2018-12-09: Diastrophism
- Cutscene: Diastrophism
- Cast: Loren Voss
- Where: Photosphere
- Date: December 9th 2018
- Summary: Loren makes an unwelcome realization about the approach of a certain being. Occurs ICly just before The Pain of Loss - Daughter.
Things were quiet.
Relatively speaking.
Yes, there were screams and shouts. Naturally the foundation shook at times; sometimes he heard something very definitely explode.
He moves slowly at this juncture, touching a hand to his side where the body armor's been damaged; green wirework fractal lines travel the surface of his body. Flesh is pulled back together and smoothed over.
But the resupply point for their operations into the Photosphere had been very well selected, particularly considering the amount of intel they'd been able to gather had been... abbreviated. Loren's mission at present is to guard it. It's a good position, but it's still a good position in the heart of enemy territory. Naturally, he can't let anything that happens across the resupply point live.
The last one had been pushing it. It had almost gotten away.
Reports have been scattershot -- as expected during an active mission. There aren't many agents active, but then on-foot is needlessly risky outside the small number of specialists fielded. Let the Drifters handle the dirty work. And then...
He ducks back into the resupply point and breathes out a sigh, leaning against the wall. Nothing damaged that he couldn't fix. He pulls the face-concealing helmet off, drops it onto a nearby container, and closes his eyes.
That makes two times.
Somewhere in the distance, something -- Metal Beast? Metal Demon? Drifter? ...does it matter? -- sets off a detonation. There are screams.
It's quite far off.
A scream lingers in the air.
Continues to linger.
Loren pushes himself off the wall, moving with care towards the concealed entrance to the resupply point.
The scream cuts out. A dead silence settles across the Photosphere, swallowing up even the formerly routine sound of distant melee.
He decides in that moment to duck outside.
It's there that he sees it.
Soundtrack: Lunatic Pandora
Sado. The Golem, Sado, formerly believed destroyed or at least delivered to a state of inactivation by Gebler's hand. Kislev had possessed control of it. --So what in the Emperor's name is it doing here?!
He does not have much time to contemplate it. The Golem opens fire on the Photosphere; he ducks back, vacillating a moment on just what his responsibilities are at a time like this before at last grabbing for his analytics toolkit and doing the only thing he reasonably can do:
Collect some data.
The Golem's Ether readout is off the chart, he realizes.
The Golem's Ether readout is familiar.
"...Keil," he utters aloud with a groan, grimacing. How had she-- where had she...? No, none of that matters.
Sado continues its advance, slithering into the Photosphere proper on its advance down into the depths.
The only thing that matters now is that this has become yet another problem to nip in the bud.
"They're not going to like this," Loren grouses, ducking back into the resupply point.