Chapter Six: All Hands on Deck

[Sherwood]

Mario tenses up as Murphy goes through the gauntlet of emotions as he faces Cera for the first time. It was only due to the forethought of the Colonel to unload his weapon that kept Murphy from firing on her. For his part, Mario is damn glad that Sharp is on his side, and not working against them in this. If they were dealing with the General, things would have ended up much different.

Finally, things calm down, and then Murphy makes his comment about the Mjolinr tanks being from the future. "Ah, no. From the future? That would just be crazy! Sergeant, these tanks were built earlier today, but it was designed by someone from the future! Big difference." He flashes a wide grin to both Sgt. Murphy and Col. Sharp with that one, followed by a thumbs-up. "Lets get Toothgrinder loaded. Those rounds won't move themselves, and we still have the Malcontents out there to worry about."

 

[Purr]

Above...

"'Designed by someone from the future?'" Now Zuko was talking about time travel! Colonel Sharp had little idea what was going on. All the while, his old friend and brother-in-arms, Murphy, had suddenly went from having a very bad flashback to having some kind of strange, nigh-unexplainable episode with the new veritech. And what had gone wrong with Murphy's eyes?! "Smurf?" he asked cautiously. "Is the corporal right about that?" But Murphy went silent and stared out into the night.

"The male is correct - in the abstract." Cera stepped out of her creation and gracefully made her way down to the bottom of the tank. "My tanks are partly-made from scientific and technological triumphs beyond your species's current means, human. As I desired them to be."

Mack decided to keep watch and make introductions. "Colonel? Meet Cera, our auxiliary specialist - from the future! Cera? This is Colonel Sharp. He is something like a 'War-queen' to us. Mario, Cera! We'll continue the loading."

As Mack passed the remaining 120mm rounds to Mario and Mario to Cera, Colonel Sharp looked the athletic alien over. Clad as she was in but an ebony bodysuit with odd bracelets and anklets, he thought Cera appeared out of place on a battlefield. "Ah, pleased to meet you, miss. Now can someone tell me what happened to Murphy?" He waved his hand in front of Murphy's face, but there was no response.

Placing the rounds inside the Mjolnir, Cera explained in a respectful tone befitting Mack's provided description of the man. "Colonel Sharp, your fellow male is a Traverser, like us. He is not here but in another realm."

"Another realm? But where?"

Cera smiled at him cryptically. "Far beyond the imaginations of most."

Meanwhile, Mack decided to multitask and ask Elinor and Toph their status over the polyphonic nexus. But when she sent to them, instead of hearing from her fellow Wild Cards, she too discovered a surprise. "Hey! Mario! Cera! I can't raise Toph or Elinor! It's... it's like they're not there!"

* * *​

Below...

"Hitomi, set those charges and then hustle your rump back so we can get the hell out of here."

Hitomi almost sang in reply as she stepped toward a computer embedded against the wall. "Oh, ye of little demolitions background! Allow me to first make certain we have a readied escape route from our very own explosives!" She typed on the keyboard and looked upward to the veritech-sized exit above your heads. "Given that the mines are based on time fuses and not remote control, I can't even set these things until you two come out of your solo trances. So good luck in there and be like water!" Hitomi could not help but reference Bruce Lee's fitting philosophy here.

Toph discovered the Super Logan had a lock on its canopy requiring an electronic key, but evidently, someone down here in General Steele's hideout thought they would not need it. Toph and Elinor were able to slip into the veritechs without any trouble at all. Inside, the cockpits seated two, side-by-side with control sticks, foot pedals, and near-identical instrumentation on both sides. The seats were functional, but after enjoying the leather thrones Cera had placed inside the Mjolnirs, these military-grade seats felt little better than cushioned bucket seats from inside an old car.

As Hitomi watched you place your bare hands against the consoles as you willed your psyches into the machines, she grinned as your eyes went white with technopathy's telling sign. Then you were gone.

* * *​

Beyond...

Spoiler: Mood Music

"Mission" by Rush


Partial lyrics:
Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire
Focused high on soaring ambitions
consumed in a single desire

In the grip of
A nameless possession
A slave to the drive of obsession
A spirit with a vision
Is a dream with a mission

Separately, Toph and Elinor each left their bodies behind discarding each of their beloved five senses by means of a kind of sixth. When you opened your consciousnesses once more, you found yourself in that realm you called The Blue World. There was a feeling of peacefulness here, of total acceptance, but looking around it was like being below the surface of a titanic ocean where all things were vast and wide yet without enough light to see more than strange shapes. All about you, the world moved and lingered, yet you felt far more than you saw. It was like living in a dream - one of your own choosing - and yet... you were not alone.

Before you, a scintillating, sparkling form appeared from seemingly out of nowhere.

Spoiler: It looked like this.

(Image credit: Genetic Literacy Project)

And it seemed to be expecting you...

"Contact established. Identification confirmed [DECEASED]. Permission granted. I am prepared for service."

That fifth word had never been there before during your traversings with other machines. But it was certainly here now.

Separately, Toph and Elinor confronted the Super Logans in The Blue World. What do they do?

