The Colony - Day 2

[Pale]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

"Yeah.. best not to ask about that one, Kiera. And roger that, Commander. See you soon."

Killing the radio feed, the tattooed Asari favours her.. erstwhile companions with a glance, answering them in one long breath as she scrambles over rubble and rock towards the indicator on her HUD.

"You've got me there, Kitten, I tried the human database, but it just keeps bringing up images of some blonde vidstar from the pre-spaceflight era. Borlando Loom, or something along those lines. I'm guessing the ears have something to do with it. And Skora.. the woman that orc ran off with?"

A pause to pluck the earwig from Emily's hand, patching it in as she continues.

"She's a perfect reproduction of the most dangerous woman born within the last thousand years, complete with physical augmentation and a flash-taught set of skills to beat even the original. I'm sure she'll be just fine."

Pausing, head angled to one side, to listen to the message, before the scientist snorts her disapproval, and shakes her head. It was a simple matter to rewind the recording, and delete a few choice parts, before slipping the earpiece into what remained of her jumpsuit pocket. Luckily, since the tentacles and orc had focussed on her front, the lower leg pockets were still mostly intact. Mostly.

Spoiler

Edited Message : "Hey there Blue, there's a couple of things I need you to do for me. First, don't follow me. Head back to Firelight with those two women, get more people, then head out again. The second thing I need you to do is look after the Commander. I think you'll know how to do that. And tell her... Tell her I'll see her again. And I'll see you again Azure, you can bet on that."

"....And, that's enough dallying you two. Emily, Skora, on me - we need to get back to Firelight as soon as possible, get some decent armour for you, and repairs for mine. If you fall behind, speak up, if you need carrying, speak up. If someone tries to shoot you, speak up. In short - it bothers you, tell me. But the first person to ask if we're there yet is getting shot in the foot and left for the greenskins."

With that, she's off again, at a remarkable pace for a doctor, heading obstinately back in the direction of Firelight.. and thanking the Goddess for GPS directions. She'd never have found the base again otherwise.

((Collect and attempt to edit recording, return to Firelight!))

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Skora is used to being given curt orders. She supposes it's the same everywhere, greenskins or blue. Regarding the safety of this reincarnation or duplicate or bioid or whatever, she had her own thoughts on the matter.

"I would be more impressed if an average orc grunt hadn't just skipped away with your vaunted hero tied over his shoulder like a sack of turnips."

Turning to Emily, Skora offers her own interpretation of her race to the former slave. "I regret that I only know of my race and culture from my mother, but I know that we live long, and have a connection with our home planet that goes beyond mere spirituality. We also apparently have a strong wanderlust, and when space travel became possible for us, we set to the stars aboard half-living ships, taking parts of our home with us as we colonized and explored the outer edges of the known galaxy. Some among us are highly skilled empaths, though I know next to nothing of real consequence regarding that. Also, we live long, but we are not immortal as some humans think we are."

 

[maikochan]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Circe turned to face the new arrival as she heard the door open. Studying the Vekander could wait. When she noticed the leader was a female, Circe only let out a soft "Hmmm" of awknowledgement of the orc's gender and waited for her to make the first move.

"You've got me at a disadvantage then, in more ways than one." Circe responded, a note of humour in her voice, but otherwise appearing serious.

 

[SilentSilth]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Somewhere East of Firelight Base: Carmine Forest (Unknown Sector), Orc Encampment; Circe

The orc leader smiled still, looking Circe from head to toe in admiration.

"Tereani," She said, her orcish tongue designed to pronounce such a name without a problem, "And it will be an honor to have you fight alongside my soldiers."

 

[Caulder]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

((So, figured I might as well join since Silth approved of my Marine.))

Name: Jethro "Gunny" Sands (Yes, this is a MALE character.)
Race: Human/Cyborg
Class: Marine
Level: 1
AP: 7
FP: 7
MP: 2
EP: 4
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 3
Intelligence: 1
Will Power: 2
Equipment (List Below): Heavy Armor, Jennings SA Rifle; 5 clips, DX8 pistol; 3 clips.

