Slinger and Annie Enhance Movement AQ
GM: Slinger
Players: Slinger, Annie
Synopsis:
Slinger and Annie rendezvous in the metaplane of Earth for an Astral
Quest. The Dweller is a no-show, so in effect they become one
another's dweller, sharing secrets with a chance to actually become
better acquainted.

Then, they are cast in the unlikely role as thieves from an alien
race of birds, and must master their stolen spaceship to
successfully evade capture, fight off the attempts to destroy them,
and successfully repair the ship to escape.

Date: 16 Feb 2070

Preparation

Annie gives Slinger a call on the contact number he passed on last time they met. When the younger elf finally accepts the call she offers him a pleasant smile as a greeting (assuming you have video on your phone), "Hello.", she begins cheerily, "Was wondering if you might like to join me on a jaunt to the metaplanes? I've got a new spell I need to learn and thought it might be a good opportunity to work together in a bit more casual environment."

Slinger tends to be an audio-only kind of boy. Mostly because nobody wants to see him naked — or whatever. Slinger answers the phone, taps his chin thoughtfully. He's been ass-deep in legwork today… but on the other hand, he isn't going to hear anything for a while yet. Everything's waiting on further developments. And Medaron — one of the people at the core of all of this — is inviting him along on a jaunt. "I could use a break," Slinger admits. "So uh… actually, I've never done this that much. Is it enough that we just get there at the same time? Or do we need to be at the same place, physically?"

"It's enough that we project to the metaplanes with the intent to work together.", Annie responds with a chuckle, "And I needed the getaway myself. Sometimes my astral quests can be somewhat bizarre, but they definitely tend to take my mind off of my problems."

"Gotcha. I'll be there in five," Slinger says. "Lemme just fill my lungs with tar real quick before I go, and I'll be right there." He pauses. "What spell are we learning, and what metaplane should I meet you at?" the elf wonders with a grin.

"I have a new custom spell I want to try out. It simulates the movement power of various spirits.", Annie responds, "While a similar effect can be provided by an elemental service, I think it could be useful.", she pauses a moment, "Its from the manipulation school, so Earth."

"Gotcha. Plane of Earth it is. See ya after my cancer stick." He hangs up the phone, and, true to his word, lights up and sucks down some delicious tar. Preparing himself, he pads into stretch out on the bed, contemplating. The trick is always selecting the right level of Quest. Too much, and it's wasted. Too little, and it provides no real insight.
Once he's done, he crushes out his cigarette carefully, lies back — and projects, thinking of Annie — and working with her.

Annie takes a few moments routing all incoming calls to her anonymous matrix voicemail drop, then heads into her bedroom and gets comfortable. She leans back and takes her time as she meditates on the journey ahead and who her 'partner' for this trip will be.

Finally she is ready and locks the mental image of Slingers aura in her mind, then projects and instantly makes the sideways step to the metaplanes. This particular quest is to her native element, and while that doesn't make the tests any easier it does somehow make her feel safer.

Slinger has no native element. Instead, he seems to pick and choose the aspects of each that suit him. A little fire, a little air, a dash of water and just a hint of earth. The elf is more air and fire than water and earth, though, to those who know him, and it shows in his aura. He does not root so easily; instead, he is more like fire, a capricious thing, full of life and energy and passion.
The images fly by on the way to the metaplanes, all the intermediate places of which one gets only an aspected glance, until suddenly, the two of us are in a dark place. Just the two of us, with nothing around. "Heya," Slinger says, in greeting, then cranes his neck. No dweller. "Maybe he's running late?"

Do-It-Yourself Dweller

Annie looks around as well, offering a wave to Slinger as she settles in to the new location. "It's not his usual MO. Typically he likes to be here before me, gloating about how he is going to make me miserable this time around." She looks around at the darkness, trying to make out any shapes or movement in the surroundings.

There is little. Just the darkness, and this one small illuminated place. Even the floor beneath us, though it exists, is likewise featureless and black. "Yeah, me, too. Of course, with me, the trouble is there's not /that/ much I'm that ashamed of. I mean… well, I have my weaknesses. I know them pretty well. But nothing… too horribly embarassing."
Slinger reaches down — and is gratified to feel the bulge of a pack of smokes. His habit is enough a part of him that even here he has the ability to enjoy the habit. He takes a moment to light up, inhales deeply, then slowly exhales through his nostrils. "Maybe we're supposed to do this ourselves, or something," he says with a soft laugh.

