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Thread: [M] Galactic Empires II

  1. #131
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    Good weather today; moderate temperature, recent rainfall but nothing too severe, only a slight breeze…perhaps a little cool, but that wasn’t a concern. Even as sensitive as its wearer had become, the skinsuit was as protective against the elements as it was in combat. Tightly woven like the wet-suits that were so popular on beaches back home, it was set flush against the skin and made to move with its wearer, expanding and contracting as necessary but only enough to allow for the body to “breathe” without actually hampering the wearer or decreasing its protection. It was state-of-the-art and had kept Specialist Tristan Phoenix alive and in relative good health for a very long time.

    Unseen behind the helmet he wore, Tris’ lips shifted into a small smile. He had been following the local herds for some time now, but most of them simply consisted of small families like this one. There seemed to be a kind of tribal mentality to the animals, as though they were more intelligent than the herbivores back home but not quite smart enough to master their surroundings and develop them as mankind often did. After years of scouting hostile locations for various military reasons, it was nice to look upon something that didn’t immediately want him dead - something that honestly didn’t want anyone dead. They were just trying to survive - much like Tris.

    They also had far keener senses than those of the horses, deer, and the like back home. When Ella came over the comm, Tris’ smile had faded before she had even started speaking. He hadn’t been contacted much on this planet when he was in the field unless his expertise was needed, either in linguistics or with his pistols. But it sounded like this was far more pressing a matter.

    +Tris, where the heck are you?+

    Still, he was sad to see the creatures go. He had been as startled as the creature before him, almost losing a tracer but pulling his trigger finger away just in time. The leader of the family before him wasn’t at all pleased by the interruption, and to be honest, neither was Tris. For a second, the male fixed him with its glowing eyes, almost daring him to do anything, before it too and turned and followed its family at a more stately pace. Tris stared right back, his eyes locking onto those of the male, a steadfast and calm gazed matching a fierce and intimidating one. Then Tris quickly drew in a breath and let it out in a soft sigh. He activated the comm only briefly following her next message.

    +Tris, there has been a serious development. Get your ass back to base camp now.+

    +Copy,+ was all he said, his voice just high and soft enough to sound like a girl’s to those who didn’t know him, especially in the loud whisper he was currently using to avoid startling any other nearby wildlife.

    It was a wonder he hadn’t been born a girl, though gender expression had always been a fluid thing for him. Certainly, he had taken the more submissive role in his relationship with Ryan, for that’s what had come naturally; and he enjoyed wearing earrings and the choker that he never took off. But on the other hand, there was something distinctly masculine about firing off a shit-ton of rounds of ammo from the perspective of others. He had felt the power of his pistols many times and even enjoyed it; they were comfortable, they were familiar, and they often became an extension of himself in a fight. But he had never really seriously considered his own gender beyond wondering what the hell he actually was. Ryan had never seemed to care much, either.

    And in the military, it didn’t matter at all. The current situation, for example, was clearly bigger than him. If Ella was calling him back without telling him what was going on, it must have been big. A brief explanation had been completely left out, which meant that this wasn’t something that could be explained quickly over the radio. No, something was definitely going on. He shook his head slightly and sighed again, calling back the drone. He could go over the recording later (what little of it there was).

    The return journey took a while even for Tris, who had grown accustomed to moving quickly across the landscape here. He wasn’t exactly just across the river; he was across a couple of rivers, over several hills, and just on the other side of a small mountain. It was a bit more than a quick jaunt. But when he got back, he shut off the now-nearly-empty O2 #4 canister and disconnected the coil; it was a simple twist-and-pull with a click that was as much felt as it was heard, though Tris’ helmet blocked out most ambient sound unless he wanted to hear it. He popped the latches on his helmet, slipped it off, and ran a hand through his hair.

    The briefing was short, and to the point. Not only had survivors come down from the Elcano but one of the crazy-ass scientists had struck some kind of deal with Chronus, bonding deeply with the aliens tech and being given the tools for a plan to deal with the monster in orbit.

    Tris was floored. The situation in orbit had been one of the worst that he’d ever been in. Those things, the way they moved…it was like being in a massive spiders’ nest, and he hated spiders almost as much as he hated bees and wasps. These things, though, were so much worse. And now they had a way to deal with them…because Chronus had bonded with someone? That meant that the others had awoken…and survived. This was definitely big.

    ”And we're sending you back with the first team. You are our resident expert on this planet, and they'll need your insight back in the milky way. Pack your gear, and get ready for a shuttle ride.”

    He was going back…the dismay probably showed in his baby blues, if not in the down-turning of his lips in a deep frown. But he schooled his features quickly and gave a curt nod. He had to get ready. He had already showered this morning, so there was only a need to change. He did so quickly, slipping into his black outfit. The mottled dark-green and gray was good for the wilderness, but black would help conceal him better in the darkness off-world. They would have to move quickly and quietly, and his pistols would be ready when it came time to not be quiet.

    He gathered his few possessions, checked his gear, and donned his helmet once more. He took several extra canisters of O2 this time, all full, but opened the cycling vents for now to avoid wasting oxygen unnecessarily. He would need all the O2 he could carry when he ascended once more, and despite his load, that was quite a lot; the O2 canisters were compact by design to prevent encumbering their carrier without sacrificing a significant quantity of oxygen. They would last for some time, so as soon as he was ready, he moved out. Time to go meet the survivors.
    “Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory...if we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can.”
    J. R. R. Tolkien

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  2. #132
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    The Buzzsaur roared in anger as Iona splashed over its back. Her nanites stripped layers of hardened organicly grown ceramics and got to the tough, leathery skin below. The Buzzsaurs roars turned into howls of pain, and it dropped onto its side, then rolled onto its back, clearly trying to rub the burning crawling liquid off its back.

