Ari

GM The quick search turned up a number of audio receivers, including an especially bulky one hidden in the air vent under the bed. Small microphones were tucked into the corners of the bedding area and under the monitor of the internet console, but nothing could be found that looked like it was keeping an electronic eye on the cell. On closer inspection, even seemingly mundane objects in the room had some hidden function. The mattress, for example, was attached to a vacuum/air-flow system that seemed to branch off into the rest of the ship. After the hustle, chaos and tension from earlier, things in the cell were pretty sedate. It was downright startling when somebody knocked on and spoke through Eileen's cell door. "Hey! Prisoner, you awake? There's food if you want it. Just shepard's pie or spaghetti today, cook got sulky again." There was a faint thrumming outside, and the clink of porcelain.

Thank you! As ever, let me know when something changes with your characters and/or their relationships, since I'm nowhere near as on top of that as I used/ought to be!

Eileen is overcome by INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH LIGHT-RAYS, lapses out of consciousness and wakes up in a small but well-appointed and cozy cell. Comfy bed with clean sheets and a pillow that actually does what pillows are supposed to do, drinking-water dispenser with a sanitizer for its glasses, a small bathroom, a console allowing (restricted) access to the internet, a buzzer marked "Meal-Call", the works. Only noticeable flaws are a small gun turret (inactive) on the ceiling and out of reach, and a very solid metal door that conspicuously lacks any hinges or handles.

...........Well then, allow me to remove some of that. I beg your pardon, Mad Scientist, this is inexcusable. Incidentally, DC20 Fortitude save vs. Stun. If successful and you want Cerulean to play along, roll Bluff, if not, she wakes up in a cell and then we assume there was busting-out followed by a chase scene that ended with being hurled out of the airship.

Well Cerulean is Immune to Light Effects, and the thingy here is a Light-based effect (stimulating appropriate centres of the brain with wavelengths to cause unconsciousness and a "soft" supportive field of photons), so she is Immune to it. That seem fair to you?

GM The soldier fell in behind Eileen "Niece tells me it's 'dieselpunk'," their voice didn't sound muffled, cutting through the chilling air like an unusually clear phonograph recording "but I haven't had the chance to use the internet in about five years, so I wouldn't know." Somehow, the crisp, meticulous sound failed to capture the voice's depth or accent. It was like the kind of voice that's easier to capture in your head than in reality with throats and tongues and lungs. A bloodless voice. Outside the plane, the passengers were divided into two roughly equal groups and surrounded by square walls of the masked and coated servants of the Sky Lord, in staggered ranks three deep. Through its metal segmented surface a faint tingling could be felt, the only sign of the massive engines propelling the ship. The square Eileen was led into also held Marcus, who was carrying a small suitcase and looked almost at ease, smiling encouragingly at the teenager. "I estimate we'll be released soon," he said over the low hum of nervous conversation around the pair, smoothing his thin mustache "Sky Lord values his image highly, and holding people hostage for long works against any cause." "GUESTS! YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" The white-haired man with the severe, sturdy face and immaculate blue military uniform had appeared seemingly from nowhere, standing on a catwalk section that was lowering from the ceiling, his right arm folded behind him and the other carrying a small brass megaphone. On either side of him stood a towering hulk of metal shaped generally like the soldiers surrounding the hapless passengers. Noting that all eyes were on him, the man cleared his throat and addressed the crowd without the tool. He sounded like he looked, old but energetic and with a steely edge to his Freedonian 'Jersey accent. "I regret that this was necessary, citizens and guests of the United States of America, but believe me when I say it was necessary." Landing on the 'ground' level with a soft clang, the man approached the squares of prisoners, his right hand carrying a slim but ornate sceptre that supported him as he walked. Eileen and Marcus were on the outskirts of the clustered passengers, and she saw his cold green eyes pass methodically over the faces of the captives, lingering with a slight wince on the sleeping children. Lumbering beside him, the hulking suits of armor let off occasional puffs of a clear gas that smelled strongly of antiseptic, their echoing, crushing footfalls drowning out the faint tremour of the engines. "As you have likely already guessed...I am the Sky Lord, ruler of the atmosphere, formerly Mortimer Lawson before I realized my destiny. Without your knowledge, enemies of this free...no, half-free nation, have used your presence as an attempted shield. They intended to prevent my taking them by stealth or force, so I was forced to do this instead." He looked again around at the passengers "Captain Rogers!" A thin woman wearing a white captain's uniform broke from the pressing crowd, "Yes! I'm here!" Sky Lord nodded "Thank you, for your cooperation. Your passengers will be taken to the cells on the starboard side of the Lady Aetheria, besides the following who were traveling under pseudonyms:" putting on a pair of spectacles taken from his breast pocket, he tapped a button on his sceptre, causing a holographic display to light up showing a list of names which he began to read off. The people led or marched before him varied enormously, but as each name was called Marc's face lost first its smile and then its colour, until "Nelson Manderley, alias Marcus Niemand!" resounded through the air. He didn't say anything, and let himself be hauled out of the crowd and lined up with the rest. Regarding the huddle of men and women in suits with cold disdain, Sky Lord announced "Now, to make sure nobody tries anything foolish...squad five, stun lamps!" As one, the soldiers of the Sky Lord stepped back, even as the tiles beneath the prisoners became transparent, revealing a massive, complex machine underneath! A machine that lit up in a blaze of red light that slammed upwards among a din of confused cries as the people around Eileen rapidly lost consciousness!

