Splicers - I Am Legion - IC Thread

[Sherwood]

Our story will start out soon.

Psychie Mirgris Purr

 

[Sherwood]

We find our three valiant Resistance members flying rapidly along the surface of the ocean, with Chaska and Toni seated on the back of a Dracos War Mount with a dozen other passengers, all wearing their bio armor. Three other War Mounts are flying along with the Dracos providing an escort; two Zephyrs and Lance on his Griffin. Caution is the word of the day as you fly: the Machine is everywhere, and an attack could come at any time.

It is a relatively dark night, making the fight over the water somewhat hazardous, but if someone misjudges their altitude and splashes into the water, it will not be a lethal crash like it would be in an old metal aircraft, just embarrassing for the Outrider responsible for the mishap.

You are on your way to rendezvous with House Artemis' most powerful War Mount: the Kraken. In its last attack on one of the Machine's power plants, the Splicers involved with the attack suffered several casualties, and you have been selected to be a part of their replacement crew.

Before too long, your keen eyes of your Host Armor manage to pick up on the faint flicker of light from a bio illumination lamp, signaling the presence of the Kraken and showing you where to land on the shell of the giant turtle.

The Kraken is huge. It is one thing to be told about the massive creature, but it is quite another to see it for yourselves just how big this War Mount is. The Dracos lands, followed by the escorts, and a small deck crew in bio armor hustles you into a huge opening in the shell where there are many different War Mounts that are settled in and waiting for their time to fight.

A giant of a man wearing a face wrap come walking up. He is so big it looks like he doesn't need Host Armor to win in a fight with the Machine - or anything else for that matter. There is not an ounce of unwanted fat on this man, and he doesn't so much as walk as he instead glides across the deck, showing that he may be big, but he is not a bull in a China shop clumsy.

With a touch of his finger on the face wrap he turns on the loudspeaker. In a loud bellow that cuts through the din and commotion of the hangar, he says, "Alright you rookies! Form up, shut up, and listen up! I am Chief Carl Rybeck, but you will address me as either Chief Rybeck or Sir. Any deviation from that and I guarantee you that you will not like the consequences of your actions. I am not your buddy, and this is no pleasure cruise. This is a warship, and as the pick of the crop of recruits from as House Artemis, I expect nothing but the absolute best from all of you or that slight cramp in your backside you feel will be my boot in your ass! Do you get me? I said DO YOU GET ME?"

He walks back and forth in front of the formation, glaring at each of you as he goes by. In a quieter voice, he mutters, "I asked Command for a pack of wolves, some real Gorehounds, and all I get is this litter of puppies! Why did this have to happen to me?" In a somewhat louder voice he goes on to say, "All of you have come here to put some hurt on the Machine. So long as you do as I say without hesitation, you'll live another day. This is no democracy. Remember that."

"According to some REMF, you are all supposed to be the best in your training group. If you have what it takes, you will do well. If not, I'll bounce you off this ship so fast your heads will spin. If you have any questions, let's hear them. If not, Corporal Styles will get you settled into your bunk rooms and show you where to store your armor."

 

[Psychie]

Toni is not all that fond of flying when she is not the one in control. It's different with her Host Armor, because if she screws up, she is the one responsible and pays for it. But now, she's stuck up in the air on the back of a dragon flying out to the middle of the ocean to some giant turtle. All in the course of a day in fighting the Machine.

After they land and the giant man begins to shout, she scrambles to form up with the other transfers to the Kraken. No need to draw unwanted attention to herself and start her stay here off on a bad start.

This Chief Rybeck is a real piece of work. Look at the size of him! If half of what I've heard about him is true, he is a hard man to please. Time to put forward my very best.

She listens to the welcome speech and wonders who it was that put in a good word to get her transferred to this post. With only a full time complement of four hundred, it is a real challenge to get selected for service in the Kraken. Usually it takes a lot of experience, and here I am, fresh from getting my Host Armor linked up to me. Best not screw things up.

Toni doesn't waste any time asking questions, knowing that she doesn't know enough to ask the right question and all she would do is get some unwanted attention. Her best bet is to watch, listen and learn.

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: Mood music

"I Robot" by The Alan Parsons Project

Between Heaven and Sea.

Somewhere between the endless field of diamond-like stars in the heavens and the ceaseless rushing waves of the oceanic abyss, wild-eyed Chaska's spirit flies. His grip firm upon the magnificent Dracos, Chaska cannot not stop smiling. His light gray eyes hardly blink as he gazes up, up, and above him to the endless twinkling points of light. Never before today has he ever been so close to their cosmic majesty!

How Chaska longs to emerge from his Host Armor just far enough to feel the terrific wind in his long hair! Yet, he refrains.

