Thevshi

The Pirate Flagship Sovereign gripped his glaive tightly, his gaze flicking between Galvanic and Corona, his powerful jaw clinched as he seemed torn between his desire to continue fighting and the news of the approaching Communion forces. While he seemed to be considering his options and Corona's recommendation that they join forces to drive off the Communion, Waymaker spoke up once more. "Great Dovox, there is wisdom in the Lor officer's words. The Communion forces are rapidly closing, it is pointless to waste energy fighting amongst ourselves when a great threat presents itself." "But I can make quick work of them and then rally my forces to face the Communion." Sovereign replied, still not taking any other action. "Perhaps, but perhaps not." Waymaker stated simply. "The longer you take fighting these possible allies, the more chance the Communion will arrive and smash your forces. Even if you eventually overcome them, you could suffer great losses that could otherwise be prevented by making this temporary alliance." Sovereign let out a small snort, but then relaxed his stance slightly, lowering his glaive and placing the haft on the ground. "Very well, a truce. I shall call off my forces and together we shall face this Communion!"

Yeah, well, no one has been hitting much of late. Hopefully that will change soon (for the good guys). Memorial is up. I will try to post for Sovereign later.

Okay, Mechanized is up on the Apheilon. Corona is up on the Pirate Flagship. And Communion ships are inbound!

The Aphelion One of the melee armed pirates facing off with Memorial once again tried to make a feinting attack to put the paragon off balance. But Memorial once again was not fooled, and stepped into the attack instead of away from it, blocking the pirate’s arm and stopping the feint altogether. The result of this was that the second pirate’s attack, timed to be where Memorial was supposed to have been, once again swished through empty air, as the pirate was unable to change direction in time. The Pirate Flagship Galvanic's powerful electric blast stuck Sovereign squarely in the chest, sending sparks flying in all directions and causing the Broan to grunt in pain. The force of the blast sent Sovereign sliding backward about ten feet, the Broan's clawed feet creating gouges in the deck as he was forced backward. Focusing his gazed back on Galvanic, the Broan snarled. "You are far more durable than you would seem. This shall be a mighty battle indeed!" The other pirates moved back, not wanting to interfere now that their leader had engaged. Waymaker stood off to one side, apparently not intending to join the combat either. The alien seemed to focus on something for a moment, then looked back at Sovereign before he spoke, almost reluctantly. "Might Dovox, however grand this battle might be, it may be unwise to continue this conflict at this time. Our sensors have picked up other ships approaching. They match the descriptions of the forces that have been cutting their way through the Grue Unity and attacked Lor-Van." An alarm sounded in Corona’s armor, as she received a warning from the Nomad. The ship's sensors had also picked up the approaching spacecraft, and the visuals matched the images she had been provided of Communion forces. There were more than a dozen of the small, nimble needle fighters, and two of the larger ships with multiple long spider like arms that gave them the appearance of a splayed ribcage.

On the Aphelion, the elite pirates will continue trying to double team Memorial. The first tries to aid, and again fails with a 9. The second will still try his power attack, but misses again.

Sovereign gets a 24 on his first roll, I will give him a reroll (HP to Galv), he gets a 26, which gets +10, so is a 36. Edit: Actually, I'll keep the bruised, and just use the fiat to shake off the daze (so still a HP to Galv).

You are up, I was waiting to see if you were going to be able to act or not before I moved us along. Round Seven 24 Pirate Interceptor pilots (3) (unharmed) 24 Galvanic (bruised, 2 HP) 17 Elite Pirates (1 on flagship: bruised) 16 Average Pirates 15 Mechanized (unharmed, 2 HP) 15 Waymaker (unharmed) 12 Corona (unharmed, fatigued, 1 HP) 12 Sovereign (unharmed) 7 Memorial (bruised, 1 HP) 3 Tough Pirates (1 on flagship: bruised) So Galv's action!

