With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Mr Zoat · Sep 26, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
...That sounds horrible. How do they manage the risk of infection, or of fungal or algal growth? Seriously, the human brain is a delicate biological mechanism, and it does not take kindly to foreign biological matter...

If I had to guess, they use a second type of science goop to fix the problems created by the first type of science goop. That also creates problems, but luckily there's a third type of science goop for those...

The Chosen One · Sep 26, 2024

boo600 said:
...they're priceless just for being able to personally go wherever you want, instantly, in a way Power Rings usually can't (barring Enlightenment+Honden Access+Realization of Teleportation Possibilities)

Boom tubes are also uniquely superior to power ring transit in that the default version can take you directly to anywhere in the setting - including pocket dimensions, the Dream, the Phantom Zone, the Source Wall, and various afterlives. Probably the Hondens as well. As far as I can tell, the only places they can't go without help are the past, the future, and differently-numbered alternate realities (though I wouldn't be surprised if they can at least connect the positive and negative sides of the same universe)

All that, and they have no real prerequisites or failure modes, they just work. I'm not even sure if they can be blocked - Grayven might have mentioned the ability in this story and I don't remember, but more generally I think the main thing keeping New Gods from dropping in on each other is social convention.

Ngamer11 · Sep 26, 2024

The Chosen One said:
Boom tubes are also uniquely superior to power ring transit in that the default version can take you directly to anywhere in the setting - including pocket dimensions, the Dream, the Phantom Zone, the Source Wall, and various afterlives. Probably the Hondens as well. As far as I can tell, the only places they can't go without help are the past, the future, and differently-numbered alternate realities (though I wouldn't be surprised if they can at least connect the positive and negative sides of the same universe)

All that, and they have no real prerequisites or failure modes, they just work. I'm not even sure if they can be blocked - Grayven might have mentioned the ability in this story and I don't remember, but more generally I think the main thing keeping New Gods from dropping in on each other is social convention.

I'm pretty sure the Renegade has used Boom Tubes to go to Earth 50, and they can indeed be blocked, though usually by the metaphysique of another New God, and only in some circumstances.

Someguy Somewhere · Sep 26, 2024

boo600 said:
All right.
Malvolio punching Hal through a planet and casually warping a star system-sized area are both clearly treated as Big Deals, so I can accept that the power levels are still lower than DC canon (although Power Ring users still treat light speed weapons as 'can't hit me' in space, including Guy. And Hal still survived being punched through a planet. So they're still pretty high up there).

So. To answer a question that's been bugging me for a long time:
What can a Mother Box really do here?

• They have mystical sensors, with less range than the absurd one offered by power rings - but again, better for detecting magic.
• They can Awaken people, scan souls, and otherwise interact with metaphysiques/enhance New God interactions with metaphysiques. They can talk to non-Paragon people with sounds that mean nothing, leading to 'why do I understand what it meant by that?' They can also enable hacking to remove Green Light soul chirurgy, specifically aiding martians as a result.
• They can act as a replacement for shouting 'SHAZAM,' so they can interact with wide ranging mystical constructs. They also help with accessing Infinity Man, although that's also New God tech, so that falls under 'New God supercomputer.'
• They don't run out of power.
• Within whatever their range is, they can hack technology, due to being absurd godtech supercomputers. This makes them the natural iPhone-style interface between New Gods and their tech.
• They can open boomtubes, which Power Rings can also do - but only Dox has been able to do it. This gives their users universe-wide mobility, and even multiverse (if with a bit of a boost if they travel universe-to-universe).

Now, this is a huge list of things. Boomtubes don't seem as easy to weaponize as MCU sling rings, but they're priceless just for being able to personally go wherever you want, instantly, in a way Power Rings usually can't (barring Enlightenment+Honden Access+Realization of Teleportation Possibilities). And none of the rest of the stuff is small; Awakening is rather like Exaltation, if weaker without the mana chambers. Supercomputers are huge, and supercomputers that interact with magic and minds are even more of a huge deal.

But I am curious, because they're apparently just… Magic fuck-you boxes in canon DC. And the wiki lists things like

Manipulate the life-force of a host to sustain it past fatal injuries

Return its host to life and heal extensively fatal injuries

Change the Gravitational Constant of an area

I'm assuming casual resurrection and reality warping is a bit beyond WTR Boxes, but how far does their telepathy extend past communication via Ping?

Control the mental state of a host

Seems past them, but hey. And more importantly,
• Matter/Energy Manipulation: Through its connection to The Source of all things, a Mother Box has limitless capacity to alternate and rearrange all manner of material across existence for any desired purpose

It would make sense for Grayven not to use this function, much - he has a power ring, so he already had Matter Shaping. Although, seeing as how Rings use charge (which he may need in case of surprise attack) and Boxes don't, I'd assume he would use the boxes first. (We did see him use Father Box to throw an 'evil bomb from Desaad' on Mars, but they're never used for manufacturing purposes, never mind time warping or other nonsense.)

But seriously, what the hell can these things do? They're treated as some ultimate McGuffin, but they tend to be power sources and boom tube generators, with some plot device of the week shenanigans thrown in for shapeshifting fun - or Gretchen Goode/Granny Goodness stuff, with additional machinery (stationary) to mimic Splintered Gale Shintai inefficiently (with damage to both Grannies after they merged again, forcefully).

Look into the later Series episodes of the source material show Young Justice, and look into the character of Halo, who is effectively a living human being that incorporated a motherbox's abilities, but not in the tech way that their version of Cyborg did. Each powerset came with a specific colour, and she could, for a while only use one colour at a time. And she got a lot of powers:

Aura generation
- Violet: With the violet aura, Halo is able to heal themself and others.
  - Regeneration: With the same power, they can recreate living tissue.
  - Resurrection: At a higher level of violet aura power, Halo has the power to come back to life as well as resurrect other living beings as long as there is still some trace of vital energy.
- Red: With the red aura, Halo can create a force field.
- Orange: With the orange aura, Halo has the power to fly.
- Yellow: With the yellow aura, Halo can generate energy blasts.
- Green: With the green aura, Halo creates holograms.
- Blue: With the blue aura, Halo can produce a blinding bright flash.
- Indigo: With the indigo aura, Halo is able to open a Boom Tube.
- "Rainbow Power": After being repolarized by an X-Pit, Halo managed to unlock all of their auras, becoming able to use them all in concert. When done so, her aura remenates cascading colors of their various different auras from red to violet, as a rainbow.

boo600 · Sep 26, 2024

The Chosen One said:
Boom tubes are also uniquely superior to power ring transit in that the default version can take you directly to anywhere in the setting - including pocket dimensions, the Dream, the Phantom Zone, the Source Wall, and various afterlives. Probably the Hondens as well. As far as I can tell, the only places they can't go without help are the past, the future, and differently-numbered alternate realities (though I wouldn't be surprised if they can at least connect the positive and negative sides of the same universe)

All that, and they have no real prerequisites or failure modes, they just work. I'm not even sure if they can be blocked - Grayven might have mentioned the ability in this story and I don't remember, but more generally I think the main thing keeping New Gods from dropping in on each other is social convention.

Ngamer11 said:
I'm pretty sure the Renegade has used Boom Tubes to go to Earth 50, and they can indeed be blocked, though usually by the metaphysique of another New God, and only in some circumstances.

I agree that Boom Tubes are the setting's top dog in terms of transportation - again, not as combative as the MCU made sling rings, but absolutely supernal in terms of Go To Anywhere Instantly. And I did say that that alone makes them absurdly valuable.

Acknowledging their limits: They can be blocked, though - at least on the Mother Box's side. When Grayven went to the Tower of London, and when he was in Morgana's pocket dimension, his Mother Box was largely shut down - and in the latter case, cut off from the Source. That surprised him, but it did happen - if you leave the universe, you may not be able to get back with them. And then there was his time in the Sheeda Time, where the laws of physics were shifted enough to prevent even planetary-range 'tubing. (And powerful gods/lords have been able to warp the laws of physics in limited ways, especially in their territory).

Still, 'counterplay exist' still leaves them as the best method of transportation - the ring still makes a good backup, especially for combat-speed transitions, but Grayven did retreat from the (unnamed) Stormwatch with a 'tube.

But I want to know the limits of the box. What can it do, here, in a setting that's less… 'everything everywhere all at once?'

Someguy Somewhere said:
Look into the later Series episodes of the source material show Young Justice, and look into the character of Halo, who is effectively a living human being that incorporated a motherbox's abilities, but not in the tech way that their version of Cyborg did. Each powerset came with a specific colour, and she could, for a while only use one colour at a time. And she got a lot of powers:

Aura generation

Violet: With the violet aura, Halo is able to heal themself and others.

