It's been three days.  Lucifer may be able to take rounds meant for a tank, but putting bones and flesh back together is a painful and laborious process.  That's not counting the time he's spent in Sanctuary's infamous Quarantine, which is painful and laborious for a whole different reason.  Sanctuary grates at the soul in a way that only hospitals can, a place of boredom and suffering and suspicion.  If he didn't know any better he'd think it was the source of the Neverborn's power.

Smoker visits at some point, mostly to give him the finest grain alcohol he can scrounge up.  There's even a few worshipers nearby but they're kept on a short leash.  Human contact is in short supply.

That is until he receives notice of a new visitor.  Julius "Fossil" Caesar has decided to pay him a visit.  The massively-muscled Moroccan gives Lucifer a big grin as he enters the room, extending a hand for Lucifer to shake.

Of course, Lucifer's hand is messed up.  That's the point.

"Hey, there." He greets the Solar, "Glad to see you're still hanging in there, you tough old bastard.  How's Sanctuary treating you?"
This message was last updated by the GM at 00:19, Tue 24 Jan 2017.

Three days was well beyond the threshold of time Lucifer could lie about doing nothing without the walls starting to fall down on him. Had Smoker not been there to placate him with booze and a modicum of human contact - most of it spent convincing him to stay and convalesce- he'd have been worse than a general headache. As it was, he'd heeded the staff's urgings where it would expedite his recovery and disregarded most of the rest. Thank God Spiderweb's talisman had worked - half of Sanctuary might be in flames by now otherwise.

Julius's appearance comes at just the right moment as the Zenith is casting a frustrated look at his mummified hand, one errant thought away from ripping it free against all reason.

"Clinically", He answers the Lunar, deadpan. He almost reaches out to grasp Caesar's outstretched hand just to ruin the joke - almost.

"Old? Tch. This coming from the guy who goes by Fossil."

He shifts to a sitting position on his bed - which the Sanctuary staff had attached his datapad to in a futile effort to have him hold still.

"Anyway, I'm... ok. Hand's still shit and I'm going insane from having nothing to do, though. Please tell me you're here to fix it."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:53, Tue 24 Jan 2017.

"Hey, man, don't pin that on me.  I go by Julius Caesar.  It's a name of history and class.  Everyone else calls me Fossil."  He leans against the wall as he looks at Lucifer's hand, "Well, I sort of am.  I had a bit of a problem and I was going to talk to you anyway, but I decided to check with Smoker first.  And of course Smoker jumped right on that as killing two birds with one stone, so here I am."

He holds out a datapad for Lucifer to peruse.

"This right here?  Six young Exalts, including our newest, Ms. Pak, and a convalescing Ms. Spacewolf.  The other three you might not know- Arkady 'Mountain' Jones, Mercy Brown, and a Fire Dragon-Blooded named Adam Smith.  They're all badly in need of training, especially Ms. Brown.  Mr. Jones is the best of the lot, but only when it comes to pure hand-to-hand.  Put a gun in his hands or a ship under his feet and he's a kitten.  You and I both know this war's already begun blurring operational lines."

It's something Caesar's talked about for a while now- cross-disciplinary combat effectiveness.  Many of their battles have gone from traditional space combat to boarding actions or vice versa.

"The problem is, of course, me."

Daniel takes the pad, frowning slightly in concentration as he skims through the data.

"I've heard something of each but saying I know them would be stretching it", he answers matter-of-factly about the latter three. The Dawn was of definite interest, but he wasn't one to assume Caste was everything.

After a bit of leafing through the data he raises his gaze to Julius somewhat inquisitively. "So you've got a bunch of up-and-comers you'd like to help break their molds. Sounds like a good idea. Have them train and spar each other? If there's one thing I'd tell each newbie it'd be to expect being forced out of your comfort zone."

"There's not much to know for now," He shakes his head, "They're as green as new wood.  I'm particularly unimpressed with Ms. Brown and Mr. Jones, the former's timid and the latter's lazy."

He looks back at Lucifer, "They've already trained and sparred against each other and I don't think it'll do them a lick of good in the real world.  Put them in combat against the Dead and they'll not do very well.  So I've decided I'm going to try hosting some war games."

Daniel frowns and nods at the mention of Ms. Brown and Mr. Jones. "Mmh. That's something we have to push them out of. The Living can't afford our Exalts limiting themselves from realizing their full potential. It translates directly to more lives lost."

He rolls a shoulder - the one on the healthy side - as he listens to Julius's idea and nods once more.

"Yeah, it's one thing to learn new skills and another to learn how to apply them effectively when the shit hits the fan. How are you going to simulate the real deal well enough?"

"My thoughts are the same," He agrees, then gives Lucifer a little smile.

"Did you know that Core has been working on some virtual reality devices?  Full immersion, mental projection, the works?  We can simulate the simpler Neverborn stuff, but the more complex Abyssals are a bit more difficult.  I talked to some of the Machina guild and got in touch with one of Core's friends.  Then I promised a few favors.  Long story short, Core thinks he can minimize processing power by building an Abyssal around a template.  Think of it as 'reskinning.'"  He points at Lucifer, "If you wouldn't mind.  I'd like you to provide the template and be OPFOR Command."

"...You'd like me to be an Abyssal."

Daniel's expression goes from incredulous to revulsed to intrigued over the span of a few seconds. After the knee-jerk reaction of disgust it becomes apparent the plan does have merit: it's the closest thing to real fighting experience without the risk.

He nods, gaining a half-smirk, half-sneer. "...Yeah, I'll do it. I could use some tactical exercise... and I can approximate Abyssal tactics with relative accuracy by thinking what would piss me off the most. Not to mention I'll welcome any break to this monotony."

"Yeah.  Sorry man."  Julius tells him, waiting for him to work through the thought process.  "How about strategic too?  If you want, I can give you total, complete control.  From white-room combat tests to actual multi-mission campaigns.  Your choice.  Put 'em through their paces.  Make them sweat.  Make them bleed.  Make them think.  I'll of course help wherever you want, and I've got a few ideas already set, but I wouldn't dream about dictating to you how to run the show."

Daniel nods, pondering.

"I think we can start with some simpler scenarios you have in mind to gauge and get a feel for the newbies. Then we zoom out and design a more elaborate one to force them out of their comfort zone and really make them sweat."

He scratches the back of his head and throws an errant glance at his datapad, frowning. He'd never really considered himself a strategist - going high in the formal command chain meant becoming bound by it and becoming a political actor - but the Raid on the Buchenwald (and Brahe's "advice", however infuriating and badly delivered) had once again made a statement: the Living needed more than raw strength from him. Perhaps it was indeed time to branch out in this direction.

He leans forward, regarding Julius with a grave expression. "We need to be brutal. An easy or even fair simulation would lull them into a false sense of security which would get them killed."

"Hence why I was thinking a long, drawn-out campaign.  Really make them sweat.  Not just 'that was bad, but it's just a simulation'.  Make them feel loss.  Make them feel resources."  Julius agrees with him, "Hit them with it hard and fast, I'd say; gauge how they deal with hopeless.  I've fought you before while you use your charms, and let me tell you, the despair I feel is palpable.  But your choice how you want to turn on the heat- real quick or let them boil slow."

Daniel nods in agreement here and there as Julius speaks. They seemed to be on the same wavelength about the training.

"Start off hopeful and seemingly simple. When they think they've got it, we hit them quick, hard and brutal; then draw it out when they're reeling and make them see the consequences. They don't get to go 'welp, that didn't work' and quit. They need to despair and find a way to deal."

He sighs faintly, the death cries of those lost against the Buchenwald swimming momentarily through his head.

"The lesson will be harsh but necessary. When can we start?"

"Whenever we're ready.  If you want, I can give you the datapad I use to program some of these.  Put it together and I'll handle getting it actually simulated." He holds up a datapad, "Up to you- want me to put it together and toss you in it, or do you want a full hand on this rudder?"

"So far I'm better at reacting to situations than designing them, so feel free to do the bulk of it. I can still look through what you've got and tweak things, but I trust your vision. We seem to be on the same page in regard to the simulation."

He leans back, glancing to the ceiling.

"Besides, it's better training for me too if I don't know everything in advance."

"That's not the right way to look at it, at least part of it.  You'll be commanding half those forces.  A powerful Abyssal who's survived against the likes of you will have a very good idea of what they've got going on behind the scenes,"  He admonishes Lucifer, "Regardless, I'll get the first component back to you quickly.  Unless you'd like to hash it out here and now?"

"Fair enough", Daniel concedes. Being true to the role was better for the scenario... And as much as he hated to admit it, there might come a time when flying by the seat of his pants just wouldn't cut it.

He leans forward, focusing. "Hell, I'd take a discussion about politics over another hour alone in this place. If you've got what you need let's work it out."

"Well, I've got some ideas.  The first one comes right from a recent problem with a wildcat mining ship.  The Kilroy broke off far from the Living fleet to try to ramscoop a nearby gas giant, the gasses we use to operate the motonic engines of the Fleet are rare and expensive.  So the Kilroy was way out of the way, banking on a low profile to just sneak-mine and come back.  Of course, like 50% of them, they got caught."

He shakes his head.

"Kilroy got attacked by a frigate and sent out your standard 'we fucked up' distress call.  Unfortunately for them, they were obliterated when a Nanking jumped in a few moments later.  Ships were already scrambled and almost to the jump point.  We can possibly turn back the clock on that.  Go off and rescue the Kilroy, arrive just in time for a Nanking, which is pretty standard fare.  But then we'll try to get the Kilroy back, and we'll force the Living Fleet to move with a more concerted Abyssal effort.  We'll then make the Kilroy and escorts run for the Fleet, with a full-grown Abyssal following."

Daniel scratches his jaw thoughtfully.

"One mining ship isn't worth much. But if it can lead us to the Living Fleet..."

He shifts in his seat, crossing his legs in something resembling a lotus position.

"What I'm thinking is we plant a delayed-onset tracker on the Kilroy before reinforcements arrive. Make the initial fight hard enough to not make them suspicious but still one they have a possibility of winning so we have time to gather a proper assault force while they fight."

He takes up his datapad. "If they're cautious or figure out what's going on, they'll either abandon the Kilroy or stand and fight to make sure nothing's wrong after they've won the fight. If they do neither, we jump in the assault fleet soon after and force them into a worse confrontation near the Last Refuge."

"Make them counterboard the Kilroy at first?  That's the best way to get a tracker on,"  He says, "But no matter what I want them to deal with an Abyssal face to face, not behind a ship.  I want them to take a look at you and wet their pants.  No offense, but when your game face is on, I'd rather deal with an Abyssal than you.  At least with them I have a chance."

"Hm. Yeah, counter-boarding would work. And it's likely too, considering what you said about Arkady. We could also do what the Candlelight team did and have me and/or some more operatives hitch a ride on the side of one of their ships."

He gives Julius a sideways glance. "Well, you can be sure it's worse for the servants of the Void. I agree, though - we need to shock them so they can start finding ways to cope with it."

Leaning back, he returns to tap through some info on the datapad.

"So... we will have the Kilroy boarded when they arrive, with me sticking onto the outside. I'll hitch a ride on either the Kilroy or one of their ships. As they clear the Kilroy we jump in enough ships to have them make a run for the Last Refuge... Wherein I reveal myself and do my thing."

"Better idea.  Let them make their run to the Last Refuge.  Command from their location.  Make them squirm,"  Julius continues, "Really put the screws on them if they reach the Last Refuge.  At that point they're not just working for themselves.  They should protect the whole fleet first.  Watch them panic as you ignore them."

"Hmm... Yeah, even better. They'll have to choose between fighting and likely dying against an overpowering foe or risking the whole Living Fleet by retreating. So we start off with a boarded Kilroy, have them counter-board. I either join the fight in the Kilroy to force a retreat and tag along when they do, or I attach myself to one of their ships as they fight and reveal myself as they prepare to return, forcing them to make a decision."

"There's a lot of ways we can vary it.  A bunch of paths.  I'll get Core and the sim-guys working," Julius tells him, "Any other special requests as to the templating?  Give yourself a name, an avatar, all that sort of thing?"

He keeps looking at the pad, wheels in his head turning.

"So let's see, so I can get this straight:

ACT 1
1-1.  Kilroy attacked by a Bataan-class frigate.
1-2.  It'll call for reinforcements pretty much as soon as they move in, so they have a limited time to try to eliminate the current enemy space presence.  Say, ten minutes.
1-3.  You'll have hitched on and boarded; you can either hide or join in.  I say force them to retreat from the counterboarding operation if they can't clear the space around the Kilroy, but if they've done a good job you lie low.

ACT 2
2-1.  Current military doctrine is to have at least one jump point between the operation zone and the bulk of the Living Fleet, so this'll be a new section of space.
2-2.  If you're following with the Nanking vessels, this'll turn into protecting their ship and dealing with an Abyssal in space combat, or else it'll be protecting the Kilroy and their ship from a bunch of Nankings while they prep their engines for the next act.
2-3.  Regardless, they'll be allowed to escape- but not without loss, if possible.

ACT 3
3-1.  Eventually they'll be forced to make it to the Last Refuge.
3-2.  Here you can go all-out.  If you've kept aboard the Kilroy and allowed it to jump, here's where you'll strike.  If they can't dislodge you from the Kilroy, what then?
3-3.  Otherwise, it'll become an all-out fleet action where their job will be to 'clean up' the Abyssal while the fleet deals with the Nanking menace.  You should spend your time targeting them one by one if they engage and threaten you enough; if they're not threatening you engage targets of opportunity."

Daniel gains a puzzled frown as he's asked about his persona to be. Picturing an Abyssal version of himself was certainly something that hadn't crossed his mind before. Still, he supposed he had to give them something...

After a moment of curious, faintly abhorrent contemplation he shrugs and raises his head.

"If we're putting me through a black mirror let's do it faithfully. Abaddon."

He looks through the parameters on his pad, nodding.

"Looks good to me. When can we get this done?"

"I can start the programming immediately, might take a few days for the later parts,"  He remarks, "How long are you stuck in here?  Will our wonderful parents in Sanctuary let you out to play in the VR chamber a bit?"

Daniel rolls his eyes and sighs deeply. "If it was up to them I'd never leave. I'm sure they've come up with ten new experimental methods of extracting and replicating my physical advantages during our conversation alone. That said it's not like they can stop me when I choose to go."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:12, Thu 09 Feb 2017.

"Yeah, uh, about that."  Julius frowns at him, "The first part, not the last part.  You know, there were two nurses, a doctor, and a janitor all asking if I could put a good word for them in here.  And asking if you needed any... additional... care.  You may very well be a bad influence on the poor, lonely medical personnel of Sanctuary."

Daniel gains a slightly confused frown of his own.

"I'm not sure whether "additional care" would be crazy medical experiments or... other things, or a combination thereof. Either way I'm hesitant to take the chance."

The mention of loneliness - even if in jest - makes him think, though. For all the flak he and everyone else gave those working in the sterile soul-sucking system of Sanctuary, the work done there was crucial for the Living and - for the most part - exemplary.

"Do tell them I appreciate their work, though."

"I would be too.  Who the hell knows nowadays," He shakes his head, "I'm starting to think we're all a little cracked in here.  Some of us worse than others."  He puts away his datapad, "You should tell them yourself, man.  As you're walking out the door.  Tell them we're on the way to get pho or something.  You coming?  Or are you gonna stick the day out here, while they try to figure out the best way to get a needle through your thick-ass skin?"

Daniel gives a faint snicker. "Well, considering the state of things cracked is as good as it gets. As long as people find ways to cope it makes them stronger, though. Stronger and crazier."

He seems surprised at the notion of leaving for precisely a second - it didn't take a lot of convincing to sway him to leave after three days of wasting away.

"...Yeah. Yeah, I think I will. There's not much to do beside wait now that the bones and ligaments are more or less where they should be again anyway."

He gets up, stretching everything but the wounded hand.

"Got something in mind? Inassume prepping the simulation won't be instantaneous."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:35, Tue 14 Feb 2017.

"Drinks.  Drinking while prepping the simulation.  You should probably hold back from sparring, so I've got some books for you to read to sharpen your mind. Good ones this time.  Maybe you can sit down and go through all that fan mail.  Oh, and I hear there's a few demons who want to talk to you eventually as well."

He smiles and shrugs,

"Sorry, I've been working with Smoker lately.  He's been a bit overloaded."

"I could tell something must've kept him extra busy. He knows I start falling apart at the seams after 36 hours of idling."

Daniel walks to the door of his soul-crushing prison and gestures Julius to go ahead. He was the one expected to emerge.

"After three days in this deprivation tank each and every one of those activities sounds exciting. Which demons?"

