Character Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lvqwQrtQ_YFvsVdcKJbSEAgpyZi9QrfJfnh_UDzvPKw/edit?usp=sharing

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>>2504819

[2/2]

Pushing away the disturbing feeling of looking upon a man-made area that hasn’t seen a mortal soul in likely millennia, you note that there’s more than one staircase around leading to a second and third floor. If the mercenaries are here, they’d likely take the high ground to launch an ambush from. On the other hand, the coffin-like rooms around you could contain them, just waiting for you to pass before shooting you in the back. Lastly, you can barely see that this area continues on further than you can make out; they may have set up a field base well off the beaten path for a fall-back point. All in all, you know that you’re dealing with a well-trained team here, and just standing around radiating your position will only attract their attention.

You have to make a choice, and quickly.
> Investigate the upper floors, secure the high ground
> Investigate the ground floor, secure your flanks
> Investigate further down, don’t give them the chance to entrench
> Split the party (how?)
> Other

>>2504824
>Investigate the upper floors, secure the high ground
>Other: Continue using Hearing Enhancement and Power Sense to look for the enemy

>>2504824
> Investigate the upper floors, secure the high ground

>>2504824
>> Investigate the upper floors, secure the high ground

>>2505017
>>2504989
>>2504909

Secure the high ground it is.

> Roll me three 1d100+15's please

Rolled 57 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2505030

>>2505030

Rolled 77 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2505030

Rolled 97 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2505030

>>2505056

That's a 112, Success.

Writin'

>>2504824

This entire area just screams of ‘killzone’; no way in hell you’re going anywhere here without first clearing the most obvious choice first, “Move quickly,” you whisper to the men behind you. “We take the high ground, secure as much vision as we can.”

Both nod in acknowledgement, readying their pistols as you lead them up the nearest stairwell. Thankfully, this one is solid metal rather than grate, so you’re able to traverse them without producing as much noise as the average jet engine, though there’s nothing you can do about needing a light source. Reaching the second floor, you expand your senses once more, and this time you hit paydirt.

The smell of spent gunpowder, this time enhanced by the scent of mana entwined with it, emanates from both this floor and the one above it. It’s a bit fuzzy to pick up on their exact signatures, likely their invisibility-spell interfering, but you definitely know that there’s two distinct groups, each with one mage. Odds are good that two of the gunmen are up on the third floor, taking advantage of the superior firing position, while the last is lurking off to the side, prepared to hit you from the side once you’ve engaged the others.

Of course, while they think that you have no idea of the incoming ambush, there’s no question that they know you’re coming; any doubt in your mind is removed when the sound of a safety being flicked off, clear as day only to you with your enhanced hearing.

With your enemies before you and your allies behind you, the only choice left is how to handle the situation.

> Wait until the mercs try to attack to counter attack
> Use Extreme Tension, kill the guys on the third floor before they can blink
> You’ve got grenades, time to use ‘em
> Create a weapon with Weapon Shape (what? (mana cost depends on complexity and size))
> Other

>>2505103
>> Use Extreme Tension, kill the guys on the third floor before they can blink
ALPHA STRIKE!

>>2505103
>> Use Extreme Tension, kill the guys on the third floor before they can blink

>>2505103
> Use Extreme Tension, kill the guys on the third floor before they can blink

File: 1506829750156.jpg (40 KB, 512x512)

40 KB JPG

>>2505103
> Use Extreme Tension, kill the guys on the third floor before they can blink

>>2505103
>Use Extreme Tension, kill the guys on the third floor before they can blink

>>2505103
>> Use Extreme Tension, kill the guys on the third floor before they can blink

>>2505112
>>2505121
>>2505122
>>2505123
>>2505131
>>2505132

Tension is in the air.

> Roll me four 1d100+30's please.

Rolled 28 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2505139

File: 1505230491483.jpg (723 KB, 1944x2592)

723 KB JPG

Rolled 14 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2505139

Rolled 4 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2505139

Well shit hopefully the next guy can roll well.

Rolled 92 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2505139

Rolled 90 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2505139

>>2505157
Oh thank god

>>2505157

That's some serious clutch right there.

That's a 122, Maximum Success. DC: 65 gets Izumi to the third floor but no kills; DC: 85 one kill; DC: 100 two kills; DC: 120 TPK

Writin'

Rolled 53, 63, 20, 14, 32, 47, 41, 21, 98, 59, 34, 35, 83, 83, 52 = 735 (15d100)

>>2505171

Quick roll to see how John and Dutch do against the last two surviving men...

First three: John. Next six: Dutch. Next three: Gunman. Last three: Shield Mage. All +15

>>2505177

Dam what's up with the cluntch saves today?

>>2505103

No. They got the drop on you once already, and once is more than enough. They will not survive to kidnap anyone, nor use anything for their fell misdeeds- not now, not ever again. You take a silent breath, breathing in deeply, and feeling the mana rush through you, inflame your body your spirit. A time ago, you would have had to utilize all your emotion; your rage, your anger, your drive to protect and do what is right.

Now, all you need are a few moments to mourn. And as the breath of mana leaves your body, your eyes bright with determination, you engage.

The world cleanly sharpens into focus, the single second of your breath leaving your body extends far beyond what it should. Even back then, during that time where you fought against demons without number, your speed was unmatched. Here, in a world where mortals have been brought so low, where the greatest of civilizations have been forced to their knees?

Here you are beyond mortal men.

Dismissing the light from your hand, you surge forwards guided solely by the scents emanating from the darkness and, with an impossibly fast leap, you draw the blade forged right here in this deathworld, a bare drop of your mana igniting the length of the curved sword. In a manner that’s no less than poetic, the flames push back the inky black, revealing yourself right as your feet touch the ledge the gunmen were hiding behind.

There’s no way to know what they thought when you exploded into view scant a meter from them, but the first has no chance to react before you drag the sword from shoulder to hip, the forged metal cutting through his thin armor, meant for deflecting bullets, without resistance. He dies without being able to twitch, the rifle in his hands barely falling from his dead grasp when you’re past him. The second dies just as quickly, this one blinking in surprise before his head spins free from his neck from the force of your strike.

The last is the mage, who raises a hand, likely to shield himself, before he loses it. His final vision is of his severed arm flying out of vision before you, in all your burning anger, your smoldering hatred, plunge your sword through his chest and immolate him from within.

[1/2]

>>2505231

[2/2]

And with that, the moment ends and time, pulling free from your reach, churns on. The sound of equipment clattering to the ground is the first to touch your ears, then it’s interrupted by the sound of gunfire lighting up the lower floor.

The rush of combat clouding your thoughts ends right there and then, you forgot about the men you were supposed to be protecting! Drawing your rifle once more, you sight in on the obvious draw of Dutch’s lamp and relax slightly. The final gunman lies on the ground, his chest blow into pulp while the final mage, desperately trying to hold his shield, succumbs to the withering fire of both men’s large-caliber pistols. You don’t see the result, as the pale blue shield suddenly shatters, John and Dutch immediately rushing the vulnerable merc before two last gunshots end the fight with a brutal finality.

Just as quickly as it started, it’s over; five men dead in less than as many seconds. Lowering your rifle and giving yourself a moment to breathe, you locate the nearest stairwell and descend, walking right up to where the two men are alternating between reloading and checking their surroundings.

When you come into sight, however, both of them snap to you, neither quite raising their weapons at you but there’s a tension in the air that wasn’t there before, even when the three of you knew you were walking into an ambush. John, his visage hidden behind his suit’s helmet, looks over Dutch for a moment, “Was this what it was like when… you know…”

“Yeah…” There’s an audible strain to the gunslinger’s voice here, as if his entire body is coiled like a spring, “At least her eyes aren’t fuckin’ black”.

And with that, they lower their pistols entirely. Huh, wonder what that was about…

> Ask John and Dutch what’s the deal with black eyes
> Ask John and Dutch if they’re hurt
> Contact Miranda, tell her the mercs are dead
> Search the mercs, see what you can find
> Other

>>2505235
>> Ask John and Dutch what’s the deal with black eyes
> Contact Miranda, tell her the mercs are dead
may as well indulge our curiosity as well as report in.

>>2505235
>> Contact Miranda, tell her the mercs are dead
>> Search the mercs, see what you can find
Loot

>>2505235
> Ask John and Dutch what’s the deal with black eyes
> Contact Miranda, tell her the mercs are dead
> Search the mercs, see what you can find

>>2505235
>Ask John and Dutch what’s the deal with black eyes
>Contact Miranda, tell her the mercs are dead
Not like they could hide it if they got shot.

