Splicers - I Am Legion - IC Thread

[Purr]

Chaska, take point. Jin, watch our six. I’ll carry Karen, and Axel, stick close to us. If anyone spots something, give a shout out. Let’s move!”

Chaska is moving before Toni completes this statement. He has confidence that the fire-resistant WyldKat will get him through get another terribly-hazardous challenge like this forest fire. Lighting up his jet-pack, he flies through the flames, trying for as much subterfuge as his Stealth Field and skills will allow.

"Woo'stock! Check-sky? See Haven?" Chaska asks his battle-birb to fly above the flames and see what the rest of them cannot. Besides, birds have always had better vision than humans and Chaska is hoping this will be to Cerberus's advantage.

 

[Eonivar]

Jin takes her position at the rear of the team watching their backs.

"The only known instances of the Machine fighting each other recorded are when a techno-jacker controls them, although I have read that the Machine has multiple different personalities and it is possible that they can fight amongst each other, so the theory goes...I am almost wondering if one group of robots engaged the other group to keep from attacking Haven...that what it seems to me...."

Jin engages her flight and hovers low following the team, her blurred stealth field covered form stopping occasionally to look around before continuing on.

 

[Sherwood]

The flight over the battlefield is quick and you don't see any signs of pursuit coming after you. Karen has a death grip on Toni as she is carried along, her face buried in the other woman's neck to keep from looking around to see how high up she is. Once you are almost at Haven, you can see that there are more signs of fighting that has recently taken place here, but this battle zone includes signs of human engineered bio-weapons being used to fight back against the machines. At first glance, the whole settlement appears to have been razed, and all signs of the robot attackers or the human defenders have been wiped away, showing no signs of destroyed machines or fallen humans. Everything is gone.

But there is still hope. Haven was reported to have a fairly sizable underground presence, so hopefully there are still survivors hidden away below the surface. It takes Karen a minute of searching to find the hidden entrance, and from what you can see it appears that it has not been breached by the robots. Perhaps the fighting on the surface was just enough to buy enough time for some of the population to have been hidden away unharmed.

Heading down the spiral stone staircase, you descend at least one hundred feet, possibly more, before you get to the bottom. It is what appears to be a natural cave, with no signs of metalwork to be seen. Looking around in the dim lights of your bio-lamps, Axel suddenly says over your bio-comms, "I saw some movement, just a flicker, but it was there. Down that hall, range approximately 75 feet. No target identification yet."

Karen says, "If they are survivors, they must be scared out of their minds, thinking that we are more machines coming down to attack them. I would suggest we try to identify ourselves to them before we walk into an ambush and take friendly fire before we can identify that we are allies here to help."

 

[Psychie]

Toni says over the squad bio-com, “Good idea. Let me give this a try to avoid any misunderstandings.” She then turns on her external speakers and says, “Hey there! This is Corporal Toni Cruse of House Artemis. We are here as friends to lend assistance to your wounded. There is no threat to you from us. Can we approach without being shot at?”

 

[Sherwood]

With your enhanced hearing of your suits of Host Armor you all can hear anxious whispering, but it is not clear enough to hear what is being said. While the people are whispering, Karen pokes her head up enough to say, “I am the Saint that was promised to come help you with your wounded. I promise that we are really friends.”

This brings the frantic whispering to a close, and a woman calls out, “One at a time, step forward to be checked to make sure you are human. Once we know you are not robots, we can talk.”

Saint Karen slowly stands, and while keeping her hands out in view and her robe open, she steps forward and walks out into view. Two camouflaged figures from up ahead carefully advance to meet Karen about halfway. They look like if you were to shout ‘boo’ they would jump out of their skins as the two people come forward to inspect Karen.

One of the figures looks like he or she is in some kind of living armor with long antennae on the head of the person, and this person leans forward to let the antennae tap against Karen’s face and shoulders. There is a sense of relief to them as the level of tension starts to fade away. The person with the antennae motion for Karen to pass behind them, then you hear, “Next person come forward.”

Who is next to step out?

 

[Psychie]

Toni says, “I’ll go up next.” She then calls out, “I’m stepping out! Hold your fire!” Moving slowly she comes out into the open, then she starts to stride over to the person with the antennae on their Host Armor with her Sidekick scuttling along next to her because apparently he or she has the ability to verify that they are not robots disguised as human. I wonder if they know about the cyborg we ran into? If they can detect one of them, that could be an invaluable tool in the Resistance arsenal.

