Session Start: Sat Apr 19 22:46:13 2008 Session Ident: #lunar-iog2 * Logging for #lunar-iog2 started * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 72: Lazarus Rises, pt 3 | Location: Colonial Capital Meribia | Pool: 12 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/' == SESSION START == The battlefields have long been silent as the day wore on, and the invasion force of the Bluetooth depths does not show its face. the recvery and assessment of the damage proceeds, while some impromptu victory celebrations also take place. The sense of impending doom has certainly lifted, but the casualties remain great -- there is still an enemy out there. True to their word, the mystics of Black Rose erect a shimmering barrier of intense magical energy that surrounds the entire city now, protecting it from the encroachment of any beings tainted with Zophar's energy. The pinkish twinkle overhead at least gives some reassurance to the defenders that remain. * Vytor has been doing his best to stay as busy ass possible, largely with the much-needed repair work. >> The forge also greedily consumes some of the unused trinkets in Bree's stash, reclaiming 5000 silver for each party member. * Saki hasn't, apparently, uttered as much as a peep to the vast majority of the party. She's been briefly seen supervising and helping with shifting rubble, then promptly vanished from public view. There are vague rumours she has simply crashed out asleep. Sifting through the treasure, the bunch discovers a strange blue painted flute in it that doesn't seem to have any immediate use. The end is inscribed "BREE - TI to RB ala BdA". There's also a yellow stuffed animal, and a lingerie magazine showing a rather familiar beastwoman named Jessica in all sorts of undergarments. But -- that's impossible, she's much older in these pictures. Also in there is a small ornate locket... with a picture of much younger Haylee in it. A half-broken woman's hairpin also lies in the secret stash, with a small devotion written to a Ruriko Ignetos. There's also a set of gloves that belongs to a woman named Mauri, who you recall being a Virtue believer in Raculi. A messenger reaches the mansion as all this is analyzed, someone from the TIME network to see Ryllan, the de facto boss at the moment. * Mikel has since returned with Trune, hauling him straight to Ryllan first to report about what happened in the Academy. Niri gets her Wings back at some point. * Niri accepts the wings, while asking how things went. She's clearly still quite concerned. * Mikel gives Niri the short version, mostly that Trune is mute. * Trune stands off to the side, still looking a little lost. He obviously lets Mikel do all the talking. * Niri blinks, a lot, in response to that. She goes over to talk to Trune briefly, clasping his shoulder and generally giving the impression of being worried but somehow reassured as well, and also very sympathetic. Hiro has been busy trying to work the morale of the men up and is not in attendance for the moment, instead hosting one last party down with some of the horamites. * Saki sleeps like so much dead weight. Zzz. It's hard being a black hole. * Vytor encourages those he's been working with to take time and enjoy the victory celebrations. * Ryllan meets the messenger, listening intently. * Trune musters up a smile for Niri, looking greatful for her support. He pulls out a small whiteboard and a pen and writes something on it, showing it to her. * Niri smiles and gives Trune a quick shoulder hug. So. What's the plan now? The messenger delivers a report from the Academy that a large convoy of adepts led by the prodigy Tilea Dunbar has begun to mobilize for the midwestern city of Raculi, to reinforce them against what seems to be an impending Servitor attack. Could it be the same army they fought? There is also a seperate report that Vulcannon Labs has dispatched a tremendous amount of hardware by airlift and vehicle to that city as well. * Mikel gets that wiiide grin that comes whenever shiny toys enter the picture when the bit about the Labs is said. [TIME Agent] ..oh, and before I wipe my memory entirely there was an urgent wish for the "heroes of Meribia" to get there as soon as they could with whatever men the Capital has to spare. ....Heroes of Meribia? Oh dear. * Vytor finishes his rounds and head back to HQ to make his reports to Ryllan. * Trune grins as well, quickly scribbling something on his board: a quick doodle of Trune himself in one of the shiny Vulcannon Lab mechs. Trune himself grins further -- a guy can dream, after all. ...huh, we have a rep now. ...Also, Trune, no. I don't think that's a good idea. *She chuckles a little8 * Trune erases his board and draws one BIG sad face. * Vytor notes that Ryllan has a visitor, and waits. * Niri sticks her tongue out at him, but it's obvious she's just joking around. The messenger bows and exits, having delivered the information. So, how many are we taking along? * Vytor waits for the messenger to leave, then knocks on the doorframe. Nonsense. If he wants to pilot a mech and can learn how in fifteen minutes, I say we-.. oh right. "Come in, Vy. It seems they're after Raculi, now." * Vytor 's expression flattens Hey Vytor. You doing okay? * Trune waves to Vytor as he enters. Hm? Oh, hey. Yeah, I'm all right. Here to drop off some reports of the repairwork. * Vytor waves at Trune as he puts several papers into a carboard box marked, "IN". So if they're marching on Raculi, where does that leave us? If the army is heading that way, we either need to head there as well.. or go north. We'll have to... ...Vytor? You reattached your head. Can y- they die? * Niri facepalms at the lack of subtlety to Tanan's question, but she says nothing. * Vytor stiffens a moment, then relaxes. * Trune shoots Tanan a look. * Mikel buries his face in a hand with a sigh. Stop that, Niri. If the answer is no we have to head north immediately. We can't allow Zophar to get himself an immortal body. I...I'm pretty sure it can be done. They...I'M not invincible or anything. I think that it would need to involve some kind of massive physical trauma. Dismemberment won't do unless its pretty over-the-top. ...so... we have... to, uh, dust them. I hate to break it to you, but that's probably more than we can do easily. "Over the top's easy," mutters Saki nonchalantly as she wanders in. She has quite an advanced case of bedhair, and isn't in her armour. It's not the question I have a problem with, Tanan. But never mind. So, what do we do now? * Vytor looks over as Saki enters. Once they're down, it's not that hard to light them on fire. And relax, Vytor. We trust you. Hell, I've known what you were since I was pretending to be a real boy. I just asked because... well.. it's important. ...Someone shrug