>>2505235
> Ask John and Dutch if they’re hurt
> Contact Miranda, tell her the mercs are dead

>>2505256
>>2505254
>>2505252
>>2505243
>>2505263

Ask about the black eyes, contact Miranda, and then check the bodies.

Writin'

>>2505256
>Not like they could hide it if they got shot

It's really dark in here. Also adrenaline

Man should have keeped one of then alive to know were the other entrance is/was.

Oh well that just means more exploration!!

>>2505268
We will be walking around with them. At some point they're going to react to having extra holes in their bodies if they're hurt.

>>2505235

There’s several concerns that pass through your head, now that the risk of assault is gone, but the most pressing one seems to be tied with your companions considering to attack you. Truly, that is the first one to nip in the bud, “‘Black eyes’? My eyes are dark, yes, but I don’t believe I’ve met anyone with black eyes; have you?”

John and Dutch glance between one another again before the gunslinger speaks up, “It wasn’t natural, I can tell you that. The last time I saw someone do something unnatural, kind of like how you moved that fuckin’ fast, they had pitch black eyes while they did it, and it looked like they were going to kill everyone in the area while the did. So, you can imagine my… hesitation when I see what I just saw”.

“Understandable, but not to worry; I was hired specifically to protect my client’s interests, and I believe I can interpret that order to cover you two,” Giving them both what you can hope is a small, but comforting smile, you mull on his words briefly. You can understand why he’d be concerned about an ability like yours… but there’s someone in this world on par with yourself? “If you don’t mind me asking, who has those black eyes?”

Silence, utter silence meets your words, until just about the last response you were expecting is spoken.

“That would be me,” The Artificer, of all people, speaks up, holding up a hand to cut off whatever Dutch was about to say.

You look him over, the armor he’s wearing preventing you from getting a good read on him but from what body language you can note he’s not lying; or, at least, he’s a very good liar, “Aren’t you just full of surprises”.

“Speak for yourself, Yuna”

That gets a snort of amusement from you, shaking your head slightly, “Check over what the mercs were carrying; I’m going to update Essie on the situation”

Without any further issue, you walk over to the stairwell leading to the base floor and pull out your murmur stone. With a thought, you send out a contact and wait.

You certainly aren’t left waiting for long, “Yuna, what’s the matter?”

“The mercenary team is dead; coast is clear”

The sigh of relief is minute, but still noticeable to you, “Good, good… Any issues?”

“None, we’re all unharmed. These Ruins though… the area we’re in now looks like it wouldn’t be out of place in a mall, pretty certain it’s an atrium”

“It’s one thing after the other with this place… Whatever. Good job, Yuna. Things are quiet up here, but we’re reinforcing the defense anyways; dunno how that team got through the net, but it ain’t happening again. What are you thinking of doing now?”

Your response?
> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”
> “We’ll head back up, keeping ourselves this far removed from the group is just a risk at this point”
> “I’ll head back up and have John and Dutch continue on”
> Other

>>2505320

And this is where I have to sign off for the night. See everyone tomorrow.

>>2505320
>“We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”
Take care Storyteller.

>>2505320
> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
>> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
>> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
>“We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
>> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
>> Other
go back to that factory/workshop!
Maybe we find some tools that are helpful working on the airship.

>>2505320
>> “We’ll head back up, keeping ourselves this far removed from the group is just a risk at this point”

>>2505320
>> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

>>2505320
> “We’ll keep going down, might as well find the main power room while we’re here”

Hopefully we'll find it quick enough so that we can get back on top and maybe actually set up a campground or a base.

>>2506509
Start booby trapping the stairwell and collapse/obstruct corridors. We can clear them easily but the enemy won't be able to do it stealthily.

>>2505921
>>2505819
>>2505514
>>2505486
>>2505485
>>2505334
>>2505331
>>2505330
>>2505326
>>2505325
>>2505324

Down and down it is.

Writin'

>>2505320

With the current threat dead and gone, the option to explore is the one you go with, “We’ll continue investigating down here. I imagine we’ll find where the main power to this base is located if we keep going, plus there’s a the chance that we might have a hole in our defenses that the mercenaries used”.

“Roger, Yuna. Good hunting”.

And with that, Miranda cuts the connection.

Tucking the murmur stone away into your bag, you turn back to where John and Dutch have finished dragging what’s left of the bodies of the mercenaries together. There’s a feeling of practiced motions as they check over the corpses for any signs of life, methodically placing their weapons over to the side and stripping them of any remaining ammunition. Walking over, the Artificer glances up at your approach after finishing with the one at his feet, “Any word from the surface team?”

Once again, it’s hard to get a read on the man with his armor on, but from his tone alone you can tell he’s forcing himself to be neutral, “All quiet; they haven’t encountered any hostiles yet”.

The gunslinger wipes his hands after patting down what’s left of the shield mage they just killed, “Well, at least I didn’t get stuck with the boring team”.

“Because it’d just be a fuckin’ shame if we weren’t shot at on a job,” Sighing through his teeth at the smirk on the Dutch’s face, John shakes his head, “It’s pretty damn obvious, but they’re all dead. Nothing too special about their gear, the mages have their foci and the others were using Clockwork Carbines; no heavy weapons, no heavy armor. Not much left of their ammunition, but the guns still work fine if you want ‘em”.

“I’m always interested in new firearms, so sure”.

Tucking a single Carbine into his own bag, the man hands you the remaining two and splits the ammo between you.

> You have obtained: 2 Great Quality Clockwork Carbines!
> You have obtained: 5 Clockwork Carbine Magazines (5 Rounds per Mag)!

Throwing your newly acquired gear into your back, you can alway look more into it later, you let your proper automatic rifle follow suit and motion to them to follow you once more, “We should be getting close to the main power room, so let’s continue”. Admittedly, it's a bit of a wild guess, but you hope so at least.

Neither of your companions seem to doubt your judgement, as they just nod and fall into line behind you.

> Roll me four 1d100+30’s please

Rolled 78 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2506891

Rolled 56 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2506891

Rolled 13 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2506891

Rolled 96 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2506891

>>2506917

That's a 126, Great Success.

Writin'

>>2506891

A cursitory look around the atrium tell you that there’s practically nothing of note that has survived the ages. It’s should be a rather obvious observation, but always best to err on the side of caution.

With no other way open besides heading back up to the previous level, you stride across the atrium, which reveals itself to be longer than an underground structure this open normally is. As your lights push back the darkness, you just barely see where the room ends at another hallway.

“We’re gonna end up in Airgrid at this rate,” Dutch drily notes as the growingly familiar metal halls become your surroundings once more. You’re not certain if that’s entirely the case...but with how large this place is, seemingly, you can’t find it in you to argue against the notion.

“Are we even far enough down to go under the sea?” John interjects, sounding rather uncertain.

“It’s almost like this was an entire underground city…” you murmur. You’ve seen them before, but...not often. And nowhere near like this. Miranda probably would just be grousing, but this...you can’t help but feel a bit curious about. “I’m starting to wonder if we could even find a single source of power down here- I’m halfway starting to expect an entire facility…”

“Yeah, it’s gotta be at least large enough to support the military base without outside assistance. Gonna be one hell of a repair job, that’s for certain,” The Artificer just shakes his head, as if just trying to imagine the scale of the problem is hard enough.

He’s interrupted by the gunslinger slapping him on the back, “And this is why I shoot shit for a living, not think”.

You can almost imagine the thin smile on John’s face when he responds, “Fuck you, Dutch”.

The conversation drolls on like that between the two men for a while, their back and forth banter becoming just background noise as you continue forwards. It’s… strange how well they get along with one another despite how different the two of them are. You’ll have to ask about it later. Further talk ends when you the hall opens up and all three of you stop dead at the sight before you.

It’s an honest to gods train station; an open air one that’s almost in the style of a subway if it wasn’t for the fact that this one was clearly utilized for freight at one point in time.

“Motherfucker…” John’s words are… vulgar, but apt. What else could this place possibly contain?

>Call it done for now- this place is clearly far too large to explore in a timely fashion without a full group.
>You’re down here, you can at least scrounge for some interesting bits of history in the station, you suppose.
>It’s clear you need to scout this place out and fast. Time to pick up the pace a bit.
>Other

>>2507055
>>You’re down here, you can at least scrounge for some interesting bits of history in the station, you suppose.
>>It’s clear you need to scout this place out and fast. Time to pick up the pace a bit.

>>2507055
>>It’s clear you need to scout this place out and fast. Time to pick up the pace a bit.
we can't get caught up in every little thing we find. The ship is the main reason why we're here, this can be done later when the ship is secured, which isn't done until every intruder is gone.

>>2507055
>Call it done for now- this place is clearly far too large to explore in a timely fashion without a full group.

