Matoran und Panzer

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Einefus Ingrayv (Mangaia)

 

I'm still a little disturbed by that thing's strange intrusion into my mind, and even more so by what it said... and didn't say. I can only assume that it had something to do with this coffin.

 

I clear my throat. "Wha' yuh say we try crack dis o'en, eh?"

 

I step closer to the large coffin and begin inspecting it. I run my hand along it, looking for some way to open it.

[Not Quite Dead]

GM

Cor Saeva's inquisitive claws did not trigger the sword's defenses. Neither did Shard, who boldly put hand over hand on the sword and tugged. It came out of the stone with ease. At full length the blade was nearly as long as the matoran and tapered to a thin point. Oddly enough, aside from it's point, the edge was dull and had the same light-absorbing properties.

 

Another odd thing about the blade was the crystals growing out of it, before he would've had time to drop the weapon, jagged yet vaguely organic crystal tendrils burst from the handle and burrowed into the matoran's flesh, encasing his right hand in a crystalline gauntlet. One he would find his powers ineffective at dispelling. At the same time, he would've felt a mental link of sorts with the blade. Well, at least as close as a mental link one could have with an inert weapon.

 

The only thing it was actively telling him was a number. Repeated over and over and over and over, an irritating drone in the back of his head.

 

One

 

OOC

Shard is now in possession of the first treasure, the cursed sword Burial! He can still use his right hand with some dexterity, and the sword is not literally connected to him. However, it's powers will not activate for anyone else. As for it's powers, one of them is the ability to act in a defensive manner and absorb threats that contact the blade. (IE, Cor Saeva's bullet) As for any other powers, you've got to figure them out IC. Just be careful with it

 

GM

Perhaps hearing Olis request, whatever had spoken to them spoke to him once more. Or rather, showed him a memory. It was garbled and incoherent in some parts, like old ruined film.

 

Instrument panels surround you, grimy and worn. Your brow is sweating and twitching. It's the fifty-eighth hour you've been awake. Even the old leather seat in your tank is starting to feel comfortabl-

 

"Are you ready, soldiers!"

 

Your commander's bark jars you from your pre-sleep. "Prepare to advance!" Behind you, your driver shifts gears and shouts "Advancing!" Right into your ear in time with the Armor's rumbling engine's whine and the titanic crunch of it's foot coming up and back down again.

 

Where were your reinforcements? Your brigade had been advancing into enemy territory for three days without them. It had brought you to your limited... A voice to your right, "Enemy at 4'o'clock, ready cannon!" You reach down, grabbing the cannon round and loading it. Your Armor is only equipped with a single railgun, so every shot has to count.

 

The gunner takes her aim and fires. A screaming chunk of metallic death fires at mach five, tearing a bright gash through the night sky before it hits it's target. An enemy Armor two kio away. The explosion is audible and visible, even over the others on the battlefield. It must've been a fuel tank you hit, or perhaps a munitions supply vehicle...

 

"Quick, inform the others to advance on your flank!" This order is directed towards you. Your grip tightens around your coms device. "Filicia, cover him!" The lithe Toa behind your grabs her rifle, standing and cracking the hatch open. "Hurry!"

 

Palms sweating, you poke your head out into karzahni. It's only been two weeks since your infrastructure was crippled. Two weeks since the northerners had incinerated half of Ertrunken. The night was made all the thicker by the ash that clouded the atmosphere, in the distance buildings and refineries still burned. Great piles of still molten slag glowed the red of dwarve-stars, a sickly and entropic color. You grabbed your handheld, all your armor had been retrofitted you see. What the northerner's weapons hadn't atomized they poisoned. The air itself was poison, all armor had been given thick plating of noble metals and lead as it prevented the invisible dangers.

 

You find your flank's radio band. "Three enemies have been neutralized, changing positions to the next storefront. Over" A quick affirmative and over is the clipped reply. Your eyes scan the horizon and -

 

"GET DOWN! THREE A CLOCK!" It's too late. Before the words have left your mouth, the enemy fires at you. They're a small Fikou-class, not much of a gunner but at this range it won't matter.

