Ari

GM For Hakim there was a horrible rush and feeling like his stomach was being left far, far behind, and then they were soaring high above the Emerald Cities, racing pell-mell for the screaming cloud. It was worse in the air, a little painful, even. Like the air was trying to rattle their skulls to bits. For Anne, it glorious. The Peregrine obeyed the slightest whim like an extension of the self, skimming and gliding with an elegance and grace akin to a living creature. The world expanded and unfolded, its imperfections softening in the democratizing distance. But this wasn't a pleasure flight and their target all-too quickly came into range. Range of what was discovered at the same time. Hakim's tablet suddenly flashed, its screen turning into a gaping window to the void. Two green eyes opened in the darkness, slitted like cats. A spectral claw snarled out of the screen and seized Hakim by the throat, a deep, groaning voice hissing "Make. Me. Live." In the depths there was a flash, and for the barest instant, Hakim saw the head and furious snarl of a dragon. Meanwhile, the great cloud seemed to sense the approaching the Peregrine. Tendrils or fingers began to stretch out, trying to catch the aircraft!

Your idea of coping is what you yourself admit is a suicide mission. Do not mistake our lack of empathic connection with lack of empathy itself. We've all grown up seeing what Terres' strongest psychics rarely do The waves were shaking the ground beneath them, the knife was drawing blood, and the slender cord tying the voyager to the outer selves was fraying under the strain. Dol-Druth had to keep his mouth shut, eyes squinted almost invisible in the skin folds of his face, forcing away the emerging bestial features. His body was a crawling morass of legs, chitin, hairs and fangs struggling to coalesce into something solid. His antennae were a lost cause, great hairy, feathery things taller than he was. With your memories we can better assimilate into Terresi culture, help teach your kind to understand thoughts born in other bloods. They barely listen to others of their own, entry into galactic culture for your kind is dangerous for any race that cannot also spawn defiers of physical law. Xenophobia backed by the power to destroy worlds is something that cannot be allowed to fester and grow. With a jolt like they were being forced awake by some horrible phantom scream the mind-world shuddered, cracked. Speaker, you at least he will listen long enough to condescend to, explain it to him. "Not the time. Later, when Iee haven't mandibles." ...Very well. Elias, what will you listen to?

