Splicers - I Am Legion - IC Thread

[Psychie]

Toni makes sure that the House Janus Splicers are at a distance before saying, “In any case, we need to move from here and assess our situation. This mission is blown, but I’m not sure what to do about it. Legion has to have someone on the inside of House Artemis that’s placed high up to be able to know what we’re hauling and where to find us in order to steer this ambush onto us. I can totally see us getting back to Avalon and getting arrested as the traitors instead of the real culprits that are under Legion’s control.”

She pauses, looking to the assembled team and asks, “Anyone have a great idea that won’t involve certain death for us?”

 

[Sherwood]

As Toni poses that question, the Splicers from House Janus gather up the body of the fallen dreadnought Leon and head off into the forest to meet up eyes the rest of their team. At the same time, Drake and the two Dracos land. Drake says, “We have company coming. Eight airborne targets at a range of six miles, approaching at a speed of 150mph. At a guess, they are more of those Legionnaires of hers, and if that’s the case, we’d best be on the move and gone before they get here.” He looks over at Toni and says, “I don’t mean to step on at toes here, Sergeant, but escape and evasion seems to be our best bet. Your call.” Psychie

Shauna suddenly pipes up with, “I have an idea. But our Outrider companions are not cleared for this. Once we get a few miles behind us, I’ll share once we’re able to dismount and talk without being overheard.”

 

[Psychie]

Toni nods at Drake. “You’re fine. Some of us are a bit beaten up, and with that many Machines, we would most likely take some losses that we can’t afford. Everyone, mount up. Archos and Chaska. I’d like one of your War Hawks to keep an eye on the House Janus team for a few miles, and the others heading out front to scout out our path. Once we can settle in, we can hear Davies’s idea and hope we can salvage this cluster before it’s too late.”

 

[Purr]

If there is a moment available... Chaska assists House Janus with not only the corpse of the Dreadnought Splicer but the Maulers who were arguably braver (not having being controlled and deceived by Legion). Chaska asks for their first names, records them, and tries to do the same for the Artemis fallen. If this appears to be the exit of the House Janus forces, he shares the following with solemn civility.

"House Janus ambush... well done! We no realize until the living become dead." Chaska gives a true bow of respect then adds, "When time allow... Chaska of House Artemis will honor your dead along with ours. This House Apollo way. Perhaps after Legion die... Janus and Artemis share instead of shoot? Chaska pray so." He gives a moment to hear any responses and then returns to his own.

Drake says, “We have company coming. Eight airborne targets at a range of six miles, approaching at a speed of 150mph. At a guess, they are more of those Legionnaires of hers, and if that’s the case, we’d best be on the move and gone before they get here.” He looks over at Toni and says, “I don’t mean to step on at toes here, Sergeant, but escape and evasion seems to be our best bet. Your call.”

Chaska pointedly looks at Jin. "You right! Sniper JinLi know better Legion than Chaska!" he shares a smile.

Once we can settle in, we can hear Davies’s idea and hope we can salvage this cluster before it’s too late.”

"Is House Apollo way to finish what we start. If Cerberus House Apollo, there be no question - we fight Legion with plan at cost of our lives. Chaska hope Davies's idea is betta." Chaska asks Woodstock to perform Toni's scouting order.

* * *​

Chaska thinks back.

"No, Legion," Chaska guesses. "We like Toni de way Toni is."

The wild-born Deliveryman keeps his personal thoughts to himself lest Legion perhaps hear over the bio-comms. Cerberus maybe compromise. Maybe whole Kraken too. ChiefRybeck must know.

"Toni? Cerberus? Maybe Legion infiltrate bio-comms? Maybe we not use for... delicate talk?"

"Legion put metal in head of Legionnaires. WyldKat can detect, but must be melee-close. Too many unknowns when it come to Legion. Wish we find more enemy of Legion to learn more, but no time."

 

[Eonivar]

Jin quietly watches the Janus head off...then she moves over to where the rest of the team was assembled, her olive green form appearing as if out of thin air as she disengaged her stealth field. She looked around at everyone, checking their damage while listening.

At Chaska's comment, her mouthless Host Suit gave him a soundless head bob, before she turned to mount up on the Dracos again.

Chaska's comment and concern about the bio-comms being infiltrated was a valid one.

She spoke out loud...almost to herself. "Hmm...I wonder if we could use our Bio-Comms to find out who is receiving them?"

 

[Psychie]

Toni shudders as a cold feeling runs down her back. If the Machine can hear our communications, it takes a huge advantage away from us. “The only good news about this that I can see is, if Legion can tap into our bio comms, they only have a six mile range, which limits her ability to tap into what we’re saying. But you both have a point. Hold all unnecessary communications to a bare minimum, and only discuss our mission verbally and not over the comms. Let’s just hope and pray that Legion herself can’t get into our communication lines. If that does happen, it will be a major blow to the Resistance.”

 

[celestialbody]

Bellamy stood down and regrouped with the rest of the team as they started to discuss things with the House Janus forces. He kept the Impact Beetles he'd sent over to protect Anderson up, their shields wouldn’t hold for much longer, but if things kicked off again, he wanted them up and ready for whatever time they had left.

