Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

[Welsh Halfwit]

Cherry hoped Colorado was right but she had a strange feeling as she took the comm back. It was like a small charge ran through her as she held the device and the static weakened. <<...zzzzzwwwwzzzzon thizzzfrequenzy,>> the voice said.
Cherry pressed the button. "This... This is Ensign Cherry Seena of the Earth Republic ship STEELHAVEN," she said, before relaying her identification code, "who is this please?"
<<zzzzzThizzz iz Admiral Ezra Lockwood and you are not Cherry Zzzeena,>> the voice replied, annoyance in the tone this time, <<and it'z a dizzzgraccce, abuzzzing their memory like thizzz! We are trackking your location and the autoriti...>> Seena let go of the comm and the voice immediately cut off, going back to the normal static. "I...I need a drink before we tell them," she said, wondering if the replication things could do alcohol.
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"Oh absolutely, Kolt," Jenny whispered, sighting footprints through the thick dust atop the crate. "So be careful. Cliche is a terrible way to die." She didn't fancy the top of the container. It stank of rust and looked as though even her weight could collapse it but something was catching the faint light in the middle of the container and the footprints led to it. So those, she figured, should be safe. Moving quickly but carefully and keeping her feet inside the prints of the much larger hero, she moved towards the centre of the container, trying not to run 'good king Wenceslas' in her head as she picked up the key. "I found a key, here it comes," she said, tossing it down to Kolt before heading back. Just in case.
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"Figures," Corp said, "if this universe is an enhanced version of ours then the dangers would be enhanced too. But is what killed that universe still out there and is it a threat here?"

[Deske]

Colorado stared at the commset, "Lockwood... That's not a name I remember. At all, actually. Is he new?" He sighed, not taking his eyes off the comm unit. "Think we can make a movie night out drinking? It'll take the edge off."

------

Ulrich snapped his fingers and the light went out, "So, no powers."

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana begrudgingly turned her helmet's eye lights out and continued looking over the path to the door, "Yeah, this seems like a challenge where our powers won't solve everything." All she saw was dirty floor and shadows along the way to the door, nothing seemed out of place or of concern, "Well, it looks like we have a clear jaunt to the door. Guess he's going easy on us for this room. Doubt that mercy will last too long." She looked more closely at the door, "Oop, looks like we'll need a key card too."

[CyberDragon]

”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?”

"Figures," Corp said, "if this universe is an enhanced version of ours then the dangers would be enhanced too. But is what killed that universe still out there and is it a threat here?"

The hive droid froze. Then he smacked his face with his hand. Stupid, stupid, stupid Solomon. He looked up and, figuring they would find out soon anyway, he told them what happened.

"What happened to that galaxy was as much of a who as it was a what. It was a villain known to us as the Dracolich. "The Dracolich" is the name given to the avatar of hatred, whomever that might be. That time it was a human. That's all we really know about him. He was a Xenophobic human-supremacist. We don't know why, we don't even know who he really was." He waved a hand over the table again. The star map was replaced with a model of the "Dracolich". The creature that appeared had next to no resemblance to a human aside from standing upright on two legs. It was grotesque, and had the skeletal appearance of a rotted corpse with empty sockets for eyes. Those horrible eye sockets seemed to pierce the soul despite it being a hologram. It's bones and scales and horns and flesh were dark as the deepest shadow. It's wings were nothing but dark ivory with nothing but shadow itself in place of where the flesh and skin would have been. It's bony tail was tipped with a viscous spike. The darkness of it's body was only broken by a sinister blue-purple light in it's ribs, it's source an unnatural and undying fire within the creature's chest.

"This was the Dracolich. As I said, he was the avatar to Odium, the Archdemon of hatred. He went under our radar until the damage was already done. Those few who survived the destruction of that galaxy had no livable home to return to. The last Dracolich was killed by it's opposite, the Dragon Knight. My brother. As for the threat... As I said, the Dracolich was thoroughly destroyed. The avatar was killed. The demon of hate, however, is still around. Without someone acting on it's behalf, all it can do is try to tempt us into turning bad feelings into bad actions. And it's why Champions have their rules. If you can work to save even your worst enemy, you are harder for the demon to get to."

He leaned back. "I didn't want to tell you this. It's not something people around here like to think about. But I figured since you asked, that you would find out one way or another."

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

"Oh absolutely, Kolt," Jenny whispered, sighting footprints through the thick dust atop the crate. "So be careful. Cliche is a terrible way to die." She didn't fancy the top of the container. It stank of rust and looked as though even her weight could collapse it but something was catching the faint light in the middle of the container and the footprints led to it. So those, she figured, should be safe. Moving quickly but carefully and keeping her feet inside the prints of the much larger hero, she moved towards the centre of the container, trying not to run 'good king Wenceslas' in her head as she picked up the key. "I found a key, here it comes," she said, tossing it down to Kolt before heading back. Just in case.

This was a mistake.

Jenny noticed the tracks, but apparently did not notice or did not think about how those footprints only went one way. They led to the key, then disappeared.

Above her head, as Jenny followed the tracks and found that antique key, The Lycan hung in the shadows of the rafters like a bat. As she moved into position, and just after picking up and throwing the key, The Lycan descended upon his target, silent as space. Landing on top of her, he pinned her to the ground, placing his massive paw over her muzzle to silence any screams or cries for help. On top of the shipping container, none of the others could see them. He grunted as she elbowed him in the chest, but all this did was prompt him to pin her arms as well. He pulled something out of his belt.

