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quote:Hey everyone! We've got an alert, so the Director is calling you in "immediately if not sooner." She said it just like that too. Um we don't have the secure lines set up yet so I can't really say what's going on, but it's super important! Ohmigosh this is so exciting! Team Gamma's first mission! I'm sure you'll all do great! Get here soon, though, or the Director is going to be mad, and when she's mad she gives me this look that makes me feel like I stole her ice cream cone. Oh, that's a great idea! I'll have ice cream for when you get back from the mission! Ninshu, you're so smart! Oh wait still on the line. So yeah get here right away! Buh-bye! Friday, 19 April 2120, 19:02 Local Time Location: Kawaguchi Autonomous Robotics Development Laboratory, Fujikawaguchiko, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi, Japan Thirty minutes ago, you were in the middle of downtown Neo-Tokyo, at rush hour on a Friday. Now you're racing through the darkening sky aboard a THI transport, checking your gear and trying to remember if you left the stove on at your apartment in the rush to deploy. A support android just passed out radio headsets to everyone, and is making a second pass down the aisle between the in-ward facing seats with bottles of water and sober-up pills for anyone who needs them. You can hear murmur of the pilot and co-pilot up front talking to each other and ground control, an almost soothing drone just audible above the whine of the engines. Director Murakumo grabs a handhold, pulling herself up to face you as the transport shudders slightly in the cool air. She looks perfectly at home here, in black-green body armor with a sword at one hip and a pistol at the other. The Director glances at the man in the well-tailored, if understated, suit sitting in the jump-seat next to her. Takahashi's fingers dance across his tablet, and the air in front of Murakumo fills with AR blueprints, photographs, and dossiers of the facility you're rapidly approaching. "All right, let's get to the point. As of thirty-three minutes ago, THI HQ received an automated emergency alert from the Kawaguchi mecha lab. Per standard procedure, they tried to contact on-site personnel - security, emergency response, the director - and couldn't reach anyone." She flips a through a few screens, displaying the grounds. "Kawaguchi does development work on drones and mecha, so all personal cell signals are routed through a tower on-site, which they routinely shut down during sensitive tests. Avoids hacking or accidental signal contamination. So the place is one of the last ones in Japan with a full land-line switchboard. We should be able to get someone on the phone, but no luck." The Cicada banks sharply as it makes its final approach towards the lake below. Mount Fuji looms in the distance. It's a stunning view. However your focus is on the white lab building on the shore of Lake Kawaguchi, surrounded by trees. From the air it looks peaceful. Most of the lights are still on inside. THI tries to encourage a good work-life balance, but its fighting against a lot of cultural momentum there. "The alarm going off in there is indicating every single possible hazard it can - radiological, thaumaturgical, biological, chemical, intruder, and more." Sensor data, showing no unusual radiation, magical fields, or chemical plumes pop up next to her. "Clearly something is going on but we don't know what. That's why we're here. HQ wants information, and wants it soonest." The ground rushes up towards you at a rather alarming rate, then the transport flares, its engines roaring. There's a loud bang as the mecha carried beneath it are released. You see Ryo's pop into view, as a quartet of drones hop off and zoom away to establish a perimeter. "We're going to approach the main entry quickly, but carefully. If there's no indication of problems - or worse, resistance - we'll go right in the front doors, take control of the security station in the lobby, and assess the situation." The main doors open behind you as your ride rotates swiftly and touches down with a slight bump, the suspension on the landing legs giving the chirping creak that gives it its nickname. "Are there any questions?" Welcome to Impulse Response, the THI NTech game. Please post your character sheets here for reference. Just the stats please, we can read the OOC thread for the fluff. Rolls can be done on synirc in #redhandofdoom or #persona OR on Orokos (use the campaign name Impulse Response). You've a moment or two introduce your character. You all know each other from orientation and training exercises, but your team was just recently activated. Also, tell us what you were doing before you were called in for this mission. Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 15:15 on Feb 24, 2015 |
# ? Feb 24, 2015 03:40 |
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# ? Apr 23, 2024 13:41 |
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Tiger Team GammaCommander posted:
Support Staff posted:
Field Team posted:
Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Feb 24, 2015 |
# ? Feb 24, 2015 03:40 |
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Lt. Catherine Nishikiori The mission call had found Catherine at her favorite New Ginza tea house. A quiet, homely affair, with the best Yunnan Black in the whole prefecture. Steeped extra-long for bitterness and strength, the subtle flavors banished all memory of the muddy synthi-caf she'd downed over the last few months. But paradise must be cut short in the face of duty. Leaving the cup half-drunk on the counter, she takes one coordinated motion to apologize to the owner, pay her bill (leaving a generous tip for the house's cyborg waitress), grab her coat and leave. And with the roar of a motor Catherine was off. -- She adjusts instinctively to the jolt as the Cicada touches down. Much milder than the military's transports; she's almost impressed. Her eyes snap briefly to the curious absence of hazard levels on the sensors. They're lower than they are on a good day in Testing. Could this be a drill? Whatever it was, the team has to be prepared for the worst. A research lab is a terrible place to die. "Director. Assuming worst-case capture and integration of THI assets by intruders, may I with all due respect ask what the hell we'd be up against?" She fires the question off like a rocket. Catherine hates being unprepared more than she hates wasting time, but only slightly. So R&D had bitten off more than they could chew again. What else was new? quote:Lt. Catherine Nishikiori
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# ? Feb 24, 2015 17:06 |
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Mariko Sonoda Mariko's the one wondering if her stove is on: She was busy cooking dinner when the call came, and now there's an abandoned kettle of curry sitting on a stove in a tiny Neo-Tokyo apartment. The thought of the poor, lonely curry makes her frown at the Toku-branded complete meal bar she had to fall back on. It's not entirely terrible, it's just she doesn't like red bean mochi. Good guy Takahashi, hope that wasn't his dinner. "Relax, it's probably not any sort of attack." She chomps on the space-age daifuku bar and flashes a smile at Catherine. "Just as likely they messed up a big test and feedback took out the landline switchboard." It doesn't come off very convincing, seeing how she's checking her handgun for the fourth time in thirty minutes and all. It's a brand-new Greifherz MPK86, it's going to feed just fine, jeez. Nerves much? quote:Concept: Magical Girl Veteran, Back In the World
