EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei turned her head briefly towards Lunise. "Well, it is not as if the Psijics themselves taught me their secrets. I had to learn them on my own."

Meesei took a few moments to stack a few of the books on her table and moved them aside from the rest. "Come to think of it, I have never put much thought into the potential alchemical applications of this knowledge. Much like everything else, the Psijics have a unique understanding of alchemy, but that has never been my specialty. Their applications of mysticism might allow them to derive new or hidden effects, even from known reagents. Much of their magic seems to tap into...deeper aspects of reality. I have some of my most recent notes here, as well as the original tome I took from Apocrypha on the subject. You can have them all." Meesei offered to Sabine.

---

Ahnasha nodded back to Fendros. "I tried it on a few days ago. It fit perfectly. I didn't have time to test the enchantments, but I doubt they were careless with them. The Forgemaster would probably take their heads if they were. I've never seen so much pride in a man before over his creations, though I guess it makes sense here. Dragonscale armor is, quite literally, a thing of legends. Our weapons should be ready today as well. The Forgemaster is definitely cutting it close with his perfectionism, but as long as it is ready, it doesn't matter."

Still holding on to Fendros' hand, Ahnasha looked around the tent somewhat aimlessly. "I guess we shouldn't linger around too long, but we still don't have to be in too much of a rush. I'm sure we'll be the top priority once we show up. I know I do want to give the portal stones another check, just to be safe. I trust our enchanters, but I don't want to use any portal without making personally sure that it works. I say we get some breakfast, go check on the portal, then go make love behind the great gate." She said, maintaining a quite intentionally neutral tone.

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Vael 'Virisusai - Aboard the Assimilator

---

Vael had to think quickly to adapt to the new threat. Most of the bridge crew did not have the positions or equipment necessary to survive long against them, so currently, these new opponents were the greatest threat to them. He fired on one of the cyborgs with his plasma rifle as soon as he had a clear shot, but the being dodged two of the projectiles, and used his sword to attempt to deflect a third. A sword could not redirect a bolt of superheated plasma, but it did disrupt the magnetic containment. The projectile split apart in the air, which still sent superheated plasma flying past the sword, but the cyborg’s armor seemed to be able to withstand the more diffuse heating. They were quick, their weapons close quarters, but deadly, and were obviously augmented beyond Human. However, the boarding team had numbers, and just needed the opportunity to land enough shots to defeat their armor. As one of the few among them with specialized skills in melee combat, Vael knew his role.

Returning his plasma rifle to its magnetic holster, Vael drew his second energy sword and quickly activated the blade. As one of the cyborgs came from the lifts, dashing with impressive speed in an attempt to break through to the rear of their formation, towards the ODSTs, Vael leaped over their barricades to meet him halfway. “Spread out! Take multiple angles and coordinate focus fire.” Vael shouted back to the Humans behind him.

Taking advantage of the longer reach of his energy swords, Vael intercepted the cyborg as he attempted to move past and forced a confrontation. The cyborg had speed and reactions, and whether or not he could actually match Vael for strength, his augmented body would ensure the Sangheili could not casually overpower him. But, as a master Sangheili swordsman, a recognized blademaster, there was one trait he could bring to bear that these half-mechanical thralls could not hope to match: experience. When Vael engaged, he thrust his blade from outside the cyborg’s reach, keeping his other sword close enough to his opponent to remain a threat, but close enough to himself for defense. Almost on instinct, Vael could tell based on his opponent’s current stance and momentum exactly what part of his body to target to force a defensive reaction most disruptive to an opposing offense, what counterattacks would be possible from his opponent’s next sword position, and how Vael could counter that reaction. Between his finely-tuned understanding of swordsmanship and his ability to think ahead, Vael could be mistaken for a Jedi.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"The staff is an exceptional tool of Aedric power." Meesei remarked. "But it is still a tool. When in use, it has no will beyond your own, and it will mean what you decide for it to mean."

Meesei had approached a table on the far side of the tent, which had a few pages of what appeared to be her notes, and a few unlabeled books strewn about. She started to organize the loose pages and stack up the books neatly as she spoke. "If I am being honest, I am curious to see what you will be able to accomplish with it. Your approach to magic has always fascinated me. No mage with even an ounce of creativity is completely identical to the ones who taught them. Honestly, I wish we had more time just to share our results of our own studies. How have you fared with the notes I gave you on Psijic magic? I have been looking forward to hearing your insights."

