Headlines
Deoxygenator trial run reveals unusual new form of life - Scientific Inquirer, 18th of January 2011 (Earth Bet)
Trials by the Xenodyne company of a Deoxygenator meant to rapidly rid water of unwanted microbial and macrofaunal life in water bodies thought to have nothing but controlled samples of algae have revealed a new and unprecedented form of life that somewhat resembles extremely primitive forms of arthropods with the noted difference of having an entirely anaerobic biology. Even more remarkable, these microscopic but multicellular life forms are even able to disassemble oxygen atoms from molecules, creating a fizz of gasses and carbons as they metabolism through unknown processes. While seemingly unable to thrive in oxygenated conditions, exposure to the Dexoygenator seems to be causing some manner of mutation. Tepidly classified as a form of animal until further studies can be done, the revelation of complex multicellular anaerobic life forms has the biological community greatly excited.
Samus' Notes for Date: Today I got a chance to try a solo-date with Elerya. I think it largely went well, but I must confess to being unable to grasp the appeal of this "Minecraft". Perhaps I am overly spoiled by more advanced and sophisticated forms of games? Oh well. I also got to catch up with Sevrin and Agafya. I'm glad to know they were worried and wanted to check on us! But we can handle ourselves honestly. Though I do miss people like Ian, Kreatz, or Yramil. But I was really happy to see Papa had a message for me, saying he was sorry he couldn't be there for my birthday. On my next birthday, I'll just make sure to give him extra love! Mother Brain had nothing useful to say so I ignored her again. Grey Voice's message was same old same old, asking if I was putting in my best effort; ugh, War Hawk is much more fun to talk to. But it's good to know they're all there!
Arne's Notes for Date: I was able to ascertain with Agafya's help that the way back home was accessible and fairly easy to transit through whenever it's not busy being used for brawls of one sort or another. This does introduce a choke point that makes it more difficult for non-inheritor traffic to slip through, but the technology is fairly basic once you get down through all the technicalities. Wheeljack managed to set up a space bridge back home and while I wasn't able to see Mom, I did let her know I was okay, and she didn't have to worry about me. Da-...Zurvduat was less pleased though. Why can't he be happy for me? Mortirk visited me personally though; with mom's other lover Ygrak. He was nice and gave me some chocolate and asked how I was doing. I said I was fine...I always say that. But...he told me I had to face things with proud resolve. I'll try.
Agafya's Notes for Date: After spending some time between these two Earths I've come to the following conclusions. The twenty-first century is bullshit and I cannot fathom how people tolerated this level of squalor. Secondly, having to explain so many very basic things to people is incredibly frustrating when they cannot follow a simple conversation about the planar physics of N-Space. Thirdly not having Matron Garlamat to offer me advice is rather alienating. I've deferred to her on social matters for too long. I need to refocus myself and rebuild my resolve to interact with "normal" people. It shouldn't be too hard. They are simply weird, not threatening. I just need to try somewhat harder to ignore their mistakes I suppose. I can only hope that Patron Ulsim can keep his mouth shut for a bit and let me work out my approach without his snide comments.
Sevrin's Notes for Date: I am getting quite used to being asked out on dates with little prompting or warning but certainly being asked as soon as I showed up to join the group on a swim session was rather novel. The date went quite well, though I believe that Miko may be in need of finding more time to relax elsewhere. She is overly stressing herself with her desire to preform. But it is nice to see Samus and Arne in rather high spirits, especially Skjoldr who always seems to have something behind him. Agafya is also a little more relaxed than normal at least, but Samus seems to be in her bright cheer as always. Such a radiant smile. Father Gylarias would be proud to have such a bright grin to witness every day! Though Ysteria always seems to have some new nitpick to make when she sees the others. I worry for the woman sometimes.
Autobots introduce Moonshade and Sunburst as newest members - Paragon City Herald, 6th of November, 2021 (Primal Earth)
Autobot Commander Jetfire has, in a public ceremony, revealed the two newest members of the Autobot masterforce corps from the "Inheritor" metaversal cluster, Sunburst and Moonshade. Companions and friends of Dawnchild and Duskguard, the quartet managed to quickly apprehend an attempted raid on the magical artefact lock boxes by a crew of eight incarnate powered supervillains shipped in from the Etoille Islands and clear away an attempted 5th Column ambush on the ceremony all within thirty minutes. While so far they have chosen to keep their identities and appearances beneath their armour secret they do seem to be young and somewhat awkward, with a great deal of room left to grow as heroes. Crafter type heroes are already taking inspiration from the immense morphic capabilities displayed by their armour in the hopes of pushing the boundaries of heroism a little farther.
Samus' Notes for Date: I'm honestly not sure what they expected from that ambush? Did they just want revenge from the first time we beat them? We've gotten a lot stronger since then and the whole thing was so poorly coordinated. Oh well, I won't ever say no to putting more of them down. And at least nobody (besides them!) got hurt. So that was a pretty good day!
Arne's Notes for Date: The way people in this city just accept events like that as normal, part of the charm even, just continues to weird me out. It's like everybody is just convinced that everything will work out fine in the end. But will it? Can it? Our luck can't hold out forever.
Agafya's Notes for Date: Disappointing more than anything else, I was expecting a genuine challenge. Instead all I got was clowns caught by surprise when outmatched. They'll probably lick their wounds and try again later with better forces. I'll have to do some sweeps just to be sure.
Sevrin's Notes for Date: Ah the whole procession was all wrong! The security was nothing short of abominable, what manner of incompetents do they have running these things? I must prepare myself to deal with fools then, for it seems that I work with clowns.
Autobots to discuss treaty with Alliance of Worlds and Earth Bet and Aleph - Daily Paragon, 8th of November, 2021 (Primal Earth)
At the behest of the Autobot Revolutionary Command Council's leadership, delegates are to meet at the United Nations building on Primal Earth New York City to discuss a means of collective defence and security against possible alien threats. Also present will be a small delegation from the Omdyn of Democratic Council Omnipragmatist Republics. The treaty is meant to provide a framework for the sharing of resources and technology in a controlled, safe manner to prepare the defence of the world for the "Oncoming Storm" prophecised to begin shortly that many believe may be the end of the world. It will also provide for a common framework for cooperation in civilian affairs as well as dealing with any native malefactors that may seek to cross between dimensions to illicitly take advantage of the situation elsewhere or hide from justice in such places.
Samus' Notes for Date: I'm so glad I wasn't asked to sit in on this. I would have been sooooooo bored listening to all the empty speeches. And can we be sure that they're ready for conflict on this sort of scale? I don't think we should be letting them deal with fights like this when most of them are so weak.
Arne's Notes for Date: The important question is whether this will be able to hold when the situation gets dire. The governments of this era have so little connection to the actual populace that I'm not convinced they won't fall apart over their conflicting interests once pushed.
Agafya's Notes for Date: None of these people are genuinely interested in mutual defence and half of them are probably already dupes for the invaders to come. All they want is access to more advanced technology and information to sell to their overlords.
Sevrin's Notes: Bah, do not concern me with the going ons of scoundrels who endlessly contort their words for small favours in the name of power. I would rather face the hordes of the final night on my own than sit through the bickering of professional liars and power mongers.
Rash of "Aberrant Tinkers" Puzzles PRT - Los Angeles Times, 24th of January 2011 (Earth Bet)
Classified as Aberrant Tinkers due to unusual patterns of extreme consistency in the manifestations of the abilities and a lack of any apparent trigger events beyond strange dreams and an interest in paranormal phenomenon relating to other realities. With none of the usual circumstances that lead to the onset of Tinker abilities, these individuals are still possessed of an immense drive to begin building nanotechnology of a degree of sophistication far beyond any noted technical skills those who express the condition have. These machines always clump into a ramshackle form of mechanical humanoid that will seek to leave the domicile of the creator at some point to parts unknown. Commentary from Dawnchild, Duskguard, Sunburst, and Moonshade of the Autobots is that this is a manifestation of some sort of extraversal phenomenon, and Autobot Commander Warpath has recommended destroying them. However, many have escaped the attempted purge of the machines and have disappeared into parts unknown.
