2021-01-15: Endless Descent
- Log: Endless Descent
- Cast: Ethius Hesiod, Eleanor Klein, Ida Everstead-Rey, Azoth, Citan Uzuki, Montgomery Curie
- Where: The Thames - Upper Deck
- Date: January 15, 2021
- Summary: An information-gathering expedition to a wreck in the region the enormous Wels Gomihome was last spotted takes a turn.
DG: A party led by Ethius Hesiod is now entering Seafloor Salvage. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= =================<* CHALLENGE - Safety First - Weapons Test *>================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Today you've negotiated to assist the Thames salvagers division, courtesy of your Gear (or other undersea-worthy craft). The weather is good and conditions are favorable -- today you are set to salvage what you can from a wreck code-named 'Iron Phoenix'. But first, the crew wants to make sure that your Gear (or equivalent) is ready to face off against any enemies you might encounter below. They've arranged for you and your team to undertake a relatively quick and painless stress test of your Gear's abilities. This involves target practice -- how well does your Gear perform against their training dummy? Well -- show them what you got! (OOC: Note for this round's GM: a Fail does not mean the character's machine fails! It only means that they score an adequate rating on their pass. A result of Pass meanwhile means they passed with flying colors!) BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIDn1dfa8Ic =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The Thames is all hands on deck about trying to locate and deal with that monstrous Gomihone thing, what with it attacking and consuming Gears and other valuable salvage... and then assimilating it into its own. This much is well-known. This much is also seeing the Thames decide they want as many extra hands on deck as they can get...
...But those more grounded in reality about the risks are making sure all these extra hands that come and go are apt for carrying out the task, as it were.
"All right! All of you passed the pressure test just... great!" A stork-like Beastfolk flashes a thumb up with big spindly fingers that are not great for having hands with. He manages. "Even better than great! We last received reports about the Gomihone lurking near a salvage wreck we've been calling the... I need to clear my throat, yeah, hold up," throat clear, "Iron Phoe--" Hack, hack, cough. "...Look, just... just don't tell the Captain I'm calling it the 'Iron Phoenix' all... plain-like, all right?"
Making the proper dramatic colors with one's throat can be taxing. But yes. Moving on.
"All right. This is a scouting operation, but... there's a non-zero chance it'll engage you, so we've set up a firing range here so we can get a measure of your combat acumen, so," he puts headphones on and backs away. The firing range could afford to be more spacious! But the firing range is a notorious penny-pincher. It's the Thames, they make it work.
Ethius steps up with his salvaged Aiguille unit from Kattelox. Piloting it with reasonable ability is sometimes up-hill because the controls are oriented for someone that's right-handed, and he is not that. Raising the rifle-staff, he fires off a few laser shots at a dummy that is made up of driftwood and other worthless junk - actual metal-plated dummies would be a waste of material. (This is already cause for concern as beams tend to not do as great underwater.)
Moments later, a grenade of some sort is hurled and loosed, sending out disorienting noise on pretty much every scanner there.
This provides a mild inconvenience in terms of letting everyone take a turn in a timely fashion but should suffice to show that it might be all right in confusing the target Reaper, perhaps.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Scramble Pulse toward his party's challenge, Safety First - Weapons Test.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor Klein has had her Gear, the Three of Hearts, serviced at the Thames many times over, including recently! If they have a monstrous problem, then it's for the safety and well-being of the whole region that someone takes care of it. And thus, Eleanor is here.
But there are other factors as well. And here in the testing range...
The sunset-orange-and-pink Three of Hearts steps up into the space after the Aiguille, its massive shoulders concealing great firepower. But that isn't what she primarily goes for in this case. Instead she says, "Hmmm, we've got two pairs of hands this time..."
She pulls her flute and flicks on the microphone, beginning to play a tune that, amplified by her Gear's speakers, empowers each machine as they go. But despite the fact that she's busy, the machine's guns also fire, briefly interrupting the music with their report--
"Hmmmm," a masculine voice considers Eleanor's machine. "Like this? You've certainly become adept with ARMs."
Eleanor's doing most of the piloting, though. When she's played enough that the magic goes on, "We've got you. The Iron Phoenix," Eleanor replies helpfully.
DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Eerie Flute toward her party's challenge, Safety First - Weapons Test.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"It's fine, don't bother," says a woman's voice, over the radio. "The Captain's the only one who cares, and he's not on-channel right now." The voice, of course, belongs to Isabel Eco, Ida's aunt, and one of the Thames' hangar chiefs. Among other things, it's her job to make sure that the Thames' Gears are safe to operate in harsh undersea conditions. She's not on deck at the moment, but she's watching from an observation post atop one of the nearby cranes. "The rest of you--you heard the man. That thing almost took out one of our elite teams by its lonesome. Show us what you've got."
"Acknowledged, Chief," says Ida Everstead-Rey. For the moment, Isabel is 'Chief', not 'Aunt'.
The Dust Dragoon stands at Aiguille's flank, all blue and black with golden detailing. As Ethius's grenade erupts in a burst of ECM noise, Ida glances at the Dragoon's readouts--she's seeing minimal disruption, thanks to the machine's hardened comms and computers. "I've been waiting to test this," she says. Test what?
The Dragoon reaches behind its back, and a long, sturdy-handled pole telescopes out in both directions, falling into the Gear's hand. As it takes up a fighting stance, a long, glaive-like blade springs from one end. "Haah--!" Ida cries, as the machine steps forwards, and launches into a preprogrammed melee routine.
Partway through, though, Ida pauses. "...Montgomery?" Ida says, her voice half-surprised, half-pleased. "I see I'm not the only one with a copilot today. Welcome, welcome."
Speaking of copilots, Ida glances over her shoulder, even though she doesn't need to. "Do you see any anomalies, Azoth?"
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Safety First - Weapons Test.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
A sleeping bag is secured inside the Dust Dragoon, strapped to the wall in webbing with cables snaking out of it and plugged into to jacks within the cockpit. What strange, unusual piece of equipment could this be that augments the Dust Dragoon's sensors and calculate ways to safely provide additional output?
It's an Azoth!
This time he hasn't borrowed a Gear -- or body, as it were -- but instead serves as the horribly advanced ancient AI providing its questionable boons to Ida's Dust Dragoon. All his senses now align with the Gear, and Ida's little glance back reminds him how much they think of him as one and the same with that body. It's almost funny, since the way she's talking to him now...
Well, it's how it should be.
"Scanning i-- whoa!" He lets out a well practiced startled cry with Ethius' grenade, then whistles. Is it more impressive considering he's not a whistling into a comm, but synthesizing the sound? He seems to want it at least somewhat believable he's genuinely co-piloting and not plugged straight into the Dust Dragoon.