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# ? Feb 24, 2015 23:50 |
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Goro "I don't suppose there have been any threats worthy of note to this particular facility recently, Director? I understand we receive a certain number of threats daily of varying levels of severity, but it could give us a place to start, or some clue as to what to suspect." The great science-ape adjusts his wire frames. "Mecha and drone development could draw any number of dangers, first and foremost being the envy of our rivals. However, let us not overlook the potential of an internal issue. Director, do we have access to their daily testing schedule? Perhaps something went awry during a planned test. Alternatively, the drones might be the issue. One misstep in safety procedure...I would recommend a review of whatever materials we have available before we make entry." Mr. Fowl posted:Goro
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# ? Feb 25, 2015 00:14 |
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Thomas Atkin Tienni FP 5/5 "If you keep playing with that slide it's going to lock up on you when you actually shoot someone," Thomas grunts to Mariko in a combination of experience, frustration, and a voice that sounds way too young for his advice. "Just safe it and put it away before you shoot someone you didn't mean to." To think that a half hour ago he was getting ready to soak himself in a hot spring, supposedly one of Neo-Tokyo's more relaxing affairs. He'd gotten himself all lathered up and everything when the call came, so he had to splash it all off and run. And he missed a few spots. He pours a bit from his water bottle into his hand and splashes it onto the back of his neck. Amazing what a few months in a modern city could do...seventy-five years ago he'd have been glad for the soap. "Multiple alarms with no actual cause suggests somebody tripped them deliberately," he offers with a bit of authority. "There's two options here. One, this is an external intrusion, maybe by professionals. They'd probably banked on diluting the emergency response, getting whoever comes to have to be prepared for god knows what and deploy who knows where." He takes a sip of water. "Two, it's a massive internal crisis of some sort and whoever hit the alarms couldn't figure out which kind of emergency it was and just wanted anybody to come. I'm...not sure which option is worse." He'd just have to see how relaxing the hot springs were later. Now is the time for action. Davin Valkri posted:Thomas Atkin Tienni
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# ? Feb 25, 2015 07:47 |
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Goro "The second scenario, Thomas, I assure you is far worse. With intruders, the worst we would face still lies within the realm of the conceivable. For something to make the facility respond in such a fashion...lies in the realm of the unknowable. And there be Dragons, as they say. Not, strictly speaking actual dragons mind you, but simply keep in mind that the realm of the known contains you and myself. The unknown must be truly something strange and terrible. Of course, that is why we have all found ourselves under the employ of Toku Heavy Industries, I suppose." The great ape shrugs and looks to the horizon. I Am Fowl fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Mar 5, 2015 |
# ? Feb 25, 2015 08:30 |
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Thomas Atkin Tienni FP 5/5 "Better the devil we know, hmm?" Thomas responds to the gorilla Ph. D. He wasn't really sure how he was going to react when the employee sheet had a talking gorilla on the list, but he decided that he'd already seen weirder. He shakes his head and sets his face into a stony, determined expression. "Well, speculating on a total unknown isn't likely to help. Anybody else have any questions before we start the clock?"
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# ? Feb 27, 2015 07:56 |
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Ponponkona 4 "Um... isn't there a third option?" Ponponkona looks around, embarrassed. "What if um, something is intruding on the alarms themselves? It could just be a security breach in the programming systems. Or just a malfunction. That's um, what I'd assume first. Someone messed up a line of code."
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# ? Mar 1, 2015 03:18 |
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Goro Goro cocks his head back, a bit surprised. "Oh. Yes, right. I suppose it could be that as well. Likely, even. Sorry, Occam's Razor sees so much ill use in SRD that it's hard to see the obvious. One of my colleagues even developed a literal Occam's Razor in an attempt to cut through to specious theories when studying the more dangerous artifacts...Didn't work very well. It just keeps spitting out conspiracy theories and the poor man hasn't a clue as to why. Something about jet fuel and steel beams." He waves his hand vaguely. "Arcanotech AI can be very touchy, I"m told. Not my field." I Am Fowl fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Mar 5, 2015 |
# ? Mar 1, 2015 09:07 |
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Jam I stare at the radio headset the android is handing me for a few moments before it really sinks in that the android doesn't actually know any better, then I take it just to get the drat thing to move on down the line. Dial the frequency into my systems, leave the inferior equipment in my bag as backup. Whatever. I was just in the middle of getting a really good groove going on a new track I'd been putting together when all this came in. No sense worrying about that now, though--work to be done. The others are chattering, socializing, while I start getting my agent up to pull up any floor plans and schematics and systems data it can find on the site. Ponponkona mentions something about an error in the code, and I finally look over at my teammates. "If there's a problem with the code, I'll isolate it and get it locked down, but we better be ready for anything," I tell her. "I bet Dr. Goro would be able to help if I need it," I add. Goro seems like a nice person, even if his file does have some very specific warnings about mentioning bananas in his presence. I totally get how people can have expectations about someone just because of how they're born and I can pretty much guarantee that the stuff I have to deal with when people find out who my parents are pales in comparison to being treated like some kinda freak show. Goro's nice so I'm nice to Goro. My agent - a cute cartoon kitty (that nobody else will EVER see ever, because ugh how mortifying would that be) is still licking her paws like she's loading data. Whatever's going on here, I bet it's big. quote:Aspects:
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# ? Mar 2, 2015 02:05 |