"Yeah, you should see what happens when you don't have time to take stuff off his queue."  Julius pushes open the door for him.  A little beeping alarm chimes informing the doctors that a patient is trying to walk out.  Normally this means a bunch of black-clad goons with tasers will show up and try to 'assess the situation', but nobody steps up to deal with him now.

Well, except for a cute little doctor who rushes up to him with a clipboard and a pen.  "Excuse me- can I get your autograph?" She asks with sparkling eyes.  "... To show you're leaving."

Oh.  An insurance form.  Right.

"Yeah, some Tomescu.  They're calling themselves the Clouds of Light and seem to worship you as a new Yozi.  And they're also very concerned that you don't have your own honor guard tailing you at all times."  Julius tells him.  "Also something about information for you and you alone."

Daniel frowns at the alarm, hoping to avoid a big scene. He's pleased to see no such thing happen.

He stops walking as the lone doctor approaches him, seeming slightly confused at the request at first. He blinks, then traces a look from her twinkling eyes to the form she's holding and making out the header.

"Ah. Of course."

He signs the form with his official name after a few seconds of skimming for pledges to volunteer for vivisection, then hands it over. As he does, he glances at her nametag before meeting her eyes with... a smile. Well, it might not count as one coming from most other people, but you make do with what you got.

"Julius told me about you and your team's efforts putting my hand back together, Dr. <name here>. Thank you and keep up the good work."

He glances at the wall - if he recalled correctly there was a one-way mirror around here somewhere that others could be watching from. "Please relay my thanks to the others as well. The fight against Death is as essential here as it is on the battlefield."

He then gives the good doctor a nod and resumes walking.

"Tomescu, huh? I suppose they need something to cling to after Ragnarök. The honor guard's not gonna happen but it does sound like they might be useful. Any word on where to find them?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:23, Tue 21 Feb 2017.

There's nothing that blatantly says he'll be vivisected for spare parts.  Yet, at any rate.  There's something about him giving them all rights for harvesting his organs if he mysteriously dies after leaving, but that might as well be standard for Sanctuary.

The doctor's name is Dr. Kaybee.  She smiles politely at him, takes the clipboard, and walks away, leaving both Lucifer and Julius free to leave the front door.  Which they do.

Though Lucifer could swear he feels a faint chill when he does so...

"Yeah, that'll be down in the Underdecks, there's a few places they hang out.  We're talking the slum buildings there," He explains.  "It might be easier for them to find you, though.  They've got a lot of spare time and you don't."

Daniel had already pledged his body for scientific research post mortem, so such a clause wasn't of much consequence now. As he and Julius cross the threshold he shudders faintly, looking back toward Sanctuary with a frown.

The feeling's gone, however, so after a while he shrugs and keeps walking.

"Yeah, but I'd rather they find me at a fitting time and place. If I make myself known somewhere in their general vicinity they should show up soon enough. Thanks for letting me know."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:27, Wed 22 Feb 2017.

"You know how these types are.  I'm surprised they haven't stormed down into Sanctuary themselves and shoved a couple hundred stomach bottle bugs into you."  Julius takes them to the elevators, "You good to head to the Library or do you need to stop back home?"

"All the more reason to seek them out on my terms."

As he steps inside the elevator, Daniel pats his pockets here and there.

"Got my clothes, phone and gun. Seems the clothes've been cleansed too so no need for a change. I'm good to go."

There's nothing quite like the Martial Library.  Humanity's collected knowledge of fighting and warfare have been condensed to book form, filling up rows upon rows of stacks upon stacks of shelves.  Each one annotated by a master of the art, each one with pages inserted- a debate war on war, fought over weeks and months between patrons.  At any given time there are only a few dozen readers here, with most of the actual patrons spread throughout the Last Refuge.  Some of them are regulars that recognize Daniel immediately; they cross themselves or do something Daniel's seen distressingly often.  They cross their arms over their chest, tuck their chin, and murmur something indistinct.

Yeah, that'd be his cult alright.

Far beyond the end of the stats is the Quiet Exercise Area, an open place to practice katas or exercise regimes.  A small, nondescript door leads back to the REAL Martial Library, where the real theorycrafting happens.  Julius opens the door for Daniel, beckoning him towards the Head Librarian's office.  This isn't so much a dusty old office as it is a command and control center, a vast console of scanning equipment and simulators.  The only thing that doesn't look like something out of Batman's lair is an especially comfortable looking couch.

"Take a seat, couch or command, I don't care.  You're practically the Librarian Emeritus anyway.  I've been busy working with a detailed dissertation on the Battle of Lepanto but that can wait."

For someone as fervently religious as Daniel, you'd think growing and shepherding a cult would be second nature - as a Zenith, the mantle of God-King was not only an easy fit but a quintessential part of his Second Breath. Yet his cult was largely unknown, even alien, to him and every crossed-arm, tucked-chin prayer-salute stirred a faint feeling of awkwardness.

Once, before Ragnarök, his purpose as a Champion and Herald of the Sun had been clear: he would discourage personal worship and direct followers to praise Ignis Divine instead. But as the Sun was Conquered, he'd lost that blissful certainty. What had been an absent Father to worship and impress became a symbol of despair. Sol Invictus was no more - and what's worse, venerating Him in death would risk empowering the mockery that had become of Him.

A period of despair and helpless rage turned into introspection and seeking. In the end Daniel moved on by accepting a bitter truth: Sol's absence was nothing new to him. For all his efforts at bringing glory to the Most High, despite his zealous heroism, the Sun had always remained a strangely absent father. The light Lucifer bore may have never been that of Sol - yet, as the King of Yozis remarked, he was not one of his either. No, the light he bore had always been his own, and the only place left to turn for communion with the Divine was inward. Yet he was no god, he had no gospel to spread or way of life to demand. Rather than found and codify a religion, he'd become an icon; a symbol of defiant strength offering no codified dogma but rather a champion to place one's hopes on.

Perhaps that was why he kept running into his cult everywhere: Lucifer was a symbol that could bear a different meaning for any number of people. Or put another way, weirdos just gravitated toward him.

------------------------------------------

Daniel throws longing glances at the various forms of physical exercise areas laid out before him as they make their way through the Library but manages to rein himself in. Having no immediate need for the various technological gadgets strewn about the room, he plops down on the couch as they arrive to the Head Librarian's office.

"One of Christian history's more valorous moments", he remarks. "If only it was our side that could subvert the enemy these days."

"Are you sure we're the Christians here?"  Julius asks as he sits on his seat, "Technically the Dead could argue that we're the ones enslaving the ghosts, and the ghosts will just... love... to jump up and take their revenge."

He darkly chuckles and pulls up his training program, looking at the space-scape in-potentia.

"I'm a bigger fan of Svestigar myself if you have to look at that section of history.  But none of that era is particularly glorious if you really think about the cost in the grand scheme of things.  Turns out the pacifists might've been right the whole time.  Anyone dying's a sin, isn't it."

"One could argue that. They'd have to be an idiot, though", Daniel replies matter-of-factly. "Although I sort of look forward to a future where mankind is so safe and idle that Neverborn apologists are a legitimate thing."

He looks at the space-scape Julius pulls up with faint interest as he shifts in his seat on the couch.

"Dying is a sin only if it would've been preventable and not enough is gleaned in exchange for it. When it comes to most conflicts on Earth... Yeah, the pacifists might've been on to something. Today it's not our kin who call God by a different name we're up against, though."

"Well, yes, but we're a species renowned for our idiocy.  It's what makes us human.  How else can you explain deciding to grab bullets out of midair instead of just ducking?"  Julius ribs him- not like he's one to talk; the Lunar can quite literally absorb a bullet and all but shit it out.

"Nope, those bad old days are gone.  We're fighting the good war now, the only real good war.  The war against Death."  He taps his fingers against his lips, "You know, there are Quislings, right?"  He looks over at Daniel, "Quislings for us.  Death-worshipers.  We've known it for a while.  Put down the cults where we can.  We know they have their own equivalent over there, too.  I'm just wondering when we're going to deal with their Janissaries."

Daniel gains a smirk. "Tch. It's about principle, sending a message. I'll leave the bullet-dodging acrobatics to Lyla and her sort. The ones actually capable of it."

He leans forward on the couch,  elbows on his knees. The room's temperature drops a few degrees as Quislings are mentioned - Daniel was well aware of such abominable heretics.

"One could argue we've already met them in the form of Candlelight. Whatever form form they show in, though - they're in for an Auspicious Event much sooner than the originals. "

"Candlelight's already dead, and they're being actively mind-controlled, aren't they?  Then they can't be Quislings.  We know from some of the data pulled from the Buchenwald that the Dead have entire prison-ships full of the living, like Cleveland, for some godforsaken reason.  I'm wondering if they're making janissaries.  Shock-troops.  Imagine having to kill the same trooper twice.  We've got cultists and sympathizers here, but we haven't dealt with any trained Living troops.  Maybe we should start practicing for that too."

Julius sighs and starts tapping on the screen, setting up dozens of ships, discarding some, replacing others...

"Of course, swords cut both ways."

Daniel frowns. "Some Abyssals might try that but I feel such a plan wouldn't sit well with the Neverborn. The Living are beyond the absolute dominion they hold over the Dead, no matter how brainwashed or bribed they might be. A janissary might serve as a soldier for the Dead twice or turn into one of ours. And even when loyal they'd require upkeep and leadership of a special kind."

He regards Julius's setup process, trying to establish patterns and pulling up data on his pad about the different types of ships being used. As much as Brahe deserved the punch he got, he wasn't wrong. Daniel would have to start applying a broader, more tactical view going forward if he wished to avoid another massacre like the Buchenwald.

"Granted, they'd probably implant some safeguards like cortex bombs or such, but the fact remains the Living are distasteful and unpredictable for the masters of the Dead. The mass incarceration could be for a number of other reasons like experimentation or trying to bait Exaltations through sheer weight of population subject to suffering."

He scoffs. "Still, this is just my take on it. You might be right. And whichever of us is right, fighting the Living should be something to be prepared for regardless. Not every battle in the Good War is against the Faceless Dead."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:59, Tue 14 Mar 2017.

Most of the ships used are the standard.  Kumiho has an interceptor, Tomato a fighter.  Mountain looks like he's flying a bomber and- hold on, is Mercy Brown piloting a fucking tug?

"Well, it's my job to look for any weird stuff.  Think of the things nobody thinks about.  Look at history and learn from it.  The Dead aren't exactly very innovative thinkers, at least that's what we think.  But they're learning and adapting pretty well, aren't they?"

"Mhm. It's seldom a bad idea to find and prepare for the improbable and unexpected", Daniel says with a nod. "And it's true they seem to be getting craftier as time goes on. From what I've... gleaned, there's factions within the Dead despite their seeming uniformity, different Abyssals and Deathlords with differing methods who don't always get along with each other or their masters. Could be they're getting better organized as a whole, could be we keep running into different factions with different tactics. Either way, the trend's still towards-"

He picks up Mercy's little speck on the starmap and seems incredulous.

"...Is that a tug? Is Ms. Brown some sort of specialist or just an idiot?"

"A specialist idiot.  You know how some Solars can make weapons out of their Essence?" He asks Daniel, "Glorious Solar Shotgun or something like that?  She can do it on a bigger scale.  We're working on weaponizing it.  That tug there is for rearmament.  Specialty essence-warheads on the fly, no need to return to rearm, even mortals can use them.  It's quite a nice little setup... if she didn't have the courage of a mouse.  You need a lot of courage to go out there with barely any weapons and she doesn't have it yet."

"Hm. Useful, but if all she does is act as a mobile rearmament station she's practically begging to get focused down. And with small fleet engagements the others are gonna be too busy to keep a perimeter around her."

He pulls up the data on Mercy's tug, checking if it was at least specially armored and  outfitted for the purpose or if it was another Odysseus-grade tin can waiting to be perforated.

"We'll need to make her find her courage then. None of the Chosen of today have the choice of not being warriors. Is she the type who needs a pep talk and support or the type who needs to be driven into a corner?"

"That's why I've been training her in aikido.  And I'm hoping the ideas in that get through her skull," He remarks.

Yeah, the tug is as heavily armed and armored as it could be- basically a refitted bomber with a cargo section and in place of guns a method to refill ammo containers.

"You know, if you met her, you'd swear that if you backed her into a corner she'd tear your throat out with her teeth.  She's definitely more the type that needs to be psyched up to even enter.  If I didn't know any better, I'd say she doesn't want to fight at all- but she keeps insisting she does."

Daniel furrows his brow thoughtfully.

"She's a new Lunar, could be she has issues with her newly emerged bestial side. Afraid of losing control or some such. I suppose we'll see."

He swipes his datapad a few times, going through the tug's info.

"No weapons at all on her ship? I sincerely hope it's because she can manifest them herself. Aikido might suit her but you're gonna need more than the enemy's strength to work with in space combat. Not to mention there'll be plenty of times you need to be the aggressor."

"Her newly emerged bestial side is quite literally a mouse."  Julius says dryly, "Which certainly doesn't help matters.  And no, no weapons.  But a smallish target, designed for defense, with specialized training to mitigate attacks and stay alive.  Could be handy.  I'm starting there and then working her towards offense later.  Have to give her some sort of fundamentals to lean on besides 'punch very hard'.  Much as it hurts me to say that..."

The tug is a small, with two servo-arms for docking, an ammo transfer port, and a LOT of armor.  The thrust isn't the best but it's a shade better than most bombers.  It's also studded with maneuvering thrusters, both for getting the ship into position and for quick evasive action.  There's hard point space for weapons but the moment they're added they'll turn the ship into a snail.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:00, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

"Mouse, huh", Daniel repeats with a hint of surprise. "Well, mice fight all the same when cornered."

His frown deepens as he goes through the data.

"Mmh. Smartly specialized for the purpose, but still not sure I approve due to being helpless if separated. Team support is good but zero solo capability isn't. Perhaps I'll get a chance to demonstrate why in the simulation."

He puts the pad away, getting up and taking a look around the room.

"I believe you lured me out with promises of alcohol. Got a fridge here somewhere?"

"She knows.  I wouldn't beat her over the head too much with it if I were you.  Baby steps." He stands up and walks over to a minibar cleverly disguised as a filing cabinet, "Privately?  If worst comes to worst, she can ram that thing with all the weapons loaded.  I give her a coin flip of surviving if she does.  Lunars are tough and their own weapons do a pretty poor job of killing them.  That tug's also pretty well armored and barely oxygenated, so she might get blown free.  But we're not in the business of raising up kamikazes."

"And what's the great Lucifer's poison?"

"Naturally, but that goes for more or less any ship, even if hers should be more destructive than most. I know I'm not the most appropriate person to say this but blowing yourself up shouldn't be your only method of attack."

He chuckles faintly as Julius pulls out the "files".

"Whiskey. Strong and smoky."

"Really.  You're not the most appropriate person?  I can count on my fingers the number of people who shouldn't be allowed to say that and you're #2 on that list.  I saw the video of you jumping out of the Longinus."  He chuckles and takes out a big-ass bottle of whiskey.  Old stuff.  The oldest, it seems.  Worth its weight in... man, just what is the currency of exchange nowadays anyway?  Last Lucifer heard it was in minutes spent with a Neomah, which means pounds of flesh.  He pours them both a glass and hands one to Lucifer.

"Number one's Core, by the by.  Good thing he doesn't have delusions of grandeur like a certain Solar I know.  Cheers."

"They're delusions only if you can't back them up", Daniel retorts with a chuckle as he raises his glass. "Cheers."

Daniel wasn't much of an alcohol connoisseur, having only started drinking after Ragnarök and rarely, if ever, for pleasure. Still, he could tell the difference between the swill he usually made do with and this slice of Terra. He even made sure to drink in cultured sips rather than his usual down-the-hatch method.

"So what's next on the agenda? You get the simulation blueprints sent to the artist previously known as Dr. Florentine and I read up on the Exodites I'm to strike the fear of God into?"

"Salud."  He tips his glass and then takes a long sip.  "Fair enough.  Yeah.  I'm getting the blueprints sent his way, soon as I finish a bit of the prelim choices.  Just as a warning Core may get a bit bored and try to juice things up a bit."  He sighs, "I'll send you the files now.  Hold on,"  He brings up his datapad and starts typing things in, "Then I need you to start figuring out your character a bit."

Daniel takes a sip before nodding. "As long as the additions don't spill over too much into the real world it's all good. Every battle has its surprises."

He takes up his datapad again in preparation for the incoming info.

"Figuring out how? Isn't it just me with the serial numbers filed off and 90% more skulls and spikes?"

