The Pulse of Awakening (RPG)

[kodster]

(A/N: Pretty much been in a bit of a lull for a while. Let's get rid of that, shall we? Here are some short but sweet updates.)

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SAKER

After she is convinced that Hachiel will make a full recovery, Saker heads out of the new base towards the route with the stairs. She gets there after a while and starts tapping the wall in morse code... after a while she can hear, faintly, the sound of a cutting laser...

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GUNROD

To his weird declaration the Illuxion blinks. "I know about no games, but if you wish to explore the darkness ahead, then perhaps there is something to be gained in it," it says. "Lead the way."

And so they go on. Eventually they come back to that dead end, but thanks to Albireo's presence, Gunrod can see things much, much clearer. It appears to still be a dead end, but looking closer there is a hinge at the top of the wall, and Albireo notices it first.

"Well, I daresay, that looks rather unfamiliar," he remarks. He tries a cutting laser but that does nothing to it. Albireo is persistent however, and keeps at it. Gunrod glares at the hinge... until there is a slight tapping sound... and it's coming from the other side of the wall...

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UNAROSHI

Viluy smirks. "You are learning. Fortunate. Well, if you wish to not follow them, then we will not."

They go around the level and try to find anything of significance. Through another room, they manage to find two Phaser Rifles on the floor. Nearby there are two bodies... Viluy examines them. One of them is another human seemingly like Unaroshi. The other is a cyborg; half of his face is mechanical.

"What do you think happened here?" says Unaroshi.

"A fight, probably," replies the woman. "But why they would leave the bodies here is beyond me. Perhaps they were too busy to acknowledge their protocol."

They examine the Phaser Rifles. These weapons look and feel different to the environment they've experienced; further investigation by Viluy reveals they have sixteen power settings, fully-autonomous recharge capability, multiple-target acquisition, and gyro-stabilization. Rare weapons indeed...

Viluy passes both guns to him. "I have no need for them," she says, before Unaroshi can object.

"Uh, okay..." Why was Viluy so god damned care-free?

They hid the bodies, and then traced their way back to where they were before. This time, they could not see any movement below. "This time, I propose we head further down."

"I don't know. I still think those things down there can overpower us as we are now..."

"I see. Then what would you do?" Viluy asks.

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MIRA

"So you have come back... why have you neglected to report for so long?"

"Huh?" This didn't make any sense at all.

"Wait a moment..." The figure casts back its hood. Mira stared. It belonged to something human-like enough... though rather aged in its appearance, but a huge chunk was removed from the top of its head, and replaced but a metal done of some sort, patched and bloody. The face is rather grubby and hair sprouts from his ears, too.

The figure stares back at Mira through bloodshot eyes. "No... no you are not him. Who are you?!"

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SHEPARD

Avarice stomps over to another place on the floor, and motions for Shepard to accompany him. With no real choice, Shepard reluctantly follows. As he does, the floor around them starts to descend. Then he catches a horrifying sight. What appear to be mechanical rodent-like things have now swarmed the body of Maxine and were now reducing her to nothing... and then Shepard was underground. He couldn't believe what he had just seen... but then the floor descended quicker and quicker, and the next thing he knew, the two were on a floor many levels below where he had been previously.

"Vector R," utters Avarice. "Your Illuxion friend descended very far down indeed, so we will worry about her later. But Byruit must be apprehended. I can read her filthy energy levels even from here."

Shepard was quiet. He did not like being so far down with the mechanical beast, and alone as well. Perhaps he could ally himself with this Byruit... whoever she was.

Suddenly Avarice tensed himself. "Strange..." he hisses. "There is another energy reading on this floor." Avarice turns to Shepard. "What say you to that, human?"

Shepard glances up at the behemoth, unsure what to say at first...