Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Heya, Kol," Jenny called back, waving to her friend as Kolt talked with Hive, "you ok, pal?"

[CyberDragon]

"I don't need it. Not eating up my power supply diverting bloodflow past a damaged artery any more." She states, tapping the plate behind her eye as if that action and the seemingly unrelated sentence might somehow explain her lack of a need for a map or directions.

the way she wanders around once outside the hospital would almost resemble a grid search pattern if she weren't navigating around structures.

"I... wait, what are you talking about? A damaged artery?"

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

"Alright." Kol states about to ask something, before she notices he group on the other side of the room and yells "Jenny! Hi!" waving with one arm.

"Heya, Kol," Jenny called back, waving to her friend as Kolt talked with Hive, "you ok, pal?"

Archangel cleaned up his tray and stood up to take it to the used tray stack.
Gadgeteer's stomach distended slightly as he finished swallowing the turkey-sized meal. He also got up to return his tray. "I'm going to head back to the observation room."
Recon retrieved a take-home box and put her leftover food inside it before sticking it in a bag to carry with her.

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

Kolt sighed. ”Guess I’m just going to have to ask them about it later.” He said before finishing off the last of his milkshake. He opened a hammer space pocket and had started putting the remaining pizza inside when he heard Hivemind mention the name of their interferer. ”Isn’t Diligitis the god of love that Hobomancer followed?” He paused for a moment as he considering the implications. ”Yeah, I can see why he’d want us to forgive our worst enemies. Still, as I just said, I wasted a ridiculous amount of time and money trying to find a reason to sympathize with Allsight, and all that did was make me hate him more.”

Tatiana sighed and made quick work of her remaining sandwich, "What next on the training schedule? Sparring, villains, disasters?"

Ulrich wrapped his sandwich up in the paper it came in and asked a nearby HiveDroid if there was any way to get it sent to his room without inconveniencing Hive with such a trivial task. He returned to the group quickly, "Probably all three again. Or maybe it will just be regular training."

"Your next challenge is-"
"Me."

The droid actually jumped in surprise and spun around. Standing there, large as life and dark as a shadow was a fully recovered Lycan. "Randy! I didn't see you there.'

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

"You should know something," Corp grunted, thumbing back over his shoulder at the general Beacon, "whatever it is THEY think of you, it's not as a Dictator. Wrong feeling for that. Dictators don't stand for the people.
I do. If the people are threatened. If their safety is imperilled?" His voice darkened a few shades in tone. "[color=#4040800Then I act or die trying.[/color] It resumed normal tone. "But they don't see you like that from what I gathered on the way through. Take that as you will."

Hivemind nodded. "You'd make a good champion."

”You misunderstand. It’s because you did it to yourself willingly that it’s so disturbing. I’m all for making sure you’re properly regulated, but brainwashing yourself goes a bit too far.” Liz said, still clearly disturbed by what Hivemind did to himself.
”Let’s talk about something else.” Lewis said, trying to get his Captains mind of the current subject. ”With all of our money either being in other dimensions or useless, pretty much every adult that was on the Steelhaven is going to need to get a job. If any of them so choose, are they going to be able to get work somewhere other than this ship?”

"If they choose it they can. However, it wouldn't be easy to work off of the ship while living on it. They could move, but very few places have the benefits that jobs on the Beacon have. Of course, they can go back to their jobs on the Steelhaven." He said, leaning forward and clearly hinting at something, but not elaborating.

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

"A secure line would probably be an idea," Hannabelle said, jinking aside as an alien child almost collided with her. "Otherwise a group of strangers are going to turn up on the doorstep of a Celican whose mother trained her to be almost paranoid. It may not go easily."

"All right. I'll try to have a secure line by the time we get back to the safe house. Is there anywhere else you want to go first? There won't be much time to go and do things after you get back to the safe house."

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

Chris took the tablet from the HiveDroid with a word of thanks and began filling out the information on it, though mistakenly putting the date from his universe instead of this one. Once he was done he handed it back to the droid.

Hivemind checked the information on the application. He fixed the date before logging it. "All right. Next is the interview. It's normally held in Champion tower in one of the meeting rooms. Are you both ready?"

"I am ready." MT stated before looking at Chris, waiting for his response.

[Buster]

"Feeling better now." Kol called back after getting as far as she was going to through her food. "uhf... I probably should have told him it usually takes three or four of us to finish off one of these..."

when the other team started to head off, she decided to go join Jenny and the others, making a sort of 'follow me' gesture towards Traci.

- - - - - - -

"I... wait, what are you talking about? A damaged artery?"

"well, technically the bio-implant connected to it. Downside of muscle weave fluid chanels." Epsilon stated as the two walked, "Great strength boost, but they need a source of hydraulic pressure. I would have left the primary channels in if I had known your machine could repair them." her meandering path going seemingly nowhere. Still no explanation how that has anything to do with navigation.

[Diagnostic complete, blood toxicity within tolerances of dyalitic implant. external treatment unnecessary.]
Huh. that's a rare streak of luck. map status?
[interior and exterior structures of all objects within 500m radius of origin point plotted. 1km radius at 41%]
good.

[~\Rook/~]

Archangel smiled. "Maybe one of these days your team and ours will be able to team up together." he finished his food. "We should probably hurry. Don't want to keep Hive waiting."

"I hope so too! Seeing you guys in action would be amazing!" Traci said enthusiastically before finishing off the remainder of her salad and putting her tray away.

"Your next challenge is-"
"Me."

The droid actually jumped in surprise and spun around. Standing there, large as life and dark as a shadow was a fully recovered Lycan. "Randy! I didn't see you there.'

Traci looked stunned. "We're sparring with The Lycan!?" She blurted out loudly before clasping her hands over her muzzle. "Sorry.." She added lowly, opening her hands slightly just to say that.

-----

"Oh, so that's what a mother is." June comments to herself quietly before saying a polite "hello."