for me. One thing that might help is to make sure that if their heads are removed, no trace of fluid should be allowed to connect it back to the main trunk. I think that remaining connection is what allows my kind to reassemble themselves. * Saki just waves at Vytor, mouth too occupied with yawning. She gravitates towards a functional row of chairs, swerves a little to the couch, sits down. Mmm. Makes sense, I guess. That's the best I can think of. There's a lot of new information jostling around in my head, but I can't make sense out of any of it. * Mikel looks over at Ryllan. "So, what's the plan?" Tactics says that while the cat's away, we should go play with Zophar like the mice we are. But I don't like that answer much. You're mixing your metaphors. Or at least misusing them. I get the point, though. I'm an officer. I'm entitled. So, Raculi then? My feelings about Raculi go without saying. I don't suppose we have any new words about our timeframe on the Zophar front? * Mikel looks over at Niri and Tanan. We should also consider how we're going to get there. We can take the wings...but if we are going to take any reinforcements from Meribia, I'm sure the wings can't handle it. That costs us time. But on the other hand, I'm not sure we want to face the servitors in Raculi, or Zophar up north, with just us. How long would it take to move our forces to Raculi with what mundane means we have? Dunno. Ryllan, what do you think? A while. But we get to hit them from both sides. Our best bet might be to go immediately and start raising hell, let our reinforcements catch them in a pincer when they arrive. Is there any reason to expect that they wouldn't just turn on us when we caught up? The fact that they can get back up from most things gives them an overwhelming advantage in an open battle. * Trune plops himself down on one of the couches, his brow furrowed in deep thought. If we know their route isn't there some way we can delay them? They probably have a headstart on us, considering. Hauling over there on the wings while the rest of the army starts moving might be the best. They'll be busy watching us and then the army can sucker punch 'em. At least if we get ahead of them we can warn Raculi of what to expect. * Mikel nods, looking at the others. "How's that sound?" * Trune gives the group a thumbs up, nodding. I'm OK with that idea. Yeah, I think that's the best plan. * Ryllan nods, "Enemies who get back up are something that need an explanation anyway." We can't break their army, and they lost hardly anyone in this last fight from what I've been hearing. If we have the same sort of losses every time they could just attrition us to death. If nothing else, we need to warn Raculi what they're up against. And maybe that way we can inflict greater casualties on their army in the process. * Mikel waves a hand. "We'll know how much it takes to put them down now, at least. Get that out there." Right. So, if that's decided, we'd better get moving fast, hadn't we? Probably, get someone give word to the troops and all and we can leave. I can be ready shortly. How fast can everyone else get ready and meet say, in front of the mansion? We might want to at least do some cursory organization to get things moving here. And yeah, let's have Ryllan see about giving the orders. And Saki and Vytor maybe, if contingents from Horam and the manufacturing district might be willing to go. I'm not sure the Manufacturing quarter would be up for the idea, but the mercenaries they hired might, assuming they can still get paid. Might want to ask the engineers to take a look at some of the devices the enemy left behind. * Trune purses his lips and writes quickly on his small whiteboard. He flips it towards the group: "Can be ready in 5 minutes." * Vytor blinks at Trune He's mute. ...since when? Siiiince about after seeing his dad about helping with his problems. Side effect. * Vytor frowns at this news. The plus side is, things seem contained for the moment. * Trune sighs and writes another message on his whiteboard, flipping it to Vytor, "Virus slowed down. Head hurts less. It's okay." * Vytor opens his mouth to say someting, then composes himself. "All right. I'll trust you to know what's best." * Trune gives Vytor a wavering smile. And with that, preparations for a full mobilization of everyone able to fight was arranged. They would approach Raculi from the east, while the group went ahead to take command of the defense shaping up in the prairie settlement... Thanks to the miracle of the White Dragon Wings, said trip for the heroes was thankfully much easier and brief. * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 72: Lazarus Rises, pt 3 | Location: Raculi | Pool: 12 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/' Interestingly enough, the flash of light they rode to the town dropped them off in front of the Althena statue in the garden courtyard of the cloister. * Trune can't help but look releaved as it's the first time in a while he hasn't felt like puking after teleporting anywhere. Niri's eyes are drawn to it as it glimmers the faintest bit in the rpesence of the Sword of Althena. * Niri looks around. "...We're going to have to find who's in charge, and find out what preparations have been made so far." She stops, looking at the statue a bit curiously. Home again, home again, jiggity jig. * Mikel looks around, managing to actually smile a bit. "Back again." There's what looks like a gigantic prayer service going on in the nearby cathedral, and many of the cloister's offices are empty at the moment. Hmm. Yeah, this is kind of where we first met you, isn't it, Mikel? The entire place is packed with just about every member of both the Society's priesthood and it's knight cadre, all taking a moment to worship before the inevitible battle comes. * Trune shakes his head, writing on his whiteboard, "No, met him in the swamps. We bum rushed him. Feel bad about it now." The organ plays and a hymn is being sung, which in a small way resonates with Niri's blessed equipment through that statue. * Niri shakes herself. "Tingly." Not entirely unpleasant. * Niri grins at Trune. "Haha, that's right. Kind of funny though." Tanan, true. Hmm. Not entirely pleasant either though. I sort of wish they'd stop. Should we wait till they're done, or announce ourselves now...? * Mikel snickers. "This is where I actually started travelling with you nuts, though." * Trune points in the direction the organ music is coming from, then clasps his hands to his throat, making silent, but dramatic choking noises. Go knock on the door, Mikel. I suggest heading to the Mayor's office. Someone will be there. I'm sure there's a truck around somewhere... * Mikel ...sighs. "Yeah, that happened here too. Tanan, make a projection of yourself for a moment so I can hit you." * Niri can't help but laugh at that. * Tanan sounds amused. "Want me to put it up by the church wall?" Focus, you two. Right, right. Cool it, Tanan. *She grins, shaking her head.