In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 761):

Damn... ok lets try again.

She goes into the room with Selma.

Selma, do you recognize me now?

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 762):

Team Titan

"I recognize you still," Selma corrects her weakly. "You're the girl from the mines. Like I said before. Death precedes you, and follows you. Why are you here? Am I next?"

Team SOC

Vasquez listens intently to Billy's story, frowning in thought when he has concluded.

"The Amgine are a deceivers, manipulators, and politicians with a mastery over doublespeak, if our guests are to be believed. They are militarily respected, but it is known that they prefer to handle problems diplomatically. The law is their preferred cudgel, their most reliable shield. It sounds like this whole business is just another day in the office for such a species."

"If the Amgine truly do withdraw from the Sol sector, that would be excellent news," she says. "We'll have to inquire about how to confirm that. But I'm afraid I don't know WHAT to think about some kind of Roshak/Amgine hybrid, or what it might have represented prior to the crash."

She raps her knuckles upon the table in thought.

"Is this something we feel comfortable asking our guests about, or are you of the opinion that we should keep that matter to ourselves for the present?"

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 763):

She flinches visibly as the words connect and takes a deep breath wiping away a tear.

Baxter, Redford, The miners, the amshack, Candy, Marion, Dale and many others with no name....

She's not wrong...

She takes a seat composing herself.

At one point that may have been me...  I hope to be free of that reputation.

You are here precautionarily; Just help me debrief you and I'll see what we can do.  I want you to get the help you need.

Tell me what you remember happening after we parted ways?  I can't find any record of your team checking into the medbay.  Remember I told you about the auger who can help... he's here.  We can try to help them!  But I need to know where they are.

"We should ask the Roshak in front of the Lith.  If all three of them are in bed together we're fucked either way and it'd be better to know.  If something is going on between the Roshak and Amgine I'd like to get the third wheel on our side, at least.  If this is some aberration or rogue Roshak faction then the Lith would hopefully put them in a position where they have to admit it.  We don't get any answers keeping it a secret and we need to know more than we do," Billy answers frankly.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 765):

The bulky suit stands for a minute or two, then settles down slowly and rests against the wall with a tiny shake of the head.

In reply to Basilisk (msg # 766):

The suit hears a quiet reassuring voice in its head.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 767):

Team SOC

Captain Vasquez nods at Billy's response.

"And you're all agreed on this course of action?" she asks. "Once we've shared this knowledge, we cannot unshare it."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 768):

Team Titan

"My team didn't check into the medbay," Selma replies. "That was never the plan. They were catatonic, practically dead. I hid them away, but...crashed? Or was attacked? I don't know. However long I've been in here is how long they've gone without food and water, though. Not that they can feed themselves anyway."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 769):

No.... But.... I told you to go to the medbay! Where did you stash them?

Nightmare runs a gloved hand through her hair visibly distressed.  Her hands clench and the specter of Percy looms behind her, her skin and hair blanch briefly as the darkness impinges upon her consciousness.

You killed something to save them... They're all dead... this one is not your fault; is it?  Why does nobody listen to you?  Two dozen more for the list of 'acceptable losses'.

She waits for the response and leaves the screen visible but turns off the sound and pushes Hadrian to send someone to find the miners.  She also requests the footage from their base assault, following Selma after they part ways.  If there are no cameras she notes where these blind spots are.

Get yourself under control... finish this, or else this is just a descent into madness.

She turns back to the screen schooling her features.

OK... I know you didn't tell me the whole story about what happened to your team.  You need to tell me everything now.  What happened leading up to you encountering the creature in the mines?

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 770):

Team Titan

"What, do you think I loaded them onto the hoverbike like firewood? I crashed not long after we parted ways. The miners are probably wherever we left them. Not that I can recall, what with the traumatic head injury and everything."

She shrugs.

"Most of what I remember about the creature is how it butchered the minds of my team. And how you stopped me from killing it. And how you killed it yourself almost immediately afterward. You stole my vengeance from me."

Selma's eyes unfocus a bit, then refocus.

"I don't remember you very well, but I don't think we're friends."

Xander scowls in frustration as Vasquez relays Braeburn's obfuscation. I guess it was too much to expect them to do the right thing, he grunts. I should have known better, obviously, but hope springeth eternal.

During the debriefing he mostly listens without comment, but does speak up when Billy throws Lt. Urban under the bus.

That's not fair Billy, Xander says. We knew we were heading in with limited intel from the outset. None of us were expecting the Amgine, and we had to improvise. Improvisation which - you'll recall - we had to leave the Lieutenant out of the loop on. In my opinion, she reacted admirably to our...unorthodox approach.

The bottom line is that the situation was much worse than we were expecting. That isn't the Lieutenant's fault.

