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[LP CYOA] Epic
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
. I might roll to decide the winner if I feel like updating today.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Esquilax flopped, so B is winning 10-8.
It could probably be hidden the same way many football fans smuggle pyrotechnics into stadiums...
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
I'll tell ya what it's coming down to:
My participation may be sprodaic during the next couple of months, so I want to leave this litle plan: if we have the chance to talk to Kyrie on live TV, fess up our love and whatnot, we should take it. I know, seems counter-intuitive, but hear me out here. Wherever she is, they are difinitely doing something to her to make her useful to the President's, and her puppetmasters', plans and I'm pretty sure breaking her spirit is part of it. Thing is, Kyrie is a spunky and rebellious girl (which is one of the better of the character, in my opinion) and won't play fetch just because someone tells her to. I'm rather confident that someone on the set will know her whereabouts, more likely than not it will be Naim (he was probably promised her hand in marriage, or whatever-the-fuck they're using to keep him quiet and docile) and more likely than not, Yua will be able to trace a signal.
So, if the opportunity presents itself, grab the fucker with the knowledge, pull him into the Plane of Shadows and go all Frank Castle on him. And another thing, remember that tracer chip Azo had implanted into us? I doubt sattelite coverage extends to that place, so we can pull out the chip over there.
Our prime motvation in coming to Azo was finding Kyrie and obtaining resources and we have done the latter and if the chance presents itself to liberate her from the President's hands, we should take it wthout any hesitation. We will have our sister's cult to fall back on once we get Kyrie, I'm sure Rei will be thankful for the teleportation tech and knowledge we'll bring to the table.
Edit: by the way, treave, will continually getting into life-or-death fights give our boy Senya the same fighting skills as Ean? I figured that if Ean learned to kick asses the hard way, through scraps and bruises, shouldn't Senya start developing something akin to that after some time?
My participation may be sprodaic during the next couple of months, so I want to leave this litle plan: if we have the chance to talk to Kyrie on live TV, fess up our love and whatnot, we should take it. I know, seems counter-intuitive, but hear me out here. Wherever she is, they are difinitely doing something to her to make her useful to the President's, and her puppetmasters', plans and I'm pretty sure breaking her spirit is part of it. Thing is, Kyrie is a spunky and rebellious girl (which is one of the better of the character, in my opinion) and won't play fetch just because someone tells her to. I'm rather confident that someone on the set will know her whereabouts, more likely than not it will be Naim (he was probably promised her hand in marriage, or whatever-the-fuck they're using to keep him quiet and docile) and more likely than not, Yua will be able to trace a signal.
So, if the opportunity presents itself, grab the fucker with the knowledge, pull him into the Plane of Shadows and go all Frank Castle on him. And another thing, remember that tracer chip Azo had implanted into us? I doubt sattelite coverage extends to that place, so we can pull out the chip over there.
Our prime motvation in coming to Azo was finding Kyrie and obtaining resources and we have done the latter and if the chance presents itself to liberate her from the President's hands, we should take it wthout any hesitation. We will have our sister's cult to fall back on once we get Kyrie, I'm sure Rei will be thankful for the teleportation tech and knowledge we'll bring to the table.
Please don't turn into Heart of the Swarm, please don't let this turn into Raynor and Kerrigan.
Edit: by the way, treave, will continually getting into life-or-death fights give our boy Senya the same fighting skills as Ean? I figured that if Ean learned to kick asses the hard way, through scraps and bruises, shouldn't Senya start developing something akin to that after some time?
Senya's Sherlock Holmes in the new movies. Methodical and analysing. If we wanted pure instinct, we should've gone fire instead of ice.
I for one am happy we chose the more calculated approach.
I for one am happy we chose the more calculated approach.
ScubaV
Prophet
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2011
- Messages
- 1,022
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Case of the Cursed Songstress, Act I
"There is a call from Azo. Should I patch it through?"
"Go ahead." I stretch my arms into the sleeves of my black suit. I haven't worn one of these since the day I saved Kyrie's father. I can only hope things won't be as hazardous this time - oh, who am I kidding? I bet a giant robot drops out of the sky five seconds after I meet this idol.
"Hoshikawa." Azo's voice is crisp and stern.
"I hear you, minister."
"It looks like you took the job to protect the idol."
