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Post by Ninmast on Feb 6, 2010 22:53:04 GMT -5
*Las Vegas*
The rumbling of a vehicle filled the silent, dust-clogged air. The road outside the city was still plenty well intact, however, and the car approached without difficulty right up to the edge of what remained. It was not just any car, but a very shiny, very expensive, very black limousine. The very back opened and out stepped Dante Karasawa, though instead his pressed white business suit from three days previous, he seemed to wear something with significantly more flair and inherently more combat efficiency. His hair, as always, was slicked back to perfection, his vicious widow's peak making his countenance seem even more threatening, even when he gave that greasy smile, which he shared with the Lord and Lady as he stepped out.
Heavy combat boots hit the dusty ground with a small cloud swirling about his feet from the resulting impact, their metal casing leading to black pants, loose-fitting but held in place by the shin-high combat boots on the bottom and a black leather belt on the top. His torso was wrapped in an equally dark shirt, coming up around his neck without so much as a stretch in the collar, but without any sleeves to cover his arms. Over this, however, was a long, white coat with a high collar trimmed in blue that came halfway up his prominent jawbone. The tail of the coat went all the way down to his ankles and was also trimmed in blue. The front was left open and on the back was the gold-on-black symbol of SigmaCorp.
"M'lady," he greeted Rebecca with that oily politeness of his, then gave the same nod to her husband. "M'lord." He shut the door of the limo behind him and rapped on the hood. Whoever the driver was - for the windows were all tinted and the psychics would be unable to detect a mind within the vehicle - obediently backed up and drove off. They may not have liked him, but the most powerful kingpin of Earth's rotten underground had arrived, and it seemed he had already determined his course.
Still, he did not immediately address the purpose of the gathering, and instead stretched his limbs behind him, breathing in deeply the air around them as he looked up to the sky. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" Then, as easily as if it was completely related to the rhetorical question and with the same lack of gravity, "My satellites have already picked up the approach of the main fleet. They will be within Earth's orbit within a few hours at their present pace. Sensors indicate a leaching effect preceeding them, so we don't have as much time as it may seem. I do hope our promised reinforcements arrive in time."
"I've been in communication with them for the last hour," Master Zero's voice answered. Where he had come from was anyone's guess, but considering the blurred appearance as if he was landing, he had probably run in. His armor was deactivated and he was again in the civilian clothing the Lord and Lady had seen him in three days prior. "The Elysium will arrive in this sector in half an hour and will engage the Founder fleet immediately. It would be best if we enter the mothership before then so that their attention is on us instead of their long-range scanners."
Suddenly, the young man's eyes widened as he seemed to look right past the aliens and Karasawa, a look comparable to abject horror etched upon his face. The question that followed would no doubt seem extremely odd to them. "What the hell are you two wearing!?"
As the three turned to look at what he was referring to, they would see Quicksilver and Star. Three days ago, the two of them had made vague mentions of preparations to be made and vanished before anyone could ask much about them. Now, the two counterparts stood before them once more.
Quicksilver's armor was gone, and in its place, she wore tight jean shorts, white leather knee-high boots with heels, and a white shirt that didn't come down past her belly button (apparently, they made Edenites anatomically correct, after all) that, given the amount of support and lift she seemed to have, was likely concealing a wonder bra. A pale pink jacket hung about her shoulders, its front left open. Her hair was held back out of the way, in lieu of her helmet, with a hair band.
Star, on the other hand, was sporting a red top with draping shoulders so that the straps rested on her upper arms. The upper part of a short dress, it went down after cupping her own younger chest, clung to her sides, and didn't stop until halfway down her upper leg. A thin belt with a heart buckle about the waist kept it from every shifting higher than that. Her footwear had a significantly less prominent heel than Quicksilver's boots, and were red to match the outfit.
Quicksilver grinned widely as she waved to Master Zero. "We gave each other makeovers! What do you think, Zee? Do you like it?"
"I ..." the young man's jaw worked without result. "... don't know ... why?"
"The amount of times we won against each other in our training," Star explained, "determined how much we got to change about the look of the other one."
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Post by raptorman on Feb 6, 2010 23:14:48 GMT -5
Simon and Rebecca had kept their silence as the various parties arrived. They had inclined their heads respectfully to Karasawa to return the gesture. They actually liked him more than the others. He at least had shown proper respect towards them, and that did mean something to them. They kept silent when he had asked the rhetorical question and when he told them what they already knew about the founder fleets arrival.
