Thevshi

You need to give me either a Bluff or Diplomacy check.

GM The appearance of the two Praetorians, one of whom was clearly a Stark Knight, seemed to help diminish the immediate tensions among the two groups. While there was certainly still some hostility between the two groups, they did not seem as keen on letting it show. As few even nodded in agreement and turned to leave their particular group to go back about their business. The security chief seized upon the change in mood the Praetorians has managed to influence. "You hear them, whatever is going on, they will find out what it is. Now I believe there are still other digging zones that are in need of your attention," he stated, focusing on the Regulas miners. While there was still a bit of grumbling, more and more of the miners began to turn away and start off toward other sections of the massive chamber. The Tandeer security personnel made similar statement to their mining personnel, and soon Officer Lo-Rid and the three Praetorians were the only ones left where the confrontation had been taking place. "Thank you for the assistance Praetorians." The security chief stated. "While there typically is some level of hostility among the miners, it is rare that it causes more than a few arguments or the occasionally brawl at a cantina. But these incidents have a lot of people on edge."

GM Police Headquarters Officer Dressa listened as Traveller explained what she was looking for, then giving a small nod when the Praetorian had finished speaking. "Ah, I see, we can certainly craft a algorithm that can look for such fluctuations." She then stated, and started typing on the unusual interface in front of her that looked nothing like a keyboard that Queenie was accustomed to. As she was working, the officer briefly stopped the typing to reach one hand up towards a holoscreen to her right to turn what appeared to be a number of spheres made of light with several hexagonal shapes along the outside. Appearing to find the one she was looking for, she seemed to "pull" it from the sphere with her finger tips and them moved it over to another holoscreen, where it instantly expanded to show what appeared to be some sort of collection of data. "This is records for energy usage for the station for the last decacycle, I should have the algorithm ready shortly that will scan the data for any unusual energy spikes." She then went back to typing on the interface in front of her. After a few moments, she finished and was then moving some things around again on the holoscreens around her. Finally, she looked back at the two Praetorians. "Alright, the algorithm is starting the search, it should not take too long for this collection of data." Down on the lower levels With Hyperslice monetarily distracted by discussing a possible plan for their investigation with Barrier, the pair of Praetorians continued to pass along by other beings that the overeager Hassaan did not stop to try to speak to. As they were going, Barrier noted that they had picked up a shadow that was falling about a dozen meters behind them.

Okay, Spectra is up then Gran.

Tsunami If Giang was insulted by being called the "Spawn of Sin," she did not show it. "To be honest, I have not acted upon the information about my mother’s identify because I am already hunted by half the Triads and Tongs in Asia, so I am not keen to add additional possible enemies in the Middle East." She replied to her aunt. "And I am here as an envoy on behalf of Headmistress Summers, so that is my first priority. I…had not intended to go looking for my mother, but I rather suspect our paths may cross, given I am to meet with the royal family, although I will admit that information about the internal politics of Dakana are extremely sparse."

GM "It may someday come to that." Daedalus said in response to Rev's statement about Lawrence and his parents someday having to go face Collapse, a trace of sadness in his voice. "But Lawrence is nowhere near ready for such an encounter and it may be possible that an actual showdown is not actually necessary." "I agree this new individual certainly appears to be a threat, although I would note that when Velocity first encountered the alternate future Lord Harrow and his time agents, they kidnapped her and then later kidnaped Lawrence's father. But they have been helpful since then." Daedalus stated in response to Zhu's comments. "But until we have reason to believe otherwise, we will view this robed figure as hostile." "But right now, I believe you two have done more than could have been expected of you." He then stated with a smile. "And yes it is still February 14, 2018 back in Freedom City, although it is getting close to midnight. I am going to contact the Lighthouse and get word back to Velocity that you three are here. Then I want to go take some scans of the areas where this robed figure and its time simulacrums were to see what I might be able to learn." "In the meantime, you three can just rest some until we can get you back to Earth." "They are certainly welcome to remain here with us until their transport home is ready." Paradigm offered. "And of course whatever other assistance we may be able to provide."

