Secret of the Mines of Oor (Mollisol and Zaxs)

[Quincunx]

In the center of the canyons of the Split Stone Sea lies a small crater bisected by a clear river and pockmarked by holes. Scattered cabins lie all over - not wood, but stone with heavy plating to keep out the elements, and the ones closest to the holes are most covered in plating. A large leg made of stone stands near the river, and a bit more erosion might cause it to fall in.


The largest and most heavily plated house is raised up on steel beams over several holes on both sides of the river. It resembles a metallic head on suspension bridge shoulders, looking down from over the town with its plastic window eyes. This house belongs to Midoli and Kou Xing, and Midoli’s mother Rin Xing.


Rin owns the plots of land the mines are on - specifically, land over veins of luminescent red crystal, the only mine of its kind - and many, many years ago, she manned the energy drills that bored into the earth. Now, those drills are deep in the ground as people dig with their hand tools to carve the caves just right.


It’s been rumored for a long time that the mine is in debt, but nobody outside the Xing Mining Company has been down there to see how many crystals it’s coughed up. Rin, Midoli, and Kou dodge the question whenever asked, and turn the question over to their daughter, an ivory-haired four-year-old named Noli.




"We're not talking money, but we are getting old," poses Midoli one day. "Who will protect this place when we're not around?"

"I will," says Noli, and she watches the sun set.
​

 

[Quincunx]

@Zaxs

 

[Zaxs]

The era being 40XX



A little island just west of the mines, known as Nozim. It's a place where not many people come to, but it is built as if it were beyond humanity. Technology always being created and many new advancements are made every month. A small continent with grass and greens in the center, as human kind is always expand along the outer rim in order to keep a balance between the animals that live there and the humans who inhabit it.


But that changed as machines began to grow and people started to create artificial intelligence that made robots almost human. This made the city begin to grow rapidly with their new found friends that were born within a day, but machines began to expand what the humans tried to keep lush and green and the whole island was a mess of bolts, oil, and polluted air. it made it hard for the humans to stay, but they did to try and save what was left of their island. Soon after that, the machines took over and more and more humans began to die, until it was a continent for robots, made by robots.


That is except for the rebel force that looks to drive them away. This force is small and has very little to work with, but gradually they begin to stop advancements in robots military, technology, and evolution all together. One of the founders named Shihanna Emil, had recently carried out her mission of assassinating one of the military generals from Nozim and needed a place to hide before they can send out a party to look for her. She headed to the island east of her home, where the rumored mines where held.


Reaching the island after having to row for a few hours she rests along the shore, answering her phone and calling the organizer of her missions. Her mask getting in the way, she lifts it up enough to uncover her mouth and her breathing becomes slow and raspy. "H-hey is this Katrina?....Yeah..I just finished..the mission. I can't breath now..so I will...message you the report...I am going to...stay here a few days." She continues her conversation speaking as she gasps for air in a way, before she hangs up and puts her mask back on.




"Okay then. Now to look for some shelter and explore." She set out for a small hill and once reaching the top she gazed out to see a crater that seemed to house people, she looked into her scope and scouted out for any people or machines.
​

 

[Quincunx]

It had been twenty-two years since Noli answered that question, and she wasn't about to go back on it now. Greeting the dark, concrete room with only a few shelves and a counter with a mirror, she stripped down to her black underwear and slipped into her rubbery black environmental suit, the hexagram pattern on the legs straightening as she pulled and zipped up the suit. She took her plating off of the shelf - 01, the first suit of its kind to guard the Xing Mines - and clicked it into place all over her body. She stepped into her hard plastic boots.

She looked in the mirror for the final step, and promised herself she would get over this one day. With a cringe, she took out the reddish marble of a glass eye from her socket, and took one final contraption from the shelf under the counter: a curved trapezoid of black plastic, with a lensed apparatus that would glow when the battery power was turned on. She held it in front of her face for a bit, staring at it, almost through it to the copy in the mirror. Finally, Noli pushed the apparatus into her empty eye socket, watching it go in. She flicked the switch to turn the invisible light sensory modus on, and made it out of the room with her real eye closed. She smiled and opened her eye again when she opened the door.

It was time to go.

Up the stairs and out another door led to the suspension-bridge shoulders over the mines and below her house. The view over town was incredible - people ambled like ants in and out of the mines, and houses stood like steel toyboxes. Someone was walking to the river. Two more people were behind a house, their paths converging, until they crossed, and... oh! Did she really need to see that? She glanced up to the sky, cloudless and blue, before heading down the shoulder to the mines. But something caught her eye on one of the peaks that surrounded the crater of Oor. When she zoomed in on the anomalous shadow, she noticed... a girl. With a gas mask.

