The Ringing of a Forge of Stars [Warhammer 40k/ Celestial forge V3||OC...ish]

[Qawsed]

It may be best to concentrate on one or two crossovers at a time then move on to others just some advice you do you

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I don't know about everyone else, but I'm having trouble just keeping track of what is going on.
Edit: not saying anything else, just that it's hard to know whats going on. Its an extremely well written, with great characters and character interaction. But without something like an out line its hard to keep up with whats going on where. Right now I think there's something like 6+ universes interacting. Each with there own issues, characters and additions to the plot.

 

[Draco856]

It is getting a bit headache inducing to try and follow, this is like a chain-glitch where you have the next 20 jumps in a chain sudden show up in jump 5, with the ramping of power levels, and no way to get your powers to scale before it all goes tits up, and slides down the chute of a failure.

I think in the last 4 chapters alone there were like 20 different threads to follow, none of them reaching even the initial point of "I'm here, get rekt" before the next one hit, it's a bit too much, too fast to happen in this timeframe.

 

[ImmortalEmperor34]

But gee the Four reality tumors found a way to leave their local reality's I get the feeling this is going to be interesting in the Chinese sense of the word

 

[Danieldhdy]

I have to agree I mean the who the fuck our boy was/is in Arknights what happened to the ship going back to Terra, how the Force is doing and a lot of other things

 

[Slider Zero]

Okay, a quick update for you guys.

I've had some issues IRL to deal with (including my phone dying on me, which crippled my access to internet) which have cut into my writing time lately. The good news is that I have resolved most of these, and am now in a position to get back to writing the next part.

The bad news is that the other major issue that I couldn't resolve is still in the works, but the resolution is also mostly out of my control. That being said, you can likely expect to see the next part within a week or so, because I have to gather and re-gather some materials for where I was going and why.

Hope to see you then!!

 

[ATP]

Okay, a quick update for you guys.

I've had some issues IRL to deal with (including my phone dying on me, which crippled my access to internet) which have cut into my writing time lately. The good news is that I have resolved most of these, and am now in a position to get back to writing the next part.

The bad news is that the other major issue that I couldn't resolve is still in the works, but the resolution is also mostly out of my control. That being said, you can likely expect to see the next part within a week or so, because I have to gather and re-gather some materials for where I was going and why.

Hope to see you then!!

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RL is alway more important.And,if your story get problems,just use another anime/book character to solve it.

 

[Tackyseven]

|ENERGY 99|​

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Is metroid stuff not part of the list of rolls at all? why add chozo stuff at all outside of it's native universe or from the forge like this unless you use your own perks to build it? At least to me this makes stories built on CF totally meaningless since the point of it is the RNG and perk synergy to tell a evolving story.

I like Metroid as much as the next guy but doing it this way breaks the genre for me at least. Are Q from star trek suddenly gonna show up because he's bored while having no connection to the forge itself or the setting you inhabit at the time?

edit: custom perk alright... this entire thing felt so forced and undeserved in the story at least, if the MC had gotten the perk for it and after that things like this had started to show up I would personally have liked it better.

Trying to explain it, it's like reading a OG slice of life story with appropriate tropes and then suddenly in the middle of the story the girl from the ring pops up and starts killing people left and right "because it's cool" no matter how well it's excecated it doesn't fit the rest o the story and seems forced

 

[ImmortalEmperor34]

Is metroid stuff not part of the list of rolls at all? why add chozo stuff at all outside of it's native universe or from the forge like this unless you use your own perks to build it? At least to me this makes stories built on CF totally meaningless since the point of it is the RNG and perk synergy to tell a evolving story.

I like Metroid as much as the next guy but doing it this way breaks the genre for me at least. Are Q from star trek suddenly gonna show up because he's bored while having no connection to the forge itself or the setting you inhabit at the time?

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it's the multiverse absolutely anything can happen

 

[Tackyseven]

it's the multiverse absolutely anything can happen

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I guess I just wanted a story of someone using what they actually got without introducing random cross over elements without in story CF backed perks being used to set it up

 

[ImmortalEmperor34]

I guess I just wanted a story of someone using what they actually got without introducing random cross over elements without in story CF backed perks being used to set it up

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that is perfectly understandable and there is nothing wrong with that

 

[Tackyseven]

that is perfectly understandable and there is nothing wrong with that

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I wish this story luck it's pretty well written and a lot of people seem to like it

 

[ImmortalEmperor34]

I wish this story luck it's pretty well written and a lot of people seem to like it

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true I personally like the warhammer 40k part and how things are finally going right for a change

 

[Cheetored20]

Is metroid stuff not part of the list of rolls at all? why add chozo stuff at all outside of it's native universe or from the forge like this unless you use your own perks to build it? At least to me this makes stories built on CF totally meaningless since the point of it is the RNG and perk synergy to tell a evolving story.

I like Metroid as much as the next guy but doing it this way breaks the genre for me at least. Are Q from star trek suddenly gonna show up because he's bored while having no connection to the forge itself or the setting you inhabit at the time?

edit: custom perk alright... this entire thing felt so forced and undeserved in the story at least, if the MC had gotten the perk for it and after that things like this had started to show up I would personally have liked it better.

Trying to explain it, it's like reading a OG slice of life story with appropriate tropes and then suddenly in the middle of the story the girl from the ring pops up and starts killing people left and right "because it's cool" no matter how well it's excecated it doesn't fit the rest o the story and seems forced

Click to shrink...

Basically the forge leaks and things from other settings pop into Warhammer occasionally. Also sending chorizo to other multiverses is probably well within their abilities. (Also I'm the one that came up with the Metroid perks)

 

[Slider Zero]

Gaia stirred in her slumber.

The world she had nested in for her recovery, and eventual ascension, was not a poor one by any means, especially with the rampant changes that were happening at the moment. Even better, she was drawing all kinds of ambient power just from being so near to her parents, even with the Forge being…damaged, as it was, and leaking massive fluctuations and other paracausal zaniness outwards into reality.

One of those changes had prompted her to awaken just enough to peek outward at the universe, to see what had caused such a massive ripple.

It was for this reason that she alone saw when the Chaos Gods made their move outwards, spreading their corruption and filth into other realities, and even a few seeking to combine the might of other versions of themselves into one greater whole.

And they were moving quickly. Far too quickly for having merely just discovered a method to cross between dimensions, and most certainly for having discovered that other forms of Chaos existed.

This…could be a problem in extreme short order if nothing was done. But she herself was still far too weak to even exert herself on her own world, outside of paltry at best tricks, let alone act outside of that range…and her sister was stretched entirely too thin merely keeping together the decaying ruins of the Imperium that she occupied.

Worse, she could feel that the spatial anomaly that her world sat in was…shifting. And not in a good way.

But there was nothing that she could do, except watch and hope that she gathered enough power quickly enough to make a difference before it was too late.

'Father, Mother…Please stay safe.'

-=[/\]=-​

I had to say one thing: I liked the level of gravitas that the SGC gave to actual threats and issues. There was no wringing, no "are you sure?" issues, just myself and Colonel O'Neill headed directly back to General Hammond's office for the brief.

"So, you are saying this Artifact is part of a…key?"

Hammond was currently trying to wrap his head around things as I explained the issue.

"Yessir. The key itself is known as the Cipher, and is meant to seal away an, and I quote, "great evil". The evil in question is the source of a heavily mutagenic and corrosive substance known as Phazon. You do not want to be dealing with it in any quantities, at all."

And yet the Chozo felt the need to pre-position the fucking Artifact of Truth directly in a place where I could find it and be made aware that that got dragged around too. The message encoded deeper within made it clear that they were equally unamused at the prospect of another Metroid Prime existing.

The good news is that unlike the previous seal on Tallon IV, this one was a great deal more secure, thanks to sitting inside of a dimensional rift that was attached to Bet, and needed a whole separate set of keys to even open in the first place. The bad news was that the same message was blatant in its "reminders" that I was on a time limit to solve the corruption problem before the seal broke due to outside factors, none of which the Chozo seers could actually account for.

There was also the issue of needing to be aware of the fact that certain beings could simply bypass the initial lock and jump straight into the affected dimension…or that others could find a way to bypass even the seal placed on the area itself, because Parahumans.

