[Chapter 1.05b] Authorized SWAGger Only

[TheFluffyOne]

Character Name: Hulta Elderfond
Date | Time:12.23 | Evening
Location: Inside the Jetfire
Wearing: Combat gear of predominately dark green and brown.
Tagging | Mentioning: SWAGger| Jasper (m)
Hulta felt the need to squeal in delight bubble in her chest but it wasn’t the right moment. They had all worked together to get that end impact. Roar had torn the loose inkrats to the side so that Hulta and Dari weren’t affected, Dari flung the grenade while Hulta kept it from being pinged off the swarm of creatures coming towards them. The blast had sent curls wildly flying behind her. She allowed herself a moment to smile. Grateful that it went to plan. She could only softly chuckle as Dari demanded a high five. Hulta nodded once. “Ready!”

There was no sign of any other hollows coming towards them or even Maria or Koko coming to see what had happened. They must be far off dealing with their own problem of the bunker! Gracefully, she removed the few stragglers of the inkrats who scampered towards her. Dealing with one or two felt like a piece of cake after that horrid flood. There was no light in the courtyard and Hulta felt herself longing for Jasper’s lanterns again.

“We can also get a better look of what we are dealing with up there.” Hulta agreed with Dari and threaded her staff together into one thin unit. She used it as a walking stick as they started to head towards the standing tower. The skeleton of it tarnished by whatever had attacked this place. Hulta kept close to Dari and becokened Roar to follow them. They had no clue what was going to greet them, but three had a much better chance than one!

[Aethyrium]

Taurus

S T O R Y T E L L E R
December 23rd, Evening | Ruins of Fort Kapsi | Urban Terrain - Lightning Resonance
Next Post: 11.14.24 | Aurora, Hulta, Koko, Dariaq, Maria
Maria & Koko in the bunker…
The creature huffed and grunted as it pulled itself free from where it had crashed. If it felt pain from Maria’s attack, it didn’t show it. Heavy feet stomped as it turned around and rumbled at her. It was hard to tell how much the attack might’ve impacted it - the problem with Hollow was that their physiology just didn’t match mundane things, and they worked in ways that weren’t always as clear as they might appear. Still, it clearly didn’t have zero impact. If nothing else, the wounding provided sufficient time for Koko to back up and provide her tools for safety.

Drawn to Maria’s flourishes and presence, it seemed to have no apprehension about focusing its assault on her. The unfortunate part of that was how accurate Koko’s description had been. The creature was unnaturally quick, despite its large form. Certainly not the fastest Hollow that Maria had fought, but not so sluggish that she could simply evade and hope to be fine. It brought its powerful hands down, slashing through the air with those wicked claws. She was able to sidestep the first couple of blows while it was more at its maximum reach, but with every heavy step it got closer and its brutal strikes became more difficult to avoid.

But her focus on defense allowed her to avoid the brunt of it.

As toxic gas plumed in the area, creating a dense cloud that obscured vision, the benefit was on Maria’s side who only had to avoid. Eventually - though who knew how long - Koko’s attacks would destroy the creature. Probably. One of Maria’s saber’s got caught by claws as she parried, and the strength at which it yanked her arm aside caused her Soul to flicker, and then crumble under the follow up forward swipe. It would have launched her, had she not been quick enough to backpedal from the worst of it - but not so quick that the back of its claws didn’t drag up her front, tearing away the yellow of her Soul.

Dariaq, Hulta & Aurora in the lower tower...
The lower half of the command tower was in pretty good condition, all things considered. It showed the signs of panic from the attack of course, but compared to the outside it was like nothing had happened in here. The creature that had attacked had been too large to come inside, and the Hollow that followed weren’t interested in what was going on here - they didn’t turn it over. The fight itself had caused a ruckus, and some chairs were turned over, some things had been thrown from desks, and the floor was littered with wet paper and miscellaneous office supplies. But all in all it was in decent shape, and certainly organized enough that they could begin a search. Most fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any note of Hollow inside.

A search through the area revealed nothing of note on the first floor, which seemed to be dedicated to general operations. Getting up to the second floor was easy enough, and it seemed to contain records - the walls were lined with filing cabinets, all filled with whatever it was that they were doing here. Cursory glances really did support that Kapsi had been an outlook base. There were weather reports, ocean reports, and Hollow tracking reports. Nothing that stood out as what they were looking for in the main room.

A single locked office belonged to a captain LaBeau who, based on what they found inside, was in charge of records. Inside the office there was a reinforced cabinet, which required breaking in to get inside. Inside were more confidential records, nothing of note to them, except for an out of place letter that seemed unsent:

To Colonel Thomas Garreth,

I’m reaching out to you confidentially regarding some observations and concerns that have come to my attention about Ameldia Rex-Astra. While I respect her contributions to Kapsi, certain activities she’s engaged in have raised questions that I believe require your awareness and, possibly, investigation.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed irregularities in the base's records. Several logs related to research and experimental work have either been removed or altered. These entries, when cross-referenced with surveillance timestamps, suggest there are activities being conducted that aren’t documented in the official logs. From what I can gather, Rex-Astra is the common link in these discrepancies, and she seems to be conducting experiments or projects in restricted areas of the base that are intentionally omitted from our records.

It appears these activities are endorsed or at least tacitly permitted by the base commander, which leaves me in an uncomfortable position as Records Officer. My role mandates that every event or undertaking at Kapsi is logged accurately and transparently, yet Rex-Astra’s activities undermine this mandate, creating blind spots in our operations. While it’s possible that her intentions are entirely in line with our mission, the absence of accountability is concerning. If these experiments are sanctioned, I urge that protocols be established to ensure all pertinent details are recorded properly for both operational integrity and the safety of all personnel.