"Yes. Do you have any concerns about that? I do realize that it is a bit... forward." I wonder if he called to pull me off the job.
"There's little risk of exposure as long as you act in a more circumspect manner, and what you did at the clothing store was all but. We had to spread a story about a gas leak thanks to the side effects of your little trip. Ten customers and three shop attendants are still unconscious in the hospital. It's lucky that you returned with the lawmaker alive; I couldn't have covered for your actions otherwise."
"I apologize, minister. I admit that things got a bit out of hand." I try my best to sound repentant.
"To be fair, I understand that you have Erika working with you. That girl was quite insistent." sighs Azo. "Anyway, please do not compound my problems any further. We are still at war with the Indus after all, and every little disturbance sparks rumours that spread like wildfire - you know, I didn't think that I have to lecture you of all people about this."
"I understand, minister," I reply as I put my sunglasses on. I'm not going to make any excuses for myself. Though it turned out well this time, it could just as easily have been disastrous.
There is a grunt of acknowledgement in my earpiece. "Well then, good luck with your mission, and please be more careful this time. I think it is an advantage that you will not be starstruck. Keeping a level-head is important, Hoshikawa.”
“Starstruck?”
“She is the most popular teen idol in the world, you know. Well, at least you have an... ah, commitment to someone. I trust you not to stray.”
Great, of all the things to remember...
With that, Azo hangs up and I look into the mirror. Well, I look presentable enough. Kyrie had been very demanding about appearances in formal occasions, and I'd picked up – or rather, had it drilled into me – enough to form a habit. Time to head out.
***
The department had sent a car to bring me to the meeting point. I'm alone in the car; Erika has been assigned to the Rakuten smuggling mission. It looks like the Chief isn't giving this mission much priority, as he merely expects me to keep my head down and respond only in case of an emergency. I while away the ride by thumbing through the mission briefing which had been left in the backseat for my perusal.
The target I am supposed to protect is a seventeen year old teenage girl by the name of Qin Kawano. She is able to trace her ancestry in an unbroken line from the Concordiat refugees, a rare thing in Higashi. Kawano had her meteoric rise to stardom just two months ago, while I was convalescing by the African coast. That's why I've never heard of her; I haven't been up to date with entertainment news for a very long time. Her parents had been engineers in a remote colony located at Sun L4, and they had – ah, yes, I would much rather have a giant robot drop out of the sky right now – returned to Earth, fleeing the war in space along with other refugees on a certain rusty freighter captained by a man known for his love of ramming action. They had been escorted by a certain famous warship into safe territory, and Kawano had been one of the first to disembark. As it was the eve before the massive military operation at Sin's Eye, there were many press members milling about the place. She had been spotted and interviewed, and it didn't take long before the talent agency scouts came a-calling thanks to her looks. Kawano had then proved herself to be more than just a pretty face, demonstrating her ability at singing, dancing and acting.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Thankfully, there's a high chance she doesn't remember or recognize me – the only time I had boarded the Spirit of Adventure, Kyrie had drawn all the attention.
I continue reading the file. It seems that the letters had started being sent to her two weeks ago, before the mass suicide that is still being reported on in the news. The handle name of Cyber Jack had been stamped from the very first letter. They had ignored it at first, thinking that it was just regular creepy letters from deranged fans, but after the mass-suicide broke the news and Cyber Jack took responsibility, Kawano's agency had called the government immediately. There are copies of the letters in the briefing. They had been written with cut out alphabets from printed paper; a strange thing to do in this day and age. I look through the most recent one.
“To you,
I am watching. I am always watching.
I know everything.
Cyber Jack.”
Most of them are short and to the point, leaving few hints as to the motive and goal of the perpetrator. There is little to guess at for now; perhaps I will have more clues when I speak to the idol herself.
I put the file aside; there are other things to read.
The analysis of my neural activity had uncovered some interesting patterns. Upon absorption of the black substance in the broken rod, a particular, aberrant baseline of my neural activity began to undergo gradual amplification. It peaked right before I talked to the cultist girl – she told me her name later: Emiri – and then stayed that way until I left the strange world, upon which it dropped away rapidly. Sometime during my talk with Emiri, my normal baseline also began rising to match the aberrant activity – this coincided with the increasing headaches. According to Yua, the aberrant baseline has been there since her predecessor started the records a year ago, though it has remained almost inactive until now.