Hopelessly captivated, his heart thrumming inside of his chest, Chaska switches from vision to vision inside WyldKat, his infant Host Armor. From human sight to infrared to thermoptics to ultraviolet, each viewpoint an imagination-blowing panorama, a visual treat of biotechnical science made real. Somewhere inside the muscular protection of his arms, Chaska's beloved War Hawk, Woodstock, chirps indignantly. He smiles down at Woodstock, looking so comfortable in his woobie. Both bird nor human remained careful, for one false move and out the little hawk would go. What kind of Deliveryman would Chaska be if he had lost his beloved bird so?

The sea rumbles, gapes, and erupts! Chaska's awe mounts as, for the second time in his life, he watches the Kraken rise from the slumbering depths of the restless ocean. A god rising from the deep.

"Ohhh!" The youth cannot help himself but marvel at the sight of gigantic awe-inspiring animal before him. The Kraken is as impressive as it was the first time he had seen it - back when he was a simple barbarian, if indeed there is such a thing. As he had done then, Chaska folds his hands and bows in solemn reverence to the Kraken. The Kraken is greater. Compared to it, Chaska is a but a wisp. The years between his first meeting and now has not changed this fact.

Chaska's head stays down as they swoop carefully down and the legendary Kraken swallows them all into its very being. The Kraken! Grandest of all animals! Let the Machine beware!

"Alright you rookies! Form up, shut up, and listen up!

Inside the Kraken, the massive Chief Rybeck commands them. Chaska stands at attention as he was taught. But then...

"This is a warship, and as the pick of the crop of recruits from as House Artemis, I expect nothing but the absolute best from all of you or that slight cramp in your backside you feel will be my boot in your ass! Do you get me? I said DO YOU GET ME?"

Chaska is mystified! Which is it to be? Shut up and listen up? Or respond and break the first order? Before Chaska can figure out what to do, the moment is over. Chaska had not uttered a sound. He simply stood there. Wide-eyed. Feeling uncertain. A stranger in a strange Kraken.

When Chief Rybeck, whom Chaska remembered well enough, asks all if there are questions, the wild youth cannot bring himself to speak. A blast of wild timidity tears through him at the thought of speaking with so many people present.

In the wild, silence was safest. Stealth the surest. When in doubt, vanish. Become one with the land and let it meld with you. But there would be no vanishing here on the Kraken. That excites the wild youth.

Something in Chaska relishes the future here - a future he cannot run nor hide from, but face head-on!

* * *​

Spoiler: Looking Back: A Memoir of Another Time

"I remember. Yes. I'm not that old yet.

"In those moments, I remember wondering deeply then if Chief Ryben, our own veteran Splicer-forger, was partially deaf! Had the Machine stolen some of his hearing if not a portion of his sanity? If not, what made him shout so? And how had this roaring menace survived against the Machine so long? Had he been stuffed into the Kraken so long that he knew not the wild?
"Of course, there was nothing wrong with his hearing at all; I just did not know the man. Nor anyone quite like him.

"And who were all of these young fellows with me? Would they tease and punish me for what I was - what I could not help but be - as others had done? Or would they run and fly with me against the Machine regardless of our differences?

"I did not know it then, but two of their number would later stand out from the rest. Lance and Toni. Awooo! If ever there were Splicers who made their own trails in life, it was these two. What a trio we turned out to be!
"I recall seeing Lance's Griffin for the first time. Being the largest, the most-able, the most-commanding of us all, I thought his Griffin was in charge of us! I remember saluting the great bio-bird and waiting for orders, orders that never came, much to my later chagrin. I did not see. Had anyone noticed? Fine times!

"Such were the many wonders of my impossible cherished youth. As time would show, I had... so very much... to learn."

 

[Mirgris]

The night sky should be cold. While moving in speeds measured in 100's of miles per hour the wind chill should absolutely make it freezing. Yet Lance feels not a bit of chill upon his skin because not an inch of skin is exposed to the night sky. This is how the elites of the human resistance travel, cut off from the world with a layer of living armor. A part of the world, the war and humanity but always separated from it.

Lance is used to the feeling of being separated from humanity. How could he not? After seeing his home in ruins and his peoples spirits broken he has been more of a biological machine training in warfare than a person. Few men his age are virgins, yet alone virgins because they were too busy to find the time to even try meeting someone. It's just another way he finds himself untouched by humanity, distant separate, always. Lonely? He has never had the time to be lonely. Before the world ended his training regime would of been foolish one injury or another would have ended his carer, yet a simple slap patch can fix a torn ACL, or ligament, the limitation on training and pushing oneself was raised to be limited only by willpower. Willpower and foolishness. Lance has both in spades, so he pushed his limits to very tip of humanity.

