The Saga Continues: Phoenix Force Forever.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:16 am

where you see hope i see utter failure
on our enemies part

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:48 pm

The bright promise of hope only gives the enemy's snipers something to sight in on... :twisted:

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:00 am

hope i didnt miss much at the tail end in my quarters

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:09 pm

calto40k wrote:hope i didnt miss much at the tail end in my quarters

Nothing much... just the manifestation of a 'Keeper of secrets' onboard rich-boys' starship, using Fionna's psionic power as fuel.
:angel:

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:44 pm

DhAkael wrote:
calto40k wrote:hope i didnt miss much at the tail end in my quarters

Nothing much... just the manifestation of a 'Keeper of secrets' onboard rich-boys' starship, using Fionna's psionic power as fuel.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuddddggggggeeee :eek:

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:48 pm

in game:: runs out half asleep and yells:: cut the damn racket!! ::sees whats going on and goes back to bed thinking its a dream:: :bandit:

still kinda lagged from the weekend i promise next game i will be doing a bit more rping all over the place

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:50 pm

hope....Its what the other guy gets when he notices the shine on the scope of your sniper rifle

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:49 pm

Hope...it's that brief moment of relief you get from snipping the blue wire and finding yourself still in one piece...until the OTHER detonation system kicks in.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:29 pm

taalismn wrote:Hope...it's that brief moment of relief you get from snipping the blue wire and finding yourself still in one piece...until the OTHER detonation system kicks in.

Definitely :bandit:

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:47 pm

Hope...It's that brief sense of lift you get flapping your arms after you've fallen off the cliff.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:29 pm

taalismn wrote:Hope...It's that brief sense of lift you get flapping your arms after you've fallen off the cliff.

looking up motifakes right now huh taal?

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:43 pm

Or looking to create a few, maybe.

After all, we paranoids have to have hobbies too.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:54 pm

well i m also calto40k on motifakes if you catch me trolling there

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 12:55 pm

On top of personal issues, also came down with head-cold on Valentine's Day. :puke:

(at least it had the descency to not hit until AFTER the dinner my sweetie made me had been finished).
Regardless, gonna try and have the next chapter of 'The Saga Continues' up by later this evening.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 8:54 pm

still waiting on that post most awesome rifts gm

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:05 pm

DhAkael wrote:On top of personal issues, also came down with head-cold on Valentine's Day. (at least it had the descency to not hit until AFTER the dinner my sweetie made me had been finished).
Regardless, gonna try and have the next chapter of 'The Saga Continues' up by later this evening.

No hurries, no worries, all in good time. And hope you get over the head-cold quickly, since they can be their own unique form of hell.

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:57 pm

[Uninvited houseguests & a decent proposal]
Two days pass for the Alpha team of Phoenix Force, with sun, surf and sand to heal the mental scars. On the 3rd. of May, during a discussion as to whether or not the hypergravitic system should used ever again or just outright removed (and the problem of getting to anywhere with the ability of sending Sleipnir AND the team home to Terra), Rika’s doorbell rang. While the rest of the team continued the debate, Rika had a brief but confusing discussion and soon returned to the table after telling her visitor that she “would think it over and pass the idea along to the others”; no sooner had the NuMan sat down then the doorbell rang again. Getting up and ready to deal with someone she felt was a pushy sales-being, she tore open the door screaming “WHAT!?”
The new visitor, Captain Onyx (in human guise) joked with the flustered nekko-girl and sauntered into the suite and then, being in a playful mood (despite the rudeness of Thomas and Fionna to her teasing & flirting ways), revealed that she had been sent by “Ole Greeny himself” to deliver a special cargo to the team.
Onyx; “He kept going on and on about the grey seers having visions of terrible and foreboding nature, with the phoenix in danger of being extinguished…you know; the usual.”
Having been given rough location for where the Alpha Team would be, the draconid star-captain & free-trader had made use of several methods to find them and deliver two suits of powered armour for Thomas & Archangel, and the gear to Shalyndra that her contract owed. Mollified, the team thanked Onyx as she got up and left to enjoy her working vacation.
When things settled down from that Rika informed everyone that her first visitor had been a female-patterned borg or robot of some kind that had extended an invitation from a Antonio Angraeus-Colk, of the Altess Dynasties, to join him at his private villa for a business proposition. Though reluctant at first, the group decided to at least see why a rich playboy would call on them (cursing their fame brought on by the Phoenix Force comic and resultant fan-clubs). Fionna first stipulated she wished to “deal with a personal matter” before getting ready to deal with “high-society”. Taking her paramour, Archangel with her, the pair left everyone else to mull over their unwanted notoriety.
A few minutes after, Archangel was tossed through his & Fionna’s room door by a powerful force erupting from Ravenbrand; Fionna’s rune-blade. Shalyndra started to hear the insidious voice in her mind gloat over “The pretty one remembers now.”, as the burster DID remember. Remembered being held down and violated by someTHING that spoke in a combination of inhuman hissing and Shalyndra’s voice. When told of this after Fionna had regained consciousness from her regression therapy, Archangel was ready to attack the elf-maid. Only Rika’s command and Fionna’s assurance that Shalyndra was NOT to blame; that daemons were at work, prevented intercinine bloodshed. Thomas felt his paranoia & anxiety start running overtime, and only the presence of Uno-Rez kept him from completely introverting.

