Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

Post by **CyberDragon** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:20 pm

"Of course, Tatiana. Anyone going to see Randy will just start the training, equipping, and repairing afterwards. Our visit won't be that long." The droid bound for the Hospital said.

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 8:27 pm

Now, while the, whatever this thing's engine is, is making everything disorienting. the stow-away thought to himself, shedding his disguise and heading not for the door, but a nearby utility hatch.

doors were too obvious, too easy to be spotted. besides, orbital carriers were, what, a hundred meters across on average? two hundred? Granted he hadn't gotten a look at this thing on the way up because of his hiding place, so he might be off a little but this couldn't slow his search down THAT much.

(

)

- - - - - - - -

"Okay, I will... but... um, Why? I mean, why are you trying to help?" June asks, getting distracted from his question with one of her own. She didn't have the memories to understand why, but something about this felt... off. Like how Kolt worried about her, it seemed out of place. do all beings act around their companions like this?

- - - - - - - -

"I don't think I'm ever going to understand this place." Is uttered in an unsatisfied grumble, as the twins head for the training area. Talya's nose splitting open so Kobor can climb in, and 'suit up' as it were.

Kol meanwhile moves to follow jenny, at the very least because she needs to find a moment to apologize.

Deske · Post by **Deske** » Sun Jan 28, 2018 3:24 am

Ulrich moved his way over to the "Visit Randy" line, "You know, I feel like I should have made something special for this. Like a meat cake or something."

Legotron123 · Post by **Legotron123** » Sun Jan 28, 2018 5:10 pm

Kolt followed the drone that went to the training area, remaining silent for most of the walk outside of a quiet ”Thank You” when Hivemind finally decided to get a move on and head to the training room. Around halfway through the walk, he realized something and tapped the drone in front of him on the shoulder. ”How’s June doing? Did she handle her first night well?”

Post by **CyberDragon** » Sun Jan 28, 2018 9:51 pm

Buster wrote:Now, while the, whatever this thing's engine is, is making everything disorienting. the stow-away thought to himself, shedding his disguise and heading not for the door, but a nearby utility hatch.

doors were too obvious, too easy to be spotted. besides, orbital carriers were, what, a hundred meters across on average? two hundred? Granted he hadn't gotten a look at this thing on the way up because of his hiding place, so he might be off a little but this couldn't slow his search down THAT much.

( )

Hivemind, of course, noticed the stow-away on several security cameras the instant he shed his disguise. However, it didn't seem to Hivemind like the man knew his way around. That utility hatch did go through, but only if you were one of his "spider" maintenance droids that are half a foot tall. The man would be forced to turn around before he got to anything important, and hive had already started scrambling the doors out of the cargo bay. This could be fun, he thought.

--------------------------

Buster wrote:"Okay, I will... but... um, Why? I mean, why are you trying to help?" June asks, getting distracted from his question with one of her own. She didn't have the memories to understand why, but something about this felt... off. Like how Kolt worried about her, it seemed out of place. do all beings act around their companions like this?

"Because you are going to make mistakes. That isn't bad, we all make mistakes. It's just a natural part of learning." The droid responded. "However, some mistakes cause more harm than others, and some might not seem like mistakes until someone tells you what went wrong. I want you to learn, have fun, make your own mistakes, and develop at your own pace. But I don't want you or anyone else getting hurt in the process. Kobor and Talya say you will develop faster if left alone, and you would, but you also need guidance. Not restriction, just someone to point you in the right direction when you aren't sure what to do."

Hivemind thought for a moment, and decided he should add one more thing. "Kobor and Talya say that Kaal are solitary. It might seem weird for you that Kolt and I are trying to be involved in your life. Both of us belong to very social species. Humans and Concertians are both used to living in groups where we take care of each other. I suppose we're both just following our own instincts on that."

--------------------------

Deske wrote:Ulrich moved his way over to the "Visit Randy" line, "You know, I feel like I should have made something special for this. Like a meat cake or something."

The Hive droid bound for the hospital lead it's group down the street to it's destination. The Hospital wasn't far from the Champion Tower, as champions were so often the ones getting sent there, or the ones carrying people there. On the way, Hivemind chuckled at Ulrich's comment. "I'm sure he would have liked that. The Doctor's been giving him liver. Honestly probably tastes better than usual hospital food. She says it's to give him all of the nutrients he needs for recovery, but I can't imagine he's too happy about it." He said.

They continued down the sidewalk until they entered the hospital lobby. Because Hivemind already got the doctor's OK for the visit, the droid lead the group straight up to Randy's room. They would find him out of his hospital bed sitting next to Morgan on a couple of chairs. When the group entered, the two got up. The Lycan looked thrilled. "Hey! It's great to..." Randy covered his mouth with his elbow, bent over and started coughing fairly violently. Feeling a little dizzy, he shook his head and sat back down in the chair. Morgan gave him a smile. "Sorry, everyone. His lungs are still recovering."

Randy let out another cough and shook his head again.

--------------------------

Legotron123 wrote:Kolt followed the drone that went to the training area, remaining silent for most of the walk outside of a quiet ”Thank You” when Hivemind finally decided to get a move on and head to the training room. Around halfway through the walk, he realized something and tapped the drone in front of him on the shoulder. ”How’s June doing? Did she handle her first night well?”

"Not particularly, no." The droid bound for the armory and training ground replied. "She didn't take the events of yesterday well. I had to have a talk with her. I'm still having a talk with her." He didn't want to mention how June had attacked him the previous mind, nor that she had lost her mind to instinct for a while. He didn't think Kolt would be able to handle the information at the moment. Nor did he really want to mention how more of those bubbling portals had been popping up around the Beacon, though that he was just waiting for Kolt to be in a better mood to mention. Later today, he would tell Kolt about it.

