Rifts Adventure IC

[Silanon]

Nothing, no lesson or prior experience, could have quite prepared her for this: A storm of information, battering down on her mind, too much for the human intellect to comprehend. Places, never seen by mankind; either threatened, or overrun by the machines. Numbers too large to truly understand their meaning. Probabilities too low to take into consideration, unless you have a mind meant to rule entire worlds. And within that mess, a beating pulse, the dying breaths of a fortress around them. Still a few moments left, but how many, really? For all she knows, the explosion might very well flatten the entire surrounding as well. Once lost, there is no need to leave anything here intact, from their calculating point of view; there's more of them out there, but not their leader. Better to make sure that nothing survives, from their perspective - most likely.

Won't come to that. Two possible paths, not much time to consider. None, to be precise, as every passing second might be the difference between success and death, for either choice. There's the option to run, as quickly as possible, get out of here while they still can. Leaving all that wisdom behind - disregard knowledge that might save lives, further down the road. Warnings can be delivered once you know where to go - portals can be opened once you know where you're headed. And there's the option to stay, deactivate the bomb, see what knowledge can be salvaged after that. No middle ground, between those options. She does not trust the momentary peace, and a glimpse shows how much harm the wrong person in this place could cause. She might be that person for all she knows; but she won't, as long as the others watch. Sending them away, stay here on her own; that might just be this world's end, if there's something hidden that can overwhelm her, still.

And thus, she stays, without giving a warning. Hunting down the numbers' regular beats, all the way to the danger's roots the best she can, searching for a way to stop the explosion. Taking shortcuts through the maze of information where she can, avoiding obstacles. A mental race against time, and death.

Of course, mind and body are still connected. The fingers of the hand, reaching out towards Snowfall, slowly clench into a fist. That and the expression of grim determination are the only signs of the danger, for now.

 

[Sherwood]

Silanon go ahead and give me four Computer Hacking rolls, and if you wish, you can add in a bonus point to each roll.

 

[Sherwood]

Purr and D. Rex You can both give me a Perception roll to see if you can spot the distress that Shaona is feeling, since you two are both watching her carefully.

 

[D. Rex]

Perception: 20

 

[Silanon]

Well then - the dice shall decide our fate. I'll use four bonus points, please, I usually forget to use them anyway - and if not now, when would I use them?

The math - using Telemechanic Mental Operation gives -5% on all skills, so I effectively have hacking 56%. I'll substract the values for the bonus dice (hacking + bonus is the same as roll - bonus), so that means 55%, 15%, 23%, 0% - in other words 4 successes, unless there are further modifiers. Or I screwed up my math.

 

[Sherwood]

Perhaps the decision not to send up the alarm was a good one, because the self destruct command is paused when the timer hits thirty six seconds to go. Shaona can see that there are multiple triggers for the self destruct, so if and when someone starts to try and access information in the system, it could set off the countdown once more. But for now, the danger has passed.

Shaona can tell from her time inside the system that this is not just a building, but a whole mobile fortress, capable of rising up and walking where it needs to go! It has manufacturing facilities capable of repairing mecha (assuming that the repair systems have the needed spare parts and is programmed to work on the alien designs), and can carry hundreds of troops. But to make the fortress fully livable for humans, it will need some sizable retrofitting. Also, it will require a psionic to be able to control the place; there are no controls to operate the doors, elevators or any of the computers.

Both Daisy and Snowfall can see and sense the level of tensions in Shaona start to fade. Whatever it was that had her all worked up seems to be fading away.

 

[Purr]

Snowfall's tiny paws went and stayed in Shaona's hand if she wanted it. His eyes closed, his Japanese-accented voice serene, Snowfall spoke to the dragon and Daisy in Miss Terra's party.* "Something spooked Shaona. Something big. Maybe another Rift or something, I don't know. But," he grinned in a clever canine way that made him look friendly, but rather inhuman, "she's slowly getting a handle on this. She's... yep! Shaona is O.K. again."

The white-furred fox opened his eyes briefly and appeared relieved. "I don't know what just happened in there, but I think she just pulled off something good. Really good. I don't know why, but I feel proud of her."

