A Fine Solution: Welcome to the World 5 - Lull in the Storm

[Beowulf85]

By the time the slugs stop falling just about everyone's got some new colorful decorative war paint on their vehicles or armor. For anyone concerned, the stuff easily washes off and there is plenty of water with which to clean (take note of if you are washing the stuff off or leaving it on). The deebees must have been exhausted because they continue to sleep long after the spell should have worn off. Likewise, the deadboy is unconscious. The lot of them are packed in to the back of the Bop as the convoy starts the journey, south first as the nearest crossing the group was able to document was just outside of Memphis.

Given another hour the ley line storm completely subsides and the inter-dimensional rainbow slugs disappear to wherever inter-dimensional rainbow slugs disappear to. An hour beyond that and Ulrich spots something flaring up then shrinking in the distance. Spellweaver is able to confirm that in the aftermath of the storm a rift has appeared at one of the many nexus points that dots the area. As is common in the aftermath of such storms it would appear that the rift is temporary, dimensional, and pulsing in nature. There's no telling how long it may last.

[Architect]

Flying aerial patrol over the convoy AwkTek is amazed by the ebb and flow and the power flux he feels associated with the rift.

Notice [dice]0[/dice]

Wild (Notice) [dice]1[/dice]

On return from the front to the rear of the convoy in his rather loud voice, since Weaver is riding in the Bop, "Ulrich, that energy flux something we need to investigate?"

[Jaxus Skarro]

Notice: (audio/vis +2) [dice]0[/dice]
Notice: (wild) [dice]1[/dice]
Once the slugs cease falling from the sky, Jax happily brings his hovercycle to a stop and finds a suitably large puddle of water with which he can clean all traces of the bizarre little creatures from himself and his gear.

"Ulrich, if you want me to scout that flashing blue, let me know. Sure is strange to have yet another big glowing something in the sky so soon after that other one...."

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Chevy is uncharacteristically silent during the journey back. When the storm passes, he doesn't bother washing the stains on the Bop; he figures there'll be time for that when they get back to the Castle.

[Spellweaver]

Notice
skill [dice]0[/dice]
wild [dice]1[/dice]

Spellweaver opts to wash the slug ooze off once he's inside the Bop

Notice: (audio/vis +2)
Notice: (wild)
Once the slugs cease falling from the sky, Jax happily brings his hovercycle to a stop and finds a suitably large puddle of water with which he can clean all traces of the bizarre little creatures from himself and his gear.

"Ulrich, if you want me to scout that flashing blue, let me know. Sure is strange to have yet another big glowing something in the sky so soon after that other one...."

"The glow is an open Rift. One we could possibly use to travel. I'd like to investigate, with your permission Corporal."

[Ulrich]

Notice
skill [dice]2564:0[/dice]
wild [dice]2564:1[/dice]

Spellweaver opts to wash the slug ooze off once he's inside the Bop

Notice: (audio/vis +2)
Notice: (wild)
Once the slugs cease falling from the sky, Jax happily brings his hovercycle to a stop and finds a suitably large puddle of water with which he can clean all traces of the bizarre little creatures from himself and his gear.

"Ulrich, if you want me to scout that flashing blue, let me know. Sure is strange to have yet another big glowing something in the sky so soon after that other one...."

"The glow is an open Rift. One we could possibly use to travel. I'd like to investigate, with your permission Corporal."

"Permission granted Mr Spellweaver. At zhe first sign uf trouble I vantage to be notified please. Specialist Jaxus, be ready for high speed backup for Mr Spellweaver."

Ulrich is happy to have the rainbow goop off of both himself and the robot he is piloting. The thought of a clown car passed through his head as his pilots husband robot along and he chuckles.

Notice
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Architect]

AwkTek shifts the bound POW strapped to his back by diving from the sky very quickly. "Aw much better," as he settles himself to the ground near the Rift.

Notice [dice]0[/dice]

Wild (Notice) [dice]1[/dice]

Ace (Wild (Notice)) [dice]2[/dice]

[Notice - 7]

[Spellweaver]

Notice
skill [dice]0[/dice]
wild [dice]1[/dice]

Ley line rolls
[dice]2[/dice]
[dice]3[/dice]

Spellweaver exits the Bop and taps into energies of Ley Line to take to the air. He draws on the Ley Line to fill his PPE reserves to the maximum. For good measure he sheaths himself in Azure Wards of H'zarad (Greater Deflection) and Eyes of the Owl (Darksight)

Spellcasting (Greater Deflection)
skill [dice]4[/dice]
wild [dice]5[/dice]

Spellcasting (Darksight)
skill [dice]6[/dice]
wild [dice]7[/dice]

Cursing, he attempts to cast Azure Wards of H'zarad (Greater Deflection) again
Spellcasting
skill [dice]8[/dice]
wild [dice]9[/dice]

Warded and with superior vision. Spellweaver flies straight towards the Rift to investigate.

[Architect]

AwkTek heard the Bop's doors open as Weaver stepped from the interior. Curious as always, he turned to see Weaver enter the energy coming from or to the Rift, AwkTek was not sure which it was. Observation is wonderful but making sense of the whole thing was causing his brain to hurt. So he just sat and watched and stored details away for later inquiry.

[Ulrich]

Ulrich watches the point team investigate the rift and stays on alert. Making sure to check the sensors to see if any hostiles are coming from any direction, not just the rift.

Notice roll
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Chevy nonchalantly unsafes the weapon controls and checks to make sure his passengers are secured. There's no guarantee that anything other than the mage would exit the Rift, or that if something did it would be hostile, but there is no reason not to be prepared just in case.

He sees AwkTech land and amuses himself for a moment considering the level of accuracy needed to pick off the prisoner attached to his dragon teammate's back, and how successful he'd be at claiming it was a weapon misfire.

[Jaxus Skarro]

Notice (A/V +2) [dice]0[/dice]
Notice (Wild) [dice]1[/dice]

"High Speed back-up, you've got it!"
Jax takes a moment to calibrate his plasma ejector to his targeting package and then stows the heavy weapon at his side.
He mounts the speedster hovercycle and uses his internal computing to map the fastest path to the glowing rift in the distance.

"Ready and waiting" he calls over the comms network, "just say the word."

[Ulrich]

Notice (A/V +2) [dice]2609:0[/dice]
Notice (Wild) [dice]2609:1[/dice]

"High Speed back-up, you've got it!"
Jax takes a moment to calibrate his plasma ejector to his targeting package and then stows the heavy weapon at his side.
He mounts the speedster hovercycle and uses his internal computing to map the fastest path to the glowing rift in the distance.

"Ready and waiting" he calls over the comms network, "just say the word."

"Rodger specialist Jaxus" Ulrich says as he marks possible points of cover for a safe approach and/or retreat.

Notice
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Leonidas Alexander]

AwkTek shifts the bound POW strapped to his back by diving from the sky very quickly. "Aw much better," as he settles himself to the ground near the Rift.

Leo holds on for dear life as the dragon dives, hoping the POW doesn't come unstrapped. Once AwkTech settles on the ground, he briefly checks the unconscious man's status.
Satisfied that all is as well as can be, he sighs in relief. "Mr. AwkTech, a little warning might be in order next time. I don't know if my heart can handle surprises like that dive", he says, with a smile in his voice.

Reaching for his NG-L5 hanging from a combat sling, he trains it to cover the spell caster.

---

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Ace (Notice): [dice]2[/dice]
Wild (Notice): [dice]1[/dice]

Notice Total: 8

[Architect]

AwkTek looks back at Leonidas, "My apologies. This CS thing's armor was rubbing my scales raw. You, I had forgotten about as the irritation was bugging me out of my mind and throwing off my focus. I will notify you next time for sure."

[Ulrich]

Ulrich chuckles at the exchange of the Cyber knight and dragon.

Notice roll
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Spellweaver]

Notice
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

Spellweaver examined the Rift closely. It pulsed between a variety of different locales. If he was to make use of it, he'd need to stabilize it first. Gathering energy from the Ley Lines he channeled it into the rift to force it to stop changing destination.