Annie continues looking around and pulls her staff out, expanding it and using it to lean on. Finally she gets a bit annoyed and calls out, "DING DONG! Someone is at the door!" She cocks her head slightly as if that posture might actually help her hear better, then looks back over at Slinger and his surrounding cloud of smoke, "Maybe the Dweller is testing our patience."

Slinger can't help but chuckle. "I don't see a doorbell. Or anything to knock on but my head." He does so, opening his mouth to create a hollow sound. But there's no response to the call, nothing except the silence, and Slinger's smoke curling into the darkness. "Well," he says, glancing at Annie. "Maybe this is a do-it-yourself kind of Quest or something. Tell you what… I'll be your Dweller, you be mine."
He clears his throat, then tries to lower his voice from the light tenor that is typical of elves, especially youngish ones. "Muahahaha. You suck. Muahahaha, you suck, you who dare to come here, you will never succeed." He grins. "Okay. Now, you gotta tell me a secret, nothing you've told anybody before."

Annie laughs aloud and responds in kind, adopting a typical dweller-like pose of arrogance. "You have no chance. I don't know why you waste my time by coming back time and time again. Mustache twirl, mustache twirl. Perhaps a game of backgammon?"

Annie chews on her lip for a second as she considers possible secrets or scenarios that she can divulge, "I've been touched by the darkness and nearly consumed. The experience left it's mark on me, a mark I am still trying to remove.", she turns slightly and drops her masking to allow a dark glyph that seems to be burned into her aura to become visible. It's difficult to see unless you know what you are looking for.", she pauses and adds, "I believe the entity that put that there is akin to the one currently squatting in the Wells Fargo building."

Slinger can't help but laugh at the moustache-twirling. But he sobers at the piece of news, exhales a cloud of smoke as his eyes flick over that darkness. "I would love to hear that story. And it appears we hae some time," Slinger admits. "What happened?" He walks slowly around the woman, just staring at that mark, as if somehow it might give him a clue to what he, himself, is facing. "Perhaps there'll be some way to remove it. Might even be something I could help with."
Slinger grins, then adds, "Then… I guess… you can ask me any one question and I will answer it truthfully, as long as it doesn't violate someone /else's/ confidence. Fair enough?"

Annie nods, "Deal.", she pauses a moment as she considers what she will say, "The creatures name is Beethel'Tigaromolomoku. In the fourth world he was a Horror worshipped by the progenitors of those who would become the Japanese. He was a Demon of Vengeance.", she leans heavily on her staff as she watches you, "About 10 years ago I was paid to kill a Yakuza Oyabun named Kenjo Asaki. Unfortunately his teenage daughter was with him. Since she was not part of the job, I spared her life after killing her father."

Annie shrugs, "This act of mercy later returned to bite me in the ass. Asakis daughter was consumed by vengeance and somehow managed to discover an ancient ritual that allowed Beethel to possess my niece. He didn't have enough power to cross over to our world yet, and required the sacrifice of the target of his summoners vengeance…namely me."

Slinger nods slowly. "One reason I try not to take wetwork jobs when I can avoid it. But then again, even evil people have family." He has true sympathy in his voice. "So what happened?" the elf asks, his voice quiet, listening intently. His gaze moves to the staff, also with a hint of curiosity. "I'm also still confused why you try so hard to act like an old, withered woman when that's clearly not the case," the elf says with a lighthearted grin.

Annie chuckles, "Unfortunately the lesson I took from it for a lot of years was: Mercy is a weakness. I've sort of grown past that now.", she pauses and continues her story, "Beethel was possessing my niece Kirah. I didn't know this at the time and it was able to grab ahold of me and form a link between our auras. It began drawing out my essence and power through this link, and I could feel myself dying as it fed on me to draw the power it needed to enter our world before its time."

Annie continues occasionally probing the surrounding darkness with her eyes in case the Dweller is waiting for an opportunity to leap in and say 'Boo!'. He doesn't seem to be at this point so she continues her tale, "I knew that Beethel was a spirit of some sort, but I did not know what he was for sure. So I took a Hail Mary shot and projected to the metaplanes with the intent of combatting him on his own plane to destroy him. He wasn't there, but I was given a 'spell' that would banish him for a time. The spell was beyond my power however and the cost of casting it would be much of my accumulated power and magical knowledge. I had no choice but to use it and managed to banish him from our world for a time…possibly as much as a decade or two Much of my arcane knowledge was lost due to the mental strain, but I survived.", she looks down at the dark glyph, "But his mark remains. I am waiting for him to return, at that point I may be able to remove it."