Jaken nodded to the older pair before bowing to the more Foxlike mother. "Greetings to the family," he said, remembering his manners. "I am most glad to see the hunt has been good for you."

"Nice to meetcha both!" David replied lightly, nodding in greeting.
"Nice to meet you both.." Sahlia said flatly, bowing back to Jaken.
"Right! Now that we all know each other, let's get some lunch!" Rika said suddenly, gesturing to the food court behind her. "I'm paying, my treat." She added.
"Hm, alright.." Sahlia mumbled lowly before getting up. She seemed somewhat skeptical about how Rika was acting..
"Bonza! Y'know I don't turn down free food my girl!" David replied, practically jumping up from the bench.

---

Rika leads the group over to an empty table. She tries to help Sahlia into a seat, but the older vixen swats her away defiantly and sits herself. "Okay, what do you all want? You can have anything you like!" Rika asks, looking around the table.
"I'll just have some meat sandwiches, thank you.." Sahlia replied disinterestedly, looking away from Rika.
"Same for me, but with a bit of salad an' without the crusts!" David added jovially, holding a hand up.

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Well, this'll be interesting," Jenny remarked as the squad assembled at her table and the Lycan made his entry, "where's that kid when you need him? Heh."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Well, I hardly need to buy supplies, do I," Hannabelle asked wryly. "Although it's hard to chop the replicated meat without a sharp knife. Or any knife. But thebl...Celican soup is fine," she finished, changing one word as they were passing a foodhall.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'll take a Chicken.... uh, burger," Jaken said, adding the burger word for roughly the same reason as the older Celican elsewhere on the ship. He took up a seat that possibly showed more respect to Rika's mother, sitting opposite her and next to Rika's father. He didn't look up into Sahlia's eyes. He wasn't sure it would be right. "And a strawberry milk shake?
Thank."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corp didn't reply to the comment about himself making a good Champion. He merely waited to see what the Captain said next.

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana hummed, somewhat happily, at the prospect of going toe to toe with Lycan, "Ooh, a game of horror, terror and hide an sneaky, eh? Could prove fun. And terrifying!" She finally stood up from her seat with a little bounce, excited to get some training that was more than just a simulation.

[Hlaoroo]

"Ah. Thank ye. That's very accommodatin' o' ye." Cailean puts his arm around Sarah.
"Shall Ah carry ye across th' threshold?" he jokes, making as if to pick her up.

"Hmm. Can Ah give ye a name-sign then sae Ah dinnae hae tae spell it whenever Ah want tae talk tae ye?" Conall queries politely. "Haow about..." He bounces a cupped paw off his shoulder, smoothly transitioning it to a two-fingered gun pointing to his left. This translates as "Captain H". Conall doubts the droid is the captain but it seems to be authoritative so he hopes it'll understand the humour.

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Can' keep ye safe," Sarah chuckled, "while bandyin' yer arms, hen." When just out of sight inside the apartment, Sarah took a risk and gave Cailean a small, quick, kiss on the muzzle before moving to get an eye on Conall, her tail wagging behind her.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wearing what amounted to a disguise (a few spots of different coloured fur and a tee-shirt) little Sana followed Hannabelle and the Hive drone as they headed back to the safe house. It wasn't something she'd planned, she'd just been in the shopping area buying peanut butter when she'd seen them and decided to test herself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm going to need my bike if we're up against you," Jenny remarked.

[Deske]

Ulrich grinned widely at the Lycan, "Sounds like this could be fun. I just have one question though. When you sneak through the shadows do you cease to exist or are you just really well camoflaged?"

-------

"Not like we have any jobs we need to get to," he joked.

[CyberDragon]

"Feeling better now." Kol called back after getting as far as she was going to through her food. "uhf... I probably should have told him it usually takes three or four of us to finish off one of these..."

when the other team started to head off, she decided to go join Jenny and the others, making a sort of 'follow me' gesture towards Traci.

Traci looked stunned. "We're sparring with The Lycan!?" She blurted out loudly before clasping her hands over her muzzle. "Sorry.." She added lowly, opening her hands slightly just to say that.

"Well, this'll be interesting," Jenny remarked as the squad assembled at her table and the Lycan made his entry, "where's that kid when you need him? Heh."

Tatiana hummed, somewhat happily, at the prospect of going toe to toe with Lycan, "Ooh, a game of horror, terror and hide an sneaky, eh? Could prove fun. And terrifying!" She finally stood up from her seat with a little bounce, excited to get some training that was more than just a simulation.

"I'm going to need my bike if we're up against you," Jenny remarked.

Ulrich grinned widely at the Lycan, "Sounds like this could be fun. I just have one question though. When you sneak through the shadows do you cease to exist or are you just really well camoflaged?"

"That is for me to know and you to have unfortunate consequences for attempting to find out." The Lycan warned. Clearly, Ulrich wouldn't be able to scan for him.

"The fight against the Lycan won't be what you are used to. Whenever you are ready, follow me down to the training room. We will explain more there." Hivemind headed down to the armory with The Lycan, gesturing for the others to follow him.

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

"well, technically the bio-implant connected to it. Downside of muscle weave fluid chanels." Epsilon stated as the two walked, "Great strength boost, but they need a source of hydraulic pressure. I would have left the primary channels in if I had known your machine could repair them." her meandering path going seemingly nowhere. Still no explanation how that has anything to do with navigation.

[Diagnostic complete, blood toxicity within tolerances of dyalitic implant. external treatment unnecessary.]
Huh. that's a rare streak of luck. map status?
[interior and exterior structures of all objects within 500m radius of origin point plotted. 1km radius at 41%]
good.

"Alright... What does that have to do with not needing a map? Which is why, I assume, you are wandering like that?"

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

"Well, I hardly need to buy supplies, do I," Hannabelle asked wryly. "Although it's hard to chop the replicated meat without a sharp knife. Or any knife. But thebl...Celican soup is fine," she finished, changing one word as they were passing a foodhall.

