<> <> <> <> <> * Ian looks over the map, sketching a rough outline of it in his notebook. * Katherine is reaching down to Roch! (Wow. Captain Kangaroo got his start as the clown on Howdy Doody.) * Fitzroy finds his way up to where Kat is and helps himself up on stage. * Rochelle just peers at the map. She doesn't avoid Kat! Oh no! * Vera holds the wall up. * Katherine pulls Roch up on stage, then! She should have tried a dodge roll. Her other arm comes around to support the lift, and then, thunk! On stage. Amazing. "Knew working out would be good for something besides Sleythin fighting." She turns back to the map. * Rochelle is pulled up. She doesn't look surprised. "Guess so." And then she walks over to get a better look. * Fitzroy walks over and looks at the stone map, like he owns the place or something. <> * Katherine finally mms at the map and says, quietly, "Guess nothing much changes in a couple years, huh." (No dice.) (I have no military technique. Just street sense.) 2d6-3 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Katherine (2d6-3) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 7. (That'll work, Roch.) (... Trying to cut it close. That's a bare make.) (Navigation/Urban?) 2d6-4 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Rochelle (2d6-4) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 3. (By two.) * Thren makes a quiet, stealthy entrance, because if he has to read any more about the FCC licensing freeze of the early 50's his brain will melt. * Rochelle makes a little oh sound upon getting a really good look at the map. * Chamelaeon sets mode: +v Vera ( I has teh +v! ) <> "Days like this make me long for cardboard." * Katherine frowns as she takes in the map. "What?" "Box City was easy compared to this." <> The Hall always sucked. "Any ideas?" * Katherine smirks at Roch's comment and moves around the map slightly. "M'surprised they went with staying in the center." She looks to Hettie. "Uh. Not that I'm complaining, but why so many Blaze?" "Just where we wound up, I guess." * Katherine rubs her face. "Luck." She looks around, then says, "Uh, well." She glances to the others on stage. "You all get the map, right?" * Rochelle nods, still looking at the map. * Ian nods. "I've got it." (Roy? (Or Thren/Vera, although I don't think they're on stage.)) ( I'm not. ) (I'm up there.) (Kat's talking at you too, then. ^_~) (I see now.. ^_^;) (I'm in the back of the room, I think.) * Fitzroy nods, "I think so.. Are the purples coming from City Hall, or being pushed toward it?" <> "Definitely coming from. We've barely got the manpower to keep them out of our territory." Guess you can't go for other territories, then. * Katherine nods slightly and says, "Go for? No. Make noise in?" She points at the southeeast third of the map. "Oh yeah." "Don't think so, anyhow. Don't have too much of a head for this." * Thren starts walking toward the stage, wearing an absent but slightly worried-looking expression as he does so. (*considers* If I were blond, I could be coming to ask Hettie the Hutt for Fitz3PO and I2D2 back.) * Katherine glances to Hettie, then says, "Well, if you want a distraction... put people here and cut across Krazor territory as fast as we can." Do we have anyone good at sabotage? I guess that's too subtle... * Katherine 's finger is pointing at a generally low concentration of purple stones in one of the thirds. <> "Really?" * Katherine nods. "There's nothing there. It means they'll have to mess up your map and pull purples away to deal with... well..." she trails off. "I've got a suit, but...' she looks at the other three on stage. "You all aren't really gonna be good for 'run around and try not to die." I can do a little of that, I guess, if it's needed. I used to have a pretty basic suit. I think it's long gone by now. "Well, the real problem is, I need someone to get inside the place." <> * Fitzroy ponders out loud, "It had a nice laser too." (*sigh*) (We could get IllyriaBot.. oh.) * Vera approaches towards the stage. "I can do that." * Thren manages to get to the stage in time for Hettie's call for volunteers, and glances up at her. "I think I have to go too." (Yes. ATC2 needs more angst and mpreg.) * Rochelle