"When he does, you call me," Slinger says firmly. "If I possibly can, then I'll give what assistance I am able to," the elf replies. "You've had to win a lot of it back, I'm sure. So far… I've never had anything happen to me like that."
Slinger flicks his cigarette into the darkness, watching the stub scatter into sparks, which dwindle and go out in the darkness. "Your turn. You may ask me anything," the elf says with a smile. "Sort of like truth or dare, without the dare. I figure that comes later."

Annie considers what she should ask the younger elf. "Okay. What drives you and where do you see yourself going? You are awesomely powerful for your age, and as an Elf you have centuries ahead of you.", she pauses and adds, "I've been alive over ninety years, a quarter of my potential lifespan. And already apathy and boredom are consuming me. I have to do more and more dangerous and morally compromising things to make myself feel. Anything. How will you, who have already achieved so much, deal with that ennui when it finally comes to rest on your shoulders?", she pauses and adds, "I can almost feel it on you already. Most people would not be strong enough to handle it."

Slinger chuckles, actually relaxes. It's not a deeply probing or personal question — but at the same time, it makes him think. "You know, the funny thing is, I hadn't thought much about it. See, here's the thing. I'm an elf, yeah. I got pointy ears, good looks, total inability to get fat, all that cool stuff that comes with it. But… I guess, I've never been /raised/ elf. I've lived in Denver all my life. My parents were elves, but I don't even remember them. So… I guess…" He shakes his head. "I've never thought much about it. I've always lived really like a human. I always sort of figured that the elfin lifespan is kinda irrelevant, you know? Because I fully expect to die long before even the average human lifespan."
He grins lopsidedly. "Don't get me wrong. I don't /want/ to die by any means. But, given the line of work I'm in, there's a real good chance my number is gonna get punched eventually. I got a lot of power, but no matter how much power I get, there's stuff out there that can kick my ass without breaking a sweat."
He drags on his cigarette, then grin at it. "It's part of why I smoke. I always tell people, I really do hope cigarettes kill me. 'Cause that'll mean nothing /else/ did, and I lived a long, happy life."

Annie nods, "When I was born, no one had a clue that elves existed. I wasn't prepared for what was to come, and suffered greatly for being different.", she shrugs, "So in that way we are very similar I suppose. And don't rely on cigarettes to ever kill you…medical science nowadays will likely allow you to achieve your full lifespan."

Slinger chuckles. "I'm mostly joking," the elf comments. "But there's a bit of truth. No, I'm more likely to die in a big magical boom, or shot to death by something, or eaten by a nasty monster from some Abyssal metaplane, or whatever, than I am to live too long. Just a lifestyle thing."
He lets out a breath, slowly. "What motivates me? I know, it sounds fraggin' stupid, but I really want to make the world a better place. I look around and what I see just… makes me so fragging sad. This isn't a nice world we live in, in a lot of ways. So… I guess, yeah, part of me wants to find a way to fix it. Except if I ever do, then I'll be out of a job. And /then/ I'll be bored out of my skull. Until then? I'm… well, no ennui for me. Plus, I can't have ennui. I'm not a French girl sitting in a cafe."
He chuckles. "So. There's truth. I guess it's time for the dare…"
He whistles. "Here, boy! Here, boy!" But still, no sign of the dweller.

"The world has pretty much sucked as far back as I can see.", Annie replies with a chuckle, "It's sort of got momentum now and I don't think either of us will ever be able to stop it.", she grins slightly, "But you are right…it's job security."

Slinger grins, turning back to Annie. "As for your dare… I dare you to show me how fast you can run, without using that staff. I have the feeling this place goes on forever. Tell me my dare… and we'll see what happens if we accomplish it."

Annie chuckles, "A physical test eh? Running isn't exactly my forte', but I suppose I can give it a shot.", she considers you for a moment and then states, "If I have to run, I guess seeing how high you can jump will have to do."

+ Dweller Rolls

Annie retracts her staff to it's more compact form and places it into its case, then turns to peer off into the darkness. She takes a few moments to time her breaths and then sets off at a full sprint. It's obvious by her lack of technique that she hasn't had a lot of experience in her history with running away from things, but she does a credible job. After a hundred yards or so she slows and stops, trying to capture her breath after the unaccustomed exertion.