Yeah, it was complicated.

Hammond was equally unamused. "How do we deal with it?"

I grimaced. "Normally I would suggest leaving it alone until later, sir. Main issues there are that it is entirely possible for outside factors to gain access to the seal itself, and potentially bypass it entirely, in order to release the creature sitting inside. Should that happen…well, it's not going to be fun, sir. For anyone."

Hammond nodded. "Any other considerations we need to know about?"

"The artifacts act as keys, sir." I replied. "There are twelve in total, and you need all of them in order to gain access to the area. Past that…whoever goes in there is going to need some serious firepower to actually deal with the issue, sir, assuming that they can even do so at all."

"This sounds familiar somehow." O'Neill noted. "Wasn't this in a game or something?"

'Err…yes sir." I did not want to be answering this question. Fuck. "This is the rough plotline of the first of the Metroid Prime games. And from what I remember, even then it took two more games, and a much bigger crisis, to actually finish removing the threat. I'm hoping that is not the case here, sir."

Hammond had leaned back into his chair, contemplating something. "In any case, Warrant Officer, this is well above all of our paygrades, regardless of other duties. I'll bring it to the attention of the President, but past that there is nothing I can actually do. I most certainly cannot order you to investigate these artifacts, use them to track down this threat, and then deal with it yourself, despite your having shown the capabilities to do so, as you are not under my command."

"If anything, this requires me to take further steps that you are currently not cleared for, which will likely also involve the President."

The sarcasm was thick in that statement, though none of it was aimed at me. Hammond knew there was a threat, but much like myself his hands were tied, as were those of his subordinates.

And I was not in a position as of yet to actually follow the not-orders I had just been given, either. I could already tell that this was going to get worse before it got better.

"General, I would recommend we have Green hang around in the research labs for a bit, see if we can pick his brain on some things. It would also help us to figure out the stuff he dumped on us in there, as well, kind of a clean-up thing. Maybe we hold him long enough for Danny to get back?"

"Agreed. Warrant Officer, I am temporarily assigning you to our research division until proper orders can come through. Assuming that everything goes as planned, I intend to have you working with my people as closely as possible. Any objections?"

"No sir, General. I'd be honored to help."

"Very well. Colonel O'Neill, get Mr. Green started on the process, then return. I still have matters to discuss with you. Dismissed, gentlemen."

-=[/\]=-​

Back at the labs, I finally got to meet Janet Frasier, Captain and Chief Medical Officer of the SGC. Calling it an honor was putting it lightly: That woman had made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of saving lives…and yet was also just as much of a nerd as the rest of the SGC was, even Col. O'Neill, who tried to hide his bits of nerdiness behind being goofy.

"Green, this is Dr. Frasier. Janet, Warrant Officer Green. He's hanging around for a bit to get used to the place while we work on some stuff. I figured I'd give him the ten-cent tour instead of the penny one." And of course O'Neill had to be silly about it, because O'Neill.

Dr. Frasier, on the other hand, was quite welcoming. "Welcome to the SGC, Mr. Green. Always nice to have people who understand the needs of medical science around."

I blinked in confusion for a moment.

"I'm in contact with your primary care physician, specifically over that nice medical device you left behind back in Houston." she stated, answering my unasked question. "Any chance I can get one of those for myself?"

Because of course she asks me after I lose access to all of my quick-fabrication tools and materials.

A sudden pressure on my head caught my attention.

I looked up into the eyes of a really cute turtle.

Cute Turtle looked back down at me with a smile.

I sighed. Of course I forgot to mention the Umahki I was carrying around with me.

And now O'Neill was laughing. "I see the Super Turtle likes you. This is a good thing."

…eh?

"Err...sir? Should I be worried?"

"Nope, Not at all. The little guy is kind of a mascot for the place, helps out a lot where he can. Was a really good find, too."

Great. Now I could never tell them that I had created the very concept no less than twelve hours ago, especially if they thought that it was some kind of ancient relic.

I scratched the Umahki's head a bit, and smiled as it preened under the ministration. At least I had a helper for what I needed to do.

"Anyway, before I was distracted by our friend here…Yes, Dr Frasier, I can build you one of the medical units. It'll take a bit longer, what with my main fabrication systems being offline for forced upgrades, but I can do it.

Mentally, I set a command to the little Umahki, asking about history and such. Surprisingly, the response was very verbose.

[I am called Hardy Shell, Creator. I have been assisting the Humans of Stargate Command for approximately six months now. Temporal anomalies are involved somehow, as I would not be deployed until…five minutes ago by the Great Mother.]

Meaning that I now had to converse with Mio as well…but that can come later. [Any thoughts on the nature of the anomalies? Might help me not run into a paradox, which would be bad.]

Hardy Shell made a warbling nose I recognized as discontent. [I apologize, Creator, but I do not have any information on the nature of the event, only that it happened,]

Well, there goes that option. Time to change tacks.

[Alright then, Hardy Shell, we're going to help out the SGC for a bit. Give the Doc here the proper tools to do her job, and then from there see what we can work with elsewhere. Also, I want you to go through the pile of crap I just dumped out of my impeller later, see how much the upgrade systems changed things, especially on the simple stuff like the Lasguns. I need to know if I can still recreate them without Thoth's gear.]

Hardy Shell made a sound of assent, a very light and cheerful noise, if I would say so.

So of course Col. O'Neill had to comment. "Yeah, the little guy definitely likes you."

"Something like that, sir. In any case, the Doctor asked me for some tech?"

-=[/\]=-
​

Using the time between building the parts needed to assemble the scanner, I picked the brain of Dr. Frasier, who then proceeded to pick my own in turn. It turned out to be an odd interaction, mostly because she was dialed in to a whole hell of a lot of things that I thought were classified at the highest levels regarding my future plans...including one certain aspect thereof that I hadn't mentioned to anyone outside of Col. Gibson, who was my nominal CO at the moment by dint of commanding my de-facto home station.

So her knowing of the fact that my abilities were fully capable of being taught to others was very much as surprise to me… and it garnered an appropriate reaction.

"Dr Frasier… How did you come across this information?"

She was, of course, evasive. "Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to say."

I was not buying it. At all. "Captain. How did you come across this information." And I was no longer asking, my intentions clear in my tone.

The resulting glaring contest lasted until she realized that I was not letting this go (and likely had the political capital to poke the chain of command until an answer fell out), and relented, if slightly. "It is part of a high-level briefing that was presented to Stargate Command personnel by order of the President. Your Col. Gibson passed along the information he received from you as part of the initial selection processes you mentioned you were going to need, and several of our personnel were selected as potential candidates, based on likely factors." That it was Captain Frasier that replied and not Dr. Frasier let me know that my disrespect would not go unremarked upon.

Unfortunately for the Captain, I was too busy being confused as all hell, having blinked at her answer, specifically the last part. "And just how would you know what I am looking for regarding criteria, anyway? I specifically never mentioned any of that, just in case we had more ears than the normal at Ellington."

My incredulous tone seemed to break the tension that had built up between us, as the Captain relaxed considerably and Dr. Frasier replied instead. "We have some dealings with people with unusual abilities that we have met during offworld exploration. It was decided that most of the factors you were looking for could be determined based on a wider range of what we had found out, though I admit our knowledge base and sampling size is…small."

I stared at the doctor for a moment, before sighing. "Apologies, doctor, but I am almost certain that, while you may have accidentally picked up a few of the people who I would be interested in, you have not actually figured out the proper criteria, at all. Especially because a full two-thirds of my requirements were purely intangibles related to physical and mental fitness."

I pointedly looked away from the doctor, taking the moment to make some final adjustments to the module I was working on for the medical scanner, which I had redesigned specifically for the SGC's use. "Besides, if you actually had cracked the code, you would be aware that you are on the list."

Dead. Fucking. Silence.

"Yes, doctor. You have the natural aptitudes that are indicative of the talent, and more than satisfy all of my other requirements. In fact, I am somewhat surprised that you haven't started developing abilities of your own, yet. I've seen at least two separate cases of the same happening already."

Dr. Frasier finally found her voice. "Excuse me, warrant officer, but you are saying that I have this potential? That somehow I am capable of learning all of this, despite everything we know saying otherwise?"