Backstory: Jethro, as a marine of many years, has seen all kinds of combat. He lost his right side during the Battle of Thidnor, and during countless other fights has slowly lost his other body parts, becoming more machine than man. He shouldn't even be alive today, as his service record puts him at 150 years old, but his mechanical body keeps what little humanity he has left going. His current assignment to Firelight Base was apparently a volunteer job.

 

[maikochan]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

"I'm sure it would be." Circe said, somewhat dryly. "But you're mistaken if you think I'll fight for you willingly. And you're mistaken on another account too. I'm not Viola. I'm a clone, one of many." Circe didn't see the point in making the distinction between a clone and a bioid to the orc. "Sorry to dissapoint on both counts." She added, sarcastically.

 

[SilentSilth]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Somewhere East of Firelight Base: Carmine Forest (Unknown Sector), Orc Encampment; Circe

"I understand," Tereani looked into Circe's eyes, her lip twitching a bit, "You are not the real Viola. She has been, sadly, dead for years now... But you are very different from the other look-a-likes we've encountered. They all have been broken or reprogrammed, but none of them responded in the same way when asked if they were the real Viola.

"You were smart enough to play along," The orcess patted her on the shoulder, as if it were a reward, "So I figure you will be smart enough to listen to my offer, hmm?"

Firelight Base: Command Center, Floor 2; Commander Winters, Pilot Annerose, Kiera (representation)

Commander Winters paced back and forth around the command center, pausing frequently at her desk to check the sensor node network for any sign of Circe. Kiera watched her while playing a game of blackjack with Annerose, who was sitting off to the side. Another representation of the AI popped up next to the Commander, floating next to her wherever she went.

"You should calm down, Commander. She'll be fine," Kiera said, trying to sooth her. The rabbit woman shook her head, looking out the windows.

"No. She shouldn't have been captured like that. There's... There's something wrong. We need to find her."

"Yes, well, any of your ammunition we make for your weapons will completely drain us of supplies." Kiera replied. Cassie stopped walking for a second, looking at the virtual map of Firelight, biting her lip... Before briskly walking towards the elevator, looking to Annerose.

"Keep watch up here. Make sure that Cassidy and the others stay here whenever they arrive." She stepped into the elevator and hit the down button, Kiera appearing next to her.

"You shouldn't wake him," The AI said. Commander Winters ignored her, the elevator coming to a stop on the first floor. She walked down the hallway, towards the freight elevator, and hit the button for Sub Floor 19 - the seldom used Prison Level.

Firelight Base, Sub-Floor 19: Prison Level; Commander Winters, Jethro.

Commander Winters moved quietly through the floor, sticking to the shadows wherever necessary. There wasn't anything dangerous around here that she had seen... yet.

She finally came to a thick, armored door at a dead-end, a little slit on the heavily armored door. Sliding the viewport to the side, she looked through it, only her pink eyes visible.

"...Jethro?" She asked in a hushed voice.

 

[Caulder]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

The commander might notice some movement inside the dark cell, then multiple blue lights begin to appear within. Moving into the small amount of light within the cell, Jethro's robotic right arm and leg showed, multiple notches and marks on it as his blue eye looked out the viewport of the cell door. "Commander. Is there a reason why you're down here, talking to a criminal like me?" he asks, his tone slightly mechanical in nature as the Commander might note a slight smirk on his face through the dark.

 

[maikochan]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Circe held Tereani's gaze for a few moments after she stopped talking, then looked away, as if bored. "I'll listen, but don't get too optimistic. You're still my enemy." She said simply. Circe hadn't had much contact with other Viola bionoids, so she didn't feel any kinship with them, so Tereani's statements had little effect on Circe except for making her slightly more worried about how the battle was going outside of Titan.

 

[SilentSilth]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Somewhere East of Firelight Base: Carmine Forest (Unknown Sector), Orc Encampment; Circe

Tereani smiled again, tilting her head as Circe turned her head away. The orcess waited until Circe dared to look back.

"...I'm offering you to fight alongside us; You could be a reason that Humanity has a chance to survive as something more than sex slaves and manual labor in our Horde. You'd... even have the chance to save those you love. Defeat the ones that had you killed and then reproduced you in such an atrocious way.