Jenny would feel something jab into her shoulder. She would quickly become too tired to fight as the Lycan grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her into the darkness.

Jenny is out of the fight.

(Tip to learn from this: If inspection reveals signs of an ambush, call another person in to join you. The Lycan will only ambush you if you don't have backup.)

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Jenny would wake up outside the arena doors. A hive droid was standing over her. "I will admit. You were not the one I was expecting would get caught first." He said, offering a hand to help her up.

[Buster]

Standing against one of the shipping crates is an old looking desk. One of it's drawers is slightly ajar.

standing off to one side, Kol takes the axe off her left hip and hooks the edge of it onto the edge of the open drawer, pulling it the rest of the way open from as far away as she can, then waits a good ten seconds before approaching.

Digging through and examining any items on the desk, or inside said drawer, she notices another locked one but ignores it for now.

(assuming she doesn't find anything) Picking the desk up with both left arms, Kol walks over to the ohers. "One of the drawers in this is locked, Think you can get it open?"

[CyberDragon]

standing off to one side, Kol takes the axe off her left hip and hooks the edge of it onto the edge of the open drawer, pulling it the rest of the way open from as far away as she can, then waits a good ten seconds before approaching.

Digging through and examining any items on the desk, or inside said drawer, she notices another locked one but ignores it for now.

(assuming she doesn't find anything) Picking the desk up with both left arms, Kol walks over to the ohers. "One of the drawers in this is locked, Think you can get it open?"

As Kol walked away carrying the desk, she might feel something like a spider web on her foot. Had she searched the area, she would have noticed a snare on the ground in front of the desk, made of a very thin, very strong clear fishing line-like material if fishing line were stronger than carbon fiber.

As she walked toward the group, the unseen snare tightened around her ankle, until it had a solid grip. With one last pull from the large alien, the trap was triggered. The snare yanked Kol's feet out from under her, sending her and the iron-like desk crashing to the ground before dragging her into the darkness.

Kol stopped moving as the trap ran out of line. She would be able to hear the faint breathing and growl of The Lycan before something pricked her in the shoulder and the feeling of exhaustion took over.

Kol is out.

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

Kol would wake up outside to Jenny and Hivemind standing there. "Ah." Hivemind walked over to her and offered a hand once again to help her up. "I suspect you aren't used to having to look for traps. To be fair, I did warn all of you to inspect things carefully before interacting with them."

[Buster]

"If that pull thing is what you call a trap. I was expecting something to explode." Kol deadpans, holding up the weapon she had used to open the drawer. "I think we have different versions of what that word mea- wait, Jenny? how did you get out here?"

[Welsh Halfwit]

Jenny would wake up outside the arena doors. A hive droid was standing over her. "I will admit. You were not the one I was expecting would get caught first." He said, offering a hand to help her up.

"Curiosity kills Rats as well as Cats," Jenny remarked sourly, taking the hand. She watched the others go about their actions. "Plus the place reminds me too much of a place near where I lost my..."

Matching what she'd said earlier about Cliche, Jenny silenced herself as Kol was 'sent out'.

"If that pull thing is what you call a trap. I was expecting something to explode." Kol deadpans, holding up the weapon she had used to open the drawer. "I think we have different versions of what that word mea- wait, Jenny? how did you get out here?"

"Ah, I found a key, Kol. Seems it was one of his traps. Suppose I should have seen it but we were dealing with a stacked deck, so to speak."

[Legotron123]

Kolt caught the key Jenny threw him, and was about to congratulate her on her toss when he looked up and noticed she wasn’t there anymore. He sighed with absolute contempt, completely and utterly SICK of this entire situation. ”So that’s our smartest out of the picture.” He said, turning around just in time to Kol get taken into the air. ”And there goes our strongest too. Perfect!” He pressed one hand to his face, and used the other to lean on one of the shipping crates. He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and walked back to the other three that were left. ”Let me be perfectly clear. If it were just me left, I’d sit underneath that light, surround myself in a forcefield, and tell Lycan if he wants to take me wherever he took the others, he has to come into the light and politely ask. At least then I’d get some form of victory over him. But because you’re here, and because you’re my teammates, I’ll help you with this, even though every fiber of my being is screaming that this. Isn’t. Worth it.”
-
Liz and Lewis were noticeably disgusted by the picture of the Dracolich, pushing away their food for the second time in that meeting. ”That’s...... horrible. You said he was an “Avatar to Odium?” What exactly does that mean, and how did it give him such power?”

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Well," Jenny said, watching Kolt, "that's one way to win people over. Not saying he's not right, mind."
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Seena sighed. "An evening out sounds perfect, love," she confessed, "but I suppose we'd better go find the Captain. See if we can get her to convince..." she gestured to the comm. "...him."

[Deske]

On high alert from the disappearance of the other two, Ulrich was determined to take everything slower and look for everything. "Honestly, I am with you there on some level, Kolt," Ulrich said as he made his way over to the open door. He swept the ground with his eyes, not finding any trip wires along the way. Once at the door he carefully examined it from bottom to top, stopping when he noticed a faint glint. He moved his head up and down past where he saw the glint in order to confirm that it was indeed something real and not his imagination. He poked his head inside the crate, making sure to avoid the wire, "I am not sure what he plans on doing with us. As long as you can keep your reflexes sharp you could probably defend against him and mine are automatic, so..."

