[] plan Reaper Of Steel.
Maskless 6.14
You look at Tim, at Sam, at Dragon's avatar. Damn it. "We can't lose what we've picked up so far. We need that to give to the TSAB when they show up, and that Device isn't something we should abandon." You shake your head. Like Tim said, there are a number of things you can do with the Device if you decide to be selfish. "But it isn't right to bug out and leave just you to protect the ship and the crew, either—"
"The crew has nothing to fear. Whenever the Dragonslayers faced me, they were good at keeping collateral damage to a minimum. It's part of what keeps them from being so great a threat that the Guild and the PRT track them down and wipe them out."
"Okay, that's good, but it's still not a reason to leave you alone fighting the same villains who have made their reputation by beating you and taking your stuff."
Dragon purses her lips but does not refute your statement. Samantha, on the other hand… "No. Calamity Witch,
no. We aren't playing this game."
"One of us needs to take Shipwright back to base," you remind her. "Either I stay or you stay, and of the two of us, I'm the only one who can fight at range. You'd be stuck going up in melee against three people in power armor and who knows what weapons." You give her a glare and continue, «
Not to mention what happened the last time you acted on your own.»
«
You mean the time you were so badly hurt you couldn't protect yourself and someone had to keep a bunch of gangbangers from killing you? Do you really think I am ashamed of that?»
"No, and that's half the problem. I'm staying here since I'm the one who can fight behind cover. You drag Shipwright and the loot back to base, grab that harpoon of yours, and get back here so you can shove it up their ass."
"I'm not sure how, but I think I missed part of that conversation," Dragon tells Tim in a perfectly audible aside.
"Don't worry. You get used to it."
«
You'll understand if you ever learn how to make a Guardian Beast,» you tell him. "Get a move on, Sam. The more time we waste arguing, the bigger the chance we will lose everything we came here for."
«Directive from Mistress. Obey.»
The raccoon-woman grits her sharp teeth, swayed by your logic but clearly not happy about it. "Shipwright. Come on."
"You should go, too," Dragon says softly.
"The Dragonslayers have defeated me in the past, yes, but not all the time, and they've never been able to find my base. At worst I lose technology I can replace. It isn't worth risking your life."
"If I had a nemesis who came after me and you had the choice to help me or not, would you turn away?" The digital avatar says nothing and finally shakes her head. "It's the exact same thing. I'm here, and I'm not running away with my tail between my legs just because it's a little dangerous. We aren't heroes because it's safe. We risk our lives every day we put on our masks."
The sentiment is just as poignant coming from you as it was in Vista's email, and the world-famous Tinker sighs before vanishing from the screen. Outside, you hear the Sybaris's rotors warming up. Adjusting your hat, you take a deep breath and walk out onto the deck.
The latest in the long line of Dragonsuits abandons the mold of her previous creations, instead looking like a
twin-rotor helicopter instead of the dragon-esque fixed-wing craft the Tinker is famous for. Already it is rising into the air and turning to face three specks in the distance. Perfect Storm's gem gleams; accepting the connection causes a holographic window with Dragon's avatar to pop into existence. "I know you said the Sybaris doesn't have a lot of weaponry," you say, your Device picking up your voice perfectly despite the sound of the engines, "and it's different than your other suits. What did you design it to do?"
"Stationary defense. That drone Shipwright and I were experimenting on? They latch onto nearby surfaces and give me a 360-degree range of vision for several hundred feet, and the Sybaris can hover in one place and turn to fire at any intruders. I got the idea from Purity's report about your fight with Oni Lee, and it sounded like a good trick to use in an urban warfare situation. I've been wanting to build my own helicopter for a while, anyway," she adds with a sheepish smile.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, you can't help but stare at her. "You asked Purity about that fight? Why? How did you even know about it?"
"I did not ask her anything. The Protectorate wanted to know how well you knew her since you took such a large risk to save her from being thrown back into the quarantine zone, and they gave her a routine debrief of that fight once she mentioned it. I just requested a copy."
"I'm not that interesting."
Dragon gives you a look of disappointment and disbelief.
"Calamity, think about why we're out here in the first place. If that does not qualify as 'interesting'
, that word must mean something other than what I think it does."
…Touché.
"No, the problem here is that the Sybaris is made for urban combat, and this does not qualify in the slightest. It is what we have, though, and we will have to make it count."
The specks begin to resolve into three suits of power armor, although they are still too far away for you to make out any details. You want to go up and join Dragon in the air, but you know that your ribs are still too damaged to tolerate the exertions of fighting. When twisting wrong can make you gasp in pain, aerial dogfights are out of the question.
Thankfully, you have an alternative. Code spins freely through your mind, and a ball of red light gathers at the head of your staff before shattering into hundreds of sparks. Soon enough another window pops into place in front of you, and you get a beautiful top-down view of your patch of the see before the image tilts to give the region the illusion of depth. You flick it over to the wall at your side and enlarge it so you have more detail to work with. "Mark Dragon's and my locations as areas to avoid, then the Dragonslayers as targets. We don't need to go all-out with our attacks and wind up shooting down our ally."
