Re: The Phenomenal Fracas! (GBS2G6): [Round Three: HMS Thunderhead]
06-25-2011, 09:35 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by granolaman.
The tangled mess of angry limbs rolled across the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, Tamerlane saw a dark tail whip towards his head. A sheet of sand sprung up and neatly amputated the tip. As purple blood splattered across his face, he whirred the sand into a blade to press the fleeting advantage. Syvex reacted with a portal beneath the two fighters and dropped through, closing it on the blade and nearly bisecting the sandman. Tamerlane rolled to his feet and was off them again just as fast as he dodged a barrage of shadow bolts from across the room. He scowled; the serpent’s tail had nearly grown back already.
Not good Tamerlane raised a sand shield to block the next volley before lobbing a chair at the snake and charging. Gotta keep close. He’s no match in close combat. The chair disappeared into a portal and reappeared sailing directly at his face. Tamerlane concentrated his sand to deflect the flying furniture, but in doing so opened himself up for a head-on blast of energy. He cursed and spun off to the side, the shadow tearing through his coat as he did so.
New portals started opening in the ground where Tamerlane landed. The sandman deftly jumped out of the deadly shadows, but more were appearing before his feet could touch the ground. A sharp twist in the air was all he could do to find solid purchase for his feet before launching off again to avoid yet another portal. Tamerlane danced his way onto a table and began bounding towards Syvex again.
He closed nearly half the distance before breaking to dodge another set of bolts. He’ll have to do better than that, the undeterred Tamerlane thought leaping for the next table. The serpent’s toothy grin flashed as a massive portal opened up in the floor and swallowed the table whole. Tamerlane started for a moment before quickly regaining his composure and tossing his sand beneath him. Enough of this. Tamerlane drew the hand ballista from his coat, vaulted off the sand slab, and pulled the trigger.
A dazzling beam of light blasted from the prongs of the crossbow and hurled its way towards Syvex. The snake barely avoided the fatal ray as he dived blindly to the side. When his senses returned, he felt a searing pain in his flank where the bolt hit him. The scent of charred scales filled the air while the wound struggled to heal itself. Still in a daze, Syvex picked himself up off the ground just in time to see Tamerlane squeezing the trigger again.
---------------
Reed analyzed the situation carefully. Two of his officers were already dead; casually murdered by no doubt the same killer responsible for the med bay massacre. Meanwhile, the entire third class was seemingly erupting into anarchy if the chatter over the radios is anything to go by. And to top it off, ex-Security Chief Gallagher sabotaged the engines and was now commandeering the bridge, presumably as an act of piracy. With mere minutes before breaking atmo on Varral, which at this speed would be certain death, Reed had a lot of problems to solve, and they needed to be solved fast.
Gallagher seemed to be the best place to start, but there weren’t exactly a lot of options available to deal with that. Gallagher’s goons showed up to strip the crew of their weapons and left him alone on the bridge to gloat. Reed’s eyes wandered across the room until they landed on the strewn body of his lieutenant. The boy’s sidearm still rested in its holster, unnoticed by the careless mooks. If he could get his hands on that…
Reed sat in absolute silence, carefully watching Gallagher, carefully waiting for the right moment to make his move.
----------------
Syvex slithered quickly along the floor. The tables provided ample cover and shadows, but they wouldn’t last long. Another bolt of light shot through the table he was hiding under, dazing him again. Time to switch. Syvex shot a couple of energy bolts in Tamerlane’s direction before portaling to another table. Not fast enough. A bolt caught him in the tail before he finished jumping, burning straight through. Even with Caliginosity-enhanced regeneration the light burns were proving difficult to heal. Trying to ignore the pain, Syvex opened another portal and slipped through before Tamerlane could find him again.
This game of cat and mouse was beginning to irritate Tamerlane. He ceased fire and surveyed the strewn mess of tables for any sign of the snake. Too many tables, too many hiding places, Tamerlane scowled again. His sand dropped to the floor and quickly spread across the room. No more hiding for you. In seconds, the floor was covered in sand. A bead of sweat dripped down his face, his scowl dissolved quickly into panicked realization. He’s not here!