The armory and training area were under Champion Tower, so it took very little time to get there. The first place they went was the armory. It looked like a display room, with high-tech weapons, big and small, ranged and melee were placed on display racks. They were arranged by range first, then type, then size. Energy blades, arc saws, different varieties of plasma pistols and impact rifles, all of them in peak shape. Toward the back was a door labeled "armor" in which was kept a variety of defensive equipment. Shields, shielding generators, armor accessories, and a custom armor generator.

"All right, take a look around. I've got everything from utility knives to rotary energy cannons."

--------------------------

The third hive droid, bound for the forge, took it's group to a room on the "ground floor" of Champion tower. It wasn't very large, nor did it have much in it. There was a single device on the other end of the room, consisting of two main parts. There was the bottom part, which looked like a large desk that stretched along the entire wall. The top of the desk was beveled inward, giving it a small rim like a bowl. The bottom of this "bowl" was flat and rectangular with a glowing grid pattern. The top part was just as wide, and also had a matching grid pattern on it's underside. Both parts had mechanical spider-like arms that were tipped with various odd attachments of uses that were not immediately apparent.

"If you have something that needs fixing, just put it on the forge table."

~\Rook/~ · Post by **~\Rook/~** » Mon Jan 29, 2018 6:00 am

Rika went with the droid bound for the hospital, whilst Traci went to the training area droid.

---

CyberDragon wrote:The Hive droid bound for the hospital lead it's group down the street to it's destination. The Hospital wasn't far from the Champion Tower, as champions were so often the ones getting sent there, or the ones carrying people there. They continued down the sidewalk until they entered the hospital lobby. Because Hivemind already got the doctor's OK for the visit, the droid lead the group straight up to Randy's room. They would find him out of his hospital bed sitting next to Morgan on a couple of chairs. When the group entered, the two got up. The Lycan looked thrilled. "Hey! It's great to..." Randy covered his mouth with his elbow, bent over and started coughing fairly violently. Feeling a little dizzy, he shook his head and sat back down in the chair. Morgan gave him a smile. "Sorry, everyone. His lungs are still recovering."

Randy let out another cough and shook his head again.

Rika stopped herself from heading straight over to Randy, her medical instincts wanting to help. "It's okay, Randy. Just let yourself heal.." She said to him calmly before turning to Morgan. What was he hit with? I can guess it was some kind of virus, what with Hive's biohazard drones being sent out.." She asked.

---

CyberDragon wrote:The armory and training area were under Champion Tower, so it took very little time to get there. The first place they went was the armory. It looked like a display room, with high-tech weapons, big and small, ranged and melee were placed on display racks. They were arranged by range first, then type, then size. Energy blades, arc saws, different varieties of plasma pistols and impact rifles, all of them in peak shape. Toward the back was a door labeled "armor" in which was kept a variety of defensive equipment. Shields, shielding generators, armor accessories, and a custom armor generator.

"All right, take a look around. I've got everything from utility knives to rotary energy cannons."

Traci immediately eyed up the melee section, looking through the bladed weapons area first. "This.. This is amazing!" She squealed, excitement in her eyes. "I've always liked knives and blades! These look so- Oooh!" She stopped as she saw something in the next area and went over to it. It looked like a oversized mallet. The head seemed to be made out of an industrial brushed metal, while the handle looked to be made from a lightweight black polymer. After a moment, Traci jumped up and took the mallet from the rack with ease, then landed softly with it in her hands. It looked as if the mallet was heavier than a small car, yet she was holding it as if it weighed nothing. "This is perfect!" She said simply, swinging it above her head before resting it on her shoulder with one hand. "Can I have this with some throwing knives when we're in training? I love this thing!" She asked the Hive drone, standing proudly with her new favorite weapon.

dusk · Post by **dusk** » Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:10 am

Jolty sighed. No one had heard his question, and as per usual with the past five years of his life, the cat would have to take issues into his own paws. He hadn't bonded much with the hodgepodge group of creatures, and thus wasn't sure if he wanted to be a Champion. He didn't exactly have special skills. He was just a cat in a space and time that wasn't his own. He promptly began to walk away tucking the sword in his bag for very obvious reasons. He would have to locate a blacksmith on his own, and perhaps locate the parts to fix both his current medical condition, and his bow-caster, which he was running low on ammunition for, and was in desperate need of repair. The thing was almost 400 years old, after all.

Weaving and dodging people, he wandered across the great ship. People stared at him, but seemed relatively relaxed about his short stature and odd appearance. As such, his mind began to wander. He thought of his many siblings at home, all his friends, his bed, his lab....

He felt the start of small tears on his cheeks, and rubbed them away. He didn't have time for this emotional nonsense. The Da Vinci Celestials had promised if he killed the golden dragon, they would open the gateway for him to go home. But first: Finding the nessicart supplies for the cure, and fixing his main melee weapon. Easy.

Deske · Post by **Deske** » Mon Jan 29, 2018 10:55 am

"Take it easier, Randy. There is no need to get so excited that you hurt yourself." He crouched near the edge of the bed, "Has hive been keeping you updated on the current situation?"

Post by **CyberDragon** » Mon Jan 29, 2018 7:23 pm

Jolty-Kun wrote:Jolty sighed. No one had heard his question, and as per usual with the past five years of his life, the cat would have to take issues into his own paws. He hadn't bonded much with the hodgepodge group of creatures, and thus wasn't sure if he wanted to be a Champion. He didn't exactly have special skills. He was just a cat in a space and time that wasn't his own. He promptly began to walk away tucking the sword in his bag for very obvious reasons. He would have to locate a blacksmith on his own, and perhaps locate the parts to fix both his current medical condition, and his bow-caster, which he was running low on ammunition for, and was in desperate need of repair. The thing was almost 400 years old, after all.

