Jackbot: Partial Eclipse

THIS IS A SECOND POST FOR THE SECOND CHAPTER AND THE ENTIRE INTERLUDE.

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Spoiler

Cog, Gear and Dr. Mordoba regroup. "You've found something, Gear?"

She motions to the hole. "Looks like a burrow. Doctor?"

Dr. Mordoba nods. "It would appear that's the case. Damn. We can't let it kill the Grove. Cog,
how many of those grenades do you have?"

Cog silently reaches in his backpack and reloads his shotgun with another drum of mini-grenades. [Shots Remaining in this load: 35]

Dr. Mordoba nods. "Perhaps you should take point, unless you'd prefer me to."

Cog looks at Dr. Mordoba, and silently nods.

All three of you activate light sources. This managed to lead you into the burrow. Gear isn't sure how long they keep walking into the earth, but she does have enough time to reload her sniper rifle. [Shots remaining in this load: 8]

Soon, the burrow starts to take on a... pinkish hue. As Cog's boots start to slip, he looks down. The pinkish stuff is now on the bottom. Worse, it seems to be wet...

[Dr. Mordoba's PERC+Biotech -> 17 OK]

Dr. Mordoba comes to a horrible realization. "This... this is similar to Age of Superpowers piloted bioweapon technology..."

The corridor splits in a t-section ahead- it doesn't look nearly so raw here.

:> _:

>Cog: Wait wait wait wait wait, what KIND of bioweaponry?

"Piloted, didn't you hear me? Of course, it might not be... We might just be sitting in a dead corpse or something. But no doubt about it, it's definitely Age-of-Superpowers level." Dr. Mordoba looks grim. "I'd heard rumors, but... Hopefully, I'm fairly certain the queen can't eat much of this; I think. Something about unique biochemistry required to build something this gigantic."

>Cog(Or maybe Gear): You don't know what the heck that means! Tell Mordoba to start making sense.

"Wait, Age of Superpowers? This is Pre-war biotechnology? How long have you known about this?" Cog asks.

"This is the first I've seen of it. It's actually quite odd; something like this would have precluded the building of the Prime Grove!" Dr. Mordoba pulls out a Vidcorder, and starts doing a recap for the camera.

Gear looks at Cog. "How should we go about this?"

"You're better at tactics than I am," Cog replies.

"Should we abandon the job?" Gear asks. "This might be way out of our league."

Cog just shoots her a look.

Gear smiles. "Only joking, anyway."

"Are you two done talking?" Dr. Mordoba asks. "I want to find out more. I want to find out why common Greenzoning practices weren't observed. I want to know what my superior was thinking. But, most importantly, I want that queen dead."

Cog looks at the T-section. "Dr. Mordoba? I'll head with you left."

Gear looks down the right corridor. "How will we keep in contact?"

"Hm. Well. If this is one of the bigger Pre-War bioweapons, it's probably symmetrical." Dr. Mordoba notes the white spots in the walls, pointing at them. "And there is good news- if it's not dead, it's dying. Look, this lymph node is starting to go gangrenous. So! Chances are the membranes that act as doors of a sort won't be working too well."

"... That doesn't answer my question," Gear says.

"Hm. It probably still has neurons. Let me test something..." Dr. Mordoba prods one of the white spots. A sort of writhing pulse goes through the corridor. "Ugh. But it should work as a panic switch..."

:> _:

Cog looks down one branch, and discovers a Hunter-slayer.

It's spotted him. Just his luck, really. [Implementing new BV rules... Done. Implementing explosives rules... Done] Well, no time like the present. Cog fires the Drum-fed shotgun!
[Assessing bonuses... +4]
[Cog's RFLX+Small Arms -> 32]
[Hunter-slayer's SPD+Dodge -> 15]
[32-15= 17div5= 3-2 (BR)= 1]
[Cog's CRFT+Spot Weakness= 15 no]
[24-30= 0]
[25-12= 13]
[23-0= 23]
[23-0= 23]
[21-0= 21]
Several explosions rip through the cavern! The Hunter-Slayer is now bleeding from multiple appendages! The Hunter-Slayer collapses.

There is a scream of raaaage that echoes through the corridors! and then, a sound like rain skittering over leather.

I think they've heard you.