-------

"Yeah, that would probably be the best idea. I'm a little worried at how she's going to react to this. Especially if he is, well, from our universe." He stood up off the couch and smoothed out his clothing before holding out a hand for her, "Shall we?"

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Indeed," Seena said, daintily taking his hand so he could shift her to the chair.
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Hannabelle finished off her soup and declared it quite adequate before advising the server to add just a bit more Yamaksauce to the mixture.

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana turned on a dime as Kol was taken, her rifle readied. She stepped closer to her remaining allies, making sure to retrace her steps, just in case, "Honestly if it weren't for you guys, and the fact he probably planned for it, I'd be blasting through the walls by now, cause I really don't want to know what he's got to silently take down a liquiform." She glanced around, somewhat shakily, "Alright, nobody goes anywhere alone. Not even a corner! I refuse to be taken out before going through door number one." She turned to Kolt for a moment, "Oh, and thanks. That means a lot to me. Never really had that reliable a team before."

[Hlaoroo]

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.

Cailean blinks and then sneezes as his nose is licked.
Conall arrives just as the pair are separating.
"Er, sorry. Shall Ah come back later?" he grins, a gleam in his eye and a mischievous expression on his face.

[CyberDragon]

"Curiosity kills Rats as well as Cats," Jenny remarked sourly, taking the hand. She watched the others go about their actions. "Plus the place reminds me too much of a place near where I lost my..."

Matching what she'd said earlier about Cliche, Jenny silenced herself as Kol was 'sent out'.

"If that pull thing is what you call a trap. I was expecting something to explode." Kol deadpans, holding up the weapon she had used to open the drawer. "I think we have different versions of what that word mea- wait, Jenny? how did you get out here?"

"Ah, I found a key, Kol. Seems it was one of his traps. Suppose I should have seen it but we were dealing with a stacked deck, so to speak."

"Do you hunt with explosives, Kol?" Hivemind asked simply.

"We should get to the observation room. It at least has someplace to sit as we wait for them to finish."

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

Liz and Lewis were noticeably disgusted by the picture of the Dracolich, pushing away their food for the second time in that meeting. ”That’s...... horrible. You said he was an “Avatar to Odium?” What exactly does that mean, and how did it give him such power?”

"An avatar is someone who has fused with a concept, or aspect. They have the potential for interacting with the physical world, while not being constrained by any limitations physical things might have due to their fusion with said metaphysical concept. Odium is hatred, and the Dracolich is the form his avatar tends to take." He explained, trying to be as concise as he can with such a complicated subject. "It usually isn't so bad. Avatars come in different types. While Odium is hatred, Diligitis is love. The avatar of Diligitis is the Dragon Knight. As I said, the most recent and best known Dragon Knight was my brother."

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Hannabelle finished off her soup and declared it quite adequate before advising the server to add just a bit more Yamaksauce to the mixture.

The server nodded and thanked Hannabelle. Since she didn't have any Beacon money, Hivemind picked up the tab. "We should hurry to the safe house. I've almost got your secure line ready."

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

The light in the training room flickers ominously. If the team wants to get through the door, they don't have too long to do so. That bulb will burn out soon.

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

MT waited for Chris to reply to Hivemind's description of the champion rules.

[Legotron123]

”In that case, do you mind coming with me while I check out this noise? I might need backup in case the environment continues to completely fail at being scary.” Kolt joking said to Tatiana, as he moved to check out the shipping crate the noise was coming from. He opened up the doors with his power, and groined at what he saw. ”Oh goodie. Creepy marionettes. Not like that’s completely cliche.” He lifted up the wooden nuisances so they wouldn’t brush against the two as they moved in. As he reached the back of the crate, Kolt picked up the source of the noise, some sort of old doll, and kicked his opinion of Hivemind down a notch. It seemed kind of holey, almost like it could hold something inside of it. He looked at it a bit closer, he could almost see some kind of shine inside....
-
”How does someone fuse with a concept?” Liz asked, the idea perplexing her. ”I mean, we’ve all heard the phrase “ideas have power,” but that doesn’t usually mean actual, physical power.”

[Buster]

"Do you hunt with explosives, Kol?" Hivemind asked simply.

"well, yes. Pack some [Gunpowder?] with sharpened [flechette?] in a small hole, near something big's hunting grounds while it sleeps, put a fish on a wire on top connected to the fuse. The animal tries to take the fish, and gets a face full of [flechette?]." Kol answers, while sounding a bit confused, mostly at why she needed to explain that. Weren't the people here smarter than her? how did they not know that?

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Plenty of people use dynamite to fish," Jenny reminded Hivemind, still looking at the simulation several times whilst they moved to the 'observation' lounge. "It really does seem familiar." She shook the thought off and watched the occupants of the room.
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"get in yer," Sarah said clearly, keeping a hand on Caileans' shoulder whilst talking to the Laird. "An' choose yer room, hen."
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"I have the feeling this univrse is going to expand what we know of the psyche, Captain," Corp asserted. "Absolute power and absolute irresponsibility to match it."

