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#Post#: 131--------------------------------------------------
The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 13, 2012, 3:36 pm
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"Are you certain it's wise to call out? What if we don't like
what answers back?" Spoke the wise old general, he was observing
as Squint added the last touches to their communications array.
It was a massive transmitter meant to speak out into the stars
and to receive their answers. Adokx was nervous, he hated
uncertainty, strategy was all about what you knew and how good
your information was. This was a shot in the dark.
"Well General if you've got a better plan I'm all ears," Squint
replied with a giggle. "This is going to be amazing, just you
watch we're going to send our message and someone out there will
listen and they'll help us!" She smiled and stepped back, her
hands on her hips. Yes she was quite confident. Wistal swept
about, nervous as Adokx but more for the fact that he was
attempting to make sure everything worked out.
Squint adjusted her lab coat and flipped the switches, the array
started to hum and buzz. "...Oh yes! YES!" she called like a
evil scientist. "...Don't worry General! Grab Miza and the
brute! We're sending our hopes and dreams to the stars...and
soon enough we will be among them...and they will know us!" Her
glee was a little disarming for Adokx. He appreciated her
enthusiasm but he had to admit he was not so certain it was
warranted. The world was falling to bits and she was cackling
like a mad woman. It didn't quite seem right.
"Alright, I'll collect everyone, you prepare something to say to
the stars..." The old General made his way out of the
laboratory. He navigated the winding halls and tapped the
mercenary on the shoulder. "We're online, Pellegrin requests you
be there. Where is the aristocrat?"
Smoke wafted from Murphy's mouth as he turned to look at the old
timer. "Oh yeah? Well ain't that great...I'll go grab
Miza...we'll meet ya inside..." he waved him off and started off
towards the rather impressive structure. The old home had been
here since the Legions first colonization of this planet, and
had lingered even after the fall. "Hey! Miza! The nerds got that
thing working! They gonna call people out in space..." He looked
around and noticed the rather well dressed aristocrat sampling a
selection of fine wines.
She looked to him and raised a brow. "Oh? That sounds quite
exciting...I'll be over momentarily, I just have to get a more
practical pair of shoes..." she replied and vanished inside. She
came out again with an expensive pair of boots. "Practical"
seemed pretty subjective, as the heels were quite tall and not
very thick. "...Alright I'm ready lets go." Murphy shook his
head and shrugged, he let the cigarette rest on his lip as he
toddled along.
"Alright...Dunno what we gotta be there for...Moral support
maybe? Chearleaders? haha" he mused and dropped the cigarette
after a few moments, letting it die out in the snow. "...Guess
it doesn't really matter."
Once everyone had been gathered together, Squint flipped the
video on, and made sure the microphone was working. "...hmmm
alright, seems to be working....what should we send then?" she
asked and everyone glanced to each other muttering. "...W-well
I'm not g-gonna speak...G-general why don't you..." She pulled
Adokx up to the front of the group and had him stand in front of
the microphone.
"What am I supposed to say?" he asked with a raised brow as he
straightened out his uniform. Pell flipped on the Video Signal
and smiled.
"How about: Hello, are you out there?" Squint suggested. Adokx
gave a nod.
"Very well, I suppose that would do..." He cleared his voice and
stood straight, he looked like a proper authority figure. "Start
it up."
"Right," The switch to start transmission was flipped. Adokx
leaned in to speak.
"Hello, this is a transmission from the City of Legion, I am
General Adokx of the Legionary Military, are you out there?" he
spoke, and then they waited. All they could do was wait. They'd
send the signal every two hours and hope for a return message.
#Post#: 132--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 13, 2012, 8:57 pm
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The mood at HQ was grim. It had been for days now. Every
infiltration, every attempt at winning some ground had come to a
standstill. More lives were lost with every attempt at a take
over and the only logical explanation Drisit could think of was
that there was a traitor in their midst. She had been pondering
this possibility ever since the battle at the Armoury, when
Katarina and Brenna had fallen. Symblor had whispered the
possibility into her ear a year and a half ago as they mourned
the life of their fallen comrade and sequentially, her five year
old child, but Drisit hadn't wanted to believe it then. She
blamed the two deaths on herself and her alone.
