Fantasy Vagabonds: Exodus

[Pilgrim59]

EXODUS

OLYMPUS Command & Control System

Missions

Manifest

Galley

Intel

Article

OVERVIEW & GUIDELINES
I. POST TRACKER
-To keep track of who does what and where, we will need to lay down a tracker for each post. At the top of your replies, please include your character name, location, and player tags (interactions).

II. EXODUS
-Exodites may freely roam the ship while the vessel is on course, unless specified otherwise.
-Marine Ravens aboard the Exodus are commanded by Ceto, and can be requisitioned for help.
-Unattended meals have a high chance of being pilfered by Muncher. Kindly keep them out of sight.

III. MISSION DEPLOYMENT
-The RP is categorized into different types of missions. Scavenging missions allow players to explore and collect as many materials as possible for the Exodus to make use of. Certain entries of lost epics and historical findings can also be found to aid in Promethean upgrades, as well as upgradable parts for Raven retrofits.
-Aside from equipment fielded by the players in their sheets, certain support equipment will also be included during missions. Assigned JTAC designator is also applicable in this sense for off-shore support. Naval munitions are scarce - use them wisely in IC.
-Muncher will be the designated aviator for missions that require aerial insertion or CAS. Normal ground-based operations will allow players to commandeer the M1161 Growlers.
-Ember Weather Phenomenon can disrupt communications and damage equipment, even with the deployment of the Front Equilibrium Acclimator Resonator.

 

[Pilgrim59]

Exodite

Ulysses

Captain of The Exodus

Sentosa, Singapore

Silvery AFA walls stretched well beyond the horizon between the crowded city of Singapore and their northern neighbor, with packs of drones hovering above guarded checkpoints. As one of the few last standing cities in Southeast Asia, its inhabitants have adapted to the fleeting essence of defending their livelihoods and liberties day by day. Fisheries were confined to certain areas where the seaborne Reds could not reach, and agricultural zones were erected in places where tall skyscrapers once stood. Office buildings were renovated to accommodate stockpiles of weapons and equipment.

It has been a week since the Exodites' last mission in the Riau Archipelago, which earned them some time on land in Singapore. Finding refuge and respite at port, the Captain relinquished the docking details to Ceto and her minions, while the Marines were given furlough until recently. Situating himself in Sentosa, Ulysses retired in his chair with a glass of whiskey in his hand at the behest of the Marina Chairman's accommodation. His blue eyes scanned the western shipyard, where the Exodus resided, before the Chairman's voice caught his attention.

"I take it your last job wasn't too much to ask? Even if your oppositions were human?"

"They made their choice to prey on helpless, simple folks. I came not warring here for any ill the Trojans had done me. For between me and them, there is a great space - both mountains and sounding seas."

"Have you taken to heart the Iliad as your own scripture, Ulysses? Or perhaps there were some truths to the Olympians?"

"I perceive it as my own source of entertainment. Though I cannot deny Ceto's findings and its merits. This was supposed to be our last stop here."

"You've got somewhere else to be?"

"Wherever the stars point. You know I can't just let you in on the communities' quirks, Lee. Though judging from that reaction, I reckoned you've got a job for us?"

"Heh. If only you had been in the industry, you'd make a great asset for the company." Lee replied, clinking glasses with Ulysses before adjusting his spectacles. "Indeed. This one came straight from the top..."

A dead-steady tone interrupted him, as he reached for his phone with a grim facade.

"When? Fine. I'll see what I can do."

A heavy sigh escaped Lee, as he turned to Ulysses and ended the call. "Seems like I've got a detail for you on short notice."

"What's the job?"

"I'm surprised you didn't ask for the pay firsthand."

"I know you'll follow-up in kind. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

"How soon can you depart?"

"Depends... how soon can you acquiesce our requisition for wine and ambrohols?" Ulysses smiled confidently.

"Very well, I'll send you the details. As for the particular detail of my client's request, I hope you'll be in for a long haul with that one." Lee said, donning a concerned look about him, as if reluctant to let his friend in on the detail just yet.

"Exodus has always delivered when it comes to Marina's requests, have we not? Shoot." Ulysses retorted with a firm but curious posture, as he leaned forward to let Lee know that he was all ears for the offer.

Code by Arkangel

 

[Pilgrim59]

Exodite

Ceto

Chief Mate

Exodus, Marina Shipyard, Singapore

Residing in the bridge, Ceto tended to the virtual monitors, assimilating the latest datas retrieved by the Exodite operators in combat and managing the Raven marines' tasks by the hours. It has been a while since they made a full replacement of their stocks. For the Chief Mate, it was not a difficult task but nevertheless important for the wellbeing of the crew. With the Theogony data still being synchronize for analysis, it would be some time before she could fulfill the conditions for the simulation's parameters. At the behest of Sokol's recent findings of a piece of the Nurses of Dionysus and the ongoing research into Foxtail's Crystalline abilities, among many others, the concurrent progresses were as steady as the Exodites' successes.

At times, Ceto often wondered if the ongoing conflict in Europe, as hinted by Sokol and Gefahr's accounts, were truly out of their reach. Yet, she was content with their current course and would not want for more than to satisfy the curiosities of their woes' origins. After all, not all Exodites share the same sentiment with their complacent approach. In regards to Ulysses, the one thing he would not forsake would be that of their humanity. Whether or not such an idealistic dream would be realize would be a question for time to answer. Before long, an encrypted call appeared on the monitor, prompting the Raven to pick it up.

"Captain. I'm reading you, go ahead. Yes. Details received. I understand and will comply." She responded and quickly turned away to message all Exodites.

"This is Ceto to all Exodites. Please report to the Muster Station for briefing immediately." She announced over the ship's speakers.

Worthlessplebian AI10100 Soviet Panda Nellancholy Huntertabbysandshark3 Clockwork_Magic Gears luciferin

Code by Arkangel

 

[Pilgrim59]

Exodite

Sokol

Rear Echelon Leader

Muster Station, Exodus

Sokol had gotten out of the shower after a few hours of inspecting the armory and gathering the Growlers' replacement parts with Gefahr's help. Settling in the galley with a disposable plate of food, she dug in and dwelled on her conversation with Ceto and Ulysses. Had it not been for the two, she would have found herself without a purpose. With the Exodites by her side, she could finally find strength in what she had otherwise perceived as a curse. In this ever-changing world of ruthless automatons and ancient magic, she wondered if things had turned out differently if she had remained in her homeland.

Yet, it was Ulysses who urged her on to survive as her people did during the Second World War. Even if it was not for nationalistic ideals, she carried with her a purpose that only she could only decipher by holding onto her humanity. It was the first time in her life that she belonged somewhere, even if her companions were less than sober in their crafts. Breaking away from her thoughts to lend an ear to Ceto's ongoing transmission, she caught the shadow of a familiar devil that attempted to creep up on her from behind.

"Make sure to watch both ways before leaving your meals on the table, ya dolt!" A voice came from behind Sokol, as soon as Ceto's transmission over the ship's comms ended. Upon closer inspection of Sokol's meal, of which consisted of whole-greens and vegetables, Muncher grimaced in disgust and waved her hands in denial despite Sokol's invitations.

"Seems like we have a new detail, anyways. You can have it. Go on, don't be shy." Sokol smiled slyly.

"Of all the things, it had to be greens. Cheeky little birdie! Hard. Pass." The pilot retorted.

As the two made their way towards the muster station, they were joined by the other operators who were trickling in gradually.

"Any idea what's going on?" Muncher asked, as she nibbled on her cigarette with the lighter in her hand raring to go off.

"Probably a last-minute mission. How about a bet?" Sokol replied, snatching the cigarette and lighter from Muncher and tapping with the back of her hand at the big "No Smoking" sign behind the woman.

Code by Arkangel

 

[Pilgrim59]

Exodite

Muncher

AWS

Helipad, Exodus

"Feckin- Oi! Ah forget it. I'll bet on something else that is actually worth the trouble." Muncher exclaimed, shaking her angry fist at Sokol for taking away her fire.

Before long, Ceto floated into the room with a tablet in her hand. With the Exodites assembled, she lit up the hologram with a flick of her metallic fingers and raised her voice.

"Today's mission is the rescue and extraction of a Paskal squad in Perai, callsign Onyx. They were on scavenging duties east of George Town when they were ambushed by REDs and sustained heavy casualties. Pack light and make room for the survivors. Intel from forward observers suggested a heavy presence of Myrmex-class REDs, but do be aware of your surroundings. Muncher will make insertion here, west of the suburbs. Sokol will be secure the landing zone and set up a landnav beacon, the rest will push to central Perai on foot and rescue Onyx."

"They're so far north. What about the Malaysian and Singaporean QRFs?" Muncher asked.

"Currently engaged and stretched thin to reclaim the Cameron Highlands in the south. The Exodus is the only force capable of anti-RED operations right now. Order is straight from Ulysses himself."

"Any NEPs* in the area?" Sokol asked.

"None, per the forward observer's thermal datas. Onyx is priority."

"Understood."

"The Seahawk's limited in capacity. Any chance we can borrow something bigger?"

"I have requisitioned a Victor-Two-Two Osprey from the local authorities for this operation. They have even thrown in two AT-Four rocket launchers in case you need it, Muncher."

"Good beans. I'll warm her up."

"Ten minutes to gear up. Good luck, everyone." Ceto finalized.