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana reached into the doll and pulled out another old key, "Well, what the heck do these go to? The door has a key CARD lock." She turned back towards the other two of her team, "You two find anything that might use keys?"

[Deske]

"Kol did mention that the desk drawers we're locked. Maybe the keys go to that?"

-------

Chris nodded, "Those are agreeable terms."

-------

Colorado carefully maneuvered the chair outside once she was comfortable, "Do you know what room they were headed to?"

[CyberDragon]

"well, yes. Pack some [Gunpowder?] with sharpened [flechette?] in a small hole, near something big's hunting grounds while it sleeps, put a fish on a wire on top connected to the fuse. The animal tries to take the fish, and gets a face full of [flechette?]." Kol answers, while sounding a bit confused, mostly at why she needed to explain that. Weren't the people here smarter than her? how did they not know that?

"Right... I suppose that counts..." He said, not having thought of that originally as "hunting with explosives."

"Plenty of people use dynamite to fish," Jenny reminded Hivemind, still looking at the simulation several times whilst they moved to the 'observation' lounge. "It really does seem familiar." She shook the thought off and watched the occupants of the room.

"Okay! Okay! I get it. Shockingly enough, I'm not exactly a hunter. I don't typically dedicate minds to thinking about the technicalities of a practice I don't participate in." When Jenny once again mentioned the room reminding her of something, he asked about it. "What exactly does it remind you of, Jenny?"

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

”How does someone fuse with a concept?” Liz asked, the idea perplexing her. ”I mean, we’ve all heard the phrase “ideas have power,” but that doesn’t usually mean actual, physical power.”

Hivemind shrugged. "I don't exactly know how the process works. I just know that these avatars seem unrestricted by the limitations of the physical."

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

Chris nodded, "Those are agreeable terms."

"What about you, MT?"

"I agree to these terms, though I will need to get new equipment if I am to follow the first rule. It is difficult to fight non-lethally with miniguns and energy blades." MT replied.

"You'd be surprised, but yes, I will provide you with non-lethal armaments. Anyway, I can't think of anything else to ask. I like to keep things concise. Welcome to the Champions. I actually have a job you can pick up today, if you'd like to get started."

[Welsh Halfwit]

Seena considered the question for a moment. "I know she went with one of those hive drones, Col," she said thoughtfully, "but, other than that, I have no clue where the Captain is."
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...Captain is," Said Seena's voice in the Captain's head.
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"It looks like one of the warehouses on Colony 14," Jenny explained. "I... Well, something happened close by the warehouse there. Something kinda personal, y'know?"
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Hannabelle let Hivemind lead on and absolutely wasn't evaluating routes down the passageway, oh, no.

[Legotron123]

”Well than let’s try the drawers. Kol already triggered the trap there, so there shouldn’t be any trouble there.” Kolt said, taking the key Tatiana found and heading over to the desk. He put the two keys into the locks on the drawer and turned them, opening it. He looked inside as was relieved to find the keycard to the next room inside. ”Well, at least this one is easier than the trap rooms Screamthief would make. If this were one of his, the only thing inside this drawer would be a note saying we have thirty seconds until he unleashes the chimeras he bought from a biotinker.” He turned to look at the rest of the group. ”Alright guys, I’m going to have to insist that we do a sorta buddy system for this next room. I’ll partner with Tatiana, new girl goes with Ulrich. Always make sure you’re within eye sight of your partner, and NEVER go more than three feet away from them. Got it?”
-
Liz was about to ask another question about Odium, when she heard a voice ring out in her head. She spun around, looking for the source of the voice, only to find nothing. ”Please tell me you heard that.” She said, turning to look back at the group.
”.......No. What did you hear?” Lewis asked, looking rather confused.
”It... it sounded like Cherry Seena saying “Captain is.” The inflection made it sound like it was the end of a sentence. Is this one of those weird powers things? Randomly hearing voices in your head?”

[Welsh Halfwit]

"There's definitely nothing here," Corp said, feeling the Captains' confusion as he looked around the room urgently, "but it'd be an idea to check on her. Is one of you near her, Mind?" HHe looked concerned.
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And, having heard the Captains' response through the comm, he wasn't the only one. Seena had almost dropped the comm in fear and was currently staring at it wide eyed. "C...Captain," she questioned,looking to make sure her mate had heard it too. "Is... is that you? You can... you can hear me? Where... where are you?"

[CyberDragon]

"It looks like one of the warehouses on Colony 14," Jenny explained. "I... Well, something happened close by the warehouse there. Something kinda personal, y'know?"

"Is it something you would like to talk about? In private, of course?" He asked, sounding a little concerned.

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

Hannabelle let Hivemind lead on and absolutely wasn't evaluating routes down the passageway, oh, no.

Hivemind noted her studying the passage and kept it in mind as they reached the entrance to the safehouse. When they entered, Hivemind addressed Hannabelle. "Alright. I have a secure line ready. Just call your family. Nobody but me will be able to hear the conversation. You have a limited time, as even a "secure" line doesn't stay secure forever."

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

Liz was about to ask another question about Odium, when she heard a voice ring out in her head. She spun around, looking for the source of the voice, only to find nothing. ”Please tell me you heard that.” She said, turning to look back at the group.
”.......No. What did you hear?” Lewis asked, looking rather confused.
”It... it sounded like Cherry Seena saying “Captain is.” The inflection made it sound like it was the end of a sentence. Is this one of those weird powers things? Randomly hearing voices in your head?”

