Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

You guys apparently do this thing a lot?

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Buster
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Buster »

"Actually it feels like i should be waking up right about now. The days here are strange." Kol grumbles, but follows Kolt all the same.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by CyberDragon »

Buster wrote:>Wierd exceptions like you asside, typically the only thing that stops an infestation attempt is secondary infection prematurely killing the host.
>though i suppose his capacity to steal Gifts, might have led to one that can mess with things...
>No way to tell.

>as for the brain thing, we don't have those remember?
>Conlony of semi-independent nodes that can move around and reorganize ourselves. the only centralized part is the index.
>Come on, you've been inside my processor. how did you forget that?
>The host's brain, Talya.
>I can use some of the cybernetic parts of the host brain to give a way to upload Kolt's memories from an external storage device.

>As for exceptions, they're more common than you might think.
>I can list people and species you would not be able to infect.
>Tempest could lock onto the water in Kaal nodes and boil them from the inside.
>The Good Doctor can order infections to die. Plain and simple.
>I don't know how you do with radiation, but Archangel has a radioactive body that gives off at least 100 kilorem.
>His skin is dense and packed with heavy metals that keep it all inside him, but if something tried to infect him, it would get the full hit of that radiation.

>We have species made of light, and species made of darkness. No, I don't know how that works. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense.
>We have species who have lava for blood.
>We have species who perpetually live in fire.
>I know a guy who is literally a cloud of charged sentient vapor.
>There is an entire town called Plucksley that is home to the ship's ghosts.
>As in literal people who have died, but their spirits linger. they are no longer with us except for yes they are.

>We need to be absolutely one hundred percent sure about this.
>If this plan fails, and he actually does somehow manage to get the ability to infect and take over others,
>I don't think I need to explain how bad that would be for our teams down there.


--------------------------------------
Legotron123 wrote:(I will post for Kolt once Buster posts Kol’s response)
”I’m not sure. The best idea I have is that maybe our personalities are similar enough that any changes were slow to take affect.” Lewis said to Corp, as his mother walked out of the chamber coughing.
”Another thing you can add to the list of stuff we’ve learned today, apparently parts of my body that come off while I’m changed don’t change back when I do. I’ve got some cat hairs stuck to the back of my throat, and could really use a glass of water.” Liz said to Hivemind. Also, if you don’t have any more tests you want to do, I have some ideas I think we should investigate.”
"What do you have in mind?" Hivemind asked as another droid walked in and handed Liz some water.

--------------------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Frasca," 'Zabta' said sullenly. "Frasca Horvak."
The Sparrow soared through space before finally slowing to a stop inside of one of the Beacon's hangers. "Well then, Frasca, I think it's time to take you to your new "home" now."

The door opened. Half a dozen armed hive droids were waiting, guns raised just in case. Hivemind grabbed Frasca and released her restraints. The hive droids led her out of the Sparrow and towards the "upload" room.

The Sparrow shut again and took off back toward Celica with the three remaining passengers on board. Once the sparrow took off, Hivemind released their restraints. "I am sorry about that. I am sorry about all of this. "Zabta" as she was pretending to be was just part of a much larger plot. A plot I am still unwinding and have been since the Beacon left Earth. I expect you have as many questions as I had for her. Go ahead and ask."

--------------------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Secure," the NotJaken protested, even though he knew it would be futile, "but I can still help," he declared as he stepped backwards onto the Albatross.
"You've done quite a job, kid," Jenny told him, calling over the throng. "but they may still need help getting out and that's you. Keep being alert!" Jaken nodded and headed into the ship. "Haven't the faintest idea what he did," Jenny told the Hivebot, "but he needed to hear it. Don't forget to pay him. And I'm going to need to get a jet pack at some point..."
"He was evacuating soldiers and civilians with me. Did really well too. And I won't forget, though I will put the money in a trust fund for him. That much money can really mess with the mind of someone his age." Hivemind said once NotJaken was on board the Albatross.
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"I'm taking it that was a drone and you didn't bring a child into a warzone, Hive," Hannabelle grumbled tightly. "Especially one with a hat."
"An accurate guess." Hivemind remarked. "That was a prototype telepresence droid that the real Jaken is controlling."
Deske wrote:"I don't plan on dying yet, Love. Too many things to do for that to happen," the doctor replied to his worried mates words.
------
The rest of the clones filed on to the Albatross, one of them making an off handed remark about how they looked like one of those old war propaganda posters with them all stepping relatively in sync.
------
"I am liking all the fireworks we are getting when defeating these things. Like a small celebration each victory."
"That tends to be the end result to using explosives to solve one's problems." MT commented as they waited for their new orders.
Neon Icy Wings wrote:Tatiana chuckled at Hive's comment about the lack of contact with the warlord, keeping her guns at the read and extra shell close to her. "Well, it's the rule of the universe aint it? Dramatic timing, reveal and tension takes a lot to be set up! All that's gonna be missing is the theme song."
Hearing this, MT started playing a rather on-the-nose classic through his speakers in response.
Buster wrote:"Um... All right?" Kol answers, a look of confusion on her face faintly visible through the semitransparent visor. while she does hold up her hand in a manner that mirrors kolt, she seems unsure what she's doing and because of the height difference it's doubtful he can reach that high.
Legotron123 wrote:Kolt seemed nonplussed by the height difference, merely lifting himself into the air in order to reach Kol’s hand, giving it a gentle smack before returning to the ground. ”Well then my friend, let’s head to the shuttle.” He said, turning to head towards the others. ”Judging by what I read in your file, you probably want to go back to sleep.”
Buster wrote:"Actually it feels like i should be waking up right about now. The days here are strange." Kol grumbles, but follows Kolt all the same.
"The team isn't done here until the invaders have been pushed out of the city completely." Hivemind reminded Kolt and Kol. "We have work to do."

It didn't take long for the remaining evacuees to file into the Albatross. Once everyone who was supposed to be there was on board, the Albatross's engines started.
- - - - -
One of the hive droids walked over to the clones with fresh medical supplies and instructed them to aid any injured before turning and sitting by NotJaken. "Hey. You did really well today. Don't worry about not being allowed to fight. There are more important things. Focus too much on the fighting, and you'll loose focus on what you were fighting for. A lot of people are alive because you were there for them. They needed you there for them. You wouldn't have been there for them if you had been elsewhere fighting." The ship rumbled as it lifted itself slowly off of the ground.

- - - - -
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Hang on a mo," Sana said, licking her lips as she turned back to the computers. Her little paws flew around the keyboard as she spoke now. "Re-calibrating the systems around where the Warlord was last and scanning for power signatures. If he's teleporting there may well be energy involved and, if we can identify it, we can link together the satellites that are left to scan half the planet and tell us if they pick up that signature."
"What she said," Seena said, still catching up with what Sana had said.
Hivemind looked at the screen. "Technically he's opening portals, though that should still be leaving an energy signature." he said. "Last sighting was... there!" he pointed to a blip on the screen indicating an energy signature was found. "That's what we are looking for. Now, we just need to keep an eye out for any other... huh?" Two more blips appeared on the screen, half way across the world from each other. One was in a recently devastated city, where apparently the Warlord had just finished razing the place to the ground in minutes.

The second...
"Oh no..."

- - - - -

Down on the surface in the city park, the Albatross lurched upward, trying to get away as fast as possible. Outside, Hivemind shouted "Everyone, he's coming! The Warlord is almost..." his voice was cut off by the sound of what he could have sworn was a young man shrieking in absolute agony. He turned to see the source and to his horror, fifty feet in the air, a gigantic metal claw stabbed through a hole in the air. The claw descended, tearing through the fabric of space, the screeching getting worse the larger the portal got until the claw landed on the ground. Two gauntleted hands the size of trucks reached through, and, with the worst scream yet, tore the portal open.

The Warlord stepped through. His absolute size dwarfed many of the nearby buildings. His armor, decorated with scorch marks from failed attempts to pierce it and stains from failed attempts to resist him, gave him the look of a walking tank. Not that he needed the armor to project that image. If the Shipmaster resembled a raptor, the Warlord had the build of a Tyrannosaurus. In the center of his abdomen, there was a large orb in which a whisp-like substance floated and churned. The Warlord grinned as it saw the Albatross attempting to escape. "My prey attempts to elude me." his amused voice boomed just from the size of it's source. He reached out and grabbed the ship with both hands, digging all of his claws into it's hull. The Warlord opened his mouth wide enough to swallow a bus, and planted his jaws on the side of the Albatross.

Inside the Albatross, Hivemind scrambled to get all of the people inside of it out of the way of the bite as the Warlord's teeth ripped through the ship's hull. He just managed to get the last person out of the way when the hull gave way, and with the sound of tearing metal and gnashing teeth and breaking ship components, the Warlord tore an enormous bite out of the ship. "Warning: Hull integrity compromised. Warning: cabin pressurization failure." The alarm blared throughout the ship. The hive droids lined up at the point of breach, pointed all of their weapons at the Warlord, and fired. The bullets, plasma, and explosives from their weapons did little more than annoy the Warlord. He reared his head back, opened wide, and lunged again. The hive droids tried to dive out of the way, but half of them couldn't jump far enough and were caught in the bite.

Hivemind tried something different. He aimed an engine directly at the Warlord and turned it on, blasting plasma directly into his armored face in hopes of at least distracting him. The distraction succeeded, or so Hivemind thought when one of the Warlord's hands came loose. His hopes were dashed when that hand swiped down and took the engine clean off of the side of the Albatross.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Archangel roared. He flew up high, speeding around as fast as he could, nearly reaching the speed of sound before slamming fists-first into the side of the Warlord's jaw.

There was a crack signaling a direct hit. The Warlord staggered and almost lost his grip, but returned fire by grabbing the Albatross and swinging it at Archangel, striking him directly and launching both the champion and the ship through the air.

"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! CONTROLS ARE NON-RESPONSIVE! BRACE FOR IMPACT!" The Albatross spun through the air, heading straight for the side of a building, when it slowed, then stopped. Archangel had recovered and, with all of his strength, stabilized the Albatross before it could crash. He lowered the ship to the ground, before springing back to action.