Spellcasting
Skill [dice]2[/dice]
Wild [dice]3[/dice]

Frustrated, he tries again.
Spellcasting
skill [dice]4[/dice]
explosion [dice]6[/dice]
wild [dice]5[/dice]

The second attempt works beautifully. Not only does the Rift stabilize, but Spellweaver is able to set it's destination as close to Castle Refuge as possible. "Corporal, I've successfully taken control of the Rift. I'm able to keep it open for a time, but I would advise advancing on my location as quickly as possible.

[Architect]

[Cue dragon jaw drop.] AwkTek was amazed as the swirling energy pulsing and throbbing was suddenly stopped. The power of the rift was being maintained and controlled by Weaver. "Awesome!"

As he is the closest to the Rift, AwkTek looks to Leonidas, "I am heading in, you coming along?"

[Leonidas Alexander]

As he is the closest to the Rift, AwkTek looks to Leonidas, "I am heading in, you coming along?"

Leo shifts slightly, getting a better grip on the harness, before responding. "Against my better judgement ... let's go!"

---

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Ace (Notice): [dice]2[/dice]
Wild (Notice): [dice]1[/dice]

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]
Ace: [dice]2[/dice]

Chevy sends out on the team freak, "Um, Chief? Are we seriously driving into that?"

[Architect]

Taking off at a gallop (if dragons can even do that) AwkTek with Leonidas on his back and the CS soldier bouncing along on his rump behind Leonidas dash around Weaver and head into the rift. Before passing through, AwkTek tells Leonidas, "Bearings and location once we get through. I haven't been around much."

[Ulrich]

"Ve must trust each urther in our specialties Specialist Chevy, no matter vhether ve understand how zhey vork or not. Vell done Mr Spellweaver. All unites, it's time to go home."

Ulrich lurches his robot into action.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

"Roger wilco, Chief."

Chevy puts the Bop into gear and lines up behind the Skorpion. As he stares at the swirling energies sparking off into the atmosphere, he absentmindedly begins mumbling a song.

"Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour. The Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away..."

[Spellweaver]

Notice: [dice]2695:0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]2695:1[/dice]
Ace: [dice]2695:2[/dice]

Chevy sends out on the team freak, "Um, Chief? Are we seriously driving into that?"

"I assure you Specialist Chevy. I have control of this Rift. You're completely safe." Spellweaver exults in the feeling of bending the Rift to his will. Its immense power lay in his palm.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]
Ace: [dice]2[/dice]

I assure you Specialist Chevy. I have control of this Rift. You're completely safe. Spellweaver exults in the feeling of bending the Rift to his will. Its immense power lay in his palm.

Chevy mutters to himself, Yeah, sure, the check is in the mail.

[Ulrich]

The Gepanzerter Skorpion scurries over obstacles as it moves at max speed to meet up with everyone in front of the rift before we enter.

Nameless squad, rendezvous 200 yards in front of zhe rifts. Ve should all enter as a unit just in case zhere are any surprises vaitingk for us.

Notice roll
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Architect]

Nameless squad, rendezvous 200 yards in front of zhe rifts. Ve should all enter as a unit just in case zhere are any surprises vaitingk for us.

AwkTek can just barely hear Ulrich as he has his head and neck through the rift already. Already committed he pushes on through hoping Leonidas and CS grunt make it through with him. As soon as he clears the rift with tail and wings he moves to his left if possible and stops to survey the lay of the land.

Notice [dice]0[/dice]

Wild (Notice) [dice]1[/dice]

*

*

[Leonidas Alexander]

Once through the portal, Leo looks around for any familiar landmarks that might give him an idea of where they are in relation to Refuge.

---

Survival: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild (Survival): [dice]1[/dice]

Notice: [dice]2[/dice]
Wild (Notice): [dice]3[/dice]

[Ulrich]

Ulrich sees the dragon fly into the rift and mutters a few curse words. "gottverdammt..." then speaks into the coms. Nameless squad, pair up und enter zhe rift."

Although a little anoyed, Ulrich understands that most of the other members of the Nameless Squad are not militarily trained so the disorganization of the unit is to be expected from a time to time.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Chevy's voice comes over the comm, "Right behind you, Chief. Lead on."

The Bop keeps pace with Ulrich's Skorpion mech as they advance.

[Ulrich]

Ich copy specialist Chevy. Danke. Specialist Jaxus und Zima pair up und enter zhe rift schnell. I do not vant anyvon left behind."

Ulrich robot climbs, jumps, and hops its way over the terrain as Chevy expertly swirves around the obstacles as the two machines move as one showcasing the level of aptitude that both pilots possess.

Notice
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Suddenly, over the team freak, a song starts playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l482T0yNkeo

[Ulrich]

Notice: [dice]2739:0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]2739:1[/dice]

Suddenly, over the team freak, a song starts playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l482T0yNkeo

Ulrich smiles. Ah... classical music.

[Beowulf85]

Stabilizing and Approaching the Portal

As Spellweaver initially struggles to gain control of the rift it pulses rapidly through various scenes. Some bring elation, others horror. Some appear to open in to empty space, others to grassy plains or mountains. No fewer than a dozen pulse by in the space of a few seconds. Just before he gains control there is a bright flash of light, then the portal stabilizes.

If you didn't wash the slug goop off and you did pass your latest notice check, you'll notice that wherever your armors, vehicles, or weapons were spattered with slug goop is now radiating a faint multicolored glow.

Passing Through

Riftwalking is a unique experience every time. Stepping through a portal, however briefly, means stepping in to a place between time and space. This is a place where physics may or may not apply in any rational ways. With an experienced dimensional traveler like Spellweaver in control one can be reasonably confidant in the safety of stepping through such a portal, just as one can be reasonably confident they will not crash their car on a daily commute.

Daily commutes can be rendered slightly more interesting during or after inclement weather, as can rift walking during or after a ley line storm.

For the briefest of moments on the way through physical existence is stripped away and everyone exists in a state of pure consciousness. Minds touch, but only on the fringes and only for the briefest of moments, and everyone gets to know each other a little better than they might have intended.

Pull out a deck of cards, shuffle it up, and draw a card. It's time for a dramatic interlude through a brief, shared psionic flashback.

• Clubs—Tragedy: Describe a tale of tragedy or misfortune from your hero’s past, featuring one of his Hindrances if possible. If the teller has a dark secret of some kind, hint strongly at it, drop clues, or otherwise give the rest of the group a glimpse into your hero’s dark side during your narrative.
• Spades—Victory: Tell the group about a great victory or personal triumph in your adventurer’s past. How did it affect him afterward? Was there a reward?
• Hearts—Love: Speak fondly of the character’s greatest love—lost, found, or waiting on him back home. What is her name? Where does she live? Why is the traveler not with her now?
• Diamonds—Desire: Tell a tale about something your hero wants (or already has). It might be a material possession, recognition, a political goal, or even a trip he wishes to take to some amazing destination.

The shared interludes only take an instant, though some of you may need some time to orient yourselves after vivid and unexpected flashbacks.

Since the spellcasting was a raise, only roll 3D4 to see how many hours you are from Castle Refuge (Spellweaver seems to have overlooked that in the previous post).

[Ulrich]

CLUBS

The young Ulrich, late teens or early twenties, is working on some mecha from the NGR (New German Republic) armed forces stationed at his settlement. It's on the outskirts of the NGR territories and is of good strategic value to the republic. It's located in a valley that is very defensible due to geographical features. A dug in force could hold off a much larger one at two small choke points. Even though it is a mixed race settlement the NGR has peaceful relations with it as it provides good housing and food due to the many farms around it and the skilled handymen who construct a good FOB (Forward Operating Base) for the robot jocks and power armored infantry in exchange for protection from the dreaded, oppressive gargoyles.