This is too much for our small group. Head back to the spaceship and defend it while calling in more people. We're going to need a lot to thoroughly search this place.

>>2507055
John: punch a train car if you find one

>>2507055
>You’re down here, you can at least scrounge for some interesting bits of history in the station, you suppose.
A train station may have a map of other stations on the route.

>>2507055
>>You’re down here, you can at least scrounge for some interesting bits of history in the station, you suppose.
If we don't find a map around here though, we may need to call it quits. This place is massive, apparently.

>>2507055
>It’s clear you need to scout this place out and fast. Time to pick up the pace a bit.
It would be nice to at least figure out how to turn on the hangar lights

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>2507073
>>2507081
>>2507117
>>2507137
>>2507138

Rolling to tie-break:
1. Check out the station
2. Rush forwards

>>2507199
Check the station

>>2507257
...That was a tiebreaker roll. See the d2 he rolled? That corresponds to the options laid out at the bottom of the post.

>>2507270
Shhh bby I was watching the playoffs. Holy fuck Vegas, Calm Down.

>>2507055

There’s the fact that there might be more items of interest located within these ancient tunnels, but while the situation at large is currently under control, there’s still two more enemy teams coming sometime in the future; you just don’t have the luxury of properly exploring while the rest of your team faces the enemy without you.

“Let us find this power station, post haste…” No more fooling around. You and your charges will have to step quickly.

Despite the strangeness of seeing what amounts to a subway here, the good news is that you have an idea as to where the power substation would be. While you’re not Miranda, you have seen enough of the various worlds to know that certain things, like engineering and power system, tend to follow similar trends.

So, within a scant minute of arriving at the station, you’ve located another service access and, after opening the door, you’re met with another hallway but this one has various heavy wiring running along the sides.

“Good catch, Yuna,” John nods to you as he walks into the maintenance corridor, “This should take us right to the local power station”. Thank goodness. Hopefully now you can just flick a switch and be done with it...sure.

You and Dutch follow behind the Artificer as he leads the way now, who occasionally looks over the various electric lines as they intersect and crisscross from time to time. From the way he’s running his fingers over the heavy wiring, you imagine he’s puzzling out how the electrical system is setup; it’s definitely something more up Owlia or Cyclia’s alley. Thankfully, it’s not long until you arrive at a set of double doors, clearly engraved with the sign of a thunderbolt; you’ve found the power room.

Without preamble, John attempts to push one open, resorting to just cutting it open when that fails first. The clang of heavy metal slamming to the floor preludes your entrance, the sound reverberating throughout.

[1/2]

>>2507374

[2/2]

The lights coming off yourself and Dutch piece the darkness of the room, revealing a massive metal structure that reminds you vaguely of the shielding surrounding John’s mana reactor. Thick, heavy cables run from it, coming together into solid masses of insulated wiring that run through the walls in almost every direction.

“Fuckin’ hell…” John whistles as he looks the machinery over, “The superstructure looks untouched, and there’s no sign of damage to the cables…”

“So you can fix this easy?” Dutch sounds slightly hopeful, which is a feeling you share, though the small shake of an armored helmet ruins that.

“This place has been sitting dead for millennia, even if things look alright I gotta check things over as best I can. I believe I’ve gotten enough electrical burns for one lifetime without dealing with a source this large,” Walking over, the Artificer starts moving things about, “No idea how long this’ll take, but it’ll definitely take me some time”.

Well, fantastic. That means a guard duty aside from guard duty. Well. You’ll have to just make sure he has peace and quiet. Of course, with the area being secure now…

> Just wait here for John to restore power
> Leave Dutch with John down here, return to the rest of the team
> Leave John alone down here, bring Dutch with you and return to the rest of the team
> Other

>>2507378

Gotta end things here for tonight. See you all tomorrow.

>>2507374
>John attempts to push one open, resorting to just cutting it open when that fails first
>not punching or kicking it down with his size 12 armored boots.

>>2507378
>> Other
> Leave Dutch with John down here; check nearby areas, particularly watching for maps.

>>2507378
>> Leave Dutch with John down here; check nearby areas, particularly watching for maps.

>>2507388
Going with this.

>>2507378
> Leave Dutch with John down here, return to the rest of the team

>>2507378
>revealing a massive metal structure that reminds you vaguely of the shielding surrounding John’s mana reactor.
Ooohhh, shiny. I wish we could claim it as loot, considering how useful the aircraft carrier's reactor was, but even if we could remove it, I doubt it'd go over well with our employer.

>>2507410
Even if we could remove it, what would we do with it? it's massive

>>2507378
> Just wait here for John to restore power

>>2507447
convert it into motes and be rich(ish)

>>2507378
> Just wait here for John to restore power

>>2507378 #
>> Other
> Leave Dutch with John down here; check nearby areas, particularly watching for maps.

>>2507565
>>2507378
This pls

>>2507378
>> Leave Dutch with John down here; check nearby areas, particularly watching for maps.

>>2507378

> Just wait here for John to restore power
> Other
She needs to update Miranda about the things they're seeing down there.

>>2507378
> Other
Give Miranda an update. Look around here for an office or desk that would have an electrical system layout or tunnel map.

>>2507378
>Leave Dutch with John down here; check nearby areas, particularly watching for maps.
>Contact Miranda

>>2507378
> Leave Dutch with John down here; check nearby areas, particularly watching for maps.

Come on, there's GOT to be some goodies here that we can at least evaluate and see if they're worth a lot. Maybe some Legendary Weapons or something like that that don't take an entire battalion to move.

>>2508020
I bet we're going to find a magical toothbrush which repairs the teeth to perfect condition and cleans them perfectly but the Don won't understand how useful it is so we won't actually get any extra motes for it.

>>2508108
I mean, we can always just keep any loot we don't want to sell, or sell stuff in the Intersection instead. Honestly, we'd probably get a better deal that way.

>>2508020
Sal can beam up anything, we can tell him to convert it to motes like we have done before.

When we were still following Miranda while she was patrolling it was mentioned that it is dead quiet out there. I wonder if that meant there are not even birds around. Maybe the research facility of this place was researching blight and still has some samples left from that time. Maybe we could bring some of those samples back home with us.

File: what could go wrong.jpg (45 KB, 594x383)

45 KB JPG

>>2508238

File: Trains.png (46 KB, 600x700)

46 KB PNG

>>2507055
......FUCKING TRAINS


>>2507378
>Stay here with john

Never leave a support by himself. and with DPS and the tank, we have a good force multiplier when we take into account that they can only come from one way

>>2507378
> Just wait here for John to restore power

File: Mura_MynameisGendo.png (169 KB, 388x320)

169 KB PNG

>>2507382

Kicking down doors works when the frame is wooden, not when the entire thing is composed of reinforced metal.

>>2508108

An artifact like that would actually be worth a small fortune, and even if the Don wouldn't recognize that Archmage certainly would.

>>2508238

It's amazing as to just how bad that idea would be.

To be fair, it's not the worst idea in the world if you limited the amount of biomass the Blight has. Just keep in mind that if it got access to a certain amount of biomass... yeah, shit would go down real quick.

>>2507388
>>2507392
>>2507394
>>2507479
>>2507502
>>2507565
>>2507608
>>2507625
>>2507643
>>2507646
>>2507649
>>2507973
>>2508429
>>2508445

Check the area for anything of note, but stick in the general area.

Writin'

>>2508238
go kill yourself.

>>2509334
*hugs*

>>2507378

With Dutch around, John’s got enough protection to allow you to take a look around the area. There might be some surviving areas around that are more geared towards bureaucracy, which if you’re lucky may contain some hints as to what exactly lead to this civilization disappearing without a trace. Besides, you need to talk to Miranda about what’s down here.

Letting the two men know what you’re up to, you take a quick walk around of the power room which reveals no other areas besides the massive reactor and its shielding before ducking out of the room. Walking back towards the station, you pull out your murmur stone and ping your leader.

“Essie here, what’s the issue Yuna?” Miranda sounds… bored? Guess that answers whether or not the other mercenaries have arrived.

“We’ve located the main power station and John’s currently working on restoring it to function,” Glancing about, you’re reminded as to just how eerie this place is as the only sounds breaking the silence are your voice and footfalls. Frowning as you don’t see any sign of an office, you let yourself drop down onto the tracks after noting the absence of a third rail. There should be some kind of indoors room in a place like this- bathrooms at the very least- but nothing really seems to lead to anything of the sort. Odd. “Currently, I’m investigating a subway station”.

“A what?” That certainly gets her attention, “There’s a station down there?”

