Rultaos

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Sometime after the meeting in the engine deck of the ship, Benny had returned to his room and retrieved his wrist laser and pocketed a couple of flashbangs in case things got hairy. Given the fact that Stryker still hadn't sounded the alarms after they had detached from whatever craft they had anchored on, Benny assumed there was nothing to worry about... at least for the moment. Or they could just be biding their time...". He decided to keep the flashbangs in his pockets all the same.

Eventually, Stryker called in for a briefing in the war room. A small sense of relief went through him as he would finally know what in the Hell the alliance wanted them to do next and how he could prepare for it. Upon arriving in the war room, Benny saw a lot more faces than he had originally expected, and it made him quite uncomfortable given that he didn't know most of these new people. He already doubted some of the original crew to begin with so this development wasn't helping matters. Still, Stryker was the captain of the ship, and he had the final say in what happens.

They were an interesting bunch however. Between the odd humans, they had another robot, and some new aliens including an octopus-head and some tall blue-skinned creature with robotic augmentations. Guess the Alliance would be pretty damn happy. "Alliance Black Ops" would not be the first thing to come to mind upon seeing this ragtag collection of freaks He thought.

Stryker got on with the briefing, telling them they would be doing a multiple-target assassination, working in conjunction with alliance undercover operatives. That detail got an audible groan out of Benny. Quickly enough however, the meeting was invaded by the alliance operatives without any warning. Benny was already halfway reaching into his pockets upon hearing the new voice before it introduced itself as Captain Voss. The soldier-boy introduced his lackeys and politely told everyone to fuck off while he had a private chat with Stryker.

Benny rolled his eyes before stepping out of the room as they were told along with the others all filing out into the halls. "Well, I've had enough interaction with arsewipes fer one day. If anyone feels like botherin' me, I'll be in the lab" He announced to no one in particular as the crew dispersed.

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

@Crossfire@ArkmageddonCat

Though Benny was more preoccupied with the exchange between Stryker and his contact, apparently named Sadaet, a scene had unfolded at the bar which had caught their attention. Their two female crewmates were starting to leave the place. That in itself would have been a simple thing, but not when one was having a gigglin g fit while being carried bridal-style. He just stared rather dumbfounded at the spectacle, not quite sure how to feel about it. He did however notice that Stryker had similar thoughts based on the expression Benny was seeing from him in his peripheral vision. Well... that was... unexpected Stryker said.

Eventually a worker at the bar came up to them, saying that the girls had their drinks billed to Stryker. The bounty hunter sighed in resignation before accepting it. Just as Benny was about to voice a complaint about the girls' behavior however, another scene suddenly erupted. A small group of patrons appeared to be picking a fight with the robot bartender. The robot responded rapidly to their threats with some rather brutal violence. Benny felt his adrenaline starting to kick in as his instincts told him to prepare to be swept up in a fight, but Stryker gave a gesture telling him to stay in his seat.

When one of the aggressors pulled out a gun however, the reaction was immediate. both Stryker and Benny dived down to the ground and sought cover. Benny peeked out from behind a sturdy-looking chair but ducked back in quickly when he saw the gun being flailed wildly as a shot rang out and one of the bystanders shouted in pain. Benny kept his head down as people fled, cursing under his breath that he hadn't brought his wrist laser at least. "I told ya we should'a packed more heat!" he shouted angrily at Stryker as people fled screaming from the bar. There was some more shouting, but it appeared the initial scuffle had ended. Benny peeked out once again and saw the robot and someone who appeared to be the bar manager having a stare-down, when the robot suddenly went for the pistol and aimed it at the man. The man had a short few moments spent pleading for his life before the automaton shouted in anger before pulling the trigger and killing the man.

After the the fight settled, Benny looked to Stryker and gestured his head at the door, telling him they should leave before the police show up and start asking questions. The bounty hunter seemed to have other ideas however as e got up and walked towards the killer robot, much to Benny's disbelief. As Stryker walked up cautiously to the tin man, Benny quickly darted to the bar door and peered outside, keeping an eye out for the telltale flashing of police vehicle lights so he could warn Stryker to bail out quickly if needed. The two spent an uncomfortable amount of time speaking about terms, much to Benny's annoyance, but eventually they settled the matter. Stryker then took another delay to wire credits to the bar for their bill, earning another annoyed scowl from Benny before they finally left the area and returned to the safety of the Revenant.