Please advise on how you would like me to proceed with this matter. I hope my concerns are unwarranted, but I must remain vigilant to my responsibilities.

Respectfully,
Captain LaBeau
Records Officer, Fort Kapsi
N O T E S

Stats

Koko (48% | 24%)

• Vitality: 52/80
• Soul: 0/40 (Broken)
• Resources: 66%

Hulta (53%)

• Vitality: 58/70
• Soul: 29/55 (Yellow)
• Resources: Full

Aurora (59%)

• Vitality: 64/80
• Soul: 27/55 (Orange)
• Resources: Full
• Shimmer: 100% Charged

Maria (53%)

• Vitality: 44/60
• Soul: 24/55 (Orange)
• Resources: 66%

Dariaq (60%)

• Vitality: 65/80
• Soul: 39/70 (Yellow)
• Resources: Full

Maria has 3 wounds on the Taurus.

Maria takes 9 damage to the Soul, and 6 to Vitality. Reduced due to her defensive action. Her Soul degrades to Orange.

Koko consumes some supplies.

[Totoro]

Character Name: Maria Rex-Astra
Date | Time: 12.23 | Evening
Location: Ruins of Fort Kapsi
Wearing: Combat Gear
Tagging | SWAGger
At least she was given fair warning. The beast looked slow but it wasn't and all that muscle let it keep up with her as she did her best to slow it up. She was proud of her evasion but it could only last so long and she took the brutal impact with a heavy grunt and a nod of acceptance. What else was there to think. Her soul was holding well enough for now. She couldn't do this all day but she could do it long enough, she was sure.

When the gas went off she caught her mask, briefly sheathing her sabres while running to mask up and keep doing what she had to do. Rather than staying close and relying on speed Maria tried to outsmart the Taurus, ducking and weaving through the heavy metal shipping containers while trying to make enough noise to keep the Hollow on her. There weren't many chances to strike back now but she hoped Koko could cover that part.

On the run, Maria passed by a wooden crate that was propped a little precariously and she tipped it behind her, knocking it into the path of her pursuer. It felt like a roll of the dice, anything could have been in there but the moment stood out and she took a chance on what might happen as she sprinted forward and didn't even glance back to find out what had been in the crate.

[TheFluffyOne]

Character Name: Hulta Elderfond
Date | Time:12.23 | Evening
Location: Inside the Jetfire
Wearing: Combat gear of predominately dark green and brown.
Tagging | Mentioning: Dari & Roar
The three of them scuttled through the tower in complete silence. It was strange but it was for the best. They couldn’t have odd noises or comments informing any stray Hollow to their location. They needed to have the element of surprise here. Hulta scanned every room and corridor for evidence of Hollow following them or already being in the building. There were heaps of evidence that a Hollow had torn through here. It looked like it had come barreling through the area tearing past desks to get somewhere or get someone.

It was starting to feel disheartening how they found nothing. Not a single piece of paper was useful, not a single door led them to answers and they seemed to find nowhere to clearly look outside. Hoping to see the jet in the distance or maybe even a faint dot that would tell them that Bri’elle was alright. Nothing. Hulta concentrated on getting to the second floor when the first proved useless.

The first glimpse of hope came with a locked office door. Thankfully, Aurora was with them and the door was no match for their fists. Pausing to ensure that no one was following or had been altered by the noise, Hulta bounced into the room. Starting to check every bit of paper, numbers that didn’t make a single lick of sense seemed to float into her skull. Hulta scowled and moved to try, and wrench open the next drawer only to find it locked. She tried to use brute force to open it but failed. So, she stepped to one side in a fake bow to let Aurora ‘handle’ it.

More nonsense paperwork but at least this had ‘Confidential’ stamped on the pages. One item was a letter inside an unsealed envelope. Hulta scanned the letter and then paused. Glancing up at her fellow squires before reading it again. With the final words rattling around her chest, she handed the letter to Dari and Aurora to read. Deputy headmaster Kirk had told them that Ameldia Rex-Astra had been turning up unannounced and loaded equipment or complete plans. This was what they were looking for. Well at least one part of an ever growing confusing puzzle. Hulta slipped away from the others to find a somehow still half intact window to scan the courtyard below. Perhaps from up here, they could spot Maria and Koko.

[Eye of Horus]

Character Name: Dariaq Syvanios
Date | Time: 23rd December | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi
Content: Regroup
Tagging | Mentioning: SWAGger
Dari took the paper as Hulta handed it to him, and angled it so that Aurora could read along. The carefully-penned communique provided proof of professor Kirk’s assertion - that Astra Industries had been making unauthorised, undocumented visits to the base. And it named Ameldia Rex-Astra in person.

“Maria needs to see this.” Dari murmured aloud, looking up at Aurora as he finished reading through the note a second time. “Restricted areas…which would those be?”

He turned to Hulta to get his wing-partner’s opinion on the letter, but she had drifted away towards a broken window, its jag-edged portal overlooking the muster square. Lightning bloomed above and threw flashbulb light across the courtyard, but nothing moved under its glare - only the snow as it fell to melt on the concrete, the wind throwing the white haze first one way and then the other.

As thunder cracked overhead in pursuit of the lightning, Dari looked towards the entrance of the generator bunker, his lips pressing together in a thin line. The lights are still out…and they haven’t come back.

“They should be here by now.” he hissed. “Come on, if they can’t get to us, we should go to them.”

He hurried downstairs and forged out into the blowing snow, glaive held at guard against his shoulder, one forearm up to shield his slitted eyes.

