[Now, I won't be doing these environmental posts 'everytime' for 'everyone', partly because that's a big piece of what took me so long this time and i don't want to over-do it and delay everyone again D: so just when something really comes to mind that would be interesting to spice it up with :D do let me know if you think I go 'too far' though.]
For Fiirnmir
No human or beast would indeed notice the falling star plummeting towards the city... Alas, it might well be folly to underestimate the power of technology.
Devastated as the city... as 'every' city was for that matter, There was still the matter of anti-meteor defenses designed to protect the exorbitantly large targets that are the massive cities of the Corporate empire... Granted, just about every satellite they normally used for extra-atmosphere targeting was currently plummeting towards the cities below, and with nearly all systems going haywire in the wake of the catastrophe they would not receive authorization to vaporize those satellite before they crashed.
The same could not be said for the foreign object plummeting through the atmosphere, glowing like a small sign, and casting off foreign energy readings the likes of which triggered detection systems across most of the hemisphere... they'd never be able to tell 'what' it was, but even the simplest sensors could tell it was foreign.
As such, being the only foreign object in the sky that didn't fit the parameters for 'don't vaporize on sight', Every still functional Orbital and atmospheric defense system in New ark and it's nearest neighbor's opened fire on him, though a few of these would be snuffed out even in the following seconds, and the vast majority were already destroyed or shut down, This still amounted to countless thousands of smaller bolts of energy and magnetically propelled supersonic rounds filling the sky around him, and considerably less countless but vastly more powerful sweeping beams of energy normally meant to cleave larger meteors into smaller pieces for the little guns.
For Roxanne
It was actually considerably more manageable to navigate the roads of the slums than it was to attempt such nearer to the center, though it was still absolutely littered with discarded vehicles of various kinds that either died or were simply abandoned... That said, there would be a few instances where some vehicle from the inner districts, or some flying machine, had been flung into the slums... Some were even still coming down in-fact, rebounding off of roof-tops, hitting the street directly and causing the occasional blast of fire and shrapnel, though it was a testament to their durability that only 'some' exploded on impact... Once in a good while something bigger would crash into one of the buildings along the ring, bringing down most of the structure on it as well.
All that said, an experience driver should be able to manage the gauntlet... on a clear day at least... suffice to say the reduced sight distance would make it more difficult at higher speeds... we'll just have to hope our gal can keep her luck in-tact.
For Eilidh
There really wasn't much to say about the outside there, given that one's sight would barely breach 20 feet with all that dust... which one might also note made it rather a challenge to breath out here... On top of that were the still present sounds of roaring fires, occasional explosions, and the frequent instances of various creature noises just barely audible over the endless static of dust and debris clattering every bloody second. Things were out there and quite possibly difficult to see.
For Silana
... much the same as the above applies actually, though being in the slums things are a bit tighter spaces and there's more debris being blown down from the upper districts... Then again, most of that may only have been a hindrance for those little followers she left behind... lucky girl.
As it so happened, learning to walk on four legs... well, three legs and an arm, wasn't as difficult as i'd expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, it was still agonizing and I'm quite certain I still got a dozen or so good deep bruises in, and of course Big Pink had recorded the whole thing 'for posterity'.
BUT! I managed to re-learn walking in about half an hour!... keyword, walking, as in very slow patterned motions that kept me moving forward at an unacceptably slow pace, but still far above laying there like a new-born or, I shudder to think, needing to be 'carried'... Even if Vein would be more than willing to carry me... that's my butler by the way.
Speaking of him, I was actually just starting to prance around the room, which I had identified to be the 6th story roof level living room now decorated with several other dead body guards in a variety of examples of mind cracking body horror demonstrations.
Anyway! That was about the time that said Butler arrived, when I was excitedly prancing about celebrating my relearned mobility, of course with a previously mentioned rookie still in tow. "Oohhh, Indie! So good to see you're already up and prancing about like you're usual adorable self!" There was a mixed hint of teasing and sarcasm in his tone that normally would have irritated me, but right now it put me at ease... one more familiar thing that wasn't exploding or something. "
I'm sure you've been told that we're in something a situation... well, really, everywhere is... would you like a proper report sir?"
I had stopped the moment I heard his voice, mid-step, catching myself balanced on three limbs and staring... It seemed that now it was 4 for 4 on evidence that we 'all' got turned into something else.