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Bendigeidfran posted:"Director. Assuming worst-case capture and integration of THI assets by intruders, may I with all due respect ask what the hell we'd be up against?" "The bigger problem are the mecha. There are a dozen on site. Two were down for repair and should be no problem, but there are seven industrial units, two search and rescue, a police unit, and two military units. None of them are supposed to have active armaments, but that doesn't help much if they step on you. One of the mecha is an update for the JSDF's AirCav - similar to what Ryo has - but the other is a real pain in the rear end. Heavy assault model for anti-servitor operations. They all have remote operation modules for testing. If you see one of those, back off if you can and we'll call in heavier artillery." "Last check in showed twenty-four personnel on site, all over the building. No idea of their status at this time." Mr. Fowl posted:"I don't suppose there have been any threats worthy of note to this particular facility recently, Director?" Tak fields that one. "None from the last six months, and none of the more general threats match up really. Uh, well, not enough to be useful. I'll keep an eye on it and let you know if something clicks." The Director looks around. "Time to go to work." As you step out into the cool night air, she looks around. "Let's-" "Um, boss?" Ryo interrupts. "We've got incoming." A video window pops up, showing a man who looks like Takahashi's older, fatter brother scurrying towards the Cicada, trailed by a woman in a THI security uniform and a young man in a neo-bakfuku style kimono who bears all the hallmarks of a hapless secretary. The Director sighs and rolls her eyes. Takahashi hops up. "Oh! Maybe it is just a misunderstanding." The group arrives a moment later, the older man in front stopping to catch his breath. The others with him seem to be waiting for someone else to speak first.
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# ? Mar 2, 2015 02:34 |
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Ponponkona 4 "Just drones and mecha?" If Kona's face was more readable, it would almost look... contemptuous, behind the mask of slight nervousness she always has between missions. "That's almost too, um easy." She disembarks first, almost running into the approaching people. "Eep!" She immediately retreats to the back of the group.
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# ? Mar 2, 2015 02:49 |
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Thomas Atkin Tienni FP 5/5 "Let's hope that means I don't have to add even more blood on my hands," Thomas muses before Ryo calls out their visitors. "Oh. Well, that's three out of twenty-four accounted for..." He watches the cyborg ninja jump out and then jump back in, with the slightest note of amusement on his face--she seemed oddly cavalier about getting into the fight just a moment ago--before hopping out of the Cicada. It's a single swift and fluid motion born of a hundred years of practice jumping out of Hueys and Hips. "T. A. Tienni. THI Tiger Gamma," he introduces himself coolly to the newcomers. "We're here to lend a hand. How do things look inside?"
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# ? Mar 2, 2015 05:11 |
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Lt. Catherine Nishikiori FP 5/5 "Ponponkona, there's nothing to be afraid of. They're the ones who ought to be ashamed of themselves." With a warm expression on her face, she puts a reassuring hand on the ninja's shoulder. "Come on now, our mission's waiting." As Catherine leaps out of the Cicada she glances over the approaching staff. All traces of kindness leave her as she realizes the level of incompetence they're going to be dealing with here. She shoots a sympathetic look at the woman in the security uniform, but it is tinged with visible disappointment. "Catherine Nishikiori, from the same. We received reports of threat levels of every hazard degree on all alarm channels available to this lab. I take it the situation isn't under control?" Her words are like ice.
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# ? Mar 2, 2015 06:02 |
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Mariko Sonoda "I'll be terribly cross if it is, I missed my dinner because of this." Mariko steps out and takes a deep breath. The locals don't seem absolutely terrified and the night's beautiful, even if the Cicada's exhaust ruins the fragrance. She can feel her shoulders relaxing. This might turn out alright.
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# ? Mar 2, 2015 13:15 |
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The executive type finally catches his breath. "Sorry - need to get - more exercise. Uh, did you say a Tiger Team?" The group behind him are looking at each other in confusion. "I'm Director Watanabe. Watanabe Shinroku. You - aren't here for a surprise inspection? Our phone system is down, but everything else is just fine. I can... show you around?" He blinks at you, clearly nonplussed by the whole situation. The security officer pushes forward. "Excuse me, did someone mention an alarm?" An AR window pops up to ID her as Kim Jae-yun. Another pops up for the secretary, apparently Fujiwara no Yemon. Kim continues, "I certainly didn't send any alerts. There's nothing wrong. Um, except the phone thing." Watanabe, who's sweating profusely by now and not just because of the unaccustomed exertion, waves his hands in what he seems to think is a conciliatory gesture rather than a nervous one. "I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding! Why doesn't everyone come in. Yemon, go and make us some tea, we can sort this o-" That's when the explosion somewhere underneath the building shakes the ground, knocking Watanabe on his rear end and making everyone else stumble - except Murakumo and Takahashi. A plume of smoke starts to rise out of the back of the structure. Now there are definitely alarms going off, nice loud annoying ones, couple with recordings of an extraordinarily polite young woman exhorting everyone to remain calm and exit the building in an orderly fashion. Yemon and Takahashi scurry over to try and help Watanabe up, while Kim turns on her heel and runs back towards the building, fiddling with her collar to get her THI Security windbreaker to switch to the reflective orange/silver emergency setting. Murakumo tilts her head back and stares up into the night sky in what is either a silent prayer or wordless accusation while you move out. ------------------------------------------------ Let's get this party started! You have one pass now to describe where you go and your first actions to help assess/get control of the situation. After this, I'm going to throw a bunch of obstacles at you to deal with this crisis. I'm using a modified version of something Trix used in the Parametric Overloading game, which itself is a modified version of the Brainstorm. Here's how it works. You can create either a Preparation aspect or a Complication aspect. Preparation aspects can reflect anything from gear you brought with you, to training you have, to something you looked up on the ride over, to something you do right now to give yourselves an edge. A Complication aspect represents some obstacle or opposition or other problem that's