Unity debate silently within themself for a few moments. "A weapon." "And a stealth system." "We think these are the first two priorities."
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"We still need a weapon," Unity growl. "While we definitely agree with being evasive and perceptive, having no weapons whatsoever seems a dangerous thing. Of course, our opinion might not be the best. We are a zookeeper and a collection of beasts, not a military strategist," they add with a grin.
"You're rather more than 'just' a pilot, Henri," Unity respond. "We don't think most pilots would have gone through the things you've experienced and come back for more, not to mention how you're able to work with this kind of tech hands-on."
Unity grin over at the tech. "And no doubt we ourself would sound like that if you hadn't met us," they comment.
"We like the idea of fighting that thing we saw on foot even less," Unity say. "And it needs to go." "We can't imagine anything good is coming of it indirectly devouring the blood of millions of goats from many worlds. But we do have other priorities right now."
"Well, it turns out chupacabras taste disgusting even to us, and apparently might be created by a giant goat god to feed it goat blood so... not much of a vacation, frankly," Unity reply, trotting over to Henri. "Speaking of which, how's arming the ship going?" "Stealth certainly sounds good," they add. "It seems like you've been enjoying your time here?"
Verve laughs as if Unity have made a joke, sees that they haven't, and looks concerned. "A gigantic bloodthirsty goat god? Perhaps we should keep a closer eye on chupacabra infestations in the future. Henri is in the enclosed bay down there, if you'd like to see him." "It was quite a shock to see," Unity agree. "Enough of a shock that we decided attacking it alone was a very bad idea." "An armed flying ship seems like a much better idea for dealing with it, so talking with Henri sounds like a *great* idea!" They nod at Verve. "We'll go see him now."
Unity take a moment to steady themself before exiting the cruiser. "It was certainly more pleasant than, say, a burst of machine gun fire," they reply with a toothy grin." "The chupacabras shouldn't be a problem any more," they continue, "Though we did get a sample of an odd band of stone that seemed, based on the Sword's reaction to it, to be related to how they got here." "We also got a glimpse of a gigantic bloodthirsty goat god that was eating the chupacabras when we had a brief glimpse through a momentary portal."
Happy birthday!
Unity do not leap into combat with the... goat-god. The chupacabra were patheticly weak compared to them, but not only are there millions of them here, that creature must be large enough it might well be able to fit *Unity* in its mouth. No, better to take this material back, perhaps to plan a future expedition with companions to confront this threat. They head back to the cruiser and report their success.
Unity are immensely disappointed in their prey's near-inedibility. They turn from it in annoyed disgust and get back to their work.
Unity examine the odd vein of white rock carefully, trying to identify if there's an active portal. If they don't find anything, they try to cut out a sample with their claws and take it back to the cruiser.
Unity try a few bites of Chupacabra to see if it's any good. They've not had much occasion to hunt something they can eat, they're not going to pass up the opportunity now. Once they've either determined this prey is not good to eat or they've eaten their fill, they head back to where the chupacabras had been lairing and draw the Sword of Truth, wondering if there is a portal of some kind in the area.
Unity growl at the single injury they take and attempt to deal more in return.
That kind of thing is where I like 2e's archetypes :D I'm having some computer issues, posting may be sporadic on my part.
Unity wheel in the air and fly back to the approximate location their remaining prey went to ground. They sniff at the ground and look for tracks.
Unity, completely unimpressed with the chupacabra's ineffectual efforts, bite and tear their prey.
Unity get above their prey and then drop, claws outstretched.
Unity are relentless in their pursuit. They are not about to let their prey escape to continue disrupting the local ecology.
Unity immediately dive to follow the chupacabra heading back to the mainland. The island is not particularly large--they believe with their senses they can hunt the last one down no matter where it hides there, but the mainland would be a much larger space to search.
Unity see no reason to change what's been working. Indeed, at this point their only real concern is if their prey will try to flee.
Unity roar in mingled triumph and anger. They briefly debate using their acid breath, but the truth is it's rather weak compared to their teeth and claws, so they continue to rip and tear.
Unity snap two pairs of jaws forward, trying to swiftly kill their fleeing prey so they can go for the others.
Unity is spotted by 3 before they can get too close. These three pull up and away, wanting to get above this new unknown. They are rather clumsy flyers though and if Unity were to pursue them now, Unity would probably catch up. Unity could reach one of the other two (10 or 14) before they notice Unity though. Unity think it best not to let any of their prey get above them. They pull up as well, chasing the highest of the chupacabras to avoid surrendering the advantage of height. If they can get in reach, they lash out with their claws.
The greatest advantage in aerial combat is height. Seeing the chupacabras living up to their names, Unity flap hard, gaining altitude as they approach. They look up to the sun and circle about, aiming to drop out of the sun onto their prey.
A little time smelling the breeze and a little time consulting a map, and Unity have a good idea where the flying chupacabra are heading--'Goat Island', a sanctuary for a breed of goats that were brought back from endangerment in 2150 and had roamed free on the island since. It's only a couple miles from their cliffside lair and probably the reason these goat suckers came to California. Well, they can't have this invasive species wiping out an endangered goat breed. Unity fly towards 'Goat Island', keeping their many eyes out for their prey.
Unity find the smells are concentrated in the cliffs behind the beach. Probably lots of places to hide there. But, they also detect a whiff of fairly fresh smell on the air. One or more of the creatures flew out of cliffs, perhaps on the prowl. Would Unity like to check out the lair or track the patrol or something else? Unity consider for a moment. Their first inclination is to take care of any in the lair first and then wait in ambush for those returning... but their scent might scare away their prey before they could spring their ambush. So, they fix this spot in their memory and take to the air, circling higher, searching about them for any signs of where their prey might have gone.
