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Boston June, 2015 Boston glimmers under the summer sun. Gentle waves lap against the skyscrapers of old downtown, and the sunlight makes the abandoned buildings shine like mirrors. The tanks parked along the coastal 95 embankment are still and quiet for the time being, conserving their fuel. The country may have been brought low by the Second Impact, but it'd take more than the end of the world to get the United States of America to surrender control of its armed forces in totality to the United Nations. Still, can't spend jet fuel like they used to. Further out to sea, drones circle. Their controllers are hunkered down on the roof of the aluminum hulk of the Federal Reserve building; though NERV shanghaied the old Fedwire trunks, the building itself is still Federal property, and the 14th Division's signals teams love the place. Sierra 3, loitering a few miles to the southeast, is the first to notice. The grey box with the half-leaf logo bolted to the tiny machine starts going nuts. The drone's operator, back in Old Downtown, has her feed blank out. The signal is relayed down the tower, and then further underground. At the terminus of the signal, NERV-1's command center, a cacophony is unleashed. "Signal from the OP! It's here!" "MAGI's on it." "Position is.. grid November Four-Three." "Hmm... get me a confirmation. Somebody kill the alarms." "Mike Three-Eight! It's fast!" "Coming in now, sir."  "...Two up, one down. Seventy percent match to the data from HQ." "Only two?" "Yes, sir." "...okay. Sortie the EVAs. Notify the Directory that as of 14:13 local time, we have engaged with the Fourth Angel." The command staff scatter, jumping to their combat tasks. As should you! Please put your character sheet in your first post, along with what you've been up to within a dramatically-appropriate timeframe. Your post should end with the launch of your Eva into the downtown bay. OOC Thread grassy gnoll fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Jun 15, 2015 |
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May 19, 2015 01:55
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Angel Attack Taggable: Keep steady and we'll be golden! Colonel Jagr's voice cuts through the comms. "One and a half miles from your position and closing fast, Dylan. You can hold the baseball history until you all get back." Jagr clears his throat. The former professor's got a good voice for lecturing, and it gives him at least a little gravity when it comes to paramilitary operations intended to decide the fate of mankind, sometimes. "I won't insult your intelligence by pretending you don't know what happened to Headquarters. We're forewarned, and there's five of you to the two they had at Tokyo. More than anything, we all have faith in you as pilots. You wouldn't be out there otherwise. I'm turning you over to Commander Adams now. We'll see you all soon." Adams' voice is less reassuring. She holds the whip, and she's never hesitated to let you know if you gently caress up one of her plans. "Adams. Unit 02, front and center. Traverse to the tether station at Logan. Unit 04, move to Winthrop; 06 to Castle Island, opposite the channel from 02. 03, you're in the channel. We've got a tether beacon lit up down there. 01, plug in at at the Bunker Hill Bridge point and await further instructions." Adams plan puts Pax and Noah knee deep in the water, standing over the old airport and roughly center in the entrance to the bay. Rabbah is to their north, a little less wet but further away from the concentration of infrastructure NERV's built up around the city core. Hannah is across the deeper channel from the twins, stationed in the middle of an old park. Poor Dylan is up to his Eva's waist in the sea, which impedes his mobility - hopefully this angel isn't any better than he is at swimming. Franklin is put way, way back, defending the main launch tubes and the easiest access to NERV itself. If you had to guess, she wants Pax and Noah to make first contact, with Rabbah and Hannah available to help, while Dylan blocks any kind of direct shot at the guts of the branch. As you start toward your assigned positions, the feed from one of the offshore drones pops up in your HUD. It's the Angel. A host of readouts identify it as the Fourth Angel, blood type blue, general height and mass estimates, generally clouding your view of the thing. The Angel is kind of human-shaped, if you squint and you've got head trauma. A pair of legs extend downward from its trunk, which goes from approximately humanoid to a lumpen mess near the shoulders. It looks almost like someone dumped two radially-symmetrical sets of ribs and shoulders together, with four long arms radiating out from the center. It's black and glossy, except for a white "face" in the center of the tangle of arms. The face looks like porcelain, with four eyes around a vaguely beak-like protrusion. The thing breaches out of the sea and angles in toward the city, and your positions. It walks with a limp, hunched over so it can face you as its arms bend inward, sporting too many elbows for comfort. Adams comes back over the radio. She sounds more irate than usual. "04 and 06, disengage from your tethers in sixty seconds. You have independent action. All pilots: be cautious when flanking the Angel. I suspect the arms mean it's not got a directional focus." Command Center Jagr clicks off his headset and lets Adams take over. As the tactical officer rattles off her instructions to the pilots, Jagr unbuttons the collar of his uniform jacket and blows out a sigh. He looks down the command structure to the second tier, where Jenny, Adams and a few of the other crew are. Jagr smiles at Dr. Laboe, clearly aware of how winsome the expression is on him. "How'd I do?" he says, leaning over the upper deck. Combat! Bang! Everyone can currently act before the Angel, though that may change depending on what happens. Currently, you know this much about #4: pre:Aspects Omnidirectional fighter Skills ??? Stunts ??? Stress ??? Thanks to the close ties between the Evas and your mind, you won't need to make any kind of piloting check for anything up to mild acrobatics and ordinary combat. Diving tackle or sliding into cover, A-OK. Making your Eva do a standing backflip might require a check, though. If you're not sure, go ahead and ask. Dylan is not yet affected by any kind of condition related to being that deep in the water, but it is a possibility if the Angel rolls well. Franklin is totally getting told to sit down and shut up. Hmmm. There will be a picture of the Angel when I have access to my equipment again. Right now, all I've got is a pencil and a sub-potato cell camera.
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May 21, 2015 05:54
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Command Center Commander Adams shoots Jenny a scathing look as she pushes her glasses back up her nose. "No, you aren't a tactician. If you were, you'd never have endorsed this ridiculous plan to put one of our pilots in the limelight. If he dies, morale for the entire country will crash. PR made him a bigger risk than he's worth-" "Enough." Jagr is noticably less amiable right now. You get the sense there's going to be some Talking To going on after this battle. Hopefully, Jenny's out of the line of fire.