:> _:
[Cog's Small Arms -> 7]

==>

Interior- Ephraim City: The Hunter-Queen's Chamber
As Cog and Dr. Mordoba approach the center, the entire complex becomes blackened, and smells faintly of almonds. Drips of liquefied material hit the floor in wet plops while Cog feels his boots squelching deeper into the decaying organic material. The corridors sag from the ceiling, producing the feeling like the entire world is closing in on Cog.

Something that looks like a fresh cut has caused recent scabbing, but the oozing pus only seems to increase the stench of the dead.

You don't need any skill ranks in biotechnology to understand that something has gone horribly, horribly wrong here.

Cog tries to look through the dead and the dark, and spots a flash of white. "Uh-oh."

Squish. Squish squishsquishsquish-

Ahead of Cog and Dr. Mordoba is the Hunter-queen. It is heavily armored.

Dr. Mordoba turns around and shouts, "They're here!"

And, indeed, they are.

An immature Hunter-Slayer is already a terrible sight to behold, with its scything limbs and terrible speed. A mature one is a match in personal combat for anything but the most seasoned Cavalier; it stands at two meters, or crawls if it can't stand, with armor that would put even advanced pre-War powered armor to shame. It moves with intense grace and speed, taking three rounds for every one of yours.

Even the two behind you may be your graves. Worse, no one knows about this place. Even if you were well-known enough and honorable enough, you might not have anyone left to recover you if you fail!

The Hunter-slayers close to Melee range.

You have one action each for Dr. Mordoba and Cog. Make them count.

:> _:

[Mordy's EGO+Intimidation -> 27 OK+3]
[Cog's EGO+Intimidation -> 29 OK+3]

Cog and Dr. Mordoba stand tall in the face of fear!
[Cog's Morale-> 15 imustn'trunawayimustn'trunaway]
[Mordy's Morale -> 25 This is NOT GOOD]
[Cog's RFLX+Small Arms -> 37]
[Hunter-Slayer's SPD+Dodge -> 28]
[Cog's CRFT+Spot Weakness -> 41 CRITICAL HIT+2]
[37-28= 9div5= 1+3= 4-2= 2]
[0]
[0]
[10]
[23]
[22]

Well, you managed to slag one anyway! :apple:
[Hunter-Queen is Stationary]
[Mordy's RFLX+Small Arms -> 34]
[Hunter-Queen's SPD+Dodge -> 3]
[Mordy's CRFT+Spot Weakness -> 19 no]
[34-3= 31div5= 6]
[6-0=6]
Dr. Mordoba finds a chink in its armor, and drives a dart in deeply!
[Hunter-Queen's BODY+Resistance -> 29]
[Mordy's placed it in a heart! Difficulty is 30!]
[Hunter-Queen has been poisoned!]
[Hunter-Queen's BODY drops!]
[Hunter-Queen's SPD drops!]
[Hunter-Queen's RFLX drops!]
[Hunter-Queen's CRFT drops!]
[Hunter-Queen's KNOW drops!]

The remaining Hunter-Slayer attacks!
[Hunter-Slayer's RFLX+MA -> 18]
[Cog's SPD+Dodge -> 20 MISS]
[Cog's Morale -> 10 mustn'trunaway]
[Hunter-Slayer's RFLX+MA -> 28]
[Cog''s SPD+Dodge -> 40]
[The GM is starting to look a little upset!]
[Cog's Morale -> 7 can'tletitgetmecan'tletitgetme]

Suddenly, bright, soft bioluminescence fills the Queen's chamber! That's... Odd...
:> _:

[Hunter-Slayer's RFLX+Martial Arts -> 21]
[Cog's SPD+Dodge -> 32]
[Cog's Dodge skill -> 7]
[Cog's Morale -> 2 CRAPCRAPCRAPCRAPCRAP]

[The GM demands to see Cog's character sheet!]
[The GM notes the Talents and Morale Adjustments, and takes Cog's Player aside... bwahahahaha!!]
[Cog's Player returns. He seems dejected.]

[Cog's RFLX+Small Arms -> 37]
[The GM sighs.]
[Hunter-Slayer's SPD+Dodge -> 17]
Cog's CRFT+Spot Weakness -> 11 no]
[37-17=20div5= 4-2= 2]
[0]
[0]
[5]
[24]
[18]
[Cog's Morale -> 5]
The hunter-slayer is still alive! Oh no! At least one of his arms doesn't look so hot.

The Hunter-Queen finally gets a turn! This doesn't look good! She's charging up for her acid spit! This will probably kill Both of you!
[Hunter-queen's-]
BLAM

Gear: Go back to them, splitting up is never a good idea. Be cautious about beasties though.

