Of Steam and Steel: IC (Mature) {Currently Open}

[Tezkat]

Eye of Newt, and Toe of Frog, Wool of Bat, and Tongue of Dog...

The panther raised an eyebrow. Had he not done a good enough job of cleaning himself up after the battle? Perhaps this Mythos could smell the blood on him. His calf wound had only recently closed.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I had a little run in with a band of pirates on my way into town this morning. So I thought to myself... hey, if all my mornings in Nhylamar are going to be this exciting, I should grab a something to take the edge off those little nicks and scratches."

[Chairtastic]

Why do they come to me to die?

Haien was not in the mood for some amateur-hour bullshit like witty banter.  The voice gave away one of the attacker's positions, and that was enough to start the onslaught.  The ram stepped forward, bringing his hands together.  With a flick of the wrists, the six balls of green fire had merged into a swirling disk of emerald flaming death.  Cupping the fire with his right hand, Haien thrust the disk into the air with his left palm, twisting it slightly to give the attack some spin in addition to its rotation. 

The disk would spiral through the air, sailing to meet the scythe head-on, timed to strike the flying weapon when its shaft was exposed.  If the concussive force of the disk didn't snap the weapon in two, the intense heat burning a segment of it into charcoal would when it couldn't take it's own inertia anymore.  That was assuming it was a physical object at all.  If it was some sort of spell, Haien's disk would probably take visibly longer to burn through if it wasn't shattered outright. 

Assuming it had passed the scythe, the fiery disk would sail toward the teeth, flying just high enough to pass over the owner while setting his hair on fire, or beaning him in the eyes if his head was too tall.  Either worked for Haien's purposes.  Once it had passed over and sailed for a bit, Haien would step forward and stop one hoof into the metal, instructing the disk to fly downward while sweeping his arms in opposite directions would split the disk in twain.  The ram would turn his palms outward, and flick his fingers behind him, calling the disks back in wide arcs, while being low enough to set fire to the grasses; forming a ring of green, small fire.  The disks would finally meet their end with soaring into the dull fire produced by the lightning strike, causing it to flare, and turn a similar shade of green.

The ram raised his hands, and the ring would correspondingly shoot up to form a wall of green fire, hopefully catching the feline as she sailed over it; while flicking his palms inward and bringing his arms across his chest, which would set the wall to expand inward, toward Haien and the cubi.

This was not as simple as he made it look.  Fire needed fuel, and the grasses the wall was majorly based on were not enough to produce a wall so tall as Haien managed, so he was directly feeding his energy into it, with using the fuel left over from the train to take the edge off.  But this wall wouldn't last long;  and Haien couldn't risk more fire.  The latter was an easily solved problem, as with another flick of his wrists, the smoke generated by the wall, and the rest of the wreck, started to float over the ring, ready to be called down for a strike.


Bassoon, meanwhile was not nearly so nice.  Gryphon's by and large didn't bother to set the stage for battle, they just cut to the chase and killed you.  With one flap of wings trained to carry rather heavy loads, Bassoon was soaring upward, then downward, veering off to strike the feline laterally while she was still visible.  Avian claws lashed out, attempting to disembowel the poor woman, while a sturdy beak thrust forward in the general area of the face.  Another flap, and he would be sailing upward again, circling above, looking down for any sign of his prey.  Sure, he had a variety of tools in his satchel that could have made the fight more 'civilized' but civilized fighting was for people that didn't poach his master's kill.  Everyone else got their heart ripped out and shown to them.  Mmm, heart.

[Boog]

In the Commons Room, B Deck

It took a spiteful bastard, Jeremiah decided, to put out non-alcoholic punch at this thing. He was draped over part of the couch, slumped, with a glass of punch in his hand that had gone untouched since the first disappointing sip. He glanced over at the others around the room.
All creatures... I feel like I should be on a damn plate here.
They seem plenty friendly.
Most creatures do.
Sir, I'd suggest ingratiating yourself too them. Join the group. Take an interest.
Why would I do that, Cab?
Because these will be the people keeping you from dying deep underground in an insectis stronghold.
... Point. Why are you helping me with this?
Because if you die, we die, and I have my own objectives for entering an insectis hive.
Wait you wha-?
He was distracted by the ferret woman, showing up with invitations. He studied the recipients. A nun from a healing order and... A person of note. The person of note smelled like a politician, to Jeremiah, but why a doctor? Well yes, one was necessary on a ship, but the angel looked to be pretty high ranking. What would she want with the local sawbones? Maybe the captain was religious?
He tapped a nearby uniformed person on the shoulder, someone whose uniform and decorations declared them to be security personel. "Oi, sorry to bother ya, don't suppose you know who those two are?" He cocked his head at the badger and chinchilla briefly. "The pink fella and the Sister?"

[Lisky]

A Walk with a Lord and Lady 

Baseel gave a polite nod at her comment,  "Then, perhaps at some time when there isn't a battle to plan, we can sit down, you and I, and you can tell me why it's the Aeliseians that'll be the problem... though... most Aeliseians would be terrified by the very shadow this vessel casts.  They'd be down-right frozen at sight of her crew... Which is something else that gave away your not being one of their church-goers.  The soul stone merely confirmed that, because, you see, waving a soul-stone around is one of the surest ways to find their spies... their minds light up in horror... like... Christmas Trees, I do believe my intelligence officer described.  "

"If you'd excuse me for 1 moment, I shall get you your crystal, and we'll go get you introduced to your deck crew, handling your... machine..." 
Disappearing into an unassuming door, Baseel's claws could be heard clacking lightly on whatever hard surface was used for flooring.  A few faint mechanical clicks, and a deep metallic clank later we're all Jo could hear.  Few seconds later, another deep metallic clang, followed by  a softer click and Baseel reappeared.  A faintly glowing blue crystal was resting in the demons hand.  He said, "Lets get this installed before too many questions get asked... You might have to point out which machine is yours... we've gotten a few recent additions, and I haven't had a chance to meet them all."

He headed down a near-by flight of stairs, and began guiding Jo to the lower hanger.


Sleepy Mining Village Hit By Earthquake and...