Jogging towards the helipad, Muncher grabbed her flightsuit and munition webbings. Adorning a mischievous smile, the woman petted the Osprey before climbing into the cockpit. Switches flicked into place, as she continued her pre-flight checks. Lifting the tablet into place, she studied the layout of the map updated by Ceto - memorizing and visualizing the terrains as best she can before Sokol joined her.

"Curious to snatch you along for a rescue operation. Even if it's a half-hour flight from here." Muncher remarked, turning back towards the Promethean.

"If it is Ulysses's decision, I can only surmise the implications of a decent imbursement from his client." Sokol replied, taking her seat close to the cockpit and forward door.

"Well, there better be a bottle involved." The pilot shrugged, before continuing with a sharp glance at the rear mirror towards Sokol. "You good?"

"Right as rain." Sokol replied nonchalantly, despite the grim look on her face. With her response, Muncher did not press, as the two waited for the rest of the Exodites to board.

*Neps (NEP): Exodite's acronym for Non-Essential Personnel. Often used in a negative connotation.

Worthlessplebian AI10100 Soviet Panda Nellancholy Huntertabbysandshark3 Clockwork_Magic Gears luciferin

Code by Arkangel

 

[Nellancholy]

Match (Firebreak)
Berthing Area, Exodus

"Oh, lyubimyy! Leave me here, in the snow if you must! Carry on...for the both of us! The time is nigh, for my fading flame to sputter out..."

"Nyet, babushka! I shall not leave you! For our flame...it burns eternal!"​

Match shifted in her charging bay, having taken a few minutes out of the day to top up her charge levels after having spent some time assisting in the loading and checks of the Exodus' cargo. And of course, while she was sitting here, she may as well work on the review she started under the recommendation of the girl from Marina Bay she'd asked out. Not really out of any personal interest, but simply so she could pump a random person for new film recommendations. She'd gotten a few promising prospects and apparently one stinker, and all it cost was buying her a steak set and parfait at one of the many utterly indulgent establishments in the area. Sure, she was a nice enough girl, but her taste...

"Personally, I feel like the Daewoo Cinematic Universe really lost its way after executive producer Yoon passed away, so I wouldn't recommend anything that entered production after '45..."

"Oh! There's this other movie that came out in '66, like half a year after Black Tuesday! It's called 'Inexhaustible Candle', and it's about this family in Eastern Europe who has to flee from a RED attack...I think it's got a certain profound Neo-Soviet sensibility to it..."​

And that was all it took to determine that she didn't know what she was talking about. Still, it couldn't hurt to watch, right? After all, where would the world be without bad movies?

As it turned out, it didn't hurt much to watch at all, but it was pretty annoying.

With but a simple internal command, the window containing the text document popped back into Match's field of view, and text continued to file in one word at a time, as if she was repeatedly tapping the predictive text option on a smartphone.

["And of course, one cannot ignore the fact that director Vasili Sokolov's greasy, highly distinct fingerprints are all over the lens of the camera, as it were. He attempts to cheaply hearken back to an era of Russian glory that I am certain he has never seen with his own eyes, as if he were trying to manifest an ideal lover into reality, Galatea to his Pygmalion. Surely he must be aware of this! Why else would he present Artemy's grandmother Yelena with framing typically reserved for a love interest! And yet despite that, the theatrical release of this vanity project was dubbed over with English voice actors doing passable impressions-"]

"This is Ceto to all Exodites. Please report to the Muster Station for briefing immediately."

Match tensed up slightly, then relaxed. If she had the need to breathe she would have sighed. Well, she was used to it. Deployments on short notice. Intense combat. Well, compared to being in the Accord's armed forces, long patrol and search and destroy operations were less common here on the Exodus, but when things happened, they always came fast and hard.

The thought of delaying did not occur to her even briefly. Closing the document, Match jumped to her feet and disconnected from the charging bay, breaking into a jog as she hurried to the muster station.

---

Match (Firebreak)
Muster Station, Exodus
Interactions: Pilgrim59 (Munchy) Soviet Panda (Crow)​

As Match arrived at the muster station, she noted with satisfaction that most of the others were arriving at about the same time as her. It felt...comforting, in a way, to be in an orderly and sharply disciplined environment again. Ah, but what was this? A conversation between Sokol and Munchy, punctuated by the former confiscating a cigarette and lighter from the latter. Oh, so sad. As the group moved, Match sidled up alongside Munchy for a moment.

"Psst!" She held her hand up close to the blonde woman's face...and then snapped her fingers, as if the act itself could spark fire. Just like that, a bent cigarette and an almost-empty plastic lighter appeared in her palm for Munchy's perusal. "Wouldn't want our very important pilot to go without, now would we?"

Not that she would probably have a chance to light up anyway, as the briefing started and ended with an order for deployment. Rescue operation under fire. Urban ruins. Insertion to the proper area of operations on foot, which meant no fast roping, and nothing like low altitude insertion. They'd have to travel light and be prepared to assist the Paskal unit no matter what condition they found them in. Well, wasn't that just fun. Precious cargo that'd likely deduct from their reward if retrieved in overly bad shape (which in this case generally meant dead). Nothing for it but to do it.

As the briefing was concluded with the order of ten minutes to prepare, Match instead turned to the dense, stocky ACHILLES class Raven. "So, planning on packing the serious heat, instead?" Which would be a notable disregard for Ceto's instructions, but it'd be far better to have a rotary cannon and flamethrower on hand than not, if the REDs proved especially intractable.

 

[Gears]

Song

Eddie Gears

Tags: None

Wind buffeted a lone figure as he adjusted the harness he wore over his jumpsuit- an overcoat on top of that kept him warm- though he didn't need fear the cold. He was dead after all- or mostly dead. Guess I'm just the corpse clinging to this world for a little longer. Eddie made sure the lines where secure before releasing the mechanism at the top, allowing him to descend in a careful glide- at least what he defined as careful, more falling at a speed slightly below breakneck. He slowed as he counted each floor before finally reaching the fiftieth floor. The building was a skeleton of a skyscraper, abandoned for years. The steel girders where brushed with rust, likely a few homeless people cowered on the lower floors, the ones that weren't collapsed. Eddie adjusted his form before shifting toward his target- a taller building around fifty meters ahead of him.

"Nymph, change the music."

"Fine- just watch where you step; your healing won't likely survive a fall like this, not to mention how you would look on the other side."

Eddie shivered a bit at the image of existing as a blob of flesh and cracked bones on the other side, crawling with broken arms. Reminded him of a few of the creatures he had seen there- perhaps that was connected? He pushed the thought aside as the music changed, from the spy music he had been playing to the next on his playlist- he tapped his foot to the opening guitar rift, pulling his binoculars from his coat as he looked over his target. From the side of the building, a helipad held two small craft- rotor based. Zoom in, activate facial recognition and lip reading. the device did as commanded, shifting to show the people departing from the craft. Each face was scanned and reconstructed in the corner of his vision, some a bit patchy due to the distance- filled in by Nymph.

... Sir, we should discuss... Maybe in the... Room- just a a few floors down... State of the art... Jorkevski's

"Piece of shit."

Eddie put the binoculars aside after hitting the device a few times, noting he would need to recalibrate the systems. After securing the item, he went through each object he had heard. They where moving a few floors down- meaning something between 45 and 50- five floors, each holding around fifty rooms. Far too many to explore before he could be caught. Eddie cycled between each piece of information, thinking. They where likely referring to a meeting or conference room, each would be named for a color, each floor holding a primary color set with different hues for each room. His Internal Research and Information System (IRIS) began to cycle through each floor, trying to guess a name. The thugs on the building had been wearing purple ties, showing they where in either the 44th and 45th floors- the two purples in that area. Eddie raised a hand and pulled up a hologram of the blueprints, showing each room. First he removed any rooms not meant for conferences. That left thirty for each, 60 total. The rooms would be too spread out to search each one.

His target was a pharmaceuticals expert, delivering and selling an unknown object. His orders mentioned that the object was dangerous- meaning it would require a state of the art Biological Hazard Defense System, narrowing it down to four rooms- each on opposite sides of the building. Eddie would have a decent shot at the northside ones- a bit to the east, but too far too look inside. Eddie quickly pulled a few tools from his jacket, tapping each steel girder with a rod. His system calculated the structural integredy each gave, and eventually he found the one with the least importance. The rod opened into a small laser, firing into the rust. Eddies eyes swapped to a minor heat sensitive vision, allowing him to watch his progress, pausing once he broke through the decayed portion. The steel below would be too strong to melt, so he swapped to a miniature buzz saw, cutting through the material according to Nymphs calculations.

"This won't work- if you don't crush yourself you will still have no time to reach the opposite side if you are wrong."

Her voice was monotone, showing the artificially constructed vocal patterns. A few words had differing tone or emotion, but she was still able to convey her disapproval of the plan.

"Have some faith- we should be fine, and a bit of Phlegethon should lend enough speed to reach the other side."

"You do realize that last nights medical scans showed more anomalies in your brain matter- after you went through half of that to try and outrun those bouncers?"

Eddie only grunted in response as the beam began to creak, collapsing on itself as he clambered onto the edge, arms wrapping around the rusted metal as it fell- slowly crossing the space between buildings until it stopped, his angle of the cut making it pause- though chances where it would collapse- especially with the explosive paste he was currently spraying behind him before leaping the remaining distance. Eddie barely managed to pull his gun from the holster as he reached the window, creating a web of cracks that he kicked through, covering his face as he rolled into the room. Luckily it was empty, but chances where someone would have heard the crash.