 

At that point, the memory became too garbled to fully understand for Olis. A stream of incoherent words and feelings over an image that had been burnt into the soldier's brain. The silhouettes of his crew as they desperately crawled from the Armor, engulfed in flame.

 

As quickly as it had entered, the alien presence withdrew.

 

Oblitus and Einefus would find something during their investigation of the coffin's structure. A quite eloquently made and placed crowbar on the far side. For even when you were robbing the tomb of a god(?), not much was better than two bios of cold protosteel leverage.

 

The problem was that two bio was quite a distance, they'd need teamwork!

[Some Random Phrase]

IC Elerc: -Treize

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Elerc started down the block again, obviously expecting Suko to follow. He turned down a corner.

[Nato G]

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Temple). 

 

"Let's get this thing open, shall we?"

__________________________________

 

IC: Cor Saeva - Burial (Armoury Tower).

 

"Watch it!" I jerked back with a hiss as that idiot Shard yanked the sword free. "Are you trying to take my fingers off?" Then I saw the crystal leaching out of the handle, burrowing and gouging into the flesh of the his hand, and I laughed at his pained screams.

 

"Serves you right," I spat, straightening to my full height, towering over him. "Now apologise." 

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

"That's cwuel, Cor.

 

"Although, I don't know how to help ya, Shard."

 

It was tough to not satisfy anybody.

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Burial (Armoury Tower).

 

Zekev was right, as usual. For someone who could be such a moron at times, he could also be incredibly wise.... and simultaneously frustrating. I stepped away from Shard, leaving him to his whimpering, and started picking through the firearms once more, looking for more ammunition to go with the weapon I'd found. 

 

More than that, though, I was looking for some kind of equivalent weapon to my blunderbuss. 

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

I poked around for a weapon I could get behind, like a shield or axe. Heck, even a revolver.

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Suko (Treize)

 

We turn the corner, and there she is. Fikou-class armour, floats attached to the sides... for some reason. An elemental co-axial on the top. "What's she called?"

[silo]

IC: (Olis/???, Vingt)

"Wha-- it...spoke to me again." Olis announced, clutching his head and shaking it as if to dislodge the images.

It was as if he had actually been that being, had known what they knew, remembered what they remembered, their mind imposed upon his...it had all made sense, the foreign words and names bearing meaning and significance, but even now the scene was fading, the visions and experiences running together like water, blurring in their meaning.

What was a...toa? Again, he had heard nobody call the being behind him a toa, but for a moment he had known and understood that that was what it was...

The knowledge within the vision...the knowledge of the events of before the experience, that was what was most important - the scene on its own made little sense, but with the knowledge of the being that had experienced it...the information could be vital.

Had the being...died there? How was his body here, then? Although he had not glimpsed uch of the landscape outside the tank, this cavern could not be it. He leant down to inspect the corpse further...did it look burnt?

[Khromatose]

GM

Cor Saeva's inquisitive claws did not trigger the sword's defenses. Neither did Shard, who boldly put hand over hand on the sword and tugged. It came out of the stone with ease. At full length the blade was nearly as long as the matoran and tapered to a thin point. Oddly enough, aside from it's point, the edge was dull and had the same light-absorbing properties.

 

Another odd thing about the blade was the crystals growing out of it, before he would've had time to drop the weapon, jagged yet vaguely organic crystal tendrils burst from the handle and burrowed into the matoran's flesh, encasing his right hand in a crystalline gauntlet. One he would find his powers ineffective at dispelling. At the same time, he would've felt a mental link of sorts with the blade. Well, at least as close as a mental link one could have with an inert weapon.

 

The only thing it was actively telling him was a number. Repeated over and over and over and over, an irritating drone in the back of his head.