I finally turned back to the poor confused doctor and smiled warmly. "Not only are you fully capable, but you are more or less the ideal candidate for multiple reasons. Hell, if I had more time available, I'd get you started right now–"

Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Hardy Shell, (who had suddenly run off to who knows where earlier) who was making excited noises as he rushed towards us. And clutched in a set of manipulators was a…brooch?

No, more like a pendant. The design was very much understated, a simple semi-transparent ruby-red gem in a plain silver mounting. The gem itself was kind of egg-shaped, with the backing clearly intended to sit comfortably around the user's neck. Its chain was equally understated, being a minimalist design and almost purely function over form.

The main issue I had was that I could feel the power flowing off the item even from where I was working, the pendant standing out like a floodlight to my senses, even without me actually trying to look. More importantly, Dr. Frasier seemed to be aware of the significance of the item as well, as she seemed to be almost pulled towards it somehow.

One of the Airmen assigned to follow Hardy Shell around (a popular task, as I'd learned from idle conversation with Col. O'Neill) quickly explained the situation to me. "The little guy here just pulled this from nowhere all of a sudden, and started rushing here as fast as possible. I think he wants one of you to take a look at it, sir."

I directed my gaze to Hardy Shell, who only got even more excited. [This will help you, Creator!!] He trilled out over the command link. [Please allow the doctor to use it!]

I tuned towards Dr. Frasier, who was now visibly restraining herself from taking hold of the pendant. "I think that is supposed to be for you, Doc. Should be harmless, from what I can feel."

I nodded at Dr. Frasier encouragingly, and she finally allowed herself to give in to the impulse that was driving her, collecting the pendant from Hardy Shell's grasp.

The process was both subdued and sudden. One moment, the pendant was a barely contained font of power, the next, that same power was flowing within and through Dr. Frasier, attaching itself in subtle ways to her spiritual form and awakening within her very specific knowledge and abilities, which were even now being communicated to her mind by the ambient enchantment on the item itself. Of course, I only knew this because the architect of this little endeavor had dropped a sensory packet on my head with the details shortly after said process had started.

Apparently Gaia was not quite as powerless as I had initially thought, and she was stretching her muscles by assisting people as she could. In this case, she seemed to think that Dr. Frasier would make a very good white mage, and happened to have a primer on hand from somewhere, and the brief didn't explain where. I assumed timey-wimey shenanigans and moved on.

Dr. Frasier, for her part, was ecstatic. "This…this is…I don't have any words. This is what you wanted to teach others how to use? What you think that others can learn?"

I nodded, even as Hardy Shell once again took up a place on my head, which smushed my poor fuzzy ears down in the process, though it wasn't painful. "Well, not that specifically. From what I can feel, that particular pendant there was a container for some knowledge on…healing, I think? That's what it felt like, anyway. What I have to teach is a completely different system compared to that, though they are not completely incompatible. Just different styles."

I moved forward a bit, my smile growing. "Honestly, having a doc, especially one of your skill, learning the ins and outs of supernatural healing is only a good thing in my book. And while I have some other methods in my hat as well, I would prefer to not completely overload you with multiple methodologies all at once…especially since I am going to have to ask you to pass on any knowledge you gain to those you feel are appropriate."

Dr Frasier turned her gaze back to me from the pendant, which she quickly donned and tucked into her uniform. "You want me to teach others what I know as I learn it…despite being a complete novice?"

I cut her off before she could build up steam. "Doctor, the pendant that you are currently wearing, if I am correct, has given you the knowledge of how to perform a series of simple casts, correct? Knowledge that is more or less flawless?"

Dr. Frasier nodded, and I continued. "Please take the pendant off and set it on the table for the moment."

The change was visible as the expected effect happened. Dr. Frasier quickly replaced the pendant on her person after understanding the point I was making. Which prompted me to continue. "If my hunch is right, then you are going to have to actually use the skills that you are being granted by that pendant, at least for a time, before the knowledge sticks with you, and you can pass it on to someone else. And after you are finished, you can use that accumulated knowledge to teach others. The pendant is just a fast method to learn. I'm not going to call it a crutch, because the intention is to actually teach others, but…"

Dr. Frasier chuckled softly. "You are completely making this up as you go along, aren't you, Warrant Officer?"

My grin was now downright infectious. "Hell, I'm still figuring this out myself. Most of why I want others involved is to spread the pain of figuring it out onto more heads."

Nods of understanding and mischief were exchanged between us, and together we began to talk shop once more as I got back to work on the Medical scanner, with Hardy Shell now helping out.

-=[/\]=-​

"Right, so…what do you want us to do with the pile of stuff you left in the lab?"

Col. O'Neill had decided to see me off after I cited time constraints (and that I had left my highly irritable wife unattended based on needs must, which needed to be rectified ASAP) which required me to be elsewhere, and Gen. Hammond had given his blessing to resume my downtime. The other techs in the labs, as well as Dr. Frasier, were sad to see me go, all for differing reasons, but I really had to start preparing for other things.

Which had prompted Col. O'Neill to ask about the pile of weaponry and technology that I had left behind. And that for the most part, I did not care about, having already collected the now significantly compacted standby form of my power suit, as well as my custom-build rifles.

"Well, colonel, I was expecting for someone to go tearing things apart to see how they work, and then maybe using what they learned to make more of them. I honestly don't need them at the moment. Although…I am going to ask that you be careful with the cannons. I may have built them, but not all of those modifications are mine, and it is entirely possible that something could break wrong and have…bad consequences."

Hardy Shell cooed at me, and I scratched his head a bit. [We'll be careful.]

Col. O'Neill himself was all smiles. "Don't worry, Green. We got this under control. Now, don't be afraid to drop by. We could always use a hand with the technical side, and I need to introduce you to the rest of the team eventually. I know Carter would love to meet you."

I nodded back firmly, before offering my hand. "I'll definitely do that, sir. Wouldn't miss it for the world." One handshake later, I offered a brief salute, before being escorted back to the teleport rings.

I, of course, didn't bother telling the colonel that I had ordered Hardy Shell to consider the SGC his personal assignment, and to act appropriately in that regard…including building more Umahki. Things were going to get very interesting around the mountain pretty soon, if all went to plan.

My mirth went unnoticed by my escort.

The return to Texas went easily, and I was soon on my way back towards the refugee camp, having been informed that Mio and MP had returned to the place after finishing their meal. I assumed that I was in for a bit of a grilling from my wife for taking so long with business and not checking in, but that was something that we could talk about later on. The bigger issue was going to be keeping Marcy out of things that the government did not want known by parahumans.

As it turned out, contrary to popular belief (and, if the widespread forum arguments were to be believed, authorial intent) back on my origin world, the US Government of Earth Bet was not entirely stupid and helpless. Non-PRT affiliated researchers, some of which were even assigned to the overall Project Blue Book, as well as a few "other" compartmentalized projects that I was not cleared to know about (aside from that a project with that theme existed in the most general sense, which in the world of classified was next to useless), had figured out and known for some time about the odd correlation between parahumans and knowledge of certain things and effects. Part of this was prompted by unknowing parahuman reaction to Blue Book itself, at least the documentation thereof, and the right people had noticed that almost immediately following the inadvertent data reveal the number of parahuman incidents related to the project spiked rapidly. The proper conclusions were drawn from this, and measures were taken, the extent of which, again, I had no need to know. Hell, even most of what I did know about the situation was from reading around and between the lines of what was being allowed to be discussed, which itself wasn't much at all.

Still, the fact that so many people were dead wrong about the strength and stability of a nation even in the face of cosmic apocalypse events was heartening to me. Now all I had to do was solve some other problems closer to home, like the refugee cases and Oripathy in general, and all would be golden…I hoped.

'And where have you been all this time, hm? Don't think I didn't notice you getting pulled out into the mountains. Spill.'

And of course, dealing with an inquisitive Mio. But that was the fun part.

-=[/\]=-​

The town of Pyrgi, set on the Grecian island of Chios, is a beautiful place with history stretching back to the glory days of the Greek Empire. Many who are not native know of the town primarily for the xysta–black-and-white geometric designs that cover the vast majority of the town's architecture (and which amusingly are an artifact of Genoese control in the past), and not much else aside from the standard tourist brochure stuff.

