NationStates Jolt Archive

In a city that could only be described as one of the many pinnacles of modern technology in the world, the streets bustling with people and vehicles of every type, each person only concerned with their day-to-day life. Even the air was filled with the usual traffic -- with the revolution of Anti-grav some years ago, the traditional automobile was slowly becoming obsolete. Above the city, which lay in the center of this technologically proud country, floated a warship. It was only constructed the year before, and had been currently overhauled, but it's function was not as a destroyer, or a conquerer. This ship housed the heads of state and many other important figures.

Like the leader of this steel and iron-bound country. Kennith Sanderson, a former soldier in the millitary, was now the political leader of the secluded nation above which this mighty ship, the Onslaught, floated. The Federation of Xertania's main focus was technology -- it was plain to see to anyone fortunate enough to enter the country.

After the advent of the robot, technology leapt foward within the nation with great bounds. Following the robot came many weaponry breakthroughs. The most recent of which being Anti-grav technology, discovered only ten years prior to President Sanderson gaining his office as leader of his people. Kennith rubbed his forehead, sighing softly as he glanced at his paperwork on his desk before him.

The problem with being a leader, is that almost everyone watches for any mistake. Kennith was sure he'd catch hell from the representatives and senators for what he was about to do. Many people believed -- and were taught -- that the only reason the Federation was so far ahead of most other cultures, was their isolation from them. This was partly true -- the rest of the world certainly did not benefit from their discoveries in the field of science, they knew. But alternatively, Xertania rarely benefited from any outsider's advances.

That, hopefully, would change very soon. However, they needed help with a small... problem, first. Resigning himself to his task, Kennith took up his pen again, as the head of Senate abruptly entered his office, scowling deeply.

Kennith sighed. He didn't want to see this man under normal circumstances, and since these certainly weren't normal circumstances, that desire to not deal with the man was merely doubled. "Good morning, Senator Joseph. Is there something I can help you with?" asked the President, steepling his hands before him as he tried to stem his urge to tell him in as vulgar a manner as possible that he did not feel like putting up with him.

"You can. I hear you are going to be opening our borders. The People will not approve..."

"You mean, my puppetmaster won't approve, don't you?" sniped the seated man, glaring up at the older man before him. "I don't give a damn what the "people" think. If we don't do something, we may not have a "people" left to serve." quipped the President.

The balding man before the desk scowled. "I do not understand, sir. We have never relied on the outsiders before for help. Why should we now? We are possibly the most technologically advanced culture on the planet, why can we not continue to attempt a solution on our own?"

"...Why?" Repeated the formally dressed man seated at his desk. "I will tell you why, Senator. Yes, it's true, we are quite technologically advanced. However, our problem is not centered on technology. Our problem--"

"Our problem is a mere terrorist! A troublemaker out to strike fear into us! Minister, you cannot do this!" raged the old man that stood before the Prime Minister's desk. Sanderson narrowed his eyes at the man before his desk.

"Senator, leave my office. I am in charge of this nation. And I have decided. We need the help. And we will be sending the message to ask for it. Such pride never got anyone anything but an early grave."

Fuming, the older man left the room. After a brief moment, rubbing his temples, he finished penning his message that would shortly be broadcast to as many nations around the world as could be reached.

"Greetings and salutations, fellow nations.

My name is Kennith Sanderson, President of the Federation of Xertania. While I wish this were a mere call for a meeting to announce an opening of our previously sealed borders, I am afraid it is not so.

Xertania has need of any peoples schooled in, or well learned in, Magical Theory or Supernatural Phenomenon. I cannot currently give details, for what we have is very sketchy, and I have a hard time believing it myself.

However, the sad truth is that my country is in need of help. We are willing to financially compensate for the help sent to us, and hope you will consider this as it is -- a cry for help from our neighbors.

Should you decide to come, please go to the following location. In three days, our flagship, the Onslaught, will arrive to pick up any volunteers. Peace be unto you all, in His Light.

-President Kennith Sanderson"

------

An hour later, the message is sent out, along with a set of latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, and a physical map of the pickup location. After wating the three days spoken of in the message, the Onslaught embarks on it's voyage for the location, an island about thirty miles from the eastern coast of Xertania.

((OOC: What's the incident in question? Well, as much as I'd love to tell you all, I can't right now. Look for it tomorrow!))

((OOC: Yeah, and the founding date? It -lies-. My nation kinda went kersplat in October, and Rep was kind enough to revive it for me. I really started this thing in Febuary.))

((OOC: *tag, will post tomorrow*))

--THREE WEEKS PRIOR--

Within one of the few remaining rainforests of Xertania, after detection of a curious energy fluxuation, a team of scientists are sent by the Xertanian Head of Science to discover it's origin, and report it back before further action is taken.

One week after departure, after combing the general area where the fluxuation was detected, the team dissapeared, as if they had never existed. A few days later, when another team, this time a group of soldiers from the Xertanian Marine Corps, was dispatched to find what happened. The science team's equipment was found, within a temple under the canopy of the trees.

Inside, the inspection team discovered no trace of the scientists whereabouts -- their clothes were haphazardly strewn about the research area, but strangely, the piles of clothing all seemed to belong to a different person. Thankfully, one of the scientists remained. Dr. Eugene Smithson, the head of the exploration team, was found unconcious near a shattered stone door, partially covered by the rubble from the door. After recovering the doctor, the team promptly evacuated.

Dr. Smithson remained in a coma for another week and a half. During this time, his body physically mutated, without any outside influence or reason. The man in the bed was clearly still Dr. Smithson, the DNA tests all agreed. However, his skin had turned a strange orange color, and his musculature had beefed itself up. Other changes followed, before his eyes suddenly opened and he demanded he go speak with the President.

Dr. Smithson's audience with the President was granted, and he quickly prepared his report to President Sanderson. Kennith was quite suprised to see the new appearance of his old companion, but listened to him anyway. After listening to what the man had to say, President Sanderson retired to his office. Two days later, he sent his message out to the other nations, pleading for their help.

((OOC: And now I'm off to school. Later.))

((OOC: Back. Now, for anyone curious as to what was revealed during the meeting, don't worry, you'll find out. If anyone has any problems with my lack of description for Sanderson or Smithson, fear not, I plan to do detailed descriptions for you once people actually see the two men. Also, you'll be getting a spiffy pic of the Onslaught over the sea at sunset that I made in Doga. I'm proud of the ship. ^_^))

(OOC: *Tag*)

"Curious... very curious." Michelle Richter re-reads the message.

"Xertania isn't too far from here- we don't share borders with them like we do Sneaky Bastards, but the isolationist buggers are easily a short flight away." Tsume Dragonis notes. "I think we can offer them one of the ATI's investigation teams to look into it. Perhaps it'll help with that entire fiasco on Titan, too?"

"I'll leave it to you, Tsume. Got stuff to do."

ALTIMIT Broadcaster
Encryption: Low
Broadcast type: Diplomatic/Research
To: The Federation of Xertania
Return transmission band: Open
IDENT: Tsume Dragonis - Reploid Productions

Greetings, I am Tsume Dragonis, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Immortal Shogunate and Affiliated Territories of Reploid Productions. We have a research organization dedicated almost exclusively to thaumaturgic study and the development of new technologies derived from such study. If it is acceptable, we can send a team of investigators from the Arpean Thaumatology Institute to assist in this situation.

Perhaps this may lead to the development of greater diplomatic ties between our nations.

http://rpstudios.ian-justman.com/junk/CGgoods/tsume5.JPG
~Tsume Dragonis
~Secretary of Foreign Affairs
~Immortal Shogunate of Reploid Productions
<End transmission>

ALTIMIT Broadcaster
Encryption: Low
Broadcast type: Diplomatic/Research
To: The Federation of Xertania
Return transmission band: Open
IDENT: Tsume Dragonis - Reploid Productions

Greetings, I am Tsume Dragonis, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Immortal Shogunate and Affiliated Territories of Reploid Productions. We have a research organization dedicated almost exclusively to thaumaturgic study and the development of new technologies derived from such study. If it is acceptable, we can send a team of investigators from the Arpean Thaumatology Institute to assist in this situation.

Perhaps this may lead to the development of greater diplomatic ties between our nations.

http://rpstudios.ian-justman.com/junk/CGgoods/tsume5.JPG
~Tsume Dragonis
~Secretary of Foreign Affairs
~Immortal Shogunate of Reploid Productions
<End transmission>

<begin transmission>
Message Origin: Federation of Xertania, President Sanderson
Message Destination: Immortal Shogunate of Reploid Productions, Tsume Dragonis
Message Priority: High
Message type: Text only

Begin Message:
Many thanks unto you, Secretary Dragonis. The Federation of Xertania humbly thanks you, and to answer your query, such a team would be greatly appreciated. As stated in prior message, we will pick up the team, and any of their supplies and belongings, at the coordinates previously indicated. I, too, hope that a mutually beneficial diplomatic relation may blossom from this incident.

-President Kennith Sanderson, Federation of Xertania
End Message
<end transmission>

-=<RPRA Research Lab Network Email>=-
To=> The Federation of Xertania
From=> Department of Thaumaturgic Research, RPRA Research Labs, Sneaky B

Greetings from the RPRA Research Labs. We've heard about your request and we're interested in helping out. We've recently formed a department that deals with researching magic (also known as thaumaturgy), and while we don't have much experience with it yet, we hope to help you out in any way that we can as well as use this as a learning experience for our department members. If you'll allow us, we'd like to send down a member from our department to assist you.

Status=> Message Sent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Who are you thinking about sending down there?"

"Karen. I figure after her little trip to the Shogunate's colony she's got more experience with thaumaturgy than the other members of the department."

"But wasn't she in the archeology department?"

"Transfered. Changed her field of study. Must have been some experience down there. Makes me wish I would have gone too."

-=<RPRA Research Lab Network Email>=-
To=> The Federation of Xertania
From=> Department of Thaumaturgic Research, RPRA Research Labs, Sneaky B

Greetings from the RPRA Research Labs. We've heard about your request and we're interested in helping out. We've recently formed a department that deals with researching magic (also known as thaumaturgy), and while we don't have much experience with it yet, we hope to help you out in any way that we can as well as use this as a learning experience for our department members. If you'll allow us, we'd like to send down a member from our department to assist you.

Status=> Message Sent.

<begin transmission>
Message Origin: Federation of Xertania, President Sanderson
Message Destination: Department of Thaumaturgic Research, RPRA Research Labs, Sneaky B
Message Priority: High
Message type: Text only

Begin Message:
As stated in our message, we would welcome all help. Please, do send whoever you can, it would be most appreciated. Many thanks unto you, Sneaky B. I only hope that we can form a formal diplomatic relationship after this situation is resolved. Our flagship, the Onslaught, will arrive at the predetermined coordinates to pick up any aid sent in a couple days. I hope this will turn into a mutually beneficial situation at it's conclusion.

-President Kennith Sanderson
End Message
<end transmission>

Drake taps his talons on the floor of the transport plane that had brought his team to the coordinates given by the Xertanians. The "elite" investigation team- Kiara and Tsunami's group- were busy elsewhere with the Titan situation. The brightly colored reploid dragon certainly stood out compared to the duller flightsuits of the organics on the team and boxes of equipment.

"I finally get my own investigation, well away from Ebony-" The yellow mechanical dragon represses a shudder. "-and now I'm stuck sitting on my steel-plated ass waiting!"

"Dude, cool yer jets. They'll get here when they get here, and we're gonna be representing both the ATI and the government. Try not to eff it up, kay?" One of the jet's pilots peers over his shoulder at Drake.

As the sun began to set, a low rumble could be heard on the small isle. In the distance, a small speck appeared, lumbering closer. It appeared to be the size of a plane.

------

"Sir, we're approaching the island." called the helmsman for the large airship to the center of the bridge.

"Good. Take us down, nice and easy. I'll inform the president that we're here, and get the welcoming comittee ready." Intoned the deep, grating voice of the ship's captain. Moments later, his orders were being carried out.

------

On the island, the speck had drawn noticably closer, and could now be seen as an airship, one roughly twice the size of a 747 commercial airliner in wingspan alone. Primarally green in color, there are bits of yellow and gunmetal blue/black.

http://www.rockmanvortex.com/forte-kun/rprajunk/onslaught1.jpg

It slowly decended toward the island, eventually coming to rest on the island. On part of its primary hull, on the ship's neck, a hatch opened, from which a squad of about twelve uniformed soldiers emerged, each carrying only a sidearm as a weapon.

Drake and his team snap to attention, slightly surprised at the armed guard. "Uh, don't shoot?" The yellow reploid dragon ventures. "Pretty please? We're the thaumatology team from Reploid Productions. I'm the team's leader, Drake Dragonis, ATI Investigations Deptarment."

Blinking, the head of the small squadron stepped forward. "We assumed that you were part of the team sent. We're here as escorts for you, and to load your things aboard the Onslaught." Noted the tall black man, his shaven head having a slight sheen to it. "I am Major Stellar, of the Xertanian armed forces. Let me be the first to welcome you and your team to Xertania."

After taking a moment to bow, he motioned to the other soldiers, who stepped up behind the Major. "You may direct my squad to load your things. They will be taken to your quarters. Meanwhile, I am under orders to escort you to the President, Mr. Dragonis. He wishes to debrief you as soon as possible regarding the situation."

Drake bobs his head. "Certainly, any information you can provide regarding the incident would help our investigation tremendously."

He glances over his shoulder at his team. "You heard 'em, let's get th'stuff all loaded up! And be careful with the thaumatometers!"

Ten of the soldiers salute Drake, and get to work, being extra careful not to damage anything as they load. The last, a lady holding a clipboard, takes note of the cargo as it's loaded, her blonde hair tied into a tight bun on the back of her head.

The Major nods to her, then comes to attention before Drake. "Sir. If you would, the President awaits us. I am sure that my men will not damage your equipment. If you would follow me, please." Turning, Stellar walked back to the open hatch of the ship, stopping only to extract the ramp for the others for loading the equipment.

Drake follows Stellar, looking studying the large ship as he is led inside. "So your president is on board this ship? The situation must be big, if your leader is involved. It's a shame our best team is offworld at the moment." He chuckles slightly. "Though I suspect that the fiasco on Titan is probably bigger than this." He pauses before hastily adding, "No offense, of course."

"None taken. Yes, the situation as I know it is somewhat serious, but I don't know any proper details to be saying anything. And of course, I'm sure that something on another planet would be a bit more important than some wierd occurance in one's neighbor's property." Stellar allows himself a semblance of a smirk. "Though, your existence does prove our scientists wrong, if I may be so blunt. Xertania has Robots, but they do not think, as you seem to do."

He stops in front of a door marked with an eagle holding a sword in it's talon. Stellar uses the console next to the door, and after a moment, the door opens. "I will wait for you outside the President's office, Mr. Dragonis."

Drake bobs his head. "The Shogunate is full of people like myself, and the world beyond it has its fair share of electronic sentience." With a fanged grin, he ducks into the room with a sweeping spread-winged bow, similiar to Tsume's elegant manuver. "Drake Dragonis, Arpean Thaumatology Institute investigation unit leader, at your service."

Inside the somewhat large office, which Drake has just entered, is carpeted with gold colored material. On the wall above the desk at the far end of the room, is a rack with a set of three blades, each currently in it's sheath. Behind the rack, painted on the wall, is the image of a golden bird, wings outstretched to the point of nearly coming together above it. Between the wingtips lay a blue pentagon. The tail of the creature seemed to be made of three spikes, pointing downward. This was apparently the crest of Xertania, as it is seen in a smaller, single color version on each soldiers uniform aboard the ship. The swords and rack were apparently a personal item of the room's occupant.

On display as well, on the right side of the room, in the corner near the door, stood a glass case that displayed an old, battle-worn power suit. It seemed bulky, and the black and red paint on it had been scuffed and worn in many places. On the chest's right side, it bore a nametag which read "Sanderson", and on each shoulder was a unit badge depicting a dog's head growling, which read "Wolfblades". The right arm of the armor was a cannon that appeared to have been nicked and dented a bit. The suit stood as a silent sentry of the room's occupant, and seemingly as a reminder of days gone by.

Everything else in the room was standard fare for a politician's office -- leather chairs surrounded a small coffee table in the center of the room, currently unoccupied. On the table sat a silver plate of cookies and crackers, and a selection of sliced cheese and meat. The left wall was comprised primarily of a large vid screen, which at the moment was displaying a news broadcast from Xertania. The man behind the desk, previously having been observing the screen, turned to his visitor, raising his eyebrow slightly as he looks at him.

Standing, the man walked out from behind his desk, placing his hands behind his back as he walked toward the reploid dragon. He was about 6' tall, with shoulder length hair. His brown hair was kept mostly in a pony-tail at the base of his skull, and sections of his hair that were too short to be secured by the hairband framed his face. His face was hawkish in appearance, and somewhat predatory in it's neutral state. He had glittering green, almond shaped eyes, and light skin. He seemed fairly fit, especially for a polititian, and currently wore a formal suit of black and white.

Upon hearing the words of his visitor, the man smiled at his guest. "Welcome, Mr. Dragonis, welcome. I am President Kennith Sanderson. I am relieved that our call for help was responded to in this manner, I had honestly believed that no one would come, since we had isolated ourselves for so long. Please, relax, and have a seat."

Walking to the table in the center of the room, President Sanderson stooped at the table for a moment to press something, after which the video screen blinked into darkness. "I am sure you are curious as to what the situation is, correct?

Drake nods as he carefully arranges his bulky form to sit down. Well, sitting in normal chairs hadn't exactly been a design requirement when Reploid Productions first designed the 6-foot long Dragonis series reploid. "Direly curious, especially given the overall rise in thaumaturgic activity we've noticed. First the fiasco on the Outset Islands, then the awakening of the Boofohj ev kxo Wettojj Rcutoj, and then the fiasco on Titan, and now this... Some people from Sneaky Bastards should be coming, too- they are close allies of the Shogunate, after all."

