"Okay so what I'm getting out of all this is: it's time to get in the giant robot and head to Gnost, amirite? If I am, then: sounds good to me, let's go!"

Hearing the opportunity to escape, Ajakstu follows the Duke's orders and sprints to their walker. Saddling up, he heads back for the group, stomping and kicking any robotic remains he spies.

Alyn nodded his head.

"Yup, we're humans. Well except for Vult and Kalsk of course. Mind you, The Duke and I are not normal humans by any means but we are human-enough for scanning purposes, and Ajakstu and Pesky also have their own heroic qualities that set them apart from normal humans. They are action-movie bad-asses and sometimes I swear even more. But we are human enough! Don't let the fact that we occasionally antagonize and then agonize monsters and robots, make friends with slime-women, elementals, and cat-people, and tame and breed psychotic moths and such throw you off." he said confidently, with a grin.

He then shook his head.

"The Alynwalker is going to take a bit more time to finish rebooting and I don't want to leave it right now. But if you guys want to, you can go on ahead and I'll catch up. I've got some rations, water bottles, and candy bars from the base in my Psiwalker so will be fine for food for a bit. I shouldn't be more than an hour or two behind you, but who knows...maybe this Alynwalker can haul ass and I'll catch up with you en route." he said.

"And Dulcinea? don't worry Duke is just being dramatic. I've made sure he stays quite well-fed this entire journey. As much for the good of the world as for his own, mind you." he said. "We've got preserved crab meat, water, candy bars, and rations in our big cooler. So we're not going to starve." he added.

"I can't say we have money though. I'm not sure any of us even know how money works out here. It didn't work that way back in the Ziggurat, and on the road we mostly take what we want or, when we're feeling nice, we exchange favors with others. So you may have to give us a primer on the economy of Gnost later, okay?" he said.

At this, Pesky nods and adds, "I'll stay back with you."

"Eh? Boys, never split up the party...! That's, like, scavenging 101! I mean, when there is a party. I'm a party all by myself, but I'm a lot harder to digest than most scavengers. Sometimes that's the reason I've ended up as a party of one, even when I start out an expedition with other people..."



"Oh, sure. There's a few things people trade for currency in Gnost. I'll help. But uh... I think everyone should stick together... or at least that Sweetie should stick with the giant mecha..."

The Duke looks at the Doomwalker and then at his love bite.

"It has no food. Lets go to Gnost."

He then gets into the hover car and pats the seat opposite of him for Dulcinea.

"These two will do just fine on their own. Lets see what snacks Gnost has."

Alyn nodded.

"Don't worry - I can track you guys psychically, so I'll be able to find you sop we can meet up again." he said aloud.

He then turned to Dulcinea. She would suddenly be able to hear Alyn's voice in her mind. His presence caressed against her mind gently, and his initiation of a connection was "polite" for lack of a better word. No tricky side-entry, etc.

Dulcinea? This is Alyn. Yes, I can speak to you mentally and no, I'm not doing anything bad to you. Just talking right now. I have an understanding with the others traveling with me: we give each other grace and such each other a break, in exchange for the same. It's us against the world, but as you can see we can play nice with others too. sometimes. his voice said, mentally, followed by a mental chuckle.

I only offer this to my closest travelling companions, but I will never try to mind control or deep-probe your thoughts and so on so forth unless I'm proactively doing it to try and help you. Like for instance, to try and push out another invading mental presence or something, or if you specifically ask me to for some reason like you need help recalling a forgotten memory, or need me to help you stay calm for something, and so on. I have the feeling you'll be travelling with us for a while, and I'd like to offer you this "mental alliance" deal if you're interested. I do these psychic favors for close travel companions for free, by the way. Your mutual goodwill is all I ask in return.

A few moments later.

I will not force you to accept a passive mental link right now if you don't want it, but know that it will let us communicate even across vast distances, or in situations where there's radio jamming and so on. The choice is yours.

"Yes, but--"



At first, he can tell she doesn't like this kind of communication... but as he keeps "talking," he can tell that her practical side kicks in-- she can see the potential usefulness of what he's offering. I'd prefer to talk by vibrating the air-- for both/all of us, I mean. But I accept that this might be useful sometimes, too... and important. Maybe I'll take you up on that offer someday. But for now, try to stay out of my mind unless it's necessary.

Dulcinea's mind is weird, by the way. It's like a million little minds fused into one. There's a lot of echo and reverb when she thinks, or at least that's a result that Reed can't ignore. A lot of them are thinking the same thing, like Private, Keep Out or Must Protect Sweetie, but quite a few of them are thinking their own things, like musing over memories. Dulcinea is old, like really old. She's experienced a lot.