From his jacket, Eddie pulled a small green vial from its place, affixing a gas mask on his face before inserting the vial into a slot, before feeling a blinding pain. The mask directed the liquid into the insertion needle- well, more of a spike. The left lens fired the insert into his eye- shattering bone and piercing the brain. Energy coursed through Eddie as he staggered, mind suddenly filled with a fog- for a second forgetting anything but the gun at his side and the approaching footsteps. As two security guards burst through the door, Eddie became a blur, spinning around them before firing two shots in the back of their heads.

Eddie was out of the room before the bodies hit the ground, speeding across the room. Sirens began to ring in a slowed pattern, the main defense mechanism activating- a rotation that began to mix rooms, shifting the buildings orientation. The order was random, rooms changing to different sides as the security prepared a raid- but Eddie watched for one thing. The last phrase he had heard mentioned Jorkevski- a famous painter. A quick search showed his many works, and only one was dominated by purple- one of the cosmos repainted from a telescope capturing a unique night in 2034. That painting stood outside one room- directly across from him and moving. Eddie sped up, mind becoming more feral as he moved, ignoring the gunshots from gathered security agents- not even thinking about what he did to stop them, simple passing the piles of meat and blood that sprayed the walls where he passed. Eddie reached the door just as he heard a loud scraping- the room moving above with a lift, now that he had shown his target.

Eddie knew it wouldn't be long before that floor started shifting, so he opened the now empty room, slamming the door shut before pulling objects from his bag. Four explosives where placed on the wall, unfocused by his dwindling high, but good enough. Eddie finally placed a gravity mine at his feet, shifting it to the negative setting before blowing the fuses above. Eddie was launched as gravity itself shifted, flying through the hole in the ceiling. A pudgy man in a suit looked in horror as Eddie fired both revolvers- one hitting the door's lock and the other a security guard. As the high stopped, Eddie rolled out of the gravity field, hitting the floor before springing to his feet, dodging a swung baton before using his Tool to burn the mans hand, kicking him aside as he jumped for the guy in the suit, grabbing his briefcase before bouncing off the mans stomach and slamming through the window- which had oriented parallel with where he had initially entered the building, activating the explosives as he landed on the beam, wind rushing as he fell, holding on.

Green flashed around him as he shifted to a different place, one of slightly muted colors, eternal sunshine, and cold emptiness. Eddie fell for a few minutes as he calculated his next jump, looking at the coordinates of the ships meeting room, soon nearing its mate in this reality and disappearing again.

Eddie fell in his seat- yelping as the seat almost tipped over grabbing the table before leaning back. He was covered in ash, a bit of blood on his coat as he tossed it over the back of his chair, leaning back. He looked around, rubbing his head a bit as he took off the gas mask, exposing a wide grin as he put the briefcase aside, pulling a small candy from the pocket to chew on as he waited- naturally a lime green.

"Did I miss anything? Oh look, I got shot- damn, hate digging those out."

Eddie quickly pulled some tweezers from his pocket, pulling a small bullet from his chest as it began to close up- it was annoying to leave those inside before he healed- either giving him chest pain, or tripping metal detectors. He put the bloodied bullet on the table, neon green ichor covering it as he tried to fix his hair, the ash covered mass wild and untamed.

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Callsign: Haraxhi
interaction:
location: Muster Station, Exodus​

*Clank* *hiss* changing bay opened up loud noise, a little too loud for the Raven occupants liking, letting out a small sign they’d look around there small room nothing out of place good, snatching up their hat they’d put it on affixing it carefully too there head as the data stream form the sensor modulus housed in it filled there hud, finally they could properly see, for Haraxhi being without it while not detrimental to there function made them extremely uncomfortable they where designed process a lot of info a lot of the time so lacking that input left them jittery. “Bloody el, one of those days isn’t it“ they’d grumble too themselves, the damn thing was miss-calibrated, probably one of the new guys then, hardly knew how to do proper maintenance.

and they where already on call already ok good could get back to calibrating later. heading over too the briefing, they got there overview of there job, recuse mission heady RED presence going on foot evac, they’d likely been on vanguard duties but Haraxhi didn’t mind that in the slightest. “Right got it, see ya lot in ten the hey?” With that they’d march their way back to pick up their halberd And two drones each one resembling a large dinner plate and resting themselves on the Ravens back hiding away. Once they’d collected there equipment it was straight to the aircraft for the Raven it was just luckily For them a fair bit of there kit was In-built.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Art by William Bao for Degenesis: Helvetica Sniper;
Doctor Jean Sherman — Sleepwalker
Location: Muster Station, Exodus;
Interaction: Pilgrim59
​

The medical bay was pleasingly bright, the insetted ceiling-bulbs humming with a soft, muted drone. It joined the steady, rushing hiss of water rivuletting down the firmer hands of the surgeon seconded to the infirmary’s dwellings by choice and practicality. Wisps of hot steam wafted up, twisting through the near-sterile space before dissipating entirely. It was a spartan place, even by the standards of such stations, however the man appreciated the simplicity. The bare, metal furnishings honed his focus each time his hard, auburn gaze graced and raced across the polished, almost-gleaming surfaces of pale silver and the ivory walls. It reminded him even with his own visage. His chestnut eyes, warm as a sun-streaked stone, glanced at the warped reflection, face barely discernible in the metal’s imperfect mirror. Though he could not see it clearly, he imagined the deepened lines that ran like the grooves and bends of dried rivers upon his skin, eroded by the waves of concern, apprehension, guilt. His hair similarly weathered and withered; the locks exhausted, lifeless, the deep, rich ink of his hair slowly devoured at first by gray tides either side, then stark white creeping up. His sight lingered at the murky image, before Sleepwalker breathed, long, deep. His knee bent forwards, shutting off the stream of warm water.

Even before the world had descended into the abyssal throes of madness, he barely contended with the stress mounting on his mind, seeping into his body like a spreading crimson stain. At first, he faced it with indifference in hand, a weapon and shield to meet the challenges put before him. Its mettle faltered and he sought more potent implements.

His hand went up, clenching tight his service tags and the metallic disc strung around his neck. The thought was halted, then discarded as if it were blood-stained rags disposed into a depthless waste unit.

As he turned towards the infirmary’s door, Ceto’s voice clicked over the ship’s intercom. The surgeon glanced at the wall-mounted device, nodding at the directive. He tugged straight his sleeves and stepped out into the well-lit corridor of the Exodus. He’ll arrive in time, that is assured, however nothing precluded him from proceeding through the open deck to savour the crisp, salted air. He suspected it would be a long mission, the thought of it irritated him.

—

Sleepwalker arrived mere minutes before Ceto had, crossing his arms as he waited for the artificial adjutant to brief them. He listened intently as the mission was described. His knuckle met his chin as he deliberated on his gear for a moment. He knew, by the incongruous nature and necessities of such tasks, that he would be deployed within the squad as opposed to being distanced. In truth, he welcomed it as such proximity provided opportunities to more readily assist them.

As the mission detailing concluded, Sleepwalker went to begin his combat preparations. He donned the black bodyglove — forming around his body, its adaptive fabric acclimating to a comfortable temperature— then the smooth, ashen-gray and snow-pale plates. He seated and turned the helm slightly, fixing it seamlessly of its uniform. It took him no more than a minute to prepare himself.

He boarded the Osprey with a designated marksman rifle slung across his chest. Sleepwalker saw Sokol’s darkened expression as her words tore through her lips smoothly. The surgeon sat down, glancing briefly at the Promethean. The crimson visor, gleaming in the wan light of the hold, almost dissecting her before drifting away. “Regardless, never hide anything from your doctor.” Sleepwalker suggested, the hint of sincerity in his voice contrasting the cruel, haughty gaze of his helm.

 

[AI10100]

Exodite

Foxtail

Vanguard

Muster Station, Exodus -> Helipad

Despite all the time Foxtail has spent with the Exodites, she always felt a little lost on what to do during the breaks. Muncher typically roped her into doing something, or Sleepwalker would allow her to stay at the med bay and continue to teach her basic first aid. She had the option of going to Gefahr to brainstorm ideas to improve her equipment and allow her deucalium to be integrated even more. But, after a gruelling mission, she knew better than to be a bother to them during their well-needed rest.

She took to Marina Bay and found herself in the company of boxing enthusiasts. She followed them to the gym and laughed alongside them as they tested her mettle. Remember, one of them said as he patted her back once everyone had tired out, with only Foxtail remaining active. You gotta come back around when you dock again. She didn't even know when that would possibly be next time, but she agreed anyway.

Foxtail returned to the ship, fiddling a little badge they had given her to allow her access whenever she wanted to come around again. She headed back to her quarters to take a shower and freshen up. Before she could cave into the boredom of the day and plan on asking if Muncher had any pranks in plan, Ceto's voice crackled through the speakers.

Oh, something familiar. Livening up, Foxtail quickly threw on her uniform jacket to be more presentable before falling in line with the other operators who responded to the call. Despite being one of the most explosive presences on the battlefield, she hung back from the other operators— attentive and ready. Lessons beat into her for countless years, showing despite the more lax nature of the Exodites.

