Psyker Landshark

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

Salvator Rasch

"Valid point." Salvator granted Ilshar and King over comms. "But better the devil we know. Pirates and raiders are still preferable to dealing with dead zones and the etheric off the bat."

They breached. All clear so far. By God in His void, Salvator hated this sort of mission, especially considering all the etheric disturbances. The squad wasn't alone, either. That much was obvious. Nothing was in sight yet, but between the still-working electronics and the flow he could feel with his sixth sense, they'd be making contact with something in short order. He caught Alice's concerned gaze at him, nodding.

"Squad, be advised: etheric senses are pinging. We've got a weak signal coming from the doors, and a much stronger one up above. Eyes up, stay alert. Something probably knows we're here by now. Those of you stronger with ether, try and trace back the streams if you can. Rather have an idea of what's waiting for us."

One hand slid off the underbarrel of his shotgun, glowing purple as he waved it around. For a moment, a dull haze shimmered around the Envenomed squad before fading away.

"Maintaining a shroud. We're not invisible, but we'll be much harder to detect in the etheric."

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

Iraleth held onto Davil as she was bid to. Her nama and rupa were contributed. Visions passed by. One thing became clear:

She'd misjudged Davil. He still wasn't a warrior, no matter his impressive resolve. But a killer? Clearly, Davil had been born in the wrong era. Perhaps he would have done well on a real battlefield.

But if anyone claimed they'd seen that twist of fate coming, they were a damn liar. Of course, the visions hadn't been clear on whether it was self-defense, provoked, or any other justification that could have mitigated the crime. And judging by the fact that Davil was still...well, standing was a poor choice of words. Able to arrive at and attend Wingram, someone had evidently seen fit to let him go.

Regardless, it seemed all would be well with their peer over the course of the next week. Physically, at least. Spiritually, he would require watching.

Iraleth shook her head in the doctor's direction, turning away now that their role in this was finished.

"Will the arm be an issue, Doctor?"

Of course, that left a piece of business or two left in the room. One of which remained in Raja's clutches.

"Principal," Iraleth turned to Raja, though her gaze didn't leave the shadow imp. "What do you intend to do with it?"

Iris Ascendis

Posting tomorrow

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

@The Otter @Click This

"I'll do what I can." Kayliss sighed in Esben's direction. "Even in my position, I don't have a direct line to foreign royalty. But there's some contacts within Edren I can leverage. With any luck, he may even set aside that ten million for you by the time you're finished in Skael."

A dry glance was sent Eliane's way.

"Not everyone gets their news out of Solitude, you know. You're hardly a national celebrity, don't let it go to your head. Local curiosity sounds more apt. One last thing: Mathiassen? You remember Sigursdottir? She hasn't reported in for some time. Keep an eye out for her on your travels." A significant look was sent his way.

"In any case, the both of you are dismissed. Return to your duties." Kayliss turned and waited for the duo to leave. When they did, she walked over towards the desk in the room and began penning two letters, both with the exact same content...

___

@VitaVitaAR @vietmyke @HereComesTheSnow

"S'all the truth, we swears it!" The lead highwayman protested at Galahad and Robin before gesturing to Rudolf. "See, he gets it! Suspiciously well, at that, but he gets it!"

"So..." The second stooge piped up hesitantly. "Yer not gonna kill us or nothing, nae? Swears we didn't try to murder ye that hard."

"Right well take lockup over death, aye. What're them tree-huggers going t' do, hang us?"

Their fates, inconsequential as they were, were left up to the three Edreni to decide.

___

@Raineh Daze @Ithradine

"Heh, heh, heh." The Gardener chortled as he eagerly took the money, taking care to count the coins out. "Much obliged doing business with you. In that case, I'll keep it simple. Don't bother trying to find her in the actual wastes between here and Osprey overland. Your best bet is to catch her when she returns to civilization for resupply. Far as I'm aware, she favors Redwood for that."

The morbidly obese information broker sat back in his plush chair, the golden rings on his fingers gleaming as he steepled them together.

"Last report has her seen in Redwood not three months ago. Judging by the amount of supplies a small party can carry, and the frequency to which she's been spotted there, I'd say she'll be due to make a return within a week or two. More than enough time for you two to catch up to her. Now, if that'll be all, I'd humbly request for you to leave my place of business."

A side eye towards Arton.

"For sanitary reasons. You understand, I'm sure."

___

Two days later...

True to her word, Master Isolde had set off with the Kirins at dawn the previous day, quietly traveling alongside the group. Though it had been some time since the Kirins had actually traveled overland, Goug seemed as cheerful as ever, whistling a merry tune while taking occasional puffs from a pipe he'd purloined somewhere within Brightlam's markets.

