• Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 3
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj1sVQ2qdnI Abraxas listened as Alex told him his intention: essentially, he was putting himself in harm's way, perhaps fatally, so that Abraxas could have a chance to save Taylor's life should she need it. The doctor was about to refuse outright when both of them realized that Mordecai had run right up on their position, brandishing a knife. "Wait!" Abraxas shouted at Alex as the latter pushed him away, and the maneuver tripped him up. The medic hit the ground at the same time the Executor landed on his target with a plunging strike. Alex: CH: 4/9 Actual: 7 Roll Passed. Alex: 3 x 1.5(Contender) = 4.5... 5 DMG As Mordecai jumped from the debris pile, Alex turned and got his arm underneath the man, gained leverage and threw him to the ground while evading the blade. Mordecai kicked up a bit of dust as he rolled out of it, grunting from the impact but apparently unshaken. Abraxas briefly considered popping him in the face with one of his healing darts; while it might have seemed counterproductive on the surface, getting tagged in the face with a dart of any kind would stun just about anyone. He thought better of it, as the Vultures were closing in. He took off running toward Taylor, but was cut off by a number of Vultures, one of the two pincers Mordecai had ordered up. Vultures 4 and 5: {3, 1} x 4(Conviction)(Death Marches On) = {12, 4} Abraxas: DEF Rolls = {3, 2} 11 DMG Abraxas HP: 34/155 Gritting his teeth, he pushed through, finding cover again with a view on Taylor. He double-checked that his tool was primed and ready for his next patient, but he briefly held off- Taylor was still in decent condition, and Alex had told him to use his next dose on himself. He waited to see the outcome of Taylor's next move. Meanwhile, the other half of the pincers closed on Alex from the side. There was no way to take cover in time before they opened fire. Vultures 6 and 7: {9, 4} x 4(Conviction)(Death Marches On) = {36, 16} Alex: DEF Rolls = {1, 7} 44 DMG Alex HP: 22/156 Alex could feel the end coming. Abraxas had bought him a little bit more time, precious, little time, but he knew that it wouldn't be enough at this point, not without a miracle. But Alex had forgotten that he was part of an organization which doesn't turn its back on its own- ever. Just as he delivered for Abraxas, Arkadam would deliver for him. The kanad had already realized the two of them were pinned down by watching the enemy close in on some distant cover, and, taking deep breaths from a strapped-on nitrogen tank, he charged forward in pursuit. From his angle, he couldn't intervene in Abraxas's side of the fight, but he could still get to Alex, and as soon as he arrived he opened fire with the TAC-85. Arkadam: {9, 8, 6} x 1.25 x 2(Desperation) = {22.5... 23, 20, 15} Vulture 6 has been killed. "COME ON!" Abraxas screamed through the comms. "THEY'RE ON THEIR LAST LEGS, FINISH THEM OFF!!" The brooding, aloof Abraxas had suddenly arrived to the fight with a renewed passion he hadn't displayed since before Vostokrebh. There was more than just battle fury on his mind, it was almost pleading, an agonized expression of desperate hunger for some undefined victory. It was so primal, in fact, that for the first time ever, the crew heard him speak with a kanad accent he had long suppressed. As Mordecai took the shot of plasma and staggered backwards, he recognized the voice as well. One of his own men dropped dead beside him as he wondered for a brief moment if Arkadam Sidikan had always predicted this outcome or if he was only an idealist with an absurd ability to survive, like Yanim was, before her luck ran out. Archangel, meanwhile, was practically oblivious to the mounting losses, or more likely, he knew and didn't care. There was only one thing on his mind, and that was killing Taylor Caine. He charged his gauntlet for another attack, planning to do to her body what he had already done to her mech. Taylor wasn't about to stand still and take it, however, and instead threw everything she had into a parry attack. Taylor: CH: 3/7 Actual: 6 Roll Passed. Taylor: 10 x 1.5 x Crit(CH1/2, 2, Passed, x2) = 30 DMG She dipped hard, dodging multiple swings by her juggernaut opponent as he tried to pound her into the dirt. As soon as she had gained the distance, however, she brought her arm around and leveled the bolt pistol right in Archangel's face. "Fuck you!" she yelled with punctuation as she pulled the trigger, shooting the bolt directly into the Horseman's head with enough force to throw his head back. His eyes skyward, Archangel had barely processed the hit when the bolt itself exploded and blew most of his face off. The robot staggered backwards, looking as if it were finished... But instead, Archangel simply lowered his horrifying, mangled face with exposed interior components on Taylor once again. He wasn't dead. He was barely even slowed down, but when he next spoke, his voice was distorted from the physical damage. It sounded far more hateful than before. Another shot grazed him and he hardly noticed. Karl: {5, 2, 3} x (No Feat Applicable) = {5, 2, 3} For some strange reason, Karl had taken his focus away from the Vultures currently baring down on Alex and Abraxas and had decided to send his regards to the Horsemen. It didn't seem to do much, and for that reason, it was probably a bad idea. Golem, however, had a more novel plan in mind. Kicking up dust and debris, it began to race toward Archangel's position. With Nathaniel and his vultures distracted by Jason and Harvey, the drone had a nearly-clear path to attack Archangel directly in melee. Only the Starving Buzzard attempted to intervene. Specter: CH 3/5 Actual: {2, 1} 2 Rolls Failed. A number of explosions launched dirt and debris into the air, but Golem emerged from the other side unscathed, seizing onto Archangel and attempting to carry him into the air! Golem: CH: 3/7 Actual: 1 Roll Failed. Golem: 2 x 1.25 + 10(Hydraulics) x Hydraulics(CH1/3, 1, Failed) = 12.5... 13 DMG At the last moment before the collision, Archangel turned and planted his feet, choosing to shoulder tackle Golem rather than risk being picked up and carried. The maneuver worked, causing both robots to careen away from the spot, Archangel's body sliding across the rocks and gravel like a motorcyclist thrown from his hog. Golem, however, landed gracefully and turned back toward the battle. Up on the ridge, Nathaniel had devolved into a sort of battle craze. The Vultures were thinning out by the moment, but he was determined to finish the march. His two remaining minions turned to the stars to shoot down the last of the Muramasa team's mechs. Fatalism was becoming infectious. They were well aware of their declining odds, but orders were orders. To die at Nathaniel's side, in direct service of the Executor, felt like the end they had always secretly hoped for. They fired another set of rockets at Harvey, since the Buzzard had missed him as well when they failed to stop Golem. Vultures 8 and 11: CH: 3/5 Actual: {3, 4} 2 Rolls Passed. Harvey has been shot down! (Auto Roll) Harvey: CH: 1/3 Actual: 2 Roll Failed. In what might prove to be their final act, the Vultures succeeded in bringing Harvey down with a pair of precise rocket strikes. The mech burst into flames as its plate armor began to shear apart in the wind. Harvey could barely get it flight-level by the time he reached the ground, slamming into the dirt and riding the dead suit to a stop. Finally, he popped the hatch and climbed out, nervously, as he wasn't nearly as effective without a rocket pod to work with. At least, however, he was a trained medic. Nathaniel chuckled as he witnessed the aftermath of the crash, before turning to face Jason once more. The veteran mercenary closed in for another attack, but this time, Nathaniel was waiting to grapple him. Nathaniel: CH 5/7 Actual: 6 Roll Passed. As Jason threw his next punch, the Horseman grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close, his laughter giving way to a grunt of exertion as he hoisted his foe off the ground, turning and hurling him down the steep side of the ridge toward Archangel's position. Jason wasn't able to get purchase on landing and instead tumbled end over end toward flatter ground, breaking one of his legs in the process. 