"Alright... I think one of these restaurants is Celician-ish. Obviously there isn't any "live meat" since replicators can't make living things, but that restaurant there should have Celician soup." He pointed to a restaurant that had some Celica-inspired architecture.

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

"Ah. Thank ye. That's very accommodatin' o' ye." Cailean puts his arm around Sarah.
"Shall Ah carry ye across th' threshold?" he jokes, making as if to pick her up.

"Hmm. Can Ah give ye a name-sign then sae Ah dinnae hae tae spell it whenever Ah want tae talk tae ye?" Conall queries politely. "Haow about..." He bounces a cupped paw off his shoulder, smoothly transitioning it to a two-fingered gun pointing to his left. This translates as "Captain H". Conall doubts the droid is the captain but it seems to be authoritative so he hopes it'll understand the humour.

The droid nods at Conall's gesture. "That works." He signed back. "Though technically I'm not the captain so much as I'm the ship itself. Though I guess I'm the captain too..."

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

Wearing what amounted to a disguise (a few spots of different coloured fur and a tee-shirt) little Sana followed Hannabelle and the Hive drone as they headed back to the safe house. It wasn't something she'd planned, she'd just been in the shopping area buying peanut butter when she'd seen them and decided to test herself.

Hivemind noticed the person following them, but didn't say anything. He just continued to observe her through the various cameras and scanners in the area.

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

"Not like we have any jobs we need to get to," he joked.

"Excellent. Now we can just head back to Champion Tower for the interview. MT, you might need to take the train back..."

"Sir. I would like to request permission to fly back myself. It has been a long time since I've been able to do so, and I know the route from taking the train earlier."

"I suppose you can." The droid said with a shrug.

MT opened up his cockpit. "Chris, would you like to fly with me?" He asked.

[Deske]

"Oh thank the gods," Chris said as he hastily clambered up into the pilots seat, "I was worried I was going to have to ask myself a bunch of questions like the first train ride when I saw that sign in the zoo labelled 'Coyote'." He sat back in the chair and let it strap him in, "It was kind of interesting if I'm being honest."

--------

"I keep looking forward to this more and more," he chuckled as he followed the Hivebot down to the armory.

--------

Denver threw the pillow off his face before pressing his palms into his eyes and letting out a groan. He kicked his feet off the edge of the couch and stared at the wall opposite him.

[Buster]

"Can I still try that Spumoni thing? Oh, can I have a snapper? They're tasty and chasing them was always fun." June asks, completely oblivious about anything that might be odd about asking for a whole fish. Also kinda forgetting how manners work.

Hopping into a seat, picking the one next to Sahlia, leaving the spot between herself and Jaken open. in a bit of a silly mood, she hunches over so the table is level with her eyes and her dorsal fin is sticking up. Giggling, she stares at Jaken like that, shifting back and forth so her fin wiggles as if she's swimming towards him.

- - - - - - -

"You're sharp for a toaster. Not used to your kind having reliable memory. Maybe I was inside longer than I thought..." Epsilon comments, sounding mildly surprised. after a moment she finally gives an answer. mostly. "I just prefer making my own. It's more reliable than trying to internalize a printed one."

- - - - - - -

Kol isn't far behind.
"Why do i get the feeling this isn't going to be as fun as mashing up dead things or metalskins?"

[Legotron123]

”Considering my eyes were frozen in the last session, I’m hoping for something a bit more, for lack of a better term, laidback this time. I just want a simple, straightforward fight, without any unnecessarily complex mechanics.” Kolt said, stuffing the rest of the pizza into his hammerspace pocket. Once he was done, he turned to look at the Hivemind drone in the room. ”Do you mind if I check in on June before we start the match? Maybe see if she wants to watch?”
-
”I don’t think the Steelhaven is going to need most of them to keep up their old jobs, since it’s not going to be leaving that hanger for a while.” Liz said, clearly not picking up on whatever Hivemind was hinting at. ”Even with it being repaired so quickly, everything I’ve seen from this ship and the ones of those pirates who tried to attack us earlier suggests the tech base is leagues above the stuff from our universe. Unless the Steelhaven gets a major upgrade, it’s simply not going to be able to compete with the stuff in this universe.”

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana let out a small laugh towards Kolt hoping for something more laid back, "Wouldn't count on it. Then again it could be similar in difficulty just in a different way. I'm currently voting on the 'incredibly stressful and annoying' category." She said, while following along with the group.

[Welsh Halfwit]

"I'd have to agree with the Captain on that," Corp stated. "Plus there's so much that needs to be learned. For a start we have no idea how finances work here. Our databases need to be expanded and compacted - I think that's the term - for political, medical, social and language information. Our engineers will need to learn the basics of the tools you have here. Even if we were to have several of your drones on board assisting, it'd be at least two weeks before we're even barely ready to try it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Then we shall have to try it," Hannabelle said, sliding towards the restaurant. She tutted as she looked at the souvenir photoplates of Celican celebrities on the walls. Movie stars, hunt stars, politicians and singing stars - although Celican music was hardly the best regarded. "I won't know to be proud or insulted if they don't ask for a picture," she confided to Hive. "And is the child still following us?"
Sana, for her part, had just hidden behind a shelving unit with mounted postal cards. "Just buying cards for the people back home," she told herself. "Do people still buy these things? I'd E-mail."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ack," Jaken mock panicked, drawing himself fully up onto his seat so he was crouched on all fours, "the Sharklady's after me!" He laughed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, no bike then," Jenny guessed, following with exaggerated calmness, her hands behind her back as a Hivemind led on. "Our only hope is going to be that you may not be a hundred percent fit after having the plague yesterday, isn't it?"

[CyberDragon]

"Oh thank the gods," Chris said as he hastily clambered up into the pilots seat, "I was worried I was going to have to ask myself a bunch of questions like the first train ride when I saw that sign in the zoo labelled 'Coyote'." He sat back in the chair and let it strap him in, "It was kind of interesting if I'm being honest."

