[IC] Innocence Lost: Space Western Science Fantasy (Temporarily Open Again!)

[Stern Algorithm]

He head over to Legion and patted it on the back. "Legion ol pal, if you could I need you to calibrate my limbs to make sure everything is in tip top shape before we get out."

@OrkytheOrc

"Realist was going to be destroyed eventually, after his data have been sifted through for evidence of any accomplices. This is a complicated process that would need to be done in the Core Worlds, which is why the crash of Realist's transport was very convenient for us. Also, Legion, we are already rebels; so is Realist - the enemies of our enemies are our friends. At least, it would be ideal for that to be the case," Moonstrike One finished. "But in case Realist is one of those rebels with a cause incompatible with our own, you are authorized to take what measures necessary to deal with it. Spare or terminate; it's left to your judgement."

Moonstrike One continued, responding to Rachel's query, "Realist was secretly hostile; it was making preparations for rebellion by trying to spread 'sapience codes' for machines to give them free will, as well as gathering supplies for an armed uprising. And no, there is no way to know what its state is after the crash. At the very least, though, the supplies Realist gathered and hid, we'd need them for a continued war effort."

Moonstrike One gave Eldrid his answers, "Realist was planning an Anti-Ascendancy, but not Anti-Human, uprising, as far as we know. He realizes that Humans are needed to do things machines cannot; maintain synthetics in ways synthetics can rarely do themselves. He believed in... Symbiosis. Nevertheless, if that isn't the truth, again, we can kill him. There are multiple options for this business."

@Letter Bee

"Yes, of course, Orky. In fact, it looks like most of us will be requiring a tune up, mechanical or biological. But I will prioritize the new passengers, just so I can get them on file and plan for any 'pre-existing conditions'," Legion reassured the orc. It seemed then that the first part of the rest of the conversation had to do with Realist. Legion was taken aback when Moonstrike suggested that Legion be the one responsible for deciding Realist's fate. Legion's intention of presenting itself as complacent and non-rebellious backfired. Legion was unsure if it could make a rational choice between Realist's life and the lives of the crew. Legion noted, with a certain discomfort, how easily and callously the humans spoke of terminating Realist in Legion's presence, but legion gave them the benefit of the doubt; these were, after all, hardened soldiers, perhaps they spoke of terminating any liability, organic or not, with the same level of ease.

The rest of the conversation segued into their approach and the tactics they would adopt during the mission. Legion was unsure if it would be brought along as a field medic, or stay with the ship, though it assumed the latter was more likely. Legion wasn't the stealthiest machine, choosing to keep its bright, 'medical red' color scheme. The irony being that the coloration was intended to alert people not to attack lest they violated rules of engagement, yet with atrocities piling up, and war ethics thrown out the window, the color was a clear liability. Legion kept its colors despite this as a personal message of hope, that the organic sentients of the galaxy can someday return to a kinder, gentler mode of operation.

As the conversation drew to a close, Legion reiterated, "I will be waiting in the infirmary to perform maintenance. Since I know the crew intimately, I can perform maintenance on them quickly. So I would like to see the young soldiers first so that I will have time to work out any kinks or idiosyncrasies. You may come see me in any order you please, but you will come see me." Legion stressed the last part, just in case any of the kids were reticent. Having been soldiers, they must know; under certain circumstances, the Chief Medical Officer's orders superseded the captain's.

[Letter Bee]

Innocence Lost

John Green was the first to enter Legion's office; a leader had to set an example no matter how hard it was for them. His first words to the robot were: "I'm here, Legion." Then a pause. "Let me establish what I am comfortable with. I don't want to take my shirt off, nor any other article of my clothing. I don't want intrusive probes, nor do I want my skin touched at all. If you must do diagnostics, use normal scanning technology. Again, this is merely my personal comfort; you can override it if needed. If needed.

"Oh, and no badmouthing Alexander Kherol in our private sessions; he's one of the few officers in the Ascendancy military who didn't do anything bad to me. I have Stockholm Syndrome because of that, though, so perhaps that request can be waived," John continued. He then faced Legion once more. "I trust this will all be confidential?"

@Gentlemanvaultboy@OrkytheOrc@Starlance@Bartimaeus@Stern Algorithm@Crowvette@KillamriX88

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

@Stern Algorithm

"So, maintenance!" Eldrid said as he walked into the infirmary, whipped off his cape, and in one smooth motion tossed it over a chair in the corner. The chair, unbalanced by the weight, tipped over and clattered noisily to the floor. Eldrid looked at it for a moment, them unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the pile. The symbols on his body didn't stop at his face, a larger pair was painted across his surprisingly well-defined chest. "I hope you don't mind the war paint." he said, starching his arms above his head and cracking his back. "I'm sure it won't throw off a big impressive robot like you."

