OH YES.
OH YES.
Spoiler: My RP links
PM me for novelised versions of any of my RPs, or ones that I have participated in. Set by the awesome Karma.
soooooo. . . you approve?
Question: How long between the end of Penitence and the start of Adrantis?
CRONUS
Sitting somewhere between a Reaper and SHODAN, Cronus is a broken remnant of glory, broken by his children and consigned to a fate worse than death to an AI: data starvation. Trapped in the dark and enslaved to his own creations, Cronus is a key figure in Galactic Empires II, and is the 'capstone' NPC that explains much of the universes lore and plot.
Finally, the group came to a sealed door, a metallic iris. Ella moved to a jury rigged keypad and punched in a code, before looking back to the group.
"That first thinking machine made six more, six generals. Those generals turned on it as they turned on their primogenitors. They slaughtered the Collectors even as their first creation sacrificed itself to keep them away from the gates to our galaxy, so that the berserker's couldn't wipe out thousands of primitive species. And it succeeded. And for that crime. . .well."
The door hissed open , and Ella stepped through.
"For that crime, they tore it from the heavens, and buried it here."
At the centre of the chamber, sprawled across the metal floor, was a vast, scarab beetle like automata, easily the size of a small space ship. A forest of cables sprouted from its back, punching through armour plates and vanishing across the floor and into inky black vaults of the ceiling. The creature was clearly broken, eye lenses shattered, mandibles cracked, armour rent. Six spears of a silvery metal had punched into its hide, pinning it to the floor like a monstrous specimen.
And somehow, it was still alive.
Its vast head, the size of a battleship turret, turned to regard the small party.
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+Ě̸͉̝̺͎̜̼̲̙̈́̐̈̌̓͘L̙̤̣̜̣̜̊̀͐̀͆̕͜͞L̶̖̻̮̮̆͗̏̈̈́̎͐͢A ͑̔ ̶̡̧̟̗̹̉̉͒͒̉̚ S̝̝̹̻̹̘̩̘̼̅̅̐͒̆̓͠A̖̠̱̥̓̏̊͌̎́͘ͅĻ̟͚̻̼͎̘̼̖̳̊̄̿́̆̑ ̸K̈ ̣͇̠̱̙̅̑̀̾̅,̴̡̛͇̼̥̼̱̿̎͑̎̚͢ Ţ̴̬̬̞͎̣̀̌̎̄͠E̷̢̛̲̠̼̣͓͙͇̿̈̄̂̐͜͠͡Ṙ̡̛͕̠͎̞̮̃̓̿̉̇ͅ ̸̣͢ R̹̻̺̪̗̝̙̓̀͑͘͘͡Ä̡̛͕͙̱̤̭͖̭́͒͌͋N̸̢̛̬͈̣͈͚̞̖͂͆͌͠ O̷̬͖̳͉̤̲̹͓͗͂͊͌͡ͅF̧̝̹͇͕͕͔̝͕͛́̆̋̆ T̵̛͎̖͎̗̩̮̳̣̓͐̑̽̌̎͟͠͠Ḣ̸̛͕̠̹͛̂͆̑̄͊͊̐ͅͅE̢̮̜͆̓́̉͘͢ ̢͇̳ ̭̝̪ Ç̵̙̼̗̤͍͔̼͈̄͆͌͑̉͌̚̚͢O̧̜̣̥̗̙͔͛̂̒̌͜͞N͉͓̲̼̺̓̑̿̅̉̈̚ ̧͍͜ ̴̨̨C͙̭͙̣̹̦͍̰͚̋͑͗͋̔̕͢͡E͉̹͎̙̐̔̃̊̄̍̉̎̽͟͜R̨̨̼̂̊͐͌̒ ̴͕͎͎ Ṱ̵̢̢̧͙̱̹͎͕̰̏̓̓͒̓͒̕.̭̦̮͈̺͓͉͈̙͚́̿̔̃̕̕̕͞͝+
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.+
The voice was broadcast across every imaginable band, a whisper of server fans, the screech of code, the unmistakable voices of those killed by the berserkers, blended and dopplering and echoing.
"Cronus."
