Dawn of the Third age/IC Logs/Session 25

Lob: As the missiles rained down upon the Tunnel-Runner, and the pilot desperately attempted to weave through the clanking, shifting, and scuttling veins of Autocthonia, Nomoe swiftly blocked, threw, and otherwise destroyed as many as he could

Lob: Destroying dozens in the span of seconds.

Lob: But one of them managed to slip past him and attached to the wing, unfolding into a mechanical monstrosity that quickly got to work cutting into the Tunnel-Runner's plating.

Lob: It's scanners picked up Wandering's presence, causing it to instinctively rear up as high as it could and whip barbed tentacles made out of oily steel chains at her.

Lob: Meanwhile, another one that looks like a glass hexagon with a nuclear reactor core inside shot towards Nomoe like a pinball

Nomoe_Hideaki: As one of the missiles reverses its course to threaten him Nomoe changes his posture to meet the head wind with his frontal profile to rapidly decelerate while descending slightly.

Nomoe_Hideaki: A moment later he comes up again behind it and with the full speed of his Resplendent Wings' Lightspeed Mode simply flies *through* it, seeking to shatter it into a million pieces.

Lob: The hexagon shattered like glass, but at the cost of releasing the barely contained energy within. It quickly overloaded and burst into a massive explosion that threatened to vaporize Nomoe

Nomoe_Hideaki: Accelerating into an insane spin Nomoe draws a spiral shockwave around himself and pierces through the cloud of flame like an arrow, untouched.

Lob: The explosion sent a shudder through the ship, causing the entire thing to tremble as it tore through the firy cloud left in Nomoe's wake.

Wandering: Wandering lept at her oppenent landing on the creature and then delivering a series of blows trying to tear the machine apart he claws ripped deep gouges into the machines chassis

Lob: The thing's metal shell broke under Wandering's onslaught, her claws eventually slicing through wire and tubes and unmentionable organs to finally crush it's heart to pulp. It tensed and twitched and squealed mechanically and then quickly slid off of the wing. The hooks it used to stay on left deep gouges as it tore downwards.

Lob: As she fought, a stray projectile smashed into the wing. The explosion that resulted tore half of the wing off, leaving a messy trail of shrapnel. Emergency alarms went off in the cockpit as the ship began to list to the side

Lob: Towards the tunnel walls, which seemed to be lined more and more with sharp mechanical cilia.

Bright_Snow: Direlance in hand, Snow slowly walks to the dead centre of the roof of the Tunnel Runner, entering a guard pose her direlance ready.

Wandering: Feeling the wing begin to give under her Wandering lept forward grabbing hold of a protuding something ahead of her she braced for a moment and then threw her self forward again her muscles taut as she lept landing on the edge of the broken part of the wing she lunged forward claws out streched as she lept for the rest of the tunnel runner

~Prototype: Prototype's eyes narrow, and he radios the Tunnel Runner. "Pilot, you've lost a wing. Will your vessel sink if it sets down in the oil?"

Lob: "Champion, with all due respect, are you mad?! We've got fires going on in here. If we land in the oil we'll be torched!"

~Prototype: Then he sees Wandering miss her jump, and guns his thrusters, going into a shallow, dive, trying to maneuver his warstrider underneath the falling Lunar.

~Prototype: An aura of golden light shines from Prototype's warstrider, casting something very near sunlight over the vicious metal cilia and sea of oil. Essence lightning crackles over Prototype's body inside the cockpit as he maneuvers with daring and the utmost care to catch Wandering on his fuselage.

Lob: The ship continued to list sideways as the missiles began to thin out.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Hearing the explosion behind him Nomoe briefly turns to see how the tunnel sweeper is doing. As the the vehicle drifts closer and closer to the tunnel walls he frowns and drops back slightly, closer to the ship. "Commander, can you stabilize this vessel's path? Or take over my position so I can? I'd rather not be reduced to walking the rest of the way."

