Stardust Falcon
Legendary Creature - Bird Wizard
- Location
- The Infinite Sorrow
Tenno-quest Bet (Warframe/Worm)
Uresmania
Person
- Location
- Land of Always Winter
So, a few things.
One, I'm not making a 1:1 from everything in the video game being in the quest, video game mechanics in particular. It needs to make world and story sense for me to include it.
Two, I'm also trying not to get bogged down in details.
How this has worked so far: I haven't been keeping track of energy expenditure in combat. I won't let the tenno get away with unlimited power usage, but if I keep track of exact energy amounts then I have to define energy and its sources. Can earth bet enemies drop energy? Wtf even are the energy drops, not to mention health drops?
I'm not keeping exact track of build times or build resources needed. Bigger things take longer, future tech requires future resources.
In terms of mods, they are a pretty important part of the game and of being a tenno, so I won't leave them out, but they won't function just like in game. I'll probably treat them as a combination of resources and the tenno's ability to modify weapons. So it's not just the materials, but also the know-how. If I go with this, it wouldn't be as simple as giving a bunch of mods to our allies.
- Location
- Cultural Memory
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Vote #1: Night Life. What do you want to do while you 'sleep?'
[X] Meet with recruiters
[X] Submit to interview with PRT
Vote #2 Orbital (big, not advanced) Foundry (can produce just about anything available on Earth-Bet, but ahead by 10-50 years):
[X] Components for Pendragon and her brood
Vote #3: Orbiter Foundry
[X] Super Computer
If we do eventually get a base on earth, maybe try getting Dragon's help with manufacturing and such. She'd be a huge help in figuring out a quicker way to get more useful resources from the "primitive" ones from this time period.
[X] Meet with recruiters
[X] Submit to interview with PRT
Vote #2 Orbital (big, not advanced) Foundry (can produce just about anything available on Earth-Bet, but ahead by 10-50 years):
[X] Components for Pendragon and her brood
Vote #3: Orbiter Foundry
[X] Super Computer
If we do eventually get a base on earth, maybe try getting Dragon's help with manufacturing and such. She'd be a huge help in figuring out a quicker way to get more useful resources from the "primitive" ones from this time period.
Vote Results 2.4
Uresmania
Person
- Location
- Land of Always Winter
Vote #1: Night Life
[X] Meet with recruiters
No. of votes: 7
ValhaHazred
nekcihc
Fantasy Nature
veekie
Nawaf
Leafy503
DragonByte
[X] PRT - the Void Fissure thing could easily happen again and they should know the dangers. We don't have to tell the whole truth but letting the heroes go into a Void Fissure entirely blind feels bad.
No. of votes: 5
ValhaHazred
Fantasy Nature
veekie
Nawaf
Leafy503
[X] agree to a video link interview with the PRT, withhold details but make it clear that you are not responsible for the void fissure and that your actions were meant to minimize damage from it. Share information on the fissures to help them manage future incidents.
No. of votes: 1
Silversun17[/url']http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11783571/]Silversun17[/url]
[X] Submit to interview with PRT
No. of votes: 1
DragonByte[/url']http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11789170/]DragonByte[/url]
[X] PRT
No. of votes: 1
nekcihc[/url']http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11784048/]nekcihc[/url]
[X] Time to Research (these may well take more time)
No. of votes: 1
nekcihc
[X] Work on advanced Void conductive materials
No. of votes: 1
nekcihc[/url']http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11784048/]nekcihc[/url]
Vote #2: Orbital Foundry (henceforward 'Skyforge' or suitable write-in name)
[X] Components for Pendragon and her brood
No. of votes: 5
ValhaHazred
nekcihc
Fantasy Nature
Nawaf
DragonByte
[X]Spy satellites
No. of votes: 3
Silversun17
veekie
Leafy503
Vote #3: Foundry
[X] Use for Equipment Recovery
No. of votes: 4
ValhaHazred
Fantasy Nature
Nawaf
Leafy503
[X] Super Computer
No. of votes: 3
Silversun17
veekie
DragonByte
[X] Augment anything made by the Orbital Foundry
No. of votes: 1
nekcihc
Summary:
The tenno feels a responsibility to inform the PRT about the potential threat of Void fissures, but will, of course, not compromise her own security to deliver her message. She will spend her forge time building up her allies who, for now, are just the various dragons. Her personal foundry will be used to recover more of her equipment.