"It wouldn't be one of your powers. That would have been picked up by the scanner. Though if I recall, Mrs. Seena had a power that the scanner for some reason couldn't identify." Hivemind replied.

"There's definitely nothing here," Corp said, feeling the Captains' confusion as he looked around the room urgently, "but it'd be an idea to check on her. Is one of you near her, Mind?" He looked concerned.

Hivemind nodded. "I'll check on her."

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

One of the droids in the Steelhaven neighborhood walked up and knocked on Seena's door. "Hey, Seena? Colorado? It's Hivemind. Weird question, but did either of you just try to open up a psychic communication link with Captain Liz?"

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

Elsewhere on the ship, a certain lycanthropic hybrid just portaled into the ship, and is currently talking with Tempest about what has happened since she left.

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

Time does not stop for anything. The room is not done. The door still needs to be opened.

[Deske]

Colorado was silent with equal parts interest and fear. He met her eyes as she looked towards him, then back to the comm unit. He jumped slightly when the knock on the door came. But, he took a deep breath to steady himself and made his way over to the door. The lock clicked as the handle turned and he opened the door to star at the HiveDroid. He opened his mouth to say something but almost immediately closed it and ushered the Droid inside.

---------

"Alright, our first mission! This is actually turning out to be like a comic book. Super powers, alien society, super police force, and more!"

---------

Ulrich looked from Traci to the door, "I think it would be best if we did not hang around. By the look of that light,
I would say we do not have all the time in the world."

[Welsh Halfwit]

Now Seena was getting really scared and jumed as the droid asked his question. "I thought..." she said as Colorado showed him in and shut the door. "I thought I...I might be able to... able to call any comm if... if it's on or not." She tried a smile but it soon shook off. "I...I communicated with... with home... W...wait. Psychic?... You mean Liz... the Captain ISN'T on comm? I... I was IN HER HEAD?" Acting on impulse, she pressed the comm again. "S...sorry, Captain," she said, still shaking.
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"Basically," Jenny replied, feeling they both might as well hear it, "I stuffed up. My plan Something broke and.." she took a breath. "...and i got my brother Garrett killed a building or so over from the warehouse."
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Now Hannabelle picked up the speed. She twiddled the blue Ranger's ear impatiently as she waited for the connection then, remembering it was supposed to be a surprise, hid it away as the call came through to an adult Celican female. "Hello, Jenevive," she said nervously.
<<Mom,>> the Vixen replied. <<To what do I owe this sort of pleasure?>>
"I'm looking to take you guys on holiday," Hannabelle said, only half lying. She'd not been 'looking' for it and it probably wouldn't be a holiday.
<<I like it here.>>
"It'll probably only be a week away, Jen. Please get the family ready. I'll be there soon."
<<I thought I was sensing more hunters in the area,>> Jenevive said, baring her teeth. <<We'll be ready. I hate you sometimes,>> she added before turning the link off.
Hannabelle sighed. "That went better than I thought," she said, lying through her teeth this time.
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In their bedroom, after she thought Dan was asleep, Keeva stood, removed her own clothes over a moment or so and slipped between the covers, putting her hand back on his shoulder as though to make sure he was still there.

[CyberDragon]

Colorado was silent with equal parts interest and fear. He met her eyes as she looked towards him, then back to the comm unit. He jumped slightly when the knock on the door came. But, he took a deep breath to steady himself and made his way over to the door. The lock clicked as the handle turned and he opened the door to star at the HiveDroid. He opened his mouth to say something but almost immediately closed it and ushered the Droid inside.

Now Seena was getting really scared and jumed as the droid asked his question. "I thought..." she said as Colorado showed him in and shut the door. "I thought I...I might be able to... able to call any comm if... if it's on or not." She tried a smile but it soon shook off. "I...I communicated with... with home... W...wait. Psychic?... You mean Liz... the Captain ISN'T on comm? I... I was IN HER HEAD?" Acting on impulse, she pressed the comm again. "S...sorry, Captain," she said, still shaking.

"It sounds like you just discovered what your power is. Congratulations!" He said, enthusiastically and hoping to ease her fears. "Though... You said you communicated with home? You mean, you actually contacted someone in your universe? Who was it?"

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

Hivemind looked up at Corp and Captain Liz. "You were right, Captain. That was Seena. Apparently she thought she was contacting your comm system. She says she somehow contacted someone from your universe."

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

"Alright, our first mission! This is actually turning out to be like a comic book. Super powers, alien society, super police force, and more!"

"May I inquire as to the nature of this assignment?" MT asked.

"It's an asset retrieval mission. If things go wrong, it will be a rescue mission, though I hope it doesn't come to that." Hivemind said. "We currently have someone in custody who doesn't want to fully cooperate until they know their family is safe from retaliation. Our job is to go and retrieve this family."

"Sounds like a straightforward first mission. I'm in."

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

"Basically," Jenny replied, feeling they both might as well hear it, "I stuffed up. My plan Something broke and.." she took a breath. "...and i got my brother Garrett killed a building or so over from the warehouse."