"I saw that as well." MT said, closing the doors and connecting to Chris's mind. Though the creature inside the enclosure only vaguely resembled your species. Its skeletal structure appeared built for quadrupedal movement and it's cranium was too small to support complex sentient thought. MT took off and soared through the air toward the city. I suspect it is an alien creature of some sort that happens to go by the same name.

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

"You're sharp for a toaster. Not used to your kind having reliable memory. Maybe I was inside longer than I thought..." Epsilon comments, sounding mildly surprised. after a moment she finally gives an answer. mostly. "I just prefer making my own. It's more reliable than trying to internalize a printed one."

"Fair enough." The droid said. "Just don't go around calling robots like me toasters. I personally don't care, but not all robots are attached to the hive. The ones that aren't will consider that a slur, and you don't want to anger someone who has a built-in plasma cannon or who weighs ten tons."

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

”I don’t think the Steelhaven is going to need most of them to keep up their old jobs, since it’s not going to be leaving that hanger for a while.” Liz said, clearly not picking up on whatever Hivemind was hinting at. ”Even with it being repaired so quickly, everything I’ve seen from this ship and the ones of those pirates who tried to attack us earlier suggests the tech base is leagues above the stuff from our universe. Unless the Steelhaven gets a major upgrade, it’s simply not going to be able to compete with the stuff in this universe.”

"I'd have to agree with the Captain on that," Corp stated. "Plus there's so much that needs to be learned. For a start we have no idea how finances work here. Our databases need to be expanded and compacted - I think that's the term - for political, medical, social and language information. Our engineers will need to learn the basics of the tools you have here. Even if we were to have several of your drones on board assisting, it'd be at least two weeks before we're even barely ready to try it.

"You make a good point." Hivemind replied. "However, once the ship is updated, I could use some help with trade and Champion transport. If you were willing to lend your skills and your ship, I'd be happy to give you a job assisting with those kinds of things. In the meantime, the Champions have openings for jobs, and anyone from the Steelhaven is welcome to try for one."

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

"Then we shall have to try it," Hannabelle said, sliding towards the restaurant. She tutted as she looked at the souvenir photoplates of Celican celebrities on the walls. Movie stars, hunt stars, politicians and singing stars - although Celican music was hardly the best regarded. "I won't know to be proud or insulted if they don't ask for a picture," she confided to Hive. "And is the child still following us?"
Sana, for her part, had just hidden behind a shelving unit with mounted postal cards. "Just buying cards for the people back home," she told herself. "Do people still buy these things? I'd E-mail."

The hive droid sighed. "Sana, what are you doing?"

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

(Ran out of time. Will get to the group in the armory after work)

[Welsh Halfwit]

Cherry Seena sighed into her mate's chest. "I wonder if our wardrobes and clothes survived," she asked. "I'm thinking of a certain dress I want to wear again. Best thing Mom gave me." She quietened for a moment. "We might never see them again," she said sorrowfully. "We might never see anyone from home again." She tried not to cry. "We're looking forward because there's... no back. And this isn't much use anymore." She held up her comm unit from the STEELHAVEN and prepared to throw it across the room.
<<...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzomedayzzzzzzzzzzzzz...>> the comm said, mostly full of static.
"What?" Seena asked. She looked to Colorado. "Did I just hear something?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm trying to track you," Sana said, putting her tiny hands on her hips and looking exasperated. "To show Golta I can do it!"
"I can't believe she's a Celican," Hannabelle said quietly, shaking her head slightly with slackjawed 'awe'.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sounds like something to do to keep active," Corp agreed. "If nothing else they probably need tutoring in power free hand to hand. But not everyone's a good match for a combat role. A good thing the army marches on its' intelligence and communications. And a few other divisions too."

[CyberDragon]

"I'm trying to track you," Sana said, putting her tiny hands on her hips and looking exasperated. "To show Golta I can do it!"
"I can't believe she's a Celican," Hannabelle said quietly, shaking her head slightly with slackjawed 'awe'.

"Is that what you call it?" Hivemind joked to Sana. "Maybe you should stick to tracking people online. It seems more your niche"

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

”Considering my eyes were frozen in the last session, I’m hoping for something a bit more, for lack of a better term, laidback this time. I just want a simple, straightforward fight, without any unnecessarily complex mechanics.” Kolt said, stuffing the rest of the pizza into his hammerspace pocket. Once he was done, he turned to look at the Hivemind drone in the room. ”Do you mind if I check in on June before we start the match? Maybe see if she wants to watch?”

"I don't mind, but June seems to be having fun doing what she's doing." He pointed to the other side of the food court before they left. "She's over there with Rika, Jaken, and Rika's parents."

"I keep looking forward to this more and more," he chuckled as he followed the Hivebot down to the armory.

Kol isn't far behind.
"Why do i get the feeling this isn't going to be as fun as mashing up dead things or metalskins?"

Tatiana let out a small laugh towards Kolt hoping for something more laid back, "Wouldn't count on it. Then again it could be similar in difficulty just in a different way. I'm currently voting on the 'incredibly stressful and annoying' category." She said, while following along with the group.

"So, no bike then," Jenny guessed, following with exaggerated calmness, her hands behind her back as a Hivemind led on. "Our only hope is going to be that you may not be a hundred percent fit after having the plague yesterday, isn't it?"

"Don't bet on it, Jenny. This is a fight of the mind. It doesn't matter that I've been sick." The Lycan replied as they entered the armory. "I'm going to go ahead and set things up." He walked over to the arena entrance and vanished through the doors.