A few hours later, once everyone had taken ordered rest, Team Alpha, dressed in all their martial finery; Fionna & Rika in full warp-huntress gear with weapons of choice, Archangel in his marine uniform, Thomas with long coat and Uno-Rez (minus one arm still) NOT armoured but in swan-wing styled dress, and Shalyndra with blades strapped to every available surface.
A hover limo appeared as if by magic (though no one felt any PPE expenditure) and were met by Mr. Angraeus’ personal assistant, Quicksilver, the same female ‘borg / gynoid who had delivered the invitation earlier. Once seated the hover-limo sped away into Kalidor III’s night sky, arriving at Antonio Angraeus-Colk’s villa, perched on a cliffside facing onto one of K3’s indigo seas. Entering into the mansion, the group were suitably impressed and disgusted in turn at the opulence of the villa’s décor, but kept their comments to them-selves. In the lounge, they were met by both their potential new patron, a rather handsome dark-skinned & red haired human-like Altess male, and beside him dressed in Terran field-dress khaki’s & cammo, a fellow Terran; Lt. (JG) Jack Chriax, slat & pepper haired and weathered. Quicksilver soon stood behind her masters couch in the manner of body-guard, with Archangel & Uno doing the same for their respective Paramours (Quicksilver & Uno sharing a silent & brief “conversation via tight-beam sonics), and preliminary courtesies were said. Most of Team Alpha declined the cocktails & wine served, while Jack helped himself BEFORE serving the guests, as an act of reassurance. Antonio, sensing that things were not as he had envisioned were to happen, stated the Lt. Chriax was, the same as Phoenix Force, a recent guest an employee; even though, as an Altess, Antonio was VERY rich, he required ‘associates’ to assist him in an exploration he was planning. He was aware of what had happened at the Kallidor hospital, and could assume something supernatural and bad had taken an interest in some of Phoenix Force. In return for a 1 to 3 month contract providing their expertise, Antonio would see that those members who were afflicted, would be treated as best he could. Also use of his phase-gate key to transport both the team and Sleipnir to Phaseworld, where they could go where ever they wished from that point. 1,000 UTC’s per day were also offered to sweeten the pot. Their host gave Rika & her crew 1 hour prior to dinner to discuss and make up their minds, Jack being instructed to speak with the team.

Dinner started with a toast to successful endeavors and to the health of Phoenix Force, which everyone returned…with Rika then starting in with contract revisions. First; immediate treatment for the members of her team possessed.
Second; her crew would be autonomous within the letter of the contract; the Sleipnir could NOT be ordered by either him or the captain of his own vessel. Phoenix Force was being hired on as specialists and consultants? Then they would be treated as such and not as cannon-fodder.
Last; Lt. (JG) Jack Chriax would have his present contract with Antonio bought-out by Phoenix Force, as Rika felt; “That no fellow Terran should be left alone a stranger in a strange land. Even if our Terra is not his, at least he has a better chance among Lazlo’s shifters getting back home, than dealing with the Stone-Headed bureaucratic Prometheans.”

