Moley gets up and addresses the three. “Okay. Now is the time that if you have any requests for devices for the mission. Bare minimum I will create breathing devices for you all for when we tunnel.”

Nodding at Thinkmaster's response, Natalia laughed at Richard's statement of 'not wanting that'. She'd hoped not!


Turning towards Brian, Natalia smiled,

"Is there any way you could create a device that identified when the infected were near? Or perhaps eyewear so that somebody like myself could more easily see them in the dark and other difficult situations? Having one of us with the capability of 'spotting' them, even through walls or at a distance would allow us to approach carefully." she shrugged, hoping that would make sense.

Ooc-note: the more complicated the device, the harder it will be to put togeather. I will list the invention rules here.

https://www.d20herosrd.com/7-g...s-gear#TOC-INVENTING

This message was last edited by the GM at 16:08, Mon 19 June 2023.

OOC: Got it. Not looking to make any device worth over 14 points to succeed at making routine checks for design and construction.

Moley smiled. “I’m a Weremole. Navigating blindly through the earth and sensing things far away is what I do. My claws and whiskers can feel the vibrations in both the earth and air. I can accurately judge time, distance, and direction even when completely underground. My animal instincts also alert me when danger is near. So if you’re asking for an Infected radar then you already got one. My suit also projects light all around me to help others navigate around underground and in the dark. I do wonder if Warhead’s powers are possibly in any way able to accidentally hurt other people or they get caught in a blast. I could rig a sort of radiation nullifier attuned to your specific frequency, so you can blast away without being afraid of hurting us. Any other requests?”

Evelyn stirred in her chair. “I’m similarly equipped to detect nearby threats or targets. I have a limited capacity to see the infrared spectrum and a functional vomeronasal system, so while I’m working with a snake’s tools rather than a mole’s the outcome should be much the same. Nothing should be able to get too close without one or both of us noticing, not even in the dark.”

She looked content enough to leave it at that, her piece said, but after a moment a sense of resignation caught her face. She sighed. “That’s the tongue thing, before you ask. I have a predator’s sense of smell.”

Listening closely as the other two spoke, Natalia thought for a moment before responding to each in turn,

"I can protect us from his blast with my shields, so we don't need to waste the resources on that." she addressed Warhead's capabilities first. She didn't want people to start assuming he was just "dangerous without control". Plus: anything designed to protect against his blasts would essentially be PERFECT for the bad guys to get ahold of to make him defenseless... no thank you!

"It sounds like you two are quite well adapted to the exact scenarios I was concerned about! Thankfully you're on our side, so it looks like we are well prepared." she smiled, "I will do my best to protect everybody, and keep the enemies from striking us. Hopefully I will be able to do exactly that, while you all do the heavy lifting!" she laughed, teasing herself a little bit.

Richard glanced at Thinkmaster and let out a small sigh. He glanced at Mindhaze but then back at the others. He spoke up after the others did. "I can sense radiation. I can see in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum. I can use x-rays to...'see'...through most solid objects. I have something like radar too."

To Moley he gave an uncomfortable shrug and said, "I'm happy to let you, though I can generate multiple types of radiation. Kind of all electromagnetic and ionizing radiation. Most of what I kick out is not..." He floundered for a second, "I don't affect multiple people or areas in general. I'm...mostly single-target." He then smiled sheepishly at the other man, "I also...can kind of...burrow, though it's, I'm sure, quite different than your version."

Then he looked down and gave a little chuckle. "I'm also able to be a human microwave, which has come in handy for survival at times."

In reply to Holey Moley (msg # 36):

OOC-please examine times to design and build rules. It takes hours.

"Perhaps at a later time." Natalia said reaching out and placing a hand on Richard's forearm with a smile.


Turning towards the others, she glanced around,

"Is there anything else anybody needs to get started, or anything else?" she asked, wanting to open the floor for their team to speak up if need be.




Apologies for jumping in quickly again: just wanted to emphasize how awkwardly quickly Natalia jumped in here to disagree with Richard's statement :P Normally I won't leap in nearly as quickly and post a second time!

Richard glanced at the other two before looking back at Natalia when she touched his arm. He gave a nod to the other two, "Think it's time to get some rest," before leaving the room - barring anything else from Thinkmaster, H.M. or Q.C.