And what was in that holster?

She sprinted down the shoulder, which led to a large ladder that extended through the hole and far above the mine, and clambered to the top, the heels of her mechanically-modified boots curling around the top rung and allowing her to stand on top. Her vantage point didn't exactly have cover, besides her ability to flip down and dodge smaller projectiles, but damn if it wasn't intimidating. She readied her light guns, not training them on the girl, but raising them enough that she could if necessary.

"Hey!" she called, waving her gun. "Our visitors usually come inside and introduce themselves!"
​

 

[Zaxs]

She stood on top the peek of the crater that held the town, the wind blowing and the sun shining down on top of her with a bit of blistering heat. The river besides her falling to create a small waterfall, and the rocky peak pocked her a bit as she was laid down.

Looking at the many different people in this small little town, everyone wandering around without a care in the world. It seemed peaceful and some other people were getting a little to friendly...moving on. Even the few people that were working on this mine, seemed to be happy with their lives. Shihanna aimed her gun at the heads of the town people and pretend to shoot, making noises like "Boom" and "Choo" Before giggling and get back onto her scouting.

She then sets her sights on a peculiar women, white hair and what appears to be a weird modification to her eye. Wearing a skin type suit with chest and leg armor, that seems light weight and easy to move in. But before long, the girl spotted her. She followed her as she climbed to the nearest spot that gave her a point to speak to Shihanna. She moved her sights from her scope and looked at the woman with the peculiar armor and eye modification.

She paused and waited for a moment to see if the woman was actually talking to her. She shouted back as clearly as she could, "Well I am not really a visitor, and I don't plan to introduce myself." She nonchalantly began to put away her gun in her holster and clean herself off, swatting every leaf off of her body as she stood up from the ground. She looked back at the woman and without any warning or sign, took off like a bullet up the river and to the lake that the water seemed to be coming from. Man she was fast! "Maybe I will see you around one eye!" She giggled and ran.
​

 

[Quincunx]

The woman yelled something through her gas mask - it was hard to hear, but Noli caught the words "one eye". She could feel her eye narrowing as she gritted her teeth and growled. A split second later, she realized the danger her town was in, ran down the ladder with her curled feet, and ran shouting as loudly as she could across the suspension shoulders. "Sniper! Get inside! Get inside!"




Once she'd determined that all of Oor had heard her message, she focused on chasing down the threat. Zooming in above the peaks, she could barely see the top of the woman's head, and that disappeared quickly too. A gunwoman and a sprinter? What the hell kind of background did this lady have? Noli didn't have time to think about that as she dropped off the shoulder and bounced down to the ground, hoping to land on her feet.


Overcome Obstacle. Skill: Damage Absorption (+2)


Opposition: passive (3 on the ladder)

[dice]23890[/dice]

0 + 0 +


Dice roll: +2


Total: 4 > 3


Success!




There was a loud thud as Noli's feet hit the ground, and she wondered for a second if she was going to shatter her legs. As expected, her shields flickered on green, and absorbed the damage from her fall. She grinned. It always made her feel like a superhero when that happened.

She bounced on her toes, and continued her pursuit, taking one of the less-traveled trails that led to the rim of the crater.​

 

[Zaxs]

Shihanna sprinted up along the side of the river, making sure not to trip and fall after getting spotted so easily, but that woman had some kind of modification to spot a sniper like herself. Shihanna thought she might get away, but soon heard the woman scream, "Sniper! Get Inside! Get Inside!" Shihanna giggles that she made someone worry just for making gun sounds.

She did not expect to hear a huge thud and thought she might be in some kind of pursuit. She looked around for some high ground and spotted a structure of rocks almost like tower that was about to collapse. She ran to it and leaped forward to try and climb the structure.

Overcome Obstacle. Skill: Stamina (+2)


Opposition: passive (3 on the ladder)

[dice]23894[/dice]

Dice roll: +4


Total: 6 > 3


Critical Success!




She grabbed the edges of the rock structure and scurried up along it until she reached the top with a nice vantage point. She took out her rifle and looked into her lens, scoping out to see if there was any sign of that woman from earlier.

