Thevshi

Happy Birthday Tiff!

Veronica Veronica had been describing another artifact in the exhibit to Elizabeth, Kam and a couple of the other guests when she had paused a moment, a far off look in her eye as she glanced off to the side a moment before finishing her train of thought. After a few more comments about the artifact, she waited until the other guests had moved along before leaning a bit closer to Elizabeth and speaking in a low tone that Kam would be able to hear as well. "Liz, did you sense that? Someone just cast a spell somewhere in the building. I was not able to focus on it quickly enough to determine what sort of spell."

GM As the three teens and the other guests continued to make their way through the various artifacts set out in the exhibit, one member of the crowd quietly made his way away from the crowds filling the exhibit spaces. Dressed in a black suit, with matching tie, the man appeared to be of Middle Eastern decent. Moving down the more deserted hallways away from the spaces dedicated to the Egyptian exhibit, the man moved toward one of the main stairways in the opposite wing of the museum, well away from the crowds. Making his way down a couple of flights, the man stopped at the dark, deserted landing. Glancing around the area a moment, he focused on empty space of one of the walls, rising his hands in front of him as he began a short chant and making a circular gesture with his hands. Strange energy began to flitter across the surface of the wall, starting as a small swirl that began to widen until it formed a tall oval shape, a sheet of darkness forming inside. A few moments after the portal stopped growing, several figures emerged. About half a dozen of them were dressed in black and grey uniforms, full black masks covering their faces and a red circle with a black lightning bolt shape adoring the center of their grey tunics. Two other figures were dressed in black robes, with hoods drawn over their faces. The Middle Eastern man in the suit looked at the two robed figures. "The artifact is located two floors up in the opposite wing. There are well over a hundred museum guests in the exhibit, as well as a teenage member of the Danger family."

Megan Time seemed to go so slow for Megan when she danced, but she loved to do so regardless, as the music and keeping to the beat required her to stay focused on moving at normal speed. But despite how long fifteen minutes seemed to be, the young woman could have continued dancing for far longer, hand Lynn not decided to take a break. Megan wasted no time nodding as Lynn indicated she wanted to go back to their table for a bit, and followed after her friend as they left the dance floor, much to the disappointment of some of the young men that had been maneuvering to be around the two. Once they were seated, Megan gave a small nod as Lynn explained her desire to talk. "I can totally understand that, it has been some time since we have really been able to talk."

The butler opened the door of the Land Rover for Robert, greeting the young Lord as he did. "Good afternoon Lord Harrow, welcome home." The older gentleman stated as he waited for Robert to exit. "Thank you Barrymore" Robert replied as he climbed out of the vehicle, stretching slightly as he did. "I hope we are not too late for the start of lunch?" A younger man in a suit that Lulu had not noted before appeared at the front passenger door, opening it up for Megan and then offering her a hand to climb out. Once Megan was out of the vehicle, the young man moved to rear door, opening it up for Lulu and offering her his hand to help her exit as well. "Your mother has just set down for lunch in the sun room, so I believe your timing is perfect your Lordship." The older butler replied as he moved smoothly over to open the other passenger door for Lawrence.

Okay, Veronica is going to reconfigure her magic gadgets to the following: Damage 8 (Area (General); Selective) {24/25 pp} Depending on what the others think of her suggestion, she might start using this to cut down on the enemy around them.

Veronica Danger Whatever feeling of accomplishment there might have been for the successful repairs quickly vanished as the manifestations of the defense program for the suit appeared and began attacking the four teens. Veronica rolled to one side as several came at her, their metallic clawed hands either missing her outright or being deflected away at the last minute by a mystical barrier that flashed into existence around her. Getting back to her feet a short distance from some of the defenses, the teenage Danger began working her small trinkets into a new spell. But even as she did so, a thought came to her and she spoke up to the others near her. "While we might be able to fight our way past these defenses, more are bound to follow after, and taking out too many of them is not likely to be a good thing for the suit. Maybe it might make more sense to try to fool them into thinking we are some of them?"