“What’s left of one, at least,” you remark. “Seems like there’s an entire compound down here, complete with its own rail system. I’d guess it was mostly for personnel movement, but they probably used it to move in raw material for the factory we were looking into when the mercenaries jumped us originally as well”.

There’s a few seconds of silence as Miranda clearly thinks things over, “Alright, then...that might complicate things a bit. An underground area that large is gonna need to either be looked over with a fine-toothed comb or sealed off. I don’t like the idea that there’s another entrance down there- but even if there isn’t, if anyone tries to assault us and they escape down there, it’d be far too easy to lose track of them. Have you come across any way to confirm your location and travel path? Maps or landmarks or the sort?”

Without much to go off of here, you decide to follow the tracks out of the station for now, “The path down here has been mostly linear; nothing but halls and staircases with the atrium on this level being the first truly open room. I’m looking into any other ways around, but we’re deep, deep underground here Essie. Unless there’s an entire other base in the area that this is connected to, I don’t believe there’s another entrance”.

[1/3]

>>2509426

“Well, let’s hope,” is the response. “Incidentally, putting a timer on your little spelunking expedition. I’ll be checking in in about 30 and I’ll want to talk to John then.” There’s a muttering on the other side, and you hear something in the distance go *clunk* and some yelps in the background. “Make that 50…” Another voice in the background. “...an hour. Out.”

“10-4” With a small amount of amusement in your voice, you cut the connection there and put away your murmur stone. It’s rather good timing, as you come to a complete cave-in of the tunnel you’re in. From what you can see, structural failure was total and resulted in a floor to ceiling obstacle. Even if you managed to remove it, who knows how much further the cave-in goes and how stable the tunnel is from here on out…

Turning back around, you return to the station area. There’s still no sign of an office, so you might as well rejoin the gentlemen.

Stepping over where the half of the reinforced door is still laying on the floor after being cut off its hinges, you note where Dutch is putting away a revolver at your arrive, looking over at where John’s got his helmet off and a toolkit out doing something to one of the major cables leading from the reactor.

“Any progress?” With Miranda looking for progress within the… near future, you might as well make sure that the Artificer is keeping himself on task.

He frowns a bit as he looks over whatever he’s doing, clearly not happy with the results, “The good news is that the lines don’t seem to be compromised, and the reactor is intact. Unfortunately, the entire system is drained and the conduit array that would normally give the reactor the mana to function is missing”.

[2/3]

>>2509429

[3/3]

“Say it again for us mortals?” The gunslinger looks confused at his friend’s explanation and you can’t exactly fault him; you know a bit of how electrical systems work, but with how much magitech is involved there’s no certainty that all the rules will apply.

“Despite this being a closed system that’s not actually using any power, the resistance in the cables means that over time, the grid slowly lost all the energy it had. The real curious bit is that the conduit array, which feeds raw mana into the converters, seems to have been cleanly removed from the system; whoever did it knew what they were doing and they did it on purpose. Now, the grid is entirely ‘cold’ and is without any way of jump starting it,” Standing up, John rolls his head a bit and puts away a few of his tools.

Hmm...wonder if there’s any way to fix that.

> “What about that generator of yours? Would that give enough?”
> “Would I be able to serve as a jump start?” (Current Mana: 6500/8500)
> “Just as well, I suppose. Essie was going to call us later, we can just report in early.”
> Other

>>2509437
> “Would I be able to serve as a jump start?” (Current Mana: 6500/8500)

>>2509437
>> “Would I be able to serve as a jump start?” (Current Mana: 6500/8500)

>>2509437
>> “Would I be able to serve as a jump start?” (Current Mana: 6500/8500)

>>2509437
> “What about that generator of yours? Would that give enough?”
If not then:
> “Would I be able to serve as a jump start?” (Current Mana: 6500/8500)

>>2509437
>what about your generator?

>>2509437
> “Would I be able to serve as a jump start?” (Current Mana: 6500/8500)

>>2509444
>>2509446
>>2509465
>>2509492
>>2509524

Living mana conduit it is.

Writin'

RIP

>>2509437

If it’s just raw mana that this machine needs… “Would I be able to jump start this? I have most of my mana reserves still”.

John visibly pauses at your words, thinking them over for a few seconds before slowly nodding, “Maybe. It’s possible, but it’ll be risky. Need to set up resistors to make sure you don’t blow the circuit, and that you don’t have your mana entirely drained in the process”.

With the plan in place, the Artificer gets to work in setting up whatever makeshift contraption will be used to hook yourself up to a several millennia-old system…

Perhaps you were a bit hasty here. Still, you’ve made your bed now- it’d be dishonorable to just back out now...

It’s not until the blonde man starts wrapping stripped cables around your arms that you really start questioning the sanity of your decision. He’d better been on point with being able to keep your mana from getting too drained- it sounds automatic after a bit...

“Alright, so this should work. Just channel your mana into the wiring and the system should take care of the rest”.

“How much?” you ask.

The shrug he gives you in response inspires exactly zero confidence in you, “A hell of a lot more than I’ve got myself. I’ll be monitoring the system for when it hits the point of self-sufficiency”.

Well, you’ll want to keep some for yourself, so…here goes.

> Roll me three 1d100+15’s please

Rolled 59 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2509583

Rolled 9, 52, 39 + 37 = 137 (3d100 + 37)

>>2509583

Rolling for John's work.

Rolled 57 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2509583

Rolled 71 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2509583
time for the glorious task of being a battery.

>>2509591
Few, I guess she gets to remain magical for a bit more.

>>2509591

That's an 86, with an 89 assist from John, Success.

Writin'

>>2509583

Taking a steadying breath, you relax as best you can, your mind doing its best to even itself out- focus. There’s a little trickle of worry in the back of the becalmed sea that is your thoughts, but that’s little concern as you direct yourself, channeling your mana, carefully, into the cables.

The energy contained within suddenly jumps into the connection, nearly causing your heart to skip at the surprise of your mana being directly drained. Forcing yourself to stay focused and calm, you manage to get a handle on the flow.

The sensation of it is almost disturbing, as if someone is drawing you lifeblood out of your body from within. Normally, you can ‘feel’ your mana even after you’ve utilized it, but with this the system allows no such connection.

Time passes, your quasi-meditative state making you lose track of it until John’s voice cuts through to your consciousness.

“Alright, it’s working! Yuna, you’re good to stop”.

With that, you focus on forcing that ‘opening’ to close. You manage to reduce the flow, but the last bit fights you as the circuit keeps pulling energy from your body. Force of will alone allows you to finally end your channel, arms dropping to your side allowing the stripped cable to fall to the floor. “Thank goodness…” you breathe out.

Taking a step back, you’re immediately hit with a wave of nausea as the effect of losing that much mana so quickly takes effect. You’re going to need to be careful in any future fights for a bit...

> You have lost: 3000 Mana!
> Current Mana: 3500/8500!

“Hey, hey, stay with us,” Focusing on the motion in front of you, the view of John waving a hand in front of your eyes appears, “There you are. Your idea worked, but you look like utter shit right now”.

Ew. Nonetheless, you know full well that all things considered, you don’t want to get into too much trouble- at least not until you can restore some mana. Breesily waving him off, you stand upright, blinking some of the stars in your eyes away as best you can. “I-I’ll be fine, just...wasn’t expecting it to be so clingy.” There’s a metallic taste in your mouth, too… “That said, I...would feel better if we got back to the hangar with the others sooner than later, now. Would that be possible?”

Looking over his shoulder, you follow John’s gaze to the reactor, which is now making a faint, low-pitched hum as power begins the thrum through it, “Yeah, we can. It’s going to take some time for this reactor to fully power-up, but I haven’t found any faults in it so I won’t need to supervise it”.

You can’t say you’re not grateful to hear that. This place is getting old already, “Good, good… Let’s go, shall we?”

> And that's where I gotta head off for tonight. We'll be back tomorrow, so see you then.

>>2509671
This is okay.

Izumi is perfectly competitive with just her body boosting skills and her blade.

>>2509671
Thanks for running!

Mana flow restored, blight infestation in 3... 2... 1...

>>2510274
Well that would explain why the reactor was out of mana.

>>2510274
I hope you're right. I'm interested in seeing what it can do aside from taking over people and boosting the infested people's physical abilities.

>>2510335
I'm sure you'll be horrified to find out

File: John_WarArtificerofShirahoro.png (196 KB, 358x358)

196 KB PNG

>>2509671

You are John Hoelscher, and you just finished restoring a massive mana reactor that’s older than the city you live in by hooking a chick up to it as a living mana conduit.