"And skin, don't forget a lot of tanned skin." He chuckles into his drink, "You should have the files now.  Give them a read."
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:17, Wed 05 Apr 2017.

Daniel raises a brow in momentary confusion. "Tanned? Aren't Abyssals supposed to be pa- oh, I get it."

He rolls his eyes with a smirk, takes another sip of his drink and sits down at the table to go through the dossiers.

"10 years in quarantine with naught but Core as a regular contact? No wonder Mercy's grown up timid. Strange about her Exaltation, though - you'd think it's not something that'd stay hidden for long under scrutiny. Does she have some propensity for muting its effects or is her Exaltation actually weaker somehow?"

Another sip, another file.

"The prodigal son's return, huh. Good thing he's starting to pull his weight. The knowledge accrued in his travels should prove invaluable."

As he finally starts going through Arkady's file, a peculiar frown overtakes him. It was like he was reading up on himself back on Earth. When his world was still painted clearly in black and white. He spends a moment in reminiscence before commenting.

"Well... The Mountain sure reminds me of a certain someone's beginnings. I expect good things from him, provided his implacability doesn't become frailty in the face of a true adversary."

He raises his empty glass and throws an inquisitive glance at Julius to check if he's fine with a refill.

"Took you a moment there."

Fossil watches quietly as the other exalt reads. "Well, not that strange- if the Exaltation thrives on going unnoticed, then nothing's going to notice, is it?  I'm not sure if it's actually weaker or just strong in different ways, but evidence is suggesting the former."

He lets Daniel continue to read.

"Yeah, he's starting, but he doesn't excel in any one area.  Especially as a pilot.  He's worse off than some mortal pilots I know, simply because he's just spread so thin."

Now here Fossil tries to suppress a smile.  After the statement he starts to repour.

"Yeah, I thought you'd take an interest in that, huh?  Like a mirror image of you.  Mountain's just a bit too cocky so he could get knocked down a peg.  Also like a certain someone I know."

"We'll see. I'd like to assume the Exaltation's just different rather than weaker, because the latter case has dire implications should it turn out to be more than an individual anomaly."

He rubs his temple thoughtfully. Could it be that after the deaths of Sol and Luna the Sparks of their Exaltations were losing power somehow? Maybe the thinning of the blood wasn't a worry for just the Dragon-Blooded anymore. He'd have to ask Lytek.

"Sounds to me he just needs to find a focus that can draw from his versatility. He's been spreading thin and exploring because he hasn't found what he wanted to do; once he does he'll find a way to consolidate the pieces into a whole."

As Fossil pours and speaks of Mountain, Daniel's expression shifts from initial amusement into graveness. He instinctively brushes the spot where Spiderweb's talisman had been before taking a long sip from his refilled glass.

"Raid on the Buchenwald not enough for you? It's been a while since I've felt that useless. Or you can wait till whatever shitstorm Brahe cooks up for getting punched."

He sneers, downs the rest of the glass, and puts it back on the table with a clank.

"But yeah, Mountain's gonna learn some lessons. We don't want him to get himself killed the first time he meets his match."

"I don't know about dire implications.  There have always been stronger and weaker Exaltations.  Compare yourself with the Red Queen, for example.  Even if she focused on it I doubt she could match you in combat.  The Exaltations have never been exactly uniform.  Personally, I think it's a good thing."  He sips his drink, "A little weakness in the right place can force you to compensate in other ways.  From your deformities, find might.  Hers might just be the ability to be overlooked."

He then pulls up a screen- a simulation of the Buchenwald fight.

"You say that, but... one thing I've noticed is we've usually been pretty proactive in our operations.  We've only rarely had to deal with them actually taking the fight to us.  Stone Place, Ceres... we nearly got our faces caved in during the Ambush of the Outer Void. Sure, we took the advantage against the Buchenwald, but this time this was kind of their territory.  We need to get used to defensive actions."

"Looks like we're actually in agreement, just using different definitions of strength. Not everyone needs to be like me - hell, we wouldn't have gotten off Earth in the first place if that was the case. We need Lyla and Michael at least as much as we need me. That said, my understanding is that all Exaltations carry a certain base level of fortitude and raw power and if I'm wrong I want to ensure it's always been that way rather than a new development."

He regards the Buchenwald simulation with restrained anger and frustration as the mortals plink off the map in droves.

"Yeah. Although that's because staying mostly ahead of the enemy is necessary for our survival. The enemy is always one successful ambush away from total victory. Naturally that means we need to be prepared for defensive action for that exact reason."

He casts a momentary glance at his empty glass.

"About done with the preparations?"

"Can it even be measured?  I mean, I've tried to talk to Lytek about it, and all he does is babble about dirt and grunge on the shards and how his tools aren't what they used to be, but then he matter-of-factly tells me that the Exaltation shards are basically invincible and will flit around the void after everything else is gone."

He watches the simulation, pausing it before the worst of the carnage.

"About done.  Still waiting on the last bits from Core.  Killing time at the moment.  I could always take you to go see the simulators."

"I'm sure Core has several systems of measurement at the ready - hell, how would the simulation work if he didn't? I don't mean exact figures, though, just a general set of traits everyone seems to share. That includes superhuman healing ability. Anyway, wouldn't hurt to try if I can't wrest something more specific out of Lytek at some point."

Daniel's happy to get a distraction from the massacre, pushing himself up from the table.

"Yeah, sure I suppose."

"Buy Lytek a few drinks, wait until he's good and drunk and then try."  He stands up too, putting away his bottle.  "I don't think anyone's using it, but you never know.  It's starting to get a lot more popular."

They head out from his office and down a hall of the Martial Library, eventually reaching a room with ten pods in it.  It's nothing Daniel hasn't seen before.  They've been using similar for at least 2-3 years to filter out the bad pilots.  The hardware connected to the pods in the center of the room, however, is new.  Normally each pod was connected to its own terminal; a shared one is different.

Also, hm, they look pretty reinforced.  One of them is showing signs of damage, and if Daniel is any judge it's due to Dragon-Blooded anima flux.

"Huh, one of them's in use." Fossil walks up to one and checks the readout, "Looks like Kumiho's in there.  She's been a regular."

"As long as the simulation's good - which, knowing who made it, I have no reason to doubt - that's good news", Daniel says with a nod as they start heading out.

As they reach the simulation room he examines the interlinked pods curiously. Must be what allowed multi-user simulations rather than just solo ones.

He raises a curious brow at the damaged pod. "Looks like someone's gotten rather into it. Speaks well of the simulation's quality."

The mention of Kumiho elicits a look of pleasant surprise. "That so? Good to hear she's motivated, considering she Exalted in the middle of the horror many newbies have yet to face."

He walks over to check the readout, then glances at the connections of the pod she's in. "Any way to spectate properly other than diving in?"

"Well, kind of." Fossil gestures to the terminal; there's a screen. "It's lowfi output, though; we do record the entire simulation to review later, but we're using enough power just running the simulation.  Makes no sense wasting cycles on fancy graphics for someone standing outside.  I can hook you up to one now in Observer Mode or you can watch on the screen until she comes out."

Yeesh.  The screen is using graphics that he would've scoffed at 20 years prior.  It's like the old 8-bit shit, which is of course hopelessly not up to the task of showing 3D combat.

From what Lucifer is able to see, Kumiho seems to be going through a gauntlet sim- fighting successive waves of fighters and seeing how long she can last.  She's midway through dealing with an advanced Imperator, so she's halfway to Exodite wave par.  Usually most Exodites crash and burn at Advanced Abyssal.

Daniel scoffs at the pixelated crap on the screen. "Yeah, I'd rather be able to actually make out what's happening. Thanks."

He heads for a linked pod to spectate in. Seems they'd come just in time for the interesting stuff.

There are eight functional pods.  Fossil starts opening up one for him- he sees a rather comfortable-looking couch, two gloves studded with electrodes, and a full-face helmet with a rebreather mask.  It smells of stale sweat.

"Let met get you hooked up-"

Once Lucifer's lying down, Fossil puts the helmet over his head.  A flip of the switch and-

Lucifer's floating in a black void, watching a dogfight between Kumiho and an enemy Navarino.  The Navarino's no real match for her; the two are exchanging quick turns and passes, with Kumiho ultimately getting the upper hand.  Lucifer could probably blow the Imperator up with a shot or two, but this is still pretty competent for a fresh Exalt.

It only takes two or three more passes before Kumiho's finished off the low-ranked Imperator.  She has only thirty seconds before the next wave (a stronger Imperator with a better ship) arrives.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:57, Tue 18 Apr 2017.

Daniel wasn't pansy enough to care too much about the sweat, but knowing Core it surprised him the pods weren't cleaned every 15 minutes. Clearly he didn't have too much of a hand in their operation.

Once he's in, he takes a moment to acclimate to the weird weightlessness but quickly focuses on the fight.

She was doing well for a fresh Exalt, as he'd expected. He'd be disappointed if she fell before the Abyssal rounds. Granted, Kumiho's main talent seemed to be devastating large groups, but it's quite likely she didn't get to show all she had at the Raid on the Buchenwald.

The next wave-  an Imperator in a Stalingrad.  A voice crackles in his ear, "She has no idea you're here unless you want her to know that.  You're on observer protocol.  Right now this Imperator's got full Essence control, but not the best charms.  It's also got reduced Essence, so it should be a bit easier to kill."

Advantage to Kumiho- she's fast, extremely so, and she's reached quite a bit of synergy with her interceptor.  She Stalingrad Imperator is able to beat off a few of her attacks but it's slow going.  She necessarily takes a few shots- not unusual for an Exalt of her age- but her maneuverability is just too much for the ship.  It's finally put to an end when she finally lights an entire area of space on fire with a single shot, leaving nothing but scrap.

Another 30 seconds.  Next wave is Elder Imperator, followed by Young Abyssal, then an Advanced Abyssal.

((If Daniel wants to interject, the best time is between waves.  If he has no intention to interject, then we'll skip to her completion of the gauntlet.))

"Good. Wouldn't want to throw her off."

Daniel observes the fight intently, making note of Kumiho's split-second decisions and abilities - but also those of the Imperator. If the enemy wasn't authentic enough the simulations might do more harm than good.

He has full confidence the young Lunar will make it at least to the Young Abyssal round, having no intention to interject unless it seems she's hesitating or about to give up.

As far as Daniel can tell, the Imperator's on the level; it's a bit randomized with every match, but it's within parameters.

The next fight ends poorly for Kumiho.  She still wins, but only barely.  The Elder Imperator was just a tough match for her fighting style; it could happen to just about anyone without a wide breadth of fighting skills.  She manages to overcome the Imperator by sheer Essence attrition, but that leaves her weakened against the next Abyssal.

It's a close thing, but the Abyssal ends up with a lucky shot.  Her ship spirals out of control and even inside his pod he can hear the "SHIT!" echo through the room.

Daniel removes his VR gear and exits his pod, knocking on Kumiho's unless she's already out by the time he gets there.

"Not bad. Had the Imperator not softened you up you probably would've had it. Might want to learn a different approach to avoid being countered like that, although in a real situation you might have someone backing you up to avoid it."

Kumiho is quite a sight to see- bedraggled, limp, covered with sweat and tears and snot.

"Oh no,"  She mutters as she stumbles out, "This day just got a billion times worse..."

Fossil snickers a little and shakes his head, "Better luck next time, Ms. Pak."

"Not cool, Mr. Caesar!"  She points at him as she steadies herself against her VR pod, "Come on, usually you let us know if there are observers!"

"It might've made things worse for you."

"Yeah, or I could've done better!"

Daniel isn't put off at all by Kumiho's haggard state - if anything, it was a sign she'd given her all and thus worthy of respect. "Nothing to be embarrassed about. You weren't bad at all, just countered by the Imperator."

He raises a brow and gains a faint smirk at the Lunar's annoyance. "Well, if you feel that way you can always go for a rematch." He knocks on the pod. "Start right at the Abyssal to make up for fatigue."

He didn't really expect her to take the challenge - seems the VR was quite authentic enough to wear pilots down for real. A part of him harkens back to Ragnarök and its marathon battles, but at the same time he recognizes he already had quite a bit of experience under his belt by the time.

"Not that you have anything to prove to me. Julius told me you've been a regular and doing well."

"Nope, that's cheating."  Kumiho shakes her head, "Things aren't going to be exactly the same."

"It'd take a few moments to recalibrate too."

"Yeah well, okay, whatever.  So what're you doing here?"  She asks, brushing her hair back and frowning at the sheer amount of sweat that drops off of it, "I thought old Exalts like you just retreat to a cave somewhere until it's time to emerge during our Darkest Need."

"Not really. In the real world battles don't follow a set pattern", Daniel says with a shrug. "But granted, you've trained quite enough for the day by the looks of it."

Kumiho's rendition of his assumed activities elicits a chuckle. "To be fair, just about every day is one of Darkest Need in these times. And as tragic as it is, it works to keep me focused. Anything over 30 hours of idleness and I start falling apart at the seams. Doubly so if there's nothing but a high-tech hospital room to look at around you."

He rolls his shoulders, wincing slightly as his healing hand accidentally hits Kumiho's pod. "To answer your question, though, Julius bailed me out of Sanctuary to show me the wonders of VR. He's staging an exercise for the new blood."

He blinks thoughtfully, shifting his gaze from Kumiho to Julius. "Speaking of which, is she participating?"

"Ugh, did I make that joke already?  I'm so tired I think I might've made that joke already," She mutters and holds her face.  "Wait.  So, he's working on a new gauntlet to throw at the New Kids on Deck?"

"Who the hell came up with that name?"  Fossil laughs, "And yes, she's one of them."

"Freaking fantastic."  She throws her hands in the air, "How long do I have to prepare?  Is it right now?  Are you going to light my toes on fire first?  Ancient European secret?"

"Yep.  Poles did that a lot.  So did the Danish right before the Battle of Jutland."

"Right, look, you know Tomato's still getting her ribs fixed up and Mercy still can't hit the broad side of a cruiser."

"To be fair, being set on fire does wonders for motivation", Daniel jeers as he leans on the pod again.

"What you said only strengthens the case for a VR exercise. It lets Tomato participate effectively despite her injuries and gives Ms. Brown a chance to get over herself without the alternative of dying messily."

He glances at one of the screens for the time.

"In any case it's not gonna be -right- away. You should be able to freshen up."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:55, Thu 04 May 2017.

"But what if we win?  It'll ruin my perfect losing streak."  She says flippantly, "And oh gods, yeah, I need a shower.  Look, can we cut this short before I start looking even more like a gross idiot than I am?"

"Sure enough.  Hit the showers," Fossil tells her, "We can go through a post-mortem later."

"I prefer after-action report."

"Abyssal, therefore it's a post-mortem."

"Fine.  Catch you later, Lucifer."  She brushes past him and out of the VR chamber.

"Well, the simulations aren't exactly designed to be beaten", Daniel notes with acknowledgment rather than condescension as he steps aside. "They say sweat saves blood."

He glances after Kumiho as she leaves, then turns to Fossil.

"She seems driven. That's good to see. And the simulations look realistic enough."

"Very.  She's exactly the kind of Exalt we're looking for, but it seems her psychological type isn't exactly common.  If she's got one downside it's that she's too young.  I think she'll be in the upper 5 percentile when all's said and done."

He keeps fiddling with the machine.

"Downside is she sweats like a pig in these things, I'll need to take a hose to it.  Simulations themselves don't need too much work.  We've got a pretty strong database."

"Means she's saving a lot of blood", Daniel says with a shrug. "Besides, judging by the Anima Flux damage on that one pod I'd say sweat is a trivial worry."

It wouldn't take too sharp an eye to note Daniel is pleased on a personal level by Kumiho's performance. He'd never presume to take credit for another's excellence, but having had a part in the beginning of a new Exalt - and a very promising one at that - was a rare glimmer of good and hope in this generally bleak exodus.

His understated smile turns into a frown before transitioning into a smirk. "...Yeah, I suppose she is. What is she, 20-something? All you whippersnappers look like kids to us relics. Fossils, even."

"Twenty-two, actually.  And yeah, you're all these wise old guys who are only barely clinging to your old roles, barely managing to get with the times-" Obvious lies! "Escaped from North Korea, one of the few who did.  Honestly I'm surprised she didn't Exalt sooner.  You've gotta have tough skin to get out of a place like that."

He walks over to a corner and picks up a hose.  Water, thankfully, isn't that precious in a worldship with water elementals who can make it out of pure prayer.

"So, you like this one, huh,"  Fossil muses as he hoses out the pods, "Gonna make it a personal project?"

