NationStates Jolt Archive

There is a world, somewhere in this vast, cold universe of ours, populated with a myriad of races, each with their own rich cultures, and histories stretching back for thousands of years. Most populous on this planet, and currently the ones with the most land, are the humans. Many point their fingers at the humans, claiming that their greedy landgrabbing is the reason for the war, the match that sparked this conflagration.

The elves, rumored by humans to live thousands of years, mysterious and alien, mistrusted nearly as much as the mutant Terrans. They are the masters of nature, keepers of the forests, and lords of the elements. Although they have integrated modern technology into their society, as they realize that they must change with the world, or be swept aside by the younger races, they are steeped in their ancient traditions, and magic is still a major part of warfare. Though they are still powerful in the world of Aurora, they are but few, and are solitary creatures, ill-suited for conquest.

War is coming. It cannot be avoided. The earth will be cracked asunder by the forces brought into play, whole nations will be crushed and forgotten as the inferno that is war ravages the land, fills all the air with the screams of the dying, and scars this once peaceful planet. For there are hatreds and grudges that run too deep for peace to exist while the other still lives.

***

Four men were gathered around a woman clad in bright flowing robes. If she were human, she would have looked deathly sick. Fortunately for her, she was elven, and her features divine. "My generals." She spoke in the tongue of before the separation. "I'm aware you don't always get along, but now is the time to gain what will help us all."
Ta'Rah grinned from his kneeling position. "My queen, I promise you we will not fail." The others chanted in agreement.
"Very well. We have discussed what is to be done. Ta'Vieu, I shall accompany you. The rest, set out, and may the gods smile upon you." Ti'Lin beamed, blessing her generals.

Their world was dying, the Kraknov knew it, and they were desperate. The wastelands grew and the remaining fertile plains were being swallowed up. Dangerous half demon beasts stalked these new wastes, and any new plant life that grew was poisonous to the Kraknov. However, the creation of a teleportation machine to a new world gave them hope. This world was young and green, an Eden they could colonise and continue on. However, this world had others living on it, and that would not do, they would either have to move, accept enslavement, or perish.

The great portal opened and the first band of warriors, builders, supplies, and scientists marched through. they began to build a portal on the Auroran side, as to establish a permant link to both worlds.

A Technonaut probe had reached the systems only weeks before, noting the system's planets and star and the life o the life. If the probe could squeal in joy it would have, instead it had been beamed back its initial reports and deployed several even smaller probes to take samples and further review the inhabited planet. A few were destroyed within minutes of landing on the planet, either by hostile wildlife or the environment but others had survived relaying their reports back to the overmind. It had been pleased their were many sentients on the planet, their biological and technology would greatly enhance the Technonauts, the overmind had picked a sphere group that finished harvesting a (22th century tech) world and had taken heavy causalities, it had decided from the initial reports that this world would be a good candidate to repopulate the sphere group...

Pushing itself from the interface, Master Drone of Sphere 102, Batch 30 blinked its eyes, the amount of information provided so far overwhelmed even a technonauts brain. Taking a deep breathe, the Master thought for a connection with the sphere's overmind.
Well Overmind you seem to be right, the information so far seems to suggest that none of the planet's lifeforms could severely harm us, it will be a good place to recoup our loses and possibly even learn a thing or two about farming.
Was that a joke Master? Did your interfaces get damaged during the battle?
No, no the battle just weakened me temporary. I'm more worried about the sphere, that weapon..
As I have told you Master, it left no permanent harm to our systems though we still haven't figured out what it was for. Now get some rest, we will arrive in system in a hour's time.

Deep below the surface, deeper than even the roots of the oldest strongest tree dared venture, was Nepfron, the largest city of the Murk Dwellers. There were few open markets, and grand halls, while the rest was just a labyrinth rooms and hallways. Many a time, a human, or other outsider, would wonder into the Murk Dwellers tunnels, only to find themselves hopelessly lost, and sped what remained of their lives, searching for a way out.

It was in one of the lowest, deepest rooms of Nepfron, that Emperor Tursh Hjreshsson, and the War Council had gathered, to discuss the current situation, and the state of the world. "For too long, have we quivered in our tunnels, my liege. Things have changed, the humans," upon hearing that word, everyone in the room scowled, " Have advanced far in technology," Colonel Njuor continued. "If we let them continue to flourish, unchecked, how long will it be, until human constructions begin collapsing our surface tunnels, it has already begun near the boarder. Innocent people, sitting in their homes, when suddenly, the ceiling collapses, and they are crushed by dirt, brick and mortar. Will, it appears that the humans have not yet noticed our homes are the cause of their many construction mishaps along the boarder, it will not be long, before they find a body, or something else, and blame this on us."
"Colonel Njuor, while I understand, how such a puny one as yourself, can fear the inferior humans," said Colonel Uhjer, flexing his arms. "However, we have lived in peace, in the tunnels, segregated from the other species of the planet for centuries. I do not see any reason to abandon a strategy that has thus far, proved quite successful.
Colonel Kjurk then gave his opinion on the subject, which was, as always, rather blunt. "I agree with Colonel Njuor, however, I do not think, we can take the humans on, ourselves. They have grown to large. I recommend, that we seek assistance, from the elves. They have been on this planet as long as we have, and their dislike of the younger species, especially the humans, who harvest their trees, and defile the surface, just as they defile the subsurface." When Colonel Kjurk finished, neither Njour, nor Uhjer looked pleased at all. Before they could voice their disagreement, the Emperor spoke.
"You are correct, Kjurk," he said, calmly. "We cannot hope to be victorious over the humans, alone. However, the real question is, should we be fighting the humans at all?" With that, Uhjer's face, turned from displeasure to satisfaction. "I believe we all know, deep down, even you Uhjer," even before the Emperor said the words, Uhjer's satisfaction disappeared, "that we must, if we are to survive. Prepare the troops for surface combat, get word to the smiths, to prepare for war production. As for the matter with the elves, it is a delicate situation, I would send you, Kjurk, however, I need you, all of you, to ready the men. However, I cannot send just anyone, for fear of sending someone who would intentionally disrupt talks," the Emperors eyes passed over Uhjer, and Njour. "Do you, Kjurk, have anyone to recommend for such a journey. It should be someone adapt at the magical arts, so that they can communicate with us over long distances, and it should be one, who would not be uncomfortable spending long periods of time on the surface."
Kjurk was initially stunned, when the Emperor asked him, then he was wary, as he saw the looks in Uhjer, and Njour's faces. He would need to watch his back, and surround himself with only those he could trust with his life now. "Yes, my lord," Kjurk said, after quickly reviewing his mental rosters. "I think I have the perfect man for the job."
"Good, good, I will let you see to that matter, as I believe it is something you can handle. Be gone now, while Uhjer, Njour, and I finish discussing battle preparations.

Five Hours Later

Mavjohnie Salvosson, emerged from one of the Eastern most tunnels, he wore mirrored sunglasses, to protect his eyes, and a wide brimmed hat, to protect his head from the suns vicious rays. Over his brown shirt, he wore a button up vest, sporting many pockets, containing various items he would need on his trip. On his back hung a rucksack, and at his waist, a machine pistol, and a saber. He then, set off, on foot towards the domain of the elves. Mavjohnie, was not like most other Murk Dwellers. He enjoyed being above ground, studying the strange and vibrant wildlife. It was a trait rarely seen in Murk Dwellers, and when it was, is was almost always by those who possessed the gift of magic, as if the two were somehow intertwined. When Mavjohnie stopped for the night, he was in the forest, he found a nice dark alcove, amongst the roots of an old tree, and before drifting of to sleep, recorded the many new and wonderful sights he had beheld in the new world he was exploring. He estimated he was near the elves, and should reach them, the next day.

The Fungi were thought to have being extinct in the Last System War that crossed several galaxies in the universe. They were forced back into the corner of a galaxy. With their backs against the wall, they were masscared when the Grand Lynion Fleet arrived during a surprise attack. However, during a raid by Lynion Raiders against a handful of Fungi cruisers, a lone escape pod managed to crash land on an unknown world far from the raging war between the Fungi and the Lynion's. A Fungi Master, fled deep into the mountain's and quickly made a home for itself.

Over the next few years, a new Fungi Race was formed deep in the mountain's and inside the tunnel networks the Fungi had created. The Fungi Master was pleased with himself but realise the only way to escape the planet, was to suck its resources dry and extinct all resistance in its way.

Present Day

The Fungi started to expand from the mountain side and into the nearby forest turning animals into mutated animals to bend to their rule. The Fungi Feeders managed to produce quickly with nearby animals and any unexpecting creature walking into the mountain. The Fungi then developed a fortified wall across the main entry point of heading into the mountain pass. Occassionally, the odd Fungi would wander outside but never on their own. Where there was one, a dozen is likely to be nearby. There was already a group of minator's wandering the lands looking for resources and anything they could bend to their rule.

Deep in the jungles, there lies an ancient fortress. A fortress built by the lond dead early inhabitants of this world. Walls of stone, rock, and reinforced steel. Doors standing 25 feet high, thick as they get. Towers, now upgraded with quad-flak guns (http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc15/xanixonox/Weapons/EAW-254ChimeraHeavyWeapons.jpg?t=1216565150), stood vigilant over the surrounding area. It had been built to last, and last it would. It had stood up to the test of time and surpassed all it's original design features. But now, an even greater test was coming to the fort, and it would land the hammer blow unlike anything it had yet experienced. War was coming; you had to be a fool not to see it.