I still have far too little information to go on. At the time, I felt utterly in control, but at the same time all vestiges of self-doubt had been banished from my thoughts. Being in possession of such total confidence is a mark of lunacy. It is an experience I am not keen to repeat, though I am not sure why it had emerged and how I can handle it.
Yua had also begun analysis of the items I brought back from my little jaunt to another world. She had sent me some encouraging preliminary results. It seems that the book containing the scientific reports appears to record successive experiments into travelling between dimensions. Progress is slow; ancient Egyptian has no hieroglyphics to truly illustrate the concepts the author intended – in fact, what I thought to be Egyptian had turned out to be hieroglyphics belonging to another unidentifiable language that is related but not identical. We had a bit more success with the eye-crested book; it had actual illustrations that helped in our comprehension. Interestingly enough, the book recorded information on organisms that look eerily similar to the tendrils that I possess. Though I am unable to extract most of the information, I learn enough about their biology that I can implement some cybernetic modifications of my own design should I choose to, though due to space constraints I will only be able to construct one enhancement.
***
A. Allow my tendrils to extrude a digital-neural interface. With this, I will be able to link Yua and myself directly to any computer-controlled system that my tendrils have infiltrated. I will need Yua to interpret the programming code for me, but in essence this should allow me to hack at will without extra equipment as long as I can get into contact with the hardware.
B. Turn my tendrils into an autonomous defensive system. They will automatically stitch up wounds and bind bones, as well as harden on impact under my skin. I should be able to resist certain small arms fire if I am prepared for it, though it will still hurt like hell. This will be a life saver should I continually opt to jump into situations I have no business jumping into.
C. I don't need – or want – any more enhancements. What I can do now is enough to deal with any obstacles I might encounter.
***
The car slows to a halt. I'm here; Kyoto Central Studios, where they are producing 'Flight of the Kaguya-hime'. Federation big-wigs have apparently authorized the use of actual military equipment as a showcase of their combat frame ability. The director himself is known for insisting on authenticity where possible, staying away from CG graphics unless it is absolutely necessary. Because of that, there is probably more real props in this movie than in the last hundred movies made in the world – combined.
I get out of the car, only to be met with a surreal sight that I did not think I would see on Earth. Half of the sky is covered with land. It seems like they have projected a massive hologram to simulate the appearance of the inside of a colony cylinder.
“You must be Mr. Kurou?”
A well-groomed lady, probably in her late twenties, is walking towards me. She introduces herself with a brisk handshake.
“My name is Nancy Muir. I am Ms. Kawano's manager.”
I tip my sunglasses at her. “Nice to meet you. I am Kagami Kurou. I understand that my services have been requested?”
She frowns, looking at me closely. “I did not think they would send someone so young. Are you sure you are up to the task? I don't want any hormonal boy jumping to get close to Ms. Kawano. She is the most popular teen idol in the world right now.”
Well, she's definitely a blunt person. I give my most professional nod.
“There will be no issues. I assure you, I have never heard of Ms. Kawano before yesterday.”
“You haven't?” There's a long-haired girl standing some ways off, one arm resting on her hip. She's dressed in a white sundress – it looks to be of similar design to what Kyrie liked to wear back in Neo Heliopolis – though this girl is certainly taller and... well, more well-endowed, though that isn't a terribly hard achievement. I recognize the face immediately. Qin Kawano. She looks utterly depressed. I can even see the shine of tears gathering in her eyes. My eyes dart to her, then to her manager, as I begin to think of an explanation.
Then, it all goes away, as she laughs brightly.
“Oh, don't look so worried. I don't mind, not at all. I was just having some fun at your expense.”
“Qin, this is the bodyguard they sent. He'll be at your beck and call until all this cyber-terrorist nonsense is over.” says Nancy nonchalantly, her concerns about my age seemingly gone. “If you'll excuse me, I have some meetings to run with the producer now that I've introduced you two”
“So you're the one? What's with the sunglasses?” asks Kawano curiously, as she steps closer to me.
“Regulations, m'am.” I reply, in my most professional tone. She laughs, taking one more step towards me. “At ease, soldier. Well, let me see how you look without those shades. I don't want to be guarded by someone whose eyes could be roving anywhere.”