going to make your lives harder. Why would you want to uncover Complication aspects? Because if you do, you get to define them and they don't have any invokes on them for the opposition. You can also add invokes to existing aspects if you want (this is usually easier to accomplish). You can use any skill that has a Create an Advantage or Overcome action, as long as you can think of a narrative justification. In some cases I will reveal existing Preparation or Complication aspects. You always know about your Preparation, and some Complications are very obvious. Revealed aspects will always be in the first slot. There are also times where there will be a Hidden Complication. You'll know there's something bad out there, but not what. You can try and uncover it, in which case I lose my free invoke on it. If you try and fail to uncover it, though, I get extra invokes for it. If you're going to create a Preparation aspect, then roll against Great (+3) difficulty for the first blank aspect. If the first one is already created, then instead roll against Great (+4) difficulty for the second blank aspect, and Superb (+5) for the third. A success will create the aspect with one free invoke, a success with style will create it with two, and a failure/tie will still create the aspect at a cost. You can choose to not take a cost, but no aspect is created then. Any Preparation aspects you don't create will just be discarded. If you're going to discover a Complication aspect, then roll against Great (+3) difficulty for the first blank aspect. If the first one is already discovered, then instead roll against Superb (+5) difficulty for the second blank aspect. A success will let you discover the complication (you name it and define it on your terms), a success with style will discover it with a free invoke, and a failure/tie will leave it unknown (unless you choose to create it anyway at a cost). Any complications you don't uncover, however, is something I can surprise you at any time (and at the worst moment)! If you're going to reveal a Hidden Complication, then roll against the listed difficulty. If you succeed, I reveal it and it has no invokes. If you succeed with style, it's revealed with one free invoke for you. Tie means you just don't reveal it. A failure means I get another invoke on it. On Hidden Complications, you can't succeed at a cost. If you want to add free involves to an existing Preparation/Complication, then roll against Good (+3) difficulty, with the same rules as Creating an Advatange. This translates to adding extra precautions or finding a way to use the dangers to your advantage. In this case you can have up to three preparation aspects. There is a Hidden Complication, and two other Complications to be discovered. pre:Good (+3) Great (+4) Superb (+5) Preparation (blank) (blank) (blank) Complication (blank) (blank) [Hidden]
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# ? Mar 4, 2015 19:25 |
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Thomas Atkin Tienni FP 5/5 "I'm sorry, what was that about 'nothing wrong'?" Thomas grunts in annoyance as he steps back to a proper balance. Some things never changed. Ever. Give Watanabe a hat with some fancy gold leaf on it and he'd be a dead ringer for a few generals he knew. And wanted to slap. With a rifle butt. And maybe shove into the mud. And stomp down further into it. And... Before he's realized it he's surged forward, shoved the secretary out of the way, grabbed Watanabe's lardy frame by the coat lapels and lifted him up and off the ground. "Yes, I'm sure there's absolutely 'nothing wrong' that caused that giant explosion," he manages to force out through clenched teeth. "That's all part of your experiment, that's what was supposed to happen, that was planned. So why don't you tell me what you were doing that might have caused that explosion by doing 'nothing wrong' before I give you something wrong to think about?!" This was going to get messy in the after action report, but that was for later. Right NOW he has more important things to consider. Way to make a good first impression, Thomas! If you think this should cause some blowback, Gorbash, call it a compel on "Theirs not to Reason Why My rear end!"--for someone who's spent several lifetimes fighting for high causes, cover-ups and "above clearance" denials set his teeth on edge. Anyway, rolling to establish a possible complication with Provoke! Spit it out, Director! (Provoke, Complication): 4dF+2 4
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# ? Mar 4, 2015 21:09 |
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Lt. Catherine Nishikiori FP 5/5 Catherine manages to chase down Officer Kim Jae-Yun as the pent-up rage of 200 years in the infantry explodes next to her. She stifles a small laugh. Shaking down the brass is satisfying, but she's after someone who might, at some point, have known what they were doing. Taking no further notice of Thomas' assault on the director, Catherine stares down the hapless security officer with steely disapproval. Urgent situation or no, her denial of this catastrophe cannot be forgiven. "Officer Kim! May I remind you that a Tiger Team's authority exceeds the clearance of anyone working in this sad excuse for a lab? Under Section 13-CB-87 of the Operations Charter you will hereby relinquish all security and access codes on your person, mind, or property to me immediately. That means the backups too, and the backups of the backups. Do your duty as a security officer. Quickly!" If this officer is the scared busybody she looks like, her compliance will be fast. She'll have to activate the Proto-Armor as soon as she's finished here and rush into the fray. Lives are at stake and time is short. Let's scare these suckers some more, shall we? Going to go for the Preparation aspect We Have Access. Give me the codes (Provoke, Preparation): 4dF + 2 4. Bendigeidfran fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Mar 5, 2015 |
# ? Mar 4, 2015 23:03 |
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Mariko Sonoda FP 5/5 "Aw, no, they haven't evacuated anyone yet." Mariko doesn't pay any attention to the two others yelling at the poor locals, but instead sprints off, making a beeline for the explosion. As she runs, she mutters a short incantation, and pale golden wings of light sort of... fold out of her back and lift her into the air. "Ryo-chan! You're our eyes in the sky, talk to me," Mariko says into her headset as she gathers altitude. "I'm not about to fly into anything harder than my head, am I?" Then she sees the cracks crawling across the massive lobby skylight. If that thing collapses, all those civilians... And then the first shard falls, and it's too late to think. The ex-magical girl tucks in her wings and dives full speed through the crack. The landing jars her from her toes to the bottom of her skull, but she's too busy to give a poo poo. There's a trick to tessellating forcefields without having to actually think about the geometries involved, and she really needs to remember it now, or these people will Rolling Lunar Magic to protect people from some Compromised Structural Integrity. That sounds like a complication alright! = 02:59:21 < Siivola_> !r 4df+4 = 02:59:21 < Krysmbot> Siivola_, +//++4 = 6 = 02:59:27 < Siivola_> Yessss.
