Volcklon opens his door and steps out. His hand tightly clenching a pencil from his room as if he was holding a scalpel. He doesn't realize it but it is quite noticeable. "Nightmare? That was a nightmare?" He puts a hand to his mask. "It seemed real."
[i]I gave into it so freely? Is that who I am to become?[i]
Volcklon looks out the window at the swirling drift around them. "We are still on the Out There Truth and in the Drift. Were we teleported somewhere?"
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Jacob sighs as soon as he sees the others and leans against the bulkhead, not giving a damn about his modesty.
Unlikely. More than likely it was some sort of mental projection.
He rubs at the lightning scars that go up and down his body, though it's hard to tell where he's looking with his pupiless black eyes. He looks at the inspector.
The rhyme scheme is new inspector. I don't suppose it has anything to do with our shared dream experience? Speaking of which, your bleeding... let me patch you up... and get some pants..
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Xagyg looks down in surprise, as if noticing the fluid dripping down his arm for the first time.
He does not, however, seem concerned by it.
"Is this a hand /
I see before me?
If there is no pain /
has an injury happened?
A wound is no wound /
if damage there is not."
Wiping away the haemolymph, there are no obvious wounds upon Xagyg's body.
He does, however, appear a bit frailer than before.
Boron stares at Xagyg...
"Guys, I think whoever they are infiltrated X.'s mind! He is like possessed, I mean, what's this new thing about singing?"
He waves his sausage-like fingers in front of Xagyg's eyes:
"Is THIS a han' /
you see, my man? /
Are you still paranoid? /
Asks the dwarf on steroids /
Quit the sing-song /
Or before too long /
We'll think the Dame of Pain /
Got inside your brain!"
Boron shakes his head and mutters: "He IS possessed..."
The ship hums as the engines warm up to jump again. Within moments, the Out There Truth leaves the Drift and finds itself in orbit with a planet split down the middle between two hemispheres—one of vast lights and growth of plants, and another of pure frozen tundra. This is Verces. Volcklon locks onto the coordinates they need and the ship begins to descend.
*
*
Beneath an early evening sky stained crimson and gold, a craggy island rises a thousand feet above blue-gray waters. A white, dome-shaped structure occupies most of the island’s surface. Concrete landing pads jut out from the island’s cliffs, illuminated by blinking blue and green lights. Other ships coast toward the spaceport in slow spirals.
A sprawling city of dazzling skyscrapers—laced with a grid of roadways and elevated transparent tubes containing trains—glitters across the river to the south. Visible even from this height, holo-billboards advertising a range of products in Common and Vercite flicker in the dusky light.
After the Out There Truth lands on a platform, the ship is lifted by machine arms into a large hangar built into the side of the spaceport. The crew exits on foot through a tube of silver metal to a central area bustling with activity. Friendly verthani spaceport attendants dressed in yellow uniforms direct groups of travelers to and from departure gates. Holoscreens announce departures and arrivals for commercial space flights in both Common and Vercite, while signs direct customers to baggage claim areas. Sleek, white security robots glide through the huge room, scanning individuals as they pass.
Holo-billboards within the spaceport (and throughout the city) advertise in Common and Vercite various products available for purchase. One of the ads, emblazoned with the image of a black sphere radiating golden light, is for a new social media app called Penumbra.
Cuvacara seems to be a densely-populated metropolis with only one allocated area for landing spacecrafts, so you all will have to leave it and make do with using other methods of transportation.
Cuvacara is a vast metropolis, so everyone can buy items up to their level +1. However, Verces is on the cusp of cybernetic technology—especially cities like Cuvacara—so you are able to buy specifically cybernetic augmentations up to your level +2.
Finally, Verces is always at the forefront of cybertech, so they gain access to certain such items before the rest of the system.
Adaptive Fingerprints
Adrenal Booster
Artificial Third Eye
Bionic Knee
Biosynthetic Nanites
Detoxifier
Emotional Regulator
Linguistic Capacitor
Polarizing Palm
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Hearing about Penumbra, Xagyg sighs.
"And so it starts /
the long shadow arrives /
an unfurling doom /
for an ignorant cosmos."
Asking around, Xagyg quickly identifies where Eclipse Innovations HQ is.
"The nest of vipers is uncovered."
He then frowns.
"Before an assault /
the wise sentient plans.
Is it time to equip /
to fight the dark?"
Boron looks around, and takes things in... making a mental note to avoid this new Keys app'.
"I'd like to see if they have good cigars..."
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"After getting a good cigar, I'd like to get me some UBPs and transfer my seals..."
Volcklon looks up at all of the advertisements as they assault the eyelet holes in his mask. "Biosynthetic Nanites." He mumbles quietly.
"Let's go see what we can find out. Pass through that Market and head to this Eclipse Innovations. Penumbra was mentioned on New Elysium before things went bad."
Boron is very worried about Xagyg's condition: "We have to get that singing spirit out of his head too!"
Boron is ready to go with Vocklon, to purchase some UBPs, and work on the seals.
"I am sure we'll need a weapon to deal with these malevolent people..."