The alarm sounds, blaring in the air loudly. One of the huge robotic guards explodes at the west choke point as a massive attack starts. The remaining robots and powered armor troops begin to mobilize quickly to hold off the Gargoyle forces. The pilot of the robot Ulrich is performing maintenance on come running up and begins climbing the ladder as dozens of magical bolts begin to pepper the area. The pilot is hit right as Ulrich ducks for cover avoiding being killed. All that is left of the pilot is charged remains.

Ulrich springs into action quickly climbing the ladder and entering the cockpit of the huge machine. As he leaves the bay be can hear the soldiers all communicating with one another. He moves to fallow suit trying his best to not give away that he is not actually one of the pilots. There is no time for second guessing each other if the monstrous forces are to be held off. The peace keeping force of the settlement also has some very capable defenders as well one of which is his Love, Marja, She is a quickflex who has the MOM implants so to say she is a beast when a through down starts would be an understatement.

The ranged combatants keep as many of the enemy forces at bay as the melee specialized fighters block the charging monsters. The soldiers Ulrich is supporting are slowly being shot down by a mixture of magical and technological blasts as they are in some of the heaviest attacked areas. The grid Ulrich is on is slowly overran as all the powered armor troops around him fall. The supporting fire of the other NGR forcing is helping but not before a massive explosion rocks Ulrich's robot. Most of the torso and one of the arms of the might machine is missing as sparks fly in the air and a Jotan in comes into view. The huge giant has very technologically advanced armor and a heavy railgun which is not uncommon for them. They are the best engineers of the gargoyle nation after all.

Ulrich'e eyes bug out in fear as the Jotan fires another volley at the barely mobile machine. One of the shots directly hit the cockpit and the machine tumbles backwards. Ulrich's ears ring as his vission goes in and out blurring and darkening at times. He reaches down to unbuckle himself from the cockpit but only one of his hands is working. Looking down he panics as he sees his right arm and both of his legs are gone and his abdomen is open with grievous wounds.

The destroid robot shakes as Ulrich looks up and sees the now dead Jotan fall on it. It is pushes out of the way as Marja covered in gore looks into the cockpit to try and save the soldier and gets a look of fear as she realizes it's Ulrich. The last vision Ulrich has is of Marja ripping open the cockpit and reaching in as he is sure he is about to die and then everything fades to black.

[Architect]

DIAMONDS

What is natural? Certainly not a mother laying her eggs, hiding each, and then leaving them be. No that is not natural.

A fully grown dragon, several sizes larger than AwkTek, is taking a momentary pause as she buries AwkTek's egg. It would seem that a few tears run down her scaly face and splash the top of the half buried egg. The pause pushes on for a few minutes.

In that pause the life lessons of a centuries of living are transferred to this particular egg. The last of this particular clutch. She hopes that he will survive. This spot for a century or more should provide the protection and incubation necessary for this, her youngest dragon hatchling to excel and thrive.

A disturbance down the slope brings her back to the present. She has done everything she can to ensure the past is made viable in the future. She shapeshifts to a human female in CS regulation gear. Reaching behind herself, she presses a couple of buttons and a Rift is activated. A couple of more buttons and the skiff glides forward, self propelled, disappears into the rift. And the rift blinks out.

Moving quickly to a black power suit nearby. Mother climbs into the SAMAS power armor and moves off to rejoin a CS squad on patrol. Before she is over the rise, she gives one last glance at the buried egg in the earth, beneath the warming sun. Turning back she revs the thrusters on the SAMAS suit and throws debris and dirt and rubble to complete the camouflage. And then she is off and down the slope reappearing ahead of the squad on point.

[Chevy]

DIAMONDS

Chevy stands in a small enclosed room, wearing armor fit for a prince, the gauntlets only slightly marred with streaks of blood. Half-lying on the floor is a beaten and bloodied 1st Apocalyptic Cavalry soldier, wearing the disheveled remains of an officer's uniform.

Chevy smoothly unholsters a fanciful sidearm and points it at the soldier's battered face. "Any last words?"

The soldier spits out blood before snarling, "F**k you, bitch! Go to hell!"

Chevy nods expressionlessly and pulls the trigger. "You first."

[Zima]

HEARTS

This ... this isn't like last time.

Tanya had passed through a rift once before, though it had been nearly half her lifetime ago. Still, it wasn't an experience she forgot easily, and this wasn't a match for it in any way. Although she had been flying through turbulent winds, lightning, and who-knew-what, this was somehow more alarming.

Her vision cleared, and she saw a face: sculpted features, dark hair, bright blue eyes. Ohh, no ... Her throat seized up and she tried to swallow, but found she couldn't. She was twenty again, working on the village's tractors and cars with ...

Andrew. Shortly after she had showed up in the village that had become her home and displayed a bit of mechanical aptitude, she had ended up working with Andrew. Part of his job had been to teach her the language, and she had no illusions that his patience with her was largely due to the simple fact that she was an attractive young lady. All the same, she was grateful: his company had certainly made the learning process more pleasant. As his face coalesced before hers, she realized in horror that she recognized the day. No, not working on engines after all: something worse.

It was raining lightly, a brisk wind whipping through their hair as mist crawled along the ground. Two years ago. She was looking through her own eyes and she tried to warn him of what was to come ... but she found herself repeating the same words. The same casual, carefree words. "I'll be back before you know it, drakonchik," she said playfully, swaying a bit, arms held across her chest as if to cling to her own warmth. For the last six years, they had danced around each other, never quite coming to an open declaration of the mutual attraction both of them had been aware of for some time: one thing or another always seemed to interrupt or get in the way, especially after Tanya had taken on the Glitter Boy. She got a perverse enjoyment out of her pet name for him: he never seemed to quite nail down what it meant, and it was one of the things she declined to tell him. "You'll keep their engines running, da?"

"Of course," he said with a smile, hesitantly stepping a little closer. She didn't back away--why would she? "Just don't be gone too long: you know you can never tell what might come over the hill." In spite of the foreboding words, neither of them had been especially worried.

GET OUT! RUN! GET EVERYONE OUT OF THE VILLAGE AND GO, GO ANYWHERE! ... Nothing. She nudged herself closer to him--just an inch or so--just enough to notice. "You will be watching that hill for me, yes? I know you will be the first I look for when I return," she offered casually--as if she flirted like this with half the village. They had done this a few times before--a little verbal sparring, some teasing, a double entendre or two, and then someone or something would interrupt them or one of them would lose their nerve, and the moment would be over. But not this time--this time, he took her cheek in one hand and pulled her face upward to his. The meeting of their lips was electric, and she shivered, letting out a sigh when he pulled away. They looked into each others' eyes for a long moment before she let out a quiet burst of nervous laughter. "We should make arrangements to have a long talk when I come back, yes?" He nodded, a boyish grin on his face.

RUUUUN! RUN, DAMMIT, GET AWAY!

She screwed her eyes shut, tears running down her cheeks. The feel of the wind on her face, the smell of the rain, the sound of his footsteps, all faded. She sucked in a shaky breath: the vision was dissipating. She was spared the worst of her memory ... this time.

[Jaxus Skarro]

“Don’t worry, I got you.” Jax said softly as he lifted his little brother up from the ground and dusted him off, “those fuckers won’t bother you as long as I’m around.”
“Yeah, I know,” his brother Max replied, wiping the blood from his nose; “but what about when you aren’t around. What then?”
Jax put his arm around his brother’s shoulder and lead him away from the yard. As he walked past one of the forms on the ground, which was just starting to moan with pain, Jax kicked the man in the head for good measure. “Don’t worry, little brother, I’ll beat them until they stop messing with you. As often and as violently as I can.” But Jax was just starting to understand that the fighting wasn’t for Max, it was for himself.

It was the look in the eyes of all the other kids around him… the fear.

The vision fast forwards through 15 years of Jax defending Max at every turn. School yard bullies, drunken bar fights, and attempted muggings by street gangers with too high opinions of themselves. While Max excelled in education, developing a skill as a cyber-surgeon to rival the best, Jax sought glory with his fists. They were a team but it was too small for Jax; not big enough….