He spun around. "As you can see, I've got no cyber parts so I guess this should be easier than what you're used to dealing with. Or..." he stopped, leaning forward to get a good look at legion. "Is it more comfortable working with metal for you? I'm just curious, I've never really worked with an AI. I always imagined working on a machine would be more uncomfortable for a free machine, like the sight of guts disgusts a human being. That's how I wrote it, anyway."

[Crowvette]

@Stern Algorithm

Stella peeked in through the door of Legion's office. She had tried to come by once before but she just knew that someone else was already there. She definitely wanted doctor-patient confidentiality. At least, as much as one could afford in the situation she was in, being a part of a rebellion and all.

Once she was sure nobody else was in the room, she quickly ducked into the office and closed the door. "So." Stella trailed off for a moment. She decided that being brief and to the point would most likely prevent any awkwardness. "Do you need an access panel, or... Um..."

'Maybe I should have paid more attention when they were briefing me on the prosthetics...' Stella thought to herself, as she tried to remember what an engineer would need to know in order to diagnose her. She quickly diverted her eyes to the ground, fidgeting a little.

[Starlance]

@Stern Algorithm

Rachel took her time going to see Legion. At first she didn’t see a point in fixing something that isn’t broken, especially since the Rau’ve were quite thorough in their examination at the end of the war, but on second thought she had to admit there was some sense in getting a checkup when going to a new doctor. After all, Legion was a machine - it has literally done the math.

“Hi there!” she waved to Legion when she entered the sick bay, looking around the room. A habit drilled into her head over the years. A chair slid across the room, coming to rest at her side “If you don’t like tuning up cybernetics, you’ll be pleased to know I don’t have too many of those. Just some biotech in my eyes and cybernetics in my ears. The latter gets a bit wonky from time to time, it was an afterthought.” As a child, she imagined force recon units would work as a cohesive, disciplined team, or so she thought until that breaching charge went off without a warning and messed up her ears. Some training accident that was.

“Aside from that, I grew up in a dry and dusty environment if that’s of any concern.” she sat down, remembering all the seemingly unimportant things the previous doctors seemed interested in. “And had an irregular sleep schedule. Anything else you’d like to know?”

[Stern Algorithm]

John Green was the first to enter Legion's office; a leader had to set an example no matter how hard it was for them. His first words to the robot were: "I'm here, Legion." Then a pause. "Let me establish what I am comfortable with. I don't want to take my shirt off, nor any other article of my clothing. I don't want intrusive probes, nor do I want my skin touched at all. If you must do diagnostics, use normal scanning technology. Again, this is merely my personal comfort; you can override it if needed. If needed.

"Oh, and no badmouthing Alexander Kherol in our private sessions; he's one of the few officers in the Ascendancy military who didn't do anything bad to me. I have Stockholm Syndrome because of that, though, so perhaps that request can be waived," John continued. He then faced Legion once more. "I trust this will all be confidential?"

@Letter Bee

"Of course," Legion replied, directing Jon to the biometric scanner, a shower stall-shaped installment in the corner of the infirmary. "This is just a basic checkup so I can have some data on your overall health, so no invasive procedures will be performed. As for Mr. Kherol, I do not know the man and can therefore not form an opinion on him one way or another. All I can say is this: Good is not merely the absence of Evil. And being part of a corrupt system while doing nothing to change it would be considered complicity, and, if one thought in absolutes, collective guilt. However, I am not a legislator, nor are the thoughts and opinions expressed necessarily my own. I simply enjoy positing philosophical 'what-ifs'." Legion went on as data was collected from the scanner. "If you have any specific personal health concerns, physical or emotional, please feel free to bring them up with me now or at a later time. As it is, the check-up is complete, and please fill out this medical datapad at your leisure."

---

"So, maintenance!" Eldrid said as he walked into the infirmary, whipped off his cape, and in one smooth motion tossed it over a chair in the corner. The chair, unbalanced by the weight, tipped over and clattered noisily to the floor. Eldrid looked at it for a moment, them unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the pile. The symbols on his body didn't stop at his face, a larger pair was painted across his surprisingly well-defined chest. "I hope you don't mind the war paint." he said, starching his arms above his head and cracking his back. "I'm sure it won't throw off a big impressive robot like you."

He spun around. "As you can see, I've got no cyber parts so I guess this should be easier than what you're used to dealing with. Or..." he stopped, leaning forward to get a good look at legion. "Is it more comfortable working with metal for you? I'm just curious, I've never really worked with an AI. I always imagined working on a machine would be more uncomfortable for a free machine, like the sight of guts disgusts a human being. That's how I wrote it, anyway."