"That's news to me."  She replied, "Then again, it's hard to tell the difference between them blasting new holes in the ground, and something actually happening...  Something about explosives combined with magical properties that make those miners go wild.  We were blasting this morning, and the concussions kinda hid the worst of the quake...  If you're really interested, I can get one of the engineers to take you to the epicenter though... or, at least, as close as we can get.  Would you prefer to see it above ground, or get a little closer in the tunnel?"

Off to the side, the succubus had started using her wing tentacles to fill out the forms for the new miners.  The small posse looked annoyed, but their moods seemed to be improving.


Not Every Angel is a Saint

"Right... Right... If you think you're good with a soul-stone drive, lemme show you the blue-prints, and lets see what you can do.  We're putting her core together now.  Also... if these are falsified documents, and you fuck this up... I will –personally- mount your head from the bow, like some kinda gods-damned macabre figurehead...   Now... with that understood... Lets get moving before we get any more gods damned delays  slow today's work down any fuckin' more."

Grabbing Avram by the arm, then Angel all but carried the demon over to a table where the blue-prints were laid out before him... If he didn't know any better, he'd suspect they were shielding this thing as if it were emitting some type of hazardous force, or material.  The amount of complex interlocking shields both magical and physical, kept the soul-stone physically suspended in the very center of the matrix.  From what he could see of the half-finished vessel through all the scaffolding, it looked like there were but a few more stasis and energy transformation spells to go, then a stasis field would be erected, and the stone lowered into place. 

For Avram, it was an interesting challenge... normally each piece would be childs play... but the complexity and precision of the interlocking spells would be  a challenge, even for an expert such as himself.


She can taste your fear... errr... blood. 

The serpentine tongue forked out of the mythos' mouth again.  She had a wicked smile, as she replied, "Well, are you looking for something like a quick healing balm, or something more like regeneration potion... and... do you think you'll need a little more... jussst in casssee you have a few more run insss?"
She'd collected everything on the counter.  "Firssst time customerssss get a ten percsssent dissscount." She added with crooked grin.



That's Why They Call Me... Bad Company

The green disk of fire seemed to slam into the scythe, pass over and around the bladed implement.   Nothing happened to the blade, it was as if it weren't really there... and it was rapidly getting closer.  It crossed the distance between him and the fireball in less than a blink.  Just before it looked as if it were going to cleave into his arm, it took an awkward tumble, making a vicious last instant arc for the center of his skull.  It fell just short, he could smell the blackened, charred and clearly heavily enchanted steel as it passed just a hair's breadth from his nose.  The tip of the scythe continued downward.  His flesh was tough, the blade was equally so...  A dull thud, and a rush of pain from the demon's thigh as the blade sunk into the center mass of his left leg, dead center between the knee and the hip.  The blade sunk in a good three and a half inches before stopping.

The cubi in the ring took advantage of the moment to cast a simple water-jet, dousing enough flames to back-pedal out of the closing ring of fire and would be death.  The last Hanien saw of the cubi, he was shifting colors, and diving behind a small roll in the earth.

In the skies, what very well could have been a quick and efficient kill became nothing of the sort.  There was no quick strike, no cold brutal efficiency, no kill... there wasn't even blood.  However, what there was, was a very near miss and another loud *CRACK* as a second thunder-bolt came screaming but a few feet from where the Gryphon had just been.  His feathers felt off as they tingled with ionized air... his ears were ringing, and he was having a hard time focusing from the pain radiating from his ears.  The dazzling light didn't help any either.  It left stars flashing through his vision. 

He had just enough warning  that the succubus was doing something when he felt something sharp latch around his left-hind leg.  Whatever had him, suddenly yanked him viciously downward.  She was trying to injure his wing.


Best Hope they Don't Hear You

The angel looked at the two the frog had indicated.  She gave a mental shrug, and asked, "I could ask the same of you... you're clearly new here as well.  Anyways, the sister, She's a doctor with an order the Captain's family patron.  One of their charitable patronages where they spend gobs of money supporting the organization, because the organization furthers their goals... in this case, it's Dame Katia's thing... As for the badger, well, as far as I can tell, he's from Sevastia Nyad.  Not quite sure why he's on the ship, but he's here."  She shrugged "I think he's a diplomat... or something... but... not really sure."

Looking down at the letter, then back at the frog, she held a hand to her nose, rubbing the top of her muzzle lightly.  "You wouldn't happen to know who Jeremiah Ac'Gregor is, do you?  Last invite to deliver for the captain's personal dinner... and I haven't the foggiest who or even what I'm looking for."

[techmaster-glitch]

Burned-down Orphanage

   Despite their work at picking apart the freshly-collapsed building, the brothers Vaponci were unable to rescue any more occupants. They tried to remain detached as they worked, but the sheer sickness of what had happened threatened to snap them both. After the scattered fires had been mostly put out, Gezz had had enough.
   "I'm calling it, Gaak. There's nothing more we can do."
   Up in the Scorp's main cockpit, Gaakronacht ground his teeth. "I can't believe this. We've seen Creature incusions before, we've seen them heap cruelty onto us, but this...I've never seen one do this before. What could possibly have been the motivation? Who was that monster?"
   Gezzemocht sight. "I don't know...but she might." He looked at the one single girl they had rescued. "For now, we've got graves to dig and a scene to investigate. That and we need to get to a garrison A-S-A-P and call in a squad of Wing Clippers, we're not equipped to handle this."
   However, Lucy then announced a 'visitor'. Said visitor suddenly made accusatory statements before suddenly suggesting they all leave. What in the name...?
   Gaakronact turned the Scorp a little to get a look at the person, furrowing his brow. "Who the hell? Identify yourself, civilian."
   Gezzemocht also spoke up. "And you should move along, civilian. We have serious work to do, we are very mad, and we do not need another distraction. Whatever your destination, I strongly suggest you continue to it."