Chaska thinks back.

"Toni? Cerberus? Maybe Legion infiltrate bio-comms? Maybe we not use for... delicate talk?"

"Legion put metal in head of Legionnaires. WyldKat can detect, but must be melee-close. Too many unknowns when it come to Legion. Wish we find more enemy of Legion to learn more, but no time."

Bellamy wasn’t sure how Legion could have managed to pull it off, but given they’d been ambushed on what was supposed to be a covert mission, the added caution made sense. Too many variables, too many unknowns, they couldn’t afford to take any risks right now, not when they were already at a disadvantage.

“The only good news about this that I can see is, if Legion can tap into our bio comms, they only have a six mile range, which limits her ability to tap into what we’re saying. But you both have a point. Hold all unnecessary communications to a bare minimum, and only discuss our mission verbally and not over the comms. Let’s just hope and pray that Legion herself can’t get into our communication lines. If that does happen, it will be a major blow to the Resistance.”

With the team leader’s confirmation, he gave a solemn nod. "Verbal comms only then, understood."

Drake says, “We have company coming. Eight airborne targets at a range of six miles, approaching at a speed of 150mph. At a guess, they are more of those Legionnaires of hers, and if that’s the case, we’d best be on the move and gone before they get here.” He looks over at Toni and says, “I don’t mean to step on at toes here, Sergeant, but escape and evasion seems to be our best bet. Your call.” Psychie

Shauna suddenly pipes up with, “I have an idea. But our Outrider companions are not cleared for this. Once we get a few miles behind us, I’ll share once we’re able to dismount and talk without being overheard.”

With word of possible Legionnaires inbound, Bellamy wasn’t keen on staying put to sort things out. Getting out of this spot where they'd pretty much sent out a big smoke signal seemed like the smarter call, at least until they could safely take time to regroup and discuss their next steps safely, so he followed Jin's lead without hesitation, mounting back onto the Dracos. They could discuss more in detail soon, hopefully.

 

[Sherwood]

The squad once more gets on the two Dracos and then they set out at a swift pace along the ground to avoid detection by the approaching airborne Machine targets. After putting several miles behind you, the Outriders pull up and let the squad dismount and talk while allowing the wounded Dracos to get some rest and a little bit of healing in, along with a bit of the damage done to Anderson Long's Shellback Armor.

Once everyone has shifted off to a side a distance away, Axel looks at Shauna and says, "Ok, pretty lady. You said you had an idea, so . . . lets hear it."

She shuffles her feet somewhat awkwardly as all the attention of the squad is turned on her. She takes a deep breath, and starts out with, "From what I’ve heard, Legion likes to play games, and this is starting to feel like she’s toying with us. Who knows what she may have waiting for us at home. We don’t know who’s involved, but we know that it’s someone in the Senate. Even if there aren’t a dozen more traps for us along the way home, Legion’s spy could order our execution the second we step into the Launch Bay. I think we need to consider our Great House off limits until Legion is stopped. The plan may be screwed, but we still have two working Shell Bombs. That’s more than enough power to stop that metal demon! We just need a new plan to get them into place.”

“What do you suggest?” Benton replies.

“I agree with you that Legion’s on to our plan. She obviously knew about the Shell Bombs, and she probably knew we were planning to drop them in her path. She may even have a good idea of where... but I doubt she would expect an attack to come from underground.” She pauses for a moment to see if Benton or Sweeper Long can see what she is hinting at. She was hoping to not have to make such a radical suggestion without a little support, but once she realizes no one else is willing to say it, she continues. “I say we grab the Badger, tunnel our way under the Factory Walker, and drop both Shells right under her feet. Nothing is better than the Badger at tracking a surface target from below ground.”

Benton then points at the player characters and angrily says, “They aren’t authorized to even know about it, much less go there. You shouldn’t be bringing it up in front of them at all!”

Shauna gives a sheepish grin, saying, “The Warlord and the Senate trusted them with one of our greatest secrets. What’s one more?!”

Archos looks somewhat puzzled as he listens to the back and forth between the two, but then says, "Hm. Planting the Shell Bombs underground, then letting Legion walk right over them isn't the worst idea out there. What is this Badger and how can it help us?"

Benton fires off a fiery glare at Shauna, but then seems to think over her suggestion a bit. "It is a classified weapon system that is designed for underground operations." He then looks over at Toni and finally says, "Sergeant? Shauna might have a point. This could be our best bet to get the Shell Bombs close enough to the Factory Walker to do the job. I have to warn you, though. It is located in a highly secured and secret location. I know how to get us there, but you have to know that there is the very real possibility that we will all be shot for treason for breaking the security protocol. What do want to do?"