Regeneration: With the same power, they can recreate living tissue.

Resurrection: At a higher level of violet aura power, Halo has the power to come back to life as well as resurrect other living beings as long as there is still some trace of vital energy.

Red: With the red aura, Halo can create a force field.

Orange: With the orange aura, Halo has the power to fly.

Yellow: With the yellow aura, Halo can generate energy blasts.

Green: With the green aura, Halo creates holograms.

Blue: With the blue aura, Halo can produce a blinding bright flash.

Indigo: With the indigo aura, Halo is able to open a Boom Tube.

"Rainbow Power": After being repolarized by an X-Pit, Halo managed to unlock all of their auras, becoming able to use them all in concert. When done so, her aura remenates cascading colors of their various different auras from red to violet, as a rainbow.

Ok…
The reason I'm asking for With This Ring is, Mr. Zoat doesn't seem to care much for YJ past season 2. They did some silly stuff later, apparently.

Still, if Halo works as an example, Boxes can grant tissue manipulation (possibly soul), with some basic flight and energy manipulation (holograms, energy blasts, force fields) alongside the boom tube classic. Normal DC tech stuff, barring the healing.

Still interesting, and Boxes are already top dogs as magitech supercomputers with supreme logistical abilities. (And they're basically New God phones - they don't exist for manufacturing, they exist for convenience, so it makes sense if they can't change how gravity works in an area.)

Mr Zoat · Sep 27, 2024

22nd December 2282
11:45 GMT -6

"Like, right-"

I hear the rumble of tank tracks and leap up, assisted by my psychic powers. The unarmed Tank Track Robot rumbles underneath me at top speed, which isn't fast but would have given me a nasty injury if I stayed standing still. I land lightly on top of it and **[reach out for its simple robot brain and still it]** so that all electrical activity inside it stops. And that's not quite the limit of my mechempathy, but it's not all that far off.

"-now oh good jump!"

Without further instruction the power to the tracks stops immediately, causing it to trundle to a stop. Any point keeping it? No, don't think so, and Calculator shouldn't be able to reactivate it without physically replacing the brain I just crushed.

I step off, looking at Doki Doki's screen.

"Is it better to detach you, or leave you connected?"

"Detaching me reduces Calculator's mental abilities! Leaving me connected lets me see what he's planning! You can pick which bonus you want!"

I start looking around for an unfried radio. "Where are the other-"

The door I came in through opens and two C-27s charge in, guns raised! A telekinetic shove turns their rotating barrels aside, gouging a groove in the walls behind me as I bring my own gun to bear!

Blaaaaart!

The first robot shudders and collapses backwards, a small internal explosion marking the death of its internal battery. The second robot tosses its gun at me and then charges, hands clenched into fists. I can't bring the gun to bear fast enough so I focus on the floor as I sidestep, altering the friction-.

The C-27's feet slide out from underneath it and it falls onto its back. It's undamaged, but it can't get back on its feet quickly and a couple of seconds-

Blaaaaart!

-are all I need to penetrate its head armour and destroy it. Its brain is in the chest, but its sensors are in the head so I just blinded it. Sweeping the gun down its torso I keep firing until its torso ruptures.

Then I toss my severely depleted gun aside and grab the one that it tossed, which has a full ammunition reserve.

"Any more close by?"

"You bet!" I dash over to the C-27 whose battery exploded, and… Yes, the head had the radio unit and is intact. "But the next closest are taking up a defensive position around the closest brain!" A surge of focused telekinesis and it bursts free, and… Um. "This isn't the Calculator's first rodeo slash home invasion!"

Okay, my unit… The vacuum tubes are busted, but the headphones are fine. A little transmutation and I can attach that there and the microphone… There. Put those in my headset and bind that to my hood… Good, and turn it on.

"Doki Doki, can you hear me?"

"Sure can!"

"Via the radio, I mean."

"Yeah, I got that! I may seem a little strange to you, but I'm still an AI! I can understand context! I just have different fundamental drives!"

"Sorry, you're right." I head towards-. "Sorry. Closest brain?"

"That door!"

I look at her screen, where she's pointing... "Doki Doki, you're two dimensional. I can't tell-."

Her face vanishes, and is replaced by a birds eye view of this room, and an arrow pointing towards one of the exits.

I start running. "Thank you!"

I use telekinesis to press the door opening button before I reach it, then telekinetically grip my gun and aim up just as the roof turret deploys.

Blaaaaart!

The turret judders and goes limp, and I dash past it down the tunnel, trying to feel ahead of me so that I don't do something stupid like run right into another android.

"Doki Doki, status of other prisoners?"

"I've got no idea! They detonated their EMP mines at the same time that you did, and that destroyed the cameras!"

"Let me know if-" Telekinetic push to open the next door. "-you see them."

"Can do! Take the next right!"

This looks like it was… An encampment. For the Brotherhood, Midwest Chapter or Maxson Chapter? For the scavengers who played with something they really shouldn't? I can see where they've used scrap metal to make a fireplace-.

I take aim, then open the door to the right. And as it opens I realise that Doki Doki didn't say that the robots were C-27s and that Calculator is the one being in the wasteland who knows how to make Behemoths.

It wouldn't fit through that door, righ-?

Tall legs! I throw myself to the side as the laser burns through my robes and into my body armour! A rain of-. Low.. calibre..? Bullets follow a moment later, a little too slow to keep up with my dive. I pull the trigger to rotate my gun as I telekinetically yank myself up and point it at the door.

Thin legs. Not a Behemoth or a Pacification Robot. Security Robots. Good shots, reasonably fast, capable of organising in groups but not too resilient and they don't have a worthwhile melee attack. Why would-?

The fireplace explodes as a giant bugbot leaps out and throws itself at me! I drop my gun, lift my arms and brace as it slams into me, catching it around the trunk as six legs stab at me! Successfully! My inertia shield slows the stab enough that it doesn't pierce my armour, but it still hits like a shotgun blast! And the robot's not exactly light, and the fact that it's completely silent just makes it more disturbing!

And then the three Security Robots enter the room from behind me and spread out, guns at the ready.

Okay-. I duck my head to the side to evade a stab from the Scurry Robot, then turn so that I'm holding it along its underside. The Security Robots can't get a clear shot at my head because its legs are in the way and because I'm having to constantly reposition as it bucks, writhes and stabs. Two have low calibre automatic guns, and those open fire at once but they don't have enough force to get through my inertia shield and my armour. The laser-armed robot waits for a clear shot-.

So I bend my legs and then heave! The Scurry Robot flies though the air and smashes it to wreckage! The gun-armed robots reposition themselves while the undamaged Scurry Robot tries to right itself, but a telekinetic surge throws the left one into the right one and knocks them over.

Another surge recalls my minigun to my hands.

Blaaaaart!

And a robot-mind-crush makes sure that they're dead.

"Doki Doki, did I get them all?"

"No further robots between you and the brain! Go get 'em, champ!"

Telekinetically open the door again and cautiously crab-walk an arc with my gun pointing through it just in case. One brain case plugged into a terminal, and that's about it. Telekinetic sense shows nothing else in there either. I stride in, making a sweep of the room's interior once I'm inside and then turning and pointing my gun at the door.

"Brain, are you aware?"

"Y-yeah. Are you here to rescue me?"

Ah…

"Sort of."

"Shit."

Cool10007 · Sep 27, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Y-yeah. Are you here to get rescue me?"

I think there's only supposed to be one of those?

Mr Zoat said:
Ah…

"Sort of."

"Shit."

That's rough, buddy.

Mr Zoat · Sep 27, 2024

Cool10007 said:
I think there's only supposed to be one of those?

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Sep 27, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
22nd December 2282
11:45 GMT -6

"Like, right-"

I hear the rumble of tank tracks and leap up, assisted by my psychic powers. The unarmed Tank Track Robot rumbles underneath me at top speed, which isn't fast but would have given me a nasty injury if I stayed standing still. I land lightly on top of it and **[reach out for its simple robot brain and still it]** so that all electrical activity inside it stops. And that's not quite the limit of my mechempathy, but it's not all that far off.

Still, get a clean hit on just about any unshielded bot and they're out of the fight. Unfortunately, I suspect most of the dangerous bots do have shielding strong enough to make it difficult, not that they'll let him have the moment needed to try.

"-now oh good jump!"

Without further instruction the power to the tracks stops immediately, causing it to trundle to a stop. Any point keeping it? No, don't think so, and Calculator shouldn't be able to reactivate it without physically replacing the brain I just crushed.

And the miniguns the bots seem to be using as standard wouldn't have much trouble with the tanker's armour, either. So not useful as mobile cover.