Antonio applauded Rika’s candor and acquiesced to her revisions, though he stipulated that they were to de-planet Kallidor III the very next day. Accord was reached, dinner enjoyed and Team Alpha made ready to go back into the outer-black with their captain back in command.
What could possibly go wrong?

The date ends on May 3rd. PA 109.

[Uninvited houseguests & a decent proposal. Part 2: The revenge of the return]
May 4th. Started with the crew of Sleipnir either arriving back at their sentient star-ship, or in the case of Lt. (JG) Jack Chriax, waiting at the main loading ramp gawking at the baroque design. Fionna, dressed in her typical “day-wear” of tight leather & Rika, in formal ship-suit with campaign jacket greeted the Terran soldier and welcomed him and his two suits of power-armour aboard. Jack was momentarily shocked and disconcerted when Sleipnir’s basso voice welcomed him aboard as well. After the initial shocks, Jack & Thomas started to “talk shop” on upgrading the powersuit pilots’ armours to function in space / Zero-G, and Archangel was presented a new anti-supernatural weapon attachment from the technomancer between negotiations with Lt. Chriax.

All was not well everywhere aboard the good ship Sleipnir however; Indications of the daemonic assault from the failed hypergravitic transit were still apparent. Most visible being the total absence of mirrors everywhere. Also, Shalyndra’s personal shrine to her pantheon and the wraithbone statuette she had inherited from Capt. Handsome Rob had been covered in profane and depraved graffiti. After a short prayer session, Shalyndra’s divine patrons did listen and removed the perverse markings, much to the screaming anger of the voice in her mind. As for the rest of the crew and Jack, everyone took their duty stations and Sleipnir lifted off without fanfare or difficulty (in fact, Fionna broke records for fastest and most energy efficient take off in Kallidor III traffic controls history books), to quickly enter the vacuum of space. Jack Chriax of course had…difficulties (not being used to orbital trans-atmospheric flight).

Threading through orbital anchored starliners and yachts, Team Alpha eventually reached the co-ordinates given to them to rendezvous with Antonio Angraeus-Colk’s private ship; Rika requested everyone look at their monitors on magnification. Antonio’s ship was a massive 750 meter long war-ship, fashioned into a bird like profile. While Team Alpha gaped and commented, they were hailed by the captain of the star-cruiser ‘Ramiel’; Pythonea Angento. Captain Argento shared humour at her business partners expense while giving formal permission to dock to Sleipnir & its crew; her comments and japes focused on Antonio’s large…bank account.

When the Sleipnir finished docking maneuvers (again; Fionna showing skill beyond what one would expect, and eliciting an offer of marriage from the Ramiel’s pilot), Rika and Team Alpha were greeted at the dorsal airlock by no less than a half dozen Altess Advocate robots and the Captain herself (no executive officer being present). The young, white-blonde, pale-skinned human woman offered a short tour of “her ship” ,with Jack, Uno & Markus Falkon opting to remain behind on Sleipnir until later. Team alpha were suitably impressed with the opulent interior of the Ramiel, but confessed they were a bit perturbed by a predominantly robot crew. The tour ended with Pythonea showing off the bridge; a 360 degree panorama projection, with crew stations holographically blocked from view and the ships’ hull only in wire-frame. The Ramiel’s captain was interrupted in her prideful display by a text message from her business partner stating that “time was of the essence” in regards to Fionna & Shalyndra being taken to Ramiel’s Aetheric sterilization facility. At that moment, Ravenbrand awakened as Fionna dropped to her knees; vermillion tinted ectoplasm exuding from her skin and coalescing into a 16ft. giant 4-armed humanoid of disturbing yet sensual form. The daemonic force attached to Fionna had decided to make its move.
Yes; time was of the essence indeed.

