Inside the Machine God

Gleaming Marionette of Relentless Progress nodded in response to Loo, taking her advice to into consideration. Maintaining speed and momentum would aid in avoiding any particular entanglements. A low profile might be less possible when sprinting down the tunnels towards Ot, but she certainly didn't intend to seek out a fight. The elder Champion's recommendation would be kept in mind.

The tactician gave her soldiers a small pep-talk before she left, "I know you will all keep the others safe and be a great aid to my fellow Champions. Be cautious and I trust you will act appropriately, if some unforeseen event arises before we meet again. May the Great Maker watch over you all."

She then went over to the younger Orichalcum, crouching down next to her meditating form. The Starmetal lowered her voice as she pulled a small polyhedral-caged-crystal from a small chain around her neck, before placing it around the Archon's neck. "Here, Thousand Gears. You will use this better than I, until we meet again. You have already made yourself invaluable." With that, the Dagger of Autochthon moved outside into the larger space of the pneumatic tube, gave a small nod of acknowledgement to Golden Developer [if he's still out there], then ran as fast as her gravity manipulation and agility would allow, down the tunnel towards where her Magnetic Metrocore pulled her.

(Spending 4m each "scene" to lower her weight, so she moves twice as fast and jumps twice as far. Her anima will provide her own light. She'll be sticking as much to the pneumatic tube as is reasonable, since it should be relatively clear and straight, unless it's collapsed. If she gets to a point where the Metrocore pulls her in a significantly different direction, let's say more than 45 degrees, she'll try to find the best way towards Ot.
I forgot to spend the last 2 points of Artifacts, so I'll save that until we get to Ot, to be fair. So right now Thousand has a 1-dot Essence Capacitor, so that's at least some more motes/hour. Part of me wants to spend my 2 dots to make it a 3-dot EC, but then that's like 5 more motes per hour, which might be overkill, considering Marionette's high commitment.)

After Marionette left, Developer turned his attention to inspecting the valuable cargo, ensuring its containers indicated no sign of damage, and planning out how to transfer it when aid and transport vehicles arrived from Yugash.

It has been several hours since Marionette has left on her journey, and it quickly becomes clear that this is a trip that the mortals of your train could not make. There are too many chasms that you are able to negotiate that they most definitely would not be able to cross.

While you travel, you can hear the distinctive sound of a running Essence engine, and as you look around, you see a three-man Shaft Speeder flying along the course of the pneumatic train tracks. It is slowly flying, no faster than fifteen or twenty miles an hour, and it is quickly obvious that the pilot spots the glowing anima you are showing. It circles slowly until it finds a flat landing spot a short distance from you. From the pilot's compartment comes a familiar face; a Jade caste Exalt from Ot named Ever Industrious Worker. You have been working along side Worker for many shifts, making plans for the industrial project that is involving resources from both Ein and Ot. With a wave, he approaches. "Greetings! When your tram failed to arrive on time after the quake, we had feared the worst. I have been sent out to see if I could identify your location. Where is the rest of your party?"

Back at the train, Thousand is continuing to work on healing the worst of the wounded with her body mending drones. As Developer begins to inspect the cargo, you are able to see that the armored casing is not damaged in any sizable fashion, so it should still be intact.

The sound of the Essence engine centered her attention, but it was the visible vehicle that pull her to a stop. Marionette waited for it to land, as it was likely an ally, although she was ready for to shift into a more properly defensive stance, should her calculations be wrong. The appearance of the Jade Champion of Ot was a welcome sight, and she hurried towards him, doing a quick flip over an errant support beam.
Once she was within a close distance, she slowed and gave a small bow of her head, "The tram was heavily damaged and is several hours behind me. It is unlikely that it will be able to be fixed in a timely manner. The line itself is being repaired by native drones. The path from here to the tram will not support the mortals on foot. An additional transport would seem to be the best option, if one is available."

Worker nods in understanding. "I have a Echo Jewel in the Speeder, so we can call for a larger vehicle or two in order to be able to ferry the workers and cargo back to Ot." He looks grim. "I must warn you, the quake seems to have been centered on Ot. There is great damage across the city, and it was only due to the precious nature of your cargo that convinced the Tripartite Assembly to let me come look for you myself, instead of having me stay and aid in the rescue work in the wreckage. I hope that whatever your cargo is, that it is worth the time I am away from the people of Ot. Come. Let us get to the Speeder and you can help direct me to the exact location of the wrecked tram, and I will call for a rescue ship to be sent along right away."