Later that evening

Benny had spent a good portion of the evening in his room trying to sleep, and failing miserably. It wasn't insomnia, it was frustration. He was frustrated that he couldn't make heads or tails of something that he figured he should know a lot about. More specifically, someone: Matija Holmström. He had gotten to know the daring girl over the course of their coma recovery, and shared quite a few details of their life with them that they would not usually share with other co-workers in their line of work. She was probably the closest that Benny had to a "best friend" aboard the Revenant.

But now, they seemed to radiate with a hostility to them and were messing around with one of the crew members that Benny still didn't trust. Brain transferral was an outlandish thing to claim to have done in a ship such as the Revenant, so he didn't fully trust that it was Tibulus in that body. Who knew how much of the previous occupant was left in there?

The frustration was getting to him so badly he had began pacing around his room tossing the thoughts around in his head in the hopes of making sense of the sudden shift in the behavior of his trusted friend. "Aaaarrghhh..." he groaned as he slumped down onto his bed. He leaned up with his back against the wall of the room as he sat on his mattress. He clenched and reopened his fists repeatedly as his body started tensing up, even into the mechanical systems of Skelly. Eventually he grasped on tightly to his bed sheets as he began pounding his back and his head against the wall erratically, almost hoping that the pain and shuddering from the pounding would somehow knock an epiphany into his head. Failing that, the pain at least provided an outlet for his agitation. He hated this. He hated how people could change so quickly and without warning, unlike physics and mathematics with set values and characteristics. He couldn't wrap his head around how people could make sense of such an anomalous variable.

"Why... tha' bloody goddamn fuck... are people so... bleedin'... HARD TA' MAKE SENSE OF?!"

The next day

A comically-exaggerated rooster's morning calls emanated from the man's robotic arm. "Uuurrghh..." Benny groaned as he brought his organic arm towards the mechanical one and began tapping at it as it continued the infernal rooster noises. "I'm awake... I'm already awake fer fuck's sake, Skelly..." He moaned as he finally managed to tap the right button on the holographic interface to shut off the alarm. Getting up from bed, he rubbed his bloodshot eyes and yawned, blinking to clear his vision. He had taken so long to sleep last night, and even then it was more of crashing from exhaustion rather than falling asleep. "Couldinnae given me a few more hours, could ya, ya bastart?" he muttered to Skelly, knowing full well he had been the one to set the alarms and had just forgotten to adjust it.

He figured that grabbing something to eat and a strong cup of coffee would do him some good. So he forced himself up from his bunk, and began making his way to the ship's galley to find something to fuel him for the day.

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Following behind Stryker, they eventually arrived at the bar where they were to meet up with his contact. "The Wasted Wormhole" said the big glowing sign outside of it. Benny figured it sounded apt, given that places like this often suckered in the dregs that couldn't afford better bars. Stepping inside, the pair was greeted by the smell of alcohol, and the sight of two familiar faces in a corner of the place. Apparently Matija and the newly-born Tibulus was there as well. The viking-bodied girl gave them a small gesture before turning back towards Matija, getting intimately close with them.

Now Benny was starting to remember what he was forgetting. He and Matija were supposed to meet sometime after the mission to talk about a few things. It now occurred to him that they hadn't met up or spoken with them throughout the entire transit. He wondered what they were doing all that time, while at the same time feeling a small uncomfortable churning on his chest and stomach at seeing them out and about with one of the crew members that he still had yet to fully trust. He shook his head though and continued following Stryker to the bar.

There they met up with his contact, a tall man who ironically appeared to have originated from the Asian regions of Earth. Though knowing Earth's population he figured they were likely from a colony that had a strong Asian heritage, much like how Benny's own home colony carried much of the old Scottish genes and practices.