But now, as each attempt seemed more and more futile, she could
no longer ignore the nagging suspicion that weighted down her
conscience and every decision she attempted to make. The worst
part of it was, she had no idea who the backstabber was.
Attempts to get a hold of Milady and ask if she knew anything
had also showed no results. It was as if Milady had fallen off
the face of Oracle, but as B0z was constantly reminding her,
Milady was in the middle of a dangerous warzone and no one could
blame her if she was playing on the safe side. Still, it was
frustrating.
It was late at night now, here on Oracle, and Drisit was seated
in the small area her father had set up as sort of a study. She
was going over his old journals and notes, trying to figure out
if he had any suspicions of a traitor, but so far there were no
results. Just sketches and blue prints of various Government
buildings, which were useful, no doubt, but had no baring on the
pressing situation at hand.
Drisit sighed, her shoulders sagging, as if under a heavy
burden. "Dris, we'll figure it out." A voice spoke up. Drisit
glanced down to see two wide eyes staring back at her. "I hope
so, Symblor. We can't move forward until we do." Drisit replied
to the fifteen year old cyborg, sitting at her feet. The girl
was fiddling with something in her lap. "What's that?" Drisit
asked, setting down a large blueprint on the desk in front of
her.
"Oh. It's your dad's old radio system. He was always trying to
get it to work, but for some reason, he never could." Symblor
shrugged, picking at the parts and starting to put them back
together. "I just thought I would try."
Drisit nodded and the air between them fell silent for a few
moments as Symblor clicked pieces back into place and Drisit ran
a hand through her hair, looking back to the pile of papers on
the desk.
Drisit started to say something, to tell Symblor she should head
to bed, but she was cut off by a loud burst of static from the
radio in Symblor's lap. The two females looked at each other,
eyes widening.
"Has it done that before?" Drisit demanded through another burst
of static. Symblor shook her head. "No-I..."
She was interrupted by a man's voice.
"...Are you there?" The voice was far away and muted but Drisit
could hear it well enough and she knew to Symblor it sounded
perfectly clear. Quickly, Drisit snatched the speaker from the
floor beside Symblor as the younger girl pushed the
communicatons button.
"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" Drisit demanded, trying to keep
her voice calm. In the back of her mind, she knew this could be
a trick of the Government. Citizens of Oracle were forbidden
electronics, but the Government hoarded them. But she also
couldn't risk the chance that maybe, maybe an answer from the
heavens was finally showing itself.
"Hello? We're here."
#Post#: 133--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 13, 2012, 11:00 pm
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"Hello? We're here..."
Silence, all of them stood stunned. Five faces simultaneously
looked to each other, incredulous that they'd gotten any kind of
response. It was so quiet, almost inaudible. Squint cranked the
volume and shoved the mic into Adokx's face before
reconsidering. She took it back and put her mouth to it. She
boosted the signal a bit and started to speak excitedly. "Where
are you? Are you Oracle! This is New Earth, Legionary capitol!
I'm head scientist Pellegrin Girabelie, what's your name?!" she
called and looked back at the rest. "Oh right right! Uhm I'll
let the others introduce themselves...you already heard General
Adokx of the Legionary Military, he's the highest ranking
official but um...there are others of us in the lab right
now..." She handed it off to Mizabeth and urged her to speak.
"Oh H-Hello, I am Mizabeth Artherton of the Artherton
family...uh" she stopped and handed it to Wistal. The awkward
man took a few moments to compose himself adequately.
"...Wistal Gregories uhm...Lead Propulsion scientist of LASA..."
he said quickly before dropping it in Murphy's hand.