*In fox form, Snowfall can be understood by spirits, animals, creatures of magic, and the like.

 

[D. Rex]

Purr Is a dog boy considered an animal given they are genetically engineered dogs?

 

[Psychie]

Not knowing about the drama of Shaona's efforts to save them, Terra will hit the radio and call out to those outside the fortress. "This is Terra. We have been successful in taking down the Overlord, and are now in the last stages of clean-up in here. No casualties on our side! Outstanding work, everyone! Many thanks from me to all that helped out here."

 

[Silanon]

Shaona, techno-wizard

The danger - gone, at least for the moment. What remains is impressive, in lack of a better word. It's mind-boggling, incredible, incomprehensible. Knowledge too vast to understand, and countless opportunities to consider. Perhaps hidden behind other barriers, countdowns, obstacles, for now. Dangerous paths to follow, surely; such is the nature of progress, and this place offers ample chances to understand so much more. The mechanoids, the unknown foes, first - then all they know themselves. There'll be limits to what her creative mind can dream of - but for now, the enthusiasm outweighs any rational reservations. And it's not just the hope for some sudden insight into futuristic tech; it's useful right from the getgo, too!

"The fricking thing can move", Shaona blurts out, before even realizing much of her surrounding - too focused on stopping an explosion, before, then too excited to care for what's happening around her, until now. There's something fluffy, partially leathery and warm in her hand. Paws of the one who watched over her. She must've squeezed them before, now her grip relaxes. She does not pull the hand back, instead offering a smile somewhere between excitement and recklessness. The grin you show shortly before walking away with an entire fortress, only that the situation forbids that, for now.

"I mean, it's got its flaws, and you need psionics, and you guys ruined the outer hull, and a few doors; but it can even repair stuff on its own, once we figure out the details." A pause as the current situation demands at least some attention. "Think our allies would let us get away with this one? I mean, they're not even officially here, and they could send an observer to keep an eye on our movements, or something; make sure that we aren't up to some mischief that'd hurt Quebec itself."

Another pause. "There's also more mechanoids out there, they just weren't at home when we came. And they've got their eyes on damn many worlds that we're not even aware of. Only got a small glimpse, would have to dive deeper into the data, and there's some alarm that might blow up the entire place. Stopped once, should stop again if one's careful, I think, but it might not be that easy. But I mean - a fricking walking fortress, and we just got our hands on it, and this is just... I don't even know. Expected some encrypted database, and then I suddenly get a glimpse, and some countdown starts, and the thing is mobile... this is more than I expected. The things one could learn, just by studying it. The possibilities, once we make a few adjustments. Damn, this is something."

A look around. "Everyone's fine, right? Anything happened in the meantime? I didn't do something stupid, did I? Was gone, for a while, had to get rid of the alarm. Didn't even notice these." She raises the hand with the paws just slightly, enough for a gesture, but too little to shake them off. "Thank you for watching. I probably sound like a madwoman, right? Should shout something like 'this place shall walk to see the foes' predestined end', or something like that. But it's true - the fortress can leave this area behind. Move somewhere where we need it, potentially. Still, should have thrown my staff away, too, for safety - didn't think. Sorry." A grin. "A goddamn walking fortress."

 

[Sherwood]

Over the course of the next hour, many of the forces that have been gathered to fight the Mechanoids go through the fortress to make sure that there are no other foes hiding inside, while others of the troops are outside gathering up what salvage that can be found from the rubble of the destroyed mecha. Thanks to the summoned simulacrums of the Atlanteans, the few hidden enemies inside are quickly eliminated.

Outside, the Glitter Boys are standing guard as their air transports come flying in to gather them up. As a part of their payment for services rendered, they are gathering up several sets of the weapons that were left by the Mechanoid forces for them to add to their arsenal and to be able to reverse engineer back in Free Quebec.

With Brazamal and Gradicus on the hunt for the other dragon that has run away, Olsen is now acting as the man in charge of gathering up the errant members of the assault team to make plans for the future. The Ley Line Walker approaches each of you inside, looking around at the mess inside the main chamber. He asks about the fighting inside, going over the details with everybody, listening intently as you go over your reports.