At least, that was the case, up until a few weeks ago, when all hell broke loose in the form of the Typhon. The local Transtar office (which was currently being used as an impromptu headquarters building in lieu of anything else, due to lack of contact with the main branch) was very much not equipped to handle the situation in any form. The only saving grace that was had was that the…survivors of Talos I had made their landing nearby, and had quickly moved to contain the situation, led by none other than Morgan Yu herself.

Who had become…something. Something that scared people.

The paranoia and fear was only amplified by the people who had come in shortly afterwards and finished containing the outbreak…and then just as swiftly silenced any and all news of what had actually happened from leaving the town itself. And who had then swiftly gathered up everything even remotely related to Transtar and shuffled them off to places unknown.

Morgan herself was not amused with the bullshit, as she was still doing the paperwork for having had to clean up that mess…and said paperwork came attached to certain obligations that she would rather have avoided, if she had a choice.

But the people who currently held her…well, not hostage, as that implied far more force than was being applied, but definitely indebted to them…they did not take "no" for an answer. Not when you had something they wanted.

"Dr. Yu, a moment of your time?"

And here was one of the annoyances now.

The man that was now entering the office that had been set aside for her use was…well, he reminded her of a much happier version of her own father, in many ways. Balding, glasses, and with a slight paunch that was clearly due to his age rather than his diet, he was nonetheless a spry man even in his late years.

He was also a genius engineer, the likes of which she had never seen before, at least not that she actually remembered. The fact that he was easily capable of not only keeping up with, but pushing past her own expertise was….only mildly annoying.

Not that she was surprised, with these people. It seemed they only wanted the best of the best, after all.

She did not respond to the man's request, but she really didn't have to, either, as he took the unstated invitation to step inside and close the door with a soft click. Quickly moving towards a loose chair, he sat down and made himself comfortable.

"Dr Yu. I wanted to check in on you, make sure you are adjusting to being here well. I understand that this is an…unusual process…"

Morgan cut him off. "You are holding me, and all of my personnel, against our will and against US law. I am only cooperating with you to ensure that no harm befalls them."

The man nodded to himself. "As expected. We haven't actually filled you in on any details, yet. That is part of why I am here, aside from ensuring your wellbeing. As for the other reasons…would you please follow me?"

Morgan, as expected of her, complied with the man's request.

They walked out into the main area of this section of…wherever they were, which happened to include a series of obvious engineering and fabrication labs that currently were seeing hard and frantic use in the creation of advanced technologies. Several of her own pieces of equipment were set off to the side on a workbench, obvious care having been taken in examining and maintaining the components therein.

The Q-Beam in particular was being given special attention, which didn't surprise her. Even she didn't know exactly how that weapon worked, only that it did, and to great effect.

The man with her (and she found it odd that she still didn't know his name, despite the rather noticeable ID badge he wore on that green windbreaker of his all the time) guided her through to a section of the facility that she had not seen before, what looked like a medical facility, except…

The empty containment cells made it clear what the place was meant for.

"As you can see, we are equipped to deal with a number of…interesting cases. May I assume that you are curious as to why that is?"

Morgan remained silent, instead casting her gaze around. Yes, this was clearly a separate research area, and it showed. More of the theoretical stuff, less of the actual hardware that would be developed from it. The differing demeanor of the personnel was equally a dead giveaway, There was an excited energy here, one that she felt in her bones even without tapping into her nascent telepathic prowess.

As usual, the elderly man seemed to be able to read her like a book. "I will assume yes, then. We here have a bit of a mandate, you see. We are meant to be the shield against threats similar to the Typhon that your corporation were using for their own ends. Mostly to defend the Earth from the threat that they pose, but also to prevent the kind of…issues that happened onboard your research stations."

At Morgan's shocked face, he only chucked. "Yes, we are aware of your Talos and Pytheas facilities…though the latter has had a bit of a change of management in recent days. Interesting times, these are."

Morgan blinked in confusion. Pytheas? She didn't remember a Pytheas anything–

A brief jolt of pain lanced through her head at the attempt at regaining a lost memory, and she let it rest. No need to go digging up the past, especially not when all evidence pointed to her old self being near completely amoral and driven solely by results, regardless of the cost.

Mikhaila may have been willing to forgive her for what happened to her father, but Morgan could not forgive herself. Not just yet.

Still, her minder had mentioned something interesting. "What do you mean that Pytheas has had a change of management? I was unaware of anything going on up there."

There was a brief pause, before a silent chuckle was heard from her companion. "Ah, yes. I forget that you have been busy being an introvert and have not heard. We have some…unique guests from the stars who have chosen to renovate the station, and even are asking for volunteers for crew."

Morgan wanted to bristle at the comment. She was in no way, shape or fashion an introvert…and yet, she very much had treated her current situation as adversarial from pretty much day one, despite the complete lack of the same from her hosts. If anything, they went out of their way to accommodate her in isolating herself and generally not sharing information.

The realization that it was, in fact, her own actions that had kept her in the dark about current events was a bit sobering, but nowhere near the level of the hammerblows that had been dealt to her by Talos…or what was left of Transtar.

Or her brother, for that matter.

Still, the subject had her interest and she had a willing target for interrogation, so… "Consider me intrigued, then. What exactly is going on there?"

Her companion moved to adjust his glasses, an obvious tic from a lifetime of having them. "Well, our guests have, in addition to renovating the base, managed to subdue something or another that was on the lunar surface itself. They have not offered details on what exactly it was that occurred there, even when questioned directly, but have assured the relevant authorities that the situation is resolved. Considering that the last…altercation was visible from almost anywhere on Earth in broad daylight, we felt that the concerns that we had were more than reasonable."

Morgan barely suppressed a flinch at the notice. That kind of firepower…she had never even heard of anyone possessing such a thing, and the only ones that had come close were the odd couple that had decided to butt in on Talos even at the expanse of their own sanity to save the fools that inhabited it from their own hubris.

Herself included.

Apparently her minder was more perceptive than she thought, as he once again chuckled softly to himself. "Yes, we are all aware of the kinds of energetic output that would be needed for any kind of altercation to be visible from the ground on Earth. This is why there was such relief when they decided to actually help people instead of being recluses, though some of my colleagues are rather excited by the prospect of studying them in greater detail, especially due to their unique, ah, features."

Morgan's eyes narrowed. The old man kept dancing around the topic, clearly not giving her the answer that she wanted, and intentionally so. Unbidden, a small arc of psionic energy danced on her palm, before she suppressed it.

There was no need to become hostile, not yet. This was just an old man indulging in typical old man games at her expense…and likely making a deliberately unsubtle attempt at drawing her out of her self-imposed shell.

Again she felt the pang of embarrassment as her own actions were rubbed in her face, and the solution dangled before her so simply.

'Fine, old man. I'll play along.'

"And who, exactly, were these people that are so important then, and what makes them so special?"

The slight grin on the man's face said everything she needed to know, and stung her pride rather nastily. Still, he didn't linger in answering. "The main reason is that, despite still being human–or, at least, humanoid–they possess additional traits and features that seem to pull from traits of various animals. The phenomena has been noted with some of our other dimensional refugees," he waved an arm at a group of technicians that they passed by, each of them clearly having a different mix of traits in that blend, mostly relating to animal ears and a tail, "and new recruits, but it is something we wish to look into still, especially as the initial medical evaluations that were performed showed a great deal of variation from what we know."

"As to whom they are…they identified themselves as a married couple, a Sergeant, of the United States Air Force, no less, and his wife, along with a-yet unidentified attending personnel. A Sergeant and Mrs. Green, in fact. I believe they are currently in Houston liaising with NASA on a number of things related to the space program at the moment–"

Morgan checked out about then, having fixated on the name.

Green.

It was them, she was sure of it. The sudden growth of the technology sector? The appropriation and renovation of a space to call their own? The fact that Pytheas would very likely have had a Typhon presence that needed to be cleared out, thus making it a logical secondary target? All of this added up perfectly in her mind. Only one more thing would be needed to confirm it.