---

Ahnasha smiled softly, giving Fendros a quick kiss before finally standing to her feet in front of him. She let out a yawn and raised her arms up above her head as she stretched out her muscles. Still, she did not seem to be in a particular hurry to go anywhere. In terms of remaining preparations, all she needed to do was allot enough time to get outfitted in her new armor. Ahnasha was usually one to rely on magical protection, rather than physical armor, but based on the last time she tried on the dragonscale armor, she could say she was impressed with its craftsmanship. It was not too restrictive, especially her light armor, and all of their armor had been enchanted to their individual specifications.

"Well, whatever happens, everything will certainly be different tomorrow. In one way or another." Ahnasha remarked. "I think I'm looking forward to the freedom we'll have. Say we succeed, and we both live to tell about it. We can do anything we want after this. Power, coin...we have it all. I'll admit, Kaleeth's talk of settling down has sounded tempting to me from time to time, but I think you know that I can't sit still for too long. If it weren't for the serious, life-and-death stakes of everything we've been doing, this past decade would have been a lot more fun. Exploring the jungles and deserts of Elsweyr, sailing the Topal Sea, braving the swamps of Black Marsh, navigating High Rock's mountains, and delving the depths of Dwemer ruins. And that's all just been in the span of a handful of years. Just imagine what we'll be able to do with the next few hundred?"

Star Wars - Galaxies at War[MULTIVERSE SPACESHIP RP]

Vael 'Virisusai - Assimilator Bridge

---

Having already experienced it once, Vael was prepared for the teleportation to the Assimilator’s bridge. He did not know what kind of layout to expect from the bridge, but he still knew his intentions for how to carry out the attack. To be successful in their overall objectives, they would need to act quickly and decisively.

The boarding party was beamed aboard into the very middle of the enemy’s bridge, leaving themselves surrounded on nearly all sides. However, Vael did not consider them to be at a disadvantage. They had the element of surprise, and from the position they had taken, the Imperial bridge crew had precious few options for cover from them. Meanwhile, the boarding team had taken deployable cover from the Glasgow with them, though Vael himself was not yet actually making use of it. He stood tall over the rest, quickly taking aim with his plasma rifle. The armored clone guards were the greatest immediate threat to them, but they were not Vael’s first target. He did not know precisely which console controlled communications, so he first fired upon any member of the bridge crew that were at or near a console. His priority was to prevent them from calling for help. The control consoles seemed to mostly be found in “pits” recessed down into the floor, with walkways between them, and so for those that Vael first targeted, there was little hope for escape. Their unarmored uniforms did nothing to protect them, nor obscure the gruesome holes his plasma rifle burned through them.

Even without taking cover, the biotic barriers and other defenses provided by Vael’s allies made it more difficult for the enemy to find an angle on him. He did take two hits from blaster bolts, but showed little visible concern as his shields flared up around him. As a high-ranking commander, Vael had the strongest energy shielding available to a Sangheili warrior. He could afford to take hits; his enemy could not. He could take the opportunity to do as much damage as he could while the enemy was still scrambling for cover. And more than that, by presenting an obvious and intimidating target for the enemy, he could draw fire away from his more vulnerable allies. He could not be sure of the protective capabilities of the armor of all of his allies, but he did know that, while the UNSC soldiers next to him did have somewhat protective physical armor, it still paled in comparison to energy shielding.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei stepped up in front of Sabine, placing her hands on both of her shoulders. She spoke firmly, but encouragingly. "Sabine, you are the best one to wield it. Aside from the fact that you have a much stronger claim to it than I, the potential of the staff does not rely on the raw magical power of the wielder. You are creative, intelligent, and resourceful. You can do far more with the staff than the woman you took it from, and I think you can do more with it than even I can. My raw power, for a long while, has been at the point that I can simply overpower the majority of my foes. Honestly, I do not think your raw power is as far behind mine as you think it is, but...even still, you spent quite a long time having to match yourself against mages as strong or stronger than yourself, over the course of this war. You will be able to use the staff to its greatest potential."

---

Ahnasha sighed, turning her gaze towards the ground. "Maybe. But I don't come from a line of proud warriors and mages. They will just want their daughter to be safe."

Pausing a moment, Ahnasha gave a quick laugh before finally turning to look at Fendros. "At this point, I'm not even sure they would believe the actual truth. Once the war is over, the secrecy won't matter as much, but if something did happen to me, it might still be better to come up with a more tame story to tell them. Just so they'll believe it. Ah, well, maybe I can still just rely on nothing happening to me? That would probably be the best outcome, I think."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei reached out and took Lunise's hand. "You are part of my family now, my dear. There might be a few words in private I would like to have with Sabine, but you do not have to leave in such a rush."