The mission itself was simple and straightforward. Find the Onyx squad and return them back to the extraction point, preferably all intact. Though transporting a squad who likely has members with severe injuries through a town riddled with REDs was less than ideal. She heard Firebreak and Crow discussing and coordinating what equipment to go with for this mission. A trill of excitement traveled through her body at the mere idea of being deployed once again, followed by the crash of guilt knowing what exactly they'd be doing made her turn around and leave as soon as they were dismissed instead of listening to the decision that her fellow vanguards would come to.

Gathering her own loadout took little to no brainpower, securing the armor specifically repurposed for her own usage and rechecking if her dosimeter was still perfectly operational— it always was, Foxtail's likeness to REDs made her suspect of slipping past her threshold— before taking her firearms. She hurried to the helipad and boarded soon after Sleepwalker, taking her position next to the doctor.

Foxtail made a cursory glance towards the other occupants of the borrowed aircraft. Eddie seemed a little worse for wear, but Foxtail had come to expect eccentricity from him due to the unstable nature of his abilities. Sokol, on the other hand, was a rare sight in their expeditions but her expression was plain to see. Still, she did not pry. People often liked talking when it was a decision made of their own volition. So, she turned back to Sleepwalker. "Do you expect that you'll need my assistance later?" Foxtail was relatively unskilled in the craft of medicine but she knew enough to be helpful in case of emergencies.

Worthlessplebian

Code by Arkangel

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Gefahr / Angelika Fiedler

Location: Muster Station, Exodus
Interactions: AI10100 | Worthlessplebian | Pilgrim59 ​

There is nothing quite like a shower after a long and hard day's work of pouring your soul into art. Now, when most people say art, you would assume they mean something like painting or sculpting or writing and the like, but Angelika Fielder did not fit into that "most people" category. Her kind of art was more of the metal, gears, oil, and soot kind, one most people would hire someone else to do, in the pre-war days at least.

And what was her piece of the day you may ask? A little work tidying up the ship's armory and a 'little' maintenance on the Exodus's Growlers along with Sokol, though Gefahr would stay back a little longer after her fellow Exodite left to do a quick touch up on one of the cars. That day's piece was definitely on the more messy side of the spectrum. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get motor oil out of your hair?

So now after all that, there Gefahr sat in the ship's galley, finishing up a light meal. The past week has been a nice change of pace for once, she’d almost have forgotten what it was like to be on land, much less remember what it felt like to be in a proper city. The persistence and adaptability of mankind was something to be admired as much as its innovation. What would this city have been were it not for the whole world being set ablaze? Perhaps mankind would have made it to the moon by now or further. Or perhaps it’s a sign that she’s had too much downtime for her to have time to think about these 2am songs in depth outside of that sacred period of time where thoughts spiral easier than water down a drain.

It was a good thing then that right at that moment the ship’s speakers sounded before she could down her flask of whiskey again. “Schließlich…” But it certainly wasn’t gonna stop her from taking a quick swig before heading out.

By the time Gefahr arrived at the mustering point, flask on her waist and rifle slung over her back, there were a good amount of Exodites already gathered.

"Poaching my mechanic apprentice are we now, Herr Doktor?" She said, catching Foxtail’s offer of help to the good doctor as she boarded the aircraft, staring at him with a stern poker face before a sly grin spread across her face and an equally sly laugh escaped her as she gave Sleepwalker a slap on the shoulder. But that wasn’t the only thing said on that aircraft that caught her attention when she boarded. “What’s this about a bottle now, Frau Muncher?” She called over to their pilot as she took her place in the aircraft. “Shall we hit the bar then after this then Fraulien?”

 

[SP3CT3R]

Lurker
Interactions: None in particular
Armory → Muster Station → Hangar

Boom. Headshot. Milo pumped a fist when he saw the arrow sticking out of the target, smack-dab in the center of where the forehead would be. He knew that an actual RED encounter was much more complex than hitting a stationary target in a clearly-marked area, but the better Milo got at archery, the less he'd need to rely on his magic bow's powers, and the less his squad would have to cover for him.

Milo walked over to the target to pluck out all the arrows he'd stuck it with. These were just the practice arrows, so he could grab all of them at once and pull them out like that. The actual combat arrows were tipped with some sort of high-tech alloys that would've penetrated a few inches, requiring him to stand there and wiggle them out one by one.

As he went to put the arrows back, Ceto's voice played over the speakers, summoning everyone to the Muster Station for mission briefing. All Exodites. That includes me. Milo put the compound bow he was practicing with back on the wall and switched it out for the magic one on his way out. Due to the armory's proximity to the Muster Station, Milo was one of the first to arrive. He took up a spot closer to the back of the room to give space to the others as they filed in.

---

After the mission briefing was over, everyone filed out to make their preparations. Milo had thought he was being smart by picking up his bow on the way there, but he ended up having to go back anyways to get the rest of his gear. And then he decided to grab some protein bars while he was at it, and the whole endeavor took eight of the allotted minutes.

Milo hustled to the the hangar where everyone else was gathered. He wasn't quite in danger of being left behind, but it was clear he was one of the last to arrive. "Sorry I'm late, everyone."

 

[Soviet Panda]

Charging Pod 5133-P​

Crow darted through the narrow hallways of the building, Vulture, Puffin, Jackal, Hyena, and Lynx hot on his heels. His rotary cannon was running low, the lightened load on his back a reminder of how close to out he was. Enemy forces, predicted to be to far out to provide assistance to their comrades, was in fact close enough to provide assistance. How operations could screw something like that up was beyond Crow, but he was in no position to be mad about that. He had more pressing issues to contend with.

"Where did they bloody come from?" Asked Vulture, slamming his shoulder into cover as small arms fire peppered through a window. He swung around, shouldered his rifle, and fired off a shot. Crow didn't have to look to know it was a hit. "Bloody hell," Vulture continued to growl once safely back behind cover and chambering another round into his rifle. "A lot of them, couldn't get a good count. We got any grenades left?"

"One here," Jackal shouted, showing it to the rest of her squad. "Where's a good group of them?"

"Crow, them your pretty face."

Crow wordlessly stood up and brazenly looked out the window. A storm of lead greeted him. His dermal plating was rated to protect him from small to medium rounds, but Crow did not want to test that protection for to long. Dipping back behind cover, he turns to Jackal. "Left side, silver sedan in front of a shop with an awning. I think it's a café."

With a devilish smile, Jackal pulled the pin and smoothly stood, aimed, and threw before dropping once more into cover. A dull krump and pained shouts told Crow that the grenade had taken several of their opposition out of action. But by the increased sounds of gunfire, it didn't really help.

"Puffin, You need to get us through to Operational Command."

"Still jammed," the petite Puffin replied, smg slung at her side as she worked the controls of the compact radio she carried on her back. From what little Crow knew, that thing was several times stronger than anything else it's size currently in use. So whatever was jamming them was either very powerful, or was following them. Hyena gave a nervous laugh as he ejected his magazine and checked how many rounds it had as Puffin gave her small device a frustrated slap.

"We are surrounded." The burly Lynx chimed in, her feline like sensors panning to and fro. She was doing much the same as Hyena and checking her weapons and ammo, making sure they were ready for the fight to come, paying special attention to her knife. "Looks like this is where we make our stand."

"No, this isn't. Crow, make a hole for us."

Crow nodded in affirmation, and he ran at the wall, using his mass to plough through the much weaker construction of the building. Everything became a blur after that. Vulture's head disappearing from the shot of an unseen shooter. Lynx's knife repeatedly plunging into her latest victim even as they dump a magazine into the soft spots of her armor, Crow vainly searching for a shot that wouldn't kill them both with his rotary cannon. Hyena and Jackal laughing at some cosmic joke even as they built their mausoleum of blood and brass.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crow
The Exodus
Interactions: Match ( Nellancholy )​

Crow was pulled from his nightmare by Ceto's calm voice calling him and the other Exodites to the Mustering Station. He was glad for it, but wished it had come sooner. He and Puffin were the only two that had survived that mission. He had used himself as a shield and grabbed her when his rotary cannon had ran dry. He couldn't remember why he had done it, or whether the jet that had dropped a bomb on where he thought his squad mates had died was the enemy making sure, an opportunistic friendly striking at a large gathering of enemy forces, or a cover up. But none of that mattered, he and Puffin had survived. But they were separated not long after returning to base. 'Debriefing' was the only answer he got. And now, through a series of events involving going completely AWOL, he had become an Exodite.

Unplugging from his designated charging pod, Crow made his way to the Mustering Station to listen to the mission brief. A simple mission, all things considered, one he was designed for. Go in, bee line it to the objective, and extract. Could not be simpler. The urban environment would provide it's own problems, but would also have it's benefits. They were told to pack light, and promptly dismissed.

Thudding his way to the armory, he studied is two options. He began to reach for one when Match approached him and posed her question. His hand paused mid air, suddenly unsure. Lynx dying as he stood with rotary cannon whirring, impotent to help. The image flashed across his mind in mere moments, but it cemented his decision. His hand resumed it's travel, and landed on the variable spear and shield. "Orders were to pack light," he said in the synthesized voice of a first gen RAVEN, "lives depend on it."

Once properly equipped and armored, Crow marched to the Osprey. He gave it a dubious look before boarding, the additional weight of his reinforced frame having been an issue in the past. He gave an acknowledging nod to his fellow RAVEN before taking his place as close to the center of the aircraft as possible so as to more even distribute his weight.