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May 21, 2015 15:14
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Angel Attack Taggable: Keep steady and we'll be golden! Forewarned is Four-Armed Frankie: Gotta Go Through Me Playing Nice Pre-Planning Hannah fires off a burst from her rifle. The Angel watches her aim, then swings its arms with blinding speed to cover its "mask." The bullets are mostly harmless - why do they keep issuing these things? - but now you've got a good idea of the monster's defense priorities. It's a long, long way from the bridge to the edge of town. Really dull back here in Franklinville. Whole lotta watching, not a whole lot of doing. This sucks. Adams sucks. This is crap! Poor Dylan, meanwhile, is nearly underwater in the old shipping channel. He's found his power point, so at least he's not going to run out of juice any time soon. Of course, it's going to be hell getting out of here if there's a rush. Rabah and Hannah's position on either side of the twins meets with the militaristic pilot's begrudging approval. It seems like this new girl knows what's she's doing, at least. More than you can say about the others, even the command staff. Meanwhile, the Angel's gotten wise to exploratory fire. It sees EVA-02's rifle tracking it, but it drops to all sixes and starts scuttling along the bay floor, surprisingly submerged in the shallow waters. The sensor rounds skip harmlessly across the sea or explode beneath the surface, bringing with them the flash of an active AT-field. The twins soon find out what the beast can do anyway. It moves with a sudden burst of speed, rising up before them - it's even taller than an Eva! Four almost humanoid hands lash in, battering EVA-02's armor. Only Pax and Noah's ability to multitask is keeping them from being immediately overwhelmed by the multidirectional onslaught, but if they don't adapt to this thing's fighting style soon, they won't last much longer! Command Center Adams goes back to monitoring her feeds. Meanwhile, Jenny has her cockpit feeds to watch. Rabah and Hannah are doing well, considering they're children fighting a building-sized monster - vitals are stable and show few signs of stress. Dylan's not doing too well, but he's down in a pit and nearly up to his neck in the sea. Why did Adams put him down there, anyway? Unsurprisingly, the twins are nearly in perfect sync, both with each other's biologicals and sync ratio. Increasing heart rate, with a spike as the Angel lunges, but they're okay so far. You might want to have a word with Franklin after the battle about his language. Of course, you don't have to share the recorders with Adams. That might even be unprofessional. Why, it could even damage Franklin's public persona. Of course, sometimes the public likes the badboy image... Still, the poor kid is getting worked up in there. What can you do about it, though? Hannah places Forewarned is Four-armed. You know how the Angel fights back. Franklin places Gotta Go Through Me, and is increasingly upset about being held back. Dylan doesn't get much aside from a view of the channel floor. Gross. Rabah places Playing Nice Pre-Planning. Social! P/N get another Aspect, a skill ranking, and stress. P/N get attacked! Angel rolls 3, for a total of 7 against Unit-02. ARB, you prolly want to tag some stuff. pre:Fourth Angel [i]Aspects Omnidirectional fighter Angelic AT-Field Skills Combat +4 Stunts ??? Stress OOOO OOOO
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May 23, 2015 19:16
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Mid combat update Taggable: Keep steady and we'll be golden! Forewarned is Four-Armed Frankie: Gotta Go Through Me Playing Nice Pre-Planning Three-way Flanking Maneuver Hannah watches as the Angel attacks the twins, viewing the scene with a certain level of detachment. The Unit-02 pilots are probably a little too busy to notice, but she can see the Angel isn't just attacking - it's probing their defenses. If an attack is blocked from one direction, the next comes opposite that way. The spin kick is absorbed, almost literally, as the Angel flexes like something without bones during the hit. The most consistent thing the Angel did was to start off an attack with grabbing at one of Unit-02's limbs or a protrusion in its armor. Hannah strongly suspects the Angel is intent on grappling with its opponent, and it's only Pax and Noah's dual-focused defense that kept them from harm. pre:Fourth Angel Aspects Omnidirectional fighter Angelic AT-Field Skills Combat +4, Athletics +4 Stunts Four-figure lock Stress OOOO OOOO Waiting for Dylan, Franklin and Jenny. If for whatever reason you decide not to act during a turn, put up a quick post letting us know what's what, a la K Prime. PbP games live and die by their posting frequency.
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May 24, 2015 16:07
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Next round, cowboy. Almost there. Related! Zachol, you've got twenty-four hours from the time of this post or Jenny skips this round.
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May 26, 2015 16:45
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Of course now I look like a huge hypocrite. Sorry, everybody, life was kicking my rear end for a solid couple of days there. Angel Attack Taggable: Keep steady and we'll be golden! Forewarned is Four-Armed Frankie: Gotta Go Through Me Playing Nice Pre-Planning Three-way Flanking Maneuver Angel: Disabled Arm Dylan does his best Vietnam reenactment as Unit-03 heaves up out of the channel, water cascading off the giant machine as it sprays rifle fire toward the alien invader. Given his low angle and the distracted target, the pallet rifle rounds actually manage to do something! For once. Meanwhile, Franklin's comms open. Commander Adams is not happy. "Wilson, request denied. Return to your position. You are under orders, and you will follow them." Nor is the Angel happy. Unit-02 is not crushed! It lashes out with all four arms, fixing one hand to each of the Eva's limbs. It shifts pack, attempting to haul the Evangelion off its feet and into the air! ----- technically this is the start of a new round so Hannah acts now, and everyone else gets their shot. Hannah's dire prediction comes true, but she's not having any of that nonsense. As the monster is distracted trying to power lift Unit-02, she gets in close and savages the Angel's AT Field. Chunks of unfathomable monstrosity fly out of one of the Angel's shoulder-analogs as Unit-06 lays into it with heavy firepower. Dylan attack 4 vs (- - - _ + 4) 1, Angel takes 3 stress. Franklin begins moving to the fight zone. But maybe that's not in his best interests... Angel Creates Advantage: Hurl (- - + _) +4 (+2 from boost) - 7 versus P/N's defend. Hannah Creates Advantage: Disabled Arm, Angel Defends (- + - _) +4 = 3, Hannah succeeds. Now might be a good time to press your attacks and spend those invokes. pre:[i] Fourth Angel Aspects Omnidirectional fighter Angelic AT-Field Skills Combat +4, Athletics +4 Stunts Four-figure lock Stress OOOO OXXX
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May 28, 2015 21:15
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Angel Attack Taggable: Keep steady and we'll be golden! Frankie: Gotta Go Through Me Adams turns from her console just long enough to give Dr. Laboe a look of scorn. Out in the field, Rabah presses her attack while the Angel is busy trying to tear one of her friendlies apart. Occupied as it is, it can't properly defend itself, and its AT Field is little use against an active aggressor like the young Spartan. The pallet rifle crackles and spatters Unit-02 with Angel bits. Dylan's fire is well-targeted, but less successful than Rabah's. Perhaps it's the range, perhaps it's the angel, or perhaps it's because the Angel can see him more easily than it can see her, but the monster's AT Field flares into life around it where the waterlogged rounds strike. Still, that was a good shot. Maybe one more will do it... Franklin, showing a stylish disregard for his teammates, opens up with considerably more abandon, but if you fill the air with enough slugs the size of phone booths, something's bound to stick. The Angel begins to shrink behind Unit-02, trying to use the Evangelion as a shield from the torrent of damage heading its way. Which turns out to be a poor idea. Unit-02 is briefly covered by the smoke of detonation before it plows through the cloud, wrenching its own arm so that it can escape the Angel's grip. The Evangelion drops back to its feet, slashing again and again into the Angel's flesh, nearly severing its wounded arm. The prog knife rips up into the exit wound from Rabah's attack and travels up, tearing off part of the thing's "mask." Underneath is the ruby red heart of the beast - its core. But just because the thing is horribly wounded and squealing doesn't mean it's out for the count. The Angel's arms go limp, almost like tentacles, and it wraps itself around Unit-02, drawing in on itself, threatening to crack the Eva's armor. Inside the cockpit, the pain is intense. As it is in Franklin's cockpit. The pressure of the LCL in Unit-01's plug shoots up rapidly, threatening to rupture the boy's eardrums and tear up his lungs from the inside. Above the sudden ringing in his ears, the voice of Commander Adams is omnipresent and angry. "Pilot Wilson." The transmission is relayed to all the pilots. "Your punishment will continue until you return to your assigned position." In the command center, Adams leans back from her console and crosses her arms in front of her. Her gaze is calm as she watches her monitors. Above, Colonel Jagr's face is drawn, but he makes no move to stop the torture. Angel defends vs. Rabah: 5, takes Mild Consequence: Wounded and one stress. Angel defends vs. Dylan: 3, Angel invokes Angelic AT-Field to bump that to 5. Dylan takes a free boost for the next round. Angel defends vs. Franklin: [rul="http://orokos.com/roll/295736"]3,[/url] Angel takes Moderate Consequence: Overwhelmed Angel defends vs. P/N: 5, Angel takes Severe Consequence: Exposed Core, and 2 stress. Angel attacks P/N: 3, uses Figure Four Lock to make that 5, takes free boost to make that 7. Franklin is at a constant -2 until he finds a way to either deal with the pressure in his plug, or returns to his position. pre:Fourth Angel Aspects Omnidirectional fighter Angelic AT-Field Wounded Overwhelmed Exposed Core Skills Combat +4, Athletics +4 Stunts Four-figure lock Stress OOXX XXXX
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May 31, 2015 03:19
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It is mathematically impossible for the Angel to beat an 11 at this point in the fight, but if anyone wants to pour salt into the wound, you have until I get around to an update tomorrow. Working normal people hours sucks!