 

One

 

OOC

Shard is now in possession of the first treasure, the cursed sword Burial! He can still use his right hand with some dexterity, and the sword is not literally connected to him. However, it's powers will not activate for anyone else. As for it's powers, one of them is the ability to act in a defensive manner and absorb threats that contact the blade. (IE, Cor Saeva's bullet) As for any other powers, you've got to figure them out IC. Just be careful with it 

 

OOC: OH MY GOSH. This is my Shard's dream come true! Crystal sword with special properties. YES. 

Oh yeah. Thanks.

 

IC: Shard/Treize

To others it may have been a scream of pain, but to me it was a scream of joy. My scream eventually transformed into a laugh.

"Hahahahaha!"

But then I stopped. One. It was appearing in my mind, and I think it's coming from Burial, its name. What was that about? But first I had to apologize. Cor was right. I wasn't fazed at all when she towered over me. But then again my eyes were closed through the whole ordeal.

"Hey, Cor. Sorry for almost slicing off your fingers there."

As I searched the room for a sheathe for the sword, I spoke to the sergeant, but everyone else in the room would also hear it too.

"Does the number one ring a bell? The sword seems to be telling me this?"

I wasn't sure that the sword was actually the source of the info, but it was the only thing that would probably do it.

Edited February 22, 2015 by ArcticFreeze17

[Some Random Phrase]

IC Elerc: -Treize

Clambering onto the legs, Elerc said, "The Venture. Designed 'er myself."

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Einefus Ingrayv (Mangaia)

 

I come across the large crowbar at the same time Oblitus does. Strangely convenient, but I'm not going to complain.

 

I yawn and flick my cigarette toward the lake. "Sans goo'." I heft one end of the crowbar and pivot the thing around. "Ge' da othuh en' an' le's crack dis t'ing o'en."

 

OOC: Feel free to bunny Ingrayv a little to get the crowbar in place.

[Not Quite Dead]

GM

In Zekev's search he found not a shield, axe or revolver. But an item possessing all three qualities! It was a weapon with a collapsible haft that he found to be able one bio at full length. It's head was completely round blade, sharp all around and the size of a round shield. Out of the center on one side was a handle, much like a shield. A sharp and dangerously, easily misplaced shield... But a shield nonetheless!

 

The end of the haft concealed a hidden dart compartment, a small trigger mechanism near the mid-point of the bar of protosteel. Kind of an odd combination, but when you needed all three, some things were bound to be awkward... Despite it's size, it was oddly lightweight, must be some fancy old world alloy!

 

Nearby, Logan pondered Shard's words. "One? Well, that could mean quite a few things in our circumstances. Wait... The sword is telling you this? How so?"

 

* * * * * *

 

Meeting with the chieftain concluded, Kat, Lufon and Mokeron were led to the native's barracks. The transliterate younger matoran spoke with them. "Are you going to be needing supplies for this, ja?"

 

* * * * * *

 

Despite Olis' further prodding, the corpse stayed rather corpselike. Perhaps it was tired of speaking. It was not burnt as the vision had showed it's former friends to be. In fact, other than being sort of dry and rotten, it seemed unharmed.

[Nato G]

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Temple).

 

"Let's crack this thing open," I joined Einefus and pushed down on the crowbar. 

_____________________________________________________

 

IC: Lufon - Ertrunken (Barracks).

 

"What kind of supplies could you possibly have that we would need?"

_____________________________________________________

 

IC: Cor Saeva - Burial (Armoury Tower).

 

"That's a nice look," I said to Zekev, "you should keep it." 

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Kat: I rolled my eyes for the millionth time.

 

"You ever try not being such a Piraka, Lufon?"

 

I turned back to the tribal Matoran, "I don't suppose you guys have extra shells for a medium greypowder cannon?"

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/Burial, Armory Tower

"I...don't know. Perhaps it's because of those crystal tendrils that made up my gauntlet, or the sword is cursed, or something... But something tell me that I need to explore a bit more."