Moley stood up and motioned to follow him to his room where his lab was. “Please join me. I need to take you measurements for the devices I need to build to allow you to breathe underground and protect us from the Necromizer’s Magic. If you could please just stand right there and hold out your arms.”

Should they agree, he turned a dial on the chest plate of his suit which produced a red liquid that was pumped straight into his veins. The botanist started zipping around like a mouse on stimulants quickly taking measurements and drawing out designs for each device on his work table. Each set of measurements and design took only two minutes and after eight minutes he was already putting the devices together. Another 32 minutes later, and he was finished and turned the dial back to normal stopping the flow of red liquid.

Moley presented each device to them. It was a four point harness that wrapped around the back over and under the arms to attach to a central circular generator. Activation of the device projected an invisible field around their bodies protecting them from necromantic powers and purifies their oxygen supply. His own device was a modification to his suit where similar generators were on the backs of each hand that connected to diamond coated claw sheaths presumably to help him dig through tougher materials.

OOC:
Each device is 4 power points worth of powers
1-3) Immunity 4: immunity to necromantic power descriptor and immunity to suffocation effects (no need to breath at all)
4) Immunity 2: immunity to necromantic power descriptor, Burrowing Extra: Penetrating x2 to allow him to burrow normally impervious material

Each design and construction roll is performed as a routine check with a -10 penalty to reduce time rank by 2 for a total roll of 14 which equals the DC of 10+ number of pp (4)
Moley has Quickness 5.
Design time for each device is 4 hours minus 7 time increments down to 2 minutes
Construction time for each device is 16 hours minus  7 time increments down to 8 minutes
Total time to design and construct all 4 devices is 40 minutes

Slipping into the device that Moley was providing, trying to show some faith with a smile, Natalia shrugged herself into it, and then did her best to tighten it to fit snugly,

"Well this is just amazing, Moley, thank you." she said softly, smiling fondly at the scurrying man. He was certainly pulling his weight, that one.

Turning towards Richard, Natalia held her hands out, almost as if to ask if he would like some help fitting the little device on his back.



Ready to go when everybody else is!

In reply to Holey Moley (msg # 43):

OOC: As of right now, you lack the materials needed to make someone immune to Necromantic powers. You might be able to in the future, but not now.

OOC: Can I instead do Immunity 1: breathe underground and Teleport (accurate) 1 for 4 points total?

In reply to Holey Moley (msg # 46):

Ooc-Teleport 1? You want to travel 60 feet? You burrow faster than that.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:11, Thu 22 June 2023.

OOC: This is mostly for the other 3. Moley’s device will instead just be Burrow (Penetrating 4) to burrow through concrete and steel.

In reply to Holey Moley (msg # 48):

OOC-Teleport may require more materials than you can manage currently.

Eventually team Moley finds its way to their rooms. After getting something to eat at one of the many food carts that patrol the entire complex. The food seems to be mostly plants and fungus, although there are plant based fo-meat products that resemble meat. Until you taste it that is.

The Freebooter's also have a black market of some kind, which is where the inventor types get a lot of their needed parts. Also new clothing can be traded for, although there is a laundry service which stops by the rooms-free of charge. Most of the 'sales' are for entertainments of a variety of kinds...or food from above. Mostly Twinkies and the like.

While walking around, Queen Cobra does seem to notice people glaring at her. Mostly people are also animal hybrids. None of them seem keen on attacking her, but the loathing in their glares seem to suggest if they got the chance, they would do so. The opposite is true for Moley. People keep walking up and shaking his hand, giving him items for his tech efforts, and having him stand there while small children hug his legs.

The rooms are fairly standard. They are made of earth, and have holes to store things rather than cabinets and dressers. The light seem to be provided by bio-luminescent mushrooms, which have to covered to make the room dark. There is a cistern in one corner with fresh water flowing, along with a bathroom which seems to be more like a outhouse. However, it somehow manages to smell just fine.

The bed is just some sort of very durable air mattresses. It has a pillow built into the 'head' of the bed. There is also a device built into the ceiling which can project holographic films, music, shows, and if needed Thinkmaster's presence.

Moley's room is blocked off by a shifting rock rather than a plastic portal. He also has a actual bed, an actual bathroom, and an actual shower. This indeed makes him very popular, although he has been told not to share it multiple times. Eventually, things get dull enough to put anyone to sleep.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:27, Fri 23 June 2023.