"I'll readjust for that," he says. Aah tests, this is why they're so lovely. Preparation! "Sharing scanned data, and testing new energy calculations..."
He tries to provide just a little extra juice to the Dust Dragoon's combat capabilities, slow and easy to get a solid feel for how much power he can provide without damaging either the Gear or himself.
Meanwhile, cheerfully: "Oh, hello Miss Eleanor and Mister Eleanor! Your Gear is pretty!"
DG: Azoth has used his Tool Bug in Amber toward his party's challenge, Safety First - Weapons Test.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
First, after several months away, Citan had needed to see to his Gear. But once that had been taken care of -- and a certain spell drive had been installed... well. Certain obligations needed to be seen to. And the best way to do that was to take a survey for oneself into the depths.
Fortunately for the doctor, it had hardly been difficult to locate a group readying for such a foray, and with only a minor amount of logistics, things had been set into motion.
Of course, given events of late, one could hardly blame the crew for being conservative in their approach: the last thing they want to do is cause anyone to get hurt or worse in a dive into the depths. Therefore--
"I understand," Citan remarks, settling back in his Gear's seat. "It has been some time since I have last piloted this machine. It would not do to become 'rusty'! Now then..."
Heimdall raises an arm, pointing it directly at the practice dummy (or perhaps 'a' practice dummy); a hail of bullets from the wrist-mounted gun follows.
But he pauses after a moment of this, as the sound of first a flute and then an unfamiliar masculine voice comes in over the radio. "Ah? Miss Klein, is that your...?"
It just so happens that they had both recently had a conversation about this very man. It seems she is taking his advice to heart.
That's odd. That's without question Ida's machine, but that voice just now from her end is... "...Azoth, is that you?" asks Citan.
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Safety First - Weapons Test.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= =================<* CHALLENGE - Safety First - Weapons Test *>================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Today you've negotiated to assist the Thames salvagers division, courtesy of your Gear (or other undersea-worthy craft). The weather is good and conditions are favorable -- today you are set to salvage what you can from a wreck code-named 'Iron Phoenix'. But first, the crew wants to make sure that your Gear (or equivalent) is ready to face off against any enemies you might encounter below. They've arranged for you and your team to undertake a relatively quick and painless stress test of your Gear's abilities. This involves target practice -- how well does your Gear perform against their training dummy? Well -- show them what you got! (OOC: Note for this round's GM: a Fail does not mean the character's machine fails! It only means that they score an adequate rating on their pass. A result of Pass meanwhile means they passed with flying colors!) BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIDn1dfa8Ic =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
========================<* Seafloor Salvage - Round 1 *>======================== ===================< Results - Safety First - Weapons Test >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Scramble Pulse 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Bug in Amber 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Eerie Flute 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Even with Chief Isabel's assurance, the stork-like Beastfolk guy is looking a little nervous. The Captain is always particular about the presentation of operation codenames! For he is!
A!
Known!
Quantity!
...That's... not how it goes, is it.
Everyone steps up to take their shots. Aside from the momentary gaffe with the chaff, as it were, there seems to be nothing stand-out or wrong about their abilities. The Dust Dragoon's combat tests are a paperwork formality at this rate, the machine guns of the Three of Hearts hold up fine and the music is pleasing, and Citan proves not at all rusty with the Heimdall's wrist-mounted guns.
"...Looking sharper today, Dust Dragoon," the stork guy comments, as if the differences of what they measure were noticeably better than usual. "Looks like you two will make a great team down there! All right, we'll clear you for launch within half an hour, if you'll come this way..."
There's some more procedural things to go through, but everyone involved should be passingly familiar enough with the Thames protocol. Some of the most rigid you'll find in all of Filgaia, as expected of the best undersea salvagers on the entire star.
A Gomihone huntin' they will go! ...mihone.
DG: Eleanor Klein has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= ===========================<* CHALLENGE - Kelp Me! *>=========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Well, this is an unexpected problem to face. The route you were given to the wreck appears to take you right through here. 'Here' being a seaweed forest. If you were just swimming on your lonesome, it probably would be a big nothing in terms of a threat. But in a machine, with joints to obstruct... it's another matter altogether. It's going to take skill and grace to get through here without seaweed wrapped around your exhaust. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Stupify============================================
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Oh thank you!" Eleanor answers Azoth brightly at his compliment to her Gear. "I thought warm, bright colors suited her. I actually acquired this Gear in salvage, here, with the help of..." She thinks of Yue. "A friend." Yes, still a friend, even if that situation is difficult.
Ida asks after him; Azoth refers to him as 'Mister Eleanor', which prompts a polite laugh over the speaker. "Boudicca said that too," Eleanor chimes in. "Yes," she supplies for Citan and everyone, "This is Lord Montogmery Curie, my fiance." he adds, "Thank you for the warm welcome. I'll try not to get in the way." A beat, "But if the depths of the sea require an accountant, I'm your man." Deadpan.
Eleanor laughs and then waves to the stork guy. "Good, good."
But eventually they do shove off, each of the Gears moving into the sea and starting to maneuver down, down, down. The depths come up, and their Gears take the pressure well thanks to all the qualities that were being tested above. Eleanor's Three of Hearts takes the front at first--right until... "Hmm, something's blocking my sensors," she comments thoughtfully.
"Ah." She looks to where the map data they have is leading. "It seems there's a bit of a forest here. We'll have to move carefully."
The forest is made of seaweed. Probably. Let's hope it's seaweed. It looks like seaweed!
"I'll be a little slow," Eleanor says. "...Oh, but Ida. I'm glad you're here, too, I had something to mention to you..."
DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kelp Me!.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius doesn't take much participation in pre-diving pleasantries, but... he's always been that stand-offish. The descent proves without immediate issue (if there was, someone on the Thames would lose their job then and there). The Aiguille moves in the expected fashion of any other Gear as they make the descent. As the Three of Hearts reports on the obstruction, another male voice chimes in. (As in, it's Ethius. It's more the surprise he's speaking now.)
"Copy. I am facing similar difficulties." The Aiguille is a lighter, more maneuverable unit to that end, so outright navigation shouldn't be a pressing issue. He remains mindful of the possibility there may be an ambush predator in the wings, but that's why he decides to hang back in the rear of the formation.
If anything seems out of place, the short-duration thruster jets that emit zero heat (as long as it is indeed in short spurts) will be engaged to reposition and call out the nature of the disturbance accordingly.
If there is one.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Phantom Jets toward his party's challenge, Kelp Me!.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
"It looks like the sky at dusk! Just before the stars come in!" Azoth gushes about the Three of Hearts. Wait. Would... a Gear think other Gears are attractive...? No, that's most certainly not what's going on right now. ... But what IF.