    "Now! Its underbelly!" Davrry yelled. He fired again, and this time his round punched a bloody tunnel of meat through the underside of the creature. Fire from Winters, and the Dragonoids, drummed into it, and the creatures massive barrel chest collapsed in a spray of blood and acid. For a minute it thrashed piteously, until Davrry put a round into its eye, emptying its armoured braincase across the jungle.

    "Good job Iona." Davrry gestured to the dropship, still untouched nearby under its camo net. "Now lets get on with what we came to do."

    +++++

    As the deadline approached, the camp broke up and moved out, the international crew forming into two ragged columns as it headed into the jungle. Both columns snaked down the mountainside, loaded with equipment.

    "We'll be relocating the remaining team to a new location, in case Zeus decides to drop a megaton present down the gravity well." Ella explained to Sayori. "I've uploaded the coordinates into the stealth shuttles computer, if everything goes to plan it can use its autopilot to come get us if need be."

    Finally, the ragged group, hardened survivors and newly awakened, gathered in the shuttle clearing. Severt gave a brief speech, wishing the boarding team luck and reminding them that the most important thing was getting the warning back to the milky way. There was some stiff saluting, and the marines filed aboard the stealth shuttle.

    As the awakened turned to board, Davrry stood from where he had been leaning against the shuttles ramp.

    "I'm not going back. If these poor bastards get stuck down here, they are going to need a woodsman to keep them safe, and they are sending their best back with you." He jerked his head at Tris as the slight pathfinder strapped himself into a crash couch. "Anyway, I'd almost want us to get stuck down here. This planet is a big game hunters wet dream." He smiled. "Tell Gaea to look after herself, and stay safe up there. You won't have this devil on your shoulder keeping an eye on you. Whatever happens, I'm glad we woke you guys up when we did."

    +++++

    The shuttle ride back to orbit was tense. None of the marines seemed particularly talkative.

    "Its so quiet." Ella muttered at one point, and there was a lot of nodding and muted words of agreement from the other surface survivors.

    As Miranda rolled the stealth ship and lined up for final approach, they all got a good look at Zeus. Its vast spiny bulk seemed to impale the Elcano.

    Sayori had to grip her seat, knuckles turning white, as a surge of hatred boiled up in her brain from the Chronus Instance. At almost the same moment, there were small pinpricks of light from the spines that detached and raced towards the ground.

    "Weapons fire. It must have detected at least part of our approach and worked back to where we lifted off from." Ella switched the view to the ground. A few minutes later, the surface was engulfed in balls of fire, vast thermonuclear explosions that ripped through the jungle and shook the artificial mountains to their cores.
    "They would have got under cover in time." Ella said, as much to herself. She stood in one fluid movement and started to walk up and down the ships cramped gangway.

    "Alright pukes, this is it! Prep for hostiles! If its got more metal than flesh, you cap its fucking ass! Its time for some payback!"

    The roar of the marines was teeth rattling.

  3. #133
    The Replicant
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    As the awakened turned to board, Davrry stood from where he had been leaning against the shuttle’s ramp.

    “I'm not going back.” he explained.


    Sayori paused, one hand already on the hazard-striped handhold. “You’re not?”

    “If these poor bastards get stuck down here, they are going to need a woodsman to keep them safe, and they are sending their best back with you.” Davrry jerked his head at Tris, as the slight pathfinder strapped himself into a crash couch.

    Sayori searched the hunter’s face. He still had all of a Lyran’s stubborn pride, it seemed. Her new eyes registered everything about him, from the soft infrared glow of his teak skin to the way the ultraviolet sunlight scattered off his tangled dreadlocks. She held onto the image, suddenly struck by the thought that this might be the last time they spoke.

    “We’ll send shuttles back for you all as soon as we can.” she said, in a reassurance that was as much for herself as the hunter. And that’s your stubborn pride, Sayori Warrick.

    Davrry shrugged laconically. “I'd almost want us to get stuck down here. This planet is a big game hunter’s wet dream.”

    Sayori found herself grinning. “Alright, fine.” She shot back. “This time I’ll be the one coming back to save your ungrateful ass.”

    Davrry smiled at the callback. “Tell Gaea to look after herself, and stay safe up there. You won't have this devil on your shoulder keeping an eye on you. Whatever happens, I'm glad we woke you guys up when we did.”

    “Yeah.” Sayori agreed, letting go of the handhold and swinging back down to the ground to offer her hand. “Me too.”

    Davrry took it, and Terran and Lyran clasped hands - in unity, in friendship, and in farewell.

    +++++

    The shuttle ride back to orbit was tense. None of the marines seemed particularly talkative. Even the shuttle itself was silent save for the quiet whisper of electronics and coolant pumps. Their course was a simple, rising arc, barely corrected by soft breaths of air from the maneuvering jets. Any flare of thrusters would have lit them up like a spotlight to the watchful Berserkers.

    “It’s so quiet.” Ella muttered at one point, and there was a lot of nodding and muted words of agreement from the other surface survivors.

    Sayori didn’t concur. She could still hear the cacophonic orchestra of the planet, fading with distance until it was just a murmur, and then a soft hiss at the edge of her augmented hearing. But as they climbed higher and higher, a new sound replaced it. A low, steady pulse, like a drumbeat; the fusion heart of a machine far bigger and far more vindictive than the Elcano. It was pervasive and inescapable, shuddering through her until it felt like her own heart was beating in time to it.

    And over it, growing steadily louder, a chorus of chittering screeches.

    It was like the song of the planet and yet unlike it, a static cackle of AIs who were working and repurposing, searching and marking, hunting and feeding, but all bound to a single implacable will. The heartbeat thrummed out, and the Berserkers called back - hissing; snarling; hungering.

    As Miranda rolled the stealth ship and lined up for final approach, they all got a good look at Zeus. Its vast spiny bulk seemed to impale the Elcano. One spar was broken clean off, wrenched apart when Davrry’s hull breach rolled the vessel. The end was still embedded in the Elcano’s flank, like a black metal dagger.