Equipment roll: 1=Warframe, 2=Primary Weapon, 3=Secondary, 4=Beast, 5=Robot,
Roll Result: 1. Congrats, you'll be able to pick a new warframe next vote!
[X] Meet with recruiters
No. of votes: 7
ValhaHazred
nekcihc
Fantasy Nature
veekie
Nawaf
Leafy503
DragonByte
[X] PRT - the Void Fissure thing could easily happen again and they should know the dangers. We don't have to tell the whole truth but letting the heroes go into a Void Fissure entirely blind feels bad.
No. of votes: 5
ValhaHazred
Fantasy Nature
veekie
Nawaf
Leafy503
[X] agree to a video link interview with the PRT, withhold details but make it clear that you are not responsible for the void fissure and that your actions were meant to minimize damage from it. Share information on the fissures to help them manage future incidents.
No. of votes: 1
Silversun17[/url']http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11783571/]Silversun17[/url]
[X] Submit to interview with PRT
No. of votes: 1
DragonByte[/url']http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11789170/]DragonByte[/url]
[X] PRT
No. of votes: 1
nekcihc[/url']http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11784048/]nekcihc[/url]
[X] Time to Research (these may well take more time)
No. of votes: 1
nekcihc
[X] Work on advanced Void conductive materials
No. of votes: 1
nekcihc[/url']http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11784048/]nekcihc[/url]
Vote #2: Orbital Foundry (henceforward 'Skyforge' or suitable write-in name)
[X] Components for Pendragon and her brood
No. of votes: 5
ValhaHazred
nekcihc
Fantasy Nature
Nawaf
DragonByte
[X]Spy satellites
No. of votes: 3
Silversun17
veekie
Leafy503
Vote #3: Foundry
[X] Use for Equipment Recovery
No. of votes: 4
ValhaHazred
Fantasy Nature
Nawaf
Leafy503
[X] Super Computer
No. of votes: 3
Silversun17
veekie
DragonByte
[X] Augment anything made by the Orbital Foundry
No. of votes: 1
nekcihc
Summary:
The tenno feels a responsibility to inform the PRT about the potential threat of Void fissures, but will, of course, not compromise her own security to deliver her message. She will spend her forge time building up her allies who, for now, are just the various dragons. Her personal foundry will be used to recover more of her equipment.
Equipment roll: 1=Warframe, 2=Primary Weapon, 3=Secondary, 4=Beast, 5=Robot,
Roll Result: 1. Congrats, you'll be able to pick a new warframe next vote!
- Location
- Cultural Memory
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yay! A new Warframe! Will we be able to choose prime variants or not? If not, will we be able to get prime parts from void fissures same as in-game?
Uresmania
Person
- Location
- Land of Always Winter
I currently have no plans for primes. There's already quite a bit of authorial discretion in how well Earth Bet tech, weapons, and armor hold up against things the Tenno has access to. Having a shiny version that's slightly better than the thing I kinda arbitrarily decided the power of just seems kinda silly.
There may be a good reason to go that direction in the future, but I haven't thought of it yet.
helnae
Mlem~
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Maybe have the Prime versions of things just be cosmetic changes (strange as that might seem with a text-based wossname) with no actual mechanical alterations? Fashionframe is the true endgame, after all.
NitroFumetsu
Blaze of Glory
Wouldn't be too hard. Prime frames require Void Relics. No Void Relics = No Prime Frames.
They require Void Fissure events to even open. We are not farming in a quest.
They require Void Fissure events to even open. We are not farming in a quest.
- Location
- Oregon
I've kinda been assuming all of them were primes. Even Ivara, who doesn't have a prime variant yet.
When you get down to it, all warframes were designed or made by the Orokin. Primes are the premium Orokin variant of the frame. Why aren't they all primes?
It's just game mechanics, giving them things to lock behind time cycles to keep people playing. Which I actually don't mind. My point being? Doesn't actually matter. The difference between two slight variants of technology already advanced enough to qualify as magic is negligible.
When you get down to it, all warframes were designed or made by the Orokin. Primes are the premium Orokin variant of the frame. Why aren't they all primes?
It's just game mechanics, giving them things to lock behind time cycles to keep people playing. Which I actually don't mind. My point being? Doesn't actually matter. The difference between two slight variants of technology already advanced enough to qualify as magic is negligible.
Uresmania
Person
- Location
- Land of Always Winter
Exactly this. If you feel better imagining them as primes, go for it!