"So I read this contract that you sent me and the job sounds all well and good... even if it doesn't sound like much at all. I feel like there's some super secret squirrel shit you've got, which I can deal with. I haven't been able to find out much about you or whatever crew you flew into the station with." The man named Sadaet said. "Those girls have some pretty phony signal signatures, I feel like they belong with you as well. Am I right? Or are there two groups of secret squirrels on this station. It's a pretty big posse you have rounded up. What's my role in it?" He continued.

Benny raised an eyebrow at that as he looked at him. "Techie lad too, aren't ya? Guess this means I betta' start buffin' my personal systems in case ya start feelin' snoopy" He commented while waiting for Stryker to respond to the man to let them decide how much to reveal

@Crossfire @TheEvanCat

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Over the past 39 hours, the mad bomber spent most of his time in the ship's lab. Though Stryker had given the order to purge all the data from the Alliance Labs that they had levelled, Benny of course activated a sub-routine within his virus that copied data containing some keywords he had put in to make a copy of the relevant files before deleting/corrupting it. These small data fragments were saved on Skelly for him to review later, and as luck would have it he had found something that piqued his interest, with enough of its files saved for him to piece it together.

Apparently one of the side-projects the lab was working on was some kind of handheld tractor-beam device. Other than trying to see if he could reconstruct the rest of the data to make a viable blueprint for the device, he was also running simulations on his programs on skelly to see if it was possible to create a “Mag-Grenade” design from it; a handheld device that violently pulls objects towards it. Benny imagined he could make some creative chaos out of that, but it was mostly a theory. Yet, it was a theory he had spent a good portion of the last few days slaving away on. He had slept in the labs as well instead of his room, with nothing short of food and water needs forcing him out to the rest of the ship.

Still, he had an odd feeling that he had forgotten something. It kept creeping up on the back of his mind every now and then throughout the whole trip. He shrugged it off however, thinking that it can’t have been too important if he had forgotten it.

He felt the rumble of the ship when it had docked, but he paid little mind to it as he continued his little personal project. Stryker’s voice came on the comms right on schedule as they did, announcing that their crew had free reign to do as they pleased during their little break. The Scotsman internally scoffed at the notion of having fun out in a rowdy station, far too many opportunities to get mugged or stabbed in a back alley if one were to frequent the places that most criminals did. His idea of leisure was working with his tools. People and society are too complex and nuanced. At least physics and chemistry are known values that don’t change He thought.

A little later, he had gone out on one of his routine food trips to the ship’s kitchen. Spending a few minutes chowing down on some potentially synthetic meats and drinking from one of their citrus juices, he finished, leaving the used plates and glass on the table as he got up to return to his lab.

Stryker caught his attention on the way out. "Benny, how's it going man? Listen, how about you and me dodge out for a drink? I'm supposed to be meeting someone, wouldn't mind some backup in case it goes sideways,” their leader said.

Benny considered this for a moment, thinking perhaps some air would do him some good anyway, to keep his immune system from degenerating due to over-exposure to sanitized ship air. And some action may scratch the adrenaline itch that had been building up during lulls in between working on his project.

”Aye, why not? Where to? How much heat ya need me ta’ pack?” he asked, wondering how much he’d get away with hiding to wherever they were going.

@Crossfire

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Following their captain out of the war room, Benny felt a sense of both curiousity and apprehension. If there was one thing he had learned about Stryker throughout all his time aboard the Revenant, it was that the stoic Bounty Hunter wasn't easily spooked or surprised. So whatever he was expecting certainly had to be a Hell of a thing. Matija and Harriet trailed behind them as they made their way to the ship's medical bay. Stryker had gotten there first and slid the doors open. Whatever Benny was expecting, it certainly wasn't that.

Their pilot was lying on the medical table, limp as if unconscious. There was a girl inside the medical bay, staring at one of the faucet mirrors. Someone he didn't quite recognize, yet felt oddly familiar. It took a little bit for him to notice the neck tattoos, the muscular build, and hairstyle of the girl, which matched those of the Skaldrum pirates that they had fought very recently.