Weaving and dodging people, he wandered across the great ship. People stared at him, but seemed relatively relaxed about his short stature and odd appearance. As such, his mind began to wander. He thought of his many siblings at home, all his friends, his bed, his lab....

He felt the start of small tears on his cheeks, and rubbed them away. He didn't have time for this emotional nonsense. The Da Vinci Celestials had promised if he killed the golden dragon, they would open the gateway for him to go home. But first: Finding the nessicart supplies for the cure, and fixing his main melee weapon. Easy.

"Jolty?" A hive droid the cat passed stepped up to him. "Where are you off to? I thought you wanted your sword fixed? If you want it fixed, then you should come with me to the forge. Unless you wanted to figure out a solution to your... problem... first." He was referring to the were-cat transformation, but he didn't want to mention that in public. "Or if you aren't in a hurry, some of the group went to visit Randy in the hospital. However, you seem to be in a hurry, so... your choice."

--------------------------

~\Rook/~ wrote:
CyberDragon wrote:The Hive droid bound for the hospital lead it's group down the street to it's destination. The Hospital wasn't far from the Champion Tower, as champions were so often the ones getting sent there, or the ones carrying people there. They continued down the sidewalk until they entered the hospital lobby. Because Hivemind already got the doctor's OK for the visit, the droid lead the group straight up to Randy's room. They would find him out of his hospital bed sitting next to Morgan on a couple of chairs. When the group entered, the two got up. The Lycan looked thrilled. "Hey! It's great to..." Randy covered his mouth with his elbow, bent over and started coughing fairly violently. Feeling a little dizzy, he shook his head and sat back down in the chair. Morgan gave him a smile. "Sorry, everyone. His lungs are still recovering."

Randy let out another cough and shook his head again.
Rika stopped herself from heading straight over to Randy, her medical instincts wanting to help. "It's okay, Randy. Just let yourself heal.." She said to him calmly before turning to Morgan. What was he hit with? I can guess it was some kind of virus, what with Hive's biohazard drones being sent out.." She asked.

"The doctor said it was a mixture of the Black Plague and some sort of virus that causes heart failure. She killed the bugs, but it took its toll on Randy's lungs." Morgan answered, holding Randy's hand.

"Doc says I'll be better by later today. Hopefully by this afternoon, if the meds do their job." Randy said quietly, not wanting to breath too hard.

Deske wrote:"Take it easier, Randy. There is no need to get so excited that you hurt yourself." He crouched near the edge of the bed, "Has hive been keeping you updated on the current situation?"

Randy nodded. "Sounds like hive is training you. I'd be the one you'd be training against if I weren't in the hospital." He turned to Jaken. "I gave Hivemind the data chip... thing."

--------------------------

~\Rook/~ wrote:Traci immediately eyed up the melee section, looking through the bladed weapons area first. "This.. This is amazing!" She squealed, excitement in her eyes. "I've always liked knives and blades! These look so- Oooh!" She stopped as she saw something in the next area and went over to it. It looked like a oversized mallet. The head seemed to be made out of an industrial brushed metal, while the handle looked to be made from a lightweight black polymer. After a moment, Traci jumped up and took the mallet from the rack with ease, then landed softly with it in her hands. It looked as if the mallet was heavier than a small car, yet she was holding it as if it weighed nothing. "This is perfect!" She said simply, swinging it above her head before resting it on her shoulder with one hand. "Can I have this with some throwing knives when we're in training? I love this thing!" She asked the Hive drone, standing proudly with her new favorite weapon.

"Sure, you can give them a try." Hivemind said. "Throwing weapons are right over there." He pointed to a shelf with several cases on them, images of different kinds of throwing weapons on them, arranged by size.

Neon Icy Wings · Post by **Neon Icy Wings** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 12:35 am

Tatiana gave a sympathetic nod towards Randy, "Well, glad the medical science is better than home's. Only a two day down time from that mix sounds pretty amazing." She scratched the side of her helmet and mumbled, " Wish I did more than I did back there..."

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 11:58 am

Jaken tried not to look chagrined as he stooped to try and help the Lycan. It had been his fault, of course, that Randy had been hurt and he apologised aloud for that as he tried to help.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jenny selected a couple of high energy plasma blasters, a cutting laser and a pulse energy machine gun that she placed on ready draw sections on her outfit.

Legotron123 · Post by **Legotron123** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:07 pm

Kolt already displeased expression got worse when Hivemind revealed how June wasn’t doing so well. He was tempted to go and comfort her, but he had no idea why she was upset, and even if he did, he had no idea on how to comfort her. He took a deep breath and looked at the droid in front of him. ”You..... have much more experience than me when it comes to stuff like this, so I’m just going to trust that you can help her through this. Please make sure she’s calm and safe.” He said before they finally arrived at the training center. Looking around at the weapons and equipment on display, he couldn’t help but notice how something seemed to be missing. ”Where’s the punching bags? Are they kept in the ceiling when they’re not deployed or something?”

Deske · Post by **Deske** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:25 pm

"Yeah, you are going to be back on your feet in no time. Did the doctor say anything about any sort of rehab or are you going to be good to go once you get out?"

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:49 pm

before retrieving her armor and weapons, Kol first heads over to Jenny while she was looking through weapons. "Jenny, I wanted to apologize for crashing into you." she states looking embarrassed, her upper claws fidgeting somewhat.

The twins on the other hand have started browsing through the larger pieces of ordinance a few racks down, mostly focusing on vehicular weapons, since their wide base, size, and lifting capacity makes them best suited as the team's heavy-weapons platform. with the right armaments and a layer of reactive armor Talya is a literal tank.

After a while, they return with dual rack of back mounted variable-payload warheads, an under slung particle canon supported by one arm, and a familiar rotary canon from the other day beneath the other, lastly a glowing green 'bubble' around them. "Don't care if it shouldn't be possible, I could get used to this."