***

Fort Hampden, Deep In The Jungle

A pair of jetbikes (http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc15/xanixonox/JetBike.jpg) screamed into the base, coming to a slow halt in the main courtyard. As the riders dismounted, a man with the badge of a Colonel on his hat stepped forward. The two riders saluted him, and he returned the salute

"Well?" he asked them

"Nothing inside of our perimeter. Must have been a wild animal" one of them replied, as a hulking machine flanked by soldiers carrying massive squad cannons plodded slowly behind them "We've reset the equipment"

"Good. We must be prepared. Although I am wary of Edward's power, his visions cannot be ignored. Keep up the patrols"

The vampires are masters of the night. Brilliant night fighters. During the day, they were somewhat inactive. The sun didn't kill them, but they wouldn't last long in the full front of it. A fortress has sprung in the middle of the massive forests. The shade from trees had provided the vampires the means in wander in daylight in the forest also. During the night, vampire raiding groups armed with modern weapons ventured from their fortress at night and raided nearby human communities, sometimes "converting" humans into vampires. Most of the time, the humans they converted were all children and the vampire children were raised at the fortress, where they learned to hate humans. The humans had indeed tried to avoid vampires and their armies had even assaulted the forests once to get rid of them, but the assault yielded no results. There were rumors of races nearby, that all wanted to same thing: To dominate the planet. Colonel Lanis was deeply concerned about the other races. There would soon be war.

Patrol Gamma-Six, Edge Of The Swamplands

The three man team moved slowly through the lush terrain. Three man team was an understatement. The two foot soldiers carried Anti-Tank Squad Cannons (http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc15/xanixonox/Weapons/Pnv-3SiskaSquadCannon.jpg?t=1216565172), whilst the Walker (http://www.jeansimard.com/images/wip/apu/apu73.jpg) was equipped with two 30mm cannons, they were well equipped to deal with any threat to their borders.

The lead footsoldier, Donovan Atrius, clicked his radio

"Patrol Gamma-Six. We've reached the edge of the swamps. No sign of any intruders. We're continuing our sweep"

"Negative Gamma Six. We're sending a dropship to your location. One of the northern beacons is offline, we're sending a team up to repair it but they need heavy support. Sent the Juggernaught back to base, Over"

"Understood Command" he replied, waving to the walker to head back. A few minutes later, the sound of the dropship's (http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc15/xanixonox/DropShip.jpg?t=1216565913) engine's filled the air, and it touched down in the nearby clearing. Climbing aboard, Donovan was met by the faces of several people, two of which were Sarah Falkner and Scribe Tyranis. They said nothing, but each knew what the other was thinking. The dropship took them skywards, towards the beacon.

OOC: Set something up, if anyone wants to jump in...

OOC: Bump :(

"I thought there was something here," muttered one of the minator's as it picked up a beacon and threw it against the tree.

"Grrr..." snarled another as their dragons started to eat on what captured creatures they found. "This is useless anyway. We'll report back to the Hell Knight

The minator threw the device against the ground and smashed it into pieces without realising it. They mounted back on their steeds as the sight of an aircraft went through the sky. This was unexpected as the band of riders deicded to make a run for it since their rifles wouldn't be able to make a dent in the aircraft armour. Unlike the war like Fungi before them, this new breed of Fungi was smarter than before. The minator's moved swiftly on their dragons into the woods wondering if the unsuspecting aircraft would be lured into a trap.

King-Salamander sat in a sumptuous red throne at the long edge of the trapezoid table handling a slemender pistol and watching a pair of iridescent salamanders, the symbol of his caste and, whilst he was king, of the State, scamper about his gnarled hand. Opposite him was his most trusted general, Marshal-Salamander Bortred, his heavy form casting a lumpen shadow on the cobalt table, to his left was Marshal-Serpent Findel, Goled's most powerful magician and a consummate scholar. Swathed in his green robes with sparkling green lights reflecting from his caste-mark he cast an odd figure. To the King's left was Marshal-Unicorn Hodek, one of the most powerful members of his caste and, therefore, the state religion, he could stir a thousand Coboli into a zealous frenzy or put down a rebellion with a few sentences (both of these talents had actually been proven over the course of his life). His eyes seemed to see everything, and his cold hard countenance made him unsettling in the extreme.
"Marshals," the King addressed them, "It seems that there is no longer room enough on this planet for everyone, or so say the humans, and most of our neighbours. It seems that many would gladly see us all to our graves. It seems, then, that action must be taken. it seems that we must flee the wrath of our neighbours, or take up arms against them. You three," he went on, looking at each of them in turn with his good eye, "are my most trusted compatriots, and to you falls the burden of leadership in matters such as these. I ask you now to decide, do we run, or do we fight?"
It was customary in councils such as these for the representative of the King's caste to speak first and so Bortred stood,
"In my mind, my lord, the answer is clear," he grunted, "We must take an axe to this situation and establish a stable home for our children!" he declared in his gruff, gravelly voice.
The King nodded in acknowledgment and looked to Findel, inviting him to speak, the slim magician obliged and cleared his throat as he stood.
"To some extent I agree with Marshal-Salamander Bortred, and indeed it is usually the Salamanders who are our salvation in times such as this, for ours is not a cowardly race. But I implore you, my lord to seek a more peaceful resolution first, speak to our neighbours with tongue before axe and seek an agreement, if not for universal peace, at least for a... treaty, or... alliance of some sort, It would not do to fight our way into a corner when we could simply move to a rounder room, so to speak."
Again the King nodded and Findel sat. next to speak was of course Hodek. The stern-faced Marshal stood, drawing up his full height, which, although it would still be considered short by most races, was rather imposing to another Cobol.
"My Lord, I feel that both of Marshals have spoken well and truthfully, but I feel that elements of both are flawed in that a war is indeed inevitable, as Marshal-Salamander Bortred stated, but, as Marshal-Serpent Findel pointed out, we cannot hope to win this war on our own. My lord, we must search for allies, and fast, for the sands of peace run out even as we speak".
The King sighed and shut his eyes, contemplating as the Salamanders played over his arms and hands.
"Very well," he said at last "The three of you have spoken well as always, and we must prepare for war. Marshal-Salamander," he said to Bortred, "This task falls to you. We must also, though, seek friends. Marshal-Unicorn" he said to Hodek, "This task shall fall to you. Go about it in whatever way you see fit. Marshal-Serpent," he said to a slightly concerned Findel, "Your task is to see that all of the logistical arrangements are in place. Go now all of you and set about the tasks I have set you. Go." he finished. And one by one, they did, Bortred to ready each caste's forces for the coming engagements (one of the few times a Marshal had any power to within another clan), Findel to rally a team of statisticians, logisticians, mathematicians, scholars and strategists to make the necessary preparations, and Hodek to prepare communications with each of the other races (those that could be reached by the Coboli, at least)requesting treaties or alliances.

After three days of continuos work, the portal had been completed. The Kraknov began to howl with glee, with their lengthy tongues twisting with delight. The sounds would ehco greatly though, and many would hear it. The scientists sent a quick signal through, soon warriors and supplies would pour through, and the invasion begin.

The console continued to blink a bright red.
Master Drone of Sphere 102, Batch 30 blinked the dust away from its eyes. Painfully dragging itself to its feet it looked around the deck, noting the damaged and destroyed consoles, the dead or injured Technonauts and the general disarray, it linked its self back to the Overmind.
"What happened?"
"We exited ftl and for some reason our engines would not respond our shields also cut out once we reached the planet's atmosphere and we crashed into the planet. Hull integrity is minimal, shields are kaput, the lower part of the sphere is gone and the upper half is severally damaged."
"Praise the maker, how did we survive?"
"Sub-protocol 80212Ba kicked in slowly our descent enough for the upper half to survive."
"Did any of our holo cameras make it?"
"Negative."
"Damn, best to send a scouting part to find supplies. Erh how many batches survived?"
"Besides the officer batch, 12."
"Only 12? Thats only 60 Technonauts, did we get a message off at least before impact?"
"Yes, but there are no other spheres within several hundred light years so its doubtful help will arrive anytime soon."
"Well send Batch 40 to make contact, they're the newest and still have most of their unpure origins. Hopefully we can find allies until we are healed enough to cleanse..."

occ: at least a 2.5 km radius was wiped out by above impact.

The Vampires would send their raiding parties deeper into the forests and the countryside. They were equipped for the long journey and were armed to the teeth. For most of the journey, they would fly in the air over the plains, in forests they would walk and hopefully run into someone....

(@Technonaut:I'll do it)

A loud crash could be heard in the forest of the Kitsune.
Shogun Hiroki Danshita turned his pointed ears toward the sound. A scouting party had recently been sent that way. Intelligence units had been dispersed across the globe, and their reports had all pointed towards the same thing. War.
Thus far in the history of Aurora, the Kitsune had little to no contact with the other species, the humans and the elves, but that didn't mean they weren't aware of the Kitsune presence.
Suddenly, a young kitsune had appeared in front of the Shogun. Bowing low, the pup said
"My liege, scouts report a large vehicle crashed into the forest in the east province of the Kitsune territory. No casualties have been reported."
"Thank you. Please send Ziyoshiyua Ashida out to investigate."

Less than 20 minutes later, Ziyoshiyua Ashida and a small group of a special assassination soldiers, the Shinobi, were cloaked (AKA invisible) in the stand of trees on the outskirts of the crater.
"Commander, permission to move forward?"
"Negative. Our orders are merely to observe, and only attack if we are attacked."