Yet lance is no arch-angel or a simple dread guard on wings. He is an outrider, cavalry, warrior, pilot, and fool. He rides the machines newest, most hated foe. The griffon, the winged war-beast who dares to claim the skies in the name of flesh and blood rather than cold steel and wires. He rides the last griffon of house Altamont carried from the rubble with his own two hands when it was naught but an egg. Destined partners? A weapon fated for his hands? Random chance? Humans are a superstitious lot so when the griffon was coming of age at the same time he was training as an outrider someone quietly made sure it ended up his personal mount. Maybe it was simple kindness so that he could remember his home in a way that wasn't destruction and death. No one ever gave him a specific reason and he never bothered to ask.

He almost wishes he could feel the cold of the night sky, it should be an important night and the cold would be memorable. It is the night he stops training and officially becomes part of the fighting force of humanity. He should feel excitement, nervousness eager, something. He feels detached and bored but resolved. As the only griffon in the skies tonight in theory his job is to intercept any sky fighters and bring the fight to them. To close in combat while the other fliers support with ranged fire would be a glorious thing but it is unlikely. He alone has sight for over a mile, ultraviolet vision, thermal vision, and enhanced night vision. The others have their own sensor systems include the war mounts between all of them they are unlikely to get surprised by the machine. Not to mention the machine dislikes the ocean, it's massive ground forces are no good in the sea, meaning an attack would be entirely Ariel and have to contend with the reinforcements from the Kraken, the machine would lose far to much to make any attack worth the cost.

Still he remains vigilant, because the machine is tricky and there could always be a new trick.

Landing he has procedures has to do before getting into formation. You always take care of your mount first, as a war-machine it's unlikely to have any problems after a routine flight but the machine is tricky so everything gets examined and his lance gets strapped to the griffons saddle bags a weapon too large to use personally. It's a dozen routine checks but as the resistance likes to say "Complacency kills" those inspections are routine for a reason you don't need to know why you just need to do it.

As he separates from his war-mount he already feels less like himself, and he knows that feeling will only grow once his host armor is off. Piece by piece he is taken back to humanity where he feels an outsider. He asks no questions and does what he is told after all he is more biological machine than man.

 

[Sherwood]

Chief Rybeck spends a few minutes answering questions about the Kraken before he draws the Q and A session to a close and hands you off to the capable hands of Corporal Styles, saying he has other work to get to in his position as the Chief of the Boat (or War Mount, if you will). The corporal gives the Chief a snappy salute and steps up in front of the small formation of newly arrived soldiers. He gives a nod and says, "Welcome aboard the Kraken. I am Corporal Arnold Styles, and I will be your tour guide to help you find your way around the boat. Yes, I know that this is a living being and not an inanimate submarine, but old terms die hard, so the Kraken is a boat. Get used to it. Now, grab your jump bags and follow me. I'll show you around."

One of the group looks over at Corporal Styles and asks, "Uh, Corporal? What is the deal with that Rybeck guy? Is he really such a hardass, or is he simply acting like this to impress us as the new arrivals?"

Styles stops in his tracks and turns on the person that spoke. "First off, it is always Chief Rybeck, and I will not stand by and have you disrespect him by not using his rank, especially when you haven't been here long enough to earn any kind of slack. The only reason you are getting off without anything else other than this lecture is that you are so green you don't need camouflage to vanish in a forest. Second, anytime you want to test the Chief and see if he's acting, feel free to do so. Just let me know when you plan on doing so, so I can be there to watch the fireworks." He looks at the speaker for a moment to see if he would have anything else to say, and when Styles is satisfied, he turns and starts off once more.

Looking about, you can see that most of the crew are in some kind of bio-armor, with only about a quarter of those you see in simple jumpsuits. Styles notices your glances and says, "Whenever we are planning on surfacing to take on new crew or supplies, we prep for combat just in case there are any aircraft from the Machine passing overhead and we need to fight. Same goes for any time we move towards the shore and make our strikes against the Machine's emplacements on the coast. When we are in deep water and you are not on guard duty, you are of course welcome to slip out of your Host Armor and relax. And speaking of getting out of your Armor, here is one of four changing rooms where you can store your gear in and out of your suits. Take a minute and get changed. When you come out, I'll have your bunk assignments ready for you."

 

[Psychie]

Toni blinks a few times at the intensity from Corporal Styles as he answers the question, feeling very glad that her facial expressions are hidden inside the confines of her Host Armor. No need for her to get herself noticed in in this situation.

Grabbing her duffel bag, she heads for one of the changing rooms to slip out of her armor and to get dressed in one of the jumpsuits she packed. Toni is hopeful that there is some measure of privacy to get changed in, but if not, she had long ago lost any sense of body modesty with having to strip naked in order to make the needed connections with her armor work properly. All she is concerned with at this point is getting all the magic snot off of her body.