Jax found that he was good at almost anything physical he attempted; boxing, gymnastics, or shooting. It was a desire inside to be the best, and to be known as the best.

The vision flashes to Jax standing over another opponent, the man knocked unconscious and Jax’s hand being held up by a referee. Another Victory. Reputation in underground cage fights… still not big enough.

The vision flashes to Jax with a badge; contracted security team lead for a high-ranking CS official in Lone Star. He had just prevented an attempted assassination and was being rewarded.. still not big enough.

The vision flashes to Jax speaking with a man who is paying him to pull a trigger and take another CS official out. His reputation got him this job but the target, some corrupt scumbag working for Lone Star… this one felt good. This one felt different…. He didn’t do this one for the glory, he did it because he felt righteous.

Taking this scumbag out felt like it was enough... for now.

[Leonidas Alexander]

The view is of the mountains. Somewhere near the eastern coast, Leo thinks. Huddling nearby are a group of non-combatants, including children. They clutch a tattered rag of some sort - the faded colors can barely be made out to be a couple of stripes of red or white, with some blue tossed in at one corner.

"I will have their marrow for my meal," hissed the demon, flexing for the attack.

Exhausted. He'd been trying to get these people to some sort of safety since three days ago. He hadn't had much rest.

The intermittent skirmishes with minor demons didn't help. Nor did the gash in his leg or the one under his ribs.

This wasn't a minor demon, though, and he wasn't sure he had it in him to take this one down. He resigned himself to delaying the thing for as long as possible.

He glanced back at the group. One woman, the nominal leader of the group, had a silent tear running down her cheek as she clutched some of the children to her protectively. They locked eyes, and he saw that she understood. As he turned back to the demon, he could see her quietly marshaling the group for a desperate getaway.

"No, fiend, you will not," he ground out through clenched teeth. In his hands a glowing energy formed the idea of a large, ornate, blue, two handed sword. He brought the weapon up in a guard position, and concentrated. The dust on the ground swirled around an invisible sphere as he focused on a defensive barrier. Calling on his last reserves of inner strength, he pushed energy through his body, enervating the muscles and tendons to perform beyond their norm.

With a cry that shook the mountains, he charged.

*****

He lay on his back, aching from his wounds. He was pretty close to dead, he figured, but he could feel his armor's subtle power washing over him, mending bones and repairing flesh. It had been close.

He glanced at the severed demon's head a stone's throw away.

A near run thing indeed.

Now he just had to catch up with the refugees, and try to get them to their contact. Something called a Republican, whatever that was.

[Spellweaver]

Spades: victory

Spellweaver stood in the sands of the Battle College's arena. He held a practice spear and was weighed down by padded armor. A dozen of his fellow students stood with him in a circle of the arena, all similarly outfitted. Today was the graduation melee. Every student here had trained for at least eight years in the arts of battle, both arcane and physical. And it was here that they would fight to determine this year's Magus Excelsior.

Spellweaver had been planning his strategy for months. It was risky, but if he could time it perfectly, it would win the day. Master Faranth threw a blue orb of flame, screaming, into the sky. At its zenith, the orb exploded, signaling the start of the melee. Spellweaver cloaked himself in The Azure Wards of H'zarad and ran to the point in the arena furthest from his opponents. He dodged bolts of energy and enemies' blows all the way. Finally far enough away, Spellweaver drops his practice spear and throws his arms wide and shouts, "I call on the Sands of Morpheus!" Swirling golden sands fly from his hands and scatter across the rest of his opponents. In a moment, they all drop to the ground, blissfully asleep.

With gentle care, Spellweaver tags each sleeping person with point of his spear, cementing his victory. Master Faranth looks on with weary dismay, in his hands Spellweaver's prize, a Chrysarium Spear fit for a prince.

[Beowulf85]

Memories: A Blue World

The memories come in flashes, feverish and from different perspectives.

You finished your chores and are playing with a pet when your mother calls you to take lunch out to your family in the fields. You take your doll and awkwardly carry the heavy bottle.

You're harvesting a grain with your son, it's been a good season and the harvest should ensure that everyone is comfortable through the winter. The boy isn't old enough to be particularly helpful, but you enjoy working together.

You came in early from the fields to get food ready for your family. The harvest season is brief and the days are long, they're probably thirsty. You're certain your young daughter would love to go on the walk to take them some refreshments.

You're helping your father with the harvest, gathering up the stalks and tying them in the biggest bunches you can manage. You trip and fall and scrape your knee but you don't complain. Harvesting is hard but you're doing such important work.

Everything goes quiet. The sky turns red.

There is shouting in the fields. You look up and your father looks afraid, but that's impossible. Nothing could scare him.

You drop the dish before it reaches the oven, the contents spill on the floor. Where did your daughter go?

You hear something crash in the kitchen, "Mommy?"

You look around and the workers start running.

Everything goes quiet, but everyone is shouting. Birds take off from the trees, small animals dash from the field.

The war shouldn't have come here.

You grab and are grabbed by your son, daughter, mother, and father, and run in the same direction as everyone else. Toward the portal. There is a roar behind you. The field is in flames. The world is in flames. There is a roar above you. The demons are already here.

Where are the others? The mages are doing what they can but the portal is unstable, there is so much power in the air. They are just ahead of/behind you. You wait/catch up and run through with so many of the others. The mages stay behind to get as many through as possible. How many made it through before the portal changed? A dozen? Where even are you?

Memories: A Life in The Burbs

Your parents came here before you were born, from a farming village a few days away. They never said why they left, but they never took you back, even to visit. They never talked about aunts or uncles, grandmothers or grandfathers.

As you grew up the pieces started to fall in to place from comments in passing and the gossip in the market. They came from somewhere to the east. A lot of communities out there just disappeared over night. Travelers passing through one day would come back a day later to find a place destroyed. Sometimes there were a few survivors, sometimes there were corpses, and sometimes there was absolutely nothing left.

There were any number of culprits. Robot armies, alien slavers, underground monsters, things that came at you from the skies. Creatures that made the people you love live in fear.

It was all so wrong. These invaders. These alien monsters. This wasn't their world, you knew that, they knew that, everyone knew that.

Life in the burbs wasn't easy but it was relatively safe, at least when compared to disappearing screaming in to the night. Your parents wanted to become full citizens, to live in Chi Town. Your father died waiting, luckily you were old enough to do something about it.

A month after he died you enlisted. Your mother didn't want you to, but you couldn't stand to see her die here too. She deserved a better life and, if you did well enough, you could get her a ticket in to Chi Town. At the very least you could make sure she wouldn't starve in The Burbs.

That wasn't all though, you could help do your part to make sure that people didn't need to live in fear anymore, to make it so a place like the Burbs didn't need to exist, to make it so that people could live in peace and safety anywhere they wanted, not having to fear these freaks and menaces. You could send them home, and if they refused you could put them in the ground.

Emergence

As suddenly as the experience began, it ends. The group steps out of the other side of the portal entirely unharmed but knowing perhaps more about each other than they might have intended. Everyone is entirely safe and unharmed, but the experiences felt all too real. The sights, sounds, smells, even temperatures and emotions were all there, even if only for what seemed like a few minutes. What's more, somehow you experienced them all at the same time.

Fortunately, though some of the experiences may have been disconcerting, while others would have been rewarding or pleasant, the day on the other side is instantly clear, calm, warm, and fresh. Every breath carries the best smells of the season.

The group is 3d4 hours from Castle Refuge (did Spellweaver roll on that previously? I can't find it).

[Spellweaver]

Hours [dice]0[/dice]

[Ulrich]

After exiting the rift Ulrich'a voice is quickly heard over the come.

"Names squad sound off und secure zhe area. I want to make sure everyone is accounted for und safe."

Ulrich begins to get sensor confirmation that all are present and that there are no hostiles in the area.