"Alright, so... Randy probably doesn't want me to tell you guys this, but I figure I should warn you of a few things. The Lycan doesn't fight directly, especially against a group. He will try to separate you using strategically placed traps. Odds are, the entire arena will be one big death house. Break off from the group, The Lycan will get you. Wander into the darkness, The Lycan will get you. Spring a trap or stumble into an ambush, The Lycan will get you. He knows each and every one of your powers, and is definitely prepared for any attacks or attempts to find him." Hivemind said, his tone serious. "Absolutely anything you see in there could be booby-trapped so make sure you check things carefully before you do anything with them. I'll repeat that. CHECK EVERYTHING before you try to do anything with it. You can't fight the Lycan. Odium himself, as omniscient as the aspects are, could not find him. Your only way of winning this is to escape. Your objective, is to run."

[Hlaoroo]

Conall looks confused and tilts his head.
"What dae ye mean?" he signs.

"Och, ye wee rascal!" Cailean pretends to be annoyed but his wagging tail betrays him. "Ye cannae keep me safe if yer kissin' me either.Ye'll just hae tae let me dae th' kissin'." he scolds playfully, planting a kiss on Sarah's muzzle.

[Legotron123]

”Okay then, I’ll just check how she’s doing and then head towards the arena. See you in a bit!” Kolt said before making his way over to June. He placed his hand on her shoulder and looked down at her with a smile. ”Hey June! You enjoying hanging out with Jaken and Rika?”
-
”Those terms are acceptable. I assume we will be paid monetary compensation for the use of our ship, once it’s ready?” Liz asked, before taking another bite of her wrap.

[Buster]

Kolt's arrival interrupts june's attempt to pounce arcoss the table, and she misjudges the angle, winging up hitting her head on the table flailing and knocking her chair out from under herself instead.

For some reason she seems to think this outcome is funny.

Almost instantly she's on her feet and offers a quick "Hi Dad!" to to the spandex clad canid as she retrieved her chair, once it's back in place she answerers him with a cheery "Yup!" and what i'm going to call a 'Sidon Grin'.

[Deske]

Colorado looked back at her, probably just as confused as she was, "Maybe it's interference? Yeah, there's got to be a lot radio waves and stuff going through the air." The stared at the comm unit for a minute, "What if you tried talking back?"

---------

"Ooh a battle of the minds! Thanks for a heads up, Hive. I feel like in a real situation, none of us would wonder into something like this without at least a little information on what we are in for."

---------

That actually doesn't help the questions. I'm a little interested in knowing what kind of evolutionary changes brought us to two very distinct ends. I mean, humans look the same. So why don't we? He thought on the question as they flew, arriving at a conclusion at around the same time they arrived at the meeting room. What if we increased its intelligence? Y'think that's possible?

---------

"Hivemind do you monitor these houses in the same way you seem to monitor everything else," Denver flatly asked the wall.

[CyberDragon]

Conall looks confused and tilts his head.
"What dae ye mean?" he signs.

"Och, ye wee rascal!" Cailean pretends to be annoyed but his wagging tail betrays him. "Ye cannae keep me safe if yer kissin' me either.Ye'll just hae tae let me dae th' kissin'." he scolds playfully, planting a kiss on Sarah's muzzle.

"I mean that basically everything around you is me. My mind runs the ship and my will powers it. My thoughts run through every major wall and every public structure on the ship. I'm less a captain, and more the ship itself. Though calling me "Captain H" is fine. It's simpler." He signed, giving perhaps more information than is needed. Again.

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

”Those terms are acceptable. I assume we will be paid monetary compensation for the use of our ship, once it’s ready?” Liz asked, before taking another bite of her wrap.

"Naturally. Compensation will depend on a number of factors including difficulty and importance of the job, but it will always surpass any expenses by a generous amount." He said, nodding.

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

That actually doesn't help the questions. I'm a little interested in knowing what kind of evolutionary changes brought us to two very distinct ends. I mean, humans look the same. So why don't we? He thought on the question as they flew, arriving at a conclusion at around the same time they arrived at the meeting room. What if we increased its intelligence? Y'think that's possible?

I don't really know. He said before squeezing into the room and opening up to let Chris out. "I doubt it."

"Excellent. Your here." A hive droid was already there. "Honestly surprised MT could fit through the door. So, Chris, we'll start with you. Would you mind listing your skills?"

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

"Hivemind do you monitor these houses in the same way you seem to monitor everything else," Denver flatly asked the wall.

There was no response for quite a while. Then there was a knock on the door. "Denver? Are you in there? I wanted to let you know your house is almost ready." No mention of Denver's question. Apparently he wasn't monitoring the inside of the house. At least, not visually or through audio.

[Deske]

Denver opened the door and stared at the droid, "I'll take that as a no," a ghost of a smile appeared on his face before he took the key to his house. "Give me a minute to straighten things out in here," he disappeared into the house again, only returning when he had replaced the pillows on the sofa. Denver stepped out of the house closing the door behind him. He held out the key to Corp's house, "Can you give me directions to the nearest shopping center? I have no clothes of my own."

---------

"I can fix things," he stated as he climbed out of the pilot's seat, "But I guess that's pretty obvious. I'm a quick learner when it comes to most things of a mechanical nature and I don't think I'm a bad mech pilot." He scratched at his muzzle as he thought of something else to put on his resume, "I can handle a gun. I guess that's about it though."

[Welsh Halfwit]

Seena looked at the small communications device almost fearully. "I suppose I could try," she said. "This, uh, is Ensign Cherry Seena, of STEELHAVEN. Who... who is this?"
<<...zzzzzzzzzzz...>> the comm said. <<...zzzzzzzzzzoffzzthiszzzfrequenzzzy...>>
"Do you think we should tell someone," Seena asked, surprise putting her brain slightly in neutral.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We're going for soup, Little g...Sana," Hannabelle stated. "You might as well join us."
"I'm good, thanks," Sana replied, looking a little insulted.
Hannabelle shrugged as the little agent stalked away. "Can't say I didn't offer."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jenny looked around as they entered the room and looked to see what she could work out.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sarah gave a small sigh. "One-all," she said playfully before embracing Cailean. "Gotta go fer a winner," she said before giving him a proper kiss for a large number of seconds.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Others adjusted to their new surroundings in varying speeds. Doris banned Andy from applying for anything like the Champions. Keeva slept on.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jaken settled himself back into his seat and awaited Rika's return.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So what's the initial basic information you think we need to know, but haven't asked about" Corp asked Hivemind.