Once she is cleaned up and dressed once more, she slips back out into the hallway where Corporal Styles is waiting for them. Now that she is out of her Host Armor, she takes some time to look at her fellow crew members and try to identify the others and to see if she knows any of them.

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: Music that helped me write this.

"Washed Out - Amor Fati [OFFICIAL VIDEO]"

(Partial lyrics - source: Genius.com)
[Verse 1]
Don't try to find words now, you'll fall
Let go, reach out
The choice is yours to find

[Chorus]
Inside you've got the light to guide
Your fate decides the roads you're going to find

Chaska's fate has always been one of his own choosing. Or so he believes. So it is still an odd feeling to him to now have superiors and subordinates - alphas and omegas - in a pack of people that often make a great deal of sense to him. He understands that all of the fates of the Kraken crew are in a way bound together like the colors of a rainbow. All forming a strange whole.

One of the group looks over at Corporal Styles and asks, "Uh, Corporal? What is the deal with that Rybeck guy? Is he really such a hardass, or is he simply acting like this to impress us as the new arrivals?"

Styles stops in his tracks and turns on the person that spoke.

Silently, he watches the entire conversation play out, much to the newcomer's woe. How foolish, he feels, of the newcomer to show any kind of disrespect to the name of Chief Rybeck. That the newcomer had not taken the matter up with Chief Rybeck but instead chose to run his mouth to Corporal Styles he found equally foolish. Why not address the man himself?

Not that Chaska thought of himself as no fool; quite the contrary - he has learned much from his lack of wisdom. Under the right circumstances, playing the fool could be fun and uplifting. But this was not one of them. Chaska finds himself hoping he is not teamed with the foolish newcomer. Achieving Wisdom, not running his mouth, is one of his goals in life.

But "Chief Rybeck" or "Sir" it remains; that important rule had not changed since the last time Chaska had been aboard the Kraken. There is the faintest trace of a smile on his full lips. Once again, his silent observation has served him well. You get to learn the rules the easy way. Or you can open your mouth and chance learning them the Styles way. Chaska knows which way he prefers.

And speaking of getting out of your Armor, here is one of four changing rooms where you can store your gear in and out of your suits. Take a minute and get changed. When you come out, I'll have your bunk assignments ready for you."

"Mmm!" murmurs the wild warrior. He nods in dutiful understanding to Corporal Styles. Turning away, Chaska tries to remember what "bunks" are. He fails. The word, like many others, holds no meaning for him. He knows the language, but has little experience using it outside his former home.

But that's all right. What is the point of sweating the small stuff?

Speaking of sweat, Chaska performs as ordered and carefully unsheathes himself from WyldKat. Sweat touches every inch of his healthy skin. This was one small price to pay for having a thermosynthetic Host Armor; less snot, more sweat. He knows better than most that scents like sweat are dead giveaways in the wild. One sniff and all doubts disperse. But then again, Chaska feels there is a lot less to fear when he is sheathed inside the living armor he calls "WyldKat." It is a relationship of many compromises and one he greatly finds to his liking.

He feels there is something... personal... about being inside WyldKat. Sure, WyldKat is about as smart as a wildflower in the grass, but it is still every bit the living organism. As alive as he. For one attuned to life and the barbaric wild, there is a special relationship between the human and the Host Armor. He respects the brainless Host Armor and before he washes himself clean, he honors WyldKat by cleaning ...it? No... "her," he reminds himself. WyldKat does not look male nor female, but he knew from the first moment they touched. If it had a gender, it wasn't his but the other.

So it is that Chaska tries to take the time to remove any debris or stains from WyldKat and then himself. He does not want to leave Corporal Styles waiting. He makes certain Woodstock follows him into the cleaning area too, thankful that many birbs like water.

All of this Chaska performs without a single bit of clothing nor any feeling of embarrassment or self-consciousness. These are the social demands of civilized people. Silly, really. Such feelings are alien to he who, before this, wore clothes when the weather or situation demanded it. Here in the Kraken, he feels no need. But... rules are rules.

If Toni is looking his way, she will find Chaska's sun-touched body at the very height of youthful health save for many scars that cover much of his body. Not the signs of Machine-meddling here or the torture of crazed people there, but instead scars earned from a life lived far outside the conveniences and safety of the civilized underground. Boys always collect scars. Chaska simply has more. They are not unbeautiful to look upon. He also takes no issue with being looked upon.

