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Post by Nocturne on Apr 17, 2018 5:52:33 GMT
The four of you woke up early this morning. Today was a special day, for it marked the end of your training and the beginning of something great. You were called by an operative and assembled before Lotus herself in your Kintsugi regalia, black lightly armoured full body suits lined with gold. Lotus was a tall woman of fair skin, though not much of this could be seen, beyond about half of her face. She wore a purple and golden helmet which covered the rest of her head, most certainly equipment, not an accessory, as a myriad of long cables extended from the helmet's back towards various machines that sustained her. Her purple and golden armoured clothing and black gloves concealed the rest of her skin. An audience with Lotus was always a stark reminder of what the woman, this chained goddess, had done for the Origin System and what it cost her, even though she rarely ever spoke of it. Her face is turned towards you and you can tell she's looking at you even if you can't see her eyes. Perhaps you even feel like she can see more than normal eyes would, even though you're not entirely certain what her actual capabilities are. She begins to speak. "Sol Scarborough, Chandra Suresh, Aziza Meskhenet, Kon. You are among the first of our new Kintsugi and will form a squad. In the past, brave warriors used the Pokeframes to battle Necrozma. Aziza, your ancestor was one of them, piloting the Inaros Pokeframe. I remember Menkar well. He was from the area that has now become Cetus, but he fought for the people of Mars and was eventually buried there. The tales of heroic warriors like him are spread throughout Origin, but she remains wounded. We need to heal her."She pauses here, and you all feel the pressure of a grave look. "As a result, I give you a long term mission. Reignite the Solar Rails. Faster than light travel is perhaps the only thing that can equalize the playing field between Corpus, Grineer and Colonists, giving all of them access to the entirety of Origin. The Kintsugi and our operatives have been working on a solution to do this for a long time now and we have finally found a clue. Orokin specters. These specters are essentially clones formed from energy signatures left behind by the Orokin within some of their more important pieces of technology. By finding these treasures and extracting the energy signatures from them, we can create a clone that will be able to control the Solar Rails' consoles, reactivating them."Lotus waves her hand and a screen appears before you, showing you the image of Earth. A location is marked on it with a golden colour; Cetus. "The first of these Orokin treasures we have discovered is located somewhere within the Plains of Eidolon near Cetus. Your first mission will be to locate this treasure, head into orbit and reactivate Earth's Solar Rail. As we understand, the Ostrons on Earth are having some difficulties at the moment, fighting off Grineer incursions. If you can, aid them where possible, but do not compromise your mission."She pauses again, but this time there is no pressure, instead you feel a little more comfortable as Lotus gives you a slight encouraging smile. "I am aware that you are new and that I've placed a great responsibility upon your shoulders, but don't be afraid. You have other Kintsugi, our operatives, and each other to rely on. I know you can do this."Chandra: As Lotus finishes speaking, Chandra's vision goes black. She is not unconscious, and remains standing as light begins to fill her vision. Globes of golden light appear in the darkness, merging together to create lines. These lines reach towards each other, moving ever so slowly, to create a broken and fractured web. Slowly the globes of light go dark once more, the process speeding up until only the web remains. The web then spirals inwards and disappears as Chandra regains her vision. The images have burned themselves into her mind, their presence seemingly everlasting in her subconsciousness, ready to be recalled when she needs to. Are they a sign of things to come? An echo of the past? Perhaps both, or even neither. "Four of our orbiters, personal ships, have been prepared for you, with a Ship Porygon each. When you are ready, head to mission control. An operative stationed there will take you to the ship bay. For now, go, prepare and get to know each other."
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Post by lichlord on Apr 17, 2018 6:53:11 GMT
Kon was anything but nervous. Something in the back of her mind told her she probably 'should' be, meeting Lotus for the first time and all, but she has moved far past nervousness and apprehension. In the time since her becoming dual corrupted/infected, she's felt like there's no point. She's not quite 'Live like there's no tomorrow' at this point, even though for her that statement might end up coming true, but she's ready to face anything. Even talking to a goddess.