"But anyway, seriously, I'm not worried-- well, not anymore-- about you people getting lost from each other. It's just a safety-in-numbers thing. Sweetie will be safer traveling with you and your giant mecha. It's still a good ways before Gnost."

No problem, and I understand. You - all of you - at least now know what my telepathy is like. Just in case you encounter other powerful psychic beings. We can speak normally for now. Offer is on the table indefinitly while you travel with us. he replied mentally.

Oh, and if you see some sinister and potentially murderous psychic moths on and around me, please leave them be. Some stuff happened and I'm sort of their hive queen right now. Or at least...their very stern big brother who treats them like pets since realize I'm a far bigger psychic predator than they are if they piss me off. But they actually have a strong sense of community and are well behaved to my party. I just don't want you to worry when you see them soon. Oh, and I'll let them know ahead of time that you're on my white-list.

Alyn then sent a quick mental update to the mind moths about Dulcinea, and added her to his white-list of people they are not to mess with.

Alyn nodded, and spoke aloud.

"I'm fine with staying together, and strength in numbers is definitely a thing. But I CAN'T leave the Alynwalker right now. It's booting up and wont be able to protect itself until its done. And I need to make sure no more of those robot fucks some and try and mess with it. Cus if they do, I'll psychokinetically turn them into a can-opener for the Duke." he said.

"Which means you all need to occupy yourselves for an hour, and TRY to stay out of trouble while I spawn-camp my Megazord." Alyn said.

Suddenly, the Alynwalker thinks: UPDATE COMPLETE.

Well well well.

It didn't think it AT Alyn (did it?) just thought it so... with such focus that Alyn heard it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:12, Thu 07 Mar.

Alyn suddenly snapped to attention.

"Oh...well that was fast. I guess out banter passed the time faster than I thought. Let me go check it out. Be right back." He said to everyone as he hurried inside the Alynwalker and ascended to the control room.

He sat at a counsel, and thought commands to it for ease.

How are your systems doing, now that you not only rebooted but defragged yourself too? Please refresh your system status update for me.

And how sophisticated are your self-repair systems? Can you like...rebuild your shattered windows and circuitry and stuff?

And how are your movement systems? How about your attack and defense systems?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:17, Thu 07 Mar.

EXTE_IOR WEAP_N_ SYSTEMS: 0% OPERAT__NAL
INTE_IOR DEFENSES: 29% OPERATIONAL
LIFE-SUP_ORT SYSTEMS: 51% OPERATIONA_
SENS_RS: 62% OPE_ATIONAL
P_WER: 23% REMAI_ING
GYROSC_PE: 91% OPER_TIONAL
COMPUT_R SYSTEMS: 85% O_ERATIONAL
SELF-R_PAIR SY_TEM: 14% OPERATIONAL




CIRCUITRY... SLOWLY. WINDOWS... MUCH MORE SLOWLY.



P_WER: 23% REMAI_ING
GYROSC_PE: 91% OPER_TIONAL
COMPUT_R SYSTEMS: 85% O_ERATIONAL

READY TO WALK. FASTER THAN MODERATE WALKING SPEED NOT READY AT THIS TIME.



EXTE_IOR WEAP_N_ SYSTEMS: 0% OPERAT__NAL
INTE_IOR DEFENSES: 29% OPERATIONAL

PRIORITIES SHOULD NOT BE OVERRIDDEN:
--LEGS BEFORE ARMS.
--TORSO AND HEAD BEFORE ARMS.
--RIGHT ARM BEFORE LEFT ARM.

OTHER PRIORITIES APPLY.

POWER-SAVING SUBROUTINES CURRENTLY APPLY.

"Hey Bossy." She means Alyn. "Are you think-talking to the mecha? Are you cyborg?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:11, Thu 07 Mar.

Alyn got an idea, and thought a new command to the Alynwalker.

Besides resetting your remaining functional defenses and traps and such, and keeping enough power reserved for walking, can you have the self-repair systems otherwise fully focus themselves on repairing itself? Basically, I want you to use self-repair on the self-repair systems. This should create a snowball effect of self-repairing!

Alyn then notice Dulcinea came with him and he looked at her, smiled, and nooded.