The English Countryside Thursday December 20, 2018 12:13 PM, local time The Harrows' Land Rover turned onto a narrow country road, having passed through a small little town in the English countryside. The four occupants of the vehicle were currently quiet, all prior conversations having wound down over the last few hours now since leaving London. Lulu had flow into England with her foster family on Saturday, the family spending the first five days of their holiday trip taking in a few of the sites, festivities and shopping of the city. But after the hustle and bustle of the city, they were now on their way to the more subdued setting of Robert’s family estate in the countryside. The weather outside was about what one might expect for England this time of year. Overcast and cold (but a bit warmer than Freedom City had been when they have left). So far there had been no rain today, but how long that might last was uncertain. The country road they were driving along was lined with tall hedges, but beyond could be seen a small orchard on one side and a lightly forested field on the other. After a couple of hundred meters, the hedges gave way and they came upon a towering old country estate. The main section of the home stood some four stories tall, while the wings were about half that height, and looked to be at least two hundred years old. As Robert pulled the Land Rover up in front of the main entrance to the estate, a well-dressed older gentleman appeared through the door, wasting no time in making his way down toward the vehicle as it came to a halt.

GM Vannox quickly righted himself once more, turning back to face Giirok and readying his weapon once more. The Boron's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied his larger opponent. Tightening the grip on his glaive, Vannox suddenly leapt a few feet into the air and straight towards Giirok, bringing his glaive up above his head and then swinging it back down with increased force. "RRRRAAHHH!" Vannox yelled as he swung the glaive down towards Giirok's head, but the large Andromedan was ready, bringing up one of his swords and his mace and crossing them together to block the attack. His attack stopped completely, Vannox landed on his feet near Giirok, pulling his glaive back away as he backed up slightly, quickly regaining his footing as he prepared for Giirok's counterattack…

Okay, we are onto a new round. Vannox is now acting on the same initiative as you after using the ready action, but as he has a higher dex, he gets to act first. So, he will power attack again (-2/+2), but misses badly with a 11, so it is the General's turn.

GM Now that the pair had reached a distance that Giirok could quickly cover with his wings, the massive Andromedan took the opportunity, quickly crossing the distance a few feet above the icy floor, readying one of his weapons to attack the Boron. But Vannox had been ready for this, and just as Giirok started swinging one of his swords toward the Boron, Vannox trust the blade of his glaive out in front of him. The heavy blade struck true, hitting Giirok just below his head, but the Andromedan's thick armored hide deflected the attack harmlessly away. Vannox tried to dodge aside as Giirok's blade continued toward him, but he was unable to get out of the way completely. Giirok managed to land his attack as well, but the Boron's armor took the brunt of the attack, the force of the blow pushing him across the icy floor of the arena a few feet, but otherwise leaving Vannox unharmed. Up in the stands there were some cheers and yells from the crowd as both fighters landed their first attacks. But tense silence quickly followed, as the audience focused on the two combatants, waiting for their next moves…

Yes, you made your save. Vannox make his as well with a 30. I will make a IC post to cover all this, then we will get back to a more normal combat pacing.

You left off your normal attack bonus, so you actually got a 24, but, before that happens, Vannox is interrupting to make an attack with his readied action. He is Power Attacking (-2 atk/+2 dam) and gets a 21, which hits you. So, you need to make a DC 27 toughness save.

Synapse <"Thank you Sari."> Dee replied as she took some of the offered coffee. <"Well, a few hours drive sure beats a day or mores walk."> She said with a small smile as they started off again and she looked out the windshield at the dark road ahead of them. As they went Dee listened to Sari describe his destination as she tried to recall what she knew about this portion of the border between Finland and Russian. Getting across was going to pose a number of challenges, getting across without raising any questions or the like only increased the difficulty. But the Englishwoman had a few ideas on ways she might be able to cover their entry, at least for the short term.

Tsunami "Well, I am afraid I only had a short amount of contact with my father and a few of my half-siblings before I decided I wanted no part of my father's plans or the 'family business' and left his compound. So, while I know the location of that compound here in the city, I know little else about his organization, nor do I have any means of contacting them." Giang stated before Detective Wu and the Scarab were let inside. "Trying to approach the compound to speak with any of them is likely to bring us more trouble than it is worth, as they are very likely to just attack us to capture me." When the newcomers were brought in, Giang remained quite as Comrade Frost greeted the detective. Instead, the young Asian woman listened as Detective Wu and Cho spoke.