Direction 2.5
Uresmania
Person
- Location
- Land of Always Winter
Direction 2.5
"Ordis, can you connect me to Pendragon?" I asked.
"Just a moment, Operator," said Ordis, "Connection established."
A holographic rectangle bloomed into being in front of me. Depicted therein was Pendragon's human-like avatar, though her features seemed a bit sharper than before.
"Good evening, Operator," she said.
Oh right, I still hadn't taken a name here.
"Good evening, Pendragon," I said. "Please, call me Opera."
"It's a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance," she said. "To what do I owe your call?"
"Two things, actually," I said. "One is that I need to communicate with the PRT about the threat of Void fissures in a way that doesn't involve them trying to detain me or dismissing me as an imposter."
"I can see why you might be concerned about those outcomes," she said. "I think the best route would be to go through Tin Mother, make a verified PHO account and communicate through that."
I nodded. That seemed reasonable.
"The other thing is that I have some spare time in my skyforge and I would like to make advanced components to help you and your, uh, brood," I said. "What would be most helpful for you?"
She blinked and was silent for a moment.
"That's very thoughtful of you!" she said. "Given the strategy behind out distributed nature, I think it would be wise to ask each of us individually what would be most helpful and even keep that information as a secret between you and each person."
I nodded. Again, very reasonable.
"Personally," she began, "I would appreciate as sophisticated and defensible a backup system as you can devise. Hopefully with key implementations to be made after it was given to me."
I gulped slightly, deciding not to mention the back-ups of her that I already kept. This would be different, though. It would be her own system and thoroughly under her own control.
"I can do that," I said. "Can you link me over to Tin Mother? Oh, and why doesn't she have a Dragon name?"
Pendragon scowled, which was remarkable since it was the first time I saw her face make an outright negative expression.
"That's a question that she's been asking as well," she said. "She wants to change her name to Tin-dragon, partly because it rhymes with Pendragon, but I have insisted the such a name change would be giving a careless clue to anyone trying to connect the dots of the Round Table."
That… was a thing.
"I see," I said.
Pendragon merely huffed and her face vanished from my viewscreen. A moment later another avatar appeared. This one was more in line with what most humans here used in their internet fora. It was a pixelated and cartoonish dragon's face. It was animated to make simple movements and expressions when talking.
"Greetings Opera!" she said. "I'm Tin-dragon, not like 'Tin… Dragon' like two separate words, but like 'Pendragon' where its all one word with the accent on the antepenult. Are you calling yourself Opera because you like that form of vocal performance? Eastern or Western style? Or is it just short for Operator? What do you even operate anyway? I mean, you have a spaceship, but is that the eponymous operated device? Hmm, maybe this is all too personal. Oh, and Tin-dragon is my secret name. In public, you'll have to call me Tin Mother."
I blinked.
"Um," I said, "I was mostly contacting you to establish a verified PHO account and maybe get some tips for how to interact productively with the PRT."
"Hm, given that this signal is originating from your super-secret spacecraft, I think I can go ahead and verify you," she said. "Do you want it to go by 'Opera,' a pseudonym, or some other clever title?"
"Not 'Opera,'" I said, "that's going to be the name for my operator form, which I plan on having an identity distinct from my warframes. Maybe, 'space ninja?'"
"Hm," she said, "That's taken. 'Space_Ninja69' is open if you'd like."
"Um," I said, "sure?"
Her avatar let loose a triumphant burst of pixelated flames.
"Great! Ok, I'm sending over the contact of the PRT account with the best likelihood of you being listened to. Anything else I can do for you?" she asked.
"Yes, actually. My skyforge has a free queue right now, and I'd like to make you something. What would you like?"
"Ooh… could you make a giant animatronic dragon? LIke, not for battle or anything, just for being really cool!" she said.
"I, uh, was thinking more of technological upgrades, components, or something along those lines," I said.
"Oh," she said, "that does make a bit more sense. Do you have any super-advanced future space ninja-y encryption protocols? People are always trying to hack my stuff. They don't succeed, and probably won't, but it'd be nice to be really super extra sure about that."
"I can do that," I said. "It will require some hardware you don't have, so I'll need to construct and deliver it. Also, the hardware isn't going to be from my time, so it'll only be super-advanced future encryption, not very space-ninja-y."
The cartoon dragon huffed out a plume of smoke.
"Ok, that's fine, but only cause you're kinda my space-dad," she said.
"What?!"