 

[luciferin]

Exodite

Arachne

REDs Specialist

Berthing Quarters → Muster Station → Helipad, Exodus

Juan sits on the couch with a bowl of cool water balanced on her lap. Her fingers lay submerged in the water, their nails coated with a layer of translucent polish that shimmers in a subtle blush-colored iridescence when held up to the light. Mermaid pink, the label called it. It reminded her of Ceto while it was shopping, so she bought it in a fit of whimsy. Looking at its effects, she decides that it’s a rather pretty color, perhaps one that’s worth using on a more regular basis.

Unfortunately, speak of the devil, and she will appear. Ceto’s call rings across the speakers, and when Juan checks on the state of her polish, she finds that it’s still slightly soft. With a few more minutes, she could let it solidify, but moving at this point would make irregular shapes in the coating.

Juan glances at her watch and sighs. There’s no way around it.

She sets the bowl aside and stands up, shaking her hands as she files out of the cabin and towards the muster station. The movement forms waves on the surface of her nails, but it’s better to put her hopes down early than to let them give her grief later down the line. Trying to keep her hands from brushing against anything during preparation and briefing would be exactly how a mistake happens, and Juan has never been one for mistakes. If anything, she’d much prefer a calculated chaos.

Once she positions herself in view of the hologram, Juan glances at the example of that chaos which covers the tips of her fingers and hums. “Not bad.” The thing about beauty is that it’s as much on the wearer as it is on appeal, and for someone who bets on herself every time, that’s an easy call to make.

Eddie shifts into reality, seeming to be subscribed to a similar fashion sentiment, and Juan can’t help but watch as he digs a bullet out from his chest. “Nymph, you happen to have a reading on his pain sensitivity?” It’s half teasing, half curious, but she figures that the AI will be more likely to have the data than Eddie himself. “Your man seems more stoic than some RAVENs when he does stuff like this.”

The meeting is efficient, as all of Ceto’s tend to be, and Juan finds herself unlocking her Red containment cases as the rest of the Exodites arm themselves and prepare to take off. Milo’s voice covers the click of their locks as they open, and the creatures they contain crawl outward, leaving Juan’s lips to curve in a languid smile at the sight of the other operator. Every intelligence operation keeps an eye out for information about artifacts, and Juan has yet to shed her roots.

“Looks like you’re packing the heavy firepower today,” she says, in lieu of greeting. “A bow seems quite useful for this type of situation.” As she steps onto the helicopter, one of her hands drops to tap on her rifle. “This might be unnecessary since we’re handling Reds, but it’d feel wrong to set off with only a pistol.”

Gears SP3CT3R

Code by Arkangel

 

[Pilgrim59]

Exodite

Sokol

Rear Echelon Leader

Helipad, Exodus

It did not take long for their designated corpsman to lend a word to her woes. Tucking the blade closer to her folded arms, Sokol replied Sleepwalker in kind with a long sigh. "I'm sure you'll fix me right if I were to lose an arm or leg. Clearly, no apples can keep you away from a missed appointment. Rest assured, good doctor, I have been eating my vegetables and staying hydrated."

She then turned her attention to Foxtail, one of the unfortunate victims of the Uncle Sam's Talos Program and its unethical measures, and smiled softly. "More than you'd think, Foxtail. There's always a chance of ambrohols and alcohol substitutes going missing, isn't that right, Muncher?"

"Can neither confirm nor deny any allegations, Birdie." The pilot retorted from behind her seat with a nonchalant but guilty tone. "The ship's possessed. Anything can go missing."

As the rotors spun up, Muncher cocked her head back towards the end of the fuselage for headcount. "One, two, and some sorry lots... Oh Firebreak! Appreciated the light, love. Remind me to catch you up for the troubles when we get back. I've got something stronger than your A-Fuel."

"Life's not short enough for you, Muncher?"

"Eh. At least lung cancer isn't a flight risk. You [Prometheans] lot are walking nuclear reactors waiting to go off at any moment."

"That's... not how it works." Sokol shook her head in disbelief.

"Right, and I'm the President of Dragon Land." Muncher replied sarcastically.

"Wouldn't that be a sight." Sokol mused, chuckling softly to herself.
Worthlessplebian AI10100 Nellancholy

Code by Arkangel

 

[Pilgrim59]

Exodite

Ceto

Chief Mate

Exodus, Marina Shipyard, Singapore

Meanwhile back on the Exodus, Ceto continued to track the aircraft on the bridge's monitors. As she did, the Raven took it upon herself to peruse Crow's neural tracings of which had been recorded via their personal hibernation pod. Perusing the data, she found herself lost in contemplation while reminiscing Ulysses's words many years ago. The vivid imagery of combat brought back an uneasy cognitive response by the Raven.

"No, my dear Captain. Ravens do not dream of nano sheeps." Ceto muttered to herself, logging the fragments of Crow's processed data into her archive.

Despite her diligence, the Raven often finds herself distracted of late - as if her times spent with the other Exodites have somehow slowed her processing capabilities. The indescribable sentiment of wishing to learn, but not to evolve. How strange, she reflected, while lending an eye to the tiny flask of eau de parfum that she had procured with Arachne's aid that now laid upon her palm. While she did not find it useful to her in any way, she somehow justified it as a way to comprehend human's emotional language. Though such aspirations were not of her own conjuring, but a disguise for what she would not dare to express in earnest - simply due to the fact that someone had complimented her perfume choice. She still remember it well - the day she found herself telling a lie of her own accord. A lie that would now become a mission for the Raven to unravel and complete.

Before she could break away from her thoughts, she felt a light flick against the back of her head - prompting her to widen her optics at the assailant as she struggled to hold onto the flask properly. As it slipped out of her hand, the figure caught it in mid-air.

"Slow your processors, Chief Mate." Ulysses said, handing the perfume back to Ceto.

"C-Captain! Pardon me, I was not aware of your return."

"Well, it is my ship. I come and go as I please." He raised his brows, casting his gaze upon the flask in her hand. "Estee Lauder. It suits you. Best keep it out of Muncher's sight. That woman will not hesitate to gulp it down in one go."

Shifting her gaze about, the Raven quickly recovered and nodded.

"Understood." Ceto replied, quickly complying to Ulysses's suggestion.

"ETA on our element to the AO?"

"They should make land by now. Ten minutes on foot once the LZ is secured. Everything is on schedule."

"Very good. Why don't you take a break? I'll take the watch."

"But Captain, I can-"

"That was an order, Chief Mate. Go on."

"Understood. Will you have the usual?"

"Yes. Extra sugar please." Ulysses nodded with a smile, as he turned towards the monitor that finally was pending connection. "Ulysses to Ground Element. Give me a sitrep."

Code by Arkangel

 

[Pilgrim59]

Exodite

Muncher

AWS

Landing Zone, West of Peria, Malaysia

Upon being inquired by Gefahr, Muncher was swift to show her interest over the German's offer.

"Something to look forward to, on Ulysses's tab for our hard work." She said, taking one final glance at the electronic systems before her before continuing. "I'd love to go on a date with you, love, but you'd have to buy me dinner first."

Switching the in-flight comms on, the woman raised both her hands towards the window panels as the Ravens on deck began to relay their hand signals.

"Attention, all passengers, this is your captain speaking. Flight of some super combatants and able-bodied adventurers. The weather outside is currently great for a swim in a sea filled with Reds as we will now head north to fish some Neps out of trouble." Muncher announced, as the droning rear door finally locked into place. "Please make sure to stow away all personal belongings, and fasten your seatbelts. In the event that your seatbelts fail to fasten, kindly find the nearest Polish Promethean's to hold onto."

When the Raven on deck with the yellow jacket finally gave Muncher a thumbs up and a launch signal, the Osprey roared with all its might. "Extra munitions and water may or may not be served in-flight - courtesy of Muncher Airline. Thank you for your undivided attention. Please sit back and enjoy the flight."

The actuator flashed green on her monitor, prompting Muncher to gradually press on the pedals in tandem with the accelerator levers. Within minutes, the VTOL aircraft achieved lift-off and transitioned to flight upon reaching Muncher's desired altitude. Propelling them forward, the aircraft gained some speed over the city before disappearing into the clouds above. The glint of Muncher's helmet refracted the creamy dreams of unrealized hopes as the Exodites sallied forth to answer the call of their purpose - venturing into the unknown as they did many times before.

Clockwork_Magic

--RELAYING TACCOM LIVE FEED--

The Osprey made its landing in an abandoned parking lot, releasing the Exodites within to disembark within the first two minutes. Sokol was the first to disembark with a navigation backpack in tow. Around them were several warehouses with empty vehicles and craters left behind by past ordinances. One road led east towards their objective, riddled with abandoned vehicles and makeshift barricades. Rusty gates and overturned stones spoke of a once-populated unloading area, now at the mercy of roaming packs of Reds. Down the road towards Peria were separated facilities and decrepit homes.

"Muncher to Ulysses. All operators on the ground. Feed coming online now. Got a clear picture, boss?" Muncher replied over the comms, as Sokol withdrew the drone from her backpack and activated its camera over the landing zone. As the drone relayed its footage in real-time, Sokol made her way towards Firebreak and handed her the drone's strobe - allowing it to track her movement from above.