Veronica Danger Veronica smiled back to Pan's response and Colonel Austin's compliment. The teen then focused on listening to the Colonel's explanation of the interrogation of the two alien criminals and their reasons for being willing to cooperate and provide information. While she knew a bit about Blackstar and his reputation, if Veroncia was concerned about Porpoise or Eagle's confidence they would not be able to beat Blackstar, she did not show it. When Colonel Austin made some initial adjustments to the Pegasus' controls and then offered her the pilot’s seat, Veronica did not hesitate to take her place in the chair. "Thank you, but I am familiar with the ergonomic controls." She replied with a warm smile as she quickly adjusted to the seat to a comfortable configuration, buckled herself in and focused back on the controls in front of her and started running through the pre-flight checklist. "Better ask any last questions of Colonel Austin and find yourselves a seat to get strapped down in." Veronica said to the others. "Once the Colonel disembarks, we are going to be beginning our launch sequence."

History of the Stellar Khanate Origins and Early Decades Over the centuries, the Lor Republic ignored the many "barbaric" worlds that existed beyond its borders, focusing the majority of its attention on expanding its borders and conflicts with the Grue Unity. This indifference allowed one of the "barbaric" war-leaders, Khana Khan of the planet Zultas, to form a small alliance of worlds which was passed on to her son and successor, Kinan Khan, also known to the galaxy as Star-Khan. Kinan Khan took the small alliance formed by his mother, and expanded its borders, while forging its patchwork military forces into a formidable military power, creating the Stellar Khanate. Underestimating Kinan Khan, the Lor were caught by surprise when the forces of the Stellar Khanate attacked the Republic. The forces of the Khanate might well have conquered the Republic in this war, were it not for the intervention of Daedalus and the Star Knights (including the Lor Star Knight, A'lan Koor). After suffering a crushing defeat, it took the Khanate many years to recover, while the Lor began keeping a closer watch over the Khanate, weary of any further aggression. Star-Khan bought himself more time to rebuild by engaging in diplomacy with the Republic and other neighboring spacefaring worlds. During that time, Star-Khan continued to rebuild his forces, hatch new plans and plot his revenge. The Incursion/Communion War However, before Star-Khan could unleash his rebuilt forces on his enemies, a new, long forgotten threat arrived at the boarders of the Khanate. Communion forces quickly smashed through the outer defenses of the Khanate and spread quickly into the very heart of the Khanate, Zultas. Capturing Zultas itself, the Communion also captured Kinan Khan. Instead of integrating Kinan Khan, as had been done with so many other captured Khanate soldiers and citizens, the Communion chose to only partially integrate Star-Khan, instead making him a cybernetic mouth piece for the Communion as it began its assaults on the Lor Republic, the Grue Unity and other spacefaring worlds in the sector. Of the major powers in the sector, the Stellar Khanate suffered perhaps the greatest harm at the hands of the Commuion, with numerous worlds beginning the process to be integrated into the Communion by being cyberformed into massive servers, or destroyed by the Communion’s worm-hole weapon. Countless soldiers and civilians alike were integrated into the Communion as drones and turned against their fellow Khanate beings as well as those of the Lor, Grue and countless others. Surviving Khanate forces joined with the Lor, Grue and other Coalition worlds to fight against the Communion. Eventually the combined forces of the Coalition managed to defeat the Communion, bringing an end to its invasion. Star-Khan was captured by Galvanic, Rock and Paradigm. With the defeat of the Communion, Star-Khan’s cybernetic enhancements shut down, and the Lor did what they could to stabilize him, but too much of his original vital organs were gone, leaving him in a coma. Khanate loyalists rescued him from a Lor prison transport, taking him back to the portions of the Stellar Khanate that remained loyal. Post-Incursion In the aftermath of the Communion War, the Stellar Khanate fragmented. Portions remained loyal to Star Khan, even if he was not in any shape to lead it. But a number of former lieutenants declared themselves the new Khan, seizing portions of the Khanate as they began fighting among themselves for overall control. One section of the Khanate was sized by the Boron pirate leader, Dovox, who styled himself as Sovereign and sought to continue to expand his new domain. Still other worlds took the opportunity to free themselves from Khanate control, declaring independence or forming into loose confederations with other newly freed worlds. This condition continued on for several years, with none of the various warlords managing to gain an upper hand on the others, the loyalist systems of the Khanate taking a defensive stance and managing to withstand any attempts to absorb them. Meanwhile, the breakaway worlds turned to the Coalition, Star Knights and Praetorians for support and assistance in keeping their new found independence. Unknown to all, the loyalist Stellar Khanate was rebuilding its forces, even as previously unknown individual. Dr. Rhavaun, a Naram scientist, inventor and tactician, appeared