A hatch appeared in the upper section of the sphere, slowly a ramp was lowered. It stopped two meters above the ground, the five members of Batch forty marched down the ramp, scanning the nearby area before turning back to the sphere and scanning it. The Alpha drone of Batch forty, cleansed number four quickly linked itself back to the sphere.
Negative contacts Master, thankfully the overmind overestimated the damage again, we should beable to shave off a few days off that rebuilding.
Good, our long range scanners are still misbehaving but we did detect a large mass of lifesigns to the north that were you should begin your search.
Aye, Master.
With that a loud humming could be heard as the drones power cores warmed up, the type 2s of their batch began to run towards the north as the 3s and 1s struggled to catch up...

"I thought there was something here," muttered one of the minator's as it picked up a beacon and threw it against the tree.

"Grrr..." snarled another as their dragons started to eat on what captured creatures they found. "This is useless anyway. We'll report back to the Hell Knight

The minator threw the device against the ground and smashed it into pieces without realising it. They mounted back on their steeds as the sight of an aircraft went through the sky. This was unexpected as the band of riders deicded to make a run for it since their rifles wouldn't be able to make a dent in the aircraft armour. Unlike the war like Fungi before them, this new breed of Fungi was smarter than before. The minator's moved swiftly on their dragons into the woods wondering if the unsuspecting aircraft would be lured into a trap.

The dropship zoomed in from above, missing the minator's completely. The team quickly disembarked at the beacon location. The small tent nearby was unnoccupied, and they soon found the remnants of the beacon. As Tyranis began setting about to repair the device, Atrius, Falkner and the others began rebuilding the sandbag defence walls, setting up an M224 machine gun to cover the entrance.

Atrius poked his head into the tent as the whoosh of the dropship's engine's signalled it's departure, leaving the team alone

"Tyranis, how long untill the beacon is operational again?" Atrius asked

"It will take some time, even with my skill" he said, holding up a piece of the beacon "This was made from bonded exo-steel, yet something ripped through it like a childs play thing..."

"Well, whatever it was, if it comes back it'll get rude welcome" Atrius said, his fighting spirit showing in his words "Keep at it"

He pulled his Siska squad cannon up and joined the others outside, keeping an eye out for the vandals.

Nothing could have missed the large ship that had crashed 8 miles North. A group of warriors (25) were sent to investigate the crash site, and perhaps salvage some vauluable parts.

ooc
ok recon, 2 of them went south.

IC
The cleansed number 3 of Batch forty, continued it steady climb down the mountains that reached to the south of the crash site. It and its mate cleansed 2 had been ordered to proceed to the south to scout out possible minerals necessary for the sphere. The wood had been hot and humid slowly the Drones, it had taken them an extra 2 minutes than they had planned to finally reach the foot of the mountains nearly 2 kilometers south, they had already climbed a good 325 meters. When F-3 paused, signally his mate, he began to scan above and below him.
Something up. came the thoughts through their shared links.
I detect something"
Trinno?
No, something else something unpure.
Releasing its grip, the drone plunged downwards to land several tens of meters below, activating its internal dampers and plasma torch(/sword), it growled as it hit a ledge and rushed at the...

The dropship zoomed in from above, missing the minator's completely. The team quickly disembarked at the beacon location. The small tent nearby was unnoccupied, and they soon found the remnants of the beacon. As Tyranis began setting about to repair the device, Atrius, Falkner and the others began rebuilding the sandbag defence walls, setting up an M224 machine gun to cover the entrance.

Atrius poked his head into the tent as the whoosh of the dropship's engine's signalled it's departure, leaving the team alone

"Tyranis, how long untill the beacon is operational again?" Atrius asked

"It will take some time, even with my skill" he said, holding up a piece of the beacon "This was made from bonded exo-steel, yet something ripped through it like a childs play thing..."

"Well, whatever it was, if it comes back it'll get rude welcome" Atrius said, his fighting spirit showing in his words "Keep at it"

He pulled his Siska squad cannon up and joined the others outside, keeping an eye out for the vandals.

While the group was attempting to fix their beacon, a male deer and its young one started to eat the grass before them while keeping a watchful eye on the group attempting to fix their beacon. The day was quiet and peaceful for the pair but yet, something made them feel unease. It was like, something was watching them. The male started to sniff the air for a moment but no matter what happened, it was too late. Out of the woods a spider, about double the size of a grizzly bear, pounced right on top of the deer and sank its fangs into the deer's neck. The male deer attempted to resist but it was pointless as the spider easily over-powered it. The young deer quickly dartted in fear and shock away from the spider that killed its father. It darted towards the woods before being pounced on by a waiting dargon with a rider on its back.

The spider looked across to the dragon as it wrap the male deer with its web before tooking a stance showing off his fangs. The dragon hissed back at the spider as it started to eat the young deer. The spider started to drag its victim off back into the woods. The dragon and its rider were feeding off the deer suddenly looked up at the sky before the dragon roared and darted into the woods.

(Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4_EVBsUx30&feature=related)

The day of war had come to the Fungi. The forest ground rumbled with the pounding of something coming towards them. While the ground pounded, the trees started to collasped but that was the last thing anyone would worried about. The skies were filled with shadows of giant eagles and dragonflies darting above looking for prey.

"Move the central flank forward!" ordered a minator as hundreds of thousand minator's followed behind a moving line of Giant Huntsmen Spiders being used as armour, Oversize Huntsmen Spiders, Demonic Scouts and their dragons and Oversize Red Back Spiders. Actting as transport carriers at the back of the ranks was an oversize crossbreed of a bull elephant and a huntsmen spider known as Spider Elephants.

"Sir, we got a squad of hostiles ahead of our ranks," reported in a Demonic Scout on the back of his dragon.

"The Huntsmen are hungry," the Demonic Minator said to the Demonic Scout as he stroked a Huntsmen at his feet. "Go my friends and fest on their flesh!"

The troops watched as a bull's horn was blown and the marching ranks halted for a moment as the huntmen spiders rushed forward through the forest and past their older brothers (the Giant Huntsmen Spiders). The smell of prey could be smelt as the Giant Huntsmen Spiders tore through the trees while the Spider Elephants stripped the the trees clean and ate the leaves and some of the bark. The movement was quick as hordes of Oversized Huntsmen charged towards the men attempting to repair the beacon. It was followed with a volley of machine gun fire as war suddenly broke out.

Ziyoshiyua and his squad stared as these odd creatures exited the craft. They didn't appear to even look alike beyond the attachments to their bodies.
"Stay here." said Ziyo, as he walked forward, still cloaked.
When he was within 30 meters, he called out in his native tongue
"Who are you? And why do you trespass into the land of the Shogun?"

The metal beast that crashed charged at them had taken the Kraknov by surprise, and two of the younger warriors were gutted by the plasma sword the metal man had. Some warriors pulled out their shredder rifles and opened fire, others drew their swords and howled at the metal creature.

F-3 shields readily absorbed the shots. Powering down the sword it looked at the remaining warriors. After a couple milliseconds it began to try and speak in their tongue.
“You’re outgunned, surrender now and prepare to be cleansed. Or you will join your batch in death :mad:”
...
The cleansed number 2 of Batch forty-five looked at the creature, nodding to its fellows it stepped forward. A number of clicks could be heard as it tried to mimic the creature’s language.

Taking a step away from the unusual metallic creature, Ziyo put a hand on the hilt of his tanto. Then the creature began making noises. It seemed to be Kitsune, but if it was, it made absolutely no sense.
"Can sleep tacos squid blue."
Clearly this creature didn't know his language. In order to enunciate the common language of Aurora, Ziyo morphed into the shape of a human and said again, this time in the common language
"Who are you, and why do you trespass into the land of the Kitsune?"

The metal spoke Kraknov with a barely understandable accent. The leader stepped foreward and spoke," We do not fear death, and you killed two juniors, an action I could have done at awakening moment. Draw your sword of flame and face me in single combat non Kraknov cyborg." The leader did not care if he died, he wished to stall for time so that the invasion force could come and whipe out the machine-men.

The vampires could hear the shooting and explosions in the distance, but the raiding party was too small to take on hundreds at a time. They moved away, deeper into the forests. Soon, the vampire army will be rampaging through the forest to conquer the world. A dozen human prisoners were captured by another vampire raiding party, then converted into vampires.

OOC: Anyone want to run into the vampire raiding parties?

ooc
bring it on bloodsuckers!:p

Nodding F-3 reactivated its sword, sending the command it charged at the unpure...

F-5 had been abit higher up than F-3 as such it had advanced downwards since the sudden disappearance of its batchmate. Receiving the signal and taking a quick scan below, it also deactivated its grappling claws aiming for one of the noncombatants below, it launched a small dart that if it hit would quickly paralyze its victim's system for a few hours. As it continued to fall it made sure to adjust its angle of descent for maximum impact...
...
The drone stared at the unpure, curse the maker it thought another shapeshifter.
It tried again.
"By whose authority do you command our purpose?"

That time was a lot better. It was actually understandable.
"On behalf of the Shogun of the Kitsune, we demand to know why you trespass in our lands."

Making a few wild gestures in the air, the drone tried to reply.
"We did not intended to trespass, it seems our vessel suffered an injure above your planet, causing us to crash in your shogun's lands. Also does your shogun have a name and what is his power?"