looks at Vera and Thren. ( It's not the right name!") * Katherine smirks and looks to Ian, "You're crazy, but I dunno if you're up to military stuff, Ian." She sighs. "I just don't..." she trails off, looking at Hettie's pointing. "Well, okay, sure, but..." she trails off, glancing to Vera, then to Thren. ( ... Y'know... as opposed to approaching away from the stage. ) ... Yeah. Yeah, you could. * Ian smiles. "I'm good with urban environments, at the very least." * Katherine shakes her head. "No, no. Me, and any gangers you can spare make noise in the Krazor and Thudnik territory. I've got enough noise for a whole damn city." She rubs her TSM-jack on her temple. "Vera and Thren and whoever the hell else wants to go can do the Hall. Try to do some damage before the Europa Team gets here." <> "Oh, hello." <> "You think you can get in there, huh?" * Vera shrugs. "Probably." * Thren glances at Katherine. "Wait, what do you mean 'before the Europa Team gets here'?" * Rochelle looks up at Kat. <> "They're coming ... here?" * Ian blinks. "They're...?" Yeah. * Katherine looks back to the map. "They're taking care of things elsewhere, says my ex-wife. When they get done, they're gonna hit here like a ton of bricks." Pause, then a muttered, "Probably come right through the Blaze's area on the way, too." "Oh dear. That's ... more of a distraction than I could have hoped for. You've got to keep them out of City Hall, though, absolutely got to." Why? * Thren half-turns to Hettie. "What she said." "Well, it's ... not as simple as just destroying the place. Not anymore." * Thren knits his brow in consternation. "This really isn't a time to be dissembling, is it?" * Vera shrugs. "I dunno. If the fabled Europa team is coming, maybe we don't even need to risk our necks. * Rochelle 's eyes lose their focus, and she starts looking past Kat. * Katherine snorts derisively at Vera's statement. ("Fabled" is such an ugly word.) (I prefer "MIFFIC".) <> "If you destroy City Hall, what's going to happen in layman's terms is that all the matter in our universe is going to run out backwards through a hole roughly the size of a VW Minibus." * Rochelle turns slowly, looking to the theater entrance. She blinks. Oh, great. * Thren swallows. Then adds, "It could be worse. She could have said a Saab." * Katherine looks to Thren. "... What the hell's a VW Minibus, anyway?" <> "Uh, ma'am? I've got a prisoner out here." * Thren makes a box-like shape with his hands. "Sort of a bigger version of those things we drove on Eart... this is kind of irrelevant, don't you think?" * Rochelle walks for the door, hopping down from the staged. Yeah, well. (stage, even.) ...how exactly would the fuzzy dice work, cosmically speaking? <> "Well, put him in a holding cell. You know the drill!" You should bring him in. * Katherine taps her head once, then rolls her eyes at Ian. "Crazy fuck." * Ian nods cheerfully. <> "He keeps saying that he's got to see you!" <> "Says he knows your name already, and he's right." <> "Are you sure?" * Rochelle looks almost, kind of sort of, vaguely annoyed. She nods. "Yeah." * Katherine shakes her head and mutters, "The one thing they're good at is blowing shit up. This is going to suck." * Thren folds his arms over his chest indignantly. "Swordsmen don't 'blow things up'." <> "Okay, Zak. Let him in, but be careful." <> (Called.) (*moonwalks*) * Fitzroy is following Roch's gaze and listening to the prisoner part of the conversation. * Katherine snaps at Thren, "House on fire. HOUSE ON FIRE. Come on, Thren, really..." she trails off, since the Anders is behind Thren, more or less. (And let's not even bring up the Fruitcake.) * Thren frowns, but doesn't respond since he has eyes in the back of his head. Sort of. He turns and gives Anders the eye. (THat was Ronnie's idea.) * Ian waves to Anders. (I know. But she's the invisible member of the team.) (That doesn't meanit was my fault!) Hi Anders. * Vera looks at Anders briefly before losing interest. She takes out a cigarette and lights up. (aww, we have no Mambo outlet any more.) * Katherine puts her hand on her hip and looks at him. Still a bit angry looking, thanks to the yelling at Thren. <> "Absolutely insane, all of