(OOC; since you've procrastinated long enough Bas, I went and gave the special forces the best name thus far but if you -really- think of something better later on, I can come back and edit )

[Arroyo Milori]

Burned-down Orphanage

"Arroyo Milori. He stated as soon as the mech asked for his name. "And no I will not leave. I am saving you the trouble of digging through this crap! I sense no one here but you guys digging through it! He started to cough a bit more. 'Too much smoke... He looked back up at the mech with such rage. "I could care less how pissed you are! I'm already not in a good enough mood myself...encountering those stupid cultists and that damned angel... He wiped his face gently, but quickly with the cloth he had in hand, drenching it with sweat from the heat around the area.

[SquirrelWizard]

All aboard the Fail Train!

"Having fun?" Stephan casually remarked in regards to the Cubi's attire, "If we plan to take one of the trains, then we should see about getting the tickets and transfers in order as soon as possible. And, hopefully, our travel should be rather uneventful. Though to be honest I doubt my luck is much to run on." He almost turned to head to the ticket stand when he stopped himself and turned back to Ed, "Oh yes, it nearly slipped my mind, again. You seem to know about me, yet I know next to nothing about you. Whether you wish to talk about yourself at length is up to you, but probably better suited to more private environs, I was wondering what I should call you? 'Hey you' would get old real fast."

[Kafzeil]

Burning ruin

Angel...cultists...What The-

"Okay, can someone please just explain to me what the hell is going on here?"She snapped glancing at Arroyo, her the new glow of her eyes heightened by the smoke in the air.

She sighed, crossing her arms."I know I have no real authority, Hell, I'm not even a person anymore, according to this Hellhole." She spat, glancing at Arroyo."But damn, for once, I'd like an explanation, I don't even care if it's very good one or if it's even any good news just-I dunno."She tried explaining herself to the brothers and this new lion, putting her face in the palm of his hand. Oddly enough she failed to notice a faint purple glow emanating from said hand.

[Tapewolf]

Kesslen

Seth nodded to the succubus.  "You say 'as close as we can get'," he said.  "Is something obstructing it, or has the area now caved in?  I would certainly like to see it underground if that is not a problem, though it might be an idea to check it above ground first.  Would this be doable?"

[Noone]

You're Supposed to be Quiet in the Library, supposed to be anyway.

Kyirri looked at the cubi with his ever blank expression. Something felt wrong to him. If she was working for him, then procedure was certainly going differently than usual. For one, it would have interrupted him when he was trying to tell the other cubi off. He didn't look at Bree, but he kept his ears open for any movement's she might have been making. He didn't expect her to do anything however, as she seemed kind of oblivious. He made no move to pick up the book.

If she really was working for him, then she'd probably know that for times like this... I wouldn't have a choice in what I do and she would know exactly how and why... could be from another, quite likely in fact... knowing him. That bag is out of place too, he has never given me any money or resources. Could easily be a double-agent.
Part of him fully expected to suddenly pick up the book without his conscious consent. However, there wasn't anything he could do to make that happen or stop it from happening, so for now, he just kept looking at the cubi. It would also stop him from saying what he was about to say.

"And what's stopping you from just killing me once I step outside?"

[JamesCray]

Enchanter's Emporium

"Ye cannae' change th' laws o' physics." the fennec quoted with a fond smile and a chuckle. "Suppose I would do best to keep in mind what the professor always said. Then again, though, I was never that good a student. I'm sure I'll find a use for it somehow." the fennec said with a grin as he fished the requisite amount of coin from his satchel and handed it over.

"Actually, by accent, I would guess you two might hail from the same area. Whereabouts're you from?"

[VAE]

Engineer and explosion both begin with "E"
At stark contrast to his original dignified appearance, the engineer proved to be a man of swift action and sharp tongue, and before Avram could stash the documents into his pocket, the angel dragged him in front of a table full of the engine system's blueprint.
"A..Allright, I'll s.sort it out!,"
Oh hell... i haven't worked with anything this size in ages... uff,  hope the blueprints are well anotated and the guy writing the assembly sheet wasn't staring at some secretary.  

Comparing the actual looks of the core with the blueprints, he noticed that the basic containment, safeguard and positioning spells were already cast, and the stone has been activated, however the output channels weren't set up.
Avram took a pencil and began calculating the position of the stasis field alterations he needed to make in order to enable energy flow  to the converters in the ship where it is to be mounted, and their shape to ensure the power output is correct to a reasonable degree.
230 megawatt, 24 by 271 degrees for the engine systems, that gives 65 radius, standard then the control jets, 60 megawatt,,, 50 by 200 degrees, 8x4  split..  

Having done the calculations, Avram came closer to the matrix, held his hands in front of him, and glancing at the paper he took one of the pencils from the table.
He wrapped the paper around the pencil, set fire to it with an electric arc between his claw-tips, and began chanting.
leviĝas kaj vidigas... leviĝas kaj vidigas....leviĝas kaj vidigas....
The smoke began to take shape into greyish lines and all of his diagrams were floating around the surface of the matrix and the core in what seemed to be correct positions, with his calculations floating in mid-air,  Avram took the remainder of the charred pencil, waved it in air, and a miscalculated decimal point obediently moved to its correct place.
From now he had about an hour of time until the spell would either need to be renewed or dissipate.

He began to concentrate and draw invisible glyphs in air aimed at the marked regions using the pencil's remains as a pointer of sort - in this case it was a habit, not a need.
An acute observer would note that although not doing much visibly, Avram's pawpads were sweating a fair bit, and the air around the core at the marked regions was warping somewhat.
After he was done with the first one, he quickly drew a circular sign around the new outlet with his left paw ,  sealing it, and repeated the same job for the other outputs, which was rather uneventful.