Lob: Brazen clambered onto the side of the Tunnel-Runner as it got closer and closer to being caught and shredded by the hooks, which exuded an almost palpable aura of malevolence.

Lob: "We're going to try to keep it stable as long as we can until we can land, but the Tunnel Runner is done long-term!" Came the reply

Lob: Brazen latched onto the sides with his talons and gripped the walls. The hooks immediately tried to slice into him, as if they had been waiting for the opportunity to cut flesh into tiny gobbits, but he ignored them. They weren't strong enough to pierce his hide.

Lob: With a loud grunt of effort he began trying to push the Tunnel-Runner away

~Prototype: Pro popped the adamant canopy. "Get in!" he shouted to the Lunar. "It'll be cramped, but I need you inside if I'm going to transform!"

Wandering: "Right" said Wandering she knew in battle there was no time to argue and clambered in with the Alchemical

Nomoe_Hideaki: Nomoe nods curtly and his attention snaps to where Bright Snow stands atop the damaged ship. */Can you see how far we have to go until we're past these defenses?/ distant concern /In the event of a crash you'll have no difficulty, I assume?/*

Lob: Brazen's claws caused the metal and clay and...was that pus?! to crumble or vaporize in the light of his anima. The ship moved much more slowly to the side, but it still continued. Brazen's eyes burst into flame as he pushed harder and harder.

Lob: "GODDAMMIT SOMEONE FUCKING HELP ME!!"

Lob: He snarled

~Prototype: As Wandering settles onto his lap, Pro closes the canopy and initiates the transformation to warstrider mode. The fuselage folds in half from just behind the canopy, the arms spring out from where they'd been held stiff and still beneath the wings, and the legs shift to balance the thrust coming from the feet to keep them airborne.

~Prototype: "On it, Deliberator!" He responds somewhat belatedly, raising his 'strider's arms to help support it and keep it away from the wall.

Bright_Snow: Were light to have a view, as it speeds along, it would see the tunnel walls all the way along it bounced off of. Through sections of winding Autochtonian arteries, carrying air around the .

Nomoe_Hideaki: His attention split between the ship behind him and the myriad of missiles before him Nomoe continues to deflect as many of the deadly projectiles from the ship as possible. "Appreciated, Commander Prototype."

Bright_Snow: Makers body. In the light of Prototpyes anima it ripples and bounces into Snow's eye, showing all it has passed

Lob: Snow saw that the missile refineries, launchers, whatever, mercifully ended in a few hundred meters

Bright_Snow: */ A few hundred meters. /*

Nomoe_Hideaki: */No more than that? Hah. Who do they think we are? We can do that, easily./*

Lob: The ship stopped careening towards the wall, but it would need more power to push it away.

Nomoe_Hideaki: With that concern dealt with Nomoe is free to concentrate on the missiles once more. And rather than continuing to simply destroy them he begins to merely alter their trajectories in carefully calculated ways. The effect isn't immediately obvious but a few seconds later the tumbling deflected missiles crash into others and explode far from the ship - the explosions catching yet more projectiles before they can hit.

Bright_Snow: Snow returns to deflecting any missiles that Nomoe fails to deal with

~Prototype: "MORE POWER!" Pro roars, straining at the feedback mechanisms of his warstrider. The crackle of essence lightning around his body intensifies - Wandering may find her hair standing on end - and above and behind Prototype's warstrider appears a golden Autochthonian gear, emblazoned with eight-pointed sunburst of the Deliberative.

~Prototype: As Prototype continues to strain, the gear begins to rotate slowly and more gears appear, being pushed into motion by the central gear. Faster and faster it spins, driving more and more gears into a whirl of industrial power.

Lob: With the power behind Prototype's warstrider driving it, the ship pushed back away from the wall. The crew let out a collective sigh of relief and some even cheered as they saw the light of their champion rescuing them.

Lob: (And Brazen as well, to a lesser extend)

Lob: *extent)

Lob: "Champion, we should be fine now!" The Pilot said directly into his comm-system

Lob: "I think I can just keep the Tunnel-Runner stable for long enough to find stable ground."