He instinctively flinched back away from the woman and tensed up. "What tha' Hell's this pirate doin' here?! Is she a prisoner? Why dinnae we restrain her?!" Benny sputtered out as he felt for the wrist-laser he still had mounted on Skelly as a "just in case" policy whenever he could get away with it.

Stryker then spoke up. "Tibulus? That you in there?" He asked. Benny turned towards Stryker with an incredulous look on his face. "Has yer noggin gone batshit, cap'n? Wot are ya talkin' about? Tibulus is conked out on tha' table" He said as he raised the wrist laser to point at the redheaded woman.

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

@Crossfire@t2wave@Gardevoiran@iTem

"Yeah, I've got a cover story written up in my after-action report, haven't transmitted it yet though. I'm gonna tell them the truth, just not the part where I ordered the scientists killed and the research destroyed. Here's what I've got...

A Skaldurm patrol skiff spotted us shortly after landing, just around the time our undercover operative completed her mission, a task Taleste paid her life to pull off. We headed down into the facility, but technical glitches prevented us from sealing the doors before the Skaldurm raiders arrived en masse. Lives were lost trying to defend the scientists, but ultimately we couldn't save them, the savages killed them, tore into their unarmored bodies like lions on a gazelle. An errant laser blast in the lab cracked the containment cube on the prototype generator, dark matter seeped out into the open air, and in its volatile state, destroyed the entire lab, we barely escaped with our lives." Stryker explained.

Benny nodded along throughout the explanation, and waited until Stryker had finished before he said his piece before replying. "Soun's believable enough but ya better hope Captain Dawsack dinnae ask about tha' specific of these technical problems. Even I'd 'ave trouble keepin' 'em consistent" Benny replied.

After a while though, Stryker told them that everyone was getting an anti-toxin shot because of the spores that the plant-lady Harriet had released upon them all during their operation, to which Benny groaned in response. "Urgh... Always hated needles. Always thought of 'em as tha' worst part of gettin' cybernetic limbs attached" He said with a tone of joking annoyance.

Before any of them could get around to getting stabbed with it however, a voice rang out on the intercoms in the War room. it was an unfamiliar female voice, and that fact put Benny on edge, especially after remembering that they had taken one of the Skaldrum alive. The voice summoned Stryker to the medbay but didn't specify what. Benny turned away fro mthe speakers to look at Stryker wit a questioning glance.

"Sooo... Any otha' secret projects we should be aware of while we're here?" He asked, somewhat sarcastically.

An Inquisitors Story: The City of Ash and Decay (A High-Casual journey)

As the beast fell and lay still, Cyterius continued maintaining his stance, waiting for the giant to remain immobile for a few moments, before relaxing and gesturing at his team to stand down. They immediately tensed up again however when the unidentified voice began booming again. Cyterius had one hand shoot up to his head in response to the sudden voice while another hand darted for his sword instinctively.

the disembodied voice spoke in riddles once again, and Ardur actually had the nerve to speak up against it, despite not knowing the extent of whatever this being's power was. The voice began dying away, and Cyterius was about to call for his team to regroup, when a loud sound caught everyone's attention once again and let them behold the incredible display of magic within and above the City of Ash. Cyterius was stunned and watched it, mesmerized with a morbid curiosity as to what would happen, though his body twitched internally as his survival instincts reacted to his gut feelings of fear and unease, and prepared him to act on a moment's notice the moment a threat made itself clear.

When the spectacle ended, and the invisible army seemed to march away, Cyterius allowed himself to relax slightly and feel the relief of a finished battle. Though his eyes and ears still scanned the surroundings, in case it was merely a trick to get them to lower their guard. you could never be too sure when it came to magic. Finally, he gestured to the nearby Falcons and had them walk back to their allies' lines.

The Falcons complied, and they regrouped with their two teammates who had temporarily joined Lanithil’s Archer Platoon, just as Ardur began giving out his orders.