After finishing, he looked around the matrix until he found a curious instrument a box with several levers alternating between geared transmissions an analog readout with a rather powerful spring and a long probe with a platelike shield.
This device's use was measuring  energy outputs - the probe was enchanted with a spell converting contained energy to torque, which could be easily read of the scale.
Using the levers, he set the attenuation to  1 000 000 x , and proceeded to measure each output by warping the new shield around it out of the way and poking the probe in, his hands guarded by the shield on the device.
228,  31,  19 ... mhm, now switch it for the threaded ones...
Done... and now for the fun part.
Coming to the blueprints again, Avram began assembling the torque converter - it was the largest , but also the simplest of the parts, being composed of  casing with two sets of bearings  through which went a two-piece shaft with a set of gears and a flywheel and ended in a long polished jade spike which was to be lowered into the core itself, using a control lever which was to be attached to the transmission on the ship . After assembling the device on the jig,  Avram attempted to lift it...
"Which fucking idiot made this heavy like a fucking gryphon!"
After several failed attempts, he resorted to pushing it forwards next to the rails it was to be mounted on, propping the front with several hand-shaped bits of metal scrap, and giving it a tackle.
What followed were two smaller devices of this sort,  then the control for the ship's thaumatronic systems which mainly involved enchanting about 60 valves with the appropriate safety and flow regulation spells,and bolting them to the matrix - one of them was poorly made, cracked, and Avram barely avoided a stream of raw magic, which has hit his wrench, causing it catch fire, fall out of his hand and shatter on the floor.
"Hell, that was close... If i get my hand on the dick who made that shit of a  pipe, i'll tear his arms off, stuff them in his arse, and then throw him whole into the core..."
After hand-welding the break, which was followed by copious amounts of swearing and licking the frostbite on his paw, the last bit came on, in two parts - a set of  bellows and the control mechanism for them, which could deliver long-ish bursts of scalding gas out of any of the ship's front or rear jets, making it surprisingly maneuverable for it's size. The only hard part on this one were the fire enchantments, luckily the correct arrangement of the graphite rods was described in the blueprints.

Finally, a thoroughly exhausted Avram, who only now noticed he has been working for several hours, cast the last shielding spell on the now substantially larger matrix, and began looking for the chief engineer.

"It's done - we can lower her in and... see what happens" , Avram stated in a laconic fashion.
Well... either it'll work and you get a job...  or it will blow and you won't need one anymore ...  any case, nothing you can do now


EDIT: fixed typos

[Chairtastic]

So there you were, a-diggin' this hole...

Haien was about the bring down a world of hot, smokey pain down on the cubi when he felt a dull thud.  He looked down at the scythe embedded in his leg, stuck in the muscle of his thigh.  Odd, I must be in shock because I'm not in any pain.  ...Oh, there it is. Haien had not been a warrior for a long time, but one of the things one never quite forgets is how to handle pain.  The ram grit his teeth, gripped the haft of the scythe with both hands, and would slowly wrench the blade out, venting flames from his wound to help propel the weapon out, and cauterize the wound too.  Once it was free, Haien would look out on the gap in his fire, and sigh.  He really shouldn't have wasted so much time setting it up, and just broiled the would-be assassin.  With a bit of effort, Haien swept his arm horizontally, filling the gap in the ring with fresh green fire.

Meanwhile, Bassoon wasn't given recovery time, with his attacker having a firm grip on him, and all.  The Gryphon shrieked, his right wing popping out of its socket due to a poorly timed flap.  He was able to remain partially aloft from forcing his injured wing out with an arm, while his free foot tore at whatever was holding him.  The russet bird-lion also slashed out randomly with his beak and free left arm.  

Haien looked up at hearing his employee, seeing the younger Creature struggling with an unseen force.  Now, he empirically knew Bassoon could handle himself, and also knew he himself wouldn't have hired the Gryphon if that wasn't the case.  But evidently, the were more skilled, slightly, than Haien had initially inferred; besides which neither he or Bassoon were warriors, their goal wasn't to win, but to buy time for Kali-a true Demon warrior-and the salvage crew to arrive.  Haien planted his feet, extended his arms, then sharply drew hem back, calling the cloud of smoke hovering above the fire walls down to him.  For a moment, Haien had to hold his breath while the smoke swirled around him, filling the entire inside of the ring, then sharply waved his hands laterally again, causing the cloud to rotate.  Once done, Haien hopped into the air, once again swinging his arms.  Since he couldn't risk more fire just yet-lest all of the fire under his control suddenly become wild-he would have to make due with smoke.

The smoke would twist faster and faster, forming a small tornado around the ram's lower body, providing enough thrust to soar up into the air, straight for Bassoon.  Oddly, he would notice as he soared up at an angle, that parts of the sky obscured Bassoon, which should not have been possible for normal, transparent air.  As he flew, Haien drew off two handfuls of smoke from his propellant tornado, taking a second to aim, then swing both at the patch of blue holding onto Bassoon's leg, the smoke forming into crescent blades as they flew.  The smoke blades wouldn't have the concussive force to cut through something as tough as a 'Cubi wing, but if it was a hand, they might just draw blood.

Haien was aiming for stunning the limb into letting go,  however, as a second later he would zoom by, riding his smoke tornado, snagging Bassoon as he passed, then turning sharply, hopefully sharply enough to smack the cubi with the tail end of his propellant smoke cloud, and diving back into the circle of fire.
OOC:  Edited upon command from the GM.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Addy looked at the invitation to the Captain's dinner and decided to go back to her cabin and change. Being a Dame of the order didn't give her much range in her wardrobe but she could at least put on a nice dress under her official coat. And put Vanny back in the cabin at the same time. She didn't think that kittens would be invited guests at the dinner party, no matter how adorable and pedigreed. On her way out of the common room Addy snagged a few of the sushi looking canapes to bribe the kitten to behave.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Looks Like the Startings of a party... With Chicks, and Booze, and Fire Trucks

Back in Baseel's stateroom, Paige would note the various notes Baseel had made, the rough plan that had been drawn out, and the fact that she'd be commanding an entire wing of flight capable creatures, and fixed wing aircraft.  Some 20 hanger-slots were reserved for her people.  There were around 60 names on the combat personnel list, and, as far as she could tell, she'd be securing the airspace over the rail-entrance, once it was clear of air and anti-air positions, 2 other wings would secure the site, and her team would land, disembarking with the ground-forces and help with whatever clanks the insectis managed to field.

Hangar Deck

After quickly changing out of her 'dress' and into her flight-suit, the wolf succubus teleported herself down to the hangar deck next to her Spitfire. If she was going to be leading a MIGCAP she wanted everything to be tight on her fighter.

Opening up the engine panels she checked the charge remaining on the four linked soulsones powering the A-16e. Deciding 2 needed replacement Paige pulled a fresh pair she bought at the market.