Once Toni is face to face with the person she says, “Ok, do what you have to so we can prove we’re human.”

 

[Sherwood]

The figure in Host Armor in front of you is the woman whose voice you heard, and at a guess, she is a Dreadguard due to the size of the armor. It is more insect like than yours, and as she leans in, the two long antennae on her head gently move in and briefly hover over your head and chest, causing a tickling sensation. EDIT: Once done with Toni, the woman does the same to the Sidekick Rifle next to you.

The woman steps back a pace and says, “She’s human.”

The other figure here is a man in a smaller set of armor and is carrying a handheld Casting Rifle. Karen is a short distance behind him, watching with interest. Once the woman makes her statement that you are human, he calls out, “Next person come forward! Miss, can I get you to please step back here out of the way?”

Purr and Eonivar do either one of you decline the “inspection” that the strangers are wanting to do?

 

[Eonivar]

Jin's form's seems to form from thin air as she disengages her stealth field and steps forward. her heat cannon in the travel position vertical on her back, holding her hands open, out, and up in the air. Stepping up to the Dreadguard with the antennae. Her mouthless Host Armor announcing through its built in speakers... "I consent for testing."

 

[Sherwood]

Jin has much of the same feeling when the antennae gently wave over you; a slight tingle but no discomfort at all. The other woman steps back and says, “She’s clean. You can move over to be next to the others now.”

This leaves Axel and Chaska with their Sidekicks to be examined. Axel looks unhappy, but he’s not putting up a fight. He does say, “I hate to sound paranoid, but how do we know that they aren’t machines in disguise, or worse, people with more of that metal in their heads? I don’t like this.”

 

[Eonivar]

As Jin watches and experiences this scanning and then steps aside, she thinks about what this Dreadguard is actually doing with her knowledge of Bio Equipment Operation.

Rolling - Operate Bio-Equipment 90 % = Rolled a 67%

 

[Sherwood]

Watching the one woman’s efforts to determine if you are human or not, the three of you are aware of a bio-modification that allows the operator of the Host Armor to be able to sense electrical current even through walls and other barriers. It is short ranged and slow to use, so it’s not very combat effective.

What it is good for is being able to detect robots that are disguised as humans that are trying to infiltrate human strongholds and act as a spy, hiding in plain sight. That is the most likely thing that the woman is looking for.

 

[Psychie]

Toni uses her bio-com to talk to Axel. “I think I know what she’s doing. It looks like she’s searching for active electrical signals that would indicate that the person she’s examining is really a robot in disguise. It is harmless and painless, and I do expect you to allow this scan on you to take place or you will have a great many harsh questions to answer from us all. I really don’t want that to happen, so let’s just make this easy.”

 

[Sherwood]

Axel stiffens up and snarls out, “I am not some damn machine! And I’ll prove it to you!” He stomps his way over to the woman and stands still, letting her electrical sense probe at him. It seems to take forever for her scan, but in reality it was only a few seconds before the Dreadguard nods at him and motions for him to pass by, soon followed by his Sidekick Rifle.

All that’s left of the team to be examined is Chaska and the two Sidekicks that are attached to him.

Purr what do you do?

 

[Purr]

Axel stiffens up and snarls out, “I am not some damn machine! And I’ll prove it to you!” He stomps his way over to the woman and stands still, letting her electrical sense probe at him.

"JodiAxel, control self." Chaska narrows his eyes at the soldier newest to Cerberus. His voice is soft but steely-strong. "Shout like child, you make Cerberus look bad. Not only Cerberus, but you make ChiefRybeck look bad." The last surviving member of House Apollo regards Axel with a single cold shake of his head.

Then, as if changing gears to the positive, Chaska recommends. "JodiAxel no trust Haven? Good! But maybe... JodiAxel trust SaintKaren?" He thrusts his chin briefly at the augmented live-safer and lets that thought sink in.

"Chaska think SaintKaren believe Haven O.K.. So... Chaska choose trust SaintKaren, not Haven. JodiAxel can do same-same?"

The young Deliveryman proves his words by stepping forward to be scanned. "Woo'stock?" He asks his battle-birb. "Haven scan me. If dey ask, please trust SaintKaren. Let dem scan you. Understand? Is O.K.?"