I became distracted when I saw Zekev's shield-thing and I wondered if the gauntlet could make one. That would be cool. I began to search the crates around the sword's pedestal for a sheath for the blade. That would be more useful.

Edited February 25, 2015 by ArcticFreeze17

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Burial (Armoury Tower). 

 

"Hey Shard, I wonder what would happen if someone tried pulling that sword out of your hand?" 

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/Burial, Armory Tower

"It might disintegrate your hand. I don't know. But it seems like its connected to me, both physically and mentally. So removing it may cause pain on both ends."

I continued my search for a sheathe.

Edited February 25, 2015 by ArcticFreeze17

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Burial (Armoury Tower).

 

Cause pain on both ends? Okay, now I really wanted to try to get the sword off him, if only to make him suffer. 

 

But I didn't want to get my hand disintegrated, so I decided to bide my time...

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/Burial, Armory Tower

What a weird question to ask... I thought as I resumed the search. Perhaps she was jealous? And jealously often led to doing wrong things. I became suspicious of Cor and made sure to watch her closely when she wasn't paying attention, but I didn't because she would definitely be paying attention to me. I would make sure to tell the Sgt. later when we split up.

"Perhaps we should search the courtyard?"

Edited February 25, 2015 by ArcticFreeze17

[NorikSigma]

IC; Zekev

 

"I loev this."

 

Cor was as usual ignoring me.

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Burial (Armoury Tower).

 

Zekev probably thought I was ignoring him. "You should keep it," I repeated, nodding to the shield-gun-thing in his hands. "At least we're getting something useful out of this trip." 

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

"This is so awesome! I could kill tanks with this."

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Burial (Armoury Tower).

 

"Well, you could try to kill tanks with it," I didn't like his chances of success, "just don't test it out on our tank." 

[silo]

IC: (Olis/???, Vingt)

"Uh, did you guys not hear me?" he asked, walking over to where the other two were attempting to open the tomb. "It spoke to me again. Also, I think I have a Weakens Kanoka in here somewhere."

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Einefus Ingrayv (Mangaia)

 

As I lean on the crowbar, I flick my eyes over to Olis.

 

"Das goo' tuh heyuh," I grunt, "but a' da momen', I's muh inneres'ed in dis coffin."

[Not Quite Dead]

GM

Shard would find no such sheath for his sword, unless he fancied carrying the large stone with him where ever he went. In fact, other than the weapons they had gathered. The room seemed empty of exceptional treasure. The courtyard and other rooms were similarly empty. That left the sword as the likely culprit for treasure, for while Zekev and Cor Saeva's weapons were finely crafted and surely powerful, they did not have the distinctly alien presence the sword possessed.

 

It was past midday when they finally regrouped in the castle's antechamber, the sun was less than a hand over the eastern horizon, slowly painting the landscape in shades of crimson and auburn. Their camp was visible in the distance, looks like they had fared about as well as the expeditionary group. No sign of the reptilian monster that had stalked them through the forests.

 

Logan gathered their attention and spoke. "Well team, I think this sword is what we've came here for. As such, we'll be leaving this ruin." Turning to the mercenary duo, he tossed a couple of bags of widgets. "Early pay, you two might be a little on the skittish side, but your work was satisfactory in my eyes." Unfortunately, he had no such front for Shard. "You'll have to wait for your usual salary, soldier." He lowered his voice a little, "Miss Sonia just wanted to make sure they saw some sort of gold or goodies, their type aren't the type to stick around without instant gratification... At least you found that sword, right?"

 

At the coasts below them, the tides had risen and prey had gone to rest and hide for the night. So the trio of sea serpents had returned to their island home. Quite curious to see so many scrumptious beings crowding it. With the manner of an apex predator grown lazy and assured of his might, the foremost serpent began to surface, lackadaisically climbing steaming from the waters onto the rocky beach a hundred or so bio away, in plain view of the Sergeant's team.