"Nonsense!" Daniel responds with feigned outrage, "I was happily out of touch until Ragnarök. Only really started catching up with the times then. Before that I was blissfully unaware of your haptic feedback loops and polymorphic neurointerfaces and bubble tea."

He steps aside to avoid the water spray, raising a brow.

"Personal project sounds like I'm gonna pin her on a needle and put her on display. I'm just glad to have something positive come out of the Buchenwald massacre and if there's something I can do to help her along I will. Heaven knows we need every asset at their best."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:15, Sun 07 May 2017.

"You want to know the scary part?  Heaven doesn't exist.  This IS heaven, for all intents and purposes.  Fucked up, huh." He shakes his head, "Well, regardless, she seems to like you.  She wants to make an even better impression.  That's a blessing too . Too many exalts just don't seem to get along on this ship."

There is a momentary, involuntary shift into ABSOLUTE MURDER in Daniel's eyes as Fossil blurts out what could be construed as an atheist statement. Good thing it was someone he knew and respected or his brain might not have held off on the retribution long enough to consider what he was actually saying.

He takes a deep breath and opens his fist, resuming his relaxed posture hoping Julius was none the wiser. A vain hope, most likely, as his glares tended to be felt more than seen. "Heaven was never a physical or literal place. It's just as real now as it was on Terra, and just as far away."

He moves ahead before getting carried away, to the probable relief of both parties. Unfortunately the new subject was relations with other Exalts, which immediately brought to mind that...

"Too many Exalts on this ship need a punch in the goddamn face. But yeah, it's good to see someone with great potential not screwing around. Got enough lone wolves and loose cannons as it is."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:38, Mon 08 May 2017.

If Fossil notices, he refuses to acknowledge it with his body language.  Probably just as well, to be honest.

Then he seemingly decides to prod him.

"Oh, you mean like a certain Infernal?  Word on the street is you've already done that enough times for most people's liking."  Fossil turns the hose to 'power spray' when he gets to the most recently used pod.  "Stoneback came to talk to me about that yesterday."

"He did, huh? What'd he say? Demons reading too much into it and wanting me gone?"

He wipes his nose with a knuckle, sighing heavily.

"I'm not a politician. If someone needs their shit slapped, I'll do it no matter who they're friends with or how many fans I'm gonna lose. That said, in retrospect, Brahe didn't do quite enough to deserve it that time, but he's an asshole who'd betray us at the drop of a hat so I'm not too heartbroken about my overreaction."

"I'm not good at impressions." Fossil turns off the hose, "But something to the effect of 'He should've just killed Brahe for the insult, at least then nobody would really complain about it'.  Something to the effect that they think you're weak for holding back, but are offended that you bothered to strike in the first place.  Bad publicity, Daniel."

He turns back to the man, "Well, it's been a long day.  I'll gather up the boys and girls for a briefing.  You want the run of the place?"

"That's how it is walking the middle path, I guess. Couldn't really kill someone who'd helped me a few minutes before. Plus as long as he's on our side he's a big help - when he's not conspiring to overthrow us or some shit. So, maybe 5% of the time."

He gives another faint sigh before nodding. "Might as well. Looks like a nice place to visit when convalescing."

"Yeah.  Go ahead and wander around, it'll be maybe an hour or two.  Just relax."  He waves at him and grabs a few towels from the racks, "We'll meet up back at my quarters, that's where I'll hold the briefing for them.  If you'd rather they not see you, show up 45 minutes earlier."

"Better if they don't know, I think. Adds to the faceless menace. See you 45 minutes before."

He waves back, then turns to look around the place. Better to busy his mind with something less aggravating. What element wrecked that one pod? Were there differences in the pods beside the number of connections? What were they running on, some local mainframe or a link to Core?

Mostly he's just keeping busy to pass the time, though.

Judging by the way the pod's been messed up, it's been subjected to an Earth Dragon-Blooded's anima flux.  The pods otherwise look identical (save a number printed on each), and judging by the box it's a local/native connection.

Of course, Fossil had mentioned that Core was helping out with this simulation... then again, Core is Core, and the man probably has a hard-wired connection with everything on the Last Refuge.  Possibly dangerous, but knowing Core he has several ways of severing connections, each more final than the last.

With Fossil heading out to do... stuff... that leaves Lucifer with the run of the place.  There's quite a few regulars who're in the normal rooms of the Martial Library, and somewhere around here Kumiho's probably cleaning up, and then there's that new book on gunkata that he always planned on laughing at....

Daniel knew better than to show himself in any of the sparring rooms in his current state - someone would undoubtedly manage to goad him into a fight, and for once he was determined to follow the doctors' advice. Faster convalescence meant quicker return to the fray.

He paces around the library, happening by that one new book by someone who probably saw Equilibrium once and decided to put it on paper from memory a decade later. Still, it could be good entertainment if nothing else.

Having spent an eternity lying around with nothing to do he's not keen on sitting down, though, so he paces around the place absently thumbing through the book.

Fossil's words nag at his subconscious, however. He'd sort of pushed aside his outbursts and unchecked anger after the battle, and while public opinion really wasn't something he cared much about, there was a more specific case that did concern him. He really wasn't sure how to bring it up with Kumiho, though.

Yeah, whoever wrote this book has some very, very strange ideas about combat.  Like the concept of opponents standing still.  Right.

An eternity turns out to be half an hour, give or take.  Most people are savvy enough not to mess with him, though one person mumbles an apology as he asks for an autograph.  He apologizes again, thinking better of it, and scampers back to the stacks.

And that's enough time.

Fossil is waiting back at his office, going over the battlemap.  He's also got a whiteboard nearby, the old fashioned kind, with many ideas written on it and crossed out.

"Hey.  Looks like it's still a work in progress but the coding isn't going to take too long.  Seems like it's been forever." He waves at the scrawl, "Anyone bother you?"

Yeah, at least the book had some entertainment value. If your opponents were as still as was required for these techniques to work you wouldn't have to fight them in the first place.

The guy asking for an autograph gets a rather confused raised brow. What was he, a movie star? Before he can even begin to generate an answer the guy bows out, however, leaving Daniel ever more confused before he shakes it off.

"You've got more valuable writings to get here", he says as he starts walking off. "Read up and show me some day."

As he walks in the office he takes a glance at the whiteboard before looking to Fossil.

"One guy asked for an autograph. I get rather few of those."

He leans over the battlemap.

"So we're almost good to go. Got the rookies ready?"

"Autographs?  Jesus Christ," Fossil shakes his head.  "They'll be getting a nice briefing soon enough.  They're on their way.  I'll have enough done in the next few minutes."

Lucifer can see Fossil drawing on essence, the protean nature of the Lunar exaltation giving him the ability to think rapidly, plan on the fly, with a level of fidelity that could make seconds into days.

Daniel concentrates on the battlemap, giving Fossil the moment he needs for his plans.

After the Lunar's mind seems to shift out of overdrive, he glances at the door and then Fossil.

"Right. Where do I go to avoid spoiling the surprise?"

"Hide under my bed,"  He says with all seriousness, "No, really, bathroom will do."

The battlemap starts filling out automatically.  Lucifer doesn't see Fossil inputting anything with his hands.  Either the computer's tuned in to his mental state or his essence is picking up the work.

He can hear some people talking in the background...

Daniel raises a brow but shrugs and heads off to the bathroom. At least Fossil kept things tidy around here.

He hadn't seen him controlling computers with his mind before. Was it technology, magic or both? He'd have to ask him later.

As other voices become audible he curiously concentrates on listening. They had no idea what was coming...

Kumiho is the first to come in.  Makes sense, she was around the Martial Library most recently.  "The others are on their way,"  She says aloud, "Tomato's gotta make her way from Sanctuary and the others were apparently having a small party in the Upperdecks."

She sniffs,

"Where's Lucifer?"

"Stepped out for a bit-"

"He's in the bathroom, isn't he."

Daniel sighs. This is why he'd expected to be called AFTER the others were briefed and in their pods. Oh well, nothing for it now.

He washes his face now that he's here, then steps back out unless Fossil manages a convincing ruse. He's not particularly plussed about being found out, his presence might not give away what exactly was going on yet.

"Party? For any reason in particular?"

Fossil can't come up with a good ruse for this.  Can't fool a Lunar nose.

"Hey there," She gives him a wave. "No, no real reason.  I mean, it's all Adam's idea.  Something about developing pan-Exaltation social bonds." She shrugs, "It's good fun but it's exhausting when they're called pretty much at random.  What're you doing hiding here?  Didn't know you and Fossil were an item."

"Sounds like an excuse for getting drunk", Daniel responds matter-of-factly, "Not that it's not a way of developing social bonds, I suppose."

He crosses his arms, mildly annoyed at the young Lunar's cheekiness. "More staying out of the way. Not the first time I come to check what's going on here, especially when the alternative is wasting away at Sanctuary."

"Well, not just drunk..." She starts, then becomes aware she might be incriminating herself.  Drugs aren't exactly banned on the Last Refuge (especially since Burning Feather is around), but they're still very much frowned upon.  She glances up at the viewscreen. "And what's going on here?  I mean Fossil spends all his time reading old books and generally working our asses off.  And working on his VR machine... oh so you're helping make a scenario for us.  Awesome, but, uh... I'm kinda scared about what you'd dream up.  Since I'm the only one besides Tomato who's seen first-hand the kinda shit you get up into.  Really, though, you need a better alternative than this.  When's the last time you went partying?"

Daniel lets a deadpan gaze linger on Kumiho for a few oppressive seconds at the mention of drugs before shrugging.

"Well, as long as it's not affecting your performance negatively it's not really my business. Supposing you're not supporting scumbags by procuring them."

His expression softens to a more professional, instructor-like demeanor.

"The risk with simulations is lulling you into a false sense of security and control, thinking you can afford mistakes, detaching you from the stress of looming death or worse. The hypothesis is I've been through enough to try and introduce some more of that type of realism. I hope you'll rise up to the challenge."

Finally he gains a faintly amused expression.

"This might shock you, but I'm not the most outgoing type. Too many eyes on me in most places to even consider letting loose. Closest thing is visiting the Callsign every now and then... Maybe a month or so ago last time? Tell you what though, if you can prove your carousing isn't hindering your progress I just might be persuaded to try your way of socializing some time after hours."

"Well, OK, I can see that with the others, but again I was at the raid on the Buchenwald.  I don't think I need you to put the fear of death in me," She stands in front of him and cocks a hip to the side, a hand falling on to it.  "So don't give me the teacher treatment unless you're already planning to give me an A."

She looks at him in the eyes, "Fine, you're on, then.  I impress you, you cut loose with us, okay?  And I mean me, not them.  Poor Mercy can't fight her way out of a paper bag so that's kinda not fair."

"I think all of you have a fair chance of impressing me in your own ways. For you the bar is definitely higher, though."

It was meant as a compliment, or at least a recognition of skill and grit. She was among a very small number of survivors in the massacre of the Buchenwald and Daniel definitely respected that.

"It's not that I haven't recognized your exceptional drive and battle experience for an Exodite. Quite the opposite, in fact. But it doesn't stop at getting A's or even being best in class. Clearing and surpassing challenges means raising the bar next time. And maybe in doing so, pulling the others in your slipstream. It's harsh, but the fact of the matter is even Mercy has more potential as a warrior than the greatest mortal warrior that ever lived. Your excellence is due to you realizing that potential more readily."

He didn't want to heap too much praise on her beforehand, but this much did seem justified.

"So yes, you're on. I've been told I could use some positive social contact."

"Hmmm.  You're certainly an expert at the backhand compliment; you also really need to talk to the Interceptors more.  There's actually a joke about slipstreams."  She sticks her hand out, "There are no slipstreams in space!"

She gives him a quick handshake,

"I am gonna fly circles around whatever you dream up, bee tee double-u."

"Mental note, more turrets,"  Fossil quips over to Lucifer, "Great for things flying in circles.  Kumiho, where are the rest?"

"Taking their sweet time no doubt, I think the Mountain was trying to impress Mercy again.  Inter-party romance, don't ya know.  Better to date out of your immediate social circle."  She glances at Lucifer.

Daniel gains a bemused smirk at the joke about slipstreams.

"I've got another one: You're an Exalt now, so if you need a slipstream in space you're damn well gonna make one."

He shakes her hand firmly, maintaining an almost challenging eye contact as she boasts.

"Hopefully. Let's see how far that gets you."

He gives an off-handed nod to Fossil's quip in acknowledgment, then chuckles at Kumiho's mention of inter-party shenanigans.

"I can see the risks but hey, whatever helps you keep it together in this void. At least a fellow Exalt is less vulnerable to the maelstrom we create around ourselves."

Then he notes her glance, blinks, and for once picks up on a social cue. His stern teacher facade takes a hit, causing him to clear his throat and attempt recovery.

"As long as it doesn't cause skimping on your duties, though."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:23, Tue 02 July 2019.

"Oho, I get it, we're not really in the void we're in the aether,"  She keeps her eyes smack-dab staring him down.  Give her that, she may be a bit of a fangirl but she doesn't back down from any kind of challenge.

"Oh, so you're saying that I should shoot for the least vulnerable people, huh.  So long as it doesn't make me skimp on my duties." 

"Exactly. The Void is the realm of the Neverborn; we submit to no such domain but are a defiant pocket of Aether in it."

There's a glint in his eye that hints there might well be a sermon/lecture available on the subject, but this was hardly the time and place for it. Besides, the Lunar was doing an exquisite job at keeping him off his usual social footing.

"I-"

Fine, he'd dial down the stern teacher routine at least until the rest of the group - those perhaps more responsive to it - would arrive. He drops the official air and gives Kumiho a genuine chuckle. He's not one to back off from a challenge either so his gaze stays on her, but it's no longer a test - if anything, it's a sign of approval as the results of the challenge would only be seen after the simulation was done.

That, and unbeknownst to him, a little hint of attraction. Which is good, because any deliberate message would most likely come off hamfisted and terrible if at all.

"That's... Not exactly what I meant to say, but I suppose it's one way to interpret it."

Kumiho's eyes glint.  Lucifer gets the distinct impression he's fallen into another verbal trap when he's saved by a knock on the door.  A little African woman in a subdued brown dress pushes her way meekly in.

"Ah, Kimmy, I..." She pauses and her eyes widen as she sees Lucifer, "... am really not ready for this..."

"Lucifer, Mercy.  Mercy, Lucifer."  Kumiho introduces them, "Nice of you to come around, Mouse."

...And just as soon as the mentor mode had dropped, it went back up again. Saved by the bell, as it were.

Daniel steps toward the meek young woman as they're introduced, offering a hand in greeting and making eye contact in as nonthreatening a manner as he can muster. His grasp is firm but not overtly so, communicating sincerity rather than dominance.

"One never truly is, but perhaps today will change that a little. Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Brown."

"Likewise,"  Her hand feels small and delicate, almost like a child's.  She swallows twice, "You saved my mom and uncle in Chicago, so, thank you."

Of course, Lucifer has no recollection of this.  This is not an uncommon thing, after all.

"You're here to observe us today?  Oh Luna,"  She mumbles, "I need some tea, the good stuff..."

"None of that right now, no caffeine before the VR." Fossil tells her.

"Drat."
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 19:48, Sat 13 July 2019.

Daniel receives the thanks with a nod, accepting but not making a big deal of it - it's not like he'd saved them specifically, and it was likely that asking how the mom and uncle were doing now would have a less uplifting answer.

"Don't stress about it too much. I'm not here to judge but to observe and help you reach your potential."

"Combat isn't my forte, as I'm sure you've heard.  I'm more of a medic,"  She tells him, then gives him a once-over.  "... Speaking of which, when's the last time you saw a doctor?"

Well, that wasn't particularly meek.  Her eyes have a certain sharpness to them now, a brief analyzing scan.

"Besides Sanctuary's?"

"She does this with everyone,"  Kumiho helpfully informs him.

"You didn't complain too much when I fixed that scar tissue in your shoulder."

"Oh, I'm not complaining.  Just telling him.  This is kind of her pet peeve."

"Sanctuary and the Plague Doctors and Combat Epidemiologists are so worried about curative care that they neglect preventive."

"It's fine to have your main focus somewhere other than combat. Hell, all the other stuff is at least as important to our survival as fighting is. That said, all of us Exalted must be able to fight when necessary or we risk all of that other work being cut short for us and those we could still help. There is a target on each of our backs and sooner or later, no matter how much one tries to avoid it, we will end up in a situation where our only way to success and survival is fighting for it."

For once his tone is not preachy or lecturing, but rather genuine advice based on plenty of personal experience. It wasn't one or two promising Exalts like her he'd seen falling along the way. That part would be too much information, though.