"All yours, Firebreak. Will update on any peripheral movements. See you all soon." Sokol said, tapping her shoulder twice in confidence before departing to clear the nearby warehouses.

"Good connection. Sokol, establish a perimeter with Muncher. The rest, proceed with mission." Ulysses announced.

As the droning noises of the aircraft finally died down, Muncher disembarked with her munition webbing and rifle in tow. Unfolding her stock, she loaded a fresh magazine and pressed the bolt-catch. Tilting the sandstone instrument slightly at high-ready, she pulled the charging handle back slightly for a press-check before releasing it gently forward with her thumb and index finger. Scanning the area before her, Muncher climbed atop one of the warehouses with a hole in its roof. Once she made it atop, the woman sat back and watched Sokol traversing the perimeter with her rangefinder. A particular detail caught her interest as she monitored the Promethean from afar.

"That birdie sure has some flaps on her. Huge flaps." She grinned mischievously.

"Comms still open, you know? Anymore ogling and I'll pluck your eyes out, Muncher. Any eyes on that loading crane to the east?" Sokol retorted with a firm voice.

"Right. The job. Almost forgot I had one." Muncher said, veering her optics towards the cranes in the northern sector. "Nothing on that end. Feel free to run over there and order me a chicken sandwich."

"Very funny. Keep your eyes peeled."

Worthlessplebian AI10100 Soviet Panda Nellancholy Huntertabbysandshark3 Clockwork_Magic Gears luciferin SP3CT3R

Code by Arkangel

 

[Nellancholy]

Match (Firebreak)
Muster Station, Exodus -> Armory
Interaction: Soviet Panda (Crow)​

"Aww, you're no fun." The idea occurred to Match to say that to Crow, but she knew better than that. Ravens who showed too much individualism when it came to practical matters like this didn't last very long at all. And as she knew, Crow had lasted very long by their standards indeed. But even more important than following orders from command when it came to boots on the ground was being in sync with one's team. Being one of the other heavy weapons operators on the team, Crow's decision should surely influence her own.

If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding.

Supposedly, that was an excerpt from the Art of War. Once upon a time, Sun Tzu might have known a little more about fighting than you did, but maybe the rules were different in a world of neural networks and drone strikes. Even so, the value of initiative was evergreen.

"Duly noted. See you on board, birdie."

That was what actually came out of her mouth before she turned and ran, streaking past the crew milling around the corridors as she headed to the armory. As she approached the locker where her gear was stored, she nonchalantly slipped out of any extraneous clothing, letting it pool to the floor as she popped the container open and got dressed. Even if she wasn't bringing (much of) her own fire, the ability to resist similar tactics from hostiles (and the greatcoat's very slight ability to deaden impacts) would still help. Just like that, the greatcoat and fireproof trousers went on, the gas mask hanging off her neck. She'd put that on in transit. Without the bulk of her flamethrower, its spare tank of fuel, and the two fire grenades, she had more than enough room to pack an additional bandolier of incendiary shells for her shotgun and a couple of extra speedloaders for her revolver. And of course...

She hefted her maul, then let go, allowing it to sit on a loop around her coat's waist.

"Ready." She muttered under her breath, tapping her chest and then giving a thumbs up to her locker. With no further time to lose, she once again sprinted to the Osprey, barely losing pace but all her gear quietly jingling as she went, her increased bulk inviting some sudden sidesteps and gasps from the crew.

---

Match (Firebreak)
Osprey -> Landing Site
Interactions: Soviet Panda (Crow) AI10100 (Foxtail) SP3CT3R (Lurker)​

The flight was uneventful as deployments go; Match's premature evaluation of "under fire" being not quite right. But that didn't mean they were safe exactly, from the moment boots hit the ground. Whatever had done...that to the Paskal team was likely still in the vicinity. And if not, it was safer to assume that any uninhabited area was home to REDs than not.

As Munchy handed Match the drone's strobe, she smiled, her artificial face visibly crinkling above her gas mask. "Oh, for me? You really should have." She dropped the device into her chest pocket, pulling a strap to secure it in place. She turned,taking her shotgun into hand from where it hung off her shoulder by a sling, scanning the perimeter. Nothing in plain sight or in engagement range yet, but her motion sensors were already buzzing faintly. Contact was possible the moment they left the immediate area of the landing site.

"Looks like I'm taking point." She remarked to the group, stating a position she would hold unless someone else cared to object. "Crow, Foxtail, Lurker, on me." She raised her index finger pointing up and twirled it in a circle. "We'll form the spearhead. Everyone else, follow loosely and keep your eyes up."

With that, the group set out east, weaving through abandoned warehouses, slipping through broken windows and around containers, maintaining proximity to the safety of large cover for as long as possible.

 

[Gears]

Song

Eddie Gears

Tags: luciferin

"His pain is reduced slightly, but unfortantely, a life spent without any real fear of death has left him dessensitized to wounds. He believes he won't die so pain does not matter- impalement is only an annoyance to free himself, incineration just ruins his clothing- I have tried to tell him this is unhealthy."

Eddie did not listen as he pulled a recording of the meeting from his files- glad he had been sent it, watching at a 2X speed before annotating the text Nymph had generated, memorizing his part in the mission, the locations- anything of use. When everyone left, Eddie walked through the ship until he reached his bunk, opening the chest to find the contents. He had not brought much on his earlier "Expedition" and would make sure he was ready for whatever came from this. He grabbed his rifle. hung on the wall with bio-locked restraints, checking the ammo before grabbing a new jumpsuit- throwing his in a pile of destroyed ones he would repair later.

There where many- he tore through the things like acid on paper- some would be unsavable. He couldn't save the one that was burned away in most places (Including a few private areas he had been mocked for), along with the one that had a large amount of blood around his neck- beheading was the worst. He finally slipped the overcoat he sometimes wore over the uniform in case of rain, the black material splattered in his neon green spray-paint, along with a few patches sewn on it- all with the Proxima Labs logo on them, torn from uniforms.

His usual jovial demeaner faded at seeing the symbol of the lightning bolt on a stylized human mind, putting it aside for the patchless variant of his cloak before placing a harness over the billowing mass of Bio-Steel, an invention of his- steel like cloth that he grew in Stygia, able to bend like cloth and appear like it, but could stop some arms fire. Once the straps where in place, Eddie put a few tools and magazines in their places before quickly wiping down his helmet, washing blood from the inside.

"We should modify the delivery system- I can see them in the corners of my eye already."

Nymph stayed silent as he tried to avoid looking at the masses of smoke that watched him from the shadows- eyes glowing white as they did so- hating him. One bold figure stepped forward, feminine in shape. Each form was rough, difficult to identify with the shifting of smoke and crude forms- but this one was stabilizing as it grew closer- a hand reaching for Eddie, His heartbeat quickened as he stared at the thing as hair began to grow no no no no Hair he could remember complaining about with its looseness, a liability in a fight- but he had liked it all the same. The hand began to solidify and melt into warm flesh- a hand he could remember holding on darkest nights when the shadows of another world encroached on his mind. A bracelet he had made for her coming into view- made from spare wires and metal from his Invention Period. Eddie was horrified as the flesh spread, now showing a uniform with that damned logo on the arm, slowly extending to her neck, exposing golden hair.

Eddie brought the syringe down on his leg as he felt a hand brush his cheek, cold and dead. The phantom vanished as he felt Lethe spread, purging those memories that had begun to resurface without the drug. He groaned as he felt that coldness, from the things touch and his vice. He opened his eyes and saw something impossible- that same bracelet sitting on the ground where something had been standing. His memory faded as he quickly put the object in a pocket before running out the door, paler than normal as he ran for the vehicle, searching for those phantoms- but they where gone. They had never been there; his mind erased those memories, leaving shallow holes where everyone was composed of the strange smoke- except one with a more humanoid shape eyes not burning with hate- but sorrow.

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Callsign: Haraxhi
interaction: Pilgrim59 Nellancholy
location: operation site​

Operation time as soon as the osprey landed Haraxhi was already up sure they where not the first to get out of the craft there was operation order too it, still once they where on the ground the Raven hat flowed softly the sensor suite lighting up feeding data of the landing zone to them. Firebreak was on drone duties, switches there sensor suite to tracking RED they’d sign a little bit at the coms traffic usual tit for tat between sokol and muncher but that was to be expected. “Chicken sandwiches later girls“ haraxhi commented, moving along with the rest of the group firebreak taking point along with a few of the others. “Copy that will stick to the edge of the formation“ they Raven commented towards firebreak. “Channels open in case anyone needs to patch into sensors on my end tracking for RED‘s will give a heads up if anything looking fishy“ haraxhi added afterwards, weaving through the warehouses and building grappling hook attachment coming in handy for scaling anything they thought might make a good perch before moving on. Gut feeling telling them things wouldn’t go all that smoothly.. or maybe it was just paranoia?

 

[Pilgrim59]

Exodite

Ulysses

Captain of The Exodus

Exodus, Marina Shipyard, Singapore

--RELAYING TACCOM LIVE FEED--
Ten minutes of silent march would come to pass. Radovich Dosimeters worn by the Exodites promptly clicked audibly upon their entry of Peria's outer perimeter where decrepit buildings lay bare among ruins of metallic panels and abandoned vehicles. The drone fastened its sight on the far side of the first intersection, revealing several bullet holes that riddled the southern buildings, alongside trails of blood and torn load-bearing equipment. Just around the corner was an armored MRAP that was hit by a mine just a hundred meters down the road. Among the worn-out environment, the vehicle stood out the most - absent of its owners.