GM Whether because she was telling them something they all wanted to believe anyway, the idea of being rescued by the famous superheroes native to the metropolis below, or just because of her winning personality, Eileen's words had a rapid effect. The swelling terror was nipped in the bud, and the reassurance that, against all the signs to the contrary, everything was going to be all right, the other passengers were more or less settled down only a few minutes after the pitch of fear had started. Remorselessly, the voice continued over the wails of fear and confusion that were mostly just coming from the children ~"Your captain will now fly you into the cargo hull of my craft, The Lady Aetheria. You will disembark in an orderly fashion and be interred by my command. Resistance will be punished, but cooperate and you are in no danger. I have no intention to make a habit of threatening innocents! Sky Lord out!"~ With another clashing crescendo of music, the transmission cut out, even as the plane began to turn to follow the airship. As they swung downwards, Eileen was able to decipher the letters: "Most Potent and Elegant Empress of the Skies, The Lady Aetheria". Approaching the airship from the rear, the captain's voice crackled over the intercom, quiet and sad ~"I...this is your captain, Michelle Rogers. I'm sorry. He had us in his sights since 3 o'clock and took over the plane somehow. We couldn't even tell you until now. Be safe, people, there's nothing we can do, don't try and be a hero."~ A cavernous door cycled open, engulfing the plane and revealing the warehouse-like room inside. ~"See you outside."~ The door cycled shut with a thunderous BOOM. Almost instantly afterwards, the plane shuddered as it touched down, rolling to a gentle halt less than halfway through the cargo bay. The plane's doors were opened with a hiss of equalizing air pressure. Then the soldiers filed in, gas-masked and helmeted, with long coats, ushering people out. There was no pulling or threats, but the guns in their hands and the insistence of their gestures brooked no argument. Crying children were unceremoniously given a puff of green gas that sent them instantly to sleep, and one by row by row of seats was emptied and marched through the emergency exits, The air marshal was politely but firmly disarmed. Outside, the bay was filling with soldiers, and on a shelf above the plane several large guns were slid into place, pointing down at the passenger jet in a businesslike manner. With a faint thump, the soldier for Elieen and Marc's row arrived. They pointed very distinctly at the pair, and then at the opened doors. Their other hand held what looked like an old automatic handgun, but something about the construction was off for a gunpowder-and-bullet system. The magazine glowed a faint blue, for one thing. Marc got to his feet with remarkable calm and grace considering his earlier horror. After a moment's silent communication about his luggage across the aisle, the soldier nodded and let him retrieve it. That left them facing Eileen. The free hand jerked again at the opened door.

They can't beat that without a natural 20, so ruling they succeed. +1 HP(+3 so far) to Cerulean for helping prevent a panic. Gather Information result: Sky Lord is a military villain with vast resources at his command. He uses older technology, like the previous Sky Lord did. Sky Lord wants to conquer the world with his army and return society to the values it held in previous generations. Sky Lord is an old man, and tends to let his minions and machines do the fighting for him because of his poor health. The technology Sky Lord and his minions use is nowhere near as primitive as it looks.