 

[Kaerri]

Elinor was startled by this unknown...personality? AI? Just a machine that was designed for Traversers? She wasn't sure. Cera would know, she figured, but there wasn't time to ask, nor opportunity either. Whoever or whatever this was, it didn't seem bothered by the fact that she was supposed to be dead, so she decided not to be bothered by the fact that it had brought it up in the first place. Anyway, as far as Elinor was concerned, it was even more odd that in this secret warehouse, she herself, deceased or otherwise, apparently had enough pull to be granted access. Not to mention being identified in this strange blue world to begin with! Well, time to get to work and take advantage of that.

"State combat readiness and maintenance status," she requested. "Also indicate variations and upgrades from ordinary LOGAN mecha."

 

[Psychie]

The line of thought for Toph is very much similar to Elinor's as she moves to establish contact with the Super Logan. "Prepare for launch. State battle status and overall readiness, and display flight and combat capabilities."

 

[Purr]

Elinor...

The anomaly replied, "I am fully maintained and armed for combat, fully loaded save for wing missiles. My power plant must be activated in order for me to function. Variations and upgrades from standard Logan-class veritech are as follows:"

The machine listed off a series of differences including an overall increase in mega-damage protection, the vehicle's reinforced wings doubling as arm shields (similar but not as protective as a Spartas Hover Tank), increased overall speed (breaking Mach 4 in jet-mode), a much harder-hitting nose gun (1D6x10 M.D. compared to 3D8+3 M.D. on the standard Logan), and a vastly-increased missile payload hidden inside the mecha's own body. In short, if the standard Logan was a badger, each of these two prototypes were a wolverine.

Spoiler: OOC

X-Men jokes aside, that is. =) (Wolverine's real name is Logan.)

I have posted the Super Logan (from Return of the Masters sourcebook with artwork by Wayne Breaux) in Technopolis. I have added the following system below to it (see text below this spoiler).

Above all, the anomaly pointed out the existence of a stealth system with sensor spoofers on the Super Logan that made it harder to hear (the engines were literally quieter) and harder to detect using radar or enhanced optics (similar to the Myrmidon-class Veritech Hover Tank's system, anyone trying to spot one by radar or enhanced optics were -20% to their Sensory Equipment skil roll; those using acoustic sensors were -10% for the same roll).

Unless Elinor had other questions for the anomaly, she felt she had but to return and start the thing up to give it a go.

* * *​

Toph...

Since her questions were similar, Toph received the same information as Elinor from her anomaly with two differences. The first was there was no comparison between a standard Logan and this stealth-enhanced Super Logan. Secondly, Toph sensed the anomaly change when she made her request. Several colors on the anomaly went from light blue to red to solid green. It stated its readiness. "My pre-flight checks are concluded. All of my systems are functioning within normal parameters. I am prepared for combat."

Unless Toph required additional information, she sensed the Logan was running and ready for whatever may come.

 

[Purr]

Above...

The 120mm rounds were finally distributed to both Mjolnirs and Mario especially had gotten quite a nice workout.

Spoiler: OOC

I will post your loadouts in Fat Gandalf's after this post.

But Murphy had not returned from the beyond. Colonel Sharp was at a loss. He stayed with Murphy, unwilling to move him, unwilling to leave him. "Can someone recommend action?"

Without taking her hand off of the humans, Cera placed her bare hand on her Mjolnir and the hatch to the inside closed seemingly all by itself. There in the rain, she stared mirthlessly at Murphy. "He is in the Blue World. He is either getting himself lost or talking with Toothgnasher."

"I'm not leaving him here on this tank!"

Mack's Super Valkyrie took a protective step toward you, her nose aimed at the battle in the distance. Mack's urgency sounded over her loudspeakers. "Well, someone needs to get in there after him! Cera, despite your expertise, you're the wrong choice here. Sharp can't do it and I'm watching the battle and babysitting this MechaKitten. Mario! You're up! Get in the Blue World and bring Murphy back to us!"

 

[Sherwood]

Mario nods. "Yes, ma'am! On it!" This will be the first time for me to make a rescue attempt in there. I hope this works! Mario pulls off a glove and places his bare hand on Sgt. Murphy's skin, and focuses his mind on the Blue World. Murphy, hang in there! I'm coming to help!"

Spoiler

120mm rounds
8 APFSDS rounds, Range: 7 miles (11.2km), Mega-Damage: 3d6x10+30 M.D.
6 Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank (MPAT) rounds , Range: 5 miles (8km). Mega-Damage: 2d6x10+30 M.D. to a 50 foot (15.2m) radius.
6 High Yield Incendiary (Plasma) rounds. Range: 4 miles (6.4km). Mega-Damage: 2d8x10+30 M.D. to everything in a 25 foot (7.6m) area from the initial blast. Sets all combustible substances ablaze and continues to burn, doing an additional 4d8 M.D. per minute for 1d6+1 minutes.

12/12 High Explosive Rockets - 5d6 M.D., 1 mile, 5 foot radius, 1 M.D.C.

Left EU-11 - 18/20 bursts remaining in magazine. 4 full magazines available.
Right EU-11 - 18/20 bursts remaining in magazine.
11/12 Chaff and Flares.