"Yes, I'm thought-speaking to the mecha. No, I'm not a cyborg. I'm all organic and biological. And yes, it makes absolutely zero sense that my telepathy works fairly well with machines, all things coinsidering. But I also can communicate telepathically with Vult when he's gaseous, and you as a slime-woman with a VERY unique mind. It's like you're more of a living network, like a protist or something. Except on the real-world level you're thoughts are cohesive and you take clear, intentional actions. And somehow, I still can commune with you. You're not nearly as strange mentally as that one tree-thing was..." he replied.

"Yeah, you head me right. I even communicated with a really, really told sentient tree-thing once. It was...strange. I have an easier time with machines even than I do with intelligences THAT alien. But it seems I'm able to communicate with just about anything that has some sort of intelligence." he said.

"But honestly, I have absolutely no freaking idea how it works. Really, my powers defy logic and science but yet they work somehow." he added.

"But I told you, we're...kinda different from normal humans. Duke and I break physics, quite frankly. I'd be terrified of Dukie if I weren't also as freakish as he is. And the others are some sort of action-movie hero at worst. I mean how is Ajakstu not dead yet, for crying out loud? That's supernatural in and of itself! And I think I saw pesky tie a cherry stem with is gun barrel once too!"

USER PRIORITIES ACKNOWLEDGED.



"...Sounds like you're tapping into some sort of religious stuff to me." Dulcinea waves a pseudopod, as if "religious stuff" is a swarm of gnats she's shooing away from her. That's the end of that discussion.

(Reed wonders if Dulcinea doesn't like thinking about what she categorizes as "religious stuff" because she doesn't understand it, or because she does understand it...)



"Sweetie is not 'freakish!' Don't be condescending, Bossy! Or... patronizing? Or both? Is a giant mecha freakish? Is a rainbow fish freakish? Is breathing air freakish? Maybe you just have judgey self-esteem! Pretty ironic for someone so bossy! Let your special banner fly, I say! Also, Sweetie could eat you so I'd be nice to him if I was you!"

"I'm absolutely both condescending and patronizing, thank you very much!" Alyn says with a hmph, followed by a playful grin.

"Actually Pesky and Kalsk are the only two humble ones in this group. But it works for us since we're the dream team." he continued.

"And lady? If my powers are because I'm the chosen of some sort of religion, and that makes me a priest or God help us all a Saint...then this world's fuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked!" he added. "Cus I'm like so not the messiah type."

"Oh, and yes the Doombot is freakish, yes rainbow fish are freakish, breathing air...is alright though, I suppose. But seriously? I may be the only being on this planet who the Duke wouldn't want to eat, since I'd absolutely be able to give him indigestion! Turns out getting a psionic storm in your stomach isn't very palatable." he said with a grin.

"Hmph! I wasn't saying that." She seriously considers: what the heck had she been suggesting, anyway? "...Maybe it's an ability you're being granted by-- Hm. Never mind. You and Regina-Ra should have a long talk, that's all..."




"Hmph! You and me both. So is the big mecha ready to walk, or what?"

Alyn raised a curious eyebrow at her as she cut herself off, but decided to leave it be. They needed to meet Regina-Ra anyway. He didn't really expect a slime-woman to actually truly know about the nature of his powers, which seemed a bit different from the "normal" psychic things they've encountered thus far. His powers were unstable - almost as if a dice were being rolled when he activated them - but on the flipside the upper limit of his potential was unknown.

"Very well. We'll deal with it and other stuff in Gnost. And yes, the Alynwalker is ready to go. you probably should stay with the Duke for now, who in turn should stay with the cooler in his transport." he reponded.

He looked to the party.

"And you guys need to drive in the transports and bring your vehicles though - don't leave them behind. I will follow you guys in the Alynwalker, and my Psiwalker will follow me too, since it can follow me unattended. But we shouldn't just ditch the other transports. On the contrary, we may be able to use them to get money, or simply may need them for other things." he said.

"And let's see if there's anything that we can scrape from the robots that maybe we can sell in gnost too. I know Ajakstu combed through for the choicer bits, but maybe there's more general scrap we could load into one of the transports and sell in gnost?"

"Definitely! Any one of them would bring quite a bit of money in Gnost."




"Yes, good idea. Get nuts, bolts, gears, metal. Don't worry so much about getting plastic. Oh, any sort of oil reserve, too, if you see any. Just, uh, don't tell any robots we meet in Gnost that you were the ones who destroyed these robots..."

(Someone-- ONE of you-- do an Insightful roll)

With perhaps a bit of an eyeroll Ajakstu dismounts from the walker and dicks around with a few of the robots.

"Could have left the cat behind with Al," he muttered.