 

* * * * * *

 

Despite, it's simplicity. The crowbar was remarkably effective. The lid of the coffin was the source of a resounding crack and bits of stone chipped away from the point of contact between crowbar and cold stone. All at once, the lid crashed downwards into the ashy sand.

 

After they climbed up to the precipice, the trio would find what coffins usually contained. A skeleton. It had clearly been a massive being in life, filling the entirety of the length of the coffin with it's bones. Whatever armor it had had was rusted away, some organic matter remained. Mainly the vestiges of organs in it's chest cavity. Inside lay a heart, dark and putrefied.

 

Yet, it still beat. A painfully slow rhythm, each pump seemed to echo through the cavern and in the party's heads.

 

* * * * * *

 

The translator shrugged at the trio's response. Not his problem if they doubted the efficiency of the native's gear. Once the group of natives had prepared, six in all, they gathered at the southernmost outward-bound tunnel. It was more sturdily built than some of the others, clearly it led somewhere important. The rusted vestiges of an ancient gate lay to the side, removed long ago.

 

After a quick conversation with the group's leader, the same captain that the surface dwellers had first met, the translator turned to those same surface dwellers. "We are going to into two groups when we arrive at fork in path, ja? Frontal assault for distraction and stealth team. We have an ancient weapon that is chemical in workings to plant and detonate inside. The Hadals will be poisoned or have to flee into waiting killzones. Make sense, ja?"

 

EDIT

At Kat's request for shells, they had answered in the negative. What they did have was a box of protosteel scrap. Broken or bent pieces of cooking utensils, armor, guns, railroad pieces and likewise. Lacking the facilities to melt down and reforge it, they used it as makeshift flechette. She was offered to utilize this.

Edited February 25, 2015 by Tiragath

[Nato G]

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Temple).

 

"So how does this thing work?" I picked up the battery Ascension had given me. It was hot, scalding my hand, so I quickly moved back to the coffin and put it on top of the disturbingly still-beating heart, waiting to see what would happen. 

______________________________________________________________

 

IC: Cor Saeva - Burial (Shoreline).

 

I took the Sergeant's money with a smug smile, stuffing it into the large sack I'd used to gather up all the ammo I could find for my newfound weapon. And now, seeing the monster crawling up out of the water, I was glad that I had. 

 

I raised my weapon, peering through the scope and taking aim at the nearest of the creature's eyeballs, then opened fire. 

_______________________________________________________________

 

IC: Lufon Vance - Ertrunken (Tunnel).

 

"I'm sorry, what?" I snapped. "You are not setting off an ancient and potentially uncontrollable biological weapon down in these tunnels, and especially not inside the same structure we want to get into." Didn't these people understand the risks of chemical warfare? "This weapon might not work, or it might end up blasting your own people as well. Do you really want to take that risk?"

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Kat:

 

"Gotta agree there, what sort of chemical weapon is this?" I asked, loading a couple of makeshift flechette shells into Legion.

 

Why hadn't I ever thought of that?

 

Probably cause I couldn't afford to carry around bits of scrap.

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/Burial

Since a sheathe was nowhere to be found, I formed one myself out of my own crystal. I then put the blade in it, hoping it would consider the crystal as a threat.

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Einefus Ingrayv (Mangaia)

 

Expecting something strange, I prepare myself not to react. When I see the still-beating heart, my only reaction is a lazy raising of my left eyebrow. Oblitus picks up the strange burning device and plops it on top of the heart.

 

"Dat wha' we s'pose' tuh do wi' dose, eh?" I ask, striding over to the other one.

 

I pick it up. It's still hot, but that doesn't bother me. I return to the coffin and hold my hand out of the heart, my palm up. I don't drop it yet, waiting for Oblitus' answer. I want to make sure this was what he was told or it was something he learned, and not just something he randomly decided to do. His immediate attack on the golems is still fresh in my mind.

[Nato G]

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Temple).

 

"My instructions weren't exactly clear," I admitted with a shrug, "Ascension just told me to bring it the heart or essence of a god, and gave me that device to do it with." 