 

[Kaerri]

Elinor absorbed all the anomaly had to tell her. "All right," she replied when it had finished. "Activate power plant. We're about to get moving." She waited only long enough to see/hear/sense its reply and/or compliance, then began the journey back to her physical self.

 

[Purr]

Mario...

The first thing Mario noticed was Murphy's hands were like a gorilla's - strong as all hell and seemingly mega-damage in their toughness. This was a working man's hands. Then Mario noticed a feeling inside of him, sensing something beyond his sense of touch. Something inside of Mario knew for certain Murphy was a Traverser. Now that he had put a hand on him, there was absolutely no doubting the fact. It was a vaguely similar sensation to when he and Shirley had first touched in that there was a feeling of recognition, but with Murphy, that was all there was. Mario found himself stopped cold. Touching Murphy gave him no more information than this.

But without warning, a stray particle beam blast exploded on the ground about 1,000 feet away, ripping up huge waves of dirt and bits of wood fencing. As this debris struck the earth, Murphy's head turned toward it - and with it, Toothgnasher's main gun! Head and turret turned as one. Right then, a sense inside of Mario told him that he was definitely not alone in his technopathic bond with Toothgnasher!

* * *​

Elinor...

Elinor saw the anomaly slowly merge and meld into form she more solidly recognized - a Super Stealth Logan. Something inside of her realized she had been talking to the Logan all along. Unlike aboard the Zeki-Zentraedi Assault Scout and its devilishly-elusive and stubborn security door, the Logan had seen her as an ally, as Toothgrinder had. Elinor's five senses slowly returned to her as color, sound, and feeling washed over her. She found herself back inside the Super Logan's cockpit - but something was missing...

All of her virtual knowledge of Toothgrinder was gone! All that remained were her memories of her time in the vehicle. At this moment, she didn't know how to pilot that tank any more than she could pilot a cruise ship in the ocean, but that knowledge had been replaced with her complete understanding of the Super Logan. With this understanding came a complete knowledge of the Super Logan's armaments.

Spoiler: OOC

Now that you're this far along in the story, I'll provide that data to you and Psychie in Fat Gandalf's. =)

Elinor heard a humming sound. All around her, the Super Logan thrummed with technological excitement as electrical storms ran through the synthetic veins of the veritech. Unlike before, her cockpit was now alive with lights and information. One good look and Elinor knew - the Super Logan anomaly had not been deceptive - it was ready for battle!

Below, Hitomi waved at Elinor as if making certain Elinor was back in her body. Seeing that she was, Hitomi with one hand on one of her five cobalt mines, looked toward Toph. There was no way they were leaving without the Professor's little Muppet back in the play of this game.

 

[Kaerri]

Guess I got limited storage, Elinor thought, amused. Well, it's not like she needed to know how to pilot the tank right now anyway, nor probably anytime before they got back to the Broadsword, at which point she could go talk to it again if she needed to. She waved back at Hitomi and waited for Toph to be ready to go too.

 

[Psychie]

Below, Hitomi waved at Elinor as if making certain Elinor was back in her body. Seeing that she was, Hitomi with one hand on one of her five cobalt mines, looked toward Toph. There was no way they were leaving without the Professor's little Muppet back in the play of this game.

Now that Toph is back in her own head and not diving deep into the heart of the machine, she looks out and gives Hitomi and Elinor both a thumbs-up, showing that she is out of her trance and ready to go.

Spoiler

Dual E-20 laser gun pods 1d4x10 each, 4,000 foot range

28 short-range missiles.
10 High Explosive (medium): 2d6x10 M.D. at a 5 mile range and 15 foot radius. 5 M.D.C.
6 Fragmentation (light): 2d4x10 M.D. at a 3 mile range and 20 foot radius. 5 M.D.C.
6 High-Explosive Armor Piercing/HEAP (medium)*: 2d6x10 at a 5 mile range and 5 foot radius. 5 M.D.C.
6 Plasma/Napalm (medium)*: 2d6x10 M.D., 3 mile range, 15 foot radius, 5 M.D.C.

 

[Purr]

Below...

Toph's psyche (that's psyche, not Psychie!! Just what were you thinking?! =) ) returned to her body and when it did, she was met with a load of physical sensations. When she had entered he Super Stealth Logan before, it was as quiet as an untouched stone. Now that she had returned from The Blue World, the entire mecha was humming quietly with lights and displays ready for action without Toph having flipped a physical finger to make it happen!

Hitomi looked up from outside the Guardian-shaped veritech and saw Toph's thumbs-up. She cupped her hand and indicated a quartet of reinforced military containers marked "Fragile - Handle Like Eggs." "Hey, up there! Stow your laser guns and grab up these components! Carefully now!"

Spoiler: Kaerri and Psychie

If, for some reason, Elinor and Toph do not take this course of action, let me know and I will adjust things accordingly. Both characters would know they are still able to make use of the Logan's tri-cannon, fuselage lasers, and short-range missiles. The EP-20s can be stowed magnetically against the Logan's hull freeing up both hands.