to help bring Star-Khan out of his coma and sought to try to fully restore his health. Dr. Rhavaun also introduced new weapon designs to the Khanate forces and oversaw the mining of Computonium and the collection of now dysfunctional Communion drones to be used in bolstering the limited forces of the loyalist systems. Revanche As the preparations to restore the Stellar Khanate to its former glory neared completion, Star-Khan's condition began to worsen once more. Dr. Rhavaun had managed to temporarily restore Star-Khan by reintroducing Communion technology into the tyrant, allowing him to taken on an active role once more while they searched for a long term solution. However, Star-Khan's new cybernetics required Communion nanite plasma for him to be at full efficiency, and the Khanate’s supply was beginning to run low. Star-Khan and Dr. Rhavaun devised a plan to capture a new supply of the nanite plasma, while simultaneously having the expanding Justicar ranks lead the Khanate forces in beginning to reconquer the lost Stellar Khanate territories. The plan began with a Khanate cruiser travelling to Co-Vic Station to demand an audience with the Coalition Counsel. Meanwhile, a group of bounty hunters and mercenaries allied with various Khanate crime syndicates were already abroad Co-Vic Station. After the Khanate ambassador and his delegation were aboard the station and meeting with the Coalition Council, Kazzan Suul and his mercenaries began a firefight with the Voidrunners in the Spinal Core, the engagement designed to distract station peacekeepers away from other areas of the station, while many of the Praetorians were busy escorting the Khanate delegation at the Council chambers. A strike team of Stellar Khanate special forces led by Dr. Rhavaun and Yass'ir, a Hassaan assassin used these diversions to steal stores of Communion nanite plasma and to attack the Tower of the Scared Assembly on Co-Vic Station to steal information about the possible locations of various ancient artifacts which might provide a means of restoring Star-Khan to full health. Meanwhile, Khanate forces began the reconquest of lost systems, unleashing massive Computonium war machines designed by Dr. Rhavaun upon a number of breakaway worlds and others controlled by various warlords who had tried to seize power for themselves. The suddenness of the attacks, combined with the power of the new war machines led to several of the attacked worlds quickly capitulating. While the Khanate forces attacking Co-Vic Station managed to escape with the nanite plasma and information from the Scared Assembly, quick response by the Lor and other Coalition forces, along with the Praetorians and Star Knights managed to halt the Khanate offensives against the worlds that had declared their independence. However, the Stellar Khanate’s attacks on the regions controlled by the various rogue warlords continued, and over the course of the next year they began to fall, one after another. The Present While Star-Khan has not been able to restore the Stellar Khanate to its former size, he has managed to recapture a sizable amount of the territory he controlled before the arrival of the Communion. Currently, only the Boron Sovereign and the various independent worlds (backed up by the Coalition, Praetorians and Star Knights) have not been brought back into the Stellar Khanate. After several months of consolidating his hold on the reconquered systems and reinforcing his forces, Star-Khan is in a position to turn his attention to one or both of the remaining collections of former Khanate worlds that he has not regained. However, there is still the matter of finding a more long term solution to his condition, as the nanite plasma stores taken from Co-Vic Station will not last forever…. Culture and Society The majority of power within the Stellar Khanate is held by Zultasian nobles and others loyal to Star-Khan. While this ruling class was decimated by the Incursion, Star-Khan has wasted little time since his revival in raising up those who showed the most loyalty while he was incapacitated to fill back in the ranks. Numerous other species make up the majority of the beings within the Khanate, having been brought in by Star-Khan’s many conquests. Some have fully integrated into Khanate, while others still recall their independence and are held in check by the might of Star-Khan's forces. A majority of these worlds were the ones that declared independence following the Incursion, and while many are still independent, some were reconqured during the Khanate's initial blitz. While the Khanate possesses technology close to that of the Lor Republic, it has primarily come into their possession by conquest and/or theft. It also tends to be a bit older and often in rather poorer condition. The best and newest technology is typically in the hands of Star-Khan, the Stellar Khanate military, and the ruling class. On many Khanate worlds, there is a strange mixture of advanced technologies alongside primitive and barbaric conditions. On many Khanate worlds, gladiatorial games and other blood sports are quite popular. Throughout the history of the Stellar Khanate it has served as a haven for pirates, smugglers and other criminals, so long as they did not try to cross Star-Khan or his lieutenants. Several powerful criminal syndicates developed within the Khanate, and most survived the Incursion, taking advantage of the chaotic aftermath of the war to increase their operations into the Lor Republic and to other Coalition systems.