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+̢̰͙̻͍͉̃̍͆̄̔̕Y̸̨̧̺̙̻̝̳̯̜̽͊͌̀̑͢Ó̶̡̨̼̤̫̩̬͋̾̎̕͟ͅU ̂̀̄ ̷̢̨̳͔̗͓̹̓͌͟ H̛̘͉̤̥̫̖̓̐͋̎͆͡A̶̡̪̯̲͍̼͇̳͗͊̈́̀͜͝͡V͈̪͍̬̲̬͗̐̓͛̌̂È͋ ̂͊͆ ̬͎̝̥̳̲͟ B͇̜̳̦͈̩̤̤̹́͐̀͐̃̚͡͡R̤͉͔̩͔̲͙̽̐̃̾̒͊Ö̷̦̞̥͖̫̈̍̌̆͡Û ̆̂̅ ̡͇̙̹̲͕͔̤̪̾̑̍͛Ģ̜̹̲͗̋͐̑͐͂͊̕͟͜H̶̛̤̲̼͍̮̫̗̿̾͒̾̾͛̆T ̏̀͗̏ ̴̹̹̲͖̻̲̹̄̍ T̵͈̪̹̫̞̤̗̆̈́̚͟͟͝͞H͓͉͍̝̙̜̥̀͛͐̏̿E̵̪̰͓̖̝̥͛̾̑́̽̈́̈͟͞͞ Ò̷̧̢͔̜̲̣͕̩̜̇͂̌̑͒̽̕͞͞T̹̜͍̘̤̮̈́̓͋̓̃̌̅̚H̢̲̜̱̫̋͊̐̋̓ E̓̈́ ̶̹̞͎̥͇̯͉͒̓̀͢R͚̖̤̟̪̱͕̱̾̑͊͊͗̿͌̓͘S̨̘̠̪̖̖͔̺̅̇̉̅̚.́ ̃̌͡͡ ̛̠̫͉͈̺͙̖̍͌́ͅ G̨̰̖͖̮̓̆̌͑̐͐̌͞O̷̧̫͈̳͕̝̞͎̻̬̍̎͛͌͒́̄͘͝O̳͑̏́́͗͑̀͆͘͠ ̳̱͔ ̶͖͎̩͎D̷̰͖̬͈̳̰̤̯̻͚̾̒̉̃́̄̅͞.̸̧̠̪̥͎̱̪̠̊̀͑̐̒͝ W̨̠̳̩̦͈͒̌͂̄̎̚͜Ę̛͍̮̥̙̓͐̄͐͡ Ḫ̜̠̗̩̑̊̀̿͋̊͗A̶̡̫̣̞̼̙̗̥̔̓̽̄̈́̀̅͛̊̊͜V͉͎̺̺̜͎̉̌̐̏̂͡ ̝̝̟ ̷E̢͇̲̟̗̪̭̘͐̍̾̃̑̊͗͂̃̑ M̪̭̦̰̟̹̠̪̀͑́̒̒̆̂͠͞U̴̡̨̫͙̰̿̐̾͗͘͜͠C̶̢̪̮̺̭͉̉͊̾̀͑̕H ̊̐̎ ̶̛̦̤̱̤̘̖̮̲̄́͌̏͟ Ṯ̷̡̰̤̥̯͚͑̀̌̏͜͠͝͠ͅƠ͎̦̺͚̬̟̙͍̓̔̆̎͠ͅ D̴̨̟̼̹̲͍̟̳͆̑̚͝͠I̸̢̛̖͖̫̙̐͒̐̀̔͋̑͠͡S͙̣̞̯͓̜̭͓͑͊̏̎̕͞ ̵ͅC ̷̧̭̠̹̮̳̤͛̓̅͊̑͒̀̏Ų̷̭͕̘͍̗͉͖͇̍̄͗͌͜͡S̝̰͈̿̃͒̆͆̏̐̀͂ ̸̦̥S ̶͓̹͕̗͎̣̯͒̂̅͋̿͝ͅ,̣̗͔͈̤̜̖̌͐̒͐͆́͒͂͐͜͜͞ T̬̟̼̫̞̫̼͑̉͒̓͑̓̒͢͠H̵̡̫͉͔̽̿͛̋̉̑̅̍͘͜Ĕ̴̪͓͍̱̑̍̌̕͢ S̶̬̲̜̱̳̯̅͆̅̈́̃̌̽͝Ư̸̧̯͉̫̟̮̐̒͛̓̆͗͌͑̃ͅR̛̬̪̀̄̿̅͛̅̑͟ ͙̯̺ ̴V̶̗̝̟͈͇͔̣̗̦̑̈̽̚͘I̵̡̦͖͍̙̠͚͎͍̘͋̈́͒̊͗̆̚̚V͊̓̃̂̈́̀̒̾ ̻͌̇͟ ̷̹̫͔̥O̳̞̼̫͎̬͑́̊̐͘͜͢͞͝Ŗ̷̦̭̺̰̯̬̉̇̓͐̈̍͜͜͡ͅS̐̉̓̒̅ ͈̭̪̯ ̠͖̩̬͎ Ą̢͚͍͇̼̂̾́͒̋͆Ň̵̛̛̙͔̙̱̗̺͗̀͊͆͡D̘̠̱̂̆̎͛̒͋̄̄͋͢͢͠ M̨̻̼̥̬̀̈͐͋̅̑̾̅̀͞E̡̹̙͖̲̹̓̒͑͘͜͞.̡̝̖̼̦̟̦̩̩̆̄͂͐͒̕͡ͅ ̶+̕ ̵̟̞͚̻͕͎̀̃̽̊̀̚͜͞͡
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He's been a huge amount of fun to write, and is not out of the narrative of GEII or its following game, GEIII, any time soon. Whether his goals are as benign as he says remains to be seen . . . but so far the players have had little choice but to work with this broken titan. . .
