delays you, show them that coin. They will know to leave you alone."

He disappears in a puff of smoke, as do the three other figures.

The Grineer noble holds up his hands.

"Wait!" He gasps through the pain. "There are others who were involved. I can give you names."

 

Edited February 22, 2017 by Rakawan

[Rakawan]

19 hours ago, Teloch said:

"Yes, I do understand. The problem is that our stuff is currently being instructed. It is not like anyone would leave the garrison perimeter today, so checking in will have to wait for a few hours. Until then, the best option would be to mark the zone as the uncleared one and to warn all locals against breaching it. That will not only decrease the risk of contamination regardless of the original source but also allow us to station faster without people entering the regiment territory. I will make sure that our med crew contacts you as soon as they are available"

_________

"Maybe we will even have the lives of our own back someday" she answered.

The bunch of loader-mercs (or merc-o-loaders) opened the first container and unboxed a carcassed power armor. Wu nodded at it, obviously hinting that it is testing time

One of the Archons by Bill sheds his armor, revealing a standard body-suit with sensors circuits running over it.

"Command monitor signals from suit 17." Bill says into his comms. "We will be commencing a test with the armor gifted from the WTC."

[Rakawan]

On 2/21/2017 at 3:32 PM, Teloch said:

"Yes, I do understand. The problem is that our stuff is currently being instructed. It is not like anyone would leave the garrison perimeter today, so checking in will have to wait for a few hours. Until then, the best option would be to mark the zone as the uncleared one and to warn all locals against breaching it. That will not only decrease the risk of contamination regardless of the original source but also allow us to station faster without people entering the regiment territory. I will make sure that our med crew contacts you as soon as they are available"

_________

"Maybe we will even have the lives of our own back someday" she answered.

The bunch of loader-mercs (or merc-o-loaders) opened the first container and unboxed a carcassed power armor. Wu nodded at it, obviously hinting that it is testing time

Katherine sighs. 

"Then we shall wait and hope there is no outbreak of airborne pathogens." She says. "Or allergens, or carcinogens."

She returns her clipboard to storage and heads off tonspeak with the refugees.

[Teloch]

4 hours ago, Rakawan said:

Katherine sighs. 

"Then we shall wait and hope there is no outbreak of airborne pathogens." She says. "Or allergens, or carcinogens."

She returns her clipboard to storage and heads off tonspeak with the refugees.

 

 

Therese slightly shrugged. Good thing she was around - among many things Wuzhong hates, Vazariners with victim complex surely has a place in that list.

She proceeded to consult the "cadets" about the main drill, telling that there will be six teams varying from six to eight operatives in each. She then introduced the correspondent officers, highlighting one particular chroma pilot wearing the colors of the high division. After that, she commanded for the former mercs to unpack their vessels that were now inside the landed mother ship, to integrate their individual arsenals into the base armory system, to align their frames and vessels colors to the uniform standards, and to wait for further instruction from the officers.

It seems that she was in a hurry. The theory of her being pressed by time found its confirmation once she hastily left after the bunch of freshly-hazed operatives spread out and proceeded to execute her orders.  

Edited February 23, 2017 by Teloch

[Teloch]

On 22.02.2017 at 5:34 PM, Rakawan said:

One of the Archons by Bill sheds his armor, revealing a standard body-suit with sensors circuits running over it.

"Command monitor signals from suit 17." Bill says into his comms. "We will be commencing a test with the armor gifted from the WTC."

 

 

 

 

The suit looked slightly different from what it used to be: mid-grey with simple urban camo pattern, the exterior plating was redesigned to have a faint slice of ceramic layer, the core material was swapped to the rubedo-ferrite fusion. Even though the shape remained mostly the same, there was a little new "hump" with antenna visible on the suit's back, the helmet was new. Also, there seemed to be exterior emitters of sort showing up from beneath the plating. The set looked somewhat bulkier compared to the common models and was also outfitted with a rather heavy sidearm weapon system holstered near the belt area and the opticor-alike main caliber weapon holstered at the back. Perhaps, these weapons are integrated into the power armor set somehow.

The bunch of penalized tenno were unloading two more containers. It appears that there are more "gifts", as Bill called them.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Teloch

[Rakawan]

21 hours ago, Teloch said:

Therese slightly shrugged. Good thing she was around - among many things Wuzhong hates, Vazariners with victim complex surely has a place in that list.

She proceeded to consult the "cadets" about the main drill, telling that there will be six teams varying from six to eight operatives in each. She then introduced the correspondent officers, highlighting one particular chroma pilot wearing the colors of the high division. After that, she commanded for the former mercs to unpack their vessels that were now inside the landed mother ship, to integrate their individual arsenals into the base armory system, to align their frames and vessels colors to the uniform standards, and to wait for further instruction from the officers.

It seems that she was in a hurry. The theory of her being pressed by time found its confirmation once she hastily left after the bunch of freshly-hazed operatives spread out and proceeded to execute her orders.  

An ospresy in white and red begins dropping in signs around the perimeter, marking it as a potential health hazard and warning citizens to stay away.

 

[Rakawan]

20 hours ago, Teloch said:

The suit looked slightly different from what it used to be: mid-grey with simple urban camo pattern, the exterior plating was redesigned to have a faint slice of ceramic layer, the core material was swapped to the rubedo-ferrite fusion. Even though the shape remained mostly the same, there was a little new "hump" with antenna visible on the suit's back, the helmet was new. Also, there seemed to be exterior emitters of sort showing up from beneath the plating. The set looked somewhat bulkier compared to the common models and was also outfitted with a rather heavy sidearm weapon system holstered near the belt area and the opticor-alike main caliber weapon holstered at the back. Perhaps, these weapons are integrated into the power armor set somehow.

The bunch of penalized tenno were unloading two more containers. It appears that there are more "gifts", as Bill called them.

"Deploying target Moa." A voice says. A moa is dropped from one of the ospresy and shakes itself awake.

The Archon in the new armor draws the sidearm and examines it, after donning and activating the armor.