Lob: "Wait..." The Pilot said..."Something is comi-AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" She screamed

~Prototype: "Goo - What happened?!"

Lob: Suddenly a burst of broken hideous speech exploded into his comms, hurting hsi ears

Lob: The ship wavered suddenly.

~Prototype: "Something is very wrong inside that ship!" Pro grits out. "Somebody needs to check it out!"

Bright_Snow: Snow shaken by the rocking craft, leaps high into the air, gracefully arching into the depressopm for the airlock.

Lob: A couple of panicked crewmen were in the cockpit, trying desperately to shake the pilot awake.

Nomoe_Hideaki: As fewer and fewer missiles come from ahead Nomoe drops back past the cockpit to aft, looking in briefly in passing. As Bright Snow returns to the inside of the ship he smoothly takes over for her, shielding the ship against the remaining projectiles.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "What is happening, Commander?" Nomoe inquires of Prototype in between turning their unseen enemies weapons against each other.

Bright_Snow: pushes the two crew aside and gently pushes the pilot out of her chair. "Either of you two know how to run this thing?" She asks glancing at the controls

Lob: The pilot fell bonelessly on the ground, with blood pouring from her ears

~Prototype: Hearing the screeching of the Maker's sickness, the tell-tale sounds of the encroaching void, Prototype recites to himself remembered passages of the Tome of the Great Maker, interspersed with a few Creation-born prayers against darkness, hoping his iron faith would be enough to shield his mind.

Bright_Snow: "Are you two idiots deaf?" Snow says clamly experimentally taking hold of the steering controls. "I asked can either of you two fly this thing?" She takes an experimental turn with it as the tunnel turns "I guess it doesn't matter. Deal with your captain." She waves the useless crew dismissed.

Lob: "Wait!" One of them said. "I'm the co-pilot. I think I can help you!" He said, as he strapped in beside Snow. He decided to err on the side of caution and NOT put on the communications headset.

Bright_Snow: Snarling at the turn, Snow begins to enjoy herself at the wheel, the rush of excitement she gets whenever she travels somewhere new under her own power.

Lob: "Be careful, ma'am, we're missing a wing" The co-pilot warned, trying to compensate at for Snow's wild (albeit surprisingly skilled) maneuvering.

Lob: *compensate at his own controls

Lob: Suddenly, something shot past the ship at supersonic speeds.

Lob: The sonic boom as it blasted past the ship caused the interior to rattle

Lob: Brazen's neck turned so quickly that it looked like the Infernal had just given himself whiplash. "Did you SEE that?!" he exclaimed

Nomoe_Hideaki: frowns as something passes them at speeds even he himself rarely employed.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Where did that come from?"

Lob: Suddenly, a few sections of the tunnel wall exploded, the wreckage barely missing the Tunnel-Runner.

Lob: "From the front, I guess!"

Lob: A blast of bruise coloured light erupted from behind them...was it coming back?!

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Hmmpf. Seems like this isn't over yet." Nomoe returns to his position ahead of the ship, to shield it against further attacks.

Nomoe_Hideaki: No matter where they might be attacked from, Nomoe is ready to intercept. He may not care much about crew and ship except as a convenient tool, but while Bright Snow is aboard ...

~Prototype: With Wandering more-or-less safely back aboard the Tunnel Runner, Pro spins around to face the new threat, transforming back intto bird mode as he does so, his keen eyes trying to lock on to the attacker.

Lob: The thing turned back for another run at the Tunnel-Runner

Bright_Snow: "Let's see what this thing can do." Snow mutters with a hard right on the wheel. As she does so the runner begins to climb up and round the tunnel, hopefully dodging further attacks from something expecting the runner to have kept a more steady course.

Nomoe_Hideaki: */Heads up, that thing is coming back/* Nomoe warns Bright Snow.