He pauses. "Ack, I ramble. But please, what is the situation?"

The president chuckled as he seated himself across from Drake, steepling his fingers as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "The situation, as from what I was told, is that several somethings that were rumored to be myth were recently released... along with a powerful being able to control and raise the dead. A Necromancer, if you will... Since this has occured, the magical energies which people could tap into have vastly increased in volume. Or, rather, to be precise, the amount of people capable of this ability have increased. Most of Xertania remains decidedly normal." He pauses, then continues. "Well... as normal as my country can get." admits the president. "I, myself, have the capability to harness a small bit of this power. I could demonstrate, if you wish, but I should imagine I ought wait for the person or persons from Sneaky Bastards to arrive."

Pausing again to get himself a snack off of the table, Kennith nibbles briefly on a cookie. "Dr. Smithson is on his way here. He should be able to explain what this situation is better than myself."

If Drake had eyebrows to lift in surprise, they'd be well lifted at the mention of a necromancer. "Somebody who can use thaumaturgic energies to control corpses?" The reploid manages to choke out in surprise. "Damn, maybe I should put the call in to HQ to see about getting one of the other Keepers out here."

The yellow and red reploid had a sinking feeling that the ATI had once again jumped into what looked like a puddle, only to find a deep lake instead.

"Not just corpses, I'm afraid. This person managed to control death and decay themselves... Hold on. We have some tape of some aftermath. We have yet to actually see this Necromancer or view him or her in action." Reaching to the table, the president pressed a few buttons embedded into the table, and looked up to the video screen as it came to life.

On the screen were images of one of Xertania's farming facilities. The date was about four days prior -- one day prior to the call for help. Suddenly, as the camera watched, a dragon fell from the sky over the wheat field, crashing to it's death. After it's crash, the dragon began to decompose at a rapid rate, leaving a skeleton with bits of scaled skin hanging from it's bones.

The skeleton then began to stir, reshaping itself, and standing, as a two-legged creature of demonlike appearance. Around it, the ground glowed a sickly green, and the crops around it began to decay. As it did, mass began to replace itself on the skeleton. As it did this, green goop began to seep up from the ground, and began to spread across the field, seeming to assimilate everything in it's way.

"This is the only instance of it we've been able to catch on tape. That gunk... We don't know what it is, but it... "consumes"... people, for lack of a better term. It eats away at buildings, clothing, animals... and how it starts is reported to be different each time." Kennith shook his head, sighing. "I don't think I need to say why I was so worried, now, do I?"

Drake remembers to shut his gaping mouth with an audible clack. "This... may be well beyond a simple investigation.... Good Goddess, how the hell does one combat something like that?! It's..." He shakes his head. "It's beyond anything we have on our files. The ATI is not really a combat group. It may be a good idea to send word to Titan- they've got combat groups specifically intended for fighting thaumaturgic stuff. Have your guys... tried anything? Fire, ice, explosives, that sort of thing, to halt that gunk? Is there any way to isolate it for study?"

Kennith nods. "We have, actually. We were able to hold it back by constructing forcefield barriers, actually... but the gunk gets by them after a while, by draining the field. Ice seems to really bother it about as much as a shower would bother you or me. Fire... we haven't been able to get close enough to actually try fire for very long. For the moment, it's stopped moving forward... which is a good thing. It's actually consumed a city in the southwest of Xertania, after which, it seemed to halt."

Standing, he walks over to the screen again, the image currently frozen on the dragon-like zombie creature on the screen. Gesturing at it, he begins to speak again. "The dragon is the mascot, essentially, of our country. Many people believe we evolved from them. I am not one of them." Turning to Drake, the president crossed his arms. "However, that doesn't stop this from creating more fear than any squadron of elite powered armor troopers ever did. We've tried many things, but, none have seemed to work. Dr. Smithson can tell you in detail what we've done, when he gets here."

As Kennith turns away from the screen, a aide rushes up to him.
"Sir, we've just received a transmission from the Armed Republic of Khrrck. They say that due to a minor mishap, their reply was delayed. They want to talk to you and offer their aid."

[OOC: I'm fairly new, so feel free to not include me.]

[OOC: I've got no problem with you joining in late, or joining in period, Khrrck, but. Please don't dictate an action like this one again. It's an honest mistake, I think, so it's no problem. But yeah, you could post OOCly next time to make sure you could, or I could do it for you if you did that -- or if you telegramed me.]

Kennith blinks at the aide, raising an eyebrow. "Relay to them a message that their help would be appreciated, and to ask approximately when they will arrive here. And please, use the buzzer next time when you come in, if you would."

[OOC: Gah. So sorry.]
(This is a transmission for Xertania)
Since we missed the pickup, we'll have to get new directions from you.

We have General(Second Class) Ss'tek, the Professor of Magical Actions from the National University, the Professor of History, four soldiers, and three Assistant Professors ready for pickup by your craft.
In the way of supplies, we have two 3' by 3' by 3' crates of essential instruments and equipment, and a 3' by 2' by 2' tank of ethyl alcohol.
If this is not feasible, we will transport them ourselves.

We can provide additional military aid (although your own military is probably quite sufficient) and instruments upon request.

Could you bring us up to date on the situation?

(Appended is a set of coordinates for the pickup location; a small airbase planted in a leveled section of mountainside on the eastern border of Khrrck.)

((OOC: [OOC: Gah. So sorry.] No problem at all, really. =) I hope you have fun here, though!))

The Hamakaze 220 carrying the Sneaky B research team, being escorted by two Thunderhawk fighters, made its approach to the island. All three aircraft were about 15 miles away from the landing point given to them by the Xertanians.

Karen stared out the window, looking down at the passing waters below the plane, lost in thought. She was quickly snapped out of her little daydream by the person sitting next to her jabbing her with her finger.

"Ack! What!?" she asked as she turned to the person, suprised.

"About time you came back to reality. Just wanted to introduce myself. Trying to get to know the rest of the group." said the person sitting next to Karen.

The person was a female, wearing an officers uniform. Her hair was black and drawn into a braid which hung over her shoulder. She seemed out of place, with the rest of the members of the group being non-military researchers. She extended her hand to shake.

"Yukari Asaki. I'm here representing the government in this trip and to observe the research team."

Karen slowly extended her hand and shook Yukari's. She looked the officer over and thought for a second.

"Karen Allen, nice to meet ya. You look familiar... have we met somewhere before?" Karen asked, thinking she had seen this person recently before the trip.

"Uhmm... nope! I'd remember if we had met." She replied with wide smile.

"Uh huh..." Karen said quietly as she turned back to window.

Yukari stood up to leave when Karen quickly turned back around, grabbing the sleeve of the uniform.

"Wait just a minute. The government representative was supposed to come at a later date. And I remember where I saw you now. The drydock at Victoria where my father's ship was in port. I saw him talking with you when I went to meet with him." Karen said with an angry tone.

"You're one of his officers. He sent you along to watch me, didn't he? He's always done things like this to me!" she added.

"You're right. I'm not the representative. I'm only here to observe the team and keep an eye on you. The captain was kinda worried since we really don't know these guys yet." Yukari replied as she sat back down.

Karen turned away from her with a "Hrmph!". Yukari started to say something but was inturrupted before she could speak when the captain's voice came over the speakers.

"Attention passengers. We'll be landing in just a few minutes. Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts."

Yukari got up from the seat and walked towards the back, returning to her original seat where things were.

The plane began its descent to land as the Thunderhawks turned away and headed back to sea.

<begin transmission>
Message Origin: Federation of Xertania, President Sanderson
Message Destination: Khrrk Government
Message Priority: Normal
Message type: Text only

Begin Message:
We will remain here for another day. After that, when you land at the given coordinates before, one of the soldiers from the installation there shall direct you to where you may offload supplies and transport them to our location.

-President Kennith Sanderson
End Message
<end transmission>

<begin transmission>
Message Origin: Khrrck Air Transport 14 (UCL +2330/+16)
Message Destination: Xertania Government
Message Priority: Normal
Message type: Text only
Message Coding: International Standard 7021: Secure Sender Verification

Understood. We should arrive within the next 24 hours.
Apologies for the misunderstanding.
The Minister of Measurements made a mistake when converting your measurements to our time system.

Signature:Ss'tek Halfjaw, General Second Class.
signature is valid
End Message
<end transmission>

As Kennith turned back to Drake, the screen came to life again, displaying the ship's captain, a man with a decidedly canid appearance, looking like what would have happened if wolves had evolved to humanoid.

"Mr. President, we're picking up the aircraft from Sneaky B. We'll send Major Stellar to lead their people aboard. The supplies from Mr. Dragonis's team are also almost completely loaded on board, sir."

After a brief pause, he reads something off camera. "And we've gotten a message from Khrrk. They'll be here in a day."

"Good. Thank you, Captain Stern. You think you'll be up for the usual game of chess later?" Asked the President calmly.

"It's the only relaxation we get anymore, Kenny. Sure thing." Replied the captain, before the screen blinked off.

Kennith returned to his seat, across from Drake, settling into it with a sigh. As he does, the door opens again, to admit a large man in jeans, a formal blue shirt, red tie, and white lab coat. Most notable about this man is his orange skin, and the short spikes protruding from his skull in place of eyebrows or goatee. He wears rectangular rimmed glasses, and his right hand seems to have been mutated into a large, three fingered claw made of a sturdy brown material. He holds a small briefcase in his normal hand as he walks in. "I'm sorry I'm late, Mr. President, I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

The man notices drake out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, hello. Are you one of the researchers sent to help us? My name is Dr. Eugene Smithson, it's good to meet you." he states, offering his right hand toward the reploid dragon for a hand shake. Glancing at his hand, and thinking better of it, he switches his briefcase to his clawed hand and proffers his much more normal left hand instead. "Sorry." He mumbles apologetically. "I'm still getting used to this..."

Drake gets to his feet with a serpentine grace and surveys the new arrival briefly. "Drake Dragonis, Arpean Thaumatology Institute." He returns the handshake, careful not to accidentally inflict injury with his rather large talons. "And not to worry, sir, ever since the Valley of Dragons fiasco and the Outset Islands expedition, the ATI has gotten very acclimated to dealing with the exceptionally weird. Like I was telling President Kennith here, the ATI probably should have sent it's frontline team with Kiara... she's a victim of thaumaturgic exposure, and very well equipped for dealing with this sort of thing." The brightly colored reploid shakes his head slightly. "Unfortunately, she's at least a week away, on Titan right now."

He gestures to Smithson and his rather unusual appearance. "I would assume thaumaturgic exposure has led to your rather... unconventional... appearance? I admit, it looks... kinda incomplete, or unbalanced, to me at least. According to the reports from the Valley of Dragons, Kiara's transformation was an all-at-once affair." He catches himself. "No offense, and I do ramble. I've been briefed somewhat on the situation, and told you had more information."

"I'm sure you have something better to do than babysit me for my father. Why don't you just go back to the Bladewood and leave me the hell alone?"

"I have nothing better to do. You're stuck with me for the entire trip. And you don't have to be angry at me, I'm just following orders."

Karen followed the other members of the research team off of the plane, looking pretty annoyed. Right behind her was Yukari, the cause of Karen's being annoyed. She looked around for the Xertanians that were supposed to be waiting for them. The other members gathered and started talking about something while Yukari sat down, using one of the equipment cases as a seat. She glanced down at the case, looking at the label that was stuck on it.

"T.E.S., what the heck does that mean?" she asked.

"Thamaturgic Energy Scanners. Some things the Labs built. They don't even know if they work since they have little knowledge of the subject. Don't even know why they bothered sending them with us if they haven't been tested... Hey! Don't sit on the case!" answered Karen as she turned to see Yukari sitting on the case. She quickly jumped up off of it.

"Sorry!"

Dr. Smithson cocks his head slightly. "I would assume you mean I was changed by exposure to massive amounts of magical energy. I believe that is the reason for my altered appearance, yes. It is... a bit difficult to get used to the unbalanced nature of my new form... it has drastically more mass than my previous... but, I digess, forgive me. Yes, to the issue at hand..." he nods to himself, setting the briefcase down, and opening it. Removing a small disc, he walks over to the wall the video screen is on, to one side.

"This entire problem is centered on a particular structure we discovered in Xertania's forests." the Doctor noted, as he inserted the disc to the reader slot next to the screen, and walking back to the others. "We knew nothing about it, so we began by setting up camp within it, and exploring. While searching, I found a set of stone doors. There were eleven doors, actually. Each door held a different marking on it's surface. Here are pictures of the doors. They were set in a semi-circle." As he clicked forward into the small slideshow, displaying a large stone door. After a few moments for each, to allow for Drake to observe them, he advanced to the next, until he reached the last.

Each door was carved with an intricate design, and slightly cracked.

On one door, the blazing sun was shown, with the image of a half dragon, half human creature with a mane of hair on it's head, assumedly female by the image, super-imposed over it's surface.

Next to it was a sumilar picture, a lightning bolt crashing to the earth, in front of which stood a birdlike creatue, appearing to be part human, with wings sprouting from it's back. This one appeared to be male.

Next to it as a door with the image of a dense jungle, with a gorrila-like creature hefting a club onto it's shoulder, and growling, also male in apperance.

Following it was a creature most comparable to a Seraphim in appearance, a six winged female creature floating in the air, with rays of light emitting from it.

It was followed by a door depicting the galaxy behind a being seemingly made of a crystaline substance, female in appearance, and no hair.

This was followed again by a door that was imprinted with only the image of a human male holding a set of scales.

Set next to it was a door with many cracks in it, depicting an explosion, in front of which stood a creature much like what Dr. Smithson now looked like, wearing a bit of armor and a mask of metal.

Next to this was a door depicting a male's skeleton rising from it's grave, with bony wings and flesh hanging off of itself just barely.

Next came a door with a cobra-like creature, again humanoid, but it was depicted in a swamp-like area, and depicted as female.

This was next to another door, a door depicting a tall mountain, in front of which stood a creature that looked like a Ram mixed with a human, and male in appearance.

The final door had a humanoid wolf creature drinking from a river as it snowed all around it. This one was female in appearance as well.

"As you can see, each door depicts a different scene. When we arrived, this is how they looked like. We began to examine them, attemting to keep from activating any device that might be present. However..." Dr. Smithson sighs, holding his head in his clawed hand. "We didn't expect the doors to react to certain people. One of the team was examining the door depicting the skeletal creature, when it reacted to him. It exploded, and he was knocked out. From it came a shadowy figure that looked like the thing on the door, and it began to kill the rest of the team. It just grabbed each person, and they... dissapeared. Rather, they melted into a green goop, which then all ran toward the knocked out team member. When it saw me, it roared... and threw me at this door." He brings up the picture of the cracked door depicting a creature that looked much as he did now, and frowned. "The door exploded when I struck it, much more violently than the first. I don't recall anything else after that... except waking up. When they told me that they hadn't found any trace of the rest of the team, I contacted the president. And now, here we are..."

-----

As the two girls from Sneaky B grump, a man in a military uniform approaches them. "Hello, there. I am Major Stellar, of the Xertanian Armed Forces. Welcome to Xertania. I appologise for not meeting you as you landed, but my unit was still loading the equipment from the Shogunate on board. My squadron will load your equipment onto the Onslaught, and I will escort you to the president and Mr. Dragonis from the Shogunate." The Major pauses to regard the two. "Do you have any requests or questions, before we go?"

Drake groans and slaps his forehead with a clack of metal on metal. "This just reeks of some sort of prophesy or long lost thaumaturgic... thingy. The figure- the half-dragon one almost could match the Keepers, except they have human faces, only with short horns and rather delicate looking fin-like ears." He pauses in thought. "Kiara and Oduh my be on Titan, but I'm sure the ATI could badger one of the others to join us out here. Most of the other Keepers are part of the so-called Queen's Guard now... not that Firefury-sama needs much guarding."

"Well, I don't think the creatures themselves signify anyone. At least, not immediately. I was changed to look like that thing on the severely cracked door. I think that whatever this temple is in regards to... is a seal. But.. why, or what, is anyone's guess. However, obviously, releasing what is behind those doors causes a change in the person that opened it. But, that is beside the issue at hand. This... necromancer, as people have called it... has been controlling a wave of green material of unknown origin. It's stopped advancing, but so far, we have been unable to get a sample of it for analysis..." Dr. Smithson notes, stating his take on this.

"I've shown him the video of the dragon crashing down onto the field, Eugene. He's seen it in action." Kennith informs him. Dr. Smithson nods, then reaches into his briefcase again, pulling out a picture and handing it toward Drake.

"This is a new development. The president has yet to see it." After hading the photo to the reploid dragon, he hands one to Kennith. Kennith pales slgihtly, and swallows a lump in his throat.

"...This isn't possible, is it...?" Asks the President with some disbelief. The picture is a printout, dated minutes before the doctor arrived, displaying a large city being brought up from the inflicted ground, seeming to be constructed of bones, stone, and a green mist circling the bases of each building, and covering the ground affected.

"It is, I'm afraid. I think that forgotten legend idea may, in fact, turn out to be spot on... Because this is the City of the Dead, the Necropolis. This is where our country's main religion refers to as hell." Dr. Smithsion informs the two, grimly. "This is all that we know. Currently, I am searching for any possible refferance to this in Xertanian history and myth, but.. I have come up with nothing. However, we are quite ill suited to deal with this form of threat. Which is why we asked for help."