[Rainbae]

Character Name: Koko Gero
Date | Time: 12.23 | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi Exterior -> Fort Kapsi Basement
Wearing: Red Overalls, White Blouse, Faded Blue Leather Trench Coat, Goggles, Heavy Work Boots
Tagging | SWAGger, Maria |
Koko’s gauntlets hissed as she cracked her wrists downwards and the compressed air inside the chambers whisked out followed by the spring loaded ejection system that sent the now empty canisters flying off to either side of her. She studied the creature’s movements as she made to reload. She watched it carefully, trying to see if she could pick up on anything in particular that might help them. The creature was fast and strong that was sure, but unlike the Nevermore they’d fought on their way in here it seemed pretty dumb. It swung and chased after Maria with reckless abandon. Even as Koko maneuvered around on top of the shelving units, trying to do her best to keep up with the ever moving fight it didn’t even so much as glance at her. A trap! That had to be the way they beat this thing, she thought.

Koko’s mind started formulating plans immediately. She ran through her options in her mind. She had various ways she could think to trap the creature, unfortunately the majority of them required the use of Arcanite to function. She flexed her fingers as the thought crossed her mind. It was uncomfortable for her to be without her soul. Like a blanket that always wrapped around her had been taken away. She felt it not only across her body, but in her heart too, literally. The Soul Gauge in her heart sputtered and spurred as it lacked its particular fuel to make it purr. Not that the thing didn’t work. Rather just that while her soul was broken it couldn’t really hum with power like it normally did. And she felt it, or rather, didn’t.

Koko lashed across between aisles of shelves as she tried to get ahead of where it seemed like Maria and the beast were moving to. She watched the crate come tumbling down behind her friend and had an idea. She couldn’t use Arcanite but luckily she wasn’t the only one here. She jumped down from the shelves now and got in position. She was crouched just off to the side of one of the aisles, hidden below the first shelf. She extended her lashers and whipped them across to latch on to the unit across from her. She gave them some slack so they lay limply on the ground. Meanwhile Koko fished a small piece of white Arcanite out of her jacket. “Mares pay dirt’s-a coming your way! On my signal, make sure this guy gets a real lung full-a fun, you hear?” Her voice was muffled and muddied slightly as she spoke through the gas mask. With that she chucked the Arcanite down the aisle to her friend who was approaching quickly. She ducked back in between the crates trying to hide.

She breathed deeply through the filter as all she could hear from this angle was thundering stomps of the creature chasing after her partner. She couldn’t see it now from her tucked away positon, just the space right in front of her. But the moment she saw Maria wizzed past her Koko pulled the lashers tight. Activating her shimmer on herself she made the metal of the shelf’s bottom whine with her added weight of several times the force of gravity. She pulled as tight as she could, hoping to trip the creature and have it tumble forward. Hopefully with it brought down to ground level Maria could use the Air Arcanite to channel the toxic fumes into its system and flood it with the poisonous chemicals. At the very least that was Koko’s hope.

[Rainbae]

Character Name: Koko Gero
Date | Time: 12.23 | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi Exterior -> Fort Kapsi Basement
Wearing: Red Overalls, White Blouse, Faded Blue Leather Trench Coat, Goggles, Heavy Work Boots
Tagging | SWAGger, Maria |
Koko braced herself for the impact. She knew that even with her shimmer activated the monster was huge and weighed many times her weight. Even with as much prep as she could manage it was a heavy impact. She grit her teeth and pulled, trying to keep the wires tight. It all happened so quickly. One moment there was nothing, the next a freight train had just hit her. Or that's what it felt like at least. She howled as the lashers tensed and vibrated with the force. Everything inside her told her to let go, but she held firm. She felt the pull on the cords burning through her gloves. Without her soul active to dissipate it she could feel the heat through the thin leather. It stung in her palms until suddenly the weight lifted almost all at once. Koko watched as the creature tumbled forwards in front of her, collapsing face first into the floor. It made a thundering boom as it hit the ground followed by an almost equally loud grunt from Koko as the weight finally came off her weapons.

She recoiled back for a moment falling onto her ass as the counter weight that she was pulling against lifted. She shook her head as the room spun a bit from the exertion she had just put in. She yelled out to Maria as she struggled to her feet. “Go hog wild Mares! Get ‘em while the gettin's good!!!” Koko practically scurried to her feet as she pushed off the ground frantically into a dash. She knew they only had a moment, maybe less, to strike and take this thing out. She stumbled forwards and caught herself into a proper sprint as her lashers zipped back up into a proper length and she reoriented herself. Koko jumped into the air as she sprinted the twenty or so paces the creature has fallen and slid forward in the aisle. She whipped both arms forwards across her chest as she pressed her fingers down on the triggers of her bracers. The lashers came down in an X pattern slashing across the monster's back right as they hummed to life with electricity. The creature screamed out in pain as the harsh shocking sting of the plasma of lightning seared into its flesh. But Koko wasn't done either.

She landed on its back and her flurry of attacks began. She whipped her arms and shoulders all around as she delivered blow after blow of lashes to the creature's back. Its hide was incredibly tough but Koko was still making it howl. She looked up to see Maria about to strike. Thinking fast Koko snapped her whips to either side of the creature and curled them around its arms. Biceps held and burning with the energy of several thousand volts she pulled back once more. The creature was pulled up such that its arms were pulled back and it's face was pulled back, perfectly for Maria to deal the finishing blow. “END THIS MARES!!” Koko shouted as she dug in her feet on the creature's back. She could hear voices in the distance. Most likely her teammates, or she hoped at the very least, but there was no time to focus on them now. They needed to finish this thing as soon as possible. She trusted her partner to deal the finishing blow.