The Keeper of Secrets has come.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:14 pm

needless to say through out the course of that meeting Jack was trying to find his gun that got lost in the couch

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:47 pm

calto40k wrote:needless to say through out the course of that meeting Jack was trying to find his gun that got lost in the couch

Ya know, some people are just happy to find loose change...but fusion blocks????!!!!!

Cytibor · Unread post by **Cytibor** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:59 pm

taalismn wrote:
calto40k wrote:needless to say through out the course of that meeting Jack was trying to find his gun that got lost in the couch

Ya know, some people are just happy to find loose change...but fusion blocks????!!!!!

If one has a history of losing large numbers of peculiar items in a couch, I imagine their enemies would take notice eventually. :angel:

Hence the fusion blocks. That muffled beeping sound every sixty seconds for the last four minutes isn't suspicious at all, nor was the car parked outside [that wasn't yours ] screeching away in violation of local speed limits. And that message on the television reading "Please remain seated" is just a coincidence I'm sure.

Cytibor · Unread post by **Cytibor** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:04 am

DhAkael wrote:What could possibly go wrong?

I swear, if a Farseer ever read our fates, that is exactly what it would say. Have the poor visionary scratching his or her head for a while for sure.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:09 am

gotta add a little comic element

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 3:45 pm

Cytibor wrote:
DhAkael wrote:What could possibly go wrong?

I swear, if a Farseer ever read our fates, that is exactly what it would say. Have the poor visionary scratching his or her head for a while for sure.

Or haul out the bottle for an extra long belt of pain-reliever...

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:21 pm

http://forums.palladium-megaverse.com/viewtopic.php?p=2320906#p2320906

Expanded and spell-checkered. :demon:

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:56 pm

DhAkael wrote:http://forums.palladium-megaverse.com/viewtopic.php?p=2320906#p2320906

Expanded and spell-checkered.

Having reread that, I'm wondering why I haven't pondered the idea of the EShemar/Shemar infiltrating the Altess through their robots...
Wait; the Altess are psychic; if tany of their robots started showing ISP/PPE auras, they'd notice, wouldn't they? :-(

Then again, maybe if the Ghost Riders are REALLY clever with their hacking skills... :idea:

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 10:52 pm

hopefully i can run out for some combat with this demon if we are still at that cliffhanger

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 1:52 pm

Tonight; will the team be able to keep their new patrons' starship bridge (and capatin) from being trashed?
Will they save their team-mate from being drained of her life force by the 'Defiler of flesh'?
...and will they be able to find a decent cappacino in their travels?

All this and more in this weeks episode of The Saga Continues; Phoenix Force Forever!

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 10:42 pm

The first two should be fairly easy...but the cappacino's going to take a miracle to find...

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 2:44 pm

Just a place holder.
However, the crew DID survive, the daemons WERE expelled, and collateral damage was kept to minimum.
All in all, they did very well.
NOW, the real challenge begins.
Xerxes-Beta V. :demon:

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:08 pm

DhAkael wrote:Just a place holder.
However, the crew DID survive, the daemons WERE expelled, and collateral damage was kept to minimum.
All in all, they did very well.
NOW, the real challenge begins.
Xerxes-Beta V.

Beware anything with two 'x's in it...even(maybe especially) Xerox.

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:44 am

Update;
A visit from an old friend, dissent in the ranks, 300 LY thick repression feilds in the Thundercloud Galaxy. Is this an ominous omen, or just buisness as usual? Tune in next week to find out on 'The saga continues: Phoenix Force Forever'.

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:31 pm

UGH...
Absolutely no motivation to update :nh:

I blame D.F. President George W. Bush, Steven 'Nero' Harper, society and those men in funny hats.
Oh, and the weather of course; someone has told the weather gods that this IS March, yes?

Cytibor · Unread post by **Cytibor** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:55 pm

DhAkael wrote:Oh, and the weather of course; someone has told the weather gods that this IS March, yes?

Sure have, but all I got in response was an evil grin. :-?