this," <> Yup. <> "Hi, folks. Fancy meeting you here." <> * Katherine says in annoyance, "Well, we knew you were insane already." * Rochelle shrugs. "What's up?" she asks Anders. <> "They had to take me off my leash so I could track down the missing Sleythin scientists. Rather disorienting, after so long." <> "Found them right off, though." <> * Thren knits his brow, glancing at Hettie. * Ian blinks. "That's great!" * Katherine blinks and says, "... jesus fuck, already?" What are you doing here though? Looking for us? <> "Yep. And no, not looking for you." * Thren mutters, under his breath, "I'm glad your experiences taught you some humility." <> "So, Hettie, you were saying something about how you know precisely what's going on in City Hall, and then, I believe, you were about to explain how to stop it. Right?" * Rochelle nods. She looks at Hettie. (Oh, he wouldn't be Anders if he weren't an insufferable ass, right?) (... right?) (Right.) (*shoves Cham through a hurdygurdy while it plays 'Papa loves Mambo'*) (If that's the only qualification, half this room should be jumping up and down shouting "I AM ANDERICUS!") (Ha.) (... *scribbles* "Get ... shirts... printed...") <> * Ian cracks his knuckles. "So. What do we do now?" * Katherine looks between the two. "That was... the idea? Maybe? Or is this a staring contest?" * Rochelle shrugs. * Fitzroy looks over at Hettie, then takes a good hard look at Anders. * Fitzroy says to Anders, "You still haven't said why you're here." <> "I did learn a few things this past year. She can tell you when she likes." <> "Um, oh, right. City ... Hall." * Thren is watching Hettie fairly closely, occasionally turning and glancing at Anders out of the corner of his eye as he talks. <> "So, inside City Hall is a kind of portal device. A gate, that they're pushing wider as far as they can." ...oh, shit. ( Inside City Hall is a kind of plot device. ) "They're using it to come into this particular plane without having to infest people's minds." * Thren rubs his chin a little. "So if it were to be destroyed then it might cause some sort of... Vernon-esque feedback loop." <> "It reverses, basically, and proceeds to hoover the whole of existence through itself." (A walrus, iterating, for all eternity.) * Rochelle doesn't look like she really understands. * Ian nods. "Okay, important safety tip..." * Katherine frowns. "Yeah. Don't nuke City Hall." She exhales. "And there's a big red off button that you can't hit with a gun, huh?" "You've got to reverse the opening. It takes time." * Thren glances at Hettie, then at Anders. Then he takes a deep breath. "I want to know one thing." <> ( "What's the velocity of an unladen swallow?") * Thren narrows his eyes in uncharacteristic annoyance at Anders, and decides to ask Hettie instead. "The person in charge, in City Hall... is it, ah..." A beat; he swallows. "Um." * Katherine glances to Thren and then looks back to the map. <> "A dark man with a sword. A man who is mostly metal. A man with a twisted mind." <> "That's all I have." * Thren blanches. * Ian winces. * Rochelle rubs at the back of her neck. "Figures." * Katherine smirks and then mutters, "No women? Huh. They should work on their recruiting." "Three of them." <> * Vera grins. "Sounds perfect." (Ard - /r/ Ready To Go, because I can't get it out of my head.) (I recappeded.) (Kay.( * Thren finds somewhere to sit down and does so, looking rather like someone just hit him in the face with a shovel. <> "I'm sorry, but you'll have to get me in there. It would take too long to explain where to look for the circuits, and I can't provide you with a model." * Katherine frowns more at that. * Vera frowns too. "Damn. That makes things more complicated." (YAY) (I am turning into such a Garbage/Republica whore.) (It's good for you.) * Katherine looks to Hettie and says, "Yeah, well, innit always. Hettie, when the hell did you get a degree in 'fucked up alien dimensional technology'?" <> "I was kind of hoping I wouldn't have to tell you." "Are you sure you want to know?" (3...) (2...) * Rochelle nods. * Thren continues to look dazed for a moment, before something seems to trip a little switch and he leaps to his feet, staring at Anders with undisguised