He reprimanded the inquisitors on site for not having dealt with it as efficiently as they should have. Cyterius often took criticisms against his fellow Falcons personally, but in this case he felt inclined to agree. The lack of discipline from the two soldiers whom Cyterius could not remember the names of ended up wasting their lives needlessly. Meanwhile Gilead’s premature charge had left him exposed and very nearly cost his life within the first battle of their campaign. The life of an Inquisitor of all people! Had it not been for the timely intervention of their allies, Cyterius knew there was little he could have done to have saved Gil in that situation. He probably would’ve gotten himself killed trying. Losing 2 Inquisitors in a single day would’ve been a horrid start to their journey.

With that said, things could have been much worse. Only their heavy hitters and best fighters, like Kharne, Genthok, and Gilead, had engaged the giant melee after the loss of the 2 over-eager soldiers. Cyterius feared the worst case scenario where the giant charged into their footmen lines and raised Hell by cutting their men down in droves with every swipe, all while reducing the ability of their Mages to attack for fear of catching their allies within the spell’s area of effect. Thankfully, between their melee warriors’ combat skill, the Falcons’ distractions, the Archery unit's support volleys, and their Mage’s offensive and stalling spells, the giant was kept out of range of the majority of their forces and allowed their spellcasters plenty of room to tear into the foe. Gilead even redeemed himself from his reckless behavior by delivering the coup-de-grace against the giant in spectacular fashion. Cyterius would still call it a victory all things considered. Gods know they would have suffered a staggering amount of casualties had the giant reached their massed lines.

With the Falcons regrouped around him, they nodded an acknowledgment to Ardur's orders and began to observe the area around them. Lilianna and several inquisitors, mages and scholars alike were studying the corpse of the slain giant. Cyterius would have assisted if he could, but the Falcons' trade was in killing. Had he not already witnessed the killing blow, he would've been able to determine how the giant was killed from the angle of their body, the death wound, blood splatters, and the shape of their injuries. The anatomy and magical nature of the creature was far beyond his expertise though. If the creature died, it had vital organs that could be damaged and that was about as far as Cyterius' knowledge went.

Percival however, seemed quite interested in their study of the corpse and looked towards Cyterius in a wordless request for permission to join them. Cyterius knew their resident tinkerer and alchemist would not miss a chance to learn about the nature and properties of an unknown creature, and so he nodded towards the group in assent. Immediately, the short, black-haired, and slightly pudgy Falcon with blue eyes put away his full-sized custom crossbow (which he had used extensively as part of Lanithil's impromptu archer unit) and went to get a closer look at the armored beast and listen in to the insights of the others.

At this point, he and his group had wandered near Lanithil where Gilead appeared to thank them for their efforts in the fight. Cyterius realized belatedly that he had noticed Gil speaking to multiple people earlier before he walked up to them. He nodded in acknowledgement to Gil's compliments. "My thanks, but we merely did our duty in that situation. We all hinge on each part of this army doing their jobs to survive against out enemies. And it appears the enemy we face now is one we cannot afford to make mistakes against. Do your job and I can assure you my men and I will have your back" He said. Cyterius still had yet to trust his fellow Inquisitors as much as he trusted his Falcons, but he hoped they would eventually prove themselves worthy of that trust... Before fate decided to force them to rely on trusting each other.

With Percival left behind with the scholars, the rest of the Falcons followed Cyterius as they approached Ardur, each one stretching their limbs so as not to shock their body with sudden inactivity after creating so much adrenaline. "Sir, with your permission I would like to scan around the city perimeter before we move in with our main force. I do not know what kind magic they had used at the end there. I believe I heard Genthok use the term 'portal' and 'hellgate', and even if the voice said it was done with us for now, but I'd rather not rely on our enemy acting so predictably. With your blessing, I'd like to take one of our mages to come with me and my team as we scout the edge of the city and the approach to the gate area for any traps or magical energy that could be a danger to a large mob of infantry, and clear it out if necessary. After our close battle earlier it would be difficult to needlessly lose more men at this stage," He said, before turning his head to look upon the walled city ahead of them. "And I have a sinking feeling we're going to need everyone we can get for what lies ahead," he finished ominously as he wondered what other trials would be forced onto them on this campaign they were on.