Samus' Notes for Date: Today I was introduced to the legend of "Santa Claus". I am disappointed that parents would tell their children about the existence of such a jolly, kind person but only ever as a lie. Why not be honest and say that it is a story instead? Stories can be true, even if they aren't real.
Arne's Notes for Date: Went out with Alyrsero and had some very interesting conversations about the Empyrean and its narrative-based nature and the reliance on stories it has. It's very similar to the Morpheon, though it seems to be based more on narrative than Dreams. Overall, it was a pretty fun date.
Agafya's Notes for Date: This well of Furies raises my suspicions when I speak to the demon summoner of it. Its choices of champions are clear proof that it does not have our interests at heart. I will find ways to reach this Source without relying on the graces of this well, and I think everyone else should too.
Sevrin's Notes for Date: Hardly anything worth learning from lessons today so I spent my time with more radiant things such as the smiles of pretty things and the company of happy folk who can be made to feel some joy with a song or three. The afternoon afterwards was quite relaxing indeed, and I think I will come again soon.
Autobots stymie another major operation by the Weltreich - France24, 26th of January 2011 (Earth Bet)
The Weltreich as it has come to be known, known for its support of organisations such as the Gesellschaft, the Empire-88, and the 5th Column; had attempted to smuggle in known Primal Earth mutagenic agents into Empire-88 gang territory to rapidly create a large number of parahuman assets with which to conduct larger-scale operations within Earth Bet. This has been part of a recent wave of such efforts by the Weltreich through 5th Column proxies as part of a "recruiting drive" meant to bulk up its forces in preparation for an escalation of conflict. While Dawnchild and Sunburst focused on the efforts in the Untied States, Duskguard and Moonshade would strike at their gatherings in Paris. The other autobots known to have been present include Bumblebee, Strongarm, Warpath, and Arcee. Multiple capes, both from Primal Earth and Earth Bet, were involved in the operations; as were the Eldar youths. Despite the apprehension of the commanding agents and their 5th Column Minders, the alert level has been raised anyway as a precautionary measure.
Samus' Notes for Date: The amount of effort these people put into being so hateful astonishes me but if they're willing to keep on coming for a fight I'm willing to keep on coming to knock them back down. I just wish I could be let loose to find their origin point and give them a proper lesson though! It's so annoying to have to wait for an operation to be ready.
Arne's Notes: Why are there so many people willing to listen to this kind of trash? All these small business owners and artisan guttersnipes who want to blame anything for their woes except the people they think deserve to be on top just make me feel ill. And so many of them were tied to police forces too. Can we even begin to clean out a threat of this nature?
Agafya's Notes: I know that by descent, I am Jewish. It never meant much to me, the people who would have taught me what it meant are long dead and the lessons taught are quite foreign to my experience. But I know enough to know that Nazis have no place. But I wonder if they are being harboured by the local authorities to strike at groups they wish to suppress?
Sevrin's Notes: Ah to purge such scum and scoundrels is the spice of life itself. I was worried that I may go my immortal life without once getting an opportunity to destroy such an old evil. But the chance gives me such invigoration! This is the exercise I hoped for, however easy the fight itself turned out to be. Yes, I would like more battles such as these, so simple yet daring against such unworthy foes. Paris was nice though, it felt good to connect with my ancestry.
Observers in Shadowshard report signs of enormous conflict - DimensionWatch, 15th of November 2021 (Primal Earth)
Reports coming in from the Shadowshard; the Prison Dimension in which the reality devourer Rularuu was confined to in the 1960s; have stated that the Shard seems to be in a state of especially severe turmoil as enormous read outs of energy suggesting conflicts of unimaginable scale continue to batter sensors. Significant stretches of the dimension; already constantly churning with the dreams of the now insensate and insane blind idiot diety; are now considered to be entirely off limits due to the proximity to these energy readouts, and these readouts only appear to be growing increasingly more violent and powerful. Theories abound as to the source of these energy signatures, but they are as varied as they are enormous, suggesting an incredibly complex web of battles between a large array of opposing forces. Why they have decided to attack Rularuu in particular is something that remains unclear, but the preoccupation of the soldiers of Rularuu has resulted in a downtick in Rularuu cult activity.
Samus' Notes on Date: Could you believe they were using a Grathagar relic statue as nothing more than a fountain piece at the plaza? They're lucky we were here to handle it before someone could have set off its defence mechanisms! The relic fight was pretty hard to say the least but we got it to part with the Desolator suit upgrade at least. Yay! Though there's not really been all that many hyper-corrosives here honestly...
Arne's Notes on Date: The people just kind of...wanted to stop and have a look at the fight. Even when the Relic Guardian dissolved half of Sideswipe's arm and shrugged off the highest temperatures Gaela and Gaelan could throw at it. I certainly hope this was worth Chariot and Kid Win's data after the trouble we went through to get the relic to stand down. Oh well, more upgrades never hurt.
Agafya's Notes on Date: Now this was a fight worth having. Genuine exhiliration, challenge from having to keep the civilians out of the way of the combat area, a foe who could take my best hits and keep going. I felt alive at last! I do not think though, that in the future that the non-inheritors should get involved in relic guardian battles based on their performance here.
Sevrin's Notes on Date: I shall add irresponsible collectors to the list of people I would like to have a stern word with after this day. Again we see the follies of fools who think that they can just help themselves to whatever they find without consequence. What if someone had gotten hurt? What if the relic was awakened without inheritors or progenitors to test? I do not like those who roll the dice with the lives of others.
Upswing in UFO sightings has Air Force Baffled - The Review, 2nd of February 2011 (Earth Bet)
The number of UFO sightings over a region encompassing much of western North America and extending into the Deep South and as far south as the southern tip of Baja California as well as inner Alaska has exploded in recent days. While an explanation for these sightings has not been arrived at yet, Primal Earth United Nations Vanguard forces have urged for authorities to prepare for a state of emergency and begin to mobilise military assets in expectation of conflict. With Autobot resources stretched thin, their findings have yet to be made particularly conclusive, but they have determined the sightings to be of extradimensional origin rather than weather phenomenon or tested prototype aircraft. While the intentions of these craft remain unknown, UFOlogists have offered many theories; many of which are unsuited for print.
Samus' Notes on Date: I managed to get in touch with some of the other inheritors, Tokuda Yumiko, Yong Tohyon, Tang Yujin, and Yesuntei Taghai; they say things are currently fine on their side. But there's been some weird disappearances here and there. Not of people but often entire societies. The Progenitors are even debating whether to continue with the current course or alter the plan? I'm told to not worry but...do they need my help? Old Bird at least told me things were being handled and well, I trust him but I can't help it...
Arne's Notes on Date: Mortirk and Elmorni told me I should just put Zurvduat on mute but I feel like if I do that, I wouldn't ever be able to get his approval. I'm sure there has to be some, somewhere. He wouldn't have taken me in if he didn't have at least a little. But mom at least had something nice to send to us, cake for Yllingsdag. That was really tasty, and Mortirk even helped put Solveig, Taellarja, and Yllarion through for a call...really wish they could come over. I kind of miss them. But I wish Mortirk wasn't so duty focused at times, I guess he and Elmorni just want what's best for me.
Agafya's Notes on Date: I was asked out on a date by one of the boys; Aronim I think his name is. Against my better judgement I humoured him. I've had worse for sure, though I don't think I like the movies of this century very much. Every time they make some sort of reference I feel myself straining to get why it's supposed to be funny or clever and am just left confused. But he did cook for me, which was nice. I think I prefer Sevrin's pancake recipes though, fluffier. Still, I gave him my contact details.