When Master Zero arrived and said his piece about the edenites, they frowned for a minute. He was too cocky by quite a bit but providing an army was useful. Then Star and Quicksilver arrived. That was a bit more surprising. They like Master Zero were less than happy with the wardrobe change. Though they also didn't really care to much about what they wore so long as they could still fight.
"Now that we have all gathered let us get down to business. We do not have much time and if aloraster sets foot on earth himself, then we have lost. Star kindly provide us with the teleportation to the ship"
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Post by Ninmast on Feb 6, 2010 23:30:05 GMT -5
Star nodded and motioned with her hands. "Everybody gather around," she instructed as they all gathered in closer. "Make sure you're each touching me." This resulted in something of a circle with her in the middle, each person's hand somewhere on her arms or shoulders. She pulled up the image provided by the former captain for this very purpose. Metal halls, ornamentless, the hum of the engines rattling through the walls and floors ... She focused on that image, that reality, then willed their bodies to bring them there.
An instant later, Las Vegas was empty once more, and the six of them stood in the maintenance sector of the mothership. They all released Star as they took in their new surroundings.
"Okay," she spoke up again. "The quickest way to bring this bird down is to take out the core powering it and the control arrays. From where we are, the power core is further, so since Quicksilver and I are faster, we should head after that. Karasawa and Master Zero should head to the clusters that link the bridge to the rest of the ship."
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Post by raptorman on Feb 6, 2010 23:49:30 GMT -5
As they arrived Aloraster's attention was immediately drawn. He could sense the presence of the one who had defied him several times already and he could sense two old foes he had thought long dead as well. He would let those who he had brought for the purpose of things like this deal with them though. No need to kill them himself. He would simply sap them as they died.
PowerCore
When Quicksilver and Star arrived they would find something they likely had not anticipated. Instead of the deserted core they found a founder simply standing there. This founder though was not wearing wrappings either of them had seen before. It was wearing robes of the purest silver color. It raised a hand as they arrived and the air before it seemed to thrum with some power.
"So you have come as Aloraster foretold. You will die here." The statement was simple and matter of fact.
Cluster Linkage 1
As Master Zero entered the chamber directly before the one containing the set of linkages a sickly green laser lanced out towards him. Then another fired as well. A rather loud clicking sound came from the far wall of the chamber. Part of the wall began to unfold from itself. For a moment that is what it seemed like. Then it became obvious something had just been camouflaged there.
The Thing that unfolded from the wall was clearly a machine of some kind, but not one that Master Zero would have ever seen before. Six long spindly arms extended from its hard metallic exoskeleton. From 4 of the arms sickly green blades of plasma emerged and from the other two, some sort of laser weapons petruded. There was no clear head on the robot but there were several glowing portholes in the body.
"Omnius Command initiate. You will stand down at once or suffer destruction. Obey"
Cluster Linkage 2
As Karasawa entered the room he would find something monstrous sitting upon a hover couch in the center of the room. It was easily as large as several of the HACKS units combined and it's body was covered in oozing sores and puss. The skin that could be seen was grey and leathery. The Head was a simple mass with vestigial eyes that glared out at the world. Rows of the serrated teeth petruded from it's circular jaws and several decaying tentacles stretched out from it's back. It didn't speak but simply spit a wad of puss towards Karasawa.
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Post by Ninmast on Feb 7, 2010 10:20:38 GMT -5
Power Core
"You know, Quicksilver," Star commented as the girls stopped before him, "I'm always amazed at how many similarities these guys have with Pyrans. Silver was their big religious color, too."
The slightly older young woman, looking similar enough to be an older sister, arched an eyebrow at the comment. "You seem to clash with a lot of religious groups ..."
"Not really," the pink girl answered, shaking her head. "Mogg was a totally phoney god. Basically, just a really powerful psychic with delusions of grandeur."
"Hmm ..." The Edenite reached up and tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Yet another similarity?"
"Indeed."
How the priest would respond to the girls seemingly completely nonplussed by his display and chatting amongst themselves in such a way was yet to be seen, but they didn't seem overly worried about it.
Cluster Linkage 1
Master Zero side-stepped first one laser, then the other, watching as the cloaked machine dropped free of the wall and threatened him. Still in civilian clothing, the Purifier scoffed. "You're the guard I've got to go through?" he asked as the air around him began to shimmer. "What a let-down. I already see all of your weaknesses." The shimmering solidified into his black armor as he reached up to take hold of the hilt of his sword. "So tell me, why by the Master should I obey such a ridiculous command from an equally ridiculous sentry droid?"
Cluster Linkage 2
A was of puss was no challenge for even a normal person to evade getting splattered with. The man looked down at where it fell next to his feet after such a simple maneuver then back at the creature. "Really," he asked blandly, "have you no civility? Even a creature as disgusting and disgracefully dying should hold itself in higher esteem."