Psychie Purr celestialbody Eonivar

 

[Psychie]

Toni is understandably curious as to what this secret is that has Benton so fired up about. She is also not wanting to be hauled up in front of a firing squad just as they are working on a plan to hopefully end the threat of Legion once and for all, and after that, NEXUS. Time for dreams about a Machine-free future later. Right now, we need to focus on the here and now. She looks over at the members of the team, then back to the Archangel. "We have come this far, why stop now? Besides, all this talk about a super secret thingamabob that might get us all shot makes me wonder. As I said before, you have a lot of experience in the field that we don't, so I am happy to take ideas and options from you to consider before making a call. If this is our best route to try and blow that bitch to kingdom come, I believe that I speak for all of us when I say lets go for it. What do we need to do now?"

 

[Sherwood]

The Archangel pauses for a moment, then lets out a sigh and replies, “I don’t like it, but we may have no choice.” Drake then turns to the player characters. “Congratulations, looks like we just raised your security clearance again. Hopefully, the Warlord doesn’t execute all of us for showing you this, but at this point, I just hope he’s still human.”

Drake turns and starts walking back towards the Dracos transports while yelling to the Outriders, “Change in plans. We need you to drop us in Bell Lake, then head into the New Eden Nature Preserve and rendezvous at the Fort Defiance Outpost. Do not return home. Got it?”

The two Outriders hesitantly glance at each other for a secondand then one responds, “All right, Drake. We got your back.”

“I know you do. Thank you. OK, let’s mount up.”

Within minutes, the two War Mounts are streaking off towards Bell Lake. You are familiar enough with the area to know the lake is only about five miles to the west of their original drop point. Legion has long since stormed past the drop point and is now busily dismantling the Retro-Village of Dillontown. Off on the horizon, the players can see thick clouds
of black smoke rising up from the doomed village. The Dracos transports are flying pretty low to the ground, but they are still high enough up to give everyone a good look at the carnage. Fortunately, they are far enough away to spare you from the haunting screams coming from the hundreds of poor damned souls being culled together by Legion’s Collectors. You also get a good look at the devastation that trails off for miles behind her forces into the distance. You may not have decided where the new attack point will be, but the destruction left in her wake will
make an easy trail for them to follow when you are ready.

The convoy reaches Bell Lake about ten minutes later, and the flying Stealth Archangel tells the Outriders to drop the squad and Sweepers off in the center of the lake. The Outriders still seem a little uncomfortable with the orders, but they slow down and allow the group to dive off into the still waters below. Archangel Benton takes the lead, diving in with wings tucked tightly, and starts swimming straight down towards the bottom of this deceptively deep lake. It may seem somewhat small on the surface, but this lake is actually deeper than it is wide. It is called Bell Lake because it is shaped like an upside down bell with the deepest point reaching nearly two thousand feet below
the surface. Some people theorize it was created years ago by a massive orbital bombardment from the Machine’s weapon satellites (before they mysteriously went offline).

Visibility within the crystal clear waters is excellent even at the deepest point, so the squad has no problem keeping tabs on the Archangel. There are plenty of fish and small amphibious creatures swimming about, but nothing too threatening or large and everything seems to dart out of the way of the diving convoy. However, as the group continues to descend into the depths, you start to feel the crushing pressure, even through your powerful Bio-Tech armor. Drake does not seem concerned, and he keeps swimming deeper and deeper into the lake. Perhaps Benton’s Nighthawk Armor can withstand greater depths than yours. Just as you start to worry that your armor may not be able to take any more, he suddenly changes direction and starts swimming towards a steep, rocky wall. As the group gets closer, they see a small, inconspicuous cave opening within the rocks. Drake turns to make sure everyone is still with him and then proceeds into the cave.

The cave is a maze of pitch black tunnels splitting off into multiple directions. Most of the tunnels are natural formations but others appear to have been carved out by hand. Benton seems to know his way through the maze well enough, but every now and then it takes him a moment to remember which fork to take. After navigating the tunnels for twenty minutes, the group comes upon an organic hatch that looks like an enormous heart valve. It is similar to the doorways found in large Bio-Tech creatures like the Kraken. On the right side of the hatch is a large organic eye. Archangel Benton positions himself in front of it and casually waves his right hand like he is greeting an old friend. After a few moments, the three large flaps of the hatch open inward and the group passes through into the airlock.

Compared to the cramped confines of the tunnels, the enormous airlock is a refreshing change. This large stone chamber is roughly cube shaped. It is about forty feet wide and forty feet across, but with only a twenty foot tall ceiling. Scattered throughout the rough rock walls and ceiling are dozens of organic glow cells that light up the room quite brightly (another refreshing change from the tunnels).

Also scattered across the chamber are over one hundred strange, spiny organic pods. They look like basketball-sized Sea Urchins except each one has a single eye mounted in the center and a stubby, two-inch long tube just below the eye. There is a second hatch on the opposite end of the room and dozens of small vents along the bottom of the walls. Once the hatch seals behind the squad, it takes less than a minute for the water to drain out through the floor vents. The group needs to brace yourselves against the powerful suction as “something” quickly removes the thousands of gallons of water from the chamber.

After a few minutes spent standing around staring out the door into the facility, Anderson Long breaks the silence by saying, “It doesn’t usually take this long. What are they doing?”