Now the fun begins. You squeeze the trigger in your mind, and the revolver resting beneath Perfect Storm's head fires once, twice. Magic surges through you and into the glowing green spheres of Rust Shooter. Setting your anti-armor bullets drifting around you in a slow orbit, you turn back to Dragon. "What do the Dragonslayers have in terms of armament?"
"It depends on which suit they cannibalized for parts. I lost a couple of the early Cawthorne design, as well as the entirety of the Lindworm line. Melusine-Two and -Three, Glaurung-One, Ladon-Zero…" She grimaces at your gape of disbelief. Dragon, best Tinker in the world, lost
how many of her suits to the Dragonslayers?
"Too many. The point is, they have a variety of weapon systems to use against me. It looks like two of them are Lindworm-derived, maybe Lindworm–Cawthorne hybrids. The third? Probably Glaurung. That tends to be the model Saint prefers. Now instead of launching drones, it fires missiles."
"Let me deal with the missiles." Are they large enough for Wide Area Search to pick up on them? Only one way to know for sure. "Can you shoot the suits down?"
"Only one way to find out."
The Dragonsuits cross Wide Area Search's boundary, and the urge to strike now is almost overwhelming. Somehow you manage to hold back. You need them to get closer. Closer…
Closer…
Now!
Streaks of white smoke scream from the boxes mounted on the sides of the Sybaris while the long barrels on the front fire bolts of glowing plasma. One of the two Lindworm suits aims a long tube slung over one shoulder, and a silver cloud rushes out to meet the rockets. A chaff cannon, you realize when the missiles hit and explode harmlessly, or something similar to it at the very least. Saint makes a gesture, and it is only because you are paying more as much attention to Wide Area Search as to the actual scene in front of you that you can see the tiny rockets that are flung from the back of the most distinctive Dragonslayer suit. These missiles are small and agile, and the fact that he is using them against Dragon of all people means they are probably more dangerous then their size implies.
"Too bad you've got me to deal with now." You flick your staff in the direction of the fight, and the Rust Shooters zip off. A dozen missiles collide with half as many magic bullets, but the metal projectiles dissolve like sand before a wave. Another two cartridges, and this time your shots run at the one Dragonslayer who hasn't done anything yet. If they are holding back, it must mean they have some trick worth holding back. You refuse to give them the chance to use it.
The Dragonslayer with the chaff cannon drops from the sky in the path of the Rust Shooters. Fine. Not the one you wanted to take out first, but you'll take what you can get—
Your bullets hit a barrier and pop.
You stare at the Dragonslayer, cold fear dripping down your back. A circle of electric blue script stands between you and him, a pentagram in the middle. The shape is different, but the shape of the characters is achingly familiar. You see them every time you deploy your casting triangle.
Dragon fires energy bolts at the Dragonslayer, but he catches them on his Strong Shield. The revolver chamber flips out and automatically switches out the spent shells for fresh one when your fear turns to burning rage. Epoch was one thing, but he only wanted to impress you. This criminal
dares to use magic against
you?!
"Did you just…? Belkan dogs! Watch how the world really ends! Ragnarök!"
Your magic is orange by default. Different spell effects will change the color – Temporal Sludge is purple, Rust Shooter green, Wide Area Search red – but in its raw state it is a bright, happy orange. The bullets that form amidst the rapid-firing cartridges are a blinding white, and the metal floor warps in the face of ten-thousand-degree heat. The non-lethality code is present but strained to the breaking point, and it won't be enough to stop everything when these hit.
You won't kill the Dragonslayers. That doesn't mean you can't make them suffer.
Nearly forty miniaturized suns fly out with screams of hate while you track their progress. They split, ten each heading for Saint and the villain who is even now still hiding in the back. The rest all slam into the actinic Strong Shield, and you can't hold back your victorious snarl when the shield cracks under the onslaught.
You are the heir to Calamity Witch, one of Galea's strongest bombardment mages. It's going to take more than a basic shield to beat you.
Dragon's avatar watches you with a wary expression when the bullets reach Saint and the other guy's suits, but she keeps shooting her energy pulses at them nonetheless. You would think she would be a little happier that you're melting their armor off them. Orange light bursts above their mage, and then Samantha drops onto his back and starts wrestling in mid-air. How did she even know where to go?!
«
Samantha requested coordinates to location where her talents were best utilized.»
The dueling couple whirl around and around and around before they both flash white. One of them drops from the sky, and the man in armor looks down before flying over to help his teammate.
"Sam!" You can't feel the rail of the ship shatter against your legs thanks to the recent upgrades you worked into your Barrier Jacket, and then all you see is your Guardian Beast's body falling faster and faster. Bouncing off the ocean's surface and ignoring your rids' screech of pain, you race the spray to grab her. "Sam! Wake up!"
Samantha twitches in your grasp for a minute and grunts. «
Diagnostics complete,» your Device informs you. «
Vitals stable. High-energy lightning attack. No residual aspected mana.»