Vein had become some kind of... dog... thing? I could only really identify it as something canine, Tall, lithe, probably flexible. He looked a little 'collie'-esque, in that his fur was very thick and the colors and patterns fit, he still fit his old preference for looking kind of fabulous... The rest? not so much. He had excessively large fangs that I could recognize even against the white of his muzzle, disproportionate gorilla like arms, at least compared to the rest of him, which really meant they were just extra long with extra thick fingers and claws. His legs were disproportionately small to a mild degree, and rather than a fluffy adorable tail there was a long serpentine length of fur behind him with a, shit you not, a 'mace' on the end of it of it, or some growth that resembled one, with spikes and everything. Otherwise he was still done up in one of his 'fabulous' suits, if considerably too tall for it... he was the tallest one here by a considerable margin.
The rookie was a different matter... or, ironically, 'similar' matter... In that he was now stuck as a quadruped too, except 'this' one was some kind of insect thing, though I may or may not have been paranoid in seeing structural similarities between myself, pink, and the rookie. Those seemingly smooth 'solid' purple eyes were odd, with just a little bright spot in them to suggest where he was looking, but they didn't detract from his disturbed and freaked out rookie expression. Oddly, other parts of him matched the color of his eyes, if darker, wing, shell, crest/mane whatever you'd call a membrane thing that replaces hair... even the bits of muscle I could see through the joints of the shell that covered the rest of him... I suppose I got off lucky with 'bat horse thing'.
After a few moments to take in their image I shook my head, cleared my throat, and sat the hell down. I had a feeling I'd need it. "
Yes, go ahead, I've been a bit absorbed in making sure I'm not going to be a useless nugget in whatever comes next."
Vein nodded simply and raised one of those comically large paws to gesture towards the window "
I'm sure you saw enough to have a gist of the source of that ocean of dust out there... It is so thick that we rather doubt one can survive without a gasmask this close to the city center. While staying here to let it settle 'could' be an option, neverminding the likely hood of anyone else who may have survived eagerly targeting this place for looking upon seeing it intact, The Second and Third floors have been compromised and are filled with the cloud, albeit thinner than outside, it has filled the lower levels and will slowly be rising higher as it fills up. We still need to get through it in order to reach the micro-factory in the basement levels, and then preferably escape through one of the tunnels that will put us closer to the edge of the market district."
That was rather predictable so far, nothing we couldn't handle with ease, and I knew the house like the back of my... hoof?... well, former hand. I could get through it blind just fine. "
There appears to be no connection to the world-net, at all, all methods of attempted to interact with it suggest that the entire system is offline. That said, the chain-web still functions, and still allows for long range communication across the city, if a bit unstable due to, presumably, a great many nodes being demolished and creating voids in the chain, though without specific individuals to communicate with there is little you could do outside of casting a broad-band signal."
Okay, that was a bit less predictable, and more alarming... For the world-net to be entirely down something... well, catastrophic had to happen, and I suppose it did, but I still hadn't expected 'that' to be stopped so completely. "
I noticed that you didn't tell me the status of our staff..." That honestly worried me the most.
He actually released a dejected sigh that put me even more on edge knowing it came from 'that' cheery bastard. "
That's because there 'is' no more staff to report on. We are it. Our robotic staff have all fallen apart, the rest of our flesh and blood staff are either dead from mutations, from needing to be put down for going feral and attacking us on sight, or fled through the compromised exterior of the building... we 'are' the staff now. Though a system check suggests that the building's many other systems are... 'mostly' still functioning, the elevator is out so we'll need to walk, but if we get to the basement's micro factory we can fabricate some fitting environmental masks for us all and escape in one of your vehicles, provided they still function of course."Well this was grim... there were a lot of pieces I knew he didn't go into extra detail on, but I could pick them out. Lives were on the line, ours, They were going to follow my orders like always, and that meant their lives were in my... hooves?... god that's weird to think about, But I was going to stand by my more covert reputation of being infinitely more responsible and trust-worthy than any of those damned playboy's who're only interested in themselves. "
Right then, we've got no time to waste! Lets hit the stairs and get down there before anyone gets bold enough to break in, then we'll arm up and get ready to move... We'll have to head towards the outer rings, there's a good place I know in the party district we can hole up in until the Dust has settled enough to breath again, provided it hasn't been demolished of course."
Strosivadan
Nallore
Riddles