Place of Knowledge

Slinger grins and crouches down, then hurtles himself into the air — then starts to run after Annie, working to stay alongside her as the two of them hurtle into the darkness. The elf can't help but laugh as he tosses his cigarette to the side, watching it disintegrate in a shower of sparks, bright in the darkness…
By the time we stop, though, the darkness is fading, and then it is gone, surprisingly quickly. Slinger exerted himself as well, and as you look at him, the teenaged elf is dressed in something far different than his usual T-shirt and jeans. Instead, his clothing is modern — no, more than modern. There is something almost futuristic about it. Around us, the black has faded to something more grey, dull, faintly metallic, and there is a sharp scent in the air, almost that of ozone. An artificial environment that thrums, deeply. Slinger grins and tosses his slightly longish hair. "I think we lost 'em," the youth says, as he leans against a wall to catch his breath, glancing at the corridor behind us.

Annie laughs softly between her deep breaths, "I would hope so. I have not run like that since I was eight years old.", she takes a moment to look around at the new surroundings, "Interesting. A space ship of some sort?", she states curiously.

"Yeah," Slinger agrees, and then looks perplexed. "Now I got a question. Who the frag are we running from?" the elf suddenly asks, as he slowly catches his breath. He glances toward one of the more reflective bulkheads and takes in the image he presents — a youth in something akin to a uniform, though rather scruffy. He tilts his head, listening — and then hears a banging sound — coming from the same direction that we just did. The sound of something metallic striking something else metallic, repeatedly.
"I have the definite sense we were running from something. But I can't for the life of me remember who. Or why."
It's about this time that Annie might notice that, despite wearing a uniform that is a different color than Slinger's, it is somewhat similar in design. And more to the point, there is something kind of… hard, and lumpy, tucked into her uniform blouse.

Annie looks down at her own apparel and frowns as she sort of twists her torso a bit. "I've got something hard in my blouse", she mutters after a moment before finally forgoing modesty and reaching her hand inside to get a grip on whatever it is. Hopefully it's not something that shouldn't be displayed in mixed company. As she tries to get a grip on it she comments to Slinger, "I don't know what we were running from either. But if it warranted running from, I am not sure I want to know."

"Yeah. Half of a Quest sometimes is figuring out who you are, and what you have to do." Slinger turns to peer at whatever is coming from your blouse, and smirks. "Yeah, if it comes out of there, I'm not sure I wanna… holy drek." That would be an accurate summation. Whatever it is is strangely beautiful, but more than anything, it is /gaudy/. Vaguely spherical in shape, it is covered with gold, silver, platinum, rubies, diamons, emeralds. It's as if somebody turned a magpie loose in a jewelry shop with a bucket of glue. It's garish. It looks old. And more than anything, it looks /very/ valuable.
Slinger looks at the item. Looks back the way we came, where the pounding is coming from. Then looks in the opposite direction, and points that way. "I think," he says, "we go /that/ way now."

Annie turns the item in her hands and looks at it. "Wow", is all she seems able to say initially. Finally she adds, "This thing is both hideous and strangely alluring at the same time"

She looks back down the passage as the banging continues, then the direction indicated by Slinger, "Yeah, let's head that way.", she follows statement by action and begins walking…still turning the thing in her hands and giving it a thorough looking at.

Slinger starts moving in that direction. The ship, it is soon clear, is not very big. The walls are streaked, and a little dirty, and as we move through the corridors panels are missing in a few places. A few places have wires just hanging out — whether or not they are live is anyone's guess. Finally, though, we reach the apex of the corridor, and a closed door. A locked door. Slinger mutters as he crouches down and looks at it. It's electronically locked.
"You any good with locks?" he casually asks Annie.

Annie steps forward and peers curiously at the lock, "I'm not usually the first choice in a B&E job, but I can sometimes manage in a pinch." She drops to a knee and checks to see if any of her pockets contain a basic electronics kit.

Slinger grins. "Then let me take a look at this. I think you'll be needed in a moment. I have a hunch about this." He crouches down and digs into a pocket — he has a kit, but you don't seem to. That would seem to cinch it as far as the intent of the metaplane.
"Metaplane of Earth, and yet we're in space. Funny that, huh?" He settles down to work…

+ Slinger Electronics Rolls

Annie chuckles, "I assume we are in space, but this could just as easily be a deep aquatic environment. But still ironic."