She finally turned towards her companion (who she still had not properly introduced herself to, nor had he introduced himself in turn), making a brief hand motion to interrupt his slight rambling. "Please excuse me for interrupting, but by any chance would Sergeant Green have two fox tails or similar?"

He didn't even nod. "Ah. I see you have met them before. I would like to hear the story sometime, if you are amenable. Another time, however, as we have arrived."

Their destination, as it turned out, was a sublevel laboratory that from the looks of it had only recently been assembled. The usual detritus of science and progress lay strewn about, complete with various techs working diligently at their tasks. Two things, however, caught her attention.

The first was Dr. Igwe, clearly noticeable by his minor vitiligo. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and if his enthusiasm was any indication, whatever he was working on was truly astounding.

The second, however…

"And why, exactly, are you working with my company's proprietary neuromod technology? You could have at least had the decency to ask for permission. Such lack of manners, here."

She really couldn't help herself on that one. The clear sight of pretty much every piece of data that had been collected on the neuromod technology being prominently displayed on the large monitors was a dead giveaway. And, now that she bothered to apply thought to it, Igwe was only really ever this enthusiastic about his work in neuroscience…

Igwe himself seemed pleasantly surprised to see her. "Morgan? I had no idea that you had been brought onto the project. This is excellent news. We can use your knowledge in sifting through the data on the Typhon neuromods. You are the only one who has any first-hand experience with them, after all."

Morgans frown, under normal circumstances, would have pushed Igwe back into his normal shell. It was something she had noticed while they were moving about Talos, and had confirmed by some of her old notes from her quarters onboard the same. This time, however, Igwe stood his ground, actually facing her and looking her squarely in the eyes, which was a notable change from his prior demeanor.

"The neuromod technology is actually secondary to the project that we are undertaking here, Morgan. What we are working on is nothing less than unlocking and harnessing the power of the human mind." Igwe turned back to his station, and a brief command brought up a chart on the main screen. "Our data on the Typhon and the effects of Typhon-based neuromods has shown that the potential is there, and even Green's own work, as little as I have available, has been proof of concept. Adding it together with the data contained here, we may very well be able to accomplish exactly what we were originally striving for with the neuromods in the first place."

And there was Green again. That name was quickly becoming far too common in her world, and she wasn't sure what to think about it.

Unbidden, the memory of a comforting hug in her darkest moment flitted into her mind, followed by the equally warm memory of actual concern for her well-being, no matter how snarky the shell it hid beneath.

Guess there was still some unfinished business there after all.

Morgan quickly gathered herself before glossing over the data points, after which she returned to the main subject. "And you are just cooperating with them? Giving them what they want, no questions asked?"

Igwe's frown clearly communicated that she was missing something. "Morgan, are you really that blind? The threats we face are only growing, and humanity will need every tool that we can scratch up to pull through. The Typhon were only the beginning, Morgan. What comes afterward–what is arriving right now–is more important than petty corporate interest and intellectual property."

Her minder chose now to jump in. "Actually, Dr. Igwe, Dr. Yu has chosen to remain isolated for some time, and is not fully up to speed on current events. I brought her here in part to help alleviate this, and hopefully secure her assistance."

"It would help if I actually knew where I was, and who you are, old man." Morgan knew she was pouting, but she really didn't care. She was tired of being kept out of the loop.

For his part, the old man simply smiled. "Finally, you ask the simple questions. I'll have you back into normal society yet." The clear dad joke only earned him a bigger pout. "Alright, I've had my fun, Dr. Yu. you can relax."

He moved towards an unoccupied console and began typing, likely an authentication sequence. Shortly thereafter, the main screen was dominated by a simple blue logo, a pentagon shaped insignia of the globe and what appeared to be searchlights in an X formation bracketed by stars. The usual Latin phrasing beneath was ignored for now.

"My name is Dr. Raymond Shen, head of engineering for this complex, and this project as a whole. As to where you are…the location itself is classified, but we like to call it the Anthill."

"Dr Yu, I would like to formally welcome you to the home of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, to use its formal name."

Dr. Shen's grin turned slightly malicious. "Welcome to XCOM, Doctor."

-=[/\]=-​

Lenneth and Silmeria were roving around Miakoda as they usually did, the kerbal in search of yet more thrilling adventures and her fairy companion egging her on even as she faked advising caution for the others.

Sadly, adventure was sorely lacking at the movement, as even with the machinery inside the hangar pushing out new and interesting things to play with, there wasn't much to do with it just yet. The fact that the system (that she had only recently learned the name of) had been willing to snap-produce her a test-type mecha to alleviate her boredom with was nice, but there still wasn't anything fun to do.

Shooting at targets all day, no matter how good the simulators that the two of them had built had gotten, was still boring.

"Lenneth, there has to be something that I can sink my teeth into around here!!"

The fairy simply shrugged. "I tried teaching you some simple magic so we could have spellcard duels, but you were being stubborn about it. Not my fault you don't want to learn anything except piloting."

The raspberry she received in response was about par for the course between them. Yes, Silmeria was by far her best friend, but gods could that girl be annoying sometimes with her sheer hyperactivity.

Even fairies needed to rest sometimes, silly green girl!!

"But I didn't wanna do all of that work right now. Learning magic is hard, especially without the big guy around to help, you know?"

Lenneth could only sigh in frustration. "Then at least channel that energy into something useful. We can use the mech–which you still need to name, by the way– to go mine asteroids or something. Do proof-of-concepts for things that need a crack pilot and expert navigator. Stuff like that. Hell, the freaking mech you had built is basically an ace pilot's wet dream, and I know that Jeb has been getting antsy since the Phoenix launched herself into the unknown. Set up a racing league or something!!

Silmeria stopped to think about it. After all, a racing league would be a nice idea, and would get the pilots (and thus Jeb) something to do to keep them out of the science-types hair while they worked on stuff. Besides, it would let her kill several birds with a single stone, too, as the techies wanted some more performance data on the thruster systems that the Builder unit and the Tester were kicking out.

The damn things had somehow taken a "standard" vernier thruster from a mobile suit (and wasn't she surprised to see the tech on that!) and not only miniaturized the damned things, but somehow applied the weird repulsor tech that was part of the "new arrivals" section of the database. Combine that with a pretty interesting energy source that in theory could produce some insane output in an extremely small size, and you got a recipe for insanity.

The tentatively named Repulsor-Vernier was currently in its third revision, the prototypes of which were mounted on her still-unnamed mecha for testing purposes (officially anyway). The first generation thrusters had served as a good proof of concept, and the second a test of how hard the system could be pushed when mounted in place of regular thrusters. The current batch of V2's were insanely responsive, had a ridiculous thrust output relative to their power draw, and when designed large enough, or at least in large enough clusters, were incredible for moving things around. And the V3 was already fully proving to have surpassed all design targets in that regard.

Naturally, the Tester was playing around with Aerospace variants to be placed on planes and such with spare process cycles, something that the command staff (and Werhner) absolutely loved as it let them play with their spaceplane concepts more.

And none of that helped her in any way with her boredom, because the jerks refused to actually build anything that she could then fly around in. Hence, the mecha and everything that went with it.

"Oh! Here's an Idea! Instead of just being a mere race, how about we add combat to the mix? Make with the shooty bits alongside the maneuvering and stuff, right?"

Lenneth gave her a look. Silmeria cheerfully ignored it and pushed on.

"We can use the modified grav guns, I think. Have it force people off-course, maybe a few fixed traps for those who are in the lead, or something similar. Make it like that Mario Kart thing, but with less random. Or like Wacky Races. It'll be fun!"

As much as she wanted to groan in frustration at her friend's antics, Lenneth couldn't help but grin at the implications of the idea. It could easily become a thing that actually was worth the effort in putting up with the excess energy…

'I knew showing those old cartoons to her would pay off…'

Still, it would require actual participants. The mech that they were currently testing, while easily produced, was annoyingly difficult to master even with the control system improvements that applying the 'learning computer" concept to the suit gave out. Getting people interested in fourteen meters of ceratitanium alloy (another invention of the Tester that was being fielded on their suit) while knowing how hard actually operating the things was without experience was going to be a tough sell all around.