"Why can you never get me the news on time?!"
The messenger took a step back. "Uh, sorry, your majesty. You now the drawbacks of living in an area with a high viridium content as well as I do."
"True." replied the king. "I think we should send someone. We have a certain amount of experience with magic, and friendship with a technologically advanced culture could certainly be usefull. See to it."
"Who should I send, your majesty?"
"Hmm, good question..." The king paused for a moment, thinking. "One of the Chon-v'ker; they're the only ones of us who have much experience with science and technology.... I think Tzirvol. He's the most experienced magician amongst them. Bring him here."
The messenger left the room. The king took a piece of paper from his desk and began writing. When he finished, he concentrated and snapped his fingers. The message vanished and appeared on President Sanderson's desk with a flash of light.
President Sanderson:
I apologize for this late response; my country frequently has difficulties recieving communication. As you can see, my people have a certain amount of experience in matters of magic. We would like to increase our relations with more technological nations, and would be happy to send you what assisstance we can. Simply write your reply on the back of this page and snap your fingers; it will then return to me. We can provide transportation for ourselves.... Best wishes,
Taryd, king of Dar-Kavryn

At the flash of light, Kennith jumped, and looked around. Noting the paper that wasn't there before on his desk, he goes to look at it. Reading it over, he blinks a few times, then scratches his head. "Well.. this is certainly strange. But..." He takes up his pen, and on the other side, writes his message.

Greetings and salutations. Any help would be most graciously recieved, and I thank you for your offer. You letter, honestly, startled me as it appeared in such a manner. But, that is of no matter. I hope we can reach a beneficial aggreement between our nations as a result of this incident.

-President Kennith Sanderson, The Federation of Xertania

After penning his message, Kennith scratches his head for a moment, then snapped his fingers, wondering if it would work like the letter described.

The paper vanished with another flash. A few minutes later, a slash appeared in the air and widens into an opening. Two figures stood on the other side. The one in front was dressed in black and gray; he wore an odd steel crown and carried a battle ax in one hand. His arms are unusually long, and decorated with strange runes and symbols, and his eyes glow green. Behind him was a man in red and gold, with a more standard crown of gold and rubies. He wore a long cloak, and a sword was sheathed at his side. He said, "Greetings, President Sanderson. Do not be alarmed. I am Taryd; This is Treg Kivor, a friend of mine. We're here to deliver a representative, who will provide what help he can and call us if more is needed."
A beam of light flashed through the opening, then formed into a translucent, glowing form. A strange, artificial-sounding voice spoke: "I am Tzirvol. The king told me you have need of assisstance in a supernatural matter of some sort; I am here to help as best I can."

Taking a moment to process this, which a look of shock pasted on his face, President Sanderson composed himself, and bowed slightly to the three people now in his office. "Greetings. I am Kennith Sanderson, President of Xertania. I must admit, while we have some magic to a degree, it quite apparently pales to what you are capable of. Welcome, Highness. Let me thank you personally for the aid." He says, as he offers his hand for a handshake.

Dr. Smithson, on the other hand, occupied himself examining the glowing creature. "My my... what are you, friend? I've never heard of such a creature as yourself.." after a moment, and realizing how rude it must be, he clears his throat. "Forgive me. I am Dr. Eugene Smithson. Welcome." He smiles, offering his more normal left hand in greeting, as opposed to his clawed one.

Drake kind of just gawks at the entire proceeding, remembering the shut his mouth with an audible *clack*. "Uh... Drake Dragonis, Arpean Thaumatology Institute."

The mechanical dragon finds himself feeling more out of place than usual, and wondering yet again what he's gotten himself into.

The two girls turned to the Major, putting on smiles to hide their current dislike for each other. Karen grabbed her things and made her way up to the Major to greet him.

"Karen Allen, from the RPRA Research Labs Department of Thamaturgic Research. Ready when you are!" she said.

"2nd Lieutenant Yukari Asaki, Sneaky Bastards Self-Defense Force." said Yukari as she walked up next to Karen to greet the Major.

The other members of the group gathered their things and equipment, walking up behind the two girls.

The Major nods, and bows briefly to the two. "Welcome. Follow me, if you will, then, ladies." He straightens up and turns toward where the Onslaught is, and begins to march. The other members of his unit -- the ten enlisted and the one female warrant officer -- help the people that are picking up the supplies, in order to make it easier on them. The Major, however, leads the two on board the Onslaught, and to the President's office, pausing briefly to open the door for the two.

"The representative from the Arpean Thaumatology Institute is already inside. The supplies you brought will be placed inside your quarters for the moment. And now, I bid you good day, ladies." notes the Major, before saluting and turning to help the others load up.

The three bowed in return. Taryd stepped forward, shaking the President's hand. "I am pleased to meet you, sir. Our skills are scorned by most of the world; many people do not even believe magic exists. I'm glad you appreciate them. There are costs, of course. Not everyone can use such magic, though I've heard there are varieties anyone can learn. The portal was made by Treg. He is king of the degrals, and can draw on the power of all of them. Now, what happened, and what can we do to help?"

Tzirvol extended his hand to Dr. Smithson. The man felt his hand shaken, but could feel no pressure against his skin. "Thank you, doctor. I hope I can help. I don't mind the question; my people are very rare and little known, so I'm used to curiosity. For that matter, I find myself wondering what exactly happened to you..." He grinned. "My name is Tzirvol; I am a Chon-v'ker. We are, basically, beings composed purely of energy. We cannot exist without magic, and in areas where that is common we are frequently accused of being demons.... Our preference is for careers involving both magic and space travel, so you can see why we aren't common. Oh, by the way, we act primarily by the manipulation of energy... one might say that we are manipulations of energy, in fact."

Treg Kivor walked over to Drake, putting his ax away. "Greetings. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you? I've met many dragons in my life, but never anyone quite like you..."
OOC: (Degrals aren't noted for their diplomacy. The king is a bit better at it than most, who wouldn't have bothered with "If you don't mind me asking...", but he's still rather... blunt spoken, shall we say?)

"How intriguing..." Dr. Smithson mumbled. "But, yes.. as for what happened to myself, I was... exposed to a large amount of magical energy and changed by it. At least, that's what we think, right now.. I can display the information for you again, but I will wait until everyone is finished conversing..."

President Sanderson shakes his hand. "I know how that selectivity is... however, our nation is only recently accepting those with magical ability and history... it's been a gradual process over the last century for us... but, I digress. Come, sit, Dr. Smithson shall be able to brief you on the situation."

OOC: (Degrals aren't noted for their diplomacy. The king is a bit better at it than most, who wouldn't have bothered with "If you don't mind me asking...", but he's still rather... blunt spoken, shall we say?)

((OOC: Heh! Well, that's one way of putting it...))

Drake bobs his head in greeting. "No offense taken- it's a common reaction outside the Shogunate. I'm a reploid dragon, Dragonis model type. Basically a sentient machine. Glad to have you with us- from what's been explained so far, this is somewhat beyond the ATI's research."

Tzirvol replied "That sounds quite possible; large quantities of magic can frequently have unpredictable effects. Did it harm you in any way, or just... change... you? I don't mean that this change is a minor thing, of course, but the more information I can get about it the more likely it is that I'll be able to figure out what might have happened."

"Thank you." said Taryd, sitting down. "That... selectivity... goes both ways, I admit. In Dar-Kavryn, not even gunpowder or flashlights work properly; it's an effect of an unusual concentration of a rare mineral in the area. That's one of the reasons we did not get your message immediately, in fact. We try to keep track of what's going on in the outside world (and beyond the world, for that matter), but many countries that, like ours, study magic refuse to accept the existance of those with your skills... but, much as i enjoy this sort of disscussion, my time is short. I cannot be away from Dar-Kavryn too long. I am ready to listen to Dr. Smithson; our conversation can continue later." He turned to Dr. Smithson, watching him attentively.

Treg nods, thoughtfully. "A sentient machine... interesting. I have heard of such before. Do not underestimate your skills, Drake. I have seen many strange things in my life, and read of stranger in the records of my people. If there's one thing I have learned, it is to never assume anyone is not effective. You may well turn out to know just the fact or skill we need here; less likely seeming events have occurred many times."

"I was knocked out when it happened... I'll explain as we go along again." replied Dr. Smithson. "Now, then, for our guests that weren't here before..."

Dr. Smithson goes over all the information for them again, displaying each door, and telling them of the events that occured. He then shows them the pictures of the Necropolis, as an ending statement. "This person or thing seems to have modeled itself after the Tormentor, and, as I said before, it's powers seem to fall under the classification of Necromancy. Mr. President, if you would, replay the video for them..."

At his request, Kennith replays the video of the dragon crashing into the wheat field, and going through it's disturbing transformation. When the presentation is again finished, the doctor stands, and places his normal hand in his lab coat's pocket. "Mr. Dragonis has already theorized that this is a legend we have long forgotten coming about, and I am inclined to agree, somewhat, but we, frankly, still have no clue what to do about this... which is why we called for help."

Treg's eyes flash to bright blue (Degral eye color shows emotion). He said, angrily but with an icy calm, "The being that did that must be destroyed."

Tzirvol said "That stucture, and those doors, seem to have been a... storage place, of sorts, for powers or beings. I would say a prison, but what happened to you, Dr. Smithson, is very different to what happened when the other door was triggered. It seems more like an almost random power than the release of a being... Of course, this is all just conjecture; we can't be sure about anything without more information. We need both any myths or legends that could possibly be relevant, and direct information about the Necromancer. I might be able to get the latter more safely than anyone else.
I'm not sure exactly how to put this, doctor, but... have you noticed any... changes in yourself besides the physical transformation? That could be very important."

Dr. Smithson ponders that for a moment, before nodding. "One, actually. I can do.. this." With the last word, he holds out his clawed hand, and clutches it slightly. As he does so, a sphere appears within his claw, garnet in color, and glowing with a strange orange hue. The orb seems to react after a moment, and it immediately shifts into a very large sword, composed entirely of the energy before. There seems to be no intermediate stage, it just suddenly has changed. the greatsword of energy humms a bit, as Dr. Smithson turns it over in his hand, moving it through the air. He releases his grip on the weapon, and it just altogether dissapears.

"Before now, I had always been quite magically inept. The president has a skill in which he may create a sword composed of vines and energy, but this sort of magic is very common amongst soldiers. This... thing I just demonstrated... it is far different, yet similar. And it is like second-nature, even though I have only recently gained the ability."

"Interesting..." Tzirvol paused for a moment, then continued. "The power that transformed you doesn't seem to have intended to harm you, then. It may even have been trying to help, that skill certainly seems like it could be useful." Again, he paused...
"Have you had any unusual dreams recently?"

Dr. Smithson shakes his head. "No, nothing of that sort, I believe. I did have dreams prior to the incident, but.. that was only one night that it happened. It's hardly relevant, I think."

Drake bobs his head. "I can't help feeling outclassed. I've listened in on one of Luceh's lectures on what the Keepers call "the Arts", but I couldn't make heads or tails of half of it- stuff about the pulse of the world, the lifeflame of the world, and a ton of thaumaturgic jargon that went sailing way over my head."

Drake watches the presentation, the bladed end of his tail twitching at the sight of the Necropolis again. "Good Goddess, just how does one intend to combat the Devil, or similiar religious equivilent?"

At Smithson's demonstration, he very nearly falls over. "I so should have badgered HQ to put one of the Keepers on my team!" He quickly recovers. "So... now that we've all been briefed, I would assume the next step would be to investigate the source of the problem? That temple or whatever the ruin is?"

Kennith nods to the dragon. "Indeed, that is one source to examine. Another is to search our resources for any clue as to what this is. And, a final one, being.. well, goiing to the Necropolis. Dr. Smithson shall accompany you in whatever endevor you take. Should you go to the ruins again, I will be sending Major Stellar and Warrant Officer Lang as escort." He sighs, standing. "If you wish, Mr. Dragonis, I will give you access to the communication system aboard the ship, so that you may summon additional aid, if you feel it needed."

Tzirvol replies "I asked because dreams are frequently used for communication by supernatural entities that can't speak in a normal manner... but something that happened before you found the ruins probably isn't related. Can you think of any legends that might describe that place, or this Necromancer?"

Treg replies to Drake: "Well, there are many possibilities if we do that. We might learn what this power is that has been released -unfortunately for it- and how it can be destroyed. We might release something that will help us, or something that will help it, or something even worse. Of course, as likely as not nothing would happen at all. Certainly what we need now is more information, and there are only two places we know of that are likely to have it." He stands up, idly twirling his ax with one hand.
OOC: Treg Kivor is very powerfull (he's the one who opened the portal) and I don't usually use him as a main character, but this seems like a situation he might not be too strong for. He likes adventuring once in a while, and I would enjoy using him... Do you want me to keep him directly involved, or pull him out when Taryd goes back to Dar-Kavryn? Either would fit IC.

((OOC: Treg might be a bit overkill as far as what I plan to do, I'm afraid. I'd reccomend him going with the king, really, but you could bring in another character if you so wished.))

((OOC: No problem; as I said, I usually don't use him for an important role. I'll stick with Tzirvol, and perhaps bring in a regular degral later.))

The two girls entered the office quietly, trying not to inturrupt the conversations currently going on. They took the first empty seats they found and sat down, trying to keep some distance between each other. Karen opened up her bag and pulled out a little notebook and a pen, ready to take notes as usual.

Dr. Smithson looks up, and notices the two girls. "Oh, hello there. Who might you two be?"

[OOC: Sorry for delay: technical problems.]
Transmission Origin: Khrrck Air Transport 14
Transmission Destination: Xertania Government
Message Type: Plaintext

We're picking you up on radar. We should arrive shortly.

Transmission Ends

Transmission Origin: Khrrck Air Transport 14
Transmission Destination: Khrrck Pheonix (Gold Three)
Message Type: Two-way data/text

KAT14: I've notified them of our arrival.
KPXG3:Good. Have they responded?
KAT14: Not yet. Status?
KPXG3: Fuel 62%, no significant mechanical problems.
KPXG3: No unusual phenomena within range of the instruments.
KAT14:Good. Continue in formation.
KPXG3: Copy. Morth out.
KAT14: Ss'tek out.

Transmission Ends

Transmission Origin: Khrrck Air Transport 14
Transmission Destination: Xertania Government
Message Type: Plaintext

We can see you. Coming in for landing.

Transmission Ends

The boxy, antenna-festooned transport flew on, trailing exhaust and the occasional puff of black smoke.

Accompanying it is a fighter of uncertain make and indefinite model.
Whatever it was originally, it's now a mess of welded patches and parts of other aircraft, festooned with missile mounts and guns.
It's painted black. Whatever identification markings it once had are gone.
It's the sort of thing no sensible pilot would ever fly.
It's going quite fast, though.

Transmission Origin: Khrrck Air Transport 14
Transmission Destination: Khrrck Pheonix (Gold Three)
Message Type: Two-way data/text

KAT14: Is the spatial resonance scanner picking anything up?
KPXG3: Not a blasted thing. Someday I'm going to tear this thing apart..
KPXG3: ..and turn it into a magnetic nozzle or something.
KAT14: ..It was quite expensive, you know..
KPXG3: There's plenty of better uses for a half-dozen processors and a bucketful of monopoles.
KAT14: Just as long as HQ agrees.
KAT14: Any of the other instruments reading anything?
KPXG3: Nothing except for old 6A.
KAT14: 6A's always picking things up. I'm beginning to think it's broken.
KPXG3: Well, none of the other instruments are..
KPXG3: Except for the radar. At least that's reliable.

The two airplanes are almost at the edge of the site.

KAT14: We're coming in.. get ready to land.
KPXG3: Uh-oh.
KAT14: What is it?
KPXG3: My landing gear's jammed shut.
KAT14: That's not too bad, is it? I thought that thing was a VTOL fighter.
KPXG3: It is. But ever since that episode last year, the forward nozzles don't work.
KPXG3: I've been meaning to fix them.
KPXG3: I think I can land it without too much damage, though..
KAT14: And just how are you going to do that?
KPXG3: Like this.

The fighter suddenly cuts speed and drops toward the landing site.

KAT14: What are you doing?
KPXG3: Landing.

The fighter, a few hundred feet above the ground, pulls up sharply and stalls as it reaches vertical.

KAT14: You're insane.

The fighter's engines roar. Balancing precariously on its own exhaust, it drops slowly toward the ground.

KAT14: ...

A mere ten feet above the ground, the fighters's aft VTOL thrusters kick in, spinning it through 90 degrees as the main engine shuts off. It drops to the ground with a crash.

KAT14: I don't believe it.
KAT14: Are you OK?
KPXG3: Re<fssh>bly so. Can't <fssh> the same f<fssh>is thing, th<fssh>.
KAT14: Repeat, please.
KPXG3: I'<fssh>K.
Transmission ends.

A few bits of mangled metal roll away from the grounded fighter.

A moment later, the transport comes in and makes a much more conventional landing nearby.

Transmission Origin: Khrrck Air Transport 14
Transmission Destination: General Broadcast
Message Type: Plaintext

We've landed.
Greetings from the Armed Republic of Khrrck.
Do you have some repair equipment you can spare?

Transmission Ends

"Ahh, introductions would be nice, wouldn't they? ^^;;" Karen said as she stood up. "Karen Allen. RPRA Research Labs Department of Thamaturgic Research."

Yukari raised her hand and waved to the others as Karen sat down again.

"2nd Lieutenant Yukari Asaki, Self-Defense Forces. Just here to observe. Don't mind me." she said, lowering her arm.

Smiling, the doctor stood and extended his left hand to Karen. "Greetings, I am Dr. Eugene Smithson. I suppose you wish to be briefed on the situation, yes?" he asks, raising one of his bald, orange eyebrows.

-----

At the landing site, a crew of people run out to see if the pilot of the crash-landed craft is okay.

Taryd stood, and bowed slightly. "I am Taryd, king of Dar-Kavryn."
Treg turned and nodded, but did not get up. "Treg Kivor, Degral King."
"And I am Tzirvol, a magician. I am the one of us you will be working with here."

[OOC: Unexpectedly dragged away; you may not see me for a bit.
Apologies for the inconvenience.]

OOC: I'm not sure when I'll be able to post next, either. Most likely, not for a while. Sorry about that... I hope I'm back before too long, but don't hold the plot up waiting for me.