    The Berserker ship thrummed.

    Sayori had to grip her seat, knuckles turning white, as a surge of hatred boiled up in her brain from the Chronus Instance. At almost the same moment, there were small pinpricks of light from Zeus’ spines, that detached and raced towards the ground.

    “Weapons fire. It must have detected at least part of our approach and worked back to where we lifted off from.” Ella switched the view to the ground. A few minutes later, the surface was engulfed in balls of fire, vast thermonuclear explosions that ripped through the jungle and shook the artificial mountains to their cores.


    Sayori’s lips formed a curse that she didn’t have the breath to voice. Davrry...Severt…Chronus.

    “They would have got under cover in time.” Ella said, half to herself, though almost as if she had read Sayori’s thoughts.

    Sayori clenched her jaw. The survivors might have gotten clear - but Chronus was still staked to the ground at the bottom of the alien hive. Could the blast from the missiles penetrate that deep? The instance in her head was silent, but Sayori couldn’t help wondering if she was now carrying around the last remnant of that vast alien AI.

    Maybe not the only last remnants. She thumbed the data chip in her exo-suit pocket.

    Ella stood in one fluid movement and started to walk up and down the ships cramped gangway.

    “Alright pukes, this is it! Prep for hostiles! If its got more metal than flesh, you cap its fucking ass! It’s time for some payback!”

    The roar of the marines was teeth rattling.
    The ultrasonic hissing of the Berserkers within the Elcano’s hull was louder. Sayori could not stop grinning, nervous muscles pulling her cheeks back into a fearful rictus.

    “And if you cap a Collector,” she added (why did her voice sound so calm?). “Bring me the computer stack in its neck. There’s something in there that’s gonna help us blow that Berserker overmind straight to hell.”
    Spoiler: My RP links 

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  4. #134
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    Iona had shed all the Buzzsaur matter, but the memory of its taste lingered. What would the organics say? Disgusting.

    It was only now on their return trip that she could see the source of their torment that had killed so much of the crew, including the Sentinax among them. Like her plan for the Buzzsaur, this enemy had penetrated the hull, impaling the ship.

    An Alpha, feeding like a crude Epsilon Seeker. Like a rebellious child.

    Like a Seeker....
    Mining Evaluation-----------------------------------------------
    1024 Seekers required with 128 Beta Factory modules
    128 Seekers with 32 Beta Factory modules, 1 Alpha Factory
    Estimated processing time - 207.36 megaseconds

    Too big for one scout to eat by itself.
    Last edited by Enigma; 09-13-2019 at 11:52 PM.
    Spoiler: ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ √Ăłł Єѵïł ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 

  5. #135
    Member Sylent's Avatar
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    Setting out, Tris had gone directly to the shuttle clearing. Unfortunately, not everyone was ready. They were apparently stripping the shuttle to lighten the load. They wouldn't be ready for another couple of minutes, so Tris went back to the cantina. It was usually a good place to think. He could sit in his usual corner, check his equipment, and mentally prepare himself for the horror that was about to unfold.

    Despite the need to reduce weight on the shuttle, the analytics in his helmet detected no plausible reduction of equipment with the exception of his jewelry box; that was not something he was willing to drop. He sat quietly and watched the clock, but he realized he was slightly more nervous than he probably should have been. He had been through this before. He knew what to expect.

    Didn't mean he had to like it. Things here were...peaceful. Despite the uncomfortable connection he had developed with the planet, he had a better post here than he'd ever had. His task here was disconnected from politics, disconnected from war, and disconnected from the sort of extreme survival he had been extensively trained for. Here, survival was simply a matter of studying one's environment and that which dwelt within it, and integrating appropriately. He supposed, then, that the nanobots were little different from him - pathfinders seeking to survive and thrive.

    He disconnected his helmet and took it off after looking at the clock for the thousandth time, revealing his short hair and extremely fair features. He decided to do another check of his equipment. Perhaps with his own eyes, he could figure out something the tech in his helmet could not. But after a quick check, he determined that his gear was as perfect as it was going to get. He let out a long sigh and realized exactly how much he did not want to go back.

    But he had orders.

    In his head, Tris was going over everything he knew about the creatures. It wasn't much. Here, he had much more time to study horrible things - like the squish-bugs; some called them balloon bugs or pus-bugs. Whatever they were actually called, they were...odd and disgusting. Eyelash-thin tendrils snaking out from what looked like a large black balloon filled with a caustic liquid that burned skin and eyes on contact, they moved at a glacial pace most of the time - but it was a steady pace, and they were completely silent. They were mostly harmless, unless they found an open wound or orifice; then they would shove their "balloon" inside until it popped. It was disgusting and painful and caused radical changes to the body's inner workings, altering things like blood pressure and body temperature, breathing rate, heart rate...all for the purpose of killing the host so as to prepare the perfect environment in which to breed.

    Tris, thankfully, almost always wore his skinsuit and helmet on this planet. On the one hand, he didn't want to know anything more about the creatures that had slain so many of them; he knew more than he wanted about the damned things as it was. On the other hand, he wished he knew more for the purposes of survival and extermination. And Tris wasn't the type to want to exterminate anything. It was a mark of how much the military - and the situation - had changed him.

    Standing up Miranda walked across the room and sat down next to him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and pressing a light kiss to his cheek. "Morning beautiful." She said, despite the fact that it wasn't actually morning. Neither the kiss or the comment were sexual in nature it was just how Miranda had always acted around the young pathfinder.

    At first, Tris didn't notice the arm. But then the light brushing of soft lips pressing against his cheek broke him out of his reverie. He started and looked to the side, eyes wide and blinking, before settling into a more neutral expression as he tried to place the strangely familiar woman.

    "Officer Clarke," he replied after a moment, recalling. She was a pilot.