Citan calls Azoth out, and he gives a cheerful, "Hello!" to the totally ordinary doctor, for he is, obviously, a totally ordinary co-pilot. Just ordinary dudes. Doing ordinary things. Everything's great.
Ethius is also here, and he's as emotive within his Gear as he is outside of it. Azoth would wave to meet the energy, but that might not be appropriate inside the Dust Dragoon. He'll wave after the mission!
For now there is a horrible sea of kelp that better not be a fusion of flesh and machine and nightmares, because Azoth does not want that again. Within the Dust Dragoon, he scans for currents and kelp patterns to upload for Ida's use. Generally, he does not want to take mobile control from Ida, but if there's a slight, subtle autonomous motion he can make to avoid some kelp, he may slip that in with his weird 'Gear dexterity'.
DG: Azoth has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Kelp Me!.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida chuckles, good-naturedly, at Monty's self-deparacating humor. "I'll be certain to call on you the moment we need your services. Perhaps you can tabulate our operating expenses in real-time. How much for a liter of Gear fuel these days?"
Citan asks a question. "Yes," Ida says, perhaps in time with Azoth. "He lacks a Gear of his own, so he volunteered to act as copilot."
The Dust Dragoon leaps off the deck with a burst of jump-jets, and sinks into the deep. The descent begins.
"...We're picking it up as well, Three of Hearts," Ida says, wariness in her voice. "It's biological, but I'm not detecting heat signatures--" A pause. "Instead, chlorophyll. Thank Granas, it's just kelp." It's still an obstacle, of course, but... "The last time we came down here, we ran into... vast tendrils of Wel flesh. I think they might've been an early-detection system for the Reaper."
Azoth provides data that Ida needs. She lets out an appreciative "mhm", and smiles behind her helmet's faceplate. Slowly, delicately, she starts to maneuver the Dragoon through the field. If she picks up on the little motions Azoth makes, they're easily-dismissed.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kelp Me!.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Aha, so you are. It is quite good to meet you, Mister Curie," says the doctor. "I am Citan Uzuki, an acquaintance of Miss Klein." He laughs at the other man's remark. "...I shall keep your skills in mind!"
To Ida, he replies, "Oh, is that so? 'Learning the ropes', is he?"
Perhaps that's all it is. Before much longer though they are off, descending into the depths with all haste.
"We are not, I believe, set to descend to truly dangerous depths, but please take care to not descend too deeply," he remarks, as if in passing. When it comes to settling matters with the rampant Wels, though, perhaps it will require they go further.
Something is blocking Eleanor's sensors. "Mine own as well. I wonder if it might--"
It's seaweed. One hopes.
Citan is in fact reminded of that story!
"That appears to be seaweed ahead. Please take caution. Not only could it hinder your Gears, but any number of creatures might be lurking within." He pauses. "...Yes, I am quite thankful for that, Miss Iverstead-Rey."
Small favors.
He meanwhile opts -- after a moment's analysis for anything untoward that might be hidden -- to make use of the Gear's recently-improved reflexes and speed, rerouting power and focus to that part of the machine. And, even more importantly, activating the coolant system: they might be under the sea, but the often-troublesome Gear operates best when it can most efficiently dump heat from its internals elsewhere.
The Heimdall moves ahead after, doing its best to avoid becoming entangled in the kelp.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Dual-Phase Coolant toward his party's challenge, Kelp Me!.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= ===========================<* CHALLENGE - Kelp Me! *>=========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Well, this is an unexpected problem to face. The route you were given to the wreck appears to take you right through here. 'Here' being a seaweed forest. If you were just swimming on your lonesome, it probably would be a big nothing in terms of a threat. But in a machine, with joints to obstruct... it's another matter altogether. It's going to take skill and grace to get through here without seaweed wrapped around your exhaust. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Stupify============================================
========================<* Seafloor Salvage - Round 2 *>======================== =============================< Results - Kelp Me! >============================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 5 --(7)--> 12 Pass Phantom Jets 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 5 --(7)--> 12 Pass Dual-Phase Coolant 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 20 --(15)--> 35 Fail Conditions: Slow(2)|Stupify(2) Effects: ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has failed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Ahh! So you see it!!" Eleanor practically cheers back at Azoth, affection for her Gear obvious. WHAT IF??
Monty does have some paperwork nearby that he's working on. It probably isn't their operating costs, though. Probably. Everyone involved laughs along a little though. "Good to meet you," he replies to Citan, with good humor.
"Oh, convenient," Eleanor says of the co-piloting matter. She doesn't call Ethius out for being unsociable, either--it's just his way. "I actually learned on this machine myself!" she answers of Gear piloting, imagining that Azoth probably has a seat inside the Gear because it doesn't occur to her that it could be otherwise.
The good news is that Ethius's difficulties are minimal; his repositioning jets get him neatly to the other side without being overentangled, and it seems his Gear is pretty maneuverable indeed. Citan likewise is able to make use of his Gar's coolant system to keep it operating smoothly and helpfully. However...
They need to step back and help the other two/four members of their expedition. Eleanor gets caught up in kelp for a while, and says, "Ah, Wel-flesh? I'm--/very/ glad this is just kelp," she says, either nervous or a little nauseous at the thought.
Ida and Azoth are a good team, but maybe it's just that the kelp forest is particularly thick, or maybe Azoth's small maneuverings aren't quite enough as it is.
Eventually, though, with the help of the first two there, everyone makes it across in the end.
"It would seem," Montgomery says, "That it's the little things that can trip you up in these, too."
Eleanor agrees, "Combat goes much faster, for better and worse."
DG: Azoth has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - A Ticking Time Bomb *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Many are the ships that sink in Aquvy. Probably about a third of them have their cargo salvaged within a few days of sinking -- the rest are too far or too deep for any operation not using a Gear, or have gone missing altogether. You've come across one of these smaller sunken wrecks now. What might have sunk it becomes very quickly apparent as you investigate. Tangled in the wreckage are a series of undetonated mines... along with some of the cargo the ship held. Extracting the cargo without setting off the mines (and potentially destroying the cargo, not to mention the impact on /you/) is going to be tricky and take some careful planning. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Treasure==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Even together, it seems Ida and Azoth still need assistance to free themselves of flesh. But this time, it's only plant flesh, and Azoth can spend the time gathering data on his surroundings instead of calculating panicked evasion of horrible chassis scratching flesh claws. Life is good sometimes.
Onward they go, deeper into the waters. "Careful, I'm picking up -- mines. Those are mines," Azoth informs them, even before the wreck is completely visible through the murky current. Whatever this sea vessel once was has been eroded beyond recognition, and it's been torn into a number of pieces that add to its mystery. At the center lies the largest piece where cargo is kept, inconveniently flanked by a mess of jagged debris and... the mines.
So, so many mines, stuck between chunks of an old ship that looks like it's already been battered by a few of them.