- - - - -

Inside of the Albatross, Hivemind was scrambling to find everyone who had been injured by that. Because of the quick response by his droids and, of course, Archangel, no one had been killed by that. That said, nearly everyone was injured in some way. He gathered every medic he could and gave them the task of treating the worst injuries, which included compound fractures, concussions, severe bleeding, and others. One of the droids addressed the NotJaken. "Jaken, are you alright?!"

- - - - -

The fight between the Warlord and Archangel was a short one. The moment Archangel stepped back into the fight, the Warlord snatched him out of the air. "Annoying insect. You are not worthy to be in my presence." There was a sickening CRUNCH and a choked and brief scream from Archangel as the Warlord squeezed his fist around the champion, shattering his wings before...

"Stasis trigger activated" showed up on the team's communicators. The Warlord looked at the frozen hero, considering him. "I like your wings, though." His look turned from thoughtful to hungry and covetous in an instant. "I will have them." The Warlord opened his cavernous maw and dangled Archangel's frozen body over it, ready to drop him in.
"It's not my job to seek the truth.
It's not my job to pick a side.
It's not my job to judge your sins.
It's my job to save your life."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

"Whoa..." Sana started as the Warlord arrived and started his actions, from taking a bite to almost swatting the Archangel. "We need to..."
"HEY, YOU," Seena shouted into her radio, thinking hard of the Warlord and trying not to think of Colorado and the others just now. "Yes, YOU! The winner of the Varanian smacked **** competition! The one who is OBVIOUSLY compensating for something! I'm talking to you!" She rose to her feet, her tail twitching as she continued her tirade. " The Varanian so ugly that, when he was born, the mother shot the Doctor! The Varanian so thick construction companies want to use his brain in place of mortar! This is your conscience speaking! I know we haven't talked much but it's been like trying to drill through concrete with a butter knife! " And so she kept on insulting him, trying to distract him from the Archangel tablet he'd been about to swallow for as long as she could.
--------------------------------
"Yeah, yeah, I..." The NotJaken said before realising he could hear a buzzing. "I think zumthing is buzzing. But I'm ztill up for the fight... to zave people." He pushed himself up off the floor. "What waz that?"
-------------------------------
"OK, Hive," Jenny said, "Tactics? Ulrich, Kolt, get the survivors out of here. At least ten blocks clear."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Neon Icy Wings »

Tatiana didn't waste much time, her extra shell latched onto her and she launched herself as quick as she could. She just needed to get close enough to kinetically pull Archangel away without becoming a snack herself, hopefully at least. She slowed her roll just enough to relay a suggestion to her team before completely dedicating herself to her task, "I'll get Archangel! You guys hit him or something! I personally suggest the orb in his chest but what do I know?!" Once close enough, she couldn't really tell if she was within the Warlord's range as well, and really it didn't matter to Tatiana, rather she put all her thought and power into yanking the stasis'd Archangel out of the giant lizard's grasp, or air if dropped, which, in either likelihood would send him crashing through a few walls if not straight through a few buildings. But that was neither here nor there for the ex merc. Just had to get the good dude away from the bad dude. The smite the bad dude while not getting smite'd. Easy.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

Hlaoroo wrote: "Dinnae be cheeky or Ah'll show ye a nasty trick me ma taught me wi' a spurtle." Cailean warns playfully.
"Ah was in th' mood fer scrambled eggs actually. Per'aps wi' some bacon. Ah wonder if th' hoose has a replicator..."
"Aye," Sarah said, pointing to what looked like an open faced microwave. "O'er there. Prob'ly cannae dae a guid Newcie Broon fer this evenin', like so shoppin's on the itinerary too."
----------------------------------------------
The security chief and his entourage waited in the Sparrow as the Chief wondered how he was going to explain this to the public. They'd need to assemble an emergency council and he knew they'd only really listen to one person. It wasn't him. It wasn't anyone actually on the planet now. "What is your evidence," Dagrere said bitterly. "I'll need to see it. Work my way through it to decide what story to put out to the public. Who else?" He asked. "Who else needs to... vanish in the eyes of the law?"
----------------------------------------------
"You know," Hannabelle claimed, looking up at the Warlord, "in a shielded store room on Lakinta, I have several shoulder mounted mini nukes and a launcher. I'm beginning to wish I'd brought them on my holiday..."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Legotron123 »

Kolt was silent for a moment, stunned by the sheer size of the Warlord. When he did speak, it was with the voice of someone who knew exactly how much danger he was in right now. ”Something tells me this is the moment we learn how fast we can run. Or at least it would be, if we were comfortable risking leaving those people to die, and I’m pretty sure I know all of you well enough to say none of us are okay with that.” He said, before flying down to the wreckage to offer his help. ”Anyone in good enough condition to survive a ten block flight?”
-
Liz thanked the droid as she took a big sip from the glass provided, before turning to the one asking the question. ”While I have multiple minor tests I’d like to do, there are two in particular that I think we really need to do. The first one, which is going much easier to do, is examine my changes on a cellular level. Figure out if my cells change when I do, or if I was just a human in the shape of a cat a minute ago. The second one, which we should probably dedicate an entire day too, is figure out what limits my power has. I want you to look around the ship, find people with as many different shapes, sizes, and powers as you can, and see if they’d be willing to volunteer to be “acquired” by me. I want to find exactly where my power draws the line on what it can copy.”
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Deske »

Each of the Vanderbilt 6 looked up from the person they were working on as Hives message came over the intercom. A single thought shot through their connected minds. Each doctor dragged their patient as far as they could away from the impact point, following the hive droids actions. They stood over theur charges, shielding them as best they could from any shrapnel or metal and grabbing whatever was still attached to the ship to firmly anchor themselves to the ship as it fell to the ground and as it was caught and gently lowered the rest of the way, they shouldered their patients and carried them quickly to the nearest exit.
-------
Ulrich moved himself over to the ship and started crafted small light carts to hold 10 or so people. He attached them to Kolt, hailing him over the comm system and letting him know that, "These small vehicles will follow you where you go, tell me when you get far enough away so I can mark it as a waypoint for them."
-------
Chris let out a low whistle, half impressed at the monster, "Heck of an entrance. Anything useful on the scanners," he asked as his thoughts turned back to being a hero.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Buster »

CyberDragon wrote:>The host's brain, Talya.
>I can use some of the cybernetic parts of the host brain to give a way to upload Kolt's memories from an external storage device.

>As for exceptions, they're more common than you might think.
>I can list people and species you would not be able to infect.
>Tempest could lock onto the water in Kaal nodes and boil them from the inside.
>The Good Doctor can order infections to die. Plain and simple.
>I don't know how you do with radiation, but Archangel has a radioactive body that gives off at least 100 kilorem.
>His skin is dense and packed with heavy metals that keep it all inside him, but if something tried to infect him, it would get the full hit of that radiation.

>We have species made of light, and species made of darkness. No, I don't know how that works. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense.
>We have species who have lava for blood.
>We have species who perpetually live in fire.
>I know a guy who is literally a cloud of charged sentient vapor.
>There is an entire town called Plucksley that is home to the ship's ghosts.
>As in literal people who have died, but their spirits linger. they are no longer with us except for yes they are.

>We need to be absolutely one hundred percent sure about this.
>If this plan fails, and he actually does somehow manage to get the ability to infect and take over others,
>I don't think I need to explain how bad that would be for our teams down there.
>____
>remember what i said before about the starship engineering and the laws of physics here making no ___ ____ sense?
>you can add basic biology to that list.
>barring the first two things you listed, NONE of that should be possible.

>______ sometimes I think this place was designed to give me a headache.

>alright plan B, how quick can you get me a tissue sample to run cellular comparability tests on?
//>___ _______ ____ it... this is absurd, we mutate new strains too fast to need that. what is wrong with this place?


((this is what happens when you take a character from a world thats meant to be a 3.5 on the scale (the only reason it's not a 4 being psi abilities and gifts both of which have very specific rules) and stick them in a world that's at best a 2.))

- - - - - - -

"great... now we have to fight that..." kol comments in a tone that may as well have tacked 'i regret everything ive ever done to get to this point' onto the end of what she just said. making no move to actually leave the crashsite in either direction.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by CyberDragon »

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Whoa..." Sana started as the Warlord arrived and started his actions, from taking a bite to almost swatting the Archangel. "We need to..."
"HEY, YOU," Seena shouted into her radio, thinking hard of the Warlord and trying not to think of Colorado and the others just now. "Yes, YOU! The winner of the Varanian smacked **** competition! The one who is OBVIOUSLY compensating for something! I'm talking to you!" She rose to her feet, her tail twitching as she continued her tirade. " The Varanian so ugly that, when he was born, the mother shot the Doctor! The Varanian so thick construction companies want to use his brain in place of mortar! This is your conscience speaking! I know we haven't talked much but it's been like trying to drill through concrete with a butter knife! " And so she kept on insulting him, trying to distract him from the Archangel tablet he'd been about to swallow for as long as she could.
A voice spoke through the radio. It wasn't the Warlord's low growl. It was dark, cold, wicked, taunting, even seductive. "He... heeheehee... can't... hear you... now..."

The voice sent chills through Hivemind's circuits.

"He... hears... only me... only me... he takes... what he wants... heeheh..."

---------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:The security chief and his entourage waited in the Sparrow as the Chief wondered how he was going to explain this to the public. They'd need to assemble an emergency council and he knew they'd only really listen to one person. It wasn't him. It wasn't anyone actually on the planet now. "What is your evidence," Dagrere said bitterly. "I'll need to see it. Work my way through it to decide what story to put out to the public. Who else?" He asked. "Who else needs to... vanish in the eyes of the law?"
"NO." Hivemind said, darkly, dangerously, and seriously. "Know this. The Champions are effective at protecting the people because we do not care who we have to take down to do so. We do not recognize assassins or murder as a means of enacting justice. That entire practice ends with this conspiracy. It ended when we got involved. I will work with you, but any assassinations or "vanishing" suspects, and I will throw you into the Vault before the end of the day. Understood?"