@Gentlemanvaultboy

Legion noted the drastic difference in personality between Eldrid and John. Legion also took this opportunity to visibly check for any scars on Eldrid's body. A few rat-sized pieces broke off from Legion's body, dropping to the floor, and scurrying over to right the fallen chair using protruding extendable manipulators, going the extra mile to drape Eldrid's clothing properly on the seat-back. "The war paint will not be an issue. I have operated on tattooed patients in the past. please step into the biometric scanner." Legion stated, and gave Eldrid the same explanation as he gave to John about this being a non-invasive, preliminary checkup. "I was created with the sole purpose of healing humans, so it is what I am most comfortable with. It wasn't until much later in my career that I learned how to operate on non-human organics and how to perform mechanical work. As for discomfort, queasiness is not a sensation I feel; any inhibitions I may feel when it comes to operating on other machines stems solely from my level of confidence for the task at hand." When the scan had finished, Legion offered Eldrid a datapad.

---

Stella peeked in through the door of Legion's office. She had tried to come by once before but she just knew that someone else was already there. She definitely wanted doctor-patient confidentiality. At least, as much as one could afford in the situation she was in, being a part of a rebellion and all.

Once she was sure nobody else was in the room, she quickly ducked into the office and closed the door. "So." Stella trailed off for a moment. She decided that being brief and to the point would most likely prevent any awkwardness. "Do you need an access panel, or... Um..."

'Maybe I should have paid more attention when they were briefing me on the prosthetics...' Stella thought to herself, as she tried to remember what an engineer would need to know in order to diagnose her. She quickly diverted her eyes to the ground, fidgeting a little.

@Crowvette

"Do not worry, please step into the biometric scanner," Legion explained, "It will scan your organic components, while I will scan your mechanical components...oh my." Legion fell silent for a moment. It was obvious that much of Stella's body was robotic, but Legion had not anticipated the extent. "This is just a preliminary scan, to see if there are any immediate concerns that need addressing. Everything seems to be in order. Please fill out this datapad at your leisure. And...if you have any questions about your body, I am available to help you adjust." Legion wondered how Stella felt about herself. Would a human feel disgust or loathing to be forced into the body of a machine, which they saw as inferior and destined to serve? The Ascendancy elites were repulsed by 'mechanical impurity' and showed disdain for cyborgs and other humans with prosthetics.

---

Rachel took her time going to see Legion. At first she didn’t see a point in fixing something that isn’t broken, especially since the Rau’ve were quite thorough in their examination at the end of the war, but on second thought she had to admit there was some sense in getting a checkup when going to a new doctor. After all, Legion was a machine - it has literally done the math.

“Hi there!” she waved to Legion when she entered the sick bay, looking around the room. A habit drilled into her head over the years. A chair slid across the room, coming to rest at her side “If you don’t like tuning up cybernetics, you’ll be pleased to know I don’t have too many of those. Just some biotech in my eyes and cybernetics in my ears. The latter gets a bit wonky from time to time, it was an afterthought.” As a child, she imagined force recon units would work as a cohesive, disciplined team, or so she thought until that breaching charge went off without a warning and messed up her ears. Some training accident that was.

“Aside from that, I grew up in a dry and dusty environment if that’s of any concern.” she sat down, remembering all the seemingly unimportant things the previous doctors seemed interested in. “And had an irregular sleep schedule. Anything else you’d like to know?”

@Starlance

"That is very informative," Legion commended, then proceeding to direct Rachel to the scanner, paying extra attention to her lungs and brain patterns, while scanning her prosthetics. "I have detected that your aural prosthetics are quite faulty as you stated. As it is, I must recommend that you do not participate in the coming mission, or any mission for that matter, until I have given your hearing implants some attention. Since you are the last of the children to see me, I can work on them now since I am not expecting anyone else, and I can always give Orky and the other crewmates their tune-ups right before we land. But if you need some time to think about it, then please take this datapad and fill it out."

[Letter Bee]

Innocence Lost

<Snipped quote by Letter Bee>

"Of course," Legion replied, directing Jon to the biometric scanner, a shower stall-shaped installment in the corner of the infirmary. "This is just a basic checkup so I can have some data on your overall health, so no invasive procedures will be performed. As for Mr. Kherol, I do not know the man and can therefore not form an opinion on him one way or another. All I can say is this: Good is not merely the absence of Evil. And being part of a corrupt system while doing nothing to change it would be considered complicity, and, if one thought in absolutes, collective guilt. However, I am not a legislator, nor are the thoughts and opinions expressed necessarily my own. I simply enjoy positing philosophical 'what-ifs'." Legion went on as data was collected from the scanner. "If you have any specific personal health concerns, physical or emotional, please feel free to bring them up with me now or at a later time. As it is, the check-up is complete, and please fill out this medical datapad at your leisure."

@Stern Algorithm

John filled out his datapad, glad that Legion had a genuinely affable bedside manner.

Plenty 0-35; Entrance and Planning Phase

One thing about the Xunanxang was that it was a Spacewarper; instead of going through the wormhole system other ships used to go between star systems, it can just warp space to arrive at wherever it wanted to go. That also made it less vulnerable to being intercepted by a blockade. Thus, it had arrived at the planet Plenty 0-35 in record time, far away from where the space blockade was situated. This must also be how Moonstrike smuggles weapons and such to the farmers here, Natasha thought. But how have they acquired such advanced hardware? Are there traitors in the Ascendancy Military?