Azoth sends Ida the data of the radar he's getting, painting out a picture of each mine's location -- as far as he can accurately map -- and uploads this to the others. But as for how to disarm and detonate them...
That he'll leave to the rest of the reliable crew.
DG: Azoth has used his Tool Oculus ex Machina toward his party's challenge, A Ticking Time Bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"Wel-flesh," Ida says. Azoth can confirm. Thankfully, all the kelp does is sit there and photosynthesize--meaning all Ida has to do is sit there and maintain neutral buoyancy while her rescuers extract her. Once the Dust Dragoon and Three of Hearts are freed, the group continues onward.
"...Mines?" Ida says, a frown crossing her face. Sure enough, there they are, illuminated on the Dragoon's screens. "Ah. Thank you, Azoth." As she takes in the telemetry, she notices something. The data she's getting is clearer and sharper and more detailed than usual. She flicks off the radio's transmitter for a moment so the two of them can have a moment of privacy.
"Now I see why Isabel called you a magical unicorn," she says. "...Cornelius said it first, mind. She told me he'd gone over the logs you left--and he'd never seen the Quagmire perform as well when he was piloting." Ida toggles the radio back on. "Ah, apologies. Eleanor, you said you wanted to speak with me about something in particular?" As she talks, Ida deploys one of the Dragoon's drones, a sleek, torpedo-like automaton with streamlined maneuvering fins. This one, for some reason, has something painted on its side--the Crimson Heart of Valor, a Galadian award for those wounded while risking their lives in combat.
The drone maneuvers in close to the mines. "Azoth, I think--yes, they do have IFF. Do you think you can spoof it?" The drone is small enough and close enough to relay a signal with minimal interference.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Reconaissance Drone toward her party's challenge, A Ticking Time Bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
FACT THAT IS NOT AT ALL VERY FUN: Ethius has a storied history about scanning for landmines. In that this may be the closest possible thing anyone has ever pegged as being 'a hobby' for him. 'Staring uncomfortably at things' has been long stricken from consideration for this vaunted biographical entry on a trading card.
GOOD NEWS: They're underwater, so it probably doesn't count.
"Aiguille here. Copy." Ethius remarks. The Aiguille is not really that... exotic. Uncommon, yes, but numerous enough that naming your callsign specifically after the name of the unit speaks of a lack of imagination or willingness to name much of anything. (He does lack the Originality talent, but that's beyond the point.)
"In the event the IFF signal cannot be spoofed," Ethius adds with the admirable inflection that Azoth likes as he looks through his own Spectral Lens - the thing works fine from the pilot seat! - following the requisite little Symbological zap, "I am able to provide its effective detection range." He'll share that much.
It's, um... uncomfortably thorough.
...
Maybe sea mines aren't safe from consideration for the 'hobby' field either, huh.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, A Ticking Time Bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Do not worry too much about it," says the doctor, once the kelpy menace is overcome. "Such things are difficult for machines at scale. It is quite a problem, given the physics involved -- but, ah, I am getting sidetracked..."
Once they are again on their way, a new threat presents itself before long.
"I wonder... might they be remnants of the Celesti civil war? Or, hmm... Are you able to tell how old the vessel might be?" Citan asks, once the wreck comes into clearer view. An external light clicks on, on the Heimdall's exterior. "...Ah, time has not been kind to this one," the doctor laments, his own Gear a short distance from Ida and Azoth's. "I cannot tell if this one has sat beneath the waves for merely years or in fact decades. Now, let me see what we have here..."
Silence follows from the doctor's end for several long moments. Then, at length:
"Miss Iverstead-Rey is correct. If we are able to duplicate the signal we may be able to shut them down. Alas, I do not have such capacity with this Gear..."
But Azoth, on the other hand...?
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Ticking Time Bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Mines," Eleanor repeats, frowning, and then internally there's an exchange between her and her co-pilot as they regard the displays before them. But it's his voice that comes up, "I recognize this shipping company..." From the insignias on what remains of the wreckage, that is. There's a little more discussion off the radio at first before, "The civil war may be correct," Montgomery says to Citan. "I can't tell how old the wreckage is, but I know when that insignia was in use..."
"Mines," Eleanor says eventually. "Well, I can't exactly copy signals myself, but..."
She reads the data coming across her screen, and it's Montgomery who speaks up first. "You're very thorough, Mister Hesiod." Eleanor chimes in, "He really is."
"But what I can do," Eleanor says, "Is keep a strict idea of our locations relative to the mines. Transferring data now, engaging laser mapper..."
Between Ethius's data and her map data, they may have what they need with the signal.
DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Laser Mapper toward her party's challenge, A Ticking Time Bomb.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - A Ticking Time Bomb *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Many are the ships that sink in Aquvy. Probably about a third of them have their cargo salvaged within a few days of sinking -- the rest are too far or too deep for any operation not using a Gear, or have gone missing altogether. You've come across one of these smaller sunken wrecks now. What might have sunk it becomes very quickly apparent as you investigate. Tangled in the wreckage are a series of undetonated mines... along with some of the cargo the ship held. Extracting the cargo without setting off the mines (and potentially destroying the cargo, not to mention the impact on /you/) is going to be tricky and take some careful planning. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Treasure==========================================
========================<* Seafloor Salvage - Round 3 *>======================== =======================< Results - A Ticking Time Bomb >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 12 --(5)--> 17 Pass Spectral Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 12 --(5)--> 17 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Oculus ex Machina 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Reconaissance Drone 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Laser Mapper 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 35 --(25)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Slow(1)|Stupify(1)|Treasure(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
"A unicorn?" Azoth questions of Ida in the privacy of the cockpit. "...If I had beastperson features, should it be a unicorn?" What a silly question that avoids talking about why any of this might be the case!
Azoth claimed he had something to give Ethius once, and then never quite found a proper moment to deliver it. Ethius is thorough in observation always, and Ethius in a Gear is no different. But Azoth clocks a longer inspection here than usual. Perhaps a new rival for weird-things-to-give-people has appeared?! ... No wait, he might feel the 'right' size, but these would be too big all said and done.
With Ida and Citan's direction, Azoth pipes back up publicly: "I think I can figure something out. Ah -- wait --" He makes a little frustrated hiss sound, but with the data Ethius and Eleanor provide, everything begins to click rapidly into place. "Ooh! I got it! I got it! Thanks Miss Eleanor, thanks Mister Ethius!"
You can't see his face, but you can practically hear the hearts in his voice.
With between the data, the drone, and the spoofing, they get their precious cargo, and they get...
"Ba da da baaaaa~."
Naturally.