Think I hear some evil cackling during particularly lousy weather also.

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:17 pm

[The long hard road…]
The hideously beautiful daemon taunted and teased the crew as 2 of the Advocate droids on the bridge attempted to neutralize the supernatural threat (Archangel also tried putting several hypersonic projectiles into the thing). Unfortunately, the Keeper had not yet fully manifested into physical form, so Arch angels shots went through the deamonic form and into the view screens and the Advocates also were unable to touch the fiend, though the 16ft. being used telekinetics to smash the droids like toys. All seemed hopeless until Archangel remembered he had a new attachment to his carbine, given to him by Thomas. With a discharge of magical lightning, an net of mystic electricity pinned the partially manifested daemon to one of the walls, while Thomas in an act of desperation, drew Fionna’s runeblade ‘Ravenbrand’ from her belt and demanded the swords’ help. A glowing circle of protective energies burst forth, and further pinned the greater daemon of the despoiler of flesh to the bridges wall. Rika opened a ‘Hinas’ D-portal to a place two decks down on the Ramiel, near to where the Aetheric Sterilization room was located and forced Captain Argento and the two possessed women of her own crew through, then when the trio were safe, opened another portal to just outside the Sleipnirs' airlock.
It was time to gear up for battle.

Events raced at break-neck speeds;
A lesser female daemon was summoned (the one that had been until recently residing inside Shlayndra) to attempt to recapture Fionna & Shaylndra.

Rika, Archangel & Thomas all scrambled to don their respective power armours and return to assist in fending off the daemon(s).

The Ramiel’s chief technomancer smith and Argento rushed to seal the Aetheric Sterilization Chamber with it’s warded blast doors and cut the links that the greater & lesser daemons had to the two Phoenix force women.

A brief but furious skirmish ensued outside the TW chamber, and just as the Keeper of Secrets had broken free of its mystic bindings, the exorcism and banishment systems in the sterilization room worked to perfection; severing the soul link between the mortal women and the warp-spawned horrors. Bereft of their anchor to the side-real material universe, both infernals dissipated…though no one knows where to. Yet again, quick thinking and luck had won the day for Phoenix Force Alpha.

Two days were used to repair the damage to the Ramiel’s bridge, while Fionna & Shalyndra recovered from their exorcisms. Another 7 days were spent transiting from Kallidor to Xeres Beta, with a small delay due to a 'repression field' (a phenomena not usually found in the Thundercloud Galaxy). While Captain Argento accessed the 'Phoenix Drive' system on the Ramiel (A magitech device created with using the Phoenix Light spell), over Antonio Angraeus-Colk’s arguments, Phoenix Force took over bridge duties.
The Ramiel handled like a dream and the TW star-drive actually shortened the transit time, thus negating the repression fields’ delay.
On arrival at Xerxes Beta's outer FTL safe zone, Archangel detected two other vessels in the system; the CAF Explorer Class 'Discovery' and a smaller, heavy-shuttle class attempting a reentry on the dark side of Xerxes Beta V.

Disaster almost struck while the Ramiel attempted to enter the solar system proper; attempts at hailing the Discovery seemed to fail (and the relativistic time delay with normal com-gear did not help) with the signals not seeming to reach the CAF cruiser. The crew of the Consortium starship warned the incoming independent vessel to identify themselves immediately or be fired on. Thomas Carmichael fortunately managed to discover why the outgoing signals weren’t getting through; some form of invisible but heavy massed energy or particles were interfering with the laser & radio coms. A slight course adjustment resulted in the signals being able to reach the Discovery just in time to stave off a violent confrontation. The Ramiel was welcomed after apologies were exchanged for the misunderstanding, and Phoenix Force were requested to confer with Antonio Angraeus-Colk before returning to their own ship, prior to reaching their ultimate destination.

The date is May the 13th. P.A. 109.

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:46 am

A few details were missing from the previous update... but that's okay; they weren't really relevant to the butt-whuppin' that is about to commence. :demon:

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:14 am

DhAkael wrote:A few details were missing from the previous update... but that's okay; they weren't really relevant to the butt-whuppin' that is about to commence.