"Now this is journeying, kupo! Not a Blightbeast in sight, unlike Edren, or gods forbid, kupoing Osprey."

"Give it time." Izayoi grumbled uncharitably, her customary scowl visible from beneath the brim of her hat. "I doubt this state of affairs will last, no matter what magics the Grovemasters possess."

Unfortunately for her, Isolde didn't seem to rise to the bait, instead closing her eyes in contemplation.

"We'll likely not make it to Redwood before morning. If I may, I would suggest we make camp soon."

"Agreed, kupo!" Goug said, already searching for a suitable campsight along the forest path. "Be a damned shame if we let some of this fresh provender I picked up in Brightlam go to rot, kupo!"

Not long later, sundown approached as camp was set up. Isolde contented herself with remaining off to the side of the gathered group, though she would make no move to seem unfriendly should someone approach her.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Renar Hagen

Just a little bit more. This waste of time would fall soon. Renar yanked his poleaxe out of the wooden serpent's body as his charge reached its apex, halting briefly atop the snake's head. No heartbeat here. Unfortunate, easy as that would be. Nevertheless, he prepared to jam the spearhead of his poleaxe into the serpentine wood that passed for a skull, if only to keep the construct further off balance.

Or at least he would have, if the snake didn't choose just then to rear up, leaving Renar scrambling to latch onto a spike of wood with his free hand. From this vantage point, he could see the serpent launching multitudes of magical orbs in the air. And to this, he...stayed exactly where he was. After all, it stood to reason that the creature wasn't stupid enough to hit itself with them.

Once the attacks died down and the dust settled, Renar looked towards the ground, taking note of both Fionn and Gertrude's spells both completing. Judging by the trajectory, neither were aiming for the upper section of the snake. Good. He'd stay up here, just in case either of them missed the heart. Renar slung his poleaxe up over his back and began to clamber upward, reaching the head of the snake once more in short order. From here, he drew his weapon again and plunged it into where one of the eye sockets was, watching intently to try to detect the movement of the heart should it try to flee up here.

Falling Skies

CMDR SAGAN "VULTURE" KODOS

Some days, he truly did hate being the Roanoke's CAG. Like today, when the third pilot in a row decide to try to blow his eardrums out. And subsequently demonstrate that there was a high fucking chance he hadn't paid attention to a word of warning.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, fuck me sideways." Sagan grumbled under his breath as he switched his comms output to a private channel, hailing the squadron's other suicidal idiot. But at least this one could follow orders.

<< Commie. You're on babysitting duty. >> Kilmer would get the point. They didn't need to expand on the subject past that.

<< Vulture, Tower. Green light, green light. Launch! >>

Seemed his turn on the grav chute had come up. Sagan's previously put-upon expression suddenly gave off a devil's grin. For all the bellyaching he did, there really was nothing else like piloting. Even if he had to kill to take part in it. Well, it wasn't as if he was some fucking Coalie sympathizer. Much as he griped about his own government, they weren't the ones shooting at his ass.

<< Roger. Commander Kodos, GTM-21 Sentry "Watchdog". Launching! >> Was it necessary to make such an old-fashioned declaration before takeoff? Absolutely not, but Sagan was nothing but a sucker for the classics.

Takeoff came, and the Watchdog leapt into the void, shield already extended and targeting systems fired up as its pilot scanned the battlefield.

<< Smart-targeting suite active. Datalink established, syncing. >> He reported, starting to paint targets for the squad. As one of the only two suits with the suite installed, the duty fell to him nonetheless, given that he was barking out orders anyway. << Coming up on your HUDs now. Lock and load, people! Get those shovels out! >>

The Watchdog boosted forward into the fray, joining Rhino's Secutor in charging the front lines. Rabbit and Hex were already dealing with the flankers, and Commie would be busy bailing Braide's sorry ass out. A quick glance at the tactical readout as he advanced had Sagan rolling his eyes. Of course.

<< Rook! >> The fake-jovial, down-home mocking tone came out in full force. << Looking to crawl home to Pappy in a body bag already? Didn't think I was that hard on you in training! >> The techs and maintenance crew had been complaining about the kid's attitude too. Something to talk to him about after, if he made it through this.

The Watchdog boosted forward, getting a lock on another Fenrir-II about to try to flank Rhino. Not on his watch. There wasn't enough time to get tone, and Sagan would have preferred to conserve his missiles for harder targets. Guns it was.