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Jun 1, 2015 03:34
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Angel Attack Franklin backs off, and the pressure falls instantly. Everything hurts and everything is terrible, but less. Adams doesn't say anything. Rabah totally botches the clutch on her Eva, and the machine nearly falls over. The plug's displays die, leaving the young soldier in total darkness and silence for a few heartbeats. Light comes back in the form of a tiny white line, which suddenly expands. Rabah can see again, although the view's grainy and low-bandwidth. Most curious is her power display. Apparently the Eva's kicked over to internal power, and it's at ten minutes of charge. Well, nine-some-odd and dropping. Still, that's unusual. In the grip of Eva-02, the core comes free. There's a silent moment, and then the Angel's grip weakens. The thing seems to just fall apart, like a sandstone statue eroding. When the parts falling off hit the water of the bay, they puff into clouds of dust. Eva-02 nearly topples as well, suddenly freed from resistance altogether. Even the core, formerly incredibly dense, dissolves into motes of ruby light, and those wink out as you watch. And that appears to be it. Hell, if that's all these things are capable of, you might as well retire right now, let someone less fortunate than yourselves take a shot at defending humanity. All that's left is a moist slog back to an umbilical and the nearest loading port. Unit-04 has its megastunt: Emergency Power System. Function: Double Power! Flaw: Transmission Problems. You can invoke this stunt to ignore the first power-related compel thrown at you in a scene. Debrief Colonel Jagr and Dr. Laboe are there to greet the pilots as they're pulled from their plugs. Helpful ground crew are there to lend a hand out of the cockpits and proffer much-needed towels; LCL is sticky, once you get out of the tube. Jagr has a tablet in hand; he's positioned up a deck, looking toward and down to the recovery area. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, you fought back an invader from beyond the stars. I'm proud of you. "Top marks for our twin pilots. I haven't seen work like that in quite some time, Noah. And Ms. Asagiri, compliments from our tactical officer. Some impressive work out there." He scrolls down his list. "Mr. James, good teamwork, good tactics; sometimes you just don't get the shot at the goal. Better luck next time, Dylan. Rabah, overall good performance with some troubling statistical outliers. Please be back in form next time the fate of our species is threatened, hm?" Jagr tucks the tablet away in his uniform jacket, adjusting his cuffs and clearing his throat. "Which leads me to this part. Franklin Wilson, front and center." The colonel's tone is less amiable, his gestures a little less free. "Franklin, I'm sympathetic to your goals, believe it or not. But when you disobey an order in combat, you're not just putting yourself at risk. You're endangering your fellow pilots, for starters, and when Commander Adams assigns you to defend the whole of NERV, believe me, you'd better do it. I mean, Franklin, you put the whole city at risk. That kind of behavior is not acceptable, to me, to Commander Adams, and to every single person that works for NERV. "Look around you, Franklin. You put every single person you can see in danger today. And what did you get out of it?" It's clearly a rhetorical question. Jagr lets it sink in for a few moments, having made an example for the others. Then his smile returns, and he looks to Jenny. "Dr. Laboe will finish your debriefing. Thank you, all of you." On you, Zachol.
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Jun 1, 2015 20:21
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This is pretty good stuff. Do you guys want to keep chatting with each other, or do you want me to kick things forward?
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Jun 6, 2015 20:11
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Food it is. What restaurant is Dylan picking for everyone? How often does Franklin go out without his minders, like now? What does Rabah do when she's not eating at the commissary? Does she ever not, really? How often are Pax and Noah apart? Can Hannah eat normal food? MEANWHILE - Zachol, is Jenny up to something in particular, and do you want me to run a parallel scene for you?
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Jun 8, 2015 18:06
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NERV Officer's Lounge The HQ DFAC is much like its counterparts in military organizations around the world: it's run by private contractors, and it's basically a mall food court crossed with a middle school cafeteria. The available fare is nice, or sometimes "nice," by those generous standards, as long as you're not picky or a vegan. Officers, of course, are excluded from that particular kind of bureaucratic cuisine. There's ostensibly a chef for the brass, somewhere deep in the guts of Service Division, but no one's ever seen them in person. Most of the officers and division directors just brown bag it. Someone, somewhere along the way, has put a very official looking-seal on the side of the microwave, threatening several NERV disciplinary code penalties for anyone who puts fish products in the machine. Jagr is here, uniform jacket tossed over the back of his chair, and a series of tablets set up on the table in front of him. He looks up as the door slides open, and a tired grin crosses his face. The commander moves the tablets around, mostly just making a clattering noise, and gestures to one of the empty plastic chairs. "Dr. Laboe," he says. Young's Annie comes by the table shortly, platter in hand. There are six cups of water on it, made of transparent plastic. They are difficult to see through where they are textured, so that they can be gripped with ease, and have clearly been in use since you were born or otherwise entered the world. Noah finds the knurled texturing strangely soothing, kind of like a mix between checked squares and the undulating folds of a brain, but something about the color puts Hannah ill at ease. Also on the platter is a paper tray containing sliced and fried potato slivers, which have been dusted with a mixture of ground mustard, paprika, celery salt, bay leaf, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, mace, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger. The paper tray is placed in front of Dylan, with a familiarity that the rest of the pilots cannot help but notice. "Whadda ya have," Annie asks. Were Franklin and Hannah at 2nd Branch long enough to have known each other before this?