"Well done, everybody! As long as everyone is here, perhaps we can try and come up with some ideas on just what we are going to do with this mobile base. It is definitely not something that I want lying around for anyone to just gather up and use, especially the Coalition. Thoughts?"

 

[Silanon]

"Depends." Leaning back against the chamber's wall, the Overlord's cable just within reach, the greenhair eyes the others. "You ask me, we need to learn anything we can about the mechanoids - if they return, they'll be much better prepared for heavy resistance, like today. So whatever happens, the fortress needs to be safe until we understand everything we need. Means staying as far away from the coalition as possible." A short moment of consideration. "Also means avoiding the other side of the conflict, right? The moment some of my kind begin to search this place for something to abuse in their struggles, the coalition might learn about it; and that's not even taking the risks of over-ambitious people searching this place into account." Her face shows that she doesn't like that part of her conclusion, herself. "So you ask me, noone learns about it short-term. We bring it to some other place, away from civilisation and conflict, where even our allies from Quebec can't relocate it; then we try to learn all there is to know, get prepared. See if there's tech we can understand and use, and if there's coordinates to worlds that need a forewarning. Then go from there." A shrug. "So hide it, learn, stay away from dangers. Put a name on it that people respect, mostly." Her eyes search for Terra. "Alvana, maybe."

 

[D. Rex]

"Its not my decision. I am just here on a job. What you all do with it is your business." Daisy stated.

"But from my experience, you should well enjoy the spoils of war. And there is few things more satisfying than taking a weapon from one enemy to use against another."

"Most folk use convoys and the like. Mobile bases are few and far between. The mercenary companies I was in would have killed for such a prize."

 

[Psychie]

Terra thinks for a moment, then says, "Well, we have a sizable group here that, once the mages recover their spent energies, can defend the base well enough for now. I am wondering, is it possible for us to use the Ley Line Nexus here to our benefit? Say, shunt the fortress through a rift to a locale of our choosing, and then bring it back when we are ready to tap into its resources and information?" She looks over at Snowfall and the other members of her Clan. "I don't know much about dimensional travels, but we have many here with more knowledge than I have. Is what I am suggesting possible?"

 

[Sherwood]

Olsen nods slowly, obviously deep in thought. He finally says, "Yes, it is possible to move the fortress through a Rift. Obviously, since it came thorough one to get here. By pooling our magic energies, we can make it happen. We will have to sit here for at least a day for the mages to be able to replenish the PPE that was spent getting everyone protected for the battle we just had." He turns to address the group of Atlanteans as they approach to listen in to the conversation.

"First, let me thank you for your timely arrival and your aid in stopping this threat."

The leader of the five nods. "You are welcome. We were not much, but every little bit counts, right? I am Arlic of the Draco Amicus Clan, and these are my brothers Hans, Duncan, Ren, and Nordic." They nod and smile as Arlic introduces them. Arlic then continues, "I understand that you wish to try and open a controlled Rift to move this place away from here. No small task to accomplish, but it can be done. It will take a lot of magic power to do it, but with all the spellcasters here, that need is covered. We can do this. I would just need to know where you want this beast."

Olsen lets out a relieved sigh. "Excellent, and thank you again. I will go and let the others know what the plan is, and to hurry up with their work of trying to salvage the remains of the fallen Mechanoids and to prepare for the spell. It is probably a good thing that the Glitter Boys are leaving to return to their city; no need to advertise what we are planning on doing here, right? Well, settle in and relax for a time; tomorrow will be a busy day."

With that, the Ley Line Walker heads out the entrance to the main inner chamber.

Looking around, you can clearly see that the fortress is easily large enough to fit everyone inside without any danger of crowding up with lots of room to spare. It also sounds like the plan is to try and move the fortress the next day. What are you going to be doing in the meantime? Explore the fortress, go and see what salvage can be found, or something else entirely?

Psychie Silanon D. Rex Purr Rykon

Spoiler

Just to let you guys know, I just hit 38,000 posts with this one. I have no life.

 

[Psychie]

While things are nice and quiet for the moment, Terra will have her two Earth Thunderers pump some of their PPE into the Starfire Pulse Cannons to recharge their batteries and get them back to full. In the meantime, she will spend some time with the members of her Clan that are there, as it has been some time since she has seen anyone from home.