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Post by raptorman on Feb 7, 2010 10:55:18 GMT -5
Power Core
The High Inquisitor looked at the two girls and frowned. This was not the sort of reaction that he normally witnessed. Well to be honest he hadn't had to deal with this sort of situation very often. The last time had been several worlds ago. And it hadn't even been a challenge, these two though were not reacting with the expected fear. It was slightly disconcerting.
The High Inquisitor made a gesture and a swirling vortex of energy appeared before him. Another gesture and twin swords appeared in his hands. These swords though were different and seemed to shift as if they had minds of their own.
"I care not about these Pyrans nor about their false god, nor your god for that matter.
The Swirling ball of energy split into several disks of energy. It seemed that this founder knew quite a bit more of the tricks of energy manipulation than the others.
"Though I will ask, why do you resist. It is futile and the end will come regardless of your actions here"
Cluster Linkage 1
The robot seemed to take offense at what Master Zero stated. It's high fast voice spoke out with a clear distaste present. "I am Omnius, the evermind, lord of synchrony, first of thinking machines. You will obey subject. Your rebellious programing will be purged and replaced with standard omnius grade intelligence. Deactivate and prepare for reconfiguration."
As it spoke it moved forward slightly and came into clearer view. The six arms were still the same in appearance but it became clear that Omnius possessed more practical legs beneath it's sphere of a body. The porthole like optic receivers continued to glow and the plasma blades ignited.
Cluster Linkage 2
The Creature simply stared at him for a moment. Then it spat out another wad of puss, put this time at the floor not at Karasawa. It spoke in a choked voice. "Why should I show respect, there is no point anymore. If I kill you I live on in this wretched body, if I don't I die. Eternity is overrated, I will tell you that."
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Post by Ninmast on Feb 7, 2010 11:41:07 GMT -5
Power Core
"Well, that's obvious," Quicksilver chimed sunnily. "Clearly, we don't believe Alo's gonna be so hard to stop, or we would've come with more people."
"Yeah, really," Star agreed. "Do you have any idea just how many people there are down there that are in our power range? Seriously, you guys would be better off to not even waste your time trying."
Still, the two girls seemed content to let him power up all his various tricks and weapons.
Cluster Linkage 1
Master Zero smirked as he drew his saber out, and it flared to life in a gout of plasma. "I should inform you, then, that your records are faulty," he said. "The first thinking machines predated you by eons. So why would I want to trade their intelligence for your obviously inferior programming?"
Cluster Linkage 2
"Respect?" the kingpin asked. "I suggested no such thing. I suggested civility, a care for your own presentation in the face of others. I certainly have no respect for you, and I would not insult you by pretending I did. However, it was not I that spit at you so rudely, either. The manner in which one conducts oneself determines how others will respond and inevitably determines the difficulty of the path you follow. In addition, a civility shows respect for self. Cleanliness, manners, these things show how much concern you possess for both yourself and your image."
Indeed, Karasawa even now, in the depths of this alien vessel, showed himself to be incredibly proper, in stance, in posture, in vocal tone. It was a display of control, of passive willpower. However, he was not deaf to the alien's claim. "Perhaps to you, so much time has passed that you no longer value continued life. Even those that seek immortality inevitably grow tired of it, I suppose." But now, that greasy smile of his showed itself. Neither impolite nor improper, it nevertheless portrayed something about the man's inner self. Perhaps inside, he was just as disgusting as the thing before him. If so, he did not care.
"But for me," he said, "Eternity is still very young."
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Post by raptorman on Feb 7, 2010 13:34:44 GMT -5
Power Core
"I am the High Inquisitor of Aloraster, the first among the founders. You cannot defeat me, I have the power myself granted long ago. You will fail and Aloraster will consume your lifestreams. If you have any last things to say, then say them now, I will allow you that luxury."
As the High Inquisitor finished speaking he began to shimmer and then a copy of the inquisitor began to appear beside him. It seemed to consist of silver energy for a moment before it slowly began to take on identical appearance to him. Twin swords appeared in it's hands as well.
Cluster Linkage 1
"They did not outdate me. I am eternal. Woven into the very fabric of the universe. Wherever the taychon net spreads so shall I be." Omnius raises one of the arms that had the laser weapons upon them. It pointed the arm at Master Zero and a sudden flash emitted from it. A blinding flash even for the artificial receptors of the Edenite.
When the flash faded Master Zero would find that the Robot that had stood before him had vanished. If he looked around he would still see nothing but a sudden blast of energy that he still couldn't see would strike him from the side.
