In reply to Xander (msg # 247):

Xander begins to stir, his interface session coming to an end.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:32, Tue 21 Oct 2014.

Xander's eyes widen distantly, and he lets out an audible Whoa...


His eyes snap open and he comes to almost violently. Alright! I've got everything we came for, and much more. Let's get out of here!
This message was last edited by the player at 15:03, Tue 21 Oct 2014.

In reply to Xander (msg # 251):

"Excuse me," a medic says, approaching the group huddled outside the door. "This is... this is a restricted area. You shouldn't be here unless you're injured."

He notices the guns and takes a step back.

"What's going on here?!"

We were just leaving, Xander says simply. Perhaps you ought to do the same?

In reply to Xander (msg # 253):

"Can't leave," the man says. "We're on lockdown and under attack. You'll only get hurt if you don't stay put."

We'll be fine. You should take cover though.

Xander turns to Flux. Let's follow the good man's original instructions and return to our ships.

In reply to Xander (msg # 255):

Rebecca follows in tow with the group fixing the man with a riveting pink eyed stare.  She twists her mouth into a half smile and holds her fingers to her lips.  She then zips her index and thumb across her lips pantomimes a lock and throwing away the key.  She then whips her hair around and skips back to join the team.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 256):

Flux levitates himself slightly off the floor, hovering a few feet from the medic.

As though the medic were not there, and he had grown tired of walking, Flux floats nonchalantly past the medic.

"I think perhaps it'd be best if you don't mention you saw us here. Our friend over there has his eyes on the coms, and we'd hate to have to come back to have a discussion with your wordsy mouth, wouldn't we Batallion?"

With a brief swirl, Flux accelerates toward the group.

"Back to the ship. Time to see what that cloak is made of!"

In reply to Flux (msg # 257):

The armed duplicates escort the group away from the buzzing medbay while the unarmed duplicates, already far off down the hall, continue to move toward the ship and the exit.

In reply to Batallion (msg # 258):

Flux quickly activates the lift tubes, shutting the group down to the appropriate floor with ease. They make their way back to the docking bay without further trouble, but that is where the easy part ends.

Given that Venusian atmospheric conditions are hardly pleasant, even at this temperate altitude, the docking bay's main hatch is kept closed by default. With the overseer still unconscious and the facility on lockdown, there's no way out.

Xander puts his suit helmet back on with hiss as the magnetic clasp seals. Climbing up into his waiting battlesuit, he calls down over the radio. Rebecca, how much can you phase? Can you...warp?... us too, or just the transport you rode in one?

In reply to Xander (msg # 260):

Battalion climbs into the shuttle.

Can't you just... blow a hole in something?

I will if I have to, but it's messy. I'll see if I can hack it.

In reply to Xander (msg # 262):

Hack, blow up, I don't care.  You heard it here first!

In reply to Batallion (msg # 263):

Unfortunately this system is merely a prototype and is not fully featured or as consistent as I would like for it to be... there appears to be a significant rate of failure and would rather not use it if I do not have to.  Since the phasing device is limited in its capacity to the ship and occupants, and we will need to hack open our door out anyway, I think it best to see if we can utilize that method of egress for both portal and Abraxis. 

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 264):

Not using unreliable technology to phase through solid objects, I can get behind that fully.

In reply to Batallion (msg # 265):

Good. Xander's on the digital route. Becky, secure the ship and get us ready for launch.

Batallion, you're with me. Fan out and search the hangar for the clamps holding those doors in place.

Fuck it, let's make this interesting.

Why don't we see if 20 men and a force of gravity can pull the door open before the hacker does?

Winner gets to pick the music in the shuttle on the way back up!

In reply to Flux (msg # 266):

Flux, Battalion, and Xander each tackle the problem of the docking bay door in their own way, with the end result involving 1) an open docking bay and 2) a half-dozen Battalion duplicates being swept away into the horrible reality of Venus's atmosphere.

Xander stumbles his way through the swirling loss of pressurization and somehow manages to strap into his battlesuit before passing out.

Soon, both the mech and the transport shuttle are away -- however temporary.

It occurs to someone -- perhaps all of you -- that you have not heard from Captain Blaise in quite some time, nor do you have a lock on the Mastodon's current location.

Scans indicate that there is a capital ship in low orbit about eight minutes away, and a swarm of nearly two dozen smaller fighters and a half-dozen mechs mustering nearby. Hard to say whether the capital ship is the Mastodon or a S.A.G.E. ship, but the swarm does not appear to be shrinking at an appreciable rate.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 267):

Well shit.

This mission is going tit's up. Quickly.

If the ship were large enough for Xander's Mech, we wouldn't have needed to open the doors to get him out of it.

Without a rendezvous point, we're isolated, and he has all the intel. We've got to see who's got the ship up there, and if necessary, claim the ship by force.

Smash and grab Batallion. I believe you're familiar with the concept?

In reply to Flux (msg # 268):

JJ sits absolutely still and stone faced as the situation is revealed.

he ignores Flux for a few beats before slowly responding, his voice rising in agitation.

I am not going to be stranded out here... I don't care which ship or whose it is, we're taking one of them out of this bullshit end of the system!

First thing I'm doing when I get home: murdering my lawyer slowly...

In reply to Batallion (msg # 269):

You arrive back at the ship to find that Rebecca has already chosen the music... classical, Chopin.  Any attempt to change her results in an icy stare and a slap from Percy.

You suddenly look different Flux.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:13, Fri 24 Oct 2014.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 270):

I like having a plan. And being on that base has done wonders to clear my head. It was like I just couldn't think straight down there.

In reply to Flux (msg # 271):

We will get to that later... it would be more appropriate to analysis when we are not in a stress situation.

Xander's breath rasps sharply in his ears as his atmo suit recycles oxygen through his helmet. Glancing down at his instruments, he tries to make sense of the sensor readout.

The atmosphere must be distorting the IFF transponders...I can't tell whose side these ships are.

He brings up a comm channel to the rest of the team in the shuttle. I can't tell if these ships are friendlies, so I think we should assume the worst. That way we won't be disappointed, but we might be pleasantly suprised.

A deep rumbling builds in the mech as Xander gives power to Abraxas' thrusters, accelerating him faster through the turbulent Venusian atmosphere.

I'll try to draw their fire. Flux, JJ, does that shuttle have any weapons?

If not, I'll just have to do the talking for all of us...

Electricity thrums and crackles, building into a high-pitched whine as the rails along Abraxas' massive rifle become energized.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Fri 24 Oct 2014.

In reply to Xander (msg # 273):

The shuttle, having once belonged to Battalion, does boast a few upgrades of the black-market variety, but none of them are weapons. It does boast standard shields and military-grade hull armor, which is a plus.

It is also inhabited by superhumans with various terrifying powers that can be used at range even from within a shuttle. Especially if your name is Flux.


Both shuttle and mech hurtle toward the swarm of ships, crossing their fingers for good news.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:37, Fri 24 Oct 2014.