 

[Purr]

Snowfall the Kitsune
The Foxiest Messenger of Inari!​

Spoiler: Combat Bonuses

Perception +8
Initiative +5 (+9 when using W.P. Quick Draw)
Attacks per Round: 6
Strike +12
Damage +16
Parry +14
Dodge +19 (+22 in Fox form)
Roll +17
Maintain Balance +10
Save vs. Magic +10
Save vs. Pain +14
Horror Factor Saving Throws +4

Damage by Weapon Type
See Character Sheet.

Life was good!

Snowfall, his human hands behind his back, grinned widely at Terra conversing with her clanmates. Clanmates were special family, love without a blood-bond, with every reason to cherish them. The little messenger stood away from them wanting not to interfere as what he viewed was a blessed moment.

Transforming himself into his small, furry fox form, he distanced himself and prepared himself to meditate, for much had happened very recently and she wanted his spirit to be as balanced as possible given all that had happened.

Once he found a nice spot, he reverted to human form and sat down on the floor with his legs stretched out before him. With his back straight, he began to breathe deeply and slowly, nourishing himself with the air around him. His brown eyes closed. He focused on his karumi-jutsu, and in doing so reduced his body weight to less than 15 pounds.

"Hup!"

Using his kitsune prowess and supernatural strength which could lift hundreds and hundreds of pounds, he lifted his body off the ground and held himself off the floor, suspended in mid-air by only his index fingers. There he stayed. He smiled, meditating peacefully about the battle, exploring the fortress, and his dear goal of attaining the fourth kitsune form (the anthropomorphic fox) when a disturbance piqued his attention.

It was Daisy, the dog-bitch warrior who had bravely and effectively piloted the Glitter Boy power armor. Something seemed to be off about her. He could not tell, so he did the one thing he felt every healer should do - he asked her.

"Hey, Daisy? You O.K. in there? You look a little rocky."

Image credit: Pinterest.pt )

STATUS

Location: The Mechanoid Main Fortress
Statblock: Self-M.D.C. (228/228) Self-P.P.E. (226/278). Power Matrix (--/60 P.P.E.) . Effects Active: Blazing Comet (Mach 5 for 4.5 [6]hours. 100/120 M.D.). Invulnerability (250/450 M.D. for 35/50 [30]minutes).

 

[D. Rex]

All this tall of magic and rifts... Daisy was not a fan. She would retreat and let them do whatever it was they were going to do. It was bad enough they were on a ley line... but now it was getting ridiculous. The sooner they left. The better.

She would find herself the closest thing she could find that resemble a hangar or workshop. Figuring she could try to do some aftercare in her GB.

With a hiss, the hermetic seal of the glitter boy was broken. The small mechanized suit opened... and out popped the dog boy girl. A mutant hound of obvious lupine ancestors and unmistakably female assets.

Thick fur of reddish brown and a long shaggy mane, most of it matted from her time in the suit. But she didnt mind that much. Her attire was much less professional than what would be expected of those soldiers glitterboy troop that left. Looked much more like biker punk rock sort of getup grungy mercs might use.

That is of course sidelined by the fact that a dog boy was piloting a Glitter Boy.




Despite being in the hangar... she really didnt feel like working. Being here for as long as she was starting to get to her and she was already feeling a migraine coming on from the sensory overload. It wasnt fun.

Searching through her bags for some headache medicine, she heard the voice of the fox man address her. Snowfall, if she recalled correctly this time.

"Hmm? Oh. I'm not a fan of all this magic and ley line stuff." She said with a grimace. "The sooner we are out of here the better. It's starting to feel like I'm being waterboarded with bleach."

 

[Silanon]

The fortress - a mystery in itself, full of unknown tech to find and study. And yet, were humans infatigable creatures, the greenhair would barely move an inch. Machinery, mechanoid scrap, or whatever else there might be found within its corridors and chambers; those are mostly things that others might be able to see, and point out to her if they so choose. The mechanoids' data base, however - thus far, there's only one who took a glimpse, and knows to avoid the very first pitfalls. Its secrets call her, relentlessly, wish to reveal themselves to her; but there's only so much a living mind can handle, and it's been a tiring day of fighting. Plus, it's the kind of task where you better make damn sure you're at the peak of your concentration, since every mistake might mean the explosive end of the journey.