[OOC: I'm back. I'd post, but my previous IC post hasn't been responded to yet. (I'd think that at least a emergency vehicle or two wouldn't be too hard, surely?)]

((OOC: I did reply, Khrrck. Look at my last post. A crew of people went out to the crashed plane to get the guy out. Also, this is an island. The only real medical facility there is on the Onslaught, which is landed, and anyone injured would be taken there. :P))

[OOC: Oops.]

The fighter's elongated canopy groans as it hinges up.
A black-scaled, reptilian head pokes over the cockpit edge and begins shouting at the rescue team in a oddly mechanical tone.
"Ypfssshools! Don't you kfssh not to run ufssho a downed aircrapfssshuel is explosive, yopfssh"
The lizardlike occupant of the fighter pauses briefly.
"fssphit. This thinpfssshen again. Just pfsshent."
The head disappears into the cockpit for a moment, then resumes talking in a calmer tone.
"Sorry about that. This damned speaker is acting up again."
It's odd, the way he talks without opening his mouth.
"I'm Morth. This is my aircraft. You won't have to worry about it catching fire, but that's an exception to the rule. Watch out, I'm coming down."
Morth clambers out of the cockpit and drops to the ground.

He's almost seven feet long, and quadrupedal.
He's got talons, and some rather large teeth; he's also wearing what looks like a mechanical backpack, with some mechanical arms attached.

"Did any of you see where the transport landed? I've got some repair gear on board."

"A briefing on the situation? Well, if you don't mind starting from the beginning, then sure. " said Karen as she clicked her pen, ready to write down any important information.

Yukari stared up at the ceiling, kinda bored. She hummed softly to herself, trying not to disturb the others in the room.

-------------------------------------------------

The two pilots of the Hamakaze looked up from eating their lunch to see the crashed plane out their window.

"WTF, mate. Look at that thing... I have to wonder how it even got airborne in the first place." asked the main pilot.

The co-pilot nodded slowly and took a bite out of his sandwich.

The main pilot returned to eating his lunch, shaking his head.

Morth studies the Hamakaze intently.
"That thing's certainly better than our transport. I wonder who owns it?"
He shifts slightly to get a better look, and catches sight of one
of the Khrrck transport's many antennae on the other side.
"Ahh. There's the transport."
He walks off around the Hamakaze, glancing at the markings on the way by.
"Hrssh. Never seen that one before."

As Morth walks up to the Khrrck transport's hatch, a voice says something on the other side.
It's not in English, but swearing is recognizable in almost every language.
"K'harkka!"
"Don't worry, I'll open it from out here."
Morth stands up on his hind legs, using his heavy tail for balance.
He deftly inserts a talon under an access plate by the hatch, and pries it out of the way.
"Damn those mechanics.. let's see.."
One of the mechanical arms mounted on his pack reaches into the access hole with a whir of servos.
"..Lock controls, lock controls.. ahh.."
The mechanical arm flips a pair of switches and folds back alongside Morth's pack.
"Try it now."
The hatch groans and shifts slightly.
It suddenly jerks, as if someone gave it a whack on the other side, and hinges up the rest of the way.

On the other side is another one of those lizardlike creatures.
This one is a steely grey, but that's not the most remarkable feature.
The entire front-right quarter of its body looks like it was ripped off, including part of the head.
The missing flesh has been replaced with a assembly of struts, packed with jacks,
servos, and unidentifiable machinery. The eye on the right side is the lens of a video camera.

Morth nods to the other creature.
"Ss'tek, I'm going to get out my welding rig and head back to my fighter."
Ss'tek's voice is more human-sounding than Morth's synthesized, deep tones, but still is faintly mechanical.
"That's fine. I'm heading over to Xertania's ship to meet with Kennith and see about our supplies. Go right ahead."
Morth stands aside to let Ss'tek pass, then walks into the darkened, cluttered interior of the transport.

[OOC: SB:I don't know what the Hamakaze looks like, or what the markings are, so I'm being nonspecific. If you guys like, I'll post a description and specs for Pheonix Gold Three (KPXG3) in my next post.]

((OOC: Sorry for the lack of speed in responding. I'll make a big post tomorrow, after I wake up and deal with a few things. Just been caught up with stuff, lately. Again, sorry!))

OOC: Can I join in too?

((OOC: WHOA! Where'd the time go? Alright, I promised a big post yesterday, but I forgot about a party I was going to, so here it is today. You can join in if you like still, by the way, but as soon as the ship leaves the island back for Xertania, I'll only accept people into the RP if they telegram me with how they wish to join. If I approve, then they may.))

Dr. Sanderson nodded to the two girls, and proceeded to go over, once more for their sake, the information he had previously gone over. Once again, he finishes by showing them the city of undeath, the Necropolis.

"...and there we are. As it stands, the advance has halted, but who knows for how long. Also, as a result of what occured to myself, I have some new abilities. Observe." Once more, he clenches his fist, and this time, a battle axe is formed of the energy that mysteriously appeared in his clawed hand once more. Shifting it from that, to a scythe, to a greatsword, to a chain-like whip, and finally, into a shield on his right arm, before dissipating it. "And there we have it." He states, simply, watching the two girls reactions.

President Sanderson, on the other hand, currently handles a call from the watch commander at the air force base on Striker Island -- their current location.

------

"Sir, a plane just crashed!" yelled the watch commander into the phone. "We've sent a team out to extract the pilot and get him clear should the plane explode, but there's no telling... wait, what the.." he muttered, coming to a pause in his words.

"What? What is it, Lieutenant Richards?" came the president's voice from the other end of the phone.

"...nothing, sir, nothing... but, uhm, you have a new group of people you will need to open the Onslaught's hatch for, I think..."

"..Oh. Is that all?"

"Y-yes sir."

"Good." After a click, and silence for a moment, the phone began to beep irritibly at the officer, who slowly put it in it's place, and staring at what was before him.

------

Outside, on the airstrip, a team of workers jumped as they heard a blood curdling scream, followed by a body crashing into the ground in front of them, bloodied, beaten, and mangled beyond visual recognition.

------

On the airfield, the people there at the jet begin to check for any trouble or damage that might cause explosions on the plane. Two of the team follow the pilot, conversing over his appearance. The taller one, a felinoid female, was the first to address the lizardlike sentient.

"Excuse me, but... what are you? I don't mean to be rude, but... we've never seen anyone like you in Xertania before..."

"You haven't heard of us? News travels slower around here than I thought."
Morth is rummaging through the crates in the back of the transport.
"The Professor of History should be the one to explain this, but.."
At close range, the felinoid can see that Morth's voice is coming from a speaker grille implanted at the base of his neck.
"We're not native to this place. We also weren't native to where we came from.. just a moment."
Morth pauses for a moment.

"OK. About five hundred years ago, we were living on a small continent called K'zashikah. We were at war. Magic was plentiful, and widespread. Our physiology was partly dependent on it."
He lifts up the lid of a crate and peers inside.
"The entire population of Khrrck is descended from a party of about six thousand troops who were routed through a malfunctioning Gate."

He hauls another pack out of the crate. This one is longer than the one he's wearing, with three sturdy-looking arms; one tipped with a old-fashioned gas torch.
"We came out, not on the eastern edge of the continent, as we thought we would, but on a rocky plateau near the equator of a deserted, high-gravity planet. Every magical item which didn't have stored power went dead."
The straps holding Morth's pack on pop loose from the pack. The pack's arms reach down and lift the pack off Morth's back, allowing him to step out from underneath.

Morth turns and taps a button on the pack, which begins to fold up.
With him looking away, it's possible to see a large, bulky socket on the back of his neck.
"The few expert magicians in the group used the last of our stored power to adapt us to the area, and the lack of magic. The next four hundred and seventy-three years were spent trying to get back home."

He lays the second pack on the ground and taps another button; it begins to stand up.
"Finally, fourteen years ago, we thought we had found a way back. The New Gate had taken three years to build. It required half of our total power output to run the thing."
He backs under the pack and holds still as it straps itself onto his back; the plug on the front snaps into his neck socket with a quiet click.
"By that time, most of the population had decided to stay there rather than risk using the New Gate. We couldn't tell what was on the other side; it was one way only."

Morth begins packing his old pack into the crate.
"Even so, almost a million of us decided to make the journey. I was one of them. We spent two months preparing. We went through the gate, a hundred at a time."
He levers the lid closed and begins shoving the crates back into position.
"We came out, not on K'zashikah, but on a barren wasteland.
Our months of tuning, calculations, and adjustments had come to nothing.
We were on the wrong planet. Again."
"The first two years were hard. We couldn't speak the local language. Several were shot by frightened humans. A few commited suicide."
"This was made up for somewhat by the fact that we detected faint traces of magic. While our area was practically barren of it, some others were practically bursting at the seams. Like Xertania has been, recently. When you asked for help, we jumped at the chance."

Seemingly finished, Morth heads for the transport's hatch, then pauses.
"Oh, yes. We're called the K'zakharakah."
"But since almost nobody we meet can pronounce that, we're also called the Wyrms."
He starts to leave again, and then pauses on the sill.
"And you're probably wondering about these packs."
"While working with fine machinery is easy enough when it requires only a small amount of work to learn telekinesis, in the absence of magic we've had to find. . .other methods."
He shakes his head.
"Ye gods, I'm getting verbose. That was supposed to be a summary..."
He departs through the hatch.


What is that noise? (Apologies to Reploid Productions)

Ss'tek screeches to a halt- literally. His limbs lock and he skids on the tarmac for a moment as he stares in shock at the body.


[OOC: OK. This is a press release from some time ago. It can be found on the Net, if Xertania looks up the Pheonix.]
Khrrck Press Release #104: About Pheonix Gold Three
Following the recent inquiries about the history of our Pheonix fighter, we have decided to release this information.

The Pheonix fighter is a heavily modified MX-6 Demon. Six of the ten Demons produced by Kinsong Aerospace were purchased and converted.

The Demon was a maneuverability experiment. Designed for maximum agility, it is not capable of supersonic flight above Mach 1.2.

Specs for the Demon:

Standard Weight: 46,000 lb; Max Weight: 62,000

Engine: 2 Kinsong RBB-6 (w/afterburning & thrust vectoring) 26,000 lbs thrust each; w/afterburning, 30,000lbs each.

Control: Standard fly-by-wire control surfaces; RCS jets. After the third refit, VTOL ducting was added to the engine and RCS system.

Armament: The original Demon was unarmed. The Pheonix, however, is now armed with 3 single-barrel machine guns, a 2" Shredder disc gun, and 4 air-to-air missiles (heatseeking)

G limits: +16, -10. The frame is designed to withstand +15/-11 Gs, and only once has the Demon been taken to +16 Gs. It lost its wings moments later.

Of the six Demons purchased, only one remains. The Demon has gained a reputation for being unreliable and extremely difficult to fly; something which hasn't been helped by the hundreds of tweaks, field repairs, and part transplants performed on it, not to mention the sixteen seperate crashes and emergency landings.

After its first refit, the Demon was renamed as the Manticore. After its first crash, it was rebuilt and renamed as the Zombie. This chart makes it all clear:

Type---#of crashes---Amount
Demon---2---10
Manticore---1---6
Zombie---3---5
Undead---1---2
Pheonix---6---2
Pheonix Gold Three---2---1

As you can see, Pheonix Gold Three is the only surviving Pheonix.

Kinsong Aerospace no longer exists, and the only remaining Demon is in the hands of the Edward Baker Aerospace History Societly.

OOC: I hope you dont mind me joining in, but i had hope of using my Archmage in other than growing wheat at an astonishing rate. He needs the exercise anyway :D And I wanted to try a new way of entry so here goes....

IC: Focusing his power in one sorcerous blast, Aramond doved to the side and released it full on into the path of the undead dragon as it strove to cleave him in two. The effect had done nothing but to merely slow it down. Rage seared through him as his racial instincts was abhorred that such an unnatural thing was living and moving. But Aramond was also afraid, for he was tiring rapidly as this battle continued to rage for hours, his powerful spells losing its potency and his swordwork slowing down at an unacceptable rate for an elf.

The battle that this was being raged in was the shattered remnants of an ancient city, lost and being dragged into a dark region of the nether world. Finally Aramond knew that he cant last any longer and when the expected blow that was to kill him finally arrived, there was a blinding flash of light as he set the air around him ablazed and formed it into a solid barrier. With the last reservoir of his power, Aramond opened a portal and leapt into it.....to appear instead of the schola arcana of home, but a room filled with strange beings, one of them was playing with the flows of magic to create weapons and tools. The portal behind him shut, with the beast raging in fury as its prey escaped him.

Stunned beyond belief, Aramond asked, "I do believe I am not in the Elvarin Empire. Um, well then excuse me for tresspassing, i think I will leave now", and he promptly fainted in front of his audience.

http://tnweekender.no-ip.org/forum/images/avatars/103373843feabc86d4f20.jpg
Archmage Aramond Laramor
Of The House Of Tel Morlas
High Mage Of The Schola Arcana

[OOC: Good grief, Elvarin, what exactly are the chances of Aramond landing on the Onslaught's bridge in particular? Please, make a bit of an effort, and be believable.]

Transmission Origin: Morth
Transmission Destination: Ss'tek
Transmission Type: Two-way data/text, no encryption

Ss'tek begins to run towards the body on the airstrip, than skids to a halt again.

Morth:I'm reading 2300TU from the Onslaught. Are you?
Ss'tek:My instruments say 2281TU.. 2275TU.. it's dropping.
Morth:Well, you'd better get over there and see what's going on. That body can wait.
Ss'tek:Good idea.

Transmission ends

Ss'tek sprints off towards the Onslaught's hatch, moving suprisingly fast for something so large.

OOC: well, like i said, its a random encounter. And the chances are very very slim, lets say, NONE. Besides, at least its a change from introducing one's self, it gets relatively dull doing it over and over again. At least this way, you have to drag it out of him. :D If Xertania disagrees as well, then i will change it or delete it even. Its not as if i did anything out of control....or did I?

[OOC: Hello.. anybody home?]

Ss'tek slows to a halt in front of the Onslaught's hatch.

Transmission Origin: Ss'tek
Transmission Destination: Onslaught
Transmission Type: plaintext

What's going on in there?
And can someone open the hatch?

Transmission Ends



Good grief; another one?

Yet another reptilian figure dives out of the transport's hatch, heading for the Onslaught.

OOC: LOLZ. Anyway My computer has overheating probelms so wont be on for a while. Dont think me dead :wink:

((OOC: I am not dead! Just... 'distracted'. *eyes Xenogears* Anyway, on with the plot. Oh, and... Dr. Sanderson is not metamorphing his hand. He is controlling a fluxuating orb of energy and making it change into them -- with no intermediate stage. Kind of just "*shoom* It's a sword! *shoom* It's an Axe! *Shoom* It's a... something that looks mighty painful!"

Fluke appearances aren't that bad -- but I'll probably limit the amount of them to one more aside this one. Aside that, the president and the rest of the group aren't on the bridge. They're in President Sanderson's office -- which is more toward the center of the 'neck' portion of the ship. The bridge is at the center of the saucer portion, at the top of it. I should probably try making a general map and other statistics written up for other people to see, and not go off of just what's in my head...

Let's see, skimming back now... Okay.))

The hatch which Ss'tek stopped in front of hisses, then pulls back into the Onslaught, before sliding upwards to permit entry. As it does so, a group of people in armored suits -- about four people, actually -- rush to the president's office, past the hatch.

It might be a good idea to follow them...

------

Dr. Sanderson jumps at the sudden arrival, and his control of the energy, and it lashes out at the people around him as a wall of force, before it dissipates.

"Oh, oh dear, I'm dreadfully sorry, everyone! I lost my focus when this person suddenly appeared..." As he is the only one the energy didn't strike at, he goes to the others to help them up and make sure they are alright.

"Ow... what was that, Eugene..?" asks the president, somewhat stupified by the force.

"I am not sure, Mr. President. It just got away from me for a moment, there..." apologizes the doctor once more, as he helps people to their feet.

------

After a moment, the body, mangled beyond most recognition, rises, groaning... It then stands in place, and simply observes the nearby surroundings... as if it is waiting for something. As it stands, it's skin begins to dry out, and shrink on it's frame, turning a dark brown. Its appearance is skeletal, but only barely. It's wraithlike appearance doesn't go unnoticed, and many workers on the base scream, and flee from it in a panic, heading for hangars, bunkers, or the Onslaught.

Ss'tek grabs the edge of the hatch and pulls himself inside.
With a hiss of pneumatics, he takes off after the men.


Uh-oh..

Morth looks up from the panel he was cutting open and spots the ..creature.
"Shkak!"
He quickly clambers into the Pheonix's cockpit.
A few moments later, one of the Pheonix's three machine guns swivels to track the weird creature on the airstrip.


Wait for me!

The third Wyrm, its scales gleaming with the reddish-gold of copper, climbs through the hatch and takes off after Ss'tek.

Aramond lay there, breathing raggedly as he tried to struggle into consiousness. But there was only darkness, a barrier holding him in place, as he screamed into that void to release him. He felt weak and helpless for he was devoid of his precious magic, his lifeblood, and not since Aramond was a child did he not feel the touch of it. He was trapped.

http://tnweekender.no-ip.org/forum/images/avatars/103373843feabc86d4f20.jpg
Archmage Aramond Laramor
Of The House Of Tel Morlas
High Mage Of The Schola Arcana

Ss'tek slows as he passes through the door into the president's office.
He pauses for a moment to look around the room.
"Hello, everyone."
Spotting Aramond, he walks over and regards him critically with his camera-eye.
"Hrmmm.."
A gold-mesh antenna pops out of the mechanical jumble of his right side and waves itself over Aramond.
"Just a bit above normal background magic... hrmm..."