Notice
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Exploring die [dice]2[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]
Exploding die [dice]3[/dice]

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]
Ace: [dice]2[/dice]
Ace again: [dice]3[/dice]

After a second,Chevy keys his comm. "Ahem, Bop checking in, Chief. We're five for five."

He quickly checks the cargo area. "The tourists are all tucked in. We're ready to roll."

[Ulrich]

"Rodgers Bop. I'm reading you loud und clear."

Ulrich's hands hovered over his control panel, his fingers typing away trying to ascertain the group'so location.

Notice
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Ulrich]

(I am assuming 7 made the notice check for navigation)

"Our location seems to be between 6 und 8 hours travel time south vest uf zhe castle. Excellent vork Mr. Spellweaver"

Ulrich begins to plot out the best course he could and sends the planned route to the computers of the Bop, Zima'so glitter boy and Jaxus' nave computer with plotted way points to meet at in case the group gets separated.

"Route plotted. I'll take point. Specialist Chevy fall in behind me followed by Zima as rear guard. Specialist Jaxus, if you vould please be zhe forward scoute und Mr. Awektech as aerial scout."

"Let's head home people"

[Zima]

Notice

Skill: [dice]0[/dice]

Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Ace: [dice]2[/dice]

Total: 11

Tanya drew a shaky breath as the world steadied around her, taking a moment to wipe her eyes. Ulrich's voice crackled over the radio, grounding her further. Grateful to have something practical to focus on, she performed a quick sensor sweep as she answered, doing her best to keep her voice level.

"This is Zima, I copy. I'll cover your backs."

[Ulrich]

"Rodger specialist Zima. I read you loud und clear."

Notice roll
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Architect]

AwkTek looks back to Leonidas, "Ready when you are. We take point again?"

[Ulrich]

Ulrich also sends the plotted course to Awektech and Leonidas' nav computers as well.

Notice roll
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

(OOC: sorry I should have included the both of you in the previous post.)

[Chevy]

OOC: IIRC, Spellweaver is currently riding in the Bop to keep the refugees calmed down, right?

[Architect]

OOC: Correct Chevy.

[Beowulf85]

OOC: If you want to RP anything on the way back feel free, otherwise your character can jump ahead to castle refuge.

A Shorter Journey

This close to Castle Refuge things seem somewhat tamer than they do elsewhere. Other than a distant herd of fury beetles there isn't much of note on the way back to the castle.

Within a few hours the passengers all wake up, better rested and much calmer than before. It's hard to say, but the visions you shared may have helped them to understand that not everyone here is an enemy. That, the rest, and a brighter combat free environment help them to stay calm, though they are visibly apprehensive. At the very least they seem to know that Spellweaver is not a demon. One of the children starts crying briefly but the parents quickly calm her down. They periodically try to communicate.

The soldier, for his part, keeps silent and refuses to look at anyone.

Back to the Castle

By the time you reach castle refuge it is late morning. Everyone who is not a passenger is feeling the effects of a night of combat and nine hours travel on at most a half night's sleep. The soldier is somehow asleep on AwkTech. The guard waves you though the gate. The smell of lunch being cooked permeates the air. On the way to report in Ulrich, Zima, and Chevy immediately notice a group of the blue deebees leaving the Hall of Hope. It's impossible to mistake, these are the same kind of creatures that you're transporting.

If Leonidas takes the soldier to the medical center he can roll to determine the chances of the soldier recovering. Originally 85%, -5% for 9 hours traveled, -8% because no one told the baby dragon not to perform any jarring aerial maneuvers when transporting someone with a spinal injury and various internal injuries (see sudden dive above). 72% chance of recovery.

*edited late morning, not late afternoon. My math was not adding up.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Ace: [dice]2[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]
Another Ace: [dice]3[/dice]

Once through the gates, Chevy calls in on the team freak. "Oi, Chief! What do I do with the passengers? Does the Legion have a, ah, new arrivals booth or something? I'd like to offload and clean this slug gark off the Bop before it sticks too much."

[Beowulf85]

When you get out and take a look you notice the slug gunk seems to have vanished. There were several places where you know it splattered but it's just not there. Looking around at your compatriots vehicles and armor you find the same thing. It was there. Now you can't see it anywhere.

Thinking back, you can't remember seeing it on anyone on the way back either. You're not sure when it happened, but it's been gone for at least a few hours, if not longer.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

When you get out and take a look you notice the slug gunk seems to have vanished. There were several places where you know it splattered but it's just not there. Looking around at your compatriots vehicles and armor you find the same thing. It was there. Now you can't see it anywhere.

Thinking back, you can't remember seeing it on anyone on the way back either. You're not sure when it happened, but it's been gone for at least a few hours, if not longer.

Chevy frowns and runs a gloved finger along the hull to make sure there's no residue present. He shrugs, figuring it's just more Rift weirdness, and waits for Ulrich's orders.

[Beowulf85]

When you run your finger over the spot there isn't any goop, but every place on the vehicle that had goop on it gives off a very faint glow, the color of ley line energy, that takes a few seconds to fade.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Widl Die: [dice]1[/dice]

When you run your finger over the spot there isn't any goop, but every place on the vehicle that had goop on it gives off a very faint glow, the color of ley line energy, that takes a few seconds to fade.

Chevy shudders slightly. I wonder if this place has something like decontamination procedures for Rift stuff.

[Zima]

Notice

Skill: [dice]0[/dice]

Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Although she was feeling the effects of their stressful patrol outing--especially the mentally-taxing travel through the rift--she had apparently spent much of their journey back decompressing, and seemed to have regained much of her trademark cheer. As soon as she spied the group matching the one they'd rescued, she thumbed the comm.

"Corporal, it looks like these Dee-Bees of ours aren't alone. The Legion may have somebody who knows how to communicate with them."

Whether it was a spell or somebody who actually spoke their lingo was a crapshoot, but that wasn't her concern, and practically speaking, probably didn't matter much anyway.

[Ulrich]

"Agreed Specialist Zima. Specialist Chevy please pull zhe bop into zheir view so zhey can see zhe new arrivals as zhey are off loaded."


Ulrich then calls the castle communications system and gives a few requests. "Zhis iz nameless squad. Ve haf returned from or exploritory mission. I am transferingk zhe data files uf zhe recordings to the company command hard drives. Ve haf a family uf refugees und von POW zhat should be medically examined. Can ve get a few medics to zhe court yard to our location please? Over."

Notice roll
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Chevy clambers up the side of the Bop to get a better view of the courtyard. "Yeah, got a lock on them now, Chief. Roger Wilco."

Climbing into the driver's seat, he calls back into the cargo area. "Hang on! Just saw a good parking spot."

With the deafening whine of motors, he spins the Bop around, speeds up and roars to a stop next to the group of DeeBees.

Driving: [dice]2[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]3[/dice]

OOC: Gah! Spending a bennie. Last thing we need is for Chevy to run over the group.

Driving: [dice]4[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]5[/dice]

OOC: Just slightly better...

The Bop skids as it reaches the DeeBees, causing a shower of mud and grit to wash over the group. Chevy pops his head out the hatch and greets them cheerfully, "Hey, how's it going? Welcome to Castle Refuge. I believe we have some fellow countrymen for you to meet."

He hits the rear cargo hatch release, revealing and releasing the passengers to the open.

[Beowulf85]

OOC: Sorry, can't spend a bennie on crit failures (player's guide, page 120).

The long night and long drive have taken their toll, and after so much time living in the wilderness on rations and whatever could be gathered or hunted the smell of lunch cooking is more than a little distracting.

It's hard to say exactly what went wrong, but Chevy's normally ace driving skills fail him. Somehow the Bop ends up airborne doing a barrel roll over the deebees and, to the detriment of the vehicles on either side, pinballs in to his perceived parking space with a series of loud crashes before it finally slams to a halt against the space's inside wall.

[dice]0[/dice]
The bop lands
1 - on its roof.
2 - leaning on its side against a wall and one of the vehicles.
3 - on its wheels but horribly askew.
4 - on its wheels, almost perfectly lined up with the parking space.