Next she checked the wand system was locked and safed, and the rockets mounted properly and also safed.

Wondering if she should go find Baseel again she barely resisted the urge, he was probably with that prissy Aeliseium bitch. 'Mind you she wanted a soulstone there is defenitely something different about her than the average rod-up-the-arse Knight from that creature hating nation.

[Gabi]

Stopped train

Anabelle sighed, remembering a story she'd heard as a child about a young girl who'd focused too much on her plans for the future and lost sight of the present, and then something as simple as tripping on a stone had ruined all her plans. She wondered for a moment if this was some kind of message from the Gods or something, but then she thought They had more important things to worry about.

She went to check on Renard. He looked like he had just woken up. At least she wouldn't have to worry about wandering off and losing track of him.

"It looks like we'll be stuck here for a while," she commented. "Do you have any plans? Personally, I'd like to take a look around and see what's going on."

[techmaster-glitch]

   Gezzemocht tensed up, and was about to say something about this Milori's 'sense', and Gaakronacht was about to say something about how they had other work to do still, but both stopped when the stranger spoke of 'cultists' and an "Angel'. The beavers looked at each other, then back to Arroyo.
   "This Angel. Was it a tigress, and was her fur silvery with purple stripes?" Gaakronacht, up in the cockpit of the Scorp, asked.

[Arroyo Milori]

Bonfire at the Burning Village

Arroyo's ears perked up as soon as he heard the description of the angel. "Yeah that's the one..." He gritted his teeth a bit. "The cultists broke her out of a prison ship disguised as a Cargo ship. I nabbed one of their masks. It's back at the boat-" then he realized something. The boat. It's unattended. The doors are unlocked as well. "Christ the boat! I need to get back to the boat before my valuables are stolen!'

He made a dash out of the smoking village and towards the river for his boat, unaware if his boat is fine or not from thieves...or those cultists.

[WhiteFox]

MJOLNIR Engineering Deck, Main Warmech Bay, Gantry A7, Minotaur Assault Mech, Lower Torso, Above Main Actuator 3.02 (Secondary Oblique, Left)

   Lying on his back, face to face with an ammunition feed line, Gabriel took a moment to dig out another few jujubes from his pocket. It was important to keep your energy up during a long job, after all.
   Most engineers would get claustrophobic crawling around inside the machinery of a mech... Gabe didn't. It was kind of comforting, actually. Being surrounded by immense walls of armour plating, drive gears, and linkages made him feel... secluded. Secure.
   Safe.
   At least they weren't operating the mech while he was working in it. That always made it a real pain to get around.
   Gabriel had left his tool kit on a cog somewhere below him. He hooked his tail through it's shoulder strap, and brought it up to dig out a wrench.
   Being small enough to crawl around inside these things saved a lot of time. Some equipment could be installed in five minutes... but you had to spend three days dismantling a mech to get at the spot where it had to go.
   Like now; the feed systems of the 155 had to be hooked up to the mech's internal magazines, and control linkages to the cockpit had to be connected and adjusted. Gabriel had shaved 4 hours off the job already, just by being able to slip through the cracks and take a wrench to the works.
   Gabe finished tightening one last lug bolt. Then he hooked the ring end of the wrench through a carabiner on his vest, ands lung the tool kit over his shoulder. Twisting around, using his tail in lieu of the hand the kit, he started monkeying his way higher up into the giagantic machine.
   Just another rat in the walls.

((OOC: Edit: minor tweak to some wording.))

[Tipod]

Senate

After several more minutes of thought and haggling, it became clear that nothing short of seduction would lower the merchant's prices whatsoever. All that was left was dumping off his mask at a smithy and calling gramps. And get chewed out for not calling sooner. And for coming up emptyhanded on guns.

...unless, of course, he had a chat with his good cousin Azzam at the senate. Even for a low-level senator, Azzam could probably get him the cash he needed without having to sit through a lecture first.

Little did Bartholomew know that by the time he checked in with Senate security and turned in his tools, Azzam would be finishing with a certain lecture of his own.
___________________________

Upon the senate floor, a thorned, ebony reptile, likely an agama, in rigid, formal dress stood at the podium, delivering his latest proposal. A proposal that would undoubtedly fail.

"--not asking that we spend every possible cent we can on social services, but that we appropriate at least some modicum of funding for being institutions and programs to benefit the lower-class. The bottom fifth of our population, one in every five adults, live in wretched conditions with little opportunity for social and financial advancement. Their employers, wealthy Creatures not unlike yourselves, treat them less as people and more akin to beasts of burden; the few children that have the privilege of attending school are administered to by demons that break arms and legs for asking too many questions; families have more to fear from the police than they do from common criminals.

"And the void where all of these issues spawn from? This very senate. More specifically, the attitude that permeates this institution. Despite one fifth of the population clamoring for relief, I may very well be the only senator in this entire building championing their cause." Azzam looked all around at the theater of monsters around him, wiping his brow with a checkered handkerchief.

"These people are growing disillusioned with our government. That disillusionment will turn to bitterness. Have any of you considered what would happen if every menial laborer in our nation suddenly decided that he was done serving the state and its economy? What if they turned to open revolt? All because we ignore them and their plight. But, we can avoid that. All we need to do is cut a modest amount, roughly five percent, from defense spending-- a ridiculously inflated portion of our budget, I might add-- and re-appropriate it towards social services for the lower and working class. Schools, soup kitchens, better housing development, sensitivity training for police and instructors, and more. We gain a more literate populace, a more loyal populace, and stave off the inevitable social uprising for at least another generation."

He gave his audience another look, index claw tapping the podium's side. "I'm sure many of you will be objecting now."

[Lisky]

In the Wake of the Great White Witch

The village was completely dead.  There was nary a move.  The huts showed very little signs of struggle. save for a couple of blood-stains around door frames, it would seem as if the entire village had disappeared.  There were not enough bodies in the orphanage, not enough room for that many people.  

Arroyo's boat was unmolested.  In fact, he couldn't detect any sign of living things save for a couple of fish hiding from predators in the grooves in the underside of the hull.  The village, Nay the entire area, seemed dead.  