Gear>peg the queen with the surprise bonus because you showed up at the hallway at the opposite end, gibs for everyone.

[Hunter-Queen is Immobile!]
[Gear's PERC+heavy weapons -> 51]
[Hunter-Queen is surprised! No defense roll!]
[Gear's CRFT+Spot Weakness -> 17 no]
[Gear's Spot Weakness skill -> 7]
[Sniper Rifle is Armorpiercing!]
[51-0= 51div5= 10+2= 12-2(Queen is Hard As Nails)=10]
[67-0= 67]
[Bile duct destroyed!]
[Eye destroyed!]
[Egg sac destroyed!]
[Hunter-queen is annihilated.]

For a single, silent moment as the Queen collapses into a heap of its own acid and destruction, the light seems to catch Gear's blonde hair, as if a halo surrounds her. The rifle is in her hands, she is calm, collected. And every single being in the cavern is now looking at her. And she is looking back at the hunter-slayer. She has to look up a bit to do this, but she does it. It only increases the effect.

Mordy's jaw drops. "Like the old angels..."
[Gear has discovered talent: Even The Girls Want Her]
[Gear's ammunition remaining: 1]

Cog is the only being in the room not stunned and may take an action.

Cog takes advantage of the situation and points the shotgun behind him. SPHOK SPHOK SPHOK SPHOK SPHOK.

Yeah, the last Hunter-Slayer is very, very dead. So much so that Cog's not even going to roll damage.

Mordy looks at Cog and Gear. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have led you in here."

"It's our job, isn't it?" Gear replies. "So, what's here?"

Mordy looks through the dead tissue and finds a large console. "Ugh, it's probably destroyed..."

Cog walks up. "Let me take a look."
[Cog's CRFT+General Repair -> 22 OK!]
Cog manages to get the computer to turn on!

Mordy does a full system backup of the Ancient Bioweapon: Jotun. "This is amazing... Such a trove of knowledge..." She pauses. "I suppose your job is over. I still need to figure out what's going on here. Wait." Mordy accesses her PDA. "If... Oh. Suddenly everything makes sense... You can go whenever you like. The payment will be put into your account. I have some thinking to do."

All three head back to Ephraim City.
Dr. Mordoba has left the lance...?

It's been a long day!
:> _:

Mordy> be absolutely fine and come back with several blueprints for the basis of the pre-war biotech to advance the current technology by a good 5 years. maybe more.

>Give the best of it to the nice helpful caviliers who risked their life for you.

Dear Void, Fire and Water. She had never expected her superior to be engaging in such... Such... This was beyond unethical! And using the Prime Grove no less! This could set back the Greenzoning by half a decade! All this manipulation... Though it did explain the odd dead zone...

And these blueprints...! An illegal bioweapon! Even more damning, there's a signature here...

Mordy purchases a NAPOLEON, and reads the journals of Head Researcher Mela over the night.

Mordy has gone to confront the mayor!

WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM. Mordoba is pounding on the door to the mayor's quarters!

The doors slide open. The Mayor is sitting up, as if he's been expecting her. "Dr. Mordoba, come in. How can I... Help you?"

"Mr. Mayor! How could you approve these?! This is- is- I can't believe you've done this!" Mordy's hands are shaking.

"Done what?"

"Don't lie to me!" She shows him the holo. "Look at this! Plans to revive the bioweapon Gaia using a human pilot in a permanent biological fusion? Approval to use the Prime Grove as a retrovirus carrier? Ordering a new hunter-queen released!? I want answers, Mr. Mayor! Now!"

"Dr. Mordoba, please. There's no need to be so irate." The Mayor smiles. "After all, there's no way I would have signed this, not with the knowledge of what they were."

Mordy can feel the insincerity. "Liar. You used the Greenzone Initiative's resource to try and build your own private army, didn't you!? Have the ruins around you taught you nothing!?"

The Mayor shakes his head. "Dr. Mordoba, if you don't calm down, I will have to have you incarcerated. The fact is, you can't do anything about it."

:> _:

Dr. Mordoba smiles, and produces a recorder. *Click* "Mr. Mayor, you have been responsible for some of the worst crimes humanity has seen in a century. There is absolutely nothing I can do to condone this kind of activity! I RESIGN."