- - - - - -

June's response to the explanation of being social is a deadpan "You're weeeeeeeiiiird." followed by her sticking her tongue out.

- - - - - -

...I think i'm stuck...This was a terrible idea...

Post by **CyberDragon** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 8:35 pm

Neon Icy Wings wrote:Tatiana gave a sympathetic nod towards Randy, "Well, glad the medical science is better than home's. Only a two day down time from that mix sounds pretty amazing." She scratched the side of her helmet and mumbled, " Wish I did more than I did back there..."

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Jaken tried not to look chagrined as he stooped to try and help the Lycan. It had been his fault, of course, that Randy had been hurt and he apologised aloud for that as he tried to help.

Randy growled and snapped his jaws together, baring his teeth.

"Translation: 'The next person to say it's their fault or they should have done more is getting bitten.'" Morgan said. Randy wouldn't really do it, but he gave a nod at her translation of what he meant.

"We've been over this, he and I. The only one he blames is that psycho who threw the syringe in the first place."

Deske wrote:"Yeah, you are going to be back on your feet in no time. Did the doctor say anything about any sort of rehab or are you going to be good to go once you get out?"

Randy shook his head.

"The Doctor said that, as long as he doesn't exert himself too much, he should be good to go by the time we reach Cana. He's actually doing a lot better than he was just an hour ago." Morgan spoke for him. However, he managed to get his voice again.

"Couldn't speak at all, then."

-----------------------------

Legotron123 wrote:Kolt already displeased expression got worse when Hivemind revealed how June wasn’t doing so well. He was tempted to go and comfort her, but he had no idea why she was upset, and even if he did, he had no idea on how to comfort her. He took a deep breath and looked at the droid in front of him. ”You..... have much more experience than me when it comes to stuff like this, so I’m just going to trust that you can help her through this. Please make sure she’s calm and safe.” He said before they finally arrived at the training center. Looking around at the weapons and equipment on display, he couldn’t help but notice how something seemed to be missing. ”Where’s the punching bags? Are they kept in the ceiling when they’re not deployed or something?”

"Don't worry. She's calmed down. We're talking now. I'll make sure she's safe." Hivemind said. When Kolt asked about the training room, Hivemind corrected him. "This isn't the training room. That's through those doors over there." He pointed to a large pair of doors at the end of the room. "This is the armory. It's where you equip yourself for the training room to see what weapons and armor you like best."

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Jenny selected a couple of high energy plasma blasters, a cutting laser and a pulse energy machine gun that she placed on ready draw sections on her outfit.

Buster wrote:before retrieving her armor and weapons, Kol first heads over to Jenny while she was looking through weapons. "Jenny, I wanted to apologize for crashing into you." she states looking embarrassed, her upper claws fidgeting somewhat.

The twins on the other hand have started browsing through the larger pieces of ordinance a few racks down, mostly focusing on vehicular weapons, since their wide base, size, and lifting capacity makes them best suited as the team's heavy-weapons platform. with the right armaments and a layer of reactive armor Talya is a literal tank.

After a while, they return with dual rack of back mounted variable-payload warheads, an under slung particle canon supported by one arm, and a familiar rotary canon from the other day beneath the other, lastly a glowing green 'bubble' around them. "Don't care if it shouldn't be possible, I could get used to this."

"If you are all done picking out your weapons, we can go into the training room and start round one."

-----------------------------

Buster wrote:June's response to the explanation of being social is a deadpan "You're weeeeeeeiiiird." followed by her sticking her tongue out.

"And don't you forget it." Hivemind jokingly responded. "But seriously, we are here to help you. I know you can take care of yourself, but at the moment you are at risk. Not from anything that might hurt you, but you are at risk of doing things you will regret. I don't want you to have regrets. They are the absolute worst."

-----------------------------

Buster wrote:...I think i'm stuck...This was a terrible idea...

Hivemind let the intruder sit there and sweat for a short while. Then he sent in one of those spider drones.

The stowaway would hear the tapping of something with 8 spindly legs approaching from ahead, as well as from behind him. The tapping got closer and closer until the foot-tall mechanical spider scuttled into view. It had "eyes" all over it's body. It's legs were very long and very thin, and it had a group of small arms sticking out from it's "head", each one armed with rather dangerous looking maintenance tools. The robot skittered up to the intruder and tapped him on the face a couple times before doing its job and removing the blockage. The spider braced itself against the walls of the crawlspace with four legs and put the other four legs on the man's face. It then started to rather unceremoniously started shoving against his face while two other spiders grabbed onto his legs and pulled. This went on for what would seem like a long, awkward time until finally he was dislodged with an airy pop!

The spiders threw him out of the crawlspace, went back inside, and shut the door. Hivemind was laughing to himself.

-----------------------------

After finally deciphering the information in the storage device he got from Randy, Hivemind looked at it's contents. They seemed to be before and after photos of Celicans who have undergone a surgery to make them look like completely different people. He considered the significance of this, as well as how some of the after images looked very familiar. He decided to ask Hannabelle about it.

"I hope I am not disturbing you, Hannabelle. I have something I would like you to take a look at." He showed the images on her TV screen. "Can you identify who any of these people are?"

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 9:28 pm

The tapping of eight spindly legs would be met with unignified screaming a good two octives above Julian's normal vocal range. Being touched by the hideous god awful things would result in much swatting, flailing, hyperventilating, and even more screamng.

After being free, he decided to return to his box for a while.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 4:52 am

"Familiar," the old hitter commented, looking aat the faces on screen. "Exceptionally, in fact." She tapped the first. "Harkavan Jontal. Up and coming leader of the up and coming club. Twenty Four and in the opposition cabinet as representative for energy. Rumoured tohave powerful friends in that industry. Or powerful people that owe him something. THIS," she added, tapping the other male, "is Darravak Monta, the CEO of Monta weapontech. They make everything from Daggers to starships. When it comes to hostile takeovers, the hired bullet often drives down the share prices. and the 'lady',"she added sourly, "Haplin Zabta. A vixen of iron will. She's trouble. She's the vice president."