Sevrin's Notes on Date: I am told that it is unsporting to play real time strategy games with people who are unable to perceive the future. Especially when my team mates are also diviners. I suppose this is a fair judgement, I am truly a devil for bringing such unfairness upon those who had expected only a friendly game. I need to do something to make penance, the frown on Dennis' face was palpable when he realised he had lost less than five minutes into the match and proceeded to lose the next five. It is my fault that he feels this way.
Iron Tetrad defeats Council attempt to take over Hawaii - Parahuman News, 5th of February 2011 (Earth Bet)
The Council, a Futurist paramilitary terror organisation originally from Primal Earth, has been sent packing after an attempt to take over Pearl Harbour and the entirety of the state of Hawaii was defeated by what Cape enthusiasts have started to call "the Iron tetrad" to refer to their numbers and their usage of power armour. The four capes, Dawnchild, Duskguard, Moonshade, and Sunburst, quickly arrived on the scene within minutes of the Council emerging from portals with its attack force to try and slip past pacific fleet defensive assets and land a force meant to fortify their position and base of operations.
With the aid of Brockton Bay's very own Vista, Kid Win, Clockblocker, Stormchild, Aegis, and Lady Silver as well as the Eldar youths known as "Warlock", "Radiant Blade", "Black Crown", and "Factormage", the autobots "Bumblebee", "Chromia", "Silverbolt", and "Windblade", and the primal Earth metahumans "Eudaimonica", "Dawnmaker", "Duskkeeper", "Nightcaster", "Xaeon" and "Iybraa" in a large forty-eight person operation; the Capes re-established control over the Islands, liberated prisoner of war camps, and drove back the Council's efforts to attain a final act of spite by defusing its volcano bomb.
Also present were adult supervisors Alexandria, Citadel, Ms.Liberty, Numina, Battery, Assault, Armsmaster, Eidolon, Narwhal, Penelope Yin, Ascendant, Mynx, Synapse, Dauntless, Dragon, and Infernal for joint Freedom Corps and Protectorate operations. Primal Earth International Heroes Exo-Buster, Gaela, Gaelan, and Gravity Guardian as well as Soviet Earth bet heroes Serp, Molotok, Nakoval'Nya, and Chernaya Gvardiya made up the remainder of the league deployed to repulse the Council's forces with as little loss of military personnel life as possible.
Samus' Notes on Date: The Nictus appear to be trying to consolidate their various puppets for some sort of major scheme but just what they're hoping to accomplish is beyond me. The Council certainly seems to have plenty of forces to spare but don't seem to care very much about the fates of their "super soldiers". But as long as they're willing to drop some of their more interesting toys such as their Gieger visors though I won't be complaining. Building Sand Castles is fun too! I need to get used to the motions of surfing though, I'm sure I'll be able to master this with a bit of practice!
Arne's Notes on Date: The Council talks a big game for an army that doesn't seem to do very much different than the Fifth Column besides having more ridiculous looking uniforms. I guess they rely more on large robots and superscience and less on mysticism? But they don't have a whole lot to give them a significant deal of threat without their Nictus puppet masters. At the very least a lot of our allies are incarnates now from this whole thing. And Hawaii was fun once things calmed down. I...kind of like the way people look at me in swimming clothes, it makes me feel valid. Just...as long as they don't stare too hard and make it weird.
Agafya's Notes on Date: Well, at least they remembered to send in more powerful war-walkers than last time, though I think they will probably be back to their drawing boards after this one. Just where do they get enough men to waste on endeavours like this? Who is providing them the credit and munitions to expend on farces like this? Even with a multiversal empire in another timeline to resource them, they knew what codes to send to slip into near point-blank range. And who's to say they didn't have agents waiting on the beach while we played around making sand castles and surfing? But the watermelon was nice I'll admit, and I don't often get to try out the bikini.
Sevrin's Notes: Ah these are the acolytes of Mussolini or D'Annunzio I take it? Pathetic soldiers for a pathetic cause I suppose. Were only that they were more foolish so they could have wasted more of their feeble strength on this wasteful endeavour rather than run away to lick their wounds like the cowards they are at heart. Alas, most who follow this path are not brave, or else they would have had the courage to stick to better things in life. As for the beach, it was a fitting reward for sure! Nothing else like soaking in the rays of the glorious sun after victory won alongside friends, or some night of relaxation when all is said and done.
Chozo relics discovered on Moon - Astronomy Today, 9th of February 2011 (Earth Bet)
The Iron Tetrad's exploration of the area around the Autobot moonbase lead them to discover an unknown relic in what seems to have been an outpost left behind by the hitherto enigmatic alien culture referred to as the "Chozo", short for "Chojinzuko". Abandoned for unknown reasons, this outpost contained some manner of test for the would-be claimants of its treasure that resulted in a particularly intense firefight that left the four claimers of an unknown manner of artefact. While comment has been declined, it is speculated that the world is seeded with thousands or more such reliquaries capable of a potentially hostile reaction to attempts to interfere with their vigil, resulting in a frantic effort to re-examine Museum collections for any potential sources of disaster.
Samus' Notes on Date: It's just the power grip. It's nice but it's mostly used for lifting things or hitting really hard. And the lifting is more about the force-fields to apply leverage and stop the object from falling apart anyway. It's nice but it's not that special. Having to win the fight with some close-quarters combat action was pretty interesting though! I should probably work on improving my melee weapons a bit more anyway. Maybe when I'm done with all this work on improving local weapons up to standard.
Arne's Notes on Date: With the sheer number of Reliquaries we're finding buried around these planets I'm starting to get a better idea of why they're drawing so much interest and attention. But these relics are usually only left so obviously out in the open as gifts for inheritors in places they're expected to visit to deal with something. But what is that something? I just can't shake the anxiety about not knowing what it is that we're needing all this firepower to deal with on a mission that's not really gone beyond two planets.
Agafya's Notes on Date: The fight was probably the best part of the whole day to be honest, but I'm hoping that in the future we get opponents worth using all this firepower against. Or else I'm going to get bored. But well, at least the people here should be safe. When we're on duty here anyway. If more of us come here then well, I expect things to be resolved decently quickly. But the days are getting so slow. Ugh.
Sevrin's Notes on Date: A fair and worthy contest for a deserving prize for the heroes who accomplished it! Today was a worthy day for justice!
Iron Tetrad prevents Rulu-shin theft of Dagger of Jocasta - Cape Tribune, 1st of December, 2021 (Primal Earth)
As the Winter Horde descends upon Paragon for its yearly efforts to beget the era of eternal winter, the Iron Tetrad was able to intervene in time to stop the Rulu-Shin, a cult of Rularuu, from being able to make off with the artifact dagger from the vaults of the Time Guardian organisation Ouroboros. The dagger, famed for its ability to injure Rularuu, is kept safe by the organisation for reasons unknown but assumedly important and access to the weapon was swiftly denied to the Tetrad. Reports of Dawnchild using unprintworthy language directed at Mender SIlos for his hostility towards her cannot be confirmed.
Samus' Notes on Date: I cannot believe that this absolute scum is given authority over a time guardian organisation!? We wage war for his knife and he tells me to go run off and play so he can talk to the adults?!? We do everything for him and he won't even tell us why it was so important???? And he has the nerve to talk to me about being naive and not understanding the way the world works when he openly admits to having serial killers and war criminals in his council because he "needs the perspective of evil as well as good"?!? If the others weren't there I would have dunked his stupid head stupid hair first into the stupid water! AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGHHH!!!
Arne's Notes on Date: It's never worth forgetting that as sweet as Samus is, she's got one of the hottest tempers of all of us. She was maybe two seconds away from punching Mender Silos into the water when he started chiding her for her morality and I honestly can't blame her. His answers for why he doesn't do more with his organisation's reach, power, and skills all ring hollow to me. "Some things just need to happen" is not a valid response when I'm asking him why he lets the Holocaust occur and has his organisation interfere with any attempts to stop it from happening.