After finishing with their shopping trip and finding a hotel to stay at, the crew of the Out There Truth rests and the next day, takes a bullet train to the West Facet.
*
Considering the neon signs and the impossibly tall skyscrapers, Eclipse HQ was surprising hidden—a single one-story building in a well-to-do neighborhood reveals itself to be the headquarters. The front door, strangely enough, is unlocked.
- Ceiling heights in Eclipse HQ are 20’.
- Doors are made of thick steel and locked with computerized key card readers (the front door doesn’t have a key card reader).
- The wall are made of concrete.
- Powerful industrial lights built into the ceilings brightly illuminate the HQ’s interior.
- Visible security cameras line the ceilings and walls of the HQ’s interior at regular intervals.
Within this brightly lit foyer, tall, leafy green plants grow from ceramic pots on either side of the steel doors to the southwest. The floor is covered in a thin, mint-green carpet, and the concrete walls are painted an institutional shade of off-white. A glass double door to the northeast leads to what appears to be a reception area. Two other doors flank the glass double door.
Xagyg and Jacob both notice that the glass double doors has a security measure built into it.
As Boron wirelessly hacks into the security measures, a sudden arc of electricity shoots out toward the dwarf .
Even after that the glass doors are still locked, but Boron easily unlocks them .
Rows of rigid plastic chairs line the walls of this L-shaped room. A silver metal reception desk in the center of the room houses two employee workstations. A small computer is mounted to each workstation.
Two desktop computers (self-charging tier two computers) sit on the reception desk.
The double doors to the northeast are, oddly enough, open—despite the key card reader to the side.
Four rows of beige plastic cubicles occupy this large room. Each identical cubicle contains a metal desk and swivel chair, differentiated only by various personal items such as photographs and kitschy paperweights. The green carpet and off-white concrete walls provide a bland, unimaginative decor, and potted plants adorn each corner of the room. Screens on the walls cycle through holographic images of outdoor scenery accompanied by motivational phrases.
Each cubicle has three sets of desktop monitors at the workstation (tier 3 computer for each cubicle).
Sitting at some of the cubicles are several verthani typing away at their computers. These people do not look up from their computers when the party enters the room.
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When Xagyg returns from his shopping trip, initially, as he is moving through the crowds, he just seems a good deal taller... but as he gets closer, it becomes apparent that he has undergone some rather radical changes; specially, that his legs have been replaced with four graceful, spider-like limbs of shining metal.
He nods to Boron, and then smiles wryly.
"There is now a good deal less of me, but I feel more in control; I have taken... steps... to ensure that that rather annoying little vocal tic should not happen again... That said, I do feel somewhat more... detached... than I was before the waking nightmare happened; almost as if a gossamer-thin curtain has been drawn betwixt myself, and the rest of reality. I imagine that this is somewhat akin to the fugue state experienced by people that have been 'abducted' by Grays; I'll do some research, when I have the chance - I have a few contacts on the abduction blogs..."
Heading to Eclipse, Xagyg winces when Boron gets fried.
"That had to hurt!"
Moving inside, he quietly observes the Verthani...
...then when there is no reaction, shrugs, and moves on.
Volcklon returns from shopping after have a strange new nanite injection into his body. He looks to Xagyg and his new legs. "Was it painful?" he can only manage to think back to their shared waking dream "Or did you enjoy it?" He seems to finds some sort of odd pleasure in the fact.
That is until he is snapped back to reality by Boron getting electrocuted. He jumps from the static discharge felt through the air.
*****
Seeing the many Verthani typing away and not one glancing up, Volcklon doesn't even bother to give it another thought as he walks around the cubicles towards the set of double doors.
Boron just follows along.
He does wonder why someone would want to look like a spider...
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Tingling with electricity, Boron is ready to bop some of these office grunts on their head with his newly outfitted sword.
"Can't wait to try the new Seals out... thank you Volcklon!"
If none of the grunts look at Boron, he will make his way to the door Volcklon is at.
Boron stops, and looks at an office grunt.
»They have brain implants that are affecting them and so they work non stop and do not eat or drink.
Maybe there is important information on those computers? »
Boron looks around and sets Vroni to track a grunt in a cubicle or at a desk, then overcharges, switches to non lethal and bops him on the head: »Excuse me, can we borrow your computer? »
Boron bashes Red on the back of the head and the verthani turned to look at the dwarf, eyes glowing an LED red! In response, the six verthani rip their desktop monitors from their desks!
Round 1
===============
Xagyg
Verthani Employees (Red: -27)
Jacob
Volcklon
Boron
===============
Volcklon looks back. "The hells wrong? We are just here to investigate, not kill the innocent."
The verthani move swiftly, swinging at Boron, Volcklon, and Jacob with the desktop monitors they all wield.
Orange double-moves to Boron and Red full-attacks the dwarf.
*
*
*
*
Round 1/2
===============
Xagyg
Verthani Employees (Red: -27)
Jacob
Volcklon
Boron
===============
"This nice fusion seal I installed does just that. And I have switched it on: see, these are non lethal attacks. Very subdued I am."