---------------------------
Legotron123 wrote:Liz thanked the droid as she took a big sip from the glass provided, before turning to the one asking the question. ”While I have multiple minor tests I’d like to do, there are two in particular that I think we really need to do. The first one, which is going much easier to do, is examine my changes on a cellular level. Figure out if my cells change when I do, or if I was just a human in the shape of a cat a minute ago. The second one, which we should probably dedicate an entire day too, is figure out what limits my power has. I want you to look around the ship, find people with as many different shapes, sizes, and powers as you can, and see if they’d be willing to volunteer to be “acquired” by me. I want to find exactly where my power draws the line on what it can copy.”
"I believe I have a cell monitor, but I will have to retrieve it. I think I left it around here somewhere... As for a variety of people to test with, I'm sure I can find some volunteers. I'm going to forbid testing on our resident insectoids as we observed a higher negative impact on smaller creatures." Hivemind replied.

---------------------------
Buster wrote: >____
>remember what i said before about the starship engineering and the laws of physics here making no ___ ____ sense?
>you can add basic biology to that list.
>barring the first two things you listed, NONE of that should be possible.

>______ sometimes I think this place was designed to give me a headache.

>alright plan B, how quick can you get me a tissue sample to run cellular comparability tests on?
//>___ _______ ____ it... this is absurd, we mutate new strains too fast to need that. what is wrong with this place?


((this is what happens when you take a character from a world thats meant to be a 3.5 on the scale (the only reason it's not a 4 being psi abilities and gifts both of which have very specific rules) and stick them in a world that's at best a 2.))
>Physics here is, for lack of a better term, glitchy.
>Usually it makes sense and follows basic logical rules.
>Then you get people, places, and powers who operate by a different set of rules for whatever reason.

>Anyway, if you mean a Varanian tissue sample, I might be able to print one but...


At that moment, in a different part of the ship, Hivemind heard an ominous message over a radio.

>It won't work.
Hivemind's message rang with complete certainty. Something just happened to completely confirm his doubt that Kobor could infect the Warlord.

(See the OOC for more details about how the rules of the universe work, including these "glitches")

---------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Yeah, yeah, I..." The NotJaken said before realising he could hear a buzzing. "I think zumthing is buzzing. But I'm ztill up for the fight... to zave people." He pushed himself up off the floor. "What waz that?"
"The Warlord. And you've got some wires sticking out of your neck. Hang on..." Hivemind reached to a switch in the back of the droid's neck and turned it off. The NotJaken went limp and turned back into a robotic endoskeleton. The hive droid made the needed repairs to the telepressence droid before turning it back on again. It turned back int NotJaken.

- - - - -
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"OK, Hive," Jenny said, "Tactics? Ulrich, Kolt, get the survivors out of here. At least ten blocks clear."
Legotron123 wrote:Kolt was silent for a moment, stunned by the sheer size of the Warlord. When he did speak, it was with the voice of someone who knew exactly how much danger he was in right now. ”Something tells me this is the moment we learn how fast we can run. Or at least it would be, if we were comfortable risking leaving those people to die, and I’m pretty sure I know all of you well enough to say none of us are okay with that.” He said, before flying down to the wreckage to offer his help. ”Anyone in good enough condition to survive a ten block flight?”
Deske wrote:Each of the Vanderbilt 6 looked up from the person they were working on as Hives message came over the intercom. A single thought shot through their connected minds. Each doctor dragged their patient as far as they could away from the impact point, following the hive droids actions. They stood over theur charges, shielding them as best they could from any shrapnel or metal and grabbing whatever was still attached to the ship to firmly anchor themselves to the ship as it fell to the ground and as it was caught and gently lowered the rest of the way, they shouldered their patients and carried them quickly to the nearest exit.
-------
Ulrich moved himself over to the ship and started crafted small light carts to hold 10 or so people. He attached them to Kolt, hailing him over the comm system and letting him know that, "These small vehicles will follow you where you go, tell me when you get far enough away so I can mark it as a waypoint for them."
"Ten blocks isn't enough. They need to get out of the city completely." one of the Hive droids told Kolt. "Fly them out as far as you can. Try to get to an open space, then set up a flare. I'll have a wing of Sparrows on their way to pick them up." Hivemind gave Kolt a flare from an emergency kit in the Albatross. "Vanderbilt clones, I need you to get as many people ready to move as possible, as fast as possible. If that Warlord decides to turn his attention back on this ship, they have no protection here."

- - - - -
Neon Icy Wings wrote:Tatiana didn't waste much time, her extra shell latched onto her and she launched herself as quick as she could. She just needed to get close enough to kinetically pull Archangel away without becoming a snack herself, hopefully at least. She slowed her roll just enough to relay a suggestion to her team before completely dedicating herself to her task, "I'll get Archangel! You guys hit him or something! I personally suggest the orb in his chest but what do I know?!" Once close enough, she couldn't really tell if she was within the Warlord's range as well, and really it didn't matter to Tatiana, rather she put all her thought and power into yanking the stasis'd Archangel out of the giant lizard's grasp, or air if dropped, which, in either likelihood would send him crashing through a few walls if not straight through a few buildings. But that was neither here nor there for the ex merc. Just had to get the good dude away from the bad dude. The smite the bad dude while not getting smite'd. Easy.
The Warlord dropped Archangel into his waiting mouth, but the Champion was thrown out from between his jaws just before they shut. Archangel soared across the park, smashed through a few trees, and skidded to a halt. Luckily, Stasis was built to handle such things. The Warlord was confused when he didn't feel anything in his mouth, and turned to see Tatiana floating there with the second shell.

The giant Varanian reached behind his back and drew a warhammer, forty feet long and with a hammerhead that was bigger than a bus. Gripping it in both hands, the warlord took a long, sweeping, horizontal strike at the liquiform.
Buster wrote:"great... now we have to fight that..." kol comments in a tone that may as well have tacked 'i regret everything ive ever done to get to this point' onto the end of what she just said. making no move to actually leave the crashsite in either direction.
The Warlord brought his swing around, over his head, and straight down at Kol.

"LOOKOUT!" Recon shouted. In a blur, the speedster grabbed Kol and pulled her out of the way as the Warlord's hammer struck the ground with a mighty CRASH that left a truck-sized crater in the ground and sent a shockwave out that knocked down every tree within twenty feet of the impact.
Deske wrote:Chris let out a low whistle, half impressed at the monster, "Heck of an entrance. Anything useful on the scanners," he asked as his thoughts turned back to being a hero.
"That orb on his abdomen is giving off an immense... reading. I'm not entirely sure what it is a reading of, but it's powerful." MT replied.

The Warlord looked up at MT. "Warning. Power readings increasing." MT said as the orb flashed and swirled red, wailing a chorus of pained shrieks. The Warlord opened his mouth, and his throat glowed red before a column of white-hot fire erupted from between his jaws, engulfing and surrounding MT with Chris inside of him. "Temperature levels increasing. Shutting off shield systems. Do not worry, Chris. This is well within my safety parameters."

(MT is immune to heat based attacks)
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"You know," Hannabelle claimed, looking up at the Warlord, "in a shielded store room on Lakinta, I have several shoulder mounted mini nukes and a launcher. I'm beginning to wish I'd brought them on my holiday..."
"Hannabelle! Don't waste time thinking about impossible solutions! Just hit it with the target locator!" Hivemind called to her.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Neon Icy Wings »

Tatiana sighed in relief as Archangel cleared away from danger and quickly dodged to the side, away from the Warlord's swing, gaining more distance as she unloaded plasma from her rifle towards the glowing energy orb, even throwing some shots from her electricity gun as well, though unsure of its effective distance the time for figuring out what worked was nigh. She was partially grateful MT and Chris were there to take the Warlord's attention and attack she labeled under 'get hit with it never' and idly filed a thought away to thank them at a later date. And ask them their names.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

Seena swallowed and gripped the comm tighter but, vocally, remained her professional self as she spoke. "And who am I talking to now," she asked.
"A voice that makes me want to hit the local lav," Sana confided to Hive in a low tone.
-------------------------------------
"Wasn't meaning the fatal sort," Chief Dragere remarked. "These people will never go to trial. They're too big. They know too many important people and important secrets. But I know several off-world prisons where they'll have no influence. No recourse to the outside. No power inside. Killing them once might give me pleasure for the day. This way I can make it last for decades."
------------------------------------
"That was weird," said the NotJaken, heading out to look up... and up at the Warlord. "Is it strange that I'm thinking of opening a portal in him and tossing something nasty in?"
-----------------------------------
Hannabelle didn't bother speaking again, she just took aim at the top of the Warlords' head and fired as Jenny fired off a wide angle sonic blast to halt the debris thrown up by the Warlords' attack on Kol. Now the old Hunter spoke. "Get away from me, you lot," she said. "This ******* seems to know where every attack is coming from and retaliates. So stay clear of me" With that she headed back inside and up the stairs to the roof.
-----------------------------------
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

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Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Aye," Sarah said, pointing to what looked like an open faced microwave. "O'er there. Prob'ly cannae dae a guid Newcie Broon fer this evenin', like so shoppin's on the itinerary too."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Legotron123 »

Kolt gave a short nod before he started to help move people onto the makeshift gurneys Ulrich had made. Once they were full, he flew them out of the city, heading east as he looked for a place to land. Eventually he found what he was looking for, a demolished playground with a large field for some kind of sport. He placed down next to a demolished swing set and set off the flare Hivemind gave him, as he waited for the Sparrows to find him.
-
”Unfortunate, but understandable. Guess it’s going to be a while before a find out how small I can get.” Liz said. ”Which reminds me, once we’re done with the testing today, I’d like you to send me some particular info on Varian culture. I have a feeling the Shipmaster was leaving out some critical information when we were “debating” earlier.”
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by CyberDragon »

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Seena swallowed and gripped the comm tighter but, vocally, remained her professional self as she spoke. "And who am I talking to now," she asked.
"A voice that makes me want to hit the local lav," Sana confided to Hive in a low tone.
"Cu...pi...di...tas...... Cu...pi...di...tas......"

Then static.

"****, ******* ****" Hivemind let out a string of profanity. "******* greed. I should have figured." Hivemind turned to Seena and Sana. "Cupiditas is latin. It means greed. It is also the name of the Aspect of greed. And the Warlord is possessed by it."