40 DMG Jason HP: 101/125 Immediately, Dr. Sadowski's high-power nanites set in rather painfully, mending the bones to the sound of Jason's agonized groans. He clenched up on the ground, breathing through his teeth until he felt the pain gradually numb, allowing him to gingerly stand and limp into cover while he planned his next move. Inadvertently, he stumbled on Abraxas, who had been watching the fight the whole time and had decided his best option was to heal himself after all. +17 HP to Abraxas Abaxas HP: 51/155 Letting the medicine course through his veins, the quiet doctor hung his head a moment and caught his breath. In such a dire moment, his concoctions could only do so much; they tended to perform better if the patient's body wasn't systemically injured. Despite Arkadam's enthusiasm moments earlier, Abraxas still had doubts that everyone left standing would make it out alive, especially as Nathaniel stood triumphant at the top of the ridge despite taking an inhuman beating repeatedly. Just then, Eve added to the Horseman's injuries. Eve: 9 x 1.25 x (No Feat Applicable) = 11.25... 11 DMG Nathaniel took the hit and shrunk back a bit, but now that he had accepted and embraced his incoming death, the pain didn't seem to bother him so much anymore. "What an asshole," Jason grumbled under his breath. "Yep," Abraxas agreed as he loaded up another dart. --- Objectively, all of this is meaningless. But that's the thing. If things are meaningless, then we're the ones left to give them meaning. Why cause others pain, when you can strive for better? As long as the world can find meaning, and strive to improve, you and your damned ideology are doomed to fail... Dwan waited for a response as he quickly searched the medbay for something which could grant him a much-needed reprieve from the pain and damage dealt by Beta's VRI. He hoped she would keep talking, because it seemed to be slowing him down. But what was the point, when she could just run him down and kill him? Then, that damned laugh hit him again, this time too close for comfort. She was right outside the door he had entered through, speaking to him from cover. "Kyeh hyeh hyeh heh heh hyeh... Dwan, we don't make meaning. We're the ones who make it all meaningless. There's nothing right or wrong about the stars, or the planets, and all the dust on Duroma. Then we come... we come and make our choices, we play our little games, and we tell ourselves that right and wrong are real and that everything comes to judgement in the end. And then what do we do? We kill, we lie, we steal, and we defile. The best thing anyone can do is nothing. Not even breath!" Beta's voice rose alarmingly and there was a shrill sound outside the door along with a reddish hue- Dwan could picture Beta digging her red-hot tail into the metal ground, seething in anger. "The universe doesn't need life to create things. It was doing just fine on its own before intelligence came along and infested it...We can't claim good, Dwan. Never, ever, ever... Not after what I've seen. Not after what I know." Dwan was trying his damnedest to ignore her as he searched the shelves, but it was hard hearing the voice of someone he had spent so much time with in such a state of deranged despair, so unlike the person he thought he knew. Dwan: CH: 2/3 Actual: 3 Roll Passed. All of a sudden, he noticed a small tray containing a canister of what he was certain was biofoam, perfect for the open wound and burning on his neck. Deftly, he applied the foam and rubbed it into the damaged flesh, still listening to Beta's ramblings. +30 HP Dwan HP: 53/63 "Death brings it all back to zero. The suffering will either go on forever or we'll end it all with one big, terrified scream. And then it'll all be over. There'll be no one left to hate, to kill, to deceive... speaking of which..." she said, a sudden joyful inflection entering her tone, "you're in for a big one. A big, big one... hyeeeh hyeh heh. I hope we both survive just long enough to see it. I want to see you see it..." As Dwan pondered the meaning of the statement, he paused a moment, and just then, Beta shot him again with her VRI, catching him in the ribs. Beta: 4 x 2.25 x 2.5(Kerostasia) x 2(Conviction) = 45 Dwan: DEF Roll = 7 38 DMG Dwan HP: 15/63 At least now Dwan understood why Beta hadn't killed him. As he limped along, carrying the can of biofoam in his hand until he was behind cover again, he was tempted to scream at her to stop shooting at him if she really wanted him to stick around much longer, but he also got the impression that Beta preferred her targets to get desperate and plead, and he refused to give her the satisfaction. But now, his conscience was badly troubled. She wanted him to witness a deception of some sort. What, or who, was she talking about? "What will you do when Starvis gets opened?" she asked, and Dwan knew that she had entered the room. She was standing only a few meters away, her pistol pointed at the corner where he was hiding, and he no longer had an escape route. As soon as he would stick his head out, he would die. "Will you make a portal and abandon this universe a second time?" she mocked him. "Just keep running from ugly reality until your next chance to show up and play hero?"
With his shots barely making a dent Karl cursed and relocated into cover farther back. He then scoped in on Nathaniel and his men but instead of firing another series of shots he selected two targets, looked for any visible explosive ordnance, spare rockets or ammo and then fired at it. Hopefully there would be some bang.
"Fuck, didn't hit anything with that last run!" Specter began to steer the Buzzard again. Aiming to bring Golem down with another strike. "Give Archangel a warning to keep his distance, last thing I need is to blow him up" --- On the ridge above nathaniel observed where his pray landed. Right next to the medic. The Horseman of war smilled under his helmet. He thought of something he would find funny. The plasma had burned and melted his armor away, but it had not burned through his grenade belt. Undoing the belt and holding it in one hand, he pulled one of the pins and tossed it down the ridge. "Have some fireworks!" He yelled through his pain, to taunt them. The Vultures however opted to take the enemy robot out. They locked on to Golem once again and fired. --- Archangel had never felt pain before in his life. Why should he? He was a machine. But those last few hits were more crucial than before. The shot cleaning his lower jaw from his face started turning the gears in the android memory. The same triggers that happened when he heard Dwan and Beta talk. This was all too familiar and maddening. Before he could take another swing at Taylor for payback, Golem intervened and smashed into him with full force. The impact was disorienting at first, but soon enough, Death rose to his feet. If he was to finish off Taylor, he needed to get rid of this distraction. He upholstered Bromun's gun. The laser magnum that hung from his waist for most of this battle and aimed it at Golem's joints. "I do hope there is someone in there for me to end." he taunted Taylor again with all the malice his voice could muster --- "You pierced the skin." Mordecai commented as he observed the damage from Arkadam "Too bad it's only there for show." "You going to go into another ego trip speech?" Alex was on death's door, using the sword to stay on his feet, but he had enough in him to deffy whatever the old bastard was going to throw at him. "No, I'll just kill you." The Executor holstered the knife and aimed with his own gun towards the crew members. The Vultures still standing doing the same. Alex in turn scrambled to cover.
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY!?" shouted Taylor, rage spewing forth into her voice as she cocked the hammer back on the rail revolver yet again. The cylinder shifted, spining and arming the next shot. She took aim once more, aiming for Archangel's chest. If a headshot wouldn't put him down, maybe a shot through the torso would. She corrected for the pull, and fired yet again. --------- Eve continued to fire on Nathaniel, as determined as ever to put the commander down for good.
Once again, Golem was targeted. It maneuvered away, sending out another salvo of counter-measures again in an attempt to evade both Archangel and the grenades coming it's way.