She raises her hands to my sunglasses to pluck them off, when a large shadow falls over us.
“Look out! Get the hell outta there!” screams someone.
Was it five seconds already? Did I awaken some sort of foresight ability today? I was just joking, gods. Indeed, careless thoughts do tempt fate.
I look up, and behold a giant robot falling from the sky. A combat frame is toppling towards us. I grab Kawano and leap away from the place of impact. I might not be superhuman like Erika, but I'm still pretty strong and fast for a human. We tumble and roll across the pavement, though I take most of the brunt by cradling her. It wouldn't do for my client to get hurt one minute into the job.
The frame makes a deafening crash into the ground, cracking the concrete. I shield Kawano from the bits of debris flying about with my own body. I'm going to get some bad bruises tonight.
“Holy shit! Is Ms. Kawano alright?” Technicians and stagehands rush over to us, checking her condition.
“It's alright, I'm okay.” smiles the idol. “He protected me from the worst of it.” She seems shaken by her near encounter with death. A few men pat me on the back, but there seems to be some sort of uneasy feeling in the atmosphere. I catch some of their muttering as they leave; they are talking about how the set is cursed. Apparently, this isn't the first time an accident has happened.
Shouting begins to start up near the crashed CF. “Damn it, is the frame okay?”
“I've gotten the OS rebooted. It's still functional, but Gary is not. He's gone unconscious from the impact.”
“The director is going to kill me if we don't get the practice run done by today! Sir Naim's schedule is too busy for this to be delayed!”
“Calm down, man! We'll just get one of the stagehands to pilot it. It's on auto, so even a beginner should be able to do it.”
Well, from the sound of it, occupational safety on this production set must be at an all time low. I hope they aren't using tape to keep the frame together.
“After this crash? You think they are going to do it? They'll just cite union regulations, boy! I'm fucked! I'm fucked! Oh gods, this film is cursed! Ever since they cast her...”
“I don't know... oh, hey, hey!” One of the men near the crashed frame spots me and begins running over. “Hey, man, can you help us out? We need a replacement stuntman for a practice run with Sir Naim, like, right now.” He turns his head towards a yellow frame on standby some distance away as he says that. It looks like Anhur, though it is lacking the unholy amount of thrusters packed onto my particular frame. Naim must be inside.
I can feel Kawano staring at me from the side. Is anything strange? Suddenly, I realize that my shades are off. They must have fallen when I saved her just now. Damn, I hope that isn't a stare of recognition. Perhaps I should duck into the mech before she asks any questions?
***
A. I agree to pilot the frame in the practice run. I can handle myself in a CF better; if they force some other poor sap to do it the next accident might be fatal. While I'm inside, perhaps I can find out what exactly went wrong with it.
1. I don't hold back and try my best to beat Naim. It'll be a good test of my piloting skills.
2. I hold back, letting Naim beat me easily as the script is supposed to go.
B. I refuse to pilot the frame. I don't want to stand out in any way – I can investigate it later after today's shoot has ended.
***
"There is a call from Azo. Should I patch it through?"
"Go ahead." I stretch my arms into the sleeves of my black suit. I haven't worn one of these since the day I saved Kyrie's father. I can only hope things won't be as hazardous this time - oh, who am I kidding? I bet a giant robot drops out of the sky five seconds after I meet this idol.
"Hoshikawa." Azo's voice is crisp and stern.
"I hear you, minister."
"It looks like you took the job to protect the idol."
"Yes. Do you have any concerns about that? I do realize that it is a bit... forward." I wonder if he called to pull me off the job.
"There's little risk of exposure as long as you act in a more circumspect manner, and what you did at the clothing store was all but. We had to spread a story about a gas leak thanks to the side effects of your little trip. Ten customers and three shop attendants are still unconscious in the hospital. It's lucky that you returned with the lawmaker alive; I couldn't have covered for your actions otherwise."
"I apologize, minister. I admit that things got a bit out of hand." I try my best to sound repentant.
"To be fair, I understand that you have Erika working with you. That girl was quite insistent." sighs Azo. "Anyway, please do not compound my problems any further. We are still at war with the Indus after all, and every little disturbance sparks rumours that spread like wildfire - you know, I didn't think that I have to lecture you of all people about this."