Later on, Xander voices his opinion with respect to the mindstone. At this point, I think the risk coming clean is far outweighed by the risk of not. We need all the intel we can get.

"She said we could handle those robots and I acted accordingly.  She was wrong and two people died," Billy replies to Xander curtly on the subject of the Lieutenant.  His tone suggests he is not interested in being convinced otherwise.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:07, Fri 24 Aug 2018.

In reply to Xander (msg # 772):

Team SOC

"There were a lot of them," Kayla nods. "Individually they weren't that dangerous but as a cluster? Those things hurt. Though I think we might have been able to take them if we hadn't gotten separated first."

"The Amgine robots, that's what you're talking about, right?" Captain Vasquez asks. "I'm extremely interested to hear how this impacts things from our guests' perspective. That sounds a lot like active participation in the conflict on their behalf. Did they ever leave the Amgine ship? Can we rule out a cock-eyed 'self defense' excuse?"

She clears her throat.

"Changing gears: Apex herself is dead, I presume? She certainly looks it. But if she consumed one of these Warspheres, and they're supposed to be...claimed...from the dead by those worthy enough to do so, where is it now?"

Captain Vasquez looks weary.

"What I want to avoid is handing them a body that doesn't contain the Warsphere when it's supposed to. We'll look foolish at best, and duplicitous at worst. As far as you know, it's still in her somewhere?"

"She still has it.  It's still kind of working.  I don't think we should turn over the body though.  There's at least one other warsphere that's been claimed by a human.  It would be better if we can learn how they can be recovered from human biology.  Offer to let the Roshak supervise an autopsy or whatever's necessary.  It'll be an opportunity to learn about some of this alien nonsense while still being diplomatic.  They don't have any claim to Apex's body anyway, just the sphere itself."

None of us could have predicted the Enforcer's capabilities, Xander replies reasonably. Hell, I helped Viceroy work on earlier models and even I underestimated the threat they represented en masse.

It's not fair to lay that blame entirely on her shoulders. Or on your own, he adds gently. We're all in this together.

In reply to Xander (msg # 776):

Rebecca swallows past a lump in her throat.

Fine.  We don't have to be.

But I did risk my life and risk the life of my friends for you and your team.

Especially considering the fact that when I had met you... you had just shot one of my teammates in the back of the head... By your logic I should have murdered you and been done with it.  But we helped you anyway.  He's pretty well recovered now... if you want to apologize I'll bring him a message.

I followed you to the mines and attempted to organize a situation that went poorly despite my best intentions.

I loaded your team into transportation to bring them to safety.

I gave you a vehicle to get them help.

And despite you lying to me, I came back looking for you.  I have requested people be dispatched to find your team

...and I utilized my resources to restore you to lucidity.

Her anger is simmering just under the surface she locks eyes on her and without moving her lips continues.



Breathing deeply she continues, hurt; and now cold and businesslike.

Despite this I get nothing but spite.

I don't have a wealth of knowledge in friendship or interpersonal relationships but... perhaps, we are not friends, and not for lack of effort on my side.

So in that vein.  I didn't ask you what happened after we parted ways.  I asked what happened before you met me.  When did you encounter the monster, how, what else have you seen. 
This message was last edited by the player at 18:48, Fri 24 Aug 2018.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 777):

Team Titan

"Hey, don't let my reality get in the way of your narrative. I'm the one tied up on a table. My teammates are dead. My body is broken. And you're on the other side of the glass, free as you please, visibly uninjured. You've clearly sacrificed a lot for me."

Selma quirks an eyebrow.

"You want to know what happened before we met? Let me out of here, give me a ship, and I'll tell you the full story over comms when I'm free and clear of Titan's airspace. But we both know that's not in the cards, don't we?"

She looks around as best she can and pantomimes a shrug.

"So let's just get back to trying to beat the information out of me, ok? Because this good cop, bad cop thing isn't going to work."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 778):

Team SOC

"I'll make the request to have a witness present during the reclamation process. That's a good idea."

She nods quietly to herself.

"Is there anything else we should cover or discuss before the meeting?"

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 778):

Visibly uninjured... I've been shot three times today.  This suit is the only thing keeping me up.

She indicates the damage to her EVA suit.



She sighs

OK how about we start with small trusts and I see if I can get you unbound

She pasuses a moment



She turns to leave and Selma can hear so quietly its almost inaudible



She leaves the room out to Hadrian and butts her head against his shoulder, seeking solace.

Maybe I'll do better talking to someone who I don't know... who is the third person over there?

She jerks her head in the direction of the airlock.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:26, Mon 27 Aug 2018.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 780):

Team Titan

Hadrian consoles Rebecca by wrapping an arm around her for a moment before consulting with his datapad to answer her question.