The creature was getting better at getting across what he meant.
"We would help you to repair your vessel, but your technology is clearly far beyond our own. Shogun Hiroki Danshita's dominion stretches far in all directions. We have no set boundaries, as we do not have consistent contact with the other species of this planet, but this area is closest to our capital."

The drones eyes briefly glazed over as it cominuated with the Overmind and Master, its orders were delivered quickly and efficiently, the drone's eyes turned back to its normal red as it stared at the unpure(s).
"How close? and if you wish to help us we will allow it for now as our vessel is rather damaged." Pointing to two of the Drone 2 types,"These two will negotiate with your shogun for supplies, we richly reward those that help our causes. Be forewarned those that betray us do not last the Nacta." bowing its "head" the drone turned towards the others commuting over the links. "Learn all you can, but do not reveal anything more than you must. Once you have learned enough we will give your further orders. Also, disengage your killing protocols for now, only harm in self defense or when pressed so. You will leave once the unpure are ready." "Aye, Alpha." Remembering something the drone turned refocused on the unpures:
"O and their names are cleansed number 3 and cleansed number 5 of batch 45 or FF-3 and FF-5. Treat them well or you won't live nearly long enough to regret it."

Ziyoshiyua smirked. How clearly that got across was a different matter, but wiping his hand across his forehead he said
"No outsiders are allowed within the capital city, and the Shogun only leaves in times of war. There is no way you are going to be able to see him. All negotiations must go through ambassadors. Whatever you want to say to him, you say to me."

Well Master?
"You know our inversion to shape changers, their minds are as oily as their appearance, but we are hurt, not mortally yet we are strangers in a strange land and we currently need allies even if it is of the unpure. Our sayings are quite clear in this matter.."
Aye Master, so we will deal with intermediates then?
I didn't say that, while they have not been forth coming with the location of their capital, we can guess from where they came in from the forest and where the largest concentrations of life forms was.
Then shall...
I was not done. snapped the master.
You must learn the location of their captial first before we can partake in a more direct approach.
As you wish my master.
The drone red eyes flashed as it gazed back at the unpure, its voice taking an even more business like quality as it relayed its orders.
"As you wish.
We require the following:
12 kg of trinno
a half a metric ton of (iron) Ivot ore
several kgs of copper, coil if your race has it
and a few other choice resources to rebuild our sphere, in exchange we will help you fight any enemies you may have and teach a selected 10 members of your race a few of our abilities.
Any questions?"
...

As a few of the drone 1s crashed through the forest, 5 kms to the north of the sphere, they started to notice an unnatural quite in the air.
The Alpha of the batch called a halt and began to scan the area instructing his batchmates to do the same as they waited for the slower 3s.
There is something at work here and I don't like it thought the drone as it scanned a nearby cliff.
(for the vampires)

The console continued to blink a bright red.
Master Drone of Sphere 102, Batch 30 blinked the dust away from its eyes. Painfully dragging itself to its feet it looked around the deck, noting the damaged and destroyed consoles, the dead or injured Technonauts and the general disarray, it linked its self back to the Overmind.
"What happened?"
"We exited ftl and for some reason our engines would not respond our shields also cut out once we reached the planet's atmosphere and we crashed into the planet. Hull integrity is minimal, shields are kaput, the lower part of the sphere is gone and the upper half is severally damaged."
"Praise the maker, how did we survive?"
"Sub-protocol 80212Ba kicked in slowly our descent enough for the upper half to survive."
"Did any of our holo cameras make it?"
"Negative."
"Damn, best to send a scouting part to find supplies. Erh how many batches survived?"
"Besides the officer batch, 12."
"Only 12? Thats only 60 Technonauts, did we get a message off at least before impact?"
"Yes, but there are no other spheres within several hundred light years so its doubtful help will arrive anytime soon."
"Well send Batch 40 to make contact, they're the newest and still have most of their unpure origins. Hopefully we can find allies until we are healed enough to cleanse..."

occ: anyone want to claim the area for where we just impacted?(haven't fully worked out the size of spheres yet but at least a 2.5 km radius was wiped out)

The old tunnels ran deep, deeper than most. Rarely, if ever were they used these days. However, Ughoth Nashsson, had been traveling in the mountains, when his sunglasses broke. He had spent much of his childhood there, and knew of the old tunnels, and where they surfaced. Thus, he was in the tunnel, when Sphere 102 crashed into the surface above him. The entire tunnel shook. Fearing a cave-in, which while rare in newer tunnels, was unheard of in the old ones, he ran, as fast as his legs could carry him. He could hear the tunnel collapsing behind him. He continued to run, finding, that when meeting with other tunnels, they too were collapsing. Tunnel collapses on this scale, where undreamed of. He continued to run, for almost a kilometer, when he noticed, the tunnel behind him was normal, the sound of rushing earth, had stopped. He turned around, to see, not far behind him, a mass of earth, where the tunnel had been. As he continued down the tunnel, he noted that other tunnels, had also collapsed, to a much greater degree than his tunnel had. It took him over a day to reach the nearest settlement. When he arrived, he reported what he had witnessed. The townsfolk didn't believe him, however, he continued to tell anyone and everyone, until, the town sorcerer decided, to put an end to it, by examining the Ughoth's mind, and memories for the truth. He spent much time, with the Ughoth, both apparently in a deep trance. When he awoke, a look of terror was on his face. His only words were, "He's right, by Nubach, he's right." He then slipped into a deep coma. The town elder, quickly wrote a letter on the incident, and sent it, with a copy of Ughoth's account of the incident, to the capital, by his fastest runner. Twelve hours later, the letter was in Emperor Tursh Hjreshsson's hands. The signature was authenticated, by means of magic. The Emperor immediately dispatched a group of 4 Murk Dwellers to the incident site. They were chosen for both their speed, and their ability. One was a tunnel expert, who had spend his life digging, and studying tunnels, as had his father, and his fathers father, and so forth, back 8 generations. The second, was one of the Emperor's own sorcerers. The other two, were soldiers, to ensure the safety of the expedition. They set of, at top speed for the collapse site. They arrived around noon, on the second day. Neither the tunnel expert, nor the sorcerer were able to determine the cause of the collapse from the tunnels. However, both agreed that it was no accident, as the supporters were made of the finest wood, and had been imbued with magic to further their strength. They also both agreed that a survey of the surface was necessary to determine the cause of the incident. The soldiers insisted that they wait till nightfall, before venturing onto the surface. So they rested, where the nearest tunnel met with the surface, concealed within the hidden entrance, until the last rays of sun faded on the horizon. They then made their way towards the crash site...

The sphere's sentries had noted the intruders rather quickly, make more noise than a wounded Narg pup thought the Master as he survived the readings.
Yet another one, overmind, what do you think we should do?
See what they want first seems to be the best idea replied the overmind.
"aye" muttered the master, as he activated one of the closest sentry drones quickly changing the programing so it would communicative in the supposedly common language the shogun's men had "taught" them early that day.
"Halt, your are intruding into Technonaut territory, state your business and your intentions."
They appear to be quite a bit different than the shogun's unpure linked the Overmind.
Indeed they do, we're still analyzing them and the results are quite a bit different than what we've seen before.
Wonder if there even sapient and therefore can be cleansed.
We'll have to see how they react to that message though it may be best if we don't act on our cleansing protocols on this planet, to many unknowns or at least until the spheres repaired.
Indeed.

ooc
decided to try something out, since technically the overmind/master reaction is not a commutation outloud but instead is more of thoughts going between them, I decided to I the masters thoughts and bold the overminds and lastly underline any drone to drone/master/overmind link/thoughts, not sure if its any help...

The sphere's sentries had noted the intruders rather quickly, make more noise than a wounded Narg pup thought the Master as he survived the readings.
Yet another one, overmind, what do you think we should do?
See what they want first seems to be the best idea replied the overmind.
"aye" muttered the master, as he activated one of the closest sentry drones quickly changing the programing so it would communicative in the supposedly common language the shogun's men had "taught" them early that day.
"Halt, your are intruding into Technonaut territory, state your business and your intentions."
They appear to be quite a bit different than the shogun's unpure linked the Overmind.
Indeed they do, we're still analyzing them and the results are quite a bit different than what we've seen before.
Wonder if there even sapient and therefore can be cleansed.
We'll have to see how they react to that message though it may be best if we don't act on our cleansing protocols on this planet, to many unknowns or at least until the spheres repaired.
Indeed.

ooc
decided to try something out, since technically the overmind/master reaction is not a commutation outloud but instead is more of thoughts going between them, I decided to I the masters thoughts and bold the overminds and lastly underline any drone to drone/master/overmind link/thoughts, not sure if its any help...