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# ? Mar 5, 2015 02:02 |
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Watanabe tries to get his feet under him as Thomas shakes him. "I don't know what's going on!" he wails. "There aren't any experiments running tonight!" Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Yemon start to run away, but Ryo's mech reaches over and snags him. "I - I - she just told me to keep it off the schedule! I have student loans! It's not my fault! It was Doctor Kurita!" Murakomo steps over and takes Watanabe under the arm. "Thomas." She looks him dead in the eye. "Get moving." He's going to hear about this later, for sure. --------- "No, and there's nothing above you to crash into either," Ryo replies to Mariko. --------- Generally, if you're creating an aspect for this you should name it and define it. In this case I've filled in some blanks but we can change it if need be. Definitely taking that as a compel on Thomas! These two dorks don't really know anything important but you've got some info. Bendigeidfran, that wording definitely reads as a Provoke to me. Also Kim Jae-yun is already heading back towards the building, pretty clearly because its on fire and all that, and her job is to get people out alive - you can certainly catch up with her though. If you want to roll Contacts on it, that'd be fine, but it'd need to be a less confrontational wording. I'll hold off a moment on the aspect in case you want to adjust. pre:Good (+3) Great (+4) Superb (+5) Preparation (pending) (blank) (blank) Complication Unauthorized Experiment Compromised Structural Integrity [Hidden] Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Mar 5, 2015 |
# ? Mar 5, 2015 02:05 |
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Rewrote the event, and rerolled as a Provoke. Catherine is not what you'd call a nice person. The aspect name stays the same.
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# ? Mar 5, 2015 02:58 |
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Goro 4/5 FP "Oh dear," the violence of the explosion tests Goro's balance, but it takes a lot to do more than rock a full-grown gorilla. "That certainly does not sound like everything is going all right. Luckily, I took the time on the flight over to familiarize myself with all their ongoing projects, read up on the fundamentals of eusocial drone theory, critique a paper or two on the matter, get in a curious argument on Something Terrible about the virtues of mecha warfare versus traditional vehicular combat...You know, just a refresher. I'm confident that I will be able to spot anything out of the ordinary in the facility." Using Science +3 to create a Preparation (Superb +5): This is Now My Expertise. I rolled three, so I burned a fate point because as a Six Million Dollar Ape this kind of thing is a breeze for my advanced simian intellect.
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# ? Mar 5, 2015 03:37 |
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Ponponkona 4/5 "Patching into their system net." Kona's eyes are distant; hesitation, forgotten. She's not looking at the others, now, but at the second sight given to her when they tore away her body and made her mostly machine. "I'm in their security systems. I'll monitor what cameras are still functioning. Give us forewarning." Seamless integration into the sensory feed. No confusion. They're her eyes now. KPrime !r 4df+2 Krysmbot KPrime, +//++2 = 4 Had to reroll, but that places Panoptikona
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# ? Mar 5, 2015 03:46 |
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Jam Ponponkona's already working into the security system, but I'm more interested in something Watanabe said. Doctor Kurita, is it? Let's see what there is to know about this Doctor Kurita... I get a bit of tunes playing to try and drown out the alarm system and set to work. I may have got nothing on Murakumo, but that's only firming my resolve to crack through anything in the way on this Kurita person. [22:27] <Morphball>: Ridley: 5 = 4dF(+,+,-,+)+3 systems roll to uncover Hidden complication
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# ? Mar 16, 2015 03:30 |
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Kim turns with a furious expression towards Nishikiori. She pulls a set of passkeys out of her pocket and throws them at the other woman. "My duty is to get those people out of the building before it falls on them! I'll let the almighty Tiger Team worry about corporate assets," she adds bitingly, before turning and continuing to hurry towards the building. --------- Jam quickly pulls up one Dr. Kurita Furudenendu, one of the lead robotocists working at the facility. Dr. Kurita isn't well liked by his coworkers, who think he's a jerk, but his talent insulated him from the consequences for a while. He hasn't produced recently though, and looks in danger of getting his irritating butt kicked out to a less prestigious facility. Digging further into local records, Jam discovers a series of emails that indicate that Kurita decided to save his job by performing a dangerous and totally illegal experiment using black market mi-go technology to create a new kind of mecha pilot assist module. Looks like things may have gotten out of hand. --------- Pon2 patches into the local feeds. Audio/visual data streams in, except for a few areas where sensor equipment has been destroyed by the explosion. She can see drones moving around in the lower levels. Some of them are clearly moving into defensive positions. On the plus side, looks like the assault mecha got buried in rubble. The search and rescue mecha and some drones are digging it out now, though. The industrial mecha are putting up barricades. Seems one got taken out in the explosion, so good news there! The bad news steps into view out of the blacked out area around the lab that was the epicenter of the explosion. The AirCav mecha has some kind of grey-blue growth on it. It reminds Ponponkona of bread mold. A collection of drones swarm around it, then it turns directly towards the camera. It raises the riot-suppression air cannon its carrying and blasts the camera, knocking it out. --------- Sorry for the delays, got an ear infection and a head cold simultaneous with midterms. Will be getting things moving more regularly. A big map update will come tomorrow, but for now the results of prep. Ponponkona and Goro both tied the difficulties, so I'm using the following costs. Whatever is running the drones inside knows Ponpon is watching, so it's going to start destroying cameras. You'll know where drones are as cameras go down, but not what they're doing. I get an invoke on This Is Now My Expertise because Goro has become an instant expert of normal drone operation, but the drones here are acting very abnormal. In other words, his knowledge might lead him astray during this event. Preparation We Have Access - [1 invoke] Panoptikona - [1 invoke] This is Now My Expertise - [1 invoke/1 GM invoke] Complication Unauthorized Experiment Compromised Structural Integrity Black Market Mi-go Tech Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Mar 16, 2015 |
# ? Mar 16, 2015 04:19 |
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Thomas Atkin Tienni FP 5/5 Thomas unceremoniously releases the director and dusts off his hands semi-dramatically. "Well, I think we've learned everything we'll learn just standing out here." He cocks his head to the door, and gives a little shrug. "Let's start stacking up, then."