Yeah, not exactly your proudest moment. At least Yuna has the reserves to accomplish such a feat without passing out. It’s also good to note that you’re still able to cludge things together and have them work as intended; it’s a skill you haven’t utilized in some time.

Currently, you’re focusing on pacing yourself up the absurd number of stairs on your return to the where the rest of your team is keeping watch over the base. Between the descent and the rush of combat, you didn’t really feel them on the way down, but fucking hell are you feeling them now. The only reason you’re not huffing up a storm like Dutch is thanks to the leg servos you spent so long getting right. Yuna’s in better shape than your old friend, but she’s still a few shades paler than what should be healthy. She’s not hyperventilating, thankfully, or you’d be worried about her passing out, but the three of you are making sure not to push yourselves.

“Fuckin’... ugh,” Dutch, tugging at his collar as beads of sweat begin to drip from his forehead, “How many stairs did we go down again?”

Taking this as a sign of a quick break, you lean against one of the metallic walls, “No idea… but this is the set that leads up to that industry area… There’s another one after that”.

Wiping the moisture from his brow, your old friend just looks slightly defeated, “This isn’t what I signed up for…”

“Yeah, well, welcome to the party ya bastard,” Pushing off after taking one last breath, you lightly shove the gunslinger, “Let’s go”.

“Le- Hold on,” Yuna reaches into her bag and pulls out that strange, arcane stone you’ve noted her using from time to time, “Yes, Essie?”

Silence takes the dark area you’re in, only broken by the sounds of labored breathing. You’ve no idea what’s being said to the mercenary, but the way she blinks before simply stating, “Roger, we’re on our way,” means it’s likely nothing good.

“What’s the news?” Turning around to face her fully, you wait as she tucks the artifact back into her bag.

“Essie’s picked up on contact topside; likely the next merc team. She wants us back and at the ship, as soon as possible,” Adjusting her gear, Yuna looks like she’s steeling herself, “So we need to get up there, now”.

Glancing over at Dutch, you nod to him, “Yeah, we do. Just gotta get up the next…. Several… dozen floors”.

Yeah, this is going to be a long one.

> Roll me three 1d100’s please

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>2513247

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>2513247

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>2513247

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>2513247

>>2513323

That's a 51, just barely above average.

Writin'

>>2513348
So basically, we have to walk up 70 flights of stairs, but there's a vending machine with some refreshing beverages on one of them.

>>2513369
Yep, though the drinks are alarmingly still "edible".

>>2513247

Stair after stair flies by as the three of you run up them, trying your damnedest to pick up the pace in response to the coming threat. Sadly, running up several hundred sets of stairs takes a lot out of the three of you, even yourself with your EXO suit. More than one break is needed to make sure that no one passes out from asphyxiation and by the time that you’ve made it up to the industrial area at least forty-five minutes have past.

“This isn’t...hm...good,” Yuna says, pausing to breathe. Seems like even she needs to catch her breath a bit. “Whomever they are, they’re probably in the hangar by now- we’re going to need to be careful coming out, and we’re going to have to move fast once we DO, at the same time. Especially if they have people on watch. The one upside to all of this is the fact that we MIGHT have the element of surprise on our side. If there are people inside, then we might be able to flank them quickly...”

“Right… right…” Sucking in wind as quickly as you can, try your best to get your heartrate under control, to no real success, “We’ll just… have to get up there then…”

Dutch doesn’t say anything in response, seemingly just focusing on recovering what he can in the moment as the three of you walk across this floor to the other service access.

The way Yuna looks at you after you say that, though, is an analyzing one in nature. “Do you have any way to...no, nevermind. If you get up there in the state you’re in, you might be a liability...hm.” Before anything else can be said, out comes the stone again. “Essie, status update. We’re roughly thirty minutes away. What’s your status and position?”

As if in response to the question, you hear the distance echoes of something vaguely like a series of explosions coming from the next stairwell. Your back, as if taunting you, slowly begins to burn.

“Heavy forces! They blew open the door! Lots of mana- sensing at least six!” comes Essie’s response. “We’re about to engage- gonna try to hold them best we can, but we’re gonna want you up here sooner than later!”

Another ripple sounds off from the surface as you approach the next set of stairs. Sighing, you consider your options here.

> Just run up the stairs, don’t risk anything
> Use Adrenaline Surge; it’ll let you run at your best, but you’ll be exhausted when it ends
> Draw upon your Aspect; it’s a risk, but if it works you could get yourself and the others up to the fight without further fatigue
> Other

>>2513590
> Just run up the stairs, don’t risk anything
Probably not worth it to show up to the fight completely gassed. And the aspect is a hard No.

>>2513590
>> Draw upon your Aspect; it’s a risk, but if it works you could get yourself and the others up to the fight without further fatigue

>>2513590
>> Just run up the stairs, don’t risk anything
Better to be tired then to be exhausted or risking turning into a demon.

>>2513590
>> Use Adrenaline Surge; it’ll let you run at your best, but you’ll be exhausted when it ends

>>2513590
> Just run up the stairs, don’t risk anything

>>2513850
>>2513743
>>2513672

Another set under our own power.

> Roll me another three 1d100's please

Rolled 30, 18, 5, 66, 64, 73, 42, 91 = 389 (8d100)

>>2513912

Don't worry about this roll here.

First four: Miranda; Second four: ???

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>2513912
Time for cardio!

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>2513912

>>2513912

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>2513912

>>2513933
Eventually, I’m gonna learn how to roll without fucking up.

>>2513932

Alright, that's an 81, pretty damn good.

We'll be continuing things tomorrow, see you then.

File: image.jpg (29 KB, 309x259)

29 KB JPG

>>2513947

Here you go:

>>2513956
I know, but my phone keeps auto capitalizing the word dice, then it doesn’t work.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>2513985
Press the shift key twice

>>2513590

As tempted as you are to do a bit of cheating to make things easier for yourself, you eventually come to the conclusion that you’re going to have to do this under your own, unaugmented power.

Whether it’s the news of incoming enemies or the rumbles that shake the stairwell around you, the three of you hit a second wind and sprint up the stairs as best you can. All the while, your back continues to burn and twist away.

At least you all make incredible time on the journey up, getting to the top at around the twenty minute mark before an explosion blasts out and nearly knocks you off your feet. Drawing your pistol with a slightly shaky hand, you lead the way back into the main room to the sound of metal smashing together.

From the corner of the room that you original entered the Ruin from the steel catwalk and stairwell has been ripped from its place along the walls, ending together into a twisted, blackened heap. With a kick, Essie pushes her way out of a portion of the pile, her armor scuffed and smoking from the attack, and stands to her feet. Off to the side, Archmage drops a Mass-Invisibility, panting from the exertion, while Gladiator, Hidia, Froste, and Emma brace themselves.

“Why are you running?” Dropping down from the wreckage, a man about you age speaks up as he begins to walk over to the mercenary leader. His hair, eyes, and even sheer presence are painted in a fiery red hue. Behind him come several more individuals, all likely mages, and they begin to fan out, “Even if you run, it’s still useless”.

To her credit, Essie doesn’t seem too impressed as she rolls a shoulder and stares him down.

There’s silence for several second, before the man starts grinning, an array of bright red Gylphs forming in the air around him as he begins laughing, “Show me! Show me what you can do!”

RABID DOG OF THE COLOMBOS RYKER
> Assist Essie by suppressing that mage
> Go after the mages on the left
> Go after the mages on the right
> Fall back to the airship, you’re in no condition to fight
> Other

>>2517020
>>Go after the mages on the left.
Miranda ought to be able to at least hold off Mr. Smug, and we have another team to deal with the group on the right.

>>2517020
Are we back?
>> Assist Essie by suppressing that mage

>>2517020
>Other
The turret is placed on the top of the ship right
>attempt to manually blast the mages using the turret
Unless it's blown up already, in which case start shooting the mages with the pistol

>>2517020
> Assist Essie by suppressing that mage

>>2517020
> Assist Essie by suppressing that mage

>>2517020
>> Assist Essie by suppressing that mage

>>2517020
>> Go after the mages on the left
reduce numbers first before focusing down bosses is a basic tactic

>>2517020
>bright red Gylphs forming in the air around him as he begins laughing, “Show me! Show me what you can do!”
Big words. Let's see if you can back it up.

> Fall back to the airship, you’re in no condition to fight
Get ourselves into useful shape, then we can shoot from the ship itself.

>>2517029
>Turret
Nope. we talked about it, but didn't come to a conclusion. It'll still be packed away, unless Randa deployed it while we were downstairs.

>>2517029

Turret wasn't deployed

>>2517028

Pictures aren't working, but other than that things work.

>>2517028
>>2517044
>>2517047
>>2517049

Big one first.

