[hider=Synaptic Static] [center][b][h1] [TITANS FALL//THE UNDERCITY//FACILITY ICHABOD, “Basement Sector”] [/h1][/b][/center] [hr] Maria Menagerie was [i]not[/i] having a good morning. Or, as her mother might have once put it: “[color=#187E92] My day is the toilet, and god keeps shitting in it.[/color]” Halcyon was increasing The Hoard’s ‘excursions’ in The Graves, and it was hard enough convincing the woman by the same name to allow them to operate in peace down stairs. The amount of money she was demanding was almost ridiculous. Almost. Regardless; news of the increased excursions was bad enough, but apparently that was all it took for the floodgates to open. They had lost contact with a research team of eight, out in the Fungal Forest of Plate 4. Apparently in the middle of a scheduled check in. Plate 5 was reporting of a sudden burst of paracausal activity. A pair of mana flares, a subsequent mana [i]storm[/i] of sorts, and then the actual, literal, storm that formed as a result. And why was Plate 5 reporting this? Well, because Iridium Dragon [i]and[/i] Mythril Giant were both in that area, investigating site Muriel. And things had gone wrong the moment they stepped foot inside. The telemetry for Iridium’s vitals had noted a significant spike once they had crossed the threshold of the facility. And then her vitals flatlined. So had a majority of Giant’s, low enough for it in her case anyways. Maria was steps away from just writing them both off when they both snapped back into full activity. A relief, if only short lived when she shortly began receiving a mayday call from MG. A medivac. Well. ID was her most important asset. There would be only the best for her charge. The most expensive, well, expense in Maria’s life, but it would always be worth it if the plans could move forward. They would all forgive her anyway. It was so close, she could tell. That understanding of all those secrets her father had revealed. And so she snapped her fingers, had a communications-jack snapped into place on the back of her head and neck, and linked herself to the channel for her DocWagon contact. Copper Drake. A relative none entity to anyone else, but ID’s best friend within the company. What else was there to do? [hr] [center][b][h1] [TITANS FALL//THE TOWER//PLATE SECTOR 5] [/h1][/b][/center] Lucas Strombriar was having an alright day, if he was honest! His paycheck from M-Technical had just come in, and after this shift with Doc-Wagon, he was going home to get [i]finally[/i] unwind. A nice, long, shower; take the kids to see that new animated movie; have the cousins babysit… It was going to be [i]perfect[/i]. His team seemed to agree, and between the five of them, the air of ‘thank god it’s Friday’ was palpable. Nevermind that it probably wasn’t actually Friday. They would be off duty for the next forty eight hours anyways. The mood quickly shifted into confusion, and in Lucas’ case, dread, as their slates all chirped at once. A call in, being dispatched to plate 5 apparently… From… Menagerie. “[b][color=#38768E]Shit. Alright people, let’s move. Gold call-in, type 5, priority 5, grade 2. Possible deadly contaminants. Telemetry says potential storm.[/color][/b]” His face pulled into a frown, before settling on true neutrality, Copper Drake rising to the surface. “[b][color=#38768E]We’re going downstairs, the client has a facility upstairs that we are to return them to, but we should be able to slide through one or two of the gaps. Everyone’s got their hovers?[/color][/b]” He received nods of confirmation, alongside a message notification from Yorrin, the silent ‘woman in the chair’ as it were. She was also the pilot of any craft they took, whether it be terrestrial, aerial, naval, or anything in between. Corporate had seen it fit to outfit her with one of the rarer forms of Sys-ware out there; a Skull Jack and ‘rigger’ deck. He shuddered to think of getting that implanted, but the results were undeniable. No one could open locked doors quite like Yorrin. Or fly a bird, or ride a bike, or drive a car, or pilot a boat… Focus. CD turned, swinging his leg up and over the seat of his hover-bike, waiting in silence as the engines spooled into life. Then, like silent bullets in the morning light, the five shot off towards a gap between the attic and the basement. They would arrive in no time. Arrive, to a scene out of CD’s worst nightmares. MG looked worse for wear, the already faded swirling light that CD associated with her ‘presence’ was coiling on itself. Sincere distress, alongside no small amount of [Confusion-Horror-Frustration-TAKEHERTAKEHER…] And so CD moved, barking orders through his mask as his team rapidly spread out. Yorrin and Tulip, the ‘field medic’ of the team, rushed to ID’s side. And boy did it look rough. He tracked the astral corruption, blinking twice as his eyes watered. Along the skin of her spiritual self, scars bloomed in inky-swathes. He tracked at least two… Well… He wasn’t sure what to call them, honestly. This wasn’t part of ‘The World’ he was versed in. He [i]was[/i] versed in getting both ID and MG back to Ichabod. So he bundled the giant woman onto the back of Tom's hover, strapped her in, regardless of if she was happy about it or not, and did the same for Iridium Dragon. “[b]We’ll be gettin’ y’all home safely now, ma’am.