[Eye of Horus]

Character Name: Dariaq Syvanios
Date | Time: 23rd December | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi
Content: Chaos
Tagging | Mentioning: SWAGger
Dari dived through the blast-hole into the bunker below, rolling across his shoulder to break the thirty-foot drop and coming up smoothly onto one knee. The underground complex was black in every direction. He groped for the torch attached to his webbing. As the cone of white washed the darkness, painting the edges of crates and toppled storage racks, a flicker of orange answered it from the far corner of the vast room.

Soul light. The distress flare of one of his team-mates pushed to breaking point. He could hear them now - Maria and Koko shouting and cursing, and the roar of something that couldn’t possibly be humanoid. Dari broke into a run.

Ahead of him his team-mates seemed to be flickering in and out of existence, half swallowed by a thick green haze that scattered his torch-light. At the centre of it a pair of lightning bolts coiled and lashed around a hulking black shadow.

Dari pulled up short, coughing as the frayed edges of the cloud stung his throat and eyes. Ahead of him the shadow reared back, and through the haze Dari saw a blurred impression of arched horns and murder-red eyes before another roar shattered through the bunker. The lightning bolts were attached to Koko’s fists, coiling around the Hollow’s arms as she hauled on them like a mariner trying to control a storm-tossed sail. She looked impossibly small next to the bucking Hollow, and any minute it might tug back and send her spinning through the air. Koko must have known it too - she was yelling through her gas mask for Maria to finish it.

Held at bay by the toxic cloud, Dari reversed his glaive and spun it up to his shoulder, flaring shot after shot from the arcanite caster to try and keep the grappled monster down. He wasn’t convinced that it was doing much.

“Hulta, Roar!” he shouted over his shoulder to his two companions, “Shoot it!”

He punched out one hand, ready to throw his Shimmer echo in front of Koko if the Hollow wheeled around to strike her.

[TheFluffyOne]

Character Name: Hulta Elderfond
Date | Time:12.23 | Evening
Location: Inside the Jetfire
Wearing: Combat gear of predominately dark green and brown.
Tagging | Mentioning: SWAGger
It had been far too long now. She had expected to see the two of them cutting through the fallen building chunks. They were nowhere to be found so Hulta followed Dari like a faithful lamb. Slipping her form through the blast-hole and hopping from crooked iron bar to iron bar until she hit the ground running. Light splintered through the darkness and Hulta picked up her pace to keep within the warm glow of the light. It was only when the roar splattered into the darkness that Dari started to sprint.

Hulta was close behind.

Her staff already slotted free from its placement on her back. Slotting the two ends together as they sprinted towards the noise and a heavy green smoke. Flicking her staff in an arch, she let her shimmer dance around its length trying to push back some of the smog. Horns. Red eyes. Huge form. Hulta started to tick notes off on what she could remember on specific Hollow creatures as the scene started to flicker into life.

‘Shoot it’

Her sarcastic response was left for a better time as Hulta moved away from Dari’s left. Standing clustered together was an accident waiting to happen. She bounced onto the closest lump of concrete and sent a whirled beam of air towards the creature. Aiming for its forehead, digging into the skin to force blood to coat its eyes. Anything to blind it, distract it from the Koko on his back. She didn’t want to force too many of her air shimmers in as it could pull the smog away from the creature so she jumped from the block.

Her feet barely skimming against the broken cold concrete as her arms hung behind her back. Her staff held like an arrow against her chest. The next twisting flick of her staff aimed for the humongous right calf. Maiming the Hollow would certainly aid their attack and multiple attacks from different directions would stop one person from being the sole target.

[Totoro]

Character Name: Maria Rex-Astra
Date | Time: 12.23 | Evening
Location: Ruins of Fort Kapsi
Wearing: Combat Gear
Tagging | SWAGger
"Got it." Maria's reply was typically short and direct, as almost everything she said in the field was. She didn't know how Koko kept all that personality in her words without getting distracted but quickly realised it would be harder for Koko to keep the personality out than in. All the same she readied herself to sprint even faster, feeling the sweat on her skin and a rush as she set her eyes ahead and ran right past the point Koko was waiting.

As it all unfolded Maria slowed, turning and readying her blades. They didn't make much of a shield but at least if the Taurus was still moving it might run itself through. Instead she saw the Hollow crashed to the ground, trapped but very much alive as Koko attacked. Maria thought for just a moment before she lunged into action alongside her partner, locking her blades together to do more damage to such a big target she savagely slashed as the Hollow's face, flexing all she could to bring the scissor-like handles together and cut deep.

Maria could feel the Hollow's blood but she held her shimmer for now, focusing on hacking all that she could out of it while she had the opportunity. It was a visceral sensation, all that harm, even if she had no sympathy for a Hollow the feeling of all those wounds responding to her shimmer, all that blood ready to be spilled, was foremost in her mind as she distantly clocked the rest of Swagger arriving, still without Bri, to back them up.

[Aethyrium]

Taurus

S T O R Y T E L L E R
December 23rd, Evening | Ruins of Fort Kapsi | Urban Terrain - Lightning Resonance
Next Post: 12.01.24 | Aurora, Hulta, Koko, Dariaq, Maria
The hulking creature roared in a twisted combination of pain and rage as the electrified lashes slashed across its lack. They sizzling lines tore into its hide, splitting skin and dredging up the tar like ichor Hollow kept beneath the surface. It oozed and fried beneath the continued lashings. As the Taurus started to right itself from the fall, the bindings were able to hook its wrists, and Koko found the needed leverage to leave it exposed - but only just for a second. Enough time for Maria to get in with the heavier form of her weapons and start to carve into its body. The scissor weapons gouge large valleys into its arms and chest - enough that, as it got to its feet, it didn’t have the strength to send Koko hurling across the space again. However, it did twist and shake her free by slamming her into a series of shelving.