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - Topping Off The Tank *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Sunk into the ocean floor here, you catch sight of a heavy cannister half-buried in the sediment. The bright labeling on it suggests that it just might have something of interest inside. Upon closer inspection, you can see for yourself that this is the case -- it is a storage container for a good quantity of Gear fuel (quality seal from Ethos and all still legible). There's just one snag: the container it's in is partially corroded and fused shut which means it might take some effort to crack it open and retrieve the fuel within. Still, this far from anything resembling a depot, it's a worthwhile endeavor. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
...Azoth manages to crack the signal, with a little help from his friends.
"Magnificent work," remarks the doctor, as they prise what remains of the cargo from the depths and the greater prize within it. "Shall we be on our way? We are making good time according to the location analysis they gave us," Citan adds, pulling away from the ancient and -- sadly -- anonymous wreck.
"So you also believe it may date from the civil war, Mister Curie. It is somewhat afield from the major sites of the battles, to my recollection, but it is not out of the question. ...Assuming, of course, that we have it to rights. It could very well be more recent or... quite old."
Even things from 500 years ago can still function with some effort, of which his Gear is an example.
Nor is that ship the only piece of wreckage they encounter this day--
"Hmm... I wonder if this might be connected to the ship," Citan remarks, examining the half-buried cannister. "Gear fuel, unless I am gravely mistaken. Now, let me see..."
It's simple to haul it out of the mud. The next problem presents itself in the form of its corroded presentation. "The capsule has an inner and outer container. We should be able to open the external capsule with some application of force and gain access to the inner container -- one hopes that it is not also in poor shape! Now then..."
It's not the ideal tool* -- perhaps a little bit 'overkill' as it were -- but the device that extends from Heimdall's left forearm has what looks like 'teeth' on it. With some careful readjustment of the hydraulics involved, perhaps it can work to 'bite through' the external casing!
(*It's meant to cut through ships and Gears in rescue operations, to be quite honest.)
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Jaws of Life toward his party's challenge, Topping Off The Tank.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Yes, the emblem is faded--a simple look can't tell it for sure," Montgomery agrees with the Doctor. "And then there's the matter of whether it was salvage in the first place..."
Eleanor hmms a little at this. "We've been using old technology for a long time," she admits. But there, as the next wreckage comes... it's corroded, and it's in poor shampe. But Eleanor also has a tool for this. "I'll keep the controls here," she says, and from the Three of Heart's arm comes a wide bar that swivels out and then creates a bar of heat designed specifically to cut through from the other direction, working in time with Citan.
"So," Eleanor says, delicately. She considers the others, and she says, "Yes, Ida, though we don't have to discuss all the details now. But we may as well while we're cutting. There's trouble brewing in probably Luca, definitely a place on Spira," she says. "According to my intelligence, you'll need to prepare especially to deal with fire. It's.... Well, what I've seen," she says, slipping a little, "is very frightening. Try not to go there alone for a while until we can ascertain what's going on for sure. And if you must, bring protection against fire."
DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Heat Cutter toward her party's challenge, Topping Off The Tank.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius takes the praise in quiet stride, and quieter still as theories pop up about how recent the wreckage might have been. He lingers over-long after the fact as if sizing up the mines despite having largely hit the limit of what a mortal man can calculate as regards effective 'threat' range. There's... no telling, sometimes.
Then, Eleanor speaks up about issues in Luca, problems brewing, and he is immediately following suit even though this gesture is ultimately unnecessary given the means in which they have been communicating.
"...I would be willing to accompany at earliest opportunity," and so Ethius falls to that time-honored trick of his where he seems to hover around and just try to insert himself into places of interest!! But, as pertains to their current predicament... his unit is not all that well equipped for heavy movement or precision manipulation of matters such as these, so...
"As pertains to here... I will keep watch," he volunteers himself in yet another capacity but... that's... how he operates.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The Dust Dragoon settles into the silt next to Heimdall. The machine reaches out, grips one side of the container, and helps haul it out of the mud. It's heavy, even with the water there to add an element of buoyancy, but the Dragoon's hydraulics are more than up to the task. Azoth gets to enjoy a moment of true and proper strength.
"I'll work on the other end," Ida says, as the Three of Hearts and Heimdall start cutting. The Dragoon reaches down and pulls something from a shielded component on its thigh plating--a small block of explosive, carefully-wrapped in waterproof sheeting. It places the device on the container, and steps back--this is a fairly small charge, but best to be on the safe side.
Eleanor speaks, and Ida listens. "...Is that so," she says. There's an element of wariness in her voice, and it's covering up a deeper, more sudden fear. "Thank you, Eleanor. I was--planning on checking up on the place, but if your intelligence indicates trouble, I will prepare accordingly." Azoth can feel Ida's heart beating quicker, through the vital-sign monitor.
The charge detonates.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Structural Demolition Charge toward her party's challenge, Topping Off The Tank.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Citan and Montgomery talk ships and the ages thereof, and Azoth makes his own notes based on their observations. Perhaps his sensors could pick up other clues they'd know how to parse? But wouldn't it be risky sharing too much...? He stays quiet.
"Luca?" he says instead, of Eleanor and Ida's conversation. "Probably? You sound a little uncertain for something you've seen... is everything okay, Miss Eleanor?" Besides Luca probably being on fire. But Ida's vitals shift, too, and the worry sinks in deeper.
Azoth's core is where his A.I. is directly coded, but it is also a critical component of his power source. Which is to say, he has a bit of oomph to share, so long as it doesn't overload the fragment he is and the Gear the Dust Dragoon is. He channels in some of that for extra, magical unicorn parameter exceeding...! It might mean that whole heft out of the mud took some less effort, and gives everyone more time and energy to focus on opening up the canister.
Also, look, we've been ignoring tool names so far for Azoth As Installed Software, let's not worry about it now. Maybe Azoth's also thinking about the owner of the sword while he does Gear Stuff. It's fine!
DG: Azoth has used his Tool Falk's Photon Blade toward his party's challenge, Topping Off The Tank. DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Topping Off The Tank.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - Topping Off The Tank *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Sunk into the ocean floor here, you catch sight of a heavy cannister half-buried in the sediment. The bright labeling on it suggests that it just might have something of interest inside. Upon closer inspection, you can see for yourself that this is the case -- it is a storage container for a good quantity of Gear fuel (quality seal from Ethos and all still legible). There's just one snag: the container it's in is partially corroded and fused shut which means it might take some effort to crack it open and retrieve the fuel within. Still, this far from anything resembling a depot, it's a worthwhile endeavor. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
========================<* Seafloor Salvage - Round 4 *>======================== =======================< Results - Topping Off The Tank >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 17 --(8)--> 25 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 17 --(0)--> 17 Pass Jaws of Life 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 25 --(8)--> 33 Fail Falk's Photon Blade 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Structural Demolition Charge 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Heat Cutter 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Save Point(1) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Indeed... I am afraid the sea will keep its secrets in this case, as the sailors aboard the Thames are fond of saying," is Citan's final remark on the matter.