Transmission Origin: Ss'tek
Transmission Destination: Azrak, Morth, Onslaught
Transmission Type: Two-way data/text

Ss'tek: I think I may have found the source of the surge.
Morth: I hope it's important, because I've got something that looks a lot like a zombie out here.
Azrak: What is it, Ss'tek?
Ss'tek: Looks like an elf. I'm reading 26TU from it. Come up here, will you? Morth, keep an eye on that thing.
Morth: I'm doing better than that: I'm keeping a gun on it.
Azrak: No need to call me, I'm right behind you.
Ss'tek: Good. Keep this channel open, OK?
Morth: OK.
Azrak: OK.


The third, coppery Wyrm comes through the door.
Ss'tek looks relieved.
"Come and take a look at this guy, Azrak."
Azrak walks over and regards Aramond intently.
"Interesting. Where'd he.."
Azrak's head snaps up, and she stares at the patch of thin air that Aramond appeared from.
"You don't have to answer that."

Aramond was in an abyss, or was his name truly Aramond? Time and meaning held no relevance in this place as he felt his spirit being ruthlessly stretched to the point of dissipation. He raged in fury, stuggling to hold himself together and screamed in anger for his powers. Only his ironwill held him together now.

Floating helplessly, Aramond drifted in this nether region, knowing that everything that he was, would soon cease to be. His body would remain in the mortal realm while his soul was lost forever. And that made him desperate.

A thread of magic!, Aramond turned and saw a single thin string of light, pulsating with power but frustratingly just out of reach.

He struggled towards it and tried to grasp hold of it but it slipped between his ethereal hands. He was rapidly fading.

http://tnweekender.no-ip.org/forum/images/avatars/103373843feabc86d4f20.jpg
Archmage Aramond Laramor
Of The House Of Tel Morlas
High Mage Of The Schola Arcana

[OOC: Elvarin, let someone else reply for a change. Where are you, Xertania? What about SB? Or Reploid Productions? Where is everybody?]


Azrak reaches over and picks up Aramond's sword, while keeping her eyes on the patch of empty air Aramond had appeared through.
She takes a moment to glance at the sword.
"Nice workmanship. A bit battered, though.. I'm sure he won't mind if I fix it."
The sword ripples slightly as scratches seal themselves up, and the edge begins to shine in a altogether nasty way.


Meanwhile, Ss'tek studies the unconcious Aramond.
"Does anyone have a medical kit? Or some smelling salts?"
He blinks.
"Oh, wait. I haven't introduced us, have I? I'm Ss'tek. Technically, I'm a General, Second Class, but that tends to be ignored."
He glances over at Azrak, who isn't paying any attention.
"And this little packet of muscle is Azrak. She's a professor of Magical Actions."


"Packet of muscle? So what are you, then? Now, let's see.."
Azrak reaches up and slices a neat, square hole in the air where Aramond had appeared, about four inches on each side.
The sword crackles softly as it cuts.
"That should do it."
Azrak peers through the hole...

[OOC: For those of you who haven't guessed already, Azrak is wedging the hole (portal, Gate, whatever you call it) back open to try and see where Aramond came from.]

Aramond felt a ripple of magic through the abyss and rejoiced for he was propelled towards the thread of magical power. But then he realise din horror that someone was opening the portal from whence he came. They will bring in the undead creature, was the only clear thought that crossed his mind.

His hands grasped the thread and power surged through him, sweet beautiful magic as he tried to return to his body to warn whoever was opening that portal.

In the other realm, he forced his body to give an electrical burst outwards.
I hoped that will force the fool from the portal till I get there!

Screaming in joy, he raced through the warp to freedom.

((OOC: FLUS SUCK. Okay, now then... So people know, the thing I plopped on the airbase isn't on any airship. =p It's near one of the hangars, actually, currently observing and being all creepy. But that's going to change soon.

And, now... What's the deal with this undead thing you're talking about that might come through the way you did, Elvarin? Telegram me.

And, that said... I am currently a bit too bogged down with various things to steer this thread right now, so I ask that please, cut back on the posts that might alter plot somehow. Character development or interaction is grand, but since I'm sick, and behind on some work, I can't deal with plot here just yet. Maybe in about a week.

Also, Rep has been busy herself, what with her boyfriend visiting, so she's not going to be likely to come on until he goes back home. A slight heads up there.

Hopefully, I will have a render of the Xertanian Powered Armor troops, or at least, one of their armors, so people won't need to ask what they look like. I'll also have written stats posted for them, and for the Onslaught, ASAP. Sorry for all the delay, everyone.))

OOC: ok, wiring a telegram now....

OOC: I have changed it, hoped it is more acceptable lolz.

[OOC: Erm, "airship"? I said "airstrip". As in runway.
I assume that what you mean by "posts that might alter plot somehow" is posts that would need no reply from you? Might be a bit difficult.
Well, since I've sort of posted Ss'tek and Azrak into a corner that needs a reply, let's see what Morth is doing.]

Hrmm.. Doesn't seem like it's going to attack anyone.
Guess I can get on with repairs.

Morth disengaged the Pheonix's control cable from his pack, and clambered out of the fighter.
He relit his welding torch and resumed cutting the access panel open,
glancing occasionally at the creature off in the distance.

There.. It's open.
Morth bent the panel out of the way, and peered into the tangled morass inside.
What a mess. I should have dealt with this ages ago.
A mechanical arm reaches in and pulls some cabling out of the way.
There's hydraulic fluid all over the place... and there's the line that burst.

Morth walked around to the other side of the Pheonix, and opened a equipment bay behind the cockpit.
Spare hoses, spare hoses.. ahh..
Carrying a length of rubber tubing, he walks around to the other side, and begins replacing the broken hydraulic line.

OOC: No worries Khrrck, had a telegram discussion. I have changed what i need to change....so keep on posting!!!

((OOC: Whoops. Sorry, Khrrck. Anyway, since I'm pretty much back, and Rep got back on tonight, I'd guess we can get moving, again. I'm just looking back to catch up on what Elvarin changed, now, before I make replies.))

[OOC: Why all the apologies? Get on with the story already.]

((OOC: I'm here, and I am 100% lost x_x ))

((OOC: I'm here, and I am 100% lost x_x ))

[OOC: Eh? Lost? I could try to whip up a summary... let's see...]

[OOC: Hrmm. Looking at the morass of things here, I don't think I'm up to a real summary, but I'll summarize what's happened involving me.

-A transport and a fighter arrive at the landing area. There's some discussion over unencrypted radio about instruments and how they're not working.

During approach, the fighter's pilot finds out that his landing gear is stuck shut. Despite protests from the transport, he makes a fancy landing, involving descending tail-first and finally making a landing, with some damage to the aircraft.

From comm traffic, it can be deduced that the fighter is "Khrrck Pheonix (Gold Three)"

-A rescue team runs out to the crashed Pheonix from the Onslaught

-The Pheonix's hatch opens, revealing a reptilian sentient (see post for description) He berates the rescue team, introduces himself as Morth, and inquires about the location of the transport.

-Morth spots the transport on the other side of the Hamakaze, and heads off towards it. There's a bit of trouble involving the hatch, nd a second reptilian sentient is revealed, and Morth addresses him as Ss'tek.

Ss'tek heads off towards the Onslaught.

-A mangled corpse appears out of thin air and lands on the airstrip.
Morth is questioned about what, exactly, he is.

-Morth replies with a lengthy lecture about the history of Khrrck. (see post for full)

Ss'tek skids to a halt, and stares at the corpse.

-Archmage Aramond (The Elvarin) had been fighting a battle with a undead dragon, and losing. His portal lands him in the Xertanian president's office.

Hrmmm.. That's the top of page five.. can you read on from there? I'm not really up to typing much more.]

Deep in the engineering section of the massive airship, soldiers have stationed themselves just outside the door to the storeroom for spare Drive Enagiist Crystals(commonly called Drive ECs). Each of the soldiers is fitted with powered armor, equipped with smaller versions of these crystals as a power source. Reports of several "zombielike" intruders have been spreading on the ship, and even upon the airbase. Currently, one confirmed sighting is in the Drive EC room, while another is on the airstrip outside. A squadron of similarly armored soldiers is positioning itself around the one on the strip. After a few moments to coordinate their efforts, the soldiers outside the Drive EC room burst into action, rushing into the room and engaging the half rotted, lupinoid undead within.

------

In the president's office, Dr. Sanderson attempts to rouse the man that appeared so mysteriously. Upon initial failure, he checks for vital signs.

Meanwhile, the President adresses all present. "My apologies, everyone. But, I am afraid, we will have to depart soon... " Cocking his head to the side slightly, he continues. "It appears that we have several intruders, similar to the creature I have shown you all already." He shakes his head sadly, and looks over at the people from Khrrck, raising a brow. "However, I would like to address you two, there... might I ask, who you are? And, where you are from?"

------

On the strip, the group of armored troops around the creature attack, rushing forward. All of them unleash volleys of plasma energy upon the creature, their blasts visible as white hot beams of energy. The creature doesn't seem to acnowledge it, until the last second, leaping out of the path of the attack with somewhat minimal effort, and proceeding to totally destroy the small squadron sent to deal with it's presence with gruesome results...

Drake slowly nods, the reploid dragon flexing his rather sharp talons. "At least we aren't defenseless." He pauses, obviously checking an internal comm. "All my people are either on board, or ready to get the hell out of here in the Hamakaze we arrived in." He spits a tiny bright white flame- testing the small plasma flamethrower mounted in the roof of his mouth- standard armament on the Dragonis series. "So much for a peaceable research mission."

"Well shit, and here I was thinking to myself that things were getting to be a little boring at the moment. " said Yukari, sitting up in her seat.

"Uhmm, creatures similar to the one you showed us? There's more than just one of it?" Karen asked, starting to look a little scared as she slowly started putting her things back into her bag.

[OOC: Whee, now we're moving. Xertania, they're Wyrms, not people! :P]

Ss'tek glances at the president.
"Well, it's a long story-"
He stops, suddenly.

Morth: Ss'tek, the zombie on the airstrip has just killed a squadron of armored troops. <image> The Pheonix should be able to take off, now.

Ss'tek pauses.

COMM: Jazra has been added to the channel.

"And it can wait."

Ss'tek: Jazra, start up the transport and get ready to leave. We may be leaving in a moment. Morth, do the same.

"We're ready to leave, by the way."

Ss'tek: Guys, how are you for fuel?

He addresses Drake.
"You've got a transmitter? I'll add you to our comm channel..."

COMM: Drake Dragonis has been added to the channel.


Azrak mutters something unintelligible under her breath.

Azrak: I'm fine. Can't talk. There's a undead dragon through this hole...

Damnit. I should have guessed he was running from something
She gently lowers Aramond's sword to the ground.
Let's see.. Kartanak's Advanced Spatial Separation should do it. Now, how did it work, again?...
She begins to load a spell into one of the crystal-tipped rockets on the right shoulder of her pack, hoping the undead dragon doesn't notice.
Hope this works...


Morth slams the panel shut, having just finished patching the hydraulic line. He fixes it in place with a few hasty spot-welds, and clambers up into the Pheonix's cockpit.

Morth: Got a full load. Pheonix here's got enough, too. Starting preflight...

Let's see... pre-ignition, on. VTOL, on.
The forward VTOL vents groan as they shift into position.
...damnit, that's not good... Shredders, on. Engines, ignite...
The Pheonix's engines ignite with a boneshattering roar.
...at least that's working... thrust, 5%. full link, on...


The transport's engines shudder and clank as they begin to spin up to speed.

Jazra: Full load. Transport's got a half-tank. Should be OK.

The body of Aramond gave off an electric burst of power as he revived himself, shocking everyone in the vicinity. Literally. Staggering to his feet, he noticed a strange being in front of the portal he came out from. Not wasting time, he stood next to the lizard/dragon thing, and summoned power that he never knew he had, and focused it into a massive ball of positive energy.

Where is this power coming from?, he thought with astonishment as it continued to grow in size.

Hope this works, and with an almighty yell, Aramond propelled it forward.

http://tnweekender.no-ip.org/forum/images/avatars/103373843feabc86d4f20.jpg
Archmage Aramond Laramor
Of The House Of Tel Morlas
High Mage Of The Schola Arcana

[OOC: What are you doing, Elvarin? I'll reply anyway, but...sheesh...]
"Shkak!" yells Azrak as Aramond's antics disrupt her concentration.

Azrak's rocket takes off through the hole in a cloud of foul-smelling smoke.
It misses the undead dragon, and slams into a building behind it.
The building, part of its foundation inexplicably and suddenly gone, topples over onto the dragon.

Azrak hisses out a jet of iridescent mist.
"You bloody fool! You could have killed me!"
"Calm down, Azrak." says Ss'tek, apparently uneffected by the shock. "A lot of the stuff in here is flammable. I'm sure there's safety systems, but still..."
A few sparks crackle over his scales.
"Yes, you're right. But he shouldn't be flinging uncontrolled power around like that..." mutters Azrak, calming down slightly.
She slaps the hole shut with the flat of Aramond's sword and offers it to Aramond.
"This is your sword, right?"


"Just who are you, anyway? You've fried my thaumometer."
inquires Ss'tek.
He turns to the President.
"When you're ready to leave, our planes will follow you, as we haven't unloaded them yet."
He pauses for a moment.
Ss'tek: Jazra, pull up a historical summary and send it to everyone, OK?
"And we'll send you guys a historical summary."
Jazra: OK.

OOC: What do you mean? The fact that i forgot to add what happened to that ball of energy? Or the electrical shock thing....

IC: Aramond nodded in thanks as he retrieved his sword noting with chagrin that it had been repaired by unelf hands. Remember, they dont know your own customs. Dont expect every race to respect your traditions, the voice of his father echoed in his memory.

"I didnt mean for the burst of energy around myself for I had no idea that my release from the void would cause such power", he apologized.

"My name is Aramond Laramor, Of The House Of Tel Morlas, High Mage Of The Schola Arcana, Of The Elvarin Empire".

"And that corrupted dragon", he pointed back at where the hole used to be, "was once my friend".

http://tnweekender.no-ip.org/forum/images/avatars/103373843feabc86d4f20.jpg
Archmage Aramond Laramor
Of The House Of Tel Morlas
High Mage Of The Schola Arcana

"It's not the shock, the shock's no problem. Conducts through the scales to the ground." explains Azrak.
"It's the energy. Didn't they teach you that throwing magic around without putting it through a spell is dangerous?"

The creature upon the runway, after completing its absorbtion of the flesh from it's victims, began to change in appearance. Along with the flesh it took, it had taken in some bits of armor. Now, adapting itself with the new parts, it began to thicken out on it's frame, no longer looking like a walking, tightly covered skeleton, and instead appearing as a pale, wraithly figure of a male. Armor covered it sporradically, mostly it's right arm and legs being covered. The creature was bald, still, and its eyes empty. After a minute, it turned toward the Onslaught, and began walking towards it..


------


Inside the Onslaught, standing over the remains of the creature that had infiltrated the engineering section, Major Stellar pulled off his helmet. He was lucky to have survived the attack, along with his second in command, Lieutenant Rhapsody, but the rest of his unit was dead. Closing his eyes briefly, and uttering a prayer for their souls briefly, the Major soon turned and walked away from the scene of the massacre aboard the ship, trying not to cry at the loss of his friends.

Rhapsody, confused by this, raised her brow and followed him. Humans were such curious creatures, she mused to herself. Why would such damage cause such an emotional reaction? Surely, the destroyed units could be salvaged enough to be rebuilt.

Cocking her head to one side, the android prototype, Rhapsody, followed her "brother" and mentor as he left. Organics were such complicated creatures....

------

((OOC: Sorry I didn't reply to any of the posts yet, but I wanted to do this one. I'll write up a reply to the rest as soon as I can, so hold on to your pants, kiddies!))

Morth watched the creature warily.
Damnit, this isn't good.
Morth: Everyone, I reccomend you leave right now. You've got a very nasty-looking creature headed your way.
Morth: I'll wait for the Onslaught to take off, and-
Pheonix: I think that we had better leave now, instead.
Morth: What the hell?

The Pheonix's engines start to speed up, going from their near-subsonic rumble to a earsplitting whine.
Morth stares in shock at the controls.
Uh-oh... Priority override! Engine shutdown!
The Pheonix ignores his commands.
Morth slaps a switch labeled "Manual Mode", with no effect.
Damnit.

The Pheonix rocks as its engines reach their peak, and hurls itself vertically into the sky.

As the Phoenix launches upwards, the Onslaught itself begins to take to the sky, with smaller shuttles taking off as well, signifying the rest of the base crew assembling and taking off as well. Once the massive airship begins to ascend, it sends a broadband communication to all ships present, alerting them to evacuate the area before the Onslaught begins a purge of the airfield. And so, the flagship of Xertania waits for everyone to evacuate the area before it begins...

In preperation, one of the Onslaught's bay doors open, a large, robotic humanoid machine waiting within for it's launch. The fearsome red and black machine, marked on it's armor as XG03 Fallen Angel, remains in wait, crouched at the back of the bay, chest open and awaiting it's pilot. Technitians run about below, preparing it and the launch-pad for it's activation...

------

Upon the man waking and introducing himself in the President's office, President Sanderson stepped back, startled by the display, a planty vine spitting from his palm to form a shield on his arm. This, needless to say, spills a bit of blood at it's emergance. After a moment to calm down, the vine pulls itself back into the president, and he shakes his head slightly. "I must ask that you refrain from doing that so suddenly, again, if at all possible." intones the President. "Now, who and what exactly, did you say you were?" He inquires, addressing the now consious man. "And... Oh, dear. I'm afraid that, whoever you are, sir, you've come at something of a bad time."

Dr. Smithson, on the other hand, goes to address the Wyrms present. "Dear me, who might you be? And where are you from?" He wrings his hands, which appears somewhat odd, considering his right hand is a three fingered talon, for the most part, while his left is not. "So many questions I have to ask you! Oh, but, I'm sorry... I'm getting ahead of myself. I am Dr. Smithson." He offers his hand to the wyrms, offering a smile.