As the subject shifts closer to Mercy's comfort zone, Daniel tilts his head with a slight curiosity - it was good to see the Lunar wasn't meek in every situation. He would gladly run with this.

"Well I just- Wait, non-Sanctuary? Hm..."

He brings the thumb and index finger of his healthy hand to his jaw, scratching thoughtfully. That in itself would likely be answer enough.

"I... Really can't tell for sure. I tend to be checked in to Sanctuary often enough that I kind of assume they'll tell me if I need something."

He glances to Kumiho, nodding at her explanation, before turning back to Mercy.

"I'm all for a check-up if you'd like to do one. Won't it have to wait until after the training, though? Wouldn't want you to spend too much energy on other things beforehand."

Knowing the prowess of the Exalted, it might well be that a check-up from her would take practically no time at all. In fact he was almost counting on it, testing how far her assertiveness would go in "medic mode".

"Right hand,"  She remarks, "Bet they just patched it up, huh?  Typical.  Looks like impact damage, your bones are cracked.  They've superficially healed.  Your Exalted physiology will make up for a lot of it but their Exalted physiology can still make a mountain out of a molehill."  She reaches out to take his hand, "I bet you haven't been given any therapeutic exercises."

"Here it comes..."

"It's a crack in stone that's been spackled over," She remarks, "They made it, they can reopen it.  You should exercise it, a medicine ball, squeeze it a bit every day.  Drink a lot more milk, you need the calcium.  I'd tell you more but I'd need some blood." She looks at him and narrows her eyes, "... And just how much sleep have you been getting?  Don't lie."

"Four, five hours most days. Six when nothing's on fire. Ten or so after most missions", he answers honestly. "If you mean lately, I've tried to follow convalescence instructions, so... about seven."

He doesn't resist as she takes his hand, although there is a slight curious tilting of of his head. Clearly getting in the zone helped her come out of her shell.

"Impact damage is right, more accurately a special kind of round. Soulsteel alloy."

He frowns at the lecture, not dismissive but somewhat dubious.

"I get what you're saying, but... If it was quite that simple, I should be useless by now. It'd be easier to list the bones in my body that haven't been broken within the last decade than the ones that have, but I don't feel any weaker or more fragile. It's more that the Abyssals have been getting stronger..."

He stops to consider momentarily. Maybe there was a connection there, or a difference of perception?

"Anyway, I am exercising regularly and... Eating."

Eating well? Regularly? Not really. Moving on...

"I'm all for providing a blood sample, but I'm not sure I have anything with me I could use to get a clean one. Do you?"

Now it got interesting. Would she be able to draw blood from him outside the context of combat?

"That's unhealthy.  Try to get about seven regularly.  You can get away with more but you need to work with your Exaltation, not use it as a crutch."  She gives him a small look as she looks at the hand, "I haven't gotten to look at soulsteel wounds but it's not simple at all, you're right.  Let's just say I've been reading up on things and there are some ghosts and Abyssals that can target prior wounds, regardless of natural healing, and take advantage of them.  At least you're getting proper exercise.  Regarding your food intake... how many meals a day?  And I could take and analyze the blood sample right now-"

"She means bite you.  Can nip you and taste your blood and give you a proper analysis.  I don't think this is the right time for that."  Fossil suddenly interrupts, "You can give him a physical later, Mouse.  Where's Mountain?"

"He went back to get something he left somewhere, supposedly.  Along with Adam, who's making sure he comes back."

Daniel retains his thoughtful frown as Mercy mentions using one's Exaltation as a crutch. Was that what was happening? It was true he was doing a lot of reckless things relying on his power, but it still felt.. inaccurate.

"Hmh. If anything, I feel it's the other way around. It's not about doing things and expecting my Exaltation to bail me out or handle it for me, it's doing things because it's the nature of my Exaltation. Of me. Perhaps constantly pushing myself is working with my Exaltation. Perhaps not merely healing but growing stronger from adversity is my nature."

He's actually curious to see how easily the Lunar doctor would be able to draw his blood, but as Fossil interjects he sees no reason to object. There would be plenty of time later. Besides, maybe she'd manage to do it in the simulation.

He breaks eye contact with Mercy for a bit to glance at the others and the door, then returns to her still holding his hand. Wonder how long the assertiveness granted by the doctor's role would last on her?

"I appreciate your concern nonetheless, Ms. Brown. I would gladly have you perform a full physical later. For now though, let's focus on the matter at hand."

"Ah- right-"  The bubble bursts long before Fossil's interruption; roughly when he said he disagrees.  She immediately- almost visibly- begins to second-guess herself as soon as she's up against any conflict.

"So, well, apparently Mountain and Adam shouldn't take longer than ten..."

"We can get you hooked up now,"  Fossil recommends, "Considering how long it took us last time."

"Full-body?"  Kumiho asks.  "Sometimes I hate those things...

"Yep.  We're going full immersive for this one, including the briefing.  Hoses and all."

"Usually Adam helps me get into the tank," A sly tone starts to creep into her voice.

Hm. Much as expected, Mercy's confidence was a bubble in desert air. Still, it was good to see even that; with time and experience, her skin would thicken. If it didn't kill her first.

He nods to the meek Lunar's estimate before turning to Fossil giving instructions and finally Kumiho. There she went again, but avoiding the trap would likely just lead to even murkier waters so...

"Awfully courteous of him. How can I help?"

"You'll need to hook me up.  C'mon," She says, nodding her head out towards the hall, "I've got one just for me.  It's the lucky capsule."

"We've already had gods check, they're all neutral luck."  Fossil tells the solar instead, ignoring words already about to spill from Kumiho's mouth, "Except for one, but that one's mine."

"Lots of tubes."  She explains as she pushes out into the hallway, "High-oxygen liquid, too.  The works.  I think I'm gonna guess you haven't ever been in one?  I don't see any reason why you would."

"Luck is relative, highly subjective, and certainly not something to rely on. But sure."

He bids good luck to the others before following Kumiho to the hallway. He hadn't seen everyone before the training, but that's hardly a problem as the original plan was that none of them would.

"Yeah, not to deprecate the value of training but I've got enough encounters under my belt and keep clashing with real enemies often enough that I've never really had the time or interest."

"There are some luck gods who're probably getting really angry hearing you talk like that,"  The Lunar informs him as they walk, "There used to be one in the interceptor corps.  Unfortunately luck caught up to him.  He got decked by a gorgeous lady on the dance floor, broke his jaw, ended up getting married to her and quit, and then a year later his squadron got wiped out.  That's the joke!"

The third door down the hall leads to a small room with a big tube.  The tube is obviously designed to tilt back so the occupant is supine.  There's a decidedly alarming number of hoses, a command console, a big thick manual, and some whirring tanks, all topped off by a pair of goggles.  There's also a privacy curtain in the back.

"Looks like you have some reading to do then..."

"I disgruntle most demographics on a regular basis. Not least because everything I do is put under a microscope and then dunked in paint."


He regards the overwhelming amount of tubes in the pod, then the command console, then the manual before raising his hand casually in a denying gesture.

"Nah, I'm good. I've got my way with machines. Feel free to go change unless there's something that needs to be done first."

After that he walks up to the command console and just... sort of stares at it in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. When he finally speaks, it's in an uncharacteristically pleasant and polite tone.

"Greetings. I would like to prepare the pod for Ms. Kumiho to train in, please."

Was there even voice recognition in the device? Well there certainly was now. A golden disk glimmers on his forehead as he addresses and draws forth the spirit behind the UI and code.

(Wu Wei: 19+15+10 = 44)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:07, Wed 31 July 2019.

Kumiho steps behind the curtain with a minimum of fuss and only one meaningful glance his way- and then a bark of laughter as he talks to the machine.

There's a long, long silence.

Then a little piping voice.

"Oi.  You can't talk to me like that,"  The machine replies- well, more accurately, a little god sticking a pointy green head from an access port, "You have to read the manual just like everyone else!  There's rules, and procedures!"

Daniel does notice the glance and is momentarily caught in it, but manages stick to 'no play before work'.

As the little god emerges, he grasps the manual and opens it in one hand.

"Of course, and who better to ensure they're followed than you? Surely you've been frustrated enough times by people neglecting to read the manual or doing it wrong regardless that a chance to do things right and proper for once is refreshing. Tell you what, you make things prim and proper for me and I'll say a prayer in your name. I'll even throw in a benediction to your pod. That'll provide you with more juice than a hundred read-throughs of the manual."

He glances at the manual for about a paragraph's worth before turning back to the little green goblin.

"Ah, but do excuse my manners! I am Lucifer, the Morning Star, and an avid guest in your sanctum. And to whom should I address my invocation?"

((Inspire(/ Wu Wei, if more applicable): 26+20+10 = 56/51)
Float 3-3

"Oh you have NO CLUE pal, except for that one guy who always does it, he does it right-"  The god pauses, "Mercy and goddamn, though, that's a nice thing to say and do!  I am Andronicus the Third, third god of this pod, may the memory of the others fade gracefully.  It is through my power that this pod correctly interfaces with CORE and White Arcing Lightning's power supply, and I mediate between them!  Also I make sure nobody drowns inside like Andronicus the First, that was a clusterfuck-"

Kumiho makes a choking sound behind the curtain.

"I'm not big enough so you're gonna have to do the physical parts but we can dispense with the prayers and lever switches and maybe the incense this time, sound good?  Mercy and goddamn what a gentleman you are."

((Take a Joss, any kind, very flavorful))

”Knowing both of them personally, that’s no small feat. They do say third time’s the charm, after all.”

He keeps the manual on hand until something requiring both hands comes up.

”We’ve got ourselves an understanding then, o Andronicus the Third. Just let me know what to do and we’ll get this pod running better than ever. In fact, I believe I can help you a bit with managing the energy output from my friend WAL...”

As he sets to work, he keeps a friendly rapport with the small god, pacing about the pod in a deliberate manner as he tunes into its geomancy and adjusts it ever so slightly so as to avoid dissonance with WAL’s chaotic Wyld energies - just enough to make the virtual reality a bit more real without spiraling out of control as probably happened with Andronicus the First.

((Discover Fire Cultivation hyperactivity w/ Geomantic Formation: Earth - those genuinely committed to bettering themselves in the pod rather than going through the motions will find their training sessions more vivid, drawing out more of their potential.

Discovery w/ Wu Wei: Flowed 43+15+10=68
Inflame discovered condition w/ Learning: 27+15+10+5(pacing the constellations): 57
Learning (or Might?) to follow orders setting things up: 24+15+10=49(/54) )
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Tue 06 Aug 2019.

Andronicus the Third casually drops he's a minor god of a forgotten brand of toaster ovens, pressed into service when the first AI-gods were brutally killed during the opening salvos of the Abyssal war- which makes sense, given Yama's background.  He inherited his predecessor's portfolio, which included Subaru car key fobs.  Like many of these gods, he's lucky to have any job at all nowadays.  He's also quite happy to have anyone to talk to.

Eventually Kumiho steps out in a not-as-sexy-as-advertised skintight suit, complete with thick plastic vets and other fittings that disrupt her svelte form.  There are several input points for random tubes, rebreathers, and sensors.  Each has a different color and shape.  She looks closer to a schlocky power ranger than anything else.

"OK, so I step in and colors go with colors, shapes with shapes... pretty simple," She says as she steps into the tube.

((Geomantic Discovery works perfectly))

Daniel is quite relieved by the plugsuit favoring function over form. He’d already had a hard enough time keeping professional, and knowing he was supposed to be mashing her into a fine paste along with the rest of the rookies in a while, it was quite a source of dissonance.

”Like to like, got it.”

He offers a strong arm to help her in, then promptly gets to work rigging her up.

”All good?”

"Let's see here,"  She looks down at herself, "All hooked up, just need the goggles and the mouthpiece.  Then you close things up, start the machine, and I'll be in the waiting room.  Just make sure they hurry up, OK?  It can be an eternity waiting in there sometimes and it can get a little boring."

She bats her eyes twice.

"Alright, I'll pass it along. Should suggest some warm-up activity in the lobby or something, perhaps. Have a good session."

He does as instructed and, barring something unusual, heads out in search of his own pod.

"Yeah, some warm-up activity sounds sweet-"  She suggests as the pod closes in on her and shuts her off.

Andronicus starts the process, sticking his head out of the machine. "Oi, she can't hear you now.  Word to the wise? She's sweet on you, Lord Lucifer, and that makes me wonder.  You find yourself a Lunar mate yet?"

”No. At least I don’t think so. Truth be told, I’m uncertain as to how I should be able to tell. A lot of things other Solars experience intuitively seem... less so, to me.”

Such as the fact he’d never seen Sol Invictus, even in a vision, unlike every single one of his Solar peers. But he avoids going down that train of thought.

”It’s not like I don’t find her attractive in a number of ways. I just feel... Conflicted about reciprocating, to be honest. I feel I’m supposed to be a mentor and role model rather than a lover. Like I’d be taking advantage of her, in a way having saved her life and all, y’know?”

It certainly wasn’t a conversation he’d planned on having, but perhaps an inconsequential little god was actually a rather fine target to talk to?

"Eh, I meannn..."  Andronicus seems uncertain, "They say you're supposed to just know, the moment you meet them.  Maybe because you fight real well with them or you're really attracted to them or they complement your flaws with their strengths.  Or maybe you both really really hate each other more than you should but it's all good because it makes you better."

The Minor God of Toaster Ovens and Virtual Reality scratches a red gem on his little green pointy head.  "I gotta apologize.  If she isn't she isn't, I mean, no big.  The old stuff doesn't matter anymore, no matter what all the other gods tell you.  I mean I may be a bit of a hypocrite cuz I asked you about that and I asked you to do things the right way but that's kind of my bread, you know?  But too many people are so focused on the way things should be than what they are.  So if you don't find a Lunar mate or whatever who cares."

Then he looks at Lucifer, three spindly arms coming out of the machine and folding in front of him.

"Question for you though.  I mean you're Lucifer, right?  Do you even have a peer?  Isn't pretty much every interaction you've got going to be put through that worldview?  That's gotta wear."

"Well I must admit, it's been... Extraordinarily hard keeping to that facade with her. And she does match a lot of those signs. She's had my back on the battlefield quite efficiently, and she seems to have... Well, for lack of a better term, a healthier work-life balance."

The little god might say it's no big deal, but there was plenty of food for thought in this area he'd half-consciously tried to avoid. And would try to continue to, at least for the next few hours. It'd be hard enough to terrorize the rookies without dealing with atypical feelings of attraction to one of them. Or his aberrant nature.

"There are the other Pre-Exodites, but... It's a small and rarely available peerage. You've given me plenty to think about, Andronicus III. Thank you."

"Everyone does their job, but sometimes we need to do more, so you're very very welcome if I've helped in any way."  The god sketches him a little bow and ducks back into the machine, perhaps with a tinge of embarrassment.  Words of humble praise from the preeminent Solar may be worth more than their weight in quintessence.

Which leaves the Solar alone in the room.  But he can hear talking out in the hallway- a high male voice, laughing at some kind of joke.  Finely-tuned Exalted senses also can feel the tinge of Fire essence in the air.

Daniel gives a little bow in return to the retreating god; no reason not to be polite to someone without a reason to. Besides, in the ever-shifting scenery of the Refuge, a little nudge like his might end up making big waves.

He focuses on the new sensory information for a moment. That would likely be Adam. He takes a last quick look around to see Kumiho was all set before exiting to the hallway. Why hide, at this point?

The Lunar is all set and, with the pod humming, sitting in some virtual-reality lobby.  Probably twiddling her thumbs, waiting.

It's not just Adam.  The higher-toned voice is actually Mountain.  The tall, grey-skinned man meets Lucifer's eyes.  Lucifer can see the light of his Exaltation behind them, animating the man with an intensity that doesn't quite fit his appearance.  He should be slow, ponderous.  Instead he almost seems to vibrate in place.  "Hello, can I help you?"

Adam, the Fire Aspect, stands next to him, having apparently told the joke.  The red-clad dragon-blooded swears under his breath, "Fuck, Mountain, you don't know who this guy is?  Pleased to meet you, Lucifer."

Well, that’s rather unusual. Not being recognized feels almost refreshing for a change.

”Greetings Adam, Mountain. The pleasure’s mutual.”

He offers a hand to each Exodite in turn, ready to respond in kind should Mountain’s grip match his stature. He was about the only Celestial Exalt aboard the Refuge he hadn’t met personally yet, and he admittedly had rather high expectations for the only Dawn among the Living. Particularly with the parallels some had been drawing between him and the Mountain.

”Looking forward to the training? I’ve been consulted in its design.”