“I kind of expected this. They don’t recognize everyone,” Drake Benton replies. “My guess is they’re gathering up more security and grabbing Martin so that he can scan them.”

The Archangel then turns to the group and says, “This facility is run by a Puppet Master, a new type of Splicer with a Symbiote Armor suit that provides the user mind reading abilities. They’re just one of the secrets that they grow and build here. One of many things you cannot tell anyone about.” He then chuckles slightly to himself and whispers, “Just to warn you, he’s a little weird looking so try not to stare.”

This of course is coming from the man covered in a new, dark alien substance looking like a demon ninja with wings “Now listen up! He’s going to read your minds to make sure everything checks out. It’s similar to the Librarian probing, but far less painful and without any headaches afterwards. Whatever you do, don’t resist and don’t try to hide anything. You’ll just look suspicious, and make things worse. If they have any doubts, they’ll gun us all down where we stand. I think once he gets the whole truth about Legion, he might be willingto help us. At least I hope so.”

 

[Psychie]

When Drake gives the directions to the Outriders to drop them off at Bell Lake, Toni is a bit confused. Bell Lake? There’s nothing there but wilderness for miles around. Duh. Of course this place we’re going to is hidden. Use your brain, dumbass.

She doesn’t ask any questions as the team starts to swim deeper and deeper into the crystal clear water. She simply activates her glow lamp to get some light and says, “Everyone, stick close to one another. I don’t want anyone getting left behind.”

Toni tries to keep track of the various twists and turns of the tunnels so if things go horribly wrong, it might be possible to find their way out. Finally, the squad comes to the airlock and she waits as the eye examines Drake and lets them in. When the Archangel says that there is going to be a special kind of Splicer reading her mind, she frowns. The whole idea of some stranger poking and prodding around in her head is not a happy one. It’s not like she has anything to hide, but it’s her mind. She already has to strip down and leave herself exposed in order to put on her armor, and now this?

 

[Purr]

his of course is coming from the man covered in a new, dark alien substance looking like a demon ninja with wings “Now listen up! He’s going to read your minds to make sure everything checks out. It’s similar to the Librarian probing, but far less painful and without any headaches afterwards. Whatever you do, don’t resist and don’t try to hide anything. You’ll just look suspicious, and make things worse. If they have any doubts, they’ll gun us all down where we stand. I think once he gets the whole truth about Legion, he might be willingto help us. At least I hope so.”

Chaska nods as he takes in the sights around Cerberus. "Dat make two of us." Woodstock chirps and bobs his head. "Make dat three."

As he does during his martial meditations, Chaska clears his mind of all extraneous thoughts in preparation for the Puppet Master. He thinks only of Legion and the Machine and their past interactions against both.

 

[Sherwood]

Drake looks over at Toni and has a sympathetic expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Sergeant. I don't especially enjoy getting my mind dug around in like this, but we've all seen just how insidious Legion has been in getting her agents into positions of influence and power. It sucks, but I'd rather not take the chance with anything we have down here."

the facility finally opens. Two Dreadnaughts step into the room with their massive Harbinger Cannons trained on the squad. They’re followed by a large security contingent that includes four Bombardiers escorting a dozen Mantis Support Cannons, a Packmaster with five Gorehounds, ten more Splicers in Host Armor and five in Proto-Host Armors, and a very stern looking Biotic. The Biotic resembles a well-muscled man with tiger-like features adorned in insect-like armor plating reminiscent of a samurai warrior. The security team are all armed with various organic rifles that none of the player characters have ever seen before. The Biotic makes a few quick hand gestures and the security team fans out in a semicircle around the group. The Biotic is standing a few feet (0.6 m) in front of his people with his arms crossed and his cold stare cutting into the party like a dagger. From the looks of things, he seems to be the one in charge. Since Biotics are usually considered the lowest of the low in Splicer society, this instantly strikes the most of you as odd. Maybe this is the head of the facility that Drake was referring to. Sure, he looks a little unusual, but no more so than any other Biotic.

Once the guards are all in position, the Biotic snaps out the command of, "All hand-held or thrown weapons are to be placed on the deck, nice and slow. The three War Hawks have to stick to the shoulders of their Splicers and don't try to fly away unless they want to get shot a lot. Aim all attached weapons up and away from the security team, and do not activate any bio-force fields. Do not try to exit your armor. Obey any order given to you by a member of the security team. Any attempt to deviate from this will be met with lethal force. Do it now; you won't get another chance."

Drake, Shauna and Anderson immediately begin to place their various guns and removable explosives on the floor, making no effort to argue the point at all.

Eonivar celestialbody Purr Psychie

What do you do?

 

[Eonivar]

Jin, who had been quiet through this whole situation on the way through and into this compound, complied with the request. She was uneasy about this whole situation, but understood the need for such measures.

The mouthless olive green host armor of the Roughneck Sergeant-Doctor Jin Li complied with all instructions.