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Jun 10, 2015 21:25
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NERV "Hey, that's protocol, Doctor Laboe." Jagr's toothy smile gives lie to the exaggerated formality in his voice. "Hell, I'd take 'doctor' cover 'colonel' any day. Sometimes I think I should have turned this one down." The leader of NERV-1 picks at something on one of his tablets as Jenny nukes her meal. He puts his head on his chin, unintentionally giving a good approximation of a bored schoolboy. He swipes whatever it is he was working on away as she returns to the table. "I wish I could give you a good answer. On one hand, what happened to HQ is a pretty clear demonstration that conventional military power doesn't cut it against the Angels. On the other hand, they still lost. People aren't entirely confident in us." Jagr looks you in the eye, and the cheer drains out of his face. "Ultimately, they're here and in danger, too. What would you do, if you had extraordinary power at your command, to save your loved ones? Or yourself?" The colonel taps a few things into another tablet, and his tone lightens a little. "Still, I'm glad you're thinking about these things. Speaking of people problems, what-" The door slides open, and Jagr clamps his mouth shut. Commander Adams walks through the door, carrying a compartmentalized plastic tub. "Colonel, Dr. Laboe," she says, her voice neutral and polite. The tactical officer moves to an unoccupied table and begins disassembling and carving up her meal. Young's As she takes your orders, Annie gives Franklin the eye. She stops somewhere in the middle of "salmon" to point her pen at him. "Hey, ain't you that kid on the TV show?" Annie's digression gives Pax ample time to snipe one of Dylan's chips. It is clear why Dylan might order these on the regular - they are intensely, almost painfully delicious. Truly, the Cape Cod crab chip may be Massachusetts' greatest contribution to humanity as a whole. Waiting for K Prime. Do Pax and Noah always have the same meal?
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Jun 13, 2015 14:09
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No worries, that was a "I am trying to not run you over in case you were going to do a thing," not "why the gently caress aren't you engaging in the fluffiest kind of playing-pretend, how dare you." Young's Annie takes your orders, and in surprisingly little time, your food arrives. It's pretty good! Would recommend the milk soup, B+. She's even managed to come up with a dusty old can of store-brand iced tea for Hannah. In a move that's disconcerting to those of you with boundary issues, instead of leaving after the food arrives, Annie drags up a chair and sits down with you all. She waits for you to dig in first, then opens up. "So, they make you kids drive those giant robots, huh?"
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Jun 14, 2015 23:33
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Young's "No," Annie says in reply to Hannah. "Just wondering how you get yourself to do it. Like, you guys might as well be from a comic book. You go out and save the world and it's just kind of a thing for you. No big deal."
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Jun 16, 2015 14:41
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Young's Annie gives the siblings a slow look before she turns to Rabbah. "You're not soldiers, you're kids. Dylan here's barely out of diapers, for chrissakes." NERV Officer's Lounge Adams seems to not notice Jenny's barbed words, thumbing through her own reports as she eats. Jagr coughs into his hand, then speaks. "I'm sure Bio would be delighted to have your assistance in any project you care to name, Dr. Laboe. Your professional knowledge is an asset to everyone here. I think... yeah, here we go. There's another project proposal from the genetics lab, right here..." The emphasis on the word "professional" is just enough that only Marcus and Jenny would pick up on it. Jagr keeps filling the air with noise, so that you don't have a chance to say anything else while Adams is here. The woman's a fast eater, at least, and she packs her belongings with speed. Unfortunately, she doesn't head for the door. The tactical officer stands and faces Jenny, cutting Jagr's verbal torrent off. "Excuse me. I'm sure, Doctor, that you'll have ample opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in a combat situation, as it is by all accounts a terrifying experience. One I sincerely hope you will never endure yourself." And that's almost enough to let the situation go. But Jenny notices a little micro shift in Adams' posture - she started to leave, but decided it was time for a Columbo moment. She turns to Jagr, who is just about to relax, and says "A good master keeps his dogs on a leash, colonel."
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Jun 19, 2015 16:50
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This seems like an opportune time to end our scenes. I'm gonna give you about 24 hours to wrap things up, and then we'll move to the next angel attack. Next scene's going to be about a week from now, starting while the pilots are in school. Be thinking about what you've been up to in the intervening time. I'd also like one bit of information about the school from each of you. This counts as a minor milestone - you killed your first angel! - the details of which can be found on pp. 225 of the rulebook. Don't forget to update your sheets with any changes you make.
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Jun 22, 2015 17:50
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A Week Later It's been a week since the last Angel attack. MAGI's predictions put the next one sometime quite soon, but the supercomputer trio is working off of a ton of math that amounts to a best-guess effort. Still, life continues. It's getting into the depths of summer. Boston's been hit just as hard by the increase in temperatures since Second Impact, and it's been a hundred degrees or more outside all week. You may owe your lives to the incredible technology that powers the Evangelion units, but right now, it's easier to appreciate the miracle of modern engineering that is central air conditionin \K]/,HCDNBJUzcxH.NJL' And then there's school. Compulsory education for minors persisted after the apocalypse. It's third period, and while the pilots all share a homeroom class, they're scattered throughout the school when the alarms go off. The big air raid sirens in old downtown, where the army occupies the remaining skyscrapers, are faint through the thick glass of the classroom walls. The voice of Principle Jiminez (shockingly, not an employee of NERV) crackles over the ancient intercoms. "Attention students. This is not a drill. A citywide emergency has been declared. Make your way to your designated shelters calmly and quietly. Attention students. This is not a drill..." Simultaneously, all of your phones go off. The screens blank out, replaced by the familiar red leaf symbol of NERV. A text crawl starts below the logo - they've detected another Angel, and you need to get to your stations as fast as possible. There are two buttons on your phones. One brings up a map, if you somehow got lost and need to get back home. The other turns on every single wireless transmitter, signaller and communicator to broadcast a summons, override street lights, turn on GPS, plus the screen scrolls a very dense legal document that gives the bearer the right to commandeer any form of transit you can get your hands on. What have you been up to, and how do you get back to headquarters?
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Jun 23, 2015 19:52
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Command Colonel Jagr bustles in not long after Johanna, looking flustered. His jacket's hanging open and his tie's loose, and he's in need of a shave, although on reflection that's not too uncommon. The harried expression on his face is out of the ordinary. "Report!" The sensor squad opens up. "Contact, east by northeast, metrics unknown." "Confirm blood type Blue! Blue!" "Evas 06, 04 on station, 01, 02, 03 entering launch tube now." "Contact at third perimeter... it's slow." "EVA-02 away." "Continuing course, looks like it's headed straight here." "Still at third perimeter. Why is it so drat slow?" "Adams!" Jagr's voice rings out above the sensor techs. "Commander Adams, front and center!" The sensor pit goes quiet. The silence creeps outward as the entire command center starts to realize that the tactical commander is not actually present during an emergency. Jenny catches a glimpse of the colonel's face as he scans the command room from atop his pedestal. Marcus hasn't looked that angry in years. "God DAMMIT. Security, find Commander Adams and bring her here immediately. Mechik, transfer Tactical to my board..." EVAs Finally, the ground crews get you all launched. Commander Adams' nagging presence is curiously void from your screens as you spill out into the bay. And then you wait, and wait. The Fifth Angel makes it into visual range before anyone calls, in fact. It's less recognizable than the last one. And it takes a while to haul itself all the way over the horizon. The thing has spidery legs that peek out above the water every so often, but its main body is curiously geometric. It looks almost like a biological version of the CN Tower - a long primary stalk, with a bulb about two-thirds of the way up, and then a mast above that. It sways like a metronome as it ambles towards shore. As it rises to the final shelf of the bay, the comms snap to life. Colonel Jagr's face appears, scowling away from the camera. He picks at something outside your field of view as he speaks. "Pilots, this is Jagr. Hold position at the first defensive perimeter and await further orders." The comms blip out. What the hell was that? Gonna give this one a little padding to get Waffle up to speed. Got about a day to react to this thing and discuss amongst yourselves what on earth is happening in command, plus any info checks you want to make. Bahamut can take a free boost called Trendsetter, applicable in whatever fashion seems appropriate. Fifth Angel - Aspects: Ponderous, ??? Skills: ??? Stunts: ???