Unity catch the odd sulfurous smell. The lean down one head to sniff at it, look for tracks with another, while the last keeps watch on their surroundings. This hunt shouldn't take too long...
Phade laughs with delight while dramatically pushing a button. Unity have never moved so fast, not even when zipping through the Shuffle. Phade is still laughing when the Rocky Mountains come into view and the Cruiser begins to slow drastically. It takes a minute before it locks in a plan to land on a beach not far from the chupacabra sightings. Unity... well, they've been through worse. They wouldn't say they *enjoyed* hurtling through the air under the control of someone else, but it beat getting stabbed or shot or bitten any day. They still took a few moments to let themself settle even after the Cruiser comes in for a landing. Once they feel like they won't embarrass themself, they cautiously exit and take a look around, sniffing at the air and searching for any tracks, scat, or other signs of their quarry.
"Oh, I see. I think I know why Phade was smiling," says Johann smiling himself. He gestures behind him towards Phade taking a seat in some kind of cockpit simulator off to the side of the bay. She gives you both a thumbs up. "We can pilot the Cruiser from here. And, it looks like Phade wants to give it a try. If you trust her, hop in. We'll get you to the cliffs these chupacabra are infesting and wait until you return. Someone will pilot you home." "Ah yes, that would do it," Unity reply, grinning over at Phade. "We shall place ourself in your hands." They get in the cruiser and strap themself in. They double-check the seatbelt. They triple-check the seatbelt.
"Everyone wants to use this. It's just so very, very fast." Unity look doubtful. "Should we be reassured by the fact that it's so fast but it hasn't been crashed into anything? Because 'fast' and 'amateur pilot' don't seem like a good combination."
Unity switch forms to their bipedal form--people usually don't make seat-belts that work for large hexapods. "We shouldn't need to go underwater, and we're not going to be trying to set new speed records," they reassure Johann. Though they're not at all reassured. "How... standard are the controls? Phade seemed to think there was something funny about having us use this."
Phade grins a goofy grin. "Oh, now that's the fun part. Grab your gear and head down to the garage on the west side. Tell Johann you'll be taking the cruiser. And remember to buckle your seat belts.hheheh." Unity tilt a head curiously. "You're not doing a particularly good job at hiding your anticipation of our reaction," they say with a grin. They trot down to the garage, wondering what's so crazy about this 'cruiser'.
Unity laugh. "Nothing to apologize for, given we were deliberately trying to get a reaction," they state, grinning at Phade. "So, given the ship is staying here, what do we have for transport options?" they ask, trying to seem serious even while they're grinning.
"Well, we've got a Bigfoot sighting and a report of Chupacabras, and since Bigfoot's leave T-Radiation in their footprints, we suspect they are visiting. Chupacabras are a known invasive transdimensional species and Tarokh's advice was to eliminate them before the settle in. Both were spotted on the west coast." "The chupacabras," Unity respond. "Any word on how they taste?" They ask with a grin. "Stopping an invasive species would feel good."
"You know," says Phade thoughtfully. "Once I got the power dampener, I tried to get my parents to see me ... really see me ... remember me ... but, it turns out, it wasn't really about me. Whatever you find when you meet your parental unit, remember, it's not about you. You're about you. They're traumatised in ways you'll never understand, but still have to live with." Unity are silent for a long moment after Phade says this, before uttering a quiet, sincere, "Thank you."
They grin back. "Sometimes hunting *is* relaxing for us." Their grin fades and they add, "We don't think we'll be able to relax until we're done with this. A problem we can get our paws around and *solve* would be a welcome distraction for a few days."
"How curious," Unity comment to 'Mr. Wonderful' as he comes inside. "What are you doing about it yourself?" Unity all nod at Phade as they enter her office. "We're sorry we haven't been able to be around much," they say. "We're getting very close to tracking down our creator, and then..." They trail off, not quite certain what that 'and then' is really going to be. "What can we do for you while we're here? We were hoping to get some work done on our ship before we go flying into danger, so we should be here and able to support you for at least as long as that takes. Preferably longer."
A strong start is good for sure! :)
"Very easily, we'd imagine," Unity joke with another toothy smile. "Most people are a bit nervous about risking life and limb regularly, after all." He puts a hand on Zellgato's shoulder and gestures towards the door. "I flew up there when you first arrived and put the missile defense shield on red alert. Phade is in her office if you need her. I was just there sharing some helpful advice. She's quite a clever young lady but running an agency this size is a huge responsibility." "So you have a background in directing large organizations, then?" Unity ask. Even as they speak, they're starting to walk towards the building.
Yeah, hope things are going well for you!
"Thank you," Unity reply with a toothy smile. "We're guessing you're part of the team that was recruited while we were absent?" they ask. "Anything we should be aware of at present?"
Unity trot toward the ramp. "Thank you for the ride, G.D.," they say as they get ready to exit.
Unity wake when the ship enters the Shuffle. They trot towards where they guess the others are. The fact that "the others" consist of Henri and Zellgato now feels a little... odd, but they remind themself that they'll see Theo and Nissa again soon enough. Probably. They settle down on their haunches as Henri instructs the ship on not making a nuisance of itself, not feeling the need to speak at the moment.
Unity continue sleeping in their cabin on the ship.
Unity are dozing in the ship when Henri returns.
"We should go before," Unity say with certainty. "It may be a time machine, but that's no excuse not to put things in order of importance." "Quite the opposite, arguably."
"So we'll just have to worry about the *non-governmental* people, then," Unity say.
Unity roll their eyes at Theo. "We don't eat sapients," they state firmly. "No matter how much they believe we will," they add.
Unity grin toothily, but say nothing more.
Unity nod. "It's understandable enough. We are, ah," they wave a paw at themself, "rather intimidating to meet unexpectedly."
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