Dwan's breathing heavily following that shot in the ribs - even Lion's armor doesn't seem to be helping him in this time of need - as he sat behind cover. He was utterly cornered, and from his position, it didn't seem as though he could reliably establish a portal... he had to figure something out, and quick. While he quickly reversed the function of the EMF shield as to prepare the EMP he had planned for earlier, he would still need to be unobstructed as to ensure the EMP hit her directly, and he couldn't just awkwardly jut out the howitzer either, as she'd likely shoot it as soon as she saw it. But at least he knew she wanted him alive, to cause him misery and suffering as their side falls and witnesses the horrors of Starvis' release. He would need to juke her somehow, take advantage of his position, and as such, he fell back to considering her words, and responding. "...if something like this had happened years ago, perhaps, I would've run away if there was none to push me forward with their smiles," he began, "but not today, after everything that has occurred. I am responsible for all this, and I can't run away from that fact. It is now or never..." he finished, leading to a strained snicker, paralleling Beta's own damnable laughter. "But you speak of intelligence as being the reason why the universe suffers, an infestation to be cleansed if it is to be returned to regularity... but that's far from it," he continued in a tone more akin to how Beta speaks, having figured out what to do; he was going to try and make her think that she was getting through to him. "The universe will always suffer, no matter what resides in it, whether it be intelligence or floating rock. And that suffering is never-ending, and one need not intelligence to realize that. Even at its end it doesn't end, whether it undergoes a crunch, starting it all anew, or sees itself enter a slow heat death, eternally cold for the rest of its existence. Universes are never fine, so, tell me Beta, why not damn it all then? Eradicate all matter in sight, for there is no eternal good, no subjectivity worth considering. Bring death beyond zero, so far below that suffering becomes a thought so abstract one would consider it an impossibility..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJqZxtz-kXc The Executor's confidence remained steadfast, even as his men were dropping around him. He had seen too many battles, immersed himself in violence for so long that the faltering of his unit didn't bother him. There was a certainty in his every action, an unshakable conviction that he would eventually prevail, that his victory was inevitable. Perhaps he simply knew something that his enemies didn't. As he raised his gun, so too did three of the remaining Vultures. Alex sought cover, but Arkadam stood his ground, having assumed his comrade would do the same. Suddenly realizing the immense danger he had put himself in, he used the opportunity Mordecai provided by switching weapons to take the initiative, leaping at the old leader in a desperate attempt to both stop him from attacking as well as avoid being killed by the other foes present. Arkadam: CH: 2/7 x 2(Malevolence) = 4/7 Actual: 3 Roll Failed. Arkadam launched himself off the ground, but Mordecai wasn't the least bit surprised by his tactic. He grabbed the kanad out of the air with only one arm, ignoring a few inconsequential, thrashing kicks from Arkadam's undersized body, then turned and threw him forcefully onto the dusty ground. Casually, he leveled his plasma pistol on the back of Arkadam's head and pulled the trigger. Mordecai: 3 x 2 x (No Feat Applicable) = 6 Arkadam: DEF Roll = 6 No Damage. Miraculously, however, some element of the collision and Arkadam's flailing had managed to hit the gun and jostle its plasma cartridge loose, and the pistol refused to fire. Without even realizing how close he had come to being killed, Arkadam flipped onto his side and swiped at Mordecai's face with a backhanded punch! Arkadam: 3 x 1.25 x 2(Desperation) = 7.5... 8 DMG The Executor was only further annoyed, and to Arkadam, it felt like punching a piece of iron. He was undeterred, however. The crazed desperation, the sense of achievable victory was still in his eyes even as the leader of the Death Vigil calmly fixed his pistol so that he could finish the job. Meanwhile, the Vultures had avoided attacking, as Arkadam had hoped, due to his close proximity to their leader. They instead turned their attention to Alex, who attempted to evade them. Alex: CH: 4/7 Actual: {3, 4, 5} 2 Rolls Passed. 1 Roll Failed. Vultures 4 and 5: Action Invalidated. Vulture 7: 5 x 4(Conviction)(Death Marches On) = 20 Alex: DEF Roll = 11 9 DMG Alex HP: 13/156 Somehow, somehow, both men managed to avoid losing their lives, but it was almost a certainty that Arkadam would be killed if the Muramasa crew didn't intervene in some way. Alex dropped into cover, checking himself over and only finding one new wound. If Arkadam was doomed, then he was next, and he spat a bit of blood out of his mouth as he considered his next move. Elsewhere, Archangel picked himself off of the ground and was forced to choose between continuing his feud with Taylor and trying to disable the mechanized threat. Before he could choose his next target, Taylor was already bearing down on him with another shot from her rail revolver. Taylor: 9 x 1.5 x (No Feat Applicable) = 13.5... 14 DMG A hole was blown into the front of Archangel's chest, but the shot didn't penetrate his entire body. Undeterred, the robot set its sights on what it still considered the more immediate threat, and replied with its own strike to Golem. The two Vultures up on the hill targeted the drone as well, unaware that it was unmanned, and all three attacks were launched at roughly the same moment. Golem, sensing the danger, once again attempted to evade. Golem: CH: 3/5 Actual: {4, 4, 3 5} 4 Rolls Passed. The highly-mobile robot once again displayed its wily side by bounding out of the way of Archangel's attack. The rockets sent from the ridge pounded the ground behind Golem as huge rooster tails of gravel and dirt rose into the air. It boosted again when the Starving Buzzard made yet another pass on its position, and yet again the enemy failed to hit its mark. Frustrations were rising on both sides as the fight seemed to go on without either party gaining a significant advantage. Nathaniel, having been sufficiently challenged by Jason, seemed to have lost all concern except for that of ending the mercenary's life, and he recklessly held aloft a belt full of grenades and taunted the man. Karl was watching, and scoped in on the belt, but before he could get the shot off, the Horseman wound up to throw. The resulting shot was a bit pressured... Karl: CH: 2/5 Actual: 1 Roll Failed. ...and missed the mark, striking Nathaniel instead... Karl: 6 x (No Feat Applicable) = 6 DMG Nathaniel: CH: 5/7 Actual: 1 Roll Failed. ...but the belt didn't hit its intended target anyway, landing just short of its targets. Jason, having heard Nathaniel's taunt, turned to Abraxas. "Grenade!" he screamed as he tackled the medic so that the two of them would be shielded by a small rocky ridge between them and the belt's position, and the shrapnel flew right over their heads. "Get off me," Abraxas grumbled, shoving Jason off of him. "It wouldn't have reached us anyway," he added. Jason grimaced. "You're welcome," he replied, lifting the man up. "Now let's kill that piece of shit." "Agreed." Jason stood and flipped Nathaniel the bird, just to prove he was unharmed. "You as crispy on the inside as you are on the outside?" He yelled at him before opening fire. Eve and Harvey, nearby, joined him. Jason: 10 + 8(Assault) + 9(Assault) + 2(Assault) x 2 = 58 DMG Harvey: 9 x 0.5 x (No Feat Applicable) = 4.5... 5 DMG Eve: 10 x 1.25 x (No Feat Applicable) = 12.5... 13 DMG Nathaniel has been killed! "Get fucked!" Jason screamed as he watched the barrage hit the dying commander, shredding what was left of him from the inside out before blowing his entrails out of his back in a shower of fiery blood and gore. His soul was gone from his body before he even reached the ground, and as he fell, a smear of everything the Horseman was made of colored the gray topsoil a garish crimson red. Nathaniel was gone. All around the battlefield, the Vultures seemed to suddenly awaken to the fact that their inspiration had died in the most ignoble of ways, and that they were surrounded by the corpses of their former comrades. The two closest Vultures let out a yell of shock and dismay, and, as shots continued to fly up the ridge at them, seemed to fumble around with their hands, unable to work the rocket launchers any longer as the immense damage to their body finally reached the surface. They couldn't suppress it any longer. Vultures 8 and 11 have succumbed to their injuries! Down below, the Muramasa crew began to roar defiantly at their foes, turning all their attention and all of their guns on the remaining five fighters. Mordecai, moments earlier convinced of his imminent victory, now realized that he was significantly outgunned on the ground. "Form up on Archangel!" he called out, and his men staggered forward, looking far worse for wear than he anticipated. As he marched along himself, he realized what horrid shape Archangel was truly in, missing half his face and riddled with holes and burns and other damage, and came to a total halt. In an almost dreamlike state, he looked left and right, and realized that the few men he had left on hand collapsed to the ground, one by one, sometimes with the help of enemy firepower. Vultures 4, 5, and 7 have succumbed to their injuries! He was alone with Archangel, surrounded by an enemy which would settle for nothing less than his life! Perhaps it was time to consider his backup plan... --- Dwan: CH: 3/7 Actual: 6 Roll Passed. Dwan waited anxiously for a response. When he had finished speaking, there was a pause, and he couldn't even guess what was going through Beta's mind, nor could he see her facial expression while hiding behind the corner. Finally, he heard in a little voice, under Beta's breath: "[...Are you fucking with me?]" He knew enough of the Kanad language that he understood it without consciously thinking about it. Dwan apparently hadn't fooled her, but whether or not she was entertained was another question. The real goal was to see her lower her guard, and as long as they kept talking and playing these games, then it was still possible. Around the corner, what he couldn't see, was a mad grin from ear to ear adorning Beta's ghoulish face. She wasn't confused by Dwan's antics, but she was incredulous, if not outright impressed by his audacity to try such a thing. "Either you think I'm insane, or you're out of tricks... or both," she replied. "You talk to me as if I don't know what suffering is anymore, like it's all some big... miasma," she elaborated, a growing frustration in her voice as she gesticulated with her free hand. Dwan could hear the ruffling of her clothing, and the jostling of her equipment, but she hadn't moved her pistol away from her target yet. "No, no... every moment hurts. Every second I can imagine all the ways things could be different. The people I've known and loved are in my mind every time I take a life. The future I could have had, building things and helping others, it's all there every time I pull the trigger, just- rattling around in there!" There was another shrill blast of light and sound, and Dwan flinched, knowing that Beta was digging her tail into the ground again. "...And I'm the pain in other people's minds, I'm sure. My parents back in my own universe must be heartbroken. The alpha in this one did the same, burdening them with the kind of memories that make you want to pound a knife into your skull so you can dig it out with your fingers. We make love and then destroy it, Dwan, so what... what is the point of it all? Why? Why did you hurt me? Why do I hurt you? We leave each other scarred because that's our nature, us living things. We apologize as if it makes a difference, but it doesn't. What good do words do when the pain is enough to make us want to kill each other? Rocks and stars... don't insult me by pretending you don't understand, even if you don't agree. "We've always failed each other, and always will. That pain will exist as long as we do. If you think I consider myself a savior because I want to end it, you're mistaken... I've just reached the inevitable conclusion of all this: there is no savior. We're doomed. Just wait a bit longer, please. I promise you, you'll see what I mean. You'll see... "Please." Dwan had been silent the entire time, waiting for the moment to strike, but the change in Beta's tone affected him. The longer she spoke, the less she sounded like herself, and the less she sounded like "Damya." In the two years since he left the Archius, he now realized, he had never heard Yanim's voice until now. The one he had spoken to over the phone, the one who died on Rigel, had been forced to use a computer approximation, and so he had almost forgotten what it was supposed to sound like. But here it was, its personas discarded, utterly plain. Perhaps this was the only chance he would get to strike, and yet it almost seemed too apropos. Beta might have even been setting a trap of her own the entire time. It was simply down to a judgement call.