Adam's handshake is firm, warm, and charismatic.  Lucifer's shaken a lot of hands in his time and he has Adam pegged instantly.  The man's a politician, through and through, even if he doesn't know it yet.  This is someone who knows people and knows them within an instant or two of meeting them.

Mountain, on the other hand, is so simple it's almost comical.  Because yes.  The handshake is crushing, though of the 'I do every handshake like this' variety instead of the 'Let me establish dominance' kind that are far too common.

"You have?"  Mountain's eyes spark further, "Oho!  Then I really am looking forward to this instead of the usual.  A change of pace is excellent for the bones!"

"Ah, great."  Adam looks at him, blinking slowly, "Will there be time for a quick chat before something that'll put us through the wringer, or should we be suiting up immediately?"

Daniel's gotten rather good at measuring a man at first glance himself. Not faultlessly, of course, but his gut was rarely outright wrong. Both of the rookies had potential, which was good to see but more important to realize. He squeezes the hand of both Exodites with a grip commensurate to theirs, his demeanour open and curious to know them despite the ever-present thrum of power in the air around him.

"Kumiho is already waiting in the lobby, but I don't suppose a moment's chat should hurt. Something on your mind?"

"Yeah, I've been hearing things through the grapevine, mostly about a very distant cousin of mine.  Gunnar Hagen,"  Adam tells him, "Might I add a very very distant cousin?  And said very, very distant cousin is trying to keep very, very distant from you.  Word throughout the gens is that he wants to try to bury the hatchet, and I think it should be pretty thoroughly buried, just right up the fundament."

"The what?"  Mountain asks.

"I'm saying he can shove that sort of thing up his own ass," Adam tells Mountain, "Anyway, Lucifer, he knows you're looking for him and he's been canvassing the old families looking for protection.  Meaning he's looking for some powerful allies, specifically ones that aren't OK with you."

”Really now?”

There’s a little spark in Daniel’s eyes at the mention of the name as he turns his full attention to Adam.

”To be honest Gunnar isn’t a big deal to me on a personal level, but there is a message that needs to be sent. I doubt many houses would make someone like him their hill to die on.”

He crosses his arms, gauging Adam’s feelings on the matter.

”Would you help me catch him? Perhaps pull some strings to invite him over or at least know where he’s gonna be?”

It might be a big ask, what with the mess of Dragon-Blooded politics, but on the other hand it also seemed a very straightforward matter to him.

"The old families have been playing it conservative, so he's been looking for even more interesting and powerful allies."  Adam tells him, "I won't play the politics game with you and be all subtle.  I think Gunnar Hagen is making overtures to your #1 fan, Brahe, and once he makes contact with him I sincerely doubt you're going to get your hands on the man anytime soon.  It's possible Brahe doesn't take him in, of course.  He's been trying to... endear himself.  Last time I tracked him down he was running a workshop on losing weight and getting fit."

"Weight issues?  Here?" Mountain looks fairly shocked, "I'm pretty sure there are people starving in the Underdecks."

"There are fat people in the Underdecks too.  Some of the food we've got isn't exactly very healthy and not everyone has a real job, lots of people just sit around."  He looks to Lucifer, "I got his business card.  Would you like one?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:39, Mon 16 Sept 2019.

"Of course he is. Nothing pulls people together better than my enmity, it seems."

He takes the business card with an understated sneer. If it was actually from Brahe it, along with the hair, might help in establishing a connection to him to pay back his little prank earlier.

"No doubt Brahe's polishing off his shield, considering he's trying to install an admiralty board with half the members in his pocket in charge. All to get exonerated and rise up in the ladder."

He shakes his head.

"Unless the poor little misunderstood slaver's already been taken in by his senior, though, my question stands. Can you try calling him in? Your house has some clout, no? We can have a clash today to lend some weight for it."

As he speaks he measures Adam carefully. Was he actually being earnest or playing his own game?

(( Wu Wei to read intentions: 34+15+10 = 59
Discover Influence (Adam, having once been disgraced himself, is personally disgusted and drawn to rooting out actual bad eggs within the DB community): 29+15+10 = 54
Float 0-0 ))
This message was last edited by the player at 19:09, Tue 17 Sept 2019.

((Inflamed from Minor to Major.

He is being painfully earnest.))

The card is eggshell, subtly colored, tastefully thick.  By the Gods, it even has a watermark.

LOSE WEIGHT - WEIGHTWATCHERS ANONYMOUS - A NEW AND BETTER YOU
Paris Brahe - Chosen
Scotchtown - City Hall - Room 6C
Tuesdays - Thursdays - Sundays by Appointment

"I wish I could snap my fingers and have the man hog-tied in front of you right now.  Problem is- he's not from our house, and he's taking the stance that anyone who contacts him is working for you."  Adam says, "I can definitely still try.  My family denies me out of principle, so hell, I could always try to befriend him to protect him from you and they'll practically throw him to you in a gift basket."

"I don't need him tied up or thrown to me. Just within my sight and the rest will happen like Fate."

He shakes his head.

"Trying to fake a friend of him might work supposing Brahe's not involved yet. There's no end of bad things to say about him, but one thing he's a master of is bullshit. If you smell the faintest hint of his involvement, pull out or you're in for a whirlwind of shit. I would appreciate any effort you make, though."

A shrug.

"Either way that's something we can get back to when there isn't a bored Lunar waiting for you."

"She could stand to be a bit more bored.  It's a valuable skill,"  Adam says to him, "But fair point.  I'll do what I can and send you the occasional status update.  And if you could do me a favor in return?"  He asks, a slight grin on his face, "I'd like to visit the reactor sometime."

"I think he is crazy,"  The Mountain says to Lucifer, "No reason for you to allow that."

"It's the only place I haven't been besides Core's place."

”It’s probably not a good idea. If you end up providing a critical clue I’ll consider it, though. But only once, accompanied by me.”

He scratches the back of his head, assuming the matter settled for now and turning more toward Mountain.

”I hear you’re a man of faith, Mountain. I would hear of your creed.”

"That's fair, I don't need to go anywhere alone-"  Adam starts to answer before Lucifer speaks to the Mountain.  "Oh gods."

Mountain's creed, such as it is, would not be particularly alien to the ancient Egyptians under Akhenaten.  One part Sol Invictus worship, one part pure pagan, it bears little resemblance to the Christian-Sol syncretism that forms the crux of Lucifer's faith.  Mountain speaks of the sacrifice of bulls, the breaking of sacrificial horns, and the eventual forging of an armor of gold; his faith is one of belief and trust instead of personal morals.  Men are bettered through ritual and prayer.  In the end it's a very simple thing made very complicated, fitting for an Exalt who started with a simple mind suddenly thrust into a much more advanced one.

Adam's eyes glaze over.

Daniel listens intently, nodding and asking clarifying questions where appropriate and shifting focus onward if the telling threatens to get too meandering. Certainly not something he was ever guilty of.

Mountain's creed was certainly... removed from his own. A polar opposite in many ways, even, with focus on external deeds of faith and concrete interpretations. Still, as he'd come to learn over a gruelling decade, difference did not necessarily mean fallacy, so he withholds judgment until he could learn more of this brand of worship and the people practicing it. At least the intent was pure, although one thing nagged at him in the corner of his mind ever louder.

"And how do you view the death of Sol and his desecration into Sol Nihilus?"

There was another, perhaps even louder, voice asking whether Mountain had actually seen Sol, but that was a question that risked being asked the same.

"A very good question!" He says, eyes unsure for a moment, "A temple can be reconsecrated but the dead can't be returned.  We can fight the ghost but love the enslaved individual.  We worship instead not only his memory but his lieutenants.  We've never found out what happened to the Bull-God Ahlat, or how the Golden Lord died.  It's possible a part of him exists, undesecrated, capable of reconsecration.

Daniel nods, frowning.

"I've thought along similar tracks, although doubt remains how much of a claim the desecrated ghost still holds to the true Sol. Similarly with Ahlat and the Golden Lord - with their whereabouts unknown, their worship may actually be funneling power directly to the enemy. This is why I espouse a more pragmatist approach centered on practicing virtue of the self and the worship of forces nearer and smaller, to honor the virtues and divine hierarchy Sol presided over rather than focus on the individual deity."

He scratches his chin thoughtfully.

"Still, we are both reaching in the dark with faith rather than fact. It is impossible to say which, if either, has the right of it just yet. Thank you for sharing your gospel."

"If you would ever like to make sacrifices please let me know,"  Mountain bows to him, "If you don't wish to sacrifice a cow- some people protest!- we have vegan alternatives."

Adam stifles a laugh.  Mountain turns to look at the Dragon-Blooded,

"Don't snicker.  The cows we sacrifice are nearing the end of their life.  And some people protest against killing any animal with their own hands, so we make alternatives of soy that they mold of their own two hands, ritually sacrificing their time and food to the memory of the Sun."

"Vegan Sacrifices.  Man.  Only on the Last Refuge."  Adam shakes his head anyway.

"I'm quite confident in my way of worship."

Despite Daniel's earlier statement of reaching in the dark, there is a slight but clear indication in his voice that Mountain was toeing the line suggesting his own sacraments to the Pre-Exodite Zenith. His annoyance is enough for him to disregard most of what follows, although he finds he must ask one more thing.

"You do eat the sacrifices after, right?"

"... What?  Of course we do,"  Mountain says, "That'd be a waste.  A horrible waste.  And it's part of the ritual.  The animal was about to die, and had no more days left to it.  From its death, we provide another day of life from the worship.  The loss of minutes becomes the gain of days and so we thumb our nose at entropy!"

Daniel nods his approval. No harm done in that case.

 ”Well then, I don’t think I should keep you longer. It was a pleasure meeting you both, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again sooner or later. Work hard but not foolishly, and don’t hesitate to call me if you need something important. I’m a busy man but trying to unlearn my lone wolf ways.”

"It was good to meet you too," Mountain bows to him.

Adam just nods and gives him a little salute, a tacit 'see you later' sort of nod.  They head to their own rooms, no doubt to plug in to the VR.

"So I think that's all of them,"  Fossil says as he walks into the hall, folding his arms.  He lowers his voice, "Program's spinning up.  Any thoughts or changes to our workflow here?"

Daniel looks over his shoulder as Fossil shows up, scratching his jaw as he recalls the plan.

"No big changes come to mind. Meeting the new blood gave me some ideas on how to turn up the heat on them, though."

He starts counting off with his fingers.

"Kumiho is motivated and ready to sacrifice herself if necessary; she should be frustrated, knocked away or forced to something inglorious like abandoning the fight to transport a wounded comrade or carry a message. Mountain needs to face the despair of a truly overwhelming opponent, forcing him to flee, get clever or watch as everything crumbles around him. Adam must conversely be driven to take a stand, even if it's not the smart thing to do. And Mercy... Well, I still think she needs to learn she can't choose to not be a warrior, but I'll settle for having her have to rescue someone or something from my grasp."

"Nah, force her to fight.  Hopefully after crushing one of the others,"  Fossil says, "Lord knows we've all been in THAT position... the rest are pretty on point.  Though I think you're not giving Adam enough credit in that department, he's pretty sober-minded and balanced.  If he was an Exalt I'd have him pegged at reaching your level in a few years just by sheer competence.  So maybe teach him some imbalance."

Fossil snaps his fingers,

"Ah, right.  Core was reporting the VR simulators are running at top efficiency, as in, 110%, and is wondering what the hell you just did."

"Very well. You're the one who was thinking of baby steps with Mouse, mind."

He rolls a shoulder.

"I don't think I'm giving Adam too little credit. Hell, after Kumiho I have him pegged for the most promising of the bunch. I'm just thinking his transformation from prodigal son wanderer is fairly recent and could use some reinforcement. Y'know, have him embrace his chosen path further by forcing him to stick to it despite it not being the sober-minded and balanced thing to do in the situation. Like you said, imbalance."

As the news of the simulators' newfound efficiency comes forward, Daniel is momentarily confused but quickly catches on and gains a smirk.

"Ah. I just had a talk with a little god running the simulators and put a benediction on them."

"I was, but, maybe my gut is saying otherwise here."  He admits with a shrug.  "It's a really good thing you came here, though.  I think it's important what we're doing today.  Imagine if you'd- ah, never mind."

"... Hmm, you what?"  Fossil laughs aloud, "Yes, it's a very good thing you came here.  You sure you don't want an apartment in the back of the Library?  I know for a fact you got Troubles knocking on your door a lot and with the Library up in front we can filter some of that stuff out for you in return."

"I definitely agree it's important what we're doing, for several reasons", Daniel agrees before tilting his head. "Imagine if I'd what?"

He seems to seriously consider Fossil's offer for a moment.

"Well, it's not a rotten idea. I'm not sure you know just how much Trouble having me would bring upon your doorstep, though. Not to mention I value my privacy. I'll have to think about it."

His glance sweeps over the corridor.

"Which pod am I going to be in?"

"From what I understand you didn't have this set up,"  Fossil explains, "Mentors.  Someone to learn from.  You and the other Exodites had to learn on the fly.  As far as I can tell, there's never been this amount of continuity for the Exalted, aside from the Dragon-Blooded gens."

He nods once,

"Well, if trouble comes, we have an entire library of warrior-scholars eager to kick the shit out of it.  C'mon.  Your pod's here,"  He starts directing him back towards one of the other rooms, "You get the C&C pod."

The Command and Control pod is quite bigger than the one Kumiho and the others moved in; whereas Kumiho had to be hooked up manually and lies back, his is more of a couch, letting him take a more comfortable position.  The giant data cable with the spike at the end, though, seems pretty ominous.

"We certainly didn't. We Exalted and acted in a very different world, conceptually even more so than physically. If there's something I can do to ease the new generations into this hellhole I really should. It's going to be a learning process for both sides, though."

He walks after Fossil as he leads the way.

"The kind of trouble you can kick the shit out of is precisely the one sort I'm not worried about."

He looks around the pod curiously, eyes eventually settling on the giant cable and spike.

"Well, that's quite Matrix-esque. Seeing I don't have a data port on the back of my head, where's that supposed to go?"

"Here's where I'm supposed to claim I've never seen the Matrix, but I'll admit I watched it a couple dozen times as a kid."  Fossil gestures to the couch, "The metal that makes up the spike is actually heat-sensitive, and a lot more flexible than it seems.  Look at it up close and you'll see it's actually made of a lot of fibers."

He opens up a cabinet by the pod and pulls out a helmet that looks awfully like something from X-Men.

"It'll go into a port back here," He shows Lucifer, "Which will in turn spread out to surround your brain waves.  The pod is older tech than the ones they're using but the big advantage is you can get in and out pretty easily while they can't.  It's perfect in case you need to take a break, get some planning done, bathroom, what have you."

Daniel tilts his head as Fossil digs up the helmet, letting out a faint 'Huh'.

"Well then. Nothing else for it now but dive in and traumatize the rookies, I suppose. I suppose it'll be a bit as you wind up the simulation so I can get acclimated. Does this have an observer mode or such, or should I just wait until it's time to make my appearance?"

He walks over to the couch-like station and takes a seat.

"You'll have a god's-eye view of the battlefield if you choose.  This is the one I usually use when I want to get up close and personal.  You should be able to piggyback on anyone you wish, or any of the virtual fighters.  If you want you can also speak with anyone or issue some limited orders before you're really prepared to OPFOR,"  Julius starts rigging up the helmet, placing it on Lucifer's head and turning some rather ominous screws.  "A little bit of disorientation if you follow the same person for too long is pretty common.  I recommend not spending more than five minutes per person, but I bet you could last a lot longer than that."

"Got it. I'll survey the scenario for a bit, lead the Dead fleet from afar and spy on the poor Exodites until it's time to make my entry. I suppose you'll be observing from somewhere as well?"

"I'll be GameMastering the system.  They'll be able to ask a certain variety of questions as if I were Command- though they kind of know better than to think I'll give them perfect information.  You'll be able to chat with me directly, though, and I *will* give you perfect information if you ask about it.  After all, our enemies always seem to have that..."

He finishes tightening the helmet.  It's a trifle uncomfortable, and that's obvious; he starts loosening a place here or there until it sits well.

"How do you feel?"

"Right. Perks of being connected to a bunch of Creation-spanning Void entities, I suppose."

He tilts his head left and right, getting a feel for the helmet.

"Feels like I suppose it should now. Ready to go when you are."

"Initializing in five, four..." He starts tapping buttons and suddenly it's all black.

There's a fleeting sort of sense that he's done something wrong.  Like his brainwaves have suddenly stopped.  Something dark, forever far away, laughs in triumph.  And then-

He's standing in a white void, stretching out to forever.

"three, two, one... you there?" Fossil's voice echoes in the void, "How do you feel now?  Fully integrated?"