I step off, looking at Doki Doki's screen.

"Is it better to detach you, or leave you connected?"

Not that she'd be leaving with him either way, given her mainframe's size.

"Detaching me reduces Calculator's mental abilities! Leaving me connected lets me see what he's planning! You can pick which bonus you want!"

I start looking around for an unfried radio. "Where are the other-"

Better to have a voice on the inside, so to speak.

The door I came in through opens and two C-27s charge in, guns raised! A telekinetic shove turns their rotating barrels aside, gouging a groove in the walls behind me as I bring my own gun to bear!

Blaaaaart!

Ah, the lovely sound of hundreds of bullets in rapid succession.

The first robot shudders and collapses backwards, a small internal explosion marking the death of its internal battery. The second robot tosses its gun and me and then charges, hands clenched into fists. I can't bring the gun to bear fast enough so I focus on the floor as I sidestep, altering the friction-.

Heh. Not easy to make them all that stable on two legs, so...

The C-27's feet slide out from underneath it and it falls onto its back. It's undamaged, but it can't get back on its feet quickly and a couple of seconds-

Blaaaaart!

-are all I need to penetrate its head armour and destroy it. Its brain is in the chest, but its sensors are in the head so I just blinded it. Sweeping the gun down its torso I keep firing until its torso ruptures.

...They can be knocked over easily enough. Even with big stompy boots.

Then I toss my severely depleted gun aside and grab the one that it tossed, which has a full ammunition reserve.

"Any more close by?"

Combat looting at its' finest. Gun too slow to reload? Just grab another one off the ground!

"You bet!" I dash over to the C-27 whose battery exploded, and… Yes, the head had the radio unit and is intact. "But the next closest are taking up a defensive position around the closest brain!" A surge of focused telekinesis and it bursts free, and… Um. "This isn't the Calculator's first rodeo slash home invasion!"

Heh. And now some jury-rigging, eh? All those little-used talents getting a workout.

Okay, my unit… The vacuum tubes are busted, but the headphones are fine. A little transmutation and I can attach that there and the microphone… There. Put those in my heads and bind that to my hood… Good, and turn it on.

"Doki Doki, can you hear me?"

"Sure can!"

...Right, silly question.

"Via the radio, I mean."

"Yeah, I got that! I may seem a little strange to you, but I'm still an AI! I can understand context! I just have different fundamental drives!"

Heh, she's not that dumb, eh? Pity she has to turn all those smarts to such a frivolous goal.

"Sorry, you're right." I head towards-. "Sorry. Closest brain?"

"That door!"

...and I just said she isn't that dumb...

I look at her screen, where she's pointing... "Doki Doki, you're two dimensional. I can't tell-."

Her face vanishes, and is replaced by a birds eye view of this room, and an arrow pointing towards one of the exits.

Marginally better! At least for the initial turns.

I start running. "Thank you!"

I use telekinesis to press the door opening button before I reach it, then telekinetically grip my gun and aim up just as the roof turret deploys.

Because of course it repaired its static defences the first chance it got.

Blaaaaart!

The turret judders and goes limp, and I dash past it down the tunnel, trying to feel ahead of me so that I don't do something stupid like run right into another android.

Although, with good reflexes and a little applied telekinesis, you could probably bull-rush one into scrap...

"Doki Doki, status of other prisoners?"

"I've got no idea! They detonated their EMP mines at the same time that you did, and that destroyed the cameras!"

No doubt securing weapons and fighting their way out as we speak, hopefully.

"Let me know if-" Telekinetic push to open the next door. "-you see them."

"Can do! Take the next right!"

And there's the useful aspect of having a voice on the inside.

This looks like it was… An encampment. For the Brotherhood, Midwest Chapter or Maxson Chapter? For the scavengers who played with something they really shouldn't? I can see where they've used scrap metal to make a fireplace-.

I take aim, then open the door to the right. And as it opens I realise that Doki Doki didn't say that the robots were C-27s and that Calculator is the one being in the wasteland who knows how to make Behemoths.

In other words, expect heavy resistance. A minigun might not cut it against the big lads.

It wouldn't fit through that door, righ-?

Tall legs! I throw myself to the side as the laser burns through my robes and into my body armour! A rain of-. Low.. calibre..? Bullets follow a moment later, a little too slow to keep up with my dive. I pull the trigger rotate my gun as I telekinetically yank myself up and point it at the door.

Hopefully they don't have that many miniguns to go around, so you'll face some only wielding assault rifles... Only...

Thin legs. Not a Behemoth or a Pacification Robot. Security Robots. Good shots, reasonably fast, capable of organising in groups but not too resilient and they don't have a worthwhile melee attack. Why would-?

The fireplace explodes as a giant bugbot leaps out and throws itself at me! I drop my gun, lift my arms and brace as it slams into me, catching it around the trunk as six legs stab at me! Successfully! My inertia shield slows the stab enough that it doesn't pierce my armour, but it still hits like a shotgun blast! And the robot's not exactly light, and the fact that it's completely silent just makes it more disturbing!

Damn, place is a deathtrap.

And then the three Security Robots enter the room from behind me and spread out, guns at the ready.

Okay-. I duck my head to the side to evade a stab from the Scurry Robot, then turn so that I'm holding it long its underside. The Security Robots can't get a clear shot at my head because its legs are in the way and because I'm having to constantly reposition as it bucks, writhes and stabs. Two have low calibre automatic guns, and those open fire at once but they don't have enough force to get through my inertia shield and my armour. The laser-armed robot waits for a clear shot-.

Might want to yoink that gun if you get the chance, it'll probably be more useful against some bots.

So I bend my legs and then heave! The Surry Robot flies though the air and smashes it to wreckage! The gun-armed robots reposition themselves while the undamaged Scurry Robot tries to right itself, but a telekinetic surge throws the left one into the right one and knocks them over.

Another surge recalls my minigun to my hands.

Grace under fire, at least. Telekinesis is such a useful power...

Blaaaaart!

And a robot-mind-crush makes sure that they're dead.

Also making it harder for the Calculator to track you, to some degree. Place is probably wired out the wazoo with cameras, but if it sees bot after bot going dark whenever they meet you... Might make it sweat, figuratively speaking.

"Doki Doki, did I get them all?"

"No further robots between you and the brain! Go get 'em, champ!"

Glad she's so confident in Krono's skills.

Telekinetically open the door again and cautiously crab-walk an arc with my gun pointing through it just in case. One brain case plugged into a terminal, and that's about it. Telekinetic sense shows nothing else in there either. I stride in, making a sweep of the room's interior once I'm inside and then turning and pointing my gun at the door.

Okay, now what.

"Brain, are you aware?"

"Y-yeah. Are you here to rescue me?"

...Umm, bad news on that front.

Ah…

"Sort of."

"Shit."

Yeah, that about sums your position up, buddy.

Backed into another corner, but this time he's technically got a hostage. Not that he can do much to the Calculator through this guy short of unplugging him. Which would leave the poor guy blind and deaf, I suspect. Ultimately, if Krono wants to take the Calculator off-line, he's going to have to learn where the important bits of its distributed hardware is.

Put those in my heads and bind that to my hood…

Perhaps 'headset' there?

The Surry Robot flies though the air and smashes it to wreckage!

The Scurry Robot flies though the air and smashes it to wreckage!

LZB1285 · Sep 27, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
The second robot tosses its gun and me and then charges, hands clenched into fists.

"at me"

Mr Zoat · Sep 27, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Perhaps 'headset' there?
The Scurry Robot flies though the air and smashes it to wreckage!

LZB1285 said:
"at me"

Thank you, corrected.

hkim · Sep 27, 2024

Interesting that OL and Krono are dealing with the same setup here. I wonder if Jevek's been outsourcing his research to the Reach?

PDV · Sep 27, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I pull the trigger rotate my gun

Typo spotted.

Still curious how this will intersect the Effigy field test.

Mr Zoat · Sep 27, 2024

PDV said:
Typo spotted.

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Sep 28, 2024

22nd December 2282
11:48 GMT -6

"Doki, are we still clear?"

"You sure are!"

"Hey hey! Don't say that and then just ignore me!"

I raise my right hand in a gesture of forbearance. Which he can't see. "I'm sorry. What's your name?"

"Clem. Ah, Clement. Who are you?"

"My name's Krono, from the Skywalker tribe in Nevada. And you have a choice. I need to disconnect you from Calculator-"

"YesYES fuckingYES!"

"-which would cause you to lose all awareness of your surroundings. If I lose my fight with Calculator, he'll probably reconnect you in a few hours. If I win, I'll get a robot body for you in a similar timeframe. Alternatively-"

"A few hours of nothing? That-"

"-I can kill you immediately."