You or them? :demon:

*

*(Favorite D&D example of Why It Doesn't Pay to Boast About Victory Beforehand: "Oh, it's ONLY a Giant Weasel!"(A minute later) "Whattya mean it did a successful Drain Blood attack on me?!!? HOW MUCH DAMAGE???!! I'M INNA -COMA-?!")

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:40 am

well..that session sucked... :frust:

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:11 pm

No update...the session sucked rocks and the plot was dragged out and then rushed at the end.
Thourghly useless waste of my time.
Gonna retcon this past sunday's events out of existance. :badbad:

Update after THIS coming sunday. :nh:

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:48 pm

Ouch...
Well, just remember; somebody elses' weekend sucked even worse.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:55 pm

hey sorry i haven't been around been having some home issues and forgot what night we play some how

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:58 pm

I shall be returning this sunday to bring ze pain as you say

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 6:06 pm

calto40k wrote:I shall be returning this sunday to bring ze pain as you say

Thumbscrews or proctology probe?

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 5:31 pm

proctology colon screws and thumb probes

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:50 pm

calto40k wrote:proctology colon screws and thumb probes

Ouch...constipation AND cramping...Not a good combination...

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:14 pm

[The long hard road part deux]
Phoenix Force gathered inside a part of the Ramiel they had up to then not been permitted to enter, the conference room; a massive hemispherical room dominated by a circular holographic projector table. There, the team met the leaders of the other two parts of Antonio’s expeditionary group, Dominic Hanson of ‘Hanson’s Hammers’ (a former CAF strike team turned free-lancers) and Dr. Plutonius Juno Graccus of the Nova Britannia Archeological Society. Rika & Fionna were under whelmed by the lack of professional decorum in Maj. Hanson’s demeanor and in Dr. Graccus’ condescending manner. Antonio, sensing the meeting was about to degenerate into inter-department bickering, quickly refocused everyone on the job at hand; the investigation of Xerxes Beta V, but not within “the city” but in a massive valley near the opposite face of the dead world, called the Vales Forlorn Hope’. After being given their respective assignments the 3 groups left to prepare for landing on the lifeless planet, with Hanson’s Hammers in the ‘Bug Stomper1’ to do advanced recon.

Several hours later, everyone was given a nasty surprise. Even though up to 3 months previous Xerxes Beta V was classified as an airless rock, the Bug Stomper1 encountered winds of nearly 100km/h inside an ammonia and CO2 atmosphere; XB 5 was not so lifeless now after all. Despite Hanson’s Hammers difficulty in landing, the Sleipnir, piloted by Fionna Faraday, landed without so much as a scratch on the landing skids, though the vessel did land 5 km off from the marked site, due to miscalculations from the unforeseen atmospheric interference. While the science team and military security force set-up the archeological dig site, Phoenix Force set-to doing their job. Initial scans of the surrounding area were fairly expected except, when the magi-tech sensor suite was activated, another unwelcome surprise greeted the team.
The ley-lines and magical aura of the planet were “curdled” and so dense that teleportation via psionics or magic would be impossible as long as anyone was near the planets influence.
It was at this point that Archangel, while outside doing scout duty along with Rika, Thomas & Fionna (Shalyndra being sent back to “cool off” after another argument had occurred, triggered by her pious attitudes), saw something out of the corner of his eye. A spot of ground COLDER than ambient temperature. The team moved in from different angles and all simultaneously saw the object at the same time.
The metal cube puzzle-box that had been stolen months previous by Professor Daemonium’s minions on Alefhiem. It was in the grip of a dismembered hand (attached to the forearm below the elbow); the fingers death-gripped around the cube. Jack Chriax came over at the exclamations of the P-Force team over the radio and his NG Samson suit gingerly picked up the limb…the cube falling free just as the science team breached the wall of the valley (causing a massive amount of noise over the sound of the CO2 winds howling), revealing a perfectly circular ten foot diameter tunnel going into the rock-face for an indeterminate distance.