GM The combined attack from Mess and Foreshadow had Jack back on his heels, with Mess landing a solid hit on the Battle Brother that caused the blond haired man to grunt as he took a step back, clutching at his side where Mess had landed the hit. "You're tough, I’ll give you that." Then he seemed to stop, glancing down at the street below, seeming to sense the trouble his partner was in. Then suddenly he leapt back down toward the street, propelling himself at Synapse as he swung a large fist at the British heroine. Synapse was unable to get out of the way, but the blow was only a glancing one, slamming against her telekinetic forcefield which took the brunt of the blow, but still some of the impact managed to get through. "What did you do to him?" Jack shouted as he stood between Synapse and Malcom.

That will hit, and with the +2 from the combined attack so DC 27. Jack just misses with a 26, so picks up another bruise. Jack is going to make a charging leap down at Synapse, hitting with a 21, meaning a DC 27 toughness save for Synapse. She just misses with a 26, so picks up a bruise. This brings up, Round Seven 32 Foreshadow (bruised 3 HP, fatigued) 29 Synapse (bruised, 3 HP) 21 Malcom (bruised, fatigued, paralyzed (+1 save)) 17 Bloody Mess (unharmed, 3 HP) [7th round of Boost] 14 Jack (bruised 3) Foreshadow is up.

Okay, with Malcom paralyzed, it is Mess' turn!

Synapse is going to hit Malcom with her Paralyze attack (perception ranged). He only gets a 14 on his Will save (vs DC 20), so, he is for the moment paralyzed! Hound is up!

Synapse His partner, the talking dog? Synapse initially replied as Foreshadow suggested adding the Hound to the psychic network. Alright then, worth a go. Glancing over toward where she had seen the unusual dog dash off to, the British heroine spotted him and was able to reach out with her telepathic abilities to try to bring him into the psychic network she had set up. Cheers love, don’t be alarmed, but Foreshadow thought you might be a bit more up for trying to work together against these buggers. But even as she was trying to add Hound to the telepathic link, she watched as Foreshadow took off up to the rooftop to follow after Mess and one of the Battle Brothers. Oh, that’s right, just leave me an the dog down where to face this one by ourselves. She commented as she turned to face the Battle Brother still on street level. Deciding to try a new approach, Synapse projected a beam of psychic energy at the Battle Brother, one designed to shut down his motor reflex skills and render him paralyzed. The psychic attack hit the large target and though he tried to resist the attack, he was soon frozen in place, unable to move. Okay, that might hold him for a bit. She then stated over the telepathic network.

He misses his Reflex save with a 16.

APPROVED

Okay, Round One 15 Khanate Spec Op (unharmed) 8 Queenie (unharmed, 1 HP) The Khanate trooper opens fire, but misses with a 16 Queenie is up.

GM As Queenie dropped down into the courtyard beyond the main entrance to the tower, she managed to spot the Zultasian that was kneeling amid some vegetation. His body armor had some sort of reflective surface, but the angle Queenie had spotted from had managed to minimize any benefit of that coating. The Zultasian met Queenie's gaze, realizing she had spotted him, and then in a smooth, well trained motion brought his weapon up to his shoulder and fired. However, the ring wielder had been ready, and dodged aside at just the right moment, causing a concentrated energy blast to fly wide of her.

Okay, he rolls poorly for Stealth. Initiative time!

Tsunami Or we can talk about things now. Giang thought to herself as Mark returned, this time with Monsoon and their child along as well. The fact Monsoon was now in her armor was not lost on the Asian young woman, but she kept her hands casually out to her sides as she gave a small bow. "There was never any need for thanks Monsoon." Giang replied as she stood back up from the bow. "But you are most welcome, I am glad I was there to be able to help." "As for my family, I was raised in a remote village in northern Vietnam by a couple I believed to be my parents. They taught me the Eastern philosophy and classics as well as trained me in the art of war. But shortly after my seventeenth birthday, they took me to Hong Kong, where I was introduced to my true father, a man named Kong Zi Khan. To the world, he is simply a successful businessman, but in truth he is a chief lieutenant in Dr. Sin's criminal empire." "I was his fifth and final child, born to fulfil my role as the last of the five classical elements of the Wu Xing. Alongside my half-siblings, we were to aid my father in freeing himself from Dr. Sin's control and helping him expand his own criminal empire. But I chose not to follow that path and fled. Eventually I was found by Raven, and brought to the United States and placed at Claremont." "A few years ago I learned that my birth mother was Murjana al-Darsah." Giang then finished, her gaze focused on Monsoon.