The first thought that went through the Dwellers' minds, was "Kitsune!" Before even realizing what was speaking to them, the two soldiers had their hands on their assault rifles. The sorcerer probed the area, detecting many lifesigns. They were unnatural, and sent a shiver down his spine. The tunnel expert, pulled out a switchblade, which ,while somewhat effective for protection in the tunnels, was really pretty useless here. After the initial reaction, they noticed what was before them, and saw, it was not Kitsune, and therefore relaxed. It appeared, that these outsiders, had learned the language from the Kitsune, as they spoke it with a distinct Kitsune accent. One word, in the statement, appeared to be gibberish. All of the members of the team, thought they knew common well, however, had never heard this word. The lead solder, stepped forwards and stated, "What is this," he paused, and carefully pronounced "Technonaut," which was clearly foreign to him, "you speak of? We were unaware of the existence of such territory. From whom was it ceded?"

hmm, ceded? haven't heard that word in a time, Overmind.
Indeed, though in a round about way we could say that the shogun granted us this land. These unpures have quite a different ascent.
Thats not all, their internal chemistry is quite fantasizing.
Do not become to attached to them Master, you need to remember why we came here and it wasn't for allies
hmm, but of cource Overmind
"What is this," he paused, and carefully pronounced "Technonaut," which was clearly foreign to him, "you speak of? We were unaware of the existence of such territory. From whom was it ceded?"
"We are the Technonauts, We are Legion, and are a multicultural, hodgepodge of different races, cultures, technologies and ideas cleansed into one by the Overmind. We are also new to this planet, having arrived but a day ago from the sky. The Kitsune you seem to know of (temporary) ceded this land to us in a certain way."

The warrior easily side stepped the blind charge and dealt a blow. However the machine's shields stopped any real damage from being dealt. He would have to figure out a way to bypass them, though it seemed unlikely.

"As you wish.
We require the following:
12 kg of trinno
a half a metric ton of (iron) Ivot ore
several kgs of copper, coil if your race has it
and a few other choice resources to rebuild our sphere, in exchange we will help you fight any enemies you may have and teach a selected 10 members of your race a few of our abilities.
Any questions?"

The Kitsune had rushed off to the Shogun to deliver the news, who quickly set the miners to work on gathering the iron and copper.
As the workers continued to gather the resources, Ziyoshiyua was sent again, and arrived to see the Murk Dwellers and Technonauts in conversation.
Deciding to see what was going on, Ziyoshiyua disappeared, and scurried forward to within a distance he could hear from.

hmm, ceded? haven't heard that word in a time, Overmind.
Indeed, though in a round about way we could say that the shogun granted us this land. These unpures have quite a different ascent.
Thats not all, their internal chemistry is quite fantasizing.
Do not become to attached to them Master, you need to remember why we came here and it wasn't for allies
hmm, but of cource Overmind

"We are the Technonauts, We are Legion, and are a multicultural, hodgepodge of different races, cultures, technologies and ideas cleansed into one by the Overmind. We are also new to this planet, having arrived but a day ago from the sky. The Kitsune you seem to know of (temporary) ceded this land to us in a certain way."

The night was still, for a few seconds, before the lead soldier replied. He did not trust these newcomers, they used large, words, in a way which implied twisting of the truth. "I am Gurth-Tar Purgiousson," he said. "We are here, on a mission for Emperor Tursh Hjreshsson. We formally request permission to enter your leader, to enter these lands, and conclude or mission."
The Sorcerer, who had been counting the number of unnatural lifesigns around them, detected the approach of the Ziyoshiyua. "We are not alone, we are being watched," he said. Again, hands went for weapons, as, they all peered through the darkness, for the unseen threat.

To each of the races that the Coboli had any sort of friendly contact with, a party of messengers mounted on armoured salamanders (sorry, forgot to mention in signup- about goat-sized, iridescent scales, aquatic and pretty resistant to fire) bearing an offer of peace was sent. Every one of them was incredibly nervous; if their message was not accepted, they probably wouldn't live to return it.

ooc: I don't really know which races the Coboli might have had contact with, so you can decide for yourselves.

*snip*
ooc Not much to respond to there.
IC
The(second) drone continued to drop towards the combatants.
Stop toying with the unpure, finish it.

The night was still, for a few seconds, before the lead soldier replied. He did not trust these newcomers, they used large, words, in a way which implied twisting of the truth. "I am Gurth-Tar Purgiousson," he said. "We are here, on a mission for Emperor Tursh Hjreshsson. We formally request permission to enter your leader, to enter these lands, and conclude our mission."

Enter your leader?
Yes an odd twist of the tongue.
Do you think they meant meet your leader?
They could very well mean what they said
sure hope not thought the Master as it exited the sphere making sure to grab two of its batch to bring along.
Stay hidden but stay close. Another batch of unpure has tried to enter our lands, also the Kitsune have returned. They seem to believe that their cloak hides them from all and have lost their caution.
Aye, Master. Do you wish us to remind them?
The Master briefly thought it over.
No, best to keep that weakness to ourselves for the moment
The drones powered up and began to run towards the Fungi towards the outerborders about 2 kms away
"If you mean meet our leader, then very well.
You shall meet him." spoke the Overmind through the sentry, as the Master appeared in the little clearing(alone).

-Snip-

OOC: Hundreds of thousands? I was under the impression that we only had a few squads, that's why there's less than 20 men at the beacon. Still, what the heck...

As the minators and spiders surged forward, a hail of bullets greeted them. There were less than 20 men against an army, but they had a few tricks up their sleeves. Atrius, having fired his six anti-tank rounds into the nearest spider, dropped back into the tent where Tyranis was hurriedly re-assembling the beacon

"Tyranis, how much longer?" he asked, loading shells into his squad cannon

"Patience is a virtue, Captain" Tyranis replied, plugging something into the beacon. They both ducked as bullets peppered the tent, knocking pieces of equipment off tables

"Not right now it isn't" Donovan said, standing up

"Got it!" Tyranis said suddenly. The beacon glowed as light emananted from it

"Ok" Donovan said, a slight grin on his face. He poked his head out of the tent "Falkner, get over here!" he shouted

The woman that he'd met on the dropship moved from the sandbag emplacements to the tent

"Sir?" she asked

"The beacon's back online, so get on the horn and call in some support" Donovan said as he passed her

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

Fort Hampden

Colonel Mace strode into the operations room, deep below ground level. A room with large TV screens buzzed with activity. On his arrival, an operator quickly approached him

"Sir, Atrius's squad has repaired the beacon, but they're under attack from numerous hostiles" he said "They need support now"

"The beacons are all online?" Mace asked

"Yes sir" the operator replied

"Very well, hit those co-ords" Mace told him

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

Hill 3

Massive artillery shells began to rain down on the approaching Fungi soldiers in an unrelenting barrage, shielding the soldiers on the hill from their attacks.

As the two continued their dance with death, the riflemen readied in case the second drone dared interfere with the single combat.
.......
Meanwhile the portal had opened and stabalized. The first wave of Kraknov charged out, the animalistic ones. Hundreds began to charge in random directions, their howls and jowls echoing for miles. They would ravange and slaughter anything non-Kraknov they came across. Soon groups of warriors marched through, ready to annex this part of the world.

ooc Not much to respond to there.
IC
The(second) drone continued to drop towards the combatants.
Stop toying with the unpure, finish it.


Enter your leader?
Yes an odd twist of the tongue.
Do you think they meant meet your leader?
They could very well mean what they said
sure hope not thought the Master as it exited the sphere making sure to grab two of its batch to bring along.
Stay hidden but stay close. Another batch of unpure has tried to enter our lands, also the Kitsune have returned. They seem to believe that their cloak hides them from all and have lost their caution.
Aye, Master. Do you wish us to remind them?
The Master briefly thought it over.
No, best to keep that weakness to ourselves for the moment
The drones powered up and began to run towards the Fungi towards the outerborders about 2 kms away
"If you mean meet our leader, then very well.
You shall meet him." spoke the Overmind through the sentry, as the Master appeared in the little clearing(alone).

The Murk Dwellers were all puzzled, they did not thing they requested the Technonauts leader, just to enter him. They assumed, that like their people the lands were considered a part of the leader, and to enter them, was to enter him. It was quite confusing. "We do not need to meet with your," Gurth-Tar Purgiousson began, however he stopped when he saw that the leader had already arrived. This wouldn't do at all. They had brought no gifts, no signs of respect of this leader. Each of them, just stood their, none would look at the leader. They waited.

"Well, are you just going to stand there like bumps on a log or do you have something to say?"
Found that Kitsune yet?
Aye, its 20 meters past your current location.
Continue to observe it and don't reveal yourselves.

Notes: The Master of the sphere has increased it's odd behavior, it has even began to use puns, possible damage from impact or from the weapon? To many questions not enough answers, observations will continue on for awhile more. Though the revertation to its prior unpure state is disturbing, message to other spheres to avoid this planet at all costs was sent...
As the two continued their dance with death, the riflemen readied in case the second drone dared interfere with the single combat.
erh, the second drone was suppose to arrive surprise like by landing on one of the riflemen(at nearly terminal velocity I might add) and yet again nothing to respond to.

"Well, are you just going to stand there like bumps on a log or do you have something to say?"
Found that Kitsune yet?
Aye, its 20 meters past your current location.
Continue to observe it and don't reveal yourselves.

Notes: The Master of the sphere has increased it's odd behavior, it has even began to use puns, possible damage from impact or from the weapon? To many questions not enough answers, observations will continue on for awhile more. Though the revertation to its prior unpure state is disturbing, message to other spheres to avoid this planet at all costs was sent...

erh, the second drone was suppose to surprise like land on one of the riflemen(at nearly terminal velocity I might add) and yet again nothing to respond to.

When the Master spoke, the Murk Dwellers fell to their knees, and bent forward, placing their chins on the ground. The sorcerer however, remained standing. While Gurth-Tar Purgiousson was in charge of the expedition, the sorcerer was one of the Emperors own, and therefor the one most qualified for diplomatic negotiations. Still averting his eyes from the Master he spoke. "Oh great, and honorable leader of the technonauts, I request permission to gaze upon your form," was all he said.

primitives.
Now now Overmind thats no reason to disrespect our guests.
huff, I'd almost think you're enjoying this.
shrugging the master refocused his attention onto the Murk Dwellers.
"Oh great, and honorable leader of the technonauts, I request permission to gaze upon your form," was all he said.
"You have it. Now we will ask you again, what do you want here?"