The Khrrck transport makes a short run down the runway and lumbers into the sky.


Azrak blinks.
"Oh, yes. Introductions."
"I'm Azrak Copperclaw, Professor of Magical Actions. I'd shake your hand, but that might cause damage."
Ss'tek wrenches his gaze away from the president, and looks at Sanderson.
"Introductions, eh?"
"I'm Ss'tek Halfjaw. I'm a general-"
Aztak interrupts.
"Ex-general."
"-Or at least I was-"
"Don't mind him." mutters Azrak to Sanderson. "He just wishes he was still a general, instead of an ambassador."
"Azrak..."
"Yes, I'm a little annoyed. Why wouldn't I be? I've nearly been killed."


The Pheonix stabilizes a few hundred feet in the air, and begins moving forward.
Morth suddenly regains control, and cruises around in a circle as he tries to figure out what just happened.

He nodded his head and answered in a musical voice, "My name is Aramond Laramor, and I believe that I have come uponed you by accident. I am an elf of the Elvarin Empire".

Looking about himself, Aramond asked, "Where by the gods am I?"

http://tnweekender.no-ip.org/forum/images/avatars/103373843feabc86d4f20.jpg
Archmage Aramond Laramor
Of The House Of Tel Morlas
High Mage Of The Schola Arcana

((OOC: Sanderson is the President, Smithson is the doctor. =p Stellar is the soldier. So many Ses! Anyhow, I've been having computer trouble lately, on top of everything else lately. Sorry for all the delays, people.))

The 35 meter tall mecha awaited its pilot patiently. Shortly, Rhapsody walked out to the machine alongside Major Stellar. The original pilot of the machine had been killed, so he had to fill in. Rhapsody didn't care. She was always the spotter in the mech, it would be her same job here. After the two had climbed into their respective seats, the hatch was locked, and sealed. Technicians scattered from around the base of it as it activated, standing to its full height, stretching its metallic, dragon-like wings. The black wings, trimmed with red along the plates and its edges, seem rather sharp. Walking forward, the viscious looking machine heads for the edge of the launching deck. Pausing briefly to pick up a rather large, long barrelled cannon of some type, it leaps from the ship, opening its wings wide and firing its thrusters, aiming itself down to the island to begin it's work....

------

On the ship, the president walked to his desk, and took his seat behind it. "Mr. Laramor, you are aboard the Xertanian Antigrav Ship Onslaught. The XAS Onslaught is a Berserker class ship that serves as the flagship for the Federation of Xertania, of which I am leader. You see, you have appeared during the middle of a crisis regarding.. well.. something of obviously magical origin." The president admitted. "You're welcome to stay and help, if you wish, given your obvious... "talent"... with magic. But we are currently headed toward the capital of Xertania to pick up troops and supplies, before we head on to the place this all started. You are also, naturally, free to leave if you so wish."

Drake sighs. "This has been one hell of a trip, and we haven't even begun the research!"

A handheld comm unit beeps at him, and he clicks the device on. "Drake here, s'up?"

"Oi, Drake, it's Yrynta. Our crews have finished testing all our equipment in the cargo hold of this monster ship. What's our current orders?"

The yellow reploid glances around the room. "Ah, standby- it'll be awhile before we drop anywhere to start the research aspects of this situation."

OOC: I'm back! (stares in shock at the complexity of the current situation.
IC: Taryd said "I'm sorry, but we must return to Dar-Kavryn. I hope Tzirvol can be of assistance. Good luck; I will be pleased if we meet again."
The Degral King added "I will see if I can find anyone else who can help destroy this vile enemy. It will be defeated!"
He slashed his axe through the air, opening a portal, and the two walked through.
Tzirvol then spoke. "Of all of us, I probably have the best chance of scouting enemy-held territory and returning. Shall I go and see what else I can find out about our foe?"

[OOC: Shredder cannons fire spinning, razor-edged metal discs at high speed.]

What the hell... a mech?
Morth twitched his control surfaces, sending the Pheonix into a screaming dive.
Never seen a working mech before. Now, let's see...
The Pheonix pulls up a few feet above the ground.
...target locked...
The Pheonix fires off a pair of heatseekers at the undead creature.
A moment later, as it comes within a few hundred feet, it fires off a burst of Shredder discs.
...full thrust...
The Pheonix rockets over the creature's head, and screams off after the Onslaught.

On the ground, the Hamakaze that brought the Sneaky B group to the island made its way down a runway and into the air, getting the heck out of there.

On the Onslaught, Yukari looked for a window look out and see what was going on. Finding one in the nearby cafeteria, she peered out to see the mecha launch from the ship.

"Holy shit. Mecha... the Mk-IIs and prototype Mk-IIIs are midgets compared to that sucker." she said as she watched it from the window.

Karen, however, wasn't interested in what Yukari was looking at. She made her way out of the room and in the opposite direction to find the rest of the group and the equipment, hoping they brought some kind of video camera with them.

[OOC: Er, Sneaky B, I don't think the President's office has any windows...]

((OOC: I cleared that one up. Anyway, here's where I attempt to kick the plot into gear. Try to bear with me. By the way, I was wondering where you were, Dar! Sorry about all the crap that's gone on in your absence. We're about to really dive into it, though, so buckle up!))

OOC: (Insert Spy) Sorry, I can't think of an interesting way at the moment...

((OOC: Hate doubleposts. X_x))

((OOC:Given that, until now, Xertania has been an extremely isolationist nation, the spy idea isn't a good idea, unless it came along with the scientists and others that were coming to help with the problem.

Because I do not have access to my files, given my computer trouble, I will have to give some general stats, such as height and a physical appearance for the mecha. XG03 Fallen Angel, for example... Well, first off, each of the Xertania God(hence the XG in the model number) models are 30-50(I was thinking of Kiryuu Godzilla when I initially wrote this, thanks Sneaky B for catchin' this)meters tall. I've not gotten a weight estimated yet, but they're fucking heavy. The Fallen Angel is a melee specialist mecha, while the XG01, the White Lady is an average between both the XG02 and the XG03, in that it is the closest to a perfect balance currently. XG04 and XG05 are in construction, with focus on being more balanced themselves. The White Lady is an all around mech, but it has more emphasis on ranged weaponry and defence than melee. XG04 is at the other end, geared to being average as well, but is slightly better suited for Melee combat. XG05, the God Hand, is the actual perfect balance. It will be some time before said suit is even completed. Anyway, XG02, the Blue Storm, is the heavy artillery and ranged attack unit, and equipped with defence accordingly. The model names, and numbers, for the entire planned XG series, are... XG00 Demon Lord, XG01 White Lady, XG02 Blue Storm, XG03 Fallen Angel, XG04 Vortex Infinium, XG05 God Hand, XG06 Godess Wake. I won't spoil each an every one's description, you'll only see them as the suits come into play. Obviously, not all of them will appear. I only expect for the XG01-3 to come into play during this game. And, yes, each of these suits range in the 40 meter area for height.))

Upon landing on the strip, the winged mecha turned to look around. The Fallen Angel clenched its hand around its Megacannon's handle, looking for its opponent. The sensors on the Onslaught had picked up a large creature, approximately 80 meters tall/long, on the island, headed for the base on said island.

The sunlight gleamed off of the metal of the mecha, as it looked around. The Phoenix had taken care of the smaller creature, which was now, essentially, a powdery grime under the mecha's heel. No... the mech was deployed for a bigger threat.

The machine was hardly what one would call 'friendly' in appearance. It was covered in black plating, mostly, with some red trimmings to give it a little touch of color. The machine sported blue optics in its head, as well as a green colored specialized scanner in its forehead crest. The monstrosity looked as if it were a heavily armed human, with jutting shoulder armor that sported spikes protruding outwards from it. The feet of the mech sported similar spikes, but it was obvious that this machine was made for physical combat. Blades protruded from the arms, extending past the elbow. It would almost be mistaken for decoration, if the machine didn't keep partially extending them as it looked about. Set in the center of its chest, just above the pilot cockpit, sat a green crystal. Pulsating as a heart would beat, the purpose of this stone isn't too clear...

Suddenly, from the woods around the base, a long, snakelike creature -- at least 500 meters long, and 20 wide -- sprang out for the machine. It was another creature similar to the smaller zombie that had been destroyed just previous, and seemed itself to have obtained some upgrades from the base's scrap heap. It flew above the ground, like an eastern dragon, but nowhere near as benevolant as it rushed the Fallen Angel.

------

Aboard the ship, the president regarded Tzirvol, scratching his chin. "Perhaps so... but, you understand, I'll have to be very wary about that -- I don't want to send you into a death trap, after all. I doubt your friends would be pleased with me if I did. However, if you insist... I'll allow it. Under one condition. Do not engage anyone, or anything, in the held areas, unless nessacery to protect yourself or any survivors within. Clear?"

Dr. Sanderson, meanwhile, flopped into an empy chair, groaning. Oh, this would be a long adventure. He was getting too old for this...

------

In the cafeteria, a greying old man with a partially bald head and a grey mustache. walked up behind Yukari, smiling. "I see you've noticed our Fallen Angel..." the man intones, brushing his oil-streaked lab coat down. "What do you think of her?"

"Of course." replied Tzirvol. "If discovered, I can retreat faster than any physical entity can follow. What area shall I scout?"

"I was thinking of letting you loose in Xertania, let you explore on your own and get clues.. but, evenetually, we'll need you to go to the Necropolis, and see what the condition is inside, what goes on... like that. Basically, gather intelligence we may use should we have to go in there with all firepower blazing. Also, it'll give me an excuse to keep the senate from demanding I nuke that part of our country..." explains the president, looking up at Tzivrol. "It's extremely dangerous, as you know... but, should you wish to go anyway, we will let you off in Tuhral. It's about fifty miles east of the Xertanian capital of Aevens."

Morth watched the creature warily with radar and cameras as he flew away.
Pheonix: I am not going to tangle with that thing.
Morth winced. His aircraft had been delivering comments for the last few minutes, most of them sarcastic.
What the hell is wrong with this thing? he wondered, as he cruised after the Onslaught.

Morth spent a moment scanning the mech with a few of the more exotic instruments jammed into the Pheonix.
Whoa. I'm glad that thing's on our side. he thought. Why the blades, I wonder? Guns are much more effective...


In the President's office, Azrak walked off into a corner.
She curled up, positioned so she could still easily view the proceedings.
A moment later, she seemed to blur and fade into the background, becoming indistinct and hard to see.


"Well, then." said Ss'tek, seeming not to notice Azrak. "What now?"
He shifted slightly, his mechanical limb hissing.
"I-"
Jazra: They've deployed a mech. <movieclip> <image> <image>
He pauses, suddenly.
Ss'tek: Nasty. Is that a storage crystal?
Jazra: I doubt it, given Xertania's lack of magical prowess. Certainly looks like one, although I've never seen one pulse like that.
Ss'tek started again.
"I've never seen a working mech before. Interesting design."

"I was thinking of letting you loose in Xertania, let you explore on your own and get clues.. but, evenetually, we'll need you to go to the Necropolis, and see what the condition is inside, what goes on... like that. Basically, gather intelligence we may use should we have to go in there with all firepower blazing. Also, it'll give me an excuse to keep the senate from demanding I nuke that part of our country..." explains the president, looking up at Tzivrol. "It's extremely dangerous, as you know... but, should you wish to go anyway, we will let you off in Tuhral. It's about fifty miles east of the Xertanian capital of Aevens."
"The more we know, the better are chances are. We'll have to take some risks sometime; I'll go. I can send my findings back by radio if you want; just tell me what frequency to use."

"You should talk to the Captain of the ship about that, Tzivrol." Nodding, the president blinks at Ss'tek once he comments. "Mecha? What mecha are you speaking of?" he asks, before he raises his eyebrow at him.

------

Down on the base, the mech stared down the creature as it roared at it. Within, Stellar scowled, manning the controls to the thing. This thing was way bigger than what he was told before. Great. This doesn't look good at all. thought the Major, as he took aim at the great beast with the long barreled mega-cannon in the Mech's hand. "Rhapsody! Charge the cannon, and warm up the sabers for this thing! We're about to tango!" he barked, gripping the controls tighter.

"Roger. Proton Blast emitter primed. Mega-cannon at 68% charge. Ready to fire in two ticks, sir. Energy blade system at 14%, ready for activation in seven ticks. Photon cloak disabled, the creature is emitting a jamming field of some sort." Intoned the android behind him, hooked to the mech itself.

"...In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen." Stellar stated in monotone, before he launched the mecha forward at the undead, serpentine creature. ((OOC: Yes, this is from Hellsing. No, it won't be appearing again. It just kept bugging me.))

The mecha slammed into the beast, knocking it back long enough for it to take aim with its cannon, and fire a blast of greenish energy right into it's face...

Tzirvol replies, "I will speak with him immediately. Where is he?"
After getting directions, he shimmers into a beam of light, flashes to the appropriate location, and reforms into the image he uses for interaction with others. "Captain?"
OOC: Assuming the captain isn't too busy when he gets there; otherwise he'll wait.

"Your ship just launched one, which is-"
Jazra: <image> <image> <image>
"-battling something nasty back on the island."
explains Ss'tek.

Yukari turned around to the old man behind her as he spoke to her.

"Fallen Angel, huh? It makes the machines we use back home look like tiny little midgets. Its pretty nice I'd have to say." she replied.

Karen made her way to the quarters that she was supposed to be assigned to and grabbed one her equipment cases, quickly inputting the key code to unlock it. She opened it and examined the contents, shutting the case after. She grabbed another bag as she left the room, pulling the case behind her.

"Hope this new stuff works the way the designers said it would. This is a perfect chance to gather some good data on whatever is down there." she said to herself as she tried to make her way to the observatory section of the ship, following directions from any crewmen she finds on the way.

On the bridge, the captain turns to Tzivrol and blinks. The man is a canine-anthromorph, it appears, specifically a wolf base. Curling his lips into a grin, the captain adresses the strange being of energy, albeit nervously. "'allo, mate, what can I do you for?" he asks, one of his ears cocking to the side as he does so.

------

Meanwhile, Karen is directed to the observatory by several soldiers, and is lead to the front of the ship. The entire room's wall seemed to be a window to the outside. Looking down, the scene of a heated battle between the mecha and the enormous creature is easily viewable. The creature, a mishmash of scrapyard junk and rotted flesh, seems to be breaking many known laws of physics -- specifically, the law of gravity and atropy. Instead of decaying, the creature seemed only to regenerate, like the mythical Hydra. This ability was easily demonstrated as the Fallen Angel shot past it, slicing its head off. After a moment of thrashing, the bleeding green goop that served as its blood stopped, and a new pair of heads took the one's place, after which it promptly devoured the fallen head. Turning both heads to the mecha, now, it lunged forward with renewed vigor....

------

"Oh, yes, the Fallen Angel is one of our pride and joys in the Xertania Military Forces. Why, the entire XG series is our first, and usually last, line of defense..." The man shook his head before looking at Yukari. "Unfortunately, not all of them will be seeing use for a while. If you're curious, I could show you the other two on board, but one is undergoing repairs." He offered, adjusting his glasses with one hand, pushing them back up on his nose.

------

"Oh. I see you've found out about the Xertania God series.. yes, we have three mechas on board this ship. The XG01-3. I assume it is the Fallen Angel, as it was the only one readily able to be piloted into battle. I don't know about what's on the island, but if the captain launched one of the three Gods on board, it must be incredibly dangerous..." he mused, looking to the people on hand. "I must insist that you all go to your quarters for your saftey. I'm sorry, but any further discussion must be postponed untill we are out of danger."

Karen made her way all the way to the front of the observatory, setting down the bag and the case she brought with her. She knelt down and opened up the case, pulling out a tripod, a large device that looked like a camera of some sort, and a small laptop computer. Karen picked up the tripod and set it up over as close as she could to the window before heading back and grabbing the large device, setting it up on top of the tripod. After it was secured she knelt back down at the case, pulling a set of cables out and small black box. She closed the case up and set it near the tripod, placing the laptop and the small black box on top. She plugged one end of the cables into the device, running one to a power plug (assuming one is nearby) and the rest into the computer.

"Alright, now to see if this thing works..." Karen said to herself as she flipped the screen up on the laptop and pressed the power button.

As it booted up, she opened up the little black box, pulling a minidisc out and inserting into a slot in the computer.

--------

"Other two? You mean there's more of those things?" Yukari asked as she turned back to look down the one involved in the fight. She turned back to the old man after a few seconds.

"Sure, lets go take a look at them." She said.

"Alright."
Ss'tek starts towards the exit, then stops.
"Wait a moment. We don't have quarters."

--------------------------

Looks like it's having a hard time.
The Pheonix hit a patch of turbulence, and Morth quickly slid it back on course.
Pheonix: I don't care.
Whatever you think...
Morth made another correction, and took a last look at the rapidly diminishing battle.
Almost out of sight, now... I hope that mech makes it out of there alive.
Pheonix: I don't care.
I know that already. No need to repeat yourself.

"Oh, dear... that would be a problem. Well, then, I suppose we could get you set up wth some quarters as soon as possible... Come with me, I'll take you to the housing officer, so he can get you set up with some of the spare quarters. How does that sound?" Offered the president to the wyrms present in his office. Dr. Smithson sighed, and stood up, before he himself gathered his things and left.

"Sorry, Ken, but I gotta get some rest, my head is killing me..." he complained, before he left.

((OOC: Sneak B, what might she be trying to get from what she's doing now? *points at Karen* Telegram me or tell me on IRC, if you would.))

On the bridge, the captain turns to Tzivrol and blinks. The man is a canine-anthromorph, it appears, specifically a wolf base. Curling his lips into a grin, the captain adresses the strange being of energy, albeit nervously. "'allo, mate, what can I do you for?" he asks, one of his ears cocking to the side as he does so.
"I am going to be doing some reconnaissance for the current... difficult situation. I can report back by radio, if I know what frequency to use. The President told me to speak with you about this project."