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Jun 27, 2015 16:24
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Sorry for not updating earlier, folks. Life decided to push my poo poo in for a couple of days, but I have free time again. Angel Attack Taggable: Got That Rhythm, Frail Joints As the Angel teeters closer to the perimeter, Hannah and the twins take a long, hard look at the thing. Their Eva's sensors probe its AT field as their eyes pore over the thing, but though all this data is being piped home, MAGI is curiously silent. Hannah remembers something indoctrination. They made her watch a film of two insects fighting. The winner kept trapping its opponents legs and pulling - the other bug came apart at its joints. She can still remember the squealing noise they dubbed in. Maybe that kind of attack could work here? It is awfully spindly... Meanwhile, on the Angel's slow crawl towards shore, the support crews have time to launch one of the supply freighters. This one is a little out of the ordinary - the sniper rifle it carries extends beyond its decks - but there's enough time for Pax and Noah to retrieve and equip the enormous Eva-sized rifle. It's bulky and difficult to bring about, but it packs a punch. As the twins gear up and the Evas start to circle, Franklin starts his war chant. Profanity and making noise seem to attract the creature, at the very least, since it nears shore and vectors in on the noisy pilot. And just like Pax predicted, it tips in just such a fashion, then hurdles itself through the air to collide with Franklin and EVA-01. It bounces off the gigantic slab of metal Franklin carries - the impact was weirdly light. And speaking of weird light, there are little glowy motes in the air - the nodule on the Angel's stalk is leaking orbs of light. Franklin has the sudden and overwhelming urge to kill something. Anything'd do. Unit 04 is right there. That'd do. Hannah places Frail Joints. P/N get Weapon:4 at a cost. Franklin's provoke succeeds! Angel attacks Franklin: _ + + -, total 6. Mental attack, any consequence you take must be related to antipathy for your fellow pilots. Franklin is compelled to attack Rabbah. You can spend a Fate point to fight back that urge. We hit a milestone, so all stunts and FP pools have refreshed. Franklin should be down one point for rerolling his provoke, but everybody else should be at full power. Fifth Angel - Aspects: Ponderous, ??? Skills: Angelic Mental Attack +5, ??? Stunts: Inflict Rage, Inflict Fratricide, ???
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Jun 30, 2015 14:25
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Battle At no point does Franklin's entry plug jack up the pressure, so Command may not be involved right now. Jagr appears on Rabah's HUD. "-ammit. Hold him down, 02." The feed blinks out. Deleter, make that Overcome roll.
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Jul 1, 2015 19:45
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Franklin shrugs off the mental effect of the Angel... for now. Dun dun dunnnnnn. Hannah's up.
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Jul 2, 2015 00:24
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Angel Attack Taggable: Keep Pressuring It, Frail Joints With Rabbah and Franklin occupied, it falls to the rest of the team to try and make a dent in the Angel. Pax makes a game attempt of it - the thunderclap of the Eva's rifle can be heard Rhode Island. The heavy round glances off the beast's AT field, but it still staggers with the impact. More unsettling, it turns to "face" EVA-02, dripping more of the light-motes. Which gives Hannah ample time to sneak up behind the ordinarily featureless monster and stick a knife in it. The Angel squeals as EVA-06's prog knife twists through its field, then lacerates the base of its stalk. The otherworldly monster spins, quite literally - it rotates around its axis in midair, whipping out with its legs and driving Hannah back out of its blind spot. The spindly legs hit harder than one might expect! The sudden twist also flings out more of the angel dust. At literal knife-fighting range, Hannah is spattered with the majority of it. She suddenly realizes that Pax and Noah are a threat to the continued security of this operation. She must take whatever measures are necessary to terminate them... Angel defends vs. P/N, + + _ _ (+4), takes 2 stress. Again, Franklin shakes it off. Angel defends vs. Hannah, - - + _ (+4), takes 4 stress. ---- Hannah may tag Knife Wounds Angel physically attacks Hannah. _ + _ + (+3), Hannah takes a +5 hit with weapon: 2 attached. Angel mentally attacks Hannah. + _ - + (+5), Hannah takes a +6 hit. Hannah is compelled to attack Unit-02. She can spend a FP to ignore the compulsion Fifth Angel - Aspects: Ponderous, ??? Skills: Angelic Mental Attack +5, Physical Defense +4, Combat +3 Stunts: Inflict Rage, Inflict Fratricide, Leg Whip (Weapon: 2) Stress: [ ][x][ ][ ][ ][ ] Consequences: -2 -
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Jul 2, 2015 19:11
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Angel Attack Taggable: Innocence Shields, Covering Fire Hannah manages to shake off the urge to stab EVA-02 in the neck, which is generally a good policy towards teammates. The bestial rage that the Angel creates is instead turned back on its source, and Unit 06 starts ripping chunks of the thing out and flinging them around the bay. It squeals, a sound you hear in your teeth, and staggers away. Could it be afraid of Hannah? Under Rabah's direction, the rest of the squad spreads out. Dylan even does what he's told! How often does that happen? Of course, Franklin doesn't. The celebrity pilot squares his Eva up in a dramatic pose and rushes the giant monster, bearing down on it like an angry avalache... only to bounce off its AT field, which is so energized it's visible to the naked eye. EVA-01 is subject to the less popular thought experiment where an immovable object is acted on by an almost-irresistable force, and the backlash of something like an Evangelion unit getting no-sold involves literally titanic forces. That hurts almost as much as the compliance device! The Angel's AT field sparks and flashes like crazy, emitting all kinds of radiation in Hannah's direction. Come to think of it, there's something in those patterns, something just on the edge of perception. It's tantalizing, and so terribly important. If only the clone pilot had time to study it more... As it throws up an AT ink spray, the Angel scuttles backwards, drawing itself around Franklin, and perhaps most importantly, Franklin's shield. Dylan has to cut off his fire for a few tense seconds as the monster ducks behind concealment, and it takes this time to lash out at poor Unit-01. HQ Jenny can see one of the pilot comms lights blinking like crazy over at Resources, but nobody seems to be picking it up. Looks like that staff member's part of the hunt for Commander Adams. Dr. Laboe manages to catch Colonel Jagr between bellowed commands at the command center staff and fits of cursing. In response to her question, Marcus gives her a high-bandwith look. The expression the colonel chose is very specific - the last time you saw it cross his face, he was on the phone with the police, discussing the remains of his stolen car and personal electronics, which his roommate and your mutual college "friend" had stolen and attempted to fence for a surprisingly paltry amount of methamphetamine. You recall it wasn't the car that upset him, so much as the large portion of his doctoral thesis that got trashed in the process. I'll say Jenny can spend a FP in someone's stead, should the need arise. Angel defends vs. Hannah, - - - + (+4), total +2, Angel takes six stress and fills consequence slot 6. Angel defends vs. Franklin, _ + + + (+4), total +7, Angel succeeds with style P/N fail to create advantage. Angel uses its boost from success with style, mentally attacks Hannah for straight-up mental damage. _ + _ _ (+5), plus boost, total +8. Angel physically attacks Franklin, - _ _ + (+3), total +3, weapon 2. Fifth Angel - Aspects: Ponderous, ??? Skills: Angelic Mental Attack +5, Physical Defense +4, Combat +3 Stunts: Inflict Rage, Inflict Fratricide, Leg Whip (Weapon: 2) Stress: [ ][x][ ][ ][ ][ ] Consequences: -2 -