The sorcerer was surprised his request was granted. "Your majesty, I am Hojjpot Jeshsson, representative of Emperor Tursh Hjreshsson, we wish to request permission to enter your lands, to investigate into certain matters. We assure you we mean no harm, and will do nothing harmful to you, your people, or your lands." As he waited for a reply, he used his magic, to attempt to learn more about the master, such as who he was truly, where he was from, and what his intentions might be. Such magic required that Hojjpot keep his eyes trained on the master, while he reviewed the information. He did not know how the Master would react to this, for they were a different race than his, however, he knew, that when such spells were preformed upon one of his own race, they would feel, and see the same things he did.

Well Master?

As a few of the drone 1s crashed through the forest, 5 kms to the north of the sphere, they started to notice an unnatural quite in the air.
The Alpha of the batch called a halt and began to scan the area instructing his batchmates to do the same as they waited for the slower 3s.
There is something at work here and I don't like it thought the drone as it scanned a nearby cliff.
(for the vampires)

OOC: What do the drones look like?

OOC: I would imagine something like this. It seems almost an exact copy of the Borg
http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/images/startrek-borg.jpg.

Not much IC to post

OCC: i signed up already, where should i jump in?

Well Master?

As a few of the drone 1s crashed through the forest, 5 kms to the north of the sphere, they started to notice an unnatural quite in the air.
The Alpha of the batch called a halt and began to scan the area instructing his batchmates to do the same as they waited for the slower 3s.
There is something at work here and I don't like it thought the drone as it scanned a nearby cliff.
(for the vampires)

The vampires noticed the drones in the distance. They approached cautiously, preparing their side arms weapons. Who were these strange visitors?

OCC: i signed up already, where should i jump in?

[OOC:Anywhere]

ooc
*cough* have a factbook*cough* but since you didn't bother with that... ;)
link to ground force (http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj31/chazsapphire/Overview4.png)

IC
"Your majesty, I am Hojjpot Jeshsson, representative of Emperor Tursh Hjreshsson, we wish to request permission to enter your lands, to investigate into certain matters. We assure you we mean no harm, and will do nothing harmful to you, your people, or your lands."
feeling a slight tingling in the areas where his ears use to be, the Master tried to refocused on the Muck Dwellers, his initial scans had already identified several weapon like items, and he had began the initial DNA scan when the thing replied.
Nodding the Master replied:
"Do you have anything specifically that you wish to investigate? Its likely we've picked up at least some data on it since our arrival early this very day, possibly in a data for resource type of trade?"
Overmind, I have a slight tingling sensation to the left of where my ear use to be and I need a reason.
That is unusual but there are several reasons for that. It could be your biological origins are starting to catch up with you, it could be that you are being watched, it could be your skin has not adjusted to the moisture level on this planet yet, it could be that you are just imagining it, it could be that you are being scanned by something... Where did you say your felt the tingling?
The left side of my head where my ears use to be, about 2 cm down from the enter wound of the T-021 Audio pick ups.
Very unusual, how long has there been a tingling?
Roughly, 20 seconds now, the sensation is very odd. It has not increased nor decreased infact It almost seems like a slight buzzing now...
Hmm, where is that Kitsune?
Still well outside the clearing Overmind.
It is probably nothing then, but if it keeps it up I suggest moving from your current position. Local wildlife may be effecting your links back to the sphere or some such
Aye
*snip*
You could respond to the two drones I sent to watch your guy.

*snip*
The 1s continued to scan the forest, searching for the cause of the quite. The 3s had began to trickle in and if nothing could be found in a few minutes they had agreed to leave and not return to that part of the woods...

ooc
*cough* have a factbook*cough* but since you didn't bother with that... ;)
link to ground force (http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj31/chazsapphire/Overview4.png)

IC

feeling a slight tingling in the areas where his ears use to be, the Master tried to refocused on the Muck Dwellers, his initial scans had already identified several weapon like items, and he had began the initial DNA scan when the thing replied.
Nodding the Master replied:
"Do you have anything specifically that you wish to investigate? Its likely we've picked up at least some data on it since our arrival early this very day, possibly in a data for resource type of trade?"
Overmind, I have a slight tingling sensation to the left of where my ear use to be and I need a reason.
That is unusual but there are several reasons for that. It could be your biological origins are starting to catch up with you, it could be that you are being watched, it could be your skin has not adjusted to the moisture level on this planet yet, it could be that you are just imagining it, it could be that you are being scanned by something... Where did you say your felt the tingling?
The left side of my head where my ears use to be, about 2 cm down from the enter wound of the T-021 Audio pick ups.
Very unusual, how long has there been a tingling?
Roughly, 20 seconds now, the sensation is very odd. It has not increased nor decreased infact It almost seems like a slight buzzing now...
Hmm, where is that Kitsune?
Still well outside the clearing Overmind.
It is probably nothing then, but if it keeps it up I suggest moving from your current position. Local wildlife may be effecting your links back to the sphere or some such
Aye

Vague visions fluttered through Hojjpot Jeshsson's mind. He felt as if he were trying to grasp something that was just out of reach. He began concentrating harder, putting more energy into his efforts. He would not normal due such a thing, as it would greatly intensify the effects on the person he was observing, however, the Master appeared ignorant to his inquisitions. He spoke again, this time his voice seemed distracted, and weaker than before, "We do not wish to waste your time with our insignificant investigations. I am sure we can conduct it alone." His eyes remained on the Master, unblinking.

OOC: The way you described it, I thought he was landing next to the other drone
The riflemen were surprised at first, and scattered when one of their comrades was crushed into paste and two nearby warriors wounded by the impact. Quickly they opened fire upon the second drone, while the remaining warriors drew their blades.

The 1s continued to scan the forest, searching for the cause of the quite. The 3s had began to trickle in and if nothing could be found in a few minutes they had agreed to leave and not return to that part of the woods...

That was when the vampires were picked up by the scanners. There was no way for a group of twenty heavily armed vampires to escape detection.

"We do not wish to waste your time with our insignificant investigations. I am sure we can conduct it alone."
Its continuing
Have you moved?
Yes, it only helps for a few microseconds
Have you tried protocol...
Yes, I tried shifting and the hologram projector, no effect.
Best to disengage then and report back for maintenance.
Aye, make sure to keep several sensor drones on these unpures.
"As you wish." replied the master as he turned and sped out of the glade.

OOC: The way you described it, I thought he was landing next to the other drone
ooc
Hmm, I thought this was rather clear...
F-5 had been abit higher up than F-3 as such it had advanced downwards since the sudden disappearance of its batchmate. Receiving the signal and taking a quick scan below, it also deactivated its grappling claws aiming for one of the noncombatants below, it launched a small dart that if it hit would quickly paralyze its victim's system for a few hours. As it continued to fall it made sure to adjust its angle of descent for maximum impact...
IC
Activating its own plasma sword, F-5 attacked the stunned riflemen, its own shields absorbing their shots. It briefly glanced over,
Finish it already.
That is proving harder than originally thought, shield strength is already down to 92%

That was when the vampires were picked up by the scanners. There was no way for a group of twenty heavily armed vampires to escape detection.
Humanoid forms to the northeast Alpha, their internal temperature is lower than normal, it is almost the same as the environment which is why we didn't pick them up sooner.
Spread out, and how many?
18, no 20. They are organized fairly hap hazardously.
Are all the 3s accounted for?
The one that scouted ahead is still missing...

Its continuing
Have you moved?
Yes, it only helps for a few microseconds
Have you tried protocol...
Yes, I tried shifting and the hologram projector, no effect.
Best to disengage then and report back for maintenance.
Aye, make sure to keep several sensor drones on these unpures.
"As you wish." replied the master as he turned and sped out of the glade.


ooc
Hmm, I thought this was rather clear...

IC
Activating its own plasma sword, F-5 attacked the stunned riflemen, its own shields absorbing their shots. It briefly glanced over,
Finish it already.
That is proving harder than originally thought, shield strength is already down to 92%


Humanoid forms to the northeast Alpha, their internal temperature is lower than normal, it is almost the same as the environmental one which is why we didn't pick them up sooner.
Spread out, and how many?
18, no 20. They are organized fairly hap hazardously.
Are all the 3s accounted for?
The one that scouted ahead is still missing...

Hojjpot Jeshsson was slightly surprised when the Master left. All he had gleaned, was that they had come from somewhere very dark, and cold, and they were travelers. Through out the entire encounter, these Technonauts felt very unnatural. The others rose from their positions. "Well, I suppose this means they are okay with us continuing," said Gurth-Tar Purgiousson, and they did, heading in the same general direction that the Master had gone.

OOC: Waiting for Lynion to reply to my last.

OOC: Sorry mate.

IC:

"These demons have long range weapons," muttered one of the minator's. "It'll be suicidal to push forward. Call a retreat and head back into our lands,"

The Oversize Huntsmen spiders contiune their push forward as the started to come closer and closer to the group trying to defend their position. Meanwhile, the forward flanks turned around and retreated as their plan of an invasion was useless at this time. For now, they'll slipped back up the mountains from where they came from and await for another attempt on another species.