And that was taking the sheer level of daredevilry and general carefree nature of both the kerbin and fairies alike. Off the top of her head, she could only think of maybe five people who would be interested, aside from Jeb. And that was barely enough to really get going!!

"Alright, so say we set this up. How do we get the others involved? You already know that most of the other fairies are averse to the mechanical side, the techies notwithstanding, and on the other end the bare handful of pilots among the other kerbin are too few. So how do we bridge the gap, hmm?"

Whatever response Silmeria was going to give was interrupted by the alert klaxons blaring.

Neither of them hesitated, rushing to the nearest terminal to see what the hell was going on that needed the actual klaxons going instead of just an alert to the flexipads.

Silmeria would remark later that she wished that she had kept her big mouth shut and not invited Murphy to the table.

-=[/\]=-​

Rico, despite what others may have believed, was actually having a great time.

Sure, he was separated from his lord for the time being, and this planet was…different from what he was used to, but everything was also new and interesting!!

He'd even managed to make a friend in the process, a young woman who was in desperate need of someone, anyone in her corner in her life, especially with how things were going lately. The rapid changes to the rest of the planet most definitely did not help matters in the slightest for her in dealing with it herself, and her father, the sole remaining family she had left, was not only still in mourning for his dead wife, but was actively struggling to keep not only his own household, but arguably the entire rest of the town from collapsing in on itself and devolving into what the locals would call a "Hive of Scum and Villainy".

That both she and her father had levels of unrealized talent with magic that he had only seen in Harry since his most recent awakening was besides the point. They needed help, and he provided it to them.

And if that help just so happened to come along with a bit of tutoring in certain abilities and skills, well…nobody needed to know where they learned them, right?

That he was able to hold this up for a good month before things figuratively went to hell was a blessing in his eyes.

The local gang elements had gotten it in their heads that they were entitled to his power for whatever reason, and had made attempts to curry favor with him at various points…all of which were rebuffed in short order. Though, thinking back, the "offer" from the Merchants was weird: they seemed very much like they were trying to get him to ground as quickly as possible and then make it look like he'd been "drugged up" to vanish him from the public eye, and thus the gaze of the other major gangs of the city. He'd regretted that he hadn't actually followed up on the odd lead…it seemed like it was something actually far more important than it seemed.

Unfortunately, he was having enough trouble keeping his activities hidden from prying eyes as it was, especially with the amount of hacking that needed to happen to get the relevant information he needed to actually get by in the first place. The fact that the local PRT (and wasn't that a joke of an organization; He was going to have a discussion with his lord about dealing with the idiots when they met up again) was on his list of "gangs of the city" spoke volumes about the state of things here.

Still, managing to fend off the advances of the gangs while still keeping in touch with his friend was a rewarding experience. That it let him meet the other still decent people of the town (that is, not attempting to gain off of the misery of others) he considered a bonus effect.

At least, until the moon flat-out tried to explode on people. And unlike literally everyone else on the planet, he had the ability to get actual, proper resolution on the issue and see what was happening.

And watching his lord get tossed around like that did not sit well with him in the slightest, even though he knew just by how the battle was progressing that there was nothing he could actually do to interfere with things, especially not with the fucking multidimensional construct of feathery doom sitting in orbit and making damn sure he didn't flex too hard.

Oh yeah. He may have forgotten to mention that the Simurgh thing had taken a personal interest in him, and it had taken basically everything he could do on the matter to not call down the wrath of an Endbringer onto a people that had no effective way of actually fighting back against the thing. Didn't matter that he was sure that he could eventually beat the thing; By the time he'd actually managed to land the killing blow the place would have already been condemned by the powers that be as "too dangerous" out of fear of brainwashing.

Because somehow, actually running people through a reasonable checks system was too much effort for the people here. Oh no: they had to instead blockade entire cities that had been visited by the feathered bitch and condemn the inhabitants to exile forevermore because they might have been a threat.

Whoever created that little guideline was going to get a very nasty visit from him once he figured out who the hell they were.

Still, aside from the Simurgh basically sitting on him to make sure things didn't deviate too hard from its precious master plan (good luck with that, dumbass, Mr. Hebert was a freaking natural with technics, and his daughter was only slightly behind him), his forced inaction from the moon battle was the most annoying section of his pseudo-vacation so far.

Though he did admit that hearing his Lord's voice again, and the sheer giddiness in it no less, was a balm on his soul, as battered as it still was after nearly being torn apart by the blue tumor.

It was for that reason (and most definitely not because Taylor had managed to bully him into teaching her magic, or that her father had then piled on and made sure it became a habit, to include the other members of his Union, no siree) that he had decided to ignore the contact signal being broadcast from the newly renamed Miakoda station. Well, that and the fact that revealing that he was actually a weird alien thing that may technically count as a really advanced AI system seemed like a really, really bad idea, even with the fact that Miss Mio had somehow eaten the feather bitch.

Didn't stop him from setting up long-range probes and scanner setups to keep an eye on his Lord's activities. And what activities they were, too. The whole Oripathy thing was actually a big deal up here too, especially because it took heavy-duty healing magic (as in, he actually had to use Saresta to make the healing stick on the few Terran refugees that he'd run in to, and the only thing stronger than that in terms of photon technics was designed explicitly to bring people back from the dead) to get around.

Which is why he'd swiped a not insignificant portion of the cure that his Lord had whipped up and started distributing it to the refugee camps whenever possible as a medicine that had been developed. He made sure to make it known that the creator was a Medical Operator in Houston, and was clearing out the hospitals of oripathy patients as quickly as he could get to them down there.

Cue the waterworks from the entire lot as they rushed to attempt to contact family and friends that had been shipped off in an attempt to get them closer to the new miracle healer, by the US Government no less.

And then the second problem had come up: the so-called Empire had taken offense to his helping those they considered "beneath them", and had forced his hand in revealing certain things.

Namely, that his default appearance was not that of a caucasian male.

Cue clusterfuck.

Fortunately, by then most of the city knew better than to piss him off (mostly because the one time the so-called dragon had tried, Rico had thrown a Barta variant that he'd been working on at him and left the resulting Lungsickle to thaw out on its own), and so the most that came of it right then was the Empire publicly declaring that hey would have their revenge for the deception.

Oh, but he was so, so, so tempted to just fry them all right there and be done with it, or drop a breaker spell on their not-so-secret headquarters over at Medhall.

'That's right, nazi fucks. I know where you live. Wasn't even hard to find, either…'

But no, his Lord would not approve of just erasing the fucking Nazis from existence without cause, so he stayed his hand. All the more pity, as the idiots made multiple attempts afterwards to try and test him, all to no avail.

He was just thinking about maybe getting a move on and heading to actually check up on this "Umahki" project that his Lord had cooked up when he got a comms ping from Miakoda…from one of the Kerbals? Whatever it was, it was oddly low-power for a place that had a comms antenna available for regular transmission. He was only picking it up because of his own sensor gear being tuned to listen in on the place.

'...I say again, this is Miakoda Station. We have major incoming of multiple bandits on an attack vector, headed for planetfall. Prepare all ground defenses and stand by to repel invasion immediately. I say again…

Rico openly swore, startling poor Taylor, who had been using him as a comfort plush with his permission (she needed the positive contact) and quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Both of you get somewhere safe, NOW. Take your wands with you, you'll need them to defend yourselves if and when the invaders break through. I have things to take care of."

Danny only hesitated for a moment before rushing to grab his bug-out bag (a necessity in a place like Brockton Bay.) Taylor, on the other hand, desperately clung to her precious friend.

"Let me come with you. I can help!"

Rico regretfully pried himself free of her grip, again. "Taylor, I'm sorry, but I have to go. Alone. This is big. Bigger even than an Endbringer. The Earth is being invaded…and I'm one of the few people who even knows it's coming, let alone has enough power to act against it."

He began powering up his active defenses as he moved towards the door, though he maintained eye contact. "And while I appreciate the offer, you aren't ready for the kind of fight that this is going to be. This is not the usual cape game of cops and robbers, where everyone gets to go home at the end of the day. These beings, who or whatever they are, will be shooting to kill. And while you are many things, Taylor Hebert, you are not a soldier."

He turned away from her then, remembering his prior adventures…and the snatches of his prior lives as well. "Unfortunately, I am. This is my duty, as much as I wish I never had to perform it."