Mordy blushes. "Uh, oops. Wrong recorder." She produces a different recorder. The mayor's voice puts out, "The fact is, there isn't anything you can do about it." She raises an eyebrow. "So."

"Bah! Entrapment. I can get off this way too easily, Dr. Mordoba."

"It's not your court of law I will have to prove this to." Mordy nods. "Good-bye, Mr. Mayor. Have fun reconstructing your little project. Most of it's beyond even the best minds in the Territories to repair."

Mordy walks out.

As soon as the door closes, she starts running. It is now sunrise. Within a few minutes, Mordy doesn't doubt that several deputies will be after her. After all, she was wearing powered armor into the mayor's office...

:> _:

> Go see if you can find those caviliers that helped you out. They might be able to help protect you.

Well, yeah. They took out a HUNTER-QUEEN NEST thingy. Without their mechs. Of course they can help you with this.

You're not quite sure how, but rumors to this effect have already spread throughout the town. Not only that, it's starting to get on the INFOLINK. Of course, something this big would HAVE to spread like wildfire.

[Cog's renown -> 33 Cog, the personal combat ace]
[Cog goes over last night's events and discovers a talent- Luck of the Devil- When morale is low, Critical Hit Rate increases. When Morale is high, critical hit damage increases!]
[Gear's renown -> 33 Gear, the avenging angel]
[Mordy's renown -> 20 Dr. Mordoba, ethical scientist]
[Mordy's honor -> 75 Ethical scientist]
[Cog's honor -> 80 Protector of Ephraim City]
[Gear's honor -> 80 Avenging Angel]

WHAM WHAM WHAM. Gear blinks herself awake. How long has it been...? Only six hours. Uuuuugh, leave her alone...

WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM. "Gear? Gear are you in there? I don't have much time..."

Gear lugs up her sniper rifle, and walks to the door. "This had better be amazing, or else-"

Mordy sweeps Gear up in a hug. "Oh thank you thank you, listen I might have just... Uh... Really ticked off the mayor, so we might need to get out of town immediately."

"Put... Down... Crushing... ribs..." Gear struggles to get out of Mordy's grip.

Mordy blushes. "Uh, oops." She loosens the grip a little. "But please, you gotta help me get out of here!"

"Uh, can you put me down now?" Gear says, smiling kindly. "It's good to see you too, but you're wearing a couple hundred kilos of solid metal and it's obvious you don't know your own strength. Also lean against a wall WAIT NO DON'T SIT DOWN-"

CRUNCH. Mordy has shattered a small wooden chair in her sleep-deprived state.

Gear sighs. "Okay, I'll just sit on the bed then." She gets a Fizzbin (It's Kirkalicious! Whatever that means) and sits on the bed, sipping while Mordy talks.

"I- I- I- I just confronted the mayor with what happened in the hole last night I think he's upset. I'm worried that the deputies will be after me soon because I threatened to expose him. And and and..." Mordy regains her composure. "And I need some help. I don't know if I can pay you anymore than I did last night but I do know that I can probably be of help on missions..."

:> _:

Gear looks at Mordy. Even in the imposing power armor that makes her look, well, kinda like she has a shrunken head, the fact is, Mordy does need help. Still... She's not comfortable taking this on without Cog putting in his opinion.

Cog is standing outside the door. "Mordy? I thought you went home last night?"

Mordy blushes. "Uh, well, I er um-"

"She wants to join the lance, Cog," Gear says with a soft smirk. "And no, she just arrived."

"Ah." Cog nods. "Well. I don't see any reason why not, as long as you've got nothing here for you."

Mordy seems to brighten considerably. "You... You really mean it?"

:> _:

Cog nods, silently- and gets himself the dubious honor of being hugged by someone in power armor.

Gear joins in too, though it's extremely awkward what with Mordy still being in several hundred pounds of metal. Mordy is smiling. Is that a tear in her eyes? Still, she is looking out the door and stops cold.

At about this moment, a few deputies have shown up. All of them are armed, but only one has their truncheon out. In fact, seeing that all three of you are there seems to make them all very very nervous.

The one at the head speaks up first. "Dr. Mordoba? We... We need to take you in for questioning. Sheriff's orders."

:> _:

Gear lays down the sniper rifle carefully in front of her, bending at the back instead of the knees. "Sure, we can answer your questions, why don't you... Come inside and ask?"
[Gear's CHRM+Conversation+Flirtation-> 26]

Most of the deputies are flustered! One's about to step in, but one of the other deputies blocks him. "I-I'm sorry ma'am, we're going to have to take you down to the sheriff's office."