She sat there, ready to listen as Low sat on her shoulders. As a Pidgeotto, she might be starting to get too big to do that, but Kon is not one to deny her quite yet. Low picks through her feathers for stray bits and such, making her wild feathers even more disturbed. Always seemed a habit of the bird, even though they've been in space for a while. It's like an itch she needs to scratch long past being bitten and healing it. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to have her pokemon out, but Low was her partner in life. That's staying true here. Regardless of how little she probably understands, she knows Low would rather be included than not, and probably make a fuss being sent back to the ball.
Since it seemed Lotus was doing most of the talking and not asking questions, Kon decides it's best to put her air filter mask back on. In order to be 'polite' and not sound like she's talking into a metal can, she takes it off for extended conversations until she can't take the pain anymore. Despite the toxic sludge being held at bay by the void energies, it's still in her. And it's taken it's toll. She's honestly a bit glad she can operate through the warframe rather than herself because she's grown considerably weaker. The most damage being to her veins. Basically if she doesn't get a lot of 'healthy' air, the toxicity in her blood causes her a great deal of pain. The mask filters anything in the air around her so it's just oxygen without any smoke or spores or anything like that. She sighs as the mask takes effect and she's able to relax a little, allowing her to concentrate more.
And to Lotus' first point, the solar rails. Kon heard stories of them being passed around. That once, people were able to travel around the star system quickly without worry about dealings with Corpus or avoiding the gaze of Grineer. But seeing as she once never thought she'd leave Cetus, let alone Earth, she never really paid attention. She just nods along with Lotus, not wanting to stop and ask a bunch of questions about the full scope of what they need to do here. She had hoped one of the others she was seemingly teamed with. (Looking over while she's thinking, she quickly scans the other three. She'd seen them around but hadn't really gotten to talk to them. So this is the first good look, and she notes that all four of them seem to be all pretty ladies who will wield bad-ass power armor and that's awesome. She secretly hoped that at one point on of the many more morally corrupt off-worlders who tried and failed to take advantage of her would see all four of them controlling their warframes and how they'd react)
She suppressed a laugh as she continued to listen. Still not quite understanding the full scope of everything but one thing is clear. They gotta get to the plains. Basically her stomping grounds. THAT she understood perfectly. She also catches that bit about the Ostrons needing help. She'd have to resist not doing everything in her power and focusing on the goal. That was her family, basically. And she had the power to do more than just get resources. She looks to the others after that being mentioned.
"I'll just pipe up at this point and just say that I know the plains VERY well. So I guess unless someone wants to volunteer I can lead us around to where we need to go. And more importantly... keep us all alive. I get the feeling we all want that, right? Right."
She lets Lotus finish and waits for the others maybe respond to her.
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Post by spikehed on Apr 17, 2018 14:13:21 GMT
Aziza stood stoically before the Goddess. She had been amazed by Lua as a whole since arriving and couldn't help but stare at all of the equipment that protruded from Lotus to sustain her.
Her mouth was agape at the mention of Menkar, especially of remembering him. A million questions jumped into her head, but she froze at the mention of him being the champion of Mars. She had never heard that from her father before. She had assumed that he was a protector of Earth. Why wouldn't father have told me that? Maybe he didn't know either...
The princess gasped at the news of the conflict in Cetus. She wondered if her family was safe, or if her father had come out of 'retirement' for this threat. Aziza couldn't help but feel pride in the fact that she was almost sure he would.
Aziza furrowed her brow when she heard about these specters hidden in technology. "Ma'am..." She hoped that was a proper title for addressing a god. She had received years of training regarding proper etiquette but none of it had covered this type of scenario. "... do we have knowledge of what piece of technology we are looking for within the Fields." As a local, she was well aware of how vast the area was, with numerous ruins and wreckages of history.