hatred. "How DARE you?!" * Katherine rolls her eyes. "I don't r--" interruption! * Ian blinks, turning to look at Thren and Anders. <> * Rochelle looks at Thren. * Thren stomps over to Anders, practically screaming at the top of his lungs. "How nice it must be to know everything! Especially when the rest of us poor schlubs have to find out things the hard way!" He leans in particularly close, teeth gritted. "Oh, how lovely. Yes, it's nice to be right! And oh, wouldn't it be fun to tinker around in your head and dig out things *I* thought were interesting?" * Thren narrows his eyes. "Or perhaps you've had enough of people playing with your mind." <> * Thren pauses, then takes a deep breath and stands up. "So you can take your sanctimonious omniscience and stick it up your Proust." * Ian 's mouth twitches, but he's clearly too surprised to laugh. <> * Thren sort of wobbles for a second, apologizes under his breath, and then goes to sit down. <> * Thren clears his throat, and looks at Hettie. "You were saying?" * Katherine puts her hand to her head through all of that yelling, then closes her eyes for a second before reopening and smirking, with a to-herself, "Well, that was fun. Only took, like, 9 months or so to get out." <> "So, I'm a Sleythin. Or used to be, anyhow." <> * Rochelle nods. "What happened?" "Long story short?" * Ian 's mouth drops open slightly, and he peers at Hettie in utter astonishment. (YAY. I get to hit Cham.) (I'm lucky I didn't bet.) (*waits to be taken to the Crystal Chamber of Mars*) ("ANGST!" "VIOLENCE!" "PENGUIN!" "APATHY!" "HAT!" "By your powers combined, I am CAPTAIN MARS.") (HOORAY.) (... *quickly rewrites ending to game*) "I, and the rest of the others, spent ages poring over texts about the old invasion. Went and investigated the site. Found other worlds that had been taken over. We compile it all, and the fucking Egg kicks us out for it." <> "So we came here. Simple as that." * Katherine 's eyes widen, but that statement gives her the right outlet. Sarcasm! She smirks. "Yeah, well, that's the Egg for you. He likes hiding." Hm. * Dicesuke (akodomakot@ip68-13-166-245.om.om.cox.net) Quit (Read error: Connection reset by peer) * Diceroshi (akodomakot@ip68-13-166-245.om.om.cox.net) has joined #atc2 "If you're curious, the things you're going to be fighting against aren't gods. They aren't even really old. The Concordat was just off their rockers, is all." Kinda figured that one out. Hmm, that makes it a lot less intimidating. * Katherine glances at Ian. "Yeah, except for the part where they control a bunch of angry crazy 24s that actually like to blow shit up." * Ian nods. "I know. Still, though." Why'd you hang out with me, Mad? <> "Not hard, was it? The beings are pirates, basically. Thieves. They use a planet bone dry of resources, and hide out in a half-plane until they locate someplace new to rape. And yes, it was your 24s that brought them here." (*blank expression*) <> "Intuition, might be the word. When you're as old as I am, you pick up some tricks." <> (We're trapped in Metroid Prime 2.) * Katherine frowns. "... so what the hell did the arfiacts have to do with anything?" ( afk a bit. ) * Thren eyes Hettie and Rochelle a moment, then blinks at the stones that were in Hettie's hand before, but now might be anywhere. "Purple for the controlled... red for the heart. And blue for us." "A simpler method of opening a gate, is all. The artifacts were happenstance, not planned. Here from who knows when, or from whom." * Katherine blinks over at Thren. Then at Roch. "... jesus..." * Rochelle looks at Kat. "What?" <> "I know it's a lot to take in. We had years, you have maybe a day." * Katherine shakes her head and says, not wholly convincing, "N-nothing. Just thinking." She looks at Hettie's new placement. "So, uh. What do ya think?" "If you move like you suggested and it works, and the Europa Team strikes for the center as we expect them to... can you get in touch with them?" * Thren nods at Hettie. "Now that we know they're coming, we can." * Katherine looks to Anders and says with annoyance, "We can even get rid of Anders to deliver the message." (This is when Ronnie and the ET arrive on the Nadesico...) "Good. And good