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Jul 9, 2015 04:47
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Angel Attack Covering Fire If it has emotions as we understand them, the Angel is probably perplexed. The thing of meat and metal before it not only fended of a fearsome psychic attack like it was a gentle breeze, but the thing is still attacking. This is not a situation within the behavioral context the Angel can comprehend. Unit-02 is creating some serious OSHA hazards with all those car-sized shell casings it's scattering around. While its physical form is intent on ruining Hannah's day, at the very least, the twins can keep its AT field in the business of providing protection, instead of dismembering Evangelion units. Noah's not having any luck getting a response from Headquaters, though. That's worrying, to say the least. Franklin, meanwhile, is just standing there and taking it, screaming defiant profanity the whole while. The giant shield he carries keeps EVA-01 from harm, and that can-do-gently caress-you attitude is probably giving him a ratings boost in the local markets. Rabah digs around in the guts of EVA-04's computing power. To her dismay, there's nothing built into the Evangelion's control systems for inter-squad networking beyond the comms link. You could talk to someone, maybe threaten them a little... The hardware's not useful either. It's either all part of one big integrated unit stuffed into the back of the control sled or crammed into the walls of the entry plug and welded sh- say, was the black box on this thing always that big? You don't recall the FDR taking up that much space at the bottom of the sled before. In a lot of screen productions, the star sits in front of the camera and makes a lot of noise, while the rest of the cast and crew make the magic happen. So too for giant robot fights, it seems. While Franklin, child of affluence and stardom, flips the bird to a murderous space alien, Dylan takes advantage of the distraction and plasters the thing with VW-sized rifle rounds. This has the not-so-surprising effect of putting the hurt on the Angel, tearing chunks out of the monstrosity. It keens, a noise you all feel in your teeth, even through the Evas. The Angel decides it's had enough of this surprisingly resistant target and goes to make Dylan's day a little worse. The sound intensifies in Dylan's cockpit, and it rushes Unit-03, hoping to get in a beating while the pilot reels from its mental assault. Angel defends vs. Hannah: -, -, +, , +4 = +3, ties PnN create Covering Fire Franklin creates boost Superlative Defense Rabah notices something Angel defends vs. Dylan, , , -, +, +4 = +4 defense. Angel eats four stress. Angel makes a mental attack on Dylan: , , +, -, +5, total +5. Angel makes a physical attack on Dylan: , +, -, +, +3, total + 4, Weapon:2 Fifth Angel - Aspects: Ponderous, ??? Skills: Angelic Mental Attack +5, Physical Defense +4, Combat +3 Stunts: Inflict Rage, Inflict Fratricide, Leg Whip (Weapon: 2) Stress: [ ][x][ ][x][ ] Consequences: -2
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Jul 20, 2015 16:18
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Angel Attack Covering Fire As Dylan reels under the skull-cracking mental barrage, Hannah jumps to his defense. EVA-06 charges the alien menace and latches on, pinning most of its slender limbs to its stalk. It's undignified, but effective. The Angel can't move, and it can't lash out at anyone not in its immediate proximity. Like, all of a sudden, Unit-02. Pax and Noah charge in themselves and jam a sniper rifle up to the Angel's body. The gigantic rifle cracks again and again - the first of the colossal shells skips off the thing's AT Field, but the subsequent shots penetrate, spattering Unit-06 with alien gore. Perhaps on the balance it's a good thing Commander Adams isn't on the comms right now - she'd be shouting at you for gross misuse of doctrine and equipment. Meanwhile, Rabah engages in some inner reflection. A normal flight data recorder is not actually black - it's high-viz orange, so you can find the drat thing. Whatever it is they've bolted onto your cockpit is literally a black box. A big drat black box, almost coffin-sized. The only reason you didn't immediately notice it is that the entry plug's hardware seems built over the thing. And it might well be a black box, in the philosophical sense. You can't tell that it's actually doing anything. There are two sets of cabling going into it. One part's drawing power and data from your flight controls, although it doesn't seem like it's hindering your ability to pilot in any way. The other side sprouts a nest of fine lines, plugged into your control sled seemingly at random. You're practically out of your seat and flipping around the cockpit just to get a look at this thing, it's so deep in the machine's guts. A question bubbles to young Miss Iowa's thoughts. Is she the only one with this thing in her system? That train of thought is disrupted by a sudden digital howl from the comms system. It's enough to drive the pilots to distraction. HQ Jagr takes a second out of his busy schedule of shouting at people to throw a pained look at Dr. Laboe. It seems the colonel did not appreciate your attempts to branch out into new fields of expertise. Angel Overcomes vs. Hannah, 1, Angel is immobilized. It can only physically attack Hannah, and also Dylan if he doesn't retreat.  Dylan is not taken out! He can take that stress as a consequence or he can mark it off in the appropriate box. Remember, your third stress box is worth soaking three shift all by itself!Angel defends vs. P/N: 3, Angel eats 6 stress. It's on its last spindly legs. Frankie's up. Fifth Angel - Aspects: Ponderous, ??? Skills: Angelic Mental Attack +5, Physical Defense +4, Combat +3 Stunts: Inflict Rage, Inflict Fratricide, Leg Whip (Weapon: 2) Stress: [x][x][ ][x][x] Consequences: -2 -x -x
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Jul 26, 2015 03:20
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Angel Attack Covering Fire, There's the Core! Franklin peeks out from behind his giant shield to eyeball the Angel. It's surprisingly difficult to spot the big red weak spot, since the thing is busy trying to wreck Dylan, but in between some splashing and the cluster of appendages - there it is! Tucked into the base of the Angel, pointing down at the bottom of the bay. Again and again, the Angel whips out at Dylan, apparently trying to flay his Eva down to the core. It gets in a savage thrashing before Pax and Noah glide in from off screen to kick EVA-03 in the face. While the siblings' plan does push Dylan out of the reach of the scuttling legs of the invader, his weakened mental state and the Angel's renewed onslaught are enough to push him to the brink. How dare they! They're literally kicking him while he's down! If Unit-03 can just get its hands around their throat, crack the chest armor, get to the plug, yessss Franklin succeeds in creating an Advantage. The good news is that when you create an unopposed advantage, you only need to get a two or greater. Buffs are really important in FATE games. Angel physically attacks Dylan. + + _ _, +3, total of 5 plus Weapon:2. Angel mentally attacks Dylan. - + _ -, +5, total +4. Angel uses Inflict Fratricide. Dylan must overcome +4 or attack P/N. P/N creates Dylan-only advantage Shove in the Right Direction. Dylan is not longer adjacent to the Angel. Everyone else is up. Fifth Angel - Aspects: Ponderous, ??? Skills: Angelic Mental Attack +5, Physical Defense +4, Combat +3 Stunts: Inflict Rage, Inflict Fratricide, Leg Whip (Weapon: 2) Stress: [x][x][ ][x][x] Consequences: -2
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Jul 28, 2015 17:49