* Anyway, I'll go knock. *She strides toward the church, glancing inside the door.* [Sumire] Oh great Goddess, watch over us and give us the strength to fight the evil shadow upon us. To protect the meek and less fortunate, and show all the light of your grace. Our faith is our armor, and our love our... As the door opens, nearly the entire congregation turns around. The prayer leader, Sumire Abshire, meekly finishes the incantation "... sword?" * Mikel follows after Niri, chuckling to himself as he murmurs something about crashing services. * Niri clears her throat a little. "Um, hi." Reinforcements have arrived? [Knight] ..it's.. it's the sword of Althena! * Trune facepalms. * Niri indicates the others behind her. Um...yes! Yes, it is. Ready to whack Zophar's minions with it. The speech needs work, Niri. Maybe something about smiting or cleaving evil. A huge cheer wells up. "The Goddess has sent her messenger to us at last!" "With this, we will be victorious!" * Vytor waves politely to the assembled ...or I suppose not. Huh. * Niri makes a face at Mikel, sticking her tongue out even as she goes read from the crowd's response. << read=red >> * Trune scowls, mouthing something to himself. Sumire just seems a bit lost for a moment, not expecting this at all. A man steps up to the stage, clad in his armor, that you recognize as Adam. He's a bit injured and an arm in a sling, but he is in command despite it. 'Calm down, calm down." ...oh hey, you're up and about now. Awesome. [Adam] I'm walking, which is better than some people right now. The war's finally come to our doorstep yet again. This time, it is true evil. Well, for now it's just us, but we're ready to help, and there are reinforcements on their way as well. We couldn't teleport that many people at once. [Sumire] Y..yes, we were trying to inspire everyone with this remaining moment of peace. *bows head* I'm sorry I interrupted. [Adam] No, no, this was the best time to show up! With you here, the men should have nothing to fear. From behind Niri a Virtue Knight appears. "Sir, I have a report from the perimeter! The Labs have come to our assistance as well. Come outside and see for yourself." The labs? Oh, wonderful! * Mikel laughs. "Vulcanon, huh? I wonder if they brought /that/." * Trune gets a hopeful look, following the others. Trune's not driving it. ;) I am, duh. * Niri raises an eyebrow at Mikel. * Mikel grins. * Trune dramtically pouts, whapping Niri playfully on the back. * Vytor follows quietly. [Adam] ...about time they showed up. This mass is hereby dismised. Knights, form up! Lt Leo Raculi will be acting field commander in my stead. Priests and medics, prepare your support stations for trauma. Mauri & Ronfar Zulan will be leading your efforts personally. [Adam] And, may Althena's grant us victory! << -'s >> * Niri grins and sticks her tongue out at Trune, then focuses again on Adam's orders to his troops. Where can we best be of help? As the meeting is adjourned and the final blessings made, the groups head outside to be greeted with quite a sight. In the air there are several large propeller planes similar to the one that airlifted the Destiny into China. On the land is an entire divion of modified rovers built to resemble the Servitor tanks. Well, this should be interesting. Also bringing up support is a hefty number of varied Sentry automata, from gunner land walkers to low flying air cover. * Mikel lets out a whistle. "I'll take that, sure. It isn't a mech, but." You pick out a familiar dropship that is piloted by Chrissy, and under it's belly is a giant powered suit - the mecha they had under wraps for a very long time. * Trune resists the urge to clap like a madman at the sight of the mech. Today just might be the best day, ever. Ah, there it is. The display elicts a muttered curse from Adam. he didn't expect this much. Nicely done, Dr C. Wonder where she dropped off the gift from the Emperor. Something wrong? As the units come into position, the dropship lands in town center with a *THUD*. ANd Chrissy is soon hopping down a zipline and making a scene with ehr new toy. "Whoo-hoo. Field tests are always the best!" * Vytor waves at Dr C as she disembarks. Try not to explode on us, Chrissy. Good to see you again. *He chuckles* Oh, You may need to do some reworking on those things. Depending on how they're programmed. ...Hey, I want a zipline too... Lost in the chaos of the Vulcannon reinforcements arriving, there's also a strange glow coming from the southeast as a column of people bearing a standard of the Hylan academy advances. They are on foot, but their speed is nothing short of incredible, nearly matching the velocity through levitation of Chrissy's robots. Ah, there they are. Wow. I'll second that. That was FAST. [Chrissy] Hohoho, I can assure you I've got most of the bugs worked out this time. ANd as for your bird, it should be on the way... Sonyele was making some last minute adjustments. So, do we have a report on the enemy's position? Oh, the Doc's working on it? Chrissy nods. "It had to do with having enough fuel for the thing just incase. And.. bigger hardpoints for bombs." She grins. [Adam] It's been awhile Chrissy. nice to see you haven't changed. * Vytor raises an eyebrow Somehow I suspect Zophar's army is going to get a RUDE shock when it gets here. [Chrissy] Sorry I'm late. Logistics is a you-know-what. The Hylan group finally arrives on the scene, the adepts winded and rather drained from the magical "forced march". Oh, right. The bad news. The folks we're up against don't die easily. Even dismemberment won't always work. At their head is indeed Vyor's sister Tilea, carryign a stack of books on war strategy! * Vytor sees Tilea approaching, and schools his face tightly. * Niri puts a hand on Vytor's arm briefly. * Trune gives Vytor a sympathetic, yet hopefully reassuring look. When the know-it-all sister and apparently self appointed commander sees her brother, she rushes in to hug him. "Vytor!" * Mikel has since wandered off to the mech, examining it as much as he's able. "Sooo, this thing's ready to see a fight now, huh?" * Vytor returns the hug with a smile, "Hey you." The mech stands as tall as several people, and has arm gatling cannons that could shred through armor fairly well. The iron in spots has been replaced by silver at their request, making it more robust against Emiria's magics. I see even in wartime you can't tear yourself away from books. ') << ') = ;)>> [Chrissy] I call those my "sweet baby 16's". 