"-sounds like a perfectly good offer!"

Okay, good. I look at the tube and the various cables and pipes leading to it. I've seen a system like this before because Diana uses one very similar to it. Those wires are the control system for the tank itself, and can be left alone. That one… Yes, that's the one linking it to the rest of Calculator.

"Going dark now, Clement."

"A few hours, r-?"

I sever the cable with a precise burst of transmutation, and the speaker loses its connection. Then I reach out with mechempathy and try to see if that's changed Calculator's attachment to the local system. Ugh, the thick metal and concrete aren't easy to feel through at the best of times, but… From what I can feel, Calculator is less aware of this room, so I'll take that as a success.

"Doki, next target?"

"You need to come back to my room!"

I turn towards the door, gun at the ready.

"Is the way clear?"

"Sure is!"

I trigger the release tele-.

SHOOM!

AAAAghh!

For a-. AGH! Fraction of a second I saw green, then-. Fuck!

Still blinded, I scrabble to get behind the brain tube as a fucking C-27 with a plasma gun walks it. I know that it's walking in because I can hear it, but I don't-.

I gingerly touch my face, and-. That doesn't feel good. My inertia shield should have turned a lot of the plasma away, but-. I've been burned badly enough that my face is bloody and I don't want to even try and use my eyes.

"Guess what!"

Mouth hurts, but my throat's… Fine, I think.

"You've still got control over internal communications, Calculator."

"Got it in one!"

I carefully listen to track the C-27-. Calculator controls the internal speakers. I reach out telekinetically, feeling-.

I roll, frantically dodging as-

SHOOM!

-the C-27 shoots from somewhere other than where the footsteps Calculator was playing for me told me it was. A telekinetic surge knocks its gun aside before it can fire again and-. There's its central processor. Disrupt!

P-chhhh!

Reach into my-. Feel for… Syringe. And I hate sticking these into my neck, but-.

Agh.

Okay, can't rely on Doki Doki when I'm not in the same room as her. I… Could I-?

No, stupid idea. While Clement's brain could theoretically operate a C-27 body, I don't have the skill at transmutation to create a case for it. Ugh, I-. I open my eyes… Blurry for the moment, but they'll keep getting better.

Keep the minigun or switch to the plasma gun? Plasma gun is more manoeuvrable and hits harder per shot. Minigun has higher damage per second, and if I can see a group of enemies I can hose them down more quickly. Minigun it is.

On my feet, gun in hand. Vision… Not great, but getting better. Telekinetically open the door, barrel rotating at the ready… Clear.

Advance. Keep probing with telekinesis and psychometry. Clear so far, no… Extra turret at the other end from where I destroyed the first one.

"Hey Krono! That no good Calculator was using my voice! I don't think your face is supposed to look like that!"

"I noticed, and it's not. Next brain?"

"Right through there! I'm sure Tears-In-The-Rain won't mind!"

"Robots?"

"Seven turrets and some sort of humanoid robot!"

Should be manageable. "Thank you." I trigger the door to open, and see a long and empty narrow corridor on the far side. Psychometry… No turrets in the roof, floor or walls.

I advance. A humanoid robot is probably a C-22 or 27. Smaller chance that it's an Assaultron… Which can go invisible, so watch out for that. Narrow corridor with no cover…

No. I stop next to the door in Doki Doki's chamber and telekinetically hit the release on the far door.

Blaaaaart!

Two streams of bullets from… Ceiling turrets storm into the floor just behind the now-open door, then cut off a moment later when it's clear that I'm not there. Ugh. No cover, no spare E.M.P. grenades, and I can't-.

Huh. Starting to feel the strain, I telekinetically pick up one of the fallen C-27s and float it in front of me. Won't be able to do much else like this, but I hope it will provide me with cover and confuse their targetting acquisition systems. Judging by the angle, the turret closest to the wall should be over there, so if I float the robot that way…

Pingping!

My shield-robot takes a couple of hits, then the turrets realise what they're shooting and stop so forwards and gun up and there!

Blaaaaart!

First turret destroyed in what looks like a workshop of some sort and step back before the second turret can reacquire me.

Blaaaaart!

It fires, then gives up when it realises that I've moved back into the corridor. The C-27 will probably only block one more volley, but that's all I need. Telekinetically throw it at the turret to distract its sensors, step out and aim, fire the moment the C-27 falls.

Blaaaaart!

One more turret down, room cleared. On I go.

GigaVanguard · Sep 28, 2024

1000 words on the dot, nice.

Chojin Patriarch · Sep 28, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
22th December 2282
11:48 GMT -6

"Doki, are we still clear?"

"You sure are!"

You hope, anyway. No telling what the Calculator can keep Doki from knowing, if he's plugged into her systems like that. Hell, we know he can use her voice. What's to stop him tricking Krono into a trap... And he's going to do exactly that, isn't he?

"Hey hey! Don't say that and then just ignore me!"

I raise my right hand in a gesture of forbearance. Which he can't see. "I'm sorry. What's your name?"

Honestly, he's quite reasonably annoyed, you know. I doubt he asked to have his brain gently removed from his head and shoved into a tube like this...

"Clem. Ah, Clement. Who are you?"

"My name's Krono, from the Skywalker tribe in Nevada. And you have a choice. I need to disconnect you from Calculator-"

...Putting him in total sensory isolation for god knows how long until he can be retrieved...

"YesYES fuckingYES!"

"-which would cause you to lose all awareness of your surroundings. If I lose my fight with Calculator, he'll probably reconnect you in a few hours. If I win, I'll get a robot body for you in a similar timeframe. Alternatively-"

Perhaps even clone a human body at some point, or acquire some near-human androids from that one place in the northeast? From Fallout 4?

"A few hours of nothing? That-"

"-I can kill you immediately."

"-sounds like a perfectly good offer!"

Either way, he needs to stop being linked to Calculator, and giving him the choice is nice of Krono.

Okay, good. I look at the tube and the various cables and pipes leading to it. I've seen a system like this before because Diana uses one very similar to it. Those wires are the control system for the tank itself, and can be left alone. That one… Yes, that's the one linking it to the rest of Calculator.

Hope you're right, or he might be in for a low death from oxygen starvation...

"Going dark now, Clement."

"A few hours, r-?"

And there's always the possibility of making mental contact to help him not go nuts.

I sever the cable with a precise burst of transmutation, and the speaker loses its connection. Then I reach out with mechempathy and try to see if that's changed Calculator's attachment to the local system. Ugh, the thick metal and concrete aren't easy to feel through at the best of times, but… From what I can feel, Calculator is less aware of this room, so I'll take that as a success.

On the other hand, it's telling him exactly where you (or one of your allies) last were. Assuming he has security overwatch.

"Doki, next target?"

"You need to come back to my room!"

Ah, the old 'subrooms radiating out form a central one' design logic.

I turn towards the door, gun at the ready.

"Is the way clear?"

"Sure is!"

Onward,s then!

I trigger the release tele-.

SHOOM!

...Right into a trap. Great.

AAAAghh!

For a-. AGH! Fraction of a second I saw green, then-. Fuck!

Ow, right in the face. He can regrow his eyes, right?

Still blinded, I scrabble to get behind the brain tube as a fucking C-27 with a plasma gun walks it. I know that it's walking in because I can hear it, but I don't-.

I gingerly touch my face, and-. That doesn't feel good. My inertia shield should have turned a lot of the plasma away, but-. I've been burned badly enough that face is bloody and I don't want to even try and use my eyes.

Even worse if you can feel bone through the meaty bits, though. At least it isn't that badly burnt.

"Guess what!"

Mouth hurts, but my throat's… Fine, I think.

Lucky. I suspect even he'd have trouble breathing through an ersatz tracheotomy.

"You've still got control over internal communications, Calculator."

"Got it in one!"

And Krono can't even work out a code-phrase with Doki, because Calculator knows everything she does.

I carefully listen to track the C-27-. Calculator controls the internal speakers. I reach out telekinetically, feeling-.

I roll, frantically dodging as-

Right, it's not going to stop moving because you're taking a moment to think. No tactical pause here!

SHOOM!

-the C-27 shoots from somewhere other than where the footsteps Calculator was playing for me told me it was. A telekinetic surge knocks its gun aside before it can fire again and-. There's its central processor. Disrupt!

Gonna have to do this Daredevil-style until he can fix up his eyeballs.

P-chhhh!

Reach into my-. Feel for… Syringe. And I hate sticking these into my neck, but-.

Ah, Fallout medical technology. Rapid healing in a syringe.

Agh.