Its voice boomed through the bunker, and through the dense smog it refocused on Maria who firmly had its attention. At least until the first strike of lightning came from the distance. It smashed into the side of its head, and the energy arced around inside its mouth, bouncing from tooth to tooth. It shook its head, and without much of a warning charged in the direction it had come. In a charge it was brutally fast - and covered by the smog, nearly impossible to see coming. Three more of Dari’s bolts hit it, but none of them dissuaded it. Hulta’s line of razor air carved deep into its neck, gouging out a hunk of Hollow-flesh, but that didn’t stop it either. It came erupting from the cloud all but on top of Dari. The wall of smog exploded towards him, and its powerful horns were lowered. They smashed into him, lifted, and threw him. His Soul buckled, and he went sailing into crates.

It turned for Hulta.

Aurora, who had no ranged option, was thankful that it came to them - entering Koko’s toxic cloud hadn’t been something they’d been looking forward to. Standing between where Dari had started and Hulta had moved aside, she looked at the Hollow with a grin and rolled her neck. With a stomp of their foot, they felt the static charge of energy within them. Lightning coiled around Roar in a double helix that curled back in on itself at the top formed a globe of electricity around her. When she moved next there was a blinding flash of light - an actual lightning strike. She was faster than the eye for a flickering moment, the only evidence of her passing was a scorch line across the floor burned from the power around her.

They grabbed the large front fangs of the Taurus as leverage, and brought a gut-destroying knee to the largest of Maria’s chest wounds. The impact was followed by the sound of thunder, a deafening boom that echoed in the bunker. A hand shifted and their fingers dug into the hole created by Dari’s caster, and she used that as a hook point to launch herself over its head. Her feet slammed into the lashings Koko had made across its back and sunk onto its strong musculature. Like a rocket, they kicked off the Taurus and shot into the air. Aurora turned around and landed on the ceiling. Lines of electrical power surged off her, walking across the dense cement - she was a ball of blue in the dark. It faded and she pulsed forward, lunging back down with a twisting kick to the side of the head that capitalized on Hulta’s attack, ripping the wound already created so far that when the bracer on their shin connected, the Taurus’ head was rended from its shoulders, and it dropped lifeless to the ground.

N O T E S

Stats

Koko (48% | 24%)

• Vitality: 52/80
• Soul: 0/40 (Broken)
• Resources: 66%

Hulta (53%)

• Vitality: 58/70
• Soul: 29/55 (Yellow)
• Resources: Full

Aurora (59%)

• Vitality: 64/80
• Soul: 27/55 (Orange)
• Resources: Full
• Shimmer: 0% Charged

Maria (53%)

• Vitality: 44/60
• Soul: 24/55 (Orange)
• Resources: 66%

Dariaq (60%)

• Vitality: 57/80
• Soul: 27/70 (Orange)
• Resources: Full

The Taurus is defeated. Inside the generator room, Koko will be able to ascertain that the generator is operating at about 6% capacity, and there’s probably something still on that’s pulling that much power which is why it's not able to power other things. It's been damaged, but she could probably repair it with time - hours. She can get it up to about 20%, which should be sufficient for their needs, in quick order though, so long as she knows where to send the power. Also the room has the supplies she would need to repair any connections elsewhere in the base.

Aurora uses 100% of her Shimmer.

Dariaq takes 12 damage to the Soul, and 8 to Vitality. His Soul degrades to Orange.

[Eye of Horus]

Character Name: Dariaq Syvanios
Date | Time: 23rd December | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi
Content: Regroup
Tagging | Mentioning: SWAGger
An arm extended like a flagpole from amid a pile of crates, with fingers curled and thumb raised.

“That was pretty awesome, Roar!” Dari’s voice came muffled from the wreckage. A few moments later the rest of him emerged, his body fulgurating with small flashes of orange as if his Soul itself were seeing stars from the impact that had thrown him.

The elf shook his head and rejoined the other four as the Taurus’ body began to unravel into black shadows. “You girls okay?” he asked Maria and Koko.

“We found this in the command tower.” he added, producing the crumpled letter from inside his jacket and offering it to Maria. “You'll want to read this.”

[TheFluffyOne]

Character Name: Hulta Elderfond
Date | Time:12.23 | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi
Wearing: Combat gear of predominately dark green and brown.
Tagging | Mentioning: SWAGger
Light flickered through her pupils and she felt like all she could see was stars. Hulta could still feel the thrum of energy brush against her skin. Aurora stood proud and Hulta bounced on the spot. It was brilliant. It was amazing. It was pure SWAGger! They had all worked together and aided Aurora in getting that killing blow! It was all about teamwork.

Hulta shook herself like a small rabid red dog until every particle of dust was off her form. She brushed her hands violently against her cheeks, removing the fine layer of grit that coated her when the minotaur fell. Dari surfaced and Hulta moved closer into the group. They had felled one Hollow, but who knew how many others lingered in the shadows. It was better to stay close together rather than split again.

A small glance was thrown towards Maria when Dari handed her the letter. This felt like the sort of thing that should be read in private, so Hulta hopped before Koko with a wild grin. “What did you guys find…other than this big guy?” She bobbed her head towards the felled Hollow.

[Rainbae]

Character Name: Koko Gero
Date | Time: 12.23 | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi Exterior -> Fort Kapsi Basement
Wearing: Red Overalls, White Blouse, Faded Blue Leather Trench Coat, Goggles, Heavy Work Boots
Tagging | SWAGger, Maria |
Koko roared loudly as she pulled with all her weight to try and keep the creature exposed. In the end she only managed a few seconds against the massive might of the muscular monster but that was all her partner needed, and she knew that. Maria wouldn’t miss a chance like this Koko was sure and as certain as the rising sun Maria’s attacks landed true and gouged heavy blows out of the creature. Koko tried her best to hold on but was promptly thrown off and slammed into shelving. She grunted loudly as the impact bashed into her ribs. Normally a blow she would have been able to absorb with her soul it almost hurt a bit more without the added protection. Still, it wasn’t really something that would lead to lasting injury and Koko was up and ready to fight once more before the pain really even set in. However as she turned to the monstrosity to take it on once again she watched as the Taurus’ head was cleaved clean from its shoulders and its huge body fell limp on the ground as the inky black tendrils started to dissipate and fade away.