"I understand, minister," I reply as I put my sunglasses on. I'm not going to make any excuses for myself. Though it turned out well this time, it could just as easily have been disastrous.
There is a grunt of acknowledgement in my earpiece. "Well then, good luck with your mission, and please be more careful this time. I think it is an advantage that you will not be starstruck. Keeping a level-head is important, Hoshikawa.”
“Starstruck?”
“She is the most popular teen idol in the world, you know. Well, at least you have an... ah, commitment to someone. I trust you not to stray.”
Great, of all the things to remember...
With that, Azo hangs up and I look into the mirror. Well, I look presentable enough. Kyrie had been very demanding about appearances in formal occasions, and I'd picked up – or rather, had it drilled into me – enough to form a habit. Time to head out.
***
The department had sent a car to bring me to the meeting point. I'm alone in the car; Erika has been assigned to the Rakuten smuggling mission. It looks like the Chief isn't giving this mission much priority, as he merely expects me to keep my head down and respond only in case of an emergency. I while away the ride by thumbing through the mission briefing which had been left in the backseat for my perusal.
The target I am supposed to protect is a seventeen year old teenage girl by the name of Qin Kawano. She is able to trace her ancestry in an unbroken line from the Concordiat refugees, a rare thing in Higashi. Kawano had her meteoric rise to stardom just two months ago, while I was convalescing by the African coast. That's why I've never heard of her; I haven't been up to date with entertainment news for a very long time. Her parents had been engineers in a remote colony located at Sun L4, and they had – ah, yes, I would much rather have a giant robot drop out of the sky right now – returned to Earth, fleeing the war in space along with other refugees on a certain rusty freighter captained by a man known for his love of ramming action. They had been escorted by a certain famous warship into safe territory, and Kawano had been one of the first to disembark. As it was the eve before the massive military operation at Sin's Eye, there were many press members milling about the place. She had been spotted and interviewed, and it didn't take long before the talent agency scouts came a-calling thanks to her looks. Kawano had then proved herself to be more than just a pretty face, demonstrating her ability at singing, dancing and acting.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Thankfully, there's a high chance she doesn't remember or recognize me – the only time I had boarded the Spirit of Adventure, Kyrie had drawn all the attention.
I continue reading the file. It seems that the letters had started being sent to her two weeks ago, before the mass suicide that is still being reported on in the news. The handle name of Cyber Jack had been stamped from the very first letter. They had ignored it at first, thinking that it was just regular creepy letters from deranged fans, but after the mass-suicide broke the news and Cyber Jack took responsibility, Kawano's agency had called the government immediately. There are copies of the letters in the briefing. They had been written with cut out alphabets from printed paper; a strange thing to do in this day and age. I look through the most recent one.
“To you,
I am watching. I am always watching.
I know everything.
Cyber Jack.”
Most of them are short and to the point, leaving few hints as to the motive and goal of the perpetrator. There is little to guess at for now; perhaps I will have more clues when I speak to the idol herself.
I put the file aside; there are other things to read.
The analysis of my neural activity had uncovered some interesting patterns. Upon absorption of the black substance in the broken rod, a particular, aberrant baseline of my neural activity began to undergo gradual amplification. It peaked right before I talked to the cultist girl – she told me her name later: Emiri – and then stayed that way until I left the strange world, upon which it dropped away rapidly. Sometime during my talk with Emiri, my normal baseline also began rising to match the aberrant activity – this coincided with the increasing headaches. According to Yua, the aberrant baseline has been there since her predecessor started the records a year ago, though it has remained almost inactive until now.
I still have far too little information to go on. At the time, I felt utterly in control, but at the same time all vestiges of self-doubt had been banished from my thoughts. Being in possession of such total confidence is a mark of lunacy. It is an experience I am not keen to repeat, though I am not sure why it had emerged and how I can handle it.