Destination Smackdown Aboard the Rage Express

The leopard Cubi looked rather cross at Stephan.  He snapped his finger, and the little long-tailed rat-thing disappeared in puff of smoke.  "You can call me Ed for now.  We shouldn't have had to bother with that at all... in fact, I should have been free from this near pointless duty... however, either Fa has a sick sense of humor, or something is actually up, and she's keeping things on extreme security until she's done with whatever is going on.  Either way, I'm stuck baby-sitting you for a few hours... perhaps until we reach the portal-gate, even."

His headwings raised slightly and his back-wings extended,  "Now... if you're got any meaningful questions, great... otherwise, grab your shit, and get on the train.  It's going to be a long enough ride as is."


Curiosity Always gets the Better of Cats

Renard stirred, blinking his eyes a few more times before whipping a few globs of gunk that had built up over his extended nap.  "Huh, wha?"  
He slowly yawned, stretching his legs and moving up from his bench-seat.  "No, no real plans.  Perhaps checking out the town would be alright..."  He patted his body, searching for his ticket stub, finding it secure in a pocket, he stood up, very slowly.  "If nothing else, do you mind if we stop by the city center first, so I can at least check in there?"


No Reason To Get Excited, The Thief, He Kindly Spoke

"You see, where the scientists calculated the epicenter of the quake, under-ground wise, is still several hundred yards from where some of the older tunnels are.  You can't actually access the point, however, you can get close.  Going over land would be easier,  and I can arrange to have you take to right over the spot.  It's not a very far walk, however, it is rather out in the opened, and getting yourself lost, while unlikely is possible.   Let me just get you a guide, and you'll be more than welcome to go whenever you're ready."

A few moments later, she returned with a wolf demoness.  The demoness was rather darkly colored, a copper-toned over-coat with a dark grey-blue under-coat.  She seemed to be on the shorter side, perhaps 5'4", though quite fit, with a well maintained image, and she was wearing rather revealing clothing.  A pair of beige shorts that barely covered half her thighs, and a form-fitting, backless, sleeveless, white top, that hugged her curved form.  She extended a hand with a cheerful smile and said in a soothing soprano, "Nadia Keninagrin, geologist, geomancer, and your guide."    


Library Lobby

"Why would I kill you?... I have neither reason, nor ability to escape afterwards.  There are 3 municipal officers, and another 5 soldiers within a block of this place.  I wouldn't escape if I decided to. "  
On some level, Kyirri could tell she was right.  If she really wanted him dead, she should have done so earlier.  

She moved a few steps forward, and she seemed to mean no harm.  He felt no siren's call, but he felt no need to run either.  It was an odd state of neutrality that seemed to have been projected to the little roo-rat.


Push The  Button! Blow Everybody Up!

Avram's  work took the entire day.  The sun was setting as he finally put the last section of the mounting in place.  The control surfaces, propellers, and gas bags had been mounted and welded into place.  Once the core was mounted, the airship would raise into place, the massive upper-deck turrets suspended high above the platform.  The primary armaments of the Halcyon were the 16" triple-barrel turrets, 4 of them, 2 in front, 2 in back.  They could drop a specialized shell with near pinpoint precision over 15 miles.   The other engineers had been checking, double checking, and adding their slight modifications to Avram's work and in particular his spells.  The subtle weaves involved in the shielding had to be perfect, and, that is what the head engineers had made sure.  

"looks like it's your moment of truth, Time to flip the switch."  

The large, and rather archaic looking switch was very slowly pulled into position.  Although invisible to the operators, the stone was being raised into it's proper alignment, where it would be spun,  and slowly drained of it's stored energy, ripping away the very fabric of whomever was unfortunate to be inside.  In this particular case, a demon, and a multiple rape-and-murder convict who'd been sentenced to death less than week ago.  
The soul slowly reached into position, and the various enchantments suddenly blinked into existence.  The metal rings suddenly became transparent, allowing a direct viewing of the core itself.  On the bridge, information was being collected from the various scrying points and displayed on spells.  The controls seemed to be working as the sound of fans revving up and down echoed loudly in the spacious hangar.  The last step, check the buoyancy adjustment.  On the bridge, a control-level was pushed forwards, slightly.  The massive ship  began to lift, a few inches, a little higher... then, suddenly, an enormous *CLANG* the rear end dipped, and slapped against the ground  then front gently lowered back into position... however, it seemed, something had gone wrong.
"Fuck! Did anyone catch what happened?  What the hell happened? And, why is my god damned airship still sitting on this fucking floor?!  LETS MOVE IT PEOPLE! GET TO FUCKIN' WORK AND FIX IT! She needs to be ready for trails in 3 WEEKS!"


Walls of Flames and Squalls of Pain

The Cubi holding onto Basoon had barely a chance to react, however, her move was simple and brutal.  Basoon hissed loudly in pain, a deep gash running across his leg were the tentacle had started shifting into a blade moments before Haien's pass.  Had he waited much longer, a good section of the Gryphon's leg would probably have been a stump until the healers got to him.

On the ground, something dark was moving with the ground –very- difficult to follow, but every once in a while, Haien caught sight of the movement below.  Somewhere in the wind, the female was still out there.  Her colors blending into the sky, and her ability to alter her appearance made her a painfully competent opponent.  She was relying on stealth... and seemed to just be watching wherever she was.


Keep Fear Alive!

A sarcastic, slow clap sounded, it was the only sound in the room, amongst the glares of completely unhidden hatred and annoyance.   A white furred with electric blue spots,  jaguar angel appeared.  He replied with a scoff, "Your arguments are as hollow as the people you represent.  This is a democracy... we represent the will of the 80% of the population you seem to be ignoring.  You are a representative from a poor district that barely manages to keep itself fed and clothed... You say your people fear the education system... Even the most caring of teachers have limits, and I have no doubts that –your- people, test them."  
He stood, taking a dignified step forward,  "You seem to neglect the fact that you were elected to enact the will of the majority... the MAJORITY!  Majority means over half... The will of the people is that we be ready in the event of a 2 front war.  The will of the people is that we build our army stronger, our sky navy larger,  and our machines better.  That is what the MAJORITY wills... If you wish to challenge the will of the people... perhaps you'd wish to challenge me?"  