She kept her Heat Cannon and Glimmer Guns in their stowed upright positions on her back. She then proceeded to open and empty her many host armor pockets of the several grenades and explosives, her two acid edged blades, her shield cracker rifle, her light cell laser pistol, her Roughneck issued survival knife, as well as her carry case of surgical instruments that were a part of her medical supplies. All the gear was arranged neatly on the ground.

Jin then waited.

 

[celestialbody]

The idea of someone poking around in his head, being able to sift through all his private thoughts like the pages of a book, wasn’t exactly comforting. But truth be told, it didn’t rattle Bellamy all that much. He didn’t think he had anything worth hiding or finding out. Not really. Although if he could feel the person worming around in his head, that might make him think differently, he was used to the feeling of insects crawling and moving all over him, but inside of his head might wind up being a bit different he felt.

What was actively making him uncomfortable were the requests being made right now. And while he could understand the reasoning, it didn’t make it any easier to go along with.

No weapons. No defenses. No backup plan. That part stuck in his throat more than he cared to admit. Still, options were a luxury they didn’t have. So with only a small pause, and maybe a quiet sigh, he hoped no one noticed, Bellamy started unstrapping his Bio-Energy blades and carefully setting down his throwable weapons/explosives, one by one.

Then, adjusting his Thud guns, angling them up and away from the security team as instructed. His stance was straight, solid, and trained, but there was a tension in his shoulders.

Orders were orders. And he'd follow them. Even if he didn’t like what they left him without.

 

[Psychie]

Toni is still not happy about the whole mind reading thing, but as far as the other security measures, she has fully expected this. She calmly and deliberately removes her cache of explosives and secures her harbinger cannon on her back and waits, hoping that this is not going to end badly.

 

[Sherwood]

Following the lead of the other members of the squad, Axel and Archos also both quickly disarm without any fuss or complaining.

When the group disarms, the two Dreadnaughts part slightly, and a human adorned in a sleek, dark violet wine colored, Light Body Armor with four black tentacles draping from his neck and back, steps through the line. Compared to the enormous Dreadnaughts, he almost looks like a child, but he is probably at least six feet tall. His Light Body Armor is finely crafted and melds with a Mega-Damage silk, hooded cloak that conceals most of his facial features. At first, all the group can really see is his ghostly, pale white, almost translucent skin, but once he flips down his hood to get a better look at the player characters, you can see what Benton meant by weird looking. His oversized head is completely hairless and somewhat egg-shaped and his eyes are totally black with no iris of any kind. His long, lean face is gaunt, almost skeletal in appearance, and it is rather apparent, even through his Light Body Armor bulk, that his body is just as slender and frail.

He walks over to the Biotic, pats him on the back, and says, “Thank you, Isaac. I’ll take it from here.” He then looks back towards the player group and says “Drake Benton, nice of you to visit us again so soon, but I must say it’s a bit unexpected. I see your Nighthawk Armor is still intact and hasn’t awakened yet. I’m impressed. It’s been almost three months since you destroyed the last one. We may actually get to see how strong these things get when you give them enough time to evolve.”

He speaks at a fast, energetic pace and he is rather expressive with his hands. For the head of a top secret weapons facility, he is a much more charming and likeable man than you would have expected.

He then looks at the Sweepers and says, “Anderson, Shauna, lovely to see you both again as well. It’s been too long.” He then winks at Davies and says, “Shauna, I’m sure you’re as lovely as ever beneath your armor. Hopefully we can get you out of it just to make sure.” She dips her head and looks away slightly in response. You can practically see her blushing through her Shellback Armor.

He then walks up to the rest of the squad and looks you up and down for a few moments before saying, “Now, unfortunately I have not met your friends here before, and that poses a serious problem. You see, no one told me to expect new friends, which means they probably shouldn’t be here. Now, I’m going to need a good explanation for why you’ve violated protocol or we’ll have to kill you all right here.” He suddenly gets a wide-eyed look of shock on his face and starts waving his hands frantically back and forth as he says, “Oh, it’s nothing personal. It’s just protocol. I swear.”

His reaction is confusing at best. He seems more concerned with not offending you than with the likelihood of ordering your executions. He steps a few paces away from the group then turns back around and says, “Now, I’m not in the mood to ask a lot of questions, so let’s just take a peek inside those brains of yours and see what’s going on here. Anyone want to go first?”

Drake Benton raises his hand and says to him, “I’ve got all the answers you need, Martin.”

Once again, the man looks quite surprised. “Wow, I did not expect that. I thought you hated getting scanned, Drake. This must be serious. All right, you know the drill. Just try to relax and I’ll make this quick. Show me what I need, and I won’t have to dig deep. And please, how many times do I have to tell you, call me Marty.”

“Just get on with it, Martin,” Benton replies.

Martin frowns for a second in frustration. He looks over at the group and says, “He just always has to be difficult, doesn’t he?” He then turns and walks behind Drake. Martin then closes his eyes in concentration and holds his hand out towards the back of Drake’s neck. You all watch as wire-thin tendrils extend from his Light Body Armor’s fingertips and start working their way through Drake’s armor at the base of his neck. Drake grunts in pain for a few seconds as they burrow through his flesh and into his ears and spinal column, but once they find their mark, Drake suddenly seems to slump into a relaxed position as if he goes completely limp but is held aloft by the delicate tendrils.