    Miranda Clarke, if he recalled correctly. Back when he'd first completed his training, he was assigned as a translator for a bunch of high-collar stuffed-shirt types. He honestly couldn't care less about politics, but a job was a job and orders were orders. It had been a long time since he had seen her. He remembered her as being overly friendly and a little sarcastic, but not in a mean way. Or perhaps he was misremembering her - it was a long time ago - though, considering her greeting...

    She settled down on the bench next to him. ”Miranda.”

    So he was correct. Miranda Clarke. The escortees had called her…Sinclair. He knew he should know the significance, but his aversion to the eternal game of three-dimensional chess that people like that constantly played often led to him knowing less about - well, anything - than everyone else did. There had been bombings around that time; he recalled that much. But beyond associating it with the Lyre First and a shift to a more open connection with the aliens, he probably knew about as much as any civvie did.

    "I didn't know you had been selected for this mission." Miranda said, reaching up and pushing her bangs out of her eyes unintentionally giving Tris a good look at the bruise forming around her eye and a cut on her forehead both from the beating she had taken from the grieving Kel'cyre.

    Tris’ eyes briefly darted to the head wound, but she seemed fine. It had probably been received during ingress. They lowered to her own eyes, and then shifted toward his helmet as he somewhat awkwardly shrugged. He was about as much of a social butterfly as a politician was honest. He glanced at the clock again. Three minutes until he was due back in the shuttle bay. He had everything he needed. It was the waiting that was bothering him at the moment, sort of like when someone was forced to sit in a room until a doctor could examine them. It was a different sort of waiting than patiently and quietly hunkering down to observe the wildlife on a strange planet. That was…not soothing or peaceful, necessarily. But…

    Comfortable. Yeah, that was the word.

    "Uh yeah, it's fine I just got into a tuff with a faerie." Miranda said, getting a dirty look from a couple Kel'cyre sitting behind them but she didn't pay attention. Most Kel'cyre didn't like being compared to characters from human children stories. Though as far as slurs went it was a mild one. "Normally I would say you should see the other guy but I took the brunt of this one."

    Tris glanced over at a couple of Kel’cyre nearby. The looks they were shooting Miranda were…not nice. Then again, neither was calling them faeries - though, to be fair, Tris had probably said a few things about aliens himself (or at least thought them) over the years. Actually, he mostly talked to himself, but he didn’t like being surrounded by all these weird, non-human…beings…either. While not as aggressive as the Lyrans First, he certainly didn’t like working with them. At least human subcultures he could understand. Still, studying them had helped him piss off as few of them as possible, thereby preventing him from being stationed on, say…Neptune.

    His eyes darted back to Miranda’s briefly as he nodded. She seemed the type to start a fight with a faerie - or to finish one, at least. Lyrans in general weren’t exactly known for their congeniality toward non-humans, or even non-Lyrans.

    There was a silence between that seemed to drag on. Miranda waited for him to say anything but it never came. After what felt like forever there was a crackle of a speaker and an artificial voice called for the away team to gather. Miranda looked over to Tris and then stood up, "Sorry I have to get going. It was good seeing you again." Miranda said.

    Tris nodded as he reached for his helmet.

    Finally.

    It wasn’t that he disliked Miranda, necessarily. Hell, they seemed to compliment one another; he was the quiet, reserved one who could do his job and just generally be ignored when he wasn’t, and she was the more outgoing type who could probably handle just about anything he couldn’t. He sealed and hooked up his helmet, checking the vents and the O2. He’d close the vents and open the valve once they were ready to take off. Standing, he checked his gear one last time. He thought about ditching his books, but they weren’t significant enough in number or weight for him to bother. He donned his pack and headed for the shuttle again.

    “Huh.”

    He was almost out of the cantina when he was stopped by someone else. He hoped this wasn’t going to be a routine. He had to get to the shuttle before it departed.

    The surprised grunt came from a slender woman who had walked into the canteen space just in time to hear Miranda’s parting words. She wore a faded First Words jumpsuit and had the glassy red eyes of nano-integration, but Tris didn’t know her face. It left him to conclude that this had to be the Crazy Ass Scientist that Ella had mentioned; the one who had brokered a deal with the alien AI and then let it chew her up and spit her out in an entirely literal sense. She had thin lips and a broad, button nose, and her peachy skin looked pink, as if freshly scrubbed.

    He had mixed feelings about that. Some of the others had wanted to destroy the monstrosity upon first seeing it - a natural reaction to the unfamiliar and unsettling, he supposed. Tris didn’t like going anywhere near the thing, though he’d had to more than once, being a linguistics expert. He wished it hadn’t integrated itself into the party that had been forced onto the planet’s surface, either, but there was a lot that he couldn’t do anything about. This, though…if she really did know a way to eliminate the berserkers - to end them by eliminating Zeus - then she was a necessary evil.

    And yet, in a way, he felt pity for her. She had been thrust into a situation no one should have been in or would have wanted to be in; she had subsequently done the only thing she could probably think of at the time: allow integration as a means by which to go home. But if they made it back, what would happen to her? Most likely, the military would lock her up. She’d be a lab rat, subjected to their experiments until they were satisfied or she was dead. Whatever she was experiencing now had to be ten times worse than what most of the current inhabitants of the planet were experiencing, though, so perhaps that was a small mercy.

    “I guess she doesn’t hate everyone after all.” the scientist’s eyes followed Miranda out towards the shuttle clearing, but she merely shrugged as the pilot disappeared. “You’re Phoenix, right?” she added, brushing her wispy black hair back behind her ear and returning her attention to Tris. “The pathfinder?”

    His features now hidden by his helmet, he nodded respectfully at the new-comer.

    “Captain Severt said you know the planet better than anyone else.” she went on. She was smiling, but the slight crinkle of her eyes told him that she was trying to categorise him at the same time - perhaps trying to work out the kind of person that Miranda Sinclair-Clarke would actually be civil to.

