main plot A Shadowed Dawn

[Lord Meeker he/him]

"Our first order of business is to get onto that ship. After that you are going to need to get into the mainframe or a service hub to get me the schematics of the inside. Third the assassin and Berk are going to the engines while our spy gets us more information. Questions?" The mastermind asked pacing.

@Emperor Stick

[old man moomba he/him]

Cakuin was bored. She'd had enough of waiting around camly, observing events. If these people had any information on her killer and his friends, she wanted to know. She stood up, almost knocking the chair over, but caught it at the last moment. 

"Boss," she said carefully, "These people might know something about those who had my friends and I killed. I'd like to take a look around, if you don't mind."

Ciera nodded, a smlie on her face. "Go ahead. But be very careful. They're more dangerous than they look." 

Cakuin gave her mistress a single nod and loped back into the lobby. She cocked her head and walked to the elevators, pressing the call button.

[Grey Knight]

2 hours ago, Lord Meeker said:

"Our first order of business is to get onto that ship. After that you are going to need to get into the mainframe or a service hub to get me the schematics of the inside. Third the assassin and Berk are going to the engines while our spy gets us more information. Questions?" The mastermind asked pacing.

@Emperor Stick

Quote

Hmm. 

Not where I was expecting this to be going, admittedly. 

 

[Lord Meeker he/him]

1 minute ago, Grey Knight said:

 

Quote

We aren't going to bring it down. If you dont mind there is going to be a prisoner aboard that we break out instead of bring the ship down.

 

[+Ark1002]

20 hours ago, Ark1002 said:

Five small drones, cloaked, left the tower. They flew towards the space marine ship, each holding a small pulsing blob. They set down, and began to burn in.

@Grey Knight

@Grey Knight

[Grey Knight]

13 minutes ago, Lord Meeker said:

We aren't going to bring it down. If you dont mind there is going to be a prisoner aboard that we break out instead of bring the ship down.

Quote

Yeah, I'm cool with that. Should be fun to watch you puny mortals try to dodge an entire army of ticked-off space marines 

But really, it's fine.

5 minutes ago, Ark1002 said:

Five small drones, cloaked, left the tower. They flew towards the space marine ship, each holding a small pulsing blob. They set down, and began to burn in.

Quote

A. The ship is literally 2,000 miles away. They're not getting there for a while.

B. Once there, they're going to have to burn through battleship armor that's at least 12 meters thick. That's also going to take a while.

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by Grey Knight

[+Ark1002]

Quote

K

 

[Lord Meeker he/him]

16 minutes ago, Grey Knight said:

Yeah, I'm cool with that. Should be fun to watch you puny mortals try to dodge an entire army of ticked-off space marines 

But really, it's fine.

Quote

Combat wise/ point value that I do not have up because these three characters are expendable right but would exceed yours marines.

So. How about we talk about that prisoner.

 

[Grey Knight]

On 4/19/2019 at 6:24 PM, Ark1002 said:

"Well then, you little goddam bastard, you better repair it."

He strode up. "But don't condescend me. What treason do you speak of?"

"Consorting with the known terrorist and chaos space marine, Crow Blackice," Azrael said. "Last I knew of, that was called 'treason', and I doubt things have changed."

@Ark1002

3 minutes ago, Lord Meeker said:

Combat wise/ point value that I do not have up because these three characters are expendable right but would exceed yours marines.

So. How about we talk about that prisoner.

Quote

Hmm.

PM me.

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by Grey Knight

[+Ark1002]

He looked at the man. "Who the hell is that?"

[Grey Knight]

4 minutes ago, Ark1002 said:

He looked at the man. "Who the hell is that?"

Azrael snorted quietly.

"Don't play the fool," he said. "We both know your security is above average quality. Excellent, even. Which means-" he tapped something on his wrist, and a hologram of Crow walking into the building appeared in the air- "that this couldn't have happened without your permission."

@Ark1002

Edited April 21, 2019 by Grey Knight

[+Ark1002]

He shook his head. "You are mistaken. I gave no permission."

[Voidus]

14 hours ago, Sorana said:

Lena only laughed at the words. She doubted the marines cared for anybody but crow. Otherwise they wouldn't have warned those attending the party.

