[b]Redana![/b]

There's no freedom like flying a powered Plover suit. 

You scorch through the wreckage, able to turn on a dime, responsive and sharp enough to dance in. Oh, miracle! Is there any better way to see the heavens than this? Still yourself, but with the contained celestial power needed to fight the stars on their own terms? You dart hither and thither like a little thunderbolt, leaping off wreckage, carried along the currents of Poseidon's winds, and it seems that light itself couldn't run this fast.

And then from behind you, lights and fire.

The [i]Veterosk[/i] has accelerated, and as fast as you are moving with your borrowed power, the immense force of a true Engine will eventually outpace you. Where you have to dart and weave and dance between the clutter of perished legends, the enemy warship simply rams them aside - its vast, cruel prow carving a path like a sword through space. Fires of rose and salmon break out along its port side as it charges heedlessly through the cascading sheets of Poseidon's lightning. And ahead of it it launches its own Plover suits, little sparks at this distance to hunt you, box you in, and prevent you from using your superior agility to exploit the abysmal maneuverability of the mighty starship. 


[hider=Imperial Plovers]
[b]Imperial Plovers[/b]
[i]Engineers in powered armour who are never mistaken for true soldiers.[/i]
[b]Windrunners[/b]: Imperial Plovers can move freely and swiftly through hazardous terrain, including starship interiors. Damage this stat if exposed to ELF fire.
[b]Battlefield Support[/b]: Given time, Imperial Plovers can set mines, traps, support equipment or entrenched weapon emplacements.

[/hider]


[b]Vasilia and Alexia![/b]

As the Hermetician falls it withdraws into its oily robes like a hermit crab and skitters across the floor using limbs unbounded by the practical logic of organic biology. There are flashes of light from the bullet holes underneath the fabric, incomprehensible mechanisms at work below. It's not hurt - but neither did it get the opportunity to unleash its arcane arsenal on you. Small blessings. 

"Request denied," it stated. "You possess insufficient force to compel my obedience - whereas your obedience is not required for me to achieve my ends."

In the space of a single breath it has a panel off the floor and has skittered into the vents, gone before there's time to react.

Galnius gulped. That was a hell of an omen to commemorate his new allegiance. 

But there's no time to wonder where the cyborg has gone. There is a crash as the [i]Veterosk[/i] decouples and accelerates away into the debris field. It's long, rolling surface passes above your bridge, washing the [i]Plousios[/i] with the aftershock of its engine. It's so close you can see every loose panel and bolt, every inscribed prayer to the gods of battle and glory.

[b]Dolce![/b]

This ship is old. So old. What other kind of ship would the God of the Dead have?

It's probably just it being old that is causing that banging and rumbling sound from the pipes. Just that, and not some underworld demon at work.

[b]Bella![/b]

Like everything else, the Admiral's shuttle was designed for intimidating civilian flybys rather than practicality. It is an elegant, sweeping eagle of silver and sapphire, wings sculpted into feathers, landing struts as mighty talons. It'd take three days to fully clean and polish the exterior to that standard. The hangar bay itself is similarly designed for luxury - here by the entrance are wheeled vehicles for carrying important figures that final distance to the boarding ramp, a small bar where a servitor awaits with refreshments, and a brass band playing the Admiral's theme music in a heroic, swelling score. 

You see the Codexia in the distance, by the landing ramp, evidently bored and playing a game of jacks with herself. You see Pallas Athena put her hand on her shoulder and whisper in her ear. You see the Codexia glance around, scoop up her game pieces, heft her spear, and vanish inside the ship. 

"Don't play her game," Aphrodite mutters ill-temperedly besides you. "Not only is she better at it than you, she also cheats."