~\Rook/~ · Post by **~\Rook/~** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 9:41 am

CyberDragon wrote:Randy growled and snapped his jaws together, baring his teeth.

"Translation: 'The next person to say it's their fault or they should have done more is getting bitten.'" Morgan said. Randy wouldn't really do it, but he gave a nod at her translation of what he meant.

"We've been over this, he and I. The only one he blames is that psycho who threw the syringe in the first place."

Deske wrote:"Yeah, you are going to be back on your feet in no time. Did the doctor say anything about any sort of rehab or are you going to be good to go once you get out?"
Randy shook his head.

"The Doctor said that, as long as he doesn't exert himself too much, he should be good to go by the time we reach Cana. He's actually doing a lot better than he was just an hour ago." Morgan spoke for him. However, he managed to get his voice again.

"Couldn't speak at all, then."

Rika just nodded, not blinking an eye at Randy's outburst. She still stepped over to Jaken and gave him a reassuring pat on the head. In her head, she was coming up with some possible pill compositions that could help soothe Randy's throat and lungs just in case.

---

CyberDragon wrote:"If you are all done picking out your weapons, we can go into the training room and start round one."

Once she picked out some good throwing knives from the display, Trinity headed to the training room door. "This is going to be interesting.. Oh wait! Don't we need our combat gear?" She asked, remembering that she was wearing just her casual attire.

Post by **CyberDragon** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:58 pm

Buster wrote:The tapping of eight spindly legs would be met with unignified screaming a good two octives above Julian's normal vocal range. Being touched by the hideous god awful things would result in much swatting, flailing, hyperventilating, and even more screamng.

After being free, he decided to return to his box for a while.

Hivemind was laughing so hard in his head, he had to dedicate a droid in a quiet room specifically to laughing so the rest of the droids wouldn't experience random giggling fits.

------------------

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Familiar," the old hitter commented, looking aat the faces on screen. "Exceptionally, in fact." She tapped the first. "Harkavan Jontal. Up and coming leader of the up and coming club. Twenty Four and in the opposition cabinet as representative for energy. Rumoured tohave powerful friends in that industry. Or powerful people that owe him something. THIS," she added, tapping the other male, "is Darravak Monta, the CEO of Monta weapontech. They make everything from Daggers to starships. When it comes to hostile takeovers, the hired bullet often drives down the share prices. and the 'lady',"she added sourly, "Haplin Zabta. A vixen of iron will. She's trouble. She's the vice president."

"What about the before pictures?" Hivemind asked.

------------------

~\Rook/~ wrote:Rika just nodded, not blinking an eye at Randy's outburst. She still stepped over to Jaken and gave him a reassuring pat on the head. In her head, she was coming up with some possible pill compositions that could help soothe Randy's throat and lungs just in case.

Randy felt bad about snapping at Jaken. "Sorry. First it was Morgan blaming herself, then it was Hivemind blaming himself, then you two..." He coughed in his arm. "You all need to stop blaming yourselves. None of you threw the syringe."

------------------

~\Rook/~ wrote:Once she picked out some good throwing knives from the display, Trinity headed to the training room door. "This is going to be interesting.. Oh wait! Don't we need our combat gear?" She asked, remembering that she was wearing just her casual attire.

"Yes. You can pick out something temporary in the armor room over there." He pointed to a different set of doors at the far end of the room.

dusk · Post by **dusk** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 7:57 pm

Jolty grumbled some kind of reply. "Look, I have to fix something else too."

Post by **CyberDragon** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:46 pm

Jolty-Kun wrote:Jolty grumbled some kind of reply. "Look, I have to fix something else too."

"Look..." The droid started. "I'm here to help you, Jolty. It's what I do. If you need something fixed, or if you need to find something, you can either wander the 20,000,000 cubic mile ship until you find it, or you can tell me what it is and I will lead you to what you need. I am on a first-name basis with every one of the 10 billion people on board, and being the ship itself, I know every corner of it by heart. What do you need to fix?" He had a feeling that there was something Jolty wasn't telling him...

Neon Icy Wings · Post by **Neon Icy Wings** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 2:27 am

Tatiana gave a chuckle at Randy's well meaning threat, "Yeah, I just got my shell fixed, so I'll bite my metaphorical tongue from now on. Guess I'm still getting used to this 'team' thing. But glad to know we avoided any permanent damage yesterday." Tatiana did want to crack a joke about the assassins who crashed the party the previous night but she didn't know if Randy knew and didn't want to add any undue stress to his day.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:15 am

Hannabell looked at the other three pictures and considered. "The middle one? Not a clue," she said. "As for the others? I've seen glimpses of an up and coming called 'WraathRaven'. CCTV clips and distance shots mostly. He's a hands on type. Likes to rip out throats with his thumb claws. It COULD be him. Or a hundred others. She's more obvious. Especially if you're retired and sometimes watch the afternoon movies on Celica 24. Particularly last Mondays, I think it was. Again, her or someone similar."
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Jennywas about to take her newly acquired weapons to the firing and combat area and make ready, donning the obligatory armour, when Kol stopped to apologise for the night before. "Don't worry about it, Kol," she told her friend lightly, "No real harm done and you didn't know the drink would hit you that hard, did ya?"
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"You gonna get themnext time, mr Randy," Jaken asked.

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:19 am

"We don't drinks that do that back home, no..." She commented, still looking embarrassed, grabbing a staff like the one back in her room off the rack before following jenny further, "Though it does explain why hivemind keeps telling me to be careful of the food here, if some of it does things like that."

the twins meanwhile are already inside, picking out a good vantage point for creating a 'killbox'.