16 barrels of fun for Mr. Zophar and company. *points to them* I suppose it's pointless to ask if I can try it out, huh? [Tilea] [Tilea] I, well, I'm not exactly a war advisor but I've been cramming every moment since I heard what happened. A shame it had to take this war to get people to finally listen to my story seriously. At least they're listening. Adam nods to Niri. "Well, now that everyone's here... let's all talk strategy." He waves the VIP's into the cloister which serves as the Society's nerve center. [Tilea] This isn't much, but it was the best and brightest faculty and last year students I could gather on shuch short notice without casuing and uproar. << an >> * Trune stands off to the side, not able to contribute much to the conversation and looking a little fustrated at not being able to. He peers closer at some of the Hylan adepts that accompanied Tilea, wondering if he knows any of them. * Niri nods and follows Adam. [Tilea] I plan to win and solve the mysteries of Bluetooth all at once today! With your intuition and my brains it should be the winning formula. * Ryllan turns to follow Adam, "Well, we can't say you're not ambitious." More than you realize, Tilea. * Mikel follows after rapping a knuckle on the mech's leg. * Trune shakes his head and follows the others. As Chrissy, Tilea, Adam and the group enter the meeting hall, there's a small map of the town and surrounding prairie on it. Small colored blocks are on it representing the town's defenses. * Vytor hangs back, letting the more tactically-minded of the group take charge. [Adam] Alright, here's the situation -- right now we've got my knights and the priests guarding the town walls. They've took some damage from the previous attack at the hands of the Prophetess, but we've managed to reactivate the adept-powered barrier. So this is a plus. [Adam] The shield doesn't cover the tunnels, which I've had blasted for good measure to prevent sapping underneath it. But there's still the gigantic network beyond the walls... [Adam] Scouts reported strange activity directly to our north, in the direction of the frozen wastes [Adam] I can only assume they are pressing for a full frontal assault, thinking we are heavily outnumbered. [Adam] There's also the information youv'e got from the Meribian encounter.. I heard they retreated westward? If that's true, then we may be facing a two pronged front here. [Adam] What is your advice, then? You know more than any of us at this point. * Mikel frowns. "Well, for starters, you need to basically tear them apart to keep them down." * Trune pulls out his whiteboard and writes quickly: "Really tear them apart. They can revive." [Chrissy] They like zombies or something? Something. They can reattach limbs.. heads, even, if any bodily fluid connects the two. You've really got to seperate them. Or destroy them entirely, I guess? [Tilea] Hmm... such amazing regenerative powers. Perhaps fire tactics would work.. *consults tome* ...also, wait. There's another group and the force that hit Meribia? [Chrissy] Well, beta-series sentry models can slice pretty nicely. Gamma's could energy net the pieces and keep them held down? Might be a plan. Fire, yeah. Or enough force to scatter them. Fire's probably easier. * Trune looks dissapointed and puts the whiteboard away. [Adam] It's a possibility they are one in the same, but the second force could be a second wave from Bluetooth valley sent down here. How much time do we have? [Adam] I'm willing to bet that the force sent to take Meribia was repulsed unexpectedly, so they've decided to abandon the rumored hit on Takkar and smash the closest threat quickly. * Gayo is now known as VampireBlowjobGayo [Adam] Another problem to consider is the fact that if we're sent into siege, there's barely enough food here to last for long, what with the contamination that was only recently cleared up. Mmm. We'll have to break them before it gets to that then. [Tilea] A supply shortage? That puts a little wrench in my plans -- [Chrissy] hey, at least my robots don't eat. As the group strategizes behind closed doors, there's the sound of a shell being fired over the skies. * Trune glances upwards, tensing. Then what follows is the beginning of a monologue you've heard somewhere before being broadcast to the town.... uh oh. ...oh, there we go. Here we go again. -_- Once his speech finishes they start shooting. [Adam] ..is that the signal? * Trune pulls his spear off his back, nodding. He looks expectantly to the others. [Tilea] ...well at least we are fighting an /intelligent/ opponent. It's more fun that way. So let's shoot first. ...They're announcing their intention to kill us all, they're not that smart. Agreed. * Mikel raises an eyebrow at Tilea before grinning. "I'll get the Stormrider warmed up then. Showtime!" Where does everyone want me this time? Don't fly. They try to shoot you down when you fly. Sure enough, rogar gives his speech of doom, as the still a bit disorganized defenders try to take a defensive position. the thing hasn't even finished when there's the sound of a hail of gunfire outside. Apparently the Labs does like to shoot first. Yeah, I kind of noticed that last time. Not sure I did much good up there anyway. * Trune then stops, looking unsure. He glances down at the spear for a moment. [Chrissy] Party time! *runs to make sure her mech is warmed up!* Guess I'll go and take a spot up on the walls. [Adam] I'll hold down the fort here with what strength I have. Go out there and get us some momentum! I'm going full on offense this time, I think. * Mikel snickers. "You can come with me. We'll tear through 'em." The situation outside turns into some sporadic fighting. What looks like a mechanized division, backed up by similar elements of rifleman, melee specialists and artillery is advancing from the north out od numerous tunnels. They are moving extremely fast, in comparison to the slow rumble in Meribia. Awesome. *She grins, making sure the Sword of Althena is securely belted on, and heads out with Mikel.