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# ? Mar 16, 2015 06:10 |
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Lt. Catherine Nishikiori FP 5/5 Catherine deftly snatches the keys out of the air, and starts dashing back to the dropzone to her mecha. She looks...impressed with Kim Jae-Hyun''s response. Explosive crises are everyday business for the Lieutenant, but someone dedicated to their job and willing to stand up to her? As she passes by the rest of her team you'd almost say she was relieved. "Goro, you memorized the floor plans on the way here, didn't you? You'll find a lot more use from these than I will." She tosses the passkeys underhand to the esteemed gorilla scientist. Goro is reliable, and that's what counts. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have 10 tons of arcane alloy to get moving." She finds the Proto-Armor fully prepped and ready for action. Pulling herself into its oddly spacious cockpit, she's greeted by a familiar army of energy-pulse gauges, spatial delimiters, 4-dimensional scanners, and holographic targeting sights. She shakes off the usual raw aggression the Proto-Armor exudes, but this time its anger carries a hint of familiarity. A roaring hum fills the mecha that says only one thing: they're up against rogue Mi-Go technology. Catherine sighs and straps on her helmet. "Might be the death of me, but I'll be the death of them first". She switches on the team's frequency. "Sonoda, everyone, what's the situation inside?"
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# ? Mar 16, 2015 17:26 |
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Goro 4/5 FP "Of course," he answers the Lieutenant with an odd look, sliding the keys into a pocket. "You didn't?" He follows his companions, but not too closely. He ponders the implications. Perhaps it is a bit rude, but is it not more imprudent to not allow your teammates who have chosen to take point have the fully honor of such a position? Especially when one is a veritable killing machine and the other has, thus far, proven himself to be immortal? Is this cowardice or simply common sense. Goro tends to favor the latter interpretation as they enter the plant, what remains of his primal instincts digging into his back, whispering to him all the threats that might lay within.
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# ? Mar 16, 2015 22:36 |
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Pon2's camera feeds show that another group of employees have been taken hostage in the employee lounge downstairs. More domestic drones, and a squad of riot control police drones, have them under guard. Next door, the security office has some anti-drone gear in a locker. You can also see the industrial mecha and drones barricading the workshops downstairs. That will make getting to the source of the problem more difficult. On the other hand, the labs contain some heavy duty equipment that might be useful. The drone hangar is under heavy guard as well. There's a master override for the drone control circuit there. It won't turn them off, but it will disable their networking and make them easier to deal with. The real source of the problem, though, is that lab Kurita was in. Unfortunately, the cameras down there are out. Most of the personnel have already exited the building, but a group of techs are carrying a wounded fellow across the lobby when the elevators spew forth a crowd of domestic drones armed with brooms, hammers, screwdrivers, and other makeshift weapons, along with a police mecha, its sirens blaring. Looks like the techs are going to need some help. -------- Some explanation of the results of the prep. Since you revealed all the complications, I don't have any invokes on them, and you're aware of the potential dangers. However, don't forget that aspects are always true! Preperation posted:Thanks to We Have Access, you can unlock any lock or access any system in the building unless the opposition takes specific action to block it. In other words, they have to create obstacles and they can't rely on the existing security measures - locking a door or changing a password won't do it. They have to build barricades, rewire control panels, or break things. This means fewer impediments to getting around! Complication posted:Since it's an Unauthorized Experiment, no one besides Dr. Kurita knows what was really going on in the lab. The amount of information you can glean from other sources is going to be limited. -------- Okay, here are some big ol maps! First Floor - Basement The way this will work is there's going to be turns and rounds. Once everyone takes a turn, a round will have gone by. Each PC gets a turn, the bad guys get three turns total amongst themselves. Each turn, you can move from one room to another, as long as there's a connection (green or red line). Green line connections are free, no obstructions. Red line connections are blocked by a barricade or debris! You can spend a turn clearing it quietly, or roll +3 or better to bust through the obstruction, but you'll alert anyone in the room you're entering. In some rooms you can take other actions to help clear other obstacles, get advantages, or shut down opponents. I'll let you know what's available as we go. Typically you can move and do one other thing (usually create an advantage or try to overcome an obstacle) each turn. Going into the elevator costs a turn. When you exit it the next turn, you can go to any room connected to it on any floor. Rooms with a dotted line across have two zones in them. Rooms with static over them have had their cameras taken out, though whatever was scene in there will remain on the map until proven to have moved. You can also use your radios to interact with NPCs on your turn. Put those social skills to good use! This will mostly let you create advantages. The bad guys get to take turns too. They can set up obstacles/barricades, move around, or take out cameras. Some rooms have opposition in them! In most cases enemies will be presented as obstacles rather than things with stress to fight - this whole operation is an extended challange, basically. The differences with opposition to normal obstacles are that some require two overcomes to