"That's a beautiful idea, my lord!" Thetis patted one of the crackling energy-beasts "The boltagons are a lot like that. Like Tethys, we made them to not only serve their function but to look majestic and kind." Indeed, the horse-like thing made of blue, shimmering arcs of power looked more like a proud, daring destrier than any of the broken, gloomy horses pulling London's hackney cabs back home. The carriage as well had a refined, Platonic kind of beauty as well. Something larger than life superimposed on the small, frail world of the flesh. Like the soldiers, all the craft were in the royal colours and emblazoned with the winged fish-horse. The other dignitaries were being escorted into their own vehicles. Four of the representatives, along with Dol-Druth and Lucien, went into the apparent royal conveyance. Christian Pitt, from the USA, the PRC's Chan Dengxiu, the EU's Daniel O'Collach and France's Gerald Avant. The Frenchman was all effusive politeness, but kept a slight distance from the princess all the same. The American and the Chinese ambassadors quickly set to work trying to make up for their comrade's chilliness. "We're glad for your invitation, miss," Christian's fatherly, weatherbeaten face under his Career Politician's conservative haircut creased into an easy smile "After the messiness earlier this year, I was worried Their Majesties wouldn't be so quick to ask me back. It's good we can all move on after that mix-up." "I quite agree, Mr. Pitt. The attacks were caused by understandable mistakes that cannot be held against anyone of this city or the house of Atlan. My superiors in the Party assure me this will not damage our relationship." Dengxiu's rounder, younger face was more reserved than his counterpart, but he had been looking around in fascination at the wonders of the strange undersea kingdom ever since the gaggle had come aboard the Tethys. Shorter than most of the rest by a good few inches and with an awkward gravitas, it was hard for Dol-Druth not to consider him a juvenile. Leaning forward, he went on eagerly "By the way, I have heard that some of your older colonies are being resettled in the Pacific, relatively closer to my country. If I could meet with-" "Ah ah ah!" Thetis waved a stern finger in front of a sterner face, though it was impossible for her to hold it for long "None of that talk! That can wait for the Palace of Poseidon which is a delight! Over five hundred rooms, and so many ghosts!" The princess hugged herself with glee and snuggled up against Lucien, attracting irritated and concerned glances from Venture Lina "Some of them even remember your first empire, on the Dragon's Tail, Mr. Chan!" Denxiu couldn't help but smile "I will be sure to ask them about it, so many questions. Well then, what can we talk about right now, princess?" "If it's possible, a little insight on your family business wouldn't go amiss" Daniel O'Collach said, proddingly, his thick mustache, sharp-features, rounded head and smooth, parted brassy hair giving him the appearance of an American banker to Lucien. Thetis considered for a moment. "Well, there's been a lot of Deep Ones active in the Atlantic, so Mother's been out with Telly and the Royal Fleet to make sure they don't get too close to our lookouts or colonies. Father's busy right now hearing the grievances of some Lyonesseans who had their clans raided during the Shackling, and Grandmother is busy going to an UNPEC conference to discuss reparations. But what about the surface, what's going on outside?" Dol-Druth's eyes lit up, and the man who occupied roughly half of the coach's rear seat leaned ponderously forward. "In our republic among the stars, Sri Thetis, we have a new Imperator, a rank not granted since the days of the Empire. As well, the manymind is considering a new home, and is considering your system. If so, we would be honoured to establish regular contact with your people." "Reconstruction of the docks at Marseilles is going smoothly." Gerald put in with a faint, grim smile "Terror attacks have been increasing, but France will not bend to petty fears." "That show you like that's filmed in British Ireland, it just finished its latest season." O'Collach patted a small paper-wrapped package with a grin "When I told the producers you watched ''Dragon's Daughter' they got me the next series collection ahead of the pack." "President Carhill's been having a rough year, we're in hurricane season and even Siren can't be everywhere at once." Pitt frowned deeply "There's been harsh words exchanged above the sea, and I worry they can't be put aside or forgotten easily. In fact, I'm hoping Atlantis can help with some of its old weather tech." "I'll be sure to ask the Science Master. But a hurricane..." Thetis shuddered "that may be beyond us, my friend." As if a switch had flipped, she spun to beam at Lucien "And you, my lord? What new developments in your world of singing invention?"

GM The trail at first led through the strict, clear and thoroughly sensible layout of ECO's downtown. Under the dazzling green shadow of the Emerald Tower it weaved into the older, more secluded streets that hadn't yet been reached by Project Emergence, the program intended to unify construction materials and civic infrastructure use. Here the famous Emerald City sheen quickly evaporated, with grimy corner stores and pawn shops serving the low-wage workers crammed into superficially vibrant 'apartment' blocs and shoved into the work nobody better-off wanted to touch. Cut off from the high-traffic river and the traffic of the I-5 since the 80's corporation and shipping boom, the inner core of Riverside had been known as the 'Dirty Diamond' district for as long as Hakim could remember. It had only light police presence and all the tangled, confusing roads and alleys that the rest of Riverside had long ironed out. It was here that the trail split, into three. One headed for the dark and depressing grey block of the Public Works building, the rest headed for one of the marginally-cheerier Crystal Palace Apartments. Until one stopped right on top of a manhole cover.

Alrighty then. Round 1: Citizen: Unharmed, 7HP Negator(x5)(Unharmed-GM

Okay. Have a HP, AA, for leading the Negators away from other potential targets and vital infrastructure and making their only possible target Citizen. So, going to say the battle is joined. Also two more are there. But! Because these are not the main baddies, and are mere energy extensions of the real deal, I rule they here do not benefit from the Heroic Extra. Their Initiative: 14