There are shouts and people come running from all over to see and help pull people out. The deebee passengers are terribly shaken, except for the young boy who can't stop laughing. Luckily everything inside was properly stowed. After a moment of stillness the young girl bursts in to tears.

An examination of the crash site reveals at least moderate damage to all the vehicles involved, though the Bop is more damaged than the other two. In addition to the wheels being very out of alignment, most of the windows are cracked, the armor is heavily dented, and the hood has come off its hinges. Luckily nothing appears to be smoking, the armor did its job.

Of the other two vehicles one looks to be a TW zone ranger ATV with heavy damage to one side of the chassis, and the other is a TW wingboard with a partially crushed wing. The wingboad belongs to a certain baby dragon...

[Chevy]

OOC: Well then O illustrious GM, how badly does Chevy f**ck this up?

[Architect]

AwkTek saw the Bop one minute and the next, well. Well the next minute went by rather fast and AwkTek was left wondering if he could barrel roll like that. He would probably need more space to try.

AwkTek does not even blink an eye at the damage to his skiff. Looking at Chevy through the window, he waits for the signals from Chevy to go ahead and right the vehicle by slowly rolling the Bop the other direction from the side it is leaning on.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

It takes a moment or two for Chevy to get his bearings back after everything stops moving and banging. What the frak just happened?

He catches sight of his dragon teammate peering in through the cracked windshield and manages a weak thumbs-up then a wave back before clambering up through the hatch now over his head.

As he stares at his damaged ride, seeing all his accumulated profits evaporating, he mutters, "On a scale of one to ten, I'd rank this parking job a solid D-minus."

[Spellweaver]

Notice
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

Spellweaver stumbles from the Bob, his knees weak. "Thank you for the ride Chevy, but I think I'll be sticking with Dragon from now on."

[Zima]

Notice

Skill: [dice]0[/dice]

Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Tanya had--thankfully--been well out of the way. After all, waltzing a large suit of powered armor through the middle of things isn't exactly a good way to make friends. She watched the sudden burst of speed from the Bop with alarm, barely even having the time to wonder what on Earth Chevy was doing before the ATV launched into the air and crash-landed on its side.

After the second or two it took her to process what had just happened, those watching were treated to a sight that was undoubtedly a rare one: that of a Glitter Boy performing a facepalm.

[Leonidas Alexander]

Leo watched the train wreck unfold, pursing his lips as if to whistle but with no audible sound.

That's gonna leave a mark.

Once he could verify that no one was truly hurt (the Bop excluded), he shook his head and checked on the PoW.

[Ulrich]

Ulrich'so eyes widen when he sees the crash and he springs his robot forward to the crash. As the large metal scorpion comes to a halt after a flurry of movement the top hatch opens and Ulrich climbs out leaping from the top and rushes to the Bop.

"Specialist Chevy, Mr Spellweaver, status report, is everyvon okay?!"

Ulrich moves towards the crash to assist in any way he can.

Notice
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Ace: [dice]2[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Chevy is gloomily examining the extent of the damage. "Only casualty is the Bop, Chief. Permission to get a hauler to bring it to the shop."

[Ulrich]

Chevy is gloomily examining the extent of the damage. "Only casualty is the Bop, Chief. Permission to get a hauler to bring it to the shop."

Ulrich visibly relaxes and nods letting out a sigh of relief.

"Permission granted specialist. Maybe Mr Awektech can help you vith zhat. I vill join you in zhe motor pool und see if I can help you in zhe repairs und assessment uf zhe Bop after I debrief our CO. I also haf some mods to add to Gepanzerter Skorpion vith zhe items ve found. I am sure you vill haf to fill out a report about zhe crash as vell. Let me know If you need any help vith zhat Chevy."

"Mr Spellweaver, let's get zhe refugees to zhere kin here first zhen to zhe medical facilities to be checked up on. Sir Leonidas und Specialist Jaxus, Please take zhe POW to zhe med bay az vell. Ve need to see if he is goingk to make it. Zima, if you vould please acompany me, let's go give our report."

After Ulrich finishes speaking over the coms He uploads all the recorded data from the Gepanzerter Skorpion's computer, which includes all the visual and audio activity of the group and the locations of the findings of note with 3D mapping onto a portable hard drive. Waiting at the castle HQ entrance for Zima, Ulrich places the hard drive into one of the button pouches of his long coat and secures it.


Notice roll total 13
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Skill exploder [dice]2[/dice]

Wild [dice]1[/dice]
Wild exploder [dice]3[/dice]

[Zima]

Notice

Skill: [dice]0[/dice]

Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Once things seemed to have quieted down, Tanya stored the Glitter Boy, rushing through the standard maintenance routine a bit (hoping to come back for a more thorough job later) before returning to the courtyard to join the Corporal. She had also pulled a copy of the GB's visual log--should it be needed.

Making her way across the courtyard to the waiting Corporal, she winced. She didn't exactly limp, but there was certainly something peculiar about her gait. Once she reached Ulrich, she greeted him with a short nod and a sheepish half-smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting--my bum leg's decided to act up. As you can see, I don't move so fast out of the suit."

[Beowulf85]

With the help of various creatures everyone gets out of the Bop no problem. The blue passengers are shaken, but recover quickly when they spot other creatures like themselves.

Thanks to a number of strong legionnaires the Bop is righted without the need for heavy equipment. Several of them remarked about how, for a vehicle that size, it was surprisingly light. The armor plating has taken a beating and will be at -2 until repaired. None of the windows broke, but most of them are cracked giving the Bop a further -3 to its armor. In addition, the wheels being out of alignment will give it a -2 to driving rolls until repaired. Finally, as noted before, the hood won't stay down.

Once things are relatively back to normal the crowd starts to disperse. Word is sent to the garage that three vehicles are in need of repair and before anything even arrives to haul the vehicles someone can be heard shouting in the distance. "Ithan's eye! A buffoon hit my ATV? And the glider too!? I WAS LOOKING AFTER THAT FOR A DRAGON!" The crowd parts as a dwarf comes running faster than one would expect a dwarf to be capable of running. Clad in a variety of mismatched gadgets and gizmos she appears to be a Techno-Wizard. Anyone who has done work on their own vehicles and machinery would have seen her around the garage before. A successful smarts roll means you know her name, and a successful spirit roll means you would have worked with her on something before.

Anyone nearby/watching who succeeded in their notice rolls notices that small patches of the Bop are glowing a faint blue, like ley line energy.

Leonidas - The POW looks miserable, but he's awake and, at least for the time being, alive. Assuming you send for a stretcher to bring him to the infirmary a couple of nurses arrive shortly to help transfer him from the dragon to a stretcher. He passes in and out of consciousness. If you're going to escort him to the infirmary, roll 1d100, 72% chance of survival.

Zima - The armor looks like it just completed two missions without maintenance in between, not as shiny as one might hope but otherwise there is no obvious damage. That being said it could really use a wash down and some standard maintenance.

All - Defender Hammerheart's voice patches through to your communication systems "Nameless Company, I didn't expect you back so quickly. Debriefing will be in one hour. Get cleaned up. Bring your blue passengers, grab some food, and Specialist Chevy, try not to break anything between now and then."

If things are slow then I'll do the debriefing starting next week, but if there are things you want to play out then I'll postpone it and just assume you have enough time to fit it in before the debriefing, provided it's the kind of thing that can be RPd in an hour of in game time.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Smarts: [dice]2[/dice]
Ace: [dice]6[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]3[/dice]

Spirit: [dice]4[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]5[/dice]

Chevy hears the outraged bellow and closes his eyes in tired dismay. He knows full well the owner of that voice, although he'd managed to stay out of her way so far.

"Oh, bleep me with a hand grenade," he mutters as he turns to face the music.