Spoiler: O.O.C. for Sherwood.

I think you were allowing me to also play Woodstock, but my memory is fuzzy here. If this is true, Woodstock waits for them to scan Chaska first, then agrees to be scanned.

 

[Sherwood]

Axel still looks grumpy but doesn’t continue to complain that he was scanned by the woman. Once he’s with the group, Karen sides over to stand next to him and places a reassuring hand on his shoulder and gives him a smile. This does wonders to help calm his aggravation.

When it is Chaska’s turn, it is more of the same for him and Woodstock. It takes only a moment, but finally there is a nod from the woman and she says to her companion, “They’re all clear. I apologize for the caution, but we’ve been under a lot of pressure lately and one can never be too careful. I’m Prill, and this is Dennis. Come with me. The rest of us are in here.”

Prill turns and leads you into the tunnel and talks as she goes along. “Thanks for coming. To be honest, I wasn’t certain we were going to be ok. We’ve been hit by the Machine twice; the first time was bad, but we were able to stop the attack without much trouble. But the latest attack was an order of magnitude greater than we saw before. It was just luck that our lookouts were able to spot the attack coming to allow is time to evacuate the surface level of most everyone. A few stayed behind, and all of them were taken by the robots. Yes, I said taken, not killed, and no, I don’t know why.”

Axel asks, “How many are left after the attacks?”

Prill takes a deep breath and says, “We’re not positive yet, but there are only about three hundred left. Over half of our population is gone.”

A final turn leads you into a large storage room filled with hundreds of people of all ages. It is strangely quiet in here, especially with so many people huddled inside. It is almost as if they are afraid to talk or else the Machine will hear them. It is a scene that is hard to look at.

Karen looks around at the scarred civilians and asks in a quiet voice, “How is your food supply holding out?”

Prill doesn’t look at Karen when she replies with, “For this many people, we can hold out for about three weeks. Most of our stores were were destroyed in the fighting or else we would have much more. We are already starting to ration out what we have, but it will not last long.”

Karen nods. “We will deal with that soon enough. Where are your wounded? Taking care of them is my first priority.”

Prill reaches out to a young man of about eighteen and says to him, “Jameson, take the Saint to the infirmary and help her in any way she needs.”

With that, Karen and the young man head off through the scared people towards another doorway. Karen says, “I’ll keep my ear on the bio-com in case there is anything you need of me.”

Prill gives a head nod to the side, trying to indicate you should follow her away from the people here.

Eonivar Psychie Purr

 

[Psychie]

Toni takes the hint and follows Prill off to the side and away from the huddled group of scared survivors. She keeps her voice down as she says, “Even with rationing, that amount of food is not going to last very long. Do you have something that you can turn to that can keep your people fed? Something that can produce a return fast enough to keep everyone alive? Farming is great, but even in ideal conditions it will take months for a harvest to be ready.”

The unspoken comment is, If you can’t feed your people, what do you plan to do with them?

 

[Sherwood]

Toni takes the hint and follows Prill off to the side and away from the huddled group of scared survivors. She keeps her voice down as she says, “Even with rationing, that amount of food is not going to last very long. Do you have something that you can turn to that can keep your people fed? Something that can produce a return fast enough to keep everyone alive? Farming is great, but even in ideal conditions it will take months for a harvest to be ready.”

The unspoken comment is, If you can’t feed your people, what do you plan to do with them?

Prill doesn’t say anything at first, clearly trying to find the right words. She finally turns to look at Toni and says, “You don’t mince words, do you? Well, I won’t either. We are in a bad state and there is no way that we can feed this number of people without outside help. It’s either that, or we have to relocate the whole lot of people here somewhere else. I personally think that we should evacuate the place. We’ve had two different attacks on us by the Machine and the only reason that there is anyone left here is that we got lucky and the underground shelters weren’t discovered. The problem is going to be convincing some of them to give up on the years of work we’ve put in to make Haven our home. Then once that’s done, we need help transporting everyone or else we’ll just lose more people when a Machine patrol catches us.”

She lets out a deep sigh. “You are an outsider, but they might listen to you if I add my voice to yours to get them to leave. Then once we have crossed that hurdle, we will have to move everyone. That is going to need the support of House Artemis. Will you carry a message to the Warlord and petition for aid? I know it’s asking a lot, but if we can’t evacuate it is only a matter of time before we are either hunted down like the others or starve to death. Please, help us.”