Important note! If either of your characters attempt to use the Super Stealth Logan's arm-shields while carrying these fragile components, a miss on the Parry roll could result in the components getting hit and likely blown to smithereens!

Having prepared her demolitions plan of action in advance, the Japanese-Hawaiian made her way to the mecha bay's most-vulnerable areas. Once there, she armed the mines. Five mines for five target areas, each mine set with a little less time than the first to secure a near-simultaneous mass-detonation. Hitomi dashed like an athlete toward Toph's Logan and scaled it in no time flat. In moments, she was sitting beside Toph with the canopy down, strapping the harness about her, and checking her watch. She pointed up to the roof tunnel and its now-open hatch. "Okay! In about two minutes, most of this safehouse is going to look like a MAC II got really mad at it!"

At Elinor and Toph's commands, the Super Logans rose smoothly and noticeably more-quietly than any other veritech either of the pilots had flown. Up the tunnel and out they came into the rainy, Floridian night. Above them, lightning bursted and raced along the distant clouds while a fiery battle raged on less than a mile away. In moments, they found the Big Red Barn, having appeared out in the middle of a black patch of earth concealing the mecha bay's sole hatch. They reunited to find something going on between Mario and Murphy on Toothgnasher. Colonel Sharp stood nearby looking like he wanted to help, but appearing helpless to do so.

* * *​

Sherwood Mario realized quickly that he had made no progress in finding Murphy by touching the man's hand. Still in the physical world, he saw the two Logan veritechs in Guardian mode flying towards them like strange shadowy machines out of the imagination of some sci-fi movie writer. Looking back, the Master Sergeant's pupiless eyes still gazed off into nothingness while the rain continued to cascade down upon the both of you. Mario knew this is what his body looked like when he was interacting with The Blue World.

But that wasn't helping him get M.Sgt. Murphy back...

 

[Sherwood]

Changing his tactics, Mario instead went into the Blue World to try and contact Murphy through his contact with Toothgnasher. Sending the thought through the connection he has with the mecha, he calls out, "Toothgnasher, this is Pilot Operator Mario! Do not fire your weapons until I give the command to do so." He frantically searched through the connection for any sign of Murphy being in touch with the tank. "Murphy! Where are you? This is Mario! You are in danger, and if you fire the weapons on the Mjolnir, you will put us all at risk! let me guide you back to yourself!"

 

[Purr]

Mario placed his hand on Toothgnasher's hull and made skin-to-metal contact, the connection necessary for him to dive into the Blue World and leave Earth as he knew it behind. Toph, Elinor, and Hitomi showed up just in time to see Mario touch the tank and freeze, his eyes turning bright white behind his mega-suit's dome-helmet. Mario's senses muted as he returned to that soft world where nearly all things seemed opaque and vague except for the curious anomaly that hung in the air in front of him upon his arrival in the Blue World.

He heard Toothgnasher's reply. "I am unable to comply. The gunner is in charge of weaponry. The pilot is in charge of mobility. You are the pilot." Mario saw a human form slowly appear out of the nothingness but a short distance away from him. It was Murphy. He was clad in no armor, but instead he appeared strange and spirit-like, much like Mario himself. Something had happened between Mario's failed attempt to enter the Blue World and now - Murphy had made contact with the Toothgnasher-anomaly - and it regarded Murphy as its gunner, for Toph was gone. Mario could not detect her presence here at all.

"Greenhorn..." Murphy slowly turned toward Mario. He looked odd without his glasses. Older, but somehow stronger. "You know about this place too?" He shook his head as if pleased. "Best if you drive us around. I really shouldn't be driving right now, but..." he raised a clenched fist with a toothy grin that bordered on absolute confidence, "...I kin still do me some killin'! But don't worry. I know if I shoot now, I'll put us both in the hospital, being that we're both standin' right by her main gun."

"Young'un," he told Mario as if in a daze. "I almost shot your friend. Would have if The Undertaker were loaded and Sharp hadn't stopped me. I'm a danger out there. Why not just leave me here - where everyone's safe from me?"

 

[Sherwood]

"Young'un," he told Mario as if in a daze. "I almost shot your friend. Would have if The Undertaker were loaded and Sharp hadn't stopped me. I'm a danger out there. Why not just leave me here - where everyone's safe from me?"

"Leave you here? Not an option, Sergeant! No man left behind! We have all made mistakes in our past, some worse than others. You reacted to what you have been trained to see as the enemy by drawing your weapon and trying to take the shot. I can only imagine what horrors you faced in your fight against the Zentraedi, but I do know that stuff like that gets in your head and really messes with you.

Looking at the Colonel, I can see that he has a high amount of respect for you; who are we to question a man like Colonel Sharp? Come back with me, and ride shotgun in Toothgnasher, and together we'll teach those assholes out there what it means to mess with a pair of real tankers!" He offers his hand to the older man, hoping that he will take it and let Mario guide him back to his body.

Spoiler

Purr , I am hoping my high MA score will help out with my efforts to get through to Murphy.