> Roll me three 1d100+15's please

Rolled 30, 30, 95, 83 + 30 = 268 (4d100 + 30)

>>2517107

[MIRANDA ACTIVITY]

Rolled 78 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2517107
Damn it, now I can't post smug reaction pictures when we one shot this prick.

Rolled 5, 56, 100, 8 + 30 = 199 (4d100 + 30)

>>2517107

[RYKER ACTIVITY]

Rolled 72 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2517107

Rolled 63 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2517107

Rolled 35 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2517107

>>2517119
You could always use emoticons. There is absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever with using them here. Nope. Wouldn't be an issue.

>>2517120
Fuuuuck

>>2517119
You jinxed it.

>>2517135
I had such a good image for this, but it couldn't get uploaded, so I'm just going to tell you that it was a good one.

>>2517140
Same thing here.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>2517119

That's a 93 and a 125 versus nat 100 (130), Failure.

Rollin' then Writin'

DC:80; Success = ???

>>2517020

There’s a moment where the mana density in the air heightens to the point that you can literally taste it, before the Glyphs erupt with searing red light. Pressure and heat lance out at Essie, the merc jinking and dodging around them by the skin of her teeth, lines across her armor appearing from the close hits alone. As impressive as the display of agility is, you can tell she’s slowly being boxed in by the attacks that don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Ignoring the pain searing into your back, you begin sprinting forwards, “Break! Dutch, get the left side; Yuna, get the right!” You don’t both looking behind yourself to see if either are following your orders, there’s just not enough time. With a quick thought, an Adrenaline Surge pumps into your veins, pushing away the exhaustion you’re feeling for just another few precious minutes.

Up ahead, Essie takes a shot to the side and spins from the force behind it, a segment of her armor breaking off along with it. Still laughing like a mad man, the enemy mage summons another, larger Glyph clearly with the intent of finishing her off.

The stupidity of your action is something your very well aware of, but even if you’re out in the open with nothing but a hand cannon, the gal needs a split second that she just doesn’t have. So, going against practically every instinct in your body, you raise your pistol and fire.

The rounds, accurate even with the range and dead sprint you’re firing at, spark off another glittering shield that bursts into existence at the last possible second. Looking at you with those piercing, baleful red eyes, the mage contemptuously twists the glyph around to face you before unleashing it.

For a moment, your entire world goes bright and burning red, the heat and pressure causing your personal shield to whine and scream under the impact before popping with a deafening spark.

Then, black.

[1/2]

Testing...

>>2517225
Here's to hoping that smugmage just knocked us out, and we aren't about to berserk all over the place.

>>2517225

[2/2]

You are Miranda Styles, and after attempting a holding action for almost an hour against an entire team of mages before getting blasted down the stairwell you’d attempted to use as a chokepoint by their leader, you’ve just watched John get blasted. Biting back a snarl, you let loose a string of magi-blasts in his moment of distraction, only to watch them spark off that same, damnable shield that’s still being a massive pain in the ass.

The mage turns back to you, more glyphs forming around him as he does, “Now, where were we?”

Noting the flare of mana, you fling yourself to the side as another lance burns through the air. For the supposed leader of this merc team, the guy doesn’t appear to even look at his subordinates, staring you right down instead.

Focusing on drawing out your mana, you ready yourself again. He’s gonna be a tough nut to crack.

Well, bully for you.

>You know what he wants- you. See if you can steer him away from your still-active partners and your objective, and maybe give someone an opening- or even cause some friendly fire.
>You can’t let this guy build up a head of steam again- if you can at least get him to budge somehow, then you’ll have a much better shot at controlling the fight.
>He can talk all he wants- maybe you can goad him into wasting his mana somehow. That kind of output can’t be easy to maintain...
>Other

>>2517265

That's actually what the '???' of that previous roll was

>>2517271

Alright, sorry about the short updates, but that's where I've gotta leave things for tonight. See you all tomorrow, hopefully with pictures working again.

>>2517271
>>You know what he wants- you. See if you can steer him away from your still-active partners and your objective, and maybe give someone an opening- or even cause some friendly fire.

>>2517271
>>He can talk all he wants- maybe you can goad him into wasting his mana somehow. That kind of output can’t be easy to maintain...
Out-slugging Miranda is no easy feat; there's no way he can maintain this kind of power, and we've still go our mobility. We appear to have been running a delaying action for a while now, he should be nice and irritated. It shouldn't be too hard to goad him into wasting what tricks he's got left.

>>2517271
>>He can talk all he wants- maybe you can goad him into wasting his mana somehow. That kind of output can’t be easy to maintain...

If we can piss him off to the point where he's throwing everything at us, all the better.

>>2517271
>He can talk all he wants- maybe you can goad him into wasting his mana somehow. That kind of output can’t be easy to maintain...
>Try to separate him from the others at the same time.

>>2517271

>You can’t let this guy build up a head of steam again- if you can at least get him to budge somehow, then you’ll have a much better shot at controlling the fight.

blind him with a light blast.

>>2517296
By the way, can we get a Mana update?

>>2517271
>use a sticky bomb like a sweet yoyo and sling it behind his shield.

>>2517572
You mean Mana Blast? The ones we can control in mid-air?

Pretty sure his shield doesn't block light though.

>>2517271
>>You can’t let this guy build up a head of steam again- if you can at least get him to budge somehow, then you’ll have a much better shot at controlling the fight.

>>2517271
>Punch him the fuck out

>>2517271
where is mono in the fight?
Could she sing us a fog? that way miranda can pick them off with her smell-O-Scope.

>>2517587
He might have a point tough. The sticky bombs are low velocity projectiles that have a higher chance of not activating the shields or at the very least obstructing the mage's vision, while the mana blasts are the complete opposite.

>>2517799
why not just cover the shield with sticky mana and blow it up in his magic?

>>2517835
supposing the sticky mana manages to stick to the shield instead of bypassing it, its a good idea, But i have the feeling that the shield won't recognize the sticky mana and it will land directly on the mage.

>>2517848
That's not worse though.

>>2517271
>>You can’t let this guy build up a head of steam again- if you can at least get him to budge somehow, then you’ll have a much better shot at controlling the fight.

>>2517271
>Other
Pop up a double-layer Light Shield between us and the enemy mage leader while we pull out our Baron’s Rapier. Channel a magi-beam through the Rapier at Mr. Smug; let’s see how well he can keep up his shield against a continuous amplified attack.

>>2517849
i'm not saying its worse, just that is one of the possible outcomes.

>>2517271

>>2517968
>Pop up a double-layer Light Shield between us and the enemy mage leader while we pull out our Baron’s Rapier. Channel a magi-beam through the Rapier at Mr. Smug; let’s see how well he can keep up his shield against a continuous amplified attack.

>>2517968
wouldn't it be better to get into melee range? That way we can grab him, bypass the shield and choke him out, or gouge his eyes out or similar. Amping up the magic beam will only make us waste mana(i know we regenerate 4000 per day, but right now we are more or less at half) and we don't have the certainty that it will break it.

>>2518157
Do you know that the shield will be penetrated by melee strikes? Are the shield glyphs he is using something you can point to as having come up before?
What will we do if the shields don’t care about the speed of the attacks, and stop melee attacks, bullets, and magi-blasts equally?
Do you have anything to back up your assertion that melee attacks can get through this particular shield type?

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>>2518160
ok, i'm doing this from an outsiders perspective(a.k.a haven't read AQ) but there are some constants here and there.
>Do you know that the shield will be penetrated by melee strikes?
Probably not melee strikes, but low velocity projectiles or objects could pass trough. As you can see, he is not using a respirator to breathe. That means that air and other small or slow moving objects can bypass the shield and our hands have a bigger chance to get him than our attacks.

>What will we do if the shields don’t care about the speed of the attacks, and stop melee attacks, bullets, and magi-blasts equally?
Here comes a fun thing. If we can't pass the shield because it reacted to our hands, it means we can grab him and do pic related. Internal damage is still a thing, and your suit and magics won't save your insides turning to mush because they were going from 0 to 20km/h and then from 20 to 0 in matters of seconds.

>Do you have anything to back up your assertion that melee attacks can get through this particular shield type?
I could ask you the same. Do you have anything to back up your assertion that a amped up magibeam can get through this particular shield type? Specially since she has been fighting them with magibeams to no avail.
Going in melee not only gives us an advantage because its our forte, but it also gets the mage out of his confort zone because it seems that all his shtick is to keep people away from him. Also remember that miranda has super speed; tagging her can be REALLY hard and could frustrate and make the mage sloppy.