Slinger crouches down and starts working. The pounding continues a little more while he works, roughly one time every three seconds. It's at the other end of the ship, whatever it is, and has gotten more distant, more muffled, as we work. "Here we go," the elf mutters, as the door suddenly slides open with a cheesy sound effect — and what's beyond is a simple flight deck. More spacious than a typical aircraft, but still somewhat cramped, with jury-rigged systems. "Damned right!" Slinger grins, as he takes a quick step forward — then freezes as the room's lighting changes to a dark crimson. All the panels go dark except one, with a computer display. « Intruder Alert. Unauthorized Entry! » It is flashing, and a keypad is also lit from beneath.
"Crap. I don't know a fragging thing about computers," Slinger mutters.

+ Annie's Computers Roll

The computer system is supposed to be frozen until it gets a password, but after some poking and prodding, you can get to a system level function. A little more poking at it, and the lighting returns to normal. The panels illuminate once again, and the computer seems to revert back to navigational charts and other shipboard functions. Slinger drops down into one of the seats, examining the controls. "Well, this is gonna be an adventure," the elf drawls. "We need to get out of dock." There is another seat free with fairly familiar controls. Weaponry. The little ship is armed. "I think we're stealing a ship. Is this piracy, or just grand-theft spaceship?"

Place of Charisma

Annie steps in to the room behind Slinger. "I will see what I can do.", she pushes past the younger elf in the cramped quarters and takes a position nearby and begins examining the terminal. Finally she begins tapping at keys and switching screens as she attempts to gain access to the ships computer. Finally she seems to do something that frees up the computer.

She turns and heads over to join Slinger, taking the spot at the weaponry station. "Damn Ares people never let me fly the few times I have been in space.", Annie states with a laugh, "But weapons officer seems to fit my personality better."

"Never been in space. Doesn't it do weird shit to your magic? Mine, though… hell, I dunno. Might be best not to try it," Slinger admits. He looks down at the controls, scowls a little, and then starts punching buttons. "Okay… what's this one do?" He flicks it, and the dull hum starts to increase in volume. "There we go, that's good." The pounding stops suddenly, and there are several red lights that come on on the console. Slinger grins and reaches out for one next to it — disengage airlock coupling. That should get people scattering in a hurry.
Then, he starts to work on the controls, and the ship actually starts to move. The forward viewscreen flicks on, and there is the image of stars beyond, and what looks like a shipyard. We're in drydock — except now we're about to become spaceborne. Things start to move, until Slinger engages more of the throttle.
The computer terminal flashes, within your reach. « Incoming commcall »

Annie reaches over and activates the comm terminal. "Hello? I hope this isn't a collect call.", she states after a moment,

The image clears and transitions to… well, a vaguely humanoid creature. Except it has a beak. And feathers. And it's black. Its eyes are toward the front of its head, but otherwise, the earlier image of a demented magpie might actually not be far off. « You steal ship! You steal The Eye! You thieves! You turn around or we blow you out of sky! » it twitters, angrily, with its feathers very, very ruffled. If it could peck you through the screen, it would.

Annie blinks as the image of the bird appears and gives off a fairly decent rhyming semi-haiku. "Nice response. The Eye we have. The ship we took. Now let us go.", she pauses as a potential ending suddenly escapes her, "Or we will blow you the hell up.", she finishes somewhat lamely. "Hell, I'm a combat mage…not a poet.", she states in sudden annoyance as she deactivates the comm term and begins priming the weapons station.

Slinger leans over and smirks at the bird. "You destroy us, the eye gets destroyed, too," Slinger reminds the bird-thing, just before Annie cuts off the channel. "You want The Eye gone forever?" he asks. "We have it right here…."

+ Skill rolls

The last thing we hear before the comm call is cut is the furious squawk of the bird-alien-thing, before the computer reverts back to starcharts. "Maybe they'll get the damned message," Slinger suggests — and then he glances up to the screen as the computer sounds another alarm. Outlined on the screen — and on your tactical display — are three ships, coming downward from above — and placing themselves right into our path. "Uh-oh. I don't think the want us to leave," Slinger quips. "Lessee. Shields, shields… shields!" He flicks another toggle switch, which lights up, then sputters, flickers, and then glows… dimly. "I don't like the look of that," he says with a scowl.

Annie checks her own terminal and the weapons systems she has available plus their potential firing arcs. "I always prefer fancy flying over those new fangled shield doohickeys", Annie comments without taking her eyes off the weapons displays.