Taylor hesitated, caught between two separate decisions…before finally slumping in defeat. "Fine. But you'd better come back!!"

RIco smiled. "Sure thi–"

His proximity sensors threw up an emergency alert. One of the clusters of ships was headed right for him. That much he'd expected from anything that could Direction-Find his radio frequencies or even his transponder beacon. No, what this particular emergency alert was for was something far more important.

Because the overwhelming majority of the fleet was headed directly for Houston. More specifically, Directly for his Lord.

And they had just increased speed.

He didn't even think. Just fired off a wide-band, ultra-high power broadcast on as many frequencies he could be sure that his Lord was still monitoring, and prayed for the best.

Moments later, the initial wave hit Brockton bay…and the battle had begun.

-=[/\]=-​

I was busy fending off Mouse Protector's attempts at wheedling out where the suits had dragged me off to when my head all but exploded in noise as a message blasted through it. Judging from the people gripping their heads around me, they had "heard" it too, which was both encouraging and concerning all at once.

But the contents of the message had me frozen.

LORD, INVASION HEADED DIRECTLY FOR YOUR POSITION. GET TO COVER NOW

I looked up at the sky as the message finally registered.

And thus, I was able to see as the first shots came crashing down.

- = | | | | | | | | | | = -​

And to think, this only took me two months.

I freely admit that this is not my best work. In fact, it is likely far from it, Still it is what we have. Feel free to criticize me for it, so I can improve.

Seriously, Real Life was kicking me in the teeth for a while, and I lost my will to write, but I am very much back…and things are getting…spicy. As in the Ayys are coming in super hot and are not giving a fuck.

Anyway, here we have things being elaborated on, and, more importantly, why Rico was playing absentee for so long (which actually wasn't that long in-story).

Next Chapter? Welcome to the World of Loudening Screams.

 

[ImmortalEmperor34]

It was a long wait but in the end you pulled it off once again

 

[Gulping]

The Ethereals are here.

And they're the least threatening thing that's coming.

 

[Cheetored20]

Nice chapter! I was not expecting that being the reason that Rico wasn't in contact. Makes sense tho, personally in his position I would have gone fuck it I'm an ai and I wasn't built by anyone on bet. Really freak out the institution.
I totally forgot to consider prime with the artifact. Now I feel stupid. (That was my second Metroid game, and the first I 100%ed.)
.... also I pray for snek waifus.

 

[ATP]

Well,SI get lightsaber,so bad guys must get Death Star.But - he would manage to save multiuniverse.
P.S if author made enemies too strong to win,then he could use old pulpfiction trick - "thanks to herculean STRENGHT OF WILL,X win"

 

[Cheetored20]

Well,SI get lightsaber,so bad guys must get Death Star.But - he would manage to save multiuniverse.
P.S if author made enemies too strong to win,then he could use old pulpfiction trick - "thanks to herculean STRENGHT OF WILL,X win"

Click to shrink...

It's less bad guys get deathstar and more like the bad guys enacting their plans all at the same time.

 

[keykigdom]

Alrighty....i'm officially completely lost on what is going on? can someone explain this to me?

 

[Slider Zero]

The Ethereals are here.

And they're the least threatening thing that's coming.

Click to shrink...

They are, however, currently the most dangerous, with maybe two exceptions who are deliberately not making themselves known. Also worth noting is that this is the raider attack meant to throw Earth's defenses (read: Satori) off-balance and buy time for the main fleet to arrive and wreck shop. There is a secondary purpose, but that will be elaborated on later.

Nice chapter! I was not expecting that being the reason that Rico wasn't in contact. Makes sense tho, personally in his position I would have gone fuck it I'm an ai and I wasn't built by anyone on bet. Really freak out the institution.
I totally forgot to consider prime with the artifact. Now I feel stupid. (That was my second Metroid game, and the first I 100%ed.)
.... also I pray for snek waifus.

Click to shrink...

Rico is nothing if not empathetic. There is a reason he was just lazing about and not responding despite making it known he was okay. Satori and Mio correctly figured he'd get in touch when he was ready.

Well,SI get lightsaber,so bad guys must get Death Star.But - he would manage to save multiuniverse.
P.S if author made enemies too strong to win,then he could use old pulpfiction trick - "thanks to herculean STRENGHT OF WILL,X win"

Click to shrink...

Err...no. I absolutely fucking abhor that stupid saying and everything it implies. It quite literally is bad plotting anfd writing all around. What this is, more than anything else, is opposition seeing something they want, seeing the OpFor, and Adjusting accordingly. Worth noting that in all canons of XCOM the Ayys are holding back and by a significant margin no less, though for differing reasons depending on the game. I simply played that bit of lore straight and ran with the effect.

It's less bad guys get deathstar and more like the bad guys enacting their plans all at the same time.

Click to shrink...

Not 100% this, as everything hasn't gone to hell just yet, and not all of the antagonists are in position to actually accomplish their objectives. Though, oce they are...let's just say that conflicting goals is a thing that exists.

Alrighty....i'm officially completely lost on what is going on? can someone explain this to me?

Click to shrink...

Explanation courtesy of your author.
The Aliens of XCOM fame (I'm referencing more NuXCOM than old, but it's a loose distinction) were noted to have sent a raiding force in last chapter that managed to slip by Risa as she was moving to engage the main fleet in a harassing action. This group is currently on an attack run of the planet, which is going to have consequences for everyone involved beyond just the revelation of (hostile) Extraterrestrial life to the masses.

That being said: just because the Ayys are here, now, does not mean that other issues cannot make themselves known when the time is appropriate. after all, Chaos is ever looking for a chance to strike...

If you mean everything else, like the SGC being a thing, well, that is related to a plot point that got brought up a few chapters back, where Washu mentioned that the forge glitching out is changing things, and not strictly for the better. these changes are most strongly felt in the current section of space that is being occupied by the conglomerate Earthlike world that used to be Earth Bet, but are not confined to it. part of the consequence is that, aside from Satori having to save a world on the edge from itself, he also has to, at current, set up a strong enough base to beat back the aliens who want to enslave humanity and use their genetic material as the grist for their new bodies. (yes, really.)

Talking about Lenneth an Silmeria? they are Fairy (Earth Fairy of Gensokyo, Element unstated) and Kerbal pilot who ended up all but joined at the hip due to similar interests and compatible personalities. They are running around testing things being prototyped, constructed, and built by the AGE Builder (from the Gundam series of the same name) and the Tester, which is a Chozo-make weapons testing facility from AM2R. (Lore is that the primary beam weapons of the Power suit were all developed here.)

Talking about Morgan? she's been busy dealing with a Typhon outbreak in Greece, after which she was picked up by XCOM and held until they could figure out what to do with her, which was complicated by the fact that she was being antisocial and uncooperative despite being treated fairly. The rest of the Talos Survivors are currently working with XCOM in some capacity as a combination debrief and assistance program for the Talos incident and Transtar technologies.

Talking about the Terran refugee crisis? that is a major sideplot that is going to be ongoing for a bit, as they are under a millennia-long pandemic that has outright shaped every aspect of their society to extremes unheard of in most sane worlds...and (nearly) everyone running through the dimensional portals onto Earth Bet are infected with Oripathy in some way and are rushing to escape persecution and/or exploitation by those who see them as lesser.

The fact that Satori has whipped up a proper cure for Oripathy, which was considered a pipe dream for centuries, even with major groups like Rhodes Island working on the problem, is only drawing them through ever faster, as word spreads that the impossible has been made real, and that the nightmare of Oripathy is finally ending.

Too bad it's being replaced with a different one...

 

[Mastersgt]

Really hope that sometime soon the Forge will be repaired and restored. Even recovering/recreating the lost/destroyed portions. Because the Forge is way too big/OP for it to really be so limited that it can be damaged/destroyed so easily. I mean, try to remember that this is something that raises "Hosts" to beings beyond Gods, usually becoming some kind of Personification of Creation where they "Forge" entire multiverses/realities.