"...Or... Am I just speaking to another look-alike?" She asked quietly, tilting Circe's head so their eyes met again, unless Circe was looking at her of her own free will, "Something... That shares her face but not a single thought of Viola's??"

Firelight Base, Sub-Floor 19: Prison Level; Commander Winters, Jethro.

"There is. Has... Kiera kept you from linking to the network still? Because... We're under attack, Jethro. And I know that you've requested, for whatever reason, to be left down here... But we need a soldier," She continued, her voice low, "I... I need help rescuing -her-."

There had always only been one 'her' to Cassie, and Jethro knew it. Even back when she discretely asked for him to join Firelight, there had been rumors that the Commander had been spurred by the once-great Viola - and not by the choice of either the genetic experiment or the super soldier, either.

 

[maikochan]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Circe turned back to look at the orc of her own will, but was silent for a while. "Will you give me time to think on this?" She asked, her face thoughtful.

 

[Caulder]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Jethro remains silent for a moment, then suddenly a loud bang is heard as his left hand impacts the door with a slight amount of force and his eyes press up against the viewport. "You don't seriously mean HER, do you? Because if you do, you better open this cell right now so I can go slap some sense into that girl." he says, his tone becoming slowly more robotic as he speaks, his right hand clenching into a fist. "I volunteered to come here, Cass. You taught me to keep going back on Thidnor after I got these." he says, stepping back from the door and looking down at his bionic limbs "I at least owe you a rescue mission." he says, then looks back up at the Commander's pink eyes "Just keep me from jacking into the network. If Archibald decides he wants to do some work of his own, be sure you keep him under control."

 

[SilentSilth]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Somewhere East of Firelight Base: Carmine Forest (Unknown Sector), Orc Encampment; Circe

Tereani sat back, tilting her head to the side a bit as she studied Circe's facial expression, pursing her lips together.

"You may. You can't leave here, however... I'd rather not see you become fodder for my subordinates. Many are still trying to grasp your language, and really just see you creatures as... Well, meat."

The orcess stood, walking over to the chair with her two personal slaves, lovingly running her finger along the chin of Vekander; with the Asari, she ran a finger along one of the woman's tendrils. Taking a seat, Circe watched as Virtual displays popped out of the floor, five screens in total. Tereani began to work at the orange screens, paying little attention to the bioid besides a few wayward glances.

Firelight Base, Sub-Floor 19: Prison Level; Commander Winters, Jethro.

"It's.. It's not really her," She said, Cassie running her eyes over the robotic limbs that had saved Jethro's life so long ago, "...It's hard to explain, but we'll talk about it when your out of here."

The rabbit woman swiped her hand over the access panel on the door, the cell door sliding open without an issue. While it hadn't been opened in years, Kiera made sure to keep everything in working order around Firelight.

"Don't worry about Archibald; I'm sure Kiera can handle him no matter what Ace he thinks he has."

 

[Caulder]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Jethro walks forward out of the cell, his right leg thumping with each step it takes. After crossing the threshold, the light reveals that his skull and skin is missing from the right half of his head, showing the metal components that make up his brain, face, and the blue LED lights that cover his brain casing. As he turns his head to the right to look at Cassie as she speaks, his blue cybernetic eye and blue LED lights on his exposed skull suddenly turning red, as his right arm shoots up to grab her by the collar. "How is this for an Ace up my sleeve? You and that fool of a man keep me locked away inside his head, and now you expect me to remain silent as you speak ill of me?" he says, his voice taking on a completely animatronic tone to it, the left side of his mouth forming into a scowl as he begins to growl and lift Cassie off the ground.

 

[Tdreams]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Turning to talk to Skora as she followed along in Cassidy's wake, "So what happened to you? Was your mother captured by the Horde?" And then gaining more courage, "How is it that the high and mighty Skora chose to disappear from the Horde on the same day I escaped? Why *do* you think of yourself as elvish and not orcish?"

((Follow to Firelight.))

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

"High and mighty? I suppose you're referring to the sexual play that we shared on the horde ship. I am sorry for that, but it was necessary to act as they expected me to act. A half-blood like myself is officially a part of the horde, despite my slave mother, but we have a stigma attached to us. I either acted like an orcess or I was treated like a slave. Having been born into my life with the horde and living all those years with them, can you blame me for trying to make it easier for myself? I have dreamed of the chance to leave, but this has been the first real opportunity."