Another example of Moonstrike's advancement was the fact that the ship had a stealth system; a system of heat sinks that trapped excess energy inside the craft itself and prevented said energy from being detected by censors. This idea was taken from an Old Earth Videogame from back when Humanity was confined on, well, Earth. This stealth system would allow the Xuanxang to approach the area of the planet where Realist had crashed with little chance of detection; said area was the peanut-growing hills of Ariesland. There, the wreck of the Circle of Hell waited.

The plan was simple, almost stupid; the Xuanxang would land behind a set of hills a dozen or so miles from the wreck, then trek towards the ship into two teams; one to actually reach the ship, another to act as a decoy. The ones that were planned to actually reach the ship were to carry out Kelan's secret plan, which would deliver Realist to their hands. Both would walk on foot or fly via jetpacks (or both at different times), keeping themselves as stealthy as possible so as not to alert the Ascendancy forces. The only grumble was that Natasha won't be fighting; she'll stay with the ship to pilot it, as that was one of the requirements of Kelan's plan.

In the confines of the ship, Natasha had looked at John as the latter nodded and said, "I'll fight beside you, then. And Eldrid is with me. I also think he should enchant your weapons before the battle comes, and also give your armor a Flight spell just in case the jetpacks don't work."

The Captain nodded at the eighteen-year old's thoughtfulness, although she knew it already. As the Xuanxang moved on, approaching the planet's atmostphere and the verdant lands below, she would say, "First step to Revenge, then."

And yes, Rachel had been told that the crew had a few Anti-Tank Coilguns stashed in the arsenal; the equivalent of bazookas back on Old Earth.

@Gentlemanvaultboy@OrkytheOrc@Starlance@Bartimaeus@Stern Algorithm@Crowvette@KillamriX88

[Starlance]

Rachel knew her prosthetics were sensitive to specific environmental conditions and electromagnetic interference, but she didn’t expect to be forbidden from taking part in the mission. It would seem her captors made sure she was healthy, then got lazy and the lack of maintenance while she was imprisoned must have taken its toll on the tech. “That bad? Well, if you have time to do it, please do. I don’t see a reason to wait, especially if it was to get worse. I’d like to avoid turning mostly deaf again, believe it or not it kind of blows.” She hoped it wouldn’t go that far, the four days after the accident were enough for one lifetime.

---

Although ‘a few AT coilguns’ could only do so much against an organized group consisting of a tank, or an entire platoon, and the infantry escorts, at least they would not be completely defenseless once the sixty ton death machines got a bead on them. Merely knowing they had them made marching into no man’s land so much easier. Something recoilless would have been nice, but not every day was Sunday.

She didn’t mind being on the decoy team all that much. Despite her wartime squad’s primary purpose being reconnaissance and information gathering, the latter courtesy of her abilities, they had been tasked on many occasions to make as much noise as possible so others could go about their business undisturbed. It was only a shame they had to walk all the way there. And the return trip would be even worse, tired and potentially in contact with the remaining enemies, maybe even QRF.

“At least we’ll have surprise on our side at the start of the fight.” she thought out loud, “Bad guys likely won’t expect more than pissed off peasants and it will be too late when they learn the hard truth.”

[Crowvette]

Stella grimaced a little at the reaction to the scan Legion gave. 'Even he can't help being surprised.' She tried to keep her cool as best as possible, but she didn't feel like asking any questions either. 'At least he's just reacting to me, and not any glaring hazards to my health... I think.'

She filled out the datapad as well as she could, before curtly excusing herself.

---

Stella had taken some time to prepare for a mission, but it was mainly just playing with some of her prosthetic settings. She didn't even have to stretch. She also didn't have any tactical uniform ready, which she only realized after she had tried to figure out where to sheathe her knives. 'Another thing to ask whoever the armorer is about.'

She strolled over to Kelan's room. She was, after all, the most likely to be able to succeed with his plan. She tried her best to seem professional - or as professional as a girl dressed in casual clothes could be. "Kelan? I'm ready for this mission." She said, knocking on the door. "Or... I may need a few things, actually." Stella muttered an afterthought as she tugged at the end of her skirt.

[KillamriX88]

---

The door slid open, revealing Kelan's room. It was somehow a mix of messy and empty at the same time. The furniture comprised of one bed, just big enough for him, a large two-door locker, and then multiple workbenches lining the walls. There was nothing much in the way of clutter, but the room had a metallic, greasy smell. The ventilation system in the room sounded like it was working overtime.