There's an immediate reaction to the feeling in his Anima; an immediate jolt of angry Essence as a metaphysical reflex surges through and around him at the taunting presence. His body tenses in the pod, only barely avoiding cracking something in his grasp.

"...Something's fucky."

He brings his hand in front of him, checking if his appearance was already different as he balls the hand into a tight fist.

"I don't think that's what VR immersion should feel like. Disorientation and a sense of wrongness I would expect, but I felt... A presence. Dark, far away, mocking. What exactly is powering and running this system?"

"Core and WAL.  It's not uncommon the first time you jack in,"  Fossil says, "We think this happens a lot on the heavy circuits, it's a reason why Core can't ever leave his cradle.  The heavier computing stuff needs quantum computing, and most of the universe's mass belongs to the Neverborn now... Core spends quite a bit of time making sure we don't get compromised.  At least that's... kinda how he explained it to me.

We sometimes end up with people who can't handle it.  They get drummed out pretty quickly.  Exalts, however, are pretty safe."

”...Yeah, that’s not something I feel comfortable to leave uninspected. I’ll have to follow this up afterwards.”

It’s not that he thought ill of Michael - the man was no doubt doing his best for the Living, but unlike many others, Daniel was all too aware of the Infernal’s origins and limitations - despite his ascension, he was not the omniscient, infallible being so many of the Refuge looked up to him as. Lucifer was a pillar among the Living, but the Stark White Messiah was by far more of a priority target - a single point of failure. He was no doubt under fire on all fronts at all times, and few would be capable of noticing if so something did befall him.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough to abort the matter at hand just yet. He looked around, rolling on his heels and getting a feel of his virtual projection of a body.

”Anyway, nothing else for it now. Are the Exodites all here?”

"Sure thing.  We've got a lot of people on it.  The upside is, Core has assured me that if he's ever compromised it'd be painless."  The joke is there but it's not particularly funny.

But he can feel at home in the VR.  He's already pretty much OK with the avatar, moving just as if it was his normal body, at the speed of thought.

"They're all in and getting their briefing.  In the meantime you wanna punch up and customize your avatar while you still got the free chance?"

"I mean, the name's Abaddon, Angel of the Void. Theming should be easy."

He looks for a reflective surface, thoughts molding his visage into a vantablack menace in sleek, angular power armor. No face as of yet, just a visor for the void to return any gaze.

"Not the most focused on appearances, though. Let's see what we're working with."

The feed cuts to the Kilroy, floating in space and chugging along the orbit of a gas giant.  The ramscoops slice portions of the rings and outer troposphere of the gas giant, forcing it into large tanks for later use by the Living Fleet.

Then comes the Bataan frigate with a small fighter escort and a half-dozen bombers.  This is all preprogrammed, the show playing out for the benefit of the newbies; after all, they're not guarding the wildcat miner, as it's operating without Fleet permission.  The Kilroy puts up a token fight as it sends out the alarm.  The timer begins in the corner of Lucifer's vision:  -1:00.

At 0:00, the relief force jumps in.  The newbies are brought along by the carrier-cruiser Anaconda and quickly take off.  Mountain is in a bomber, Smith in a fighter, Kumiho in an interceptor and Mercy in a small support vessel.  They're supported by a half-dozen simulated Mortal pilots in fightercraft.

"Alright, rescue op,"  Smith reports over the comms, "Pretty standard, Kumiho take care of the Kilroy with the fighters, I'll cover Mountain as he goes to take out the enemy frigate."

"Yeah this is a bit too basic of an op..."

"The root of survival is good fundamentals."  Mountain counters her.

Daniel - or Abaddon, as it were - zooms closer to the Anaconda and each Exodite ship deploying from it in turn.

Kumiho was right, of course - the first complication would be finding out the Kilroy had been boarded. And then there was the Dead reinforcements on the way; another timer likely starting off right about... now.

As the Exodites organize and set off, he takes a brief look inside the Kilroy. Bullshit as the Abyssals were wont to be, he could decide whether to spawn outside or inside the ship when it became apparent which way the scenario was going to go.

"Time to reveal the first twist. Hit them with a transmission from inside the Kilroy. Screaming, horrible carnage, the works."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:26, Tue 07 Jan 2020.

The Kilroy is like most transports:  a spacious bridge, a big living area, a long hallway that connects to whatever module is used to transport (be it a water tank, ore storage, or further living quarters), and then a weapons room and an engine.  It's very linear, simple.  In the Kilroy's case the vast majority of the storage space is set up for exotic gas transportation, so there's not too many places to hide from a pissed-off Abyssal.

The space combat begins in earnest, but there's not much the Abyssal forces can do against a full suite of Exalted fighters.  In the time it takes for him to investigate the Kilroy, they've already eviscerated half of the Abyssal combat group.

That's when the screaming starts.

"Oh no..." Mercy moans out loud.

"It's coming from the Kilroy!"  Mountain starts slewing his ship over.

"Stay on target, Mountain,"  Adam shoots off a Tripoli trying to engage the Solar, "Kumiho, you're closest, sitrep!"

"Nothing got close!  I shot everything down before it could even get within a few clicks!"


"I need to splash that Bataan... Adam, you take the others and board the Kilroy!  LEt the mortals fend off the ghost forces!"

The three start powering for the Kilroy.  Just boarding will be an issue; they'd have to dock with Mercy's ship, who would then need to dock with the Kilroy just for them to enter.

Abaddon bides his time; it remained to be seen whether he should enter the scene during this act yet, and whether he should do so on or in the Kilroy.

Of particular interest will be their method of entry. It wasn't an easy task, boarding a ship quickly in these circumstances without blowing a hole in it, knowing the crew was getting decimated all the while. The other potential point of failure was leaving Mountain - supposedly among the weaker pilots in the group - alone to handle space combat with the mortals.

"Bog Mountain down with Tripoli but concentrate firepower on the mortals - he is likely too tough to be more than inconvenienced by Tripoli weapons. Have the Bataan fire at the Kilroy. Maximize mortal casualties."

"Yes, master,"  The hollow voices of simulated ghosts darkly chuckle through the comms to him. The Bataan's shots already begin landing on the Kilroy, adding some minor holes to thinner sections of the hull.

"Powering through, they're hitting the other pilots!" Mountain announces as he blasts his way through the fighters, "Bataan is targeting the Kilroy- getting in the way!"  Mountain and his bomber are durable enough to take the hits from both, but not while also maintaining any kind of fire on the Bataan.  He manages some potshots but nothing particularly effective; in a game of attrition he may very well win, but not without serious damage to himself and others.  Focusing on the Bataan takes it out, but the Kilroy would take just as much hurt.

"Alright, Mercy, void gap jump, like we practiced."  Adam tries to sound calm, "Blast hole in the tanks.  They're separately pressurized, and shouldn't be anyone in there, and I'm pretty sure there's an access airlock inside for maintenance.  Should protect us during boarding procedures!"

"Uhhhhh!"  Mercy brings her shuttle over, a pair of heavy-duty missile launchers protruding from the bottom.  "Won't it explode the whole ship?!"

"I'm already seeing some holes in it from the Bataan, can't be worse than what'll happen!"

Mercy presses her button.  A pair of missiles, too slow to do anything other than a point-blank shot on a stationary target, lob out and blow a hole into the side of the pressurized tank.  Her shuttle strains as the remainder of the stored gas streams out; Kumiho strafes the rest, blowing a hole big enough for Mercy's ship to enter.

They were boarding in force. Perhaps too much so; leaving only Mountain and the mortals to handle space combat outside spelled dire odds for clearing the Dead presence before reinforcements arrived. Perhaps the transmission clouded their judgment? Not that he could blame them for it.

Mountain would definitely out-tank the Bataan in time, but unless he whipped out some serious offensive ability as well it seemed likely the Dead reinforcements would be here before the area was clear. That would mean Abaddon making his entrance within the Kilroy already.

But not yet. There was still time for unexpected developments without his direct involvement.

"The Exalted are boarding. Offer resistance in the back to buy time for the massacre of the remaining mortals inside. Destructively jam all available doors so they'll have to break them open. See if you can explode any of the remaining gas tanks when they're boarding or boarded. Sabotage everything. Maximize chaos. Kill the mortals."

Was he kind of getting into the role? Well, he had to provide a suitably realistic antagonist for them, right...?

((Lucifer, go ahead and make a Tactics roll...))

The Exalted enter the tanker as Mountain continues to tank the ships, plinking back at the Bataan in the process.

"You guys are going to have to hurry up,"  He calls out, "If there's no one left on the ship this is all pointless!"

"We're trying,"  Mercy whines back at him over the comm.

There.  She's attached her ship like a limpet to the inside of the pressurized tank successfully.  Abaddon can feel the simulation chug as it starts to populate the inside of the Kilroy along with all the dead there.  So far, according to CORE's opinion, the living are putting up just enough of a fight to make it interesting.

"Moving on by..."

Of course.  Kumiho's in first, cycling the airlock and letting Mercy take care of her interceptor.

((Tactics: 36+5+10(+5 if Leadership specialty applies) = 51/56
Float 8-8))

It was about to get interesting. The Dead presence on the Kilroy was no match for two or three Exalted, rookies as they may be, but the question was not about that. It was about how much damage could be done before their defeat, and whether Mountain and the mortals could do much but plink away at the Dead presence in space around the ship. Time was not on their side.

He peers over to Mercy's ship. Was she going to stay behind there? It wasn't necessarily a tactically unsound decision, but it did provide an opportunity to possibly her into an engagement. The simple thing to do would be to let Kumiho and Adam infiltrate the Kilroy far enough, strike Mercy's shuttle personally, kill her and cut the others off from their ships, then kill them. But that was not Abaddon's objective - while the death of 4 Exodites would be a major achievement in itself, a chance for a decisive strike at the Last Refuge was too good to pass up.

Besides, it was too early to let them die. They needed to feel the terror of the Dead.

For now, a squad of war ghosts snaking past the advance of Kumiho and Adam should be enough to rattle the Mouse.

((Leadership DEFINITELY applies))

It looks like Mercy is just handling the docking; with Kumiho in, she begins the next docking procedure with Adam.  Kumiho takes this opportunity to establish a beachhead.  In no time flat, a rather impressive time actually, Adam, Kumiho, and Mercy have boarded the ship.  A squad of war ghosts with handguns have already taken the corridor nearest to the airlock.

"Stand firm!  Save the mortals!"  Mountain announces over the intercom, "The Sun is with you!"

"Moving into the Kilroy," Adam announces...

((Any changes to your plan?  If not, you'll control Minions versus the three Exalts.))

((Sticking to the plan as set with Fossil - seeing if Dead presence will be cleared in time, appearing inside if not. Fine with fast-forwarding to the decision point if appropriate))

Abaddon bides its time, and so do the Dead - his focus is on bogging down the Exalts' advance with a modest amount of troops while continuing the massacre elsewhere and sending a contingent around them to their ships - regular armaments were surely unable to dent the ships, but other sabotage might be possible in the makeshift dock. Perhaps even detachment of the gas tank Mercy's ship was attached to?

((Adam Tactics:  37 + Tactics 10 + AB 10 = 57))

Adam is clearly the tactician here.  As the battle continues, he directs Mercy and Kumiho through the Kilroy.  He's quick to recognize Abaddon's tactics, breaking the Dead line with a focused attack and then sending Kumiho through the lines with her prodigious speed.  Kumiho is then like a wolf in the fold, slaughtering Dead troops that harass the Kilroy's crew, while Adam and Mercy fight their way forward.  Mercy isn't as useless as she could be- the mousy Lunar carries bags of salt which she uses to secure hallways, and in some spaces sketches rudimentary wards to keep them from passing through bulkheads.

Meanwhile, Mountain is having a hell of a time.  The mortals are getting blasted, and he's been shooting it out with the Bataan.  The Bataan is by now beginning to crumble; they're not designed for long-term combat.

"Not much time before reinforcements jump in!  You guys secure the Kilroy yet?!"

Huh. Shows he had a ways to go as a tactician - Lucifer was so used to relying on his own strength that formulating plans for regular troops didn't come naturally just yet. His plan was sound in principle, but he should have hidden it better - unlike him, regular ghosts were quite easy to disrupt. All warfare is based on deception, as the book told.

Kumiho and Adam's efforts in particular were commendable. Now, the resistance was believable enough to not give away the rest of the plan, but nonetheless some more twists were needed to keep the Exodites on their toes. Abaddon would bide his time before entering the fray in a later act, but that didn't mean he couldn't do anything at all yet.

No, it was time to make his first move. Abaddon stirs, clinging to the hull of the Kilroy, and calls to his dark masters - or Fossil in this case.

"They're cutting it close with the reinforcements. Likely means they won't have time to disembark the Kilroy before jumping. I'm going to sabotage their ships while they're mopping up, and if they don't make it back to them before jumping, dislodge the tank they're attached to right before the jump so they're stuck here. Recommend me a way to fuck the ships up in a way that's not immediately visible to the outside. Strength requirements not an issue. Bonus if I can make it look like a specialist team of ghosts snaked past their advance to do it."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:48, Mon 10 Feb 2020.

"Abaddon - Not hard.  The airlocks are set up to automatically close and preserve air so you can mess with the seal.  All it takes is a bit of a small hole in the right place and you can start the process for an explosive decompression event that'll trigger once the airlock is pressurized.  Can be pretty nasty stuff if you do it right,"  Fossil walks Abaddon through the process, "- And there are explosive bolts to jettison the gas tank if necessary, pretty easy to access from the inside.  A human doing it would be blown to pieces or out into space, I'm sure you can hang on enough to not care."

Meanwhile, the boarding party is actually doing alright.  They've met with the surviving members of the Kilroy and have begun focusing back Abaddon's dead forces.  They're simply no match for a Lunar and an experienced Dragon-Blooded.

This has bought Mountain some time.  With the slaughter stopped, the Kilroy has begun to move again and even fire back.  The living have begun to turn the tide, and now the Bataan is getting the worst of things.

"Thirty seconds until the first Dead ships show up.  Up to you if you want me to drop them in right now, I've been kind of giving them the benefit of the doubt for reinforcement time.  Nothing stretching the usual time range, but on the longer end of the spectrum."

 “Hmh. Bring in the reinforcements. I’m gonna punch holes in the airlock and then jettison the whole thing unless they try and return to their ships before jumping. Which is unlikely as they’d expose themselves and the Kilroy to the reinforcements’ fire for a good while flying back to the ship they came in.”

He gets to work, bare-handedly punching holes in and twisting the airlock’s reinforced frame like it was play-doh, ready to abort and hide himself with an incantation at the first sign of the Exodites’ approach.

“They probably won’t realize they’re stranded in the Kilroy until the second act. Let’s see what they make of it.”

"Something doesn't seem right about this..."  Kumiho warns them, "How'd they get on the Kilroy?"

The airlock is sabotaged exactly- and it doesn't seem like the Exodites are returning to their ships immediately.  At least not until the reinforcements come in:  several cruisers and two Imperator-piloted ships.

"Jump jump jump!"  Mountain announces to them, "I'm burning back to my ship, get the Kilroy out of here!  There's no point engaging right now!"

"Are you kidding?"  Mercy squeaks.

"We're giving the order," Adam tells Mountain, "See you on the other side of the jump."

None of them make for their ships.  Logical; getting into them and then trying to get to their own ship and jump out is probably only possible for Kumiho.  With the big hole in the side of the Kilroy'stanks, none of them notice the tiny amounts of air leaking out of holes Abaddon punched in:  an explosive decompression event waiting to happen.  He might even have gotten a bit out of hand, as some of the holes are bigger than they need to be.

But hey, why make a few small holes when you can make one fuckbig one?

The Kilroy (and the simulation) lurches as it jumps, just as soon as he hits the explosive bolts.  The tank BANGS off, jolting the Kilroy midway through the jump.  The tank is made to be jettisoned; the ships attached to the airlock are not.  They each explode as they go through the jump, tearing a small hole near the armored airlock.

They're alone in an abandoned area of space.  Presumably Mountain is fighting his way back right now.

"Status report?"  Adam asks.

"Tank was blown!"  Mercy translates from the NPC-Captain's cockpit, "We're still sweeping for undead... we think they're all gone but they must've gotten past us to blow up the airlock!.  Kumiho?"

"I think we need to check the outside."  The Lunar answers them, "We've seen cases of them boarding through some sort of catapult through space before.  It happened in the battle I exalted.  I bet there's still some there."

"Am I hearing a volunteer?"

"Guess you are... but maybe we shouldn't split up."

"Can't leave the mortals alone either.  There's probably more on board."

"Not if I ward up a room with salt?"  Mercy suggests. "I could stay with them."