----------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Wasn't meaning the fatal sort," Chief Dragere remarked. "These people will never go to trial. They're too big. They know too many important people and important secrets. But I know several off-world prisons where they'll have no influence. No recourse to the outside. No power inside. Killing them once might give me pleasure for the day. This way I can make it last for decades."
"I apologize for the assumption, but Celica has a... reputation." Hivemind stated, his voice calm again. "They are too big on Celica. They do know too many important people on Celica. They will never go to trial or jail on Celica." He paused, letting the repetition sink in. "However, them attempting to take the life of someone under Beacon protection, the fact that one of their assassins stupidly thought he'd get a bonus if he tried to assassinate a human prime minister, and the fact that they called in a Varanian invasion all put it in Champion, Beacon, and interstellar jurisdiction. They are petty in Champion eyes. They know no one on the Beacon. Their information is useless to bargain with because, as I demonstrated, I can simply pull the information from their heads with or without their cooperation. They will go to trial on the Beacon, where they are nothing more than pathetic murderers with no friends and no assets to sway the court decision in their favor, not that it would make any difference if they did. They will then go to the Server like Frasca Horvak, or to the Vault like so many people like them have."

----------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"I'll say it once," Corp said, crossing his arms. "If you need to prove to others they'll be unhurt, you can become me. Once."
"Problem is an insectoid is a LOT smaller than you, and would be impacted a LOT more. You being unhurt by being acquired would not mean they wouldn't be."
Legotron123 wrote:”Unfortunate, but understandable. Guess it’s going to be a while before a find out how small I can get.” Liz said. ”Which reminds me, once we’re done with the testing today, I’d like you to send me some particular info on Varian culture. I have a feeling the Shipmaster was leaving out some critical information when we were “debating” earlier.”
"I'll send you what I can, but there aren't many records on Varanian culture. Nearly all encounters with them are during invasions, during occupation, and during ship to ship fights. What do you suspect him of leaving out?" Hivemind asked.

----------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:Hannabelle didn't bother speaking again, she just took aim at the top of the Warlords' head and fired as Jenny fired off a wide angle sonic blast to halt the debris thrown up by the Warlords' attack on Kol. Now the old Hunter spoke. "Get away from me, you lot," she said. "This ******* seems to know where every attack is coming from and retaliates. So stay clear of me" With that she headed back inside and up the stairs to the roof.
"Everyone, keep your distance from the Warlord, period! He's in the early stages of Aspect Possession!" He sent the warning out to the entire team.

[Moving orbital support into position. Stand by.]

The Warlord grinned when he saw Hannabelle climb up the building. He casually walked up to it. It was taller than he was, but not by too much. The orb on his abdomen let out a different pained shriek and the Warlord's eyes started to glow bright red. He looked up at the building above him, and two beams of high intensity light shot out, slicing through the structure, one from each eye. The two lasers cut a relatively small wedge off of the upper floors that included the section of the roof Hannabelle was on. The section started to slide off and fall. The Warlord positioned himself directly below, looked up, opened wide, and waited for the hunk of building plus Hannabelle to fall in.

"Tatiana, get Hannabelle out of there!" hivemind called.
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"That was weird," said the NotJaken, heading out to look up... and up at the Warlord. "Is it strange that I'm thinking of opening a portal in him and tossing something nasty in?"
Hivemind considered. Then he had a horrible thought... "I... don't think that would be a good idea, but maybe if you opened a portal into the Warlord's stomach and... closed your eyes. And your nose. And probably your ears too?" Hivemind knew the Warlord had probably been snacking on the Celican forces throughout the day. It was possible, however unlikely, that there could be someone still alive inside who needed saving. That said, there were probably a lot of... things... in there that Hivemind worried might traumatize Jaken if he saw them. He should probably bring this possibility up to Jaken. "There might be someone alive in there. And a lot of someones who aren't. We should try to save any who are, but the ones who aren't... you can't unsee that. So I don't want you to see it."

----------------------
Legotron123 wrote:Kolt gave a short nod before he started to help move people onto the makeshift gurneys Ulrich had made. Once they were full, he flew them out of the city, heading east as he looked for a place to land. Eventually he found what he was looking for, a demolished playground with a large field for some kind of sport. He placed down next to a demolished swing set and set off the flare Hivemind gave him, as he waited for the Sparrows to find him.
It didn't take too long. The Sparrows had just returned from transporting a different group from a different city. It helped that Sparrow dropships, when unoccupied, are absurdly fast.

They practically teleported into view, pulling off the same aerobatic breaking stunt as before in order to land. "I had to travel light, so unfortunately I don't have any droids to help you load people in." Hivemind said over the communicator in one of the Sparrows. "Also, in case you didn't get my message, the Warlord is in Pre-Proto-Avatar state. Getting all civilians out is now peak priority. If the Warlord goes full avatar, the planet will have to be evacuated."
Last edited by CyberDragon on Wed Oct 03, 2018 9:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Buster »

Kol was only just barely out of danger but her movements were still not what they should have been.

this battle... no, this couldn't even be called a battle, this was insanity. Every instinct told her to run, every fiber of her being screaming at her; forget this fight, leave, survive.

and yet she stayed, not caught in feral panic like the canon fire of the tank had had her, not frozen like before, but slowly walking towards the towering bhemoth. a tiny voice in the back of her mind asking her where her pride was, how she could call herself a warrior when others less then her stood while she fled.

The little machine god had talked of 'hero' a meaningless word of his alien language, and of duty to fight in others stead that wasn't why she was here. She was here because she was Kol.

her pace quickened her movements growing more steady.

She was a warrior, a pit fighter, a survivor. She had stood and claimed her right to live when dozens of others had fallen before her claws. 'The berzerker of the pits'. a title she earned, a title she was proud of.

Never beaten, never doubting herself, before this crazy place.

She was running now. blades out and whirring.

Honor. Pride. cornerstones of how the old matriarch had lived for nearly a century, what she had tried to impart onto the three generations that had came after her.

by the time hivemind called out his warning, kol was already too far out in front.

a berzerker, clad in the colors of death and blood, spurred forwards into a charge, and howling like banshee.

she would climb that beast and gouge out it's eyes if that's what it took to reclaim her pride as a warrior.

((what, you didn't think my choices of white and red for her outfit were arbitrary did you?
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

Seena looked at the Hivedroid in amazement. "The spirit of greed? Are you telling me the seven deadly sins of mankind are REAL in this universe?"
"Mankind," Sana smirked. "Pretty much every kind sins."
"Yeah, my Universe is a lot more Human Centric. Some poet worked out the worst sins of the species came down to seven categories. Greed, Gluttony - I think that means taking in too much - Lust - also a sort of greed - Envy, um, that's ANOTHER sort of greed... He really didn't think it through, did he? Sloth, wrath and pride." She put her fingers away and looked back to Hive. "Are you sure he's only possessed by one of them?"
-------------------------------------------------------
"There are worse ways to go," Hannabelle said simply as the bit of building began to slide. She took aim at the open mouth and fired. "I could be swallowed AND missiled!" She commenced running against gravity to give Tatiana time.
------------------------------------------------------
"Hive, what's that orb thing," Jenny asked. "I heard it whine just before he eye beamed the building."
-----------------------------------------------------
Personally, Jaken and the NotJaken doubted anyone would be in there but he supposed it was best to check. He remembered school evisceration classes and where the stomachs had been on the classroom dummies as he scrambled for higher ground. He wasn't too sure he wanted to be surrounded by stomach acids right now. It was near the edge of his range, he thought, and he was opening a portal inside someone. He knew his portals never worked if they intersected solid objects but, he hoped, there was enough room in a stomach...

It took three attempts but he finally had success that he could feel and he opened the 'escape' portal in the trough the ship had made when it crashed. He didn't have a hand free to hold his nose as, at range like this, he needed to channel the power so he had a hand pointed at each portal. He did look away, however. Just in case.
----------------------------------------------------------
"Ah, no' so much," Sarah admitted. "Burnt a Potted Noodle once, me," she confessed. "Youse twa get taught?"
--------------------------------------------------------
"Well, all that's one thing," Dragere admitted, "but we've also got to sort out the political side of things. The President's dead, the vice-president ISN'T the Vice president - so she's probably dead too. The parties will go to war - legal type - with each other. We need someone to unify them. Jontal.can probably do it. The opposition leader. Lots of people like him. He's currently on a goodwill visit to the Canines. They'd unite behind him. For my sake, they'd have to." He grimaced. "Both leaders dead. No-one knows who's left in the government ahead of the minister for espionage, a post no-one hears about which means the security chief - me - gets to know all the government files.. So, technically, I'm in charge."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Legotron123 »

”HE’S WHAT!?!?!” Kolt said, shocked by the news of the Warlord going Avatar. He looked back to the city, clearly wanting to go help his teammates. After about a minute, he sighed and went back to loading the injured onto the Sparrows, his conscience not letting him abandon those who needed his help. ”So, what Aspect is he possessed by? Is it that Odium thing again?”
-
”One thing he brought up as an attempt to disprove one of my points was that more and more Varanians are finding value in virtues other than strength. He conveniently forgot to mention how those Varanians are treated.” Liz said, taking another sip of water before continuing. ”I will admit to being very much in the dark about Varanian society, but what I do know makes me think it’s likely they’re treated similarly to how certain social groups were treated in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Landlords actively look for reasons to evict them, the police arrest them for little to no reason, crimes against them are given low priority if not completely ignored, and so on and so forth. Just because it’s no longer illegal to have the beliefs they have, doesn’t mean people won’t still treat them like it is.”
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Neon Icy Wings »

Tatiana, without a moments hesitation broke off from her potshots and shot straight towards Hannabelle. With a shout of, "Sorry about this!" She plowed straight into Hannabelle as gently as she could while still getting her out of imminent ate territory. "Hope I didn't break anything there..." As she made her way to where Kolt was, figuring it the safest place to put Hannabelle down, she asked a question over the comm line, "Just a quick question, but did anyone extract Archangel after I sent him flying?"
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

"Probably a rib," Hannabelle remarked, feeling the pain, "but don't worry," she continued, "it was gonna break shortly anyhow."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by CyberDragon »

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Seena looked at the Hivedroid in amazement. "The spirit of greed? Are you telling me the seven deadly sins of mankind are REAL in this universe?"
"Mankind," Sana smirked. "Pretty much every kind sins."
"Yeah, my Universe is a lot more Human Centric. Some poet worked out the worst sins of the species came down to seven categories. Greed, Gluttony - I think that means taking in too much - Lust - also a sort of greed - Envy, um, that's ANOTHER sort of greed... He really didn't think it through, did he? Sloth, wrath and pride." She put her fingers away and looked back to Hive. "Are you sure he's only possessed by one of them?"
"Yes and no. Greed is one of the aspects, but there are others and they aren't all evil. You've got Cupiditas, aspect of greed in all of it's forms, but you've also got Diligitis, aspect of love, compassion, and charity. Basically any abstract concept or part of the mind can have an aspect. The important thing is, though, that when an aspect consumes you, things start to change and become more powerful and more motivated than ever before. I don't yet know exactly how the Warlord will start to change, but if greed is the cause, it isn't going to be good." Hivemind explained.