Boron swings at red.
"Maybe it is not such a good fusion after all. Seems so Merciful it makes one miss."
Volcklon pulls out his blade and swats the verthani with the flat of his blade.
EAC: 22 KAC: 23 CM: 31
Stamina: 52/54 | HP: 49/49 | Resolve: 12/12 | DR/6 Kinetic
Spells Used:
(1) 6/6
(2) 6/6
(3) 3/3
Ghost Killer Immolation Flame Spinner 14/20
Arc Pistol Battery 0/20 | 20/20
Trampling Boots 1/1
Wyrmling Dragon Gland 1/1
Force Bolt 1/1
Alternate Outcome 1/1
Boron was so distracted with justifying his actions that he completely missed both swings. The one Volcklon attacked blocked his swing with the monitor, deflecting Volcklon’s swing. Black, however, takes the full brunt of Xagyg’s shot!
Jacob steps back and casts a mystic cure on himself.
*
Black moves up to Xagyg and all of the verthani attack!
*
*
*
*
*
Round 2/3
===============
Xagyg
Verthani Employees (Red: -27; Black: -32)
Jacob
Volcklon
Boron
===============
Boron manages to block all the attacks, and then swings at Red--
--and then again at Red if still standing, or Orange if Red went down.
Completely surrounded Volcklon taps his heel against the wall, activating his small jets within. He bullrushes right through the man, slamming them into the wall. "Outta my way!"
Use Trampling Boots to move 40 feet trampling the trio surrounding me. Provokes AoO but with a -4 penalty or it can forgo the AoO to make a DC 16 Reflex for half damage.
EAC: 22 KAC: 23 CM: 31
Stamina: 44/54 | HP: 49/49 | Resolve: 12/12 | DR/6 Kinetic
Spells Used:
(1) 6/6
(2) 6/6
(3) 3/3
Ghost Killer Immolation Flame Spinner 14/20
Arc Pistol Battery 0/20 | 20/20
Trampling Boots 0/1
Wyrmling Dragon Gland 1/1
Force Bolt 1/1
Alternate Outcome 1/1
Black falls to the ground at Xagyg’s shot.
Jacob moves forward and casts a 2nd-level mind thrust on Orange.
Green and Blue chase down Volcklon.
*
*
*
Round 3/4
===============
Xagyg
Verthani Employees (Red: -27; Orange: -22; Green: -7; Purple: -11)
Jacob
Volcklon
Boron
===============
Boron slashes twice again, first at Red--
--and then again, either at Red if still standing, or, if Red is down, at Orange.
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Xagyg shoots at Orange, knocking him to the ground! Boron turns about-face and swings at Purple, knocking him to the ground! Boron then swings at Blue, but hits despite the cubicle wall being in the way!
Round 3/4
===============
Xagyg
Verthani Employees (Green: -7; Blue: -27)
Jacob
Volcklon
Boron
===============
Vokclon takes a step back, flames flicker from his mask. "Cease this madness." His voice carries a strange commanding tone.
EAC: 22 KAC: 23 CM: 31
Stamina: 44/54 | HP: 49/49 | Resolve: 12/12 | DR/6 Kinetic
Spells Used:
(1) 6/6
(2) 6/6
(3) 3/3
Ghost Killer Immolation Flame Spinner 14/20
Arc Pistol Battery 0/20 | 20/20
Trampling Boots 0/1
Wyrmling Dragon Gland 1/1
Force Bolt 1/1
Alternate Outcome 1/1
Blue freezes in place, unable to move.
Jacob casts a 1st level mind thrust on Green.
Green steps up toward Volcklon and swings!
Round 4/5
===============
Xagyg
Verthani Employees (Green: -10; Blue: -27)
Jacob
Volcklon
Boron
===============
Boron turns and swings at the immobilized Blue.
As Xagyg shoots and Boron slashes, the last two of the workers fall to the ground.
Each of the verthani have a white key card with the Eclipse Innovations logo on the front.
Memo
TO: Eclipse Innovations Cuvacara HQ employees
FROM: Kaeon Rhyse
DATE: 25 Neth, 318
SUBJECT: Relocation
Staff are to prepare for a move from the Cuvacara Headquarters to the black site on Darkside in order to handle recent developments in a more appropriate setting. The move will occur in two days.
Congratulations on your hard work, everyone! Phase 2 is now in effect.
Kaeon Rhyse, Executive Director of Software Development
Boron checks out the brain implants that make them starve and such...
"Very interesting... nice stuff. Could be useful on the ship."
Boron then has a look at the computer, taking a seat.
"Nice, the seat is still warm."
Boron has a look at some emails, and shows the first one... when he grumbles--
--but manages to block the countermeasures.
Then, looking at some more emails he--
--he does manage to pass the firewall.
Boron sits back, and shares the info', pointing to the screen.
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Xagyg sighs.
"So, there is a Black Site that we need to track down, and we have a week to do it, before the 'behavioural modification' signal goes out. We need to keep digging around this place - hopefully, if we find the main server, it will contain more details..."
He then moves on to one of the sets of double doors.