Moley says hi and greets those he passes getting the general gossip about what is going on. He genuinely cares about the people down here and does his best to make people smile. Going to his room he eats his tofu and mushroom burger, takes a shower and goes to sleep with his suit back on after it’s self cleaning cycle is done.

Seeing the separated rooms, Natalia couldn't shake the feeling of small fittings for separate "experiments" in their old experience. She shivered at the thought. It gave her a feeling of unease, but Moley seemed to like these people, and she liked Moley, so she tried to ignore it and shove it to the back of her thoughts the best she could.

Glancing Richard's way, she watched to see his reaction and to see if it was as nervous as hers or not. She would guess he'd handle it a bit better, but she wasn't entirely certain.

Seeing a person pass by glaring at Queen Cobra, Natalia frowned slightly, and continued to watch. It was certainly clear that people were acting as if they didn't like her... why? She had seemed perfectly wonderful to Natalia earlier... was it a side effect of her powers?

Tapping Queen Cobra on the shoulder after a few more people glared, she smiled at her reassuringly,

"I am sure they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Ignore them. They'll see eventually." she said, hopefully comfortingly to the woman.

Evelyn had been quite content to keep to herself as the meeting wound down, leaving it to the mole-man to worry about technology and problem solving as she gave her attention solely to resolving what it actually was she had in her cup. The flavour fell in approximately the right ballpark, but the real difficulty was in telling whether it was a matter of substitution, degradation or a bare-faced lie from a machine that couldn’t fall much lower in her esteem. Either way it was palatable ... just about. The sort of thing you finished as much for decorum as desire.

She didn’t linger after they adjourned. It didn’t seem prudent.

While the journey over had been largely without incident she wasn’t planning on pushing her luck, not with the agenda set for tomorrow. Maybe the attachment to Thinkmaster’s plans would offer some kind of insurance but it still wasn’t enough to be sure. ‘Accidents happen’ after all.

Caught up in her thoughts as she was, Evelyn started at the sudden hand on her shoulder. She rounded on the aggressor, lip curling back in a snarl, only to force out all that fury with a sharp exhale. Natalia didn’t deserve her anger – none of them did – even if it seemed she maybe had a thing or two to learn about boundaries. It was enough to make Evelyn at least try to reign in her instincts.

“Somehow I don’t think they will,” she said wryly. “But thank you anyway. It’s been a while since I had someone in my corner.”

The bit of walking and eating did Richard good, and considering what they'd had to scrounge up sometimes, the food was very welcome. He looked less tense, at least physically. He was still a little on guard and looking around often, but that could be chalked up to curiosity in a new space. Or it could be a touch of justified paranoia. Or both.

He stiffened when Natalia TOUCHED Queen Cobra, however, and only relaxed when the other woman seemed to relax as well.  He glanced at Natalia, then at Queen Cobra.   He stopped himself from shaking his head.

He stopped at the door to his room. Individual rooms. With no bars or locks on the outside. He stepped one foot in and looked around slowly. He smirked slightly and muttered to himself, "Mushroom lighting? Heh, that's a first. Kinda cool." He slowly stepped inside and examined it a bit more.

He poked his head back out and looked at Natalia, "You gonna be okay in a room of your own?" There was no judgment in his voice and an implied invitation if she needed it.

"Of course." Natalia smiled to Evelyn, dipping her head in respect, happy to show her support.

Turning to Richard as he walked near her, she followed him close to the rooms, or quarters or whatever they were called here. Truth be told: she was nervous, and when Richard offered, her face almost crumbled, but she managed to hold it together. After a brief pause, she nodded her head silently, and opened her door to him, a clear invitation. It was still too much for her to sleep entirely alone after their experience, and Richard was just about the only person she truly trusted with everything. She patted the bed, indicating that she wouldn't put up with any chivalrous notions about "I'll sleep on the floor" from him. They would make do, so long as he was comfortable enough.

OOC: ST and I have agreed on what the device will do. Moley will gain burrowing penetration 4 which will allow him to burrow through concrete and steel which was a hinderance last mission. The other three are the harnesses that grant immunity which are don’t need to breathe at all and immune to heat and cold.

Ok great, thank you!

OOC-Thread closed.