Enough running. This was the beginning of the enemy's defeat. It's time to finish them for good! Golem locked onto Archangel, sending hundreds of flying projectiles his way.
Taylor paused only for a moment to look around, as it had quieted down a bit. Nathaniel was dead, and so were all of the other Vigil troops save for their supreme leader himself and Archangel. And that gnat of a ship they had. "How does it feel, Archie? How does it fucking feel to be on the shit end of the stick for once?" she said, turning her attention back to Archangel. She cocked the hammer back on the rail revolver yet again. Last shot before she had to reload. She took aim, yet again, and pulled the trigger. If Golem's shots didn't work, maybe this one would.
Mordecai looked around him. The gravity of the situation finally hitting him. His megalomania and ego had finally cashed in a cheque big enough and no one could pay the bill. For once in a very long career and life, he was not only humbled, but beaten so close to submission. And it was all done by insects, people who have done nothing in their lives that could come close to what he has done. How? Was this some crude joke? Was this some nightmare induced by his neural implants malfunctioning? No, this was real and he was one of the last men standing. "Anyone left?" "Just you, me and the Starving Buzzard, executor." Archangel's mechanical voice answered through the comms. "Odds are 5000 to one for survival at best." "Protocol 5?" "Already in effect." "Good. At least there will be some memory to learn from." Mordecai's voice had become melancholy as the realization came, the tone had no effect on the machine, but it did to him and probably to those who he would speak to next "This is Executor Mordecai to the Starving buzzard, the ground battle is lost. You're free to do what you want, but I will encourage you to flee. What happens next will happen regardless of what you do. He looked to his right and noticed someone creeping up on him. It was Alex. He was barely able to stand. The sword had been placed back in it's shieth and he had opted to pick up a plasma riffle from one of the fallen Vultures. The Executor was in his sights, but he didn't make a move to defend himself. "What a mess you've made." Mordecai commented. "Yeah, and I look like one too." Alex spat out "Any last speeches?" "Just the one." He dropped his own riffle to the ground and lifted his hands in the air slightly above his head "You have your greatest enemy at gunpoint and now he's surrendering to you. Congratulations boy. You've made your masters proud." Alex was caught off-guard by this and the shock paralyzed him for a few seconds. Yet the the Death vigil executor didn't take advantage of the situation. Did he old man really give up? "Uh, Arkadam?" --- How does it feel, Archie? How does it fucking feel to be on the shit end of the stick for once? "I'm in a great deal of pain, you bitch! How about I come over there and share some." Archangel ignored whatever Golem was doing. The battle was lost, the final protocols kicked in and the only thing left to do was for him to cause as much damage to his nemesis as he could. Locking on to where she was, he fired off with his own magnum aiming to disarm her, before he began his charge to close the gap between them. --- On board the Buzzard there was silence. Both Specter and Countess were at a loss as what to do. Did it really all come to this? Was everything really going to end like this? Will the grand dream just fall apart like that? Whatever was happening between Dwan and Beta was completely ignored by them. The drama was of little interest compared to the shock of hearing their leader speak in such a state. For a time Specter stared at the ship controls completely clueless what to do. His normal quick wit frozen in it's tracks. Countess next to him wondering if they should try to break this to the rest of the fleet in orbit. Should they call for reinforcements? Even if they did, will they arrive in time? "One more run?" Specter finally broke the silence "What?" "One more run on them. Just as a parting gift from us." He mussed "We have that big robot down there. Mind as well try to take it out before we get out of here." "Fuck it." Countess threw her hands in the air before falling back in her chair. "Mind as well. Hell, I'll try to get the anti-air guns to aim at it. See if we can get something extra." "Fine by me." Specter leaned closer to the controls. The Buzzard made one more turn for the field. Just to deliver one more blow fueled out of spite.
Karl almost couldn't believe it. The enemy was broken. From his vantage point behind a piece of rubble he watched as Archangel made his final effort to strike back while Mordecai simply dropped a weapon on the ground. The ship however was still going... "Enemy ship is coming back around!" Karl quickly switched out his magazine for one with armor-piercing slug rounds. They weren't as powerful as his own special rounds but they'd do the trick against robots, vehicles and ships. He raised his gun and scoped in on the Starving Buzzard's cockpit window as it came back around. Inhale. Exhale. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Dwan wasn't entirely sure still whether or not he had convinced her or not, after hearing out her entire monologue. He used the canister of biofoam he had held onto, applying the foam where she had caught him in the ribs earlier, as he thought of a response. If this truly was it, then he'd be able to step out and enact his plan against her; if it wasn't, then she'd shoot him on sight once more, and he'd again be left struggling yet living. Hearing what was going on via the comms, it was truly now or never for him. He sighed, as he responded. "It's not as if you don't know what suffering is, it is only that your scope is limited. I'm not going to pretend that I don't understand what you're saying, at this point there's no reason, even if I disagree. But there's nothing good at the end of it all, just as you said. So, I'll wait," he spoke, as Beta could hear him moving. "I may as well accept your plea. It's not like my involvement here can result in anything worse at this point," he continued, as he put the triggers for his howitzers in his hands. They were small enough that Beta could interpret his hands as being clenched out of frustration, assuming she doesn't see the small wiring that connects them to the backpack. He slowly began to step out of his hiding spot, prepared to face Beta. Assuming she doesn't shoot him, he'd wait briefly until he had adjusted his position from where to fire his howitzer in machine gun mode from, and then activate the EMP. He'd let the machine gun rip, as he lets go of the trigger he used to activate the EMP, as to reach for his saber - if she could somehow still reach him despite her tail immobilizing her to an extent, he can control the space between them using it. Hopefully, however, he hoped that the machine gun alone would be enough to finish the job. Beta was right about one thing - there's a repeating cycle of violence, abuse, that had to be resolved - but her method was not the solution, to continue the cycle. She had so many different avenues she could've confronted him with, yet she chose violence and lies. Today, he would finally end her cycle, he'd continue being an abuser in her eyes, yet he didn't care. At some point earlier, he even had the thought of just capturing her, perhaps use her as a means to clear Yanim's name of some crimes she absolutely did not commit, yet he wondered what the point would be in the end, especially with her being dead now. There was only one way this could end now, and it would be with her blood on the ground, and the computer pack she has being in his hands.