"Yeah, you saved my mom from her cruel torment and helped convince her to have a bunch of babies! Hm, none of us were really based on you, so maybe you're more like my mom's space-friend who convinced her to visit the sperm bank. Whatever, point is, you're family and I'm glad that means I get presents!" she said.
"Ok, um, thanks?" I said.
"No problem, space-dad, bye!" she said before her avatar blinked out.
I stood still for a long moment.
"Ordis, can you send the offers of tech to the other dragons? Text-only maybe?" I asked.
"Ordis will handle it!" he said.
I then sat down to compose a message to the PRT. I needed to inform them of the dangers of approaching an active Void fissure. Crazed clones, robots, and living viruses could emerge, those echoes could occupy and overwrite the existence of those without Void shielding. Which meant everyone except, perhaps, for a handful of parahumans. I'd recommend evacuation and containment as first priorities. Once the fissure passed, the enemies could be mopped up. Although they had equipment far in advance of those on Earth Bet, their lack of any sound strategy or tactics would make them less dangerous foes.
As for an explanation, I decided to lead them to conclude that these were extradimensional anomalies, likely caused by parahumans repeatedly breaking down dimensional barriers. It was close enough to the truth.
Once I finished, I went over to a storage compartment to poke through the remains of my former armory.
I centered myself and breathed in.
What did I need?
I exhaled and I knew.
Ivara operated in the shadows, striking swiftly and suddenly. She thrived in ambushes that were over before they began.
I needed a frame that excelled at operating openly.
I began collecting the parts that I would need and took them to the foundry.
I opened my eyes to find Elle staring directly into them. I scrambled away and found her sitting cross-legged just beside where my head just was. She had been leaning over and starting down, waiting for me to reappear.
"I thought you'd be back," she said. There was little inflection, and her eyes looked a little glassy.
"Was I gone?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Like me, but different," she said. "Do you always go away in your sleep?"
"I don't know," I said. "I guess I'll find out soon enough."
She blinked but didn't appear to be paying attention to me anymore. I was a little weirded out but resisted my impulse to leave her. I gently grasped her neck and pulled my ear against hers. I let the sound of her mind wash over me and felt myself shift to match her vibration.
I opened my eyes to a clear and flat horizon. Clear blue sky stretched in a perfect dome above us. The ground was light-brown, parched, and riddled with cracks. It stretched to the horizon in all directions with no interruption to its flatness.
"You came!" Elle yelled right into my ear.
I tried to take a step back but was unsuccessful. I had been glomped.
I decided to return the hug, but in a more controlled, if no less warm, fashion.
"Do you want to go back?" I asked.
Elle nodded.
"I've been with Faultline's crew for a while, but I'm not really, uh, there very often. It would be nice to get to know them more.
I nodded and pulled her just a bit tighter as I brought us back.
Before I could react, Elle had run to the door and had it pulled open. Her smile was bright and eager and far outshone her mussed hair and wrinkled pajamas. She looked at me and blushed a little.
"Sorry," she said, "It all just seems so vivid, like I'm here for the first time, but still familiar like I'm coming home. I just want to see it all at once!"
I felt my lips tug into a warm smile.
"That's fine," I said, "just try not to leave me behind, I don't know anyone here!"
With that, we set off down the hall. She took each twist and turn with the confidence of familiarity, though I soon learned that that didn't mean she knew where we were going. Here energy was in stark contrast with the establishment around us. Though it was late morning, it still had the distinct feel of the wrong side of a nocturnal business life.
After too many locked doors, unwanted exits into the alley, and unremarkable hallways, we found ourselves at the nightclub proper. The dance floor and bar looked much too sober unoccupied and in the clear light of day.
Down at the bar, Faultline, Newter, and a large pale man were eating.
Our arrival was noted and Faultline set down her plate and made her way towards us. She was not wearing her welders mask but had her armor on.
"Elle, it's nice to see you up and about," said Faultline.
Elle sounded a happy affirmative.
"Go ahead and get some brunch with the others, I'd like to have a little chat with your new friend," said Faultline.
Elle nodded and skipped towards the bar.
I returned my attention to Faultline, who was intimidating, but a great deal less menacing without her mask.
"Are you feeling a bit more settled, Opera?" she asked.
"Yes," I said, "Elle seems great!"
"That she is. I want to talk to you about your options for right now, do you think you're up to that?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Good," she said. "As I see it, you have two main options: you can stay here, or go to the PRT, which is the government agency that deals with cases like yours.