More like a 3-D chatroom.

Added Arcturus, Frostbyte, Sea Devil/Jessie White and Stormcrow.

GM "Strange," Marc murmured, glancing up from his notepad to see what Eileen was looking at "normally if it gets that dark, it's because there's less light to reflect off the atmosphere and hide space. But it's only..." he inspected the ratty analog watch on his wrist "...3.20, and storm clouds are too heavy to-" With a blare of brassy music, the plane's annoucement system roared to life, a stern, commanding voice thundering over the radio ~"PASSENGERS OF FLIGHT 5TE! This is the voice of your captor, the voice of the Sky Lord!"~ On cue the children who had managed to fall asleep began to very loudly complain about their rude awakening, their screams and howls mingling with the shocked cries of the passengers on Eileen and Marc's side of the plane. Descending from the veil of darkness came a massive rigid airship at least twenty times the size of the passenger jet, its sleek surface a dull gunmetal ornamented with Art Deco silver lines and the gold wingéd crown of the airborne authority! From stem to stern the dirigible was crowded with very visible and very archaic-looking cannons, mounted small guns and what could only be described as a gothic ray-gun on the nose. On the downward slope something was written in spiraling white cursive letters forty feet across, though it was impossible to make out. Marc went stiff with horror, staring at the gold crown insignia. The flight attendants were only slightly less paralyzed, and though they were doing the best they could to prevent a full-blown panic, their efforts were obviously doomed to failure.

Hope you recover fully, Moira.

GM Murmuring "Thank you" the aged man sat down with a sigh of relief, leaning his head and neck against the backrest. "Marc Niemand, minor government functionary," he introduced himself, pale eyes shut "wishing I was back in Freedom already. I've been wrangling with the mayor's office of Boston over a solid silver statue of the new Silversmith until I flinch every time I hear 'silverware'. It's going to be in a glass case, indoors, and finished in 2020. The woman it's celebrating has barely enough footage to make a guess at her face.They might as well not even have bothered." Shaking his head wearily, the man opened one eye to regard Eileen. "If you ever become a superhero, please, for all our sakes make sure somebody knows what you look like." Leaving the embrace of the airplane seat with a grimace, Marcus took out a generic notepad with a cardboard cover and began writing in it leisurely. Outside her window, the plane broke through a cloud bank to reveal a stunning sight: a vast field like rolling plains of cotton balls or fluffy snow, the world below only visible in far-off snatches of sunny metropolis and field, and a blue sky that quickly darkened almost to black above the plane.

GM Eileen's reward was a chorus of surprise, anger and pain as the goggled soldiers, including the hulking armored brutes in spiked helmets, tried to shield their eyes or turn away faster than the speed of light. Miraculously, most of them were able to avoid the worst of the luminous fusillade, and scant seconds after the shouts began the soldiers, squinting through the glare at the multiplied girl, raised their weapons and replied with a hail of retro-futuristic gunfire! Not a single shot hit the real Eileen, instead hissing and spitting into the bulkhead behind her with unfortunate but predictable results. Sky Lord, growling and rubbing his eyes, was the first to notice the wall behind Cerulean was glowing red-hot under the barrage, and his decades of experience in the sky sent him charging down the hallway. His stentorian voice rose above the gunfire "Stop shooting, that's an order! Stop-!" Then, with a muted groan and hiss, the thick square of metal simply flung away from the airship, and the pressurized artificial atmosphere followed it in a vortex of howling wind! The armored soldiers managed to anchor themselves in time, and the riflers grabbed hold of each other with the ease of frequent practice, their leader quickly using his flight harness to rocket to safety. But none of them were standing at the edge of the sudden abyss. With a feeling like she'd been hit by a brick wall, Cerulean shot out of the hallway and into the open air, tumbling head-over-heels as her vision was alternately filled with the majestic and powerful Lady Aetheria and the sickening miles between her and the cheery orange-hued metropolis of New York. After the deafening cacophony in the metal halls of Sky Lord's vessel, the eerie silence of thin air was downright alien. It hadn't started out like this. In fact, things had been going pretty well (if boring) just twenty minutes ago, on flight BOS-FCY 5TE... Shortly before the falling and the shooting and the running... "Excuse me, you mind if I sit here?" The pale middle-aged man was thin, as was his salt-and-pepper mustache, his grey suit and his wry, apologetic smile. He gestured to where Eileen had vaguely noticed him before, where a long-suffering family had installed their blessedly-sleeping infant "I don't dare try and get my seat back, you see."