 

[Purr]

"Yeah," Master Sergeant Murphy gave a sigh that seemed to carry across the Blue World. "Sharp's gotta helluva lot more sense than me, that's for sure. If you don't mind an old fart like me tagging along, I'll help you put some extra holes into assholes before they do the same to us." He turned to the anomaly. "Toothy, you're only half-loaded, but we're still keeping an eye out for more rounds. Don't think General Steele will let me on post to get you more, sorry to say."

"I understand," Toothgnasher replied. "I await your commands."

"All right, Greenhorn. Let's get back out there and git everyone home. Or to this Broadsword thing or place you were talking about. Maybe I can do some good there." Murphy turned to walk past Mario, but before he did, he paused. He looked Mario in the eye. Mario saw a calmness there he had never before seen, but also a quiet look of thanks. Then he vanished to return to Earth.

* * *​

They were only gone for less than a minute, but when Mario and Murphy returned, they dropped to their knees on Toothgnasher's armored surface. Their breathing was heavy and they looked all around them like men coming out of a dream, for the sounds of rain and battle and the feeling of the cold and damp on their hands and skin felt striking and sudden. It took what felt like long moments to resume their normal functions as human beings.

"Smurf!" Colonel Sharp was at Murphy's side for he had never left it. "Talk to me!"

Murphy, his face wet with rain, looked up at Colonel Sharp and snarled like a honey badger. "Aw, you ain't rid o' me yet, ya damned paladin!"

Colonel Sharp looked into Murphy's face, saw that age-old fire, and grinned widely in relief. "I couldn't be that lucky!"

"No, ya couldn't! Now let's vamoose on outta here!"

Colonel Sharp and Murphy both helped Mario to his feet as both Traversers staggered into Toothgnasher, Mario into the pilot/commander's chair, Murphy into the gunner's chair. "Goddamn!" he howled suddenly from inside the tank. "Leather fuckin' seats!"

Cera gave Toothgnasher's top hatch a quizzical look and headed back to Toothgrinder. Hitomi peered out of the Super Stealth Logan's canopy. She spoke to Toph without taking her eyes off of the object of her attention. "There. That must be Cera."

Mario both heard and felt Shirley Mack's warm praise over the polyphonic nexus. "You got Murphy back!" It was probably the happiest statement Mario had heard that day. The happiest sound came from MechaKitten who followed this with a cheery meow filled with pure pleasure.

"Where am I riding?" Colonel Sharp shouted.

Lt. Mack replied over the loudspeakers. "Sir, you're with Cera!"

"You trust me in a tank?" he joked as he hustled over to Toothgrinder where Cera stood, her expression unreadable.

"Better than in my back seat with this cat!"

"Meeeeeew!" could be heard over the loudspeakers.

"See what I mean?"

Colonel Sharp clambered up the Mjolnir and held the hatch open for Cera. "Oh, ladies first!"

"What?" Cera snapped.

"I insist! Nice tank you have here!"

"Of course, it is!" she insisted herself. The two of them disappeared inside the metallic monstrosity.

"Follow me," Shirley said over the radio. The all-black Super Valkyrie roared off toward the southeast, low and quick. Behind her, Elinor and Toph with Hitomi took up formation in a "V" pattern with Elinor in the wingman position. Behind them, Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder hustled through the thunderstorm-laden night, their hoverjets streaking across the battered, wet earth.

Something exploded behind all of you. Great plumes of smoke reached high into the sky and debris fell from all over. Looking back, the Big Red Barn was burning...

...and Colonel Sharp had been rescued. He sat like a big kid with an arcade of brand-new controls all about him. And yes! In a very comfortable leather chair!

 

[Kaerri]

She cupped her hand and indicated a quartet of reinforced military containers marked "Fragile - Handle Like Eggs." "Hey, up there! Stow your laser guns and grab up these components! Carefully now!"

Elinor locked the Logan's EP-20 guns to its hull, freeing her hands, and carefully scooped up one container in each hand. Doing so left her with "only" the mecha's tri-cannon, fuselage lasers, and short-range missiles, and she'd have to remember not to use the armshields, but she figured a bit of extra "theft" was worth the minor limitation.

At Elinor and Toph's commands, the Super Logans rose smoothly and noticeably more-quietly than any other veritech either of the pilots had flown. Up the tunnel and out they came into the rainy, Floridian night.

As they flew, Elinor reached for the Nexus to inform Shirley that they were on their way.

 

[Purr]

Being a test pilot, Elinor handled the containers with little difficulty and more care than most.

As Elinor reached for the polyphonic nexus, she discovered silence in its place! It was as if she had been disconnected. If she tried to send to Toph, she received the same result.

While she knew the correct radio frequencies to contact the Wild Cards, she also knew that by the time she operated the radio, she would be with the Wild Cards. Once with them, Elinor could configure her radio with ease snd communicate with them there.

Elinor also knew that she did not worry about the Super Logans being mistaken for enemies by the Wild Cards, for Shirley's veritech was in a position to see both Super Logans rise like little mecha-ghosts out of the farmland and her IFF sensors would affirm their friendly status.

 

[Psychie]

As Toph places the Super Logan's pistols onto their magnetic clamps, she idly asks, "Hitomi, do you know what is in these cases that we're taking? Not that it makes a big difference to me; anything we can do to ruin this place and stick it to the General is fine with me. Just curious."