The veins at Martin’s temples begin to pulse slightly. Within seconds, more large veins start visibly pulsing all across his bald head. His already alien appearance grows more and more disturbing with each passing second until he suddenly breaks out of his trance and says, “My God... whatever you need is yours.” He then retracts the tendrils from Drake’s neck, turns back to the Biotic, and tells him, “Your men can stand down, Isaac. Everything is fine. They’re our guests, for now. I’ll explain everything later, but right now, let’s get them to the Northern Armory so they can give their gear a chance to rest and replenish while we talk.”

The Biotic’s already sour expression turns into an even bigger frown as he says, “Sir, with all due respect. I think you should scan the strangers as well. I understand the circumstances are likely extreme, but that’s no reason to abandon all our protocols.”

“Of course, Isaac,” he somberly replies. “You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry. It’s just... it’s just from the sound of things, I think we need to hurry.” He then turns back to the squad and says, “OK, since we don’t need to shoot you now, I hope that makes it a little easier for you to relax. It’s much less stressful that way. We’ll get this done quick and then we can get you out of your armor.” He looks over at Sweeper Davies and Long and says with a wink, “I already know you two, so we’ll catch up later, Shauna.” As she turns away again, Martin whispers to the group, “I just love doing that. She gets so embarrassed. I think it’s cute.” It looks like the shock from learning about Legion and the infiltration of House Artemis has sunk in, and he is already back to his friendly and personable self.

The strange man looks at the assembled members of Cerberus squad with a smile. Rubbing his hands together, he says, “So! Who wants to go next?”

 

[Purr]

With serene calmness, Chaska raises his hand. His voice is passionless, clear, and unhurried. "Kokoro Chaska, House Apollo, now House Artemis. Sergeant Cerberus Squad. Deliveryman. Chaska volunteer be next."

Moments before, he had moved to put his weapons down, each as if in some kind of ritual that he has performed many times before. He moved with no unnecessary motions like a man in deep meditation or perhaps performing a ceremony of some kind.

His swords, his chig-laden spear, his flamethrower, everything was arranged in a fashion that seemed to have some kind of order to it.

Now, sitting with his legs folded beneath him, his back straight, Chaska's breathing deep and rhythmic. His mind is as empty as a pool and as clear as the Moon on a cloudless day. On his shoulder sits Woodstock in a similar quiet pose, the two of them mirrors of one another.

"The mind must be nowhere in particular." - Zen master Takuan Sōhō.

Chaska's mind is nowhere in particular.

 

[Sherwood]

The strange looking Splicer walks over to Chaska and reaches out with the slender filaments that carefully burrow into the base of your skull and into your ears. The initial sensation is somewhat uncomfortable, painful even, as the tentacles slowly go in. Suddenly, you feel your body lock up as Martin begins to probe your mind.

It is a sensation that you have never experienced before and somewhat hard to put into words, feeling your memories being explored by another person like this. After an unknown amount of time, Chaska can feel the probes withdrawing and the pain of them fading away, leaving only a dull ache behind. Martin smiles down at you and says, “Your mind was quite unusual, very disciplined and orderly. Like a well manicured garden, very serene and peaceful. A pleasant change from the chaos I usually have to sort through. You are clear. Next!”

OOC does anyone try to resist the mind probing at all?

 

[Psychie]

Toni clenches her teeth for a moment before taking a step forward. What if Legion already has her claws in me? How would I know? Am I still myself? She tries to calm herself by mentally running through the meditation exercises that she learned as a part of her martial arts training, hoping to find some inner peace. Dropping down to one knee, she looks over at Martin and says, “Let’s get this over with.”

 

[Sherwood]

Martin offers up a friendly and somewhat reassuring smile, saying, “No worries, Sergeant. I’ll be fine before you know it.” He reached out and, just like with Chaska, the tendrils reach out and burrow their way into Toni’s head.

While you are being scanned, Toni can hear Martin’s voice. “The fact that you can worry about being ‘you’ is a good sign, Sergeant. You are clear.”

After checking Toni and giving her the thumbs-up, he turns to the next member of the squad, Axel, then Archos. The process is uneventful, leaving Jin and Bellamy left. Martin looks expectantly at the last two of the team and waits for the next volunteer.

 

[Eonivar]

Jin was watching the process very curiously and scientifically. theorizing on concepts that would enable Martin to do what he can do. Once the others finished, she looks over at Bellamy and the bobs her head in a shrug, and steps forward, kneeling down to give the easiest access to Martin.

 

[Sherwood]

Martin goes through the process of one at a time scanning both Jin and Bellamy and gives a tired smile. Clearly the effort to do his mind reading has taken a bit out of him.