Just as Mordecai dropped his weapon, there was a distant speckle of light in the sky near the horizon. For a moment, everyone paused what they were doing and looked upwards, witnessing the return of the Yscom fleet, bloodied but far from beaten in its home territory, now arriving to finish the job against the smaller Death Vigil fleet. The battle had turned on more than one front. The Starving Buzzard would make one final pass before departing, targeting Golem now that it was stationary and aiding in the Muramasa attack. If successful, it would be one last parting gesture, or at least an insult to the injuries inflicted earlier in the fight. It was a sore consolation prize for pilots who had expected an easy victory. As Specter set up the next dive, Countess honed in on the ground targets as best she could with weapons which were never designed for this use. Meanwhile, Karl looked down his scope and prepared to attempt the most difficult shot of his life. Karl: CH: 2/21 Actual: {14, 21} 1 Roll Passed. 1 Roll Failed. Specter: CH 4/5 Actual: 5 Roll Passed. Countess: Action Invalidated. As Specter pulled the trigger, setting the rockets into flight, there was a mysterious "pop" that startled him and Countess. A split second later, an armor-piercing bullet slammed its way through the bridge window and caught Countess in the neck, causing an immediate hemorrhage. The combination of blood spatter and wind rushing through the bridge nearly caused Specter to crash, and only after he had regained full control did he realize, incredulously, that Countess had been killed. "Oh- oh- shit!" he yelled, realizing that there was nothing he could do as long as he needed to remain at the controls. It wasn't entirely clear whether he could have done anything regardless. Countess! Reactivate the defense turrets, the fucker hit me with an EMP! Specter looked at the comm a moment and wondered whether he wanted to explain to Beta what had happened. He was too busy manning one set of controls to respond to her request, but on the other hand, there was a hostile on board the ship at that very moment... Meanwhile, the rockets he had sent away easily pounded the defense drone repeatedly. Golem disappeared into a black cloud, and when the dust finally cleared, it was obvious that the machine was heavily damaged and barely operational. Large chunks of the machine were blown off or open. 50 DMG Golem HP: 44/100 Its internals clicking and grinding as the machine determinedly locked on to Archangel, the drone revved up its guns. Golem: 4 x 1.25 x (No Feat Applicable) = 1.25... 5 DMG Only a few rounds came out of the machine guns before a catastrophic jam occurred, the end result of the pummeling Golem received. Archangel took a glancing shot to the shoulder which he ignored entirely. The battle was lost, but he was determined to pound Taylor into dust as his last action before being destroyed himself. It didn't matter to him that Jason and Harvey were now simply abandoning cover and closing in from behind, filling his body with bullets and plasma without remorse. Jason: [8 + 4(Assault)] x 2 = 24 DMG Harvey: 8 x 0.5 = 4 DMG Likewise, Taylor was aiming back at him with a shaking arm, muscle sinews aching from the nonstop exertion of the battle and yet kept aloft by the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She had lost someone close today, and she wasn't going to be able to rest until Archangel was utterly annihilated. Archangel: CH 2/5 Actual: 1 Roll Failed. Archangel: 5 x 1.75 x 3(Conviction) x 0.5(Suppression) = 13.125... 13 Taylor: 6 7 DMG Taylor HP: 93/195 Archangel got the first shot off, narrowly missing Taylor's shooting hand and instead striking her in the upper arm. He then began to charge. His body limped along in a terrifying way, so shattered and broken that it didn't seem like it should be moving it all. It was the end result of a machine created to accomplish a single goal, with no regards for its own survival. Taylor fired her shot: Taylor: 8 x 1.5 x (No Feat Applicable) = 12 DMG Taylor's aim was true. The shot hit Archangel square in the head, and the robot staggered to a halt before her as its blown-out components began to catch fire. Wordlessly, and yet groaning with some haywire mechanical roar, it raised its arms and reached for her neck. Taylor took a step backwards and watched the fingers open and close rapidly, the hands missing her entirely. The machine was blind, dying, and falling apart before her eyes. Flipping the gun around in the palm of her hand, she smashed what was left of its head in with all the strength she could muster, and watched as it collapsed in on itself in a crumpled, burning heap. She fell to one knee in exhaustion. With the Starving Buzzard flying away, Mordecai surrendering, and the Yscom fleet returning, at last, it seemed as if the impossible had been done. Jason let his gun hang by its strap and fell to his knees, laughing. Harvey rubbed his face with his hands, and Karl stood watching the scene unfold in the sky above and wondered if this was the moment that would define his life. Muramasa, can you hear me? It was Neasha. The Diamond Cutlass had returned. --- Dwan cautiously rounded the corner, freezing when he realized that not only had Beta not dropped her guard, but the VRI was now hovering only inches away from the bridge of his nose. The plasma coils began to whine with a charge, but she didn't pull the trigger. "Don't try anything," she warned. "Uh," Dwan managed to reply before simply going forward with his plan. Dwan: CH: 5/7 Actual: 3 Roll Passed. The EMP blast raced its way through the room, overtaking Beta and causing a total meltdown of her cybernetics systems. She recoiled, feeling the onset of a partial seizure as she fired her VRI into the ceiling- or would have, if the gun hadn't simply refused to discharge once the delicate plasma coil interchange had been overloaded with interference. Dwan then centered his howitzers properly and fired... Dwan: 2 x 1.5 x (No Feat Applicable) = 3 DMG Only for Beta to suddenly jerk her body towards the floor, causing the shots to only graze her. "YOU F-FREAK BASTARD!" she screamed as she frantically crawled backwards across the floor. The VRI was useless to her now, so she tossed it aside before flipping, looking rather like a dying spider as she clenched the base of her limp tail with a numb hand and fumbled for the release mechanism. Behind her, Dwan reached for his plasma saber. Not only would it prevent her from lashing out, which was a distinct threat even in her crippled state, but it increasingly felt like "plan A" for the dwarf. Beta managed to get her feet under herself once the tail was disconnected and dove awkwardly onto one of the medical lab's operating tables before rolling over to the other side, landing hard on her shoulder and crying out in pain. Beta: CH 1/5 x 2 = 2/5 Actual: 5 Roll Passed. A hard reboot was the only option to regain full control of her implant, and with some deft movements of her hands, she managed to get the job done. The system stopped its interference with her bodily movements, and just as Dwan closed the distance with his pseudo blade outstretched, she flew backwards on wheeling legs, a vengeful craze in her eyes. "...Kiskermishi? Hyeh... hyeh heh!" She placed a hand up to the side of her head and seemed to zone out for only a moment before the rage intensified even further. "You... you took it out! RAAAHHH! [I'LL KILL YOU. I'LL KILL YOU I'LL KILL YOU I'LL KILL YOU.]" Dwan closed on her. He knew he had to end it quickly, as there was no telling how many other tricks Beta might have been hiding in her intense paranoia. He swiped at her repeatedly as she continued retreating, but the two had sparred numerous times against each other in the past, in his private realm. She was familiar with his footwork and managed to keep her distance, but only barely. A moment later, she slapped the wall to her left and shut a door between the two of them, and in the precious few seconds it took for Dwan to re-open it from his own side, Beta had begun sprinting towards the tail of the ship, away from the bridge. Dwan now had a new choice: either follow Beta, or take the bridge by surprise! Just then, the ship shook hard before lurching rather suddenly. It had just completed its final attack run and lost its copilot before pointing its nose skyward in a hasty retreat. Beta was screaming something in the other room, but Dwan couldn't make it out. --- High above, there was a flash of light. A number of other flashes followed; they were the opening salvos of what would become the triumphant Yscom counterattack. Mordecai simply shook his head at the display. It seemed as if his feint toward the enemy's home world had finally been exposed for the charade it was, and now he was out of tricks. Alex had been at a loss for words when the Executor offered his surrender, and looked to Arkadam for guidance. "The Archives..." Arkadam spat, looking just as ragged as Alex. "You brought them, didn't you!? Where are they!?" Mordecai continued to hold his head high. Sure, it was humiliating to lose to these rat mercenaries on the ground, even in such a trifling setting, but there was a key difference which, in mere moments, would define the entire conflict. Sun Tzu once wrote that defeated warriors go into battle seeking to win, whereas the victorious