((ooc: Sorry about all the INCREDIBLE delay, folks. It's amazing just how little you get done when you're not on your own computer... Anyhow. I'm working on a rather large post in notepad, whenever I have the chance. Just so people know, I haven't forgotten about you all.))

"Aye, is that so? Well, I suppose you could make use of 66.7mhz... we don't use it much..." Replied the captain, stroking his chin in thought. "But how would ye manage to communicate with us like that...? Do you have a radio of some sort, perhaps?" asked the captain, sniffing the air in Tzivrol's direction intently.

------

While Karen scans the creature, the old man leads Yukari to the mecha bay. Within, several mecha, ranging from 10 meters in height to 20 are stored within, being repaired, tuned up, or otherwise worked on. Two, however, towered among the rest of them.

A white and blue mecha, resembling a female's armored figure, stood in one stall. It was 37 meters tall, and had wings with a feather motif protruding from it's back. In its chest, a green crystal was set, pulsating slowly. It was smooth, and seemed to define grace all over again with it's appearance. A crest on the forehead of the mecha swept two golden, segmented 'antennae' toward the back of its head, where a long, segmented piece resembling a braid sat -- it was obviously a heat-whip attatchment. Its optics were darkened and inactive, but it could be easily seen that they were blue. The overall impression of the mecha was that it was an angelic woman in blue, gold, and red armor. On one shoulder in gold, was 'XG01 "White Lady"'.

In the stall next to it, undergoing repairs, was a blue and white mecha of about 43 meters in height. Beam emitters mounted within its shoulders were exposed, undergoing some sort of matinence. The chest, which was currently exposed as more technicians worked within it, contained a micromissile system, with what appeared to be an insane amount of armament crammed into the frame around vital parts. It had no wings, and on one hand was a two-pronged hooked claw that protruded at least seven meters from the hand. Its usual form was a mystery, as currently it appeared to be undergoing an almost total overhaul, and was mostly skeletal.

"These, young lady, are the other two currently constructed Xertania God model of Mecha... The XG01, "White Lady", is a fairly balanced machine its grace and speed are matched only by the Fallen Angel, but the Fallen Angel does not come near the versatility of this mecha. Unfortunately, the Blue Storm, XG02, is not in the best of shape right now... we're refitting it with new armor and weapons systems." the old mechanic told Yukari as he presented the machines to her. As he did, his face fell somewhat. "Unfortunately, the White Lady is rather dangerous to pilot... we have yet to come up with a suitible replacement for the piloting system... the NICS has... well.. nevermind that."

------

"Status!!" roared Major Stellar, gripping the controls of the Fallen Angel as he attempts to keep it steady in the air. They had been taking a hell of a beating. The large monster was too quick, and it seemed to know where to strike on the mech to cause severe damage. In the seat above the Major, Rhapsody stares dead ahead, plugged into the computer for the mech.

"Armor integrity is at 49%, sir. Plasma shield has failed, and we've sustained heavy damage to the bladewings. We can't fly for much longer. Nanorepair system is non-responsive. Suggest retreat for repairs." Came her monotone reply. "I detect a high magnetic field about the beast, sir, and strange readings I don't know what to make of."

"Goddamn it!" This couldn't be happening... "...Open a channel to the Onslaught. Signal for help, Rhapsody."

Karen started up the software for the scanner and began collecting data on the creatures below. On the screen, a wireframe image of the creature slowly formed as the scan progressed. Numbers filled in a couple of the boxes on the side of the image and other sorts of graphs appeared at the bottom of the screen. Karen watched patiently as the data was collected, glancing out the window occasionally to watch the fight.

-------------------------------------------
Yukari looked at the machines with interest. In her mind, she compared them with the machines they used back home. She listened to the old man talk about them as she watched the engineers work on the stripped down model. She then turned to the old man as he talked about the one that was dangerous to operate.

"Dangerous to pilot? Why? What's wrong with the piloting system that makes it that way? she asked, glancing back at the machines.

[OOC: KASS missiles are a example of the Wyrms' tendency to blend magic and technology.

The spell "Kartanak's Advanced Spatial Separation" is imbued into a crystal, which is then fitted on the tip of a missile. The spell neatly dumps the entire contents of a cube 12 feet on a side (centered around the crystal) into a parallel universe.

Very nasty. Useful against anything smaller than 12 feet on a side, or anything that can't stand losing 12 cubic feet of mass.]


"Alright." says Ss'tek. "A empty storeroom or something might be best for us."
He turns toward Azrak.
"Come on, stop fooling around."

Azrak begins to look less like a blurred shadow and more like a solid object.
"Alright, alright. No need to be that way about it..."

***********************

Morth watched the battle, the task of flying the Pheonix relegated to the back of his mind.
They're calling for help. We really ought to do something.
Pheonix: I am not tangling with that thing.
All right. I don't want to have to do this...

Morth reached for the switch that would disconnect the flight computer from the aircraft.
Pheonix: No! Stop! I'll help! Just don't touch that switch!

The Pheonix snapped around in a turn tight enough to make the wings bend slightly, and headed back towards the island.

Good. Now, what do we have left in the way of weaponry?
Pheonix: Four Thors and a pair of KASS. Plus the Shredders.
KASS? All I ever have mounted is Thors. KASS is too dangerous.
Pheonix: They're KASS now.
Have you respelled my missiles? For something that just achieved sentience, you're awfully quick.
Pheonix: They're my missiles. And I've had plenty of time. I woke last month, when you were hit by that magbolt over Copperclaw territory. I just chose not to make myself known.
I always wondered why I didn't get hit by AA fire that time...

The Pheonix swooped low, towards the battle.
Alright. Ready the KASS missiles.
Pheonix: Done. RC mode, impact fuse... Warheads active.
You're quicker than I am. You fire them. Don't hit that mech!
Pheonix: A thouroughly ridiculous design for a fighting machine, that.

The Pheonix let loose its missiles, aiming them to impact on the creature's serpentine body, about 25 feet apart.

"Well, I'm not supposed to say... it's a secret, really... ..but the thing connects, or tries to connect, directly to the pilot. ..it's destroyed several people's minds who attempted to test the system." The old doctor tells Yukari. "The NICS -- Neural Interface Control System -- is designed as such that it should connect to the pilot by the neck, and the pilot could manuver as if it were their own body, making response time become so fast that it would be almost non-existant..." the man rambled, before blinking. "...but I shouldn't be telling you that! Oh, dear... I hope I won't get in trouble for that..."

((OOC: What is Karen Scanning? It'd help so I could give some information regarding that.))

------

At the battle scene, the Fallen Angel, severely battered, is attempting retreat. It is provided with a distraction to do as such when the Phoenix opens fire, ripping into the creature. The creature, not at all happy about being shot, let alone with something that tore away such mass from it, snarled as it began to slowly regenerate from its wounds, opening its three mouths, snarling as it charged up an enery attack between the three limbs, directed toward the jet.

[OOC: Heh, direct link? That's what Morth's using to fly the Pheonix...]

Morth clenched his teeth and braced himself as the creature's energy attack swept toward his fighter.
Energy attack! Siphon off what you can, seal off periphiral curcuits.
Sizzling energy crackled over the Pheonix's hull.
The Pheonix drew what it could into its storage capacitors, but the rest played merry hell with its electronics.
Pheonix: Ouch.
That was... painful. thought Morth, muzzily. Get us out of here, that mech's gone already.

The Pheonix banked into a high-G turn and screamed after the departing ship.

(Ack. I guess thats what happens when I write a post out at 3 in the morning. ^^;; She's scanning the creature that the XGs are fighting on the ground. Stupid me for not making that clear. Sorry ^^;;)

*******************

Yukari glanced over at the old man, looking at him with a suprised look on her face.

"Smooth move. You aren't gonna kill me now that you leaked that little secret, are ya?" she asked jokingly, turning back to the machines.

"Aye, is that so? Well, I suppose you could make use of 66.7mhz... we don't use it much..." Replied the captain, stroking his chin in thought. "But how would ye manage to communicate with us like that...? Do you have a radio of some sort, perhaps?" asked the captain, sniffing the air in Tzivrol's direction intently.
"I have no need of one." replied Tzirvol with a grin.
"It is no harder for me to communicate by radio than by sound."

The Pheonix pulled level with the Onslaught, and hailed it.
"I don't have enough fuel to make it to Xertania. Could you open that hangar of yours, and let me land this flying junk-heap in it?"
"Flying junk-heap? Hah!" commented the Pheonix, in a voice like grinding gears. "You're the one who bolted this junk on me."
"And all of it serves a purpose."
"It may have, once, but most of it doesn't work. Take this, for example-"

((OOC: Ugh... I hate the forums. I hate the forums. I hate my COMPUTER. I hate this piece of junk I have to use because my computer is a piece of crap... But now, finally, FINALLY, it looks like the Forum will let me post. Let's see if it does!))

Complying with the request to open the hangar aboard the massive ship, a set of doors in the disc section, on the rear-top, open up to admit the Phoenix into it. After the doors began to open, the ship replied to the call from the Phoenix's Pilot.

"Aye, you're cleared to land. Just be careful. We cleaned that deck this morning, so don't splatter yourself all over it." Came the sharp tongued reply, before the transmission snapped off.

------

"You... what? But how is that... oh, my head..." The captain grumbled, holding his head. "Well, no matter how you do it... the frequency is open for you to use..." He shook his head, rubbing at his snout just short of his eyes, sighing. "I'm too old for this scientific crap...."

------

"Kill you? Oh, no, why would we? It's not like we can make use of the technology for the NICS right now. Why, we just barely retrofitted the Fallen Angel with a manual piloting system, until we can get a new version of the NICS, that's safe, up and going... Who knows when that would be. The human brain is a fickle thing. Some people can have a nail driven through their skull completely, and live a just fine, normal life. Others die because of a knock on the noggin that was't more than a few large textbooks. These are just the extremes though... ...oh, dear, I'm rambling. Beg your pardon, ma'am."

Although the man had been rambling, something about the White Lady was beginning to... almost call out to Yukari. As if beckoning her to ride in the dangerous machine. But, of course, why would she?

At this moment, over the loudspeakers of the hangar came the blaring sirens for pilots to scramble. A few short minutes later, pilots swarmed the deck, boarding their respective suits and vehichles. Suddenly, Yukari was left alone, as the doctor that was escorting her was suddenly busy helping other members of the crew.

------

Data flowed into Karen's scanner at a steady pace, telling her about just near anything she might possibly need to know. All through the length of the body of the creature were metal bits and technology that was absorbed into it. Also absorbed were the power sources, which, strangely, were starting to converge to one spot within the creature, if the readings were correct. Several concussion and beam weapons were now melded to the creature, as well as bladelike projections along its body that could be launched if it willed. In fact, it seemed very much like the machine it was fighting more than an undead creature it had been before. The metal along its body formed a patchy protection for the "cyborg zombie" monster. It was like a snake in how it moved, but, yet, had three heads, and had already shown massive regeneration capabilities. Also, the creature seemed to just GLOW with Thaumatic energies, but strangely enough, so did the Fallen Angel...

------

"We are overheating. Plasma energy shield is offline. Nanite repair systems are overworked and shutting themselves down as well. Thrusters are operating at 10% capacity. Stability is down 69%. Suggest a quick retreat for repairs." Informed Rhapsody to her partner. "Why have we not yet achieved this goal, Major?"

"I'm trying, Rhapsody! But the thing keeps cutting me the hell off! Gah! It's like it won't let us alone until we're destroyed!!" fumed the Major as he attempted to manuver the battered machine back to the Onslaught. "Unless you have an idea, be quiet so I can concentrate on keeping us alive!"

"One suggests using the Megacannon to distract the creature by overloading it and causing it to explode." Came Rhapsody's calm, and annoyingly monotone reply.

"...I hate it when you do that." quipped Major Stellar.

"You are most certainly not logical, sir." Rhapsody replied stiffly.

"Of course not. I'm human. Let's do it!!" came the Major's order.

"Aye sir. Commencing Megacannon Overload." intoned the green haired female.

------

The Fallen Angel, in a last ditch attempt, throws its megacannon at the creature, before it punches it back to the ship. Unfortunately for it, the thrusters on the suit finally fail, and it drops toward the ocean, followed by the creature, as it totally ignored the exploding cannon, even as shrapnel from it embedded itself into the creature's length.

[OOC: Assume all words spoken by the Wyrms when they're alone are in their own language. When they're with someone else, words spoken in their language will be designated with underlining.

"Don't worry about that."
The Pheonix dropped into the Onslaught's slipstream, and pulled up level with the docking bay.

"It's just big enough..."

The Pheonix dropped neatly into the Onslaught's docking bay, its battered undercarriage crunching unpleasantly as it hit the deck.

****************

In their cabin (well, actually a storeroom, but whatever) Ss'tek was resting in a corner, while Azrak was messing around with some metal bars in the center of the floor.

"I can't help but get the feeling we've gotten ourselves into more than we expected again." muttered Ss'tek.

"Since when did we get ourselves into less than we expected?" answered Azrak, etching an odd pattern into the metal floor with her claws.

Azrak eyed the pattern intently. "That looks about right."

She placed a short copper bar in the center of the pattern and glared at it. It shimmered and flowed, material redistributing itself into a six-legged, insectile shape, about three inches long and just as wide.

Azrak examined it closely. "Just what I wanted. Now, the power source..."
She pulled a small, green crystal from her pack and fitted it into a socket underneath the metallic insect. It jerked, quivering on its intricate, jointed legs.

Azrak frowned at it and muttered something; the insect scuttled up one of her front legs, folded its legs, and dropped into a compartment in her pack.

Azrak grinned.

Karen blinked at the screen as the new data from the Fallen Angel appeared on the screen. She opened a new window and sent the data to a new file, continuing to record it.

"Strange that the machine also gives off thamaturgic energy too..." she said to herself, looking back out the window again.

*******************************

In the hangar bay, Yukari stared at the White Lady from where she was standing.

"I must be imagining things... that machine didn't call to me... its not possible. Its gotta be something else.. my psychic abilities must be outta whack or something... " she thought to herself.

Yukari shook her head and started to turn around, stopping halfway. Turning back around, she glanced around looking for a way up to the cockpit. She tried to ignore the feeling of the machine calling to her, but she felt drawn to it somehow. Finding a service elevator, she entered it and rode it up to the top of the walkway leading to the machine's cockpit hatch.

"It won't hurt to look around. Its not like I can pilot the damn thing anyways..." she said as she approached the machine's cockpit area.

Yukari searched around the hatch, eventually finding its access panel. She opened it and pressed the "Open" button, releasing the seals and opening the outer hatch. She glanced around inside before climbing in, sitting down in the seat.

"You... what? But how is that... oh, my head..." The captain grumbled, holding his head. "Well, no matter how you do it... the frequency is open for you to use..." He shook his head, rubbing at his snout just short of his eyes, sighing. "I'm too old for this scientific crap...."
"Don't worry too much about how it works; even we don't understand it perfectly. Just make sure there's someone listening for my reports. When and where should I begin scouting?"

[OOC:something about the White Lady was beginning to... almost call out to Yukari. As if beckoning her to ride in the dangerous machine. But, of course, why would she? Somehow this just screams "anime" to me. And I've never seen anime...

In other news, I've written a fairly long treatise about Khrrck and magic in Khrrck. It's here (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127421&highlight=).]

Morth levered his canopy open and peered around the hangar. "Hello?"

*******************

Azrak made three more of the insectile critters before she ran out of metal.
Two of them were identical to the first "cricket", and the third was an armoured "beetle" with a array of miniaturized tools underneath that would make a Swiss watchmaker weep.

"Rust." she muttered. "I need more metal."
"Why not send them out to get more?" asked Ss'tek, who had been watching the process with interest.

Azrak nodded. "Good idea."
She muttered a string of orders to the little crowd of metal insects, who chittered back at her and scuttled out the door.

****************

The insects scuttled quietly along the corridor, searching for a ventilation duct. Whenever someone came near they would dart for dark corners and freeze, blurring into the background like Azrak had in the president's office.

Finally, they found a vent. One of the "crickets" tilted back, took careful aim, and shot a miniaturized grapnel into the grating, and winched itself up. The other crickets followed suit, then hoisted the beetle up, who examined the grating's latch closely before opening it.

The insects clung tightly to the grating as it swung open, than scuttled around the corner and into the duct. They scuttled along it, peering through gratings that they passed, searching for loose pieces of metal.

*prods topic*

[OOC: Hellloooo... Xertania? Reploid Productions? SB? Dar-Kavryn? Wossname, the guy with the elven mage? Anyone?]

[OOC: Hellloooo... Xertania? Reploid Productions? SB? Dar-Kavryn? Wossname, the guy with the elven mage? Anyone?]
((OOC: I'm still here. I don't know what happened to anyone else...
I hate it when players stop posting half-way through a thread, especially the one who started it. :( ))

[OOC: Last time I checked, Xertania's last action was 12 days ago.

I know Rep Prod is still around, 'cause she just bumped one of her old threads. Anyone willing to bother/remind her about this topic?]

Alas, poor topic. I knew it well.

If nobody turns up by the 3rd of April, I'm going to give up on this topic and use my characters somewhere else. I suspect it died quite a while ago, anyway.

((OOC: Unfortunately, Xertania has been having a ton of problems getting the forums to work at all, and he's in bed generally by the time of night they're working. I also think that the thread unfortunately suffered from getting really sidetracked and thus difficult for the thread author to reign back in. @_@ ))

[OOC: I thought you had abandoned this topic, Rep Prod. :shock: Is there still hope for it?]