At this point Koko’s gas was starting to settle as some of it filtered out into the air and the rest, being heavier than oxygen, fell to about ankle height. Koko unclasped her mask with a hiss as she breathed a heavy sigh. She looked at her other teammates across the way and smiled, giving a thumbs up. She leaned back against one of the pillars of the shelves and just breathed non filtered air for a moment. That was until Hulta popped into her field of view. Koko rather unceremoniously threw an arm around Hulta’s shoulders and pulled her in for a quick hug. She squeezed for a moment before making a bit of space between them. “Nice to see you too Twiggy! Happy you ain’t kicked the bucket too, thanks for askin’!” Koko said with a smirk and a small chuckle. “Well I ain’t got a clue what Mares dredged up out and about in them crates over yonder but I found the power station. Not that I got more than ‘bout a half a second to take a gander at the dang thing ‘fore big ol bull man decided I was to be breakfast and all.” Koko kicked the mostly dissipated corpse of the Hollow. “I reckon that should be our next stop, what ‘bout yall? Find anythin’ useful?”

Koko walked and talked with Hulta as they regrouped with Maria, Dariaq and Roar. Koko gave Dari a fistbump as the pair of them rocked up besides the rest of the team. “I ain’t seen all-a what in the hells you did, not that I reckon I coulda anyways, but I did turn to see you knock that thing’s head off like a homerun. Nice work muchacho!” Koko nudged Roar with her elbow slightly and smiled. “I think you pretty much just beat the record for 100m dash and shot put at the same time.” She stuck out her tongue and giggled at the comment. Turning back to Maria now she spoke. “Well what’s the plan Miss Ma’am? I got the power station in my sights ‘round the corner if you want me to get back to that. Unless you got other ideas in mind?”

[Aethyrium]

S T O R Y T E L L E R
December 23rd, Evening | Ruins of Fort Kapsi | Urban Terrain - Lightning Resonance
Next Post: 12.14.24 | Aurora, Hulta, Koko, Dariaq, Maria
Power, seeming important, was Maria’s first concern after reading the letter. So with that the team spent a few moments watching over Koko while she jiggered with the generator. The damage to it was extensive, and seemed to be caused by the Taurus which gored and tore into it. A few quick patches and reconnections, she had it working as well as she was going to get it without investing actual time into it. But with no idea how the connections were elsewhere, the concern for feedback existed, so ultimately it was decided to leave it running at low power and come back to it to send power directly down the channels they needed once they knew where it needed to go. Gathering a few supplies for more repairs along the way, Swagger exited the bunker and back to the surface.

With the letter in mind, the listening post seemed the next most logical place to look. The doors were locked, and thanks to some power still existing, were sealed electronically. This was one of those situations that Bri’elle was meant to be able to bypass. Sadly, without her military device, the only option was breaking in - requiring a little short circuiting. The base was already in ruins, what was one more. It did, however, take time. Fortunately with the supplies to repair lines, Koko had everything she needed to break it open. Time, on the other hand, left them exposed to the threat of Hollow lurking in the base, meaning everyone needed to be on guard the whole time.

While on guard, it was Dari who found the power junction to the listening post, which had badly suffered during the attack. Though once Koko fixed that, she’d know where to turn power off to, and where to send it too. All in all a simple, if consuming task. Roar volunteered to remain outside with her while working.

Once the doors were open, the team was treated to the heart of Fort Kapsi. It might have been strange to note that this particular space wasn’t disturbed by the attack, but that was the randomness of chaos for you. Inside was preserved, a three tiered room filled with surveillance equipment unlike anything familiar to anyone here, and three large screens adoring the far wall - vaguely like a NASA control room. It was an entire monitoring system, though what exactly it was monitoring was unknown - until they got the power back, at least.

There were three potential routes here. An office, which by label belonged to Violetta; the mainframe room; and a door that went to the restricted bunker.

N O T E S

Stats

Koko (48% | 24%)

• Vitality: 52/80
• Soul: 0/40 (Broken)
• Resources: 66%

Hulta (53%)

• Vitality: 58/70
• Soul: 29/55 (Yellow)
• Resources: Full

Aurora (59%)

• Vitality: 64/80
• Soul: 27/55 (Orange)
• Resources: Full
• Shimmer: 0% Charged

Maria (53%)

• Vitality: 44/60
• Soul: 24/55 (Orange)
• Resources: 66%

Dariaq (60%)

• Vitality: 57/80
• Soul: 27/70 (Orange)
• Resources: Full

Poke me in your team chat with where you want to go inside the listening post, and I can give each person some details to enhance their post. The listening post does seem to be secure, so short of something getting in past Koko and Roar, the three seem safe to explore in here freely.

[TheFluffyOne]

Character Name: Hulta Elderfond
Date | Time:12.23 | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi
Wearing: Combat gear of predominately dark green and brown.
Tagging | Mentioning: SWAGger
Light flickered through her pupils and she felt like all she could see was stars. Hulta could still feel the thrum of energy brush against her skin. Aurora stood proud aThe mainframe room. Hulta stood before the door with her hands on her hips. She heard the others heading off to their dedicated areas and narrowed her eyes at her door. The seam of the door looked like it had almost been fused shut. It was hopeless…she discovered after spending a few moments trying to brute force the door open. Her feet scuffing against the concrete as she struggled. An overexaggerated groan of frustration sounded as she scanned around for another entrance.