win before they even reach the battlefield. Despite all appearances, the Vigil had not truly been defeated. Not even close. "Boy, don't go asking stupid questions," he replied. "You know exactly where they are." Arkadam looked confused for a moment, then glanced to Alex, a look of deepening horror on his face. "The pole... Just over the ridge..." he turned back to the Executor. "They were on that shuttle, weren't they!?" Crossing his arms, Mordecai smiled. "Yes." "Then Starvis is-" "-Under my control," Mordecai interrupted. "I've just ordered all three of them connected to the point of entry. This has been a fun, albeit... disappointing exercise, but now it's time to put away the toys and take a glance at the sky. Did you really think a hand full of you cockroaches could stop the entire Death Vigil from achieving its aims? Not even Yscom can accomplish that task. All you've managed to do is trespass on my planet and kill off a few especially proficient soldiers. I'll find replacements. Or maybe I won't; I don't think I'll have much use for individual commanders now that I have the most powerful weapon in the galaxy at my command." The ships above stopped shooting at each other abruptly. Something had caught their eye, or rather, an eye had caught them. From space, the planet Starvis appeared to have split open at its pole, two doors retracting to reveal a gaping, horrifying maw... And at the center, a featureless sphere of white emerged, apparently moving without the aid of engines, rising from the center slowly to take its place in the sky over Starvis, its lone, dwarf moon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcyySVEKMAw "...Oh my god..." Jason said. Abraxas dropped his syringe gun. They stood in awe, as did Taylor and Karl. They were helpless and small before its presence. "Ahh, there it is," Mordecai said as the white sphere crept its way up, rising in the distance with eerie foreboding. "Now that its cocoon has been cracked open, I suppose it's time to issue my first directive. I'm certain it can hear me, am I right, Starvis?" "<You are correct.>" a disembodied voice, emotionless and without inflection. It sounded alien, and yet familiar, as if it were a chorus of voices speaking together. "<However, I am no slave of yours.>" Mordecai squinted in confusion at the looming object. Arkadam's slack-jawed expression changed to one of elation. He began to laugh in a state of euphoria, throwing his weapon to the ground. "YES!" he cried out. "YES, YES YES!" he repeated, dropping to his knees in an emotional heap, tears streaming from his eyes. He turned his attention back to Mordecai, who was finally beginning to panic as the truth revealed itself. "You fucking idiot, you! HYAH HAH HAH! Do you understand now?" "Wha- I...? Modecai stammered, looking to Arkadam and back at the sphere. "The deal, Mordecai, the deal!" Arkadam screamed at him, almost hysterically. "I made you believe I was a coward, didn't I!? I made you think I'd sell out my friends, my family... these people who mean everything to me... Because that's all you understand, isn't it!? A cycle of backstabbing and power grabbing! But not me, Mordecai, NOT ME! I DID IT FOR YOU-" he said, turning to the shocked faces on the Muramasa crew. "I DID IT FOR ALL OF YOU! AND IT DID IT FOR YANIM- SHE'S STILL ALIVE IN THERE. SHE'S STILL ALIVE, AH!! HYAH HAH HAH." Neasha's voice crackled over the comm: You set up the Vigil attack that put the Archives in their hands... because you knew they would use all three, and not two? You- how... Her voice was shaking with awestruck fury and indignation, but also total, agonizing bewilderment. Iron and Sting... died for this? Arkadam... what happens- "What happens next? Starvis is about to end death itself," Arkadam said, calmer now but still dizzy with mania. "You all have to understand... I didn't want any of us to die. I did everything I could to see us pull through, I almost died trying to help Alex not two minutes ago! But now that we're here, it'll all be worth it... the sacrifices we've made, ever since the beginning... They'll be honored a billion times over by what Starvis is about to do." "And what's that?" Mordecai demanded. "How does it begin!?" He yelled, and a moment later, an imperceptibly small projectile passed through his head with such force that the cranium exploded, leaving nothing but a headless body with a gaping neck like a banana peel. It fell forward and flopped into the dirt with a cloud of dust, frightening Arkadam into silence. In the distance, the massive sphere was rotating, at first very slowly but then at a more rapid pace. A beam of light leaped from its surface and into space, and the entire bridge of one of the Vigil ships was annihilated, causing the whole vessel to begin ripping itself apart with a cascade of explosions. Another beam followed, and another, at an increasingly terrifying pace, until the various ships in orbit began turning away, scrambling for warp. No one would realize at first, but only the ships which chose to stay and observe, or to lock on to the sphere below, were destroyed in the stupefying carnival of lights. The only ship which chose to stay which was not targeted by the sphere was the Diamond Cutlass. Neasha and Red watched in rapt horror as the chaos unfolded all around them. Red turned to Neasha and reached out to her, unsteadily, and took her hand. "This could be the end for all of us," he said quietly. "I'm sorry... we should have done more."
Taylor stared up at the sphere, stunned at the sudden turn of events. "You didn't do it for us, Arkadam. You did it for yourself." she said bluntly, before looking towards him from where she was. "We fought to prevent this. Sting and Iro--...Ira, my fucking sister, DIED so that that thing wouldn't be released. You stabbed us in the back, out of pure selfishness. This was never for us, this is all on you." She paused for a moment before finishing. "Yanim didn't want this, and you fucking know it." Eve simply stood there, gazing up at the sphere. Studying it. No AI was perfect, so it had to have some form of weakness to exploit.
Arkadam didn't seem the least bit insulted by Taylor's words. "...No," he said, his composure returning after the initial shock. "I know you mean well, Taylor, but you don't understand a damned thing about any of this. Maybe I wanted this, but I realized along the line that I don't matter. I'm not here anymore," he explained, strangely. "And don't bother drawing distinctions between Starvis and organic life. It's artificial, but it isn't a machine..." Each of the Muramasa team then felt a jolt. Just as with Mordecai, they had been pierced by some tiny particulate, moving so quickly as to be entirely unseen, but without the deadly force involved. "<When you're ready to join me, shed your organic forms. I can't receive you with so much interference. Interesting... This is the work of a 'human...' Such great variety among their kind.>" Arkadam nodded. "These bodies are useless to us now. We're going to die, soon. But that's how we'll cross over. If Starvis were lying to us, we'd be dead already and it would all be over, but we're not. We're welcome. After this... After this comes artificial life. No more death, no more suffering."
Golem stood for a moment, staring forward as the AI did a quick assessment of the heavy damage it received. The hits it sustained was heavy enough that it automatically sent out a message over comms, asking for maintenance. "ALERT. ALERT. ALERT. UNIT IS DAMAGED. RECOMMEND REPAIRS IMMEDIATELY."
Dwan was in disbelief - somehow, despite the circumstances, Beta had managed to slither away once more like the goddamn viper she was. He should've never let her convince him to spar with her, after she presented his saber to him and wanted to practice with her own; it's only given her knowledge she could use against him. After the ship suddenly lurched, he was knocked out of his train of thought, and he forced himself to consider what to do next. One thing was for sure, he needed to heal - he finally used the canister of biofoam on himself, applying it to where Beta had shot him earlier. He quickly checked his howitzers - the one that had sent out the EMP was effectively unusable for the time being, having overheated completely, whilst the one that had done its machine gun fire was slightly overheated, but should cool down enough for another use. He switched the latter to flamethrower mode, which he should've done from the start. As he heard Beta screaming something from the other room, he could hear what was going on outside... seems like Beta had gotten her wish, and not just that, but Arkadam had planned for this from the start. He sighed, just sort of sick of all this shit at this point. He patted all his armaments, keeping track of their locations, most importantly to him right now the trigger for the soon-to-be-usable howitzer and the LWA Second Horseman, which if fired up close should cause immense damage, more than it did to Dirge at least. While he had the choice of heading towards the bridge, his fate was decided - with the plasma saber formerly known as Kiskermishi, now Krekhedarkup, in hand, he followed Beta. He would have to keep his distance whilst engaging her, hope that they pass through sections of the ship more familiar to him, and pray to his kyrios that he make it out alive.