"Yeah, that'd work if I had any idea what I was doing," Slinger comments. He grabs the controls and starts to make adjustments to our course — little ones at first. Tentatively. "I'll try to keep us from dying," he promises.
The ship accelerates under his guidance, moving slowly but firmly, and starts to arc slowly downward as the engines start to rumble to life. "All right… here goes…" He pushes the engine controls, and starts the ship moving a good deal faster, as the acceleration is even felt on our bodies — though a fraction of what it would be realistically.
The ships, though — they don't like it at all. And their avian nature becomes clear as they start to swoop overhead, and the first one starts diving downward toward our ship. Slinger swiftly adjusts controls, puts on a new burst of speed, and pulls the ship into a harder turn to try to avoid the first volley of fire. "That's torn it!" the elf yells. "Take them out!"

+ Round 1 Enemy Fire from 1

Annie rubs her hands together a moment, then firmly grips the weapons controls as she tries to get the systems to lock on.

The weapons systems seem to respond to Annies commands, the forward phaser bank lets loose with a brilliant emerald colored beam that lashes out and intersects the most aggressive of the enemy ships. The pulsing beam tears through bulkheads and sends armored plates spinning off into the darkness of space.

These ships are small, and seem almost like fighter craft. That leaves two of them, and Slinger executes another aerial maneuver to bring Annie into position to try to take out one of the other two fighters, sweat breaking out on his brow. "If we live through this, I'm gonna /so/ need a cigarette!" the elf complains.

+ Round 1 Our Attack

The second fighter, witnessing the destruction of the first, swoops around, trying to evade the movement of the larger ship which, it has discoered, has some teeth after all. But this one manages to get caught in the next beam from Annie's laser, taking a wide gash along its side, which seems to hamper one of its thrusters.
Meanwhile, the third ship takes its shot at our vessel…

+ Round 1 Enemy 3 Attack

This ship also takes damage, though not as extensive as the first. One of its weapons batteries appears to be taken offline, and there are definite arcs and sputters from that part of the fighter craft. "Almost got it!" Slinger calls…

+ Round 2 Initiative

Annie exhales slowly as she continues tracking the less damaged of the attacking vessels. "This is so much easier in the trids", she comments wryly. The weapons panel beeps softly as it acquires a weapons firing solution. She responds immediately by activating the weapons system to fire at the target.

+ Round 2 Our Attack against 3

With the third ship damaged on its port side, Slinger maneuvers our ship toward that side, taking advantage of that lack of weapons coverage to take a risky maneuver. That brings you in closer, giving you a great shot at the exposed engines of the fighter craft. The laser licks out hungrily, to blossom the fighter into a flower of flame and debris.
"Bet that smells like burned feathers," Slinger crows.
But that's before the second ship comes around… maneuvering and firing.

+ Round 2 Attack from 2

Now, it's starting to make sense, how to work as a team. Slinger maneuvers, dodging a barrage of fire from the other ship, taking advantage of its damaged thruster to bring you around to a vulnerable side where it cannot dodge. This one, too, gets destroyed, and our path is clear. Slinger lets out a whoop of triumph, then powers the engines up to full. The ship accelerates, the stars starting to visibly move now as we take off, making our escape.
But apparently, those three weren't our sole problem — as there is a sudden flash of light that illuminates the area in front of us — and then, suddenly, the ship rocks, alarms going off all over the bridge. "Lost engines!" Slinger yells. "Take over. I'm gonna go below, see if I can find it!"

Place of Fear

Annie moves over to the pilots station once Slinger is clear. "Aye aye Cap'n", she calls as Slinger departs from the cockpit. She checks the controls and tries to determine if she can get any maneuvering from auxiliary thrusters.

Slinger rushes out of the small bridge, and heads down along the passageways. Down a ladder. Feeling his way around. Once he gets there, the heat is already palpable. Fire is a /bad/ thing. Luckily, though, the fire suppression systems have kicked in, and are already putting out the flames when he arrives. However, there's just one problem.
There's an eerie green gas jetting from one of the conduits. Slinger looks around frantically — yes, there's a way to divert to secondaries, but it's manual. And there's a suit over there, but no time — if a second volley hits us, we're dead. The elf makes a decision, then holds his breath. And starts forward.
You can see this on the monitors, as he rushes forward, visibly holding his hand over his nose and mouth, fighting to avoid breathing…

+ Slinger's Willpower Roll

Annie continues cycling through the controls, finally finding a bank of fine maneuvering thrusters that seem to be still responding. They don't do much in the grand scheme of things, but may be enough to get them out of a jam until Slinger manages to get the engines back into working order.