>>2518176
>If we can't pass the shield because it reacted to our hands

Wait, do you mean that if it can? Or did I read that wrong? I thought it was like a spherical barrier. If it's a form fitting one, then I agree. If not...then maybe what we could do is ring him? He'll obviously try to break out, and that's when the explosion happens.

>>2518190
Make no mistake. up to this point i'm speculating what is the most probable outcome, because the two paragraphs we have don't give us enough information.

>maybe what we could do is ring him?
Although i agree with the idea, the orbital ring would leave us with ~1500 mana. When lorelei reached those reserve leves she was out of the fight for some days. It would be really bad if something like that happened to miranda, because she is our heavy hitter.

>>2518176
Miranda doesn’t have super speed. She’s as fast as a trained fighter, but that’s it.

Can you counteract kinetic energy nullification or redirection, whatever method the shield uses? Even if the shield reacts to our hands and we could exert force against it, we don’t know if it will even budge, let alone we’ll be a sitting target at point blank range.


Just because he’s breathing doesn’t mean that the shield will let anything slower than sound get through, since light is still getting through but bullets and magi-blasts don’t. The shield could simply be tuned to allow air, and only air, to pass through.

>>2518206
She has physical reinforcement enabled so she's able to go really fast at least in straight lines by jumping forward

>>2518197
I thought she was out of it because she was approaching single digits. IIRC, we were approaching the 300ish area in the same mission and were still animate.

Also, yeah. By most counts, Miranda has crazy stamina, but for the most part she's fast like a grasshopper is fast: she can leap very far very quickly.

>>2518197
>would leave us with ~1500 mana. When lorelei reached those reserve leves she was out of the fight for some days
While I agree that that's alarmingly low, Lori went all the way down to 1 Mana in that fight, which was what knocked her out for a while. Low Mana levels will start to wear on us, and running out is at very least rather bad, though I dunno if we take any mechanical debuffs from running low.

>>2518206
>>2518218
Nah, i'm completely disagreeing with that. Our fight with Zander was way faster than what any trained fighter could do.Even if we can only hop into one direction, our reflexes should be way better than the mage's reaction time.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/1880552/

>>2518219
If we're dangerously low, we break into a cold sweat, that's all I know. I don't think that low mana is the same as physical exhaustion though. Chances are we can still operate like a normal human being even if we get dangerously low. We just won't have literally any of our abilities, physical boosts included.

>>2518206
Sorry bud but she's fast as hell if she wants to. If you can leap over the trees in a forest you can put that spring in your step to forward movement. It's not a game where speed scales with dexterity, legs use muscles.

>>2518190
I wouldn't want to ring someone with an actual chance to break out, not while we are stuck underground with them. We were warned that the explosion is extremely powerful and uncontrollable.

>>2518197
We have gotten Miranda down to the hundreds more than once and we were fine aside from some perspiration and brief shortness of breath. Double and single digits is where we need to worry. Also, we can use a crystal to boost immediately.

>>2517271
Get in there and hit him

>>2518489
Strength does not equate to speed. While strength is absolutely necessary for speed, flexibility, springiness, and explosiveness are more important.

Longjumping, like what Miranda does, has more to with strength than speed, compared to sprinting and boxing.

If just because Miranda’s long jumps are fast and powerful meant that she should be just as fast in other actions that don’t have the same motions, longjumpers should be keeping pace with sprinters and vice versa.

>>2518866
...arent long jumpers trained to get as big a burst of speed as possible? I might be wrong, but I thought they were. And that still doesn't mean that she can't make like a super bouncy rubber ball and ricochet everywhere.

>>2518866
That's great and all but just look at >>2518222, Miranda was dodging lightning bolts on reflex plus it's explicitly said that the fist fight was with "high-speed impacts" and Miranda can keep up with him when he's going so fast all you see is a "flash of yellow"

>>2519123
So I noticed, but then how does that explain just now? Was it us managing to barely dodge the magical equivalent of Unlimited Blade Works or what?

>>2519141
>>2519123

This guy is effectively going full bullet-hell with lasers, for reference.

Also, please keep in mind that Handler normally doesn't use dice rolling for combat. It's something that he and I have talked about from time to time, but I am well aware of his characters' abilities and resistances, so they are being taken into account in these scenes. Finally, the guy got a nat 100; if he didn't Miranda would have royally fucked him.

>>2518190
>>2518176
>>2518160

This guy's shield is effectively the Halo Bubble Shield; not up all the time, spherical, and blocks all incoming damage when activated but is not 'wrapped' around his body.

>>2519283
So how fast is Miranda?

>>2519344

Handler would have more specifics, but she did just dodge several laser-like blasts; only got hit because of how many were being thrown her way.

>>2519283
Oh, makes sense I guess. Wonder if we can soccer kick him, then.

>>2519283
Where is mono right now? is she helping with the fight?

>>2519283
>Halo Bubble Shield
so....could we get into melee range and put the mage into a headlock?

>>2519283
>the guy got a nat 100; if he didn't Miranda would have royally fucked him.

Is that to imply that we can still royally fuck him? Because I'd really would like to punch this punk so hard he pukes his organs up.

>>2519565
>>2519564
>>2519538

Yes to all.

>>2518176
When Anons make their own headcanon

>>2519283
What the heck is a Halo Bubble Shield?

>>2519626
So would bright enough light blind him?

>>2519668
>When Anons make their own headcanon
Its speculation. Its better than doing nothing and trying the same thing expecting a different outcome.

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>>2519668

> pic related

>>2519668
>Halo Bubble Shield
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKDkKKt9Y7I
Large, spherical, invulnerable, but short-lived.

>>2519731
also you can walk and drive through it, but not shoot through it

>>2517296
>>2517312
>>2517319

Goad him into focusing on you it is.

Writin'

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>>2517271

Alright, then. If he wants to knock you down so badly, well…

You’re gonna make him work for it.

Rushing forwards with a long stride, you jink the next two lances, easily reading the bright flashes of mana as the Glyphs belt red-hot death. However this mage is attacking, he has to be spending his energy in spades to maintain these spells. It’s something to certainly exploit here, because you’re going to need every advantage against this smug prick.

Damningly, you can’t help but feel your blood pumping at the prospect of the challenge ahead of you. Sometimes, having to actually *try* was more exciting that you were willing to admit...ah, but you can’t focus on that for too long- three more shots pepper the ground in front of you, forcing you to shift angles- he’s leading his shots now that he realizes you can dodge them readily enough. Not bad!

One screaming a bit close to your helmet clears your head, though- you’re hoping your allies are dealing with their own issues well enough, but you’re going to have to keep all your attention on this guy, same as he’s only eying you; a thin smile cuts across your face at the observation.

Lunging to the side again, you toss another magi-blast to keep him honest; his fire stopping for a brief second as he’s forced to lean to the side to avoid losing his head. It comes back up just as quickly, but slowly you’re gaining ground here. The fact that he had to dodge instead of just relying on his shield is a good sign, too…

If you can get in close, that won’t matter either.

> Roll me four 1d100+40’s please

Rolled 20 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>2519844

Rolled 28 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>2519844

Rolled 77 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>2519844

Rolled 86, 10, 21, 67 + 30 = 214 (4d100 + 30)

>>2519844

[RYKER ACTIVITY]

>>2519873
>>2519860
117 to 116 yowch.

>>2519882
Technically, we need one more roll

Rolled 36 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>2519844

Rolled 33 + 34 (1d100 + 34)

>>2519844

>>2519860

That's a 117 versus 116, Bare Success.

Chunni powers activate!

Writin'

>>2519899
Woo!

>>2519844

Yeah, if you could get into melee range… ho ho ho, are you going to be happy to wipe that smirk off his face…

And then, you see it as you juke to the left. It’s barely a half second gap, just enough to have to cause him to reorient his aim that was overshot as the blasts fire in front of you by maybe a foot. The onslaught is broken, for just that thin moment, and that’s all you need.

Your muscles pump, your legs piston, and you’re off like a rocket, screaming towards him if only at an angle, the sounds of mana fire screaming around your ears. Another close call glances off your armor, but you’re just low enough to the ground to have it not throw off your trajectory; in the space of moments, you’re near to within punching distances of the suddenly not-so-smirking man.

At the last second, that damn shield shimmers into existence in front of your fist, brightly flaring as you punch it as hard as possible. Flexing your muscles, there’s a deep sense of satisfaction that pumps into your body when it shatters from your assault. Sadly, it stopped you long enough that you punch to the gut only knocks him off his feet, rather than reducing his guts to pulp, but still, you’ve got the advantage now.

“Not so smug now, are ya?” Caught up in the moment, you can’t help but let slip a quick verbal jab and pop your knuckles as you walk over.