When Martin finishes scanning everyone, he says to the squad, “There, now we can be friends. Well, let me officially welcome you to the Lab. I know you’ve pretty much figured it out already, but this is one of House Artemis’s secret weapon facilities. Our job here is to grow and test experimental Bio-Tech that may be too dangerous or too controversial to test back home. I know we’re all in a hurry, but I think it would be rude if we didn’t introduce ourselves. My name is Martin Macalister, but please, call me Marty. I’m the head of this facility.” He then looks over at the Biotic and says, “That serious looking man over there is my Chief of Security, Isaac Mendoza. Yes, he is a Biotic, but we don’t dwell on the silly traditions of the Resistance down here, so his mind is completely untouched and very brilliant I might add. Our job is to push the limits of Bio-Technology to see what it is really capable of doing and learning more about what it does to us. There’s no room for hamstringing ourselves with foolish rituals just to keep the ignorant masses happy.” He then flips his hood back up and says, “It’s a little too ‘drippy’ in here. What do you say we head into the facility and see if we can’t get you what you need?”

The security detail heads through the airlock first, leaving only Martin and Isaac to escort the group through the facility. As they walk towards the airlock, Martin says to the player characters, “I must say, I’m surprised they assigned someone with such low clearance to this mission. You must have really impressed Warlord Artemis. I know your heads are just swimming from all of this, but don’t worry, you’re not alone. I promise we’ll help you any way we can.”

 

[Purr]

I know your heads are just swimming from all of this, but don’t worry, you’re not alone. I promise we’ll help you any way we can.”

Chaska cannot help but nod in agreement. Martin isn't wrong - there is so much taking place, Chaska finds himself challenged just to keep himself focused. Still, he moves along feeling amazed at all that he is seeing, hearing, and experiencing.

 

[Sherwood]

The hatch opens into a long hallway that slopes upward at a steep angle. Instead of the rough stone walls found in the airlock, every surface in this passageway is covered with a smooth
coat of Mega-Damage resin. The sandpaper-like texture of the resin provides excellent traction for the steep climb. The players quickly notice the similarities to the heavily fortified hallways back home that lead to the Engineering Chambers. It is filled with the same four-foot-tall resin barricades, and once again, each one has a large, white number painted on the back. While Senator Bane was not very forthcoming with their purpose, Martin is practically acting like a tour guide as he leads them through the hall.

“This facility is basically one giant defensive fortification. Every room, every surface was specifically designed to repel an invasion. The airlock is the lowest point in the complex and it’s
all uphill from there. That means our defenders always have the high ground advantage.”

“Martin, what are you doing?” Archangel Benton asks in an incredibly irritated tone.

“What? They want to know. They’re just too shy to ask.”

“Maybe they’re just smart enough to know they shouldn’t be asking,” Benton fires back angrily. “And maybe you should keep quiet and stop making the situation worse.”

“Oh, you know I hate doing that,” Martin responds with a wry smile on his face. “Besides, you’ll all probably be executed for coming here anyway, so there’s no reason for me to be rude.” He then turns around and flashes a big smile at the Archangel and says, “Just kidding, Drake... well, probably. I figure if Warlord Artemis and the Senate trusted them enough to give them two Shell Bombs, they will most likely let them live with this secret as well. Plus I’m hoping if you stop Legion, your little transgression will be forgiven.”

“Me too,” Benton replies quietly. After a few moments mulling over the situation, he lets out a deep sigh and says, “Fine, Marty. It’s your show. Give ‘em the grand tour.”

“Well that is so sweet of you, Drake,” Martin says with a sarcastic smirk on his face. He then pulls up an armored plate on his forearm and shows the player characters a large, plastic
keypad strapped to his wrist. “All right, I know you’re just dying to know what the big white numbers are. Well, those are codes that we punch into this. Each number marks the location
of an explosive charge. Just type in the number, hit the trigger button three times... little safety feature against accidents... and boom. They’re one of the key components to our defenses. Our people can use these barricades as cover from enemy fire, but if the enemy tries to use them, we just trigger the shaped charge in the barricade and the whole thing goes off in their face like a giant claymore mine. The passageways between rooms are also lined with explosives and marked with a number. It lets us funnel the enemy into non-essential sections of the complex and then collapse the passageways to seal them in. It’s fantastic stuff. We can thank our friends at House Tarkov for these little babies. Bit of a cultural exchange. Our Bio-Tech may be leaps and bounds above their little plastic and ceramic toys, but we’ve never quite figured out how to make remote detonators. They’re completely plague-safe, but I don’t know, I just don’t trust the old-fashioned stuff anymore. I don’t really even like wearing it. I’d rather just leave it in my chambers, but Isaac insists that everyone wears one at all times. Guess that’s what makes him so good at his job. If he wasn’t wound up so tight at all times, we wouldn’t be so well protected."

“Anyway, let’s keep moving. We’re going to head over to the Northern Armory and soak your gear, then we can take you over to the Badger. Ooh, you know what? While we’re in the armory, we should set you all up with some new weapons. We’ve got some great stuff. I think you’re going to love it. There’s a firing range right next to it, so you can try out a few and see what you like. We always need more field test data anyway, and it sounds like you guys may just need a little extra firepower for this one.”