Gear raises an eyebrow. "Ma'am? I certainly hope I don't look old enough to be called ma'am."

"Uh, no, miss, you definitely don't." The deputy shuts his eyes to try and clear his head.

"Hm, I suppose we can go along with it," Gear says, smiling as she saunters past the deputies, and walks directly up to one. "But... Could I see your truncheon?"
[Gear's CHRM+Flirtation+Conversation-> 57]
[Gear's Flirtation skill -> 6]
[Gear's Conversation skill -> 6]

The deputy is rendered speechless! "Hurrr, um..." It doesn't look like his brain is connecting right now.
[Gear's RFLX+Pickpocketing -> 10 OK]

Gear calmly takes the truncheon out of its holster. She then proceeds to hit an entirely different deputy with it, taking advantage of surprise.
[Gear's RFLX+ Armed Combat -> 17]
[17div5= 3]
[Gear's CRFT+ Spot Weakness -> 25 CRITICAL HIT]
[Extra attacks... 2. 3 hits!]
[8-2= 6]
[11-1= 10]
[16-0=16]
[Deputies' EGO+Intimidation -> 7 NO]
[Gear's Lawfulness -> 30 Lawless Ruffienne]

The deputy drops like a rock. The other deputies are absolutely shocked! It looks like Gear's charm offensive was a stunning success! Of course, she takes utter advantage of it!
[Gear's RFLX+ Armed Combat-> 26]
[26div5= 5]
[Gear's CRFT+ Spot Weakness -> 8 no]
[Extra attacks... 0. 1 hit!]
[25-0=25]
[Gear's Armed Combat skill -> 5]

And the one she borrowed the truncheon from hits the floor like a stooge. "Done so soon?" Cog shakes his head and picks up another baton. Mordy just shrugs and hits one in the face...
[Mordy's RFLX+Martial Arts -> 21]
[21div5=4+1(TBAM)=5]
[Mordy's CRFT+Spot Weakness -> 26 CRITICAL HIT]
[Extra attacks... 4. 5 hits!]
[15-4=11]
[22-3=19]
[13-2=11]
[12-1=11]
[9-0=9]
With a punishing set of spinning kicks.

Combat is now imminent!
:> _:

>Use the mechs to escape.

>is the path clear?
Everybody> make a break for the garage where the mechs are held. the backup will be here shortly.

>YEAH LETS GOO WOOOOOOOOOOOOoo ooo does mordy just ride on a shoulder or something

Mordy purchases a NAPOLEON, and reads the journals of Head Researcher Mela over the night.

*SIGH* Mordy had a few minutes to rest, but she's been up since yesterday morning and is a little exhausted. She slows down the others a little, and the deputies are right behind them.

Good thing mecha don't rely too much on their pilots' REFleXes while running! Oh, wait, yes they do. Man, it's gonna be difficult shepherding a Napoleon around while evading the Guardians, but it should prove to be interesting!

At least you have each other, yeah? And Mordy should be a good addition to your lance.

Unfortunately, a small detachment of Yorkes is sitting on the entrance ramp! This doesn't look good!

:> _:

Go for the legs.

ALL SYSTEMS... OK duuuwedeedeet!

All mecha are online!

But Mordy, in particular, is tired of this. "What is wrong with you people!?" She screams into the comm as she advances on the deputies. "Someone is using science to try and improve your lives for once and you've done nothing!"

Few things match the pounding terror of thirty-odd tons of mecha clanging towards you. The NAPOLEON is the smallest mecha in its class, having little room for weapons and even less room for complex maneuvers, but it has a forward momentum that is unrivaled.

Perhaps I should back up and describe exactly what each of our deputies is seeing right now. Aside from the SIMON, which looks like it stepped out of an entirely different science fiction story- no longer shiny, but still white, with a lithe grace to its curve and motion that even with its manual controls made it tend to stay shiny- and the Patton, which resembled nothing more or less than a grizzled old veteran made of metal, assigned three eyes as implants after he lost his first set in a shrapnel accident, kitted out under the weight of the squad's LAW and SMG and the anti-air platform they had been ordered to put up, and not only performing well under the circumstances, but asking the rookies why they were having such a hard time keeping up.

Those two figures are not kind.

