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Post by DataNinja on Sept 10, 2019 5:04:12 GMT
"We are admittedly uncertain as to exactly the status of the outside world at this time with regards to reparations," the AI says. "Ideally first we would launch a satellite - all of the existing ones suffered failures or losses of command codes during the strife - but that is not guaranteed to be feasible at this time. The good news is that the slow repairing of reality was measured in certain inactive areas during research into the phenomena. The two thousand years was the safe estimate. We hope that we have passed the critical threshold already, as some projections show. The first step in that would be aiming to reclaim one of the nearest lost cities from what Pokémon remain there, and use that as a base of infrastructure, to try and have people repair what is there instead of starting from scratch. Further calculations could be made from that. This is a long, long term endeavor. Many human generations."
"The immediate problem, as to what has changed... well, there's been a development. Something we could not have foreseen." Cain shakes his head. "A Pokémon has showed itself - we think it's one, it might be more - that's able to appear in places when a Gate opens. It absorbs power from the Gate, before the thing overloads and is destroyed. We lost a Warehouse that way, and nearly a second before we realized the issue and prematurely shut it down. We had to shut everything down, though. Because the big Gates... the ones that make food and water and all that, that're always on... well, sometimes they 'flicker'. It's just a short little interruption... but we fear that this could mean a direct entrance to our main power sources. Feeding it. And destroying the pillars of resources that our city needs to survive along with it."
"I also can't imagine why you would think that diplomacy would work," he adds, "even if they understood us. There's been no attempt at a ceasefire from their end. They started things, and have continued ever since. Without reprogramming, there's at best waiting for the right moment to strike, and at worst all-out-war. I would not trust any attempt from them at coexistence, even were they not striking at our very way of life right now. That is how history repeats itself."
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Post by ThRevanchist on Sept 11, 2019 17:25:49 GMT
The nature of the emergency now made sense, and was worse than anticipated. Far worse, given the people of Arcadia's dependence on the Gates. Talk of Arcadia's future would have to wait. But Thoron couldn't help but think out loud, "With their fixation on destroying the Othergates, perhaps the Pokemon think humans started this aggression? Yes, we rely on the Gates to survive, but they are still gateways to unlimited energy and resources. The line between a tool and a weapon is thin at that point..." It was a serious matter, and probably a sensitive topic in present company, but he added, "As this recent disaster demonstrates."
But that was also enough speculation. "On a more practical note, our target is an unknown number of Pokemon of unknown capability, but which includes teleportation allowing them to bypass our existing defenses, and a destructive reaction when they encounter a Gate. Their first appearance has shut down all of Arcadia's infrastructure, where reactivating them means to summon them." Thoron hoped that didn't sound disheartening. Then he asked, "Conversely, they have only appeared immediately when a Gate has opened? Can we estimate the delay between their appearance and self-destruction?"
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Post by Bowyer on Sept 14, 2019 7:20:14 GMT
So that was the result of everything shutting down. Protecting the production gates from a premature detonation. It certainly made things...sticky to say the least. But it didn't sound like something related to what the Mustached mon was planning at all. Whatever this was, it was drawn to the gates and destroying them. It had to be stopped. Along with Thoron potentially spilling the bean-substitute, Blake winces.
"Perhaps a more important question, do we have a way to contain whatever monster is causing this? It won't do us much good if we summon it back and it poofs away again once it's meal is complete or it feels threatened." He pauses. They were Technicians afterall, doing the improbable was part of the title. "Our own Pokemon might be enough if we're lucky and there's always a chance a Pokeball could hold it. I don't suppose there's any other little hidden tidbit that might help with that?"
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 22, 2019 1:05:02 GMT
"Yes, weaponization was admittedly a concern initially," a Councillor says, "And there were a few... incidents, despite the best precautions of attempting to not allow commercial models to produce certain compositions. Thankfully, at least, it requires immense amount of computing power to create initial blueprints, as everything down to the last molecule needs to be formulated. There were still some... explosive results at times, when people tried to, for instance, nuclearize improperly. Not that you all would know what that would entail. Needless to say, yes, it could be turned into a weapon in improper hands. One very large reason why we would ideally like to keep knowledge of it to as few as possible. Immense risk reduction that way."