[Beowulf85]

Her name is Terra Silverforge. You've seen her around and from what you know she's a mid tier techno wizard who has assisted in the construction of some of the castle's defences. She's a native of Rifts earth, in no way related to the dwarves that founded Castle Refuge, and rumor has it that she is looking for someone to help her improve her skills as a techno wizard but is very particular about her instructors. You've never spoken directly but she's often working on one project or another in the workshop or garage.

[Spellweaver]

"Mr Spellweaver, let's get zhe refugees to zhere kin here first zhen to zhe medical facilities to be checked up on.

[dice]"Understood Corporal"[/dice] Spellweaver directs the refugees to their kin and the guides them all to the medical facilities. He's polite, but eager to unload them, so he can get a quick shower and bite to eat before the debriefing.

[Architect]

AwkTek has never met this Techno-Wizard Dwarf, nor does he recall leaving the skiff in her hands. As she approaches yelling and such, AwkTek backs out of the garage where he had helped in righting the Bop. Sitting down on the ground outside the garage, he lowers his head to look at the dwarf as she runs upto the garage.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Are you okay?"

Notice [dice]0[/dice]

Wild (Notice) [dice]1[/dice]

Repair [dice]2[/dice]

Wild (Repair) [dice]3[/dice]

Ace (Wild (Repair)) [dice]4[/dice]

* Notice [2]

* Repair [10]

[AwkTek is attempting to assess the repairs necessary for the TW ATV.]

[Leonidas Alexander]

Leo accompanies the POW to the med-bay, following the stretcher and nurses.

The medical staff are a flurry of movement as they do what they can to save the life of an enemy.

He is my enemy, but he may not be a monster. If he is, it may not be of his own making. Fear is easy, trust may be deadly, and the need to protect what one perceives as theirs is strong.

He pauses in thought as a sudden realization washes over him.

... I don't know if I think it better he live or die. If he lives, he will be under arms at all times, likely never to see his family again. If he dies, he'll die with the knowledge that he did his best to save his family from evil - real or imagined.

He takes one last look at the gurney before turning and moving to post guard outside the door.

---

[dice]0[/dice]

[Zima]

Notice

Skill: [dice]0[/dice]

Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Tanya chuckled quietly at the announcement: it was a bit of a relief to be able to take care of at least some of the work on her suit--it tended to weigh on her mind if she couldn't deal with it fairly quickly. Whatever kind of residue those slug-things left is probably going to have to be cleaned up by some flavor of magic user, she mused. Ordinarily the cleaning would be the first thing she'd tackle, and she could probably still give the rig a decent wash-down in the time she had, but the more mechanical aspects--and getting rid of that quasi-magical residue--would probably have to wait.

Once she'd scrounged up a large bucket of cleaning solution diluted with water, she spent the bulk of the hour giving her Glitter Boy a methodical cleaning. Once satisfied she could do no better in the time allotted, she hustled up to her quarters and changed, then hustled back down to the courtyard, her eyes scanning for Ulrich as she approached the main entry to the Hall of Hope.

[Ulrich]

"Sorry to keep you waiting--my bum leg's decided to act up. As you can see, I don't move so fast out of the suit."

Ulrich chuckles "Iz okay Specialist Zima. I am not uf zhe highest constituion either meinself"

Notice roll
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Beowulf85]

Leonidas - On the way to the medical bay the soldier completely passes out, though whatever it was that the nurses stuck him with probably helped. The prognosis is severe but hopeful. They are going to keep him unconscious for at least a few days while his body recovers. During that time there will be several surgeries, it is likely he will survive but it is hard to say if he will walk again. If anyone was hoping to garner any information from him it wont be happening any time soon.

AwkTech - The dwarf spins on her heel to stare at you with a small round angry red face, none too pleased and none too timid. Barely stopping to take a breath she launches in to a tirade. "Well, speak of the devil! I know all of the other dragons who have been through here, so you must be the one who dropped that contraption in my garage without so much as a word! I had a collapse of a time finding out where it came from! So yes, yes you can help me! You can help me with two things!

"Firstly, no snacking on whatever troll's ass just crushed your skiff! It'll get fixed, probably before you're back from your next mission!

"Secondly," she takes out a scroll, puts it in to some kind of TW contraption and it shoots a light over an area on the ground, "put your claw or muzzle print here so we know who the blasted thing belongs to next time! Hundreds of legionaries coming through here, if you're leaving a vehicle behind it doesn't cost you anything but we need to know who it belongs to and where it's being kept!"

She takes a moment to catch her breath after her rant, visibly making a pained effort to calm down.

Spellweaver - The deebees are preoccupied, at least for a few minutes, celebrating the fact that at least some others survived. Eventually one of them gets passed a small device he pins to his collar and suddenly you can follow their conversation. "...Just like this and then they can understand us?" The other deebee nods, "marvelous! This will make things so much easier."

He turns to you and speaks in an awkward, slow, loud way. "I. AM. SORRY. FOR. THROWING. MUD. IN. YOUR. FACE. I. THOUGHT. YOU. WERE. A. BEAUTIFUL. DEMON."

[Architect]

AwkTek is not sure whether to laugh or not. This huffy dwarf is quite funny and he holds back from belching flame as he stifles the laugh.

Standing up, he inspects the device the lady dwarf is waving around. Standing on two legs with his tail for balance, AwkTek uses his left front paw to size his face and compares its size with his right fron paw/claw. Looking again at the device, "Neither my face nor my paw will fit that device. Will it record voice?"

"Allow me sometime and I can repair my skiff and maybe help you with your ATV." At the mention of the ATV, AwkTek nods his head at the ATV and tries to hide Chevy and scoot him behind him and out of sight of the Lady Dwarf.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

With a bemused expression, Chevy allows himself to be concealed by the dragon, even as he mentally totes up the supplies and labor required to repair his beloved vehicle.

[Architect]

Seeing the Lady Dwarf point at a location on the ground which has a projection of some sort, AwkTek puts his front legs down and places his left front foot into the illuminated square. A series of beeps and the scan is done. Burning with curiosity, AwkTek reaches gently forward and lifts the device between two claws to inspect it. "These things are so small."

Hoping that Chevy has made a break for the barracks, AwkTek then shapeshifts into his Human Boy form and turns the now big device over in his hands inspecting it. "What else does it do?" With that he puts it back in the hands of the Lady Dwarf.

[Beowulf85]

Terra's visage visibly softens and he posture relaxes. Not all the way, but she's gone from ranting at the young dragon to a more contained exasperation at the general situation. Even so, her workman's pride wins her over and she takes the opportunity to expound on her device. It looks like a large lead ring with a few gems and lights attached to it.

"It's a fairly simple, if useful thing. The only thing it does is allows for creatures of any size to have their biometrics recorded on a scroll or piece of paper. For creatures that can't write it's easier than a signature, and even if they could write some creatures are too large or small to effectively sign a normal scroll or piece of paper." She takes the scroll out of the device and unrolls it. "Here, look."

On the scroll is a photo of AskTech's glider, and under the photo is a replica of his foot print, claws and all. "This tells me that this device," she points to the glider, "belongs to this creature." She indicates AwkTech's foot print, which is recorded in exacting detail about the size of a hand print inside of a box that says 'checked in'. Someone has already written his name below the box. "No two dragons have exactly the same paw print. The same goes for dwarves, humans, ogres, quikflex, atlantians, elves, and basically any creature you can name. When someone wants to retrieve whatever they left with us I'll pull the scroll to that vehicle and repeat the process. If the prints match this light," and she points at a corresponding light, "will turn green and a second copy of the print will be recorded in the 'out' box. If they don't then it will turn yellow and we'll have to figure out why they don't match. So far no one's tried to fool the system, but some times creatures get injured when on missions."

She turns to the scene of the accident and sighs. "I recognize that vehicle, It belongs to some motor-headded Quick-Flex. Looks like he's already run away..." She rubs her temples and proceeds to examine the damage to the glider and her ATV. "Well, he won't be leaving without fixing it, and he won't be fixing it without heading to the shop. I'll catch the half troll sooner or later. For now we have to figure out what to do about your glider. If he's registered with a SET and can't pay up front then we'll take it out of his pay in installments. Same for my ATV."