While Prill and Toni are taking, what are the rest of you doing?
Purr Eonivar

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: Mission parameters so I don't forget.

Carl Rybeck looks at the four of you and says, "We have just received news that one of the allies of House Artemis has suffered a grievous loss at the claws of the Machine, and the Warlord has tasked us here on the Kraken to come to their aid. House Deluvane had one of their Gene-Pools destroyed in one of their underground settlements and have suffered mass casualties. As a result, we are sending Karen to go to the settlement to not only act as a healer to their wounded, but also to replace the lost Gene-Pool. This is a sacrifice that Karen has volunteered for, but in order for her to be able to get there, she is going to need an escort. I have picked the four of you to be the escort for Karen to get to the settlement. This mission is critical, not only for the many wounded that are suffering, but to replace the damaged Gene-Pool that is critical for the survival of House Deluvane's efforts to defend themselves against the Machine. I stress to you that Saint Karen must get to the settlement or many lives will be lost."

"You will be taking the same tunnel system inland to bypass the beach fortifications that the toasters have set up. While I dislike using the tunnel entrance too often in order to keep the passage secret, this is a special situation and I feel that there is no other choice that can get Karen to the settlement as fast as possible. Just like your mission to plant the Squealers and Trailblazers, you are going to be going inland several hundred miles, and with the recent success that the Machine has had, there is an increased robot presence in the area looking for survivors of the last assault. By whatever means you see fit, you have to get past the robot gauntlet to get Saint Karen to your destination. We have detailed maps to get you there and back, again with rendezvous times and locations to get you back on the Kraken. Your suits of Host Armor have all been upgraded, so getting to your destination should be easier than your last run, but you will be allowed access to extra supplies and weapons to make sure you can deliver Karen to House Deluvane."

Chaska turns to Toni and says aloud, his savage accent sharper than ever. "Our mission done, Toni. SaintKaren now with House Deluvane, unharm, safe. We go now? We leave food for de people? Kraken need us." He touches his pouches where he keeps all of his own personal food.

The young Deliveryman uses his Bio-Comms for his next statement. "Toni not ask for Chaska opinion; forgive if you no want. Deliver message to Kraken is good for House Deluvane. We should. But longer we stay here, more Cerberus get... ah... wrapped up in non-mission. Sooner we go, sooner Kraken decide if to help House Deluvane against Machine or not."

Then he adds this last and looks to Jin and Axel to see if Cerberus as a whole agrees. "Yes?"

Chaska has strong opinions specifically about House Deluvane's situation, but as a corporal is in no position of authority to assert or even voice them unless asked. His primary loyalty, being to House Artemis and the Kraken, is where he wants to be now that their mission is done. He thinks, at least at this point in their travels, that Cerberus has done as well as it reasonably could, perhaps earning more rewards - a thing that is also high above his rank to decide.

 

[Eonivar]

Jin looked at the people, watching them, looking at their current state. She turns and glances at Chaska listening to what he had to say, and then she looks back at Toni and Prill.

She begins to review their map, their current mission parameters, and the mission situation.

OCC Sherwood how long will it take Cerebus to get back to the Kraken? What is the observed complement of the House Deluvane's forces, and how long would Jin estemate these forces to hold out based on what she has seen?

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: Edit: I should have put this in O.O.C..

Whoops! I thought this was O.O.C..

For what it's worth, should Toni agree, Chaska was going to ask Prill for Haven's basic evacuation data (how many civilians, how many able to move, how many protectors or in our case Splicers, transportation vehicles (any Splicer big-birbs?, etc.) and include it with their proposition to House Artemis. The Kraken might change whatever plans it has if it gets this or it might not.

 

[Sherwood]

Jin looked at the people, watching them, looking at their current state. She turns and glances at Chaska listening to what he had to say, and then she looks back at Toni and Prill.

She begins to review their map, their current mission parameters, and the mission situation.

OCC Sherwood how long will it take Cerebus to get back to the Kraken? What is the observed complement of the House Deluvane's forces, and how long would Jin estemate these forces to hold out based on what she has seen?