"...Murphy "Accost" Hammer, uh body guard I guess..." he gave it
back to Squint.
"...Oh my goodness...this is amazing we could really use a
hand...you know if you guys could...uhm...the planet it's...it's
in really rough shape...the...the decay is...well
overwhelming...the government has fallen apart, people are
dying..." she sighed sadly then. "...Our only hope is to get off
I think now...we don't know why...it's just gone, the world
died..." She stopped and took a deep breath. "...but, if you're
out there and alive than there's hope isn't there?"
#Post#: 134--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 13, 2012, 11:19 pm
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Drisit looked over at Symblor in shock.
"It's New Earth? I thought the Decay swallowed the planet and
everyone on it whole!" She declared as Symblor held a finger to
her lips. "Shh, Dris, they're introducing themselves." The
smaller girl instructed, quieting Drisit down so they could
listen. "Scientists..." Drisit mumbled under her breath, the
possibilities began calculating in her mind, but her heart fell
as the last of the message pushed through.
It sounded like New Earth was in just as bad as shape that
Oracle was in. Except Oracle didn't have the threat of the Decay
constantly at their doors. Once the communication ended, Drisit
sighed, her heart heavy at the news she would have to give those
from Oracle's home planet.
"Miss. Girabelie, my name is Drisit LeFay and my companion is
Rosl Symblor. Yes, you have reached Oracle," She spoke
diplomatically, being polite as she ever was when introducing
herself to someone new. "But I'm afraid we aren't faring much
better over here than you are back in New Earth. It's a long
story, but Oracle fell hundreds of years ago. It wasn't to
anything as drastic as the Decay, but I'm afraid we can't help
you. Our Government has seized control and anyone caught
disobeying is sentenced to immediate death." She spoke with a
sigh, looking over to Symblor who was shaking her head
emphatically.
"Drisit. This could be our only hope. The Scientist is right.
New Earth is still alive, Oracle is still alive. Maybe this is
what we have been looking for." Symblor spoke, the hope shining
in her eyes. "Maybe there is a covert way to get even just a few
of those from New Earth here and together, we can think of
something."
Drisit nodded. "We still have to be careful, this could be a
plot from the Government." She voiced her concerns and Symblor
nodded her head once.
"When they reply, I'll see if I can track the frequency to
anywhere here on this planet. If the source can't be found, then
I suggest we try to work with them, Drisit. Things can't get
much worse here anyways." The girl sighed, glancing down at her
robotic hand, flexing the fingers a little as she walked over to
a big, hulking machine in the corner, toying with a few
switches, whirring it to life.
#Post#: 135--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 13, 2012, 11:47 pm
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Squint frowned. "Sorry to hear..." she stated and didn't know
what else to say. Lucky for her the most well liked military
official of the Legion took the microphone from her. She gave
him a grateful expression. She looked to Wistal. "We should keep
working on the rocket...it may have to go further...but the hope
is that the moon will be in the perfect place when we launch..."
She and him hurried down the corridors and away.
Adokx spoke in his most level tone. "Sorry to hear of Oracles
plight. This is General Adokx, I have reason to believe that
Legion was responsible for the Decay. As I see it the people
shouldn't be afraid of the government, the government should be
afraid of it's people...what can we do to help?" he asked and
Murphy and Mizabeth gave each other inquiring looks. "We have a
rocket and a launch date set to hit the moon at the proper
point, we just need your go ahead. If you are of the proper
authority obviously." He looked to Murphy and Miza. "...One
problem at a time, we fix Oracle, we fix New Earth...the Decay
was caused by Legion...and the people on that moon are still
part of it...if they're not living in a barren wasteland then
there has to be something that can be done to fix our world..."
They both had a sudden realization. "So I guess it's true then,
you are a pretty good Tactician...that's a pretty damn good
idea..." Murphy mused. "...I mean I'd rather they just help
us...but I get where you're commin' from...I scratch your back
you scratch mine..."