(There's plenty of hope for it. If the forums can keep working well like they are at the moment, I'm sure Xertania can get something up for us shortly. We'll keep prodding him for ya to get him working on it :P)

((OOC: DEAR SWEET JEEBUS, WILL IT LET ME? ....YES, IT WILL!!! REJOICE!!! ;_; Okay, folks, I'm REALLY sorry about all this... if this failed, I was going to last resort measures, and type up stuff to give either Rep or Sneaky B to post in my absence. Should I encounter trouble again, rest assured that is what WILL happen. Because I don't want to cause you guys to become bored out of your noggin's waiting for me.))

Upon sitting down in the seat, the hatch of the machine closed behind Yukari. Very quickly, buckles and belts secured Yukari into place, before something stabbed into the back of her neck, causing immense pain. However, outside the suit... the suit was now mimicing what her reaction would be, but her own limbs remained still. Just what had she gotten herself into...?

------

The small insects, upon entering any sort of ventilation system, would encounter the security fields within the vents. Apparently, this was to prevent intruders from travelling within the vents... The energy shields were powered by small green crystals at each edge of the frame, it appeared.

------

"Flight Deck Cleared. Launching Navy (http://www.rockmanvortex.com/forte-kun/rprajunk/navythunder.jpg) and Crimson (http://www.rockmanvortex.com/forte-kun/rprajunk/crimsonthunder.jpg) Thunder fighter jets now. Prepare recovery teams for launch immediately, underwater gear is a must. Move, people!"

Upon the issuing of this announcement, four jets -- two dark blue, two dark red -- were prepped for launch.

The machine, mimicing Yukari's reaction, falls to one knee as the right arm moves back, trying to grab for something at the neck that isn't there. Slowly it stops trying to grab the empty air behind it and eventually gets back up onto both feet.

"This hurts so bad... No wonder they're replacing it..." she thought to herself, ignoring the pain as she tried to adjust to controling the machine through her mind.

Yukari could feel warmth on her neck as blood slowly trickled out of the impact point of the object that was "plugged in" back there. She shuddered a little at the odd feeling of it running down her neck.

"This damn machine is odd. I wish it had the standard controls like mine back home..." she said out loud while the machine mimiced her trying to grasp something with both hands as she forgot about being linked to it through her mind.

Eventually the machine's head turned as Yukari looked around the hangar, trying to figure out what she should now that she's stuck inside the suit.

[OOC: He's BACK! *cheers* I'll post later today, when I've got time.]

"This is crazy." Drake notes, coming up beside Karen on the Onslaught's observation deck with the rhythmic clack-clack of metallic talons on the floor. "My team's thaumatometers are showing high readings- I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them broke if we could get a closer reading on that thing..." The gaudily colored reploid dragon visibly shivers. "Not that we're willing to take that big a risk just to confirm a few readings."

Drake's partner, a young man with dark brown furry cat ears and tail (obviously a nekoite as opposed to a straight out human), nods agreement. "It's too bad ATI HQ didn't send a mainline team... if thaumaturgic combat was on the roster, I don't doubt that they woulda sent a team with one or two of those Keeper guys. At most, we could maybe jury-rig a networked capacitor with our equipment and get any psykers on board to power it to make a makeshift thaumaturgic cannon, but... geez." The Neko glances at Karen and sticks out a hand. "Oh, sorry. The name's Tal-Lynta Amahira." He cracks a grin, revealing a pointy fang. "No relation to the Lady Shogun, of course- just same adopted clan name."

From across the observation deck, Ss'tek looked up from the windows. "You've got thaumometers? Could you lend me one? That elf, whatever his name was, made a mess of mine."

The pneumatics of Ss'tek's mechanical legs hissed quietly as he strode over towards Drake and Karen.

************************************

The insects examined the field intently.

*chirp?*
*chirp.*
*chirpchirp!*

The insects about-faced and scurried back to the grate. The beetle busied itself along the edge, and the grate dropped to the ground with a clang.

*chirp!*

Two of the crickets grabbed the beetle and lowered themselves down, followed by the third cricket. The three crickets hooked their grapnels into the grate and set off down the hall under the beetle's direction.

*chirpchirp.*

Drake shrugs. "I've got one hardwired to my systems- feel free t'use my spare." The yellow Dragonis model reploid hands over a little handheld device with a small crystal mounted in it. "Unfortunately, we're going to need to have a go at the site where all this apparently started if we want to have a hope of making heads or tails of what's going on now."

Tal nods his agreement. "I read about the Valley of Dragons fiasco- never thought I'd end up on a research team on a high-end job like this one's turning out to be."

Ss'tek stands up on his hind legs to accept the device, bracing himself with his tail. He tucks it into a compartment in his mechanical side before dropping to all fours again. "Thanks. I think you're right about having to look at the site."

He glances over at Tal. "What's this about the Valley of Dragons? I seem to remember some news article about it, but I can't remember exactly what happened there."

Tal grins a fanged grin to Ss'tek. "Some big stuff went down in the so-called Valley of Dragons- what started as an archaeology trip turned into a thaumaturgic bitchfest, complete with ancient beings, magicy weapons, the works. You can probably look up the RPIN report on it. Really shook up things at the ATI, that's for sure!"

Drake bobs his head in agreement. "Those Keeper guys are pretty far out though... I mean, geez, Kiara notwithstanding, the youngest of 'em is like, 2,000 years old! And the oldest five times that!"

Karen turned to Tal-Lynta and shook his hand, introducing herself back.

"Karen Allen. Pleased to meet ya." she said, smiling to the Nekoite. "Yeah, this is crazy." Karen said, turning to Drake. "I just wish I knew where Yukari wandered of to. She seems like the type to get herself stuck in some kinda silly situation, and this looks like one she'd get stuck in."

She glanced back at the screen on the computer while the others talked, checking on the readings to see if anything new was comming in. Once the conversation about the Valley came up, she quickly turned her attention back to the group.

"The Valley of Dragons... Man that was some trip. The Keepers were definitely far out but the Elder, man... I was quite amazed by how huge he was. The Valley trip was just so awesome and eventful." She said, smiling to the others as she recalled the trip in her mind.

Karen's smile slowly faded though. "Got kinda crazy near the end though."

Ss'tek tilted his head. "Well, I've been through some bad situations, as you can probably see..."

He blinked as Drake's statement sank in. "Ten thousand years old? Even dragons didn't live that long! What sort of being are these Keepers?"

Drake snickers. "Well, apparently the Keepers start out as average folks- after several years, the thaumaturgic energy the swords give off changes 'em. 'Dragon' isn't too far off the mark- they're scaly from about the mid-torso down, got a set of wings and tail, and a nasty looking set of talons. The really old guy says he was changed further because he's so old- he actually can shapeshift between the usual half-dragon looking form most Keepers have, and a big fully draconic lookin' one. Emphasis on the big part- he dwarfs a Ryuujin model reploid dragon, and those are about thirty feet tall standing upright. Most humanoids barely come up to his elbow."

Tal spends a minute or so gawking at Karen. "You.. you were on that dig team?" The catboy has a look of something close to hero-worship. "Oh that is so cool! You saw all that stuff, right? Wow, never thought I'd run into somebody on that dig like this!"

Karen sweatdrops a little at Tal's facial expression and smiles. "Yeah. I was on the team. It was my first time on a dig. There was some interesting stuff. I've got pictures from the dig on my laptop back in my quarters that I'd be happy to show ya."

Ss'tek tilted his head. "Interesting... That sounds like wizardry, only no wizard I've ever heard of could work that kind of spell. As far as I know, nobody's ever achieved true shapeshifting. It's theoretically possible, but the amount of power you'd need for anything except skeletal shifting is huge. Of course, this place has a lot more magic than Khrrck has..."

He returns to the original topic; the Keepers. "The oldest Keeper's that big? Our records list dragons as being from twenty-five to fifty feet, on average... the really old hermits could hit two hundred, maybe two hundred and fifty. Where does he put all that mass when he's in 'half-dragon' form?"

Yukari's bleeding would begin to stop, as the devices around her began to come to life, the viewscreen in front of her displaying what the mecha sees. There aren't any controls within the cockpit of the mecha that can be accessed right now, but a menu screen pops up on the screen in front of her, displaying a set of choices for her. On a side monitor, an OS startup screen was displayed, showing the various steps taken as the machine she currently sat in started up.

. . . . . NICS Connection good.
Initiating Startup. . . .
ECC startup complete.
Initiating Weapons Menu. . . . .
Menu initialized.
XG-01 WHITE LADY prepared for launch._

The machine waited patiently, now, for Yukari to decide to get up and move. Among the various options on the screen to her right, was an option to initiate Direct Optical feed. The screen on her left displayed current suit status, after clearing of the OS startup information, presenting the humanoid machine in a gridwire representation of its current position.

------

Moments later, the four jets streak out from the hangar of the Onslaught, flying toward the sea to recover the Fallen Angel. As they dive in, the readings of the thaumatological variety would proceed to escalate suddenly, skyrocketing. In fact, just pointing the scanners at powered devices on the ship seemed to give readings as well, strangely enough...

[OOC: Where exactly is Morth and the Pheonix, Xertania? The same hangar as Yukari and the mech? Or somewhere else?]

Azrak looked up from her spell, a luminescent matrix of light-blue lines hanging in mid-air. A momentary trickle of magic sang across her nerves. What was that?

She checked her thaumometer. Yes, there was definitely magic somewhere nearby.

((OOC: There's just 2 hangars. And, yes, the Phoenix is in the one with all the mecha, as well as with the fighter jets -- especially noted by the four that just launched. However, so you know? The crystals that the Xertanians use for their power supplies for devices are all made of a material that contains thaumatic energy, IE: Magic. In essense, the entire society they live in is sustained by Magitech, but they don't know it. They're only aware that these crystals that they mine, which produce energy, are the cornerstone for their technology and their civilization. The crystals, by the way, have something of a color code so you know what the deal is for them. Green, some of the most common, is the standard. Moderate output, cracking causes an explosion, but it's relatively difficult to cause a crack. Blue, the physically most stable of the group, puts out the least energy. It's essentially impossible to crack a blue, and doing so merely splits it into two crystals. Yellow crystals put out a very minute, almost no, charge, and are easily broken. As such, these are only used for things such as show jewelry or watch batteries. Red crystals, the most unstable, give out INCREDIBLE output. But, they shatter easily. When a red shatters, it explodes violently, so small red shards are often used for explosive rounds, grenades, and other explosive devices. There is a final type, which is extremely rare. The Purple variety of this crystal gives out energy at a massive rate, and has been known to mutate or alter life around it, sometimes making it look like evolution. The power output is at least a hundred fold greater than any Red. But the stability of the crystal is incredible -- it has been, so far, impossible to crack any purple crystal, and it is only mined as shards or small baseball sized chunks around a volcano, from which the crystals appear during eruptions. The Onslaught itself runs on a generator system of several green rotating around two red, in between which sits a small, baseball sized purple crystal This is the very core of the energy found on the Onslaught. All vehichles and powered devices run on the energy they provide.))

In the White Lady's cockpit, Yukari looked over the weapons menu to see what was onboard the machine, taking note of a few items in the menu. After getting familiar with its weapons systems she glanced over at the options screen with the "Direct Optical Feed" settings on it. She thought about turning it on but decided against it, more comfortable seeing things on the monitors around her.

Yukari turned her attention to the open hangar bay doors. "Well, I'm stuck in this machine and they seem to be in need of some help... looks like I'm goin out." she said to herself, frowning a bit. "I just hope I don't get my ass kicked for taking this thing out..."

White Lady stood up straight and took several steps over towards the exit, peering out at the ground below as it made its way over, crouching down once it was stopped. Yukari took a few deep breaths as she prepared herself. As soon as she felt she was ready she thought of herself leaping out, which in turn sent the machine leaping out of the open hangar.

As the machine fell to the ground below, Yukari thought about using whatever thruster systems were onboard to slow her descent. As they kicked in, she could hear other mechanical noises comming from the back of the machine. Checking the status window one of the monitors, she saw what appeared to be wings opening up on machine's status image.

"Wings, neato." Yukari said, as the machine made its way down to the ground below, making a soft landing on its feet, crouching to one knee as it touched down seconds later. As it stood back up, its wings folded back into their closed position.

Morth watched the huge mech leap out of the hangar.

"Weird design." commented the Pheonix, from behind him. "What happens when someone knocks a leg off? Six legs is better. Or treads."

Morth turned around and regarded the Pheonix. "You're... different."

The Pheonix made a rattling noise that might have been a chuckle. "Of course. I've been making improvements. Some of the stuff you've stuck on me had broken; I fixed that. Streamlined myself while I was at it, too."

Morth examined the Pheonix closely. The aircraft was noticably different; some of the more awkward pieces of equipment had melted into the hull, forming a smooth, shiny surface. "Impressive..."

"You betcha."

[OOC: Don't tell me it's happened again...]

Karen's laptop beeped twice as a new window opened up with data incoming as the White Lady entered the scanner's range. She quickly spun around and looked at the screen, checking the new data as the window was filled with the information being sent from the scanner.

Karen blinked a few times as she looked at the screen, suprised by the appearance of the new machine. "Another one? Wonder why they didn't send it out with the others when they launched..." she said, saving the data to a new file on the disc.

Karen shrugged as she finished and turned back to the group.

[OOC: Don't tell me it's happened again...]
OOC: I don't think so; people turned up again last time. I've been away from the internet, but I'm back now...

[OOC: *watches the tumbleweeds*]

(Whee. Okay. Postifying for Xertania. Also, Khrrck, Dar, Xertania wishes to know if it would be possible for you to get on IRC and if you are willing to continue the Supernatural roleplay over there.)

Immediately after landing, the screens in front of Yukari lit up with readings, directing her towards the ocean. Apparently, the Fallen Angel was still active, and mostly in one piece. However, it was sending a video feed to her....

------

"Holy crap!! This thing is too bloody fast!" "Don't freak out, it'll get you like Navy 2!" "It's already got me, Navy 1!"

Damn it. We don't stand a chance against this... we were doomed to fail. closing his eyes, Major Stellar reflects on the battle that landed him and Rhapsody under the waves, where the Fallen Angel lay helpless. The creature, currently distracted by the Navy and Crimson Thunder units. Crimson 2 was currently the target of the creature's efforts, and it was relentless. Navy and Crimson Thunder 1 were both still alive, trying to get it's attention off of Crimson 2. Suddenly, the creature snapped it's tail, impaling Crimson 2 with a large spike, causing it to explode violently.

As the creature turned toward the other two jets, it stopped. It rose it's head, ignoring the other two as it 'sniffed' in the water. Quickly, it lunged forward, heading toward the surface.

------

[PROXIMITY WARNING. INCOMING TARGET. HIGH THAUMATIC REACTION LEVEL DETECTED. SUGGEST USE OF AEGIS SYSTEM.]

This message flashed across Yukari's screen, as a gridwire representation of the creature was displayed beneath the message. The image dissapeared as the creature erupted from the water, turning its gaze to the White Lady, and growled...

Yukari glanced back over at the creature then back to the message as it scrolled across the screen.

"I do NOT have time to sit here and screw around with you...!" she yelled over the loudspeaker of the unit as she turned the machine around to face the creature. The White Lady stood before the creature, wings folded up behind it, arms crossed with the manipulators of the hands balled up into tight fists. Inside the cockpit, its pilot scrambled to find and activate the "Aegis System" like the machine's computer suggested.

Quickly Yukari scrolled through menus, looking for the "Aegis System" options. "I dunno what it is, but it better be something cool..." she thought to herself, continuing to flip through menus until she eventually found it. Looking back up at the creature, a smirk appeared on her face as she clicked a few buttons. engaging the system.

Whatever this "Aegis System" is, it better KILL this thing.

The wings of White Lady snapped open again and extended outward to either side of the suit to their maximum length. Long beam talons powered up as the arms lowered, revealing the the crystal embedded in the unit's chest which begain to glow brightly, getting brighter and brighter as seconds passed by. Yukari watched the gridwire representation of the unit change to show the repositioning of the wings, the appearance of the talons, and the spike in the suit's energy readings.

"That better NOT be the self destruct system that I just activated..." she said, watching the energy readings rise.

The crystal's brightness reached its maximum point, glowing bright white. Yukari watched the readings on the display, taking note of them not going any higher than they were. She then turned her attention back to the creature and smiled, visualizing the release of all that built up energy in the suit. A massive beam of thamaturgic energy shot out from the chest of the unit, streaking off right at the creature that stood before her.

[OOC: Nope. Can't get on IRC. Sorry.]

Ss'tek peered out the window at the white mecha, watching intently as its wings folded out and the crystal began to glow.

Ss'tek pulled out the thaumometer Drake had lent him and peered at it. "Amazing... if only Azrak was here."

"Holy cow-!" Drake gawks at the readings and out the window. "I gotta ask how they made it do that- the ATI weapons development guys would KILL for something like that!"

Karen watched the readings go off the scales on the computer display as the machine powered up and the energy beam shot out from the White Lady's chest. She turned her attention out the window to see the creature fall over after the beam faded away, its head missing from its body.

"Holy shit. All that energy came from that machine?!"

*****************

Yukari blinked as the creature fell over in front of her. Outside, White Lady's wings closed up once more and the beam talons faded away as they powered down. Small bursts of steam and pressurized air shot out of small vents in various parts of the body.

Yukari slowly approached the creature with the White Lady, poking its body a few times with the right index finger, checking to make sure its really dead and staying that way.

"Amazing."
Azrak walked from the door to the window, claws clicking on the deck. "Effective, too. You could improve it, though. Raw magic tends to be unpredictable."

Azrak peered down at the White Lady. "If I could put that power through a spell..." she mused.

************************************************

Morth tried, again, to get the attention of the mechanics in the bay. "Hey! Could you spare some fuel? Pheonix here has almost run dry."

"And it's not a pleasant feeling, believe me." added the Pheonix.

[OOC: Weird error... I made a post, but it didn't bump the topic. Huh.]