"You're more than welcome to stay here, and I'm glad that you've hit it off so well with Elle, but there are advantages to going through the government. I wouldn't feel good about having you join without knowing your options."
I nodded again.
"Going through the PRT will help you establish a legal identity. You'll need that or an expensive and illegal alternative to do things like travel and go to school. This will put you on the government's radar in a big way, but there are only a few life paths that seriously benefit from not being on the 'grid' at all.
"From there, you will be pushed to join the Wards, their group of underaged superheroes, but you will be allowed to refuse.
"Now you can stay here and think about it for a few days, ask some more questions, and do some research if you'd like, but I would like to know whether you would like to go to the PRT as soon as you reach a decision."
"Ok," I said.
"Now, this is a little awkward, but I can't have you listening in to all of our conversations if you're going to go to the PRT, so until you make a decision, you can only be with Elle. Do you understand?"
I nodded. It made sense, especially given their mercenary status.
"Ok then," she said. "I'll send Elle over with some breakfast, just let me know what you decide."
Vote #1: Second Skin
[] Nova: Master of anti-matter technology, Nova is a perfect combination of explosive offense, crowd control, and utility.
[] Mag: Master of magnetic technology, Mag is geared towards crowd control.
[] Trinity: Specializing in support, Trinity is the best squadmate anyone could ask for (available because of priority placed on friendship)
[] Vauban: Specializing in engineering and traps, Vauban excels and defensive crowd control.
[] Volt: Specializing in novel uses of electricity, Volt has utility as a support, attacker, defender, and crowd controller.
Vote #2: Employment Offers
[] Faultline's Crew: You've made a personal connection with Elle, and can see this motley crew becoming something like a family.
[] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
[] Delay: Hang out with Elle some more. Pretend that you haven't had several friendly AIs do all your research and answer all your questions already.
"Ordis, can you connect me to Pendragon?" I asked.
"Just a moment, Operator," said Ordis, "Connection established."
A holographic rectangle bloomed into being in front of me. Depicted therein was Pendragon's human-like avatar, though her features seemed a bit sharper than before.
"Good evening, Operator," she said.
Oh right, I still hadn't taken a name here.
"Good evening, Pendragon," I said. "Please, call me Opera."
"It's a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance," she said. "To what do I owe your call?"
"Two things, actually," I said. "One is that I need to communicate with the PRT about the threat of Void fissures in a way that doesn't involve them trying to detain me or dismissing me as an imposter."
"I can see why you might be concerned about those outcomes," she said. "I think the best route would be to go through Tin Mother, make a verified PHO account and communicate through that."
I nodded. That seemed reasonable.
"The other thing is that I have some spare time in my skyforge and I would like to make advanced components to help you and your, uh, brood," I said. "What would be most helpful for you?"
She blinked and was silent for a moment.
"That's very thoughtful of you!" she said. "Given the strategy behind out distributed nature, I think it would be wise to ask each of us individually what would be most helpful and even keep that information as a secret between you and each person."
I nodded. Again, very reasonable.
"Personally," she began, "I would appreciate as sophisticated and defensible a backup system as you can devise. Hopefully with key implementations to be made after it was given to me."
I gulped slightly, deciding not to mention the back-ups of her that I already kept. This would be different, though. It would be her own system and thoroughly under her own control.
"I can do that," I said. "Can you link me over to Tin Mother? Oh, and why doesn't she have a Dragon name?"
Pendragon scowled, which was remarkable since it was the first time I saw her face make an outright negative expression.
"That's a question that she's been asking as well," she said. "She wants to change her name to Tin-dragon, partly because it rhymes with Pendragon, but I have insisted the such a name change would be giving a careless clue to anyone trying to connect the dots of the Round Table."
That… was a thing.
"I see," I said.
Pendragon merely huffed and her face vanished from my viewscreen. A moment later another avatar appeared. This one was more in line with what most humans here used in their internet fora. It was a pixelated and cartoonish dragon's face. It was animated to make simple movements and expressions when talking.
"Greetings Opera!" she said. "I'm Tin-dragon, not like 'Tin… Dragon' like two separate words, but like 'Pendragon' where its all one word with the accent on the antepenult. Are you calling yourself Opera because you like that form of vocal performance? Eastern or Western style? Or is it just short for Operator? What do you even operate anyway? I mean, you have a spaceship, but is that the eponymous operated device? Hmm, maybe this is all too personal. Oh, and Tin-dragon is my secret name. In public, you'll have to call me Tin Mother."