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Angel Attack Covering Fire, There's the Core! Rabah straight up superheroes Dylan's mind-controlled aggression. Franklin better watch out - they're gonna put her on the show if this keeps up. It's even more impressive that she can pull off that kind of stunt while paging through a readme. Nothing in here on the big black box, though. Suspiciously nothing, even. Is it possible the NERV staff aren't aware of whatever's riding in your Eva? Unfortunately for you all, it seems like the Angel is feeling equally durable. It strikes out at Hannah's Eva, slapping away the titantic machine's blows like something out of a kung-fu movie. Presumably the alien monster has not actually been taking in Bruce Lee flicks. The comms flick on in your cockpits, voice only. "Pilots, excellent work. You should nearly be done, I believe." HQ Jagr's shouting is audible over the noise of the command center, even without the comms. "Where the hell have you been?" Everyone turns to look, the spectacle of giant machines fighting off a building-sized creature from beyond the stars apparently less interesting. Commander Adams is walking up to Jagr, flanked by two soldiers. Gas masks obscure their faces, and Jenny's never seen that unit patch before. It looks sort of like a checkerboard, if you had to put a name to it. Jagr is apoplectic. A torrent of profanity and threats on Adams' career, honor and even continued physical integrity rushes out of the colonel. She doesn't seem to mind much, as she fishes a sleek smartphone out of her pocket. Amid the screaming, she smoothly turns the little device on and hands it to Jagr. It stops him screaming. Jagr keeps staring at the phone. Adams holds out a hand, and one of the masked soldiers produces an earpiece for her. Her voice comes through on the command channel, clear and level. "Return to your stations. Combat operations are ongoing." Then to the pilots' channel. "Pilots, excellent work. You should nearly be done, I believe." Angel defends vs. Hannah: _ + _ - +4, total +4, Angel shrugs it off. Rabah toughs out Dylan's attack in P/N's place. No damage. Fifth Angel - Aspects: Ponderous, ??? Skills: Angelic Mental Attack +5, Physical Defense +4, Combat +3 Stunts: Inflict Rage, Inflict Fratricide, Leg Whip (Weapon: 2) Stress: [x][x][ ][x][x] Consequences: -2 -x -x There is a post in the recruit thread that requires everyone's attention.
grassy gnoll fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Jul 31, 2015 |
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Jul 31, 2015 18:41
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Still waiting on Franklin and Pax and Noah.
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Aug 4, 2015 02:56
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Yep, that's a dead Angel. Angel Attack The Angel shudders under the onslaught of the first two Evangelions, then grows still. It shudders, just once, then explodes in a cloud of red-brown goop, thoroughly covering all the Evas and leaving a rather grotesque slick along the surface of the harbor. All that's left is the mopping up, which is unfortunately literal in this case. The recovery teams are already on their way as you begin trudging back to your recall points. Comms traffic is pretty light for the end of a mission - you pick up the all-clear, but usually someone in HQ is blabbing at you by now. HQ One of the soldiers moves into your path before you can even reach Jagr. Technically he (?) has his hands on his weapon, but they marched into the place with their rifles at rest, and apart from changing his spot on the floor, he hasn't moved. Which is even weirder. Your job literally requires you to be good at reading body language, and you can't get anything off these guys. No cockiness, no anger, not even that coiling people do before they get ready to move. And that makes these people dangerous. Nobody's ever that in control of how they comport themselves without a hell of a lot of training, the real spooky, secret squirrel kind of training. Jagr's gone from flushed red to pale. "It's alright, Johanna." He hands the phone back to Adams before you can get a good look at it - at this distance all you can make out is a bunch of white-on-black text and a tiny picture, mostly orange. In spite of all of this, the thing that worries you the most is that Adams is almost totally normal. Almost. You notice the little tremble in her fingers when she accepts the phone, the tiny drops of sweat at her temples. Debriefing All the pilots are assembled down by the Eva docks. The recovery crews are heading out, while the maintenence folks are heading in for another long night. There's also a couple uniforms you haven't seen before, black combat gear and some kind of weird patch on their arms. They've got guns, like the security teams, and they don't seem to pay much attention to the pilots. Jagr and Dr. Laboe are there to greet you. The Colonel looks really, really tired. "Pilots," he says. "Excellent work. You all succeeded in repelling an unorthodox enemy with minimal assistance from Command. I hope you'll never have to do it again. You're dismissed. Take a break, you've earned it." What do you do now?
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Aug 5, 2015 02:48
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HQ - Debrief Hannah may not be the most worldly person around, but it's really obvious that your psychologist, the person you're supposed to unconditionally trust and deal with baggage-free, just straight up lied to your face. The clone can't be sure about what, but she knows something and she's making a deliberate attempt to keep you out. Meanwhile, Franklin is supposed to be the worldly one, and that makes it funny when he ends up flat on his face. Literally, though. The soldier of Franklin's choosing doesn't take kindly to that kind of close proximity and slams the young star up against a wall, arm wrenched behind the kid's back to keep him in place. It's quite unpleasant! Frankie's not in a position to see it, but the manhandling soldier looks at one of their counterparts. You don't hear anything pass between them, but it sure looks like they're conversing. Eventually Franklin is turned loose with a firm, impolite shove back away from the soldiers. Pax and Noah lay down some serious slaps against their fellow pilots. And Doctor Laboe. Really not makin' friends with anyone here. Sorry, would have been up earlier but some serious storms took out the internet around here several times tonight.
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Aug 11, 2015 03:17
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HQ The pilots are apparently given permission to go home after their exhausting day. Dylan may or may not be left to deal with his brain problems alone. Jagr crosses his arms at Jenny's question. "We're going to be very polite to our guests," he says. "And be grateful they're here. Don't ask me anything else. Please." Gonna give this another day and we'll move on.
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Aug 12, 2015 21:15
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HQ Jagr makes a face that probably surfaces pretty regularly in the history of the Evangelion program. It's a mixture of awe and disgust. To the colonel's credit, he realizes what he's doing before anybody else can notice. "That program has been cancelled, Doctor. And its records expunged. You can lodge any further protest with Human Resources." Now he looks nervous. He's normally better at controlling the volume of his voice than this.
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Aug 13, 2015 01:51
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Later On Well, at least you're not dead. That's technically a positive outcome to this whole day. Over time, you all disperse and return to your respective homes. For some, that's not so far. Hannah and Rabbah head back to their own parts of Headquarters and find themselves with ample time at hand, enough to research the differences in sporting events or to skulk around as they see fit. Franklin's valet is there waiting, but now he's got more fans at HQ. Every single one of those soldiers turns to watch him with their glassy black masks whenever he walks by from now on. It's a lot less comforting than the attention he's used to. Dylan has a pounding headache, and he has to wait for his brother to come pick him up, and the game's already off the radio by the time Marcus gets there, and if he didn't know better he'd think someone was following him. Great. Killer. Pax and Noah are spared the long, awkward ride home to Jagr's place. A Security car picks them up and drops them off. Jagr doesn't come home for a couple of days. Jenny goes home, to be alone. Next segment is about to start. The UN Fleet is making a stop in Boston, how cool. What have you been up to in the intervening five days?