-----------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Well, all that's one thing," Dragere admitted, "but we've also got to sort out the political side of things. The President's dead, the vice-president ISN'T the Vice president - so she's probably dead too. The parties will go to war - legal type - with each other. We need someone to unify them. Jontal.can probably do it. The opposition leader. Lots of people like him. He's currently on a goodwill visit to the Canines. They'd unite behind him. For my sake, they'd have to." He grimaced. "Both leaders dead. No-one knows who's left in the government ahead of the minister for espionage, a post no-one hears about which means the security chief - me - gets to know all the government files.. So, technically, I'm in charge."
"I would hold off on rallying around Harkavan Jontal. He is one of the people we suspect has been replaced." Hivemind said, flashing up Harkavan's before and after photos. "However, Frasca Horvak's memories suggest that either the doppelganger ticked someone off, or the doppelganger failed to replace the original, because there was an unsent assassination warrant out for him. We need to find him and determine if he is the real Harkavan Jontal."

-----------------------
Legotron123 wrote:”One thing he brought up as an attempt to disprove one of my points was that more and more Varanians are finding value in virtues other than strength. He conveniently forgot to mention how those Varanians are treated.” Liz said, taking another sip of water before continuing. ”I will admit to being very much in the dark about Varanian society, but what I do know makes me think it’s likely they’re treated similarly to how certain social groups were treated in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Landlords actively look for reasons to evict them, the police arrest for little to no reason, crimes against them are given low priority if not completely ignored, and so on and so forth. Just because it’s no longer illegal to have the beliefs they have, doesn’t mean people won’t still treat them like it is.”
"That I can answer straight up. You are correct in your assumption. The larger Varanian culture doesn't look kindly at the countercultures that are forming. Gadgeteer left Varan for the Beacon partly for that reason. He was a part of the intellectual counterculture, which finds value in strength of mind and will. Though if you want to learn more about that, you'll have to ask him."

-----------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:Personally, Jaken and the NotJaken doubted anyone would be in there but he supposed it was best to check. He remembered school evisceration classes and where the stomachs had been on the classroom dummies as he scrambled for higher ground. He wasn't too sure he wanted to be surrounded by stomach acids right now. It was near the edge of his range, he thought, and he was opening a portal inside someone. He knew his portals never worked if they intersected solid objects but, he hoped, there was enough room in a stomach...

It took three attempts but he finally had success that he could feel and he opened the 'escape' portal in the trough the ship had made when it crashed. He didn't have a hand free to hold his nose as, at range like this, he needed to channel the power so he had a hand pointed at each portal. He did look away, however. Just in case.
If the droid itself had a stomach, he would surely have ejected it's contents. He hated being right about this kind of thing. The Warlord had indeed been snacking throughout the battle.

the hive droid moved quickly, searching for life among the bones and remains, which he was alarmed to discover included not just Celican remains, but Varanian as well. Searching unpleasantly thoroughly, and as fast as he could, he found two unconscious Celican soldiers and a barely breathing Varanian trooper. He pulled all three of them out. "Close the portal, Jaken. That's all we can afford to save." He turned to Colorado and the clones. "We have injured over here! We need to get them stabilized."

-----------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Hive, what's that orb thing," Jenny asked. "I heard it whine just before he eye beamed the building."
"I don't know." Hivemind admitted. "Definitely a power source for his abilities, but any ideas of how it works would be guess work right now. Then again, with a demon involved, that opens up options I really didn't want to be opened up."

-----------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"There are worse ways to go," Hannabelle said simply as the bit of building began to slide. She took aim at the open mouth and fired. "I could be swallowed AND missiled!" She commenced running against gravity to give Tatiana time.
Neon Icy Wings wrote:Tatiana, without a moments hesitation broke off from her potshots and shot straight towards Hannabelle. With a shout of, "Sorry about this!" She plowed straight into Hannabelle as gently as she could while still getting her out of imminent ate territory. "Hope I didn't break anything there..." As she made her way to where Kolt was, figuring it the safest place to put Hannabelle down, she asked a question over the comm line, "Just a quick question, but did anyone extract Archangel after I sent him flying?"
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Probably a rib," Hannabelle remarked, feeling the pain, "but don't worry," she continued, "it was gonna break shortly anyhow."
"Hannabelle" Hivemind said over the comms. "There is no way I'm allowing you to continue fighting with a broken rib."

-----------------------
Buster wrote:Kol was only just barely out of danger but her movements were still not what they should have been.

this battle... no, this couldn't even be called a battle, this was insanity. Every instinct told her to run, every fiber of her being screaming at her; forget this fight, leave, survive.

and yet she stayed, not caught in feral panic like the canon fire of the tank had had her, not frozen like before, but slowly walking towards the towering bhemoth. a tiny voice in the back of her mind asking her where her pride was, how she could call herself a warrior when others less then her stood while she fled.

The little machine god had talked of 'hero' a meaningless word of his alien language, and of duty to fight in others stead that wasn't why she was here. She was here because she was Kol.

her pace quickened her movements growing more steady.

She was a warrior, a pit fighter, a survivor. She had stood and claimed her right to live when dozens of others had fallen before her claws. 'The berzerker of the pits'. a title she earned, a title she was proud of.

Never beaten, never doubting herself, before this crazy place.

She was running now. blades out and whirring.

Honor. Pride. cornerstones of how the old matriarch had lived for nearly a century, what she had tried to impart onto the three generations that had came after her.

by the time hivemind called out his warning, kol was already too far out in front.

a berzerker, clad in the colors of death and blood, spurred forwards into a charge, and howling like banshee.

she would climb that beast and gouge out it's eyes if that's what it took to reclaim her pride as a warrior.

((what, you didn't think my choices of white and red for her outfit were arbitrary did you?
also seriously? posting right when i hit submit? i had to rewrite half this thing because of that!))
The Warlord crunched down when the section of the building landed in his mouth, and he was disappointed to find there wasn't any meat in the bite, especially since he just suddenly became even more hungry than before. He watched as Tatiana flew away with his prey, and was about to blast them out of the sky when he felt Kol trying to climb his leg. He laughed mirthlessly at her attempts to attack him. He reached down and pried her off of him, grinning. Then he opened his mouth, and brought her up to it. Her head was almost in his mouth when something struck him in the side of his head. Whatever it was exploded and sent him stumbling into the building he had just cut. In the process, he dropped Kol.

Gadgeteer was holding the literal smoking gun. It was the beam weapon he had used earlier to punch a hole through the cruiser wall. Gadgeteer had a furious, wild look in his eye.

The Warlord spun around and immediately recognized Gadgeteer. "You. I remember you, traitor. You steal my technology, and now you steal my dinner. Perhaps you would rather take the four-armed one's place? Finally be of u-"
"NEWS FLASH YOU GREEDY SELF CENTERED ****" Gadgeteer roared, standing tall and facing down the monster six times his height with all of the rage in his being. "IT'S MY TECHNOLOGY. MY RESEARCH. YOU STOLE EVERYTHING FROM ME! MY HOME! MY FAMILY! MY RESEARCH! MY LIFE! Now, I will KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU!!!" The Warlord laughed at this, but gadgeteer lifted his heavy laser cannon once more, aimed it straight at the Warlord's head, and fired.

The Warlord quickly shielded his face, blocking the shot with his arm. It blasted his arm into his face, launching him back until he crashed into the building once more, knocking it down. The Warlord got up, looking furious. Gadgeteer dropped the smoking and spent laser cannon, pulling out his lightning bolt gun. The Warlord charged.

"three... two... one... NOW!" Gadgeteer shouted. A stream of white-hot plasma and exploding bullets errupted from one of the side streets, smashing into the Warlord and knocking him sideways and senseless. The Warlord skidded to a halt under the deadly stream of plasma and projectiles, his hammer flying away from him and landing about twenty meters away. The Warlord slammed the ground with his fist and jumped to his feet with surprising agility as the orb emitted the roar one would expect from a massive crowd. He turned to look at his attacker, or attackers.

The Metal Warriors, the Warlord and Lumberjack mechs, stood side-by-side. The Warlord Mech had it's giant gravity hammer out as it walked into the fray. Lumberjack, which held up it's large, rotating, and smoking six-barreled minigun. The six barrels had opened up to make way for a central plasma cannon that was currently venting heat, unable to fire for now.

The Varanian Warlord and the Mecha Warlord charged at each other. The Mecha Warlord swung it's gravity hammer at the Varanian Warlord's head, but the Varanian ducked under it and countered with a shot to the robot's torso. The shot knocked the Mecha Warlord back, but the robot returned with a downward swing. The Varanian leaped backwards, it's orb started singing a shrill, sorrowful song, he opened his mouth, and a blast of frost shot out at the robot. The ice encased the Mecha Warlord, slowing it down until it couldn't move. The Varanian followed up with a solid haymaker to the Mecha Warlord's core body, sending it sailing into a building, but shattering the ice. The robot got back up again after the building collapsed and charged once more...

As the two fought and Lumberjack waited for it's cooldown to end, Hivemind spoke to the team. "Everybody clear the area! We're about to get orbital support to hit this place and no one wants to be in the park perimeter when that happens."