His is a chaotic blond mane that spills down to the middle of his back. This he ties into a double bun which does little to make it look militarily-proper. His movements too are not typical of civilized folks. They are sometimes oddly cautious - like his sniffing of a bottle and the brief tasting of a liquid before deciding it is soap instead of trusting the label. His emotions show plainly on his animated face as he discovers... he does not like the taste of the soap used in the Kraken. =)

It takes him several times to remember how to dress himself, but he gets it. When he is ready (and perhaps the last to arrive), he still appears out of place. Unworried, silent, uncivilized Chaska.

He is what he is. =)

 

[Mirgris]

Looking about, you can see that most of the crew are in some kind of bio-armor, with only about a quarter of those you see in simple jumpsuits. Styles notices your glances and says, "Whenever we are planning on surfacing to take on new crew or supplies, we prep for combat just in case there are any aircraft from the Machine passing overhead and we need to fight. Same goes for any time we move towards the shore and make our strikes against the Machine's emplacements on the coast. When we are in deep water and you are not on guard duty, you are of course welcome to slip out of your Host Armor and relax. And speaking of getting out of your Armor, here is one of four changing rooms where you can store your gear in and out of your suits. Take a minute and get changed. When you come out, I'll have your bunk assignments ready for you."

The worst part of removing the armor was being less himself, the second worst part was the smart snot. The gel that interacts with the nervous system so that moving in the armor is totally natural. Lance doesn't take long to change, preforming the routine actions with almost mechanical precision. He is ready to be done with this and get to the parts that matter, the fighting, the glory, the war.

 

[Sherwood]

As you are getting changed, Toni does notice that she does get a few admiring glances from the other operators. She is a very attractive woman, after all, and your comrades wouldn't be human if they didn't notice. Chaska also gets a few glances, but for a very different reason. The other operators are taking note of your scars, obviously wondering just what happened to you to get them, but showing enough respect and decorum by not asking directly. Lance doesn't get any undue attention from your fellow soldiers, not having anything remarkable to set him apart from the rest of the new arrivals.

Back out in the hall, Corporal Styles is patently waiting for you, making idle conversation with those that are the first out of the changing rooms. Once everyone is done getting dressed, you are led down to the living deck and shown about, getting the grand tour of the facilities, including the mess hall, exercise room, rec room and the bunk rooms. Everyone is given their assigned bunk and locker to store your equipment and personal effects. Each room is set to house eight people, with the new and less experienced people being placed with a bunch of old hands here in the Kraken, giving them the chance to help educate the new arrivals on the do's and don't's of life on the warship.

 

[Sherwood]

Over the next few weeks, life on the Kraken settles down into a simple routine, with several missile attacks aimed at various shoreline targets that the weapons on the massive War Mount can reach. Each time the Kraken comes near the surface, the Chief has everyone suit up in their Host Armor, and on two different occasions troops are deployed to finish off the remnants of the Machine left behind after the missile bombardment.

It is after one of these bombardments that Chief Rybeck summons you to one end of what is called the Hangar Deck. It is here that the various large War Mounts are housed when they are not in use. But along with the War Mounts are a bunch of large, long worm-like creatures.



This critter is about ten feet long and about four feet tall, with a blindfold on and its wings are pinned down, leaving it to scuttle along on its little legs. It is being wrangled by a pair of people in Host Armor into a pen where it curls up with several more of these worms, also bound up and blindfolded. Rybeck is standing off a short distance from the pen, looking at the worms as you approach him. He is silent as you join him at the pen, keeping his attention on the worms. He points at the creatures and says, "See those things? Nasty little bastards. Watch yourselves around them; they will bite if you are not careful. Just in case you don't know what they are, these are Kamikaze Organic Cruise Missiles. Very deadly, and biologically programmed to hate any robot they see. They will suicide slam right into any target that they come across, with a special emphasis to the large robots, like the Land Dominators. <snort> If only they were more dependable, they would make a very effective weapon to use against the Machine. The problem with the Kamikaze Missile is that if it comes across a simple repair bot before it sees a better target, it will target the tin can and blow it to pieces, wasting its destructive power on an insignificant target. That fact keeps us on the Kraken from using them against priority targets further inland than what we can guide with our bio-comms. That is where you come in. Come with me."

He walks over to a small wooden crate and opens up the lid. Inside, there are dozens of things that look like snail with a baseball-sized shell on its back. Rybeck reaches down and picks up one of the snails, saying, "The Librarians of House Artemis have come up with a possible solution: these are called Squealers. They can be stuck to any hard surface, including glass or plastic. Obviously, metal is not a good idea. They are reasonably small, making them easy to conceal. In order to activate it, give the shell a quarter turn and then the Squealer will release a signal similar to a Bio-Comm, but on a slightly different frequency so it cannot be heard except by the targeting helmet we put on the head of the Kamikaze Missile, making it ignore all other targets it might fly past on its way to blow itself up on the Squealer."