I blinked.
"Um," I said, "I was mostly contacting you to establish a verified PHO account and maybe get some tips for how to interact productively with the PRT."
"Hm, given that this signal is originating from your super-secret spacecraft, I think I can go ahead and verify you," she said. "Do you want it to go by 'Opera,' a pseudonym, or some other clever title?"
"Not 'Opera,'" I said, "that's going to be the name for my operator form, which I plan on having an identity distinct from my warframes. Maybe, 'space ninja?'"
"Hm," she said, "That's taken. 'Space_Ninja69' is open if you'd like."
"Um," I said, "sure?"
Her avatar let loose a triumphant burst of pixelated flames.
"Great! Ok, I'm sending over the contact of the PRT account with the best likelihood of you being listened to. Anything else I can do for you?" she asked.
"Yes, actually. My skyforge has a free queue right now, and I'd like to make you something. What would you like?"
"Ooh… could you make a giant animatronic dragon? LIke, not for battle or anything, just for being really cool!" she said.
"I, uh, was thinking more of technological upgrades, components, or something along those lines," I said.
"Oh," she said, "that does make a bit more sense. Do you have any super-advanced future space ninja-y encryption protocols? People are always trying to hack my stuff. They don't succeed, and probably won't, but it'd be nice to be really super extra sure about that."
"I can do that," I said. "It will require some hardware you don't have, so I'll need to construct and deliver it. Also, the hardware isn't going to be from my time, so it'll only be super-advanced future encryption, not very space-ninja-y."
The cartoon dragon huffed out a plume of smoke.
"Ok, that's fine, but only cause you're kinda my space-dad," she said.
"What?!"
"Yeah, you saved my mom from her cruel torment and helped convince her to have a bunch of babies! Hm, none of us were really based on you, so maybe you're more like my mom's space-friend who convinced her to visit the sperm bank. Whatever, point is, you're family and I'm glad that means I get presents!" she said.
"Ok, um, thanks?" I said.
"No problem, space-dad, bye!" she said before her avatar blinked out.
I stood still for a long moment.
"Ordis, can you send the offers of tech to the other dragons? Text-only maybe?" I asked.
"Ordis will handle it!" he said.
I then sat down to compose a message to the PRT. I needed to inform them of the dangers of approaching an active Void fissure. Crazed clones, robots, and living viruses could emerge, those echoes could occupy and overwrite the existence of those without Void shielding. Which meant everyone except, perhaps, for a handful of parahumans. I'd recommend evacuation and containment as first priorities. Once the fissure passed, the enemies could be mopped up. Although they had equipment far in advance of those on Earth Bet, their lack of any sound strategy or tactics would make them less dangerous foes.
As for an explanation, I decided to lead them to conclude that these were extradimensional anomalies, likely caused by parahumans repeatedly breaking down dimensional barriers. It was close enough to the truth.
Once I finished, I went over to a storage compartment to poke through the remains of my former armory.
I centered myself and breathed in.
What did I need?
I exhaled and I knew.
Ivara operated in the shadows, striking swiftly and suddenly. She thrived in ambushes that were over before they began.
I needed a frame that excelled at operating openly.
I began collecting the parts that I would need and took them to the foundry.
I opened my eyes to find Elle staring directly into them. I scrambled away and found her sitting cross-legged just beside where my head just was. She had been leaning over and starting down, waiting for me to reappear.
"I thought you'd be back," she said. There was little inflection, and her eyes looked a little glassy.
"Was I gone?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Like me, but different," she said. "Do you always go away in your sleep?"
"I don't know," I said. "I guess I'll find out soon enough."
She blinked but didn't appear to be paying attention to me anymore. I was a little weirded out but resisted my impulse to leave her. I gently grasped her neck and pulled my ear against hers. I let the sound of her mind wash over me and felt myself shift to match her vibration.
I opened my eyes to a clear and flat horizon. Clear blue sky stretched in a perfect dome above us. The ground was light-brown, parched, and riddled with cracks. It stretched to the horizon in all directions with no interruption to its flatness.
"You came!" Elle yelled right into my ear.
I tried to take a step back but was unsuccessful. I had been glomped.
I decided to return the hug, but in a more controlled, if no less warm, fashion.
"Do you want to go back?" I asked.
Elle nodded.