* Be careful everyone. There's also what looks like activity from the east, as a large group of infantry is approaching. It looks like the survivors of Meribia, unecumbered by their equipment moving to join the main assault. They however will not be there for some time, being on foot. The adepts of Hylan academy take to the town walls and drawing on the barrier powers, prepare to use it as a magnifcationd evice for their abilities. The beginnings of willforce artillery emerge under Tilea's direction. * Mikel hops onto the Stormrider, making sure the guns are loaded and there's plenty of fuel as he starts it up. The clergy forms into teams to support the Knights, who ready sword and shield against the first shots fired. They prepare to sally forth in a unified front. The mechanical infantry and air cover sentries from Vulcannon begin to take the flanks, aiming to dismember and debilitate all servitors they can get a target on. * Niri climbs onto Stormrider behind Mikel, checking her armor and equipment, then eyeing the attacking forces as she plans her attack. Chrissy begins powering up the mech, and getting it out of the confined space so it can maneuver on the open fields. * Trune watches Niri and Mikel go, trying to hide the dissapointment and fustration on his face. He looks lost, not knowing how to assist now that his one asset cannot be relied on. The other air units retreat a safe distance, remaining on standby for emergency evac. Meanwhile, the first shots from the distance black steel barrels of the lazarus force hits the barricade and the walls shiver and dissapate the force. The tanks greedly rip up the turf, taking aim at the Knight's front lines. Infantry line up to engage them hand to hand. riflemen start moving to the eastern flank gradually, covering the path of the reinforcements. * Ryllan waves Trune over to the Destiny, hopping into it at a run. * Niri pulls out her boomerang, eyeing the invading servitors as they draw closer. * Mikel joins up with the more mobile divisions, already setting his radio. "Alright then, what's the plan?" * Trune blinks, pulling out his whiteboard again and managing to write AND run at the same time. He flips the board over, "You sure?" You've never needed your voice to power that thing before. Do what you can, you're still better than most anyone we've got. Focus on hitting their explosives with fire. [Tilea] I know you are tired, but you need to dig deep. You should still have approximately 55% of your magic reserves left. Show them the might of knowledge! * Trune eyes Ryllan for a moment, then nods, clambering up into the Destiny. The adepts continue to aggregate force from the barrier, half plugging the holes that the shots created while the rest prepare a counterstrike. [Chrissy] i hate starting this thing cold.. *grumbles and begins walking one step at a time* * Mikel starts to crackle a bit, electricty flowing into the Stormrider. "So. Ready?" * Vytor watches, and waits to move in when the situation calls for it. Ready! There's a signal from the Servitor commanders as the charge suddenly picks up steam! * Niri sees the first of the servitor army close enough to strike, so she concentrates a for a moment, imbueing her boomerang with green wisps of wind willforce. Letting loose with Gale Boomerang, she arcs her trademark weapon through the masses of servitors, striking a good number of them on the first pass. The tanks are nearly in range of the city, and the unmanned drones buzz overhead. Some of the smaller lighter sentries hover and begin exchanging laser bolts with them! * Trune clambers up to where the willforce cannon is stationed. He places his hand on the base of the cannon, hoping to activate SOMETHING. * Mikel suddenly slams on the pedal, jetting the Stormrider forward as he opens up with the guns. He lets Niri focus on tearing through any enemies around them as he sprays fire across the enemy line, pumping willforce into the Stormrider to speed it up. Seeing Niri's attack, the knight's charge forward and the steel killers clashes with blessed sword and shield. The front row drops down, but there are more that just keep going over them, even as the bodies begin trying to recover. The tanks rumble and a few peg the knights's vulenrable spots with precision fire, and several scream in agony and drop dead. Thankfully, the priestesses make sure they can get up nearly equally as well as the enemy! The cannon under Trune's hand pusles. he has some power, but it is very unstable... * Niri doesn't wait for the boomerang to come back, drawing the Sword of Althena and unleashing Sybillium on all enemies within reach. Her sword arm is a blur as she slashes through the ranks of servitors. Nearby to Niri is a blue haired beastman who carves down a swath with his sword, as a wave of earth follows it. [Leo] No quarter! * Trune grits his teeth, concentrating. Already a thin sheen of sweat appears on his forehead, as if he's pushing against some sort of tide. An arc of firey energy snakes up the cannon, but it is erratic, and coils of fire whip into the air. << Okay, fine, "unleashing a flurry of strikes" then! Nyah. ;) >> Trune's firey shot is very inaccurate, though he does manage to catch some foes in the whirls of random fire. The burning appears to be quite effective, as they smolder and go down in ashes as any normal man would. * Mikel keeps up the spray of gunfire, sometimes sending out a pulse of lightning arcing across the enemy ranks to finish off any soldiers that are downed. The gunfire in the air heats up, as Chrissy finally makes it into firing distance, unloading a round of shells one after the other into the tanks. Her own Rovers, moutned with cannon that is lighter though similar to what the Destiny ha srigged up, give a supporting volley that does a signifcant chunk of damage. * Trune attempts to do it again, placing his hand on the cannon's base. He's already looking tired though, and unfortunately things have only begun. Mikel's mobility once again is a saving grace, as many a bullet with his name on it is dodged * Niri catches her boomerang on the return swing, filling it with power once more and sending it out again. She manages to get in a strike on a nearby servitor that just won't stay down, destroying its resistance to lightning to give Mikel an opportunity to take it out. The clash intensifies as the forces tighten into a chaotic front line, with servitors momentum helping them but also hindering as some get overextended and are surrounded and torn apart. The adepts have finally aligned the willforce flows properly and trune's second fire blast gets a gigantic wall that it melds with that torches the footsoldiers that run through it in haste! * Ryllan (~doomgaze@d199-126-60-248.abhsia.telus.net) Quit (Ping timeout) * Mikel keeps darting in and out, blasting away with lightning on a regular basis whenever Niri opens one up to his element. * Trune pumps his fist into the air at the sight of his handiwork, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. He places his hands in a deathgrip on the cannon, trying to blast the enemies once again. The strain is becoming more apparent; Trune is panting slightly...but he doesn't stop. The Knights however, are struggling, and the tanks are closing in. Artillery keeps pounding the tightly bunched allies, trying to break their backbone with explosions everywhere. The eastern flank is beginning to get squeezed as the enemy snipers take up a position and the Meribia survivors begin to approach. The unnatural discipline of the Lazarus servitors shows, as even in a situation of utter chaos they continue to maintain tight formation and press the attack. As Mikel tag teams the servitors nearby with Niri, he spies out of the corner of his eye a servitor sniper in the melee some distance away drawing a bead right on her unprotected back. * Niri grits her teeth in irritation, slashing out at the servitors that just won't seem to stay DOWN. * Mikel adruptly spins the Stormrider around without any warning, shouting something over the din that sounds like 'get down!'