This doesn't end up doing her much good as the ship passes through some drifting wreckage and the hull pings with the sounds of shrapnel slamming into the hull. A golden piece of shrapnel manages to pierce the hull in the cockpit and the air is suddenly and violently being evacuated, the blast door closing automatically to seal off the breaches section.

+ Annie's Willpower Roll

One of Annies lifelong fears has been of being suffocated, probably caused by a particularly nasty episode with a guard in one of the American Indian camps. She feels the panic rising but manages to take control of it and launch herself toward the breech along with a handy hull repair kit. The launching doesn't actually take much effort due to the available air being sucked out, and Annie manages to get the steel plate over the hole and activates the heat sealer. The plate hisses as it fastens itself in place over the hole.

Slinger manages to get to the coolant valve, and despite the heat of it, and the injury it does to his hands, he turns it, sending the coolant along a new path, and making the room habitable once again. The life support systems quickly evacuate the lingering coolant, and Slinger finally, gratefully, takes a huge gasp of air into his lungs. Then, he moves to a panel, activating back up systems. "Punch it again! Before they can fire!" Slinger says, speaking over the comm, urgently, frantically. On the rear screen, which the computer has helpfully activated, you can see a flare of light as the weapon charges for another salvo.

Place of Destiny

+ Annie's Destiny Roll

Annie pushes herself away from the wall and slides toward the pilots station, snagging the chair and pulling herself into it. The growing glow of the weapon preparing to fire catches her attention and she frantically begins activating controls, trying to put the ship in a semblance of evasion maneuvers. The maneuvering thrusters she already primed were beginning to overcharge and suddenly release with a burst of pent up energy. The ship shudders and the bulheads creak and pop as the ship tumbles through space in maneuvers well beyond its design parameters.

The engines thrum to life, powerfully — and the ship starts to move as you activate them. Moving with all the power they can muster, but it's not going to be enough, as the massive gun behind us fires, the salvo of energy shooting toward the ship, whose shields were already depleted — more than depleted — by that last blast.
Slinger can see it, too — at least, he's staring in horror at one of the screens — and then he frantically starts looking over the controls. This comes down to pure luck, as he starts to hit toggles, flipping everything /on/ that was /off/…. hoping desperately for something…

+ Slinger's Destiny Roll

Citadel

And very suddenly, there is a /twist/ in the gut, experienced by both of us at the same instant, and reality seems to somehow /blur/ for a moment. And in that one moment, the /feeling/ of it becomes clear, as the ship's movement is not just accelerated but /multiplied/ in a strange way, a warp, a fold in space and time that somehow makes the distance less while keeping the velocity strangely untouched.
That is the secret. That is the insight. And even so, the stars blur, forming streaks in a far-too-familiar special effect on the viewscreen — and the missiles being fired toward us, instead of getting closer, grow more distant until they wink out, harmlessly, behind us.
"Holy drek!" Slinger calls. "That was freaking /cool/!"
And that's when it seems to fade out — the ship around us, everything, taking us back to that dark place. Success — with the insight still fresh in our minds.

Annie is pressed back in her seat as the ship goes through the warp, then suddenly stumbles forward as the ship abruptly disappears from around her. She manages to catch herself before falling on her ass, then looks around for Slinger.

Slinger is here, in the blackness, but still no Dweller. "That was cool!" Slinger repeats, a grin on his face. "Frag, I've never had a sci-fi quest before." He grins and leans against the wall behind him, lights up a cigarette and takes a deep drag. "A little tense at a few places. But that was a lot of fun!"

Annie walks over to the other elf and offers a grin, "That was a hoot. And a nice change of pace.", she leans against the wall next to Slinger and exhales slowly as her nerves slowly wind down and the adrenaline rush fades, "I appreciate your coming with me…definitely made things a bit more interesting."

And that, one might realize, is the essence of Slinger. That boyish exhilaration that is plastered all over his face. However much he may go on about honor and duty and saving the world, there is a part of him that just gets off on the adrenaline rush, as if somehow his own actual mortality hasn't quite sunk in yet. "Yeah, I've never done a tandem astral quest. So… uh… did you learn anything about me?" he asks, with a sheepish grin.
He glances around, then adds, "The funny thing is… there's no more secure place we could talk, all things considered."