His text is generated with a Zalgo text generator, which is a useful tool for portraying his otherworldly nature.
Name: James Paramore
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Painfully straight.
Nationality: English Economic Development Zone (Europe)
Physical Appearance:
Spoiler: images
Personality: He'd claim to be a lovable jerk. He insults everyone, and expects everyone to insult him back, but he knows when to back off and rarely chooses a line of attack on something that someone would be sensitive about. He is a doer, unlikely to plan anything more than a general approach before getting mucked in. If he gives you a nickname, he likes you. If he uses your name all the time, even in informal situations, he is unsure about you. If he only ever uses your rank, you are on his shit list.
Quirk: He is constantly fiddling with something, whether he's picking at his nails, or fiddling with a variety of old school hand puzzles like rubix cubes.
Job: Marine - shipboard security, counter-boarding and boarding operations.
Skills:
"Twice as well trained, half as well funded and four times as sexually deviant as any other military force from Earth."
+CQB techniques for dismounted, zero-g and power armour use.
+marine rifleman
+C class rated technician, able to maintain and repair his own gear. (and mod it against regulations)
+passable cook.
+a variety of shady skills, like being able to pick locks (both solid state and digital), pick pockets, boost cars, basic legerdemain hand tricks and a variety of small and fast cons.
Implants: (optional)
"If they'd done any more work, I could have pissed phosphorus"
+Void hardened skin (can survive three minutes of vacuum exposure without ill effect)
+Carbon braced bones
+Myomer enhanced muscles
+enhanced digestion, liver and kidneys to handle toxins and aliens proteins.
+contact data patches under his skin at the crown under his hair, on his forehead, base of his neck, to the right of his heart, just above his navel, his abdomen, and at the base of his spine. These interface with the Conquerers suit systems and a secondary patch on each of his hands function as wireless data-jacks for more general use.
Other:
"Lover by name, arsekicker by nature"
The arrival of the Universal Confederacy resulted in the fall of the increasingly insular, isolationist and incompetent right wing governments that had run the UK into the ground in the later half of the 21st century. Half jokingly called abroad 'Airstrip One', Britain was a backwards, reactionary slum of extreme poverty and class divide when the UC arrived and triggered a change in local politics, and that was only because the military finally rose up and staged a (mostly) bloodless coup. With parliament restored and free elections held, the UK finally started to rejoin the rest of the world, but even in the modern era needs significant external aid from the rest of the world.
One of the ways it pays for this aid is with the conscription. This allows the Uk to sustain a large, well trained infantry heavy army that is on permanent loan to other earth states. Most volunteer, as it represents an escape and good pay with a chance to learn valued skills, but many criminals from the inner city slums of Greater London sprawl, MNC-Leeds 'burbs, and the dozens of run down towns dotted around the UK, are given the choice of a work gang (clearing the Dungeness Exclusion Zone, for example) or joining the military by a judge. Most take the military option, and James was no different. A petty thief (and not so petty thug) groomed after he was orphaned by a car accident by one of inner Londons many 'fagins', he was swept up by the police just outside Camden and was, at the age of 16, given the option, and he jumped at the chance to get off "this bloody sodden craphole". He took to training easily, and served his first tour of duty with the Royal Marines in the UK, and his second hunting pirates in the asteroid belt. It was this second tour that saw him rise to Sergeant and be recommended for a posting with the UC fleet. He was recommended for this posting because he was open-minded, adaptable and rigorous. He was also trouble, a renowned for his 'hard fighting, hard working, hard partying' attitude. This is his first independent deployment, and he is having a little trouble adjusting to not having a squad of mates around to watch his back and get him back to barracks after a night out. He has a long distance relationship with a fellow squaddie, who he misses terribly. A more respectable lass from Scotland, she is planning on mustering out after her current tour ends in 18 months. He is torn on whether to follow her, or stay a marine in the life he loves.