. * Niri yelps. "-What?" Eengrossed in eviscerating the servitors nearby and shielding the knights who believe in her, her guard is indeed down and the shooter tries to take this advantage to break the defense's morale with an assassination! By the time Niri turns around, the barrel's already ignited and the shot hurtles at her! Mikel's quick manuevering ironically gets him caught in the line of fire, and the shot nails him square in the chest, sending him flying off the Stromrider! << storm >> The riderless attack cycle skids into the sniper and the troops nearby, tripping them up. All the while, the tank divisions are getting closer... * Mikel manages a "S-shit" before he hits the dirt and rolls some. His staff skids a few feet away from him as well, grip lost. * Vytor cringes as he sees Mikel fall, knowing he's too far away to do anything about it. * Trune 's concentration is broken as he sees Mikel get knocked off, and he lets out a soundless shout of alarm. * Niri 's eyes go wide. "MIKEL!" She slashes furiously and somewhat frantically at the servitors around her, pushing them back enough to let her get to Mikel. Once near him, she lets loose a her boomerang, filled to brimming with wind willforce, arcing around to keep back the enemy. The silent stalker commando regains his bearings, and attempts to squeeze off another shot at Niri. But her boomerang is there before he is, slicing the servitor 6 series in two. * Vytor relaxes, seeing Niri is on top of things. In fact, quite a few kmindless people are sliced up and jostled back by her unleashed fury. * Niri isn't content with that, apparently, taking the brief respite to summon a wave of harmonic power that ripples through the air around her. Letting out a cry that echoes across the battlefield, a jarring, almost painful sound, she unleashes an explosion of song magic in the general vicinity of the servitor, not wishing to allow a single piece of it to survive. * Niri lets loose a full-power Musica Universalis on all enemies in a wide radius around the sniper, the power humming and echoing across the battlefield in waves after the initial strike. Meanwhile, the sentries continue to exchange shots with their cousins, reaching a stalemate dogfight overhead. The tanks ron onward, now pummeling the eastern flank the riflemen have softened up. The infantry is closing in, in what looks like an attempt to strike at that spot while more of the defense units engage the northern front. * Trune stares slack-jawed at Niri's display for a moment, then shakes his head. He places his hand on the willforce cannon, concentrating again, but it seems that it's becoming even more difficult to muster up the energies. Instead, Trune gives up the ghost on that idea, and holds the eightfold spire aloft. * DooM_GazE (~doomgaze@d199-126-60-248.abhsia.telus.net) has joined #lunar-iog2 * ChanServ sets mode: +o DooM_GazE * DooM_GazE is now known as Ryllan Niri's unleashed music pierces the ears of the nearby legions, causing them to drop their weapons and writh around in agony, unable to fight. Some are even rent asunder in the ultimate dissonace. * Niri pants a bit with the exertion, then takes advantage of the momentary lull to turn her attention to Mikel. She fumbles for his wrist and searches for a pulse. "Mikel? Mikel, answer me!" Niri's momentary displays of destruction cause the advance in the north to stall out from the sudden attacks. It gives her a moment to tend to Mikel, who's caughing and bleeding from a serious chest wound. A healing song would probably be a good idea... * Tanan speaks calmly, a small crystal spike tracking the nearest enemy. "Don't lose your head. You can heal him. Remember this." * Trune holds a hand aloft, and whisps of different colored energy swirl about him. A blue wisp here, a red wisp there. However, instead of being in perfect sync, they swirl around Trune in an erratic orbit. Trune looks like he's in physical pain as he attempts to keep the elementlor summon under control. Chrissy starts going on the offense at this, relieving the knights with her heavily armored units. the tanks now exchange fire with something a little more their size! Some of the priesthood has taken casualties, and the knights are being killed in greater numbers than before. But hope is not lost, for in the far distance something else is seen behind the eastern line... the defenders of Meribia are racing to deal a flanking attack of their own. * Niri , finding that Mikel is still alive, at least for the moment, takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself and listen to Tanan. She summons her song magic once more, this time pouring her power into a healing song. * Mikel blinks slowly a few times, trying to say something. It doesn't quite come out though thanks to the bullet in his chest. trune meanwhile tries as hard as he can to focus on a summons. It is amazing how hard he has to concentrate when befor eit was almost like breathing.... * Vytor is now known as DNW-logging For his efforts he is rewarded with a weak projection of Mars that doesn't looks too happy. "What the hell is wrong with you, Trune?" * Trune gives Mars a flat look. He just had to summon THAT one. * Trune flips out his whiteboard and writes in big letters: "MUTE. :|" [Mars] ...I guess that explains it. I'll make them pay for cursing you then. Who do I blow up first? * Ryllan throws the Destiny into a hairpin turn, yelling up at Mars, "I'd start with those tanks, if you can get through them!" Niri's healing serenade causes Mikel's bleeding to be magically staunched and some of his energy return. he's still pretty beaten up though, the bullet being quite high powered. * Trune points to the tanks frantically! Mars nods and starts in that direction, preparing to melt the monstrosities like before. She is definitely effective, but the severely bad link forced the ethereal projection to be much lower in power than she'd like, forcing the Elementalor to be more judicious in what she can tackle. * Niri lets out a breath of relief, though she has by no means relaxed. She glances around her worriedly, trying to form a plan to get Mikel to safety. The beastman knight once again appears nearby, his armor caoted with blood now. "Lady Niri. We must get your friend to the rear before the next wave is upon us! there are healers