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Aug 14, 2015 17:22
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Rabah If there's something military life is good at, it's teaching you to spot bullshit. So when the most common response to your question is "What black box?" you're left with the unsettling impression the folks you talk to are being honest. None of the techs you talk to have any idea what you're going on about. You even convince one of them, Murphy, to open the plug sled storage so you can show her what you're talking about - and there's nothing there. You know with utter certainty that you saw something attached to your cockpit rig that wasn't supposed to be there. Now it's gone, and nobody has ever heard of it, seen it, or known a thing about it. There are rumors, of course. Strange trucks appearing in the middle of the night that nobody at the bridge checkpoint saw go past, mysterious figures in suits telling people they weren't there, etc. Actually asking the people who saw these things turns up nothing, though - it appears the tales are just that, the products of the slower part of the boredom/panic spectrum of military life. How the hell does someone install mysterious equipment in the best-guarded, highest-tech chunk of warfighting equipment on the planet? Who even has equipment that can interface with an Evangelion, let alone sneak it in and out like they did. Did they? You did see it, right?
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Aug 15, 2015 17:53
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Pax and Noah You slip out of Jagr's apartment unnoticed by Security Division. They're good, but you had to learn to hide from the best. Once you're a few blocks away, you blend in with the crowd; after Second Impact, a pair of twins each missing an eye just isn't that remarkable anymore. Getting into HQ is trickier, since the access ways are limited by the flooded districts of Boston. You both prove once again that logistics are what makes or breaks an institution and hitch a ride on the midnight ferry to the Bunker Hill Bridge entrance. Without as much staffing as NERV requires, you probably wouldn't be able to get in. You're pilots, after all, and there's always someone nice enough to break security protocol for friendly faces that've "lost" their access cards. After that, things get problematic. Everywhere useful - the EVA pens, maintenance, the command center, the armories, all of it - are guarded by those black-clad goons Adams brought back. And they're really good. Like they know exactly where you'd be coming from. They did kick Franklin around, so pilot privilege isn't going to save you here. Do you feel brave enough to risk getting caught and the physical penalties involved? Or do you want to try and poke around all the uninteresting places they aren't guarding and hope something falls into your lap? Dylan Young's is busy tonight, but for you, their favored son, hometown hero, there's always a booth. You slouch in the vinyl crease. It's noisy, but you can barely hear the furor around you. Annie comes back with your usual order, faster than anybody else in the place gets theirs. "Jesus, kid," she says. You don't think she'll ever stop calling you that, no matter how young she is herself. "What'd they do to you down there?"
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Aug 16, 2015 20:26
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Dylan Annie puts her chin in her hand and her eyes flatten. "The super secret robot police that make little kids fight space aliens might be up to somethin' unethical, huh?" She reaches over across the table and starts fussing with your plate and glass. Her fingers brush yours, briefly, as she looks down at the plastic serving set. "Why don't you just quit? Seriously." Franklin Nothing says "great plan" like an angry celebrity going out and about without their media wrangler! Stumbling through the ritzier parts of the reconstructed Boston highlands, Frankie looks up from his fuming to find himself in a different neighborhood. Never walked this far before, really. It's amazing what being pissed off can do for you. Franklin hears some commotion off in front of him. A group of young men, maybe a couple of years older than him, have temporarily suspended whatever crazy-rear end game they're playing with a stick, a tennis ball and a hoop so they can gawk at him. "Hey, look, it's that dude from the robot show!" "You watch that poo poo? It's for babies, bro." "Shut the gently caress up, Donnie! Hey, hey you! You're that Frank guy from TV, right?" Franklin has a cluster of admirers now, all getting in his way and asking him stupid questions and taking pictures of him. "Dude, it totally is him, he lives around here." "Oh, hey, Frank, do you know any of the real robot pilots?" "I saw that latest episode, they having you do a heel turn? 'cause that was awesome when you tried to wreck that other robot." "Hey, can you get me the number of that chick with the one eye? She's hot." Hannah This place is like home now. Not exactly like, but similar. You don't feel totally alien now. Nobody gives you inquisitive looks when you wander the halls at weird hours, the night shift security knows your name, the commissary staff don't even blink when you ask for your specific dietary requirements anymore. Although there is something odd. The new soldiers, the ones in all black. They don't look at you either. And you're one of the only ones who gets that treatment. They give the same creepy gas-mask stare to the staff, the other pilots, even Colonel Jagr. Not you, though. Hey, a shooting star! Did you make a wish? Pax and Noah The twins split up. Pax tries the ol' HUMINT approach. She walks around the readily-accessible parts of Headquarters, waiting until she's out of sight of the black-clad soldiers and asking any staff or security if they've noticed anything weird. Most of them are happy to talk to one of the famous Evangelion pilots, but unfortunately, they're just as in the dark as you are. Nobody's quite sure what's going on with the new arrivals, and the majority of them aren't even aware of what happened between Jagr and Adams the other day. Noah starts crawling through air ducts and bypassing security equipment. This is surely not a terrible idea. It takes a while for him to get anywhere, on account of the slow business of infiltration. In the course of his travels, he occasionally gets the chance to peek out of the vents and registers. Mostly, things seem normal, albeit with the presence of the commandos. You notice some of them are setting up checkpoints in the hallways, some of them with heavy weapons. They seem to let the staff move unobstructed, although they're staring hard at everyone behind their masks. Noah even manages to get a view of the EVA pens, albeit from way up high in the utility equipment. Looks like the maintenance staff are busy. Pax goes back to their shared infiltration point to wait. Her brother's been gone a long time, and even weird child soldiers get tired eventually. A helpful jolt of adrenaline comes before long, though, as two of the masked soldiers enter the utility room with her. They look at the vent, then at each other, and stay still for a while. One of them eventually breaks their staring contest, and they both leave. Not long after, Noah shimmies out of the vent, his reconnaissance complete. Guards notice: 3
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Aug 18, 2015 15:13
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Rabbah "Looks like you forgot this time," Jamie says. A couple of ticks pass. "You look all distracted. What," she says, imitating the headline guest-star of intergenerational classic Boston Legal. "Is your mind on?" Dylan Annie stands up and looks you in the eyes. She thinks she looks sad. You think she looks like she's about to throw up. "Jesus," she says, then goes back to work.
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Aug 19, 2015 19:58
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:08 |
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Hannah Well, in once sense, you've got your uniqueness cut out for you. On reflection, you're the only one who gets ignored by the soldiers that you've seen, period. Franklin That's got a reaction. The one who wants Pax's phone number is disgusted, while one of the ones shoving his phone in your face is giggling like a hyena. You want to grind his face into the wall. Is shouting all you do? Rabbah "Yah, it shows," Jamie says. She toys with the straw in her drink for a couple seconds. "Hey," she says. "You were all Captain America before, right? Yes sir, no sir, sir sir. How come this gets you?"
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Aug 22, 2015 03:32
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