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

"Yummy yummy money! Great to be working with ya, sergeant."

[silo]

IC: (Olis/???, Vingt)

They seemed to be ignoring his comments of the corpse's voice in his head, but there were more important things for the moment.

"Heart of a god?" he said, staring at the grotesquely alive body. "Does that mean...this is a god?"

Edited February 26, 2015 by Sil

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Einefus Ingrayv (Mangaia)

 

I look back at the heart and then shrug. I tip my hand and let the object fall onto the heart, just as Oblitus had done.

 

"A god? Don' know 'bou' dat, but I guess we's gon' fin' ou'."

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Suko (Treize)

 

"Venture. Meh. That's boring," I shrug, clambering up and into the turret. "So when and where are we going?" I shout to the army guy, settling down in the gunner's seat.

 

IC: Arkie (Jatikko/Nomans)

 

"Apart from the fact I want a sandwich, that Matoran's story sounds like a load of garbage to me, Derk," I say. "It might be worth checkin' it out though, seeing as we have enough supplies for an extended trip into Nomans, and a lot of treasure stories like this one turn out to be true... Just a bit exaggerated. Also I still want a sandwich."

Edited February 26, 2015 by Miras: Makuta of Awesome

[Some Random Phrase]

IC Elerc: -Treize:

"Treize army HQ. I need to let them know you're hired so they can assign a mission for us." Elerc said, flicking on the radio switch. "Venture calling Treize. Venture calling Treize. This is Elerc. I have a gunner and am reporting in for active duty." he radioed to Treize's HQ.

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/Burial

Seeing as the sword wasn't reacting to it's new home in my crystal sheathe, I headed back to my suit, following the group out. I saw the Sea Serpent like everyone else, and already Cor was aiming at something. Oh no. However, before I could react and try and stop her, she had already opened fire. I turned to the Sgt.

"Is this bad?"

[Not Quite Dead]

GM

Cor Saeva's shot hit true, ruining the serpent's eye. Though it seemed not to have reached the brain behind it, shear volume of fleshy gooey ocular tissue having prevented full penetration. Enraged by this, it shook off it's lazy manner and charged at the group. Covering over twenty-five bio per second with it's massive body, coming up onto hind legs as it neared and towering almost to the halfway of the castle walls behind them.

 

In response to Shard, "Giant hostile reptiles are usually bad, yes. Now get out of it's way!" Logan barely finished his sentence before dashing to the side. "Spread out, spread out!" He shouted to the others.

 

* * * * * *

 

The objects rest on the softly palpitating, silently for a moment and then with a queer whirring noise. They lose their molten appearance and sink into the heart.

 

After several tense minutes, the half-corpse begins to crumble. Monolithic bones turning to the same sandy ashy of the beach around them, the vestiges of organic matter and fluids steaming off. Whatever had been holding it together was being stolen by the two battery like devices. When the process was finished, the two devices sat on top of a pile of the soot, curiously flesh-like in appearance now. Dark red like muscle tissue and now the size of a small fist, crevices and wrinkles on them uncomfortably brought to mind closed eyes or mouths.

 

;Isn't this hollow world, living in the depths of despair, sad?; The spectral voice addresses Olis once more. A quick glance would tell him that the corpse had undergone the same process as the "god." Now a pile of grey soot, the strange fleshy kanohi laying atop it.

 

* * * * * *

 

The translator's expression became hard and set at Kat and Lufon's protests. "We have lost four out of six settlements to the Hadals, outlander. We're already close to death. But, if my people die, we die on our terms. It may appear as an act of desperation to you, but the risks are known and welcomed."

 

* * * * * *

 

A Ta-Skakdi lazily picked up a headset, responding to Elerc and Suko.

 

"We've got a couple open missions, proceed to the Northern Observatory ASAP."

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/Burial, Serpent slayin'

Immediately, I rolled my suit to the serpent's blind side and began trying to impale it with crystal spikes.

Edited February 28, 2015 by ArcticFreeze17