Spoiler

Main Body MDC: 250

Rapid Fire Nose Laser: 1d6x10, 8,000 foot range
Forward High Powered Lasers: 6d6 per twin blast, 4,000 foot range
Dual E-20 laser gun pods 1d4x10 each, 4,000 foot range

28 short-range missiles.
10 High Explosive (medium): 2d6x10 M.D. at a 5 mile range and 15 foot radius. 5 M.D.C.
6 Fragmentation (light): 2d4x10 M.D. at a 3 mile range and 20 foot radius. 5 M.D.C.
6 High-Explosive Armor Piercing/HEAP (medium)*: 2d6x10 at a 5 mile range and 5 foot radius. 5 M.D.C.
6 Plasma/Napalm (medium)*: 2d6x10 M.D., 3 mile range, 15 foot radius, 5 M.D.C.

 

[Purr]

Hitomi gazed out of the canopy. If there was one thing she liked about the Logan, it was its panoramic cockpit view. "Oh," she replied casually, "they're empty; I just wanted to see if you'd take them on faith alone.

She turned away from Toph, but Toph was extra-perceptive by nature and she saw Hitomi trying not to laugh in a reflection off the canopy. Something in Hitomi told her she'd been caught and she burst out laughing. "Don't eject me! I'll behave!

"Those containers are filled with valuable components that are necessary to build or upgrade your mecha. Combined with schematics, they make dreams come true, like this little ninja we're in." She patted the Super Stealth Logan's console. "So keep an eye out for these 'hard' and 'soft' components during your missions."

 

[Purr]

The Wild Cards charged on through the stormy night carried by their new machines and rescued comrades. Shirley flew in the Red Baroness-become-Super-Valkyrie. Elinor flew alone while Toph flew with Hitomi. Mario drove with Murphy as his gunner and Cera drove on with Colonel Sharp in the gunner's position grinning from ear to ear.

Colonel Sharp came over the radio. "It's one thing to get rescued; it's another to come out of it looking like champs! Thanks for the hand, Wild Cards!"

Shirley replied sounding cool. "Our pleasure, colonel. You're one of a kind in a number of ways."

"What's our mission status? Are we headed to this Broadsword your team mentioned?"

"Not yet. We've lost contact with Professor Stein and Reggie. They're out here somewhere in need of a pickup."

"What? Alfred's out here causing trouble too?"

"Seems that way, sir. Sounds like you're used to the professor being, uhm, active?"

Murphy cut in. "Young'un, y'all don't know half the shit Bert's gotten himself into - or outta! He's always active."

Colonel Sharp asked. "Where are they?"

Shirley replied. "That we don't know. He's not responding to his smartphone and that was how we were in contact with him."

"Ah," Hitomi chimed. "Is this a private conversation or can any girl cut in?"

"Hey there. What've you got, ma'am?"

"Lieutenant, our dear professor has befallen the worst of enemies in the first world - a dead smartphone battery and lack of charger. He and Reggie are all right; they're just hoping they don't get picked up by the military or the Scavengers."

Shirley did a double-take. "Huh? You have current contact with him?"

"Trade secret," Hitomi replied firmly. "But if you can take us to these coordinates, we can pick them up."

"All right," Shirley nodded. The Californian singer and pilot had no idea how Hitomi and Professor Stein were in contact, but she understood that those two had more than their fair share of secrets, trade or otherwise. "Mario, Muppet, or Leanne, give me a navpoint to the coordinates and tell us where to go."

Spoiler: Wild Cards

Shirley is requesting a Navigation skill check from any one of you. Talk about it in Fat Gandalf's or have your character reply here and I'll roll for you.

 

[Purr]

A half an hour drive through the black of night left the thunderstorm behind you and mostly clear skies ahead of you. A look at your chronometers showed the time was 11:24 p.m. and it was a good time to use your night-vision to make certain you didn't fly or drive into anything. It was also a fine sight to see three airborne veritechs and two tanks among your crew. The new Super Logans were indeed beefier yet equally-nimble to their "Flying Cat" basic models and they handled more like fighters than the recon-based aircraft Logans were often used for. Their hidden missile racks, stealth modifications, stronger nose-guns, and heftier engines made them a force to be reckoned with. Flying with these new tanks and aircraft promoted a confidence while on your way to rescue Professor Stein and Reggie.

Toph lets out an internal sigh. Of course it couldn't be this easy to just get in here, get the Colonel, and get back out again. Ah, well. You only live once.

This time Toph got her wish.

Hitomi's coordinates took you east of Pensacola through broken terrain, windy forests, and more ponds and lakes than could easily be counted. You crossed Interstate 10 for the second time this week and on the other side of the highway, you began to slow as you saw a lone M-770 Staff Hovercar in the distance. At first, it looked like just another shadow in the dark but your night-vision quickly discerned it for what it was. Sitting inside the car, you saw two faces, one young, one not so young, staring at your mecha as you closed the distance and came to a stop a short distance from the car.