Velocity was still holding Robert and looked down at his face at Grim's question. "I think he will be alright, that shock just caused his heart to stop. But I was able to get it started once again with it only stopped for a few seconds." She then looked back up and at the ruins of the castle, although she had not really needed to, her goggles allowed her to see everything that was going on around them. "Well, first lets drop Robert off in the Pegasus so he can rest, then we can get the butler off to the local authorities and explain what happened here."

Making his way through one of the two double doors, Charlie entered the foyer of the museum. It was a long hallway that went back into about the middle of the building, where a wide staircase went up to the floor above, with an elevator nearby for those unable to take the stairs. There were several open doorways to smaller rooms along the length of the hallway, leading into various exhibit spaces beyond. Beside each was a wax figure representing the theme of the individual rooms. Charlie made a quick pass through the first level rooms, which contained wax figures of various celebrities, another which had various famous superheroes, others on the floor held historical wax figures from various periods of history. None of the windows along this floor looked to be easily accessible, particularly given the bars he had seen outside, which he presumed were in place all the way around the building. There were two emergency exits, one toward the back of the building, another that exited to one side. There were firestairs near each emergency exit, allowing people from the floor above a way down. As he passed behind the main staircase, Charlie saw a door marked "Employees Only," but he was not sure where it might lead. The pass used up about half of his time, as he had heard an announcement over speakers that the museum would be closing in ten minutes as he went. The voice was not the young man manning the ticket booth, but sounded like an older man, who's voice was somewhat tired, and downcast. The second floor contained the more macabre exhibits, with a section for various movie monsters, another about medieval torture devices and similar creepy subjects. The windows did not look much more useful on this floor, but Charlie noted one of the firestairs had a sign on it that indicated it provided roof access. There was also one back corner of the floor that was closed off with "Employees Only" signs, likely leading back to the backroom and office areas. Then, in one of the last rooms he was passing through back toward the main stairway, he found display for the Garrote, near other infamous murders, such as Jack the Ripper. The statue was dressed in a suit, with a dark cloak and hood, which covered most of its face. It was not far off from what the real cloak had looked like, but still there were some noticeable differences.

Deborah gave a small laugh at Amir’s mention of starting up a softball team to get various levels of law enforcement to better work together. But then her face became more serious as they turned to the real issue at hand. "Well, in some ways, I was probably responsible for the mess at the event. I mean, I certainly was not involved in helping Topple hire those supervillains, but I was the one that set him on the trail of what would become the Equalizer armor." "See, it started when my company was working with a whistleblower from Heavy Metal Mining in West Virginia. Topple had recently purchased a number of holdings the troubled company had been selling, and we had a meeting with Topple about the whistleblower's claims. According to that whistleblower, Heavy Metal Mining had been supporting a tech using supervillain that had recently been captured, and now the company was thing to cover up its involvement." "Topple thanked us for bringing him the information, promising that he was going to investigate the holdings he had recently purchased and report any illegal conduct that he uncovered. A few months passed, then the whistleblower I was working with suddenly did not want to go further with his claims. I can't prove it, but I think Topple paid him off to be quiet. That was just a couple months before Inspiration Celebration, when Topple sent me an invitation and shows up with this new suit of power armor on his new bodyguard."

So, the two big guys rushing you are no real threat, so no need for normal combat rounds to deal with them. Go ahead and beat them down in your IC and prove the point that people should be answering your question!

Pushing the door open and moving through it, Foreshadow now had a better view of more of the balcony area nearest him. It spread out along the entire side of the building, ending along the left hand wall, but wrapping around the right hand side of the building to connect with another balcony on the opposite side across a wide open space that looked down at the lower level below. There were more tables to the left as well, as well as more people spaced along the balcony's railing. Foreshadow thought he could see the top of some stairs toward the right, past several tables and people. At first no one seemed to spot him, but as he moved into the nearest glow of blue neon light, a number of people spotted him. As would be expected, many had a very strong reaction. Several dropped their drinks, freezing in place unable to move. Others turned and started trying to force their way through the crowds to get away from the dark clad crime fighter. Still others stayed where they were, not quite frozen with fear, but still cautiously watching the hero. As Foreshadow moved up to the nearest table and made his demand, the occupants at the table all seemed frozen with indecision, but then two large men that were part of the nearby crowd that had chosen not to flee moved forward, coming at the crime fighter with clenched fists, clearly ready for a fight.