Tamerlane’s eyes darted to the ceiling just in time to narrowly dodge the incoming flurry of shadows. He unleashed a light bolt at the suspended serpent, but he was already through his next portal. Tamerlane searched for Syvex’s new location and readied for an ambush when a sudden sound of rushing air caught his attention. Across the room, Tamerlane spotted the snake in intense concentration. On both sides of him were closed portal loops containing rapidly accelerating tables.
With a resounding whoosh Syvex opened the first loop and the table went careening towards the sandman. Tamerlane dropped to the floor as the furniture skimmed past his head and crashed through the wall beyond. He leapt to his feet just in time for the second one. He was ready for this one.
The second table whizzed through the air, Tamerlane gathered the sand at his feet and expertly sidestepped the missile. The sand reached out like a whip and lashed onto the leg of the table. With a great force of will, the sandman snapped the table back around him in a great arch. Tamerlane grimaced and yelled as he felt his arm yanked from its socket. The sand released its package and sent it racing back towards Syvex. The snake created a portal in defense, but Tamerlane only grunted and raised the crossbow in his good arm. The ballista fired and the light bolt tore past the table and into the shadowy hole, collapsing its shadowy threshold and disappearing with it. The shock didn’t even register on Syvex’s face until the table collided with him and smashed him through the wall into the next room.
Tamerlane gathered the rest of the sand from the room and with a quick dusty jerk and a sharp twinge of pain, popped his useless arm back into place. He was still here, the snake wasn’t dead yet. The sandman cracked his neck and followed through the hole in the faux wood paneling. He found the debris easily enough, with the snake still trapped underneath. “I know all of your tricks, Serpent. You cannot hope to win. Accept your death with honor.” He slowly approached the rubble, his wicked blade of sand growing on his arm. The broken table exploded into splinters as Syvex arose from the shrapnel grinning at him.
“’All of my tricks?’ Ha! I haven’t even begun to show off, Sandman!” And with that, the snake began glowing as black as the opened bottle of Caliginosity he held in his hand.
The tangled mess of angry limbs rolled across the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, Tamerlane saw a dark tail whip towards his head. A sheet of sand sprung up and neatly amputated the tip. As purple blood splattered across his face, he whirred the sand into a blade to press the fleeting advantage. Syvex reacted with a portal beneath the two fighters and dropped through, closing it on the blade and nearly bisecting the sandman. Tamerlane rolled to his feet and was off them again just as fast as he dodged a barrage of shadow bolts from across the room. He scowled; the serpent’s tail had nearly grown back already.
Not good Tamerlane raised a sand shield to block the next volley before lobbing a chair at the snake and charging. Gotta keep close. He’s no match in close combat. The chair disappeared into a portal and reappeared sailing directly at his face. Tamerlane concentrated his sand to deflect the flying furniture, but in doing so opened himself up for a head-on blast of energy. He cursed and spun off to the side, the shadow tearing through his coat as he did so.
New portals started opening in the ground where Tamerlane landed. The sandman deftly jumped out of the deadly shadows, but more were appearing before his feet could touch the ground. A sharp twist in the air was all he could do to find solid purchase for his feet before launching off again to avoid yet another portal. Tamerlane danced his way onto a table and began bounding towards Syvex again.
He closed nearly half the distance before breaking to dodge another set of bolts. He’ll have to do better than that, the undeterred Tamerlane thought leaping for the next table. The serpent’s toothy grin flashed as a massive portal opened up in the floor and swallowed the table whole. Tamerlane started for a moment before quickly regaining his composure and tossing his sand beneath him. Enough of this. Tamerlane drew the hand ballista from his coat, vaulted off the sand slab, and pulled the trigger.
A dazzling beam of light blasted from the prongs of the crossbow and hurled its way towards Syvex. The snake barely avoided the fatal ray as he dived blindly to the side. When his senses returned, he felt a searing pain in his flank where the bolt hit him. The scent of charred scales filled the air while the wound struggled to heal itself. Still in a daze, Syvex picked himself up off the ground just in time to see Tamerlane squeezing the trigger again.