Her feet shot through the cooling duct grate as she forced it free from her newest entrance. With a grin, she clicked a small torch on her vest on and scurried into the vent. It was wide initially but then started to rapidly decrease until Hulta had to inch herself along like a red worm. Somehow, she managed to pop a lemon drop past her lips before it got too tight for her to access her pockets. She could see an exit and had no other choice than to go out headfirst. Her fingers gripped the edge of the cooling vent as she hung from it before hitting the ground softly.

A preliminary scan of the room told her that something had broken in, destroyed much of the room and some of the servers were damaged. Hulta started to whisper a flurry of elvish curses as she took a few small steps further into the room. Her attention latched to a single column of the mainframe that looks vaguely intact. There. That would be her starting point. A soft hissing sound crept into the room. Hulta paused, her foot hovering over a pile of rubble. Was that gas? Had whatever did this hit some sort of pipe, and the room was flooding with unseen gas?

Before she could discover the possible gas leak, something hauled itself into the room. The body of a large snake, hefty and thick. The torso of something monstrous like what Aurora had brought down. It crept closer and Hulta slowly crouched. Hoping that the creature had the foul eyesight of the lower half of it. The mainframe column wasn’t that far off. She could try to get to it. One step was taken forward. She could maybe….A lump of rubble flew towards her. Hulta narrowly missed it, her fingers gripping her staff off her back as she rolled away. Well, so much for stealthy.

Using the damaged room, she tried to hop over the piles and get towards the mainframe while staying away from the Hollow. It wasn’t as easy as she had first plotted. Maybe she should have taken one of the other rooms. But Maria would know what to look for in the office and Dari wanted the restricted access area. Hulta could not bring herself to go there after the place where Mugi passed. A slice of air was aimed towards the belly of the Hollow but it did little against the scales of the creature. Hulta scrambled over the rubble and managed to get closer to the drivers.

Her fingers cold but she was desperate in dragging some of the drivers out. One came away easily and she stuffed it into her pack. The second was stuck and she paid too much attention to dragging it free. She didn’t notice the tail that wrapped around her legs and that swiftly pulled her towards the torso of the Hollow. Hulta let out a panicked painful cry as she felt the tail wrap around her. She tried to jab her staff at the creature, but it did little. Pinging the wooden staff away like it was nothing more than a glorified toothpick. Hulta felt like every breath was being squeezed from her torso.

Yellow crackled to red. Her soul dropped like fresh snow around her. Pain started to weave through her ribs and lingered hand in hand with the panic that festered in her chest. The creature looked similar to what they had just fought but with this added other half. The fleshy torso would be easier to harm. Not even pausing to whistle, Hulta sent razor sharp blade after blade towards the torso. The Hollow reacted with a final tight squeeze and Hulta felt her soul crack. In blind panic, she sent another directly for the Hollow’s eyes. The creature reared back in pain and Hulta managed to kick her way free.

Two drivers were all that she had managed to gather. Hulta sprinted back to her staff and frantically slotted it onto her back as she ran back towards the small vent. She should be able to get there in time. The creature seemed to read her mind and slithered past her, crashing into the vent. The first meter or so of the vent crumbled like dust, leaving her with a slightly larger opening to try and escape through. Another lump of something hit her from the right side and she skidded into the dust. She needed to get out. The others wouldn’t be able to get to her in time.

Stupidly, she sprinted dead at the Hollow. Changing her direction at the last moment, she managed to kick herself up and off the meaty section of the Hollow towards the vent. Her fingertips curling in the gnarled metal as she let out a panted terrified laugh. She was half in when she felt herself be hauled backwards. Clawed fingers had caught her left wrist. “Nonononono.” She cried in panic as the Hollow started to drag her back out the vent. Another flurry of her shimmer was sent to the creature. Aiming for the eyes and wrist. Both hit their target but not before the Hollow managed to wrench her arm clean out the socket.

A scream of pain left cracked lips as she scrambled back into the vent. The Hollow still within the room thrashed wildly searching for her. Hulta felt tears dribble down her cheeks as she slowly dragged herself back out the vent towards the others. She had something. How useful that was would still need to be seen? But as she fell out the vent, all Hulta could do was lay on her back and cradle her limp numb arm against her chest. All she hoped was that the others had a better time with their rooms than she did.

[Eye of Horus]

Character Name: Dariaq Syvanios
Date | Time: 23rd December | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi
Content: Secrets
Tagging | Mentioning: SWAGger
With adrenaline ebbing, the courtyard felt darker and colder as they returned to the open air. Snow tossed and swirled through the air like smoke, closing down their vision, but no lurking Hollow troubled them as they pressed on into the shelter of the listening post. As they scanned around the mostly intact control room, Dari dared to hope that they might have scoured the last of the Hollow from the base.

“I’ll take this one.” he said, indicating the door that stood ajar on a long corridor, sloping visibly downward. “Shout if you find anything.”

He nosed the door wider with the edge of his glaive, and clicked the torch fastened to his chest webbing. Its light fell across bright-striped hazard paint, and glossy signs that read RESTRICTED in both Onyxian and classical elvish. The corridor sloped down for longer than Dari had expected, ending in a set of heavy steel doors that, without power, had failed closed. Dari glanced back over his shoulder, but saw only the distant dim rectangle of the doorway above him. He turned back to the frowning cliff of the door, and the dormant control panel on the wall beside it.

“Wish you were here, Bri.” he murmured under his breath. With the security pass she had been carrying, all they would need to make the door yield would be power to the system. Which they didn’t have either. Might as well wish for a dragon.