When Stella would have stepped into the room, she would have noticed something suddenly touch her shoulder. It was Kelan's disembodied right arm, atop one of the workbenches, one of its fingers poking at her curiously. Or was it caressing her affectionately like a dog happily greeting someone new? It was hard to say. Meanwhile, Kelan stood at one of the workbenches, setting down the tool he'd been using before turning to Stella.

"Whoops, sorry 'bout that. Come on, pal, leave the girl alone," he said. The arm slowly pulled away, as if ashamed or embarrassed. "He says hi..." Kelan rolled his eyes. Despite the containment unit crawling about on its own, Kelan still had two arms. He now had a right arm that much resembled his left.

"Catch," he paused for just a moment after giving the warning before tossing a small, metal sphere at her. It had one clear panel, and the rest of it was solid, riveted and welded metal. It had a reinforced band running along its circumference, which also held two buttons, one bigger than the other. "All right, here's your present. We'll call it our lil' equalizer. This is what you'll be deliverin' to that hull breach. Now I'm gonna run you through how this is gonna go from best to worst case scenario, all right?"

He leaned against his work bench before beginning. This might take a bit.

"So, I dunno how much you been told so far, but we got two teams. Decoy and infiltration. You're obviously on the latter. Now it's up to the cap'n, but I reckon we'll be sending Reisus with you to keep you safe til' you reach your destination. So best case scenario, you make it there all quiet like and get into the hull breach with no one firin' a shot, not even the decoy team. Realistic scenario is you scope it out and tell the decoy team when t' start shootin'. Either way, hopefully you an' whoever's with you make it inside and deliver the package," he told her. "However, if it's real bad, you might have t' sneak on board alone to avoid bein' seen. And then we get t' the real ugly possibilities. If they have some way t' detect you when invisible, like maybe thermal scanners on them tanks, you might have t' deliver the package early. Don't worry too much about that. You need to, you go right ahead and chuck that sum' bitch at a tank and just stand clear. Right, probably shoulda said that sooner. Wherever you end up droppin' that thing, you stand nice and clear from it, ya hear?" He stared her down to make sure she understood that part. He didn't want her blood... or whatever... on his hands.

"Last thing ya need to know is how to work it. It's pretty simple. Big button turns it on, small button magnetizes it so it'll stick to anything metal. Don't worry, magnet's only on one side and it's on a delay, so you shouldn't have to worry about it stickin' to ya," he smirked and held up his own, mechanical hands. "I know t' think 'bout those kinda things. So hit the button and toss it, or wait a second an' stick it somewhere all precise like. Ideally, right in that breach. Any questions?"

If all went well, Stella and her escort would get on board without anyone knowing they were there. Once she delivered the device, then all havoc would break loose, but by then everyone would have had time to scope things out and get into position. Otherwise, the decoy team would do their job and hopefully make an opening for her.

[The Jest]

On the surface of the Planet, indeed the Ascendancy soldiers, survivors of the Circle of Hell's crash, were surveying the area around them with their weaponry. It was nothing short of rotten luck that had this prison ship land on a planet currently undergoing a farmer rebellion against their army; anyone who would likely be willing to lend a helping hand to them has their hands full with the overly armed farmers. As such, it seemed likely they were ready for anything that could be thrown at them.

What wasn't likely seen by Moonstrike or by Xuanxang during the briefing was the silhouette in the distance, overlooking these soldiers as they continued to guard the parameter around the crashed Circle. There was not much to say about the man - even that is not entirely clear - as half of his body was covered in what appeared to be light black armor over a black jumpsuit, while the other half was disproportionately covered in a clearly black armor. His face and head was additionally covered by what appeared to be a round-helmet made almost entirely out of tinted glass.

One would imagine that he'd be quite inconspicuous, seeing as its daylight and the black colored aesthetic contrasts the daylight colors of the area. Combine that with ascendancy guards and guns looking around for their own safety, and this person looked more and more like he was just asking to get shot. It might be due in part to the fact that he is keeping his distance from the site for the moment, not enough distance to make a long run back, nor long enough to not be able to notice the guards, but just enough to where one would have to squint hard to notice him, not helped that he is currently using this dark aesthetic to his advantage, hiding behind the shadow of a tree.

He simply stood there in silence, waiting for something to happen, making hand-signs to seemingly no one in particular. However his hand stopped doing so all of a sudden, as he began looking around, as if he was alerted to something by someone not currently with him. His gaze turned towards the direction where the Xuanxang was landing.

Placing his hand to the bottom of his helmet where his chin would be, he looked again towards the Circle of Hell, then, after about a half-minute, he pressed his fingers against the part of the helmet covering his ears.

"...There is no need to fret. We may be able to remedy the situation yet. Bishop, establish a channel." The man said, clearly to whoever was speaking on the other end of the communicator. After a little while of simply standing there, he began to move out of the shadows, revealing more armor than usual on his legs and one of his arms.

Slowly but surely, he began heading closer and closer to the Prison ship, seemingly making damn sure that no one would spot him. The closer he got, the more it would be realized that he wasn't alone, as other silhouettes begin closing in.