Adokx nodded. "That's not even all that impressive, once I
managed to scare an entire fleet of militia men with three
artillery rounds. We were out match, and out gunned. We had
almost no ammunition left...but we have five artillery guns with
one round each. I placed them in such a way that it would sound
like we had forces surrounding the city. Three well placed
rounds and they went running. We took the town and captured
lingering soldiers...didn't have to kill a single man...and that
was the best part," he expounded as he leaned back against the
console not aware that he'd leaned on the "talk" button.
"...it's always better when good men don't have to die..."
"Sure sure...but killin' everything is easier..." Murphy
countered.
"...and costs a whole helluva lot more."
"...eh..."
#Post#: 136--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 14, 2012, 5:21 pm
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Drisit listened to the General's transmission, taking in his
words and contemplating them for a few moments. She was almost
certain that this wasn't the Government trying to covertly
locate HQ. After all, even though technologies were banned in
Oracle, it was a law that did not apply to the Officials, as
none of the laws did. The Rebellion made do with stuff her
father had been able to build, through the help of Milady
smuggling parts to them and his own genius. Now, they had to
make due with Symblor who was young, but extremely intelligent
and adept at repairing and up keeping the machine's they'd had,
even able to build a few of her own. The cyborg was currently
walking around the hulking machine, watching the screen and
jotting things down onto a clipboard.
"Drisit, they aren't broadcasting from Oracle. I can't tell you
if the transmissions are truly coming from New Earth, as they
say, but I am 100% certain that these origins are not here from
this planet." Symblor spoke up, confirming what Drisit was
contemplating. She began to turn switches off, letting the
machine die slowly and the room was quiet once again.
Drisit held the receiver back to her lips and clicked the button
that would allow her to transmit. "General, I appreciate your
offer of help, but I have no authority to give you the ok to
launch your rocket. As I am sure you deduced, you are not in
contact with anyone who could guarantee your safety once you
landed here on Oracle. You are currently in contact with our
Rebel Headquarters and I fear that you and your people would be
thoughtlessly murdered once you landed here. We have no way of
knowing if our Officials could track you from space once you
entered orbit, the moment you landed, they would undoubtedly
know. The only place you wouldn't be tracked is if you landed in
the Wastelands. But with Raiders, your safety would be even more
compromised than if you landed smack dab in the middle of
Capitol City." Drisit sighed into the receiver. "We have no
resources in our hands that could help with New Earth and the
Decay. We're at a standstill, here on Oracle. I admit, your help
is needed, but in good conscience, I cannot request it. I cannot
willingly and knowingly write more death sentences than I
already do."
Once she finished, she placed the receiver on the desk beside
her and put her head in her hands. Times like this, Drisit
wished her parents were stilll here. THey would know what to do.
They always had. Hell,she didn't even want to fill in their
shoes like she was, but after burying them in the ground and
speaking with Symblor, Drisit saw no other choice. However,
there were many many moments, happening more and more
frequently, when she doubted herself. This was one of them.
She looked up when she felt the cold, metallic hand on her
shoulder. Looking into her companions eyes, so young but so old
at the same time, Drisit felt a few tears well up in her own.
"Don't worry, Drisit. Things will turn around, I can feel it."
Symblor spoke, trying to comfort her friend. Drisit simply
placed her head back in her hands to await the General's next
transmission.
#Post#: 137--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 15, 2012, 11:51 am
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Adokx listened and nodded. He took several moments to
contemplate then used the bases coms to located and call Squint
back in. Wastelands, all of New Earth was wasteland, raiders,
bandits the worst of humanity always spilled out in the same
situations that the best came through. He knew that Grind had
plenty of Legionary soldiers, men who'd braved the I-01 and it's
dangers. That would be no problem. But they weren't in contact
with the government of Oracle, that was obvious. They would be
captured, and in a world where technology is hoarded...he knew
he couldn't ensure the safety of himself or any of New Earths
many NOMA Cyborgs. The Legionary City Militia, Legionary
Military and Legionary Elite were all cybernetic, it was so wide
spread that it ended up being the death of so many.