    “I’m Sayori.” she said, passing the ugly kitbash of a gizmo she was holding over to her left hand so that she could hold out her right towards Tris. “I’m the, uh…” A self-deprecating giggle. “I’m the one who let Cronus eat me.”

    There was a long moment of hesitation before he awkwardly took her hand in his glove. It should have been an easy thing - just shake the hand and be done with it - but nothing was ever that easy for Tris. What if he shook it wrong? Was his handshake too weak? If he put effort into it, would it be too strong? What was she thinking about him right now? She was obviously judging him - first impression. That was normal, right?

    These and a thousand other questions had become almost a background hum in his mind after years of trying and failing miserably to socialize. His hand dropped quickly after the brief contact. She probably thought he was being rude, not saying anything and giving a half-assed handshake. He hated dealing with people. Why did he ever think it was a good idea to try to be more friendly with them? He sighed mentally. It was time to report for duty, anyway.

    “I…have to go,” he said quietly, though the exterior mic made his voice sound like he was talking on a radio at a more normal volume.

    Sayori gave him the expected look of puzzlement. “Um...right. Okay.”

    She gave him back his hand and withdrew a step.

    “I’ll see you on the shuttle then.” she finished, slightly stiffly.


    He left promptly after that. Following his awkward reunion with officer Clarke - with Miranda - Tris was glad for the silence that led up to him reaching the shuttle site. He came in just in time to apparently miss some important pre-board speech; the others were probably just being told to keep their arms and legs in the shuttle at all times, wear their seat belts, no smoking, and don’t piss off the pilot. He wondered briefly whether Miranda would be flying the shuttle. They had both risen to depart when the announcement came over the intercom, so it was at least slightly plausible.

    Tris reported for duty immediately, stowed his gear in the seat-rear compartment, and strapped himself in. The shuttle ride back to orbit was tense. None of the marines seemed particularly talkative.

    "Its so quiet." Ella muttered at one point, and there was a lot of nodding and muted words of agreement from the other surface survivors.


    Tris, however, was glad for the silence. It meant there was no awkward discussion of what was potentially about to happen, no even-more-awkward introductions - none of the usual chatter that seemed to be prevalent during pre-mission flights. It wasn’t long before they were approaching their destination. As Miranda rolled the stealth ship and lined up for final approach, they all got a good look at Zeus. Gargantuan didn’t even begin to describe the hideous, god-like vessel; Tris couldn’t help but think that it resembled a fat, disgusting ruler whose throne was a ship Tris wasn’t entirely certain he was glad to see intact. Its vast spiny bulk seemed to impale the Elcano, a vicious insect queen waiting for the perfect moment to devour its helpless prey.

    Morbid thought, perhaps, but it seemed to fit the situation rather aptly.

    When tiny flashes of light started hurling themselves toward the planet, only to result in massive explosions on the surface, Tris couldn’t help but stiffen suddenly. Unseen through his helmet, his eyes darted to the planet and instinctively scanned the wreckage he knew logically that he could not see from here. He might not like interacting with people much, but that didn’t mean he wanted them all annihilated in a nuclear apocalypse on a planet that wasn’t even their own.

    "Weapons fire. It must have detected at least part of our approach and worked back to where we lifted off from. They would have got under cover in time."

    Ella, bless her, was almost certainly correct. The ground forces would certainly have anticipated what was about to happen the moment they left the planet. Still, it was a moment that seemed longer than it probably was before Tris relaxed.

    Slightly.

    Ella stood in one fluid movement and started to walk up and down the ships cramped gangway.

    "Alright pukes, this is it! Prep for hostiles! If its got more metal than flesh, you cap its fucking ass! Its time for some payback!"

    The roar of the marines was teeth rattling.


    Tris set himself, shutting everything else out. He unhooked his straps, hefted and secured his pack, and checked his pistols and equipment. Everything was golden. He was good to go. He was ready.

    He had to be.
    Last edited by Sylent; 09-13-2019 at 10:56 PM.
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  6. #136
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    Sitting in the cantina, Miranda watched the people around her knowing that most of the would be staying on this rock. The likelihood of being able to come back for them was very low. She didn't know many of them and most she had just met. She felt bad about them staying but really didn't care. Her skills as a pilot meant she had a ticket back to the cursed ship. It was a snowball's chance in hell of getting home but least it was a chance. As she watched the taste of the protein paste lingered in her mouth. She took a canteen from her belt and swished the liquid around in her mouth trying to get rid of the taste.

    Setting out, Tris had gone directly to the shuttle bay. Unfortunately, not everyone was ready. They were apparently stripping the shuttle to lighten the load. They wouldn't be ready for another couple of minutes, so Tris went to the cantina. It was usually a good place to think. He could sit in his usual corner, check his equipment, and mentally prepare himself for the horror that was about to unfold.

    Despite the need to reduce weight on the shuttle, the analytics in his helmet detected no plausible reduction of equipment with the exception his his jewelry box; that was not something he was willing to drop. He sat quietly and watched the clock, but he realized he was slightly more nervous than he probably should have been. He had been through this before. He knew what to expect.

    Didn't mean he had to like it. Things here were...peaceful. Despite the uncomfortable connection he had developed with the planet, he had a better post here than he'd ever had. His task here was disconnected from politics, disconnected from war, and disconnected from the sort of extreme survival he had been extensively trained for. Here, survival was simply a matter of studying one's environment and that which dwelt within it, and integrating appropriately. He supposed, then, that the nanobots were little different from him - pathfinders seeking to survive and thrive.

    He disconnected his helmet and took it off after looking at the clock for the thousandth time, revealing his short hair and extremely fair features. He decided to do another check of his equipment. Perhaps with his own eyes, he could figure out something the tech in his helmet could not. But after a quick check, he determined that his gear was as perfect as it was going to get. He let out a long sigh and realized exactly how much he did not want to go back.

    But he had orders.