"Ending your miserable life would be a joy... your ideas of progressivesim don't mesh with what –the people- want, and therefore, your progressiveism is clearly not democratic.   So, perhaps we should make this an official challenge.  If you leave this floor alive, you will have your 5% of the military budge rerouted... should you die on this floor, however, your district will be forbidden from electing a Thom'sem to office for... say... the next half century?"  

He pulled a viciously looking staff, a brightly polished silver weapon, stylized skulls mounted just behind the enormous hooked blade.  On the other end, a heavy weighted spear-head served as a counter-weight.  The angel heal the weapon casually at his side while taking a relaxed pose.  "Or, perhaps you're a complete disgrace to your people, and a coward to boot."


If You Try Real Hard, You Just Might Find, You Get What You Need

The formal meeting came and went.  Dinner came, polite conversation was had, new people were introduced to the command staff, and the basic battle plan was discussed.  The plan was fairly simple.  Level the train-yards with the main guns, use fighters for precision strikes against specific targets.  After the building and defenses were cleared, the MJOLNIR would land, unload the main assault force, with a skeleton crew left behind to keep watch, and cover the operation, while the defenders went inside.  A 3d model swirled around the table as deserts were finished, showing the various buildings that made up the colony.

After dinner, there was a relatively jovial mood.  The insectis war-machine was going to get hamstrung in the morning.  The second part of the operation meant valuable information being gathered about what Ahnk' Ator was building.  

After the plans were discussed, and finalized, Baseel called it an evening, retreating to his cabin, while preparing himself to lead a rather large assault force into combat.   The other crew were free to do what they wished, however, rest was suggested, morning would come, and with it, the promise of much violence and glory.


Loosers Say They Tried Their Best, Winners Go Home to Bang the Prom Queen

Morning came  early for the crew of the MJOLNIR as the airship quietly floated along, over 2 miles high, as it cleared the last of the mountain-ranges south of their target.  The tendrils of smoke were rising in the harsh morning glare.  The city itself was alive, and already working, as soot was thrust out the smoke stacks, a clear indication of the heavy industry.  The first battle-stations alarms were sounded, as the enormous airship suddenly began to vibrate lightly under the enormous recoil of her main battery.   On the bridge, the ferret angel, Baseel's Executive Officer, was in command of the ship.  The captain himself had brought himself to the lower decks.  

Paige was in the upper hanger, her wing being rolled out onto the spacious upper deck, mounted atop the airship's form.  Her squadron were quite the competent fliers , and they knew how to cover each other for ground runs as well.  Her only problems would be keeping an eye out, and calling out the targets.  That and herding them back to the airship once ammunition ran low.  Paige and her wing were launched as soon as they were herded into position by the flight-crews.

In the lower decks, the clanks were being loaded up.  A raiding force was already being prepared as the air-drop capable machines were being brought into position with engineering support.  Jo was among the battle-group selected for this part of the mission.  The airship started dropping altitude and the enormous chains were latched into position.  The chains slid into place, and the massive cranes began unloading the machines, the small combat hatches were unlocked, and the machines were lowered straight from their scaffolding.   The raiding force, consisted of Josephine, 11 other mechs, of Nhyalamar design,  an engineering corps, and 2 groups of creatures to support them.  Dr. Adelaide Montegu, at the request of the captain, joined Baseel himself, with  Zelah, Gabriel, Cyril and Jeremiah with the first ground forces.

Gabriel was flanked by a pair of demons, both wore full body breather masks, built for canines, and wore the black trench-coats.  They carried carbines and the aura of magic was practically palpable given the relatively small size of the shells visible on their belts.  

The ground was soft, sandy, and the morning fog covered their movements, but limited visibility.  There was little plant life south of the rail yard, and a soft, chilled breeze swept across the small force.  

The first sign of trouble was the small scrub-bush in front of Gabe... Did it just move?  There appeared to be a small depression just behind the bush.  Gabe could see the other side... it was an old shell crater... it's depth unknown, but it was around 8 feet across... easily large enough to hold a fur, or 3.

Further ahead, the soft rumble of exploding shells announced the destruction of the rail-lines, small, spiked formations could be see... Ice-blast shells were amongst the mixture dropped on the tracks, and their razor-like points raised over 20 feet in the air.  Their crystaline structure practically glowing with refracted and reflected light.


Somewhere in the city, the POWs were being herded out towards the train yards.  An early train was expected soon, and with it was the raw materials that fueled the factories.  Amongst the prisoners, a brightly colored, raggedly clad creature could be seen.  She was arguably the single most unproductive slave labor the insectis and insectis aligned beings... why the magistrate kept this slave from execution would be anyone's guess.

[Tapewolf]

Kesslen

"Thank you very much for your help, madam," Sethir told the succubus.  He accepted the female Demon's hand and shook it warmly. "Very well, Ms. Keninagrin - take me to the epicenter if you would be so kind."

"I'm told," he said, as he tagged along, "That this area doesn't actually lie on a fault line, though.  Any ideas what may have caused the quake?  Could it, for instance, have been created explosively?  Could it be some side effect of any damming works in the area?"

[Kafzeil]

This village is Deader then me

Lucy sighed, poking around the village a bit. It was way to creepy, like something out a horror story from her youth.

She figured she'd wait until the hostilities between this Arroyo and the brothers. A zombie would likely make things worse. Best to keep a safe distance, besides, she doubted the lion would care to know about her troubles.

Lucy glanced over at young girl, seemingly alone, traumatized by whatever the Hell had happened here.

The undead feline approached the girl, removing her trenchcoat and sitting next to child, attempting to her best to comfort the kid in whatever way she could, smiling and holding her coat out to her.

"You cold?"She asked, offering her coat to her."What's your name?"She spoke softly, slightly hoping that this would either subtract her more...offputting features or at least counter them.

[Arroyo Milori]

The "River Styx" near the Ghost Town

Arroyo jumped aboard his ship and checked the door to the bridge. He knew the area was dead around him, didn't take magic to figure that out. He pulled his ship over to a wrecked dock so other ships could keep the traffic flowing. He took a deep breath as he takes with him the piece of the mask and put it in the pocket of his jacket then tied his ship up to the lone dock.