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Post by headlesskoko on Apr 18, 2018 22:02:17 GMT
Lala stood at attention, perhaps lacking the rigidity of some of the more disciplined members, but nonetheless retaining the air of formality that a meeting with a goddess demanded. <So this is Lotus.> and other similarly common thoughts ran through her head. No doubt Lotus, if she really could read minds like Lala was speculating on after remembering all the myths and tall tales, had heard these sorts of questions and comments countless times and in the same tone, no doubt: some roughly equal mixture of reverent, amazed, and curious.
<This person will help me destroy the corrupted.>
The violent thought brought a pleasant happiness to Lala, and combined with the evidently semi-casual atmosphere this meeting had proven itself to lean towards, Lala relaxed her formality enough to smile warmly.
She extended this light smile, born out of revenge, towards Kon, but in friendly greeting unlike its hate-filled origins. "I agree that a native's knowledge will be very helpful. I leave myself in your care, Chandra."
No, Lala. No. Wrong name. You remembered the wrong name, but she couldn't help it. They were all girls and dark-skinned. Back in training, she had just sort of lumped them all together, like she did with every other group.
Ignorant of the mistake she had made, Lala asked Lotus her own question, "Additionally, could we know the types of threats we might encounter?".
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Post by lichlord on Apr 18, 2018 22:14:56 GMT
Kon raised an eyebrow at Lala addressing her as the COMPLETE wrong name. She merely guestures to Chandra.
"That's Chandra. I'm Kon. Hi."
Kon gives a small (slightly sarcastic?) wave.
"But yeah I got us down there. I've scoured the plains with Low here for years. Not sure if I know where a relic like that, but I'm always sure that the Grineer know that the Plains are full of treasures. Following their movements would be my first suggestion. They might already be trying to find it if they know."
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Post by Nocturne on Apr 22, 2018 1:44:31 GMT
Lotus smiles warmly at Aziza and the rest of your group. "You don't need to be formal, call me Lotus. I know I have something of a... long history, but I want you and all Kintsugi to feel comfortable with me as much as possible. I only regret the difficulty of interacting with you, as summoning you here all the time would disrupt your training."
She grows a little more serious. "To answer your question, Aziza, we don't know for sure. While technology in the Orokin Era was usually quite standardized, for this act of setting a little of their essence into a machine, it was mostly down to personal choice... Perhaps I should explain further. During the Orokin Era, as you know, humanity was much more advanced than it is now. You had regular humans, and you had the Orokin, though for the middle class these terms were interchangeable, due to their ability to live natural lives of indefinite length. The way this ability was acquired was most commonly through Kuva, the red broth, a real elixir of immortality. There was also another way however. Through uploading copies of their own minds into machines, they could evade death forever. The energy signatures I spoke of will be degraded versions of mind uploads."
She turns to Lala. "You like to be called Lala yes? I will use that from now on. The Plains of Eidolon are called this for a good reason. I was planning to let you get this information from Konzu, leader of the Ostron on Cetus, but as we have a native here, it won't hurt to let the rest of you know in advance. Speaking honestly, on the Plains of Eidolon your biggest threat is not the Grineer, despite their swarming all over them. The truth you see, is that I wasn't able to banish every single Ultra Beast from our dimension. Many were already dead or dying and so I conserved energy by letting them be. As a result, and this is something I truly regret, what you truly have to watch out for are the Eidolons, fell remains of Ultra Beasts, powered by nothing but their hunger to destroy. I'm told they have vastly diminished in power as compared to when I dealt with them, but exercise caution nonetheless when you roam the Plains at night, for this is when they appear."
Lotus is silent for a moment, and you get the feeling she was remembering the conflict with the Ultra Beasts. The moment ends quickly. "Are there any other concerns you have?"