GM Citizen In moments the Emerald Cities lay below Sharl, wispy and small next to the endlessness of the Atlas Range and the forests and fields stretching to one horizon, while the flat grey sea filled the other. Somewhere a few hundred miles away to the west, a storm looked to be breaking up. From below, however, soon came a maelstrom of anti-matter! The gap Citizen had made widened dramatically, in black/white flashes, and the three who had been lured back into the sewer came rocketing up at Citizen- Wait, no. Not three, Five. Five streaks of monochrome that quickly began to circle the electronic envoy of Emerald City. "Most ironically, you've nowhere to fly" said Negator's unified voice from five mouths, Cunningham and Mahgninnuc blended into one seething whole, ten hands suddenly lashing out with roaring, deafening lances of total annihilation! Emerald Spider Getting onto the ceiling was easy enough, and scuttling along above the hard-working Ming Xi employees digging, testing and sitting around chatting was even easier. When she'd gotten to above the small procession with the stone-skinned giant, however, then there was a slight problem. Namely, how exactly she was going to get a guy who looked like he weighed at least half a ton out of the Fallen Heavens Complex. Meanwhile, the restraints creaked, the small platform rolled along, and the Ming Xi people strolled unconcerned alongside towards the pit of magma. ~"Hey, Quake, got any final words?"~ one asked teasingly. This close, what had initially seemed a strange smooth spot where the giant's mouth should be turned out to be a tiny space-warp field. It wasn't possible this high up to see what the source was, or to do anything about it. The giant rolled his smoking eyes...which seemed to linger for just a moment on Emerald Spider before returning to his destination.

More than enough. Red Moon is apparently a Farsider scientist named Atraxia who infrequently appears on Earth, claiming to fight for the freedom and dignity of all life and the downfall of ignorance. Her powers are remarkably like those of a Farsider spy of the Mad Lady Lunar's back in the Cold War era, though the Atom Family of old has several times demonstrated the folly of presuming that means they are the same person.

The Speaker Here Comes the General Meeting of the Minds on an Exponential Level Red Moon [Lost Expeditions] Castle Ravenloft GM Please give all points to Salmon A Waste of Water Do It Again Edison vs Tesla 2K17 Mind the B's and Pew-Pews Skyjam Stronghold Blues Underworld Hit

Okay, so no effect on the Stun so now the next attack, Accurate Attack-shifting to +5 Attack -5 Damage: 25. DC17 Toughness save, if you would @Mafia Whale Success or fail, Fox-Mask moves to the door to bar the way.

"It is better than being ignored and forgotten, Sri Nicole." A figure in a red and grey suit, their head covered by a black helmet and nearly scraping the ceiling, was standing where none had been moments before. Folding her arms behind herself, the towering figure looked to the three others and bowed slightly "I beg your pardon, I did not want to intrude before knowing a little about the people who would be meeting here. I am Red Moon. I am not a...practitioner, but I have some curiosity on the subject. I hope you would not mind answering a few questions for more skeptical minds?" "I brought some craterglass cakes and star tea bags." she added, unfolding her long arms with an ornate metal box in one hand and the other carrying a small tea pot full to the brim with bags of something coarse and white. The box cycled open to reveal piles of light blue squares veined with white.

Nodding slowly, Dol-Druth retracted his hand. This fit with what had been forecast. The Second Hive was very concerned with gaining the goodwill of loneminds, to what purpose Dotrae was yet unable to explain. They hadn't either the servility of the First Hive or the open hostility of the Third underpinning their actions, but that just made them all the more suspicious. But the chance had passed and it would have been in poor taste to try to sneak a glance into the heart of a fellow diplomat. At least they had decided to back the same candidate, which meant both would have a more even playing field for negotiating their future place in the galaxy. Dol-Druth smiled, his broad flat white teeth gaping in the dark red pit of his mouth below dead black eyes. "We are glad to receive this information, Sri Ditra. This fellowship can only strengthen the bonds of our peoples. Perhaps we might at least spare a word for your colleague Mar-" His pupils shrank to points and his antennae began to twitch rapidly as the news hit him. This is the worst possible turn. This is why we keep asking for a shared mental link. The loneminds will fail you right when you need them... Frustratingly, most Dotrae were on the inter-worlds, due to age-old imperial assignment with the implication that Dotrae couldn't be trusted on the "real" colonies. Scattered after the Incursion War, they didn't have the numbers to sway either the outer or inner numbers, and most of their planets and systems wouldn't be important enough to garner much outside support on their own. This called for an impromptu meeting. "-len Forty-Seven. Sri Stewart, we would not wish to keep you, please, go on ahead, we and Sri Ditra will follow anon. Sri Hro," he bowed "we will not presume to command you, but we would not wish you to miss your chance to speak with the other movers and shakers present. The Nameless and us will be exchanging pleasantries until we all have better things to do." ~Ditra~ The voice in Ditra's mind was a chorus of many voices ~what contingencies do your people have if Th'emme loses? By law she must be accepted as the second in command and her voice heard on any major issue, but Grand Nauarchus Frankan has made her name getting around such inconveniences. Would your Hive be open to an alliance with Dotrae?~