"Garrett... Garrett Miles... Wait! I know where I know that name. Garrett Miles was listed among the people we pulled out of Colony 14 during our raids against them." Hivemind said. "He lives in the Capitol District. Inner outskirts."

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

Now Hannabelle picked up the speed. She twiddled the blue Ranger's ear impatiently as she waited for the connection then, remembering it was supposed to be a surprise, hid it away as the call came through to an adult Celican female. "Hello, Jenevive," she said nervously.
<<Mom,>> the Vixen replied. <<To what do I owe this sort of pleasure?>>
"I'm looking to take you guys on holiday," Hannabelle said, only half lying. She'd not been 'looking' for it and it probably wouldn't be a holiday.
<<I like it here.>>
"It'll probably only be a week away, Jen. Please get the family ready. I'll be there soon."
<<I thought I was sensing more hunters in the area,>> Jenevive said, baring her teeth. <<We'll be ready. I hate you sometimes,>> she added before turning the link off.
Hannabelle sighed. "That went better than I thought," she said, lying through her teeth this time.

"At least it gives them the chance to run. Though, she said "I thought I was sensing more hunters in the area." It sounds like they are about to strike. We don't have much time. Do you have the coordinates for their house?"

[Hlaoroo]

"get in yer," Sarah said clearly, keeping a hand on Caileans' shoulder whilst talking to the Laird. "An' choose yer room, hen."

Conall allows himself to be dragged laughing through the door.
"Ah think ye lovebirds shuid pick yer honeymoon suit first." he teases, earning a playful punch from his brother.
"Right, sorry." he apologises, rubbing his arm between signs.
"Sarah needs tae check 'em oot first tae mak sure we're safe."
"That isnae what Ah meant!" Cailean giggles, rolling his eyes.

[Welsh Halfwit]

"I wish..." Seena said, still nervous, "I wish it made sense! I... I mean I hear her over the radio and she hears me in her head???" She composed herself. "Um, in answer, it was someone calling themselves, uh, Admiral Ezra Lockwood? I... I don't know the name but... if fifty years have passed..." She sighed a ragged sigh. "Can... can you show Colorado how to make tea here? I think... I think I need something that's, um, hot, sweet and drinkable and, um, he's only the first two?"
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All of a sudden the Hive droid found himself gripped and held. "He's alive," Jenny said urgently, demanding the truth. "You're not playing a joke on me? If you are it's in really poor taste."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Absolutely," Hannabelle boasted. "Last time I visited, I landed a cloaked shuttle in their back garden. Which," she added with chagrin, "was an error. I blew out their windows." She wrote the co-ordinates down for him. I'll have to go down with whoever. The doors are DNA coded to my family and her husbands. Anyone else tries to open them from outside will get quite a shock.[/color]"
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"Ah'm gonna be checkin' 'em onnywae, sir," Sarah said, giving Cailean a final kiss before parting to carry out the rest of the room checks. Sofa first. "Got no Scotch," she admitted, indicating the beers she'd brought. "Crack open th' broon an' we'll chrissen th' place, eh? She headed in to check over the bedrooms after the front door locked.

[Deske]

Colorado was only a little lost at this point, "In her head... I mean you were the communications officer.
Fitting isn't it?" He stood awkwardly for a second at the mention of tea before moving his way to the kitchen,
"Uh, yeah, tea. Right..." He stared at the replicator or it could be the garbage disposal, but it was probably the replicator. Probably.

-----------

Chris glanced over at MT, "So are orbital drops out the question? He's got pretty good motion cancelling. So it's not like we'd smash into the ground at terminal velocity." He stared at the HiveDroid with hope in his eyes.

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana took the key card and walked towards the door, "I agree with the teams, but lets get a move on before Lycan can pull something." As she reached the door she carefully looked it over, just in case on final trap awaited. Not finding anything she steeled herself to swipe the card, "Welp. Lets go survive everybody." She swiped the card through the card reader.

[CyberDragon]

"I wish..." Seena said, still nervous, "I wish it made sense! I... I mean I hear her over the radio and she hears me in her head???" She composed herself. "Um, in answer, it was someone calling themselves, uh, Admiral Ezra Lockwood? I... I don't know the name but... if fifty years have passed..." She sighed a ragged sigh. "Can... can you show Colorado how to make tea here? I think... I think I need something that's, um, hot, sweet and drinkable and, um, he's only the first two?"

Colorado was only a little lost at this point, "In her head... I mean you were the communications officer.
Fitting isn't it?" He stood awkwardly for a second at the mention of tea before moving his way to the kitchen,
"Uh, yeah, tea. Right..." He stared at the replicator or it could be the garbage disposal, but it was probably the replicator. Probably.

"It hasn't been fifty years. You just traveled from year 3000 in your universe to year 3050 in mine. It's complicated, but right now in your universe no more than five years would have passed in between you leaving your universe and you arriving here. It's probably been less." He said as he helped Colorado figure out the replicator in the kitchen. "I realize that is still a long time, but it's not fifty years. More likely it's been around four."

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

All of a sudden the Hive droid found himself gripped and held. "He's alive," Jenny said urgently, demanding the truth. "You're not playing a joke on me? If you are it's in really poor taste."