The driver-side door opened and out came Professor Stein in his rumpled suit and furrowed brows. His mane of white hair seemed to stick out in places like fur on an irritated cat. "Wild Cards! You have to save me!" he waved his hands frantically. "I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bored teenager!" He pointed.

"Hi guys!" Reggie waved from the passenger seat. "Are... are those Logans? And what kind of tanks are those?"

Shirley and Mario both felt Cera's mild aggravation. "More males, Leader Mack?"

"Yes! More males, Auxiliary Specialist!" Mack stopped her Super Valkyrie, pointed the nose down, and clambered out of the cockpit as Colonel Sharp and Murphy used their positions as gunners in the Mjolnirs to keep a lookout for trouble. "Hey, big guy!" she called out to the slightly-larger-than-average-sized kiddo. "I could use a co-pilot. Know anyone who could help?"

"Sure!" Reggie raised his hand high. Professor Stein and Shirley began to help him get into the Super Valkyrie. While this was taking place, Shirley focused her mind across the polyphonic nexus again. "Iris? You still with us in here?"

"Indeed, Leader Mack. This One never left!"

"Would you kindly provide the Broadsword our coordinates and tell them we have a total of five mecha and four extra people with us for pickup?"

"Done, Leader Mack. The Broadsword has replied. "Pickup is not advisable at your current coordinates. There are Scavengers actively scouting in your area as reported by local HAM radio groups. Your presence has not yet been detected. Please rendezvous with the Broadsword in the Gulf of Mexico at these coordinates." A series of numbers entered the polyphonic nexus. Mario recognized them as precise military coordinates and he basically knew where the waypoint was - about 20 miles off the coast of the Florida coastline, southeast of Pensacola.

"Mario? Punch those coordinates down and give me an ETA for our arrival?"

"This One is excited - your missions were successful!"

"Yeah, but we've got a whole lot of catching up to do now... Thanks, Iris! Anything to add Mario?" Then she added over the radio. "Team, we've got to meet up with the Broadsword in the gulf. Where should we begin catching up?"

Colonel Sharp came over. "Well, let me start by asking - didn't the Assembly mission take you past the town of Milton?"

"Yes, sir. Through it. Why?"

"You haven't seen the news? The entire town has been rebuilt! It looks brand-new and move-in ready! Do any of you happen to know - how do the kids say it - 'what's up with that?'"

 

[Sherwood]

Mario nods in understanding. "Sir, we were wondering about that fact, too. I mean, the highway where Lt. Mackenzie and I responded to the distress call from the TacCorps was plastered by missile fire from the artillery mecha. It makes me wonder, but now that I have some time to consider the possibilities, we are dealing with time travel. Sir, I know it sounds crazy, but perhaps the ruined highway and town . . . shifted through time somehow? I mean, we have the Broadsword, which is a large ship with the manufacturing capability to produce these two new hover tanks. Why not the town and highway, too?"

He pauses for a moment, marshalling his thoughts. "We have never really gotten into just how the ship got here. Just never had time to ask those questions. I am also thinking that the Assault Scout that we blew up was also from the future. After all, the technology on the one Beastmaster that Lt. Kirin took out was quite formidable. I've never seen anything like that before. You'll need to check out our gun camera footage to see just what I'm talking about."

 

[Purr]

Colonel Sharp nodded eagerly. "Yes, you're talking about Interstate 10, the highway that proceeds east-west through Florida and much of the former United States. But... 'Broadsword?' 'Beastmaster?' 'Shifted through time?'" He rubbed his nose and appeared doubtful. "Son, you sure you didn't hit your head in that enemy spaceship?"

Murphy cut in with his typical no-nonsense tone. "Greenhorn's right, Sharp."

"Do tell?"

Murphy did. "These here tanks we're runnin' in - they've got somethin' that ain't been invented yet today an' that only leaves one answer - it was invented after today. Bert? I bet you knew somethin' about all this, didn't'cha? Yer always chasin' strange ghosts and UFOs."

"A man has to do what he's good at, Sergeant," Professor Stein replied, his rich and strong voice carried as well over the radio as it did in-person. "and besides, sometimes those ghosts and UFOs won't leave me alone, much to my wonder. Glad you're still alive, old boy. After what we've been through together, we shouldn't be." Professor Stein put a hand through his lengthy beard. "Hiram? Old Smurfy here is correct. Let me guess, Murphy. You touched this futuristic tank and talked to it, didn't you?"

"Blasted right, I did! How'd you know?"

"I've always suspected you were a fellow Traverser, my dear Sergeant. We've just never had the opportunity to sit down and talk about it. God as my witness, I have yet to meet a Traverser who lacked a wacky mind and you are overqualified in that regard."

You heard Colonel Sharp chuckle.

Cera's voice came over the radio even though she was just a few feet away from Colonel Sharp. The defiance in her Ura-Meltrandi spirit could be heard in her very words. "Humans! You have people who, with a touch, can control the very cores of the most-advanced machinery. Is time travel so strange a concept to you?"

Colonel Sharp couldn't help but crack a smile. "Ma'am, let's just say that if it does happen around here, no one talks about it. And given our current circumstances, that's probably for the best."