Back at the tram, with more of the workers' injuries healed by Thousand, the work of digging in to wait for rescue continues faster than before. Outside the tram, there is a small force of spirits and automations working to repair the damage done, and the unoccupied cars of the tram are slowly being disassembled for recycling and spare parts. At the moment, they are avoiding any work around the occupied cars, probably sensing the presence of the Exalts of Autochthon inside.

The Starmetal nodded and followed the Yugashi Exalt into his Speeder, sitting down in the chair to his right. The epicenter of the quake was troublesome. Did it mean that Project Razor was harming the Great Maker? Or did it mean the opposite, that the need to seek the resources from the home before Autochthonia was so great that the Primordial stirred anxiously in his slumber? Or were Void-aligned forces moving towards Ot, and the quake was Autochthon's immune response to the creeping invasion? The causes were far from apparent, but it was clear that maximum vigilance would be necessary from here on out. As she directed Ever Industrious Worker back along her path, Gleaming Marionette ran through scenario after scenario that might be plaguing Ot, assembling a series of efficacious responses should the situation arise.

The Speeder makes excellent time in getting back to the wreck site of the train, with Marionette giving directions as to where to go. In much less time than it took to run out you can now see the jumbled mass of twisted metal that marks the crash site. From the air, it is amazing that anyone survived the crash.

The Speeder circles the rubble of the train before Worker finds a safe and level landing spot to set down. As he settles in, he is on his communication device, calling in the exact location for recovery. Due to the numbers of people involved, two Aerial Skiffs will be dispatched, and should be there in about an hour and a half.

As you wait for the Aerial Skiffs to arrive, Ever Industrious Worker describes the scale of the disaster that has hit the Paratopolis of Ot. While Worker doesn't know exactly what set off the explosion that has rocked the city and caused so much damage, he does know it coincides with a test of some of the hardware behind the very secret Project Razor. "I strongly suspect that the Project as a whole may need to be reevaluated. It will take a very long time and a tremendous amount of resources to get Ot repaired back to what it was before the explosions rocked the Paratopolis to the very core. Obviously, I cannot speak for the Tripartite Assembly, but if it is as important as the rumors say it is, Ein may be the city to develop the Charms needed to make the Project a success."

Time passes. All the while, Worker is in communication with the rescue ships, and when the two Skiffs come arcing across the dark roof of the chamber you are in, it is a welcome sight. The precious cargo is moved over carefully, followed by the walking wounded being aided by the more physically fit. It ends up being a tight fit, but everyone is able to find a ride out of the disaster area.

Your approach to Ot shows that much of the city is still burning. As bad as things were for you, it is nothing compared to the loss of life here. The Skiffs are met by Minister Havash of the Olgotary. He looks quite frazzled, his face and clothing smeared with soot and blood. He offers up a curt bow and says, "While I am grateful that you have survived your crash, I wish your arrival was under better circumstances. We are still trying to get a handle on what is going on here, and investigating what caused the explosion. Once we received word that you were located, signals were immediately sent to Ein to inform your people of your status. We have been in near constant communication with your Tripartite Assembly, working both to locate you and to determine the best use of resources to battle this disaster." He motions for you to follow him off of the landing grid. In a quiet voice he says, "I fear that we may be facing the results of a deliberate act against the people of Ot, and I suspect that Estasia is behind this. If that is confirmed, open hostilities between our nations will surely flare up once more. I hope that I am wrong. We can ill afford another war right now."

During the wait, Marionette talked with Worker over the particulars of Ot's devastation. "Ot's work has been essential; I'm sure that Ein will do what she can to ensure that our Nations succeed together." The conversation did, however, plant a seed of worry she had harbored since learning about Project Razor. This concern gestated as she talked with her fellow Kamaki, letting them know of the rescue on its way, as well as the occurrences in Ot that had been passed on.

She made a point to quietly thank the youngest in particular, "You kept them alive, Thousand Gears of Industry."

When the rescue arrived, the tactician helped move the cargo and the wounded into the new ships.