"A fair point, Sri Lockwood," Dol-Druth growled "although from what we have heard this Piscean-offshoot has even less tendency to dissimulate than usual." With a curt inclination of his antennae, the Speaker of the manymind stumped to the bay doors. It was probably for the best that Dol-Druth went first, anyway. The gaggle of humans and the alien were met at the apex of Tethys' great disembarkment ramp by Princess Thetis, who when a few feet away turned out to be a beaming bundle of excitement with heavy green robes draped over her to give a semblance of gravity and royal dignity. The soldiers were iron-faced men and women, alike in height(they topped the tallest human by a head) and alike in breadth(they were as big across as Dol-Druth, almost all steely muscle and super-dense bone) dressed in royal teal and olive green livery with the winged hippocampus of House Atlan in bright silver on their chests. They had no weapons, but their fists and legs looked like they could have dented the Tethys' hull. "Be welcome, washed-ashores!" Princess Thetis gave a deep and sweeping bow that sent her robes swirling weightlessly, before leaping back to attention and fixing the group as a whole with one broad grin "It's been years since we've had a real visit! Mostly it's just the League, and they're no fun at all! This way!" Dol-Druth cleared his throat and stepped forward, nodding dourly to the princess as he began "Sri Thetis, we bring greetings from Dotrae, the manymind wishes to thank-" his voice was abruptly cut off at Thetis' pressing his lips together with one hand, the Atlantean waving away the subject with the other and a wrinkle of distaste. "Oh time enough for all that later! Come on!" A step, and suddenly Lucien found his left arm locked neatly with Thetis' right, the princess of Atlantis humming as she led the troupe along to a collection of stagecoach-like craft pulled by animals formed of shimmering energy. "Tell me, Lord Lockwood, is it true that in your world you get most of your power just from boiling water?" Dol-Druth scowled, harrumphed, and hurried after, the rest of the guests following with mostly wry amusement on their faces, Thetis' behaviour being far unlike the howling madwoman from mere months back.

@Moira Morley Sorry Moira! Red Moon goes on 6

Since October is set for both The End and 10th Anniversary vignettes, for the month of September I suggest this one: Re-Imagining You take your base character concept and change everything else. Radically. Everything about their wider context changes, from their personality to their supporting cast to how the world reacts to them.

@Supercape Feel free to make any rolls you'd like to find out what Lord Steam is coming into this knowing.

OOC for this thread. Suspense and suspicion at the first open court of Atlantis!

September 4th, 2017, 10.45AM Atlantis, The First Circle, 4 1/2 miles beneath the surface The Tethys slid into the dock, great arms reaching out of the glittering darkness to hold it fast. Hundreds of meters from bow to stern, the craft was Atlantis' principal ambassadorial ship, made to resemble a stylized whale. For the last two hours it had made the lengthy, swift passage to the Wizard's Rest, carrying diplomats and representatives from dozens of nations, organizations and interests. Among them were the supremely British extradimensional envoy Lord Steam and Dol-Druth the Speaker, face of an alien hivemind. The lounge door opened, admitting Ventures Lina and Atherus. Lina spoke first, saying gravely "We have arrived, thank you for you patience." Uniformed in deep blue, metallic green and silver, the Atlantean envoys looked nigh-identical in their space-age fibers and short-cropped black hair and closed green eyes. Lina tapped a crystal on her left bracer, at which the disembarkment hatch opened up across the lounge's outer wall, letting down a ramp 80 feet down to the dock below, up which a squad of Atlantean soldiers and a blonde woman in flowing red metal began to walk. There were murmurs and the discreet snapping of photos as the shining expanse of Atlantis, city of science and sorcery, lay revealed. At first blush, it strongly resembled great rings of luminescent sea coral. Envoy Lina gestured politely to the approaching party "Princess Thetis will escort you to the Palace of Poseidon, where you will have a chance to rest and refresh yourselves after your long journey. Atherus and I will accompany you and ensure you see all you wish and go where you will. Please collect your personal items before you leave, the Tethys may be called into action and we do not wish for you to lose anything, should the vessel be damaged." The surfacers wasted no time, many hurrying to their cabins while others collected the luggage that had never left their side. Dol-Druth snorted, heaving his enormous, corpse-white bulk to his feet, his eyes flashing faintly blue as he called on some of the shared brainpower of his people to complete the process. He had carried nothing with him but a small all-metal suitcase. "A hospitable people, Lord Steam," he remarked, turning his cold black eyes and twitching his antennae in the direction of the oncoming Atlanteans "we suspect they will want a great deal in return. Your thoughts?"