"Humans did not strike at Pokémon first. Their appearance was an odd side effect of the Gates, and there is no certainty that they even existed on the other side. We certainly did not attack them while they were here initially. They made the first strike."
"Based on the readings that we managed to capture, it seems to probably be based off of total discharge absorption. So - though, admittedly, this is just my initial thoughts, the data should be crunched up here to see if my gut's right -a tiny gate fracture is likely to create much less of a destructive response. And hopefully allow taking it on and catching or destroying it. If I may?" He brandishes a datastick. "Proceed." A port on one of the consoles near him opens, and he slides the stick in, one of the three dataforms disappearing into the computer, presumably to focus fully on the contents.
"Unfortunately, as of currently there is no known anti-teleportation wards. Otherwise, we would have erected them. However, standard teleportation patterns seem to have indicated a line of sight limitation, with only this rift boosting allowing bypassing that. So, perhaps if energy input is limited, and we set up the trap in a confined space, it will be unable to escape again, giving time for capture. Data analysis pending, of course. We do have... additional weaponry that can be authorized for a time like this, however, and upon conference we see a high probability that we will need to."
"What do you mean?" Cain asks.
"Powerful Pokémon, each captured at great cost from before the founding of this city. Kept here in case of emergencies. Under processing all this time to ensure that they do not cause more damage when finely allowed egress. The power readings from this new creature are immense, so to have the highest chance of minimizing damage to the city, and of initiating a successful first encounter, this is probably the best option."
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Post by ThRevanchist on Sept 24, 2019 0:31:06 GMT
His question both answered and, seemingly, misunderstood, Thoron was rather more distracted by the newest topic. Right away, there was a serious risk, which he proceeded to warn against, "So immense that the best option is to release a Pokemon you have - justifiably, I can only imagine - kept in full containment for more than fourteen hundred years?"
Feeling that his point wasn't made quite clear enough, he added, "Given the lesson we were only just taught, I have some apprehension toward releasing such powerful specimens... If I understand the situation correctly, then unless you three can guarantee these ancient Pokemon will cause no undue damage, it seems like too great a risk... Respectfully." It wasn't even about estimating their own abilities so lowly; these AI no doubt had good cause for it, but this was adding an enormous (albeit fascinating) unknown into an already very precarious situation.
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Post by Bowyer on Sept 25, 2019 7:01:23 GMT
Blake mentally sighs as Thoron's question is seen as a question of the past rather than the present. A rather fortunate happenstance. More fortunate than the fact that whatever they faced necessitated an emergency contingency that had lain dormant for untold generations. Still it was a daunting task. What could this creature even be capable of?
One thing was for certain though, Blake was not going to pass up on this opportunity. "It is troubling that we have to resort to such measures. If these were normal circumstances, I would opt to forgo the risk," he shrugs and directs his argument towards Thoron, "But these are severely abnormal ones. Silas, yourself and I are all weakened from our recent mission. This is an order of magnitude more serious and we can't afford to misstep.[/color]
Blake gestures past Silas towards the two remaining 'Council Members', "If our previously hidden friends think it necessary, with all their copious knowledge, how can we refuse the offer? It's our best chance to fix what's wrong. Besides I'd very much like to avoid being on the wrong side of an attempt to stop this Pokemon. Something tells me it would be rather fatal."
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Post by Moriya on Oct 3, 2019 23:09:54 GMT
Silas is silent for a while as he pieces together the information. How does this partial truth intersect with the the one provided by the Pokemon? Perhaps the invasion of the Pokemon was started intentionally as a weapon. "We know of at least one way they can teleport without line of sight. It caused the base breach not too long ago. Still, we just need to keep them from reaching a circle. And I will use whatever tools you're willing to give to protect the people. But how stable are these super-Mon, if they require constant processing? Will they turn on us if kept active for an hour?" Calling the Pokemon 'tools' might be a bit much, but it'd also be nice is they got better tools for this mission anyway. Surely there are some blueprints of better weaponry stored somewhere?
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 3, 2019 23:17:01 GMT
"That is true," Cain says, with regards to the teleportation, "but that was deemed anomalous. It was something beyond the capabilities of any individual Pokémon to do on a whim. It would be good to exercise caution, though, I suppose. Just in case there is another surprise like that."