Squint appeared to him and he squatted a little to be more at
her level. He took one of her hands and he reminded her of her
father for a few moments. "...Do you trust me?" he asked quite
calmly. She raised a brow and looked towards Murphy and Miza who
offered little by way of answer to her questioning look.
"...y-yes...of course..." she replied slowly, not entirely sure
what she was agreeing to. "...w-why?"
"...How many does this ship have room for?"
"W-well it isn't you know...It isn't a space liner like
before...I...I can get maybe 8 at most...b-but that's pushing
it..."
Adokx nodded and took a deep breath. "...I'm going to have to
ask you to stay behind..." he said and her eyes went wide. She
shook her head. "...I'm sorry, you're the only one who's
qualified to design and test...-"
"No! You can't leave me here...I...I did this...I...I wanted...I
have to...w-who else can..." she didn't know what to say, she
couldn't believe this. "Y-you can't just walk in here....with
your Legionary medals...and stars...N-no! I'm in charge...who
else can pilot this?? Who else is qualified?" As soon as it left
her mouth she knew who he was going to say.
"...I can't risk you on Oracle, Wistal is more qualified, and
has clocked more in-space hours than you have...You now that.
Oracle Government doesn't like Technology and we have to land in
the wasteland...full of bandits, you are the most valuable
resource New Earth has...I need you here...New Earth needs you
here..."
She felt like a child, and stood up straight, taking her hand
back. "...Right, New...New Earth needs me here..." she hated
that tone he used, it was so...calm and understanding. She
crossed her arms to keep her separated from them. "Who do you
need to bring? How much fuel should I pack into the first stage
rocket?"
"...I'm going to need Murphy, Wistal, and several others...one
of which is a robot...8 people will be going..." He said and
tried to give her a reassuring look. "...You may want to work on
a vehicle that can go and return..."
Squint gave him a nod. "Alright, I'll get to work, we'll be
lucky if we have enough fuel to get there...but I'll see what I
can do." She left and Adokx chuckled mildly.
"Reminds me of my daughter...hard to believe she's so young..."
The General flicked on the transmission button.
"Oracle, Drisit, we're heading for the Wasteland. You have
Legionary steel, the Cybernetic Core is at your service. General
Aggregate Adokx of the Legionary Military at your command. We
launch in two days once our team is assembled," He sent and
turned the transmitter off, awaiting for the return message.
Murphy smirked.
"This'll be fun..." he mused. "Ain't never been in space
before..."
"...I hate flying, not sure what makes me think a rocket will be
any better..." the General murmured.
#Post#: 138--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 15, 2012, 1:10 pm
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"Drisit, they still want to help us!" Symblor exclaimed after
the General's latest transmission, squeezing her friends
shoulder in excitement. Drisit lifted her head and could hardly
believe her ears.
"Well, I'll be damned..." She whispered, picking up the receiver
again. "General, we eagerly await your arrival, then. The
Wastelands are a vast and large place. If my companion is able
to draw up some rough coordinates, will you be able to land your
rocket somewhere within their vicinity?" She asked, glancing up
at Symblor as she spoke. Symblor nodded and walked back to her
machine, switching it back to life.
"Symblor, if they are able to land near your coordinates, a
group of us will be going to meet them. I'll need you hear to
man down HQ, but keep this between the two of us. I don't want
the people getting their hopes up until I've meet with the
General and his. We still don't know them, so we have to be
careful."