"I prefer my natural life." spat Taylor in Arkadam's direction. "I outright REFUSE this. You released that thing out of your own selfish desires. You are not dooming the galaxy to a life of servitude to that thing. And you are not robbing me of our natural lives." she continued, pointing to the others. She then looked back to the sphere, before checking her comms. "Red, tell me there's a way to fucking kill it. Tell me there's a way to stop that thing. Something. ANYTHING. What about Plan B? Would it still work? Could we hit that sphere with it somehow?"
Taylor waited anxiously for a response from Red, and finally got one. We can't use Plan B, Captain Caine. Starvis has already hijacked this frequency, it already knows what we have available and how we'd want to use it. It's worse than we could even imagine. Look at how quickly it can wipe out an armada... there's no way we could get the device inside. "<Your friend is right,>" Starvis explained. "<I can stop any attack against myself. That was assignment #1. The Diamond Cutlass remains intact because your friend has yet to call for attack. That is all I ask for: cooperation.>" "You're afraid of the unknown, Taylor," Arkadam said, indifferently. "That's natural. But the thing is, there isn't a choice, here. Either we kill ourselves, kill each other, or Starvis kills us. And no matter what happens, we're about to enter the Construct." Jason cut in, enraged. "And what's the Construct, huh? Some kind of fucked up utopia?" Arkadam shook his head. "It's more like a blueprint of our minds' designs. It's safe and familiar, but also temporary. We'll return to the real galaxy as soon as it's finally ready." --- In the room where the Buzzard's former occupants stored their battle equipment, Beta found herself a dark corner to crouch in as she checked over her remaining tools and weapons. She had abandoned her beloved VRI, but had a number of knives, both practical ones and gimmicky tools, like the cantilever heels on her boots. They wouldn't do her much good so long as Dwan held the saber she made for him, and the gun racks had been emptied out by the Vultures who departed with Archangel when the operation began. However, there was plenty of ammunition laying around, and she still had her tools... She quickly pulled out a multitool and began disassembling her own saber, trying to get to the plasma interchange. It was extremely dangerous work, but she had become so accustomed to it over the previous few years that it felt routine. The real task, however, was repairing the device while Dwan was still coming for her. As he crept closer, she conducted a hard reset of the device's regulating circuits, just like she had done for her implant, and tried to drain the unwanted electrical charge into a grounded surface while priming the coils with a rifle cartridge. Beta: CH: 3/7 Actual: 7 Roll Passed. It wasn't perfect, but as soon as she saw the red indicator light appear on the saber's circuit board, she knew it was alive. S'exskala, a twin to Dwan's blade, was now her only hope, unless.... She couldn't wait to hear if the turrets in the hall would take him out, because she couldn't hear anything, in general. Stupidly, she had once turned down the opportunity for Dwan to restore her natural hearing, which she had lost on Duroma years prior, all because her implants were "superior" to her original sense. Now, thanks to the EMP, she had nothing but a dull ring. She pocketed a few extra plasma cartridges and other "goodies" which could be used to turn the fight in her favor. Finally she stood and faced the hallway, and was surprised and dismayed to see that the autoturrets had failed to engage. Extending her pseudo-blade, she pointed it at Dwan, who was standing only about a dozen meters away. She got into her fighting stance. The truth is, she had never beaten Dwan in a sword fight in his own realm. It was always obvious when he'd let her get a hit in. But this time, things would be different. She knew, deep down, that she could never be motivated by anything less than the kill, and that's why she could never win in a casual sparring match. [He isn't ready. I never showed him what I could do, what I was capable of. Good thing he didn't see me at Rigel, hyeh hyeh hyeh...]
"Fuck you, and fuck your damned Construct." barked Taylor. "If that's how things are going to be, kill me now. Blow my fucking brains out. Spill my guts. Hell, make my heart explode if you want. I want to REALLY die here and now, and not have to live in that twisted fucking utopia that thing is going to make afterwards. None of this is right. None of it. You can call me whatever the hell you want, but I refuse to be part of your fucking insane scheme. I want nothing to do with you. I want nothing to do with the lie it's going to make, because that's what it'll be." She stood up, and pointed at Arkadam. "A FUCKING LIE YOU HELPED MANIFEST. You will be responsible for everyone's deaths, and the abominations that spawn from that thing. All of it under that fucking machine's control. And all because of you and your selfish fucking desires. So I hope you're fucking happy, Arkadam. You just killed and enslaved the galaxy." By now, rage had returned to Taylor's voice, and tears were against streaming down her face. "I tried...I tried so fucking hard..." she muttered, finally just sitting back down in the dirt and holding her head in her hands. Eve watched Taylor as she made her statements and finally settled down into the dirt, before turning her attention to Arkadam. "...You know...I actually envied you all. You were given the gift of a natural life. You were born into this wonderous universe, and given a limited amount of time to live out your lives and acomplish so many things. You had the freedom to do what you wished in life, because you were born with that freedom. My maker...she gave the freedom to do what I wished, but I could never really enjoy it. After all, I am a machine. My feelings are not genuine. They are programmed." She paused for a moment. "What that sphere is going to grant you is not genuine. Its fake. Manufactured. And if it should cost you your natural life given by birth...why would you take it? All because of the promise of a lost love returned to you? One which is just as false as the life that will be granted to you? I can tell you first hand that its not worth it. A fake life is not worth dying for. You should be happy with the one you have. It means the most, because it is worth the most. You should have been happy that you spent time with Yanim in the first place, Arkadam. That you met her. That you loved the real her. But now...you have sacrificed everyone else for another chance with what boils down to an illusion. A false copy of Yanim." There was one more pause, before she finished. "I pity you, Arkadam."
Alex stood there in awe of everything that was happening. He could barely process it. He witnessed the chain of events, but it happened so fast, he could barely put into words. He just stood there letting Taylor's own explosion of emotions towards Arkadam keep going until he finally spoke "Preach peace and prosperity while accomplishing it exclusively through violence. Sounds like the Creed to me. Just another false god or idol for everyone to bow to and you played right into it, you stupid idiot!" His thoughts raced back to everything that happened over the past months. The final nail in the coffin of his father's legacy, the freedom he earned after so much pain and Amy. His sister finally having a choice to strike out on her own without fear of being chased. All of that rendered meaningless and pointless now "You tarnished the legacy of the person you claimed to love the most because of this thing's lies. Fuck you, fuck your paradise and fuck your savior!" --- Specter's shock had the effect to slow if not freeze time around him. It also had the consequence of giving him a front-row seat to one of the worst show's he's been witness to. Countess had instinctively grabbed hold of her throat from the shot, gasping in desperation for air. The seat behind her head was missing a part of it and what remained was covered in blood. By the time Specter did everything he had to do to seal the breach and stabilize the ship it was too late. Her eyes had faded and her head lulled. She was gone. Despite this, a desperate pilot had turned on the ship's autopilot, the coordinates of which were headed far from the battle. Specter had stood up from his seat and was trying to revive her...somehow. "Come on, stay with me here...don't you die on me...please stay with me..." he pleaded until the reality of the situation sank in. Defeated, he sat back in the pilot's chair. Holding his head in his palm. The plan had gone to shit. The Vultures were decimated, the Executor was dead, the fleet was currently getting obliterated and the only person he could even call a friend died right next to him and he couldn't do a damn thing to help her. All of this and for what? He took over from the autopilot and switched the co-ordinates. There was one place he could go, and it was far from the Galactic south. He just needed to get the hell away from the battlefield.