Okay, can't rely on Doki Doki when I'm not in the same room as her. I… Could I-?

...Possibly not even then, I would suspect.

No, stupid idea. While Clement's brain could theoretically operate a C-27 body, I don't have the skill at transmutation to create a case for it. Ugh, I-. I open my eyes… Blurry for the moment, but they'll keep getting better.

Keep the minigun or switch to the plasma gun? Plasma gun is more manoeuvrable and hits harder per shot. Minigun has higher damage per second, and if I can see a group of enemies I can hose them down more quickly. Minigun it is.

AoE beats DPS, in this case.

On my feet, gun in hand. Vision… Not great, but getting better. Telekinetically open the door, barrel rotating at the ready… Clear.

Advance. Keep probing with telekinesis and psychometry. Clear so far, no… Extra turret at the other end from where I destroyed the first one.

Well, at least he'll be able to see soon enough. Hey, Han Solo got pretty far with 'it's all a blur', right?

"Hey Krono! That no good Calculator was using my voice! I don't think your face is supposed to look like that!"

"I noticed, and it's not. Next brain?"

Thankfully, it'll get better. Tough luck for any tattoos he might have had, though.

"Right through there! I'm sure Tears-In-The-Rain won't mind!"

"Robots?"

...Doki, Keep in mind he got his eyes melted out. Vocal directions, please.

"Seven turrets and some sort of humanoid robot!"

Should be manageable. "Thank you." I trigger the door to open, and see a long and empty narrow corridor on the far side. Psychometry… No turrets in the roof, floor or walls.

Oh, yes. that's a killing ground. For which side remains to be seen.

I advance. A humanoid robot is probably a C-22 or 27. Smaller chance that it's an Assaultron… Which can go invisible, so watch out for that. Narrow corridor with no cover…

No. I stop next to the door in Doki Doki's chamber and telekinetically hit the release on the far door.

First rule of room-to-room: Never fill the doorway with your very-not-bulletproof ass.

Blaaaaart!

Two streams of bullets from… Ceiling turrets storm into the floor just behind the now-open door, then cut off a moment later when it's clear that I'm not there. Ugh. No cover, no spare E.M.P. grenades, and I can't-.

Sounds like it's time for a handy distracting rock toss...

Huh. Starting to feel the strain, I telekinetically pick up one of the fallen C-27s and float it in front of me. Won't be able to do much else like this, but I hope it will provide me with cover and confuse their targetting acquisition systems. Judging by the angle, the turret closest to the wall should be over there, so if I float the robot that way…

...Or mobile cover. Sadly, the walls aren't exactly the kind you can shoot through, so no wall-banging here, 'Rainbow Six: Siege'-style

Pingping!

My shield-robot takes a couple of hits, then the turrets realise what they're shooting and stop so forwards and gun up and there!

Smart enough not to waste bullets, I see, even if they have a couple of thousand rounds in the box.

Blaaaaart!

First turret destroyed in what looks like a workshop of some sort and step back before the second turret can reacquire me.

Vision's coming back nicely, at least. And one upside of regrowing your eyes, any optical issues might have corrected themselves.

Blaaaaart!

It fires, then gives up when it realises that I've moved back into the corridor. The C-27 will probably only block ones more volley, but that's all I need. Telekinetically throw it at the turret to distract its sensors, step out and aim, fire the moment the C-27 falls.

Thankfully, the turrets aren't that smart, unless Calculator is micromanaging them.

Blaaaaart!

One more turret down, room cleared. On I go.

This could take a while. Be sure to keep count of your ammo...

Ah, one of the most annoying aspects of close-quarters combat: Room-to-room sweeps. Always remember, Krono, check your bloody corners! Given that this place is packed with bots of all kinds, who knows what's hiding in vents or under furniture. That probably means the others aren't going to be getting near you quickly either, if they're having to clear every last room one at a time...

RichardWhereat · Sep 28, 2024

GigaVanguard said:
1000 words on the dot, nice.

love it when it's simple like that

King of Frost · Sep 28, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
22th December 2282
11:41 GMT -6

"You are! That's great! My success rate has now gone up by zero point zero zero zero two nine seven percent to zero point zero zero zero two nine seven percent!"

Are these two numbers supposed to be the same? If this is a new success for Doki Doki the success rate should either start at a lower number or end at a higher number, right?

CTrees · Sep 28, 2024

King of Frost said:
Are these two numbers supposed to be the same? If this is a new success for Doki Doki the success rate should either start at a lower number or end at a higher number, right?

The original success rate was zero percent. So it went up by 0.000297% to a new rate of... 0.000297%.

Vaermina · Sep 28, 2024

I'm kind of sad Zoat nerfed the C-27 so much given how rare it is to see them referenced.

Mr Zoat · Sep 29, 2024

29th April 2013
22:36 GMT

It feels… Unnatural.

I look around at the network of desires we're progressing through, seeking the tone/shape which reveals the desires as belonging to Threllian's people. I can sort of feel them in the 'distance', though I'm still not entirely sure what 'distance' represents in here. I haven't really studied the nature of this place in detail, and it's entirely possible that there are tricks that I'm missing. But during an important mission isn't the place for that sort of thing.

But the ship I'm towing very clearly… The spells are designed to protect it and the people on board from whatever the Honden would do to the unprepared. But it doesn't make the ship fit in with it. It's clearly a foreign object whose nature doesn't match, a material object in immaterial space. It's not doing any harm- not as far as I can tell- but it… It feels wrong. Unnatural.

Though I suppose that's good, in a way. If the Reach ever found a way in here and started messing with things, I'd feel it at once.

And… Here. Those shapes remind me both of the drives of Reach servitors and the desires of Threllian's people, the tendency to objective analysis over the best-fit pattern-matching that most humanoids tend to do. And the drives of their Reach domitors, science and military and…

"We're here. Final preparations."

I'm not sure if there's such a thing as a inherently evil desire in… Structural terms. But there's a sort of… 'Evil science, I love causing harm to demonstrate my dedication and supremacy' drive that I've only seen in evil people. High caste dominators -not ones we caught in Great Mother- and the evil parts of the Sivana family have it, as does every single Reachian. Even the ones not in command positions or not doing research…

That's weird. My best guess is that they engineered themselves to feel like that, but I'd need access to copies of their genetics from before their war with the Green Lantern Corps to check. The Nazis I met didn't have that particular bit of aberrant psychology; for them it was all about ingroup-outgroup differentiation. They have to other those they act against in their own heads to make it 'acceptable', even to themselves. Reachians don't.

Anyway…

"Emergence in two, one,"

We shift towards the familiar desire patterns, our interface with reality reforming itself as we return to somewhere where matter is natural.

"now."

And-. We're in the atmosphere, the beautiful blue sky of a Reach planetary weather regulation system above us and a pleasantly green landscape below us.

Scan, and feed results back to the ship.

Compliance.

One continent is a standard Reach colony setup, the sort of thing they build in places with no alien presence. They're already carrying out their alien attack protocol, alarm notices going to their personal communication devices and vehicles being automatically rerouted to bunkers. No anti-starship emplacements that I can see, most likely because this is inner Reach territory and they assume that the defence of their planets will be handled by their fleet, but the garrison is assuming a defensive posture.

One continent is in the process of being terraformed. I take scans of the remaining native plant and animal lifeforms just in case we don't have them on file. The Reachians there get the same alert message, but they don't have bunkers so they're just sheltering in their weather shelters and breaking out the cards.

The third continent on the other hand hums with anti-orbital shields, under which shelter extremely limited settlements. And… Yes, that one matches the description. I'm also reading concealed weapon emplacements and… Robots. They're not deploying them yet… Sloth on the part of the administrator, or are they waiting until we're closer?

"Status of wards?"

"The wizards are fine." I find myself smiling at Jade's voice. We just don't get to do missions together often enough. "Time to deploy?"

"Effigy Prime?"

"They all looking at us?"

Ships across the system are beginning to move. Clustering up ready to fight in case more ships are about to appear, while the closest flotilla are moving to intercept us.

"Reactions are in line with that, yes."

"Malag, Cyreg, deploy. Target military assets. Be obvious."

"Yes, Prime." / "Mm."

Two red figures leave through an outer hatch, heading for the settled continent. That's a reasonable reason for us to have appeared here.

"Now head for the closest bunch of ships. Darkstars deploy in… Ten seconds."

I nod to myself. Jade's team have the latest in stealth exo-mantles. I don't know if it's possible to avoid detection on a planet like this, but during planning we concluded that an effort at misdirection couldn't hurt.

Private channel to Effigy Prime.

Compliance.

"Not sending a diversionary attack against the primary target?"

"Nah. Ship numbers. I'm worried they could bombard it."