"It's good that Lita is safe, but then, given her new accessoires,"

Lena tapped her arm at the place where she had seen Lita's spikes,

"I expected her to get away without trouble."

She continued to smile at Laurelai, the streets were full of stories about those ruling the alleys. And Lena liked stories, true or exaggerated. Her eyes stayed on Laurelai's face, looked for some kind of reaction.

Laurelai's eyes followed the gesture impassively before looking back towards Lena. Lita being exposed so quickly was a little undesirable, but they had arrived as representatives of the DA, this had been a tradeoff for some valuable experience. And with things heading the way they were she likely couldn't afford to attempt to weave some elaborate fabrication anyway.

Her gaze darted around the room, taking in Lena, her companion, the masses who were still milling about, the marines, and the looming shadow of the battleship overhead. This wasn't a time to overdo the subtlety. Laurelai let out a soft sigh and met Lena's gaze once more.

She relaxed her posture, repositioned her limbs and allowed her dress to more obviously drape against the spikes that it had previously concealed. Outside of the Alleys there were few benefits she could gain from them, but most people knew what it meant for someone to have spikes like these. One or two spikes could be something from Scadrial or a rogue hemalurgist, but this many, and in this arrangement only meant one thing. She stopped widening her eyes and allowed her expression to lapse from one of panic and confusion back into her usual stoicism.

"She likely will have managed to escape any hardships." She said "We do try to be prepared for outcomes like this after all."

At the same moment she felt her pen twitch, still concealed in her safe pouch, as Lita replied.

Out safe, heading back to the Alleys now. Need help? I might be able persuade Okame to go back for you. Also, sorry.

Her mouth twitched in spite of herself, she'd been worried about making sure Lita was out safely, she hadn't expected that concern to be reciprocated.

Fine for now. She sent back. Have sent word to Mac's department though they likely already knew given how extravagant this is. You did the right thing.

Granted leaving in such an extravagant way was less than ideal but if they had the time to send a message then they were likely safe enough that she didn't need to worry about them. Losing two promising recruits in a single afternoon would not have ended well.

@Sorana @ZincAboutIt
 

[+Sorana she/her]

48 minutes ago, Voidus said:

"She likely will have managed to escape any hardships." She said "We do try to be prepared for outcomes like this after all."

Lena took in the amount of spikes, their placement, the change in Laurelai's behaviour. She compared what she saw to some of the stories she'd heard and decided that Laurelai had to be important. Or she simply liked spikes. Whatever, if she wanted to, she could probably kill them all with nothing but a thought. Or turn her into a frog.

"It never hurts to be prepared."

Lena nodded.

"I always bring some food, you never know when you're hungry."

[Voidus]

6 minutes ago, Sorana said:

Lena took in the amount of spikes, their placement, the change in Laurelai's behaviour. She compared what she saw to some of the stories she'd heard and decided that Laurelai had to be important. Or she simply liked spikes. Whatever, if she wanted to, she could probably kill them all with nothing but a thought. Or turn her into a frog.

"It never hurts to be prepared."

Lena nodded.

"I always bring some food, you never know when you're hungry."

Hiding another smile, Laurelai nodded back at Lena. Most people either went really quiet or started trying to murder her when they discovered her associations, Hemalurgy could be a bit of a divisive subject.

But Lena seemed to take it in stride, she definitely seemed to note the spikes but didn't alter her behaviour. Laurelai almost considered trying to recruit her as well but it hardly seemed a good time, and being able to tolerate Hemalurgy wasn't the same thing as being willing to accept it yourself.

"Well not unless you're a Subsumer anyway." She replied. "But we can't all be so lucky."

She examined the room again, searching for anyone else heading in their direction and failing to find any.

"Where did you lose your friend?" She asked. "I'd think we would have seen him by now if he was nearby."

[+Sorana she/her]

1 minute ago, Voidus said:

"Well not unless you're a Subsumer anyway." She replied. "But we can't all be so lucky."

She examined the room again, searching for anyone else heading in their direction and failing to find any.

"Where did you lose your friend?" She asked. "I'd think we would have seen him by now if he was nearby."

"He was with us, when we followed some guy to their laboratory. Or at least, the one he showed us. I saw no sense in their experiments there. They felt kind of useless."

She shrugged.