Pushing himself to his feet, the enemy mage looks up at you with eyes glowing, his smile, oddly enough, growing. The swipe of a hand is the only warning you get before a much smaller glyph, hidden behind the edge of his coat, spits out a lance right for your face.

You can feel the heat through your helmet as it carves the slightest scratch into the metal, though you avoid the majority of it. You’ve been into one too many scrapes to just waltz up without expecting that- but part of you is worried about if he was aiming at you at all or not, now. THAT was a common trick, too.

But, that just reaffirms how DANGEROUS this guy is. If he can make those glyphs smaller…

“You…” Looking back over to the mage, you see him also start to walk close, “You’re pretty damn good… Where are you from?”

...Whoop. Nope. Fun as this is, you don’t do monologues unless you’re paid for it. They NEVER lead to anything good.

> Roll me four 1d100+50’s please

Rolled 85 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>2519975

Rolled 96 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>2519975

Rolled 89, 15, 91, 31 + 30 = 256 (4d100 + 30)

>>2519975

[RYKER ACTIVITY]

Rolled 49 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>2519975

Rolled 87 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>2519975

Rolled 22 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>2519975

Rolled 78 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>2519975
Oh, god, I'm so tempted to monologue.

I... can't... resist...

"How about you try figuring it out? Get it right in five, you get a prize!"

>>2519992

That's a 146 versus 121, Success.

Writin'

Rolled 22 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>2519975

Rolled 100, 88, 42, 87, 76, 31, 80, 25, 86, 78, 40, 77 = 810 (12d100)

>>2519975

Rolling to see how the rest of the fights go...

First three: Dutch, Gladiator, Owlia; second three: Mono, Izumi, Cyclia; third three: 2 DM's; fourth three: 2 CM's, 1 SM

>>2520075
Git fukt

>>2520075
Goddammit, guys, we're supposed to be ace mercs here, and you're making our clients reconsider hiring us.

>>2520098
To be fair, Izumi and Miranda are the only real aces of the SES team, and one of them just burned half their mana supply on the reactor.

>>2520098
To be fair, Izumi spooked them with how killy she could be earlier AND THEN powered up a mana generator.

Really the biggest problem is the whole underground thing locks out a lot of destructive options.

>>2520167
>>2520175
Come to think of it, Izumi should have used her Mana Crystals. She can recharge them pretty quickly between John's mana reactor and Miranda's mana condenser.

>>2519975

Yeah, if he’s just going to make your job easier for you, you’re not going to complain. Raising a hand up to run a finger over the new marr in your helmet, you wait for him to take his next step before exploding into action.

The finger that you raised is sparked with mana, and you send off a quick shot- not at him, but rather at his feet, mid-walk. It’s not enough to actually injure him, or even throw him off balance- but then, that’s not the point. The plume of dust that it throws up, on the other hand, is.

Lunging forwards, you pump mana into your fist, intent on ending this here and now. The enemy mage flinches back as you close the distance in an instant, only able to get his arms up in defense before you strike.

Despite his best efforts at absorbing the blow with nothing but sheer mana, you feel his bones crack and give way, the force of it running up his arms before launching him off his feet. His body flies through the air for several seconds before ragdolling into a heap, both forearms bent at unnatural angles.

Vaguely, you note the battle in the rest of the room raging around you, but you push it away to the back of your mind as you approach.

Hearing you coming above the racket, the mage looks at you with a slightly pained glare, “Well? C’mon, do it...”

You oblige him by crushing his skull under your foot. Dunno what he was going for with that one.

At the least, that’s one pain in the ass out of the way. Fun fight, though. Sadly, back to business- you take a look out at everyone else currently.

The sight you see isn’t a pretty one, at least for the enemy mercs. You note two mostly-intact corpses off to one side, a third near where another mage with a shield is trying to protect his last teammate, he himself flinging fire and ice attempting to hit Gladiator to no avail, some serious suppressing fire from Dutch and Izumi. There’s not even a need for you to do anything, as the shield fails within moments and the last two enemies are reduced to red smears on the metal floor.

The sounds of combat echo across the hangar bay for several more seconds before residing enough to the point where you can speak without the aid of magic, “Everyone, report!”

[1/4]

>>2520210

“We’re all fine, Essie,” Izumi is the first to respond, exchanging the magazine in her rifle for a fresh one.

“Doing well enough,” Cylica says, although you can tell she’s been a bit more scuffed up than she’d likely care to admit. There’s a few scratches on her face and she’s leaning to one side on her staff heavily. “A decent night’s sleep perhaps and I’ll be right as rain.”

“Might need to do some field repairs,” Owlia mutters as she looks over her suit. It’s taken some damage of its own. “I’m just glad we’re all in one piece.” Mono nods quietly as she shakes off some blood from her own sword with one hand, massaging her throat with the other.

It’s at this point that your attention is drawn to where Dutch is jogging back towards the door leading further into the Ruin, where several meters to the side a portion of the wall has been slightly slagged and Archmage kneels over a charred body.

Shit! Both you and Izumi are quick to run over, looking over what’s left of John as Dutch gets there. “He breathing?”

The older man glances up at your question, “Somehow; it’s a good thing he’s wearing this armor otherwise he wouldn’t be”.

You can’t help but internal wince at the damage that you note now that you’re close enough. The helmet’s been busted entirely, the armored visor broken, while the arm and leg servos have been blown clean off the chassis. The armor itself fared slightly better, though even the chest piece has been damaged to the point that you wouldn’t trust it in combat. “Think he can risk being moved?”

“I’m not a medic, but…” Archmage reaches behind John’s head, careful not to move him too much, before getting his hand in between the gap, “No neck or spinal injuries, from what I can feel”.

You turn to your weapons girl. “Yuna, what’s your mana look like?”

She frowns, still looking at the man, and likely coming to the same conclusion you have. “Not horrid...but not excellent. That said, I could utilize some crystals afterwards to keep me in the black. Not to mention our condensers…”

“Yeah, that’ll have to work, then,” you decide as you turn to the Archmage. “Get him into the ship- it’ll be better if we’re all in an enclosed area, but I think we can at least patch up the worst of the damage.” Yuna nods in agreement.

Dutch reaches down, aiding the older man in getting John upright, before throwing an arm over his shoulder. The comparison of a puppet with its strings cut is accurate to the point of being unnerving.

[2/4]

>>2520212

[3/3]

It takes time, the Artificer not being a small guy before adding a set of broken power armor on top, but with some effort you manage to get the unconscious man into the ship and, after some thought, he’s brought to the crew quarters. Owlia and Cyclia, oddly enough being the most familiar of those present to his work, end up carefully cutting him out of the armor, the blackened metal clattering to the floor though the back piece, with what’s clearly some kind of shielded component encased within, is set aside from a pile that’s not going to be scrapped.

Izumi settles into a lotus position, and you take a seat next to him. “Alright, this might take a minute, but don’t disturb us.” You warn, as you calm your mind and focus…and your hands glow, mana running through them smoothly. You just need to match his frequency...

Calling to mind the strangely pleasant mix of incense, ozone, and oil that defines John, you reach out and place a hand gently against his chest. His body drinks in the effects of your spell, the reason becoming extremely evident when you feel the numerous cracks and fractures, from total to hairline, that run through most of his ribs. Making sure they’re set properly, you move on in your search when you note something that you have no idea how anyone missed.

There’s a massive, jagged cut across his back, running almost from hip to neck. The question of how he received such a wound flashes through your mind (Did his armor cut into his back somehow? Or something worse?) before you immediately apply aid. You can feel your mana run through his body, touching the wound before… nothing. Waiting several seconds, the jagged cut refuses to close; as if the black stain across his body is preventing your spell from taking effect.

“Mmm…” a sound of discontent is all you allow yourself to make. You’re not entirely sure what this could mean, but you have some suspicions...none of them good. Mentally moving on for now, you proceed to continue to heal what you can- although that might be worth asking about later.

After another few minutes, you’re fairly comfortable that John won’t die in his sleep and you pull yourself out of the trance. Slowly rising to your feet along with Izumi, you walk over to the frigate’s CIC where the rest are awaiting you.

Dutch is halfway to his feet before you put a hand out to stop him, “He’ll live, just needs to rest now. If anything regresses, we’ll do more, but as things are now, we need to wait and recuperate ourselves. For now, we’re going to plan.”

>>2520215

And with that update, we'll be ending things for tonight. We'll be back tomorrow, so see you all then.

>>2520227
Thanks for the run QM.
>that blight wound
Spooky.

>>2520227
Thanks for the session! Hopefully John can wake up soon enough to finish the mission. I wouldn't want him to miss all the tech.