"Kumiho, you've got the best maneuverability and durability of us.  And Mountain should survive that force.  You should probably go out and check, figure out what's going on with the airlock- Mercy get it all blocked off.  We can't lose more air!"

"It's blocked off, we've got a few bulkheads sealed.  Damage is extensive.  Lost three mortals in the process... I have no clue what happened!  But our ships are definitely gone."

"We'd better hope we don't get more of those fuckers following us here..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:12, Tue 18 Feb 2020.

Were they really letting Kumiho charge ahead alone to scout for enemies? This was the sort of thing that showed they hadn't had experience with seasoned Abyssals.

Well, it was time to see how this would shake out. The good news was that Kumiho's intuition was right about there being enemies still here; the bad news was he was already inside. That and the fact that he was quite a bit worse than a straggler team of ghost sappers.

This was his chance to punish Kumiho's initiative and force the team into a harrowing situation. He would wait near the ruptured airlock and lock her in with him, forcing the rest of the team to let her die or engage as well in a hostile environment. Or possibly just lock her out on the hull of the ship. Or let them come up with something creative.

If he subdued her fast enough, they would have a hostage situation on their hands as well.

He would see. But after a brief incantation, Abaddon is no more than a malicious shadow in the void near the ruptured airlock.

((Float 1
Sheltering Water Intercession to sub Learning for Stealth: Flowed 48+15+10 = 73 ))
This message was last edited by the player at 20:58, Mon 24 Feb 2020.

((Kumiho awareness:  9, 9, 9, 7, 6, 4 & 3
*39 + Awareness 10 + AB 10 = 59, nowhere near good enough))

The Lunar is already suited up.  She heads for the airlock deck, helmet on, a long k-bar knife in hand and darting around looking for trouble.  She'd catch most threats, but Abaddon isn't most threats.

"Damage here is extensive.  Airlock blew," She calls out to everyone, "Maybe something hit the tanks and blew them off- Mercy did you leave your ship pressurized?"

"You know I didn't!"

"Alright, I'm poking my head out..."  She starts moving through the ragged hole.

((Attack at your leisure.  Wulin doesn't allow free attacks- I'm against 'em too- but when you attack take a bonus Laughs OR Fears.))

((Initiative:
Using Blue Flame Dragon w/ Unarmed
Wave: Jam bulkhead (Might) 24+20+10+5 Laughs = 59
Wave: Waning Metal Protection Spell: 20+15+10 = 45 ; Interesting Times?
FoB: 17+15+10 = 42 / 2 Chi

Initiative: 19+20+10+5 Laughs = 54 ))

Abaddon regards his prey from the shadows and finally moves - but not for her. Not just yet.

The first indication of his presence is two near-simultaneous crashes of metal as he drives his hand through the wall on both sides of the bulkhead, going for the motivators responsible for opening and closing the door and twisting them to scrap in order to prevent escape.

An insidious, subliminal chorus permeates the airlock; an effect of the words of his spell being shut off from the outside but not their effects. The sparks showering him from his sabotage start veering off from him, as if the light were afraid to touch him.

And there he stands, blocking the only way out aside from a dive into the Void. Abaddon.

((Kumiho Init:
10, 10, 9, 5, 5, 2 & 1
*5 Chi: Sword-Mindset
*Free:  Dragon in Flight, +5 Speed
*Free:  Sword is also Flexible
*Init 25 + Speed 15 + AB 10 + IKF 5 = 55:  doubles as a Cover Ground
*FoB with 20 for 2 Chi

Attack:
10, 8, 7, 4, 3, 2 & 2
*Break Wave 22 + Finesse 10 + AB 10 + EKF 5 = 47- breaks Waning Metal Protection Spell.  take a Malicious Joss
*Covers Ground past the bulkhead before he can jam it!
*Attack 18 + Strike 20 + AB 10 = 48, his Dodge is -10))

Abaddon is fast.  Kumiho is faster.  Her speed's not just one of natural talent, it is a honed, precise thing, and the moment he moves she's already begun to dart back through the airlock.  In the process she slashes at him with her weaving slicing K-BAR, cutting off ways he might escape her slashes.  And in the process her slashes screech impossibly through the void with a silvery light, disrupting the keening chorus of the Void.  In that moment he can see her with clarity, even through her helmet.  Her eyes are wide and angry with comprehension about just what the fuck is going on.

And then she's back in before he can close it behind her, already in the (barely relative) safety of the collapsed corridor.

"ABYSSAL.  ABYSSAL!"  She calls out, "High-powered one!  Yama-level threat!"

She knows what he is.  And she's- playing along?

((Defense: 2 Chi on Swinging Bell Defense
Block: 26+15+10 = 51, blocked

Attack: Wash River
Float 8-8-8
Jam bulkhead (while open)
Otherwise irrelevant as target out of range ))

Abaddon - no, Daniel - had seen Kumiho's speed before, but as it turns out he was still unprepared for it. The sudden vision of her through her helmet is the final distraction needed to let her practically waltz past him, his careful preparations undone by merit of sheer blinding quickness. All he can do is block the physical assault, the k-bar doing no more than a rubber knife would.

It would be aggravating if it wasn't so impressive. However, the sudden vision and - connection? - of the freshly Exalted Lunar through her exosuit was something even more remarkable. What was this - a side-effect of her breaking his spell? Maybe, but it seemed more... profound, somehow.

Well, be that as it may, this was only the opening of the act. She was playing along, and he was not about to give up at the first setback. No, this was exactly what he had hoped to see from the Exodites, particularly her.

So Abaddon does what he was doing - jamming the bulkhead, only now in its open position, letting the Void creep its way further into the ship. He stands in the aperture, his gaze fixed on Kumiho through the darkness of his featureless helmet but quite visible to her.

He was impressed, even a little proud. But this was only the beginning. Escaping was the smart thing to do first, but now it was a matter of dealing with an Abyssal before it made its way through the whole ship, breaking seals and joining each room with the Void on the way.

((Kumiho Init R2:
10, 7, 5, 5, 4, 3 & 3
*1 Chi: Sword-Mindset
*Free:  Dragon in Flight, +5 Speed
*Free:  Sword is also Massive
*Init 25 + Speed 15 + AB 10 + IKF 5 = 55:  doubles as a Cover Ground
*Float 3-3))

Kumiho glares at him with anger and... disappointment?... as he rips open the airlock, ready to bolt to the next hallway!

((Init R2: 9, 8, 8, 7, 6, 6, 3 & 1
Vengeful Titan w/ Massive/Ranged
CG to Kumiho's Zone: 26+10 = 36
Init: Flowed 48+10 = 58

Attack: 9, 9, 8, 5, 5, 2, 1 & 1
*1 Metal Chi on Grand Horse Tramples Rice
*1 Solar Chi, 2 Chi on Black Tigers Hunting
*1 Water Chi, 2 Chi on Devastation of Black Ice
*2 Chi on Ice Cracking the Willow
*Flood 8 to ignore armor, Max Chi Aura -1
Break CG w/Might: 21+20+5+10 = 56
Strike: 25+20+20+10+5 Laughs at Duels = 80; Dodge -15, Block -10; Extra Ripple if hit; -10 Toughness if RR
Knockback to starting Zone w/Might: 29+20+10+10 = 69 (nice) ))

Kumiho was indeed fast. But she was about to learn that when Abaddon needed to, so was he.

He should not, could not, take it easy on her. The whole point of the training was to be as unfair and nightmarish as possible.

There is a split-second screeching noise in the depleting air, like a painful glitch in reality, as the Abyssal closes the distance between them.

Then there is the muzzle of a soulsteel weapon of pure malice swinging at the Lunar's midsection, snuffing her forward momentum and hoisting her off her feet.

Then there is a pull of the trigger.

Then there is pain.

((Defense:
5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2 & 1
*Oh lordy
*4 Chi:  Block +15, Toughness +10
*Flowed Block 53 + Block 10 + AB 10 + IKF 15 - Opponent 10 + Laughs 5 = 83 vs 80, BLOCKS.
*Just takes the knockback

Kumiho Attack:
10, 9, 6, 3, 3, 3 & 1
*Nothing Matters Here

Abaddon has init))

Fast, strong, powerful, experienced, unstoppable- all of these words apply to Abaddon, not a single one to the Lunar.  Kumiho can only watch as Abaddon rips into her personal space, gets up close and personal, and then pulls the trigger.

And he finds it hits a blade.

The Lunar has shifted her K-Bar at the very last second, quicker than even the Abyssal could have noticed; perhaps because it was already halfway there.  Perhaps it was a bit of indecision on his part, but the attack merely halts her momentum and sends her spinning back into the broken hold of the ship, unhurt.

((Init R3: 8, 7, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 & 1

Vengeful Titan w/ Massive/Ranged
Shaping Wave - break/jam next airlock (between current zone and zone Kumiho would've moved to on round 2) w/Might: 27+25+10 = 62
Initiative: 18+10 = 28 ))

There's an actual moment of incredulity as Abaddon hears the clang of metal, realizing Kumiho actually managed to block his attack even as she careens back to the airlock. It may not have been quite the worst he could dish out, but he certainly wasn't holding back either - that was an attack that would've finished some of his usual fights, and she'd managed to block it, however narrowly. Was this somehow related to the sudden vision they had of each other?

He was impressed, to say the least. Still, the fight was just heating up. Keeping his gaze and facing on the Lunar, Abaddon reloads his weapon which emits a breath of black miasma and takes a few steps back, intending to drive his hand into the wall and jam the next airlock to cut off her escape and reinforcements. She was excelling beyond expectations, but how long could she keep it up? That was the true despair waiting to creep up on her.

((Kumiho Init R3:
10, 10, 5, 4, 3, 3 & 2
*2 Chi:  Sword-Mindset
*Free:  Sword+Flexible
*Analyze Style Fears 23 + Tactics 10 + AB 10 = 43
*Arrest Zero-G 20 + Finesse 10 + AB 10 = 40

Attack R3:
9, 9, 9, 7, 4, 1 & 1
*Float 1-1
*Flood 1 to extend attack
*Attack 39 + Strike 20 + AB 10 + Laughs 5 + Fears 5 = 79, better dodged, Block is -5))

"Kumiho, report!  Mercy- get started!"  Adam barks over the intercom.

"Get MOVING guys!"  Kumiho drifts back and grabs a spur of metal, arresting her flight backwards as.  "OK, you want some new tricks, you got it."

She's not burning much essence; she's keeping it spare, knowing she'll need it later.  But the essence she is using is efficient.  She winds up and extends her arm, it seeming to artificially lengthen as it's surrounded by cherenkov-blue Lunar essence, the point driving into his chest.  He can see fangs glinting through and over her mask, warped into an angry but not hateful snarl.

((Defense: 10, 7, 6, 5, 5, 4, 1 & 1
Float 5-5-1
1 Metal Chi on Swinging Bell Defense
1 Metal Chi, 1 Solar Chi on Eternal Temple's God-Armor
1 Chi on Chi Aura if damage >0 after Toughness

Block: 17+15+10+5-5 = 42 vs 79; 2 Ripples + RR. Toughness 35; Will Reply if damage 0.

Attack: 10, 6, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5 & 1
*Holy fucking shit
*ok let's do this
*1 Metal Chi, 1 Solar Chi on Black Tigers Hunting
*1 Metal Chi, 3 Chi on Iron Buddha's Disapproval
*2 Water Chi on Devastation of Black Ice
*2 Chi on Ice Cracking the Willow
*Flood 1 to ignore armor, Max Chi Aura -1

Strike: Flowed 65+20+20+10+5 Laughs = 120; Dodge -15, Block -10; Extra Ripple if hit; -10 Toughness if RR; Damage +50
Knockback to Abaddon's Zone w/Might: 26+25+10+5 = 66 ))

Kumiho's attack is precise, skillful, surprising and altogether too fast for Abaddon to block. The knife slips past his arms when he's barely begun to move and lodges squarely in his chest.

Despite his best efforts at an ambush, she'd gotten in the first blow. No question about it; Despite his high expectations, he'd still underestimated her.

However, it was quite possible it was also her last.

A suffocating miasma ripples out from where the Lunar's knife had struck him as he takes the hit head-on, mitigating it with raw Essence. A rasping, booming voice vibrates through the corridors.

"New tricks?"

The knife, or Kumiho's extended arm, do not retract after the hit. He has grabbed it.

He yanks her with titanic might, intending to slam her into the next airlock with enough force to crack the bulkhead.

While she's momentarily dazed by the impact, Abaddon points his weapon at her point-blank and starts ripping out and pooling Essence. More Essence. So much necrotic Essence that the simulation struggles to keep up; lights flicker, textures ripple and glitch, sounds become clipped and distorted, cacophonic screeches and screams.

"NEW TRICKS."

The resulting blast seems to come at a delay; like setting off too much explosives, the shockwave expands in chopping motions, twisting and breaking everything nearby and absolutely disintegrating the bulkhead behind her along with swathes of the area behind it. It was more than overkill; it was beyond doubt THE most powerful attack he'd ever made. So much so that he wouldn't have even considered it were it not a simulation.

((Floods 1 to extend attack

RR on Abaddon:
*16 + Damage 10 = 26 - 35 = 0, Replies can only occur in same zone

R3 Defense:
9, 9, 7, 7, 6, 5 & 3
*4 Chi:  Block +15, Toughness +10
*Block 29 + Block 10 + AB 10 + IKF 15 - Opponent 10 + Laughs 5 = 59 vs 120, 3 Ripples + Roll

RR on Kumiho:
*18 + Damage 15 = 33 - Toughness 0 + Damage 50 - Chi Aura 16 = 83 - 16 = 67, Taken Out.

You can inflict a Major Mental, Physical, or Spiritual condition on her as if an EoB RR.))

Kumiho's eyes grow wide.  She can't stop it.  Likely nothing could.  He pulls her back, slamming her against the bulkhead, and opens fire.  The simulation begins to glitch and he's sure he hears dark laughter that isn't his- or maybe it is?-

And then Kumiho's obliterated.  Gone.  Not even shreds left.  The simulation begins to fritz out as Core starts putting more processing power into the tubes.  Abaddon's sure he hears Fossil screaming something over the comm, but it's fuzzy, uncontrolled.

((Major Metal Inspiration: Celestial Bond. Bonded with Lucifer, Kumiho finds herself able to draw upon greater reserves of power when in his presence or otherwise drawing on their connection (doing things inspired by him, contrasting her actions to his, etc.). Major Breath Hyperactivity, +1 Lunar Chi))

There's a good while where Abaddon - or Daniel, behind the mask - can do little but feel the overkill play out around him. Audiovisual and tactile, gravity, all input was oversaturated to the point of mixing together. It only then occurred to him that even outside the Longinus he had enough firepower to destroy spaceships from the outside; perhaps going all out here was not conducive to the purpose of the training after all...

Maybe that's why the laughter and Fossil's uncontrolled screaming stand out to him. He holds still, trying to single out and follow the noises and centering himself to make sense of the chaos he'd unleashed.

"...Come again? You're breaking up, Fossil."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:49, Tue 21 Apr 2020.

((Can't really have Solar/Lunar Chi bonuses, but noted))

When Core finally gets control of everything again there's some issues.  The first is that there's a giant hole in the ship, spattered with red- everything from that point to the engines have been cored like an apple.  The second is that he's positively crackling with what must be Core's approximation of Abyssal energy, causing the various junk around him to just... wither and die around him.

The third is a completely solid bulkhead in front of him, directly in the center of the huge hole he made.  There's text printed on it:  KINDLY PLEASE DO NOT REPEAT

"I said what the FUCK are you doing!  You're supposed to be pushing them not obliterating them!"  Fossil isn't one to panic, but there's something else in his voice, "And something just got Core really, really annoyed, I just got a message from him on the console telling me the fleet's just starting to get moving!"

"...Well shit."

Abaddon waves his hand about in a vain attempt to scatter the strange miasma around him before realizing it was coming from him and not actually hindering his sight. Then he regards the rest of his handiwork and gains a slight frown of concern under the anonymity of his helmet.

"Yeah, I might've gotten a bit... Carried away. I thought what happens in VR stays in VR, though? Core getting annoyed can be explained with rendering difficulty, but there's something else going on here. Sinister laughing when diving in and just now, and then this. Should we call it off?"

"I don't think so- I mean normally yes I'd be shutting this down ASAP until we got this covered, but Core isn't pulling the brakes.  Meaning he's either content with you moving forward with the simulation or he's trying to figure out what the hell is going on and is looking for more data."  Fossil says to him, "If you're still OK with going, I guess full-up put the fear of the Void in them, but nothing that intense, alright?  If you're not I'll pull the simulation."