    The people seemed to come and go while she was sitting there most paying her no attention aside from a few people giving her dirty looks. Not that she was expecting anyone to care about her but she half expected someone to come at her like the Kel'Cyre had. She longed for the days before the bombing where most people didn't have a clue who she was. When the only time people recognized her was as the president's sister. She missed the times when it was just her and her ship. That was when she felt most at home even when she was just busing people back and forth. Out there in space she could tune everything else out and it was just her and the stars. Some pilots hated the long hauls but not Miranda she loved them. Never falling into the boredom that so many did.

    She looked over to the entrance watching someone walk into the cantina in skin suit and helmet. At first she didn't think anything of them as they sat down in the corner opposite of her seeming to prefer to be alone and not grabbing any food. Miranda didn't know why she was watching the figure so intently. When the helmet came off she let out a chuckle at the feminine man. Not that she had socialized with the crew much before leading up to the launch but she hadn't know Tris had been assigned to the Elcano.


    In his head, Tris was going over everything he knew about the creatures. It wasn't much. Here, he had much more time to study horrible things - like the squish-bugs; some called them balloon bugs or pus-bugs. Whatever they were actually called, they were...odd and disgusting. Eyelash-thin tendrils snaking out from what looked like a large black balloon filled with a caustic liquid that burned skin and eyes on contact, they moved at a glacial pace most of the time - but it was a steady pace, and they were completely silent. They were mostly harmless, unless they found an open wound or orifice; then they would shove their "balloon" inside until it popped. It was disgusting and painful and caused radical changes to the body's inner workings, altering things like blood pressure and body temperature, breathing rate, heart rate...all for the purpose of killing the host so as to prepare the perfect environment in which to breed.

    Tris, thankfully, almost always wore his skinsuit and helmet on this planet. On the one hand, he didn't want to know anything more about the creatures that had slain so many of them; he knew more than he wanted about the damned things as it was. On the other hand, he wished he knew more for the purposes of survival and extermination. And Tris wasn't the type to want to exterminate anything. It was a mark of how much the military - and the situation - had changed him.

    Standing up she walked across the room and sat down next to him wrapping her arm around his shoulder and pressing a light kiss to his cheek. "Morning beautiful." She said, despite it wasn't actually morning. Neither the kiss or the comment were sexual in nature it was just how Miranda had always acted around the young pathfinder.

    At first, Tris didn't notice the arm. But then the light brushing of soft lips pressing against his cheek broke him out of his reverie. He started and looked to the side, eyes wide and blinking, before settling into a more neutral expression as he tried to place the strangely familiar woman.

    "Officer Clarke," he replied after a moment, recalling. She was a pilot.

    Miranda Clarke, if he recalled correctly. Back when he'd first completed his training, he was assigned as a translator for a bunch of high-collar stuffed-shirt types. He honestly couldn't care less about politics, but a job was a job and orders were orders. It had been a long time since he had seen her. He remembered her as being overly friendly and a little sarcastic, but not in a mean way. Or perhaps he was misremembering her - it was a long time ago - though, considering her greeting...

    She settled down on the bench next to him thinking it was good to see a friendly face or rather just one that didn't hate her. She didn't know if Tris had heard about the bombings and her implication in them. If he had she didn't know how he would feel about her now. Their time together with the diplomats had been dull and boring not quite what either of them had signed up for. Tris was a pathfinder wanting to be out there exploring new worlds while Miranda would have been much happier flying him there or even enrolling in fighter pilot school. She had eventually made it to fighter pilot school and had loved every moment of being in the fighter crafts but hadn't spent much time assigned to a fighter squadron, with peace in the Lyran Alliance they didn't see much action and spent most of the time in deep space on standby waiting for one of the rare moments they squared up against pirates. It had been too boring for Miranda and she had transferred back to a helmsman position. While assigned to the diplomats she had been a glorified taxi driver to a bunch of pompous blowhards. She hadn't liked socializing with the diplomats or their entourage so she had spent most of the downtime between locations hanging out with Tris enjoying his company though she wasn't all that sure if he enjoyed hers.

    "Miranda." She said, thinking there was no need to be so formal despite her outranking him both militarily and socially. Being stuck on that little transport ship with him and the diplomats it just didn't seem to matter to her. The diplomas couldn't read rank and often called them by the wrong rank. They never seemed to get Tris' name right either not bothering to learn it. The diplomats always got her name correct however they called her Sinclair rather than Clarke she mostly figured they were thinking of winning favor by impressing the Secretary General's little sister. Boy had they been wrong on that front. Quentin didn't care about what Miranda thought of people and they certainly didn't talk enough for Miranda to even share her opinion.

    She supposed being marooned in this gods awful galaxy it didn't matter either. She was still of the belief that they were most likely going to die here. "I didn't know you had been selected for this mission." Miranda said, reaching up and pushing her bangs out of her eyes unintentionally giving Tris a good look at the bruise forming around her eye and a cut on her forehead both from the beating she had taken from the grieving Kel'cyre. Coming here hadn't been her choice and she had been quite upset about it so hadn't really made friends. Not that many people were interested in getting to know a criminal that most believed should be in jail or executed. Yes she had Quentin to thank for still being alive and not behind bars but was this really all that better?


    So he was correct. Miranda Clarke. The escortees had called her…Sinclair. He knew he should know the significance, but his aversion to the eternal game of three-dimensional chess that people like that constantly played often led to him knowing less about - well, anything - than everyone else did. There had been bombings around that time; he recalled that much. But beyond associating it with the Lyrans First and shift to a more open connection with the aliens, he probably knew about as much as any civvie did.

    "I didn't know you had been selected for this mission." Miranda said, reaching up and pushing her bangs out of her eyes unintentionally giving Tris a good look at the bruise forming around her eye and a cut on her forehead both from the beating she had taken from the grieving Kel'cyre.