Yua had also begun analysis of the items I brought back from my little jaunt to another world. She had sent me some encouraging preliminary results. It seems that the book containing the scientific reports appears to record successive experiments into travelling between dimensions. Progress is slow; ancient Egyptian has no hieroglyphics to truly illustrate the concepts the author intended – in fact, what I thought to be Egyptian had turned out to be hieroglyphics belonging to another unidentifiable language that is related but not identical. We had a bit more success with the eye-crested book; it had actual illustrations that helped in our comprehension. Interestingly enough, the book recorded information on organisms that look eerily similar to the tendrils that I possess. Though I am unable to extract most of the information, I learn enough about their biology that I can implement some cybernetic modifications of my own design should I choose to, though due to space constraints I will only be able to construct one enhancement.
***
A. Allow my tendrils to extrude a digital-neural interface. With this, I will be able to link Yua and myself directly to any computer-controlled system that my tendrils have infiltrated. I will need Yua to interpret the programming code for me, but in essence this should allow me to hack at will without extra equipment as long as I can get into contact with the hardware.
B. Turn my tendrils into an autonomous defensive system. They will automatically stitch up wounds and bind bones, as well as harden on impact under my skin. I should be able to resist certain small arms fire if I am prepared for it, though it will still hurt like hell. This will be a life saver should I continually opt to jump into situations I have no business jumping into.
C. I don't need – or want – any more enhancements. What I can do now is enough to deal with any obstacles I might encounter.
***
The car slows to a halt. I'm here; Kyoto Central Studios, where they are producing 'Flight of the Kaguya-hime'. Federation big-wigs have apparently authorized the use of actual military equipment as a showcase of their combat frame ability. The director himself is known for insisting on authenticity where possible, staying away from CG graphics unless it is absolutely necessary. Because of that, there is probably more real props in this movie than in the last hundred movies made in the world – combined.
I get out of the car, only to be met with a surreal sight that I did not think I would see on Earth. Half of the sky is covered with land. It seems like they have projected a massive hologram to simulate the appearance of the inside of a colony cylinder.
“You must be Mr. Kurou?”
A well-groomed lady, probably in her late twenties, is walking towards me. She introduces herself with a brisk handshake.
“My name is Nancy Muir. I am Ms. Kawano's manager.”
I tip my sunglasses at her. “Nice to meet you. I am Kagami Kurou. I understand that my services have been requested?”
She frowns, looking at me closely. “I did not think they would send someone so young. Are you sure you are up to the task? I don't want any hormonal boy jumping to get close to Ms. Kawano. She is the most popular teen idol in the world right now.”
Well, she's definitely a blunt person. I give my most professional nod.
“There will be no issues. I assure you, I have never heard of Ms. Kawano before yesterday.”
“You haven't?” There's a long-haired girl standing some ways off, one arm resting on her hip. She's dressed in a white sundress – it looks to be of similar design to what Kyrie liked to wear back in Neo Heliopolis – though this girl is certainly taller and... well, more well-endowed, though that isn't a terribly hard achievement. I recognize the face immediately. Qin Kawano. She looks utterly depressed. I can even see the shine of tears gathering in her eyes. My eyes dart to her, then to her manager, as I begin to think of an explanation.
Then, it all goes away, as she laughs brightly.
“Oh, don't look so worried. I don't mind, not at all. I was just having some fun at your expense.”
“Qin, this is the bodyguard they sent. He'll be at your beck and call until all this cyber-terrorist nonsense is over.” says Nancy nonchalantly, her concerns about my age seemingly gone. “If you'll excuse me, I have some meetings to run with the producer now that I've introduced you two”
“So you're the one? What's with the sunglasses?” asks Kawano curiously, as she steps closer to me.
“Regulations, m'am.” I reply, in my most professional tone. She laughs, taking one more step towards me. “At ease, soldier. Well, let me see how you look without those shades. I don't want to be guarded by someone whose eyes could be roving anywhere.”
She raises her hands to my sunglasses to pluck them off, when a large shadow falls over us.
“Look out! Get the hell outta there!” screams someone.
Was it five seconds already? Did I awaken some sort of foresight ability today? I was just joking, gods. Indeed, careless thoughts do tempt fate.
I look up, and behold a giant robot falling from the sky. A combat frame is toppling towards us. I grab Kawano and leap away from the place of impact. I might not be superhuman like Erika, but I'm still pretty strong and fast for a human. We tumble and roll across the pavement, though I take most of the brunt by cradling her. It wouldn't do for my client to get hurt one minute into the job.
The frame makes a deafening crash into the ground, cracking the concrete. I shield Kawano from the bits of debris flying about with my own body. I'm going to get some bad bruises tonight.