The Minister's testimony and supposition about Estasia meant that the concern was now in full bloom. It might have been a few mortal lifetimes since she was part of the Militat, but she remembered in the depths of her soulgem how it felt to be Estasian. As Gleaming Marionette cast her eyes carefully across the burning city, the Plot Weaver spoke quietly but firmly, "If you will allow, Minister, I will immediately begin an analysis of all of the information that has been collected and an examination of the scene of the initial explosion. I will determine the likelihood of a deliberate crippling, by Estasia or others, and then give you a full report on the probable lines of assault and most effective defensive preparations."

Developer shook his head in disappointment. A situation increasing dire for the Eight Nations, and they could not resist the urge to continue warring? "We are prepared to provide whatever assistance we can, Minister."

Minister Havash gives you a thankful nod. "Of course, anything you need to help with your investigation will be provided to you. Come; I will escort you through security to the site of the initial explosion." He looks bitter, knowing that if there was a failure in security that allowed someone from Estasia to infiltrate and sabotage Project Razor, it will eventually fall upon his shoulders as the chief lawman in the city of Ot. He probably figures that, barring some natural disaster, his career is over.

.You are led through multiple layers of security towards the heart of where Project Razor was located. The farther you go, the more damage there is. Finally, you make your way into the heart of the mechanism where the damage is at its worst. There are several mortal mechanics and investigators trying to determine the actual source of the explosion; be it a natural occurrence due to some mechanical failure, or if there was active sabotage.

What skills or Charms would you like to use in the course of your examination of the area?

Marionette examines each scene closely, and comparing what remains to images and plans from before the explosion, trying to identify changes now and targets then. She makes a particular point to question the mortal staff about their evidence, as well as possible conclusions. Over the course of the examination, she reflects on how she might have attacked Project Razor herself, then looks for comparable information gathered (particularly in light of her memories of the Militat).

While Marionette examines the greater scene and speaks with the locals, Infinite Corruption Termination Loop walks away from the group. She heads off on her own, trying to find her own clues.

Developer also observed the scene but also took careful examinations of the damaged systems with the benefit of his specialized goggles.

This particular chamber is a four story tall room with a massive Essence power core running through the center of the room, similar to the Warp Core in the engineering section of the Enterprise from Star Trek. Cables feed off of the power core, leading into other chambers. At a glance, you can all see that there were several explosions in here, tearing into equipment and workers that were assembling the machinery. But, due to various safety measures, the bulk of the damage was when the power core vented its charge upwards and out from the center, or else this whole level would have been ripped to bits. That saved much of the hardware here, at the expense of causing the damage to the rest of the city.

What becomes increasingly clear to Developer is that if this was truly sabotage, the perpetrators failed to take into consideration the safety devices that vented the worst of the explosion upwards and away from the hardware of the room. Taking your time to examine the series and patterns of the blasts, some things begin to come into focus. It does look to you that there was a deliberate set of blasts, but but the excellent designs of the circuit breakers kicked in before the saboteur was able to disable them. The blasts look to your eyes as if they were caused by a directed Essence weapon, and not a placed explosion.

Another thing comes to mind is that there were a series of heavy blast doors that slammed shut to contain the damage that engaged quickly enough that there is the very real possibility that with all of the emergency crews responding so fast, the attacker may still be in here with you.

Before the explosions, this is what the room looked like:

The realization that the attacker could still be here stirs something inside Loo. She draws her Grand Soulsteel Beamklave without igniting it. She creeps to one of the corners where she can see as much of the room as possible. Like a predator, she waits for her prey to appear.

Loo moves slowly, to avoid calling attention to herself, and readies her Beamklave for use. As you expand your focus on trying to discover a potential hidden enemy, there is the briefest flicker of motion visible up on one of the support beams, a shimmering distortion of the light, barely detectable. On any other day you would have dismissed it as a heat distortion, but not now. You have seen such distortions before, and you know that it is clearly Optical Camouflage in use, and your quarry is moving. At this moment, the distortion marks the position as twenty meters up at a slight angle, and eighteen meters away across the floor, moving slowly.

Each data point was another piece of the puzzle-cube, slowly building until the entire thing would suddenly be whole The Plot Weaver considered the destruction done was insufficient to the skills of a trained team of Militate, particularly if backed by a Champion. That said, she also knew that underestimating the failings of one's enemies could be as great a weakness as overestimating them. As she made slow orbits of varying diameters around the central generator-column, the rapid response of Ot's citizens was reassuring... although the complication that efficiency caused suddenly became clear.