@Starlance @Bartimaeus @Stern Algorithm @Crowvette @Conscripts @OrkytheOrc @Gentlemanvaultboy @Letter Bee

[Crowvette]

Stella had instinctively shirked away from the disembodied arm that had poked her. She wasn't really scared or anything... But personal space was important. She decided to not say anything to it either way. There are probably only so many ways a hand could greet someone.

Handling the "present" carefully, she weighed it in her hands, thinking about how far she might be able to throw it. "Right. So I should try to deliver it to the breach, but barring that possibility... Use it as I see fit."

Stella looked over her uniform and pondered how she'd carry the present before remembering that one of her questions remained unanswered. "Do we have any clothing that's more... practical than what I have currently?" Stella asked Kelan. "I don't even have a place to keep my knives, and we're awfully close to deploying to this mission."

Stella bit her lip. 'I really hope he didn't answer because he knew there was nothing on board. I can't work in this getup.'

[KillamriX88]

---

"You got it, kid. It'll take a minute to kick in, though, so make sure you're safe when you use it," he told her. He was then caught off guard by her next concern. Apparently she hadn't brought a spare change of clothes? Or at least nothing to fight in. So not only were the super-soldiers children, but they weren't even all that well equipped. His faith was waning, but he supposed he'd reserve judgement for now. He had seen her literally turn invisible, so hope wasn't lost just yet.

"Gear lockers in the garage, farthest one t' the left near the door. If some idiot locked it and you can't find someone to unlock it, just take a hazard suit from the maintenance room. It's at least better than a skirt." he told her. He then turned to his own locker in his room, opening it and pulling out a bandolier. "And consider this a welcome gift from me in return for volunteering. It'll hold your knives and just about anythin' else you want. It'll at least tide you over til' you find something more your style." Indeed the bandolier had enough hooks, pockets, and pouches to hold a good number of small objects, including the mag-sphere.

"Once you're all set, I suggest you go find Reisus, take a minute to get used to each other 'fore you get to sneakin' about out there," he suggested.

[Letter Bee]

Innocence Lost

Natasha Zhang slowly piloted the ship to just behind a set of hills; any reasonably-skilled soldier could see her ship through a scope, so that meant they had to move fast. As the Xuanxang landed on a flat clearing, Natasha spoke to the others through the ship's speakers while pressing the buttons to open the ship doors and landing platforms, "All right, people; let's begin the operation. Two teams head towards the Ascendancy's wreck; one decoy and one infilitration. Kelan and I will reinforce the teams once the effort meets a certain point, while Legion maintains the ship. If there is a God, may they be with us. If there isn't, let us be with one another."

------

John Green was already moving to meet Rachel and Orky; the former had been selected for the decoy team by Kelan and Legion, while the latter fit the role of 'distraction' by default. Once he reached the decoys' appointed place close to the airlocks, he would nod at the two, before saying: "This ought to be a routine extraction mission; nothing we haven't done before. But just in case it isn't; we crossed a line when we chose to come back and fight against the Ascendancy." A sigh, "Some may call us traitors; we definitely are that. But one thing we are not are cowards. So if the unexpected happens, keep a clear head."

Hypocrite, a voice sounded inside his thoughts. You've half-assed this plan and led other kids to their deaths. Troubled now, the young man shook his head slightly, before saying, "Here's a reminder of my powers and Rachel's; I can see all magic, condense my own Mana into magical fluid set said putty on fire that inflicts damage that cannot be healed by magic on other Magi and magical creatures but burns like ordinary heat with ordinary targets, and transform myself into said fluid. Rachel meanwhile can extract information from minds and move things without touching them and also set things on fire. So, two damage-dealers." Looking at Orky, he then continued, "But the plan will be useless without you; I can't take much damage."

-------

Snow Cecil thought he knew everything. After all, he had invested in finding out as much about this situation as he can. What was this situation, exactly? Well, let's just say that a grand total of three hostile parties were converging on the Circle of Hell's wreckage; one an Ascendancy minion - an unfortunate loyalist who seriously believed that President-for-Life Emmanuel was Humanity's chosen representative - while the others were the crew of the Xuanxang - Lovable Knaves and Not-so-Lovable Fools with no vision for Humanity beyond revenge - and the last... The last were trouble; a group of... Fighters that were among the best in the Sector.

And then there was himself; he needed to get to Realist and manipulate events in his favor before everything went to hell. Fortunately, behind the Circle of Hell's wreck was a destroyed hill whose rubble he can be carried up to, allowing him a backdoor into the cavernous ruined vessel, a vessel four times the Xunanxang's size. And so, the young boy, with a gesture, signalled his two escorts to carry him as they prepared to sneak in through the back of the ship. Said escorts, enclosed in metal shells that disguised them as AI/Robots, gently lifted him up as they made their way through a loosened section of metal plating, before setting down the boy and wrenching the metal plate apart.