Both Rika & Fionna cursed bitterly at the same time. Things had just gotten very complicated.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:25 pm

so i manage to **** stuff up when i m not there yes awesome

DhAkael · Unread post by **DhAkael** » Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:27 pm

Authors note; this is un-edited raw posting. Cleaned version will posted later.

[“I have a bad feeling about this…”]
From May 14th. to 17th. things were actually quite calm. All that had been found along the perfectly smooth tunnel, was an underground replica of ‘The City’ on the surface, opposite side of Xerxes Beta V. The only strife and conflict was between Dr. Graccus and the two security specialist teams (Hanson’s Hammers and Phoenix Force), as the wolfen scientist did not want any “semi-evolved simmians” to interfere with the survey and dig.
Fionna meanwhile used psychometry to analyze what had happened to the person who had brought the metal-cube / puzzle baox to the planet. What she saw puzzled her; the rose-gold coloured supernatural being linked to the cube appeared before a man in a thread-bare space suit, sebsequently rammed its hand into the hapless spacers faceplate and then something odd happened. Fionna saw the metalic demi-god / daemon show fear upon its face as it realized where it was. Fionna’s vision ended with the being dropping the freshly made dead-person and then vanishing. This confused both X/O & Captain of P-Force Alpha.

Having not much else to do, P-Force set up 2-person patrols around the clock. On the evening of the 17th. the team was calle dto advise the survey-team on site inside the cave. As Archangel, Thomas, Fi & Rika entered the cave, they realized something odd; their sensors indicated the tunnel was either several billion miles long or only a few micro-metres. Also they heard sounds of conflict; at least 4 different ‘sides’ and each one made their skin crawl. The raw hatred & pain heard within the chorus was an almost physical thing. As soon as this happened it ended and the team entered the underground city, shaken but resolute to discharge their duties. They found the group of graduate students who were responsible for making a find of an actual non-archetectual artifact within one of the stragenly shaped stone buildings. What the science students had found was a mechanical device shaped like a 9 sided pedastel covered in brass-like hemipsheres. Preliminary scans showed the metal to be an alloy un-known to the codex of metulrgy in the Encyclopedia Tri-Galactica. Another thing that puzzled the reserachers; the atomic dating showed the object to A) have genetic material within it and B) placed its age at nearly the same age as the 3 galaxies if not OLDER or only a few months old. The temporal anomalies of the tunnel seemed to have touche dthe artifact as well.

It was while Rika pondered this enigma and Thomas spoke to the site admin inside the portable shelter, that the choking scream screaming started.

One of the students had warndered off and when P-Force found her she was dead; medical scans showing she had inhaled a massive dose of nerve gas (though how this could happen in a sealed space suit was a short-lived mystery). Thomas scanned the area and detected a moving metalic signal. A robotic spider with a felixible metalic ‘stinger’ leaped off from one of the stone bulidings and before the technomancer could react, the stinger passed through the armoued shell of his power suit (phasing through the material) and he was exposed to the same gas that had killed the reaserch student. Fortunately Thomas was able to survive and had Rika there to assisit in psionicly nuetralizing and purging the toxin. A flurry of particle and plasma bolts soon reduced the metalic spider to a smoking wreck, which released a mental death scream as it fell. Rika recognized the assailant: A mechanoid tunnel-crawler. A call to reatreat and seal the cave was given VERY soon after. Not soon enough to save the administrator.

5 black-alloy skelleton like robots revealed themselves and ripped the portable-shelter apart with a volley of plasma bolts, killing the adminstrator who had been too busy collecting his notes and NOT donning his environment suit. Return fire from Phoenix Force reduced most of the robotic reapers into slag, but where the Thimen walked, other mechanoids could lurk. Retreat through the tunnel was even harder than entering it; the voices now were joined with images of terrible battles and death on truly cosmic scale.

Screaming psychotic machines resembling upright cylinders with single eye-stalks battling against humanoids in red & white armour.

Giant humanoid warmachines simmilar to those found on Rifts Earth but more refined, fighting against bi-pedal reptilaian warmachines in the voids of sapce while warships burned.