remove, you can use Combat against them, and sometimes they shoot back! You can try and rush past opposition in a given room, but be aware that some might be able to stop you if you try. The exception is the AirCav mecha. Going into its room triggers a real fight. You have a countdown until the Assault Mecha gets unburied. If it gets loose, it gets a turn all its own and it will be a major problem. Taking out the drones and mecha trying to free it will do the trick, but you might find other ways to slow it down. You know that Dr. Kurita was performing his experiment in the basement lab marked with a star, but the cameras there were taken out with the explosion. And here's the first room: Lobby posted:Opposition Rounds Until Assault Mecha is Free OOOOOOOO Preperation Aspects We Have Access - [1 invoke] Panoptikona - [1 invoke] This is Now My Expertise - [1 invoke/1 GM invoke] Complication Aspects Unauthorized Experiment Compromised Structural Integrity Black Market Mi-go Tech Additional Party Resources posted:G-Force Backup (Ryo) [Invokes: OO] Additional Party Resources posted:Corporate Intelligence (Tak) [Invokes: OO]
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# ? Mar 17, 2015 04:36 |
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Mariko 5/5 Urgh, freestyle magic is never a good idea. For a moment, Mariko's brain seems to insist that every parallel line she can see is actually approaching each other. Still, looks like everyone's still in one piece. Can't throw up in front of the civilians. "Sonoda here. We still have people evacuating. The building's not stable any more, so don't walk under a skylight." Mariko dusts herself off and lets the force field disintegrate into tiny golden magical feathers. She doesn't quite expect to find a blue-white robot towering over her. "Huh." "I found the police mecha, by the way." She throws a sideways glance at the civilians behind her scampering away from the robot. This is sort of awkward. It's not like her gun's going to do much good here, and her head feels like her brain's going to crawl away if she casts another spell. Oh well. She cracks her knuckles and cocks an eyebrow at the mecha-cop. "Is there a problem, officer?" Rolling Provoke to distract the unmanned robot meter maid. It goes as well as you would expect: = 01:13:59 < Krysmbot> Siivola_, --//+2 = 0 I guess I can invoke Eh, I've Seen Worse to bump it up to +2 if that makes a difference.
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# ? Mar 18, 2015 00:27 |
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Catherine Nishikiori FP 4/5 "Mariko, what in God's name are you doing? This is no time to-" Catherine notices the telltale signs of Field-Induced Exhaustion on Mariko's face. "-drat it, just don't get yourself killed." She takes a long gulp of fortified water from one of the 8 thermoses she's put in the THI-90. It's going to be a long night. Her Proto-Armor weaves between the evacuees with practiced precision. Noting their general mood, their attention, and their sidelong glances at the team (mostly directed at Goro, Ponponkona, and her own dome-headed mecha), she manages to duck into the lobby without any unfortunate mishaps. Yes, that's definitely an angry mob of maid-droids and washers advancing on those techs. The outboard speakers turn on. "We'll cover your escape from here! Get your wounded to safety. There'll be medical supplies in the dropship outside; tell 'em Lieutenant Nishikiori sent you. And don't move her once you've set her down!" They always moved them. A sound of rushing wind trails the mecha as it glides towards the army of drones. Injured civilians are present. So, no heavy weapons and no excess use of arcane power. Not a problem. The 3-time Unit champion in mechanized judo shows no outward signs of aggression, waiting until the bulky vacuum-dryer-oven at the head of the pack is nearly on top of her. The drone, a cruel sneer carved on its pixelated display-screen, aims for her main camera with a sharpened pipe. In its electronic rage it fails to notice a brief leg movement by the Armor. Before the 300-pound beast realizes what's happened, it's been thrown over her shoulder and careens into the mob! Rolling Vehicles (or Physique? They're both +4 and it's hard to tell with mecha) to Overcome one of the domestic drones. [10:05] <Bendigeidfran> !r fudge+4 [10:05] <Krysmbot> Bendigeidfran, ++--+4 = 4 Spending an FP on Textbook Takedowns to succeed with style and bring that up to 6. EDIT: Boost is called Robotic Redirection. If anyone wants to use it go ahead! Bendigeidfran fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Mar 20, 2015 |
# ? Mar 19, 2015 15:32 |
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Thomas Atkin Tienni FP 6-1/5 With Mariko and Catherine keeping the mecha and drones occupied...in a way, in Mariko's case...it's time to perform one of the more important parts of the mission--getting the drat civilians out of the line of fire! Thomas bounds forward past the two women and slides through the crowd, moving towards the techs who are obviously struggling with one of their own. With a quick motion he grabs hold of the limping scientist, sliding under his shoulder as the others start making a break for it. He shouts out loudly to the other techs some encouragement. "Your friend's safe with me! Hurry, go!" A determined smirk, a broad wave of the arm. Confidence. Certainty that everything is going to be alright. But more quietly he mutters to himself as he helps the wounded tech along. "Ungh...you're heavy...how much do you eat?" He can feel a few broom bristles scrape against his back. It doesn't actually feel like much, but in Thomas' mind it's a very clear reminder of what it could be. Bayonets, bullets, maybe tear gas...yeah, better pick up the pace! I'm going to attempt to clear the obstacle with Athletics, just using pure speed to get the techs out the door. So I need to beat a +5, and...! [00:31:58] <Davin_Valkri> !r 4dF+4 [00:31:59] <Krysmbot> Davin_Valkri, /-/-+4 = 2 Boo. Invoke Sowing Hope Where Nothing Grows (for obvious reasons) and free-invoke Veteran of a Hundred Wars (this can't be the first time Thomas has dragged a wounded buddy to safety under fire) to make it +6.