The group passes though a large rectangular room that bisects the hallway. On each side of the room are a half dozen Mantis Support Cannons partially concealed behind resin barricades. It is a similar setup to the defenses laid out back home except there are no human guards mixed in with the cannons, and the ceiling is covered with more of the large, sea urchin-like creatures. Martin explains that, “These ‘kill rooms’ are designed to catch invaders in a deadly crossfire of heavy artillery and a shower of spines and acid.” He points at the urchins above their heads and continues, “The Spine Pods are one of our in-house creations. Each one holds about thirty gallons (113.5 liters) of acid and several hundred razor-sharp spines. What you see is just a piece of their bodies; the rest is grown right into the walls. That’s why they have such an impressive payload. They automatically activate whenever anything metallic comes into range, but we can also order them to attack anything that moves with a simple verbal command. The Machine’s not the only threat to us on this planet,
so we need to be ready for anything. They’ve passed all our tests with flying colors, so they should be adding them to House Artemis’s defenses very soon. Once they are secured within our House, we will open the market to the Great Houses within our Alliance. The profit margins will be pretty nice this year.”

The group passes through two more of these rooms before exiting into an enormous chamber. It is about two hundred feet long and one hundred fifty feet across with sixty foot tall ceilings. Like the hallway, the entire room is coated in Mega-Damage resin, only this room has apparently seen some heavy combat. Every surface is covered in blaster burns, scorch
marks, and fresh resin patch jobs to repair the more serious damage. As the group walks through this area, Martin says, “This is the Arena. It’s the main test site within the facility. This is where our people get to duke it out in full armor to see just how good our new creations really are. There’s usually at least a few Splicers sparring in here twenty-four hours a day, but we had to pull them out today for the security detail when you arrived. I guess they didn’t feel like sparring after that. That’s too bad. It’s always entertaining to watch.”

He then points at the two narrow balconies about thirty feet up the walls that overlook the Arena on each side of the room and says, “You can get a pretty good view of the action from the observation decks. They also make great sniping points during an attack. They’re usually full too. We don’t really have much else to entertain ourselves with down here. I figure as long as they don’t do anything they can’t heal from, there’s no harm in letting them blow off some steam. We’ve got our own resident Saint, so you’d be surprised how far these little sparring sessions go sometimes.”

You pass through a short, white-numbered passageway and into the facility’s War Mount Corral. The group is rushing through on their way to the armory, but the player characters can
see about fifty or so War Mounts. For the most part, they are the standard variety, but the players will also spot a handful of prototype creatures they have never seen before. Martin leads the group through another long, upward-sloping hallway, only this one is not riddled with exploding barricades. Apparently they are not heading into a vital area. They cross through another white-numbered passageway and into the crew’s quarters. This large barracks room is filled with over one hundred double-stacked bunk beds. Most are the standard man-sized bunks, but the players notice off in the corner about two dozen gigantic beds. They are at least twelve feet long and about six feet wide. Space is a luxury in the Resistance and comfort is not exactly a concern on anyone’s mind, so these giant bunks are probably meant for someone or something that fits them quite snugly.

The few dozen crew members in the barracks immediately stand at attention when Martin and Isaac enter the room. Isaac puts them all at ease with a gruff “as you were,” and the group continues on their way towards the armory. Most of the crew is out of their armor, but it appears that a few are still wearing their Host Armor. Or are they? The squad members notice one of these enormous monsters lie back down in one of the giant bunks as the procession strolls through. It looks like Isaac and Martin may not be the only major human experiments in the Lab.

The group finally reaches the armory. Martin tells the player characters, “Just strip off your gear and put it all in the corner. My attendants will take care of the rest. There’s a shower back in the barracks so you can wash off your wonder snot. We left some clothes in there for you as well. I’ll have my people bring some weapons over to the firing range for you to test out. When you get cleaned up, just come back here and we’ll head over. Oh yeah, one more thing. Our Engineer’s backlog isn’t too bad right now, so I thought we could squeeze in a few Bio-Enhancements for some of your weapons. One weapon from each of you shouldn’t be a problem. Just pick your favorite.” He then hands a stack of loose papers to Archangel Benton and says, “Here’s the list of all the enhancements our Engineer has available. We’ve got all the standard stuff, plus a few house specialties. One enhancement each. Whatever you want.” He then looks at the player characters and says, “Like I said, we’re here to help. Now, go get changed. We’ve got a lot to do and absolutely no time to do it.”

The group strips down in the armory and then walks through the barracks and into the bathroom. Getting naked in front of other Splicers is pretty unavoidable within the cramped conditions of the underground haven, so it is nothing new to the group. However, it seems the bashful Shauna Davies is still uncomfortable with the concept. Although from what the player characters can see, she has nothing to be ashamed of.

OOC Everyone now has the opportunity to pick out a new bio-upgrade for their Host Armor worth up to 50 bio-e and reallocate some of your suit's bio-e if you want, up to 50 points worth of 1-for-1 exchange. celestialbody This also applies to your swarms. If you want to redo your bugs, now is the time to do it.

Purr Eonivar Psychie