Action, Adventure, Excitement, Part 9: Nile Empire / Pulp Chapter 8 Subject: Re: AAE 9n: The Best Laid Plans On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 05:27:24 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012151 >On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:14:01 -0700 >Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012144 > >"-pes" Patrick finishes as Ultraviolet vanishes. "Tanith would just >-love- her." he adds, speaking to no-one in particular. > >/Mission incomplete./ Patrick sends back to anyone at the hideout, >via mini-lens. /The Hunter was taken through some kind of portal, by >the aforementioned Queen of Spades. Ultraviolet is, I presume, in >pursuit./ > >/Anyone have a plan for what next? I can't step across dimensions./ "If you cannot step across dimensions, I'll have to give up my plan asking you to go on the rescue team for the Hunter. /How about if we just plan to give Mobius' forces a good, thorough pounding?/" Zia's voice comes easily from above. A figure in blue stands on the crude, metal fire escape ladder. Then Blue Zia hurdles over the side, dropping easily to land in a catlike crouch on the ground before she rises and walks toward him. She is dressed as a local, save for the richness of her clothing. Low boots, keffiyah, a curved jambiya studded with blue sapphires, a light cavalry blade on her other hip, but an oddly humble, (if burnished with age) shepherd's crook in one hand. There is a long, fresh cut on her face, that has been stitched closed again with tiny, careful stitches, but she smiles at him despite the pain. "I've someone gathering information on his Mathemagician, so - " This blue-garbed Zia pauses as Mobius lights up the town, "Boy, you can tell he's foreign - it's Cairo, not Vegas." She observes with a sad shake of her head. "Though he'd fit RIGHT IN - in Vegas. Shall we?" =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: The Best Laid Plans On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 13:01:40 -0700 Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012154 >On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 05:27:24 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012151 > > "If you cannot step across dimensions, I'll have to give up my >plan asking you to go on the rescue team for the Hunter. /How about >if we just plan to give Mobius' forces a good, thorough pounding?/" "In lieu of anything else to do..." Patrick replies. "The question of Mobius must be addressed properly." > "I've someone gathering information on his Mathemagician, so - " > This blue-garbed Zia pauses as Mobius lights up the town, "Boy, >you can tell he's foreign - it's Cairo, not Vegas." She observes with >a sad shake of her head. "Though he'd fit RIGHT IN - in Vegas. Shall >we?" "We do seem to have an address now." the Kai replies drily. "Shall we...serve up the beats, as Hank might say?" =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: The Best Laid Plans On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 13:11:36 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012155 >On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 05:27:24 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012151 > > This blue-garbed Zia pauses as Mobius lights up the town, "Boy, >you can tell he's foreign - it's Cairo, not Vegas." She observes with >a sad shake of her head. "Though he'd fit RIGHT IN - in Vegas. Shall >we?" OOC: Well, there's this twin city he rules from, including Thebes and... ...what, you've never heard of the Luxor? =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: The Best Laid Plans On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 19:48:41 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012158 >On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 13:01:40 -0700 >Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012154 > >"We do seem to have an address now." the Kai replies drily. "Shall >we...serve up the beats, as Hank might say?" "Let's!" BlueZia agrees. She whistles as if for a taxi. An Arabian - a blue roan mare, with tack and saddle also in blue hues - rounds the corner and prances up to her. The petite woman swings up with a practiced ease, setting the crook in a worn leather holster made to fit. "Would you like to ride with me, or travel on your own?" [Space for the Kai's answer] Rounding the corner as they near the source of the beam, Pharaoh Mobius' regular security forces are arrayed to receive the expected hero reaction. "Would you like the left or the right-hand side, oh Kai?" BlueZia asks, a happy anticipation in her voice. Once he chooses, she turns her steed toward the other side, and begins thudding helmets, guns, arms, and teeth with fierce gaiety. -- The Blue Rose of Cairo "Out in the desert where the lonely winds blow, There is a shepherdess the likes of which no man knows, The Blue Rose is rare, but it is her laughter, Which can break any slave chain, no matter how strong." - The Legend of the Blue Rose, translated from the Old Arabic tongue =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: Fire in the Sky On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 21:34:38 -0700 (PDT) Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00012159 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012146 > > Putting the Luxor in Las Vegas to shame, the real thing has fired >a beacon of flame into the sky. It spirals up as far as the eye can >follow, vanishing into the canopy of the world. > */I do believe,/* Eon says calmly, */that Mobius is attempting to >get our attention./* Rob looks up from his work. It's gone surprisingly quickly; he's used to copying modern keys, which makes their pulp equivalents relatively simple. *Hippolyta,* he sends, his mental voice sounding far too calm for his own comfort, *would you mind storming the front gate of Mobius' palace?* The Amazon queen looks at her companion. "What about you?" He files a last burr from the key, and stands. *I'll be opening the way,* he replies, before jumping off the roof, stepping out of the alley, and vanishing in the crowd of rubberneckers. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: The Best Laid Plans On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 13:41:05 -0700 Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012161 >>On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 13:01:40 -0700 >>Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012154 >> >>"We do seem to have an address now." the Kai replies drily. "Shall >>we...serve up the beats, as Hank might say?" > > "Let's!" BlueZia agrees. She whistles as if for a taxi. An Arabian >- a blue roan mare, with tack and saddle also in blue hues - rounds >the corner and prances up to her. The petite woman swings up with a >practiced ease, setting the crook in a worn leather holster made to >fit. "Would you like to ride with me, or travel on your own?" "Probably quicker to go with you." Patrick replies. "Unless you have one in green." he adds wryly, climbing up. > Rounding the corner as they near the source of the beam, Pharaoh >Mobius' regular security forces are arrayed to receive the expected >hero reaction. > "Would you like the left or the right-hand side, oh Kai?" BlueZia >asks, a happy anticipation in her voice. "My magic is Left-handed; no reason to discontinue the trend." With that, he leaps off, fist knocking one thug over, staff already in the other hand, visiting blunt trauma on the second. Expectedly, the first wave of attackers has all the cohesiveness of, to quote Justin Bialy, a flock of geese. [Still, a little back-up might be helpful] /Any friendly CAoL forces still in the area...Ms. BlueZia and I are currently knocking on Mobius' front door-/ /My, he's got a lot of goons. Not that that's a subtle hint or anything...Anyway, we're OK for now, I think, but maybe we could keep up the diversion while someone nice and subtle goes around back and breaks Mobius' prisoner free?/ OOC: For 'subtle', read 'Dhyrclhanc', or other suitable not-quite-but-pretty-darn-close-to-a-demigod-entity-who's-not-mad-at-u s-right-now (IMHO) =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: The Best Laid Plans On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 07:35:43 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012162 >On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 13:41:05 -0700 >Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012161 Char Note: A slight correction to move Patrick and I some 150 miles to Mobius' Thebes city - which I read on the maps is current day Luxor. Which I thought was merely a casino, given that my Earth-normal travels to Egypt have been curtailed by unfortunate political unrest. - Ziactrice of the Black >"Probably quicker to go with you." Patrick replies. "Unless you have >one in green." he adds wryly, climbing up. "They don't typically have horses in green - on this Earth, at least." The Blue Zia offers her arm, disengaging one boot from the stirrup, so he can get up with some degree of ease. "Fortunately, shadowshifting isn't paradoxical for me, any plane." She urges the mare into a canter, rounding some buildings. The beam abruptly changes from 150 miles away slender needle to only 20 miles away broad beam of light. Then, as they clop through what is probably some city park in Thebes, around a small marketplace, then emerge onto another small alley, it dominates the sky and begins to light the surroundings faintly, being quite close indeed. >/Any friendly CAoL forces still in the area...Ms. BlueZia and I are >currently knocking on Mobius' front door-/ Kai-Surge, making a bit of an echo on the Mini-lens link> /My, he's >got a lot of goons. Not that that's a subtle hint or anything... >Anyway, we're OK for now, I think, but maybe we could keep up the >diversion while someone nice and subtle goes around back and breaks >Mobius'prisoner free?/ /That would be - / the woman in blue seems to catch two phaser-stun bolts on her wooden crook, with no appearance of any actual stunning effect - besides her own on the guardsmen, /quite nice, if Karma isn't up for being our Fifth Column. Although we should inform them the party is at his palace in Thebes. If anyone requires transport, I can try a bit of shadowshifting for a likely - or unlikely - ride to show up for you. Just let me know. Does anyone know Karma well enough to lay a Lens on her? I'm reluctant, but if we can't make it in soon, I may force myself to overcome my reluctance./ She kicks another one away from her mount, laying him out in the sand with a hard THUMP. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: Fire in the Sky On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 08:08:43 -0700 (PDT) Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00012163 >Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00012159 > > *Hippolyta,* he sends, his mental voice sounding far too calm for >his own comfort, *would you mind storming the front gate of Mobius' >palace?* > The Amazon queen looks at her companion. "What about you?" > He files a last burr from the key, and stands. *I'll be opening >the way,* he replies, before jumping off the roof, stepping out of >the alley, and vanishing in the crowd of rubberneckers. As he reaches the city limits, he turns to face the beacon, and smiles. [Funny. I couldn't do this if it weren't for those stelae.] "A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step," Rob quotes. Then he takes the step -- -- and comes out of an alleyway in Thebes. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: A Damsel Semi-distressed On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 04:03:37 +0100 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012166 >On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 19:22:34 -0700 >Evil GM-San Said As CAoL Message # 00012145 > >>On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 02:00:32 +0100 >>Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012138 >> >> Karma nods, glancing askance at Mobius and the Scarlet Asp. >> "So, will I see you for dinner, Pharaoh?" > > Mobius looks outright _stunned_ at that. The Asp almost suppresses >a smile. > Then the Pharaoh laughs. > "Oh, _how_ can I refuse such a request?" If allowed, he takes >Karma's hand, then bends over (using proper form) and kisses it. "At >seven, then?" Karma subtly ensures that Mobius is kissing her braceletted hand, and smiles beneath her veil, blushing, which is subtly apparent, even given her attire. "I shall see you then," she says. > "Okay, you," The Asp adds, "this is one of those restricted >areas." She leads Karma to the main door. Karma can feel a faint >pressure pushing her left arm back. "Turn," she says curtly, >gesturing with one finger for emphasis. Once Karma does (OOC: refusal >would be a bad idea), she hears a few "beeps" and the pressure >vanishes. "All right, out." The Asp repeats the process. Karma does as directed without complaint. > "Fine. Now. You're not my problem any more, as long as you stay >out of trouble." The Asp starts pointing. "Your room is that way, >where you woke up. The kitchens are that way. The dining hall --" she >rolls her eyes, "is _that_ way, though the servants don't mind >snack-eating in a kitchen. The labs you know, the menagerie is over >there, and the elite live in the upper quarters that way." She >pauses. "The laboratories and the dangerous portions of the zoo are >off-limits, so you can't hurt yourself that way, but you should stay >away from Ahkemeses and Rama-Tet, and their ilk. Rama-Tet might >decide you're useful, and Ahkemeses...well, let's just say Mobius has >to keep him from getting frisky with the priestesses. You should be >safe enough with Teth-Net, though he'll corner you for an hour asking >you what you're doing up there if he finds you." Karma's gaze follows TSA's gestures, and nods at each name, putting faces and other distinguishing features with them as best she can in her mind. > She considers. "That should about do it -- oh, except for that >clamp. The ruby is a distress signal, in case someone _else_ gets >'frisky.' The emerald is a call button, press it and a servant will >see to your needs. The blue sapphire will activate the nearest >mechanical brain, which will instruct you in any non-restricted >information in its memory." She chuckles. "I should warn you, they >tend to be rather stupid, except for Mobius' personal super-brain. >You won't have access to that one, but be glad of it. Ozymandias can >be...prickly." The Scarlet Asp grimaces. "Well, anyway, you're not my >problem any more -- unless you hit that red button." She waves and >walks off. > And Karma now has the run of (most of) the palace, which is the >size of a small city... [Ozymandias, eh?] Karma muses, [Interesting choice of name there.] After a last glance around, ending on looking toward the dining hall, she turns and makes her way back toward her room. About halfway there, she stops and stares at a painting. She blinks for a moment, eyes glazing over, then she snaps back into focus and steps forward, squinting. [She never had hair that long, it was a weave. Guess I fooled him, at least from across the throne room.] Entering her room, she presses the emerald stud on the clamp to contact a servant. "I need clothes, a bath, and makeup. A stylist would be good if possible. And I've only got until seven. Nothing like a challenge." -- Karma "Eh, everyone has past lives involving Cleopatra, it's a rule or something." =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: Hang Time (Retcon)(Take 3)(Long) On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 16:12:16 -0400 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00012170 >As CAoL Message # 00012119 >On Thurs, June 17th, 2K4, Roland X writes... > >>As CAoL Message # 00012111 Dhyrclhanc and/or Martin wrote... >>"However, we are both dragons, and thus are both subject to the >>rulership of Our Lord Bahomet and Lady Tiamat." > >A rumbling chuckle echoes through the gigantic horror. "I have had >influence over god-powers, my little hatchling, and fear no alien >dragon-gods of yours." > >>Dhyrclhanc continues. Ignoring the larger dragon's rude interruption. Dhyrclhanc, even in his role as Paladin for the Holy Couple or in his role as a Priest for the Gods of Light of Heliopolis, wasn't big on the whole subject of Blasphemy. However, the statement that Angar had just made came pretty close to what the Lensdragon would've considered to just that. >>"... And for this reason, I now offer you the chance to abandon your >>vendetta. Otherwise, while I'll happily to assure you that I am >>capable of a great many things, however; very rarely is backing down >>and/or running from a challenge among them." > > "'Tis thy grave to dig," Uthorion replies almost casually. Then he >releases a blast of freezing, lightning-filled storm wind that >shatters a nearby warehouse (empty, thank Bahamut) as it races toward >everyone's favorite Lensdragon! Presumably from his mouth (?!) >>There is another bright flash of light, and Dhyrclhanc is now in his >>T'Skrang form and clothed in his Eidolan Warwear Armor. In addition, >>a Silver Klaive floats above his right shoulder and two flying >>dragon dagger/short-swords float at his waist, on either side of >>him. >> >>All three have their tips pointed in the direction of the >>Lensdragon's opponent. > > The contempt becomes slightly less mild. > >>At the same time, seven remotes "unskin" themselves from the armor's >>left forearm section and begin to orbit around the left wrist and >>three gun/sensor platforms rise up out of the armor's right shoulder >>and begin to hover there. > > Uthorion seems faintly interested in this -- perhaps because the >various pulp science devices on his back flare to life when this >happens. Tesla coils flare with controlled lightning, clacking >mechanical brains whir at blinding speeds, and shimmering lights >sparkle around the monstrous creature. Then the Nile Empire's paradigm for "weird science" is a combination of Tesla/Gernsback/Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon/Captain Proton-style Retro Sci-Fi Tech combined with Babbage-style influenced Steam-Punk technology plus +/- aprox 20 or 30 years or so worth of innovation and refinement? AFAICT (& FTR & FWIW) the Eidolan Warware Armor is the product of very high ultra-tech that is indistinguishable from what we'd consider to be Pseudo-Bio-Tech. The Armor is alive (read: a sentient and sapient life-form), even to the point where it's very structure is bio-mimetic. Whether or not it's truly organic, I cannot tell. Although the suit appears to be able to, within certain limits, develop whatever powers and abilities the wearer needs, within a moments. The Eidolan civilization is presumed to have been destroyed, or it is at least extinct, but it spanned galaxies and might've even been trans-temporal as well as interstellar. The Warwear suits, however, seem to have outlived their makers and many apparently still survive. More to the point, the suit worn by James Rhodes, or rather his possession of it was the result of the machinations of another race of extra-terrestrials who apparently wanted Rhodey to act as a Mac Duff to the Mac Beth figure played by the Tony Stark who'd been manipulated by Kang during "the Crossing" Fiasco. As I may've said before, Dhyrclhanc's Eidolan Warwear suit was a gift to him by the Asgard race of the Stargate SG-1 Universe, given to him in return for services rendered to them in their War with the Replicators. >>Not bothering to wait for the other dragon's response, this time, >>Dhyrclhanc stretches out his Cyber-Psi, Tele-Mechanics, and Cosmic >>Awareness senses and immdieately begins to gauge the general >>power-level and possible weakness(es) of his new opponent and the >>strange, presumably, techno-magick devices that he's wearing. >> >> MSH Rules Clairification: Cosmic Awareness will IC-ly let DC >>know if any of Urthorian's abilities are Class 1000 as well as if he >>has any weaknesses or limitations that everyone's lovable Lensdragon >>can take advanatage of. > > As previously mentioned, Class 1000 Magick. Be Afraid. eep! > As for weaknesses and limitations, he's very slightly more >vulnerable to fire than anything else (aspected to >wind/lightning/ice/cold), and his magick is more rigid than most >CAoLers. The latter isn't much of a weakness either, since he knows >somewhere in the vicinity of a bajillion spells. (Yes, the English >major said bajillion. Deal. ;^) Ouch! Not counting his Intra-Quantum Forces Manipulation powers, Dhyrclhanc only knows something in the neighborhood of 12 spells. However that weakness to fire ought to be something that I can take advantage of. >>In addition, DC's Cyber-Psi and Tele-Mechanics powers will let him >>know if the stuff on Uthorion's back is magick, tech or some >>combination of same, what rank they operate on, and if there are any >>back-doors or weaknesses and/or limitations there, as well. > > The tech is Nile "weird science," which might register as faintly >magickal depending on Dhyrclhanc's own paradigm (it uses strange >rules of reality that are related to, but not the same as, the local >magick system). Short form: if a Son of Ether's tech would register >as magickal, then Nile weird science will. If not, they won't. Dhyrclhanc has certain psionic-based, for lack of a better term, sentitivies to Psi, Magick and Tech (both Cyber/Computer-related and purely Mechanical). White Wolf's "Mage" game says that all tech is magick, in the WoD. But I don't know what, if any changes you might've made to this rule on Earth-9. In MSH terms, these senses operate passively on the Shift Y (Cyber), Shift Z (Mechanics), Class 1000 (psi and magick). My gut reaction is that an SOE's "tech" would show up as magick, and a Rifts-style Techno-Mage's "tech" would show-up as both, and a B-5-style Technomage's tech would show up as tech (however, AFAIK, the Technomages have largely appropriated Shadow Technology so how much of that is pure "bio-tech" as wouldn't strictly show-up as "tech" would be another issue. > Most of the tech operates at Unearthly, though with Class 1000 >defenses against tampering. Oh, and you can't quite tell what it >_all_ does. At least one of the attacks, however, is a pressor beam. >You know this > because it's trying to seal Dhyrclhanc's wings to his >body and slam him into the ground. The pressor beam attack will fail. 1.) Dhyrclhanc doesn't have any wings in his current physical form. 2.) The Eidolan Warwear possess Shift X rank flight while within an atmosphere. > Simultaneously, Uthorion is casting some foul spell that seems >intended to curse Dhyrclhanc with some undead nature. Fortunately, >the local magickal processes are not ideally aligned for such >sorcery, so if the Lensdragon thinks quickly, he can negate this >opening gambit entirely. As soon as Dhyrclhanc detects this particular attack, there's a loud "pop" sound as he Exo-ports the Glaive into a holding pattern orbit at 9 and 3 o'clock, 10:30 and 4:30 and 7:30 and 1:30. The Glaive has a spell-breaking ability which is effectively Shift Y rank (Dhyrclhanc's Psyche while "wearing" the Warwear) which is just barely enough to squeek-by and break the spell (I made a the equivalent of a successful Red-FEAT roll). The remotes continue to revolve around Dhyrclhanc's left forearm and the gun-platform/sensor units continue to hover over his right shoulder. They wait, although Dhyrclhanc is beginning to sense from them that they are slowly becoming slightly annoyed that they have yet to receive any orders. However, Dhyrclhanc has greater issues that he is currently dealing with and, for now at least, is content with letting them stew in silence. Another "pop", and the Silver Klaive is replaced with Dhyrlchanc's Sterling hybrid particle beam weapon and smart-gun weapon. Once the latter takes up it's position, floating above Dhyrclhanc's left shoulder, it fires a Class 1000 graviton-based force beam at the aprox. 150-foot long ice-blue colored dragon, hitting the larger dragon in the center of his chest, or whatever passes for it on his serpentine body. Lastly, with a TK-throw, Dhyrlhanc sends the two flying dragon dagger/short-swords in a dual-set of arcs towards the larger serpentine dragon (the attack is made at Shift X rank -- DC's TK rank, and the dagger/short swords inflict Shift Z edged damage against any opponents that are vulnerable to fire). lastly might I remind you that, according to the MSH rules, the differences in our respective sizes means that Urthorian is +3CS for DC to hit and DC's -3CS to be hit by him. Heeheeheeheeheehee. While the larger dragon has little chance to dodge the first attack, he might be able to dodge the second. It might be at this point in time that it begins to dawn on him that he might've underestimated the younger dragon. *By the way,* adds Dhyrclhanc, at the last moment, *I am not a hatchling, I am a Young Adult.* =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: Fire in the Sky On Mon, 31 Jul 2004 16:03:02 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012176? >On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 21:34:38 -0700 (PDT) >Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00012159 > >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012146 >> >> The Master of Time stops in mid-thought, staring in shock almost >>due south. >> The others are immediately aware why. >> Putting the Luxor in Las Vegas to shame, the real thing has fired >>a beacon of flame into the sky. It spirals up as far as the eye can >>follow, vanishing into the canopy of the world. >> */I do believe,/* Eon says calmly, */that Mobius is attempting to >>get our attention./* > > Rob looks up from his work. It's gone surprisingly quickly; he's >used to copying modern keys, which makes their pulp equivalents >relatively simple. > *Hippolyta,* he sends, his mental voice sounding far too calm for >his own comfort, *would you mind storming the front gate of Mobius' >palace?