Shihanna could see the woman just about a mile behind her, and took her aim.​

 

[Quincunx]

Noli noticed a scope glinting in the light on top of what looked like an unstable pile of rocks, and decided it was time to get a little dangerous herself. She drew her two old-school pistols, found a route on the crater wall, and ran up the side at an angle that would provide her decent cover should the woman get aggressive. She noticed the woman on top of the rocks, and the dark clouds behind her. Once she'd surpassed the lip of the crater, she made a zigzagging beeline towards the sniper. "I'll take care of you!"


Situation aspects:

• It's Precarious (Noli can use her Hardcore Parkour stunt), considering that one person is on the edge of a crater, and the other is on top of a pile of rocks.
  
• The Storm Rolling In will obstruct visibility if the conflict goes on for more than 4 turns.
  
• Shihanna is on top of a Pile of Rocks that can be knocked over, hidden behind, used as a weapon, etc.
  

Turn Order

• Shihanna goes first.
  

(OOC Notes:

• Nate, please read the section on Exchanges starting on page 167. I will be doing that as well. Thanks.)
  

 

[Zaxs]

Shihanna giggled as she thought it was foolish for the girl to run straight at her without any plan or cover in the way, besides the tall structure, there was only cacti in the way of her and the woman. She readied her shot, and took aim. The rifle charged and began to glow a bright blue and white from the barrel. "Well I hope that eye can see a shot at 1500 meters a second. Hope I don't hurt that pretty little face you got there!" Shihanna shouted at her enemy. A loud "Boom" was heard as the bullet flew towards the woman.

Attack. Skill sniping (+4)


Opposition PvP (3)

[dice]23899[/dice]

Dice roll: 0


Total: +4


Success!
​

 

[Quincunx]

Did that girl think she was just running without cover? "I doubt you have a pretty face under that mask, you coward," she growled as she dove and rolled to shoot up at the sniper. She couldn't dodge whatever was coming out of that rifle, but she could certainly absorb it.


Defense (Damage Absorption +2)


Opposition PvP (4)
​

[dice]23900[/dice]

Dice: +1


Total: 3 < 4


Failure!

Noli saw blood in her eye, and felt like part of her forehead had been shorn off and replaced with ice. She felt a sluggishness, something slowing her down, as well as a sharp, sharp pain.

Noli took a hit of 1 shift, and crosses off the "1" Physical stress box.


Noli takes the Aspect "Iced", making speed-based actions require a Compel.

Oh, that little witch was going to pay. Grasping the rim of the crater with her clinging fingers, she pushed body into the air and gave a swift kick to the pile of stones.




Overcome Obstacle (Acrobatics +4) (Hardcore Parkour +1)


Opposition PvP
​

[dice]23902[/dice]

Dice: -1


Total: 4
​

 

[Zaxs]

The kick hit the structure and Shihanna began to feel the rock tower begin to shake down from under her, she stood up and was ready to get off if necessary.

Defense (Stamina +2)


Opposition PvP

[dice]23905[/dice]

Dice roll: -1


Total: 1 < 4


Failure!




Shihanna fell from the tower as it toppled over, she was able to project one of her mirrors from underneath her and had a bad fall onto it. Making her unable to try and take a shot at the woman as she tried to recover.

Attack (Accuracy +3)


Oppostion PvP

[dice]23907[/dice]

Dice roll: +2


Total: 5




Shihanna rolled over back onto her stomach and lined another shot, trying to maybe hit her enemy and force her to surrender or at least get hurt enough to not be able to fight. She charged her shot a little and she shot from her mirror platform. Another loud "Boom" can be heard, as her mirror disappeared and she fell and landed softly.​

 

[Quincunx]

Noli whipped around, trying to get back on her feet and curl them over the ledge. She picked up her guns and aimed, hoping that the shots would be absorbed by her suit.

Defense (Damage Absorption +2)


Opposition PvP (5)
​

[dice]23909[/dice]

Dice: +2


Total: 4 < 5


Failure!


Noli crosses off the "2" Physical stress box.




The bullet penetrated her shield, hitting her in her armored shoulder. It didn't permeate the armor, but the plate was cracked, and damn did the impact hurt.

She raised her guns and mag-dumped into her assailant - her town's assailant. "Forgot -- ow -- how much I liked old-school bullets. It's a damn shame they're gonna hurt you more."




Attack (Small guns +3)


Opposition PvP
​

[dice]23910[/dice]

Dice: +3


Total: 6




When she had emptied her magazines, she front-loaded her pistols with the rough rocks from the ground, and fired at her foe. The rocks would become fragments, creating a nonlethal but very painful cloud of disintegrated stone.​

 

[Zaxs]

Shihanna didn't expect so many piece of rubble and bullets to come flying at her, she has never been more scared to take a hit in her life. So she did the closest thing she could do, grabbed her rifle and set it to her hip fire setting. She began to quickly shoot shot after shot at her opponents bullets to try and destroy them before they reached her.