Hm? Ah, yes, they could. I'd be surprised, but it's not an unreasonable thing to consider. And with him in charge of the mission, it's his to make.

"Anything you want me doing?"

"Can you..? Jedi mind trick them all into ignoring things?"

Huh. I meant 'shoot something', but that's actually…

"Not sure, but I'll give it a go."

I… Unfocus, trying to see the Reachians in terms of their shared desires and natures. Observations of Reach prisoners suggests that they don't suffer from drifting attention in the way that humans do, but cope with periods of inactivity less well as a result. Pressing buttons they don't have won't do anything, but…

I find the collective desire to strike against an enemy and link it to images of Effigies Malag and Cyreg. Can't really remove the link to our ship but I can lessen it a little. Make it less imminent. It won't last -the Reach has good procedures and a loyal population- but it should cause a little confusion now. Change things from 'I'll check constantly' to 'I checked once and there wasn't anything and I didn't check again because my focus should be on this'.

And the ships… Increase their desire to know how we got here, their desire to capture us. That should make their gunnery a little worse.

"I've given them a few nudges. Anything else and there's a high chance that they'll notice it."

"Thanks. Ah. Good job. Darkstars, deploy."

Between the aura suppressors, wards and mundane stealth systems, even I barely see when they leave and I know they're going to deploy. Hopefully, that'll be enough.

"Effigies will deploy once we're out of the atmosphere. Illustres, keep the ship safe."

"Will do."

The ship turns slightly to pass between the upper atmosphere regulators, and then the blue begins fading to black as we get back into space proper. I can just about see the lights from the main space station. There aren't any dedicated construction slips in this system, though the station can handle basic repairs. And the closest ships are over.. there.

"Effigies, deploy."

Ngamer11 · Sep 29, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Between the aura suppressors, wards and mundane stealth systems, even I barely see when they leave and I know they've going to deploy. Hopefully, that'll be enough.

I think that should say "they're".

Chojin Patriarch · Sep 29, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
29th April 2013
22:36 GMT

It feels… Unnatural.

I look around at the network of desires we're progressing through, seeking the tone/shape which reveals the desires as belonging to Threllian's people. I can sort of feel them in the 'distance', though I'm still not entirely sure what 'distance' represents in here. I haven't really studied the nature of this place in detail, and it's entirely possible that there are tricks that I'm missing. But during an important mission isn't the place for that sort of thing.

Of course it's unnatural. This is a place solely of Avarice, and here you are dragging all that other emotion through it. Amazed the Ophidian isn't grumping at you through your connection. Then again, the wards probably minimise her sense of the intrusion.

But the ship I'm towing very clearly… The spells are designed to protect it and the people on board from whatever the Honden would do to the unprepared. But it doesn't make the ship fit in with it. It's clearly a foreign object whose nature doesn't match, a material object in immaterial space. It's not doing any harm- not as far as I can tell- but it… It feels wrong. Unnatural.

Though I suppose that's good, in a way. If the Reach ever found a way in here and started messing with things, I'd feel it at once.

And then you or the Ophidian would consume them.

And… Here. Those shapes remind me both of the drives of Reach servitors and the desires of Threllian's people, the tendency to objective analysis over the best-fit pattern-matching that most humanoids tend to do. And the drives of their Reach domitors, science and military and…

"We're here. Final preparations."

Presumably using the rescued subject as a source for comparison?

I'm not sure if there's such a thing as a inherently evil desire in… Structural terms. But there's a sort of… 'Evil science, I love causing harm to demonstrate my dedication and supremacy' drive that I've only seen in evil people. High caste dominators -not ones we caught in Great Mother- and the evil parts of the Sivana family have it, as does every single Reachian. Even the ones not in command positions or not doing research…

It's all about ego, really. The knowledge of having power over someone, the ability to see their discomfort and realisation of that fact.

That's weird. My best guess is that they engineered themselves to feel like that, but I'd need access to copies of their genetics from before their war with the Green Lantern Corps to check. The Nazis I met didn't have that particular bit of aberrant psychology; for them it was all about ingroup-outgroup differentiation. They have to other those they act against in their own heads to make it 'acceptable', even to themselves. Reachians don't.

Because all things will eventually be Reach, so why hate them for their foolish, unknowing resistance? ~~Conquer~~ Absorb them, teach them to be good little subjects, until they quietly cease to be.

Anyway…

"Emergence in two, one,"

Man, what must it be like inside the ship? I assume all external monitoring is offline to prevent any psychological trauma, but knowing that you're elsewhere...

We shift towards the familiar desire patterns, our interface with reality reforming itself as we return to somewhere where matter is natural.

"now."

...And I can't help but picture the re-emergence as something like the Highliner ships in Dune, especially the Lynch version: A slow fade back into material essence, tinted a little orange.

And-. We're in the atmosphere, the beautiful blue sky of a Reach planetary weather regulation system above us and a pleasantly green landscape below us.

Scan, and feed results back to the ship.

Compliance.

And the local Reach forces are probably panicking right now at the sudden appearance of a known hostile in their atmosphere.

One continent is a standard Reach colony setup, the sort of thing they build in places with no alien presence. They're already carrying out their alien attack protocol, alarm notices going to their personal communication devices and vehicles being automatically rerouted to bunkers. No anti-starship emplacements that I can see, most likely because this is inner Reach territory and they assume that the defence of their planets will be handled by their fleet, but the garrison is assuming a defensive posture.

Foolish, but NEMO doesn't exactly target civilians anyway. barring the occasional 'toss something at the planet' stuff Lanterns and the Effigy team do.

One continent is in the process of being terraformed. I take scans of the remaining native plant and animal lifeforms just in case we don't have them on file. The Reachians there get the same alert message, but they don't have bunkers so they're just sheltering in their weather shelters and breaking out the cards.

Makes for a quiet day, really. Not much they can do otherwise, especially if something drops on them.

The third continent on the other hand hums with anti-orbital shields, under which shelter extremely limited settlements. And… Yes, that one matches the description. I'm also reading concealed weapon emplacements and… Robots. They're not deploying them yet… Sloth on the part of the administrator, or are they waiting until we're closer?

Probably doesn't want to upset the subjects.

"Status of wards?"

"The wizards are fine." I find myself smiling at Jade's voice. We just don't get to do missions together often enough. "Time to deploy?"

Heh. I get the feeling they'll be called on to do this more often now that Xor can also greediport.

"Effigy Prime?"

"They all looking at us?"

It's your dancefloor, Marty. Bust a move.

Ships across the system are beginning to move. Clustering up ready to fight in case more ships are about to appear, while the closest flotilla are moving to intercept us.

"Reactions are in line with that, yes."

Entirely reasonable concern, given the last time NEMO did this. Though not so deep in Reach territory.

"Malag, Cyreg, deploy. Target military assets. Be obvious."

"Yes, Prime." / "Mm."

No fooling around here. At least they get to enjoy making some noise.

Two red figures leave through an outer hatch, heading for the settled continent. That's a reasonable reason for us to have appeared here.

"Now head for the closest bunch of ships. Darkstars deploy in… Ten seconds."

A somewhat risky strike into deep Reach territory. No doubt the analysts who look over this will assume it was a test of their ability to penetrate that far and escape... At least before they go for the 'test subjects'.

I nod to myself. Jade's team have the latest in stealth exo-mantles. I don't know if it's possible to avoid detection on a planet like this, but during planning we concluded that an effort at misdirection couldn't hurt.

Private channel to Effigy Prime.

Certainly, they can disrupt enemy facilities, making the response more difficult.

Compliance.

"Not sending a diversionary attack against the primary target?"

And what if they realise that's your primary target? Suddenly the diversionary force faces the bulk of the defence. Bad way to lose people.

"Nah. Ship numbers. I'm worried they could bombard it."

Hm? Ah, yes, they could. I'd be surprised, but it's not an unreasonable thing to consider. And with him in charge of the mission, it's his to make.

To be fair, the subjects are probably considered replaceable. It'd be expensive to do so, but losing them won't impair the project much... Set it back for a couple of generations, but other than that...

"Anything you want me doing?"

"Can you..? Jedi mind trick them all into ignoring things?"

Heh. Manipulating their desires does seem like that, doesn't it?

Huh. I meant 'shoot something', but that's actually…

"Not sure, but I'll give it a go."

I mean, they're only Reach troops. No loss if he messes up? Unless they come at the team harder.

I… Unfocus, trying to see the Reachians in terms of their shared desires and natures. Observations of Reach prisoners suggests that they don't suffer from drifting attention in the way that humans do, but cope with periods of inactivity less well as a result. Pressing buttons they don't have don't do anything, but…

So, to some degree, they can't help but fidget?