- - - - - - - -

"um... I don't think we're talking about me any more, are we?" June comments, her tone calmer, more collected than she was a moment earlier. If concertians are social, and I'm part one, maybe I should try to be too...

"What happened? Maybe I can, uh, help?"

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 2:40 pm

"Just warn us next time," Jenny joked, "and we'll put you next to the bad guy!"

Legotron123 · Post by **Legotron123** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 7:03 pm

Kolt hmmed and looked at the door for a few seconds, before turning back to look at the droid again. ”Do you mind if I go in there and let out some steam while everyone else is picking a weapon? My combat style doesn’t use them, and Quint can just access any of the memories I have of those self defense classes I took.” He asked, hoping there wasn’t something else Hivemind wanted him to do.

Post by **CyberDragon** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 7:47 pm

Neon Icy Wings wrote:Tatiana gave a chuckle at Randy's well meaning threat, "Yeah, I just got my shell fixed, so I'll bite my metaphorical tongue from now on. Guess I'm still getting used to this 'team' thing. But glad to know we avoided any permanent damage yesterday." Tatiana did want to crack a joke about the assassins who crashed the party the previous night but she didn't know if Randy knew and didn't want to add any undue stress to his day.

"Hive said things.... got even more exciting... at the meeting." The Lycan said by coincidence, taking breaths . "How did that go?" He asked.

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"You gonna get themnext time, mr Randy," Jaken asked.

Randy gave a smile and a thumbs up, indicating that yes, he would.

---------------------

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Hannabell looked at the other three pictures and considered. "The middle one? Not a clue," she said. "As for the others? I've seen glimpses of an up and coming called 'WraathRaven'. CCTV clips and distance shots mostly. He's a hands on type. Likes to rip out throats with his thumb claws. It COULD be him. Or a hundred others. She's more obvious. Especially if you're retired and sometimes watch the afternoon movies on Celica 24. Particularly last Mondays, I think it was. Again, her or someone similar."

"This raises more questions than it answers." Hivemind said. "Jaken had this on him, and he believes this information is why he is being attacked. One question I have, is why did they change their faces? I can think of a couple reasons, but I want to hear what you think."

---------------------

Buster wrote:"um... I don't think we're talking about me any more, are we?" June comments, her tone calmer, more collected than she was a moment earlier. If concertians are social, and I'm part one, maybe I should try to be too...

"What happened? Maybe I can, uh, help?"

"Hmm? Oh!" Hivemind let out a laugh. "No, no. There's nothing you can do about it. I'm fifty years old. I've done plenty of things I regret in my time, most of them happened long ago. They never go away, though. They stick with you. That's what makes them regrets, and that's why I don't want you to have any."

---------------------

Buster wrote:"We don't drinks that do that back home, no..." She commented, still looking embarrassed, grabbing a staff like the one back in her room off the rack before following jenny further, "Though it does explain why hivemind keeps telling me to be careful of the food here, if some of it does things like that."

the twins meanwhile are already inside, picking out a good vantage point for creating a 'killbox'.

Legotron123 wrote:Kolt hmmed and looked at the door for a few seconds, before turning back to look at the droid again. ”Do you mind if I go in there and let out some steam while everyone else is picking a weapon? My combat style doesn’t use them, and Quint can just access any of the memories I have of those self defense classes I took.” He asked, hoping there wasn’t something else Hivemind wanted him to do.

"Sure thing, Kolt. But I'm not going to start the training until everyone is inside. It's a bit different from what I think you are used to." He said, gesturing toward the other room.

The inside of the training area was a well rounded arena. Rocks and pillars stuck out of the ground, providing cover. A couple of hills with a natural bridge between them stood near the center, under which a creek ran. The creek stretched from a cave to a small pond. Trees scattered the area, and one side of the arena boundaries had a rocky cliff face. The horizon would look very convincing, like it stretched forever, closer inspection would reveal an invisible wall around the area. Finally, a tower stood opposite of the cliff face.

At the top was a window where spectators could watch the training session from. Currently the people sitting in the tower included mostly high ranking champions. Gear sat next to a fairly slim woman in light, flexible armor. On his other side was a colossal titan of a... human? maybe? This person was completely obscured under heavy armor. The armor itself looked like it could win a fight with a heavy destroyer by simply colliding with it. Behind them three people sat. One looked like some kind of reptile, resembling a monitor lizard. He wore mid-weight armor that was packed with different gadgets and devices. Next to him was what looked like a well decorated human veteran in medium armor, except for he had shining silver wings sticking out of his back. Sitting next to him on the opposite side was an elderly man with a beard, cloak, and cane. Finally, Hivemind already had a droid sitting in the front row.

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:04 pm

CyberDragon wrote:"Hmm? Oh!" Hivemind let out a laugh. "No, no. There's nothing you can do about it. I'm fifty years old. I've done plenty of things I regret in my time, most of them happened long ago. They never go away, though. They stick with you. That's what makes them regrets, and that's why I don't want you to have any."

"I don't think I would anyway. According to auntie, we retain cognitive skills and personality traits when we change hosts, but rarely the memories that made them. Can't regret what I won't remember in a few years." she sounds FAR too cheerful about that. As if your mind basically getting reformatted every few years was no big deal.

Legotron123 · Post by **Legotron123** » Fri Feb 02, 2018 6:41 pm

Kolt found himself disappointed by the training room. Not because it failed at what it was going for (which Kolt assumed was an arena for some kind of free for all), but because he was hoping for a private spot to vent his frustrations, and the viewing room at the top of that tower made that rather difficult. Eventually he found a spot out of view of the tower, a cluster of trees so tightly packed that their branches blocked out the artificial sun. Now that he was certain his actions wouldn’t be viewed by a group of mostly strangers, he started wailing on one of the trees, covering his fists with little forcefields so they wouldn’t get hurt.