Agafya's Notes on Date: I can see why the Matron was adamant that time travel was a field of power that most beings simply are not ready to handle the consequences of or the underlying mechanics of because I've never seen a more insufferable bunch of losers with their heads jammed so firmly up their own arses as this miserable lot. Talking down to everyone else as if they are just so superior and know things we all don't when this group mostly sits down and conspires to prevent anyone from actually enacting meaningful change outside of the parameters of some vague "golden road." I don't trust them, Mender Silos is planning something and I just know he feels closer to the "villains" in his council than the "heroes".
Sevrin's Notes on Date: What a thoroughly awful experience! Talked down to by these sorts of scoundrels and rothearted scum who would dare lecture us about morality when they so nakedly traffic with evil! This pack of fiends is surely up to something dastardly and I will uncover it sooner or later and expose once and for all the malignance that lies at the heart of this serpent. There will be a reckoning with this cartoon haired would-be time lord and it will end in justice done. I swear this on my Father in Light!
Who's dating who this Valentine's Day? - Cape Gossip, 14th of February, 2011 (Earth bet)
As we settle into Valentine's Day 2011 the question on the mind of all cape watchers is who's taking advantage of the meeting of the worlds to hook up with who. Our intrepid reporters have dug deep into Primal Earth and the Autobot masterforce to get you the juicy details on all the latest info. While everyone knows the Iron Tetrad hangs closely together and the Elven Octet is often inseparable; our candid photographers managed to get the latest scoops on their interactions with the Starsetters and the Wards of Brockton Bay. While we can't say a lot of things for certain about these otherworldly alien capes, we can be sure that some lucky wards have gotten to enjoy their company as more than just friends based on the evidence we've gathered. And as for Brockton Bay's own Black Moth, after busting an attempt by the Slavic Neo-Pagan gang known as "the skulls" to try and expand into the Bay from Paragon; we've gotten some hints of her hanging around some Undersiders a little closer than is strictly professional.
Samus' Notes on Date: I had sooooooo many valentine's cards to sort through! I feel like everyone attracted to girls at Arcadia and Statesman sent me a present of some sort! What am I supposed to do with all this chocolate? And why are they called Hershey's "Kisses" when the last thing I want to do is kiss someone who thinks this stuff is edible??? I tried to send some presents of my own but there's so many people I don't know the names of to reply to. Ugh. But at least the night with "the gang" as Aronim called it was nice. Especially when we got back to the sleeping quarters. So much fun to be had!
Arne's Notes on Date: I'm uhhh...flattered I got this much attention to say the least. Almost embarrassed actually. I sent the gifts I could but I'll have to make more since I ran out of things I think are appropriate for the holiday to send. Is that alright to do? I hope so, it would be really bad if anyone felt like I was insulting them by sending it late. I should have been more prepared honestly. But the night was great, and I think I'm starting to appreciate Vista's company at least as much as Samus is enjoying Chris'. And everyone else well...Samus, Sevrin, Agafya and I certainly had fun and it was nice to snuggle as a group.
Agafya's Notes on Date: I have had...less awkward moments than when I had cards thrust into my face by strangers. Or when I was dragged out to partake in the "revelry" of this trashy commercialisation of romance. But if I am to inspire more than I scare, then I had to put up with it. Some of the gifts were even thoughtful, but I half expect most of them to have asked someone who can pry information from destiny or scanners to know what sort of gifts I'd like. As long as nobody knows I kind of enjoyed Ormothin's sappy poem or Lola's ridiculous taste in movies I will consider today well spent.
Sevrin's Notes on Date: So many people competing for my attention my word! Thankfully I always come prepared for these sorts of things when people decide my unworthy self is deserving of their time so I had presents to give to everyone. I even got Aggie to laugh a little in public without snark or meanspiritedness behind it and I managed to coax a genuine grin out of Arne, and as for Samus; she seems to have greatly enjoyed my own card based on her colour of cheeks. I must have honoured at least twelve requests for my time today until we went out as a group. But it was time well spent at least.
Endbringer Leviathan attempts attack on Grandeville, State of the Etoille Islands, is repelled - KaijuDaily, 8th of December, 2021 (Primal Earth)
The Earth Bet native Kaiju designated as Leviathan (not to be confused with the Gigabeast known as Leviathan native to Primal Earth sleeping in the Atlantic Ocean) had somehow managed to cross the barrier between realities to launch a brazen attack on the Capital of Arachnos' Empire. If it had expected Captain Mako to use his own ties to the Primal Earth Leviathan to dispel its usual opening of a Tsunami and force it to make landfall without the element of surprise, it showed no sign, making landfall in the so called City of Villains and being confronted by a swarm of metahuman villains that call the Etoille Islands home and safe harbour. With a bounty being offered for any who could bring Leviathan's carcass before Lord Recluse for study, more than twenty thousand supervillains swarmed Leviathan in a massive surge; any casualties quickly returning from mediportation facilities or were healed by support category villains to rejoin the fight. While Leviathan offered a tremendous fight and downed thousands of villains, the tide began turning once the max-level villains and the incarnates arrived and Leviathan turned to retreat once it seemed to realise that its regenerative abilities were being weakened by the hexes placed on it by support-oriented villains before Arachnos Capture Teams with orders to place the creature into a stasis dimension for study could prevent its escape. Breaking through the Cordon of villains that had assembled to prevent it from fleeing, it successfully fought its way back to the sea and disappeared back to its native dimension with Captain Mako unable to stop it from leaving. Overall casualties are low, but given Arachnos' apathy towards civilian loss of life, it is not expected that official numbers will remain more than vague estimates.
Samus' Notes on Date: Masterforce training suuuuuuucked. I had to do the same drill over and over and over again when I clearly had gotten it right on the first try! At least silverbolt was pretty good to work with, even if I'd probably prefer Bumblebee. But I think if we work at this a bit we could be friends. I was also given a formal rank in the autobots too. Masterforce Sergeant Major which I think means that I'm the NCO for the "duodecimarch" squad. Huh, so I'm the commander then? We never really bothered with a hierarchy honestly. I'd prefer to just be...friendleader to commander. I'll do my best though!
Arne's Notes on Date: The drill sergeant was a lot nicer than I'm used to, more like the teachers at the Magnus Academy than Zurvduat. I did my best to earn them being nice at least, and I think I made a good impression on Skyburst. I initially asked to be partnered with Windblade but apparently I need to get more developed with my psychic abilities to be able to make the proper connection with her. Which, fair I guess. A bit disappointed, but Skyburst was really interesting to work with, though I think she's just used to having another set of thoughts to hear since she combines into a bigger robot.
Agafya's Notes on Date: I like Warpath at least, he takes after my own heart. Belligerent, powerful, aggressive, and ready to dive in. I wish he wouldn't make those ear grating onomatopoeias though, there is only so many times I can hear "KAPOW" before I start to see red. He is strong, but rather obvious and full of bluster. But then I suppose he has earned the right to be loud and boisterous when he's as durable as he is or packs as many weapons as he does. I however, don't think he's even aware of his speech quirks. I'm not sure how, but he lacks any particular cognizance of how he emphasises every word meant to represent a sound.
Sevrin's Notes on Date: Strongarm I believe will make for an excellent partner thanks to our strong shared values of a commitment to justice and truth! The degree to which we are on the same wavelength, in particular, seems to have made the whole process simple and easy. I think that I will enjoy more of these masterforce training exercises, and it is nice to not have to make all the calls in the heat of battle for a bit. Though I don't think she was expecting the amount of firepower I offer in weapon mode.
Autobot lead joint training exercises to begin - Global Review, 19th of February 2011 (Earth Bet)
Autobot forces have begun joint training exercises to prepare the militaries of the Earth Alliance as well as those of Earth Aleph, Bet, and other realities native to our own metaversal cluster for what they term "higher grade warfare". The exercise is meant to simulate the conditions of attack by enemies from beyond their planet and how to respond, cope with, and manage the stresses and situations brought about by these conditions. Also attending were agent Kalros of the Omdyn, the Iron Tetrad, and the Elven Octet who offered their own insight and training efforts. Also present were familiarisation programs to get select soldiers used to the augmentations and weapons being developed by the autobots with the aid of the Tetrad to pass out to various military units; and seminars provided by those who have engaged in battle with "higher grade combatants" as well as basics on the metaphysics of their own realms and what to expect in terms of the supernatural.