* > The Amazon queen looks at her companion. "What about you?" > He files a last burr from the key, and stands. *I'll be opening the >way,* he replies, before jumping off the roof, stepping out of the >alley, and vanishing in the crowd of rubberneckers. "Wh--HEY!" Hippolyta glares at the space that the martial artist occupied just a moment ago. "And exactly how," she sighs to herself, "am I supposed to get to Luxor quickly enough to do any good?" [Men.] A moment later, a cheesy 30s robot appeared next to her, air exploding around it as it "unfolded " in space, creating said disturbance. Hippolyta, being an Amazon rather than an obligatory cheesecake, responded by whirling and pointing her spear instead of screaming and holding her dress down. (Besides, she's wearing armor. Nothing to send flying. 8^) "Freeze!" The robot squealed and threw up its hands. "No harm mean I! -bzzt-" Hippolyta regarded the robot carefully for a moment. "Who sent you?" "Transmitted by Doctor Eon, callsign one-zero-one-dash-sigma-phi." Though uncertain for a moment -- this was just the sort of thing that the Ubiquitous Dragon would come up with, after all -- some instinct told her that she could trust this...being. She lowered her spear. "And you are...?" "I am a Self-Actuated Mobile unit, specifically the Paradimensional Location-to-Operation Transmitter device." Hippolyta's eyes bulged for a moment -- then she laughed. "Now I _know_ you're from Doc Eon." When the robot cocked its body slightly to one side (its head lacked the articulation to do so alone), she added, "I don't think that the Dragon would have the audacity to send me a P.L.O.T. device." She shouldered the spear. "Let's go." The robot bowed/nodded, placed one clumsy hand on the Amazon Queen's shoulder, and created a spark between its head antennae. They both vanished. -- Hippolyta and the P.L.O.T. Device -- but you can call him S.A.M. for short. Courtesy Evil GM-San, of course. Will post more later. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: We Dare Not Go A-Roger'n On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 17:40:38 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012177 > After staggering back to the safehouse and collapsing in a most >embarrasing fashion following his close call with the Anti-Sun, >Thunder found most of the rest of the team out looking for trouble >and decided to grab a nap. Fortunately, being young and 1/5 immortal, >he bounced back fairly quickly, and went looking for the others. Or >trouble. Not that there's sooo much difference.... Somewhere in the skies above the Nile Valley, cradle of civilization and current area of Reality Storm by the forces of Pharoah Mobius, a heroic figure flies. The form of Roger Thunder is not actually discernible, given his power, but regardless, a certain young woman, clad almost entirely in brightest Kelly green, appears near him suddenly. In fact, she poofs into being perched just above (but> not quite touching) his back as he flies. Somehow, she is not the least discommoded by his various fields of power. > Thunder feels the touch against his aura and snap-rolls with >blinding speed, clapping hands to his Webleys... but doesn't draw as >the realization of *who* is sitting on his slipstream catches up with >his reflexes. The Green Zia pushes the Pilgrim-style hat, complete with large, solid _gold_ buckle back slightly on her head. Other heavy, gold buckles adorn the wide black belt, and the large, plain black shoes. Her leggings are short, but her calves covered by thick woolen hose. "Lad, if you've a moment to spare, there's a fellow of yours in dire straits. The Red Lass says she'd allow as having ye along would be a comfort to her, if you can absent yourse' from this little tussel." The accent isn't so much thick Irish brogue, as it is oddly melodious lilt - almost sing-song Middle English with odd twists he might guess where the result of Latin study. >>>"What in tarnation was -that- about?" Roger Thunder says. >>> >>>Kelly-Zia scowls, "Those kids, always after me ... lucky charms." > > Thunder just *boggles* for a moment, flying along upside-down with >LZ sitting on his slipstream as if she belonged there. > > "Uh... rescue mission. Right. Ah'm all yours, Aunt Zee. Um, can we >stop for a bottle o' milk on the way? I got a right powerful cravin', >all of a sudden." "I often have that effect on men, although you're the first to ask for a bottle." The lady in green teases him mercilessly. "A little young for you, isn't it?" The lilt has taken on a devilish tone that would send chills down the back of anyone whom had dealt with the Little People before. The two streak into the desert night, soon lost in the darkness. -- Leprechaun Zia and Roger Thunder, "First comes the thunder, then comes the lightning." =========================== Subject: AAE 9n: Under the Hood On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 22:56:02 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012186 A meeting room in the palace. (OOC: If Karma wants to "accidentally" come across this, be my *ahem* guest. ;^) "I'm telling you, Mobius is losing his touch," Neteru, the youngest Overgovernor, thundered, pounding his fist on the table. At a disapproving, arched eyebrow from Janya Paterski, the spymaster, he averred slightly. "Oh, he's as brilliant as ever, if not more so, I'll grant you. When he's going easy on costumed heroes, though -- I mean, he actually passed up an opportunity to go after the Guardian! The _Guardian!_ And that woman...!" Madib Al-Hebpsa, the most handsome man in the room, smiled slyly. "I fail to see the problem with the Pharaoh's charming companion." Natatiri bristled. "The _problem,_" Neteru continued relentlessly, "is that he's letting her wander the palace with no security other than a bracelet! He didn't even unbind Rocket Blue!" "The Pharaoh's tastes are not your concern," Paterski snapped. "They are when they endanger our positions," Neteru replied. Ramses, Neteru's most determined rival among the Overgovernors, narrowed his eyes. Still, he remained silent, waiting. "Bah," Wu Ming said without heat. "Pharaoh Mobius' technology is sufficient to maintain secrecy on our important projects, and should she escape, that will ultimately mean one less distraction. To grasp the rose heedless of the thorns is folly." Wu Ming folded his fingers -- then recoiled, his head rocking from an unseen blow, its right side flickering briefly. "Losing face?" Natatiri quipped bitingly. "Do you have anything _constructive_ to note, Natatiri," Ramses hissed, causing all the present Overgovernors to start slightly, "or are you just here to turn us on one another?" Natatiri sighed. "You are so cynical, Ramses, even for one of us." Madib chuckled. Paterski's jaw twitched. Ramses did not react visibly. "While I think our colleague is a bit hot-headed, youth and courage often come as a set. While Neteru may not have the full context of the great Pharaoh's...recent growth, perhaps we can find a way to encourage our High Lord to be more...aggressive." "I wonder how..." Ramses rumbled. The temple shook faintly. "Eh?" Paterski asked, looking up. "Televisor up," Madib barked, demeanor changing instantly from insouciant lounging to alert command. "Complying," a sullen robotic voice replied. "And no backtalk, Ozymandias," Paterski added harshly. "I was not aware that: one, the word 'complying' was 'backtalk,' and two, that you have override authority, as only the Pharaoh has that," Ozymandias hissed through static, as the screen flared to life. >On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 07:35:43 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012162 > >>On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 13:41:05 -0700 >>Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012161 >>/Any friendly CAoL forces still in the area...Ms. BlueZia and I are >>currently knocking on Mobius' front door-/ >Kai-Surge, making a bit of an echo on the Mini-lens link> /My, he's >>got a lot of goons. Not that that's a subtle hint or anything... >>Anyway, we're OK for now, I think, but maybe we could keep up the >>diversion while someone nice and subtle goes around back and breaks >>Mobius' prisoner free?/ > >/That would be - / the woman in blue seems to catch two phaser-stun >bolts on her wooden crook, with no appearance of any actual stunning >effect - besides her own on the guardsmen, /quite nice, if Karma >isn't up for being our Fifth Column. Although we should inform them >the party is at his palace in Thebes. If anyone requires transport, I >can try a bit of shadowshifting for a likely - or unlikely - ride to >show up for you. Just let me know. Does anyone know Karma well enough >to lay a Lens on her? I'm reluctant, but if we can't make it in soon, >I may force myself to overcome my reluctance./ She kicks another one >away from her mount, laying him out in the sand with a hard THUMP. The assembled Overgovernors stared in shock at the screen. "Are they mad?" Paterski snapped. "Heroes often are," Wu Ming replied evenly. Madib blinked, then smiled. "It would appear that the Pharaoh's invitation was more successful than even he had hoped." He turned to face his colleagues. "It wouldn't do to simply leave such important guests to common shocktroopers." "I trust you will excuse me," Wu Ming replied. "Oh, yes, you clearly have your..." Natatiri looked at Wu Ming's cheek pointedly. "..._hands_ full." "Dismissed," Paterski barked, cracking a gavel down and striding toward the door. Wu Ming wavered like a flickering televisor image and vanished. Neteru followed Paterski, slowing as Natatiri slunk up beside him. Ramses marched over to Madib as he gathered various maps and papers, watching the screen carefully. "Madib..." he waited until the others left the room. "I know that Natatiri has approached you." At Al-Hebpsa's nod, Ramses continued, only a slight quaver in his voice belying his calm tone. "She is ambitious, Al-Hebpsa. I am not sure that even 'personal advisor' would satisfy her ambition." "Why are you telling me this?" Al-Hebpsa asked, raising an eyebrow at Ramses, seeming to be genuinely curious. "If you think she intends to betray Mobius himself, shouldn't you approach the High Lord?" "Natatiri is in favor now," Ramses replied. "While the Pharaoh has...mellowed...speaking out against his favorites is not the wisest career move. I believe that you are loyal to the Pharaoh, whatever you may think of the woman's obvious attractions." "And you believe I have her confidence," Madib said, considering Ramses carefully. "I do." Ramses clapped Madib on the shoulder. "The Pharaoh is a true leader. He has restored belief in Heliopolis, built an empire that dwarfs even the Two Kingdoms. You will make the right decision." With that, Ramses turned and left, gathering his weapons, each a combination of Ultra-Science and mathemagical engineering. Thus, he missed the look that followed him. Madib looked just a touch guilty, a touch sad. Then he turned to Ozymandias again. "Cloak. Gloves. Crook. Flail." He paused. "The harness." "It is time, then?" Ozymandias replied rather more politely, as Mobius' regalia rose from the center of the table. "Yes," Madib said simply, putting on the cloak and gloves, placing the symbols of office in a sort of holster, and strapping on a harness that would have the next most brilliant weird scientist ready to sell hir soul for its secrets. Overgovernor Al-Hebpsa vanished into the hood, leaving Pharaoh Mobius staring at the machine. "Time to face my friends, and my enemies. It seems that I must reassess both." "By your command," Ozymandias said, televisor sliding into the floor. -- Pharaoh Mobius & company "Have you ever pondered the concept of infinity?" -- Dr. Mobius =========================== Subject: RE: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 09:54:26 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012187 >On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 16:03:02 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012176 > > Hippolyta's eyes bulged for a moment -- then she laughed. "Now I >_know_ you're from Doc Eon." When the robot cocked its body slightly >to one side (its head lacked the articulation to do so alone), she >added, "I don't think that the Dragon would have the audacity to send >me a P.L.O.T. device." She shouldered the spear. "Let's go." > The robot bowed/nodded, placed one clumsy hand on the Amazon >Queen's shoulder, and created a spark between its head antennae. > They both vanished. Meanwhile, the Kai and the Blue Rose had already started the party. However, the Blue Rose, despite her legendary fighting prowess, was beginning to wish she had chosen to be fashionably late instead of early. Reinforcements had joined the force she was facing; from the sound of things nearby, it seemed that her companion had a similar problem. There were not quite enough of them, yet, to take her by sheer weight of numbers, but a circle of opponents flowed around her. Those not yet fighting directly took care to remain outside the perimeter defined by her shepherd's crook, now a whistling, blurred shape in the air around her. The Blue Rose frowned. Several of the troopers around her were assembling wicked-looking devices. Some sort of long, slender rods that held what appeared to be a sound speaker on top, with a Tesla coil snapped into place below. The devices powered up with a electric flare and snap, one by one. Whatever weapon it might be, the