"I understand, Drisit." She responded, looking down at the
machine and picking up her clipboard. She began scribbling some
things down on it. Drisit stood, stretching her arms above her
head as she reached over to an old, bound book with it's spine
cracked. She began thumbing through the pages. A roster of those
who joined the Rebellion over the last fifty years. Many names
were crossed out, and really, it probably wasn't the best idea
to keep a ledger around, just in case the Government did manage
an infiltration of HQ. Drisit made a mental note to get Symblor
to memorize it, if she hadn't already, and then destroy the
book, but for now, she was using it to decide whom would be
traveling with her to the Wastelands as a welcome party.
#Post#: 139--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 15, 2012, 1:20 pm
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Adokx nodded, though she obviously couldn't see him. "Our
Scientists could thread a needle from 5 lightyears away, we can
land wherever you need us..." he replied, the coms of the base
were open and Squint had to flush at such a compliment. She
waited for the coordinates as she transferred power to the
navigation systems. She needed to set it up before lowering it
into body of the rocket and hooking the electronics. This would
save time when they started flying. "8 people will be leaving
our ship, unfortunately I can't give you an accurate
descriptions since I'm not sure how to send images via this
transmitting system...four will not be Legionary, but the rest
will be wearing uniforms you will know them when you see them
and myself."
Murphy smile. "Alright General, who do you need? I'm gonna get
on the phone..." he said and Adokx nodded. He scribbled down a
list of the names, and where they were.
"...there, most are at Grind, and two are currently in
Gear'd..." he replied to Murphy and the mercenary gave him a
salute before leaving to make some contact with the few
remaining cities of the world.
He got back on the transmitter and sighed. "...We'll see you in
three days..."
#Post#: 140--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 15, 2012, 1:49 pm
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After Symblor transmitted the coordinates back to New Earth, the
next few days were a scramble to assemble a crew and in the
meantime, keep the information secret from the rest of the
Rebellion. Drisit hardly gotten any sleep until the night before
they were set to head out into the Wastelands, when Symblor and
B0z forced her into her bed and stood guard until the overworked
leader had finally fallen asleep. She was awake bright and early
the next day, checking her back pack and waiting in her father's
old office room for the rest of the group to join.
All together, there were six. Drisit and B0z, because like
Symblor, he was her most trusted confidant and the man knew his
way around a fight if needed. Drisit truly felt safe in his
care. She had consulted both the cyborg and the ex Enforcer on
ideas whom should be tagging along and together they had come up
with four other names. The group consisted of Drist, B0z, Moony
and Aggregate, ex bandits who knew their way around the
Wastelands like the back of their hands and Memnoch and Frost,
the quite male and female pair who were observant and oddly good
at reading people and situations. Drisit didn't know much about
them, but Symblor had spent a lot of time with the two after
Drisit's parents had been murdered and if Symblor trusted them,
Drisit did as well.
It wasn't long before the group had assembled in the room, each
carrying backpacks of their own provisions and weapons of their
choice. They knew they were setting out on a dangerous mission,
but at the same time, the excitement in the room could be felt.
Symblor handed each of them a crudely drawn map.
"I've plotted out your routes and if you guys get lost, Moony
and Aggregate know where you are going, so you really shouldn't
have any problems getting there or back from that." Symblor
instructed as the group took their maps.
"As for Raiders and Bandits..." She sighed. "Please be careful."
B0z reached out and touched the young ones cheek reassuringly.
"I've got this, Rosl." He spoke in his usual soft, commanding
voice and Symblor was inclined to believe this. "We will be back
safe sometime tonight, and with eight more pairs of hands to
help."
Symblor nodded. "Be careful." She said again, her voice sad. She
didn't like being apart from Drisit or B0z, the two provided
much comfort to her and out of everyone in the Rebellion, she
was the closest to them.
"Alright, Symb. We will. But we've got to get going." Drisit
pulled the girl into a tight embrace, then let her go and held
her at arms length. "Keep everything under control here, ok?"
She asked, studying her face and Symblor nodded.
"Well, then we're off."
(Now, I suggest you do your post of everyone getting ready, then
I'll gloss over their trip to the coordinates and have them
there waiting for you, if that sounds good)
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