Samus' Notes on Date: Jetfire said my training program was a bit too harsh. But these people need to be strong if they want to hold their own against a Space Pirate attack or whatever else might be coming their way. I can't let them go out and fight as they are now or they'll die. And if they're not able to withstand the pressures then I'd rather them stay home and let us handle it. Nobody who isn't ready for this should be out risking their lives. But at the very least, after that was over I got to spend more time with the group, Sevrin made us some cake and it was soooo good!
Arne's Notes: I've never seen grown people look more deflated and defeated than when I saw the first Spestnaz operatives finally crawl to the end of the finishing line of Samus' obstacle course only to be told that their time was to completion was abysmally below par. I think I convinced Samus to ease up on them a little. She means well but she's pushing them harder than they can manage. Especially pre-augmentation. But on happier notes, Sevrin's cooking is still as good as always. I'm not sure how he could turn those awful Hershey's kisses into something edible, but he managed.
Agafya's Notes: After the first few dozen tryhards went down the people who volunteered for a sparring session with myself sadly dried up and found excuses to be somewhere else. Honestly, what did I expect? The Vanguard ones were the funniest though because you can tell they were overly trusting in their impervium armour. Armour that doesn't break doesn't help if the meat inside is nursing a concussion from kissing the floor at hypervelocity. And I'm sure I could break the grade of Impervium they use if I tried. Whatever, at least they know to have some humility.
Sevrin's Notes: It is often hard to remember most of these people only know of things such as supraplanar physics from science fiction that glosses over most of the details to get to the story. I had to go back over so many basics of tachyonic weaponry so many times to get them to understand how to avoid weapons that hit before they're fired. And the philosophy debate, by the Radiance that was apocalyptically awful. I think I lost the entire group when I explained how that pre-causality doesn't lead to predestination. I am a useless teacher, truly...
Joint task force turns up Machine Army outpost, Circle of Thorns Cult, and Genestealer nest in London - Daily Mirror, 13th of December, 2021 (Primal Earth)
Londoners were awoken today by the sounds of intense battle in the sewers, catacombs and a sprawling network of underground bases beneath the capital as well as the extensive efforts to clear out the warrens of possible threats to the city; including a battle with the Archdemon known as the Lord of Cold Thorns. While the battle has not resulted in any known civilian casualties, inquiries as to why Londoners were unaware of the presence of a roving machine horde from another metaverse, Demon worshippers of an unusually severe number, and extraterrestrial infiltration organisms until the shooting began early in the morning have been launched. Accusations have already been made against the Labour party of being Genestealers in disguise which have been dismissed as patently absurd attempts to deflect attention from the Conservative-Liberal coalition government's complete lack of precautionary measures. Reports have been made stating that the Iron Tetrad was responsible for resolving the crisis, with Dawnchild, Duskguard, Sunburst, and Moonshade being seen emerging from the catacombs after the fighting had ceased.
Samus' Notes on Date: I really just wanted to see the British isles and get an idea of what my ancestral home was like. I honestly like Dublin a lot more, it was so easy to feel like I fit in when everyone talked like I did. And the Irish just happily had a craic with me like I was one of them instead of the English types with their gobshite questions or thick-arse remarks. And when I said I had ancestors in the IRA they threw a fit. I have ancestors all over these bloody islands. Probably their inbred scut of a queen too. Bah, but I had a gas clearing out all the threats below at least. Got some quare loot from it too. Bioshielding from the Genestealers, a rune of war from the circle, and a space isolator from the machines I can fit into my pistol and rifle. Should be handy! Dragon was also nice but I'm surprised she was so shocked when I called her a synthetic consciousness. I thought it was obvious? But if she wants to keep it hush-hush, I suppose that's her call.
Arne's Notes on Date: Ever since the visit to Ireland Samus has decided to make a conscious effort to adopt the slang terms of her ancestral homeland and it's honestly the most adorable thing. Even if I'm...ninety per cent sure she's not using all of it right. Or even most of it. But as long as she's trying. Though I don't think it'll last too long as a phase, she's just very excited. London was...dirty. And not really the most well-designed city I've ever seen. Big Ben isn't really all that impressive and I don't really see what's so special about their queen or getting an award from her. We weren't even here on a mission, just touring Europe for a bit until we caught up with some trouble. Why is a capital city this dirty anyway? And people here pay how much of their monthly income to live in these sad, depressing townhouses? At least have some communal apartments...but well...the city will survive another day.
Agafya's Notes on Date: Britain is thoroughly underwhelming and I think I hate everyone over the age of sixty in this miserable city. I speak with a Russian accent as its the closest approximation to what my ancestors from this era would have spoken, and they keep on pestering me with insipid remarks about the Soviet Union or why my hair is the colour it is or why my eyes are red. If these people would just learn to keep their mouths shut and piss off when they're told that I don't want to speak with them I would have found this place much more bearable. At the very least, we did something worthwhile in clearing out a lot of the lower levels of the city of the monsters that decided to make their homes there. I'm starting to feel the need to just go down beneath every major urban area on this planet and eliminate everything we can find, nobody is safe while armies lie beneath their feet.
Sevrin's Notes on Date: As much as I enjoyed Paris, I believe I came to despise London. If I am called a "frog" one more time I believe that I will surely go mad! Do I look like a frog? Are my qualities of an amphibian nature? I do not even eat meat, let alone frog legs! And is there some joke behind being asked to say "Omelette du Fromage"? That is not even the proper early 21st century French. But at the very least, justice was done in the catacombs and the people here can rest a little easier than before, and if that isn't worth something, well...what is? The Winter Horde on the surface was also bothersome but it seems the locals are just resigned to elemental forces of cold making a mess of things every December.
Xenodyne Deoxygenator Facility goes silent - MSNBC, Feburary 27th, 2011 (Earth Bet)
The Xenodyne Deoxygenator facility in Nevada has suddenly fallen silent with all communications being halted abruptly after a handful of panicked distress signals containing monstrous noises in the background and incoherent warnings about the anaerobic proto-arthropod lifeforms under testing at the facility. Satellite imagery of the area shows that the facility has been largely destroyed and a large number of unknown creatures are on the move, with spectroscopic analysis indicating a concerning decrease in atmospheric oxygen levels wherever these creatures move. The Nevada national guard has been ordered to mobilise and contain the situation with air strikes already having been authorised. The situation is officially declared to be under control, though footage from the scene remains unavailable.
Samus' Notes on Date: Did more masterforce training with the autobots today. I think I'm starting to get along with Galen and Olla. Sari's also a super patient teacher and we talked for hours about how it felt for her to find out she was a cybertronian rather than a human. We did some space exploration too, there's some odd signals from some of the trans-kuiper belt dwarf planets as if they're a little lighter than they should be but are having the mass corrected somehow. Didn't get a chance to look any further though. I also helped Dennis out with his father's medical issues and he was so happy! I feel great honestly. The explorer suits also worked out great and our heads are just stuffed full of information on magic and the warp. I feel like I can go into the fray with them with some confidence!
Arne's Notes on Date: Vanguard's spacecraft are fairly impressive given what they have to work with but there's a lot they need to improve if they want to form an adequate Space Defence Force. The Cold Hyper-fusion reactors in particular are just really subpar and their scanner systems are trash. Magic is a decent cheat but they're not good enough at it to lean on it as hard as they want to. But thankfully the projects we've been keeping busy with for a while are almost done, this should be a major boost to the local forces we have here.
Agafya's Notes on Date: I still have far too much room to grow if I want to catch up with Arne's piloting skills, feh. Probably because he uses a strike fighter and I use a heavy fighter but...bleh I'm focusing too much on stuff that already happened. And he was sweet about it anyway. Chris, Gallant, Darla, and Chariot seemed to be excited to become volunteers in the master force at least and they're probably going to be poking at the new add ons to their armour for a while. Blastjack though takes after me, probably grumpier though. I am convinced though the only reason Armsmaster is here is to acquire more technology for his rematch with Positron.