He walked off the docks and slowly back to the Ghost Town where the brothers were at, taking in the scenery around him. The sky felt like it was snowing but it really wasn't, it was ashes. He rubbed his head a bit, getting a headache from the lingering smell of smoke. He approached the town slowly then up to the mechanical scorpion, raising the piece of the mask with the cult's symbol on it. "I believe your going to investigate these people, right? And I got your first step right here." He took a step back and smiles a bit. "But I want something in return."

[SquirrelWizard]

Stephan picked up his bag and rolled his eyes, "Do you really listen to yourself? You've been on the SAIA situation ever since we left the wagons, there is nothing we can do about that. 'Oh damn... something beyond my control happened and I'm going to bitch about it.' Heaven help you if you decided to do something constructive. I mean sure you can mope and drag your feet and this train ride will feel like an eternity, or you could, you know, work with me on some things and the train ride will be just as long, but you'll be too preoccupied to notice it." He turned and headed towards the ticket counter, "Maybe you could teach me how to control my wings so they don't randomly kill people. That would be a good start..."

[Azlan]

Exiting the stage


The cheetah angel nodded and steeled his reactions against triggering a reactionary defense.  A trained combatant always has some type of defense, if not many, prepared just in case.  Locke was not so paranoid as to have a defense against everything, but a projectile barrier was pretty basic.   

When the other angel leveled the revolver, his heart still skipped a beat and adrenaline levels rose.  A few thoughts flashed through his mind reviewing those who might want him dead, and the dreaded prospect of being gut shot.  Despite this, with quite an amount of willpower, Locke managed to remain still and not try to dodge.

The disorientation passed and Locke briefly made sure he did not sport a new hole in his torso.  With an exasperated sigh, he turned and gave his fellow angel a pleasant smile, "most well done sir.  Indeed I shall take one of your fine pieces.  It tis a bit more than I had been seeking, but I shan't besmirch added features!"

He shook Sol's hand and prepared to partake in a well mannered business transaction.
 

[Tipod]

Senatorial Duel

"A democracy? It's an ochlocracy at best and a complete farce at worst." Azzam stood tall and proud at the heckler, both hands gripping the podium tightly. "I was elected to serve a people that this entire nation ignores and abuses with impunity. If there is a more just cause being championed, I've yet to see it."

His hands strayed to the podium's side, grasping the scabbard of a simple, yet finely-crafted shamshir. "Though I've often denounced the barbarous bloodsport that plagues this senate... I am prepared to fight for the men that look to me for their deliverance. My only regret is you and your ilk only have one life for me to take."

While Azzam left the podium with a dignified stride, Bart, currently in the civilian aisles, gestured wildly to his cousin: for the love of God, don't throw your life out like this; the guy's an old-guard senator, he's gonna kill you--

The reptile paid little heed to his relative's panic. "Should I fall, I will step easily into the void, knowing that you too will follow me before this century closes."

[Chairtastic]

Smokey Flavor

Haien skidded to a halt inside the ring, allowing the smoke to float freely for a bit while he dug furrows trying to slow down.  Bassoon was bleeding, heavily, and he needed to do something to stop it.  It didn't help that Bassoon was in quite a bit of pain from his apparently damaged wing and his leg, causing him to thrash and shriek.  Lacking other options, Haien shifted the Gryphon in his grip, and headbutted the avian; Haien's thick horns being more than enough to render Bassoon unconscious.  This allowed Haien to cauterize the deep leg-wound and inspect his employee's wing.

It was dislocated, and his reinserting the limb into its socket would probably be enough to wake Bassoon.  Once again lacking other options, Haien positioned the prone Gryphon's wing, and jammed it back into its proper place.  Sure enough, the Gryphon was roused, and screaming again.  However, apparently Bassoon's first reaction other than screaming, was to kick out, hitting Haien squarely in the groin.

The two cubi outside would be treated to the wall of fire suddenly flaring to almost twice its normal height, around the same time that the Gryphon started screaming, then, for a moment, loosing its green hue in favor of a natural orange/red/yellow combination.  Possibly leading to some humorous misunderstanding.

"Oh, I'm so fired, aren't I?"  Bassoon asked once he was clear-headed enough to understand what he had just done.  Haien was several feet away, trying to get back to his hooves.

"No...nng, but I do feel the need to renegotiate your contract when this is over with."  Haien, took several deep breaths, and finally got back into standing position, hobbling over to the center of the fire-ring letting the Gryphon slowly pale when the implications of what he had just said sunk in.  Haien dropped to the ground, slowly crossing his legs into the lotus position, while pressing the knuckles of his hands together.  The demon's focus turned inward, putting his will to giving the fire-wall more strength, hopefully enough to block a lightning bolt from the currently airborne cubi.  For the first few minutes, however, he would be occupied reversing the expansion of the ring, from inward, to outward, while keeping tight control of the fire involved and the steadily growing smoke cloud above.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

After a good meal and a better sleep Addy found herself needing to prepare for the planned excursion. She folded her white doctor's robe and long skirts up and put them aside before taking another outfit from her bags. Addy hadn't had many excuses to wear the battlefield uniform of her order. Even the most diehard traditionalists had to admit that glowingly white robes were not the best choice when a fight was taking place.

Pants and shirt of inky navy replaced her regular dress. She added her heavy leather vest and belts with her supply pouches before putting on a long black version of her regular doctor's robe.

She leaned over to where the kitten was asleep on the bunk. "Be a good kitten while I'm gone Vanny and I'll see if I can find you some more sushi when I get back." She gently moved the little winged kitten off her war hammer, cats found the strangest things good for napping, and exited her cabin.

[Tezkat]

Take Two of These and Call Me in the Morning

"Hmm. A simple balm to speed recovery should suffice for now. As for next time..." He casually glanced over the store's merchandise. "Perhaps something that will seal wounds in short order when quaffed. You know... so they don't impair combat performance overmuch. Sometimes the excitement doesn't end with the first wave, after all."