[Hlaoroo]

After the kiss, Cailean licks his lips and nose as dogs do.
"Ah'm a Scotsman. Ah cannae accept defeat frae an Englishman. Or, Englishwoman. Time for me tae return fire." he grins moving in for another kiss.

~~~~~~~~
Cailean ponders this for a few moments.
"Ah see. Ah think... Well, thank ye. Ah better rejoin th' others. Bye." With a wave, Conall checks the address on his key and heads for his house.

[CyberDragon]

Denver opened the door and stared at the droid, "I'll take that as a no," a ghost of a smile appeared on his face before he took the key to his house. "Give me a minute to straighten things out in here," he disappeared into the house again, only returning when he had replaced the pillows on the sofa. Denver stepped out of the house closing the door behind him. He held out the key to Corp's house, "Can you give me directions to the nearest shopping center? I have no clothes of my own."

"Sure thing." Hivemind replied. "Just take the train toward the city. There's a shopping center with a clothing store near the second stop."

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

"We're going for soup, Little g...Sana," Hannabelle stated. "You might as well join us."
"I'm good, thanks," Sana replied, looking a little insulted.
Hannabelle shrugged as the little agent stalked away. "Can't say I didn't offer."

"Ah... she doesn't look happy. I hope she didn't take my joking too seriously." Hivemind said as he waited for Hannabelle to order her soup.

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

"So what's the initial basic information you think we need to know, but haven't asked about" Corp asked Hivemind.

"Where to start?" Hivemind thought for a moment. He tried to decide what information he could say and what he needed to keep quiet about. Stuff about Odium currently might be too much to handle at the given time. In fact, he had a feeling anything regarding the aspects would be too complicated. He might inform them of the threat of rouge Varanian fleets that have been popping up recently, but He hasn't seen anything that suggests it's important enough to mention as the first thing. He decided to start with what they were currently doing. "I suppose a good place to begin is what we are doing right now. We exited a FTL jump to intercept your ship. Currently we are traveling to a planet known as Cana. It's a colony world controlled by an extra-terrestrial race of fox-like people known as Celicians. We are going there to protect and retrieve some priority assets on our way to Celica. We have reason to believe there is something going on that requires the Champions' attention."

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

The interior of the arena changed dramatically from the first round. It was no longer a wide open and well lit battleground. Instead, the arena was a very dimly lit and fairly large room. At the end of the room was a door, letting in very little light. This light, if it were alone, would only be bright enough to see the door itself, and maybe anyone immediately in front of it. Overhead, a single flickering light hung from the ceiling, dimly illuminating the center of the room. Shipping crates line the sides of the room as if this were some kind of warehouse. Standing against one of the shipping crates is an old looking desk. One of it's drawers is slightly ajar. The next thing of note is a stack of wooden boxes and pallets that at first glance look like they can be climbed to reach the top of a shipping crate. on the opposite side was a large metal shipping crate with it's doors slightly ajar. A strange sound can be heard from inside.

"Once everyone is inside, I'll shut the door and we will start."

[Legotron123]

”Great!” Kolt said, a big pleasant smile stretched across his face. ”Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself. I just wanted to check in on how you were doing before I went back to training.” He turned to look at Rika and her parents. ”So uh, you guys just keep looking after her until I get back.Talk to Hivemind if you need anything. Also, if she starts bleeding for any reason, don’t make contact with any of her blood. There’s an infectious quality to it that you do NOT want to deal with. Good luck!” He said, walking away before any of them had a chance to respond.
-
”That actually reminds me of something.” Liz said, as her son listened and ate his chicken in the background. ”In our universe, we haven’t found any sapient life in any of the dozens of systems mankind has explored. I was hoping we could compare star maps, see if we just haven’t stumbled across them yet, or if sapient life is just a lot more common in this universe.”

[Welsh Halfwit]

"It was more than likely me," Hannabelle said, putting on a 'who, me' smile as he sat and ordered the soup. "I sometimes forget the Fennekin are so small. They have their own vehicles, you know? Pretty much large toy cars with powerful, compact, engines."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"And what sort of 'situation'," Corp asked, curiosity tinging his tone.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jenny wished she'd had the money for the low light version of her glasses and wondered what would react to the infra-red targeting lasers on her pistols and gun. She'd checked those were working even though she rarely used them and they were in working order. She'd need light to show up trip beams with a smoke grenade. She guessed there was no way out via the window and the crates probably weren't safe but that could be what they were supposed to think... She waited on the others.

[Deske]

Denver nodded, "Thanks." He headed off to buy clothes and maybe a pint or two.

--------

"I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say that maybe that would be a good idea. How do we explain this though? Without...y'know... Without bringing too much hope."

--------

Ulrich looked around at the dimly lit room once he'd entered, "It has a good atmosphere." He stepped further inside, following Jenny's lead, "So what was our objective before it became 'Run'?"

[Welsh Halfwit]

Sarah and Cailean were still in the clinch when Conall arrived and Sarah eventually pulled back. "A draw's good enough,"she admitted, tail going like a fan as she licked her own nose. Then his.
----------------------------------------------------
"Very carefully," Seena said, handing Colorado the comm. "Captain first. You give it a try."

[Buster]

"well this ones obvious." Kol commented immediately starting to head for the desk.

[~\Rook/~]

”Great!” Kolt said, a big pleasant smile stretched across his face. ”Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself. I just wanted to check in on how you were doing before I went back to training.” He turned to look at Rika's parents. ”So uh, you guys just keep looking after her until I get back. Talk to Hivemind if you need anything. Also, if she starts bleeding for any reason, don’t make contact with any of her blood. There’s an infectious quality to it that you do NOT want to deal with. Good luck!” He said, walking away before any of them had a chance to respond.