Annie nods, still grinning. "That's why I like a good astral quest. It tells you almost immediately what a person is like and whether you can trust them. And how they react in even the most bizarre and unexpected situation.", she looks over at you, "And as for you, I think if you can maintain that enthusiasm, that you be able to stave off the blues for a lot of years.", she laughs abruptly, "And it puts the truth to the old saying that all the good ones are taken or gay. Or both."

Slinger can't help but laugh, as he leans against a virtual 'wall' — invisible, and yet at the same time, solid enough to hold him. An extension of his will, since the place is more malleable since we have succeeded. "Yeah, I am that," he admits. "Just… never had any interest in girls. Maybe someday I should, you know, to have a kid or something, but I'm not exactly sure my genome is all that valuable, you know?" He grins.
Slinger smiles. "I like working with you. And… there's a part of you that I admire a lot. You've… well, you've been to hell and back. You've been tested every way there is. And yet… you still seem to have an ethical code."

"The ethical code has been put to the test more than a few times.", Annie replies thoughtfully, "And on more than a few of those times I've thought about how much easier it would be without such a limitation." She exhales slowly and clears an errant lock of hair from her eyes before continuing, "But in the end I realize that the world still needs people to support the little bits of light in the darkness that still remain. While more than a bit of that darkness has taken root in my soul, I still haven't lost sight of what got me through those times when it would have been easier to just curl up and die."
Annie looks over at Slinger and adds, "The thought that the world still produces people like you."

Slinger actually blushes, and it's kind of cute, the blond youth pushing back a little bit of errant hair from his forehead. He takes a drag of smoke to cover his embarassment. "There's a helluva lot I don't know. I'm naive, unprofessional, and totally clueless when it comes to being a leader. I tend to be a do-er… not an order-giver. I've never worked as a wage slave, never been in the military, so there's a lot of experiences I don't have. And I'm starting to realize how much that limits me."
The elf manages a sheepish grin. "Johnny's been doing a lot to try to educate me. Whichever name he's going by. Johnny isn't the name he had when I met him, a long time back, but… one thing I'm weak on is moving in the kind of circles you do, Silk does, Johnny does. The movers and shakers. Silk thinks I'm a nitwit, as does Mustang, I think," he adds, with a hint of regret in his voice. "That wouldn't bother me, if I didn't respect the hell out of them."

Annie nods, "Johnny is a good guy and he has a lot of useful knowledge and experience to pass on. So long as you have the patience for his sometime Zen instructional style." She pauses, "And I was a lot like you at one point. Wide eyed and enthusiastic about life. Then the bad stuff started rolling down on me like waves crashing down on me so fast that I couldn't even take a breath." She raises her head slightly as if hearing a distant call but focuses back on you once more, "Perhaps you need to travel a bit. See more of the world than you have experienced. Actually join a military or mercenary unit and learn to trust people who rely on you and your skills. Leadership can be taught, but the lessons are hard in that they can be fatal to those who follow you.", she shrugs again, "But you have a lot of years ahead of you to explore those options. For now, be content to be a White Knight and do what your conscience urges you to."

Slinger chuckles. "Thought about those things. But I don't have /time/. So much always going on. Johnny's talking about sending me off to the DIMR to spend a few months there, doing some stuff. Hell, I got no idea if I belong there. There's a part of me that still thinks I'm a kid from the Warrens who got lucky, you know?" he admits, shaking his head. He can feel the tug, too, as if there were a snooty waiter giving the two of them a look and wondering when they'll leave so the table can be cleared. "Maybe we can talk more. And… I hope you'll be willing to share the formula for this spell. I think this'll be… useful," he says, with a lighthearted grin.

Annie nods and grins wryly, "But of course. I don't mind sharing my library with kindred spirits.", she raises a hand in a farewell gesture, "Catch you on the meatside Slinger, and thanks again for coming with me."

Slinger raises his hand in the same gesture, learning it for future reference. "Likewise. Thank you, for everything. Including your wisdom… and a lot of fun."

Annie abruptly disappears as she exits the metaplanes and returns to the comfort of her bedroom.

The elf grins — and moments later, he is in the familiar confines of his bedroom. With that same grin on his face, unable to shake it.
page revision: 2, last edited: 17 Feb 2010 07:39
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