Ethius falls back, offering himself up as watch -- perhaps not a bad idea, in these waters (and given the presence of that Wels out here, somewhere). Together, Heimdall and the Three of Hearts work on cutting their way through one end, while Ida works on the other end (with Azoth onboard lending perhaps a little software support...?) of the outer casing.
As they work, Eleanor remarks trouble brewing in Spira. Maybe in Luca. Maybe elsewhere.
Something to do with fire.
"...I had not heard," Citan remarks, frowning slightly in the privacy of the cockpit. "Is it because of the Guard's actions there? Or... is it another showing their hand?"
It's at that moment that the outer casing comes free, and at both ends in fact. They're easily able to slip out the canister, and anyone who needs it will be able to top up their fuel reserves. Which may be well-timed...
DG: Eleanor Klein has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Enemy Mine *>========================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You are not the only one seeking that wreck. You may have already known or suspected as much, but now it is clear -- another Gear rips through the water only to stop and pause to send you a message before jetting onwards. It's a challenge. They want to see who is the one who should get to claim the prize of the wreck this day. Is this now a race? Yes. This is now a race to the finish line that is the wreck. (OOC: The GM for this round should feel free to have one of their alts be the rival for this challenge!) =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Tire============================================
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Would you? I think your assistance might be helpful," Eleanor says to Ethius. Azoth brings a valid point though. "Ah, that is..." She considers how best to answer. The simplest explanation for the moment. And after a few moments she decides, "I'm all right. It's... My sources aren't very clear," she settles on instead, "That's why the warning is so vague. It doesn't appear to be affiliated with the Guard's actions, but I can't rule that out, either," for Citan.
Eleanor does take the opportunity to fuel up a little given the chance. And she figures out a way to explain, "I'm seeing signs of a significant Ley shift towards one elemental direction." It's technically true even if it's not exactly the truth. But it may be good enough for the moment. Monty is very quiet during this exchange, to the overall radios. Inside the cockpit itself, though, he looks at her as if cautioning her, and briefly takes her hand. Just briefly--she needs to get back to the controls.
In fact, he speaks up, "Eleanor is very good at collating information. But the details can be fairly arcane."
But they do move onward, and eventually, they reach open ocean for a while... and suddenly, a lot of noise and fury. A gray-green Gear zooms past for the moment, pauses briefly.
"Hey losers! See if you can keep up!"
Kaguya's gear, the Queklain, zooms ahead.
"Hey!" Eleanor says. "After that Gear!!"
DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Enemy Mine.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"Nonetheless, another agitator in the region warrants closer investigation." So Ethius declares - he speaks up on that front almost as if defensive, as if it were a subject he might want to wrest control of at the earliest opportunity as he keeps watch for anything out of the ordinary. He watches the ground most of all, going by the accounts overheard about the target they're hoping to scout out. So far, no movement there... and once everyone is done taking their turns refueling, they go onward.
Noise. Fury. A gray-green Gear zooms past, and that voice...
"Copy." His voice is quieter, even though they are speaking only on 'their' operational channel with the others - as if spoken with an over-abundance of caution, and with that...
The Aiguille drifts forward. The jets are engaged in intermittent bursts as to not produce traceable heat signals. While the Gear has been rated well in pressure tests, the gray-geen Gear exceeds its specs by no small margin on just about every possible quality. A direct engagement in this environment would not end well.
A race may not end well either.
Ethius cuts down power on any scanning equipment as through an overabundance of caution, unaware of the full range of instruments the Queklain may have to detect that it's being pursued so vigorously. He's going by his own eyes, in these dark depths, trailing the distant hues of gray-green like it were a bright white. A bright white, and also a whale (which the Queklain is neither).
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Phantom Jets toward his party's challenge, Enemy Mine.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"So they are not certain... I see." Citan pauses for a moment. "As it happens... we were coordinating with some others for an attempt to reclaim the city before long. If there is even a glimmer of truth within the information your source has provided you, well, we ought to investigate further. A fire in or around Luca could prove devastating," he concludes, before the outer casing is breached and the inner canister -- protected from the corrosion -- is freed.
Monty provides him with a little more context. "Aha, I see. You must tell me about your approach sometime, Miss Klein! I admit I have fallen behind on my own reading..."
Before long, they can just barely see the signs of a wreck. But it may be only a minor matter of note, what with the sudden swell of noise coming from behind them. "What is--"
'Hey losers! See if you can keep up!'
"...that?" Citan finishes, at a remove.
He doesn't need to be told twice. Engaging all engines -- and taking care to ensure that all heat is appropriately diverted elsewhere (like, right into the sea) -- the Heimdall is quick to follow.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Dual-Phase Coolant toward his party's challenge, Enemy Mine.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
"I understand," Azoth says to Eleanor, and doesn't pry further. He isn't sure he does, but he's sure she's getting uncomfortable trying to explain it. Pressing for more won't do anyone any favors. "It's like Mister Ethius says...! The rest is investigation. I might be able to help, too."
A rival appears! Where the Gear isn't familiar, the voice is, but Azoth has other tasks to focus on besides run it through his database for potential matches.
"H-Hey, that's unnecessary!" Azoth protests. "Don't listen to her, okay? Everyone's done a great job today...!"
They probably didn't take it that personally, Azoth.
Regardless, all he can do while Ida pilots is try to provide a few extra calculations on the path ahead of them to keep clear of obstacles and keep the Queklain in sight!
DG: Azoth has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Enemy Mine.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida is silent as she tops off her Gear's tank. She's heard some of the truth behind Eleanor's 'intelligence', but to those not in the know, her reaction might seem... uncharacteristically grave. And for that matter, is Eleanor talking specifically to her?
Ida files the information away. Slowly, her heart rate returns to normal.
AND THEN
"Kaguya?!" Ida shouts, equal parts startled and confused. The backwash from the other Gear's jets almost bowls the Dragoon over, but Ida--like the others--is quick to give chase. "What are you even doing here?!" she demands, opening a channel. "That is--there's a dangerous Reaper in these waters, you shouldn't be here alone!"