Releasing Lunise's hand just as quickly, Meesei returned her attention to Sabine. "There are just a few things I thought we might want to talk about. The Staff of Magnus should be brought out from the Silent City's vault before it is time to open the portal. I want you to be the one to bear it in battle. The weapon is yours, after all, and I am sure you will be able to make the greatest use of its potential. It is a relic of the Aedra, of Mundus' architect. It has a kind of power that can stand up even to a Daedric Prince directly. It would not give any mortal the power to defeat Vile, of course, but it may prove invaluable to being able to reach him with the Axe. I would trust no one more than you to wield it."

---

It took a while for Ahnasha to give an answer, and even then, there was little certainty to it. "I don't know, really. I mean, I would of course like to see them, but I don't know if there is anything I could really say. There's nothing that could just explain away your father's irrational rage that they had to witness. I suppose I do want them to see you again so that your father isn't the most recent thing they associate with you, but...maybe that isn't important. If their last letter is anything to go by, they still like you. There's just...one thing in particular I haven't been really sure about. If something happens to me, should they be told? No parent should have to live through the death of their child, and they've already had to live through mine once. What right would I have to make them live through it twice?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Actually, I just ended up replying anyway.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei got up quickly enough, though she did give Lunise ample time to dress herself. Certainly, Meesei did not usually sleep with a warding enchantment on her door, but the reason for it would quickly become apparent for Sabine once Meesei allowed her inside. Even with it being the last night before the invasion, there would have been no guarantees that both Meesei and Lunise would have been willing to take the risk to spend it together.

“Good morning, Sabine. I hope I am not keeping you from anything else you wanted to do this morning. I just…wanted to speak with you for a little while, before the day really starts.” Meesei explained.

---

Ahnasha let her hands rest on top of Fendros’ around her stomach, as well as leaning her head against his. “I’m thinking I’ve just wasted too much time sitting here, doing nothing.” She replied. However, she still did not budge, and just ended up letting out a sigh.

“I guess we didn’t really have a chance to go see my parents again, did we?” Ahnasha finally continued. “I guess that’s my fault more than anything. I just…wasn’t sure it was a good time. I did get a letter from them, about a week ago. They didn’t say anything about your father, or what happened. I’m not sure if they have moved past it, or are just too afraid to mention him, but they did at least have a lot of good to say about you, and the rest of your family.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That's fine. I am a bit excited, getting close to the end. Never actually finished an RP before, to tell you the truth. I had a long day today and am about to go to bed, but I should be able to respond in the morning.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Although Meesei did, eventually, get to sleep in time to have a reasonable amount of rest, the morning still felt like it came too soon for her. Though, she could have slept for days, and it still would not have felt like enough. The time until the invasion’s start was now measured in hours, rather than days. The only comfort for Meesei was that, for her pack, they needed only to ready themselves to take the lead when the portal opened. Their tactics for the battle had already been decided, and the task of readying their troops into their formations for the portal’s opening fell to their respective commanders. No doubt, Ri’vashi had already been up for an hour or two preparing. For Meesei and her pack, however, their role was far more simple and clear. They were not serving as battlefield commanders, but rather as the tip of the spear: a role that took far greater advantage of the combat prowess of the Champion’s pack. Rather than being attached to a specific battalion they would be prowling the battlefield like hunters, taking on the most important of objectives while their armies supported them in reaching Vile.

When Meesei did awaken, it was in Lunise’s arms. It had been a risk for them to sleep together for the night, but it seemed one they were both willing to make. Meesei had her warding enchantment on the front of her tent to prevent any surprise intrusions, and if someone tried to pay Lunise a visit in her tent, there could be any number of reasons for her absence, but there was still this certain feeling of “danger” for them to be together in this way in the midst of such a large camp. Though, admittedly, there was a part of Meesei that just found the risk all the more exciting, as if she were back to her youth trying to sneak away with her lover without her father’s knowledge. It was an amusing thought, and one that she was happy to take just a few moments to savor. Reality was sure to come find her soon enough. If nothing else, she had mentioned to Sabine during their time out in the wilds the previous day that she would want to have a few minutes to talk to her in private the next morning. Meesei expected she would stop by some time soon, at which point Meesei would actually have to get up to let her through the ward.

---

Ahnasha had awoken earlier than she expected, despite having had quite a long night with Fendros. She did feel that she had managed to have enough rest, regardless, but even still, she took a potion as soon as she was up to help energize her. She had intended to get an early start to the day, perhaps even have breakfast prepared for them before Fendros was even awake. Yet, as she sat up on the edge of the bed, she just ended up staying there, staring off ahead at seemingly nothing for what felt like an eternity.