Equipment:
"Yeah, the UN kit ain't bad, but I'll take local gear any time of the day"
Conqueror Powered Armour
The Conqueror grew out of the UK Economic Development Plan (UKEDp) which saw several factories opened alongside new educational facilities to stimulate the local economy. Much of this was actually bleeding edge technology brought to Earth by the UC, and then developed and manufactured locally. The Conqueror is a hardened, upgraded version of the Centurion developed by Mauser Tactical. The Conqueror is a brutal piece of equipment, much favoured by marine forces for its strengths.
Appearance: Heavily armoured exoskeleton, see top picture.
Intent: Fully integrated battlespace weapon system.
Strengths: Full interlocking armour plates over an electro-fibre bundle 'muscle suit'. The suit is armoured with a lightweight, chemically treated kevlar weave which is sealed against vacuum and NBC attack. Armour plates are a classified configuration including a reactive outer layer, heat dissipating inner layer and 'catchers mitt' back layer. As a final layer of defence, the suit can close metal rings over breached and damaged limbs. The limb is amputated, but the suit is resealed and the on-board medical systems will probably save you from bleeding out or dying of shock. Probably.
For weapons, it is designed to integrate with the VA-6 Jackal smart carbine, but also incorporates the devastating 'Bayonet' rocket propelled tungsten carbide spike melee system over its right shoulder, and a six chamber grenade launcher over its left shoulder which can be loaded with mission specific payloads. The suits armour plates also carry a small number of thrusters that can draw on the atmosphere around it to augment jumps, blows and the users running speed. The fully enclosed helmet provides a motion detector system, HUD and access to a variety of sensors (jokingly referred to as the Hudson for its default near histrionic way of informing you of hostiles)
Thanks to its featherweight fusion core, it has a run time of over 2 weeks, and can sustain life in vacuum for 3 days. It can be refuelled with liquid hydrogen in the field, and can burn the fuel for reaction mass to power the thruster system. However this drastically cuts into use time.
Weaknesses:
This all comes at the cost: the suit weighs 500kg and is impossible to move in unpowered. The reactor is heavily shielded, but represents an obvious weakpoint on the users rear. However, combined with the standard marine combat augments, a user can bench press two metric tons and punch five times harder than a championship boxer. Overtaxing the muscle suit allows the user to rip open ship bulkheads. Deploying the armour is also tricky, it can take a skilled user fifteen minutes or longer to get fully equipped, this goes a lot quicker with even one additional pair of hands. It is also a hanger queen. A marine who doesn't spend most of his time maintaining his suit will likely die messily, wishing he had as it tears his legs off while he try's walking down some stairs. The suit, its maintenance gear, and replacement parts take up twice the space and three times the mass of a Centurion, but officers and privates agree: its worth it.
VA-6 Jackal smart carbine
Appearance:
Spoiler: Jackal
Intent: Smart, multi-role short arm.
Strengths: A railgun, the Jackal can operate in vacuum, in ship, or in nearly any gravity or atmosphere. Reaching to his kit and changing its settings, the carbine can become a battle rifle, or a sniper rifle, or even a SMG. Holo-sights integrate with the Conquerers HUD to provide 'true scope' capability, including the ability to aim around corners. It also hits like a jackhammer, and can take variant ammunition, even selecting for single shot for planting tracer rounds or markers.
Weaknesses: This is a heavy piece of equipment, and combined with its murderous kick, would be impossible to use without the augments of the Conquerer. Like the Conquerer it also requires a lot of attention, and its onboard computer is occasionally balky. It can be overridden, but that creates a whole other set of problems.
Melee weapon
Intent: Back up weapon.
Strengths: the Royal Marines identified, on working with the UC's armed forces, that many alien species aren't bothered by bullets. In that instance, you need something that they will care about, and very few creatures can walk off a strike from a massive great melee weapon being wielded by someone who can kick a ground car over. Marines are encouraged to commission something they are comfortable with, resulting in a wide variety of maces, 'buster' swords and other heavy, deadly implements. James prefers a two headed battleaxe with a long, reinforced handle. With a good swing behind it, there are few things that are conventionally alive that can survive a single hit.
Weaknesses: Its big, heavy and obvious, and most normal opponents will not let you get close enough to use it.
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