So she waits. Stays for two hours right where she is, twirling around her knife in random patterns while her thoughts are far away, and yet solely focused on the task ahead. Trying to comprehend what she saw - trying to prepare for what she'll see. Then, she begins wandering the corridors, mostly at random, following her instincts; trying to see what's there to see, get a general idea of the layout. Sometimes pausing to examine a particular detail, sometimes hurrying forward in search of something more - until at last, she finds herself someone to watch her back once more while she dives back into the mechanoids' knowledge. Perhaps the dragon, perhaps the kitsune - maybe Olsen, whoever might be available. Just someone to stop her if things go horribly wrong. She does that thrice, over the course of the day: At first to look for potential dangers, defensive mechanisms and the like - make sure noone is in danger by accident, and perhaps understand where dangerous cargo might be stored away. Secondly, she tries to learn about the controls, since the travel might require those in time; thirdly, she'll look for blueprints and any other glimpse at the mechanoids' superior tech - mostly a personal study, for now, a curious investigation if there is something that might be of use.

In-between and after that: Some rest, but mostly more exploring - see if she can find things she might have noticed in the database. Perhaps an uncommon way to celebrate a victory like this one; but few would choose a hangover over unknown secrets, in hindsight. That doesn't mean she's not open for approaches by the others - just that, perhaps more than some of the others, she has a personal mission to accomplish, now that there's so much to see, salvage, and learn.

Spoiler: In short

I actually don't have meditate - could've sworn I had it, but apparently not. So I'll spend 36 ISP in total, that requires 12 hours. Any more time I'm given, I'll replenish some ISP for the tasks ahead. Just let me know how much time we actally have so I can do the numbers.

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: Help from a post from the past

I wanted to remember what Snowfall had learned about Daisy (including what Sherwood had approved).

I found it!

(Re)armed with this knowledge, I am basing this post on our conversation back in late, late 2019. =)

*Thump!*

Shocked out of his concentration, Snowfall's butt and legs hit the floor. The moment Daisy came out of her Glitter Boy, she had revealed herself for what she was and while Snowfall knew from his earlier examinations, he realized it was one thing to have knowledge of a thing but sometimes quite another to see it firsthand. Despite Snowfall's vast experiences over the centuries, some things still managed to surprise him. Things like this.

The first thought he had was, "Wolf spirit!" This thought was accompanied by memories and legends he grew up with over half a millenia ago and were thus well-ingrained - Eastern spirit wolves often preyed upon Eastern spirit foxes (kitsune included). But quickly, rationality and facts descended to calm his emotions. Daisy was a rogue Coalition Dog Boy and one who used magic, too. She was not only not a wolf spirit, but so far, an ally of Terra's and so far, of his.

At the moment, she was also a person in need. Dog Boys and Bitches were sensitive to magic. The very places where spirits like Snowfall thrived probably caused the Coalition-made canines discomfort like now. After all, this was no simple ley line, but a nexus point where two great lines converged. The recent rift activity was probably driving her psychic senses haywire, hence the headache and this following migraine.

Snowfall stood up and brushed himself off. Old instinctive habits were not easy to control, even at his age! The universe had proven once again that it had much to teach him!

Daisy was in serious discomfort and Snowfall could erase her troubles. That was what mattered now to the kitsune. In the blink of an eye, he was once again a fox - a small, cuddly fox with all-white fur and a happy little trot that carried him closer to Daisy. Yet as he neared, he realized that the positive-minded adventurer could probably use some more of that positivity from a form she was created to respect - human!

In a flash of an instant, Snowfall became human again - this time as the same handsome and charming human he seemed to be some 90 years old! Great, brown wrinkled skin adorned his smiling face. thin and harmless-looking, he wore beautiful red and brown robes of a Japanese gentleman. His squinted eyes gleamed as he doddered with a silly combination of clumsiness and grace. He laughed to himself and that laughter was meant to be contagious. This was a form he used to lighten moods among humans, especially young ones. Snowfall hoped his little act would provide Daisy some distraction from her pain.