Gleaming Marionette of Relentless Progress looked around as she walked, making sure to increase her variance from previous behaviors slowly, as to not arouse suspicion. Her hands continued to move, as she talked with the occasional mortal, but gravitated towards her chakrams. As she passed near Developer, Loop having pulled away likely with the same realization, the Whispers did a quick and just-loud-enough [she hoped] tap of "Enemy" in the code known to all Kamaki children on a metal portion of her leg, where her hand had been resting. She had to locate the enemy, so that she protect her fellow Autochthonians as well as identify the responsible party.

Developer had just reached that conclusion as well, though he wondered why the saboteur appeared so unprepared in their strategy. Well, that could be answered in interrogation. He followed Marionette as well, quietly drawing his beamstaff core, but not yet igniting it either.

Instead of the general response you would have gotten at home, only a few of the workers here understand the tap-codes that Marionette is using to indicate potential trouble. Thousand looks about in a seemingly casual manner, and makes her way slowly towards the main blast doors that you came in. A few final steps are taken, then she reaches out and triggers the door mechanism to seal the room and raises up her Onslaught Crossbow into a ready position. She calls out, "We have a potential situation here. The saboteur that caused this damage may have been trapped in here when the doors shut, and now is once more sealed in here with us. Does this chamber have the means to detect a person using Optical Camouflage?"

Worker nods as he deploys his internal weapon systems, activating a jade Daiklave as he shouts out orders. "Ot! Engage security protocol Alpha Nine! Authorization code 568278954!" On his command, the room is suddenly flooded by a thick, red haze that is fluorescing in the light, depositing a light coating of particles to everything and everyone in the room. As the particles fall from the air, the cloaked figure up on the I-Beam is now clearly visible, even while the Optical Camouflage is still active.

The figure hiding up on the beam suddenly lets fly with a spray of five blazing orbs of Essence, one targeted at each of the five Champions in the chamber. Thanks to the warning, everyone is at full DV against this attack. Marionette manages to dodge out of the way without using any Charms, but unless Developer and Loo use some enhanced defense Charm or can stunt your DV up to a 6, you will be hit.

Of the other two, Thousand manages to evade the Essence globe and it explodes on the bulkhead door behind her, but Worker does not. His heavy armor is able to absorb the bulk of the blast, but you can see that he is a little bit scorched.

If you wish to activate anything to increase your Join Battle roll, please let me know. Also, with your posts, please include the speed of your attack so I can correctly list you in the order without having to search your character sheets.

Blackadder WlfSamurai Raparth

Initiative order: TBD
0
1
2
3
4
5
6

With Thousand Gears of Industry's warning making bringing the time for subtly to an end, the Kamaki tactician drew her twin gyroscopic chakrams. She scanned the room as Worker's request to Ot revealed the intruder. As the blaze of Essence hurled towards her, Gleaming Marionette rushed straight towards it, throwing herself upwards and tucking in her legs to pull herself over the attack. The rapid movements of combat cause Compassion's Bulwark to shimmer with visible distortion fields around her body. While she fell to the ground once more, the Perfect Lotus Matrix surged enlightenment through her as she fell into the form of the Thousand-Wounds Gear. Arcs of rainbow Essence flicker out from her soulgem and her augmented joints. Her movements, while still inhumanly agile, were now less graceful than direct, peaks of efficiency in their blessed exertion. Her speed increased as she began a series of forward flips and front aerials in order to build up angular momentum for her first attack.

0 [Marionette] (8) - Activating Form Charm
1
2 Enemy (6)
3 Thousand (5)
4 Worker (4)
5
6 Marionette

The prey appeared. Fool. Whatever it is does not know the danger in this room. And this time, Loo isn't only referring to herself, though she knows she makes up a large part of it.

Reflexively, she ignites her grand beamklave and contorts around the blazing orb of Essence. She gets ready to activate her personal gravity manipulation apparatus.

Join Battle (Wits 3 + Awareness 3) = 6
6D10 = [9, 6, 3, 3, 1, 9] = 2 successes

Current Order: Just holding on Blackadder to see what he rolls to determine who goes next, Developer or the Enemy.

0 [Marionette] (8) - Activating Form Charm
1
2 Enemy (6)
3 Thousand (5)
4 Worker (4)
5
6 Marionette, Loo (2)