~Prototype: Pro's eyes narrowed as he tagged it with a circular lock icon as he flew to meet it, then past it, leaning back in the cockpit from the acceleration. Once past it, he pulled his craft into a hard flip and roll to be able to pursue and fire on it from behind. In his field of vision, the circular lock icon slowly tightened around his target, changing color from green to yellow to red.

Wandering: It was two far for wandering to attack her new foe so she focused on protecting herself from any attacks till it got closer

Lob: A massive beam of essence split the tunnel as it shot past them, aiming for the Champions that had defended the ship before. If they were killed, the rest would be easy.

Lob: It split into twin beams, each of them bending to their targets, bright enough to sear the corneas and powerful enough to tear through rock and metal like it was paper.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Someone with extremely sharp eyes might see a grin appear on Nomoe's face for a brief moment. The beam seeking to pierce him he meets with the palm of his right hand, unconcerned with the violent energies behind it, and holds it.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Simultaneously three after-images of him appear at various points along the line connecting his palm with the construct. They seem to attack the beam from the sides and - somehow, impossibly - seem to shatter it as if it was made of solid glass rather than pure essence.

Wandering: Wandering takes the blow head on her thick armour and essence toughened skin easily able to take the damage on a few small burns showed where the energy had overwhelmed her defences "THats the best they have?" she commented laughing at the weak attempt

~Prototype: At last the lock solidified to a blood red in Prototype's vision, and he bared perfect teeth in a predatory smile as he squeezed the trigger of the Elsewhere stutter cannon. With a stuttering snarl, the multi-barreled weapon spat a short stream of essence vortices toward the apostate weapon.

Lob: The essence hit it's mark despite the incredibly speed of Prototype's opponent

Lob: Explosions pockmarked it's skin, sending out a torrent of metal and...blood!

Nomoe_Hideaki: His hands hidden in his sleeves Nomoe watches the construct approach faster than sound. As it passes the point of minimal distance to the circle's ship he disappears in that trademark flicker of superlative movement. When next he is seen he is standing upside down on the underside of the constructs right wing.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Walking slowly along he kicks a few protruding bits of machinery sending showers of gears and sparks down toward the 'ground'.

Lob: Nomoe stomped directly into the thing's twitching, pulsating brain.

Lob: Before Nomoe destroys it, he notices that it's a human brain imprisoned in a crystal network of hooks and wires embedded into it's folds.

Nomoe_Hideaki: With a small clap of thunder Nomoe reappears back at the ship. "Huh. I didn't expect that thing to be *that* weak. You must have damaged it worse than I thought."

Lob: The rest of the flight goes relatively uneventfully, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath before they find an area to land the Tunnel-Runnder.

Lob: *Tunnel-Runner

Nomoe_Hideaki: remains ready to defend the damaged vessel until Bright Snow safely lands it

Lob: The pilot was quickly removed to the triage to see if she could be healed...or at least so she wouldn't get injured further. She appeared to have bitten off her tongue.

Lob: Brazen stood on the top of the vessel alongside Nomoe

Nomoe_Hideaki: As the tunnel runner sets down Nomoe's clothes shimmer and return to their normal configuration and appearance.

Lob: "Some battle, eh Nomoe-San?" Brazen asked

Nomoe_Hideaki: "I guess it would have been too easy otherwise," Nomoe says dryly.

Bright_Snow: "Well that was..." Snow blinks as various descriptions occur to her... "Interesting." She says looking towards the two shocked crew members.

Lob: "This stuff is incredibly...urgh, well, I wasn't worried of course!" Brazen added. "But this place is weird as hell. Especially around here."

Lob: He looked at the surface scratches on his arms which were already fading. "Damn wall tried to fucking butcher me."

Nomoe_Hideaki: Looking over the damage to the ship he sighs. "What do you think, Commander, can we continue with this vessel?"

~Prototype: Pro comes in slowly, transforming to mech mode before landing and kneeling next to the damaged ship. The canopy hisses open again, and Pro unstraps himself.