"Eh?" he cupped his ear to Daisy, "what's that? All this rifty stuff getting to you, young lady?" He peered at her snout. "Eh heh hee, I think I see the problem! It's right here!" He pointed at one of her whiskers. "May I get rid of this nuisance for you? You'll feel much better! Eee hee hee!"

 

[Sherwood]

D. Rex A quick bump for you to talk with Snowfall if you want before I move the story forward.

 

[Sherwood]

After a long day, it is now time to settle in and get some rest. The mages are in need of being able to replenish their energies, and so the infantrymen split up the need to keep watch while everyone else meditates and recovers. The members of Terra's Clan also spend the night with you, but they tell you that in the morning, they will be returning home through the Rift, with their work here done.

Come morning, everyone is now feeling much better after having gotten some rest. Everyone is now back to full strength in ISP and PPE and are ready for the day.

The spell to open the Rift is a relatively simple one, it will just take a bit of effort on the part of the wizards to make it happen. First, the five Atlantians make their farewells to everyone, promising that they will forward the best wishes of Terra to her family.

Next will be the ritual to open the portal to get the fortress to Dweomer. Olsen take the lead in this, putting people to work to prep the area for the spell. He goes to Shaona and asks her to please be ready to use her telemechanics to 'steer' the fortress into and through the portal. Everyone else is setting themselves up inside the fortress, ready for the ritual.

What is everyone doing during all this time? Where will you be during this spell?

Rykon Purr Psychie D. Rex Silanon

 

[Sherwood]

Purr

As others rest, the curious fox spirit begins to feel the urge to explore the fortress. Quickly you discover that the doors do not have any controls to be able to open them, so any exploring you do must be in your intangible form until such time as you can get past the doorways. You find that much of the level you are on is occupied with hangar space and vehicle repair facilities. Upper levels have many odd alcoves that would appear to be very much in line with the regeneration coves that the Borg use on Star Trek the Next Generation. It seems that there are no other 'crew quarters' to be found.

You do spot various weapon caches and armories in the place, enough to be able to outfit a great many vehicles.

On the highest level of the place you find more hangar space, but these slots are for the various flying vehicles that were a part of the arsenal of the place. For the rest of the place, there is a maze of odd machinery that is incomprehensible to you. It could take a team of engineers years to be able to reach the bottom of the amazing things hidden away in here.


For the rest of the night, little happens, giving all of you enough time to get some much needed rest.

 

[Psychie]

In the morning, Terra rolls out of the hammock that she has rigged up between Baby and Junior. She stretches, feeling her back creak and pop, then she slips her lightweight armor back on. Moving quickly to stow the hammock again, she then goes over her three Automations to check that they are indeed fully repaired from the damage that they took the day before. Terra then sets down to do some basic maintenance on her gear and weapons, making sure that everything is in top working order.

Now that is all done, she goes looking for Olsen to see how the prep work for the ritual spell to get them all back to Dweomer.

 

[Sherwood]

Terra is able to find Olsen outside, taking charge of the group of Ley Line Walkers that had traveled here with him, getting things set up for the spell to open the rift once more and direct it back to Dweomer. "Ah! Good morning, Ms. Terra. I hope you have rested well? We are nearly done with making the ritual circle, and will begin to cast the spell within the hour, assuming that all are prepared inside. Since this place seems to be only able to be controlled with psionic powers, it will fall upon Shaona to steer the fortress into the rift while the spell is being cast."

He looks around at the work being done, then lets out a sigh. "I wish that Brazamal was here, but I understand his need to take on that other dragon and keep it from bringing in more of these Mechanoid invaders from their home dimension. It was just sheer chance that we were able to assemble such a powerful force fast enough to put a stop to their evil. Well, if wishes were horses, all beggars would ride. In the meantime, I would like you, Snowfall, Zephiron, and Daisy to stay inside the fortress with Shaona to protect her while she guides the fortress. I will probably be in with you while that is all going on to be able to establish contact with the Dweomer Defense Forces to keep them from going nuts and attacking us as we exit the rift in the Magic Zone. Do you have any questions for me before we get started?"