As she strolls around the scene, effectively monologuing to AwkTech, she examines the damage to all the vehicles in detail. When she brushes away some of the dust on the APC she suddenly stops. Spots start to glow and one corner of it momentarily rises a few inches in the air. "Well that's as strange as a she-troll's front tail..."

AwkTech's skin unexpectedly start to tingle and glow where he was hit by the slugs (you didn't note that you were stopping to wash off the goop).

[Chevy]

Notice; [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]
Ace: [dice]2[/dice]

Ensconced in the safety of his battered APC, Chevy overhears the conversation and mentally scoffs, Feh, you can't hang about here forever, lady. Once I'm in the clear, I'll bring my ride over to the shop and start working on it.

The sudden shift in the vehicle and the overheard comment catches his attention. What? What's she futzing about? He stifles the urge to stick his head out and see. No reason to hurry the inevitable.

[Architect]

The small boy begins rubbing at the itchy tingling spots. "Ma'am, what did you just do?" Small AwkTek is trying to see around the lady dwarf and what she is doing. "My skin is tingling."

[Beowulf85]

The small boy begins rubbing at the itchy tingling spots. "Ma'am, what did you just do?" Small AwkTek is trying to see around the lady dwarf and what she is doing. "My skin is tingling."

Terra spares a glance at AwkTech, then does a double take. "Your skin is glowing. I didn't do anything..." At that point one of the blue creatures runs over and starts jabbering in its native language, apparently intrigued by whatever the glow is. It calls to another one of the creatures then bends over and lifts the rear end of the Bop two feet off the ground! The glowing and tingling get stronger.

Terra curses "What the troll is going on here!?" as she clambers on top of the vehicle to get a better look, spotting a number of variously sized glowing marks on the Bop. The vehicle lurches and nearly lifts entirely off the ground, but the dwarf maintains her footing. "Was your group cursed by something? Did you come in to contact with any unusual magics?"

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

A top hatch on the Bop creaks open and an angry Chevy pops his head out.

"Awright, that's enough! What in poo-perfect hell are you doing to my ride, you hedge-clanker?!?"

[Architect]

AwkTek stands with his tiny head cocked to one side. At the time he did not think much of the splotchy falling colored things. No one talked about it after they picked up the dbees.

"We got caught in a storm. Lots of magic in that storm. It poured these squishy colored things from the sky. Then we ran into some fleeing DBs and a coalition squad. I did not think much of the squishy things. Now my whole body is tingling."


Notice [dice]0[/dice]

Wild [dice]1[/dice]

*

*

[Leonidas Alexander]

Leo returns from the infirmary to see the aftermath of Chevy's impressive flying ATV.

Seeing the glowing spots and effect, he glances down at his own armor and curses softly.

Striding up, he addressed the group in general but the dwarf in particular. "Ma'am, we were caught in a line storm which was raining what looked to be rainbow colored slugs. Naturally, a few hit us in the process. What with the battle and all, I think we sort of forgot about the impact zones and the slime that was left."

He looks a bit chagrined at the idea that he had neglected his gear in such a way, but continues on doggedly. "I think the slime itself disappeared when we went through the Rift ... but those spots look extremely similar to the pattern the slugs were leaving."

---

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild (Notice): [dice]1[/dice]

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Chevy looks down at Leo and muses aloud, "So what you're saying is that the slug juice smeared on the Bop was most likely responsible for the crash."

He turns to the dwarf. "Ha! See? Not my fault!"

[Ulrich]

Ulrich (and Zima?) would then return from storing the data of the mission on a better secured mainframe and see everyone having their chat. He walks up and observes listening to anything that the more magically experienced of the group has to offer.

Notice roll
Skill [dice]0[/dice]
Wild [dice]1[/dice]

[Beowulf85]

"Awright, that's enough! What in poo-perfect hell are you doing to my ride, you hedge-clanker?!?"

When Chevy pops his head out and starts shouting a number of things happen at the same time.

The D-Bees jump back in surprise.

The glowing abruptly stops.

The Bop abruptly falls two feet. (Chevy make an agility roll at -2 to see if you don't slam your face in to the rim of the top hatch)

Terra screams and kicks at the head that popped up at her feet.
[dice]0[/dice]
[dice]1[/dice]
(Misses)

Then abruptly falls down on the roof as the Bop bounces to a rest.

She clambers to her feet and glares daggers at the Quick-Flex.

Chevy looks down at Leo and muses aloud, "So what you're saying is that the slug juice smeared on the Bop was most likely responsible for the crash."

He turns to the dwarf. "Ha! See? Not my fault!"

Terra closes her eyes and rubs her temples before crouching down to the level of the operator peering through the hatch. "You might be right, but I'm sure your odds of not crashing weren't improved by driving like a troll through the parking lot..." She stands up and collects herself. "That's a fortunate twist of fate. If the magic you encountered on a mission was a factor the crash then I won't have to pay for my repairs after extracting money from you. Damage from missions is paid for by The Legion..."

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Agility: [dice]2[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]3[/dice]

Chevy catches himself before banging his head against the hatch as the Bop settles roughly back on its haunches, only to have a boot smack against his face. "Ow! Lay off, Tankerbell!"

Terra closes her eyes and rubs her temples before crouching down to the level of the operator peering through the hatch. "You might be right, but I'm sure your odds of not crashing weren't improved by driving like a troll through the parking lot..." She stands up and collects herself. "That's a fortunate twist of fate. If the magic you encountered on a mission was a factor the crash then I won't have to pay for my repairs after extracting money from you. Damage from missions is paid for by The Legion..."

Chevy nimbly extricates himself fully from the hatch to stand on the roof and glare down at the prone dwarf. "Dream on, Petrol-Breath! I can drive circles around your fat tuchus any day and twice on Sunday! It's those damn slugs that caused the accident, which means we're both covered by the Legion, so go suck on a monkey-wrench!"

[Beowulf85]

The insults seem to have the opposite effect than what one would expect as Terra starts laughing uncontrollably, possibly feigning laughter to patronize the operator. "Don't tell me you're challenging me to a race. You'd need a vehicle for that and..." she deliberately looks at the Bop then stomps on its armored roof, "I don't see one!

"If you don't have a vehicle then what am I going to take when I win? Your driving skills? Please! A blind troll could drive better!"

She nimbly jumps off of the roof and turns to AwkTech while heading to her ATV, "I take it back, you can snack on him if you want." Terra jumps in to her ATV and the window rolls down. "You pick a time, I'll pick a place. Don't worry, it'll be somewhere you won't be able to crash in to anything valuable. That thing's already enough of a piece of junk without me having to repair it again after it's mine." The dwarf aggressively revs her engine as she prepares to take her vehicle to the shop.

[Chevy]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Chevy visibly shimmers as he shakes in rage.

He yells at the retreating vehicle. "Oh yeah! Well, I'll try to keep you from having to choke down too much of my dust as I smoke you and your junk-waffel reject!"

The angry Quick-Flex jumps down from the Bop and addresses the dragon-turned-boy. ""Aye-Tee, help me get the Bop into the shop, I got work to do. And tell the mage to come by; we need to figure out how to exorcise or something this slug drekk off my car."

[Architect]

"Chevy, do you need to maneuver the Bop or something?"

AwkTek walks to the Bop, "Let us see what little boys are made of."

Facing the Bop, AwkTek puts his hands under the bumper and lifts.

Strength [dice]0[/dice]

Wild (Strength [dice]1[/dice])

* Strength [14]

*

Notice [dice]2[/dice]

Wild (Notice) [dice]3[/dice]

Ace (Wild - Notice) [dice]4[/dice]

Ace (Ace - Wild - Notice) [dice]5[/dice]

* Notice [14]

*

[Ulrich]

Ulrich does his best not to laugh out loud at the scene as it unfolds. Good thing his mask hide his expression.