riddance. We could use the shoring up here, first... then, if you and you escort me to City Hall, we ought to be able to make it." <> * Thren just nods. * Fitzroy blinks and looks down at the stone map. * Katherine rubs her neck and chuckles. "And I go and herald the second coming, with as many people as you can spare that won't get pasted." ( back ) * Rochelle flops into a seat next to Anders. She starts picking at her nails. Exciting! (You'd think Vera would respond. @_@) 2d6-2 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Fitzroy (2d6-2) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 7. * Vera nods. "Gotcha." * Katherine sighs slightly. "Now, here's the real question. How many people DO I take with me?" She looks to Hettie. ( She might have if she were here :P ) (Well, I mean now.) * Fitzroy looks over at Hettie, "I feel a little useless here, since all the networks are down." I'm really not a good fighter. * Ian shrugs. "Wherever I'm needed, really." <> "I told you, I don't have a head for this... we'll see when the others get here." <> "The networks probably aren't down closer to City Hall. IF we get you in there, can you help out somehow?" * Katherine glances to Ian. "Come on, Ian. You helping out's okay, but heading into TC on your wits and a pistol?" I can if I've got a connection.. * Ian shrugs. "I've done worse. Remember the pizza? I'd rather not imminently risk my life, but I don't want to just sit in the corner like a useless lump in a walrus costume." * Thren says, with a sort of distracted air, "Wear a different costume." Oh, y'know what? I've forgotten about these nano interface tools. *he points to the bracelets on his wrists* They're meant for access to things that you usually can't access. Would that be any help? * Ian tilts his head, considering. After a moment, he says, "I think I'd still feel bad about it, even in an alligator suit." Maybe it would, Roy. Why don't you come with? * Katherine sighs slightly and looks to Thren/Vera. "You two want him? Three on three, since Roy won't be fighting?" A small smile. "He did shoot down the Concordat head." * Ian nods. "I never get lost in a city, either." * Rochelle looks up to watch the conversation. * Thren glances at Vera. "I don't object if you don't." * Fitzroy nods at Vera, "I'll come along in the slim chance that I can help with something." * Vera nods. "Sure. Roy's cool." <> "Good." <> (SHUT UP, MAGGOT.) "That just leaves Rochelle." <> * Rochelle shrugs. Not much help in either place. * Katherine rubs her head. "If we can get a hold of a TSM-capable suit, she could come with me." Small smirk. "Crash course in high speed combat." Yeah, I'm perfect for combat. You can stay here. * Rochelle looks vaguely, kind of sort of annoyed again, and then says, "I don't know." * Rochelle stands, still looking annoyed. "I need to think. Back later." She walks out. <> "... it need not be totally set in stone now, I suppose. Why not go get some rest, and we will reconvene when the Europa Team arrives?" * Katherine opens her mouth as if to say something, then lets it shut as Roch ditches. * Ian nods. "We might as well sleep on it." * Katherine rubs her forehead. "Maybe. I guess. Don't really fucking want to wait on them forever." Who knows how long it'll take them to get heere. <> * Vera shrugs. "Whatever." <> (*snarls at Time Warner*) (HATES THEM) (We love the Speakeasy.) * Katherine looks slightly stunned. "Six hours." She shakes her head and mutters a quiet, "Fuck." (I don't get it. my service in Milwaukee was great... but out here it's been miserable.) (Uh, the truth is it's 1am and my exam is at 10 and I need to go.) (Right, we're ending.) (Gwah. Good luck!) <> "Go rest." (LAst poses.) * Thren glances around, then takes a deep breath and wanders off somewhere to get in some meditation. (Night, Todd) * Ian stretches, and climbs down from the stage. "Thanks, Hettie." * Vera wanders off. "Later." (Night.) (Oh, Cham, I've set my schedule for fall semester. No ATC2 conflict.) * Katherine exhales noisily, looks to Vera, then looks to Hettie. "The best Blazes, Krazors, and Thudniks you can spare me, Hettie. Hell, ask for volunteers." She sighs. "Never thought I'd be making the Paw again..." <>