Okay Ari, just a few small things. His grapple should be +9/+22 (no idea where you got +45). His knockback should be -1/-11 (with Star Knight armor) I only count 20 ranks of skills, not 24. (see Powers below though) For feats, I think you mean Skill Mastery, not Skill Focus. For Powers, you forgot to add in the powers of the Hapisian Physiology container. Also, you do not have the container priced correctly. For what you have in the container, you need it to have at least 8 PP (you need 5 total for the Super-Strength). So the total cost of the container will be 9 PP (with the Innate). If you take the extra point you have not spent in skills, you have just enough to make this work. Also, in the Star Knight Armor, the 3 ranks of Super-Strength gives him 5 ranks in total, not 6.

Tsunami Giang had looked over as Mark followed along with her, before focusing back on her destination to not appear as if she was trying to listen in on his conversation. When Mark held up the phone, she did look over, recognizing Nina, who she had met once before. The other young woman's reaction was a bit of surprise, as was Mark's sudden departure, causing Giang to sigh slightly. When she had met Nina during the attack on Ocean Hights Amusement Park by Dam, she had already learned about her birth mother. But there had never been any opportunity to discuss this with Nina then, or that the other young woman was actually Giang's aunt. Perhaps at some point she should make the time to speak with the other young woman, but for now she had another task at hand.

Paradigm Amara turned to regard the sudden appearance of Hyperslice. The overly energetic Hassaan was generally overly excited about something, that something typically being when her next mission would be, particularly if that mission took her well away from CoVic Station. The Naram just gave Hyperslice a small smile. "At peace Skirris, you should learn to welcome the opportunity for a chance to rest between missions. Such opportunities are often scarce." "As for any Grue vessels, unless they are actively violating Republic or Coallition space, there is little we can do about them other than keep them under observation. The last thing we would want to do is make an unprovoked attack." "But why don't you join us," Amara then added, "Liora and I were just talking about how time has seemed to pass so quickly since we were reawaken to face the Communion and how quiet things have been the past few days. Something that is bound to change."

Olopi, Ari, could I get some Notice checks please.

GM "Mounts?" Emorda asked with a puzzled look. It took a bit of back and forth before he had the basic idea what Starshot was talking about. "No, Kurabanda have no mounts, we not like Ul-Mor." He then replied. Soreen then spoke up, "Well, if we can gather some solid branches and had some twine and hides, we might be able to make some sort of frame that we could cover with the hides and then camouflage on the outside of the hides. That would allow at least some of us to be hidden underneath to try to get closer without detection." "Kurabanda can provide hides." Emorda then added.

No, you are right CB, you get a star for following directions But really, Thunder told me in chat that Crimson Tiger was just going to wait, so there was no harm in his posting that. Blaze has been slammed by work, so I know she was just trying to get through things and SFX is generally away from the center of things. It was rather key for me to know what Jessica was going to do, as the gang leader is just not going to let her waltz up to him as if nothing just happened. So, what is Jessica going to do?

GM "I am not certain what 'Earl Grey' is, but I believe we have something rather similar to Terran tea." The commander replied, making a call to a subordinate to get the drink. He then focused back on getting the unrestricted data pulled up for Quill’s review. As Quill's comment about the beauty of the wormhole, Commader E'tten looked up at the space anomaly. "You will forgive me if I am only able to recall what was lost when it came into existence." He stated in a rather cold tone. Then the subordinate arrived with Quill’s drink, which while not quite the tea he was accustomed to, was hot and had its own interesting flavor. The pair then turned back to the data and Quill’s other questions. "Well, there are slightly over a dozen other wormholes that are connected to the one here." The commander began in response. "It is possible to steer a vessel through them so that you could reach whichever of the others you wish. This allows for far faster travel to the other locations that would be normally be possible, even with the fastest stardrives we have available. Of course, there are occasional mishaps and ships end up existing the network at the wrong point, but it is mostly a rather reliable means of travel." "And as I noted before, there have been a few instances of vessels disappearing altogether. While we do not know for certain the fate of those vessels, if they were somehow destroyed, then the resulting casualties are in the few hundreds." Quill focused on the data readings from the wormhole that were taken around the time of the most recent disappearance of a transport vessel, the Aurora. There were some significant radiation spikes from the wormhole just before the vessel entered and right after it had as well. As he looked at them, Quill thought he saw some similarity to the readings taken of the Quantum Dark Zone, just before he had been pulled into it.