All right, one last slot, need to end on a high note, so in that vein how about a take on an evil Ultima (Superior's people, from Ultima Thule)? Psionics, energy control, paragon suites, all kinds to work with!

GM Torpedo Lass With a fizzling snap Mary felt herself pass through something sharp and tingling. Then air rushed through where once something had held it back, and the sky of drones turned and looked. Synthesized growls and howls echoed through the jungle along with the snapping of undergrowth and tread of heavy feet. . The shapes that burst from the jungle and charged into the clearing looked nothing like real animals, however, whirlygigs and tripods propelled them, while wobbling spheres of electricity sent power coursing through the light, eccentric shells. The enormous energy weapons swaying perilously on their backs, on the ends of limbs or gaping from the cores themselves, however, were pretty conventional and clearly deadly "Halt, bobbots!" With a flare of a long blue coat, a young woman landed on the command tower. Thick yellow goggles covered her eyes, while an unseasonal blue turtleneck blazed with a stylized golden lightning bolt. Thick shin-high boots with flat soles protected her feet. Beside her floated a huge battery pack attached to a sleek silver/gold rifle. The horde had halted at her word and now surrounded the Oklahoma, eyes big, small and mobile fixed on Torpedo Lass. "Comin' right for my Home Base, huh? You even know the superhero rules, American?" the younger woman folded her arms and sized Mary up sourly "One of the retro types, huh? Guess I oughta be glad you've not got a mask and cape." She spread her arms to encompass the whole clearing, including the army of robots "Well, you got me. Now what is next step in your tabarnac li'l plan? You want to scrap? Then get on with it! I got a bet to win! Opa says he can bag him a hero with just some traps, but I'm gonna win this with a little artificial intelligence!" Doctor Deoxy Putting your hands over your ears is usually unwise. It closes off a vital sense and occupies your most important extremities. But this time, it opened up a whole new world. Nathan could feel the web of motion sensors several yards away and covering the floor. Diverting his eyes from the obelisk was suddenly a breeze and he could even feel that he was standing in the path of some kind of focused beam. It thrummed through his flesh and bones even when he was well away from the target ray. There was a trail across the room, looping and periliusly narrow, but stable, leading right to the vacant doorway. All Doctor Deoxy had to do was not make any mistakes.