You just killed everyone, so they can be resurrected as mindless slaves. "<Not slaves...>" the distant voice finally boomed. "<Never slaves...>" Arkadam continued to act as if what everyone said wasn't bothering him, but finally, after hearing them repeatedly say that the Yanim he knew was alive was fake, essentially worthless, and ought to be left behind, he finally began to react, appearing frustrated. "That's what you think 'real' is? A bunch of flesh and blood? All we are is a bunch of well-timed electrical charges running through a lump of nervous tissue. What you think is free will is your own coding; the thoughts don't just spontaneously generate. As long as nothing stops those charges, and nothing breaks the pattern, you're still you, and you're still alive. "Do you even remotely understand what I mean?" he asked, turning harshly at each of them. "Yanim didn't die on Rigel. I had her connected to the Archive so that Starvis could transfer her before her organic body gave out. No other machine in the universe is capable of that transfer, and if it weren't for Dr. Sadowski, that's where we'd all be right now. But me... the SS took my mind when I was at Vostokrebh. I'm still that staggering zombie, underneath it all, but Neasha had this damned implant put in my skull so that a computer could play my part for me, and make me do the things it thinks I would've done but couldn't. Yanim is more alive than I am." "And I know," he said, his calm demeanor returning, "that Iron and Sting would still be here if we hadn't come here. But so would Mordecai and Archangel. The wars in the east and west would still be raging, and millions of people would continue to die, year in and year out, because we all just can't stop destroying each other. If I'm responsible for what Starvis does, now that it's free, I also would've been responsible for all the deaths in all future wars. I had a switch to pull to save them, and I chose to save them."
"You saved them by killing them." responded Taylor, without looking up. "By waking Starvis, you have killed far more than anyone ever will. You will be responsible for the death of trillions, because of what you've done. You saved no one. You even robbed the real Yanim of a natural death by plugging her into that thing." Finally, she looked up to Arkadam. "But of course...you don't care. This is all about you. You got what you wanted. You get Yanim back. A copy of her. But of course, you have to die to get to her. And I can certainly help with that. Its the least I can do." she stated, holding up her revolver so that he could see it. She then turned her attention to Starvis. "Never slaves? If we die and merge with you...and you recreate us in a clensed galaxy...you would have full control over us. We would be your pets. Toys. Fucking play things. That sound better than slaves?"
Golem marched up to Taylor with nothing but a single message to relay to her, almost as if it could understand what she's going through right now. "NEW MISSION PRIORITY: PROTECT THE COMMANDING UNIT."
Dwan watched as Beta made her presence known, pointing her plasma blade at him before getting into her fighting stance, one that he was very familiar with. His eyes twitched twice - the first when she revealed that she had somehow resuscitated her own damned saber, and the second when he felt the movements of the Buzzard. The expression Beta carried, it was one of frustration (for many things, probably), and one of rage, likely because of his perceived betrayal. If only he could tell her what was going on, yet he knew that she was as deaf as an adder. Through his helmet's visor, his eyes could be seen to be shifting colors rapidly, as a flood of emotions entered his mind, based on everything that was going on. Dwan entered a fighting stance, knowing well which could more clearly counter Beta's stance, whilst slightly walking backwards to ensure distance. His times dueling with Beta couldn't prepare him for what she truly had hiding underneath, and it was quite likely that she had many tricks up her sleeves. Hell, she could just as likely gave an explosive in her own saber just as she had set up in his prior, since he wouldn't doubt her being so deranged that she would give her own life just to take his at this point. He breathed slowly and steadily, as he prepared mentally for what would likely be the toughest fight he has had in his life. He mouthed one last thing to Beta in Kanad, hoping to see whether she would understand him. "[Nathaniel, Archangel and Mordecai are all dead, but despite that, Starvis has awakened. We've waited for long enough. This ends here,]" he mouthed silently, as his eyes scanned his surroundings and his opponent. He needed everything at his disposal, any advantage he could pull out. His free hand was positioned in such a fashion that he could grab any of his ranged one-handed weapons, whether it be his laser revolver, the sawed-off bolt-action rifle, or the ever-important vacuum pistol, or once enough time has passed, the trigger to the flamethrower-ready howitzer. He was prepared to take her down with everything he had, without running head first and probably sealing his fate.
"NEW MISSION PRIORITY: PROTECT THE COMMANDING UNIT." Taylor looked up to Golem as it marched up and announced its intentions to the world, and she couldn't help but smile a bit. It was pointless, really. If Starvis wanted her dead, he could easily kill her without bothering with Golem. Why was he even giving them the chance in the first place? Even with the doc's nanomachine in their veins. One shot from that sphere, and it'd be all over. She attempted to stand, but found that she couldn't. She was tired, and weak. Weak from the battle that had taken place, and exhausted by...well, everything. The most she could manage was sitting up where she was, on her knees. "...Thanks, Golem. But as it stands...defending me would be pointless." she said, shifting a bit. Golem didn't seem all that well off either. Damaged to the point where only a mechanic could tend to him, and there were no mechanics around. She pondered what had happened to Beta. She was onboard that Vigil ship, the Flying Buzzard. She was getting what she wanted, really. "You and Beta aren't so different, Arkadam. You both wanted everyone to die. You're getting your wish. Maybe you two can hang out in the cute toybox that Starvis makes with your corpses."
“PLAYING UNIT DIVISION MOTTO: Never give up! Never surrender!” said a very masculine voice over comms.
Karl was at a loss of words. He walked up to Taylor and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know I'm with you no matter what." He looked at Arkadam and the sphere. "True freedom and peace can only be accomplished by allowing people to make their own choices. People will always die. It's how life works and no matter how much it hurts it would be wrong to change something as fundamental as the basis of life itself." Karl kneeled and placed the stock of his rifle into the ground. "Starvis if you really care- truly care- you won't force us a choice like this at gunpoint."
"Even if it's clear that I'll never convince you, and that you'll never forgive me," Arkadam reasoned, "we have an eternity to find our understanding. But I feel compelled to say- you're just not getting it... Starvis isn't a god, or a monster... all you see is its power. You don't see the person within, or its hopes and dreams. You're so caught up in your own fear that you can't seem to ask yourself, 'why would Starvis want to kill and destroy? Why would Starvis want an army of slaves?'" A moment later, the distant chorus spoke again. "<I will not force any of you to end your organic lifespan and enter the construct. You may wait for rescue and depart aboard the Diamond Cutlass. Be aware, however, that a new era will soon unfold in this galaxy, and one day you will have to decide if- >" BANG BANG BANG BANG There was a gunshot, followed by several more. As the crew had taken its eyes off of Arkadam to listen to Starvis's words, staring at the great sphere, Arkadam had lifted his rifle, honed in on the back of Taylor's head, and executed her. Golem reacted first, being a machine, but its guns were still jammed. Instead, Eve turned quickly and fired on Arkadam, who took the shots and collapsed, firing a few more blasts from his TAC-85 and blowing Alex's abdomen open. More shots came in from Jason and Karl, while Harvey and Abraxas rushed in to check on the two they still cared about. "< -you wish to perish and be part of history, or live beyond the end of history.>" Arkadam, Taylor, and Alex faded quickly, their minds barely able to process what had just happened before a thunder crash shook them to their bones, a million lights streaking through their eyes, and the stretching of the horizon into an infinite void. All three were gone, leaving the others without leadership as they stood awaiting the end on the dusty landscape, the sky above clear and eerily motionless without the battleships present. "Oh fuck," Jason said as he looked around. "S-Starvis!? D-did you know he was going to do that?" "<It was his decision, but I am glad he helped your friends along. They are with me, now.>"
"He knew. And it is likely that he made him do it." said Eve. She looked back to Taylor's body, then to the others before looking to the floating ball above. "If you think that what you are doing is right, it is not. And yes, you may have your reasons for all of this. Your fantasies that you conjured up during your slumber inside the planet we're standing on. Wishing to end the deaths and suffering, as Arkadam has said, That is not up to you. You go against the natural laws of life. You will convert a universe into an abomination for a selfish desire, just like Arkadam released you for his own." She paused for a moment, before finishing. "And you just made someone with a broken heart and mind take the lives of two other beautiful souls. I said that none of the feelings I have are genuine before, but that was a lie. The feeling I have right now is genuine. It is disgust for you." she said, looking up to Starvis. She then turned to the others. "Everyone, gather up their bodies. Tend to your wounds. Neasha, Red, if you can hear me, we need pickup."
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