GM "Hi Uncle Deadalus." Lawrence replied with a small smile and a wave. "This is Zhu and Lexa, they are from Claremont and were babysitting me. It is something of a long story on how we ended up here." He then added, indicating the two teenage girls behind him. "Perhaps we should move to somewhere a bit more out of the way for a full recounting of those events." Paradigm replied with a small smile. Soon she and the other Praetorians had led the small group of Terrans out of the entry hall of their headquarters and up into the command center. The command center was a large circular room that was filled with workstations and holoscreens displaying images from all over the station as well as what appeared to be other worlds. A number of beings were busy at work within the room, and in the center was a large round table. Paradigm led them into a large conference room off from the command center, where they were joined by a human looking woman with long wavy blonde hair who was dressed in a well-tailored military looking uniform, a wide bladed sword in a sheath on her back. Paradigm introduced the woman as "Elite," and she set out three cups of hot chocolate for Zhu, Lexa and Lawrence, commenting that some of the Praetorian’s Terran members had indicated it to be something of a comfort drink. Elite then took a seat at the table to listen to what the three young Terrans had to say as well. Daedalus and the gathered Praetorians listened as the three recounted what had happened since the initial two simulacrums resembling Lawrence’s parents had appeared at his parents' home. Daedalus waited until they had finished recounting the events before he asked any questions, his first was directed at Lawrence. "Did this robed figure seem to be connected to Collapse?" Lawrence shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I mean whatever that robed figure was, it clearly had time based powers. Those simulacrums it used were some sort of temporal shade or something of who they were supposed to be. But it did not feel anything quite like my powers." "Daedalus, you know we are happy to offer whatever help we can, but without more information it may be difficult to know how much that could be." Paradigm then interjected. "Do you know who that robed figure was? And, who, or what, is Collapse?" Daedalus was silent for a moment, looking over at the gathered Praetorians before focusing his gaze on Zhu and Lexa. Finally he responded. "Alright, but I have to stress that this information is only known to members of the Freedom League and a small group of other heroes on Earth." He particularly focused on Zhu and Lexa as he said these words. "It needs to be kept that way." "Five years ago, pretty much to the day, Velocity was on a business trip in Europe and found herself caught up in something of a temporal incursion centered around herself and Lord Robert Harrow, Lawrence's father. Velocity met an older version of Lord Harrow from an alternate future, one where she had married him and they had a son. That son came to possess incredible power over time, so much so, that it apparently drove him insane and he became the being known as Collapse. Collapse's power allowed him to ignore the normal rules of space/time and tear through the boundaries separating alternate timelines and 'collapse' the timelines together." "Refugees from some of the destroyed timelines, along with the older Lord Harrow, were working to try to stop or contain Collapse. They had a working belief that the more versions of Collapse that existed in other timelines, the stronger all of them where, or even that all were just one and the same. In any event, they tried to do what they could to stop Collapse from existing in as many timelines as they could. But, at the same time, it appeared that Collapse was trying to make as many versions of himself come to be as he could. To that end it appears he set back in time a device that end up in the hands of Lawrence's father, the device provided him time control powers and driving him to try to get back together with Velocity, as they had been apart for about a year after a relationship while in college in England." "Velocity and another hero, Fenris, managed to get the device away from Lawrence's father and return him to his normal self. But that was not quite the end of things and eventually those working against Collapse from the future kidnapped Lawrence's father and Velocity followed them to a Null Time, an extra dimensional space located outside the time stream. It was there, less than five years ago, that Lawrence was born, created from genetic samples of both Velocity and Robert Harrow. The group that created him hoped that by being born in the Null Time, Lawrence would be cut off from connection to Collapse, but might also sever as a means of stopping him. Velocity and Robert Harrow spent the first six years of Lawrence's life in the Null Time, where he aged while they did not. Then, when he was chronologically six years old, they came back to our timeline, returning the day after they had left it. That will be five years ago in October." "Since that time we have carefully monitored Lawrence and the emergence of his powers, which had already started by the time he was introduced into our timeline. He and his parents have also made short return visits to the Null Time to for other testing. So far, there is no indication that he might be connected to Collapse. But based on the statements of this robed figure, it appears there is at least one other that is aware of Collapse, and sees Lawrence as the means of doing something about him."