Nameless! Dol-Druth turned with surprising speed for one of his colossal bulk, the corpse-white Speaker of Dotrae swiveling his huge black eyes down on the slim, elegant green Diplo. Dol-Druth suppressed a powerful urge grind his teeth, or otherwise display the displeasure bombarding him from close to a billion minds and hearts. Only recently had the Speaker actually met one of the much-distrusted 'bugs', a slur that Dotrae themselves often encountered, and something about the impeccable manners and winning attitude of Ditra-55 had instantly put the hulking mound of ambassadorial flesh on guard. Decades of individual and hundreds of millennia of collective memory had taught Dol-Druth to expect and handle overt or covert dislike and disrespect from other beings in his line of work. Someone in large-scale politics trying to genuinely understand his point of view so they could better serve their people was as confounding as it was unsettlingly welcome. Anything that made Dol-Druth happy had to be a trick. You didn't get stuck in the Rotundas of Khor if you were a people person. Even aside from a personal dislike, Dotrae as a whole was particularly repulsed by the Nameless. Dotrae despised secrets, the Nameless had waited until the perfect moment to reveal themselves and their very faces were lies. The manymind was an omnipresent fact of life for Dotrae, while the Nameless only dipped or dove into their own mental network out of desire or need. Dotrae had no families, no wholly separate identities, no true divisions. The Nameless were like a chaotic, feuding and loving mass of contradictory drives. But that dissimilarity was not the only problem. The other was the speciation. The Nameless could clamber into suits and change their entire social status and function, while Dotrae had been pressed into eternal second-best roles for its own members, none of whom were meaningfully different in power besides the elected Speaker. And they had never had the power to challenge the Republic, while the Nameless were a conquering host forestalled only by mutual agreement. Envy and disdain, fear and shame, the sight of the green Diploshells and gold Tacshells stirred the emotional maelstrom of the manymind into a seething boil. Regardless, now was not the time. He had been quite rude enough, ignoring a fellow representative of a relative outsider people. Throttling the intake of mental signals from the manymind was as unsettling as it was necessary to prevent an unseemly outburst, the rage of hundreds of millions locking gently away with the very power those minds had granted him. Dol-Druth smiled. "Dol-Druth, Speaking for Dotrae," he bowed his towering bulk, antennae twitching "We beg your forgiveness, Ditra Fifty-Five, we were occupied by Sri Hro's preliminary questions. We intend no disrespect to one of our comrades. We hope you are well, your worlds safe and your chosen candidate appointed to Imperatrix." "We had heard that other Hives would also be here to witness the passing of the wreath," Dol-Druth's cold, empty eyes turned to survey the station in its strange, pyramidal glory "if you desire it, we would deem it an honor to be introduced by your voice." "If we may know, who have you chosen for your support?" He offered a massive, bloated hand "Via mindmeet, if you would rather not speak it."

A clawed hand grabbed Lynn by the shoulder, and Ata's guttural voice hissed <"Grimalkin! Get the others to safety! I will find and disable these creatures. Do not worry, I will do them no permanent harm!"> Before the pixie could react or object, Ata vanished. It was as though she had never been...until the grass wavered ever so slightly, and a faint, high-pitched thrumming tingled through the air. At once, the agitated grass and soft buzzing sped for the tree line from whence the flight of arrows had come! Atraxia kept her eyes well open, her vision shifting as she, partially shunted from this plane of existence. Her head craned back as she scanned the the vague shadows that the treetops had become, searching for the lumpy, pulsing blobs of warmth that meant prey People. People, not food. Even if they're savages I have to restrain myself. This is all a terrible misunderstanding, once I show them we mean no harm they'll let us go in peace! Perhaps even let Grimalkin-ah! A blob had appeared, orange and red and purple, seething with harsh violet tendrils. Leaning out of an upper bough, the blob seemed to be looking down. Now I just need to ascend and disable them! Atraxia's thin lips pulled back in a cold sneer I hope the others are alright...should I really have left them? The injured one may need additional assistance, do any of them know emergency routines?

So, do they try and shoot Atraxia's yellow-robed face? Some strange, subtle Elfen magik?

DC15 Reflex save: 19. Activating Concealment(All Visual Senses, Normal Auditory, All Mental Senses) and flying to where the voice came from, searching for heat-signs shaped like anything mobile and alive. Stealth roll: 15 Notice roll(which is just straight-Wisdom because I are a fooler): 4. I GOT A FOUR!!! etc, etc.

Raised on the silent, eternally still desolation of the Moon, Atraxia would have been used to simple lack of people. But somehow this was worse. She could hear things running, flying, calling and grumbling, could see a road running northwest-south, but there was no people to have made it. It was as though they had vanished and the world reclaimed by unthinking biology. Shuddering at the thought, the Lunar vampire descended, marking a new Terresi in a yellow robe barking and feuding with the handsome one. She did not seem able to rise, which was dangerous. While Farside City took excellent care of its less fortunate citizens, she knew how harsh and unforgiving human society could be. I hope we don't have to leave her... Landing next to Grim, Atraxia reported <"There is a road that way, due east to closest point. We must find shelter, the eclipse will soon be done. I saw no people."> She glanced again at the angry, snarling new arrival <"We must carry her. I will, if need be. ">