He could wait for Koko to finish finicking the cables outside, but thinking of power to the control panel gave him another idea. He pulled a human-style multi knife from his webbing, and used it to wind off the screws holding the panel until he could work the knife under it and prise it off the wall. Next, he reversed his glaive and pushed the taser goads of the caster end against the exposed cables.

A thumb against the firing rune was rewarded with a teal spark of arcanite, and the grunt of gear systems temporarily jolted from their slumber. The doors juddered loudly, splitting a few inches open down the centre. It was enough for Dari to work his hands into the gap and slowly, methodically begin to force the doors back on their runners. Eventually, shoulders and fingers burning, he was able to widen the gap enough to squeeze through.

Beyond was another darkened corridor of brushed steel and blacked-out windows. Doors opened onto what looked like workshops, one empty, the other occupied by the squat, square silhouette of a Goliath walker. The machine was hunched forward on its digitigrade legs, as if about to break into a run, but it had been partially disassembled, with hydraulic pistons and arcanite cores spread across the floor around it.

A third door was locked.

Dari felt his heart begin to beat faster. This must be it.

Sparks flew from the inside of the door as rhythmic flashes of arcanite sent molten metal spalling from the lock. The crash of a boot brought a sliver of torchlight to the edge of the door, which widened as Dari shouldered his way through. A spark of lightning jumped from the caster end of his glaive as he grounded it and looked around.

There were crates, and machinery, and cabinets for filing away blueprints, and in the centre of the room, a brass tripod that stood as high as Dari’s chest. Secured atop it was a faceted chunk of arcanite that drank the light of his torch and threw it back as azure blue that rippled and danced across the walls. Dari frowned. Water arcanite - but why so much of it, and why here? He was just reaching out the point of his glaive to touch it, when a sound made his ears prick. It was a whisper, and the faintest of thuds…but unmuffled by the long tunnel he had traversed, it might have been a scream and a crash.

“Hulta…” Dari breathed. Whirling away from the forgotten arcanite, he began to sprint back towards the main hub of the listening post.

[Rainbae]

Character Name: Koko Gero
Date | Time: 12.23 | Evening
Location: Fort Kapsi Exterior -> Fort Kapsi Basement
Wearing: Red Overalls, White Blouse, Faded Blue Leather Trench Coat, Goggles, Heavy Work Boots
Tagging | SWAGger, Roar |
Koko wiped sweat from her brow as she stood up from the generator as it hummed, albeit more quietly than it should, to life. She ended up smearing grease across her temple and a bit into her bangs with the wipe but looked unbothered and happy at her handiwork as power came back to the facility. It had been in a sore state but better than she had expected considering the creature that had emerged from its storage space. Koko was just relieved she could get it turning over again at all. Low power mode felt like a compromise to her, the kind Koko really didn’t like to make, but with her team here and several of them rather injured now she decided not to take the risk. She wasn’t going to be responsible for blowing up her teammates for a second time.

As they made their way back up and onto the surface Koko realized just how dark the basement had been. Even in the dim evening air the surface was much more illuminated than it had been. She blinked a few times, adjusting to natural light once more as they made their way towards the target they had agreed upon. And as they arrived Koko was up once again it seemed. As she knelt down onto one knee to start fiddling with the lock Koko thought back to her conversation with Bri. She was truly happy she hadn’t given up this part of herself. Even if she had lessened it’s importance in her life it served her as a champion. And as long as that was the goal instead of the other way around Koko was proud and happy to be an engineer. As long as it came second.

It didn’t take her long to break into the base. Although Koko did have to sheepishly bother Roar a few times to use a bit of Arcanite here or there. With her soul broken all she could do was direct her teammates. Eventually though Koko wrenched backwards using a small piece of material she’d found in the basement as a pseudo crowbar and popped the doors open. A bit crude but as the doors hissed open with a crack the fort proper was revealed to her. Koko peered inside as she called her teammates back over. Her satisfaction at exploring what she had just cracked open however was stamped out as Dari informed her of what he had found. Koko nodded as he explained it. “Well dangit Curly! Don’t go bein’ so useful and all business making me do my dang job.” Koko huffed in faux exasperation with a wink. “Fine I suppose yall can have first crack at exploring the tower an’ all. Me an’ Aura will take a peak at whatchya found, see if I can’t get ‘er up and glowin’ again.”  Koko gave Dariaq a fistbump and walked past him as the rest of her team made their ways inside.

Reaching the power junction Koko blew air out of her nose. The thing looked terrible, even worse than how the generator had looked. She took a peak around all sides of it just to make sure no giant bull was jumping out at her from this one and then opened up the cabinet access panel ready to get to work. Before she jumped into the guts of the machine she turned to Roar however. “Watch my back while I’m digging ‘round in here will ya? I ain’t trust this silence bout as far as I could throw it and I reckon it’d be pretty hard to throw a sound, or a lack there of.” She gave Roar an appreciative pat on the shoulder and a firm nod before she started tearing out wire after wire.

As she got to work one thing became evidently clear to her, looks had been deceiving. The power station’s core components were actually in a much better shape than the ones in the generator downstairs. That being said though there was much, much more busy work to be done up here. All in all that meant that Koko could probably get this station up and running much better than the generator itself but it would simply take her longer. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing as she eyed the shadows in the courtyard all around her. Koko was about halfway done with her work when she had the cry for help. She jumped up from the junction and looked at Roar. Every fibre in her being was telling her to run towards the cry and help her teammate, but she also knew she had a job to finish. One that most likely was of utmost importance. She clicked her tongue loudly and looked to Roar. “Go. I’ll stay back and get the ol’ girl up an runnin’ again. You go help whoever the hell that was. I’ll be fine.” And without another word Koko dove back down into her work with renewed speed and fervor.