"Jenny. Do you really think I would be sick enough to joke about this?" He said, a little surprised but not really. "Most of the survivors of colony 14 are on the Beacon, and I know all of their names and faces and locations just like I know yours. There is a survivor by the name of Garrett Miles in the Capitol District. I didn't think about it or mention it before because the last name Miles isn't uncommon, and you never mentioned you had a brother to me, but now I can see the resemblance."

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

"Absolutely," Hannabelle boasted. "Last time I visited, I landed a cloaked shuttle in their back garden. Which," she added with chagrin, "was an error. I blew out their windows." She wrote the co-ordinates down for him. I'll have to go down with whoever. The doors are DNA coded to my family and her husbands. Anyone else tries to open them from outside will get quite a shock.[/color]"

"Fine. But the moment hostile hunters show up, you go back into the Armored Personnel Carrier. Neither we nor your family can afford you getting in the line of fire."

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

Tatiana took the key card and walked towards the door, "I agree with the teams, but lets get a move on before Lycan can pull something." As she reached the door she carefully looked it over, just in case on final trap awaited. Not finding anything she steeled herself to swipe the card, "Welp. Lets go survive everybody." She swiped the card through the card reader.

(Sorry. Building worlds takes time and I ran out of nails. I'll put up the description of the next room tomorrow.)

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

(I keep forgetting to reply to Chris! DX)

The hive droid let out a small laugh. "As fun as that sounds, I don't think a shock drop of a military-style mech into a civilian populated area run by a government we have a rocky relationship with is entirely appropriate."

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Four," Seena repeated, a little hollowly. "That's still bad. It seems we're legends..." Now she looked confused. "So we skipped four years coming here. It either doesn't reverse if we go back or... we never go back... Weird."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I know, I know," Jenny said, letting the droid go. "Sorry, boss," she said. "It's just... a lot to take in." She sniffed, trying not to cry again for the second time in two days. "What... what's he do? Is he mated? How did he get... I'll ask him that one when I see him.... Is he OK? You may not know him but I bet you know the records..."
----------------------------------------------------------------
"By your command," Hannabelle replied, flumping onto the sofa for a few moments. "Old bones aren't that good for running," she admitted. "Fighting, yes." She mused. "I could teach self-defence," she said idly. "Non-lethal, of course. Although that's harder."

[~\Rook/~]

In their bedroom, after she thought Dan was asleep, Keeva stood, removed her own clothes over a moment or so and slipped between the covers, putting her hand back on his shoulder as though to make sure he was still there.

Dan woke up hazily due to the movement of his girlfriend getting up, and quietly watched as she undressed then got into the bed. "I saw that.." He mumbled, putting his hand on hers. "..I think I'll join you.." He added before getting up himself and removing his own clothes, a little longer than she did due to the sling on his arm, then joined her beneath the covers. "This is definitely better.." He said finally, cuddling up to her again.

-----

After some debating and explaining, Rika finally had caught her parents up on her escapades in the champions minus a few important details including Odium.

"..And that's it up until now." Rika said finally, finishing off the last of her food.

"Well.. That's a lot to take in, but i'm proud of you for taking it all on! Seriously, who knew my little girl would be taking on challenges like that?" David replied, smiling widely.
"..I still think you're doing the wrong thing, but.. Sahlia started before sighing. "..I'm not going to stop you. You've been wanting to do this since you were young. I thought it might pass, and I believed it did when you became a nurse but.. If you really want to be a champion, then I can't stop you.."Rika looked to be in tears. "Thank you, mother." She said simply, wiping her eyes. David stood and stepped over to Rika before giving her a comforting hug. "Y'know I'm always rooting for ya.. An' I'll get Sahlia to cheer for ya too!" He said lowly as he hugged her. "I know, dad.. Thanks.." She replied.

The two broke off and David sat back down.

"So.. What are you going to be doing.. after this? Any more 'missions on the board'?" Sahlia asked, pushing her empty plate away. "Well, Hive said something about a retreival mission after training so probably that.." Rika replied, leaning back in her chair. "Hey, speaking of training, shouldn't you be doing that?" David cut in, pointing to Rika. "Hm, maybe.. Both Jaken and I were going to before the Steelhaven came in.. Maybe we should go check?" She said musingly, looking to Jaken.

-----

Traci kept close to Ulrich, staying strangely quiet. Honestly, she was so creeped out after seeing Jenny get picked off, she didn't want to talk..

[CyberDragon]

"Four," Seena repeated, a little hollowly. "That's still bad. It seems we're legends..." Now she looked confused. "So we skipped four years coming here. It either doesn't reverse if we go back or... we never go back... Weird."

"I'm sorry you lost so much time. However, four years may be a long time but it isn't half a century. If you had people back home you want to see or speak to again... Perhaps you can now?"

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

"I know, I know," Jenny said, letting the droid go. "Sorry, boss," she said. "It's just... a lot to take in." She sniffed, trying not to cry again for the second time in two days. "What... what's he do? Is he mated? How did he get... I'll ask him that one when I see him.... Is he OK? You may not know him but I bet you know the records..."

"Well what the heck are you asking me for? Go! See him!" Hivemind wrote something down and gave it to Jenny. "Putting this code into a portal door will take you to the neighborhood he lives in. The other number is his address. Well? What are you still doing here?"

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

"By your command," Hannabelle replied, flumping onto the sofa for a few moments. "Old bones aren't that good for running," she admitted. "Fighting, yes." She mused. "I could teach self-defense," she said idly. "Non-lethal, of course. Although that's harder."