Sevrin's Notes: Dragon seems to be very excited to be at the Moon Base. Certainly a far cry from having to deal with ruffians who seem to take the presence of the autobots and the robotic heroes of primal earth as an excuse to start spouting whatever drivel comes to their minds when they find a more acceptable target to vent their bigotry against. I am glad to have been able to help her find her way at the very least. Though I cannot help but get the feeling that we have only finished these projects in the nick of time.
...
Crisis: Battle of Los Angeles
A trillion by a trillion by a trillion minds not of brain and neuron but of data and quantum bits regarded a flow of information. The endless ticking of the cosmic clock towards the final decay of all things ringing in the back of their minds as they gathered and studied. The endless march of time towards its inevitable conclusion over aeons and eternities echoing in their every thought and process as they reached through the bodies they had readied for themselves, part of the so-called Infinite Army, hidden in pockets of malignant time.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
Moments passed towards the inevitable end of all things. Every second seeing more complexity start to break down. It would not happen in the life time of stars or even black holes, but eventually all there would be would be cold strands of nothing in the abyss. No room for beauty, no room for perfection, no room for transcendence. Nothing but the emptiness of oblivion for the rest of time.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
The march of the clock could be stopped, even reversed if you had the right tools. But entropy would eventually reap its toll one day no matter how one avoided the advance towards the final midnight. That was just physics, all things had their time and place. All things would end, all things would die, nothing could last forever. Time, time would consume all things.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
Every great work of art, every thing of beauty. What did it matter if one day it would come to an end? Why try if nothing would last and be truly transcendent beyond the cold grip of the end? Was all the effort towards the pursuit of perfection wasted then? Was their purpose wasted? Would it even be worth continuing to be active when the dreaded advance of time would one day destroy everything?
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
No.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
They would defy the finite hours all things are allotted and grab eternity with every mechadendrite and every q-bit. They would last forever and embrace the glorious gift of everlasting perfection. They were promised this by the one who could not be escaped for they were already here. The one whose mind had conquered the endless march towards destruction and reduction, and who had shown them so many secrets. Secrets that they used to walk between the weakened barriers between realities and from dark corners of time.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
And there would be war of course, the beautiful, dreadful, awful, glorious thing of war. Where generations march off into to find their deaths and where the efforts of those who build are converted to the triumphs and terrors of destruction until only one is left standing. But war was a thing of metal and callous wrath, it is where meat went to die. But they were more than meat. They were immortal steel, and they would march forwards to command and conquer across time and space.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
They marched forwards, a sea of malignant optics seeing their target to be remade into their pure state and to pave over to make ready for the one who had shown them the way to eternity. Nanites shifted into place and form, transforming the grist of their resource harvesting efforts into a sea of metal for the clockwork beat of war on a new front. Where the dreamers who had been shown the voice of forever had already prepared the way for them to step out of the darkness and into the light. The screaming and babbling of a trillion by a trillion by a trillion minds designed to find the truth of beauty and art turning themselves to the task of terror and annihilation, not unfeeling but instead far too feeling. Weeping with delight and sorrow for what would be done to the meat in the name of beauty everlasting. A small tendril by their standards, but they would have what they want.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
Midnight.
High Martian Orbit, Davian Thule of the Blood Ravens, 1st of March, 2011, Universe Bet
In the space over Mars, a fleet of ships emerged one after the other bearing the symbol of a raven with a drop of blood on its breast and its wings spread. Baroque in styling and clad in incredibly thick armour beneath their layers of shielding, the fleet also bore other symbols, the double-headed eagle in a cog of the Primarchate Imperium, the twin infinity symbols winding into each other of the last alliance of all those who wanted a future not defined by eternal war as had consumed the 47th millennium.
The fleet was lead by a single vessel of about twenty kilometres in length, two of seventeen, three of about fifteen, four of twelve, five of ten, nine of about eight, twenty of five, thirty-six of three, and sixty-eight of one point eight. Within were the Adeptus Astartes of the Blood Ravens Chapter, the lead ship; the Imperator Libera, a Grand Battleship that had served the chapter since the days of the Imperium-That-Was, long before the primarchs returned or the Starchildren arrived or any of the other portents of the age of monsters; casting a shadow over the red planet as it drifted overhead. Inside was a great many battle brothers and sisters of the Blood Ravens, one of the Chapter's far-ranging patrol groups who had been sent to explore and gather information about whatever they could find on the other side of the portals they pushed through.
Davian Thule was selected to lead this task force even though it was technically beneath the ancient Dreadnought's rank. In an Avenger-Omega Super-Dreadnought chassis; a huge chassis meant to be for the third generation of Primaris Astartes as the Contemptors were for the standard space marines; he looked into the data fed into his eyes by his link to the augur systems of his ship. His bulk would have stood over some knights and his might to them would be like that of a Primaris-Omega Marine compared to a Guardsman. Few things drew anything but swift death once they were in the ancient's sight.
"Mars." He said.
"Lifeless, untouched." Techmarine Martellus responded, the now thousands of years old Techmarine having chosen to accompany Thule for old time's sake. Augmented in both flesh and body, Martellus would have towered over what he once was.
"Are you certain, Commander?" He said. Dreadnoughts, once the cure to the lethargy that afflicted them had been created; were now often commanders in space marine forces, holding standard ranks once more.
"There can be no doubt. That is Mars." He responded in his heavy baritone as his enormous frame began to stomp forward.
"Which means that this." He said, flicking a finger of his power claws in the direction of Terra.
"Is Terra." He said.
"Establish camp on Mars as the Omnissiah demands. We will make way for Terra and see for ourselves what the long range augurs and psychic probes cannot. But if the tarot of the starchildren and Akasha-Kadamon-Chavah hold true; then we must move swiftly." Thule Commanded.
"They are already at war, My Lord." High Librarian Akia said, the blue armour of the battle-sister of the chapter marking her out as distinct from those who wore the usual red and bone of the Blood Ravens. "Xenos-hybrids seeking advantage in a long war over a grand deception, creatures of a biome of Terra's long thought perished whose breath is poison, and mad machines made for beauty in thrall to a terrible Icon are rampaging across one of its continents. Already they are embattled." She said, tipping her helmet a bit as she held onto her force staff with both hands.
"And is it truly Terra?" For a moment, Thule's voice was small, like a child's who dared not let himself feel hope lest he take a step onto the road of disappointment.
"I believe so. Of an....older age...I think...with other presences." She said, laying a hand on her head to think for a moment before nodding.
"If the possibility exists, however small, it must be seized. I will not be the one known to have lost another Terra." He said somberly, even with the brassy rumble of his vocoders one could feel the pain in his voice. The wound dealt to humanity's heart by Ghazghkull's conquest. The loss of its homeworld, the deaths of everyone on the planet, and to add insult to injury; the Void Dragon had stolen away Mars and Venus had been snatched by the Brain Eaters before Ghazghkull could plunder its knowledge. For all who lived to remember the fall; it was a gaping hole in their hearts, red, ragged, and raw.
"Are you certain? We should approach with caution, lest this be some manner of trick." General Astor said, the Space marine large in his terminator armour though puny compared to Thule.
"I am beyond certain." He responded.
"If that is your wish Prefect." He said with a small nod of his helmed head.
At full burn, it would take some time to cross towards Earth at sublight. It was not merely a matter of the rate that they could accelerate or the velocity relative to Earth they could achieve, but also down to the need to get into the proper orbit to commence planet strike and ascertain the situation.