“Holy shit! Is Ms. Kawano alright?” Technicians and stagehands rush over to us, checking her condition.
“It's alright, I'm okay.” smiles the idol. “He protected me from the worst of it.” She seems shaken by her near encounter with death. A few men pat me on the back, but there seems to be some sort of uneasy feeling in the atmosphere. I catch some of their muttering as they leave; they are talking about how the set is cursed. Apparently, this isn't the first time an accident has happened.
Shouting begins to start up near the crashed CF. “Damn it, is the frame okay?”
“I've gotten the OS rebooted. It's still functional, but Gary is not. He's gone unconscious from the impact.”
“The director is going to kill me if we don't get the practice run done by today! Sir Naim's schedule is too busy for this to be delayed!”
“Calm down, man! We'll just get one of the stagehands to pilot it. It's on auto, so even a beginner should be able to do it.”
Well, from the sound of it, occupational safety on this production set must be at an all time low. I hope they aren't using tape to keep the frame together.
“After this crash? You think they are going to do it? They'll just cite union regulations, boy! I'm fucked! I'm fucked! Oh gods, this film is cursed! Ever since they cast her...”
“I don't know... oh, hey, hey!” One of the men near the crashed frame spots me and begins running over. “Hey, man, can you help us out? We need a replacement stuntman for a practice run with Sir Naim, like, right now.” He turns his head towards a yellow frame on standby some distance away as he says that. It looks like Anhur, though it is lacking the unholy amount of thrusters packed onto my particular frame. Naim must be inside.
I can feel Kawano staring at me from the side. Is anything strange? Suddenly, I realize that my shades are off. They must have fallen when I saved her just now. Damn, I hope that isn't a stare of recognition. Perhaps I should duck into the mech before she asks any questions?
***
A. I agree to pilot the frame in the practice run. I can handle myself in a CF better; if they force some other poor sap to do it the next accident might be fatal. While I'm inside, perhaps I can find out what exactly went wrong with it.
1. I don't hold back and try my best to beat Naim. It'll be a good test of my piloting skills.
2. I hold back, letting Naim beat me easily as the script is supposed to go.
B. I refuse to pilot the frame. I don't want to stand out in any way – I can investigate it later after today's shoot has ended.
***
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
'Sir' Naim is busy with hos and crack,unfortunately we need to speak with him.And to do that we need bis attention, plus a workout is always good.Azo can go ge bent.
As for augs,I prefer to stay 100% organic,but count me as 1B of C is losing.
As for augs,I prefer to stay 100% organic,but count me as 1B of C is losing.
What kind of combat frame is it? Enquiring minds want to know. 
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2011
- Messages
- 2,835
It looks like we've found some of Sek's old research. Not voting yet. Leaning towards AA2
Stygian Lurker
Liturgist
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Messages
- 577
AA1
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
If that's true, why did he let us go? No, he doesn't hate us. He's simly a self interested, conformist twat.
The idol s peripheral, Kyrie is the primary goal. We know Naim is a busy man from the update, we ought to take this chance while we can.
The idol s peripheral, Kyrie is the primary goal. We know Naim is a busy man from the update, we ought to take this chance while we can.
ScubaV
Prophet
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2011
- Messages
- 1,022
AA2
1A - We're not really a combat hero like Ean. We rely on tech (CF's) or anticipation/mental calculation (our ablities), so I think becoming a hacking master fits well with our character. Imagine taking control of an enemy CF or automated weapons systems. It could be a great force multiplier.
2A2 - I think A2 still gives us a chance to meet with Naim (I expect things to not go perfectly smoothly and our competence will come out in one way or another) without totally blowing our cover as every stagehand becomes slackjawed at our skills and starts gossiping like mad.
1A - We're not really a combat hero like Ean. We rely on tech (CF's) or anticipation/mental calculation (our ablities), so I think becoming a hacking master fits well with our character. Imagine taking control of an enemy CF or automated weapons systems. It could be a great force multiplier.
2A2 - I think A2 still gives us a chance to meet with Naim (I expect things to not go perfectly smoothly and our competence will come out in one way or another) without totally blowing our cover as every stagehand becomes slackjawed at our skills and starts gossiping like mad.
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