"I've been with Faultline's crew for a while, but I'm not really, uh, there very often. It would be nice to get to know them more.
I nodded and pulled her just a bit tighter as I brought us back.
Before I could react, Elle had run to the door and had it pulled open. Her smile was bright and eager and far outshone her mussed hair and wrinkled pajamas. She looked at me and blushed a little.
"Sorry," she said, "It all just seems so vivid, like I'm here for the first time, but still familiar like I'm coming home. I just want to see it all at once!"
I felt my lips tug into a warm smile.
"That's fine," I said, "just try not to leave me behind, I don't know anyone here!"
With that, we set off down the hall. She took each twist and turn with the confidence of familiarity, though I soon learned that that didn't mean she knew where we were going. Here energy was in stark contrast with the establishment around us. Though it was late morning, it still had the distinct feel of the wrong side of a nocturnal business life.
After too many locked doors, unwanted exits into the alley, and unremarkable hallways, we found ourselves at the nightclub proper. The dance floor and bar looked much too sober unoccupied and in the clear light of day.
Down at the bar, Faultline, Newter, and a large pale man were eating.
Our arrival was noted and Faultline set down her plate and made her way towards us. She was not wearing her welders mask but had her armor on.
"Elle, it's nice to see you up and about," said Faultline.
Elle sounded a happy affirmative.
"Go ahead and get some brunch with the others, I'd like to have a little chat with your new friend," said Faultline.
Elle nodded and skipped towards the bar.
I returned my attention to Faultline, who was intimidating, but a great deal less menacing without her mask.
"Are you feeling a bit more settled, Opera?" she asked.
"Yes," I said, "Elle seems great!"
"That she is. I want to talk to you about your options for right now, do you think you're up to that?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Good," she said. "As I see it, you have two main options: you can stay here, or go to the PRT, which is the government agency that deals with cases like yours.
"You're more than welcome to stay here, and I'm glad that you've hit it off so well with Elle, but there are advantages to going through the government. I wouldn't feel good about having you join without knowing your options."
I nodded again.
"Going through the PRT will help you establish a legal identity. You'll need that or an expensive and illegal alternative to do things like travel and go to school. This will put you on the government's radar in a big way, but there are only a few life paths that seriously benefit from not being on the 'grid' at all.
"From there, you will be pushed to join the Wards, their group of underaged superheroes, but you will be allowed to refuse.
"Now you can stay here and think about it for a few days, ask some more questions, and do some research if you'd like, but I would like to know whether you would like to go to the PRT as soon as you reach a decision."
"Ok," I said.
"Now, this is a little awkward, but I can't have you listening in to all of our conversations if you're going to go to the PRT, so until you make a decision, you can only be with Elle. Do you understand?"
I nodded. It made sense, especially given their mercenary status.
"Ok then," she said. "I'll send Elle over with some breakfast, just let me know what you decide."
Vote #1: Second Skin
[] Nova: Master of anti-matter technology, Nova is a perfect combination of explosive offense, crowd control, and utility.
[] Mag: Master of magnetic technology, Mag is geared towards crowd control.
[] Trinity: Specializing in support, Trinity is the best squadmate anyone could ask for (available because of priority placed on friendship)
[] Vauban: Specializing in engineering and traps, Vauban excels and defensive crowd control.
[] Volt: Specializing in novel uses of electricity, Volt has utility as a support, attacker, defender, and crowd controller.
Vote #2: Employment Offers
[] Faultline's Crew: You've made a personal connection with Elle, and can see this motley crew becoming something like a family.
[] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
[] Delay: Hang out with Elle some more. Pretend that you haven't had several friendly AIs do all your research and answer all your questions already.
Stardust Falcon
Legendary Creature - Bird Wizard
- Location
- The Infinite Sorrow
Goesfast machine: ENGAGE
[X] Volt
[X] Faultline's Crew
[X] Volt
[X] Faultline's Crew
- Location
- United States
[X] Nova: Master of anti-matter technology, Nova is a perfect combination of explosive offense, crowd control, and utility.
[X] Faultline's Crew: You've made a personal connection with Elle, and can see this motley crew becoming something like a family.
[X] Faultline's Crew: You've made a personal connection with Elle, and can see this motley crew becoming something like a family.
- Location
- USA
If the frame's abilities go beyond gameplay, here are my thoughts:
- Nova: Great offense, but we're mostly going to be in a city. How good is Nova's control over her anti-matter and are we confident that we won't insta-kill the majority of our opponents?