Lob: The crew looked at Snow in awe

Lob: "That...that was amazing, ma'am! You just took over seamlessly!"

~Prototype: Pro goes over to inspect the damage more closely.

~Prototype: "It may be possible to repair it, but not in the field. Not without the expertise of a Twilight, at least."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Mmh. My mate did manage to keep it in the air just now. What if we flew at a slower pace?"

~Prototype: "Hmmm. It's possible, but even if we could get her airborne again, her ability to maneuver would be severely impeded. Another attack like the last would do a lot more damage."

Bright_Snow: looks embaressed at the attention. "Think nothing of it, I'm sure any of you could have done the same."

Lob: The crew looked at themselves doubtfully

Bright_Snow: "Also Brazen, aren't the walls attacking you in Hell rather the norm?"

Lob: Brazen was tromping around outside and surveying the landscape. It was...bleak, to say the least.

Lob: "Yeah, but not like that!" He responded.

Lob: "They might just smash into you or something, and even then it's rarely anythign personal."

Nomoe_Hideaki: inclines his head slightly to Bright Snow. "In that case, my respect for keeping this thing in the air as long as you did."

~Prototype: Pro turns to Brazen. "My thanks for steadying the vessel, Brazen Sand. Without your help, many more lives might have been lost."

~Prototype: Pro pitches his voice to carry so the crew can hear him.

Lob: Brazen is clearly pleased with the attention. "Oh well...that's just what I do!"

Lob: "But yeah, if I wasn't around, everyone would've died, of course!"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "This incident has shown one more thing," Nomoe says in a quiet and serious tone.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "All these opposing forces we saw, they were all part of one defense system. A defense system with Alchemical essence signature, on a order of magnitude corresponding to a Patropolis."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "And, as you have seen, it included organic parts. I am no expert, but I am lead to belief that this is a sign of serious Void taint." He looks to Prototype for confirmation.

~Prototype: Pro nods solemnly. "Yes, it is. Are we still within its sphere of influence?"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "I have no way to be sure."

Bright_Snow: "So a void tainted city." Snow says. "Sounds like a good place to look for a Void Tainted gate to the Underworld."

Lob: The ship had landed on the dark shore of the oil ocean, with everything covered in a haze of ash, enough to make even the air slightly grey.

Nomoe_Hideaki: nods. "Exactly."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "This might even be the 'Engine of Extinction' those Abyssals referred to. Either way ..." He smiles coldly. "We must destroy it."

Lob: A Patropolis is not currently visible

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Commander Prototype, perhaps you could be of assistance here. A Patropolis must have some equivalent to a human brain, a central locus of consciousness and life. Correct?"

Lob: Although it appears that the veins have opened into anohter massive clearing that one could fit nations in.

Bright_Snow: "It could be hiding anywhere near here."

~Prototype: Pro nods in solemn agreement. "Well, it must be close, to attack us so fiercely. We should recover as best we can and scout the area. And yes, of sorts. It would likely appear to be a city of its own."

Lob: Brazen shook his head. "This is all stupid! Can't we just tear across this place searching for a city and then tear it down?"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Obviously this will be no easy task. Its Essence is beyond what any of us have achieved, and by more that just order of magnitude. It will have weapons greater than any it has shown so far. We will need to work together, all of us."

Nomoe_Hideaki: *just one order of magnitude

Bright_Snow: "Would it be able to hide under this ocean of oil?"

Lob: One of the mortals waved a hand hesitantly to gain attention. "Um, excuse me Champion, Deliberators..." he said

Nomoe_Hideaki: "But ... we carry the power to kill even those that brought reality into being." He smiles a predatory smile.

Lob: He was wearing a gasmask to protect himself against the smoke in the air.

~Prototype: Prototype nods. "Deliberator Nomoe is correct." He looks toward the mortal. "Yes, Purjit?"

Nomoe_Hideaki: turns to look over the oil ocean. "That would be ... annoying," he says quietly. "Let us hope not."