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

((OOC: Mini-collab with @iTem

@Crossfire@T2wave

Benny arrived in the War Room alongside Matija, having been awaited by his white-haired companion to ensure that he was actually going to change into something remotely decent. They had arrived just some moments after Stryker's statements, and saw their leader having something being injected into their arm by the plant-lady, Harriet.

"Gettin' yer flu shots early this year, cap'n?" Benny joked as he walked around the galaxy map to stand nearer to their other 2 crewmates. He'd wait a bit for their responses before continuing to talk about the matter at hand.

Matija smiled bitterly at the joke. "Prob'ly caught some kinda flu from someone," she added.

Benjamin looked at her curiously due to the vague remark, but shrugged at it dismissively and turned back to Stryker to speak. "Fer what my yammerin's worth on this ship, I would'a done tha' same thing ta' that research. No Galactic government should have a weapon that powerful. Too easy ta' threaten people with ta' get their way. Not to mention it dinnae feel right. An explosion that can scatter bodies an' buildings is as satisfyin' as poppin' bubble wrap. But killin' entire systems with a vacuum that just makes it... disappear jus' feels... wrong in so many bloody ways. Wut's tha' point of killin' if ya cannae even see the results of yer handiwork?" He said as he looked on the holographic projection of the galaxy map, trying to imagine the number of planets and stars that would've just disappeared unceremoniously from it if the Alliance ever decided to fire their Black Hole Gun at their current system.

Matija spoke up as he finished his statement. "Not getting your handiwork shown to the whole universe to see ain't exactly fun, but you gotta do what you gotta when you're in the Alliance's shoes. But it's also wasted effort on the brainiacs' part since we should've had some kinda backup data or something. It'd be nice for some money or for our own," she shrugs, leaning forward and placing her chin on her arms that she had crossed on top of the holographic table. She huffs in boredom and poked at the holographic display with idle interest. "I hope you got a good excuse for this bull, Stryker. I know what I signed up for when I came to this ship, but I plan on keeping my head from rolling off'a my neck," She said, hoping for a satisfactory response from their leader.

An Inquisitors Story: The City of Ash and Decay (A High-Casual journey)

@MagratheanWhale @Trainerblue192

Trainer has a point actually, I don't think I've seen Pandapolio post a combat IC during the giant fight yet. the last time they posted was before the battle, but nothing since then

An Inquisitors Story: The City of Ash and Decay (A High-Casual journey)

Cyterius watched the giant warily as their fellow Inquisitors hit it with a relentless barrage of attacks. Ardur had gotten back on his feet and barked commands to coordinate their battle. Without being given direct orders by Ardur, Cyterius decided the best course of action is to continue their diversionary maneuvers to give the others the opening they needed.

As Kharne wrestled with the best, Cyterius signaled orders to the Falcons. "Equip wrist-bows and tighten the noose! Aim for the eye slits and launch volleys on my mark!" He ordered, advancing carefully closer to the giant as he reloaded the bolt magazine on his Salvo-Arm. His team did the same, advancing and equipping the ranged weapon while keeping enough distance from the giant that they wouldn't be in immediate danger should the creature lunge at them suddenly with its uncanny speed. They would have at least a few seconds to dodge if they see it coming.

As their crossbows were locked and loaded on their arms, Kharne was shaken off the giant and the Falcons braced themselves for evasion if needed. However, water suddenly erupted from the ground and entangled the giant with large root-like appendages. The water froze almost instantly after enveloping the foe, keeping it in place. Cyterius didn't bother checking who cast the spell, he read the situation and capitalized on it quickly.

"Now! Unload, reload, and repeat into its eyes! Every bolt you've got! Give this beast no chance to rally!" Cyterius commanded his team as he fired a flurry of bolts into the trapped giant's eye slits, before detaching the emptied magazine and slamming a new one into place with the practiced precision of one who has used the Salvo-Arm extensively. He hoped that at least a few among his team's shots makes it through and hurts them. They intended to distract the beast as an insect would, biting and pricking at it to keep it from focusing its attention on freeing itself and counter-attacking. In turn, providing precious seconds for their allies to renew their assault and finish off their enemy before they exhausted their ammo supply.