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Post by spikehed on Apr 22, 2018 2:04:22 GMT
Aziza gave a curt shake of her head. "No ma'am. Lotus." She quickly corrected herself with a tensed jaw. Such training forms habits that were difficult to break. She did not seem to dwell on the mistake however. Her mind was busy with the information that Lotus had provided and the assumption that they would be heading to Cetus first, to speak with Konzu.
Her father would be there. She was both excited and terrified. It had been some months since she had been taken to Lua to begin training. His last words to her were expectations of success and continued tradition. How am I ever going to explain Sobek when I don't truly know why, myself? Aziza hoped that the distraction of Grineer aggression would dampen his judgment.
Returning to the present, she chanced a quick glance between the other young women to see if any had further questions about the non-descript mission. Bastet will say this is a needle in a haystack... The princess could already hear the cat's complaining about inefficiency and time management.
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Post by lichlord on Apr 22, 2018 4:11:13 GMT
Kon pops back after mentioning night on the plains.
"Trust Lotus on that one, you do NOT want to meet them. Considering the single time I've seen it helped get me into this whole mess, you don't want to go messing with em."
She looks back up to Lotus after mentally remembering the event she had to live through, and shakes it off before addressing Lotus.
"I had ideas where to go but do you have any info yourself? Or are we just supposed to sift through the dirt ourselves."
She shrugs.
"Not like I mind. Would just be more of the same for me."
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Post by snark on Apr 22, 2018 12:28:14 GMT
Chandra stands not at all at attention, swaying slightly as her focus drifts from one speaker to the next. Goddess, scavenger, soldier-princess, bright nomad... and herself, of course. If she speaks. It's hard to follow the thread of conversation sometimes. If she concentrates, she knows, she can muster a veneer of normality, pretending to be a whole and normal person. She's good at it, even. But it's an effort, and it feels dishonest. That person isn't her. Maybe she used to be, but... if these four - three - are going to be her new crew, they should know the real her. Maybe they can tell me who she is. She stifles a giggle at the thought. It isn't really that funny, and she ought to be paying more attention to the mission.
It seems a simple enough task, to start with. Not easy, but simple. Chandra wonders if any of the others know enough to recognize the sort of technology they're looking for. She thinks she might. Orokin technology is not her specialty, but she doesn't have to figure out what it does, just whether it's complex enough to house the energy signatures they need.
"The... specter," she says, surprising herself by speaking. "It will want to help us?"
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Post by headlesskoko on Apr 23, 2018 5:00:19 GMT
"Oh. Hi... I'm sorry!" Lala quickly amended her mistake with a rushed apology. Oops, she did it again. That wasn't going to leave a good first impression.
Luckily, Lala couldn't blunder it any further, not with Lotus beginning to answer everyone's questions. Lala turned and listened obediently, nodding quietly when asked about her preferred name of choice. Sol was such a brisk name. Lala preferred her musical nickname more.
For the time being, Lala has nothing to add to the conversation. Her question didn't receive the answer she would have quite liked, but if the main threats were ultra beasts and grineers, then there was really no way to pinpoint a single type that made up the majority of the threat. That left team formation to adapt her Pokemon to, and that could be resolved after the debriefing. Certainly, the members of her team were also thinking about having a short meeting with each other before descending to the planet, right?
Of course, encompassing this logical thinking, Lala was a bundle of nerves. Not only Grineers but also ultra beasts? Grineers weren't too bad in Lala's books, but she was speaking as a merchant who had done business with them (or rather, watched others do business with them). This time, they would view her as an enemy, and she didn't know what to expect from fighting them. Then there were the ultra beasts. She'd heard tales about them, and Lotus's assurances were only a drop in the bucket of terrifying rumors and stories that made up the reputation of the Ultra Beasts.
Still, this was the path she chose to walk on. There was no turning back now. Lala focused on collecting further information that she could use to bring forth success on the mission.