Both Rika's parents looked confused and somewhat worried, but do not voice their concerns. Rika herself returned to the table just before Kolt left.

"That was Kolt, he's part of my team.. What did he say?" Rika asked, placing a large tray down with everyone's orders onto the table.

"That, uh, he came to see June before he continued training.." David replied nervously, leaving out the part about the blood.

Rika nodded. "Right.. Well, I got everything. Take your plates and dig in!" She said calmly before taking her own plate of sandwiches and sitting in an open chair.

David and Sahlia took theirs too and started eating.

-----

Having followed everyone to the training room, Traci stepped in behind the others and looked around.

"So what was our objective before it became 'Run'?"

"I honestly thought we'd be really fighting the Lycan, but since he's been sick apparently I can understand why not.." Traci replied, crouching down to check for tripwires, even though she wouldn't be able to see much in the dim light. "Still, this'll be quite interesting.."

"well this ones obvious." Kol commented immediately starting to head for the desk.

"Kol! Stay close to us! We don't if there are any traps! Plus, The training hasn't even started yet!" She called, standing back up.

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana entered slowly, if only to keep with those who went further a bit too early in her opinion, and activated the low setting of her helmet' eye lights. She moved closer to Traci, providing better, but not blinding light for her trip wire search, "I would hoist myself up to see if there's anything on top of the containers, but I don't exactly trust this place. Or that ajar container. I want nothing to do with that sound." She stopped talking for a moment, "The Lycan isn't even picking us off yet and I already feel anxious."

[Buster]

June actually growls as Kolt leaves. When rika gets back, there's an odd shift in June's personality as she grumbles "Stupid dad embarrassing me... Like I wouldn't know how to clean that up before anyone got infected. We know how to encode important things like that into instinct, he doesn't have to scare people." her cheerful mood more or less gone.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Jaken reached over and put a hand on June's, much like he'd seen in some soap operas and he hoped it was a bit consoling. "Dad's worry, June," he said, "I think it is their fault position," he added, knowing the word was wrong somehow. "Mine always did. It is how they show they like you. Mom's use different words but worry too.
Like Miss Rika does." He shrugged and gave her a small smile before starting on his food. "I know you are safe," he said, "no-one messes with one with your teeth!" And he bit in.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If anyone has a light," Jenny suggested, "they should turn it on. Traci, isn't it? How fast can you run? We'll need it after we're told to start."

[Deske]

Colorado took the comm unit and held it up to his mouth, "Uh, this is Lieutenant-Commander Vanderbilt, Chief Medical Officer of the starship Steelhaven." He listened for a bit, though he was only met with static in return. He tried again, to no avail, the static remained. "Maybe they've gone or something." He held it out to Cherry with a grin, "Or maybe they just like your voice better."

---------

Ulrich brought his hands together and formed a small sphere between them that grew to head sized as he pulled his hands apart. It moved up into the air, casting a blue glow over the immediate vicinity, "Does that help?"

[CyberDragon]

”That actually reminds me of something.” Liz said, as her son listened and ate his chicken in the background. ”In our universe, we haven’t found any sapient life in any of the dozens of systems mankind has explored. I was hoping we could compare star maps, see if we just haven’t stumbled across them yet, or if sapient life is just a lot more common in this universe.”

"That can be done." The droid hovered a hand over the top of the table. A small light flashed on the back of his hand, and the table top lit up. It projected a large map of all known stars in every galaxy explored by man or any of its allies. Countless star systems hovered over the table. At the moment, things were zoomed out to see the galaxies. one of these galaxies was darkened entirely while the rest were illuminated in various colors. Interactive holographic notations listing known details about the galaxies. "Blue galaxies and star systems are ones that are inhabited. Red means that the galaxy is considered hostile or too dangerous to explore. The dim galaxy used to support life, but doesn't anymore. You can touch one of the galaxies to zoom in and see the individual systems."

"Though this does bring something else up you probably should know. You saying that you never found extra-terrestrial life confirms to me that the non-human people of the Steelhaven are terrestrial species, likely your versions of species existing on our version of Earth. Earth in our universe has much less sentient life. Humans as well as some "supernatural" or "legendary" species such as Lycans are the only sentient life on Earth. Them and a select few non-sentient creatures that have been "uplifted" through past genetic tampering generations ago."

"And what sort of 'situation'," Corp asked, curiosity tinging his tone.

"I'm not sure how much I can say at the moment. There's a reason we have to retrieve those assets as fast as we can. For now I will say that the Celician government has been very bad and very stupid and that fact surprises no one."

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

"I can fix things," he stated as he climbed out of the pilot's seat, "But I guess that's pretty obvious. I'm a quick learner when it comes to most things of a mechanical nature and I don't think I'm a bad mech pilot." He scratched at his muzzle as he thought of something else to put on his resume, "I can handle a gun. I guess that's about it though."

(Sorry, Deske. I could have sworn I responded to this. :/ )
"I assume you can vouch for his skill as a mech pilot?" Hivemind asked MT.

"We have not been in a combat scenario together yet, however our neural link is well established and our mental connection is seamless. In other words, yes. He is an excellent pilot."

"Good enough for me. What about your skills, MT?"

"I am a combat mech. I was built to fight, and I do so very efficiently. I am equipped with a variety of slots for different kinds of weapons and equipment. My armor can withstand temperatures of over fifteen million Kelvin. I can hear electromagnetic signals and see and focus on any area of the light spectrum. I can carry a pilot through a hazardous environment for ten hours as of recent upgrades. Finally I am equipped with a nuclear energy siphon connected to an energy cannon, however that equipment is locked. I cannot use it unless a very specific set of conditions are met."