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Enemy Mine.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Enemy Mine *>========================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You are not the only one seeking that wreck. You may have already known or suspected as much, but now it is clear -- another Gear rips through the water only to stop and pause to send you a message before jetting onwards. It's a challenge. They want to see who is the one who should get to claim the prize of the wreck this day. Is this now a race? Yes. This is now a race to the finish line that is the wreck. (OOC: The GM for this round should feel free to have one of their alts be the rival for this challenge!) =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Tire============================================
========================<* Seafloor Salvage - Round 5 *>======================== ============================< Results - Enemy Mine >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 25 --(10)--> 35 Pass Phantom Jets 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 17 --(10)--> 27 Pass Dual-Phase Coolant 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 33 --(26)--> 59 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 25 --(26)--> 51 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 25 --(26)--> 51 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 80 --(0)--> 80 Fail Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Tire(2) Effects: ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has failed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - Pull A Fast One *>======================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- At last, you reach the wreck. Negotiating entry into the wreck itself is not the problem. The problem is the positioning of the wreck. Perched on a perilous ridge above a rift leading to the deeper sea, the remains of the ship seem ready to collapse into the abyss at any time. This is an operation that /might/ call for care-- But it mostly calls for raw /speed/, particularly when the metal starts to creak as you explore inside. Can you reach the cargo bay before you're in a whole lot of trouble? =Dungeon Conditions: Cripple==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Then I repeat my cautions," Eleanor says to Citan of the intel. Well, her vision. "But I agree with you all the same." She appreciates Azoth not pushing for the moment--she doesn't quite know the full company well enough to be willing to explain the entire thing, but it is true that others might be affected so it's best to give them the chance to prepare.
But Ethius seems very certain about his intention of helping. "Very well. ARMS will lend some support to this expedition, in that case. We may as well face the future head-on."
It might sound cryptic. But she's being literal.
The race, though... Ethius zooms forward, and Kaguya's Queklain pushes past and past. The Heimdall's engines, all heat directed properly, take off--and Azoth and Ida too manage to keep ahead, obstacles aside. The problem is...
The green backwash of Kaguya's boosters suggests some kind of amplifier; her Gear for the moment is just too fast for the group as a whole to catch. She does however turn at a certain point, when the a great wreckage comes into view. "Scouting," she answers. "I can get around faster without a group slowing me down. But don't worry. Even I'm not going to try to take on the Reaper in this little thing. It's designed to outrun, not outfight." A beat, "But it was a fun race. Heheheh. Even that guy got involved. Try not to rely too much on him, though. He's kind of an ass."
Then she frowns, and a little more concern enters into her voice. "I'm detecting something big on the radar. You guys might not want to stick around here. I'm sure not going to. Try not to die, guys!"
Eleanor makes it up at the end of the group, and hmphs. "What a rude girl." But she's looking over her radar herself...
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
They pursue. They may not pursue out of necessity (...for the most part) so much as just that what the Queklain and their pilot is doing is just rude! Even in the middle of a tense mission on behalf of the Thames, there is some decorum that needs to be overseen!!
Ethius remains quiet as the Queklain breaks away. They detect 'something big' and bail. Ahead of them, a wreck. The wreck is... in bad shape. It's a wreck of a wreck. A wreck^2, if one will, and it is precariously balanced on the edge of a fissure that goes too deep inside.
And then...
A thermal vent explodes behind all of them. Behind, this time, rather than the center.
BGM - Fuse - Xenogears: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtXIhsV-jks
Sickly bioluminescent colors of blue and green fill one's vision, singular red eyes attached to these flecks of color as a large, cubic figure passes above them. These flecks of color are attached to bony, stringly tendrils that link them together - at first in a single linear line, like the spines of a fish's skeleton.
Then they break off into further, smaller 'lines' of streams with smaller bioluminescent bits yet. Some sort of fishbone-jellyfish. What it is is less important than the fact it is right there - the one and only Gomihone - and it just missed them.
"Contact," Ethius remarks. They don't have any choice but to go inside the ship for something resembling cover, as they all don't yet fully know the ins and outs of how it navigates or decides to attack. It's risky as hell because the wreck^2 is on the verge of tipping over into the abyss...
...the moment anyone thinks it might be safe, Gomihone comes by and takes a chomp out of the backside in one horrible, metal-grindy movement of its square jaw. The backside that kept it balanced to the cliff of the fissure.
Now the wreck^2 is capsizing.
They have to get out of there.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Phantom Jets toward his party's challenge, Pull A Fast One.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"Indeed," Ida says. Face the future head-on. That's all they can do.
Just like it's all Ida and Azoth can do to keep up with Kaguya. The Dust Dragoon isn't as slow as Quagmire, but its underwater speed is 'above average' at best, and it doesn't have any tricks that would prove useful in a race. Even with Azoth backing her up, Kaguya has the advantage of whatever the hell unholy technology she installed in her machine. That doesn't mean they don't try, though.
"I'm well aware," Ida says, on the subject of Ethius. "But--"
'I'm detecting something big on the radar.'
"Damnation," Ida growls. Sure enough, she sees that heat spike on the Dragoon's sensors, plain as day. "It's right on top of us! Scatter!" The wreck is the only shelter around. Ida grits her teeth and dives for it, pulling the Dragoon down low and ducking into the ruined ship's hull. Azoth can feel her vital signs spiking; her heartbeat, in particular, starts to race. Blood oxygen saturation increases...
And then Gomihone straight-up takes a bite out of the wreck.
"MOVE!" Ida screams, over the distant groan of bending steel. "Azoth, take control!" She doesn't trust herself to maneuver as well as him. She just floors the pedal, and leaves the steering to her copilot. It's a gesture of absolute trust.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Pull A Fast One.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
"He's helping," Azoth says of Ethius. "And I'm happy he is." Azoth's heard a few uncomfortable things about Ethius, but Ethius has also helped Azoth out a few times. Also he is feeling maybe, just a little itty bit guilty about that one time Ethius got blamed for Azoth not listening to OS and trying to stab everybody.
But we don't talk about that.
Then, there it is, announced by that terrible red eye. Azoth feels no comfortable with the Dust Dragoon then he did the Quagmire. He doubts he would feel comfortable even as himself in the face of this massive creature. Ida's vitals spike again, and he tries to feed as much data as he can to the senors, providing every movement, every change, every projection --
"Azoth, take control!"
The lights within the cockpit shift color to a bright, white-blue. It's a brief surge of power as the Zeboim A.I. takes over control of the Dust Dragoon the second Ida requests it. He weaves through the collapsing haul, trying to make the escape as cleanly as they can while avoiding running straight into Gomihone's horrible mouth on the way out. Everything about his movement patterns keep his pilot in mind, avoiding unnecessary force and strain.
It might not be enough -- but it has to be, and he'll drain as much of his fragmented core as he must to push the limit.
DG: Azoth has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Pull A Fast One.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Indeed... we shall take all precaution," replies Citan to Eleanor.
The Heimdall, as adjusted as it is, keeps up fairly well. It's just also the case that Kaguya is not precisely playing fairly. "That light--" exclaims the doctor, in those moments before she accelerates.
Indeed, if she had continued on to her destination, she would have handily beat them.
"Scouting, is it... Are you at all aware of the presence of a Wels in this region?" Citan remarks -- but of course, she is not precisely 'flying blind', is she?
"..." Something big on the radar, is it...