there to tend to him. I shall cover your escape." * Trune then flops down to where the cannon is, attempting to catch his breath. Another wave of firewall is laid down to scorch the zombie-like invaders, while more artillery bombards the city gates. The shield is beginning to falter. * Niri looks relieved and grateful. "Thanks." She tries to lift Mikel, letting out an oof. He's heavier than he looks. * Mikel blinks a couple more times, coughing up blood as he manages to actually talk now. "G-Goddess... that.. hurt.." Trune! Can you hit that Artillary? Mikel, can you stand? Gotta get you out of here - * Trune can't answer Ryllan, but judging from the slight surge in willforce energy and the erratic arcs of fire now swirling aroun the cannon, it's probably a yes. The eastern front is beginning to buckle from the combined pressure especially, as the second army has merged and begun to press the walls's guards with their small arms. The Meribian reinforcements are stilla ways out, and the bunny riders have almost made it to the rear of the enemy there. But it may not be in time to stop all of it. * Mikel gives it a try, wavering back and forth and stumbling a couple of steps. "S-sorta... where's my staff?" Mikel's discarded staff is on the dirt nearby, and the Stormrider tangled in a ditch, Trune's fire shot this time is more forceful, but the aim is still hard to control, as he strains his sealed willforce to the limit even doing this simple task of guiding it. Like before the fire does ignite some of the ammo carriers deep behind the lines, and works to modest effect. But the howitzers continue to fire much more strongly than they did in Meribia. * Trune bangs a fist against the cannon in fustration, panting heavily. * Niri reaches out to steady Mikel, offering her shoulder for support. She grabs the staff with her free hand and hands it to Mikel, then steers him away from the front lines. "C'mon, they won't stay down for long." The flame walls put down by the adepts and Chrissy's double barreled assaults are keeping the tank and infantry advance contained for now. Sure enough a nearby soldier moans and makes a grab for Niri as she passes.. :o he's missing his bottom torso but still continues to fight and claw at her leg. * Mikel leans heavily against Niri, probably smearing some blood on Tanan as well as he keeps a death grip on the staff. There's a crackle of lightning from Mikel before a massive bolt flies from him to rip into the soldier. The wounded Mikel is quick to electrocute the unfortunate servitor, as his own armor cooks his remains from the outside in, sizzling. * Niri kicks the thing aside in disgust, trying to hurry away and make the most of the extra cover Leo is providing. * Mikel slumps even more, hacking up more blood. "...mind your back... where's the Stormrider, that's faster." Leo and his honor guard try to sue the flame walls as cover, luring the infantry charges into it wherever possible and buying time to regroup. Er. Not right now it isn't. And don't worry, Leo's covering us. I'm watching. << use >> * Mikel mumbles something about wrecking the Stormrider again but stumbles along. The robotic force, finally begins to get the upper hand on the air support, and the skies begin to fill more with friendlies... though there are also a few malfunctions to report. Chrissy grumbles as some shells hit the skin of the mech, though she has defintiely got a handle on the armored core of the task force. One of them is crushed beneath it's feet. * Trune suddenly gets a determined look in his eyes, and places both hands on the cannon, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. Mars is also helping to doubleteam the bunch, melting the soldiers inside the slag of one of the hulls * Ryllan rests a hand on the small attachment to the willforce cannon thoughtfully placed near the driver's seat of the Destiny, forcing stability and power into the volatile willforce cannon. Niri and Mikel manage to make it to a rear support area near the walls, even as blasts fly overhead to pound the barrier. A few priests are on hand frantically healing the wounded here, and quaffing silverlights by the truckload. * Niri manages to get Mikel to a reasonably sheltered area near the priests, lowering him down to sit against the wall. She lets out a breath, then glances to check the status of the attack. She frowns, wondering if she should stay with Mikel, or return to the fight. The ebatswoman mauri and her mate, the human Ronfar are dashing around in a frenzy. [Mauri] Measure out your magic, we can't run out in a critical moment... [Ronfar] I'm doing the best i can, sweetcheeks.. * Trune watches as the arcs of willforce generated fire arc up the length of the cannon, this time not nearly as erratic as before. The knights have begun to pull back as the adepts are beginning to run low on the fire and have to dedicate more willforce to maintaining the barrier's integrity. * Mikel doesn't protest being set against the wall at all, focusing on breathing for now while keeping a deathgrip on the staff. "G-get back in there." * Niri decides to double check to see how Mikel is doing before she leaves. The priests seem overstretched as it is. She eyes Mikel, looking to see how his wound is and how much she was able to heal earlier. Chrissy and her robots have the north under control, but the artillery is continuing to fire relatively unhindered. The eastern front is beginning to buckle severely, as free knights desperately try to stall the infantry rush until the meribian's can pincer attack them. Trune puts all of his focus into one shot... * Mikel blinks a few more times, trying to wave Niri away. Under the torn shirt and jacket the wound only seems barely healed, enough to stop the blood flow but there's definitely still damage. * Trune bites back the pain he feels and rears back as the cannon fires upwards! There's a flash as Ryllan's metamagic joins his erratic explosion of willforce, trune's mental seal straining. The cannon fires a loud retort and a fireball blazes into the sky. It arcs through the air and begins to descend upon the artillery brigades. Interestingly, the weakening avatar of Mars decides to expend what remains of the projection's power in a dramatic fashion. She leaps into the air and briefly merges with the fireball, causing an explosion that rains down firey destruction! * Niri ignores Mikel's attempts to shoo her off, letting another wave of musical healing wash over him. As she does so, she watches his face carefully, trying to judge how much pain he's in and if there are any other possible effects of the injury/ * Niri looks away from Mikel for a moment, watching Mars with a mildly impressed look before turning her attention back again. The gunnery section of the Lazarus