"The downside to this is that the signal from the Squealer only reaches ten miles, but our Librarians have come up with a fix." He drops the Squealer back into its crate and moves to the side and opens a different box, revealing several more snails, but their shells are much smaller. "This is a Trailblazer. They act as a signal repeater, extending the range of the signal for another ten miles. Laid out like a trail of breadcrumbs, the Kamikaze will hopefully track along the path. All that needs to be done is have a trail of these little things laid out every ten miles for the missile to follow."

"Warlord Artemis has chosen a target for us to test the Squealer and Trailblazers on, an industrial center that is just over two hundred miles inland, normally far outside the targeting range of the Kamikazes. You will go out, lay down a series of Trailblazers to the target, and then place six Squealers on different points around the factory, activate and observe the effects of the test run. We will not know when you have placed the Squealers and have activated them, so we will go ahead and start our long-ranged assault seven days after you are deployed from the Kraken, launching our Kamikaze missiles in one minute intervals. You will have to be close enough to observe the impact points and report back on how well the pairing of the Squealers and the Trailblazers work."

The Chief looks at each of you in turn before saying, "I stress to you that this is a sneak job. There is no way for the three of you to be able to go head on against the defense forces without being overwhelmed. Get in, place the Squealers, and back out and observe how well the new bio-transmitters will work. You will be deployed into an underwater sewer line while the Kraken assaults another section of the shoreline to distract the patrols and, with any luck, pull the forces in the area away from your insertion path. You can either go above or below ground, using your best discretion. Just get in there and get the job done with placing these Trailblazers and Squealers and then get the hell out. You will only have one week to get to your target site, so be highly cautious."

"You are my Hounds, going on a hunt. Be more than a basketful of puppies. Be the Gorehounds of my hunting party. The operation will commence with your deployment tomorrow at 2300 hours. Now, what questions do you have for me?"

 

[Psychie]

Toni thinks for a moment, then says, "Chief, do we have any Intel on this target site? Floor plans , defenses, critical targets, or even what this industrial complex is making? Anything that can be provided to make our odds better of a successful mission?"

 

[Purr]

Chaska does not move an inch. He simply looks from Chief Rybeck to Toni as they speak, his expressive eyes following their every move with great interest. Only once does he glance elsewhere - to his beloved birb, Woodstock, who is preening himself, seemingly oblivious to the conversation.

Chaska is waiting his turn to speak.

 

[Sherwood]

Chief Rybeck looks slightly embarrassed when he admits, "We don't have any kind of floor plan available, since no one that we know of have ever gotten inside and back out with useable Intel. We know that the facility is comprised of three main structures with a small handful of outlying smaller buildings. There is a high speed monorail that connects the industrial plant with another factory that we know is building combat robots. According to our Intel, this place makes missile components, making it a high priority target. Defense wise, we have seen that the Machine is geared to be able to repel a large scale assault and not a small infiltration force."

He nods over at Chaska and says, "Your stealth field should allow you to slip into the factory and place a few Squealers in hidden places and slip back out. Remember, we want to see how effective the new Trailblazer and Squealer slugs are in guiding the Kamikaze missiles in. I have seen the three of you show some real promise. That is why I picked each of you for this run. I have good hopes for what you can accomplish when working together."

"Any other questions for me?"

 

[Purr]

He nods over at Chaska and says, "Your stealth field should allow you to slip into the factory and place a few Squealers in hidden places and slip back out. Remember, we want to see how effective the new Trailblazer and Squealer slugs are in guiding the Kamikaze missiles in. I have seen the three of you show some real promise. That is why I picked each of you for this run. I have good hopes for what you can accomplish when working together."

In reply to this, Chaska bows briefly with his eyes closed along with an "Mmm!" of acknowledgement. He it attempting to convey that he has understood Chief Rybeck's statements clearly and will follow them wholeheartedly.

"Any other questions for me?"

"Ahhh," Chaska takes a moment to focus himself. He seems to need this moment to get his brain together. After that moment, with respect in his tone, he attempts to ask.

"ChiefRybeck?" (it sounds like one word when he says it). The wild Deliveryman points at both Lance and Toni while appearing serious and hopeful. "Them? Can have Stealth Field? Camouflage?"

At the very mentioning of the word, Woodstock on Chaska's shoulder slowly begins to meld with his surroundings having activated his own camouflage as if to help Chaska be understood.

 

[Sherwood]

The Chief is quiet for a moment, obviously deep in thought. He finally says, "I can delay this opp long enough to get some camouflage implants for your cohorts and that giant chicken, but we don't have the time to get full on stealth fields for the three of them. If that isn't enough for you to be able to get at least one of you into that complex to position the Squealers, then maybe I need to reconsider my team selection. I need to know, right now, if you feel like you cannot pull this off without the stealth fields. I am not going to send off a team if you have any doubts about your chances for success. The Machine has taken too many of our best and brightest too lose any more."