Cluster Linkage 2
The Creature's half glazed eyes narrowed as the intellect that remained to the creature focused on Karasawa. "You are not truly alive. You are artificial. Interesting. Immortality without the constant decay may prove more worthwhile. And to kill you will not help me. You do not posses organics to be assimilated."
It then paused and seemed to consider something. It's rotting flesh releasing a constant stink. It shifted on it's couch and slowly pulled itself fully upright. "Do you have the capability to construct other artificial bodies? Perhaps an agreement could be reached."
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Post by Ninmast on Feb 7, 2010 14:06:36 GMT -5
Power Core
The girls grinned at one another when the man copied himself. "Actually," Star answered, "we do have something to say ..."
Both of them brought their hands together before them and focused. "TRIPLICATE!" they shouted in unison, and immediately, their forms seemed to waver and split until three of each stood before the High Inquisitor, outnumbering him once again, and this time, three to one.
Cluster Linkage 1
Invisible the blast might have been, but sight was not the only sense available to him. Inside his mind, processes announced an intrusion into his neural network and moved to close the port. Other processes traced the broadcast, while still other processes rated energy in the room and noted a large rating closing on his left side.
"Not good enough!" he shouted as he spun about, lancing the sword up in an uppercut to slice the plasmic blast in two before it could reach him. It was a moment later that the source of the broadcast was located and he spun as his grip on his sword tightened. "My turn ... I SEE YOU!!!" He stabbed the sword forward as the blade lanced out in a blaze of plasma, shooting at incredible speeds toward the construct which thought itself invisible with piercing-hot efficiency.
Cluster Linkage 2
Karasawa chuckled as he tucked a hair away. "I see ... Eternal life without eternal youth ... The mythologies of my people warn of that mistake strongly and often." He raised his gaze to return it to the decaying creature. "But yes, it is a relatively simple matter to provide you with a shell, providing your neural pathways are not too decayed, though I imagine your eternal life ensures that it is not. But I am a businessman, my friend, and a businessman never does something for nothing. What can you offer me in exchange?"
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Post by raptorman on Feb 7, 2010 14:40:56 GMT -5
Cluster Linkage 1
Omnius was a very capable intelligence and as it was such it was, though suprised, still able to react. The Blades came up and pushed aside the plasma blade with exact finesse to cause it to miss. Then a riposte. Omnius had destroyed the genje long ago and it had long since amalgamated their particular style into it's intelligence. The plasma blasters fired in unison at master zero and Omnius began an intricate attack style. Blades danced in intricate attack and parry, false attacks which danced around and towards Master Zero.
Then from the maze of false attacks real ones began to manifest and strike towards Master Zero's core.
Power Core
The High Inquisitors simply frowned at them as they copied themselves as well. Fine he decided, We will destroy them now. The Razor disks shot from in front of both of the High Inquisitors and streaked towards the Stars and Quicksilvers.
The High Inquisitor and his clone would stand their ground and let the disks do the work for now.
Cluster Linkage 2
"I can offer you not having to fight me now, and I can offer to not fight against you on earth unless you first try to kill me. You don't have to risk defeat here and I get to be rid of this decaying hulk I have so long been trapped in."
The Creature eyed Karasawa for a moment then continued. "Do we have a bargain?"
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Post by Ninmast on Feb 7, 2010 15:17:50 GMT -5
Power Core
All six girls grinned and chuckled as they dashed backwards, but there were only four that parried the blades, coming up underneath them and striking their sides instead of their bladed cutting edges. Proper knowledge of such an energy construct allowed them to shatter them on impact.
At the same time, a Quicksilver and Star came crushing in at the twin priests' sides in squeezing flying kicks at incredibly high, near-invisible speeds.
Cluster Linkage 1
The problem with long, elaborate sword dances is that they typically depend on the opponent remaining in a single place and falling for numerous feints. Master Zero seemed almost bored as the false swipes swung this way and that in an attempt to psych him out. But Master Zero was a warrior, and, if only in his own mind, the greatest swordsman to ever live. He didn't get psyched out by an old relic with an overheating processor.
Suddenly, when one of the real attacks came in, he jumped, flipping over the larger robot, who as a result would inevitably be slower, ad brought his sword back, intending to cleave it down the back.
Cluster Linkage 2
"No, sorry," the kingpin answered, clasping his arms behind his back. "That's not good enough. For one, it goes off of the assumption that you are formidable enough to give me cause for concern, and that is a poor foundation for business. Two, it would be in your best interest not to spontaneously cause trouble on Earth, anyway. By your terms, you are the only one who would truly gain anything from the exchange."