invaders begins to light up in a chain reaction of resounding BOOMS> * Mikel gives up on waving her away after a bit, grimacing and closing his eyes. He isn't coughing up any more blood at least so there's some improvement. * Trune doesn't see much of his handiwork. He stares in a daze above for several seconds, panting, before he slumps forward against the cannon. the decisive serious of explosions causes the assault of the servitor's to waver for the briefest moment. This was not expected. << series >> Wthout the rain of support fire, the city is able to reform a perimeter, and attempt to shore up the east. Chrissy continues having her way with the tanks, despite her Rovers taking significant losses. The sentries have also been able to create some havoc in the tail of the army, trying her tactic of slice, dice, and capture. * Ryllan pulls to a stop behind a handy bit of wall, and gets out immediately, getting on top of the destiny rather quickly, for him. Meanwhile, the foot assault is caught off guard by the arrival of the whooping and yelling Meribian reinforcements. They finally lay into the army they beat back only a day previously with the intention of finishing the job. The Detsiny's willforce cannon, manned by trune, is now silent as he has fainted. << destiny >> * Niri looks up from her healing for a moment, taking in the state of the battle. She frowns, trying to decide where she's most needed right now. With the ranged support from an unexpected rear of the enemy, the Virtue Knights sally forth again under Leo's command to charge the weary Lazarus footsoldiers. All is not yet stable hwoever, as another sniper makes his way into the triage area where Niri is, as nails a medic in the head. "ARgh!" [priest] Sister Arianna! Aw dammit, Trune. *Ryllan drags Trune into the Destiny, where he'll be a little safer* * Niri grits her teeth, whirling around as she stands. "All right, that's it! I've had enough of this!" She draws her sword and advances on the sniper, summoning a rushing shield of air around herself as she does so. * Mikel growls, starting to shakily haul himself back up and letting out a strained shout. "Get behind cover! Barrier spells if you've got 'em!" * Mikel then starts hacking and coughing again, falling back against the wall. A few woudned knights try to get to their feet and protect the healing masters from this infiltration. Mauri begins to cast a Mystic Shield about her personnel to guard them from strikes... Stay where you are, Mikel! * Ryllan gets back in the Destiny and the engine roars as Ryllan moves to a better position to join the fight a little more personally. Li-*hack*-ke hell! * Niri lashes out with her sword as soon as she's close enough, trying to take the sniper out with a few well-placed strikes. The small team of 3 operatives doesn't expect someone as strong as Niri to be here, only the weak and injured. easy kills. Unfortunately, one of them finds that he is actually the easy kill from Niri's swordstrikes. Ronfar strangely throws a pair of dice at the foot of one of the Servitors. "...sorry pal. Snake eyes. You lose." The two dice show a single dot up each, which then turns into a giantic serpent that entangles them. * Niri kicks the sniper's remains aside, trying to keep the parts from being able to touch each other. If she's at all squeamish about this, she doesn't show it. Looking around warily, she identifies the next threat and charges at it, sending her boomerang out ahead of her. * Mikel lifts his staff, letting out another blast of electricty to fry the ones already tangled up. Then he slumps back down to the ground, nearly passing out. Niri makes quick work of the immobilzied Servitors, cutting them into pieces with muffled cries of agony. Mauri follows this up by summoning a firey bird at their remains, scorching them and the ground around them. She shoot Ronfar a look. "Stop fooling around, honey..." [Ronfar] Can't help it, snugglebunny. I'm blinded by your beauty. *grin* The priestess rolls her eyes and laughs, the red robe following her steps. "Miss Niri.. are you and Mikel alright?" The sounds of battle continue all around as Ryllan heads to the eastern flank to help supervise the Meribian coutner-attack. It has definitely caused some disarray in the enemy's ranks. The adepts meanwhile continue to rebuild the shield's energy, thankful for the lull however brief. Many of them are near passing out, and several already have. Tilea herself is even breaking a major sweat. * Niri pants just a bit, brushing some sweat from her forehead and turning to the priestess with a nod. "I'm fine. Not sure about Mikel, I've done what I can, but it's not much..." She looks around for any more immediate threat, then walks over to Mikel with Mauri in tow. * Mikel mumbles something about being just peachy except for a bullet in his chest. [Mauri] Hmm, it's a serious wound. Let's work together on this... *begins chanting a litany* * Trune stirs a bit from wherever Ryllan placed him, seeming to slowly come around. * Niri nods and contributes her own song magic to Mauri's efforts, following her lead and letting her guide and direct the power. Ronfar comes up behind the two girls, chewing on a wheat stalk. "You're healing mighty well, miss hero. This must be someone very important to you." "Stay here and rest, Trune, I'm going out there." *Ryllan joins in the fighting with the staff of the prophets and the strange, new, blade of harshly glowing blue light in his hand, which almost seems to twist and bend as he strikes, seeking vulnerable points. * Niri doesn't really acknowledge Ronfar, as she is concentrating mainly on the healing magic. She just nods absently, not really hearing him. * Mikel improves with the focused healing, his breathing becoming easier. "...that's much better." He looks around, blinking as if realizing something. "Don't tell me it's still out there." Between the pair's efforts, they could quite likely raise the dead if they wished. Thankfully Mikel is not there yet, so his wounds begin to heal miraculously quick as light and song embraces his form in a mending melody. Yes indeed, the Stormrider is nowhere to be seen, having been left in a ditch somewhere at the frontlines. Fighting with the armored behemoths continues there still. * Niri sinks down to sit on the ground, worn out from her efforts. ...lack of an answer isn't reassuring. The north and east resound with continued skirmishing, the enemy advance halted and now slowly but surely being beaten back. The morale of the defenders is on the upswing, and a victory begins to be in sight. However, unbeknowst to them the infamous Rogar has some plans of his own... and things are about to fall exactly into place. == SESSION END == Tah dah! >> 27 xp! Session Close: Sun Apr 20 03:23:26 2008