And in what felt like no time at all, the Wild Cards and their companions had raced past the outer edge of Pensacola and out toward the Gulf of Mexico. Colonel Sharp grabbed on to his seat as the Mjolnirs flew at over 75 miles per hour straight at the moonlit beach. "Wait, wait! Hover tanks can't travel over water like this!"

"Hah! Mine can!" Cera shouted and punched it. Your mecha streaked across the beach blowing huge wakes of sand behind you. You slid over the water with equal ease as the Mjolnirs hovered across the water. Their speeds increased to about 100 miles per hour, but the tanks were in the air! Looking out of your sensors, you saw you were speeding 50 feet above the waterline. Mario, who was still linked with his Mjolnir, knew that it could reach an altitude of 1,000 feet before it needed to transfer its full thrust underneath it to keep it aloft. In true flight, the Mjolnir sped around a meager 50 miles per hour, but her altitude ceiling was unknown even to Mario. As far as he knew, it hadn't been tested.

Far off into the distance, many miles from the coastline and from the eyes of those people who still called the beach their home, the Wild Cards left Florida and entered the Gulf of Mexico. Armies of huge clouds traveled above you blocking out the moonlight as you sped over the beautiful, glassy surface of the water. It was quite a feeling to race like angels across the night toward destinies unknown, but those destinies were yours and yours alone. Not General Steele's, perhaps not even the ASCs.

"What is that?" Colonel Sharp leaned forward and pointed at a shape rising out of the water. "That can't be a whale. No whale is... that... large!"

Spoiler: Journey of the Sorcerer

"Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy OST - Journey of the Sorcerer+Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Joby Talbot.

Spoiler: SCL-107 Broadsword

(Image credit: Seesaa Wiki )

The newcomers' - Professor Stein, Hiram Sharp, Murph the Smurf, Hitomi Yashida, and Reggie Booty took on a variety of awed expressions as the glittering SCL-107 Broadsword revealed itself like a great magical sword rising out of a mythical lake. The starship rose dripping with a dozen waterfalls pouring down the steely sheen of her shining hull. She ran without lights and in its darkness seemed legendary and leviathan in size. From here, you could see her slowly turn about and open her central landing bay hatch for you even as you received an incoming hail.

"WILD CARDS. YOU ARE CLEARED FOR LANDING. WELCOME ABOARD."

The hatch yawned open as small and five familiar-looking futuristic megasuits of varying colors spread out to their positions, each to guide you and your veritechs in.

Lt. Mack's soothing, smiling voice entered the radio channel. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Broadsword. We have been welcomed aboard." And with those words, there was a warm feeling. A safe feeling. A feeling like... you were coming home.

In twos, you landed your veritechs at the guidance of Spaceman Sam, Samantha, and the Broadsword crewmates. As your vehicles settled down, more crewmates appeared and assisted you out of your cockpits and into the bay proper while the fresh salty air of the Gulf of Mexico swirled all about you. With your helmets off, you were able to finally relax, your rescue missions accomplished. The newcomers looked all around. Reggie and Colonel Sharp looked like children in a candy store, wide-eyed and smiling. Hitomi and Murphy seemed as if to question their senses and like the answers they were given. Professor Stein alone gave a long sigh of tremendous relief.

"About... bloody... time..."

"You were right, Professor!" Hitomi declared in awe.

"You're damned right I was, my dear."

"Reeeew!" MechaKitten bounded across the hangar bay and leapt up into Professor Stein's welcoming arms and cuddled into him.

"There you are, you adventurous little troublemaker..." Professor Stein looked suddenly weary and extremely grateful to hold him, scratch his neck, and listen to his calming purring. Nearby, Murphy pointed to Sharp questioningly and back to the ever-friendly kitten as if to ask, "what is that?"

Iris took that moment to come forward and welcome you too, for even with her high, graceful insectoid features, you could tell her eagerness stemmed from her missing you. Colonel Sharp moved unconsciously and protectively in front of Hitomi, Reggie, and Professor Stein. They openly gawked at the (currently) 12-foot tall alien that looked like a mega-damage praying mantis out of a sci-fi writer's dreams. Murphy on the other hand had a different line of thinking. The grizzled veteran stomped right up to Iris, looked her huge and beautiful form over, and swore out loud. "Awww, you ain't nothin'! I seen bigger skeeters than you in my nightmares! Huh!" He waved her off without fear and walked back to join you. Iris stepped back seeming more surprised than offended.

Spaceman Sam and Samantha approached beside Iris and bowed in a Japanese fashion to all of you. They held up their tablets which read in festive colors and text, 'CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESSFUL MISSIONS!'"

Your stomachs were empty and showers were called for, but... you were back onboard the Broadsword with your health, sanity, and mecha intact. Given what you had faced and what you had returned with, there came with this reunion a sense of accomplishment. For you had once again done much.

Some might say, the impossible.

 

[Psychie]

Toph pulls off her helmet and jumps down from the cockpit of the Super Logan, wiping a stray lock of hair from her face. Looking over at Professor Stein, she says, "What were you right about, Professor? Don't tell me that you knew about the Broadsword before now! How is that possible?"