And then there is the Napoleon. If the Simon is the 'elf', The Napoleon is the 'dwarf' of the size 4 mecha. Dumpy, small, with a torso that makes it look like someone made a mecha design based on a cup-and-ball game instead of an actual human shape, the designers of the Napoleon obviously weren't looking at any sort of aesthetic value. They wanted two things out of that mech- armor, and utterly blinding speed. They did the best they could- even among mecha, the Napoleon is only considered moderately armored- but you would never expect something coming in at only two and a half stories to come out swinging so quickly.

Dr. Mordoba has just used this to tackle one of the deputies.

Let's see the carnage.
[Mordy's RFLX+Mecha Fighting-MV -> 9]
[Deputy's RFLX+Mecha Piloting-MV -> 8]
[Deputy's RFLX+Mecha Piloting-MV -> 10 no]

WHAM! The Napoleon crashes into the Yorke, sending it toppling over, and leaving a hole in the deputies' line! Mordy, at this point, doesn't care about the others. She's moving out of town at full running speed.

The deputies take a few half-hearted potshots at her, but it's fairly obvious to Gear and Cog they are aiming to miss. Apparently there are a few dissenters in the sheriff's ranks!

:> _:

Gear> make a break for the hole, tripping up a nearby mech with the halberd as you pass
Cog> if you can ever get a intimidation roll with your mech now is the time. slow walk through the hole with the cannons locked and loaded.

:^:

Both Cog and Gear charge the doorway!

Gear briefly entertains trying to convert one of the sheriffs, but reconsiders; after all, there's only one Yorke pilot in particular that she's after. He painted his Yorke in the red of a lunar eclipse in a sick parody of their own regolith grey. He eschewed the rocket launcher in favor of a few more laser cannons he mounted, as well as the infamous Nova Blade he picked up off the destroyed husk of a rival.

He is the Arena Champion, bar none the greatest Cavalier the Territories have ever known. She sighs at the very thought of him, moving like ice on a greased cooking pan, eliminating bandits, Luna forces, and corruption in equal measure.

Of course, it's never going to happen. She was a Cavalier, not some townie to be swept off her feet.

Gear only now realizes that she managed to evade the gauntlet entirely, and the vidscreens of Cog and Mordy are looking at her kinda funny. "Huh?"

"Gear, where did you learn to move like that?" Cog asks.

"Like what?"

"... Never mind." Cog looks at his map. "Come on, if we hurry we can make it to a clearing by nightfall."

"OK!"

[Gear's Mecha Piloting skill -> 7]
Gear has left Ephraim City.
Mordy has left Ephraim City.
Cog has left Ephraim City.

How did Cog get out?

"Hey, Cog, I... I think I lost track of you in there."

"No shit?" Cog sighs. "Okay. I'll tell you about it while we walk."

"So where are we headed, anyway?" Mordy asks.

"Greenhill," Gear replies. "But Cog should tell you his story, so I can tell you ours."

************************

Cog walks forward in the Patton. He knew the biggest problem with the Yorke- namely, its cockpit, while it had top-notch sensors and easy access for repairs, had the glaring weakness of being installed in the head. Especially lucky, then, that Gear had suddenly started learning how to dodge. How she had learned how to dodge was beyond him. Sometimes, things just happened, he guessed.

In any case, they all seemed much more concerned with Gear than they were with his Patton- especially true as he didn't want to deal with the rather severe problem of laying down explosives in an enclosed area.

Still it couldn't hurt to lay down some suppressive fire... He drew a bead on one of the Yorkes... And pulled the trigger right when Gear danced in the way! Oh NOOOOOOO!

And then, it was like she already knew it was going to happen, because she had somehow, impossibly, shifted her mecha in the other direction, without even turning to notice the weapon.
[Cog's RFLX+Mecha Gunnery+BR+TR-MV -> 21]
[Deputy's RFLX+Mecha Piloting-MV -> 24 MISS]

The deputy noticed just in time to avoid getting his mecha damaged but the combination of both Cog and Gear told him in no uncertain terms to quit the field; the two remaining didn't feel particularly inclined to bother with taking down two rather nasty pilots.

*******

"And that's what happened," Cog concludes. "So, really, did you take some sort of stimpack or something?"

"No, no, I didn't," Gear says, clearly just as confused as Cog is. "All I was doing was considering the Arena Champion." Wistful sigh.

Cog blinks. "Seriously? That's what you're going with?"

"No, really! That's what happened!"