-----------------------
Legotron123 wrote:”HE’S WHAT!?!?!” Kolt said, shocked by the news of the Warlord going Avatar. He looked back to the city, clearly wanting to go help his teammates. After about a minute, he sighed and went back to loading the injured onto the Sparrows, his conscience not letting him abandon those who needed his help. ”So, what Aspect is he possessed by? Is it that Odium thing again?”
"No. Quite possibly, it's worse. It's Cupiditas, aspect of greed. Root of all evil, and possibly one of the most powerful and influential archdemons of all." Hivemind replied as filled up Sparrows started flying off with their passengers.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

"Hive," Jenny called as she followed instructions and backed off, "if we're talking possession here and by the greed spirit, I REALLY think we need to do something about the massive jewel in his chest! That thing could pay off the debts of most planets and I can't think of many people who wouldn't want it! Sounds like greed to me." She stopped and glanced at the fight. "It needs to be either ripped out or destroyed." She drew a bead on it with her borrowed Varanian firearm.
---------------------------------
"I only said 'probably', Hive," Hanny declared, keeping the truth of 'definitely' to herself. "I'm not... sitting it out without a definitely." She began moving back towards the fight.
--------------------------------
The NotJaken (and, indeed, Jaken himself) was quite relieved when Hive said he could let go. A portal at this range was quite tiring and, adding to the fact the Warlord hadn't exactly remained still and there was the added strain of Jaken trying not to vomit into the control helmet at the stench that had almost made him think of becoming vegetarian, he was almost at the limits of his endurance. With a shaking frame he finally released the portals and struggled not to drop to his knees. He wondered about the therapy bills of the Celican soldiers. "We'll..." he swallowed. "We'll need to take the Vanarian with us... If you want to save it," he told Hive, almost getting the enemy name right.
--------------------------------
"Wonderful," Dragere grumbled. "So what's the planetary situation?"
--------------------------------
"Sounds like they need a leader," Corp mentioned. "I wonder if either of our guests would go for it?"
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Deske »

The doctors broke off into pairs and got to their newest patients. For being where they were, they honestly got out of it pretty unscathed, only suffering from a few acid burns and mild symptoms of hypoxia. They couldn't do anything about the smell though.
----------
You bring any of that star juice or whatever it was? Your nuclear, radioactive, liquid death.
----------
Ulrich was busy sending off more carts with wounded, loading them up and shipping them off to the rally point as they came to him. Once he was finished, he moved himself back a bit, favoring a more defensive opproach to this fight.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Hlaoroo »

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Ah, no' so much," Sarah admitted. "Burnt a Potted Noodle once, me," she confessed. "Youse twa get taught?"
"Aye. Ma' thought we shuid learn. She said it was important fer a bachelor tae eat right an' tae be able tae put on a spread fer a lady. Cailean was always better at it than me though. He liked cookin'. Ah just liked eatin'." Conall signs before putting plates, cups and cutlery onto the bench.
"Sae dae ye ken haow tae work tha' replicator, Sarah?"
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Legotron123 »

Kolt grimaced. ”Of course there’s an Aspect for greed. Why would I expect anything different?” He said, clearly aggravated with this whole situation. ”Is there anything else you need me to do, or can I go back and help my teammates?”
-
”I’m going to have to talk to him then. I want to have as many of the facts as I can before I continue my “debate” with the Shipmaster.” Liz said, before turning to address Corp. ”If you’re referring to the two I think you’re referring to, then neither of them would work. The Shipmaster is too aggressive and set in his ways to be a leader of the downtrodden. And considering the grunt is so low on the totem pole that the only name I have for him is “the grunt,” I doubt he has the leadership skills to do it either.”
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

"Sounds like us," Corp grunted. "Well, me anyway. And together we make a great team."
--------------------------------------
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

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"What are ye makin' us, Sarah?" Cailean asks, sniffing curiously.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

"If'n ah 'memb'r right," Sarah said and signed, "it's th' code fer this universes Full Scottish. E'en with Lorne links. An', fer me? Summat that looks like..." She frowned as two full Scottish breakfasts and a Pot Noodle appeared. "That's nae a Shredded Wheat!"
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Buster »

seeing as she can't fly and nobody caught her, kol is currently face down on the pavement making a little pained sounnd and not moving.

- - - - - - - -

> Okay, sorry for the prolonged silence but samples are destroyed, lab equipment is away, and i just finished fabricating a ship-grade gauss cannon and deployable turret mount.
> how quickly can you get me down there?


if hivemind were to go to her, he'd find the weapon in question is three times her size and currently in five pieces, likely needing on-site assembly.

> also, your weapon database needs a better password. while i applaud using the entire unicode library for character selection, only having it be 64 long is kinda weak.
> and why were the last 7 characters emoji?
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by CyberDragon »

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Wonderful," Dragere grumbled. "So what's the planetary situation?"
"The Varanians have been repelled from a number of cities, and we have entirely evacuated many other cities. Regrettably, any city that received a visit from the Warlord has suffered massive losses. The Warlord keeps portaling to other parts of the planet, so up until now he has evaded the Champions. We have located him, though, and are currently engaging him. I'm currently setting up a jammer to keep him from opening any more portals." Hivemind explained the situation. The Sparrow was moving slowly through space. He wanted to get this conversation done where there were the fewest ears that could be listening. Speaking of... "The people at some point need to know about this conspiracy, but now is not the time to tell them. It would be too much, given the circumstances. You and your guards there need to keep quiet about this, I'm sure I don't have to tell you. We are not going to cover this up. However, there needs to be some time not only for us to investigate without the targets of the investigation noticing, but there also needs to be time for things to calm down."

-----------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Sounds like they need a leader," Corp mentioned. "I wonder if either of our guests would go for it?"
Legotron123 wrote:”I’m going to have to talk to him then. I want to have as many of the facts as I can before I continue my “debate” with the Shipmaster.” Liz said, before turning to address Corp. ”If you’re referring to the two I think you’re referring to, then neither of them would work. The Shipmaster is too aggressive and set in his ways to be a leader of the downtrodden. And considering the grunt is so low on the totem pole that the only name I have for him is “the grunt,” I doubt he has the leadership skills to do it either.”
"Actually, Liz, from what I've heard from the nameless Varanian, the Shipmaster sounds about as level-headed as Varanian leaders get. Apparently after what happened to strip the grunt of his name, the Shipmaster was the only one who kept the Warlord from simply eating him. In fact, a number of the crew had similar stories of the Shipmaster lessening their punishments and holding back the Warlord's wrath." Hivemind said.

-----------------------------
Buster wrote:> Okay, sorry for the prolonged silence but samples are destroyed, lab equipment is away, and i just finished fabricating a ship-grade gauss cannon and deployable turret mount.
> how quickly can you get me down there?


if hivemind were to go to her, he'd find the weapon in question is three times her size and currently in five pieces, likely needing on-site assembly.

> also, your weapon database needs a better password. while i applaud using the entire unicode library for character selection, only having it be 64 long is kinda weak.
> and why were the last 7 characters emoji?
>because no one typically considers emoji when trying to crack a password.
>Looks like I need to change the password.
>And incorporate characters from extra-terrestrial languages.
>I can get you down there in a few minutes if you take a Sparrow.
>There's one waiting in the hanger we just came from.
>Just head out of the door and I'll open it to the hanger.


-----------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"I only said 'probably', Hive," Hanny declared, keeping the truth of 'definitely' to herself. "I'm not... sitting it out without a definitely." She began moving back towards the fight.
"Don't lie, Hannabelle." Hivemind said sternly. "Given your condition and how hard Tatiana hit you, and where you got hit, it's surprising your entire ribcage didn't collapse in on itself."

-----------------------------
Deske wrote:The doctors broke off into pairs and got to their newest patients. For being where they were, they honestly got out of it pretty unscathed, only suffering from a few acid burns and mild symptoms of hypoxia. They couldn't do anything about the smell though.
----------
Ulrich was busy sending off more carts with wounded, loading them up and shipping them off to the rally point as they came to him. Once he was finished, he moved himself back a bit, favoring a more defensive opproach to this fight.
Welsh Halfwit wrote:The NotJaken (and, indeed, Jaken himself) was quite relieved when Hive said he could let go. A portal at this range was quite tiring and, adding to the fact the Warlord hadn't exactly remained still and there was the added strain of Jaken trying not to vomit into the control helmet at the stench that had almost made him think of becoming vegetarian, he was almost at the limits of his endurance. With a shaking frame he finally released the portals and struggled not to drop to his knees. He wondered about the therapy bills of the Celican soldiers. "We'll..." he swallowed. "We'll need to take the Vanarian with us... If you want to save it," he told Hive, almost getting the enemy name right.
"Of course we're going to save him." Hivemind said as a heavy droid tied up and lifted the unconscious Varanian and moved him and the Celicans onto the last three of Ulrich's carts, sending them off.

Then more droids showed up. They ran up and started either lifting or towing the medics, the clones, Ulrich, and the NotJaken, bringing them inside of the wreckage of the Albatross. "I'm sorry to everybody, but we're out of time. The orbital strike is only moments away. The Albatross's shields are back online, so you will be safe in here until it is over."

-----------------------------
Deske wrote:You bring any of that star juice or whatever it was? Your nuclear, radioactive, liquid death.
"Ah... well..." MT started. Chris might be able to feel his embarrassment. "You see, that stuff was only ever approved for open space fights. It has the tendency to ignite the atmosphere of whatever planet it's used on. I may have... modded that bit out... when we did the simulation fight. I do have High Energy Napalm grenades loaded in the launcher though."

-----------------------------
Legotron123 wrote:Kolt grimaced. ”Of course there’s an Aspect for greed. Why would I expect anything different?” He said, clearly aggravated with this whole situation. ”Is there anything else you need me to do, or can I go back and help my teammates?”
"You have three more patients with special needs. Those needs are that you need to make sure they can't kill each other while in transit." Hivemind said, referring to the three he rescued from the Warlord's stomach. "Then you can come back. Be careful though, I'm about to launch an orbital strike against the Warlord and you do NOT want to get caught in it."