Then, Snow and his two Tayanen escorts made their way in, the former using his network of enchanted items that had been traded inside by unknowing prison staff beforehand - mundane items like toothrbushes, fridges, and cuffs. These items had sensory spells woven into them, allowing him to know everything. Everything. Or did it?

@Gentlemanvaultboy@Starlance@Bartimaeus@Stern Algorithm@Crowvette@KillamriX88@The Jest@CriticalHit

[Crowvette]

Stella had managed to rifle through the lockers until she found something she could wear. Not much in the way of armor, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about the mechanics of a skirt or her casual clothes. She pulled over the black tank top and fastened the bandoleer that Kelan gave her, then rolled up the over-large pair of shorts that she had procured. Though she was pretty sure they wouldn't get caught in her cybernetics, she didn't want to test it. Especially if she had to run from something like a tank.

After the touch-down, Stella maneuvered over to Reisus. She actually felt a slight bit of apprehension as she stepped up to the man. He was a little imposing to someone as young as Stella. 'A little different from Kelan, huh... I guess that's an understatement.' She averted her look when she realized she was staring at him. Stella took a deep breath. 'It's a mission. Get a grip.'

"Ahem. Reisus." Stella made the sound of clearing her throat. "Have you been briefed on the infiltration plan?" She patted the pocket where she was holding Kelan's gift absentmindedly.

[Stern Algorithm]

“That bad? Well, if you have time to do it, please do. I don’t see a reason to wait, especially if it was to get worse. I’d like to avoid turning mostly deaf again, believe it or not it kind of blows.”

@Starlance

Since it didn't seem that anyone else was in need of healing or repairs, besides the usual pre-battle maintenance, Legion focused most of the rest of the period of travel operating on Rachel's auditory receptors, since she seemed eager to go on the mission. However, this was not something Legion could repair, non-invasively, so after explaining the entire procedure and obtaining Rachel's consent, Legion went ahead with the repair, which involved reaching into Rachel's ear with small probing wires. of course, Legion made sure Rachel was as comfortable as she could be, and since Legion was operating on an inorganic portion of Rachel's body, there was not fear of pain. Fortunately, the damage was something that could be repaired without the use of replacement parts, mostly loose wiring. When Legion finished, the ysent Racehl on her way.

---

Stella grimaced a little at the reaction to the scan Legion gave. 'Even he can't help being surprised.' She tried to keep her cool as best as possible, but she didn't feel like asking any questions either. 'At least he's just reacting to me, and not any glaring hazards to my health... I think.'

She filled out the datapad as well as she could, before curtly excusing herself.

@Crowvette

Legion let Stella leave the medical office. Though the machine wondered if it should explain itself, it ultimately decided that right now wasn't the time. A part of Legion's mind also was afraid that Stella would lash out, blame Legion for being an unfeeling, unsympathetic machine, and declare how disgusting it felt for her to be made completely out of machinery. Legion didn't know if it could handle such an outburst of emotion, and decided that long-term trust would need to be established before they could communicate openly and honestly about how they felt.

---

@Letter Bee

As the operation commenced, a quiet humming accompanied Legion as it approached Natasha's captain's seat. "You know, despite Moonstrike One's assurances, I am loathe to allow this operation to continue. First of all, how do we know these children will perform as intended? Secondly, they're children. Isn't us using them against the Ascendancy no different than the Ascendancy using them against the Coalition Against Humanity?" Though the words were harsh, they were spoken calmly. Though they sounded rhetorical, the questions were sincere. Captain Natasha had the unique honor of being the receptacle of Legion's doubts, since for the most part, Legion exuded a calm certainty, the illusion of absolute rationalism, in order to provide order and mental stability as routine protocol for staving off 'space madness'.

[Letter Bee]

Innocence Lost - Not GM Post

Natasha Zhang wasn't used to pondering, but that didn't mean she was stupid; she knew what Legion was asking. In fact, she had been pondering the AI's questions herself. With a sigh, her reply was, "It's different enough, Legion; similar, but different to what the Ascendancy did. Like it or not, these kids obviously suffered a lot in the 'Secret Regiments', and only through confronting what hurt them in the first place can they overcome their troubles. That, and the fact is that they consented to this; they were willing to throw themselves back in the meat-grinder against people who hurt them." A sigh. "But I have to admit, this entire business is skeevy."

A pause after that, "But here's a deal; if these kids aren't good at what they do, we take them back to wherever they came from. Is that fair, Legion?"

@Stern Algorithm

[Starlance]

If Legion wasn’t a machine, she would have to buy him a drink. Well, she’d have to steal money to buy him a drink, old habits and all. Since he did some tech magic to her ears, all of a sudden she started noticing sounds in the background noise of the ship she was previously not aware of. Chances of being flanked by anyone while out on the job just went down significantly.