Deske · Post by **Deske** » Fri Feb 02, 2018 9:21 pm

"Well, there we more assassins. I think they were going after the Prime Minister or someone else important, but they were not very good at their jobs and did not hit their target. They were subdued without much trouble. A few scratches, but nothing a bandaid could not cover up," Ulrich explained.

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Sat Feb 03, 2018 8:44 am

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Just warn us next time," Jenny joked, "and we'll put you next to the bad guy!"

That got a laugh from Kol, as she followed jenny into the training room, having forgone her armor as, as far as she knew all it was good for was keeping her cold, something that was less of an issue in a controlled environment. "Great... more creepy tall waving things..." she comments noticing the layout.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Sat Feb 03, 2018 11:28 am

"Tall, wavy, hings aren't so bad," Jenny admitted, getting into the 'ready' position. "unless they can shoot at you!"
--------------------------------------------------------------
"I'd say it's switch and replace," Hannabelle mused. "Sometimes it's cheaper to replace the person than buy them. And usually works easier too."

Post by **CyberDragon** » Sat Feb 03, 2018 3:17 pm

Buster wrote:"I don't think I would anyway. According to auntie, we retain cognitive skills and personality traits when we change hosts, but rarely the memories that made them. Can't regret what I won't remember in a few years." she sounds FAR too cheerful about that. As if your mind basically getting reformatted every few years was no big deal.

"Do you really want to hold on to the guilt of accidentally loosing control and killing someone for 19 or so years?" Hivemind responded seriously, deciding to bring things back to the original point and that June should take "doing things she will regret" a bit more seriously considering her situation. "And even once you switch hosts, even if you loose your memory, something like that won't leave you. You may forget, but people around you won't, and they might not understand you don't remember what happened. That's why we need to work together to make sure the regrets you do end up with are the ones that go away." He felt bad about suddenly turning the conversation dark again. He let out a sighing sound. "Look... June, I just want you to be safe, like I want everyone on this ship to be safe. I just want you to promise me that if you start feeling weird, or bad, then you'll let me know."

----------------------------

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"I'd say it's switch and replace," Hannabelle mused. "Sometimes it's cheaper to replace the person than buy them. And usually works easier too."

"That was my thought as well." Hivemind responded. "Now how to prove it... Hmm... Do you think they would come aboard the ship if I offered to open up trade with Celica? I could invite these three along with some other Celican businessmen and representatives to discuss business deals with the wealthiest civilization in the galaxy. I don't think they'd be able to refuse, do you?"

----------------------------

Deske wrote:"Well, there we more assassins. I think they were going after the Prime Minister or someone else important, but they were not very good at their jobs and did not hit their target. They were subdued without much trouble. A few scratches, but nothing a bandaid could not cover up," Ulrich explained.

"I heard they were amateurs." He said, smiling.

----------------------------

Legotron123 wrote:Kolt found himself disappointed by the training room. Not because it failed at what it was going for (which Kolt assumed was an arena for some kind of free for all), but because he was hoping for a private spot to vent his frustrations, and the viewing room at the top of that tower made that rather difficult. Eventually he found a spot out of view of the tower, a cluster of trees so tightly packed that their branches blocked out the artificial sun. Now that he was certain his actions wouldn’t be viewed by a group of mostly strangers, he started wailing on one of the trees, covering his fists with little forcefields so they wouldn’t get hurt.

Buster wrote:That got a laugh from Kol, as she followed jenny into the training room, having forgone her armor as, as far as she knew all it was good for was keeping her cold, something that was less of an issue in a controlled environment. "Great... more creepy tall waving things..." she comments noticing the layout.

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"Tall, wavy, hings aren't so bad," Jenny admitted, getting into the 'ready' position. "unless they can shoot at you!"

Once everyone was inside, Hivemind spoke over the intercom to the group. "Welcome to the Illusory Training Center. Everything you see before you is either programmable matter or a hardlight projection, or some other programmable illusion designed to be as real as possible. In this room, I set up a battleground and scenario you must go through. Originally the plan was to train against The Lycan, practicing fighting an opponent you cannot see and who controls the environment you are in. However, because he is still recovering, I've decided to start you on a more basic scenario. Your job is to protect the civilian." At that moment, a terrified looking human materialized out of thin air in the middle of the arena, though he didn't move. "Because I didn't remind you to equip for non-lethal fighting, the attackers will be of the mindless drone variety." out in the horizon, beyond the illusion walls, a massive hoard of mindless androids materialized and stood at the ready. "Champions are heroes first. It is our job to protect those that can't protect themselves, no matter who they are. Once I start the round, those androids are going to try to 'kill' the civilian. It is your job to make sure they never reach him." Once everyone was ready, Hivemind started the countdown. "Get ready, the enemies are attacking in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." And at 0, the androids rushed in. The civilian also activated, as he suddenly screamed and ran for cover under the natural bridge.

Legotron123 · Post by **Legotron123** » Sat Feb 03, 2018 4:34 pm

Kolt immediately moved to protect the civilian, blocking the underside of the bridge off with forcefields, then covered the forcefield with large spikes, so the drones couldn’t even get close enough to damage it. The nameless guy safe, Kolt summoned his suit and radioed the others. ”I’m going to cover the civilian, you guys handle the droids.” He said as he stood inside the forcefield, waiting for the inevitable curveball he was sure Hivemind would try and throw at them. As he waited, a thought popped into his head. ”So, is there anything stopping me from just taking this guy into the air where the drones can’t reach him? I didn’t spot any ranged weapons or anything that might enable them to fly.”