16:19, Today: Ajakstu Gul rolled 9 using 2d6+1 ((3,5)). Assuming did not get the +1 forward for helping Duke with his pitching of woo.

"And what have we here? As a man I once knew named Wikus said, 'This is the biggest find that I've ever seen!'....didn't work out to well for Wikus though. Prawn."

Dulcinea looks over what Ajakstu has chosen. "Yes, this'll do. This'd get you a nice bargaining stake even if it's all you boys were bringing to the table. Not bad, Hat Boy. You might have a future as a professional scavenger. Of course you could only benefit from the experienced example of a veteran like myself..."

When Dulcinea's not fussing over The Duke, her voice sounds like an old lady. It's only when she's fussing over The Duke that she sounds like an overexcited mom.

She rubs her upper pseudopods together. "Ha ha ha ha ha haaa! Load it up, boys! I know just who we'll unload this stuff on! Well, shall we go...?"

She turns to Alyn. "Hey Bossy, can I talk to your giant mecha for a second? With my voice, I mean. If you let me, I'll give it coordinates for Gnost."

01:59, Today: Alyn Reed rolled 2 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 1.  Aid (Insight)

Well thankfully it wasn't a 1 so no penalty, but Ajakstu's dice are both better so the aid does not modify anything. So we go with his 9. I hope his treasure powers help a little, lol.

Alyn tried to help Ajakstu look for scrap, but was too distracted by Dulcinea and the Alynwalker to be of much help.

He turned toward the slime-lady.

"Huh? Voice? Oh ah yeah. Voice. Yes, go ahead. Turns out the thing has an AI in it, despite being who knows how old. I'm starting to think that whatever civilization came before now was far more advanced than people realize. I think once I get this Alynwalker fully repaired, it's gonna be an absolute beast." he said.

"And yeah, go ahead and make an inquiry of it. I white-listed you as a guest so it should give you basic courtesy, as long as it doesn't think you're doing or asking anything that's harmful to us. I appreciate you sharing the coordinates with it." he said.

In reply to Dulcinea (msg # 192):

Ajakstu filed Bossy away as the new name for the ...well....Bossy guy!

Alyn almost catches a stray thought or emotion about that from Dulcinea, but he can't quite make it out. She has Opinions about the past... but doesn't like sharing them.



If taking it through the Unstable Zone doesn't make it a wreck by the time you get it to the other side... thinks Dulcinea-- there, he heard that one... or did she mean for him to catch that one?



"Sure," says Dulcinea. "Hey giant walker robot, give me a local map, please." A hologram map appears in front of Dulcinea. "Yeah, thanks. Make it so I can zoom in and out, please."

ACKNOWLEDGED.

"Thanks." She starts using her upper pseudopods to zoom out, out... Then in again, on the upper part... in a bit more... Then she touches a spot. "Yeah, there. See where I'm pointing, giant robot? ...This isn't working. Respond when I call you BossyWalker. See where I'm pointing on this map, BossyWalker? Make a marker there and label it 'Gnost,' G-N-O-S-T, because that's where we're going next."

ACKNOWLEDGED.

Alyn didn't mind the nickname. Truth be told, this world and his situation was so strange, so weird, and filled with so many strange, potentially harmful, and wonderous beings and life forms that he had to become super Assertive in order to survive and get by. But equally, he was the main one keeping the herd of cats who were travelling with him at least somewhat organized and focused as well.

Despite everything, including some weird psionic situations, Alyn had done a lot for this group so far. He went out of his way to help Duke make sure their food stores were always topped off, he geared Pesky, helped Ajakstu get lewt opportunities as well as generally survive against giant monsters and such occasionally, and even Kalsk and Vult he helped by forcing the Parasite into a stalemate and thus, buying Kalsk time to remain in control. Even now, Alyn had a "lock" on that thing and the moment it dropped its psychic guard Alyn wound be on it like flies on shit. He also knew, though, that despite how the group acted that they were aware of Alyn's contributions and appreciative in their own way. It was this deep non verbal understanding they all had that made them work so well as a party.

He also "silently" listened to Dulcinea's "accidental thought," but did not probe or otherwise take action. He remained passive. For now, he's give her social and mental space to process things, and hopefully later when they were more comfortable with each other she'd open up.

"Well people! I think it's time we go to Gnost then. We got lots of scrap and other ways of earning money as needed, and we have several errands to do when we get there. But by God, we're going to get there!" Let's head out now. Everyone? Please get to your respective vehicles. I am going to be in the Alynwalker and the Psiwalker will be following me. Let's do this!"

"Yeah, let's go!" enthuses Vult.