"But then sometimes you have to try things out, only to take a look at their outcome. I don't really care what they do. I'm only here because of the food."

"Then there was some kind of rucus, and when Alask and me decided to take a look around on ourselves, he was gone. I figured he went back down here."

A large gesture took in the whole room.

"Maybe he's stuck in the toilet, or already left, I don't know."

Her tone stayed the same throughout her sentences, indicating that she cared about as much about the lost person as she did about the experiments.

[overlord stick]

15 hours ago, Lord Meeker said:

"Our first order of business is to get onto that ship. After that you are going to need to get into the mainframe or a service hub to get me the schematics of the inside. Third the assassin and Berk are going to the engines while our spy gets us more information. Questions?" The mastermind asked pacing.

@Emperor Stick

Berk shook his head. "I'm ready to go."

[I think I am here. he/him]

1 hour ago, Voidus said:

She relaxed her posture, repositioned her limbs and allowed her dress to more obviously drape against the spikes that it had previously concealed. Outside of the Alleys there were few benefits she could gain from them, but most people knew what it meant for someone to have spikes like these. One or two spikes could be something from Scadrial or a rogue hemalurgist, but this many, and in this arrangement only meant one thing. She stopped widening her eyes and allowed her expression to lapse from one of panic and confusion back into her usual stoicism.

Alask looked at the woman again, his posture changing to something more cautious. Spikes. Was she tested on, experimented on like him? They must have done a lot to her.

Or, she was part of the guilds. Specifically the ones that did these... experiments.

The topic of discussion switched to Nekorb. “He wouldn’t have left,” Alask said. “He doesn’t know where to go.”

He looked back to the woman with the spikes. “Did you... ask for them?” He asked, vaguely gesturing to her.

[Voidus]

Laurelai studied Lena for a moment, watching as the other woman spoke. She didn't sound particularly close to this 'Nekorb' they were looking for, or at the least didn't seem concerned about his absence. Were they simply not well acquainted? Then why stay here waiting for him? The most likely answer would be that she was responsible for him in some way, or her other friend was. The same guild perhaps? Had she seen them together in one of the guild representative sections earlier?

Lena's friend, Alask presumably, interrupted. He suggested that Nekorb would still be in the area before turning to Laurelai and addressing her directly.

 “Did you... ask for them?” He asked, no doubt noting her spikes as well.

She considered before responding to him, giving away too much information wasn't good but this at least seemed fairly innocuous.

"Yes." She replied simply. "I asked for them."

She straightened her back a little more, making use of her newfound height to stare back imperiously at him. She stared calmly, but in open challenge, an Alethi scholar waiting to defend her position. Her life was a series of choices, and however much she might alter some of them, that was one choice that she never changed. That and her visit to the Nightwatcher were two constants across every history that she adopted for herself.

[I think I am here. he/him]

8 minutes ago, Voidus said:

“Yes." She replied simply. "I asked for them."

She straightened her back a little more, making use of her newfound height to stare back imperiously at him. She stared calmly, but in open challenge, an Alethi scholar waiting to defend her position. Her life was a series of choices, and however much she might alter some of them, that was one choice that she never changed. That and her visit to the Nightwatcher were two constants across every history that she adopted for herself.

The woman stared at Alask and he stared back. It was almost a challenge, but one Alask knew he couldn’t win. He was sure an argument with her would end like it had with Berk - going around in circles with no ground being made.

“That’s good,” He said simply in reply. He thought he saw Nekorb in the crowd and he looked up sharply, but it was no one and he looked back at the woman.

He didn’t know what to think. She’d asked for spikes. Had her procedure been like Alask’s? Screaming until his throat couskn any more, strapped to a table, nothing to stop the pain? Maybe not. Maybe so.

“Are the rumours true, then?” He asked. “What they say about spikes, about the guild that hands them out.”

[+Sorana she/her]

Lena took a bite of her cake, interested in Laurelai's reply. Stories were even better than food.

"Can you really turn people into frogs?"

She couldn't stop herself from asking, then shot them both an apologetic glance for interrupting.

[Voidus]

1 minute ago, I think I am here. said:

The woman stared at Alask and he stared back. It was almost a challenge, but one Alask knew he couldn’t win. He was sure an argument with her would end like it had with Berk - going around in circles with no ground being made.