[/b]” Rumbled Tom, glancing back at Mithril Giant with a bemused, if determined expression. Copper nodded his agreement, took a final, anxious glance at one of his closest friends in the Menagerie corporation, and took off on his own hover. The rest followed. [/hider] [hider=A Bitter Wind…] [center][b][h1] [TITANS FALL//THE UNDERCITY//NORTHBRIDGE OUTSKIRTS] [/h1][/b][/center] [hr] “[b]Look, look, you’ve done a lot of good by me, by my wife. But that’s not nearly enough clat to- Well yes. Yes I understand- No- No- Foggy, look. I just don’t have the money to spare on this! I’m barely above the red as it is![/b]” Kaeyara [i]sighed[/i], frowning down at their communications array. They were stood on a low hilltop, in No Man’s land— Technically. The exo-suit that encased them hissed with hydraulic pressure, venting its’ excess into the broad leaved foliage around them. In the distance, another three or four miles away, stood the settlement of Northbridge. Metal and plastic, concrete and wire. It stood there, surrounded and filled with flashing lights and sirens. Titan’s Fall police. Downstairs, even. How… Interesting. However, this phone call? This was more important. Surprisingly. “[b][color=#8281CF]Listen, Tawny? You have three cells set aside for me by the time I’m back in town, I don’t stop teaching your kids how to shoot right. You don’t? I do. And I cut your youngests’ hair into buzz. You know she hates how curly it is.[/color][/b]” Kaeyara’s voice was terse, harsh and baleful. Only half of it was playful, the other half was annoyance-bordering-on-anger. They huffed, closing the connection and cutting Tawny’s reply short. He’d been dodging his IOUs for months, and now that it was properly getting in the way of her income and safety? Well. That was beyond the point. The exo-suit around her hissed as hydraulics re-engaged for a moment. Typhon lowered itself down into a kneel, it’s back opening like a lotus flower, as Kaeyara pulled herself out of it. The spinal jacks they had were sore, as they always were after more than four hours inside of TYPHON. Oh well. They took a moment to collect their bearings, blinking in the light of the sunlamps above, before focusing on the settlement ahead of them. Their vision narrowed in, pupils rotating slowly and blowing wide, until there was no iris left. One eye was otherwise normal, the other was a white sphere with a truly massive circle of black within. Her vision focused on movement, mainly. Snapping from person, to person, to officer, to the half starved gutter punk raising the makeshift club above the head of his sleeping fellow— No. Focus. They were looking for… there. In the alley, not quite on the outskirts, but definitely in the poorer area. One of them, at least. Figures. Shapes. JAHANNAM. There were four of them, two men, a woman, and what looked like some sort of… cyber dog? Kaeyara wasn’t sure what it was. Realistically? It didn’t matter. It didn’t look like it was stolen from Pet Shop, so it didn’t matter. The man, woman, and dog were wearing the colors of JAHANNAM, and as such, were the focus. They shifted, reaching into the chest of TYPHON, and retrieving a large Skelter-leather duffelbag. Straight from Shieldtown, not that she’d ever been inside… From within, they pulled out the disassembled Manuballista. As they built it, assembling each section and piece back together, bit by bit, their mind slid into the mindset for [i]Cassia’s Gale.[/i] First would be the ‘dog’. Then the men. One had a package of some sort, and seemed to be offering it to the woman. He would be scared off. The other man would be receiving a spike to the base of his throat. The woman would need her legs removed… A twin pair of shots, preferably through her calves— No. The woman didn’t have the communications device. That was the man. Hm. Fine. Targets acquired. Weather conditions… Not yet nominal. Although there [i]was[/i] a storm… coming… from the south-south-west…? Hm. No. Focus. Gale took a deep breath in, feeling the slow spiraling curl of energy in their throat, their lungs, the skin of their torso… An imaginary muscle, as real as it wasn’t, stretched and stretched as Gale hauled air in. Energy crackled in their chest, and if one were looking, the scars on their throat and mouth began to glow ever so faintly… Air came in, Cassia pulling in as much as they could… And held it for a moment. Before… [i]Hhhyyssshhhh…[/i] They hissed it out through their teeth. A cloud billowed out and up, bright white at first, before growing dark and stormy. Static sparks crackled within it, growing larger and louder as the cloud grew in size. And grew. And grew. And grew. Before it settled, not quite the largest one they’d ever breathed into the world, but certainly up there. They finished their hissing-sigh with a huff, watching in silence as the cloud billowed higher into the air, and towards Northbridge itself. It spun slowly as it moved, rising as high as the heat from the sunlamps would let it. Then they were pulling in another breath, almost as quickly as the first was done. They’d need at least four more clouds… Hm. Well. The weather was improving. [/hider]