-----------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Hive," Jenny called as she followed instructions and backed off, "if we're talking possession here and by the greed spirit, I REALLY think we need to do something about the massive jewel in his chest! That thing could pay off the debts of most planets and I can't think of many people who wouldn't want it! Sounds like greed to me." She stopped and glanced at the fight. "It needs to be either ripped out or destroyed." She drew a bead on it with her borrowed Varanian firearm.
"Easier said than done, Jenny!" Hivemind said, sounding a bit strained as the Warlord Mech had grabbed the Varanian Warlord in a hold and was slamming it's great metal fist repeatedly and with great strength into the orb, only for each blow to be repelled by some sort of swirling sickly green shield. The Mech shoved the Varanian away, and when the Varanian Warlord returned, Hivemind wound up and struck the orb dead on with the gravity hammer. The Varanian Warlord flew into the air and landed with enough force to cause the ground to shake. Furious, the Varanian Warlord sprang back to his feet and attacked once more with intensely renewed vigor, the strike having done nothing to the orb. "Get to cover! In the Albatross if you can!"

-----------------------------
Buster wrote:seeing as she can't fly and nobody caught her, kol is currently face down on the pavement making a little pained sounnd and not moving.
Two more heavy droids ran by. One picked up Archangel from where he landed, and the other picked Kol up, carrying her over it's shoulder. The two droids ran for the Albatross as fast as they could. "EVERYBODY GET INTO COVER NOW!!!" he shouted out loud and in their comms.

Recon ran over and grabbed Gadgeteer, bringing the both of them to the Albatross.

- - - - -

The fight between the Warlord and the Mech wasn't going well. The Varanian was fighting more and more viciously the longer the fight went on. With each hit he took, he hit back harder. Whenever he lost ground in the fight, he would recover twice as much. The Varanian Warlord and the Mecha Warlord were locked in their fight, with the Varanian Warlord trying to steal away the Mecha Warlord's gravity hammer.

The Varanian managed to break the Mech's grip and snatch the hammer away, before smashing the Mecha Warlord to the ground. The Varanian raised his newly won hammer over his head when the Lumberjack's cooldown ended and he received a full blast from the stream of grenade-sized explosive rounds. The Varanian staggered, and the Mech kicked him off of itself. The mech darted around the Varanian with a surprising amount of speed for something of it's size. It grabbed the hammer and the Varanian Warlord's arms, and pulled the hammer against the Varanian's throat, locking him in place.

"WARNING. NUCLEAR CORE DETONATION IN TEN..." The Warlord struggled against the mech's grip, almost getting loose.
"NINE..." The mech jammed the hammer against his throat again.
"EIGHT..." The Warlord started repeatedly jamming his elbow into the robot, trying to knock it off of him.
"SEVEN..." The mech tightened it's grip, putting all of the power it could into restraining the Warlord.
"SIX..." The Warlord started spouting fire and frost from it's mouth. It grabbed the mech and tried blasting it with electricity, only making the Mech's grip stronger, and all the while the orb was shrieking as if in immense pain.
"FIVE..." The mech set up it's drop shield which encased the two in a near impenetrable bubble.
"FOUR..." The mech's core started glowing...
"THREE..." The Warlord fired intense lasers from it's eyes, trying to hit the mech, but unable to.
"TWO..." The mech's core started smoking, and cracks were showing...
"ONE..." The Warlord roared in a fit of absolute fury.
"GOODBYE. HAVE A NICE DAY." The mech detonated.

The flash was absolutely blinding as the miniture nuclear bomb went off, it's radioactive fire and ionizing radiation contained within the mech's bubble shield making it look like a small star had just formed where the two Warlords were just standing. The explosion was muffled, but it still launched a concussive shockwave strong enough to shatter all remaining glass in every surrounding building in a block radius. Or it would have, if the detonation hadn't vented into the ground resulting in quakes and structural collapses that took out every building within that block. Both of the Warlords were inside, engulfed in the nuclear explosion within.

Far above their heads, visible even though they were in orbit, Hivemind was moving the most powerful Varanian orbital support ships into place. Dozens of them, Scores even, lined up as the Beacon prepared it's own weapons. Cruisers, Battleships, even one of the Supercarriers all took aim at the waypoint attached to the Varanian Warlord's position. Down below, the ground started to collapse around the shield as most of the explosion had been directed downward. The shield finally shattered, sending a shockwave carrying the explosion's remaining energy outward and resulting in pretty much the entire park collapsing into a crater. Before the dust even settled, though, the Varanian ships all fired their weapons into the crater at once. Concentrated plasma glassing beams, exploding plasma bombs, Orbital bolts, rays, missiles, and projectiles of all kinds rained down from the sky, accompanied by thousands upon thousands of Hornet missiles and Balista missiles from the Beacon, all of them striking the exact same spot where the two Warlords had been fighting moments ago.

The strike beat the ground like a rolling, nuclear powered drum for five minutes straight. When it stopped, there was nothing left of the park. It had been replaced with a molten crater too deep to see into.

- - - - -

MT had flown himself and Chris as far away as they could get when the strike started. "...jeeze... Do you think you got him? Or should I drop a few grenades into the pit for good measure?"

- - - - -

The Albatross's damage shields were at critical levels, but it's radiation shields were holding tough. The ship was at the edge of the bombardment, and shook violently throughout the entire strike, nearly threatening to shake itself to pieces. One of the droids stepped out to observe the results of the strike after it had ended and found itself stepping into a thick sea of smoke. "Jaken, Clones, anyone who isn't in Champion armor, stay in the albatross. It's going to be radioactive out here until I can get some scrubbers in."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

The NotJaken held on as the ship shook under impacts and only found himself dropping to the floor once. He picked himself back up to make sure nothing loose smacked him on the back of his not-head and waited for the world to stop rocking. "I thought I was a tele-presence droid," he asked cheekily when Hive made his statement. He dusted himself down quickly. "And I figured you'd save the Vanarian," he admitted. "Just didn't know how."
---------------------------------------
"I'd say... don't think you can keep me out of... the fight," Hannabelle breathed, pausing behind a building on her way back, "but I take it you got irritated?"
--------------------------------------
"Remind me never to cheat at cards with you, Hive," Jenny said, not quite believing it was over. She looked up at the building she was in. "Let's get out of here before it falls down." She headed to the open street to survey the mess.
-------------------------------------
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Buster »

wordlessly sprinting for the small craft, talya is half way down before the fireworks show starts. forcing her to park in orbit or get caught in the crossfire.

>So i guess you really did listen when nuking it from orbit was suggested. why'd you bother giving me a ship if you were going to do that?
>...and how many megatons of bombardment ordnance was that? the crater is visible from up here, so it's gotta be at least ten.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Legotron123 »

Kolt nodded, as the three in question came in on one of Ulrich’s carts. ”So all I’ve got to do is play superpowered nanny for a few soldiers? Sounds go-“
BOOM
Whatever Kolt was about to say was interrupted when one of Hivemind’s mechs exploded with enough force that it nearly burst his eardrums so far away. This was quickly followed up by every ship in orbit firing on that position, the combined blasts getting so bright he had to cover his eyes to avoid getting blinded. After about five minutes, the blasts stopped, and Kolt turned back to Hivemind like nothing had happened. ”Sounds good. I’ll load them onto the ship.”
-
”I don’t doubt that, but I also don’t doubt that he wouldn’t have gotten to where he is if the higher ups thought that sympathy extended to the type of people we’re talking about. Plus even if I thought he DID have the right temperament, I still wouldn’t suggest placing him in charge. As a high ranking member of the military, he is the perfect embodiment of the government that has oppressed them for so long. They simply wouldn’t accept him as their leader.” Liz said, calmly debating as she waiting for Hivemind to get the necessary equipment. ”Speaking of the nameless grunt, would you mind if I tried to persuade him to join my team? I want to show him what a proper chain of command looks like.”
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Neon Icy Wings »

Tatiana placed Hanabelle down out of harms way, and watched the destructive display, arms crossed. Once it was over she didn't let her guard down. "I've seen enough in my travels to know somethings can come back from nothing. Maybe not from 'nuke it from orbit' levels of nothing, but I doubt we'd be that lucky." He second shell let go of her as well, miming a relieved, yet exasperated sigh. "Though... It'd be stinking hilarious if that did the trick!" She turned her head to face the nearest Hivebot. "So, we on lookout duty for 'Giant Dinosaur Monster 2: It Came From the Crater' while you get people outta here or what?"
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Deske »

Ulrich watched the devastation occur outside, shielding his eyes as the nuke went off. "Let us hope these are more victory fireworks," he joked as the missiles came raining down.
-----
The doctors each displayed varying degrees of annoyance at being manhandled, even though they knew it was probably for the best.
-----
"You dirty cheater!" Chris exclaimed, though more in a joking manner, as the explosion rocked them. "You should toss a few grenades in for good measure."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

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Welsh Halfwit wrote:"If'n ah 'memb'r right," Sarah said and signed, "it's th' code fer this universes Full Scottish. E'en with Lorne links. An', fer me? Summat that looks like..." She frowned as two full Scottish breakfasts and a Pot Noodle appeared. "That's nae a Shredded Wheat!"
"Nae, it's shredded. Shredded, then groond*, mixed wi' water, seasoned an' extruded." Cailean jokes.
Conall taps Sarah's shoulder. "Ah'm sure we can spare ye some o' our breakfast, Sarah." he signs.

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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by CyberDragon »

"I apologize for the damage..." Hivemind said to the security chief as they flew past the bombardment. "Rest assured I made absolutely sure no one was left in the city before I launched that strike, even rescuing some people from the Warlord's stomach. The bombardment was aimed to eliminate or gravely injure the Varanian Warlord."

----------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Oh, look," Sana said, pointing to the screens where the Canine ships had just appeared some distance out. "It's the cavalry."
"Is anyone else waiting for the other shoe to drop," Seena asked reflectively.
Sana looked at her in confusion. "Why are you throwing footwear away?"
"It's a.. It's a saying! How can you have the line about the Cavalry and not the line about the dropping shoe? What sense does..?"
Sana interrupted with a pfft sound. "Aww, you're so gullible!"
"I hate you."
"Can you get me in contact with them?" Hivemind asked the two. "I need to ask them a few questions and also alert them that the ships that just barbecued a chunk of the capitol city are oddly enough not hostile."

----------------------------
Buster wrote:wordlessly sprinting for the small craft, talya is half way down before the fireworks show starts. forcing her to park in orbit or get caught in the crossfire.