"I believe that may be 'our friend'," the doctor says, voice low, as if the Wels could somehow hear radio signals. Maybe it can!
"Perched on the edge like that... this seems unstable," Citan says, of the wreck proper, moving carefully towards it.
And then Gomihone makes the decision for them. "--No! We are not in the position to fight it now!" he shouts, over the communication channel. "Into the ship! We must take cover!"
Which is itself out of the frying pan and into the fire as the wreck begins to tilt. Gunning the engines -- and dumping the last of the coolant in order to keep the Gear running as it now must -- Citan urges the Heimdall forward, at all speed.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Dual-Phase Coolant toward his party's challenge, Pull A Fast One.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor luckily does not have to deal with Kaguya for very long. This is for the best. Not for the best? What they have to deal with instead. Eleanor sees the wreck, but suddenly--
The Three of Hearts breaks off almost in the same instant the Gomihone appears, though that space only leaves a slight distance for her to have gone. She hears the cue to MOVE and she does, working at the controls and relying on the safety equipment to keep her in place with how quickly she turns and goes.
Kaguya doesn't give further answers as she jets away on the radio, focused in the moment on piloting. Eleanor, however, flips some switches and fires off a set of missiles at an opposing cliff to give the Gomihone something else to focus on as she maneuvers after Citan.
DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Pull A Fast One.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - Pull A Fast One *>======================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- At last, you reach the wreck. Negotiating entry into the wreck itself is not the problem. The problem is the positioning of the wreck. Perched on a perilous ridge above a rift leading to the deeper sea, the remains of the ship seem ready to collapse into the abyss at any time. This is an operation that /might/ call for care-- But it mostly calls for raw /speed/, particularly when the metal starts to creak as you explore inside. Can you reach the cargo bay before you're in a whole lot of trouble? =Dungeon Conditions: Cripple==================================================
========================<* Seafloor Salvage - Round 6 *>======================== =========================< Results - Pull A Fast One >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 35 --(101)--> 136 Pass Phantom Jets 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 27 --(101)--> 128 Pass Dual-Phase Coolant 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 59 --(101)--> 160 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 51 --(101)--> 152 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 51 --(101)--> 152 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 80 --(15)--> 95 Fail Conditions: Cripple|Tire(1) Effects: ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Ethius Hesiod is too exhausted to continue! DG: Citan Uzuki is too exhausted to continue! DG: Azoth is too exhausted to continue! DG: Ida Everstead-Rey is too exhausted to continue! DG: Eleanor Klein is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over. DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has been fully Exhausted by Seafloor Salvage! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
=============================<* Seafloor Salvage *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - All Fueled Up *>========================= |Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Try as you might, you just can't get access to the cargo bay. But all is not lost -- you will not return empty-handed. In a side storage room, you find a voluminous amount of Gear-ready fuel, enough to make up for your return to the surface and then some -- The Thames might even be interested in purchasing some of it. You might not have retrieved anything from the wreckage' cargo, but you have brought something back up, and that's nothing to sneeze at. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Things are going south fast. (...Technically, the fissure faces to the west, so things are going west BUT SEMANTICS THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE.)
The spacious, eroded wreck^2 becomes less spacious when its tilt starts collapsing heavier, precious cargo in a way that it could bludgeon and entrap others into falling into the abyss.
Both Ethius and Citan are the ones who manage best, and at mechanical cost - Ethius overheats the jets and burns out the ones on the left leg (on top of setting off a heat signature that takes a while to disperse), and Citan's completely out of the heat dispersing coolant for maneuverability... but they're out on the other side before the others.
Azoth takes control as Ida guns it. There may be limits to the Dust Dragoon's responsiveness in this environment, but he will find no mathematical fault on his end versus the speed Ida channels into. He may find the most virtue in letting one large crate hit the Dragoon in a specific way as to minimize the damage and impact - but an impact is completely unavoidable.
Eleanor doesn't fully make it out behind Citan, both her and her fiancee in for one hell of a turbulent tumble as she fires off a bunch of missiles towards the opposite end of the fissure.
The Reaper swims around again and lurches forward with an open maw... passing just above everyone. No 'miss' is ever greater a distance than 'near.' Even if it 'misses' by a whole mile or two, it is just too close. It's horrifying.
The various attached abominable flesh bits stare out at the lot of them - their character seems less aggressive and more observational. Some do start to glow in anticipation of firing, but never do. A few parts detach and make passes but do not attach or otherwise attack.
Gomihone passes into the depths as the wreck falls in, as if chasing it. A battered Dust Dragoon and Three of Hearts have the most narrow of escapes, as the looser tendrils of stuff caress the seafloor in front of and around them before disappearing within.
Ethius turns on comms by accident(?), he can be heard exhaling softly but in a prolonged stretch, and neglects to say anything than a string of gibberish-sounding murmurs (Symbology?). A tiny electrical zap noise is heard before it cuts off.
Then it comes back on.
"...Target is descending away from our position." His voice bleeds out some actual fear. Relief? He forgets to do the status call-out/check, as if contemplative of the most recent series of events that brought them here.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
The most critical damage to avoid is any damage to the pilot -- not to the Dust Dragoon -- and with a rapid calculation Azoth makes a last second twist so the crate smashes against the Gear -- him -- with that objective driving everything. Warnings flare on Ida's monitors, providing a comprehensive data damage report to even the smallest components that now face extra stress for the necessary piloting.
Azoth, himself, has gone silent as the Dust Dragoon does not appear to flee the rest of the way as much as it tumbles. But it's a controlled motion in itself, as much as it can be, as Azoth still priorities keeping Ida from being rattled around they ultimately end up crashing to the sea floor.
Those reports a continued stream for Ida with every tiniest, slightest change ever made, adjusting for every possible new danger. It is a boggling amount of data -- perhaps more than the average pilot could even find useful. Once the danger passes, Azoth does not move. It does not seem the damage is so serious that the Dust Dragoon is inoperable. Or is it that moving... hurts?
"Sorry, Miss Ida," he finally says to her within the cockpit. And then, to the others: "Is everyone okay?"
The wreck has fallen away for Gomihone to chase. But the offending crate crashed into the ground beside the Dust Dragoon and Ida. The crate was the less lucky of the two in the violent collision: it's been cracked open, then with the way it lands, makes a terrible shriek as gravity and pressure pull it open further.
Something dull and grey spills out of it like a corpse from a mishandled coffin. A Gear, without a single bit of luster across its battered frame. A deep gash cleaves through the head like a scar over half of its face. Other cracks heavily decorate over the frame, some of them poorly welded together in a time long past, and other chunks of its guardian plates simply missing.
But its damage may be evidence of its solid foundation, for the Gear remains intact, even here in the depths, fortunate enough to avoid Gomihone's hunger.