The targeting suite's display overlaid his HUD, eliminating the need for a physical scope within the cockpit. AI targeting synced with his HPK's systems, giving a readout of the opposing Fenrir. Left chest would be the fastest way to core the bastard from Sagan's angle of attack.

<< Rhino, Vulture. Got you covered, focus on the big boys! >> The Watchdog opened fire, its bullpup's inbuilt plasma converter sheathing 20mm autocannon rounds within the barrel as they fired, hybrid plasma fire lacing the Fenrir-II in quick three-round bursts that had it cored in a few pulls of the trigger.

<< The hell are these? >> A voice came over the short-band comms interceptor Sagan had duct-taped into his cockpit. Best paycheck he'd ever spent. << The Imps brought elite units! Careful, squad! Don't go in thinking they'll be as easy as the last group was! >>

As if on cue, a missile warning blared in Sagan's cockpit as two Fenrirs got tone on him. Maul missiles came surging from their shoulder units, and Sagan yanked the stick back while pressing down on the pedals, sending the Watchdog screaming upward in a quick ascent.

<< Vulture, defending! >> The point-defense laser vulcan rigged up on the Watchdog's head activated, sending CIWS fire down at the pair of missiles while countermeasures activated. One Maul was set off by laser impact, while the other detonated harmlessly in the face of chaff and flares. Sagan grit his teeth, briefly glancing to see the flare readout on his HUD decrease by one. Not the best start, but it was that or risk eating missile right on launch. Fine, they wanted to play hardball?

Multi-lock activated, and the targeting suite quickly got tone on the two offenders. As expected, they scattered to avoid what they assumed to be an incoming missile strike, and Sagan took advantage of that, firing bursts at one Fenrir while madly boosting at the other, beam saber extended in the Watchdog's left hand. He'd keep the escorts tied up while Rhino focused on the heavies.

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

Looked into? The Undermage was missing, then? Iraleth frowned. As for Ciara, she'd been hoping for a more definite judgement one way or the other, but she supposed the headmaster was waiting to place her on trial.

The subject switched to Davos, and Iraleth simply nodded resolutely as she remained in the room.

"My stamina reserves are low, but I'll do what I can." She owed Davil that much after labeling him as a lesser priority during all the chaos and commotion earlier. It wasn't something she was exactly proud of, but looking back, Iraleth would still defend it as the correct decision at the time.

Still, that only meant that the least she could do was to make it up to Davil by assisting in his recovery here. With that in mind, she stayed standing, awaiting further instructions.

SPIRITUM

Kalina Kovalic

At least she didn't have to try to parallel park the truck. Kalina was a pilot, not a miracle worker. Still, she pulled in, parked, and was out the door, locking up behind her once everyone was out.

"Hm?" Kalina shifted her gaze to Gerard briefly before sweeping her vision across the area around them, trying to make sure they weren't being watched or followed as they walked along. "Sure. I need to let him know I got his gift finally, anyway. And to tell him about Ivan."

Twenty minutes passed. They made it to the agreed-upon drop off. By the time they were inside, Kalina felt more at home than she had been since graduation. Finally, they were back in a military setting. A temporary respite from dealing with civilian concerns like they had back in Sapple Springs.

"Keep moving." Kalina poked Colette in the back, prodding her along. "The quicker we're done here, the better it is for everyone involved." Well, exceptt maybe the princess. But it wasn't as if Kalina gave a damn about her.

Iris Ascendis

Probably tomorrow, I'm playing catchup on another post tonight.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Lady Safina Haliel

She'd only just finished with the capon and the first steak when the guard's alert came. Safina resisted the urge to sigh. Couldn't even enjoy a full meal before being thrown back in the thick of it. And she'd have to change her garments back, too. Should have just ate in the city, free fine dining be damned.

Safina waited for the guard to leave before rising as Elysabeth did, nodding in response to her orders.

"Understood. Stay on your guard, Countess. These seem like tactics I would use, were I in a position to subvert Hathforth. In any case, I'll go rally my people."

Thirty minutes later, those of the Concord within Hathforth assembled within one of the keeps' hidden hallways. Clad in full combat leathers and chain, Safina swept her gaze over the dozen or so assassins gathered.

"Alright, people. Seems we have competition. If they're after the vault, they're going to have more than a few surprises waiting for them. Defensive positions, every party favor we have. You all know what to do."

Resolute nods and stoic salutes followed before the assembled assassins dispersed, starting to set up traps and ambush positions. Before long, the passage leading to the Wizard-Queen's vault was a veritable killbox, traps both mundane and magical littering it, with a dozen hardened assassins waiting in ambush beside.