Also, really hope that we start winding down on the crossovers. The only crossovers/Multi-cross situations I personally like is when they are still their own realities/settings, with the MC traveling to them, NOT when they are all just smashed together like a kid making a mess out of the food on his/her plate.
Mostly because most settings have detailed and specific backgrounds, histories, and rules. That is usually directly contradicted when people do crossovers like that.

That, and I always dislike it when a story goes so overboard on crossovers that I have to re-read chapters just to make sense of something in my headcanon. Heck, these last two chapters have had me breaking immersion with the story cuz I needed to pop onto google and look stuff up because I had no idea what it was talking about or what the source material was. (the turtle, and the details of metroid since I never played the game)

Spoiler: Settings?

So... how many settings are we seeing crossovers with now...?

W40K
WORM
Stargate
X-COM
Portal Knights? Whatever setting Originum comes from...
Metroid
Gensokyo
What am I missing here...?

 

[ImmortalEmperor34]

Really hope that sometime soon the Forge will be repaired and restored. Even recovering/recreating the lost/destroyed portions. Because the Forge is way too big/OP for it to really be so limited that it can be damaged/destroyed so easily. I mean, try to remember that this is something that raises "Hosts" to beings beyond Gods, usually becoming some kind of Personification of Creation where they "Forge" entire multiverses/realities.

Also, really hope that we start winding down on the crossovers. The only crossovers/Multi-cross situations I personally like is when they are still their own realities/settings, with the MC traveling to them, NOT when they are all just smashed together like a kid making a mess out of the food on his/her plate.
Mostly because most settings have detailed and specific backgrounds, histories, and rules. That is usually directly contradicted when people do crossovers like that.

That, and I always dislike it when a story goes so overboard on crossovers that I have to re-read chapters just to make sense of something in my headcanon. Heck, these last two chapters have had me breaking immersion with the story cuz I needed to pop onto google and look stuff up because I had no idea what it was talking about or what the source material was. (the turtle, and the details of metroid since I never played the game)

Click to shrink...

I just hope satori and everyone else can come out of this alive and intact I mean chaos, the entities, the ethereals and whatever else comes up next since at this point the only way things could get worse is if Cthulhu showed up

 

[Cheetored20]

Really hope that sometime soon the Forge will be repaired and restored. Even recovering/recreating the lost/destroyed portions. Because the Forge is way too big/OP for it to really be so limited that it can be damaged/destroyed so easily. I mean, try to remember that this is something that raises "Hosts" to beings beyond Gods, usually becoming some kind of Personification of Creation where they "Forge" entire multiverses/realities.

Also, really hope that we start winding down on the crossovers. The only crossovers/Multi-cross situations I personally like is when they are still their own realities/settings, with the MC traveling to them, NOT when they are all just smashed together like a kid making a mess out of the food on his/her plate.
Mostly because most settings have detailed and specific backgrounds, histories, and rules. That is usually directly contradicted when people do crossovers like that.

That, and I always dislike it when a story goes so overboard on crossovers that I have to re-read chapters just to make sense of something in my headcanon. Heck, these last two chapters have had me breaking immersion with the story cuz I needed to pop onto google and look stuff up because I had no idea what it was talking about or what the source material was. (the turtle, and the details of metroid since I never played the game)

Spoiler: Settings?

So... how many settings are we seeing crossovers with now...?

W40K
WORM
Stargate
X-COM
Portal Knights? Whatever setting Originum comes from...
Metroid
Gensokyo
What am I missing here...?

Click to shrink...

The turtle was homebrewed pretty much, and Metroid tech is basically Deus ex machina (aka walking plot device) Knowledge of Metroid is not needed for the story because we don't really know their top teir feats, only that they are insanely powerful. (Also the chozo are basically master artisans where as the galactic federation is about mass produced equipment.)

 

[Slider Zero]

Spoiler: Settings?

So... how many settings are we seeing crossovers with now...?

W40K
WORM
Stargate
X-COM
Portal Knights? Whatever setting Originum comes from...
Metroid
Gensokyo
What am I missing here...?

Click to shrink...

*looks at settings chart*
You missed a few, though admittedly the elements being used are few and far between for personal and storytelling reasons.

Spoiler: Other Plot settings (including those with minimal Interaction as of yet)

Fate (in the most general sense. Alaya and Gaia are a thing, and Voyager is rolling around as the last Heroic Spirit, but that's about it)
Lyrical Nanoha (Devices and related magic/magitech. Note that Nanoha is explicitly multidimensional in nature, and thus is almost inevitable to make an appearance in some form.)
PREY (setting-wise, the plotlne is finished, and things are in aftermath. Still, the places still exist)
Tenchi Muyo! (Okay, it's just Washu, but she is major enough to warrant the category all by herself)
Star Wars (the Force is spreading throughout the galaxy, and is already offering those connected to the warp an alternative to the place of madness.)
Phantasy Star Online (Just technology as of current....right?)

Potential: Mass Effect (I have been giving thought on to how to work it in, in line with my prior story flow setup, and have been coming up with issues. I may skip this one for the sake of my sanity.)
Potential: Youjo Senki (because seeing Tanya react to this shit is just far too amusing a concept to pass up, though getting her to work is a different matter, as Satori can bypass the misunderstandings filter and actually make sense to her.)
that about covers all of them, for now.

As a side note: Please, do not be afraid to ask questions. The worst I am going to tell you is a non-answer for plot reasons.

 

[ImmortalEmperor34]

If Tanya does show up she will either think this situation is Being X screwing with her or that this will be the chance she has been looking for to kill Being X and in regards to a crossover with mass effect seeing how the council will react to the general insanity is also a very amusing idea

 

[Cheetored20]

I want the mass effect cross part, after all, it should just be stuff on Mars and Charon. Nothing IMMEDIATELY plot realavant.

 

[dbray98]

since time can be wonky in warhammer, it would be awesome if green and mio go on a journey across the multiverse and recruit various factions, like mass effect system alliance and maybe the citadel forces like asari, krogan and turians, go to halo and get the unsc with spartans and the sanghelli, to star wars for all the various races and the jedi, to starcraft for the protoss, terrans, and maybe kerrigans zerg, etc or just the human portion of those settings and then also the arknights operators, xcom, stg1 maybe parahumans and then when they get out of the warp storm only like a month or three has passed in warhammer so they come back with a giant army of humans from different universes and launch a crusade against the forces of chaos, or just wait until we get the kamino cloning facility and maybe the yorha android perk and maybe dr gero ki androids, then we can make our own army, of clones and androids, which will be awesome, we already have skill sharing tech and whatnot, imagine each clone has N7 training, various operator training, naruto genin ninja and stealth ninja training, all of them has chakra, O Arts, nanoha magic, youjo senki magic, smartphone magic, psionics, and valkyrie cores, it would make them the greatest armies in the galaxy, maybe have green be the template for the clones.

 

[Slider Zero]

--text block of doom--

Click to shrink...

Umm okaywut.

First and foremost, spacing. Return exists, and is intended to make reading things easier for people so they don't have to go through the insianity of dealing with a giant text block. Second, that stream of consciousness is hard as hell to piece through, and that was at a glance. I'm going to try and dig out what the heck you are actually saying in a bit, so gimme a moment.

Edit: Alright, I think I know what you are talking about here...and, while it is indeed a decent idea, a good deal of this is already being implemented as-is. Terrans are flocking to Bet through interdimensional portals from their homeworld, fleeing persecution, and more recently seeking the mad dream of impossibility that somehow came true that is the cure for Oripathy. They are going to be a fixture on BEt, and when the stronger of the lot begin popping their fool heads in, things will get interesting for those that have to deal with it.

as for the skills training: Satori has been actively working towards this since day one. assisted by the fact that the DoD wanted in on the ground floor before things started changing too much. The now active attack from the Ayys is proving why, and as much as XCOM wants in on this too, their issue is that they are so secretive that they hadn't yet actually managed to get an official "reaching out" party in range before things went to hell. Still, the revelation of an active threat to humanity as a whole is going to shake things up a bit, let me assure you.

...I think that was everything. Let me know if I missed something, preferably not in block-text steam0of-consciousness form, please?

 

[dbray98]

sorry for the giant text block, i just wanted to get my thoughts out of my head, if that makes sense. will you do anything with cloning or androids if you get them? because having your own army of supersoldiers would be very useful.