"You're naturally drawn to danger, you know that?" he gently teases her. "The occupant of THAT room isn't there because of what he knows. It's because of what he IS."

Hadrian shows her the datapad's current screen, which shows a humanoid figure superimposed beside a hulking EVA suit.

"He's an auger, we think. But he's dangerous to himself and to those around him. Anybody who gets near him when he's out of that suit gets very, very sick. Sometimes that happens even when he's IN the suit."

He slides his finger across the datapad to show another screen.

"See the various components we built into that room to fortify it? That's all for containment purposes. Besides, there's no reason to question him -- Apex has had him locked up so Abe could run some tests on-"

Hadrian stops short, coughs a little, and clears his throat.

"God dammit. Abe. Yeah...let's see if he has something interesting to say. He shouldn't know anything about what happened here recently. If he does, we'll know he's involved."

He activates the ponderous, vault-like door that admits them into the viewing room of the adjoining chamber, and sets the viewscreen's controls as before for Rebecca's use. This time, however, he does not leave Rebecca alone in the viewing room -- either he's more invested in this conversation, or (more likely) the vault door doesn't have the same transparencies available to it that the other doorways did.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:30, Mon 27 Aug 2018.

In reply to Hadrian (msg # 781):

She responds to Hadrian's teasing by sticking a tongue out at him.  She breathes deeply through her nose close to the nape of his neck.

CRAP!  Almost called them friends... Smells like him... sounds like him sometimes.  Have to remember though, not always him...

She breaks the hold smiling an impish little smile at him.

Sounds fascinating.  I'm excited.  Does he have a name?  Do we have any results from Abe's research?

She asks before going into the vault.

"No.  Nothing else," Billy replies, sounding uncharacteristically exhausted by the brief discussion.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 783):

Team Diplomacy

When Xander and the others fail to say anything more, Captain Vasquez considers the discussion complete and leads the group along the Goethe's sterile corridors until they reach the large conference room used during their previous discussion with the aliens.

The table is set much the same as before, and with spots at the table set aside for Billy (GunBlazers Inc) and Xander (IDA Black Ops). Kayla and Whitney take seats along the walls of the room, alongside a handful of people you don't recognize who are wearing IDA uniforms.

Abe (Braeburn) and Bradford (SAGE) are already seated at the table when you arrive, and both of them rise excitedly to greet you.

"You made it!" Bradford exclaims. "I, uh, not that I doubted it. Just, er, just glad to see you."

Abe flicks his eyes across everyone who entered the room, and his smile fades into a look of concern.

"Welcome back," Abe says. "Where's Candy? Infirmary?"

Captain Vasquez stands in front of her own chair (IDA Command Staff) and holds up a hand.

"We will discuss it later. Keep your mind on the task at hand -- our guests will be here shortly."

Abe nods at the wisdom of this, though he looks no less concerned by the response.

***

True to Vasquez's prediction, the next beings to enter the room are the Lith and the Roshak. They take their indicated places at the table (the tags identifying them have been upgraded to their own language, as best as you can tell, though they are translated as reading "Lithic Empire" and, simply, "Roshak").

"May my voice be of service the Lithic Empire," the Lith begins by way of greeting, nodding at each member at the table in turn. "I am pleased to see how many of your warriors have returned. This bodes well. How went the Dance? Has our foe been returned to dust?"

HAS THE WARSPHERE BEEN RECOVERED? the Roshak adds, far more bluntly than his colleague. NO OTHER OUTCOME IS ACCEPTABLE.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:29, Tue 28 Aug 2018.

Team Titan

"Nothing promising. We're not even sure what the source of the toxicity is. Every time we think we've nailed it down, it turns out we haven't."

Hadrian frowns at the tablet.

"He doesn't talk much. I don't actually have a name listed on the chart," he adds. "That seems like as good a place as any to try to get some questions answered, though."

He activates the two-way screen.

"Hello there. I'm afraid we don't know who you are -- those responsible for your questioning and upkeep are no longer among us. My colleague would like to ask you a few questions. It would be in your best interests to answer them as fully as possible. Lives are at stake. And compliance will be rewarded."

From there, he steps back and lets Rebecca take point.

"Apex is the one who claimed the warshpere," Billy responds promptly to the Roshak, "Her body has been brought aboard, the warshpere is still active in it.  We would like you or one of your fleet to supervise the operation to recover it.  There were two warspheres lost in the crash, if the second can be recovered we would like to know all we can about their interactions with our biology so as to more efficiently do so.  Is there any standard amount of time between the death of its possessor and when it can be recovered?  Is it possible to remove surgically prior to the death of its user, or is it not in a solid form while active?"