With Match leading the rest of the Exodites forward, their presence was shadowed by the abundance of dormant covers that also concealed their silhouettes. As the drone above them reflected the feed to his monitor, Ulysses made a mental note of their surroundings.

As Firebreak and Haraxhi's computing integers would dictate, the absence of contact in contrast as what would otherwise be speculated as an emergency only gave way to a mutually-assured expectation of an ambush. The drone buzzed forward, with its lens panning left and right before centering on the convenience store with its windows encased in wooden planks and loading pallets.

"Entry Team. Hold on that road ahead. I have eyes on casings leading up to that convenience store. Match, take the street to your left and circle around the back. Survivors could be inside." Ulysses informed, guiding the Exodites to take a low-profile approach towards the store.

"Rads* are picking up, but nothing on scope for now. Announce yourself before making entry." He added, tapping on the console repeatedly with his index finger out of anticipation as his thoughts began to make sense of the dormant footage.

"Exfil team, status."

"Muncher to Ulysses. All quiet on the western front, skipper. Just waiting to grab my chicken sandwich with Haraxhi. How are things on your end, Sokol?"

"Sokol to all units. Be advised. I have a visual on RED chitins to the north. Tracks look fresh - school of ten or more - circling back east towards Peria. What's the call, boss?"

"Hold your posture, Sokol. Entry team - proceed with mission and watch your surroundings." Ulysses replied.

"Copy. Holding."

Turning towards Ceto as she returned with a fresh cup of coffee, Ulysses transferred the footage to her pad. "What do you make of this?"

Examining the scene, she turned back towards Ulysses with an answer.

"A brief gunfight. Several human personnel detected from different directions. Trajectories dictate an ambush - however, it seems that the skirmish was interrupted by REDs. Displacement of objects detected here and here. I can only conclude that the survivors must have barricaded themselves inside this convenience store. Five-five-six casings faced outward - matching those near the decommissioned MRAP. There is a 72.1% probability that the survivors are Onyx, with a high chance that they may have set defensive ordinance around the perimeter."

"If you were Onyx, where would you place the charges?"

"Center of the main road - for maximum area-of-effect and fatality. Advisable to take the left street and make entry via the rear entrance of the store."

"Then we are of the same mind." Satisfied with Ceto's answer, he leaned back in his seat with a confident smile.

"Why not announce our presence with the drone instead?"

"The human mind tends to fall prey to doubts and uncertainties. I'm sure the friendly faces of our gentle operators will do just fine."

"I see. A factor that I failed to consider. Forgive me."

"Chin up, Chief Mate. Even humans fail to comprehend their own intentions, let alone their expressions. Regrets, among other things..." Ulysses said, trailing off with his own concerns before shrugging it off with a scoff. "Anyways! Nothing to worry about. Though I am curious as to how things would unfold this time. I find Lee's timing too convenient for our time here. The last thing I want is to get caught in something not of our own volition."

"Is there something about the Chairman that we must caution ourselves going forward?"

"I have faith in his competence. However, because of our common grounds, I cannot disregard the possibility that he may share a mind of my own as well. No one is more dangerous than someone that has a glimpse of your own mind. Business is one thing, but I'd rather not let the Exodus suffer the agendas of others. Our principle as rovers still stand - until we finally find our own shores."

From behind the barricaded windows, the HK416 barrel's silhouette twitched for a moment at the touch of the breaching sunlight - forcing the defender to shift towards the shadow. Their sight was dead set on middle of the street, of which was rigged with explosives before they found refuge inside the convenience store. Whispering towards his half-awake partner, the commando woke them up gently in their native tongue.

"Pelawat (Visitors)." He muttered in Malay, having taken note of the buzzing noises that came from the drone. Yet, despite their desperate situation, the two refused to run into the open until they were sure that their visitors were their own. His partner would gradually rose to his feet in a swift and quiet manner, grabbing his rifle and taking position to watch the convenience store's backdoor. As for the front door, they had armed an appropriate tripwire charge with sufficient pack to incapacitate any trespassers. Maintaining his trigger discipline, he would not make his presence known just yet, despite the drone's persistent presence.

Having barricaded themselves for almost a day following the ambush by bandits and then the REDs, their wariness was well-deserved enough for their current posture. In the confusion, they managed to escape the highwaymen. Meanwhile, their last message to HQ was made with the help of a civilian that somehow ended up in the wrong place, at the right time. A man in proper suit and tie, a rare and suspicious sight this far from Singapura. For their own safety, the man was quickly detained and left in the storeroom filled with leftover supplies - but not before being stripped of his own cellular device to contact home. Until he was identified, the two commandoes were less-keen on letting the man roam about on his own.

*Rads: Shortened form of Radovich Dosimeter, which detects RED's radioactive presence within a certain range and keeps track of Promethean's Deucalium.

Nellancholy Huntertabbysandshark3

Code by Arkangel

 

[Nellancholy]

Match (Firebreak)
Landing Site -> Convenience Store
Interactions: Pilgrim59 (Rescue targets)
Mentions: Soviet Panda (Crow) AI10100 (Foxtail) SP3CT3R (Lurker) Huntertabbysandshark3 (Haraxhi)​

The situation so far remained calm, though the tension remained in a very tangible way as the buzzing in Firebreak's sensors refused to resolve. All the other Ravens with recon capabilities must feel the same way. If they were humans, their hearts would be beating in sync, adrenaline on a slow drip into their blood. But there were no breaths or heartbeat to shake Firebreak's grip for even a millimeter as she pressed on, flanked by her squad. Hopefully, Sokol and Haraxhi would keep their eyes open enough to warn them of any approaching hostiles.

The combination of drone recon and following the trail on the ground led the group to a vacant convenience store that had been hastily fortified with materials at hand, mainly around the windows. Her old unit was used to assaulting structures like this. The MO was simple: hit fast and hard from as many angles as possible. Demolish barricades, nullifying their chokepoints. Identify IEDs and jam their signals if remotely triggered, or pop any mechanical triggers and turn them back against them. If they proved intractable, then the flaming gel came out, surging through vents, blanketing corridors. Do it right and few could offer further resistance for long.

Of course, an extraction required a slightly steadier hand. Not that her unit generally did that, but they were certainly trained to.

Circling around the back door with the others, she leveled her gun at the lock.

"Hey guys! We're the rescue team from the Exodus, looking for a certain few people in need of help." She pointedly avoided identifying who asked for the Exodites or that they were searching for Onyx team. "We're coming in fast, so I advise that unless you want to dance, you lower your weapons and make no sudden moves."

And with a BANG a slug was fired, mangling the lock. Firebreak cycled her weapon, ejecting the spent shell before kicking the door open.

As she swept in with the others at her back, she kept the muzzle of her weapon low and her finger off the trigger, in hopes of avoiding any...involuntary motion on her part.

"Identify yourselves! You just may win a ride home."

 

[AI10100]

Exodite

Foxtail

Vanguard

Convenience store

Foxtail snorted at Gefahr's tease. Both the doctor and the mechanic allowed her to learn under them and it was an amazing way to pass the time when she wasn't throwing herself in training. It had slowly shifted her position of being a curious bystander to their craft to being an active learner even if there wasn't any chance that she would ever actually take over their jobs. It was a kind idea to have but Foxtail learned very quickly not to expect anything for the future.

"As long as the ship doesn't suddenly take my share." She responded with a lift of her shoulder. Foxtail found herself getting used to Muncher's penchant for grabbing everything and anything remotely edible sooner rather than later— even faced with their own supplies on the move. But they were reserves for a reason and, well, not a lot among the Exodites would even touch Ambrohol. Muncher was just too insane for a normal human.

The younger Promethean couldn't help the short laugh that escaped her throat at Muncher's joke and Sokol's rebuttal. Foxtail began fiddling with her dosimeter. Most of the Exodites were aware of her acceptance of, perhaps, the eventual descent of Prometheans to their less-than-stellar counterparts. Foxtail made herself comfortable on the seat, leaning back as far as she could and rested her head against the backrest of the seat.

When they reached the landing site, Foxtail straightened up and let out a breath. She immediately responded to Firebreak's orders and fell in step with her. Unlike the Ravens, she wasn't as equipped for recon and she nodded along with Haraxhi. She kept a rather loose hold on her shotgun as they continued on, occasionally bringing her arm up to look at her rads. So far, so good. Not close at the very least.

Assenting to the idle chatter in their comms on their situation, Foxtail kept her eyes out for anything other than the actual survivors inside the makeshift bunker. A group of ten or so wouldn't pose too much of a problem for the group, but REDs rarely came in one wave. Or, forbid that there's more than that. To her, that was a bigger priority— a much easier target than the intelligent life forms that they needed to extract. It was far easier to let the others handle the talking lest they end up with a bullet in between their eyes because Foxtail said the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Once Firebreak began speaking, Foxtail's eyes turned to the store and the grip on her gun tightened. It wasn't completely certain that this was Onyx team and they could very well be walking into a trap— but nothing they couldn't particularly handle. Maybe. Probably. Once the door was kicked open, Foxtail entered quickly and took a few steps more forward than Firebreak, a mesh of crystals already beginning to form across her arms hidden under her personalized armor in preparation to provide cover as fast as possible at the drop of a bullet.