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Sat Feb 03, 2018 4:50 pm

While hivemind was counting down, Talya was locking targets, the instant the count hit 0 both missile pods were emptied and discarded as two dozen trees exploded into splinters, creating a 100m gap between Kolt and the enemy of coverless churned up broken terrain, too rough to run across but not quite rough enough to hide in. the ledge she was set up on blocking one side, forcing them to either go wide around the gap, or walk into line of sight of a living turret.

Looking over at jenny, Kol grinned, dropping onto all fours and making something akin to a purr as she spoke. "Bet I get more than you." she taunted her teammate before taking off, skirting around one edge of the mess towards the approaching machines.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Sun Feb 04, 2018 11:47 am

Jenny had to grin at her colleague as the behemoth charged the enemy. For her own sake, Jenny pulled two hi-energy pulse pistols and made her presence known, volley firing into a clump of androids whilst running in towards them, moving aside at random times or to take cover. She moved towards the higher ground.
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"That's a dangerous play, Hive," Hannabelle warned. "They do know the kid's here and they probably know the information they were trying to kill him over. If you suddenly invite a group of politicians on board - and I don't believe you ever have before - and they're on the list? I'd smell a Rat. And, from that point, it's like inviting something unstable and explosive into your lair. Why not save them from some sort of disaster? Like you did with the Bahamas yesterday? That got you right among them." She allowed a small smile. "And, if there isn't a convenient bad guy or disaster to fight? I'm sure you could make one?"
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Jaken examined the medical instruments. He appreciated the bladed thingies more than the round or ball ones. He's seen his dad use things like those when it came to adjusting the skin.

Post by **CyberDragon** » Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:20 pm

Welsh Halfwit wrote:"That's a dangerous play, Hive," Hannabelle warned. "They do know the kid's here and they probably know the information they were trying to kill him over. If you suddenly invite a group of politicians on board - and I don't believe you ever have before - and they're on the list? I'd smell a Rat. And, from that point, it's like inviting something unstable and explosive into your lair. Why not save them from some sort of disaster? Like you did with the Bahamas yesterday? That got you right among them." She allowed a small smile. "And, if there isn't a convenient bad guy or disaster to fight? I'm sure you could make one?"

"That might be something to consider... The problem with that is I would prefer to have them on the Beacon. Here, my word is more than law. I control everything from where doors open up to, to the weather. If I had them here, I could monitor everything they do or say without them realizing, and if they tried anything they'd be caught immediately. Also, it's not unheard of for me to invite merchants and politicians on board to discuss opening up trade. It's how this ship makes most of it's money, after all. However, if the Champions save them first, then that should ease their suspicions should I invite them on board to discuss work on repairs. After that, I could keep them there to discuss further things. The longer I can keep them on the beacon, the better."

-------------------

Legotron123 wrote:Kolt immediately moved to protect the civilian, blocking the underside of the bridge off with forcefields, then covered the forcefield with large spikes, so the drones couldn’t even get close enough to damage it. The nameless guy safe, Kolt summoned his suit and radioed the others. ”I’m going to cover the civilian, you guys handle the droids.” He said as he stood inside the forcefield, waiting for the inevitable curveball he was sure Hivemind would try and throw at them. As he waited, a thought popped into his head. ”So, is there anything stopping me from just taking this guy into the air where the drones can’t reach him? I didn’t spot any ranged weapons or anything that might enable them to fly.”

"Not yet, there isn't. But this is the lowest setting for "protect the civilian". That strategy won't work for very long."

Buster wrote:While hivemind was counting down, Talya was locking targets, the instant the count hit 0 both missile pods were emptied and discarded as two dozen trees exploded into splinters, creating a 100m gap between Kolt and the enemy of coverless churned up broken terrain, too rough to run across but not quite rough enough to hide in. the ledge she was set up on blocking one side, forcing them to either go wide around the gap, or walk into line of sight of a living turret.

Looking over at jenny, Kol grinned, dropping onto all fours and making something akin to a purr as she spoke. "Bet I get more than you." she taunted her teammate before taking off, skirting around one edge of the mess towards the approaching machines.

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Jenny had to grin at her colleague as the behemoth charged the enemy. For her own sake, Jenny pulled two hi-energy pulse pistols and made her presence known, volley firing into a clump of androids whilst running in towards them, moving aside at random times or to take cover. She moved towards the higher ground.

The mindless droids were not deterred too much by the newly broken terrain. They were pouring across it like like an endless flood, slowing only slightly due to the roughness of the ground. Many tripped and fell, but the others simply swarmed over them, not slowing down for caution's sake. Any that made it across made a beeline for the civilian and the shield surrounding it.

Legotron123 · Post by **Legotron123** » Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:52 pm

”I’d be disappointed if it did.” Kolt said, as the swarm of drones rushed to impale themselves on his spikes, none of them doing more than negligible damage to his forcefields. That was bound to change as Hivemind upped the difficulty though, and he needed a way out of here before that happened. He tapped a few buttons on his gauntlet and radioed the others. ”I’m going to try and drill my way of here through the top. I need someone to cover me while I do so.”

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Sun Feb 04, 2018 3:59 pm

"On it, fair fellow," Jenny advised, noting they were ignoring her. "It's a straight forward pile- on situation, guys. Be careful where you aim!" So saying, she upped the gain and began firing at the tide. She flipped one of her heavier weapons into her hands and fired the grenade that was stored under the barrel. The charge grenade arced out in an electric 'explosion' designed to EMP as much as possible. She made a mental note to get a grenade launcher next time.

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Sun Feb 04, 2018 4:21 pm

The twins meanwhile are using the open patch as a shooting gallery from their raised vantage point, particle bursts and explosive shell's raining down on the, admittedly somewhat obvious, killbox at several hundred rounds per minute. while Kol has reached their apparent source and is charging back and forth through them on all fours, he r staff in power axe mode held in her upper claws and swinging left and right as she runs.