troopers had a dozen, as best as she could estimate. This could be bad. In play with three opponents, all quite unfortunately well-versed in the arts of hand to hand combat, the Blue Rose took a hard blow to her back as she made an effort to break out of the encircling troopers. Staggering, she caught her balance down on one knee, finally. Her crook whirling around her head to keep the enemy clear. All in vain; they had retreated. She tried to rise, to escape the weapons coming to bear. A long, low sound, came from each one, intensifying slightly as each additional rod was turned so the speaker faced her. It was a strange sound, almost too deep to hear, more felt than heard. It shivered through her with enough power to shake her lungs. Immediately, a wave of immense despair, the weight of a depression as vast as a sea, slammed down unto her. The weight of it drove her kneeling to the pavement again. Only a white-knuckled grasp on her crook kept her from falling prone. Her face twisted. A half-growl, half-groan of agony and dismay forced its way from her throat, as she strove to summon the will to rise and fight - and for the first time in centuries, found herself unable! Tears of tortured despair began to gather in her eyes, the shame of her inability to withstand this weapon worse than the weapon itself. Oddly, a light and humid haze gathered. In seconds, despite the desert clime, a very light misting drizzle began to fall. "This is how the foolish fall. Such false pride, even for a so-called hero! This is just a toy long discarded, that our squad was given as a training tool!" A sergeant among the enemy, who holds one of the rods on her says. "The Rods of Despair have seen quickly to the settling of you. Once she falls, boys, we'll use it on that other one. See? The Pharoah always wins, and we are his!" =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: Under the Hood On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 08:10:01 +0100 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012192 >On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 22:56:02 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012186 > > "Yes," Madib said simply, putting on the cloak and gloves, placing >the symbols of office in a sort of holster, and strapping on a >harness that would have the next most brilliant weird scientist ready >to sell hir soul for its secrets. Overgovernor Al-Hebpsa vanished >into the hood, leaving Pharaoh Mobius staring at the machine. "Time >to face my friends, and my enemies. It seems that I must reassess >both." > "By your command," Ozymandias said, televisor sliding into the >floor. "Perhaps," Karma said from the doorway (or outside, if her bracelet ought to not let her that close) "You ought to start with me." While her new appearance was not miraculous, that would have to wait until dinner, according to the palace tailor, the black silk dress was exquisite, her hair pulled up in a fancy do, leaving her bangs hanging fashionably over her forehead. The slitted-to-the-limits-of-pulp-modesty dress was printed with butterflies clustered in a few places, matching the ones in her stomach as she stepped in. "At some point, we should talk," Karma said, already ready to back out of this confrontation, "I had planned over dinner, but my colleagues make me consider pushing up my timetable. A pity, the more I learn of you, the more I like you, and the more time I wish I had. Perhaps that's what the true rules of this reality are, the technology and 30's style are just a front." Karma shook her head and turned to leave, "I think I make a better prisoner than an envoy." =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: Under the Hood On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:06:46 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012196 >On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 04:03:37 +0100 >Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012166 > > Entering her room, she presses the emerald stud on the clamp to >contact a servant. > "I need clothes, a bath, and makeup. A stylist would be good if >possible. And I've only got until seven. Nothing like a challenge." "Coming, mistress," a smoothly professional feminine voice replies. Moments later, a middle-aged woman in excellent shape glides up to Karma, bowing. "I am Fatima. I will see to your needs. Would you follow me, please?" Gesturing in the desired direction, as soon as Karma agrees (if she does), Fatima turns and flows ahead, bringing her to a finely-appointed bedchamber, with an even more finely supplied bathing chamber with all the bells and whistles. A wide selection of garments are available to her. Later... >On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 08:10:01 +0100 >Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012192 >>On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 22:56:02 -0700 >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012186 >> >> "Yes," Madib said simply, putting on the cloak and gloves, >>placing the symbols of office in a sort of holster, and strapping on >>a harness that would have the next most brilliant weird scientist >>ready to sell hir soul for its secrets. Overgovernor Al-Hebpsa >>vanished into the hood, leaving Pharaoh Mobius staring at the >>machine. "Time to face my friends, and my enemies. It seems that I >>must reassess both." >> "By your command," Ozymandias said, televisor sliding into the >>floor. > > "Perhaps," Karma said from the doorway (or outside, if her >bracelet ought to not let her that close) "You ought to start with >me." Mobius spun, cloak swirling dramatically around him, glove pointing menacingly at Karma before he realizes who he faces. Even beneath the hood, his mix of annoyance and chagrin is noticeable. > While her new appearance was not miraculous, that would have to >wait until dinner, according to the palace tailor, the black silk >dress was exquisite, her hair pulled up in a fancy do, leaving her >bangs hanging fashionably over her forehead. The >slitted-to-the-limits-of-pulp-modesty dress was printed with >butterflies clustered in a few places, matching the ones in her >stomach as she stepped in. And his attitude changes quickly to one of appreciation. "Ah." > "At some point, we should talk," Karma said, already ready to back >out of this confrontation, "I had planned over dinner, but my >colleagues make me consider pushing up my timetable. A pity, the more >I learn of you, the more I like you, and the more time I wish I had. >Perhaps that's what the true rules of this reality are, the >technology and 30's style are just a front." > Karma shook her head and turned to leave, "I think I make a better >prisoner than an envoy." "Wait!" Mobius called, leaping over to her and dropping a hand on her shoulder. (OOC: If she looks like she objects, he lets go, though she could just shrug out from under it if she wished.) After a moment, he took the hood off and looked Karma in the eyes. "I...think I begin to understand what became of Wu Han. There is something you should know of this reality, however. "One is either of good or evil inclination -- heroic or villainous, for those who have transcended. One can have a stronger or weaker inclination, but there is no 'grey,' only less bright good and less dark evil." His gaze focused with such force that it is almost as if, for one moment, Karma is the entire universe to him. "It is possible, however, for one to _change_ inclinations." The moment passes. "For now, however," he continued, removing the hand from her shoulder (if he has not already done so) and replacing the hood, "I have...other guests to entertain. A bit earlier than I expected, but my invitation lacked a date or time, so I can hardly blame them." The grin gleamed from within the cloak. "Perhaps dinner at seven will remain a possibility." With that, he strode out the door regally. "ASP! Gather the Ra Patrol and summon my Ultra-Agents, The Hood and the Red Hand, in particular!" "As you wish, my Pharaoh," echoed tinnily from one of Mobius' gloves. Surely, he could not have forgotten that Karma saw him without his cloak... =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: Hang Time (Retcon) On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:36:37 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012197 (OOC from Morgan for Our Readers: A reminder, this fight is taking place _before_ Uthorion shows up in Middle Earth to fight Roland, and during the other rescue-from-hanging related battles in Cairo before Mobius fires his Big Weapon O' Doom.) >On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 16:12:16 -0400 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00012170 >>On Thurs, June 17th, 2K4, >>Roland X writes As CAoL Message # 00012119 >>>As CAoL Message # 00012111 >>>Dhyrclhanc and/or Martin wrote... >>> >>>"... And for this reason, I now offer you the chance to abandon >>>your vendetta. Otherwise, while I'll happily to assure you that I >>>am capable of a great many things, however; very rarely is backing >>>down and/or running from a challenge among them." >> >> "'Tis thy grave to dig," Uthorion replies almost casually. Then >>he releases a blast of freezing, lightning-filled storm wind that >>shatters a nearby warehouse (empty, thank Bahamut) as it races >>toward everyone's favorite Lensdragon! > >Presumably from his mouth (?!) OOC: Well...yeah. 8^) >>>At the same time, seven remotes "unskin" themselves from the >>>armor's left forearm section and begin to orbit around the left >>>wrist and three gun/sensor platforms rise up out of the armor's >>> right shoulder and begin to hoverthere. >> >> Uthorion seems faintly interested in this -- perhaps because the >>various pulp science devices on his back flare to life when this >>happens. Tesla coils flare with controlled lightning, clacking >>mechanical brains whir at blinding speeds, and shimmering lights >>sparkle around the monstrous creature. > > Then the Nile Empire's paradigm for "weird science" is a >combination of Tesla/Gernsback/Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon/Captain >Proton-style Retro Sci-Fi Tech combined with Babbage-style influenced >Steam-Punk technology plus +/- aprox 20 or 30 years or so worth of >innovation and refinement? OOC: 20-30 years of their subjective time, yes. However, a sufficiently brilliant weird scientist (like, say, Mobius) is capable of almost anything -- including devices that could seem thousands of years ahead of normal science in terms of their abilities. (C.f. "Omegatron.") >My gut reaction is that an SOE's "tech" would show up as >magick, and a Rifts-style Techno-Mage's "tech" would show-up as both OOC: Then Nile weird science will most likely show up as both. >> Simultaneously, Uthorion is casting some foul spell that seems >>intended to curse Dhyrclhanc with some undead nature. Fortunately, >>the local magickal processes are not ideally aligned for such >>sorcery, so if the Lensdragon thinks quickly, he can negate this >>opening gambit entirely. > >As soon as Dhyrclhanc detects this particular attack, there's a loud >"pop" sound as he Exo-ports the Glaive into a holding pattern orbit >at 9 and 3 o'clock, 10:30 and 4:30 and 7:30 and 1:30. > >The Glaive has a spell-breaking ability which is effectively Shift Y >rank (Dhyrclhanc's Psyche while "wearing" the Warwear) which is just >barely enough to squeek-by and break the spell (I made a the >equivalent of a successful Red-FEAT roll). Yeah, I'll give you that one. 8^) >The remotes continue to revolve around Dhyrclhanc's left forearm and >the gun-platform/sensor units continue to hover over his right >shoulder. Uthorion then throws in a device-disrupting spell that rusts metal, warps plastic, or devours bioware, whichever is appropriate to affect the remotes. (Note: Non-ferrous metal _will_ "rust;" it's a decaying magic.) The devices flare up, adding to the effect with some sort of "smart" disintegration field, of approximately Shift X power. >Once the latter takes up it's position, floating above Dhyrclhanc's >left shoulder, it fires a Class 1000 graviton-based force beam at the >aprox. 150-foot long ice-blue colored dragon, hitting the larger >dragon in the center of his chest, or whatever passes for it on his >serpentine body. Uthorion grunts, body shuddering as a spell deflects a fair amount of the burst and his draconic resilience handles most of the rest. >Lastly, with a TK-throw, Dhyrlhanc sends the two flying dragon >dagger/short-swords in a dual-set of arcs towards the larger >serpentine dragon (the attack is made at Shift X rank -- DC's TK >rank, and the dagger/short swords inflict Shift Z edged damage >against any opponents that are vulnerable to fire). The daggers are deflected in part by intense energy fields from the Ultra-Tech pack, leaving two large scratches along the dragon's ridges. With a snarl and a wave of its claws, it completely usurps Dhyrclhanc's control of the blades, reverses their elemental affinity to cold/ice/wind, and sends them spiralling back at Dhyrclhanc! >It might be at this point in time that it begins to dawn on him that >he might've underestimated the younger dragon. > >*By the way,* adds Dhyrclhanc, at the last moment, *I am not a >hatchling, I am a Young Adult.