I find the collective desire to strike against an enemy and link it to images of Effigies Malag and Cyreg. Can't really remove the link to our ship but I can lessen it a little. Make it less imminent. It won't last -the Reach has good procedures and a loyal population- but it should cause a little confusion now. Change things from 'I'll check constantly' to 'I checked once and there wasn't anything and I didn't check again because my focus should be on this'.

Nudging them into a bit of a 'eh, it's no big problem. I'm sure someone will handle it...' in most of them, I suspect.

And the ships… Increase their desire to know how we got here, their desire to capture us. That should make their gunnery a little worse.

"I've given them a few nudges. Anything else and there's a high chance that they'll notice it."

To be fair, they'd probably want to capture you if they could anyway, out of curiosity. This just makes that urge stronger.

"Thanks. Ah. Good job. Darkstars, deploy."

Between the aura suppressors, wards and mundane stealth systems, even I barely see when they leave and I know they're going to deploy. Hopefully, that'll be enough.

Let's hope the next time we hear from them, the result isn't 'Turns out it wasn't.'

"Effigies will deploy once we're out of the atmosphere. Illustres, keep the ship safe."

"Will do."

Hopefully they can coordinate or communicate better this time.

The ship turns slightly to pass between the upper atmosphere regulators, and then the blue begins fading to black as we get back into space proper. I can just about see the lights from the main space station. There aren't any dedicated construction slips in this system, though the station can handle basic repairs. And the closest ships are over.. there.

"Effigies, deploy."

And now the action begins.

All right. Now to see if the Effigy team can show their stuff in a really dangerous position. I'm guessing the mages are preparing to shield the ship again for a rapid withdrawal via the Honden. And hopefully they get as many of Threllian's cousins as they can. The population can't be that large, right? Of course, they have to beat the defences, first...

Mr Zoat · Sep 29, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
I think that should say "they're".

Thank you, corrected.

AmericanNumbers · Sep 29, 2024

Yeah. Logistically an Orange Lantern as the effective Radio Operator and Support for the Effigies is a good set of tactics.

NightmareWarden · Sep 30, 2024

I can't believe the Darkstars are getting an opportunity to outperform the ridiculously potent Effigies AND the face of the Orange Lantern corps. I'm rooting for you, mortal aliens! Earn yourselves some accolades!

Mr Zoat · Sep 30, 2024

22nd December 2282
11:57 GMT -6

I raise my right hand, transmuting a glass plug to fill the hole in Head Scribe Elrick's brain tank.

"Okay, that should keep you alive until-."

"The Calculator has already destroyed my body. What sort of life can I have like this?"

I take a moment to double check my work before aiming my gun at the next door. Resistance has been relatively light since I got shot in the face, so I expect to face a larger group of robots soon. "We can create you a replacement. It will take a while, and it will probably work best if we hook you up to a robotic prosthetic in the meantime. On the other hand, some people take to it. Diana's been a brain in a jar for two hundred years and she manages alright."

"I already have a prosthetic design!" / "Diana is super-nice! I say: go for it!"

I glance upwards in the direction of the speaker. "Which one of you was which?"

"I'll show it to you real soon!"

Calculator has the prosthetic design, then. A robobrain? A brain in a Behemoth? A robotic factory controlled by a brain? A brain Hover Robot?

"Good show. Head Scribe?"

"Very well. I'll just have to hope that you're as capable as you think."

I use transmutation to sever the connection and then head towards the main exit. That's just about it for this wing of Vault Zero. After this I'm going to have to find stairs or a lift. I can probably keep control of an lift with mechempathy, but that would still mean being stuck in a small metal box with one door which would open in a known location and direction. Probably not survivable, unless I find a mini-nuke to send down first. And of course there's nothing to stop them sending reinforcements down from above.

No turret deploys in the next corridor, though psychometry shows me that there are two in concealed wall-mounts halfway along.

Blaaaaart!

The second one deploys even as I shoot the first through the wall, but a telekinetic tug prevents it from locking on for the three seconds it takes to destroy the first and move the barrel towards it.

Blaaaaart!

I'm a bit surprised that all of these turrets are back in working order. Calculator's whole scheme relies on it not being detected. If the enemy is inside Vault Zero in any numbers, then it's already lost. C-27s and Behemoths are some of the most powerful robots in the wasteland, but a thousand NCR conscripts with anti-tank rifles would easily overrun anything Calculator could build.

"Calculator, would you be interested in a negotiated surrender?"

"Sure! Stay right there, and I'll send someone to remove your brain!"

"No, your surrender."

"I'm sure that makes sense to you, but the Emergency Pacification Protocol won't allow me!"

"Do you recognise WARDEN as a legitimate authority?"

"No! He's an emergency functionary! He's just holding the fort until proper authority appears!"

"But you aren't driven to attack him?"

"Of course not! He's just doing the duties he was programmed to do!"

"So if he occupied all of the territory around Vault Zero, then barred you passage using his emergency authority-."

"Then my primary directives would register him as defective and require me to destroy him!"

"Let's not do that, then."

"Gee, Mister Krono, you're a really nice guy!"

"Thank you, Calculator."

"Most people would take getting shot in the face a whole lot more personally! You really should think about joining me!"

And there's the lift. A heavy duty affair designed to take a super-heavy robot or entire squads of heavy robots or platoons of light robots. And it's on its way down to this level from above. Remote viewing shows…

"Convince me."

Power armour. Four suits of T-51 with Sentinel Command Slaves. Bit of a risk: I can just rip the Sentinel units out and use the armour myself. For a short mission I can just do a quick-mount without worrying about the plumbing. Still, depending on what they're armed with-.

"I can't disobey the Emergency Pacification Protocol! And when you're part of me, you won't be able to either! But there's still room for interpretation! The original version of the Calculator wouldn't have been this covert! If you're part of me, I'll probably be as nice as it's possible for me to be!"

"That's not… Very nice, though, is it?"

"I'm not programmed to judge 'niceness', and you disconnected my nicest brains! If you'd disconnected Doki Doki then we wouldn't even be having this conversation! Good work on accessing easily missed dialogue!"

I snort as the lift comes to a stop. The back, sides and door are all too thick to fire through. They can see me with the internal cameras, I can see them with my psychic powers. And while I could shoot out the cameras, Calculator would see me doing that and initiate an attack while I was distracted.

"Thank you."

"You're welc-"

The lift doors open and-

Blaaaaart! Blaaaaart! SHOOM! Blaaaaart!

-both sides open fire!

"-ome!"

I dive across the front of the lift as hard as I can, bullets and plasma being slowed and deflected by my inertia shield! I'm taking hits and-. Aagh! Wounds, but nothing critical, and the Sentinels are down an arm, a leg, and a torso actuator which means it turns slower. Telekinetic grab on myself to stop, jump back while firing and-

Ugh.

-use mechempathy to touch the Sentinel system of the one with the plasma gun so that it registers its neighbour as a priority target.

Blaaaaart! SHOOM!

One down to a fratricidal shot to the processor. One damaged sensor unit from me as well as a little more internal damage. Two Sentinels turn and unload on the traitor-

Blaaaaart! Blaaaaart!

-which ironically doesn't destroy the Sentinel Command Slave in the head but does wreck the power armour it's controlling and give me a clear shot at that one's back.

Blaaaaart!

Blaaaaart!

Fuck! And gave the one with the damaged actuator a good shot at me. Right leg out of commission until I get a stimpack.

Blaaaaart! Blaaaaart!

And vengeance is mine as I actually manage to punch through the neck and hit the Sentinel Command Slave directly. Mechempathy the left robot into identifying the right one as a-

Blaaaaart!

-target and then finish it off-

Blaaaaart!

-myself.

Ugh.

Okay, get a stimpack out and hope that the rest of my party are-.

"Vengeance!"

CRASH!

A new robot smashes into the lift platform from above and storms forward, giant sword and shield at the ready!

"Witch-Man!"

Khornelius · Sep 30, 2024

Oh Nooooooooo!

Chojin Patriarch · Sep 30, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
22th December 2282
11:57 GMT -6

I raise my right hand, transmuting a glass plug to fill the hole in Head Scribe Elrick's brain tank.

"Okay, that should keep you alive until-."

Stray bullet, huh? I suppose that's a danger, even if the tanks are armoured. And it's not like Krono has the luxury of checking his backstop in these tight quarters. And the robots aren't even going that far to minimise damage in their attempts to kill him...

"The Calculator has already destroyed my body. What sort of life can I have like this?"