"So not a spell. Just the world's biggest taser." Something strong enough to fry the circuitry in one of Dragon's suits, or more likely to stop a Brute in her tracks. Despite being best known for stealing from Dragon, you need to keep in mind that they are also successful mercenaries. The won't be the first time they have tangled with somebody who could rip them to shreds. You turn to see how well Dragon is handling three Dragonslayers at the same time, but…
You cock your head. That doesn't look right. When facing a ranged fighter, there are two ways to go about it: avoid their attacks, either by dodging or by moving beyond their effective range, or get close enough that they are in more danger from your attacks than you are from theirs. The Sybaris is armored, so the second option should not work, but somehow it is. What's more, the Dragonslayers aren't attacking the unarmed sides as you would have expected. Instead Saint and the mage have taken up positions
in front of the missile launchers. It would be insane were it not actually working. Dragon keeps trying to back away, but they move alongside her. The third villain is still hanging back and working on something you can't make out until it is too late.
The Sybaris drops like a rock for a moment before stabilizing, and then it turns to meekly follow them as they fly away. What the hell is Dragon doing?!
You watch them fly off while anger roils in your gut. Right now, you want dearly to chase after them, but you have your arms full of unconscious Guardian Beast, and you don't have a great idea for what to do if you do catch up. Just you against the three of them is not the best odds, and that's without considering whatever it is Dragon's doing. If she's doing anything, you realize with a sinking feeling. All of Dragon's technology requires her to interface with it from her home. If they are able to hack the suit…
It explains how they keep beating her, if nothing else.
"Storm, call Tim."
A screen pops up, and the Privateers' pseudo-Tinker sighs when he sees you.
"Thank God. Danny, she's here!"
Your dad shoves his way in between the screen and the mage.
"Taylor! What happened?! Are you okay?! Where are you?! Did Samantha get there in time?!"
"Dad! DAD!" He calms down and backs away slightly. "I'm fine. I wasn't in any danger. The Dragonslayers attacked while we were with Dragon, and we tried to hold them back while Sam got Tim to safety."
"What do you mean, tried?"
"I mean we tried but failed. We tried to hold them off, but one of them could cast shields, real magic shields, and he tased Samantha when she got the drop on him. They all hit Dragon while I was busy getting to her." You shake your head. "I don't think I've ever seen villains so arrogant in all my life, and I'm including the Empire in that. They stood in front of her missile launchers almost like they were daring her to shoot them while another one hacked her suit."
You know heroes are not supposed to kill, but that display was criminal levels of stupidity. They almost deserved to be shot through with her rockets.
You dad thinks something similar to your own ideas if the look on his face is any indication. Tim, on the other hand, stares at you with widened eyes.
"The First Law of Robotics. How did I miss it?" he whispers.
"Huh?" you and your dad ask at the same time.
"They were playing on her restrictions. But that doesn't make sense unless they know she has
restrictions. Oh. Oh, no." His face goes pale.
"They've hacked Dragon."
"I know. I just watched them do it."
"No, no, no. You don't get it. They hacked Dragon
."
"Tim, get your head out of the Tinker world and make some sense," demands your father.
Tim looks at both of your for a moment before blowing out a disgruntled puff of air.
"They didn't hack Dragon's suit. They hacked Dragon herself. Some of the things she said while we were talking, some of the ways she approaches problems? I didn't think twice about it then, but I recognize them. They're similar to the logic algorithms Sextant uses. Far more complex, no question about that, but similar, and even more similar to what I've been reading about Intelligent Devices." You still have no clue where he's going with this, and he rolls his eyes.
"I can't prove it, but I don't think Dragon is a shut-in or an insomniac or even a human at all.
"She's an artificial intelligence."
+1 training to Divide Energy (2/2 Master).
+2 Inspiration to Recursion Field (PURCHASED).
+2 Inspiration to Ring Bind (PURCHASED).
–7 cartridges.
Added Storage Device x1 to Privateers' Inventory.
Added Partially converted magitech drone x1 to Privateers' Inventory.
Tim only figured out Dragon's true nature because you've already started down the Device skill branch. Congrats on that! 
Time for yet another moratorium. Take 24 hours to plan next week's activities.
- Vote for a spell to learn.
- Secret Santa, Part 3 – You spent some time thinking about Epoch's offer, and you need more information before you make a final decision. Give him a call and meet the rest of the Adepts.
- Back in the Saddle, Part 3 – How many monsters does Typhon have at his disposal? No one knows, but if Miss Militia is worried, maybe you should be, too. The Protectorate may even need to call in the local villains to help out. Move out in force and stop this evil Tinker.
- Abandonment Issues – Vista has tried to be patient, but now she's just getting angry. You might need to meet with her sooner rather than later. Write-in for what to discuss/do.
- A Whole New World – You've always lived in a small corner of New England, but now you have powers that really let you get around. Take a little time to see the world around you.
- Spatial Translocation: Write-in
- Dimensional Translocation: Random or Write-in
- Back to Our Scheduled Programing – Go on patrol and look for trouble. You can write in to go along with somebody/somebodies.
- Hanging Out – Take a little time to yourself and spend some time with somebody/somebodies. Preferably doing something that doesn't involve burninating people. Write in the person, place, and thing.
- Nose to the Grindstone – Spend a free period training in the simulator. May be chosen twice. Write-in for which spell to practice.