Escoteric eldritch horrors twisting the very fabric of reality as sidereal reality convulsed in sympathetic pain to the war in the higherplanes.

All these images, sounds and emotions assailed Team Alpha aa they attempted to escape.

Fortunately, Uno-Rez and Shalyndra were aboard the Sleipnir and despite the massive interference from the tunnel (and the suddenly reappearing ley-lines of Xerxes Beta V) , contact was re-established and Team alpha, along with the gradutae students were teleported onto the Sleipnir. Shalyndra meanwhile had calculated an escape vector from the planet. While the Sleipnir took off, Rika tried to reason with Maj. Hanson; entreating him to blast the tunnel mouth closed as retreat with his team. The Major laughed at the Warphuntress and refused. Rika, feeling her heart go cold, then instructed her crew to teleport as many of the scientific team onto Sleipnir as they could and prepare to exit the solar-system. Despite a perfect launch (as small fighter shaped machines poured forth from the cave to attack those who remained on the ground), Team Alpha was not out of danger yet. A 4km long warship of strangely organic lines had appeared from a giant Rift that had appeared above XB-5’s surface city. The vessel mind-spoke to Team Alpha as they tried to evade, the buzzing synthasized voice mocking the efforts of the “Soft-shells”, and promissing destruction to all.
As the Sleipnir came under fire and withstood the massive energy barrage (though still taking damage despite the energy invulnerability enchnatments), Rika disolved her contract with Antonio Angraeus and ordered Captain Arnento to take her vessel to Phaseworld and warn anyone who would listen, that a galactic level threat may have just been unleashed. The Ramiel phase-gated out.

In a last desperate effort to escape, Thomas re-wired one of the recall orbs that all Phoenix Force teams use for personell evacuation in extreme danger back to the ‘Nest’ base, into the magitech systems of the Sleipnir. As the alien battleship lined up its cannons for the kill, the bridge crew, using the guns asigned to them, unleashed a final parting volley into the prow of the hulking vessel and then activated the recall device.

The technical crew of Phoenix Force Alpha Nest were rudley awakend as a massive displacement of air rocked the facility to it’s founddations. The Sleipnir had returned home; wedged like a ship in a bottle underground in the repair hanger scaled for smaller land vehicles and aircraft.

The date is May 18, PA 109.

calto40k · Unread post by **calto40k** » Sun Mar 27, 2011 2:43 pm

If anything is getting f'd up by me tonight it will be by me lol

Cytibor · Unread post by **Cytibor** » Sun Mar 27, 2011 2:48 pm

Technomancer's Journal: Really glad we got away from Xerxes Beta V. That spaceship that turned up was bad business, and I completely agreed with Rika's decision to get out of there rather than engage in a shoot-out. If we HAD... well, I had a sneaking suspicion its' end would have involved a very grim message automatically sent home by whatever remained of the Sleip. I suppose I shouldn't think so negatively, the team knows what they're doing, but Rika and Fi sure seemed rattled by what we found in that cave. But I shouldn't linger on it, we'll deal with it when we have to I suppose.

And besides, we got home more or less safe and sound, I've got that list of things I need for my next project ready to submit, and Uno says she'll have her arm fixed in no time, so there's plenty of good news too. I wonder where she'd like to go to celebrate? Well, anywhere she'd like to go, I won't be sparing any expense. She's worth it, and well... Had a close call in that cave, I was lucky Rika was there. I really need to thank her properly for saving me, maybe I could do it when I discuss my plans for the future with her... I hope she'll be willing to help me with what I have in mind, I don't know how I would do it without her, and well, I suppose it would spell out my intentions for myself and Uno too.

Now I've gone and got all nervous... I'll think about it.
- Thomas 'Tech' Carmichael, Technomancer with Phoenix Force Alpha

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sun Mar 27, 2011 9:47 pm

Mechanoids...####ing joyyyyyyyyyyyy........and in force too...
When Palladium's ultimate boogiemen start appearing in numbers, there's no shame in going munchkin if he opportunity presents itself...