Gear: Don't stop thinking about that champion.

There are other things to do right now! Besides, daydreaming won't get her any closer to him! Much as she'd like to know just what sort of face is under that helmet... A lot of people have seen him work, but no one's ever really gotten a good look at him- or at least, that's what they say.

Mordy: Tell them about what the mayor's doing.

Mordy relays what she knows about the mayor's plans. As this has already been revealed, I won't bother having her repeat the message as that would just be silly, now, wouldn't it?

Cog wants to slam his console, but of course, as there is too many buttons there, he won't. "This is exactly the kind of crap I'm talking about! Illegal bioweapons, petty infighting, and destructive corruption! This is why we're having such a hard time getting this planet back in order!"

"Cog! Calm down!" Gear puts in. "There's not a lot we can do about it now. So where are we headed?"

Cog nods. "Right. Right. Well, actually, if the map I had was correct, there's this cabin we'll be stopping at tonight...

END- Of Hunters and Genics

This is the Interlude, 2.5- Much ado about this 'Arena Champion' everyone keeps talking about is contained therein.

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Spoiler

INTERLUDE

You are now the Arena Champion. Before you ask, yes, he remembers his name, and no, he's not going to tell you. In any case, he had been wandering about recently, and got a job from a woman in Oxbow Lake.

He has reached his destination, via walking up to it, as it doesn't look like the guards have mecha; even if they did, it would be kind of suspicious to guard what looks like a log cabin from outside with three or four of the things.

There appear to be two guards at the main entranceway.

:> _:

>Recall details of job

Actually, it's pretty bad; it was originally just a search and rescue- one of the things you normally do in the course of doing your rounds. The woman from Oxbow wanted you to find her daughter. And then you hear that, as usual for such cases, the sheriff referred it to the marshal. And then the marshal decides that he needs extra payment to do the job.

That smelled fishy, so you took the job and followed the trail. Now you're out here waiting, because you know it leads here, but you're not sure how you should take care of the guards just yet.

You close your eyes, and you can hear that there are definitely people inside. At least three, no more than fifteen. Sounds pretty hard, too- seems like the log cabin is only a facade.

>Talk to the guards, with your gun.

You could hit them with your laser pistol, but most of the time you find that remarkably boring, especially as then people shoot at you. Which you admit, is occasionally exciting, but would probably alert the people inside to something being wrong. Instead...

Go talk to the guards.

You walk right up to the cabin, as affable and reticent as you ever are. One guard points a gun at you. "Hey! No one is allowed in here without the express permission of the Boss!"

:> _:

We're here to make a deal.

>"Oh. I was given his permission though."

"Hm?" You say. "But I was given permission by the Boss. I'm here to negotiate for someone."

Egad, you still bust out a thick Lunar accent when you're even slightly nervous, despite it being, what, sixteen or seventeen years since you left? Looking through old archives once upon a time, you think it's somewhere between what was called Northern Midwestern and the Ohio accent. In the case of Japanese it sounds a little more like Osakan.

Still, the guard nods. "Oh! Of course you are! Here, I'll open the door for you." *click*

"Thank you." You give him a little smile, and you can almost see the poor man's heart melt. He'll come to his senses in a minute, but by then you'll already be inside. You're still not sure why even the guys want you, but you're not about to pass up an advantage.

You were right about how many people are inside- in the dim mid-afternoon light faintly streaming in through tiny windows you see various men smoking everything from tobacco to hot, steamy crack fresh off the presses. They're all fairly scruffy-lookin' and you take a guess that at least one might have herded nerf at some point. Needless to say, the smell is an assault to the senses. If it wasn't for your high Resistance skill you'd probably be on a contact high right now. Ugh.

As your eyes adjust to the light, you see a lot of old hunting trophies. From how poorly they're kept, you don't doubt that nobody currently in residence has done any hunting in years, though one seems to be putting on spectacular airs by sitting in a throne made of stylized branches and antler racks. Maybe he's the leader?

:> _:

You walk right up to the leader, bold as brass. Everyone is staring at you, though some are a little more... unfocused than the others.

You think you recognize the leader, though it's difficult to tell in the smoke-filled haze that pervades the room. He certainly looks bored by your arrival- or is it just all the drug interactions? This place is worse than the Ziggurat and you're pretty sure that miasma has killed more than once.

"Uh, hello there..." You put forth, politely.