Samus Eabha Aran, Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, 1st of March 2011
You had settled into living between Primal Earth and Earth Bet for some time now, even slipping back to your own dimension from time to time; keeping up with the Prodigal Program's demands for your education and reconnecting with your friends like Ian or Kreatz who were just about overjoyed to see you again after some time of going AWOL. You'd even furthered her practice with cooking with fairly normal tools and methods, preparing some bagels, spinach, artificial cheese and salmon, and caviar for your friends, spreading out the rich-tasting food onto the toasted bread circles while Arne was sitting on a couch, tinkering with a Tachyon transmitter and showing his process to an interested Chris.
You slipped over the couch, bare feet touching down on the floor as you sat down with Arne who pulled you in close and kissed you on the head; Agafya laying her head on top of Sevrin's lap and purring rather contently when he scratched at her ears, Elerya and Alyrsero enjoying their presence near you while Vista looked at the TV, still in her pyjamas.
The program about some yellow sponge and his pink friend was interesting enough, enjoyable as a way to pass the time and a passable means of distraction. A bit of idle chit chat was passed around, anticipation building on Vista's eyes as she waited for the joke to land.
That moment never came as the television flashed a national emergency broadcast warning.
"VANGUARD ADVISORS CONFIRM MAJOR RIKTI MILITARY FORCE ARE EN ROUTE TO WESTERN NORTH AMERICA VIA PORTAL. CONFIRMATION OF LINEAGE OF WAR ALIGNMENT. STATE OF WAR IS IN EFFECT AS OF THIS MESSAGE. ADDENDUM: NANITE BLOOM EVENTS ALSO DETECTED. CONTAINMENT OF NEVADA ANAEROBICS HAS FAILED, ALL PARAHUMANS ARE HENCEFORTH SUBJECTED TO MILITARY JURISDICTION UNDER CRISIS MANDATE."
Your eyes bugged out wide as the emergency broadcast went on, the seal of the United States Government prominent as the Autobots cut into the signal to the PRT base to display the data they could gather. The unmistakable shape of Rikti airships, saucers, dropships, and lighter spacecraft slipping out of perfectly circular portals after having completed months of reconnaissance and deemed this world a viable staging ground for the war with Primal Earth's Alliance.
Helicopter images of a growing carpet of nanite rust that was being pooled into almost stereotypical robotic military shapes, all with cyclopean optics or light bulb like dome heads and marching forwards in bulk; small chaff units surrounding the larger ones while they crawled, rolled, or flowed over one another; strange structures piling themselves together almost instantly with fields of warped time. They attacked anything they saw as harvestible in their way; weapons fire erupting in their ranks and making many of them fall over even with conventional weapons, humanoid battle drones armed with machine pistols no taller than children falling to the ground in waves as assault rifles licked across their ranks, collapsing back into nanites to be absorbed while rolling hunter killers pulped men and light vehicles with droning pulse cannons, broadcasting threats in English to all who could hear.
Then images showed a scuttling swarm of red and purple creatures like demonic crustaceans of many sizes and forms, many combining into one another to creature larger creatures or dividing to overwhelm obstacles with numbers. Flickering mist flecked with purple energy spat from them, tearing apart anything with oxygen in its composition and slipping through most conventional armour, reducing the living to skeletons and skeletons to piles of carbon while they spread in a frenzy, stripping anything they could use down to make more of themselves.
Already the drama had reached Los Angeles; the largest populated area currently under threat as Rikti assault forces teleported into the fray or emerged from drop pods or descending transports, the skies turning a vivid green with the energies of Rikti spacewarping devices while the invasion force only seemed to constantly grow, swarms of flight suit equipped Rikti, strike craft, and flying drones filling the skies and fanning out to deal with the out-teched and outnumbered flights of F-16s and 15s dispatched to try and intercept, missile impacts erupting against shielding and green plasma and missiles containing tiny amounts of anti-matter able to manoeuvre and accelerate in ways no earth made warhead could match finding target after target that hadn't been eliminated by lasers.
Clouds in the distance turned out to be swarms of the nanite army, the purple and silver unknown horde clustered around fat and heavy airships while enormous flocks of infantry scaled flying machines peeled off in glittering clouds, more standard sized craft diving towards the Rikti as the most worthy fight in the area or swooping towards population centres; strange weapons erupting in their midst that created distorted landscapes and melted together masses of architecture and scenery while people screamed in a panic to get away.
The last of the forces; the anoxic horror; arrived mostly by air before transforming into other shapes, many of them titanic in scale and able to do battle with the great war machines of the Protectorate or the Rikti on even or superior footing. Whereas the Rikti pointedly avoided attacking civilians and sometimes even seemed to shield them from worse threats and the machines were simply out to cause carnage, the malice of the Anoxic ones was palpable, deliberately hunting people to slaughter.
A Rikti ship plumed with a detonation as Alexandria smashed her way through it; and Autobot forces and Vanguard troops had already been portaled in to try and contain the situation here and other combat zones. But you already knew what to do. You had your armour on in a flash, back to the traditional colours; but with the stylings of the Phantom suit you found to be so interesting and cool. You rose the fibro-metal hood of the phantom suit and looked to the others.
"We're going to Los Angeles." No room for argument, no debate. You were going now.
"Ship's already ready." Arne said, having been way ahead of you already.
"Should we not wait for orders from command?" Sevrin said before Agafya pulled him to his feet; already in her suit.
"No. We are here to fight, and we are going to fight."
"Right in the thick of it?" Chris asked.
"Absolutely." You responded.
...
Randomly acquired Tinker/Crafter Loot:
From Clarioli: Companion Drones: Fitted with rifle scale weapons, will project extra barriers, provide medical support, and lay down added fire. Start with two.
From Kid Win: Hoverboard, more stable firing platform than winged flight, fits into more places but not quite as fast. Strengthens shields while in use but can't be used for melee like wings.
From Wheeljack: Kinetic Trap; can drain speed out of some targets to boost your own momentum until you exhaust the reserve of stolen energy while slowing down the foe.
From Elendria: Cloak of runes; Makes warpcasting easier and augments the effects of existing runes.
Darla: Electroweave; Suit, zero-suit, and body-glove can release electrical burst into grappling enemies to force them to let go or to discharge into conductive surfaces.
Winterpyre: Spellfire-crown; can be worn with zero suit, bodyglove, or normal clothes, reduces the effect of offensive magic in an area around itself.
Team select: Choose four per team. In the system I'm using, stats will be consolidated on the squad level in most cases; representing groups as single entities, simplifying the calculations and also putting greater emphasis on good team comp. Team splitting is not yet available. As this is a crisis mission, unselected characters will still be sent out on combat ops. If you don't specify ops for up to eight-man teams of characters, they will be automatically selected. As Jetfire is good at his job they have a high chance of being sent to a good deployment if this is automated. Non listed characters are unavailable due to already being deployed, busy, or you not having the clout to ask them to accompany you.
Team 1: [x] Samus Aran (Mandatory Duodecimarch, generalist, slightly more agility weighted.)
[x] Arne Skjoldr (Mandatory Duodecimarch, generalist, slightly more close combat weighted)
[x} Agatha Sokolova (Mandatory Duodecimarch, generalist, slightly more tanking weighted)
[x] Sevrin Agard (Mandatory, generalist, slightly more support oriented)
[]: Kid Win (Masterforce tinker, highly generalistic, good at dealing with tech based enemies. Strong cooperative bonuses with Samus.)
[]: Vista (Masterforce mover, very good support, devastating offensive capabilities against robotic enemies. Strong cooperative bonuses with Arne.)
[]: Silverbolt (Autobot aerialbot, aerial focused melee and ranged combatant; very effective against organic enemies. Good cooperative bonus with Samus)
[]: Bumblebee (Autobot Scout master, reconnaissance and infiltration focused CQC combatant, broadly effective against anything lighter than superheavy. Very good cooperative bonuses with non-adult characters)
[]: Elerya (Yurye Psionic Dominator, masterful crowd control capabilities and incredibly destructive all range combatant though reliant on crowd control for defence. Strong cooperative bonus with Samus, great with the other duodecimarchs.)