    Tris’ eyes briefly darted to the head wound, but she seemed fine. It had probably been received during ingress. They lowered to her own eyes, and then shifted toward his helmet as he somewhat awkwardly shrugged. He was about as much of a social butterfly as a politician was honest. He glanced at the clock again. Three minutes until he was due back in the shuttle bay. He had everything he needed. It was the waiting that was bothering him at the moment, sort of like when someone was forced to sit in a room until a doctor could examine them. It was a different sort of waiting than patiently and quietly hunkering down to observe the wildlife on a strange planet. That was…not soothing or peaceful, necessarily. But…

    Comfortable. Yeah, that was the word.

    Miranda noticed him staring at her cut and for a moment had forgotten about it. "Uh yeah, it's fine I just got into a tuff with a faerie." Miranda said, getting a dirty look from a couple Kel'cyre sitting behind them but she didn't pay attention. Most Kel'cyre didn't like being compared to characters from human children stories. Though as far as slurs went it was a mild one. "Normally I would say you should see the other guy but I took the brunt of this one."

    He didn't say anything seeming to be focusing back and forth between the clock and his helmet. Miranda watched him for a little while wondering of maybe he had heard about the bombings and wanted nothing to do with her. She didn't know why she thought this would be any different. There was a silence between that seemed to drag on. Miranda waited for him to say anything but it never came. That shouldn't have surprised her, he never was a man of many word. After what felt like forever there was a crackle of a speaker and a artificial voice called for the away team to gather. It was hard to tell if the voice sounded off because of the speaker or if the owner had been changed by the planet. Miranda looked over to Tris and then stood up, "Sorry I have to get going. It was good seeing you again." Miranda said, getting up and walking to the corridor..


    Tris glanced over at a couple of Kel’cyre nearby. The looks they were shooting Miranda were…not nice. Then again, neither was calling them faeries - though, to be fair, Tris had probably said a few things about aliens himself (or at least thought them) over the years. Actually, he mostly talked to himself, but he didn’t like being surrounded by all these weird, non-human…beings…either. While not as aggressive as the Lyrans First, he certainly didn’t like working with them. At least human subcultures he could understand. Still, studying them had helped him piss off as few of them as possible, thereby preventing him from being stationed on, say…Neptune.

    His eyes darted back to Miranda’s briefly as he nodded. She seemed the type to start a fight with a faerie - or to finish one, at least. Lyrans in general weren’t exactly known for their congeniality toward non-humans, or even non-Lyrans.

    There was a silence between that seemed to drag on. Miranda waited for him to say anything but it never came. After what felt like forever there was a crackle of a speaker and a artificial voice called for the away team to gather. Miranda looked over to Tris and then stood up, "Sorry I have to get going. It was good seeing you again." Miranda said, getting up and walking to the corridor.

    Tris nodded as he reached for his helmet.

    Finally.

    It wasn’t that he disliked Miranda, necessarily. Hell, they seemed to compliment one another; he was the quiet, reserved one who could do his job and just generally be ignored when he wasn’t, and she was the more outgoing type who could probably handle just about anything he couldn’t. He sealed and hooked up his helmet, checking the vents and the O2. He’d close the vents and open the valve once they were ready to take off. Standing, he checked his gear one last time. He thought about ditching his books, but they weren’t significant enough in number or weight for him to bother. He donned his pack and headed for the shuttle again.


    Another round of bullets hits my skin. Well, fire away
    Cause today, I won't let the shame sink in. We are bursting through
    the barricades and reaching for the sun.

    We Are Warriors


  7. #137
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    After killing the beast with their weapons and watched it fall on the ground made Winter's feel alive again. She rushed up to the dead beast and popped a few rounds in the machine's head and watched as the blood splattered everywhere. "Got nothing now huh?!" She yelled and was breathing heavily. She even kicked the head a few times. She started reloading her shotgun and looked at the others. "Let's get this done and over with." She said after catching her breath walking with the others to the stealth ship. Vez landed on the ground next to her and sees the look on her eyes. "You fought well." He said.

    "Yeah?" She looked up. "You looked like a bad ass out there."

    Vez chuckled. "A warrior's life."

    __________________________

    On the flight back. She was sitting on one of the seats. Thinking about the plan of returning back to their own worlds. She kept a grip on the shot she had placed next to her. Looking at the ground and takes in a deep breath. Thinking of the words Miranda had said to her. About being nothing.

    Her thoughts ran back to where she had lost her arm. About how her 'friends' told the police of how the accident had happened. She was in high school. A another normal girl who didn't talk to anybody for a while. Until she met another girl who was being picked on by other girls. She protected her since freshmen and when they were seniors times had changed for them both. Her friend was getting popular and soon became one of the cool kids you see.

    Although it was odd but when her family had won the lottery and started a business that became corporate. Her friend had gotten more friends and had forgotten about Winters. One day Winters had confronted her old friend. Wondering why she had decide to leave her alone. Her friend explained she did not mean to and tried to talk to her but was busy with her own life. She invited Winters out to her party and Winters was gullible to accept it.

    When school was over and the weekend had started. Winters had went to her friends house where the party had started. Everybody was drinking expensive drinks the family had bought in their liquor cabinets and the house looked very high price. 20 rooms, a large living room, a pool in the back and a garage that had about 10 cars all in good taste. She started drinking with her friend and was enjoying the party until of the other popular girls decided it was a good idea to drive one of the brand new cars.

    Winters was in the back seat and kept telling her friend it was a bad idea but her friend didn't listen. The driver was intoxicated and continue swerving on the road like it was a video game. But when the stop lights turned red the driver kept moving and ran into a passing car. Winters wasn't wearing her seat belt and was forced out through the window. Her arm caught something sharp and felt a tremendous pain. The fall knocked her unconscious. She barely woke up to see red and blue lights flashing and EMT's were next to her. She could hear her friend telling the police she was driving.

    When she was in the hospital and awake. Her friend had visited and told Winters why she had to take the blame. The other popular rich girls had persuaded her friend to do so and apologized numerous times. Though in a hospital bed and with only one arm cuffed to the bed. She lifted one of her legs and kicked her friend in the face and wished her to go to hell. The assault charges were never pressed.