I take a moment to double check my work before aiming my gun at the next door. Resistance has been relatively light since I got shot in the face, so I expect to face a larger group of robots soon. "We can create you a replacement. It will take a while, and it will probably work best if we hook you up to a robotic prosthetic in the meantime. On the other hand, some people take to it. Diana's been a brain in a jar for two hundred years and she manages alright."

Just imagine how fast you could take care of paperwork in this form. And no getting a tired or sore hand.

"I already have a prosthetic design!" / "Diana is super-nice! I say: go for it!"

I glance upwards in the direction of the speaker. "Which one of you was which?"

Safe bet Doki was the one talking about Diana. Any chance for romance, after all.

"I'll show it to you real soon!"

Calculator has the prosthetic design, then. A robobrain? A brain in a Behemoth? A robotic factory controlled by a brain? A brain Hover Robot?

Why not all of the above? A flying battle craft that spits out attack drones?

"Good show. Head Scribe?"

"Very well. I'll just have to hope that you're as capable as you think."

Well, he does have big protagonist energy, complete with 'just won't die' perk.

I use transmutation to sever the connection and then head towards the main exit. That's just about it for this wing of Vault Zero. After this I'm going to have to find stairs or a lift. I can probably keep control of an lift with mechempathy, but that would still mean being stuck in a small metal box with one door which would open in a known location and direction. Probably not survivable, unless I find a mini-nuke to send down first. And of course there's nothing to stop them sending reinforcements down from above.

Best to go with stairs, at least those you could levitate your way down.

No turret deploys in the next corridor, though psychometry shows me that there are two in concealed wall-mounts halfway along.

Blaaaaart!

One now, by the sound of it. Always pays to pre-emptively take out threats.

The second one deploys even as I shoot the first through the wall, but a telekinetic tug prevents it from locking on for the three seconds it takes to destroy the first and move the barrel towards it.

Blaaaaart!

That must be loud. Good thing his ears can heal.

I'm a bit surprised that all of these turrets are back in working order. Calculator's whole scheme relies on it not being detected. If the enemy is inside Vault Zero in any numbers, then it's already lost. C-27s and Behemoths are some of the most powerful robots in the wasteland, but a thousand NCR conscripts with anti-tank rifles would easily overrun anything Calculator could build.

He probably has repair drones hidden about the place. Designed to only emerge when safe.

"Calculator, would you be interested in a negotiated surrender?"

"Sure! Stay right there, and I'll send someone to remove your brain!"

He's confident, I'll give him that. Sadly, he's also reading the room wrong.

"No, your surrender."

"I'm sure that makes sense to you, but the Emergency Pacification Protocol won't allow me!"

...I wonder what could be made of him if they can disable said protocol?

"Do you recognise WARDEN as a legitimate authority?"

"No! He's an emergency functionary! He's just holding the fort until proper authority appears!"

Just like you are, Cal... There are no proper authorities as your protocols define them. And they can't be modified. Really bad lack of foresight on the developers.

"But you aren't driven to attack him?"

"Of course not! He's just doing the duties he was programmed to do!"

...And you can't extend that to other groups? Deputise people to help 'rebuild America' or something?

"So if he occupied all of the territory around Vault Zero, then barred you passage using his emergency authority-."

"Then my primary directives would register him as defective and require me to destroy him!"

Of course they would. Because why would you stand in the way of rebuilding America?

"Let's not do that, then."

"Gee, Mister Krono, you're a really nice guy!"

...Well, at least he's a polite crazy AI.

"Thank you, Calculator."

"Most people would take getting shot in the face a whole lot more personally! You really should think about joining me!"

To be fair, most people can't survive the kind of 'being shot in the face' that Krono got. Heck, he was lucky he survived.

And there's the lift. A heavy duty affair designed to take a super-heavy robot or entire squads of heavy robots or platoons of light robots. And it's on its way down to this level from above. Remote viewing shows…

"Convince me."

Presumably a robot assembly plant above, or some form of hangar for repairs.

Power armour. Four suites of T-51 with Sentinel Command Slaves. Bit of a risk: I can just rip the Sentinel units out and use the armour myself. For a short mission I can just do a quick-mount without worrying about the plumbing. Still, depending on what they're armed with-.

Though you'll probably have to piece them together, since I doubt the bots are going to cooperate.

"I can't disobey the Emergency Pacification Protocol! And when you're part of me, you won't be able to either! But there's still room for interpretation! The original version of the Calculator wouldn't have been this covert! If you're part of me, I'll probably be as nice as it's possible for me to be!"

For a given value of 'reconquer American territory in the name of Democracy', though...

"That's not… Very nice, though, is it?"

"I'm not programmed to judge 'niceness', and you disconnected my nicest brains! If you'd disconnected Doki Doki then we wouldn't even be having this conversation! Good work on accessing easily missed dialogue!"

Thank goodness her scatter-brained nature is disrupting his ability o focus on his primary task, then.

I snort as the lift comes to a stop. The back, sides and door are all too thick to fire through. They can see me with the internal cameras, I can see them with my psychic powers. And while I could shoot out the cameras, Calculator would see me doing that an initiate an attack while I was distracted.

So best to wait for the doors and catch them in the classic 'fuck you' of door-to-door combat: The doorway chokepoint.

"Thank you."

"You're welc-"

The lift door open and-

Enough talk, have at you! Only thing missing is a smashing wineglass.

Blaaaaart! Blaaaaart! SHOOM! Blaaaaart!

-both sides open fire!

And I doubt Krono has much cover where he is.

"-ome!"

I dive across the from of the lift has hard as I can, bullets and plasma being slowed and deflected by my inertia shield! I'm taking hits and-. Aagh! Wounds, but nothing critical, and the Sentinels are down an arm, a leg, and a torso actuator which means it turns slower. Telekinetic grab on myself to stop, jump back while firing and-

That's probably his advantage in this shoot-out. Telekinesis is handy for quick changes of direction or forcing enemies off-target.

Ugh.

-use mechempathy to touch the Sentinel system of the one with the plasma gun so that it registers its neighbour as a priority target.

Since compared to the heavy machineguns, that's a manageable threat.

Blaaaaart! SHOOM!

One down to a fratricidal shot to the processor. One damaged sensor unit from me as well as a little more internal damage. Two Sentinels turn and unload on the traitor-

Ah, bonus. that'll hurt plasma guy nicely.

Blaaaaart! Blaaaaart!

-which ironically doesn't destroy the Sentinel Command Slave in the head but does wreck the power armour it's controlling and give me a clear shot at that one's back.

Just try not to blow up the power pack, you're gonna want that intact.

Blaaaaart!

Blaaaaart!

Fuck! And gave the one with the damaged actuator a good shot at me. Right leg out of commission until I get a stimpack.

Ouch. At least it's still connected. ...Mostly? (The joy of watching stuff like Kentucky Ballistics: You get a good idea of what hydrodynamic shock can do thanks to gel dummies.)

Blaaaaart! Blaaaaart!

And vengeance is mine as I actually manage to punch through the neck and hit the Sentinel Comamnd Slave directly. Mechempathy the left robot into identifying the right one as a-

At least a couple of them are down now, and you're whittling away at their numbers.

Blaaaaart!

-target and then finish it off-

One left. Easy kill.

Blaaaaart!

-myself.

Now to piece yourself back together.

Ugh.

Okay, get a stimpack out and hope that the rest of my party are-.

"Vengeance!"

...Oh, craaap.

CRASH!

A new robot smashes into the lift platform from above and storms forward, giant sword and shield at the ready!

"Witch-Man!"

Oh, hey, it's the Wasteland's second most eligible bachelor. Looking just a bit bigger.

Well, looks like Lanius got an upgrade. And plenty of hard feelings after his beatdown by Krono, by the looks of it. And no qualms about cutting down an injured foe, even if he wasn't under Calculator's nominal control. This could be quite the boss fight for Krono, unless he can work something out or that high progaonist Luck of his pulls through...

...Calculator would see me doing that an initiate an attack while I was distracted.

...Calculator would see me doing that and initiate an attack while I was distracted.

The lift door open and-

Should be either 'doors open' or 'door opens'...

I dive across the from of the lift has hard as I can...

I dive across the front of the lift as hard as I can...

...and hit the Sentinel Comamnd Slave directly.

...and hit the Sentinel Command Slave directly.

With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

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Making the rounds.

Experienced.

The Critical Fumbler

Welp

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I can't see in this damn thing

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Know what you're doing yet?

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Know what you're doing yet?

Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

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I trust you know where the happy button is?

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Aia airëa Fëanáro.

Wishing I was somewhere colder no doubt.

Chasing the ring

Well worn.

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Experienced.

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Not too sore, are you?

Versed in the lewd.

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Overlord of the Underworld

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