* "Bah," Uthorion snarls, and snaps his "fingers" commandingly. The weird science pack vanishes from Uthorion's back...and appears around Dhyrclhanc! In a two-pronged assault, it tries to enfold him physically (it's far larger than his T'Skrang form) while attempting to paralyze the Lensdragon with a neural inhibitor field _and_ driving him to the ground by vastly increasing the force of gravity around and within itself. Finally, the device's metal is pressed in and strengthened considerably by a magnetic field. "Mobius' new Omegatron can take care of you now," Uthorion scoffs. "I have better things to attend to now." With that, the titanic former High Lord vanishes. And the sky grows darker... -- Evil GM-San "You won't escape me _this_ time, hero!" --the villain's lament (OOC: Feel free to make good Dhyrclhanc's escape in your next post; the cliffhanger is necessary because of the setting.) (OOC 2: Okay, okay, I also did it because it was fun. ;^) =========================== Subject: RE: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 19:23:32 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012199 >On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 09:54:26 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012187 > > Tears of tortured despair began to gather in her eyes, the shame >of her inability to withstand this weapon worse than the weapon >itself. Oddly, a light and humid haze gathered. In seconds, despite >the desert clime, a very light misting drizzle began to fall. "Great Hera!" the attentive can hear whispered on the wind. Fortunately, the grunts are too busy gloating... > "This is how the foolish fall. Such false pride, even for a >so-called hero! This is just a toy long discarded, that our squad was >given as a training tool!" A sergeant among the enemy, who holds one >of the rods on her says. "The Rods of Despair have seen quickly to >the settling of you. Once she falls, boys, we'll use it on that other >one. See? The Pharoah always wins, and we are his!" "No, you craven dogs...you are MINE!" The shocktroopers look up in terror at the sound of that voice. Black armor gleams in the light of the Omegatron's fire as Hippolyta, Needle of the Just spinning in a single, solid blur, crashes into them. Soldiers fly in all directions, thrown around like rag dolls as the Amazon Queen plows easily through them. One of the Rod-wielders, glancing quickly at his commender, gets an affirming nod and turns his Rod on Hippolyta. "S-stay BACK!" he gulps. Hippolyta wavers for a moment, then straightens, eyes afire, and charges. A single swipe of her enchanted spear splits the Rod lengthwise down the middle, and it shifts, sparks, and bursts open, throwing the trooper back. "I think not," she snaps coldly. A full platoon charges at her. "I do not have time for this," she hisses, plowing through again... =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: Under the Hood On Sat, 7 Aug 2004 06:42:59 +0100 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012201 >On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:06:46 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012196 >>On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 04:03:37 +0100 >>Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012166 >>>On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 19:22:34 -0700 >>>Evil GM-San Said As CAoL Message # 00012145 >> >> Entering her room, she presses the emerald stud on the clamp to >>contact a servant. >> "I need clothes, a bath, and makeup. A stylist would be good if >>possible. And I've only got until seven. Nothing like a challenge." > > "Coming, mistress," a smoothly professional feminine voice >replies. > Moments later, a middle-aged woman in excellent shape glides up to >Karma, bowing. "I am Fatima. I will see to your needs. Would you >follow me, please?" Gesturing in the desired direction, as soon as >Karma agrees (if she does), Fatima turns and flows ahead, bringing >her to a finely-appointed bedchamber, with an even more finely >supplied bathing chamber with all the bells and whistles. A wide >selection of garments are available to her. Karma follows, and is suitably impressed, [Cleopatra herself would have no complaints.] >Later... >>On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 08:10:01 +0100 >>Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012192 >> >> "Perhaps," Karma said from the doorway (or outside, if her >>bracelet ought to not let her that close) "You ought to start with >>me." > > Mobius spun, cloak swirling dramatically around him, glove >pointing menacingly at Karma before he realizes who he faces. Even >beneath the hood, his mix of annoyance and chagrin is noticeable. Karma looked anxious. >> While her new appearance was not miraculous, that would have to >>wait until dinner, according to the palace tailor, the black silk >>dress was exquisite, her hair pulled up in a fancy do, leaving her >>bangs hanging fashionably over her forehead. The >>slitted-to-the-limits-of-pulp-modesty dress was printed with >>butterflies clustered in a few places, matching the ones in her >>stomach as she stepped in. > > And his attitude changes quickly to one of appreciation. "Ah." Karma blushed bashfully. >> "At some point, we should talk," Karma said, already ready to >>back out of this confrontation, "I had planned over dinner, but my >>colleagues make me consider pushing up my timetable. A pity, the >>more I learn of you, the more I like you, and the more time I wish I >>had. Perhaps that's what the true rules of this reality are, the >>technology and 30's style are just a front." >> Karma shook her head and turned to leave, "I think I make a >>better prisoner than an envoy." > > "Wait!" Mobius called, leaping over to her and dropping a hand on >her shoulder. (OOC: If she looks like she objects, he lets go, though >she could just shrug out from under it if she wished.) After a >moment, he took the hood off and looked Karma in the eyes. "I...think >I begin to understand what became of Wu Han. There is something you >should know of this reality, however. Karma does not shrug off the touch, instead she turns to look at him. Her brow arches quizzically at the unfamiliar name, to be joined by the other at the 'however'. > "One is either of good or evil inclination -- heroic or >villainous, for those who have transcended. One can have a stronger >or weaker inclination, but there is no 'grey,' only less bright good >and less dark evil." > His gaze focused with such force that it is almost as if, for one >moment, Karma is the entire universe to him. "It is possible, >however, for one to _change_ inclinations." Karma's eyes are wide, hoping desperately that he's earnest, hoping that it means what she thinks it means. > The moment passes. > "For now, however," he continued, removing the hand from her >shoulder (if he has not already done so) and replacing the hood, "I >have...other guests to entertain. A bit earlier than I expected, but >my invitation lacked a date or time, so I can hardly blame them." The >grin gleamed from within the cloak. "Perhaps dinner at seven will >remain a possibility." > With that, he strode out the door regally. "ASP! Gather the Ra >Patrol and summon my Ultra-Agents, The Hood and the Red Hand, in >particular!" > "As you wish, my Pharaoh," echoed tinnily from one of Mobius' >gloves. > Surely, he could not have forgotten that Karma saw him without his >cloak... Karma bit her lip, hoping she'd acted in time. =========================== Subject: RE: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Sat, 07 Aug 2004 01:54:56 -0700 Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012203 >On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 09:54:26 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012187 > > Meanwhile, the Kai and the Blue Rose had already started the >party. However, the Blue Rose, despite her legendary fighting >prowess, was beginning to wish she had chosen to be fashionably late >instead of early. Reinforcements had joined the force she was facing; >from the sound of things nearby, it seemed that her companion had a >similar problem. Two more advanced, two more fell. Retreating was not an option. For starters, the mad press of Generic Thugs made retreat all but impossible. Second..well, that'd just be -rude- to Zia, just trying to leave abruptly. And they were trying to accomplish a heroic pulp style rescue. The Kai let off a small growl as his Kai Surge felled a third target, then a fourth. However, his other senses were warning of something more dangerous than a sword approaching. > The Blue Rose frowned. Several of the troopers around her were >assembling wicked-looking devices. Some sort of long, slender rods >that held what appeared to be a sound speaker on top, with a Tesla >coil snapped into place below. The devices powered up with a electric >flare and snap, one by one. Whatever weapon it might be, the troopers >had a dozen, as best as she could estimate. This could be bad. Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick could make out the odd devices as well. However, he could do little about it at the moment; some of the attackers had left Zia and were concentrating on Patrick, preventing him from trying to aid Zia. > Immediately, a wave of immense despair, the weight of a depression >as vast as a sea, slammed down unto her. The weight of it drove her >kneeling to the pavement again. Only a white-knuckled grasp on her >crook kept her from falling prone. Her face twisted. A half-growl, >half-groan of agony and dismay forced its way from her throat, as she >strove to summon the will to rise and fight - and for the first time >in centuries, found herself unable! Patrick could feel it too, his advanced psychic senses resonating with the attack. His Kai-Screen was able to repel it, but he doubted it would hold long against such an attack. Distracted, he allowed one opponent to get in a strike with a club, sending the Kai backwards. > Tears of tortured despair began to gather in her eyes, the shame >of her inability to withstand this weapon worse than the weapon >itself. Oddly, a light and humid haze gathered. In seconds, despite >the desert clime, a very light misting drizzle began to fall. > > "This is how the foolish fall. Such false pride, even for a >so-called hero! This is just a toy long discarded, that our squad was >given as a training tool!" A sergeant among the enemy, who holds one >of the rods on her says. "The Rods of Despair have seen quickly to >the settling of you. Once she falls, boys, we'll use it on that other >one. See? The Pharoah always wins, and we are his!" OOC: "He went on like that for a while. I'd heard the routine before, weall had. Sometimes I wonder if there's a record that bad guys can buy andlip-synch to." From ADQ 3/3 : "Alkahest: The Deathtoll Solution" [That weapon must be destroyed NOW. But...Rain?] Patrick stood up, the thugs getting ready to launch another attack. The Kai's mouth reforms into a small smile, as a plan develops. "I suggest that you surrender now. Continuing thisbattle would be pointless." Tricky, but between his knowledge of Old Kingdom magic and his own Elementalism skill... OOC: And the obligatory repartee... /Zia...DUCK!/ "LIGHTNING HAND!" The Kai shouts, firing the electricalspell into the nearest knot of troopers, hoping that the scatteredlightning bolt will disable at least some of the back-packers. =========================== Subject: RE: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 14:15:45 +0000 Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00012207 >On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 09:54:26 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012187 > > Meanwhile, the Kai and the Blue Rose had already started the >party. However, the Blue Rose, despite her legendary fighting >prowess, was beginning to wish she had chosen to be fashionably late >instead of early. Reinforcements had joined the force she was facing; >from the sound of things nearby, it seemed that her companion had a >similar problem. Oddly, one of the Kai's opponents was somewhat less well-trained than his fellows, occasionally interfering with their attacks. [snip of the Blue Rose being brought to her knees] > "This is how the foolish fall. Such false pride, even for a >so-called hero! This is just a toy long discarded, that our squad was >given as a training tool!" A sergeant among the enemy, who holds one >of the rods on her says. "The Rods of Despair have seen quickly to >the settling of you. Once she falls, boys, we'll use it on that other >one. See? The Pharoah always wins, and we are his!" The incompetent minion staggers away, apparently stunned by what should have been a light blow, and crashes into some of the Rod-wielders. In the ensuing chaos, the rods are knocked to the ground, picked up, fumbled, and handed back to their wielders. The temporary loss of a few rods is apparently not a concern at this stage, as the Blue Rose doesn't show any signs of improvement. "You! Get back to barracks, and see the surgeon!" the sergeant snaps, and the clumsy mook obeys. Behind him, the disrupted section of the formation takes aim, and prepares to fire their rods at the Blue Rose once more. As he staggers towards the barracks, Rob carefully does -not- smile. [I wonder what will happen now that the power supplies are in backwards?] ----- In an alleyway several blocks away, one of Mobius's troopers fails to wake up, despite the kitchen scraps being dumped on his face. The dishwasher, not being a particularly bright person, pays no attention to the unconscious man in the dumpster, preferring to take a cigarette break. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: We Dare Not Go A-Roger'n On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 02:10:18 -0400 "David McMillan" Said As CAoL Message # 00012209 >> "Uh... rescue mission. Right. Ah'm all yours, Aunt Zee. Um, can >>we stop for a bottle o' milk on the way? I got a right powerful >>cravin', all of a sudden." > > "I often have that effect on men, although you're the first to ask >for a bottle." The lady in green teases him mercilessly. "A little >young for you, isn't it?" The lilt has taken on a devilish tone that >would send chills down the back of anyone whom had dealt with the >Little People before. Thunder, (un?)fortunately, is still to preoccupied with the "lucky charm" problem to pick up on her innuendo. "Nah, not really. Ah just need somethin' to put on mah cereal -- haven't had breakfast yet." In a momentary bit of Roger-Primishness, he pulls a box of cereal out from under his jacket: a brightly-colored box of Lucky Charms, done in 1930's style. The Leprechaun on the box, oddly enough (or perhaps not oddly at all, under the circumstances) is in fact Kelly Zia, or a good facsimile thereof. > The two streak into the desert night, soon lost in the darkness. "Wall, I guess I can eat it dry, if we're in a hurry. Want some?" [Ed. note: This sub-thread moves to the Islands/Rescue thread, starting in ch.3., as "Rolling Thunder."] =========================== Subject: Re: AAE 9n: Fire in the Sky On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 19:51:23 -0700 (PDT) Xander Opal Said As CAoL Message # 00012211 It'd been a bad day. Xander Opal, two-headed, blue-opal scaled, humanoid, hermaphrodite dragon sat in the shadows on a warehouse rooftop in Cairo, trying to figure out what had happened. Mere hours ago, sie'd been standing in for Spider-man in a Marvel ficton, testing out a copy of Doc Ock's tentacles sie'd built to replace hir shorn wings. A disturbance at the Museum of Natural History, some strange energies, all but mandated heroic supervision. Unfortunately, no sooner had sie arrived at the Egyptian exhibit, a ball of Officially Weird Energy shot out and engulfed the augmented dragon. From there, to a brief, panic-inducing blackness, then to a warehouse interior, layers of dust showing how long it'd been abandoned. [What happened to my clothes?] Sie thought, examining hirself. Instead of the jeans and T-shirt sie'd been wearing, a long, black trench covered an off-white button-up and slacks. Dark glasses perched on hir twin muzzles, hir silvery white manes tumbling back from beneath leather fedora-like hats. Six limbs, four of them mechanical, hastily rummaged through pockets and holsters, coming up with a billfold, a wallet of small tools, several speedloader clips, and a pair of beautiful .45 revolvers. A quick flip of the cylinders showed that each oversized weapon was fully loaded with six rounds, then the guns were reinserted into their respective holsters; ammunition likewise returned to appropriate pockets. The tools turned out to be a nice selection; lockpicks, watchsmith-sets, hotwire sets, and a couple crescent wrenches thrown in for good measure. The ID in the billfold, though... [Why is my picture on documents for Dr. X. Opal? And what on earth is the Nile Empire?] With a frown, sie replaced the billfold, then tried a few tests. Hir mechanical limbs were functioning fully, revealing hir power of machine-control still operating. A focused exhalation resulted in a satisfying double-flamethrower-blast of fire from hir two maws. [Well, I seem to have learned all I can /here/.] Though there were a pair of nice, large doors and several smaller ones, Xander felt a direct street-level egress may not be the best choice, considering previous reactions to hir outlandish appearance. A glance upwards revealed an obligatory skylight above the crates, putting the windows within easy reach of hir twelve-foot metal limbs. ***** Meanwhile, across the city, a young, geekish man puzzled over the arcane designs, candles, and best-left-undescribable things smoking in salvaged grills. "What a rip-off. This book was supposed to let me a great, many-armed blue demon!" ***** After some consideration, Xander shrugged, and stood. "Well. It's been two subjective years for me, but I'm still part of the CAoL. There must be some kind of Good Deeds to be Done around here somewhere." With that, sie headed to the edge of the roof at an easy jog. Unlike the Marvel-verse villian, sie propelled hirself better on hir own two feet, employing the mechanical limbs as arms by preference. The buildings here were conveniently close, letting hir leap out, snag the edge of the next, and flip hirself up easily. "Why do I feel like there should be some kid in a car yelling for Mr. Jones to get in, at any moment?" sie grumbled, making hir way over fairly narrow streets filled with thronging people, and vendors. Especially fruit stands and the like. Hir musings were interrupted ere long, though, as sie heard oddly familiar sounds of chaotic battle. Electric-energy zaps of some kind, gunshots, shouts... With great haste, the augmented dragon dashed across rooftops, then eventually was forced to the streets, sending several fruit stands flying in fine cinematic fashion. The massive dragon, Dhyrclhanc's blasts, and other signs of super-battle cinch it. @Hey, Folx, I'm ba-ack!@ Xander broadcasts over the Lens-link, standing heroically atop a wall, and surveying the situation. OOC note: This is right during the most recent post in this thread. Only positive ID Xander can make is DC; the rest of the Nile crew present are unidentified. =========================== Subject: RE: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 20:04:10 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012213 >On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 14:15:45 +0000 >Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00012207 The Blue Rose Said > >[snip of the Blue Rose being brought to her knees] [snip - and not her preferred way, for which _someone_ is about to pay, and handsomely...] The Blue Rose had fallen victom to doom of the Rods of Despair. As the Kai's Lightning played half of the remaining rods, the incompetent enemy-who-wasn't stumbled away from the other side of the ring around her. Now, the few remaining rods were only those that had been, ah, creatively re-engineered with their power-packs reversed to the original placement. The weird, almost unheard sound suddenly lightens in pitch, and harmonizes into several closely related sounds. Beat frequencies throb through the air, still meeting at roughly the Blue Rose's location. Her head snaps up. A strange kind of fire - an expression only Eric or Nemo has seen before - fills her exultant eyes. Her costume is suddenly perfect - perfectly clean, perfectly arrayed. As she rises, far away lights sparkle from sapphire's the size of robin's eggs now residing in each ear. Even her staff, wood though it is, glows with that perfect veneer only the best of woods and decardes of handling brings out. The very _cobblestones_ beneath the Blue Rose suddenly glimmer beneath her booted feet as she rises gracefully to her feet, bursting out with a ki-yii-yiii-yiiiii of such overwhelming exultation - and astonishing fierocity - the sheer contrast of both at once staggers the entire attacking force backwards as if the very ground shook beneath them. Then the ground heaves in truth, a ripple seeming to begin at the Blue Rose's feet, spreading outward. It loses force over distance from her, but for the moment, the Blue Rose's jubilance has overwhelmed the Petite Amberite's usual caution. A bubble of her own, created reality spreads from her, twisting shadow - what some call reality - to her whims. For now, those whims are to glory in the fight and a certain larger-than-life Hollywood glamour sweeps out, changing every thing - and, in the case of a few of the opposition's grunts who don't move out of range fast enough - even the people. A ring of defenders, bright in Araby silks and flashing rapier steel, forms around the Blue Rose as she continues to laugh, ki-yiii, and... fight like a madwoman turned whirlwind. The circle of warped shadow-reality around her continues, slowly, to grow - at inches per minute. -- The Blue Rose The red rose whispers of passion, And the white rose breathes of love; O, the red rose is a falcon, And the white rose is a dove. John Boyle O'Reilly The blue rose sings of victory, The green rose binds up luck O, the blue rose is an eagle, And the green rose is a duck. (Apologies, Lucky Duck!) Ziactrice =========================== Subject: RE: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:28:34 -0700 (PDT) Xander Opal Said As CAoL Message # 00012214 >On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 20:04:10 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012213 > The circle of warped shadow-reality around her continues, slowly, >to grow - at inches per minute. The enhanced dragon's eyes go wide, as sie watches briefly from hir vantage, crouched on a wall. "... That's Ziactrice! Shards of the elders' eggs... she's high... on /something/." Still and all, the Amberite seems to be holding her own, and then some. That, and Xander did not want to test the boundry of Shadow-shift. Plenty more crunchies to play with elsewhere, anyway; there was that cluster backing away and assessing things, not quite within the Sapphire Shadow Sphere. Xander's pistols appear in hir hands, only a slight ruffling of hir trench denoting that sie actually drew them. "Put down your weapons, hands in the air, surrender or yadda yadda. Shoot to inflict grevious bodily harm," sie rambles, with a pair of toothy grins. Twelve shots ripple from hir pistols, sounding almost like a Thompson. Eight thugs are thrown back in classic Pulp/Cinematic Bullet Physics, and four ricochets are heard. Tentacles flash, reloading the pistols faster than swapping clips, and two speedloader clips ping in high arcs, catching the eye with reflected light. "I've been out of touch a couple years. Anyone wanna help make a few of them days?" sie does in a bad Clint Eastwood. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 23:40:00 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012215 Last time, on AAE 9: >On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 14:15:45 +0000 >Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00012207 (OOC: Quick recap -- the CAoL members in the Nile Empire has blithely strolled into the fiendish trap of...er... *cough* *cough* deliberately and cleverly sprung the trap that Pharaoh Mobius had in wait for them, luring his troops out to be demolished so they can face the mad Doctor once and for all...) > The incompetent minion staggers away, apparently stunned by what >should have been a light blow, and crashes into some of the >Rod-wielders. In the ensuing chaos, the rods are knocked to the >ground, picked up, fumbled, and handed back to their wielders. The >temporary loss of a few rods is apparently not a concern at this >stage, as the Blue Rose doesn't show any signs of improvement. > "You! Get back to barracks, and see the surgeon!" the sergeant >snaps, and the clumsy mook obeys. Behind him, the disrupted section >of the formation takes aim, and prepares to fire their rods at the >Blue Rose once more. > As he staggers towards the barracks, Rob carefully does -not- >smile. [I wonder what will happen now that the power supplies are in >backwards?] As he approaches the barracks, Mr. Nishikawa sees an shriveled old man in a robe literally sniffing around, eyes darting from side to side with suspicion. His overall trajectory seems to be taking him in Rob's direction... (Imagine Severus Snape's evil Egyptian cousin looking for Harry Potter and you get the idea. ;^) "Your Excellency, can we be of some assistance?" one dutiful officer asks, saluting snappily. "Can you sense anomalies in the fabric of probabilities? Hm? Taste the threads laid down by planets in our home cosm, perhaps, or hear the subtle cacophony in the music of the spheres when something is not quite what it appears to be?" The old man stares piercingly into the now-trembling officer's eyes. "Can you, boy?" "No, Rama-Tet, sir!" he replies stiffly. "Then you cannot," the mathemagician replies curtly, returning to his search... >On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 20:04:10 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012213 > Her costume is suddenly perfect - perfectly clean, perfectly >arrayed. As she rises, far away lights sparkle from sapphire's