Tsunami Giang listend to Sonny's summery of what he had been hearing on the street and responded to Comrade Frost's questions. The Asian young woman turned away from the window and walked back toward the center of the room they were gathered in. "I would not imagine my father would be quick to fall behind a replacement for Dr. Sin. He has long had the goal of becoming independent of Dr. Sin himself, so strikes me as a opportunity to do so without having to confront Sin directly." She stated. "My half-siblings and I were all part of my father's plans to put himself in a position to become independence, so I imagine my half-siblings will be interregnal to my father's reactions to any moves by the Hornet. Between them and any hi-tech weapons the Hornet has obtained, that could result in considerable collateral damage." "Although my presence here could further complicate things, I am prepared to do what I can to try to control the situation and protect those innocents that might otherwise be caught in the crossfire of this struggle."

Veronica gets a 19 on her initiative. Not sure why you only asked for Hurang to make a Supersenses check, seeing as that is one of Veronica’s key powers (with 17 pp spent on her magical awareness). So, here is a check for her: she only gets a 21

Okay, Syl, it does mean that you will be -2 to defense (but also will gain a +2 to attack if you shrug off any counter). Still want to charge?

Sadly it does not succeed in fooling him, as Vannox gets a natural 20 on his sense motive check. So, your Startle/Feint does not work, do you want to still charge? (he would still have to hit and then hurt you bad enough to prevent you from getting the charge attack against him)

Well, Stunning Attack just turns your normal melee attacks into an attack that can cause stun instead of damage, so that will not help. Normally you would use Startle to make him lose his dodge bonus so he is easier to hit, but I will allow you to use it to prevent him from making a counterattack instead if you want. You need to make an Intimidation check.

Okay, we have moved on to like round 4 or so, Vannox is close enough that the General could charge if he wanted to, but he can tell that Vannox is prepared to possibly counter.

GM With neither opponent making any sudden movement toward each other, both began moving forward at a bit quicker pace, trying to close the distance to engage, yet still ensuring they were not rushing headlong into a disadvantageous position. For several moments both combatants started to run toward each other, the crowd's anticipation starting to build as they closed. Then, once they had closed with a couple hundred feet of each other, Vannox slowed his pace down once more, taking a more defensive stance as he focused on Giirok, griping his weapon tightly. Giirok could tell that his opponent was once again moving cautiously, ready to counter if the Andromedan quickly closed….

GM Chief Auramada gave a nod of agreement as they finished their private council meeting, and they then made their way back out to the festivities outside. The rest of the evening seemed to burr away as Starshot and his crew joined the Kurabanda in their celebrations. The next morning, everyone was a bit slower getting up than they might normally be, but soon enough they were starting to gather their supplies for the reconnaissance trip. Once again Ermorada and a couple of Kurabanda were present to accompany Starshot and his crew. The Kurabanda had agreed to guard the pirates that had been captured during the raid on the outpost (including a promise not to just execute them). Now the only question was what to do with Phalen…..