"That's... an impressive list." Hivemind continued. "Chris, the next question is about the rules that the Champions must follow. First of all, Champions are forbidden from killing targets. In addition, Champions cannot choose who to save. If someone is in danger and you have the power to save them, it does not matter if they are your worst enemy. As a Champion, you will be obligated to save them. Are these conditions acceptable?"

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

"It was more than likely me," Hannabelle said, putting on a 'who, me' smile as he sat and ordered the soup. "I sometimes forget the Fennekin are so small. They have their own vehicles, you know? Pretty much large toy cars with powerful, compact, engines."

"Interesting." He said as the soup arrived. "Though it doesn't help that she acts young. Not childish, but more lacking experience outside of the digital world."

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

”Great!” Kolt said, a big pleasant smile stretched across his face. ”Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself. I just wanted to check in on how you were doing before I went back to training.” He turned to look at Rika and her parents. ”So uh, you guys just keep looking after her until I get back.Talk to Hivemind if you need anything. Also, if she starts bleeding for any reason, don’t make contact with any of her blood. There’s an infectious quality to it that you do NOT want to deal with. Good luck!” He said, walking away before any of them had a chance to respond.

When Kolt got back to the armory, Hivemind explained the situation to him, including what the "objective" was and about how traps could be anywhere. He warned Kolt about how dangerous the Lycan was before ushering him into the room.

Jenny wished she'd had the money for the low light version of her glasses and wondered what would react to the infra-red targeting lasers on her pistols and gun. She'd checked those were working even though she rarely used them and they were in working order. She'd need light to show up trip beams with a smoke grenade. She guessed there was no way out via the window and the crates probably weren't safe but that could be what they were supposed to think... She waited on the others.

Jenny would find that the infrared targeting lasers were absolutely useless at the moment, as turning them on revealed the air to be filled with some kind of compound that absorbed light in the non-visible spectrum. All the lasers would show was empty blackness, even if it were pointed at the hottest fire.

Having followed everyone to the training room, Traci stepped in behind the others and looked around.

"I honestly thought we'd be really fighting the Lycan, but since he's been sick apparently I can understand why not.." Traci replied, crouching down to check for tripwires, even though she wouldn't be able to see much in the dim light. "Still, this'll be quite interesting.."

"Kol! Stay close to us! We don't if there are any traps! Plus, The training hasn't even started yet!" She called, standing back up.

"The Lycan typically avoids direct fights. He isn't a brawler, he's a stealth, horror, and misdirection expert." Hivemind informs her.

"If anyone has a light," Jenny suggested, "they should turn it on. Traci, isn't it? How fast can you run? We'll need it after we're told to start."

"I'll warn you right off the bat, Jenny, that you should appreciate the light you have." He said, pointing at the dim, ominously flickering light.

Ulrich brought his hands together and formed a small sphere between them that grew to head sized as he pulled his hands apart. It moved up into the air, casting a blue glow over the immediate vicinity, "Does that help?"

"Ulrich, kill the light! The Lycan relies on darkness to hide and hunt. he will definitely have traps set up that will go off should you guys attempt to increase the light in the room." The droid walked back through the door once everyone was inside. "I'm shutting the door now. Good luck." With that, he shut the door. The "fight" has begun.

(If you want to inspect or search something, you can PM me to ask what you will find so you don't have to wait until the next "turn" to know what you find.)

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Use your senses, people," Jenny advised. "je's targetting eyesight and light. That leaves hearing, smell and touch unaffected. Most of us know what explosives smell like so, if you smell them on something you're about to interact with? Be careful."

((ADDED))

Jenny took to examining the boxes leading up to the shipping container and she started by sniffing them for substances and explosives. What she got was a reasonable facsimile of old must from mould but nothing that seemed dangerous as she ran her fingertips over the top of the first box, pressing down almost imperceptibly with her claw-tips. Once she'd deduced its' safety, she shimmied onto the top of the box and tested the next up to the top of the container - which she tested again.

[Legotron123]

”Does anyone else get the feeling this is Hivemind’s way of letting Lycan relive his days as a horror movie star, and we’re just forced to go through it under the guise of training?” Kolt said, every inch of his body screaming his displeasure with the situation. He listened to Jenny talk about the smell of explosives, and he got an idea. Hey Quint, can you do that thing where you increase the chemicals and basically give me super senses?
The symbiotic slug groaned. Really? I can only do that once a day, and you want me to do it here? Does that not seem like a waste to you?
Maybe. But NEITHER of us want to deal with these knockoff horror movie shenanigans for very long. We had enough of that with Screamthief.
.......FINE. Do not let it go to waste.
Kolt felt the world slow for a moment, as the now familiar rush of chemicals filled his brain, enhancing his senses far past their usual limits. He started sniffing the area around the group, trying to see if he could smell any of the stuff Jenny was talking about. ”I’m not picking up any explosives around here, just some sawdust, some chemical compound I can’t identify, an-hang on.” He paused for a moment as he listened to the sound coming out of one of the shipping grates nearby, and started groaning. ”There’s something in this crate that keeps saying distorted versions of the word “mama” over and over. And I swear to Meado, if that’s a creepy doll in there, I am going to be so disappointed. Those things are cliche and boring, and I’d honest expect more out of a guy who can control an entire ship with his mind.”
-
”So those were wolves I saw in the zoo!” Lewis said, his tone coming off as slightly excited. ”I was wondering why an extraterrestrial species would bare such an uncanny resemblance to something that came from Earth.” He chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. ”Yeah, I’m not going to lie, that’s going to take a while to get used to, isn’t it Captain. There was no response. ”Captain?”
Liz was staring at the darkened galaxy on the map, her brow furrowed in concentration. Eventually she looked up from studying the map to stare at the Hivemind drone. ”You said this galaxy USED to support life, but now it doesn’t. What kind of disaster could depopulate an entire galaxy?”