She shrugged. "That you escaped too just shows how lax the guards were. The invasion has distracted them."

As the three of them continued on to Firelight, Skora answered Emily's final question. "I hate the orcs, and I hate the orc in me. I will never act for them again. I will die first."

 

[Tdreams]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

"I remember my sister Amy... she was so beautiful and full of life. It was fun just to hang out with her. Her smile could light up the room and make everyone feel better..." Emily trails off.

"Her smile began to die when we were captured. Now, I can only remember it as a distant memory. Of course she was tortured to death once she was no longer any 'fun' to play with; once her 'spark' was gone."

"I can't even remember when that was anymore. Do you remember how long ago Amy and I were captured? I can't even remember where I came from anymore other than bits and pieces of random images. I seem to remember running through a field filled with daisies once, and swinging on an old tire swing with Amy. But the memories come and go."

After waiting for Skora's response, Emily also asks, "Why do you hate the orcs so? As you said, if you act like an orc, you're treated like one. After all, there are so many levels below Orc. Did you run away just because as a half breed you could never reach the top of the Orcish pecking order?"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

Skora gave the human a sidelong glance.

"The truth is that I wouldn't know," she said. "The first time I met you was when I had just come of 'age' and been transferred to Azog's unit as 'morale support personnel.' That was several years ago. And there were so many slaves besides you coming and going. I can't keep track."

Her eyes hardened though at the implications Emily was making about her determination to escape.

"I don't know what I might have been like if the orcs had ever truly accepted me, or if they had hidden my mother from me after birth and not allowed me to understand my lineage. Perhaps I would have been more like them. But even when I 'acted' like an orcess, my purpose was never that of a warrior. I was brought up to be a sexual amusement for them, nothing more. That I was allowed to sit at their tables and avoid torture was small comfort - for I have felt as though my whole existence has been a torture. You may see it differently, being a true slave to the horde, but my destiny and that of my mother were robbed as much as yours and your sister's. There is a Sylvari still in the bloom of her elven youth on one of the horde's ships, currently being used for her womb and fleshly pleasures."

Skora's tone was harsh, and had a challenging edge to it. She had made her first true bid for freedom, and did not like it being undermined by anyone.

 

[DeMatt]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

2 EXP gained.
Ashley: Gains 3 EXP (+1 for the double 10); is 4/7 EXP until level 3.
Marie: Gains 2 EXP; is 2/5 EXP until level 2.
Laina: Gains 2 EXP; is 5/10 EXP until level 4.
Kalica: Gains 2 EXP; is 4/7 EXP until level 3.

Ashley's little ploy of taunting the wolf worked almost too well. As she slapped her ass and stuck it out, the wolf behind her dove towards her, snapping his jaws at her round ass, the woman just barely dodging out of the way. Marie took off as the civilian yelped and fired three rounds into the wolf, dropping the creature. Breathing heavily, she reloaded her weapon, glancing over to Marie, who had thrown herself in front of the other wolf. The Pilot drew her pistol and, in three shots, dropped the creature, it's jaw relaxing from around Laina's throat. The mechanic gasped and jumped up, throwing her arms about Marie in a hug.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She shouted.

((I LIVE! And Marie does much better than I expected.))

Marie turns bright red at Laina's hug, looking away and stammering something about 'job'. She gives a jerky nod, but it's clear she's uncomfortable being hugged like this - when she's three-quarters naked.

Ashley's suggestion that they pursue the leader wolf gets another jerky nod - but still no smile.

And once she's freed from Laina's arms, she wastes no time in trying to pull the remnants of her jumpsuit together.

 

[Tdreams]

Re: The Colony - Day 2

In a quieter voice, Emily continues talking with Skora. "What do you suppose is up with Doc Ma <mumble>Lorry</mumble>... eh Doc Blue? She talks as if she has a stick up her ass instead of the orc cock that was just there. She kinda talks like Squad Leader Prak did, and didn't Prak get his entire squad and half of Azog's squad wiped out before Azog summarily executed him?"

Following along behind the Asari, Emily says louder, "I wonder what all those tattoos represent? Tribal markings?"