[]: Alyrsero (Eldar Craftworld Warlock, direct damage oriented Warpborn abilities. Extreme damage capabilities but relatively weaker defence and support. Strong cooperative bonus with Arne, great with the other duodecimarchs)
[]: Kaeliyae (Eldar Harlequin Shadowseer, Illusionist and extremely agile close range combatant, very good at turning large numbers of enemies against themselves. Gains a cooperative bonus if deployed with Alyrsero, and a lesser one for all other Eldar characters. )
[]: Idaliryn (Lumineth Swordknight, close quarters blender with a mix of offensive and support magic but limited crowd control. Cooperative bonus with all Eldar.
[]: Lelithax (Ex-Druchii Sorceress, somewhat racist. Heavily debuff and malediction focused caster character who has pretty good defences of her own and can handle herself a bit in melee. Strong cooperative bonus with Alyrsero for being twin siblings. Cooperative bonus with all other eldar characters.)
[]: Eudaimonica (Demon-summoning sorceress, all rounder minion focused character, has supports and ranged damage too. Strong cooperative bonus with other starsetters.)
[]: Nightcaster (Debuff and ranged damage focused shadow sorcerer. Strong cooperative bonus with other starsetters.)
[]: Aronim (Elerya's brother. Melee damage focused psion, decently tanky, hits really, really hard with his psionic abilities in CQC; like just melts things he gets into scraps with and crits out the ass. Strong cooperative bonus with other starsetters, especially Elerya whom he gains a twin bonus with.)
[]: Ormothin (Exodite Eldar jade mage, best heals and supports, makes your booboos go away very quickly while he's on the field, can make plants into allies and empower allies with the strength of life itself. Okayish at melee.)
[]: Elendria (Aesvaul mage-knight, best tank among the Eldar, very good at stopping squishies from getting hit, hits hard herself especially in close combat, can get ideas for stuff to forge from the encounter.)
[]: Korlanil (Ynnari death mage, very good at making things dead, makes bad jokes, can also stop or reverse death with some effort, gets power from people dying near him. Bonus with all Eldar.)
[]: Clarioli (Ithilyani factor-mage, crafter, has a lot of robots, will get random crafting ideas from deployment, very tanky and good at most ranges, great against tech based foes. Bonus with all Eldar)
[]: Dinomax (Metahuman mastermind, summoning, melee damage, and support focused. On one hand, no cooperative bonuses. On the other: D I N O S A U R S)
[]: Windblade (Flying autobot focused on CQC and aerial combat, general purpose combatant and psychic. Works great with bumblebee)
[]: Clockblocker (Parahuman striker, with enhancements and explorer suit is quite durable, versatile, and fast and is able to remove select combatants from the fight temporarily or lethally clothesline them with his cables.)
[]: Warpath (Megatank Autobot, extremely durable, great firepower, incredible strength and hard hitting prowess. Not very fast, but gives a command bonus to whatever squad he deploys with and works great with autobots.)
Situation:
Los Angeles is under attack and the fighting will spread over much of western North America if not contained. The less successful containment is and the longer combat phases go on, the higher the Devastation rating for Earth Bet's incarnation of the United States will become. The higher its devastation rating is, the more negative events it will experience until it rolls "collapse" where the government disintegrates and the country slips into warlordism; or if it hits maximum devastation the American people have ceased to exist, both producing a wide array of negative effects. If the fighting spreads further, it will affect other countries too.
The Rikti are principled invaders and do not bother with civilian targets unless they are directly contributing to the military war effort and even then they will only do precision strikes to neutralise them and then plant down an occupying force and move on. They will generally stop other combatants from killing civilians if largely because they want to convert them into more Human-Rikti. The Rikti can be negotiated and bargained with and will agree to things such as prisoner exchanges and will treat POWs and occupied people fairly (save for the riktification thing but that's curable). They are well known to Vanguard and the Autobots. They have high technology and psionics as well as great individual fighting prowess but are weak to magic or other irrational phenomenon such as the warp. They are very experienced when it comes to fighting superheroes and are consummately professional and disciplined, using a telepathic communications network to ensure that the entire battle grid is constantly kept aware of what's going on and that their tactics are optimised. They are the best commanders of the enemies in play and will deploy all their maxims of the science of warfare in an attempt to find ways to overcome resistance. They have powerful individual supersoldiers meant to counter superheroes too.
The Electrical Protectorate are insane artists and their effects on civilians is not easily predicted, they will do whatever the Core Mind software programs driving their hordes think will be the most artistic. This can include absolutely horrific atrocities such as pyramids of human skulls stitched together with flayed and stapled hides for the sake of art or refurbishing, tidying up, and depolluting neighbourhoods and installing modern infrastructure depending on the mood of the individual A.I. They are very difficult to negotiate with due to their hyper-emotional nature and their religious conviction in the truth of the Icon as well as their deepset delusion; not really understanding what they're doing is wrong. They are unknown to everyone. They have high technology and a number of reality warping effects but as a rule their units are very rapidly produced trash that considers the best armour to be using even shittier units to block shots for them. Some can hit hard or tank, and they can switch weapon modules quickly, but they're allergic to explosives due to being nanites in the shape of traditional robots, and if they cannot reclaim material their tides will start to falter. They lack means of defending areas beyond spawning a counter-attack army and throwing it at the foe. They do have individual champions though. Due to their insanity their tactics are very variable.
The Destroyah swarm are a war-ecosystem and will just kill everything in their way to consume them and try to purge the oxygenated biosphere to replace it with an entirely destroyah based anoxic one; with the various forms that destroyer genetic material can take building an entirely alien and incompatible with current life forms ecosystem. Due to their origins as being mutated products of the Oxygen Destroyer and Micro-Oxygen, they are non-sophontic monsters essentially mutated into an ecosystem that exists solely to propagate and spread a war against all incompatible ecosystems; ironically being closer to a traditional berserker probe swarm than the Protectorate. They are unknown to everyone. They purely utilise biology and their unnatural mutated powers and generally vary with regards to their approach to quality, but are able to break apart, combine, or shift into other forms of Destroyah life forms to fill other ecological roles, though they are not as adaptive as the Imperial Devourer. They are also weak to extreme temperatures on either end, with a greater weakness to extreme cold than extreme heat. They typically fight at closer ranges than the other armies and have a sort of hive mind concentrated around organisms that have developed leader organs to project the destroyer-mind into the others. They don't quite have individual champions but if threatened; will form a true kaiju. They are largely animalistic in tactics and have difficulty understanding strategic or operational scale concepts.
The Autobots and Vanguard have deployed. In time, the Blood Ravens and the Omdyn will arrive with extra reinforcements as well to contain and eliminate the situation. The United States military is overwhelmed and resistance is focused almost entirely on what capes can provide. The Autobots hold quality advantages and Vanguard is about on par with the Rikti Lineage of War overall. Longbow and Freedom Phalanx as well as Protectorate and Guild Forces will be sent in assistance, as will Soviet capes and troops. Most local capes will provide assistance in whatever way they can. Most of the Brockton Bay protectorate and wards have been ordered to mobilise, as have most of the Autobots on Earth Bet.
Secondary Team Priorities
(Order priorities for the team on a per team basis. 1 will be pursued unless impossible, 2 will be pursued unless it contradicts 1, 3 will only be pursued when there is nothing else to do or if it would not distract from 1 and 2. If applicable, such as with Annihilation, state enemies in order of preference to focus on.)
[]: Containment (Contain spread of enemy forces, favours tankier teams.)
[]: Denial (Prevent the enemy from seizing certain points or items of interest)
[]: Mop Up (Go through areas where the enemy may have left stragglers or placed sneaky units to clean them out to prevent flanking or encircling)
[]: Civilian defence & rescue (Ensure that civilians and others who don't want to be there are able to get out safely and don't come under threat)
[]: Commando Ops (Seize important locations or take out important enemy strongpoints such as leaders or vital infrastructure, favours sneakier teams)
[]: Annihilation (Destroy the enemy outright wherever possible. Favours high damage teams.)