Defense (Accuracy +3)


Opposition PvP (6)

[dice]23911[/dice]

Dice total: +2


Total: 5 < 6


Failure!


Fate used to negate "Death by a thousand cuts" affect.




Wow! Who knew her accuracy would save her..."Ow! Ow! Ow! Two got me and that fucking hurt!" With this sudden pain she held her arm which the bullet grazed her and she got down on one knee for the bullet that pierced her leg. But she didn't waste time in waiting for her enemy to reload, she had her adrenaline pumping and quickly dashed forward and tried to grapple her target.




Attack (Grappling/Wrestling +2)


Opposition PvP

[dice]23914[/dice]

Dice total: +4


Total: 6



​

 

[Quincunx]

Noli couldn't help but grin as Little Miss Sniper's obnoxious facade cracked at the bullets. This amusement was short-lived as, in a blur of movement, the woman lunged at her. Noli's guns were unloaded. She tried to pistol-whip the oncoming threat, preferably into the crater - if she survived the fall, she'd be easy pickings.

Defense (Small Guns +3)


Opposition PvP (6)

[dice]23916[/dice]

Dice: +2


Total: 5 < 6


Failure!




The sheer force of the woman's body knocked Noli over backwards. What the hell? She looked just like Noli, and she wasn't even wearing power armor! How could someone like that be so heavy? And such a painful grappler? Noli desperately struggled for a way out. Suddenly, an idea came to her, and she tried to wrap the heel attached to her bent leg around her grappler's leg.

Overcome Obstacle (Acrobatics +4) (Hardcore Parkour +1)


Opposition PvP (6)

[dice]23917[/dice]

Dice: +2


Total: 7 > 6


Success!




Curling her soles tightly around her assailant's leg, Noli threatened to crack the bone unless the masked woman got off.​

 

[Zaxs]

Shihanna sat on top of the woman her toned body was to much for her enemy, Shihanna pushed her against the floor and kept her upper body pinned to the floor. She grabbed her mask and lifted it above her mouth so she could speak clearly. "Would you...really hurt me that badly?...I have no armor...or anything like that..don't hurt me." Her enemy can hear her voice as she gasped for air and spoke softly.

​

 

[Quincunx]

The grapple suddenly let up, and Noli was too shocked at the sight of the woman's face to do anything. That was before her foe... flirted with her? She used pretty strange wording. Still, Noli wasn't kept from her opening. She used the few moments of respite to push the other woman off of her and pin her to the ground, her fingertips clinging to the rock beneath the woman's arms for an extra-tough hold. Both women's guns had been knocked away during the brawl, and Noli was determined to keep them far away from her enemy.

"Are you flirting with me?" she said incredulously as she squeezed the woman's bleeding wrists. "Is this some sort of surrender?" She couldn't help but be shocked at the scar on the woman's face. There was something strange about it as well. "I don't know if you like me or something, but I'm going to show you who makes the rules around here." Expressionless, she moved the woman's wrists together and clasped them with one hand, picked up her old-school muzzle-loading pistol, and trained it on the woman as she let her get up.
​

 

[Zaxs]

She rolled her eyes and looked back into the eyes of the woman that had pinned her down, her mask falling back on her face so she can speak clearly and breath like normal. "I wouldn't say surrender, I was beating you in my opinion. Just can't hurt that pretty face anymore." She laughed again and looked around and adjusted her body to be a bit more comfortable.




"Come on you can't say you didn't like it? Well you could but I doubt you would have a boyfriend or something, because you seem like a hard ass that is to into her work to have relationships. Am i right?" She took a deep breath and shook her head to adjust he mask correctly. "Anyways, why did you pursue me again? Because I made shooting sounds at that town of yours?"
​

 

[Quincunx]

Noli felt her face growing redder and a burning pain at the back of her neck with every word the woman spoke. No, not woman - she was more like a girl. Too immature to begin to understand the implications of what she was doing. But that sure as hell didn't absolve her from responsibility for her actions.


"You threaten this place, you threaten me," Noli replied, not bothering to respond to the girl's crass remarks about her relationship status. She moved her hands so that she was holding both of the girl's wrists with one hand, and grabbed her old-school muzzle-loading gun with her own free hand. After that, she unpinned the girl, pointed it at the girl's head, and stood up, still aiming directly between the eyeholes of her gas mask. "Get up. I'm taking you to see who runs this place."
​

 

[Zaxs]

she didn't get up for a little bit, just laid there with her arms spread as if she was still being pinned down on the floor. She moved her hand and adjusted her mask and took a look at the woman standing before her with her muzzle-loading gun. "I saw that blush you had, have you even dated someone? I mean it can't be to hard for you."