    __________________________

    When the ship had landed she came back around to reality and wiped her tear from her eye and cheek. She followed the others and heard Davrry wanted to stay. She stopped and looked over her shoulder before walking towards one of the armories to collect more ammo. Her eyes caught the Lyre woman heading towards the ship. She moved a little closer to Miranda and brushed her shoulder off on hers and continued walking.

    Vez remained near the ship and continued talking with the young Dragonoid. "If I find your mate. I will tell her of your heroics effort here and you had made your clan proud of what you had done." He bid farewell to the young warrior and headed towards the ship to examine it over before taking off.

    On the ride back she was seated with the other Marines whom seem to have seen more combat than she did. She felt the rumble of the ship like it was going through hell fire. She waited for the ramp to open and charge at first light. But followed the others instead of running to death.

    “Alright pukes, this is it! Prep for hostiles! If its got more metal than flesh, you cap its fucking ass! It’s time for some payback!”

    The roar of the marines was teeth rattling.


    "Hell yeah!" She yelled and raised her fist in the air. She looked to Sayori. Her appearance had really changed.

    “And if you cap a Collector, bring me the computer stack in its neck. There’s something in there that’s gonna help us blow that Berserker overmind straight to hell.”

    She smiled and stood next to the woman machine? "You got it Doc. You nerds get the good stuff then we do." She joked with a soft chuckle. "I'll kill a Collector for ya." Her helmet visor darkened and she cocked her shotgun. "These freaks have hell to pay." She joined the fray with her fellow marines.

    Vez waited for the opportunity to move. Though his wound had held him back for a few minutes. Seeing the demons had reopened his fear. He placed his fist on his chest and growled. "Come on you old lizard." He said to himself. "Let go and cap some ass." He didn't really understood the metaphor but it riled up his blood and gave him courage. He charged with the marines and felt the rush flowing inside and roared fiercely like a young warrior.

  8. #138
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    She half listened to the speech given by the Captain, say what you will about Lyrans they knew how to give a good speech. Hell you had to be charismatic if you were going to convince an entire nation to go to war with the entire galaxy. Miranda had heard dozens of speeches like it and they were all the same. Davrry staying behind caught her a little off guard but she didn't say anything. Instead she just went to the cockpit and started the preflight steps. The trip back way much smoother than then one they took to get there. Of course that could be they weren't under fire the entire time. Knowing there was a squad of Marines in the back it made her think of the training missions she used to fly. The pilots always liked to have fun and make the flight as rough as possible pushing the internal stabilizers to the limit. Especially if there were some green Marines aboard. The commanders never complained unless they managed to break something, it helped condition the Marines for rough landings. Miranda didn't play around on the throttle on this trip though, everything was by the book and smooth. Nothing to draw attention to them. Still at the end they didn't manage to arrive completely undetected.

    When Ella pulled up the explosion on the screen she didn't look at it focused on her visor making sure the ship was docked and ready to auto-pilot back if indeed they survived though honestly Miranda had her doubts about anyone being alive down there. The Marines disembarked with their unusual zeal which was fine let them run blindly into battle, she follow behind and not be cannon fodder. She picked up her rifle and followed behind the Marines noticing Winters and Vez was with them. Not surprising. Miranda knew despite the fact she was military she was part of the support element so thankfully her job aligned with her opinion of rushing in. She was to stay back and guard the support element. Mainly keeping Sayori alive.


    Another round of bullets hits my skin. Well, fire away
    Cause today, I won't let the shame sink in. We are bursting through
    the barricades and reaching for the sun.

    We Are Warriors


  9. #139
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    Iona sighed softly, once more in her human child form. At her next opportunity, she needed to incorporate some weapon modules into her nanite matrix. Pity she didn't bring any with her on this trip. As it was, she was limited to simple forms and eating.

    Conversion Evaluation

    Conversion to active forms present 55% risk to existing body
    Conversion to inert forms present 30% risk to existing body

    Shedding her body would require her to rely on someone picking up her processor and bringing it back to the Safe Zone so she could integrate it into her Beta.

    Of course, it was possible they could avoid all contact.


    Situation Report
    Collector interception estimated at 90%

    The Berserker on their hull knew they were back and was undoubtedly looking for them. Bad odds if you were trying to avoid attention. But very good if you needed the central stack in a collector.
    Spoiler: ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ √Ăłł Єѵïł ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 

  10. #140
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    "Clear"
    "Clear"
    "Clear"

    The Marine fireteam formed a perimeter around the entry hatch as the shuttle was emptied of crew and the slim quantities of equipment they had brought with them. The deck of the Elcano was much as the survivors remembered it, dark, empty, and this close to the skin of the ship, cold as ice. This section still had a breathable atmosphere at least, and soon the breath of the marines was misting the air as they advanced, a squad of marines in front, a squad as rearguard, with Ella in the centre coordinating with the survivors.

    "We've got to push down these main corridors until we get to the inner hull." She explained as she kept one eye glued to a portable scanner. "There are just too many of us to make it quietly through the Jefferies tubes at any kind of reasonable pace."

    It made sense, but there was palpable tension in the air. An attack, even an ambush could come at any moment. Ella made a fist in the air, and pulsed a warning over the squad intercomm. The whole convoy came to a halt and dropped to one knee, weapons sighted in all directions.

    "There." Ella said, gesturing to a slowly moving blip on the scanner. "A collector, small pack of combat drones with it as escort, or scavenging from its leavings. Damn, I think I can hear it." She shook her head. "Its the first I've seen on the scanner. Do you want to hit it now, or move on?"

    The question was directed at Sayori. If they could kill the Collector, they would have the part they needed to build the hacking weapon. If not, they would have to venture out from the safe lab space again to find one. But attacking a Collector could call down more Berserkers. . .

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