The leader doesn't seem to be buying it. "Yes, yes, what do you want?"

:> _:

The smoke begins to clear presently, through it, you think you can recognize the man's face now. Well, not really, but at least you recognized the tarnished marshal's badge he apparently has attached to his beer stein. He turns it around to drink from it and you see that the badges have two different numbers.

"Mighty fine mug you got there, eh?" You ask, nonchalantly.

"Heh. Can't stand the High Marshals. Thinking they can police the policemen, who do they think they're fooling?" His features solidify. He's lean, and wiry, and tall, with spindly fingers that seem to be curled about an invisible throat. The leader isn't a bandit at all, it's Marshal Ciari.

"I'm here for a girl."

"Oh? Where would you like her delivered?" A few laughs from the crowd. "I'm not about to let girls go cheap, especially to someone I don't know, mister..."

You pull out one of your laser pistols and put it to his forehead. "Michael. I'm from Luna. Maybe you know me."

His eyes widen in shock and fear. You can smell it come off him. Suddenly the entire room has become extremely tense. There are a few weapons you can hear being drawn, in response to which you pull out your other laser pistol.

:> _:

You fire multiple times into the crowd. The cronies' weapons have mostly been hit and destroyed. It doesn't hurt that because of the overload they've lost use of their hands, too.

Killing everyone is so harsh, really. The storm of bullets forces you to dive out of the way, though even now some of the bandits are dropping their guns and running because you're moving too fast. You let them run away, as you don't see much of a need to throw good bodies in the ground after bad. Maybe one day they'll recover.

But now, for the rest. You've gotten five shots off, and most seem to be trying to work toward concealment, overturning tables, getting behind cushions, that sort of deal. This is pretty normal, at least, in your line of work. You start running through the establishment, gunning down those who are apparently too busy shooting at you to cower.

In the aftermath, you don't even have a scratch, and you can hear a few other people whispering things like "N-n-n-no way..." "Cold-blooded..." and, inevitably, there's one who says, "Like a wildfire..."

There's always someone who likens you to an elemental force. But, well, who can blame them? After all, that does have something to do with how you're this good...

>Kill everyone in the room except the Marshall. "Now, where were we?" say it with your most wicked and trickerish grin.

You turn back to the marshal, gun in each hand, not even caring about the fearful masses to bother with shooting them. There's no challenge in that. "You said something about a little girl, Marshal?"

Marshal Ciari suddenly looks fearful for his life, but recovers, standing up. At his hip is a scabbard, which is drawn to reveal a chainsaw blade. "You've ruined it! Everything! WHY!?"

You holster your laser pistols out of respect for his choice, and draw the chainsaw blade you won in the bloodsports. Gold filigree runs down its length. "You knew that I'd eventually come for you."

Ciari >"Is that all you have to say for yourself? What are you!?"

You smile. "Me? I'm just a refugee from Luna."

*Click* A high pitched whirr comes from the brutal weapon, and Ciari brings it to a guard stance. "You're a monster!"

:> _:

"I'm a monster, now?" You still have that tiny little smile, which turns into a wicked grin. "Then strike me down." You feel the blades reassuring hum up through your arm, and the fight begins. It's actually sort of boring- this guy is obviously trying as hard as he can to get through your defenses, and he simply isn't managing it.

After about fifteen seconds of this- approximately, you can never quite tell in combat- you draw your laser pistol in the off-hand, trap his blade against yours, and shoot it in the motor, ripping it from his hands. "Sickening."

He steps back, hands up in supplication. "Now, let's not be hasty here-"

"Marshal Ciari. You have killed two High Marshals, and raided countless towns in the Territories." You're not sure how, but you've gotten good at this sort of slow walk over the years, at just the right rhythm to state the inevitable. "You've abused your power for your own gain. You have done nothing to deserve your position."

The marshal throws a knife, easily deflected. "Why... Why won't you die...?"

"Because people like you still exist." You pause. "You can request the manner, if you like."

"Screw you, Champ."

"Decapitation it is, then." You make the blow swift and sure, and still there are little gibs that fly out. You'd stop using the chainblade except for the fact that it's so effective.

You pause. They're still here. You stamp your foot, and the floorboards shake a little. "Run."

They do.

The door is easy to find into the basement. Hm, sounds like there are more people here than you thought- or rather, suspected. Not surprising, since they seem to be in concrete cells.

The Champ heads down the secret passage, chainblade lit, walking towards destiny...