Mad Scientist, on next edit-round it might be a good idea to put a mention that Mirror Images is, in fact, a Concealment effect. I thought it was an Illusion! Anyway, let's get those rolls. Doing this as an aggregate because of the thing I mentioned in the PM. Reflex: 24 Fortitudes: v. Dazzle 10 v. Stun 25 They can't see where they're shooting, but they can still shoot. GM Fiating (+1HP) that the barrage misses Cerulean but blasts open the wall behind her, the difference in pressure hurling her out of the airship and into empty air! GM post forthcoming.

I'm so sorry to hear that's happened, Sandman. Hope she pulls through okay.

OOC thread for Sky Crime!, wherein there's a battle in the sky.

So after agonizing over it for hours, I managed to start the thread! Let me know if anything needs changing!

GM 6th July, Monday, 2015, 3.45 PM The skies above New York City, 37,500ft. above sea level The Lady Aetheria, flagship of the Sky Lord's fleet The warning shot flashed by Eileen's face like a meteor and struck the dead end to her right as she left the main hallway, a small porthole admitting the sight of a vast plain of clouds gleaming in the summer sun. The impact left a sharp stink of hot steel, and a fast-fading circle of red-hot metal on the wall. "There's nowhere to run, girl!" barked the slightly metallic voice of a soldier. With their anachronistic heavy helmets and masks, it was impossible to tell which of the twenty-odd people aiming their weapons down the hallway at the glowing young woman had said it. But there was no mistaking the note of triumph in the voice, and the deadly intent of the archaic-looking guns. They were staggered along the harsh steel corridor, leaning from open doorways and crouched against the walls, nobody in anybody's way and all very calm. Behind her, the Lapis Lamp could hear the pounding treads of her well-armored pursuers, slowing down as they neared, the far-off baritone of the radio man crackling through the halls. "Attention, attention. Escapee is cornered at junction 3-H! All units not in pursuit, return to the prisoners!" As if cut off, the clanging alarm ceased. And with a *SLAM* that jarred her skull, the door crashed shut behind her. In the abrupt silence that followed, the appearance of the Sky Lord at the far hallway mouth, backed by heavy-armoured troops and leaning on his sceptre with a profound look of disappointment, was almost comically anticlimactic. The robust old man shook his white head and sighed "Young lady, I commend your youthful exuberance and energy, but this was the only possible outcome. Power down and return to your cell, there is nowhere left for you to run." Before Cerulean was a forest of steel and fire. Behind her was a wall and a sickening drop. So many choices.

Alrighty, Refs have given the go-ahead, and just as soon as I've had supper I will start the thread.

Very well, I'll send the request and get back to you. Glad you like it. :]

"Cerulean: FAMED IN SPACE" Sorry if I was unclear, I meant fighting Sky Lord II and one of his battle-airships with its crew and complement of of deadly turn-of-the-20th-century styled weaponry. That is what I meant to write. Any preference on either the Grue weapon or the Lemurian?

How about one of these: (asterisks indicate stuff we'll need to ask the Admins about) a misfired Kappa Ray snatches Cerulean from Earth, bringing her into a struggle in Khanate space between the gallant freedom-fighter Öllis Ayz and the tyrannical (and powerful!) former governor of the region who has proclaimed themselves Regnant. Or: a Grue* bioweapon from their last invasion has suddenly awakened, and unless quickly stopped could destroy an entire city block! Even worse, it's showing faint but definite signs of intelligence far beyond the norm of the alien titans. Or: A Lemurian* construct of shadow and mind-bent steel bursts from a rift in time, challenging Cerulean by name while she's out with friends. Or: A return flight from visiting her family in Boston is captures by Sky Lord*, who attempts to take the passengers and crew as hostages to protest a political cause that offends his old-fashioned ethics. Or if none of those suit you, I can easily come up with more.

Sure, I'd be willing to. Got any specific theme or central hook in mind?

Fixed some links, added Echo, the Oracle, Pulsar and Tesseract.