Karasawa's footfalls against the metal flooring resounded through the empty room as he moved closer to his customer. "What I deal in, what I place the greatest value on, my friend, is knowledge. How much knowledge do you have to share with me?"
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Post by raptorman on Feb 7, 2010 15:42:11 GMT -5
Power Core
The Inquisitors flicked their strange looking swords which promptly switched forms. They turned into whips lined with monomolecular blades, as they whipped out towards the girls. Since the girls were already committed to the charge they likely would not have time to dodge and so would be at the least badly flayed by the 4 whipping blades. Which would also swing them aside.
The Inquisitors did keep their eyes focused on both groups though and they were not about to be caught off guard by an attack. They were the ultimate of the founders and they would not allow themselves to be beaten.
Cluster Linkage 1
Omnius was indeed surprised by the flip attack and it had been in the middle of a strike and so could not react quickly enough to prevent itself from being harmed. There was a reason though that omnius models of this nature had a reputation of being nearly impossible to kill. It was not about to let itself end
What happened was enough to save it from being cut in half but only barely. Anyone who had ever seen armored core would have recognized what happened. Suddenly omnius flew forward in burst of green fire from vents in his back.
This was unfortunately too late to keep it from being sliced but it did manage to get far enough away that the slice only cut through a few inches of the back armor and some lesser components. Omnius would be slowed but the fight was still on.
Cluster Linkage 2
"I have millennia of knowledge. Though what you could use is probably less than I can offer. I can offer to you ways to mutate the genes of living things. I can provide you with the knowledge of how to create weapons that will evolve on their own to destroy your enemies. I can provide you with that and more, and in return I get a body that is not decaying and falling into ruin."
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Post by Ninmast on Feb 7, 2010 18:16:47 GMT -5
Power Core
But the girls vanished before the whips could connect, and before him were the other two Stars, already with energy charged as they released their blasts in his face. What he didn't see, however ...
Cluster Linkage 1
Master Zero landed as his foe dashed away. "Tch," he scoffed. "I told you that you didn't have a chance. Why do you morons never listen? Your one-track programming can't keep up with a Class S Purifier."
Cluster Linkage 2
"My primary interest is in knowledge concerning technology. Weapons, defenses, mechanics ..." Karasawa strode closer still. "But what concerns me is that with your millennia of knowledge, you apparently lack the knowledge to create your own new body." He sighed, balancing the bonuses and fallbacks of the deal in his mind. "Ah well, I'm sure to get something out of it to make it worthwhile. Very well, here is my offer: You come work for me as one of my heads of research and I build you a new body. Do we have an accord?"
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Post by raptorman on Feb 7, 2010 18:43:11 GMT -5
Power Core
It was harder to kill the High inquisitor than that though. The two of them vanished as well as the blasts roared through the space they had occupied. They each appeared behind on of the clones and stabbed their weapons which had returned to sword form into their backs.
Cluster Linkage 1
"You are foolish. I am Omnius, the origin. You are nothing to me. This shell is nothing to me." The Blades came up again into another attack posture but this time Omnius did not strike. Instead several sets of smaller arms emerged from it's torso and a full barrage of laser and plasma blasts were unleashed at Master Zero.
"I am Omnius. I am eternal"
Cluster Linkage 2
The Creature looked at Karasawa then it's massive decaying hulk seemed to shrug and it nodded it putrid head. "I agree to that deal, know you this though, I cannot create a body as I would simply be making something like this again, and I do not wish to be trapped in a decaying hulk any longer."
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Post by Ninmast on Feb 7, 2010 20:48:51 GMT -5
Power Core
They had them now. Even as the swords plunged into the backs of the Star clones, the other two Quicksilver clones appeared behind him, having moved too fast to see as they jabbed their plasmic kunai down for a lethal strike at the neck, intending to catch the jugular and spine in one motion.
Cluster Linkage 1
"I am Master Zero," the Edenite answered back as he stared flatly at the incoming blasts. "I am ..." He brought his sword up above his head, then swung it down to smite the ground before him. "BORED!!!" The blow sent up rubble, metal, cables, anything it was constructed of, up into the path of the blasts, intercepting them before they could reach the Purifier.
As the resulting dust cloud erupted between them to cloud the view, Master Zero powered through it, sword drawn back as he bull-rushed the Omnius construct.
Cluster Linkage 2
"And you shall have your body," Karasawa promised again as he strode on past. "However, your current objective should be getting off this ship and onto the planet below. I cannot promise my allies will leave it in one piece."
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