Lob: "Some of us have managed to get the long-range mapping system back up, and we decided to go ahead and map out the surrounding area for the surrounding few kilometers."

~Prototype: "Excellent work, Purjit. Have you found anything interesting?"

Lob: "We think we've found a settlement, actually. a really small one. Probably a bunch of Lumpen scavengers."

~Prototype: "It's worth investigating. Even if that's all they are, they may be able to provide us with more information about this area."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "What other methods of locating said Patropolis are there, Commander?"

Lob: Brazen started looking at the ground. Hurmph, the essence in the ground here is all fucked up. Nasty shit."

~Prototype: Prototype broke off his consideration of Nomoe's question and glanced toward Brazen. "What do you mean?"

Lob: "It looks...sick."

Lob: "One time my grandpa got the lung-rot. Tuberculosis, I thikn they call it in the Blessed Isle."

Lob: "It sort of looks the way his room smelled when he died."

Nomoe_Hideaki: shrugs. "Hard to overlook. Can you read anything more from it?"

Lob: Brazen shook his head. "Just glad I don't live here!"

~Prototype: "Then we're definitely close. Determining the source, or where it's strongest in this area, should lead us to the Apostate Patropolis."

Lob: The area looked like a desert, complete with clouds of rust sometimes blowing in the air

Lob: The wind was created by a huge network of industrial fans, each as large as skyscrapers and pitted and jagged and rusty.

Nomoe_Hideaki: looks back and forth between Brazen Sand and Prototype for a moment, before sighing. Looks like he'll have to do it himself. "Let's see if we can make this quick ..."

Lob: Brazen turned to Prototype and shrugged companionably enough

Nomoe_Hideaki: One moment he is there, then he is not. A minute or so passes and suddenly he is back among them.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Nomoe looks thoughtful. "It's hard to tell about the Void taint. But there seems to be a faint echo of necrotic essence in that direction. That shouldn't be."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "So most likely it's overflow from the gate we're looking for."

Nomoe_Hideaki: shrugs. "I have not studied these things."

Lob: Brazen nodded. "Makes sense. I guess we've got to go check that out. But what about the crew?"

~Prototype: While Nomoe was searching, Prototype went into the ship to examine the sensor readouts. Now he comes back out, and after hearing Nomoe's findings, nods. "The settlement detected is in that same general direction."

Lob: "We can't take them with us, they're just squishy mortals!"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Certainly not when we're going to execute a patropolis. We'll have no time or energy to spare for protecting them."

~Prototype: "There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger to the crew or ship here. We could leave them here for a relatively short time at least."

Lob: "But then what if they get attacked by some freaky thinng. Who knows what lives around here?"

Lob: "Is that what the crew told you, Prototype?" Brazen asked pointedly.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "That would be unfortunate," Nomoe admits lightly, "but we will not compromise our mission."

Lob: Brazen pointed back at the ship. "Gonna be pretty hard to get back without a crew, you know?"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Remember that we are fighting for the integrity of two realms, no less." At Brazen's argument Nomoe shrugs. "I believe we are all quite capable of making our way back."

~Prototype: Pro exhales a bit. "No, it's an intuition. You're right, of course. I should see what more the sensors can tell us before I make that kind of decision. Still, while there are dangers to be found in the Far Reaches, it would be more dangerous to take them and the ship further toward an apostate patropolis with the kind of defenses we just encountered, not to mention a potential alliance with the Underworld."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "On our own, if it comes to that."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Since we cannot discount the possibility that some of us might die."

Nomoe_Hideaki: He says this without particular emphasis or emotion attached to the words.

Lob: Brazen crossed his arms. "No way I'm dying."

Lob: He said as if the very idea was ridiculous.

Nomoe_Hideaki: smiles slightly, but does not reply. He himself has no intention of dying himself or failing in his duty. But in a conflict with forces of such magnitude as they will face there are no certainties.