Velocity was behind the man in an flash, catching him before he fell too far and quickly setting him back right on his feet. "Come on now, are you telling me that you cannot handle a bit of wind? I’ve been out running in that for a little while now, just have to lean into it." Once the man was steadily back on his feet, the yellow clad speedster gave a little nod with her head. "Well, no need to waste more time, there are kids out there that need to get to shelter and some help." With that, she moved out the door in a blur, stopping a short distance until the man followed after her. She then pointed out the direction of the bus, stating she would run ahead and bring back another of the children for him to carry back to the shelter, so they could make something of a chain, even if Velocity was the one covering most of the chain's distance. Then she was off back toward the bus.

Probably only one for increased employment of people to slow to work any other job. Dee replied mentally as she moved forward toward the curb, looking about a moment before locking onto Erick’s Porsche. She gave a small grin as he asked to take her bag. "Sure, tired of lugging the bloody thing around anyway." She replied in her crisp British accent, rolling it up for him to take. "Thanks." She then added at Erick’s comment about the red she had recently added in her hair. "It is a nice change, for however long it lasts." She glanced at his hair and choice of clothes a moment and then grinned again. "Looks like someone has sharpened up their look a bit. This just for me? Or you have some important meeting coming up next week?"

As Foreshadow pushed the doorway slightly open, the music became louder, no longer even partially muffled by the heavy door. The space beyond had more light than the stairwell, but only by a little. There were dim neon lights spaced about what looked like a balcony area overlooking what would have been the main warehouse floor below. Other lights occasionally flashed along the wall Foreshadow could see, likely from strobes and other dance floor lights randomly flashing about. In the small part of the area that Foreshadow could see, there were a number of tables set up, some set back near the wall in booths. A number of people were gathered around each of the tables, drinking, smoking, and otherwise seeming to be enjoying the evening. There were a number of others up on their feet, standing around what appeared to be a railing looking out over the level below.

Well, it had been pretty obvious we were on the right track, but good to have some solid confirmation. Dee mentally replied to Erick as she looked back over her shoulder. "It is clear to come back out now Professor." She stated out loud. But as she moved forward after Erick, there was the splashing sound from deeper in the building. Hopefully that does not mean we will yet be taking a swim. Dee mentally stated as she took out a flashlight to help her and the professor navigate down the halls of the old building.

"Well, time to introduce you to the head of our security detachment then." Gallan replied. "He will be the best to arrange for you to be taken out to where the bodies were found." The outpost administrator led the small group out of the medical bay and back into the corridors of the outpost. As they went, they passed by a few other Lor in the hallways, Seika drawing a number of looks as she passed. Soon they were back down on the main level, and had moved out of the main building and across the small courtyard between them to the second largest building, which looked like a garage or hanger. Inside were a number of hover vehicles, a number of Lor in red jumpsuits gathered around them, making minor repairs or last minute equipment checks. Off to one side of the hanger was a section set up with various lockers, where a number of other Lor were gathered. As Gallan led the two hunters over, Oskar recognized a distinct military demeanor to many of the Lor, both male and female. Gallan led them over to a Lor who appeared to be at least 40 cycles (about 40 Earth years old). The man carried himself with a stern confidence, and quickly shifted a hard gaze toward Oskar and the Seika as they were lead over. He had dark hair, with lots of grey along the temples and sides. "This is our head of security, Lorn-14." Gallan stated in greeting, the name indicating that the Lor was a clone.