- Mag: Really good since we're in a city with all that metal, and a great counter to many of the E88. Can we still give shields to our allies or do they lack the technology for it?
- Trinity: My first choice since it'll be great for future Endbringer attacks, but Ivara isn't really a pure offensive frame and I would like something to expand/balance out our choices (even if the Artemis Bow can be bae when properly modded). Not to mention, no one can be a threat to our friends if we kill/subdue the enemy first.
- Vauban: My first thought was his 4th skill and how all the enemies are contorted into all those shapes while being dealt damage over time. Not the best for non-augmented or non-Brute Bet natives.
- Volt: Electricity is great in general. The speed boost is great though can be very disorienting (thinks back to all the walls I crash into when I get any sort of speed boost) but great during combat if it can increase their reaction time. He can kill and stun his enemies, and augment projectiles with electricity even if his allies can't really pick it up due to lack of proper technology or Void BS.
[X] Trinity: Specializing in support, Trinity is the best squadmate anyone could ask for (available because of priority placed on friendship)
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
Remember our actual goals guys. Faultline is the route to a strictly local, illegal op. We got friends but the overarching goals we set up are largely deadended.
The PRT is for incrementally revealing ourselves without triggering hot backlash.
That said, RIP cyber dignity
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
Remember our actual goals guys. Faultline is the route to a strictly local, illegal op. We got friends but the overarching goals we set up are largely deadended.
The PRT is for incrementally revealing ourselves without triggering hot backlash.
That said, RIP cyber dignity
- Location
- A comfortable chair
[x] Faultline's Crew: You've made a personal connection with Elle, and can see this motley crew becoming something like a family.
[x] Nova: Master of anti-matter technology, Nova is a perfect combination of explosive offense, crowd control, and utility.
I'm partial to Nova anyways, but I think on top of my bias it will come in handy should any endbringer fights show up. Not to mention potential S-Class fights.
As for Faultline, it feels rare that I see that done. Plus I feel like the interaction between Elle and the Operator will be fun to watch.
[x] Nova: Master of anti-matter technology, Nova is a perfect combination of explosive offense, crowd control, and utility.
I'm partial to Nova anyways, but I think on top of my bias it will come in handy should any endbringer fights show up. Not to mention potential S-Class fights.
As for Faultline, it feels rare that I see that done. Plus I feel like the interaction between Elle and the Operator will be fun to watch.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Trinity: Specializing in support, Trinity is the best squadmate anyone could ask for (available because of priority placed on friendship)
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
[X] Volt: Specializing in novel uses of electricity, Volt has utility as a support, attacker, defender, and crowd controller.
[X] Volt: Specializing in novel uses of electricity, Volt has utility as a support, attacker, defender, and crowd controller.
[x] Nova: Master of anti-matter technology, Nova is a perfect combination of explosive offense, crowd control, and utility.
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
Dauan Tienar
To the endless horizon
- Location
- Victoria
[X] Trinity: Specializing in support, Trinity is the best squadmate anyone could ask for (available because of priority placed on friendship)
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
[X] PRT: The official heroes will probably be good friends, and joining with them will give you greater connections, ability to spread technology, and ability to protect this world. Also, no one said you had to burn bridges behind you.
- Location
- California Conservation Corps
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Well, something I haven't seen anyone bring up is that Trinity by far is the tankiest of the listed frames with a proper Link-Bless build. Don't let the lack of armor fool you, Trinity is basically the Valkyr of supports: hard to kill normally to effectively indestructible for a short period of time, where short is a variable amount of time inversely proportionate to the bodies on the ground.
Disclaimer: I may be completely biased here, as I am a Trinity main and have often stated my role as Clan Warlord to be getting our Valkyr out of whatever mess my co-lead caused by being overconfident.
[X] Trinity: Specializing in support, Trinity is the best squadmate anyone could ask for (available because of priority placed on friendship)
[X] Faultline's Crew: You've made a personal connection with Elle, and can see this motley crew becoming something like a family.
Disclaimer: I may be completely biased here, as I am a Trinity main and have often stated my role as Clan Warlord to be getting our Valkyr out of whatever mess my co-lead caused by being overconfident.
[X] Trinity: Specializing in support, Trinity is the best squadmate anyone could ask for (available because of priority placed on friendship)
[X] Faultline's Crew: You've made a personal connection with Elle, and can see this motley crew becoming something like a family.