“That’s good,” He said simply in reply. He thought he saw Nekorb in the crowd and he looked up sharply, but it was no one and he looked back at the woman.

He didn’t know what to think. She’d asked for spikes. Had her procedure been like Alask’s? Screaming until his throat couskn any more, strapped to a table, nothing to stop the pain? Maybe not. Maybe so.

“Are the rumours true, then?” He asked. “What they say about spikes, about the guild that hands them out.”

Contrary to Laurelai's expectations, Alask seemed to leave the matter alone and didn't push any further, though his expression seemed to tighten momentarily. Anger? Sadness? A lot of people still held grudges at the destruction from the seven days war.

“Are the rumours true, then?” He asked. “What they say about spikes, about the guild that hands them out.”

That brought a genuine smile to her face, one she didn't bother to hide. Asking about rumours of the DA was an exercise in futility, there were so many rumors of such extreme variety that it was difficult to judge. Some people thought they poisoned the cities water to make people more susceptible to soothing, that one was false as far as she knew. Others thought that they were immortal, which was generally partially true. And others...

"Can you really turn people into frogs?" Lena asked, seeming to be unable to contain her curiosity.

At that she could no longer restrain herself and gave a small chuckle. As far as she knew she was one of the more accomplished forgers in the DA, but even for her reverting enough history for a person to become a frog would be impossible.

"No, that one's a lie." She conceded, still smiling. "Though I'm sure someone in R&D has worked on it at some point, for dramatic effect if nothing else. As for the other rumours..."

She shrugged, giving an apologetic look to Alask.

"Hard to say, there are a lot of them. And some of those answers would be trade secrets."

[I think I am here. he/him]

1 minute ago, Voidus said:

She shrugged, giving an apologetic look to Alask.

"Hard to say, there are a lot of them. And some of those answers would be trade secrets."

Alask nodded, the woman had begun smiling and chuckling. She didn’t seem so bad for someone from a guild, but they all seemed like that anyways.

“I only mean for one rumour,” Alask said, lowering his voice. “Can you cure it? Cure the spikes?”

“Alask, what are you talking about?” Shez said in his head.

[+Sorana she/her]

Lena froze at his question. This was stupid, stupid. He could outright tell Laurelai what happened to him. And if Laurelai knew, then that meant either she blackmailed Alask as well, or even worse if they were able to reverse the effects, then he had her in his hand.

Shrugging she covered her urge to throttle him right here and then and took another bite of the cake. Maybe Laurelai didn't make the connection - but she knew it was nothing than stupid hope that led to this thought. Laurelai was intelligent, good at reading people, and Lena was especially bad at hiding her feelings. Even if she didn't understand what Alask was aiming at, her own reaction would have told her easily that something was wrong.

Edited April 21, 2019 by Sorana

[Voidus]

Laurelai continued to smile but the mirth vanished from her eyes as she looked Alask over more carefully, she hadn't been looking for it to begin with, but the erratic behaviour was a somewhat common side effect. She couldn't be certain, but something about the way he held his body, a subtle difference that indicated a somewhat unusual body structure, the type that was only ever acquired one way.

Well that's something interesting at least. That explains the questions, and his reaction when he first saw mine.

"Cure them?" She asked. "It's not an illness. Granted there are certain drawbacks but unless you believe confidence tricksters off the street then all power has its drawbacks."

He didn't seem to have many spikes, certainly less than her, so there was a decent chance he was lacking stability spikes. A useful piece of information if anything broke out.

"But if you're asking if we could remove spikes and repair the damage left behind then the answer is yes."

That much was barely a secret, when conducting science properly they needed to make sure experiments were repeatable and reversible if it should have unintended results. Most of the other guilds would know that the DA was capable of that much at least. If she had enough of his history she could likely even remove them herself, though that would probably require more time than they had available right now.

"We tend to keep a fair amount of versatility, some of us are good at causing damage."

She allowed a trickle of the Dor to flow through once again, using it to channel a forgery of herself, a moment later a small cut appeared on the index finger of her freehand.

"Some at healing it."

Another stream of the Dor and the wound vanished as though it had never been.

"But we make sure we can clean up after any messes that we cause." She concluded.