---------------
Reed analyzed the situation carefully. Two of his officers were already dead; casually murdered by no doubt the same killer responsible for the med bay massacre. Meanwhile, the entire third class was seemingly erupting into anarchy if the chatter over the radios is anything to go by. And to top it off, ex-Security Chief Gallagher sabotaged the engines and was now commandeering the bridge, presumably as an act of piracy. With mere minutes before breaking atmo on Varral, which at this speed would be certain death, Reed had a lot of problems to solve, and they needed to be solved fast.
Gallagher seemed to be the best place to start, but there weren’t exactly a lot of options available to deal with that. Gallagher’s goons showed up to strip the crew of their weapons and left him alone on the bridge to gloat. Reed’s eyes wandered across the room until they landed on the strewn body of his lieutenant. The boy’s sidearm still rested in its holster, unnoticed by the careless mooks. If he could get his hands on that…
Reed sat in absolute silence, carefully watching Gallagher, carefully waiting for the right moment to make his move.
----------------
Syvex slithered quickly along the floor. The tables provided ample cover and shadows, but they wouldn’t last long. Another bolt of light shot through the table he was hiding under, dazing him again. Time to switch. Syvex shot a couple of energy bolts in Tamerlane’s direction before portaling to another table. Not fast enough. A bolt caught him in the tail before he finished jumping, burning straight through. Even with Caliginosity-enhanced regeneration the light burns were proving difficult to heal. Trying to ignore the pain, Syvex opened another portal and slipped through before Tamerlane could find him again.
This game of cat and mouse was beginning to irritate Tamerlane. He ceased fire and surveyed the strewn mess of tables for any sign of the snake. Too many tables, too many hiding places, Tamerlane scowled again. His sand dropped to the floor and quickly spread across the room. No more hiding for you. In seconds, the floor was covered in sand. A bead of sweat dripped down his face, his scowl dissolved quickly into panicked realization. He’s not here!
Tamerlane’s eyes darted to the ceiling just in time to narrowly dodge the incoming flurry of shadows. He unleashed a light bolt at the suspended serpent, but he was already through his next portal. Tamerlane searched for Syvex’s new location and readied for an ambush when a sudden sound of rushing air caught his attention. Across the room, Tamerlane spotted the snake in intense concentration. On both sides of him were closed portal loops containing rapidly accelerating tables.
With a resounding whoosh Syvex opened the first loop and the table went careening towards the sandman. Tamerlane dropped to the floor as the furniture skimmed past his head and crashed through the wall beyond. He leapt to his feet just in time for the second one. He was ready for this one.
The second table whizzed through the air, Tamerlane gathered the sand at his feet and expertly sidestepped the missile. The sand reached out like a whip and lashed onto the leg of the table. With a great force of will, the sandman snapped the table back around him in a great arch. Tamerlane grimaced and yelled as he felt his arm yanked from its socket. The sand released its package and sent it racing back towards Syvex. The snake created a portal in defense, but Tamerlane only grunted and raised the crossbow in his good arm. The ballista fired and the light bolt tore past the table and into the shadowy hole, collapsing its shadowy threshold and disappearing with it. The shock didn’t even register on Syvex’s face until the table collided with him and smashed him through the wall into the next room.
Tamerlane gathered the rest of the sand from the room and with a quick dusty jerk and a sharp twinge of pain, popped his useless arm back into place. He was still here, the snake wasn’t dead yet. The sandman cracked his neck and followed through the hole in the faux wood paneling. He found the debris easily enough, with the snake still trapped underneath. “I know all of your tricks, Serpent. You cannot hope to win. Accept your death with honor.” He slowly approached the rubble, his wicked blade of sand growing on his arm. The broken table exploded into splinters as Syvex arose from the shrapnel grinning at him.
“’All of my tricks?’ Ha! I haven’t even begun to show off, Sandman!” And with that, the snake began glowing as black as the opened bottle of Caliginosity he held in his hand.