"Inform the commander's to install Operation Trident," ordered the general as he watched his troops fall back towards the mountain. "These demons may on the surface but when the ground trembles under them, they'll have no where to run. If they need more men or spiders to dig, grant them their wish," concluded the general as he sat on his seat in the mountain as the runner went back into the tunnels leading through the mountain. For now, the Fungi have seen what the enemy was capable of and now, they needed to wait for a sign of weakness.

The leader and the cyborg continued to battle, he got in several more strikes, but found it difficult to keep up with the cyborg who was extremely fast.
The rifle men continued to back away and fire at the cyborg, the bullets damaging the shields. Some began to draw their blades and join the warriors in an attempt to circle the cyborg.
Meanwhile the animalistic Kraknov who had been charging through the woods began to approach the area near the Kitsune territory.

Humanoid forms to the northeast Alpha, their internal temperature is lower than normal, it is almost the same as the environment which is why we didn't pick them up sooner.
Spread out, and how many?
18, no 20. They are organized fairly hap hazardously.
Are all the 3s accounted for?
The one that scouted ahead is still missing...

The drone that was scouting head had run into the vampires, provoking a burst from the vampire's modern weapons. The leader of the vampire group then ordered the firing to stopped and checked if the drone was damaged.

*snip*
The master continued to speed back towards the sphere.
Anything new?
Negative, sphere rebuilding is ongoing though the time scale is the same.

The leader and the cyborg continued to battle, he got in several more strikes, but found it difficult to keep up with the cyborg who was extremely fast.
The rifle men continued to back away and fire at the cyborg, the bullets damaging the shields. Some began to draw their blades and join the warriors in an attempt to circle the cyborg.
F-5 continued to slash at the riflemen, his shield holding steady at 95%.

The drone that was scouting head had run into the vampires, provoking a burst from the vampire's modern weapons. The leader of the vampire group then ordered the firing to stopped and checked if the drone was damaged.
The drone continued to scan. A few rounds had managed to get though before it raised its shields causing slight damage to its lower casings.(ie right "leg")
Hostile unpures detected, immediate back up is requested, I am injured...
Batch 35 cleansed 2 come in, TF-2 come in. Flip, I want a firing line with a 8 meter distance per drone, we're going north...

The master continued to speed back towards the sphere.
Anything new?
Negative, sphere rebuilding is ongoing though the time scale is the same.


F-5 continued to slash at the riflemen, his shield holding steady at 95%.


The drone continued to scan. A few rounds had managed to get though before it raised its shields causing slight damage to its lower casings.(ie right "leg")
Hostile unpures detected, immediate back up is requested, I am injured...
Batch 35 cleansed 2 come in, TF-2 come in. Flip, I want a firing line with a 8 meter distance per drone, we're going north...

"Can you speak?" asked the vampire leader clearly to the drone, raising his blaster. Though the vampires had blasters, the red of them were armed with sub-machine guns.

Ziyo, who had watched the communications between the Murk Dwellers and the Technonauts decided it was wisest to fall back to the capital and await further instruction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kenkon, a high ranking Kitsune in charge of border defense, suddenly came to full alertness as one of his lieutenants materialized before him.
Saluting, the lieutenant reported that a group of unknown beings was en route towards their current location.
Impossible. The entire Kitsune nation has been isolated for years. Why would they come this way? he thought to himself
"Gather up the nearby garrisons. We're going to intercept them."
A force of about 100 Kitsune, mostly archers, some of the best on the planet, and a few swordsmen raced out from the command post, they were to meet up with about 50 others from nearby outposts.

ooc blasters as in Star Wars or blasters as in something else?

"Can you speak?"
IC
TF-2 Tried to reply the way that the Kitsune's had taught them.
"Yes, any reason for shooting us?"
May I suggest you hurry up?
We lost contact with you TF-2 and are honing on your position.
I suggest you wait 20 meters south of my position, seems these unpure are more of the shot first ask questions later, but they are asking questions.

ooc blasters as in Star Wars or blasters as in something else?


IC
TF-2 Tried to reply the way that the Kitsune's had taught them.
"Yes, any reason for shooting us?"
May I suggest you hurry up?
We lost contact with you TF-2 and are honing on your position.
I suggest you wait 20 meters south of my position, seems these unpure are more of the shot first ask questions later, but they are asking questions.

OOC: Slightly more primitive then Star Wars
IC:

The vampire looked at the drone curiously,"We had orders to shoot anyone that approaches us without warning. We don't mean any harm. You're obviously not form this planet are you?"

The vampire looked at the drone curiously,"We had orders to shoot anyone that approaches us without warning. We don't mean any harm. You're obviously not form this planet are you?"
Curiouser and curiouser.
Hmm?
*Audio plays back*
form? interesting choice of words
Indeed

"Ah but it is you that approached us, we were standing here when you fired upon us. And no we were not formed from this planet."

Curiouser and curiouser.
Hmm?
*Audio plays back*
form? interesting choice of words
Indeed

"Ah but it is you that approached us, we were standing here when you fired upon us. And no we were not formed from this planet."

OOC: LOL. I meant from, not form. I mistyped.
IC:

"It wasn't me that fired. Our troops are cautious, when there are hundreds of races out there. Where are you from then?"

Hundreds of races?
A hyperbole of course, though at the rate we're encountering new sentients on this planet it may actually be true.
Well, how should I reply?
Well the truth will set you free, but since they did shot at you...
"We came from a galaxy far far away and arrived here but a short short time ago."

Hundreds of races?
A hyperbole of course, though at the rate we're encountering new sentients on this planet it may actually be true.
Well, how should I reply?
Well the truth will set you free, but since they did shot at you...
"We came from a galaxy far far away and arrived here but a short short time ago."

"Have you encountered anyone else?" asked the vampire, watching the drone with his eyes carefully.

More riflemen fell, but the warriors had been successful in circling the cyborg. Now they began to jump in and strike at the exposed back of the cyborg whenever it faced them, damaging the shields.
The animalistic Kraknov continued to approach kitsune territory, howling and growling the whole time.

"Have you encountered anyone else?"
Well duh, how else would we be using a language you could understand.
Hmm? Ah, that is fairly dumb question or at least phrasing...
"Yes, the Kitsunes."

*snip
F-5 looked at the bodies of the fallen riflemen, the looks in the eyes of the remaining members and sighed.
Disengage
I nearly have..
You've nearly had it for the past 10 minutes, we aren't going to win any awards.
Fine.
With that the two drones disengaged, turned, and dropped down to the forest floor, powering up their cores before rushing towards the southeast away from the sphere.

ooc: anyone who might have had contact with the Coboli, a party of messengers wshould be reaching you.

Well duh, how else would we be using a language you could understand.
Hmm? Ah, that is fairly dumb question or at least phrasing...
"Yes, the Kitsunes."

.

The vampires heard of the Kitsunes but never encountered them. "Why have you come to this particular planet?"

Might as well, we're right outside the clearing as you asked.
Affirmative
"We came to harvest this planet's resources."

Might as well, we're right outside the clearing as you asked.
Affirmative
"We came to harvest this planet's resources."

"Are you going to exterminate the planet's races?" asked the vampire calmly, while his troops were keeping a sharp eye on the surrounding area.

So much for that.
Fake innocence!
"Erh? No, we just came for this planet's trinno supply our ship was running low."
Thats a pretty dumb excuse.
Well it is partly true.
Doesn't stop it from being a dumb excuse.

So much for that.
Fake innocence!
"Erh? No, we just came for this planet's trinno supply our ship was running low."
Thats a pretty dumb excuse.
Well it is partly true.
Doesn't stop it from being a dumb excuse.

The vampire leader began talking with another vampire very quietly and in an ancient vampire language.
"What do you think?"
"I think he's lying."
"Me too."
"What do we do with him? His comrades may be here soon."
"Let's take him back with us."
"No."
The vampire leader turned back to the drone."Where are your...eh...comrades?"

"Hmm? I am the sole member of my race on this planet at the moment, I was sent to scout out and beginning initial mining of resources and crashed."
Its going south, I suggest you prepare yourselves.
About time, haven't had a good fight in a long time yet.
Well hopefully you will get to wait awhile more.

"Hmm? I am the sole member of my race on this planet at the moment, I was sent to scout out and beginning initial mining of resources and crashed."
Its going south, I suggest you prepare yourselves.
About time, haven't had a good fight in a long time yet.
Well hopefully you will get to wait awhile more.

The vampires however believed he was lying and his comrades would arrive soon, some of the vampires took firing positions in the forest, which were an advantage to the vampires. The vampire leader didn't respond.

As the two drones flew off, some prepared to chase them. Their leader stopped them speaking,"Let them run for now, it would be wiser to report back to the rest of our enemies, we have learned much, and by divine blessings have survived to report it." With that they hurried back to the camp to report.
When they returned, they saw the beginings of a base being construcked by laborers who continuously brought supplies out from the portal. The returning group was greeted by the commander in charge at the base,"Ah Elder Warrior Greagon, what do you report on the ship that crashed, and where are the others? We were attacked by two cyborgs with energy shields, 13 of my warriors fell in combat, they seemed near immune to rifle fire." "This is grave news indeed, we must inform the leaders immediatly and have the scientists work on improved designs."