 

[Psychie]

Toni's mind is racing as she thinks about the mission and the risks involved. If this works, it could be a real blow for the Resistance against the Machine, not to mention the boost to her career that would come about. In a flash, she makes her choice.

"Sir, we'll get the job done. You can count on us."

 

[Purr]

"I can delay this opp long enough to get some camouflage implants for your cohorts and that giant chicken,

Giant chicken?! There was a giant chicken roaming around somewhere on the Kraken?! Where was it? It couldn't have been a rooster or Chaska feels he would have heard it crowing by now! Unless they kept it hidden! But what if--

About this time, Chaska realizes that the creature Chief Rybeck is most likely referring must be the Griffin that has bonded with Lance - the very creature Chaska once thought would be the leader of their team (because in the wild, that's how it largely works - the biggest and the strongest lead the way as alphas). His eyes narrow and he grimaces in mild embarrassment to himself when this happens. Then - just as quickly - he gets over it and leaves it behind him.

I need to know, right now, if you feel like you cannot pull this off without the stealth fields. I am not going to send off a team if you have any doubts about your chances for success. The Machine has taken too many of our best and brightest too lose any more."

Chaska hears this and quietly gasps in surprise. He is detecting something dangerous in his leader he has never before seen - doubt.

"Doubt has always been the enemy of faith." So spoke one of the many in his life before becoming a Splicer. The statement was true then. It is true now. But to see it on Chief Rybeck's face? Hear it in his voice? This... Chaska determines... is a wrong that must be righted. Immediately.

And so he acts. The wild warrior turns himself fully toward Lance and Toni. He openly scrutinizes the two of them. He goes through every single fact he has on them (which are few but better than none).

Chaska decides that Lance's body is his temple. No human becomes that strong or that enduring without a lifetime of serious effort. While Lance's overall fitness seems to match Chaska's, it is clear to the wild warrior that Lance's strength is superior. And not only to Chaska's or Toni's, but perhaps on par with Chief Rybeck's himself. Such building of the body takes dedication and sacrifice.

With a raised eyebrow, Chaska ponders upon his animal side. Lance's animal ken is his Griffin. Lance is something called an Outrider - a term Chaska has heard of but has no direct experience with. If the Griffin - a wild bio-animal like Woodstock - trusts Lance enough to bond with him then that counts for something in Chaska's world. Moreso, Lance seems unruly but capable. Chaska realizes that he probably comes off a bit like this himself to strangers. With all of this, Chaska concludes he can try to trust Lance on this mission.

But what of Toni? She is a Dreadguard. Dreadguards became Warlords. In this three-human unit, their roles (at least to the wild warrior's mind) are obvious - Toni leads, Chaska finds, Lance destroys. Here, Chaska does not place direct personal trust in Toni or Lance, but in House Artemis itself.

If the house responsible for slaying Chaska's family had seen fit to cast Toni as leadership-eligible - and she devoted herself to that steely Code that only few could honestly follow - then that is the bedrock from which upon Chaska feels he can trust her on this mission.

The wild warrior sighs in relief. There it is. Chaska feels he can try and trust them both. And that is enough for him to settle it.

And then act further.

Chaska does something then that he hasn't seen anyone do before - but he is a young man of no inhibitions; if he feels it, he does it. And so he acts. Chaska steps forward and places his hand on Chief Rybeck's shoulder.

It is a strongly-made gesture meant to reinforce faith and cast aside all doubt. To build iron-clad confidence in the very face of fear (which is where doubt stems from). Chaska does not do this to make scene, but to make a very important point.

Chaska's light gray eyes stare fiercely. "ChiefRybeck! Give camo! Give Squealer! You no worry! We will do!" He squeezes the chief's shoulder once in reaffirmation and lets go.

* * *​

Psychie Sherwood

Spoiler: OUTAKES for the above scene!

But his eyes remain locked on the elder warrior. Chaska sticks out his chest and with great pride proclaims:

"Dis here is Woodstock! Toni! Lance! Griffin! An' me - Chaska!

"An' togetha...?

Spoiler: Sherwood? Psychie? This one's for you!

...WE KEEEL DE MONSTAAA!! DIE MONSTA DIE!!" 8D

 

[Sherwood]

The Chief doesn't pull away from Chaska's hand when you place it on his shoulder, but he does seem to consider if he needs to rip your arm off and beat you with the bloody limb for daring to place your hand on him. Then your comment sinks in, and that big man grins and returns the friendly gesture with a beefy hand of his own on your shoulder. "Gorehounds it is, then, and not a basket of puppies. Good. Get your host armor to the tanks to get the adaptive camouflage skin added to your suits. Remember, only Chaska will have the full on stealth field, so you'll have to use your heads to get those Squealers in somewhere that the Kamikaze missiles will be able to do some good when they hit. Pull back far enough to observe and detail how well the new bio tech works."