Hivemind nodded. "It is harder, but it's worth it. Anyway, we have a bit of time left. Is there something you'd like to watch?"

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

When the team walked through the door, which opened with some effort, they would find themselves in a location that wasn't at all like the warehouse they were just in. Instead, it looked like they had just walked into a small suburban home. The place looked like it hadn't been lived in for a long time. The dinner table had broken in half and trashed furniture littered the ground in front of the door. The windows were solidly boarded up from the inside. Straight ahead from the door was the entrance to the kitchen. To the right is the hallway.

The ceiling fan provides the light for the room, but it is hanging by it's wires. The lights are flickering, but there is some time before they go out.

(Note: Traps here will not be 1-hit-KOs for the person triggering them. Instead, they will either take out the lights, or burn time before the lights go out for good. Fair warning: One of these traps shuts down the lights period, and if you missed the important item to counter it, it could result in a TPW.)

[Legotron123]

Kolt stepped into the fake household, taking a big sniff of the air as he did so. ”Oh goodie. Death. Not like THAT smell has plenty of bad memories associated with it.” He said, before turning around to look at the others. ”Alright, let’s each take a path. Ulrich and the new girl whose name I don’t know, you check out the hall way, I’m hearing some coughing from that direction. Me and Tatiana will check out the kitchen. Let’s move out team.” He walked into the kitchen, taking note of the general disarray everything was in. The dinner table had been broken in half by some kind of claw (Lycan’s if he had to guess), silverware had been scattered across the floor, and everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. And yet the appliances seemed to be in oddly good condition, almost like they gave from a completely different house. Curious. ”Okay Tats, if you don’t mind me calling you that, you check out those appliances, I’ll check the floor and table.” He said, moving to lift up the two broken fragments on the ground.
-
”Okay good, I’m not imagining things. Could you please ask her to stop? Having another voice in my head is rather disorienting.” Liz said, before deciding to take another bite of her chicken club wrap.

[Welsh Halfwit]

After hearing the Captains' request over the comm, Seena took her hand off the device and it fell silent. She managed to hang on to a faint smile as she spoke to the Hivemind in her kitchen. "Please tell the Captain she asked before you did?
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"Um..." Jenny looked from the proffered address to the simulation going on, to Kol and back at the address. She made up her mind. "Please tell Kolt why I had to go when they finish, yeah?" She took the address and headed for the nearest portal. Following Hive's instructions, she headed for the neighbourhood she needed.

After a couple of wrong turns and reversals she found herself outside a door and pressed the buzzer, holding her badge up to the camera and half obscuring her picture. "Mr. Miles," she asked, wondering if her voice had changed over the ten to twelve years and preparing to use the name of the agent who'd rescued her. "Agent Murphy of the IOC. I need to speak to you about something you may have seen in the shopping centre a s few days ago. Can you open the door?"
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"Is Celica News Network out of the question," Hannabelle asked. "It's usually good to know what the enemy is saying about you and, unlike Earth, CNN is the voice of the government whilst Foxton News is generally reliable."
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Jaken nodded his agreement that they needed to head off and hugged June. "Sorry," he told her whilst his mouth was close to her ear. "Seems duty is calling." He let June go before looking at Sahlia. "You have a brilliant Vix... uh, Dortur in Miss Rika. Very brave. Fights wounds and hurts right there, so close to things that could harm her. It is very brave and totally worthy!" He lowered his eyes a little. "Figgured you should know." He looked to June again, offering the hand he hadn't just offered to Rika. "Changed my mind," he said. "Want to come?"
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Keeva smiled with her eyes closed. "Saw you too," she replied before kissing Dan.

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana looked around as she followed Kolt, "Creepy place. At least Lycan will be the only evil resident. I hope." She nodded at Kolt's orders and glanced over all of the appliances in the room. The refrigerator freezer combo, electric stove with its oven ajar, replicator and microwave were all plugged in and all aside from the replicator bore some interest, "Huh, well the microwave is wack, all it has is flashing zeros. It seems like the fridge is the only thing to have seen any kind of use recently. But... now that I mention it the replicator seems particularly unused. And the oven is seriously creeping me out with it being slightly open in a creepy house. Oh, and Tats is fine." She said, distractedly. She took a few steps toward the appliances, hesitant to open or search any of them without a thorough check for traps, mainly brought on by the oven's creepy nature, "Ugh, it's gonna take a bit to search these things safely... Huh. Maybe I'm more paranoid than I thought when put inside horror genre scenarios."

[~\Rook/~]

Keeva smiled with her eyes closed. "Saw you too," she replied before kissing Dan.

Dan returned the kiss, then pulled her close to him. "You sure? You can double-check if you want.." He mumbled in reply.

-----

"You have a brilliant Vix... uh, Dortur in Miss Rika. Very brave. Fights wounds and hurts right there, so close to things that could harm her. It is very brave and totally worthy!" He lowered his eyes a little. "Figgured you should know." He looked to June again, offering the hand he hadn't just offered to Rika. "Changed my mind," he said. "Want to come?"

Sahlia smiled lightly. "I know.." She said simply.

Rika was smiling too. "You can come with us if you want, June, but I'm not sure if you'll be allowed into champion areas.." She said honestly. "..That's up to Hive."