She sighed and began to sit herself up right while still trying to flirt/converse with the woman, who blushed like a pre-teen getting asked about boys. "I didn't threaten anyone, I merely played pretend. No need to get hostel when you think you have the upper hand, but fine I will go. As long as I can pick up my gun and holster it in my pocket. Sound like a deal sweets?"
​

 

[Quincunx]

Noli had never apprehended someone before, and she certainly had never apprehended someone like this. But she knew a bad idea when she heard one. "You don't have to be without your gun. But let me pick it up." She reached down with her free hand, and tried to pick it up. It was too heavy to lift with one hand. "... Alright, you can pick it up. But nothing funny." She put more bullets into the gun's muzzle. "I could blow your head off if I wanted to."




And for some reason, she kind of... didn't. She was always a sucker for an interesting story, and something told her this girl had a lot to tell. "So, what's your name? Little Miss Pretending to Snipe?"
​

 

[Zaxs]

Shihanna got up and dusted herself off from the back and then the front, she watched little miss hard ass try to pick up her weapon and soon began to laugh at the lack of strength she had. "You can't pick it up...Okay I got this, watch and learn." She some what easily lifted it with her right hand, and spun it once in her hand before holstering it.




"I was wondering when you might reload your gun, and don't make threats you can't keep. Because your aim isn't as good as mine." She turned around and smiled widely, "Like how I shot almost all your bullets...though two hit me." She sigh and turned back around with her grin still on her face. "That's little miss Ultimate sniper to you. But my name is Shihanna, and what do I have the pleasure of calling you, miss hard ass." She did a little curtsy before ending her sentence.
​

 

[Quincunx]

Noli rolled her eyes at the girl's taunts. "Almost is the right word. And you can call me Noli. Noli Xing. And it's a fact, not a boast, that I'm a big deal where I come from." She tried to hide how impressed she was at Shihanna's strength, but was worried it came out in her voice.


Since Shihanna didn't seem to be able to walk down walls, they would have to take the long way down to Oor. Plenty of time to talk. And to listen. Noli made sure to give a little shove when she wanted Shihanna to go a certain way, leading from behind, but was secretly wondering what exactly brought the stranger here. "So, Shihanna, what's your business in Oor, pretending to shoot the people I care about?"
​

 

[Zaxs]

She began to walk in front of Noli back the way they came, as she held her hands above her head in a classic fashion. But she kicked her feet as she walked to stall for time. Once the reached the edge she glanced down at the steep drop and then began to walk the way Noli pushed Shihanna.




"Yeah and also shooting you, but I thought you figured that out when I hit you several times. But my real business here is to hide away from the neighboring island." She wrapped her arm around Noli and pulled her ear closer to her and began to whisper in her ear. "I kind of assassinated a few robots, jsut some important people like Military leaders, Mayor, and others." She let go of Noli and went back down the long hike they were taking down to the town of Oor.
​

 

[Quincunx]

Noli growled as she worked the bullet out of her armor. She flinched away when Shihanna pulled her close - the intrigue could only do so much, although it was easier to hear her that way. She decided to walk a little closer, to get a better look and listen on her subject. Underneath all that blood, Shihanna certainly had a sniper's arms - there were little depressions and calluses where the gun rested. She also had some pretty mean muscles, consistent with her skill as a grappler.


"So... robots?" she said, not sure whether she believed it or not. "Bet we could use some of those. The only technology we really have here is mining equipment." Robots. And... assassination? Wasn't that only for political figures? She decided it was time to stop thinking about that, considering the social and political climate of Oor and her family. "Those calluses look pretty old. How long have you been working a gun?"
​

 

[Zaxs]

Shihanna yawned as they got a little further down their long hiking trail. She looked back at Noli and gave a small grin, "Having fun picking out my shots? I hope I didn't hurt that body or that face of yours." She turned back around and laughed.




"Yeah...robots. They aren't all they are cracked up to be, they made me have to wear this stupid mask...But hey at least I can do a cool trick thanks to this mask and my other ability." She ran ahead a bit to a kind of branching path that lead to a clear area behind some buildings. "I will tell you how long if you can out aim me! Nah that is impossible, maybe if you can out run me!" She said with a small head start.
​