Gurth-Tar Purgiousson continued leading them towards the incident sight, which happened to be the same general direction that the Master had sped off in. Hojjpot Jeshsson was the first to sight it, but soon, the entire group saw, what was obviously the cause of the tunnel collapses. It was a huge metal spherical device. It spanned as far as the eye could see. Only Hojjpot, through magic, could detect it's actual dimensions, which showed that it's lowest point was nearly where the tunnels had been. It was obviously not natural, and looked like one of those horrid metal contraptions the humans or their ilk would construct. From it, Hojjpot, could detect the same kind of lifesigns he had felt from the Master, and his Technonauts. "This is quite obviously what caused the cave in," sad Hojjpot, and the tunnel expert nodded in agreement. "I think we should go back now."
"No, let's go and investigate further, I do not believe we have fulfilled the Emperors mandate," said, Gurth-Tar. The sphere seamed to draw him towards it, as if he was bound by some otherworldly fixation. So, they continued towards the towering object, which stood out clear as could be in the darkness of night.

The vampires however believed he was lying and his comrades would arrive soon, some of the vampires took firing positions in the forest, which were an advantage to the vampires. The vampire leader didn't respond.
Abort Abort! Get out of there!
"Well ok then, later then." replied the drone as it prepared to head off away from the crash site.
I'll be going roughly 20 Degree East of South
Got it, we'll cover you.

ooc guess I need to go officially describe the spheres in my factbook...

The group soon reached the sphere. It was truly massive, and dotted with lights. "What do we do now?" asked the tunnel expert.
"Now, we try to figure out what this is," said Gurth-Tar Purgiousson. "If it's a weapon than, the Emperor will want to know that. Hojjpot, what can you tell me about it?"
Hojjpot concentrated hard on the spell he was about to cast. Soon, his mind was filled with many things it did not understand, technical designs of the ship, which were nonsense to him, and most likely would have been so to any of Murk Dwellers. "It's metal, though the exact type is foreign to me, it has traveled a long way, like the Master had. Beyond that, it is beyond my comprehension," he finished, slightly drained from the spell.

ooc
very wip sphere writeup (http://z13.invisionfree.com/Chazakain_Storefront/index.php?showtopic=63)

IC
The overmind and master continued to watch the muckrackers
Speedy fellows.
Indeed...

"We should take a sample, to analyze it," said Gurth-Tar. The tunnel expert, withdrew from his pack, a harmer, and an enchanted chisel, that had been imbued with magic, to strengthen it, and prevent breaking on even the hardest of native rocks. He had no idea how it would preform on this alien material, however, he decided to give it a shot, and began hammering and chiseling away at part of the sphere, hoping to break a piece off to take with them.

Argh, now there hitting the sphere. You'd better go stop them before I vaporize them.
As you wish.
The Master started towards the ramp...

a small clink could be heard as part of the spheres outer armor came off in the aliens hand. The AI chosen for outer defenses had run several simulations and computed that it was best to sacrifice a piece of the armor, besides the low key frequency would help pin point where it would go and the hidden surprise inside O if it could only laugh...

The armor fragment was a deep deep purple if one stared to long into it they could become lost in the spirals and whirls in its surface from the reflect light, it was still warm from the decent into the planet's atmosphere and only recently had cooled into a tolerable range for handling(32 degrees Celsius), a very very low key humming could be heard coming from the fragment, provided that one could hear such low frequencies. It had an unnatural smoothness to it and surprisingly was quite light. If for some reason one wished to taste it, it had a very metallic and bitter taste. Its actual build up would be next to impossible to determine as it was made out of a rare metal that was not naturally found on this planet or really any planet but only in the deepest and hottest parts of stars and their nursery. The Technonauts had assimilated the secrets of the making of the armor millennium ago and that species had been one of the few completely cleansed by them. While it may have looked like a solid, it trueally was a very very slow moving and low temperature plasma. If the aliens would look up they may see that the cracked armor heal before their very eyes, the cracks dispersing as if nothing had happened...

The tunnel expert examined the piece of armor that had come off. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. He ran his hand along the smooth metal. It was quire remarkable, it was unnaturally smooth, even where it had broken away from the rest of the sphere. He licked it. It had a bitter metallic taste. He would enjoy very much analyzing it. He then removed vials from his sack, and began searching the ground around the sphere. He rubbed a piece of dirt between his fingers, leaving a fine layer on them, then licked it. After moving the dirt around his mouth for a few moments, he collected some more of the dirt, that was closest to the sphere, and placed it in a vial, he then did the same, with some nearby soil. The others just watched.

You may wish to hurry
I'm going, I'm going. Not like I have anything to tell them anyway.
Just hurry, one of them licked the sphere.
The Master stopped in a hallway, Licked?
Yes.
"bunch of crazies, should have..." Ok Overmind open the podbay doors.
I'm Sorry Master, I can't do that.
Hmm?
The crash shorted out their power couplets, you'll have to go by another route.
mumble, could have told me before I ran all the way here. Ah forget it, wheres the closest still active ramp?
5 levels above you and 2 to the right and then you'll have to go around the sphere's edge when outside...

After he had finished collecting the dirt and soil samples on the ground, he noticed that dirt had been kicked up by the impact, and settled on the sphere itself. So, he grabbed his pack, put it on his back, and began to, or attempted to climb the sphere to reach the dirt. Periodically he would sniff the sphere, and not any odors, or the lack thereof.

The Armor AI began a series of distracting lights into the aliens eyes or what passed as eyes while also increasing the smoothness of the armor trying to get it to slide off, finally the armor temperature slowly began to increase the farther the alien tried to climb.

The Master finally reached the exit, actived the ramp and rushed down, briefly signally a pair of Security Drone 2s it sprinted towards the Muckrakers 400 meters away...

The tunnel expert found it clearly apparent that climbing it wasn't going to work. He was fascinated by the way it responded to him. So, once he was back on the ground, he lit a match, and held it up to the sphere, hoping to elicit a reaction. While he was enthralled by the sphere, the others noted that the Master had returned, and was running towards them, with two other Technonauts in tow. For their previous meeting, they did not know what to expect from these strange aliens this time.

"Unless you wish to lose a limb, I suggest you don't do that."
replied the master when he was in range.
"Now gentlemen, what are you doing to my ship?"

Abort Abort! Get out of there!
"Well ok then, later then." replied the drone as it prepared to head off away from the crash site.
I'll be going roughly 20 Degree East of South
Got it, we'll cover you.

ooc guess I need to go officially describe the spheres in my factbook...

The vampires watched the drone as it prepared to move. Then they surrounded it. "Where do you think you're going?"

The vampires watched the drone as it prepared to move. Then they surrounded it. "Where do you think you're going?"
Now would be a good time.
"Right there." replied the drone as it instantaneously activated its shield, punched a vampire, causing the vampire to fall out of its way and sped southeast in a zig zag pattern, as a rush(which so happens to be less than a gaggle but more than a flock) of red plasma bolts rushed into the clearing, setting much of the vegetation on fire as they passed into the crowd of vampires...

Now would be a good time.
"Right there." replied the drone as it instantaneously activated its shield, punched a vampire, causing the vampire to fall out of its way and sped southeast in a zig zag pattern, as a rush(which so happens to be less than a gaggle but more than a flock) of red plasma bolts rushed into the clearing, setting much of the vegetation on fire as they passed into the crowd of vampires...

The vampires opened fire on the drones, and all lifted into the air to avoid the fires caused by the red plasma bolts. The vampire leader ordered them to halt firing and retreat at once to a safer spot, at least from the fires.

As the last of the vampires disappeared, the red plasma bolts firing stopped at once.
Well that could have gone better.
Indeed, seems the north is cut off too. We might as well report back then try another direction, I'm leaning towards West.
As the plasma induced fires slowly began to die, the Technonauts also withdrawal.
Why did you only punch the alien? You had more than enough time to activate your plasma sword.
Thought it best to only injury it not kill, no point in having vengeful aliens just yet.
True meet you back at base...

The tunnel expert turned towards the Master, shrugged, and carelessly tossed the lit match to the side, where it landed amongst some dead grass. Gurth-Tar turned towards the Master and spoke, "We were simply conducting our investigation, which you, yourself gave us permission to conduct." The Master seemed quite angry, Hojjpot noted this, and readied himself, encase things escalated.

The Master noticed the slight muscle movements, the tightening of the back.
"That is true, we did give your permission. But I'm afraid the AI that controls the outer defense systems of our sphere acts rather violently around fire or other high temperature sources. Its a quark we've been trying to iron out for several generations but still haven't been able to pinpoint and eliminate. It almost seem innate for its line... Any who, you can continue your experiment/investigation I only suggest not heating/putting fire to close to the surface.

As the master spoke, the erantly thrown match, set fire to the dried grass, and it started to spread. The tunnel expert, was used to working mainly in tunnels, underground, where a tossed match wouldn't have anything to burn, and with a restricted supply of oxygen, would not burn for long anyway, so did not realize the effects of his actions. "We understand," said Gurth-Tar, completely oblivious to the fire growing behind him. Between the crash of the sphere, and the general lack of sun because of it, the grass in this area, had been dying, and therefore made quite good kindling. "We avoid heating the object."
Now the tunnel expert spoke, "How does it react to water? or acid? or cold?" He was rather excited by this new material, and wished to learn much about it.

The Master was also oblivious to the spreading flames.
"Unknown, but its unlikely to react at all. It seems that the phobia is only inherent to flames/fire or high heat." replied the Master."Most likely thats related to the scan, really shouldn't have used that particular scientist, though we were running low and when it presented itself..."The Master looked up. "Sorry was that outloud?"