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Post by Nocturne on May 1, 2018 3:02:40 GMT
Lotus looked in Chandra's direction. "The specter clone will be modified to ensure full cooperation. In theory this should eliminate the chance of rebellion. Your main worry where the specters are concerned, will likely be any tricks the degraded Orokin mind may have up its sleeve. They have been 'alive' for certain definitions of the word for a very long time after all. Caution should be exercised when dealing with them. I wouldn't worry too much however."
She smiles at you all, "Now, I do need you to embark on your mission soon. I know I'm sending you off to Earth without letting you explore what your new home is really like, as you've mostly been confined to this sector of Lua, the Plato sector, for training purposes, but once you return, there will be time to travel around the different sectors of Lua. If you want to get to know each other a little more before heading off however, I would recommend doing so in the Relay. The Relay is our community area on Lua, where all Kintsugi can talk, trade and more. It's not currently much in use, due to the Kintsugi being new. There are more Relays out there, beyond Lua, as bases for our Kintsugi to both operate from and relax in when they are away from home. Before you leave however, take these."
A number of golden earrings floated over to you. A pair for each person. "These are not simply accessories, they serve as voice communication devices both on and away from Lua. Simply clip them to your earlobes and they will hold until you wish to remove them. They aren't uncomfortable at all, I promise. To change their settings, simply press a button you will find on them. This activates a holographic screen, which allows you to change commands, set key-phrases and more. There is also a support menu if you have any problems or are confused about how to use this technology. If you wish to talk to me, you are always welcome to do so, my voice channel has been keyed into them already."
"You should also know that as part of protocol to protect you and your families from Grineer and Corpus spies, when going out on missions, you are required to use codenames. You will be referred to as either 'Kintsugi', or by the title of your Pokeframe. If there is nothing else, I wish you good luck."
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Post by spikehed on May 2, 2018 16:09:16 GMT
Aziza nodded in understanding and dipped her head slightly before turning on her heels. She figured that the statement was a wrap-up of Lotus' explanation of the current events and there was little else to do but depart. As she exited the room, she retrieved the communicator and opened up the holographic screen to explore the options. She wondered if the system could be configured to the ship Porygon to make preparations as she walked in it's direction. Aziza couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of linking with Sobek for something more substantial than training. The excitement almost completely blocked the dread of returning home with Sobek in tow.
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Post by lichlord on May 2, 2018 16:56:26 GMT
Kon snatches the earrings from the air and puts them on each ear. She doesn't open anything yet, she'll just futz with it later. She's not one for a lotta tech, so it may take a LOT of futzing.
"Not one for jewelry, really. Always just expensive baubles that could be easily pushed onto visitors but... well I guess this is functional so alright."
Aziza briskly walks off while Kon has placed her communicator on. She doesn't think on it much until she realizes that they aren't supposed to stick together before taking off. She gives a little nod to Lotus (She's not sure exactly what is proper etiqute when exiting the presence of basically a Goddess, so she hopes that's enough!) and turns to catch up to Aziza. Low ends up falling off Kon's shoulder as she wasn't ready for Kon to turn like that. She squaks, a bit annoyed, and flies to catch up again and takes roost once more. Kon catches up behind Aziza. There's a long drag of air through her mask before she speaks again.
"Hey, wait up. Not like you can go on your own, girl. Haha."
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Post by headlesskoko on May 3, 2018 5:03:27 GMT
With that, the debriefing was over. Like the others, Lala grabbed her communication device from the air and attached it to her earlobe as instructed. There had been a lot of information given, but the gist of it was the same as the first order given: find the specter and return with it to base. As she was not informed of a particular type to look out for in their search area, she figured she'd just keep her frame on its current settings.
By now, Aziza and Kon had both turned and left. Lala turns as well to briskly follow after them, but stops after a few steps and looks back to see if Chaundra was coming with them... assuming she hadn't left already. I dunno. Sometimes, posting order can be weird and not be the actual order people are doing things in.
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