>So i guess you really did listen when nuking it from orbit was suggested. why'd you bother giving me a ship if you were going to do that?
>...and how many megatons of bombardment ordnance was that? the crater is visible from up here, so it's gotta be at least ten.
>Difficult to say, as most of that was from the glassing beam, which doesn't measure it's power in megatons as it isn't explosive.
>The nuclear core detonation measured in the kilotons, and was directed downward by a shield on the surface. An effort to keep the fallout and radioactivity contained.
>Now, the conventional weapons I dropped on the Warlord's head probably totaled at around fifty megatons, but it wasn't all at once so it didn't have the radius one would expect from that number.

>As for why I'm still sending you down there, I have had hundreds of plans going all at once. Until I confirm that the Warlord is not a threat, I will continue to treat him as if he is.
>That means my plans continue to unfold until a development results in that plan no longer being viable.
>Like how Kobor's plan to feed himself to the Warlord is very likely no longer viable because of how the Warlord apparently has a demon in his brain that won't take kindly to Kobor's presence, and will probably kill him.
>I know you don't believe they are actual demons, but the point is they take over the mind and body from within and grant their hosts incredible power and an immunity to direct influence by outside forces.
>Odium was stitching the Mech Pilot together with strands of his own corrupted flesh and determination. I don't know what Cupiditas is going to do with the Warlord.


----------------------------
Legotron123 wrote:”I don’t doubt that, but I also don’t doubt that he wouldn’t have gotten to where he is if the higher ups thought that sympathy extended to the type of people we’re talking about. Plus even if I thought he DID have the right temperament, I still wouldn’t suggest placing him in charge. As a high ranking member of the military, he is the perfect embodiment of the government that has oppressed them for so long. They simply wouldn’t accept him as their leader.” Liz said, calmly debating as she waiting for Hivemind to get the necessary equipment. ”Speaking of the nameless grunt, would you mind if I tried to persuade him to join my team? I want to show him what a proper chain of command looks like.”
"You don't understand..." Hivemind said as he refitted the testing machine with cellular scanners. "You seem to think they feel like they're being oppressed. They don't. They follow the Warlord out of fear despite his greed and dishonorable methods, but usually they follow the strongest leader anyway. When they had their first ever election, they elected the biggest brute with the biggest muscles they could find. They respect strength, combat prowess, and guts. The mainstream culture of Varan glorifies conquerors, hunters, and warriors. Heroes of their children stories are sort of like ancient human "heroes" like Gilgamesh. Peak strength, extreme power, and they do what they want until someone comes to challenge them. As for whether or not the grunt joins your team, that's up for him to decide. I doubt he'll follow you though. You're half his size in human form. There's a reason why Varanian leaders are all absurdly big. Size relates to strength."

----------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"I'd say... don't think you can keep me out of... the fight," Hannabelle breathed, pausing behind a building on her way back, "but I take it you got irritated?"
"Yes, I'm irritated." Hivemind replied once the bombings stopped. "Needless to say I'm not a fan of the situation. I'm ******* ****** that someone on this planet called the Varanians here. I'm ***** about the pile of bodies I had to sift through in that monster's stomach to save the last three people in this city. I'm ****** that I had to leave the dead behind. I am SO ******* ANGRY that AS USUAL with Celica all of this death is because a bunch of GREEDY CORPORATE ******** DECIDED TO PLAY ******* GOD WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES FOR A FEW EXTRA ******* CREDITS! So yes, I am irritated! And you stupidly insisting on taking on the ******* devil himself with nothing but a dagger, a spent targeting laser, and bravery WHILE YOU'VE GOT A ******* BROKEN RIB is NOT helping!"
Neon Icy Wings wrote:Tatiana placed Hanabelle down out of harms way, and watched the destructive display, arms crossed. Once it was over she didn't let her guard down. "I've seen enough in my travels to know somethings can come back from nothing. Maybe not from 'nuke it from orbit' levels of nothing, but I doubt we'd be that lucky." He second shell let go of her as well, miming a relieved, yet exasperated sigh. "Though... It'd be stinking hilarious if that did the trick!" She turned her head to face the nearest Hivebot. "So, we on lookout duty for 'Giant Dinosaur Monster 2: It Came From the Crater' while you get people outta here or what?"
"Sorry about that, Tatiana. Thanks for holding her back. There are only a couple of people who need to be evacuated left. The medics, Hannabelle, and Jaken's telepresence droid." the heavy hive bot said, noticeably calmer. "But you've basically got the right idea."

----------------------------
Legotron123 wrote:Kolt nodded, as the three in question came in on one of Ulrich’s carts. ”So all I’ve got to do is play superpowered nanny for a few soldiers? Sounds go-“
BOOM
Whatever Kolt was about to say was interrupted when one of Hivemind’s mechs exploded with enough force that it nearly burst his eardrums so far away. This was quickly followed up by every ship in orbit firing on that position, the combined blasts getting so bright he had to cover his eyes to avoid getting blinded. After about five minutes, the blasts stopped, and Kolt turned back to Hivemind like nothing had happened. ”Sounds good. I’ll load them onto the ship.”
"Thank you, Kolt." Hivemind said. "Make sure either the soldiers are all restrained, including the Celicans, or the Celican soldiers and the Varanian are put in different Sparrows. Also, I'm sorry to put more of this on you, but the medics and Hannabelle need to get out of the city as well."

----------------------------
Welsh Halfwit wrote:The NotJaken held on as the ship shook under impacts and only found himself dropping to the floor once. He picked himself back up to make sure nothing loose smacked him on the back of his not-head and waited for the world to stop rocking. "I thought I was a tele-presence droid," he asked cheekily when Hive made his statement. He dusted himself down quickly. "And I figured you'd save the Vanarian," he admitted. "Just didn't know how."
"The droid isn't shielded. Imagine your nervous system getting microwaved. That's kind of what it will feel like if you step outside here without radiation... huh?"

Hivemind stepped fully out of the ship and noticed something in the smoke and debris. Or rather, a lack of something. There was no sign of radiation. Not one rad. A small nuclear bomb had just gone off in the area and there was no radiation?

Normally this would be cause to 'celebrate' the safest nuking in history, but Hivemind had a bad feeling about this.
Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Remind me never to cheat at cards with you, Hive," Jenny said, not quite believing it was over. She looked up at the building she was in. "Let's get out of here before it falls down." She headed to the open street to survey the mess.
Deske wrote:Ulrich watched the devastation occur outside, shielding his eyes as the nuke went off. "Let us hope these are more victory fireworks," he joked as the missiles came raining down.
"Keep your eyes open, you two. It isn't over until we've confirmed the Warlord is neutralized. I'm going to check on Kol." The droid went back into the ship to where he had placed Kol before the bombing.

"Kol, are you OK? Nothing broken? Your suit should have cushioned the impact." Hivemind said, checking her vitals.

----------------------------
Deske wrote:"You dirty cheater!" Chris exclaimed, though more in a joking manner, as the explosion rocked them. "You should toss a few grenades in for good measure."
"Gladly." MT flew closer to the pit and was about to launch a couple of grenades into it when he stopped.

"I can hear someone down there... Human. Female. In her fifties or sixties. She's screaming."
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Buster »

Heading the rest of the way down and landing on a mostly stable rooftop with a good overlook of the crater, the twins unload the segments of the magnetic accelerator canon before setting the autopilot to land next to where Kolt and hivemind are chatting, and hop out to start the final assembly.

- - - - -

Kol gives a noncommittal grunt as she pushes herself up, the front half of her armor a crumpled mess.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Deske »

Chris weighed the implications of a screaming older female against his common sense and, much to his displeasure, decided that the best idea would be to check it out since, "Heroes don't leave anyone behind." Relaying his intentions to both Hive and the dragon mech, he gave a reluctant groan but pressed MT forward into the pit, "Once more unto the breach, dear friend..."
------
"No thermal concerns on my end," Ulrich replied to Hiveminds warning.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

Hannabelle cracked a smile inside the armour. "Hive," she said, "I think I respect you more having... said that. It's... the anger at... things out of your control really... reminds you're a person, not a... machine." The old Hunter stayed where she was, not too far from an evacuation ship. "Probably wouldn't... get there before the... fight's done anyway."
----------------------------------------------------------
"At this stage," Dragere commented sadly, "I'm pretty sure I believe you. This is... It's going to take a lot of rebuilding. Which teams did you have down there, anyway? I... have a niece who's a fan of Tempest."
---------------------------------------------------------
"Absolutely-positively-definitely," Sana said quickly, already flipping switches. "Nobody can get the job done faster than me! Speak, Lady Radiohead," she added, half bowing in her seat as she gestured to Seena's microphone. "Lead ship's the C.V.C Kratar.
"C.V.C. Kratar," Seena said, popping the headphone on before talking, "this is Beacon of Hope Actual, come in."
She flicked the comm to speakers and let Hive take over.
--------------------------------------------------------
"In other words they've been trodden on for so long that they like it and heaven's a bootprint with God being the descending boot." Corp mentioned bitterly. "I knew a lot of soldiers like that."
-------------------------------------------------------
"You're worried," Jaken (and the NotJaken) said, hackles up. "I don't think I like that."
------------------------------------------------------
Jenny headed towards the crater. "I am now running towards a nuclear blast site," she said over comms. "I'm beginning to be concerned about my sanity. You got a scanner you can chuck down there," she asked before hearing Chris. "...or a guy in a very large mech?"
-----------------------------------------------------
Nae need, Hen, Sarah signed, before nipping back to her room. She returned with the instruction book and a grin. "Two digits out," she explained.
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Re: Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by Legotron123 »

”It’s fine. The moment I figured out how to easily carry multiple people, I immediately became a glorified ferry for whatever team I was on. At least it means I’m being useful.” Kolt said, loading the Varanian and Celican soldiers onto different ships as he spoke. Once that was done, he turned to look at the medics and Hannabelle. ”Alright everyone, group up on me! It’s easier to lift all of you if my power thinks you’re one big mass.”
-
”Well then, ideally pulling a “Plato’s Cave” on them and showing them there’s more to life than just shadows dancing on the wall might fix that. Of course, things are never that simple, but I’d like to at least try to do it with this one. Show him what he’s missing out on.” Liz said, as Hivemind set up the equipment. ”As for convincing him...” She smirked and held up her hand, Varanian scales starting to grow on it before dissipating. ”At the very least, size won’t be an issue.”
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