the >size of robin's eggs now residing in each ear. Even her staff, wood >though it is, glows with that perfect veneer only the best of woods >and decardes of handling brings out. > > The very _cobblestones_ beneath the Blue Rose suddenly glimmer >beneath her booted feet as she rises gracefully to her feet, bursting >out with a ki-yii-yiii-yiiiii of such overwhelming exultation - and >astonishing fierocity - the sheer contrast of both at once staggers >the entire attacking force backwards as if the very ground shook >beneath them. That force, some of the Pharaoh's finest (such as they are), recoils in fear. > Then the ground heaves in truth, a ripple seeming to begin at the >Blue Rose's feet, spreading outward. It loses force over distance >from her, but for the moment, the Blue Rose's jubilance has >overwhelmed the Petite Amberite's usual caution. A bubble of her own, >created reality spreads from her, twisting shadow - what some call >reality - to her whims. For now, those whims are to glory in the >fight and a certain larger-than-life Hollywood glamour sweeps out, >changing every thing - and, in the case of a few of the opposition's >grunts who don't move out of range fast enough - even the people. A >ring of defenders, bright in Araby silks and flashing rapier steel, >forms around the Blue Rose as she continues to laugh, ki-yiii, and... >fight like a madwoman turned whirlwind. > > The circle of warped shadow-reality around her continues, slowly, >to grow - at inches per minute. At that moment, the great doors to the palace swing open, as if thrown aside by some giant, and Mobius steps through. The Pharaoh is flanked by over a dozen roughly human-sized robots with tentacle-like arms and what almost look like large vacuum tubes for heads, save for the cyclopean red light each has where eyes might be. There are also over two dozen men -- clearly, his true elite -- in leather flight jackets, cool Egyptian-themed helmets, and rocket packs. Each is armed with a ray pistol and a sword that _has_ to be more than it appears. At the Pharaoh's right hand is the Scarlet Asp, bedecked in her trademark color and smiling as if someone had just thrown her a surprise birthday party, armed with twin pistols of clearly Ultra-Science make. She and the Amazon Queen glare daggers at each other briefly. On his left is a man in a red zoot suit with a more advanced ray pistol than those wielded by the rocket brigade. All weapons are holstered for the moment. Pharaoh Mobius claps. "Bravo! Bravissimo! Encore!" he cries enthusiastically as the battle rages and heroes trounce villains. "Magnificent!" He bows to the Blue Rose. "It is almost a pity you did not arrive sooner...though I must say," he adds as he rises, "your compatriot is quite the fascinating one, and I am faithful in my own way." He snaps. (His fingers. He did it the other way a long time ago. ;^) "FOR TOMORROW!" the rocket men roar, surging forward as one well-trained unit. The robots march jerkily afterward. The slowly spreading bubble of reality does not seem to bother them, or even affect them as they pass through it. One might almost imagine that they have dealt with this before, a notion that gains strength quickly when the Blue Rose's bubble flows over the Pharaoh's own... >On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:28:34 -0700 (PDT) >Xander Opal Said As CAoL Message # 00012214 > >The enhanced dragon's eyes go wide, as sie watches briefly from hir >vantage, crouched on a wall. > >"... That's Ziactrice! Shards of the elders' eggs... she's high... on >/something/." Still and all, the Amberite seems to be holding her >own, and then some. That, and Xander did not want to test the boundry >of Shadow-shift. Plenty more crunchies to play with elsewhere, >anyway; there was that cluster backing away and assessing things, not >quite within the Sapphire Shadow Sphere. Xander's pistols appear in >hir hands, only a slight ruffling of hir trench denoting that sie >actually drew them. >"Put down your weapons, hands in the air, surrender or yadda yadda. >Shoot to inflict grevious bodily harm," sie rambles, with a pair of >toothy grins. Twelve shots ripple from hir pistols, sounding almost >like a Thompson. Eight thugs are thrown back in classic >Pulp/Cinematic Bullet Physics, and four ricochets are heard. Several of the rocket men do double-takes at this sight, unusual even by their pulp standards. "Ra Patrol squadron Khaibat, break off and engage!" the largest of them barks, and eight of them -- presumably, the Khaibat squadron of the Ra Patrol -- bank and veer in Xander's direction. > Tentacles flash, reloading the pistols faster than swapping clips, >and two speedloader clips ping in high arcs, catching the eye with >reflected light. Four of the robots follow. Though they lack the facial features to express it, their change in body language (to hunched down and aggressive) makes them seem...jealous? Perhaps it is because they only have two tentacles to Xander's four, or because theirs end in mere points while the dragon's have prehensile manipulators at the ends... "Do not damage those tentacles, if possible," Mobius adds almost absently, intrigued. >"I've been out of touch a couple years. Anyone wanna help make a few >of them days?" sie does in a bad Clint Eastwood. Hippolyta blinks, looks at Quiet Moon and the Blue Rose, then back towards the Doc Ock Dragon. Seeing that the Azure Amberite is especially occupied, she dryly asks Quiet Moon, "Acquaintance of yours?" OOC: Yep. I'm back. Ain't ya glaaaad? =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:05:02 -0700 (PDT) Xander Opal Said As CAoL Message # 00012216 >On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 23:40:00 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012215 > Hippolyta blinks, looks at Quiet Moon and the Blue Rose, then back >towards the Doc Ock Dragon. Seeing that the Azure Amberite is >especially occupied, she dryly asks Quiet Moon, "Acquaintance of >yours?" One set of eyes on the robots, the other on the rocketmen, Xander takes a moment to assess the situation. Hir tentacles still, as sie 'feels' the robots, then grumps a bit to hirself. Just enough intelligence to interfere with hir mechanical-control. The rockets, on the other hand... Sie 'reaches' out, taking control of the leader's pack, while firing a single round at the robots' vacuum-tubes/heads, right in line with the crimson monocular. "This would be a lot worse if this Meebus guy were into anime..." the dragon absently comments, a tendril of thought tripping several contacts in hir tentacle harness. Small but powerful speakers crackle, then begin to blare a random playlist, recorded on micro magnetic-records. Metallica, AC/DC, KISS, Satriani, with the occassional track of bagpipes or Britney Spears for sheer shock value. "Encore it is..." =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 13:45:19 -0700 Patrick O'Shea Said As CAoL Message # 00012217 >On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 23:40:00 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012215 > > Last time, on AAE 9: > (OOC: Quick recap -- the CAoL members in the Nile Empire has >blithely strolled into the fiendish trap of...er... *cough* *cough* >deliberately and cleverly sprung the trap that Pharaoh Mobius had in >wait for them, luring his troops out to be demolished so they can >face the mad Doctor once and for all...) OOC: Well, more like 'pranced down the garden path, waved to the gardener, and entered the head villain's dining room where we all did a Marylin Manson-esque cover of Britney Spears' 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'...' >>"Put down your weapons, hands in the air, surrender or yadda yadda. >>Shoot to inflict grevious bodily harm," sie rambles, with a pair of >>toothy grins. Twelve shots ripple from hir pistols, sounding almost >>like a Thompson. Eight thugs are thrown back in classic >>Pulp/Cinematic Bullet Physics, and four ricochets are heard. > > Several of the rocket men do double-takes at this sight, unusual >even by their pulp standards. OOC2: "Big." >>"I've been out of touch a couple years. Anyone wanna help make a few >>of them days?" sie does in a bad Clint Eastwood. > > Hippolyta blinks, looks at Quiet Moon and the Blue Rose, then back >towards the Doc Ock Dragon. Seeing that the Azure Amberite is >especially occupied, she dryly asks Quiet Moon, "Acquaintance of >yours?" "Regrettably, I do not know. I am a relative newcomer to this group. Though if I survive, I hope to learn a few more names." Shrugging not quite fatalistically, the Kai charges the attackers. OOCRedux: I'm assuming this is the 'Turn Egypt into Pulp fodder' reality wave, and not 'Turn heroic CAoLer into a job-hunting Canadian library tech', like back in AAE2. No window to defenestrate Mobius with.... It should be pointed out that things like 'reality fields' and 'quantum probability de-anchoring anomalies' were never covered at the Kai Monastery. He passes through the intersecting fields, rolls as his balance is thrown off, and stands. Nothing feels unusual, though he notices that his outfit has turned into a lightly armoured, midnight blue with silver piping, suit. "My Moon Hunter costume?" Cape's missing, though. Between strikes, Quiet Moon manages to yell "Mobius! Why IS this fight necessary?" These 'bots, being insulated against electricity, are harder to fell. "It accomplishes nothing except the ruination of this world!" [Wait...vacuum tubes?] Stepping back, Moon seperates his staff, and hurls the two pieces at the robots, each staff section emitting an ear-piercing shriek, (hopefully) shattering the heads of the robots. With that bit of relief, he turns back to the human attackers. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 19:41:13 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012218 >On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 23:40:00 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012215 >>On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 20:04:10 -0700 (PDT) >>Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012213 > > > Pharaoh Mobius claps. > "Bravo! Bravissimo! Encore!" he cries enthusiastically as the >battle rages and heroes trounce villains. "Magnificent!" He bows to >the Blue Rose. "It is almost a pity you did not arrive sooner... >though I must say," he adds as he rises, "your compatriot is quite >the fascinating one, and I am faithful in my own way." He snaps. (His >fingers. He did it the other way a long time ago. ;^) The Blue Rose, for her part, merely spare this grandiose entrance the barest of side-glances. Her dance card is still a trifle full, although the wedge of her converts is slowly forcing an opening in the regular forces. She makes slow progress toward the steps. > "FOR TOMORROW!" the rocket men roar, surging forward as one >well-trained unit. The robots march jerkily afterward. "That is when you might be waking up again." The Blue Rose quips quite quietly. >The slowly spreading bubble of reality does not seem to bother them, >or even affect them as they pass through it. One might almost imagine >that they have dealt with this before, a notion that gains strength >quickly when the Blue Rose's bubble flows over the Pharaoh's own... She hadn't meant for it to hamper them (of course, she hadn't really meant it in the first place, but...), so the Blue Rose is quite unshaken by this. Her lips do quirk in bemusement, however, as eight of the formidable opposition peel off to deal with the sudden appearance of a formidable ally, and the other four robots fall victim to one of the most diabolically clever attacks she's ever seen a supposed Good Guy use. She reflects that she'll have to talk to the Kai warrior later - adding sound abilities to her Shepherd's Crook later seems advisable. The rocket men, however, flow toward her, and in true Pulp style, her own wedge of converted fighters remove themselves to fight the lesser grunts. She watches several of the rocket men pausing to take to the air. In the briefest of moments, her foot on the lowest of the stairs, she shoots Mobius a grin through her own mask. "That's 'brava', actually. As for encores, since you asked, perhaps I shall show you something a little... special." With that, the Azure Amberite at last draws her blade - which gleams a supernatural blue steel. The sword rings - or is it sings? - in a small sound that nonetheless carries over the sound of battle with the promise of a cool, watery oasis of peace. Suddenly, to the Metallica now playing for background, the Blue Rose begins to dance, her burnoose slipping free to reveal the gauzy veils beneath. Bells chime from around her blue boots' ankles as she leaps with inhuman grace, one toe finding the ball of a flagpole even as the Blue Sword severs a jet pack. The rocket man selected as her target also finds his mark, however - or almost. A blue veil floats free, caught in the wind. The Blue Rose only _laughs_ with merry ferociousness, as the flag pole turns blue beneath her foot. She pirouettes impossibly, and comes to a high guard in Kiva-pose, albeit with only two arms. "Come! Dance with me!" She invites - the rocket men? Mobius himself? It's as hard to distinguish as it is to see if she is ... quite as naked beneath only the remaining six veils as it seems she might be. Below, the circle of her blue-changed reality has not only met - and conjoined with - Mobius' own, it then reaches the holders of the Rods. Which promptly shift to even more powerful-looking weapons, coruscating with blue ball-lightning, encrusted with sparkling sapphires, and shrilling mad-mechanically with power. The pitch, however, seems to be increasing toward feedback-squeal, even as the Blue Rose ki-yis another Arabic war cry with happy bloodlust fit to curdle any mortal's blood. >>On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:28:34 -0700 (PDT) >>Xander Opal Said As CAoL Message # 00012214 >> >>"I've been out of touch a couple years. Anyone wanna help make a few >>of them days?" sie does in a bad Clint Eastwood. "If you got the bullets, Xanie baby, we _gots_ the crunchies!" The Blue Rose carols with surprising, ah, familiarity from her, er, flagpole sitting. > Hippolyta blinks, looks at Quiet Moon and the Blue Rose, then back >towards the Doc Ock Dragon. Seeing that the Azure Amberite is >especially occupied, she dryly asks Quiet Moon, "Acquaintance of >yours?" Noticing the Kai's costume change on passing through the reality shere-collision area, she gives him 1) a wolf-whistle, and a 2) "Nice threads, that's very Rocket Man! I like!" -- The Blue Rose with a bit of the real Zia coming through - I don't think the Chromatic spilt will hold very much longer under the feedback amplification high she's getting from the now Shadowshifted-even-more-powerful Rods... Ooooo. I bet I could really p.o. The Scarlet Asp if I discolored her costume... hmmm. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: Fire in the Sky On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 07:01:17 -0700 (PDT) Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00012221 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012215 > > As he approaches the barracks, Mr. Nishikawa sees an shriveled old >man in a robe literally sniffing around, eyes darting from side to >side with suspicion. His overall trajectory seems to be taking him in >Rob's direction... (Imagine Severus Snape's evil Egyptian cousin >looking for Harry Potter and you get the idea. ;^) > "Your Excellency, can we be of some assistance?" one dutiful >officer asks, saluting snappily. > "Can you sense anomalies in the fabric of probabilities? Hm? Taste >the threads laid down by planets in our home cosm, perhaps, or hear >the subtle cacophony in the music of the spheres when something is >not quite what it appears to be?" The old man stares piercingly into >the now-trembling officer's eyes. "Can you, boy?" [Sounds like he's looking for me,] Rob notes. [Can he pick up my -potential- to break the rules the stelae set? Or is he picking up on me the same way that Jaya Ballard could read chaotic systems?] Not being inclined to find out, he staggers on, hoping to get away with his masquerade. > "No, Rama-Tet, sir!" he replies stiffly. > "Then you cannot," the mathemagician replies curtly, returning to >his search... [Just around this corner, and I should be in the clear...] As he approaches his hoped-for escape, he is met by every enlisted man's nightmare; Sergeant Obnoxious. "JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SOLDIER?" "...sent to see the surgeon, sergeant..." Rob says weakly. [...need to have my eardrums put back together...] "IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, -PRIVATE-, THERE'S WORK TO BE DONE! SO GET YOUR LAZY BEHIND MOVING, AND DON'T WASTE TIME GETTING WHERE YOU'RE GOING! CONSIDER YOURSELF ON REPORT!" "YesSergeantRightAwaySergeantSoConsideredSergeant!" [Please just let me go now, he's gaining on me...oh, rodentia.] Rama-Tet is too close, now; there's no chance of running away. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9n: Hang Time (Retcon)(Long!)(Sorry!) On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 10:44:16 -0400 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00012224 >As CAoL Message # 00012197 >On Fri, Aug 6th, 2K4, Roland X writes... > >(OOC from Morgan for Our Readers: A reminder, this fight is taking >place _before_ Uthorion shows up in Middle Earth to fight Roland, and >during the other rescue-from-hanging related battles in Cairo before >Mobius fires his "Big Weapon O' Doom".) > >>As CAoL Message # 00012170 >>On Mon, 19 July 19th, 2K4, Dhyrclhanc wrote... >>>As CAoL Message # 00012119 >>>On Thurs, June 17th, 2K4, Roland X wrote... >>> >>>"'Tis thy grave to dig," Uthorion replies almost casually. Then he >>>releases a blast of freezing, lightning-filled storm wind that >>>shatters a nearby warehouse (empty, thank Bahamut) as it races >>>toward everyone's favorite Lensdragon! >> >>Presumably from his mouth (?!) > > OOC: Well...yeah. 8^) The huge column of freezing wind and fierce lightning plowed through the air towards the, comparatively, much smaller armored Lens-Psuedo-T'Skrang. However, at the last moment, Dhyrclhanc -- and the Warwear suit -- is able to turn slightly to the left and seemingly "skate" around the blast by apparently "surfing" the disturbances in the air caused by the passage of blast of air and electricity, itself. Urthorian's breath weapon, however, ends up making short work of another nearby warehouse, again empty (Thank Bahamut). After the blast passes, Dhyrclhanc rights himself, using the Warwear's unique mode of flight and... >>>Uthorion seems faintly interested in this -- perhaps because the >>>various pulp science devices on his back flare to life when this >>>happens. Tesla coils flare with controlled lightning, clacking >>>mechanical brains whir at blinding speeds, and shimmering lights >>>sparkle around the monstrous creature. >> >> Then the Nile Empire's paradigm for "weird science" is a >>combination of Tesla/Gernsback/Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon/Captain >>Proton-style Retro Sci-Fi Tech combined with Babbage-style >>influenced Steam-Punk technology plus +/- aprox. 20 or 30 years or >>so worth of innovation and refinement? > >OOC: 20-30 years of their subjective time, yes. To quote a certain evil-GM that I know; "Well...yeah. 8^)" >However, a sufficiently brilliant weird scientist (like, say, Mobius) >is capable of almost anything -- including devices that could seem >thousands of years ahead of normal science in terms of their >abilities. (C.f. "Omegatron.") Oh. Joy. That reminds me, Sib, please fill me as to what exactly this Omegatron thingy is supposed to be... Apparently there are those among us, who are more familiar with the whole White Wolf/World of Darkness thing, who recognize it as being part of the whole WW/WoD Mythology thingy, but I don't. >>>Simultaneously, Uthorion is casting some foul spell that seems >>>intended to curse Dhyrclhanc with some undead nature. Fortunately, >>>the local magickal processes are not ideally aligned for such >>>sorcery, so if the Lensdragon thinks quickly, he can negate this >>>opening gambit entirely. >> >>As soon as Dhyrclhanc detects this particular attack, there's a loud >>"pop" sound as he Exo-ports the Glaive into a holding pattern orbit >>at 9 and 3 o'clock, 10:30 and 4:30 and 7:30 and 1:30. >> >> The Glaive has a spell-breaking ability which is effectively >>Shift Y rank (Dhyrclhanc's Psyche while "wearing" the Warwear) which >>is just barely enough to squeek-by and break the spell (I made the >>equivalent of a successful Red-FEAT roll). > >Yeah, I'll give you that one. 8^) Thin Kew, thin kew very very much. >>The remotes continue to revolve around Dhyrclhanc's left forearm and >>the gun-platform/sensor units continue to hover over his right >>shoulder. > >Uthorion then throws in a device-disrupting spell that rusts metal, >warps plastic, or devours bioware, whichever is appropriate to affect >the remotes. (Note: Non-ferrous metal _will_ "rust;" it's a decaying >magic.) The devices flare up, adding to the effect with some sort of >"smart" disintegration field, of approximately Shift X power. FTR, the material that the Warewear is constructed of is most akin to an organic metal-like ceramic. However, most info that I can find regarding the Warwear implies that it's Alien (aka Extra- terrestrial, and possibly even -- quite literally -- anachronistic) Bio-Tech; at least one source that I've found on-line says that the Eidolan were either a race, or at least loose association, of warriors who fought against various predatory alien nastiness throughout not only Space but also Time. They clothed each of themselves in a living, symbiotic, insect-like bio-tech battle armor, which could form, out of itself, almost any type of offensive or defensive system that its wearer could imagine (Think something like "Venom", from Spider-Man, combined with Todd McFarland's "Spawn", and with a little Xenomorph from "Aliens" tossed in for good measure, and toss them all together to combine into a space-capable, sealed-environment, armored powered battle suit that would make Tony Stark Drool... So... Independent of Dhyrclhanc, the Warwear armor detects this latest attack and will then immediately shut down, and automatically instigate it's own recall process. There is another bright flash of light and Dhyrclhanc is now floating in mid-air -- without the Warwear armor -- but still in his "Pseudo-T'Skrang" form. He's also now wearing what's recently become his more recognizable standard set of "civilian", for lack of a better term, clothes (with some small recent modifications); ie, he's wearing a billowing edwardian-looking long black great-cloak-like duster or coachman's coat (complete with capelet and Dhyrclhanc's person customized replica An'la'shok broach pinned over where his heart would be, if he were human) and his green and black medieval waistcote is visible through the open front of the great-coat. Over the waistcote he's, once again, wearing a Black Watch-patterned, kilt and baldric-style sash (complete with claddagh(sp?) broach/pin). Along with this, he's also wearing a pair of red and black padded, gel-filled, soft-plastic, slip-on, hand wraps. His Eye of Agamotto is attached to the great-coat at his throat, his Green Lantern Ring rests on the index finger his left hand, his Galifreyan/Time-Lord-Tech Time Ring is likewise on the ring finger of his right hand and his Lens of Arrisa is visible on his left wrist. There is also a hint of a dull, flat, silver-gray large metal bracer at each of his wrists. However, everything else about him has stayed the same. Particularly, each of the weapons that were surrounding him before, are still floating beside him. Even though the armor has apparently disappeared. ... And he's still aloft despite the fact that his current form still possesses no wings. >>Lastly, with a TK-throw, Dhyrlhanc sends the two flying dragon >>dagger/short-swords in a dual-set of arcs towards the larger >>serpentine dragon (the attack is made at Shift X rank -- DC's TK >>rank, and the dagger/short swords [each] inflict Shift Z edged >>damage against any opponents that are vulnerable to fire). > >The daggers are deflected in part by intense energy fields from the >Ultra-Tech pack, leaving two large scratches along the dragon's >ridges. With a snarl and a wave of its claws, it completely usurps >Dhyrclhanc's control of the blades, reverses their elemental affinity >to cold/ice/wind, and sends them spiralling back at Dhyrclhanc! Er,Sib... I don't have any problems with Urthorian being able to subvert DC's TK-based control over the dagger/short swords. Especially as they have no flight capabilities save for that which is provided by the Big Guy's TK in the first place. Also, as we already mentioned, the rank that DC was using his TK was Shift X and Urthorian's rank when dealing with both Magick and Psychic stuff is Class 1000. However, even if Urthorian's Magick is Class 1000, as you say it is, he's going to at least have a -1CS penalty when trying to subvert the "enchantments" on Dhyrclhanc's "Double Dragons" for this one reason... As I understand it, when "normal" magic-items are created, the actual physical item is constructed first and _then_ the enchantments are placed on it. With Dhyrclhanc and Fuzzy's Rune-Nano-Magictech, when the magic-item is created the enchantments are "hard-wired" into the item using, for lack of a better term, the equivalent of nano-scale mystical printed circutry *during* the intial manufacturing process. In addition to which, the dagger/shortswords are retro-engineered designs that were cribbed from one of Splugorth's (from Rifts-Earth) True Rune-Magic devices, which -- in themselves -- are AFAICT easily the equal of any D&D (v.3.0) minor artifacts. OTOH, you're the evil-Meta-GM, all of this is just my $0.04, and (of course), YMMV. OTTH, if you want to move this to the TR... However, pending your decision... ( P.S.: FTR, I've got more but I'm choosing what looks to me like the lesser of two evils, so that I can actually get something posted and thus try to keep this thread moving forwards. 'Sides, I've been busy in RL, but let's just keep it at that... ) ===========================