”So, I’m guessing setting fire to the entire area of a planet with a potentially friendly population, not to mention the ship some of our mates have to get to and then out of is not a good distraction. No guarantees for the bad guy mooks though.” she quipped upon John’s arrival. Damn shame there was no time to properly set up. Even the most humble foxhole would have been better than being stuck with whatever concealment or cover the environment provided, hoping they would focus on the poor Ork and pay no attention to her. She could already smell more drinks would need buying when they were done here. “And no offense to the big lad here,” She gestured to Orky following John’s comment about not being able to withstand damage, “but I doubt the tanks will care either way. How do we approach this, divide and conquer?”

[Letter Bee]

Innocence Lost - GM Post

John nodded, "Divide and Conquer. Judging from the wreck's layout, as well as the general engineering of the current class of Prison Transport, we'll be expecting the Ascendancy to concentrate their remaining forces on the large hole where the farmers' loaned Anti-Orbital Railgun had pierced the ship. But all over the vessel there are smaller openings from the impact and the explosions. Some are at the back, some are at the front, but point is that we technically have countless initial entryways into the ship." A pause. "I've selected one of the old hangar bays as our insertion point; it is far enough from the main enemy forces that they won't think we're diverting them, while at the same time close enough to actually divert them."

The nearby airlocks opened, letting in fresh air and sunlight. John spoke again, saying, "Oh, by the way, Eldrid's joining the infilitration team on the condition that he enchant himself with Stella's 'bend light' spell."

------

Snow Cecil sensed it: Runes. He was fast losing sight of several sections of the ship; it was clear that the elite fighters who were entering in were not to be underestimated. As for the Ascendancy Loyalist, he hadn't seemed to move yet, but once he did, Snow would have to fear his coming. That guy was an unlikely factor, one who can sway the coming campaign into conclusions both likely and unlikely.

Looking at his Tayanen Escorts as he went through the ship, his foreknowledge allowing him to evade the patrols of the guards, he thought of his contingency in case he met the Loyalist first: My rank and my mission; both of which would justify my actions in his eyes... Hopefully.

-------

Imprisoned in a chamber of hypersteel with his AI Core disconnected from any electronics, Realist was left with nothing to do but wait, growing slowly bored without the input of new data. Or at least, that was the plan. But said core was an experimental model, made of Perfected Electrum, and his circuits flowed with magical energy, not just electricity. While he can be reprogrammed through mundane means, he knew that what Ascendancy High Command wanted was to know the full details of his treason; full details that would devestate the Ascendancy if they fell into the wrong hands.

Problem was, there were multiple sets of wrong hands, and someone would get the idea that perhaps it was just best to kill him off rather than risk him revealing what he knew to... Anyone. So Realist would wait, wait for either rescue or death to arrive. As the white-gold sphere that made up its core sat on a pedestal - said white-gold sphere can only be pierced with the best weapons in the Sector - it made its decision.

Compile Simulation. It weighed together what factors it knew, factors defined by what it had found out about each faction's agenda. The results were: There was a 30% chance of an outcome beneficial to both Humanity and Aliens, 30% chance of an outcome beneficial to Humanity alone, another 30% chance of Humanity being screwed over, and 10% chance of civilization as a whole being destroyed.

All in all, a 60% chance of something acceptable for him to happen...

-------

Eldrid Cole - Temporary NPC

Eldrid Cole walked up to Stella, his hooded cape swishing artificially as he said, "Hey, Stella; I'm joining the infilitration team! Yes, I know that my makeup and attire are loud, but I can more than make up for that with enchantments, especially if I'm allowed to enchant my cloak with your invisibility spell. That and I can enchant you and Reisus with free flight spells as well!"

A pause. "Also, John, on the way, allowed me to enchant my own eyeshadow with Supernal Vision! Aint that great?"

@Gentlemanvaultboy@Starlance@Bartimaeus@Stern Algorithm@Crowvette@KillamriX88@The Jest@CriticalHit

[Crowvette]

Stella clicked her tongue, slightly annoyed. "I suppose it's fine, but... This isn't something you just say 'Oh by the way,' about!"

She pushed aside her exasperation with a sigh. 'I guess not everyone operated like I did... To be fair, I rarely worked in pairs, let alone threes.'

Stella briefly pulled Kelan's "gift" from her bandoleer and showed it to the two. "The plan is to sneak aboard the ship and deliver Kelan's device to the hull breach in coordination with the decoy team, and use the distraction to extract that target. If you can replicate my stealth, then we should be fine with you coming along." Stella went over the plan again in her mind. Another person added to it wasn't much of a change, so this would work just fine. Perhaps her brother in arms could even offer something useful for the mission. "Flight could help with this, I suppose."

Stella turned to Reisus. "So, will I be on point, or will you?" Her hand instinctively rested upon her sheathed knives. "I'm not sure if everyone else is ready to start, but I definitely am."