If you fly straight out and not get delayed, it is theoretically possible to be over the coast in two hours. But you do know that the shoreline is a nasty line of heavy bunkers and loads of robots all guarding against beach attacks from the Resistance. The Machine does not function well in the water and humans know this. A more cautious approach to the rendezvous points of the Kraken could get you around the defenses in about a day.

Haven currently has one Dreadguard, two Packmasters, and one Outrider without a War Mount. There is probably two dozen combat trained lightly armed infantry, and the rest of the population are non-combatants, numbering three hundred and ten total. There are many wounded, but the healing powers of Saint Karen will be able to have them up and able to travel once more.

There are about thirty horses that are able to be rounded up to help carry people and supplies along, but there are no flying transports. There is, however, a trio of birds similar to Woodstock that are used to send messages to and fro.

 

[Psychie]

Toni had never faced any trouble with the 'burden of command' before this. She always had a clear path forward for her and the squad to take. But now, she feels as if she's being pulled in three different directions all at once. A traitor in the Kraken that might put the whole ship in danger. A human/machine hybrid that might be one of many. And now, these people were in need of aid. What to do? Damn.

She looks at Prill and says, "We cannot stay long; we have critical issues that need our immediate attention. But what I can do is this: You have three messenger birds. I can write down three different notes to the Warlord adding my voice to your own in requesting aid. Put a note on each of your messengers and task them with getting to House Artemis at best speed. Our two Houses are allies, and I cannot see that your need would be turned away. We don't have much in the way of supplies, but you are welcome to what we have. In the meantime, prepare your people for evacuation, and in my request for help I will stress the need to get everyone out before a third attack can happen. I can talk to your people and assure them that House Artemis will not abandon you in your time of need, and do my best to motovate them to be able to face the future with their heads held high, knowing that humanity will preval no matter what."

Turning to the rest of Cerberus squad, she says, "I want to be on the move again in two hours. We have to get back to the Kraken at our best speed and hope we're not too late. Dig out what rations we have and hand them over. The four of us can forage and find enough to eat much easier than the three hundred here. Chaska, take a look at the coded papers you have and see if you can make heads or tails of what is in them. We need all the information possible about the identity of the source of this to be able to present it to the Chief and pray to God that it's not him. Jin and Axel, go back up to the surface and scout the immediate surroundings and look for anything out of the norm. Keep in touch and be careful."

 

[Purr]

Turning to the rest of Cerberus squad, she says, "I want to be on the move again in two hours. We have to get back to the Kraken at our best speed and hope we're not too late. Dig out what rations we have and hand them over. The four of us can forage and find enough to eat much easier than the three hundred here. Chaska, take a look at the coded papers you have and see if you can make heads or tails of what is in them. We need all the information possible about the identity of the source of this to be able to present it to the Chief and pray to God that it's not him. Jin and Axel, go back up to the surface and scout the immediate surroundings and look for anything out of the norm. Keep in touch and be careful."

Chaska bows to her and says aloud, "O.K., Toni. He looks to his oldest living friend. "Woo'stock can go with JinLi and JodiAxel? I can ask him."

But over their Bio-Comms, Chaska adds details out of the range of normal human hearing. "We stay here for two hour for coded papers? Or other reason? If Chaska is done sooner, we go sooner?

After a short pause in thought, he adds. "One day to return to Kraken; only need one day food for us. WyldKat no eat and JinLi armor eat her. Your Host Armor need more rock? Is some here. Eat while stay?"

 

[Psychie]

Toni looks over at Chaska and smiles. "If you can get some answers from those papers in less time, I have no problem in moving sooner. Just make damn sure you are right before we lay down any accusations on someone. I sure as hell hope we are wrong, but I have a really bad feeling that this is not going to end well." She adds, "While we are on the move, if we come across a wild animal with some decent meat on it, we can have that to eat. Otherwise, we don't stop. We can't afford any delays."

 

[Eonivar]

Jin looks at Toni and Chaska for a long moment, trying to sort out the things she was feeling and going on in her head, she looks back out at the civilians and the remaining Host Armors, and then she looks back toward the infirmary where Karen was taken.

There was a distinct sigh in the bio-comms as Jin responded to Toni's orders. "Aye, come on Axel...let's go scout, I've got point." Jin turned and proceeded to the spiral stone staircase, her armor shimmering and melting into the shadows as she engaged her stealth field.