Everyone else in the room had dove down as well, but by the time Yukiko started moving toward the windows, a few others had picked up the courage to do so as well and were moving that way or at least standing back up enough to try to get a view outside as well. As Yukiko peered outside, she saw the crowd of beings were all running for cover or ducking down where they were. Clearly something was causing them to scatter in panic. And then the young Inghetat caught sight of what that something might be. A trio of figures came into view, streaking through the air as they swooped past the holonet café. It was hard to make out too many details, but each appeared to be wearing some form of body armor, and were standing on a pair of small discs that appeared to be the possible means of their flight. The three figures zoomed past, everyone outside ducked back down onto the ground.

Dee Farrington already had her luggage, having to collect it before she had gone through customs. The young Englishwoman had slept most of the flight over from London, something made easier when flying First Class on the British Airways jumboliner. She was wearing black jeans, and a white T-shirt with a British flag on the front. Her shoulder length black hair was loose, with a couple of solid stripes of dark red adding a bit of color. Coming to a halt in the chill afternoon air curbside outside the terminal, she sat her roller suitcase upright and took a moment to scan the mass of taxis and cars that crowded the lanes nearest the sidewalk. A faint smile came over her face as she picked up Erick’s thoughts, aimed at her. Yes, it was in awhile ago. But customs took a bloody long time.

Foreshadow made his way down the dark stairs, not as worried about making some noise as he might otherwise, which allowed him to move quicker than he might otherwise. He reached a landing for the first floor beneath the roof, but the drumming base of the music was clearly coming from further down, so he continued down the next flight. The echoing music was getting louder, and as Foreshadow reached the next floor, he could hear the music echoing both from the door on this floor, and coming up from down below.

The Aphelion One of the large pirates that had moved over to engage Mechanized gave a snarl as it shook off Memorial's blast. Letting out a growl, it gave a powerful snort, almost like a bull, as it raised both hands above its head and tried to bring them down onto Mechanized. But the armored heroine managed to dodge the double handed blow, even as she ducked under another swing from the other massive pirate. The momentum of the swing caused the second large pirate to take a few steps past Mechanized, but it quickly pulled itself back to a halt. Spinning back to face the human woman, it growled deeply and prepared to continue the fight.

You guys have gotten a bit mixed up on what pirate is attacking who. The two big tough pirates are attacking Mechanized, while the two with melee weapons are fighting Memorial. All the others are holding back and holding their fire. Okay, the two tough pirates are going to attack Mechanized again. And again they both manage to miss.

Uloc turned one eye toward Oskar. "Come to collect something and you do not even know what it does?" She gave a little laugh. "It is the heart of a puzzle, one that if it can be completed will provide a map, of sorts." The old being then focused fully on Balus, not responding to Ana's question, or, at least, not directly. "If your employer wishes to have it, it will cost him twenty million credits." Balus seemed to stiffen some at the quoted price. "Twenty million? That is robbery and you know it. As you just explained, it is just one part of a large whole. But we are more than willing to pay half a million for it. A generous offer for what otherwise sits on a shelf and collects dust." The pair continued to go back and forth for a bit, haggling over the price before finally settling on six million credits. Uloc took the object off the shelf, handing it to Balus, who placed it in a satchel he was carrying.

The being behind the counter at the holonet café provided Yukiko with an access chip for one of the few open terminals left. Like most everywhere else these days, the place was crowded with beings from all over the Republic. Sitting down at the terminal she had been assigned to, Yukiko activated it, as she pulled up displays to show both her message folder and a rundown of some current events. But just as she was settling, she heard a loud *BOOM* echo from somewhere outside, as the floor beneath her vibrated and everything seemed to shake slightly within the building. Low conversations that had been taking place in the room all suddenly came to a halt and head turned toward the front of the café, as everyone sought to get an idea of what might have happened.

Giang shook her head at the mention of Thaelia carrying her and Temperance, or, even worse, throwing them over. "No, I do not believe Temperance and I need to be carried or thrown to make it over to the other ship. There is plenty of water about for me at least." She stated as a spout of water came arching over the side of the Japanese Coast Guard ship. The Asian teen leapt up and onto the spout, which carried her up back over the side away from the other vessel and out over the water as she prepared to move quickly towards the captured vessel once the others were ready to start the assault.