"While your upgrades are being grown in, you may want to get in touch with Corporal Styles and requisition some extra explosives. Just make sure that whatever you take, you need. Everything you remove from our armory is one less weapon I can use against the Machine. Now, are there any other questions I can address before dismissing you?"

 

[Psychie]

Toni shakes her head. "No, sir. None from me. The objective seems simple enough. Get the Squealers in and report back. We'll be the Gorehounds you need, sir." She stands there waiting to see if her companions have anything to add, and if not, she waits for Chief Rybeck to release them.

 

[Mirgris]

The Chief is quiet for a moment, obviously deep in thought. He finally says, "I can delay this opp long enough to get some camouflage implants for your cohorts and that giant chicken, but we don't have the time to get full on stealth fields for the three of them. If that isn't enough for you to be able to get at least one of you into that complex to position the Squealers, then maybe I need to reconsider my team selection. I need to know, right now, if you feel like you cannot pull this off without the stealth fields. I am not going to send off a team if you have any doubts about your chances for success. The Machine has taken too many of our best and brightest too lose any more."

"Chief, if it is acceptable to you, I would forgo the camouflage. Between me and my several ton better half, I feel it would do little good with the vast array of sensors the machines have access to. If we need to hide we can dig or use cloud cover almost nothing can sense through a dense cloud given it's mostly water. Camouflage is a half measure that will do little good when we can perform without."

 

[Sherwood]

Rybeck looks over at Lance and is silent for a moment, then nods. "That is your call to make, soldier. If you think you can accomplish the mission without the camo, go for it. I will look forward to hearing all about how you stuck it to the Machine over a beer once you are all back safe. Don't disappoint me. Now, if there are no other questions, I have work to do."

 

[Purr]

"Mmm."

Chaska, unwilling to further disturb Chief Rybeck from his other duties, bows out of respect for the veteran Splicer. A slightly puzzled look comes over his slightly-scarred face. It is an odd offer from the chief, thinks Chaska, for he has never before drank a beer.

Taking a single moment to fully examine Lance and Toni from head to toe, Chaska then turns and walks away deeper into the Kraken. As he steps away, his finger reaches up to his shoulder. After yanking on a little leg, his bird Woodstock reappears from camouflage. The two of them seem to share some silent happy moment together, for if ever a human and a little bird could seem to be chuckling, now was such a moment.

Spoiler: OOC

Chaska is the loner's loner. He's not used to acting in a group and so it hasn't occurred to him to let Toni and Lance know where he is going. As Players, if this sort of thing gets on your nerves, let me know and I'll have him adjust. Otherwise, he's just being himself by keeping to himself. =)

Chaska is off to find Corporal Styles for extra explosives and then to get Wyldkat improved.

 

[Psychie]

Toni finds herself on Chaska's heels as she too heads for the Corporal to check on the stockpile of explosives that she might be able to add to her supplies. She then lengthens her stride to catch up with the quiet man and says, "Um, hey. I'm Toni. I've seen you around, but I don't know you very well. Looks like we are going to be working together for a while. Once we finish talking to Corporal Styles, want to grab a drink together? I'd like a chance to talk if you don't mind."

 

[Purr]

Chaska takes a split-second to memorize the path before him through the Kraken. Then he looks straight at Toni the moment he realizes he is being "pursued." His feet do not pause as he continues to look and listen to her, his ears listening for changes ahead of them.

Being physically closer to Chaska, Toni might notice his bronze skin hides small scars on his neck and forehead that are hard to see at a distance. His hair cascades down his back. It is held only by two bands that match those sun-blond strands. What stands out most perhaps are his light gray eyes - like clouded glass with pupils that are hard to see though he seems to have no trouble using them.

"'Grab drink together?' Talk if you don't mind?" he briefly mimics her voice with an upturned eyebrow. What he lacks in female vocal chords he makes up for in tonal quality - what he repeats sounds a lot like Toni but it is performed with male vocal chords younger than her own. Seeming to focus himself before he speaks, he replies as he stares at her, his baritone voice just loud enough for her to hear.

"Toni is thirsty. Yes. We drink after Corporal Styles meet." He thinks a moment as he turns back to face the direction he is walking.

"You Dreadguard." He glances fondly at his marvelous war hawk bird who is busy watching where they are going. "Dreadguard no have bio-animal. You want talk; maybe you want meet Woodstock?" His twin moons grow wide and his eyebrows lift with curiosity as he watches her.