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# ? Mar 21, 2015 08:52 |
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Kona 4/5 "I'll handle that police 'bot." The hesitation in Kona's voicebox is gone now. "Clear the drones- I'll deal with the big guy." There's a momentary blur as she reaches full-bore racecar speed. 0-60 in under 2 seconds. Then she blazes past the police mecha like a lightning bolt, skidding to a halt just behind it and incidentally ruining a bunch of rather nice tile. Pause. The mech almost looks confused. Then it falls into 7 neat pieces. Perfect cuts. "Moving on." Kona forges ahead toward the offices. Time to clear up that static. IKPrime !r 4df+4 Combat to overcome the mech Krysmbot KPrime, ++/++4 = 7 DESTROYED
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# ? Mar 21, 2015 17:26 |
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Going to post tomorrow evening. Goro and Jam have a chance to go before then still!
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# ? Mar 25, 2015 00:26 |
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Goro 4/5 FP Goro sighs. "I this is what happens when you ignore protocols." He grabs a brass stand, unmoored from its ropes intended to guide visitors to the information desk. It's light in his hands. "People panic. Whatever good you were trying to accomplish is lost in the mayhem." He assumes a batter's stance a healthy distance away from Lt. Nishikori's brawl. "The building catches fire, mutants run amok, chaos abounds--" The machine careens towards him, its momentum turned to the Lieutenant's purpose by her enviable skill. Goro chokes up on his club, swings and--"The crowd goes wild." I'm going to take advantage of the Robot Redirection boost on the robot Nishikori was fighting to SEND IT FLYING with my gorilla strength! I rolled a +2 and with the boost that comes to +4. This is a pure damage attack. Any flying that the robot does will be purely cosmetic and awesome.
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# ? Mar 26, 2015 04:11 |
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The mecha looms over Mariko, its lights flashing. A synthesized voice blares out in Japanese, echoed by translations into English and Korean as it reaches for her menacingly. "Please discard any weapons and place your hands behind your head. An officer will be with you shortly to perform an official arrest." It doesn't notice the cyborg racing towards her until after she's past. Mariko has to step lively to get out the way of pieces of the former mecha as they tumble across the lobby floor. While Ponponkona disassembles the mecha, Nishikiori engages the drones. Her impromptu bowling session scatters the first squad into a pile of thrashing, broken parts. The others push forward to engage her. But Goro has a different sports metaphor in mind and hits a home run with his makeshift bat, sending the hapless servoid flying back into what remains of the squad. There's not a whole lot left of them after that. While all this is going on, Thomas' steady experience calms the panicking techs enough for them to get their poo poo together and get out of the way. Despite their wounded friend's excess poundage, the tough old soldier has no trouble getting him out the door where Kim takes over. By the time he turns around, he finds that his fellows have taken care of the robots. Ponponkona finds herself in a rather well appointed row of offices. Most of them are closed, lights off for the night - but one has the door open and the lights on. One with the name Kurita on it. A look inside reveals a clean desk and a powered off terminal. Even the wastebasket is empty. No coat. But wait - over in the corner is a secure document safe. It's definitely locked. It might contain some useful clues as to what this yahoo is up to. If you can get it open without setting off the failsafe that will destroy the contents if it senses someone tampering with it... First Floor - Basement Initial Challenge Post Lobby cleared! Rounds Until Assault Mecha is Free XOOOOOOO Preperation Aspects We Have Access - [1 invoke] Panoptikona - [1 invoke] This is Now My Expertise - [1 invoke/1 GM invoke] Complication Aspects Unauthorized Experiment Compromised Structural Integrity Black Market Mi-go Tech Lobby posted:Opposition Offices posted:Obstacle
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# ? Mar 26, 2015 04:17 |
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Thomas Atkin Tienni FP 5/5 One quick first aid application of spray-on bandage later--wow, it's amazing how far these things have come from gauze dressings in cotton wrapping--Thomas takes a few steps back towards the facility before turning back on the people he's just pulled out. "Alright," he calls out in his authority voice, "now that you're all out here, you stay here, and if you need a medic or a bottle of water or something you check in at the Cicada over there. We know you still have friends and colleagues in the building, and we're going to get them out. Don't try to be a hero, don't go back in the building, we don't need to account for you twice, and nobody's going to think less of you for not being a hero. But I'm going to think less of you if you make our job any harder than it has to be. Stay here, and stay safe. We clear? Good!" With that, he about-faces, clears his throat a bit, and runs back in, headed for the elevator. "Right, who's coming down?"
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# ? Mar 28, 2015 07:55 |
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Mariko 5/5 "Thanks, Kona. I owe you one." Mariko lets out a small, relieved sigh; She was expecting to get smacked across the lobby for her trouble. Man, that was close. Gotta keep saving people, though. Mariko follows Thomas's lead, and heads for the elevator herself. "I'm in, let's take care of the people caught in the lounge. Goro, Catherine, you take another elevator and go slug it out with the mecha in the workshop."
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# ? Mar 28, 2015 11:59 |
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# ? Apr 23, 2024 13:41 |
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Catherine Nishikiori FP 4/5 Catherine whistles appreciatively as Goro bats the drone through the remaining squad. She ought to try that herself someday. After one last sweep to make sure the drones were down and the techs got out, she re-orients the Armor towards the elevators with a low hiss of its pistons. "On it. Give ind-mechs like that enough time and they'll make the place a bunker. Kona, Jam, we could use your help clearing out the lower levels but I don't want that lab detonating on us while we're in there. If one of you can crack that safe we'd clear up a lot on who or what we're fighting here." Her left shoulder stretches in unison with her mecha's as she enters the sliding doors, like they're winding up a punch together. "Plenty of rogue assets to break once you're finished."
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# ? Mar 28, 2015 19:09 |