Nellancholy Huntertabbysandshark3 Pilgrim59

Code by Arkangel

 

[November Witch]

Sine

~{Uncertain Introductions}~​

Status: Nervous & Weary
Location: Exodus - Marina Shipyard - Singapore
Interactions/Mentions: Pilgrim59

Apparently, she’d been aboard the ship for two weeks, but her internal clock only read 12 days. For two days she was offline, having critical components repaired, and being recharged. Only then had she regained consciousness, but she still couldn’t move. More parts were to be replaced. More repairs to be done. Who knew that a civilian Raven was more fragile than a combat one? It took replacing some waterlogged components and repairing a small amount of frame damage. A recharge, and isolation while confirmation was retrieved. That she was telling the truth. That she really had been captured and forced into service with the Yakuza. That she had been thrown into the ocean. That she was a civilian model with the augmentations and upgrades she claimed. Even then, two days had passed since she was allowed out of her room and around the ship. But for two days she stayed put.

A choice had been given. She could leave the ship, and work to repay the parts used to repair her. Start a life of her own here alone. Or she could work to repay her debt on the ship. If she so chose, stay and help aboard the vessel. At first, the Raven was leaning more towards leaving and starting something of her own. But then she’d be alone. She’d know no one and she wasn’t sure how far the Yakuza’s reach was in the Asian pacific. It wouldn’t surprise her if they had some people here. People who could easily ship her back… Staying here, she wouldn’t know anyone either. But she wouldn’t have to worry about being found out. Plus, she did want to repay these people for their kindness somehow. Perhaps staying here wouldn’t be such a bad idea…

She’d made the decision on the 13th day. But the girl was still slightly shaken up about her whole ordeal. It wasn’t until the 14th day that she decided to step out of her room with an answer ready.

“Is that where that motto comes from?” Sine made it to the doorway to the operations room, and hovered there for a few moments, letting the captain talk to whomever he was speaking to over the comms. She’d speak up after hearing him repeat a part of some motto she’d seen writing along some parts of the ship. Like a motivational mantra to keep the crew’s morale up. At least, it gave her that impression. She pushed off the doorway she’d been leaning against with her arms crossed, and bow. An old habit, practiced in both her previous lives. But she realized that was wrong here, right? Wasn’t saluting a sailor’s thing? She tried saluting next, but it was awkward and unpracticed, like she was an outsider trying to conform. Which was hardly surprising, as it’s exactly what she was.

“I-I was told to report here if I made the decision to stay.” Her arm returned to her side, and she stood there awkwardly. Her voice sounded a little unsure as well. She was still unsure about the whole situation. Who these people were. If trusting them and working alongside them was right. She felt indebted as they had just saved her life. Nervous about talking directly to someone in charge. She wasn’t even aloud to do that before… But things were different, right? She wasn’t going to get punished for talking to him. Or so she hoped. Her voice carried wariness and even guilt. That they had to use parts to repair her. Her body and posture showed signs of unease and false or forced confidence. But she was here, nonetheless.

“I hope I’m not interrupting…”

 

[Gears]

Confirm Identity

• .
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• Intel
  Report
  Data
  Extra
  Interactions: None
  Mood: Focused, Energetic
  Weapons: Hellsweep
  Objective: Cover Main group, Look out for RED's
  
  Rundown:
  Agent has found a vantage point to provide sniping support and visuals of the area. The tower was reinforced, and proximity alarm devices are being scattered around the area.
• Intel
  Report
  Data
  Extra
  
  Eddie dropped from the ship a few miles from the target, teleporting a few feet outside of the hull- though carefully out of the way of any engines or turbines. There was no point damaging his equipment on the way. This would possibly be logical for other agents- if they had brought a parachute or other sort of apparatus to keep them from a spectacular splatter when they hit the ground. Eddie merely laughed as he spun in the air, wind rushing around him, though he was protected from the wind by his armor, the light leathers covering his body- gas mask covering his face as he fell. The fall was controlled. shaped by careful movements and slight course corrections from his jumps.
  
  The fall reminded him of his past, of times spent soaring- before something had happened. Something horrible enough to drive him to near insanity- now he was only a healthy smidge from madness. He had purposely ridded himself of that madness a few years ago- all it took was a drink and the cost of his soul. Eddie tucked his body as he began to see the ground, concentrating on his landing. He concentrated on something steady- his heartbeat, the rushing wind- the stone he would fall onto if he didn't do something. The ground had remained despite the end of the world- when storms blew the soil away, when people marched across it to flee this land- weathering it. The stone did not yield, it simply shifted as the world changed- yes a good anchor.
  
  The world shifted as night became day, dangerously reaching midday but still free from the night for a while. The sun shone brighter than the real world, and the sky was free of any pollution- as clear as the days before factories and machines. The ground was a healthy green, carefully placed squares of houses with exact lawns- all the same. A road snaked between the houses, leading to an area of more variety, filled with: Stores, Theaters, Apartments. The relationship between distance of this world and the one Eddie had came from was odd, leaving him closer the the ground, the strange gravity that grew as one went higher- though at night gravity became unpredictable, like everything else.
  
  Right before he could strike the ground, Eddie shifted, imagining the coordinates the Osprey was heading. The familiar but alien world he had entered quickly shifting as he hit the ground. He had overshot the target by a bit, but his acceleration had been canceled and he hadn't broken every bone in his body so that was a plus. He wiped a bit of dust from his mask lenses before activating his Implant based AR system, allowing him to see a few charts and text Nymph organized.
  
  "Maps of the area mostly cover old days- couldn't dig up much for current times- though I have an image taken from a news chopper a few years back. Our best bet is the water tower- if it's still standing it should have the best vantage."
  
  Eddie shivered at the thought of water, at the burning- the emptiness he felt when he contacted it. You needed water to survive, so it kind of made sense that someone truly undead would be harmed by it. RED's where not fully undead like him- more of a "sciency" logical dead. He was the kind of dead from ghost stories- doomed to walk the earth for eternity. He felt more alive out here, looked more normal- but he was like them.
  
  "The supports made by that company don't look too safe- we'd be lucky if they lasted this long, and they would break either when we climb up- lot's of noise."
  
  Nymph nodded, scratching it out as she scrolled through the map they had made- it was concerning how much was labeled unknown. Field missions outside of well known settlements where dangerous, with so many variables they couldn't control or predict. Eddie knew that these places where the best to kill someone- where coms had to be remote based, storms could cloak movement, artificial light was limited. His job would be to make sure that didn't happen, and as he approached the water tower he knew this was the only logical choice. The billboard was too far away and had collapsed- no building was high enough for a proper sniping position.
  Eddie felt the tower shake while he climbed the ladder- a few rungs had decayed to the point that he wouldn't trust them. He did his best to avoid these, but around the top, one fell completely off. The clanging was deafening- he hoped nothing heard it and looked to see if it was prey.
  
  "Start calculating for wind resistance and send a drone to check out the buildings around."
  
  A small orb flew from Eddie's pack, glowing with a pink light as it began to silently glide through the town, scanning the integrity of the buildings and trying to catch any RED's. While that was finishing, Eddie put his pack aside, not caring as the tower grunted in response. He pulled his gun case from a quick portal he had stowed it in, quickly assembling the weapon before attaching his silencer. Once the weapon was ready, Eddie removed his mask- hanging it off the railing while he unpacked a few of the less tactical items.
  
  Eddie placed a pad on the ground to rest on- a black for his rifle to sit on, before tossing a few explosives around the base of the tower- he had the drone weld a few of the more decayed areas together while it transmitted the data of the area it had scanned, giving him an idea of how durable buildings where and how well they could keep bullets back. After everything was up, Eddie shouldered his weapon and flipped off the safety before watching the group, his scope outlining their features- not as good as the binocs, but those where being fixed in his lab.
  
  "This is Watch house- my position is secure, no sign of hostiles."
  
  Talking all professional like was different for Eddie. Years spent as a crazed merc was hard, but pretending you had a purpose, where doing good- that was worth faking sanity. So he read military manuals, watched training videos- anything to learn how to act calm on the field. His boots and armor where shined to perfection, his weapon was always clean- and he actually combed his hair a bit. He kept a careful eye on the group, before sending a mind message to Nymph, who quickly sent the drone to place a few proximity devices- most around the perimeter of the building, the rest scattered around.
  
• Intel
  Report
  Data
  Extra
  Entry: 01
  
  Title\\ Subtitle
  Stygia Prime\\ The Town
  The Town is the first location most see when encountering Stygia. All people I interviewed woke up there, usually in the day. The exact cause of entering Stygia is still unknown, with most claiming they had suffered terrible wounds before waking up their. Said wounds have ben healed, but a glowing white scar remains in its place. Mine seems to radiate a greener light- analysis of others marks shows no relevance or reason for the different appearances- though most have three strange symbols in the center. Mine are scratched out- though the outline of one appears to resemble Symbol 64A or 79C.
  The area itself is full of identical homes, spanning for around 10 miles. Each home is painted the same, the grass is cut to an exact length, and the streets are clear of vehicles and trash. Each home is relatively the same, but decorations are of varying style and color. No life is present except for plants, and the silence is only interrupted by distant radios playing music typical to the period.
• Intel
  Report
  Data
  Extra
  Music \\
  
  

  Music \\ Avery Alexander