"With regards to the powerful Pokémon," the reply from the AI comes, "I do not believe that there is currently risk of them unbalancing. Simply just that they were... potent, and complex, thus were deemed to much of a risk to use without copious amounts of restructuring. It is almost certain that the length of time that they have been sealed has been enough to remove all hazards of using them. It was not a risk necessitating constant reinforcement, just a risk of insufficient initialization."
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Post by ThRevanchist on Oct 6, 2019 23:44:22 GMT
Blake and Silas had the right of it, and even in the worst case these exceptional old Pokemon were nowhere near as much of a threat as the new one. There was an interesting conversation to be had about what made a Pokemon complex, but that wouldn't be very relevant to the coming ambush... Taking his own agreement as implicit, Thoron asked what might be his final questions, "Then, about our plan to ambush this new enemy. Will the Council be responsible for activating the Warehouse Gate and luring the Pokemon to us? When you predict 'less of a destructive response', will the scale be small enough that we can wait nearby and minimize response time? And finally, how long do we have to prepare before this mission?"
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Post by Bowyer on Oct 8, 2019 2:53:06 GMT
Excellent they were all in agreement. Or at least Blake hoped the general silence and lack of typing was agreement and not excessive worry on the part of the other team. "I don't suppose you all have any other questions? We have been hogging them a bit. Even if they were rather good ones." He was interested if they had any other reservations. Or perhaps noticed something they missed. Best to be certain when something that could shut down the whole city was on the lose. Thoron had a fair grasp on the tactical situation already but it couldn't hurt to ask.
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Post by Moriya on Oct 10, 2019 1:46:28 GMT
"No more questions here. I'm sure this incident already has a death toll. We can worry about more details once the power is back on." A bitter expression creeps over his face. "No rest for the wicked, after all."
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 10, 2019 6:30:55 GMT
"No questions here," Rose says, shaking her head. "Seems... clear enough."
"We'll do what needs to be done," Emily says, and Austin nods in agreement.
"Excellent," the Councillor says. "It will be at least a few hours before we can conduct everything, though, and ensure that it's in place. We cannot dally, but it is imperative that we don't rush planning this. We only have one shot, after all. Hopefully it should be relatively small scale, so you need only be in the nearby location once things are set up. So, best that you rest, get yourselves in a condition as to fight, and deal with anything pressing that you might have to while we get everything arranged."
"And, of course," the other one out adds, "You're not to tell anyone anything about this. It is strictly need to know. And as of right now, you are the only ones that need to know."
"I'll contact you once we're almost ready to begin," Cain says. "Until then... just try to relax if you can."
With that, the elevator opens to take the group back down to the ground level, where they can make their way back to HQ, and final preparations.
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Post by Bowyer on Oct 26, 2019 7:21:54 GMT
Waiting was something that Blake wasn't particularly fond of. That awkward time when things seem to be slipping into eternity. Usually he tried to fill such vacant, deafening moments with a distraction. Conversation, even about nothing important, kept it at bay but it just didn't feel right just now. Everything was happening so quickly and it just didn't feel right to wait.
He'd done all he could to prepare his team and himself for the encounter. They were as hale as they had been before the events with Requiem and Nephilim that now seemed so far away. His cloak still wasn't recovered but the spare would do well enough. The newly dubbed Veil lived up to its name. Ethereal. Light. Breathtaking. Yet somehow disconcerting. Alien perhaps. It seemed able to see right through him. Surely it was just the stress of several compounding situations playing tricks on him. But when would the situation ever end? Nothing to truly do but wait.
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Post by DataNinja on Nov 20, 2019 23:43:37 GMT
There was nothing much more to say or do. Things were collected, Pokémon were familiarized with (as much as a small amount of time could do), and an air of finality lay in the air. The new Pokémon seemed, certainly, to have an air of gravitas about them, and far less personality than the others that they've been using over time.
And then came the notice, a few hours later. That things were almost ready, and to begin heading down. With the other team in tow, came the long, long climb down in the near-darkness, and confusion, and heavy atmosphere. Some people tried to stop the group, ask questions, berate them... but nobody was really willing to brave Pokémon, or the look that some of the group were able to give them.
The time seems to stretch on into an eternity... down, down, down, forever down. Until finally... the bottom. And peering out of the darkness is an oasis of light. Cain is waiting there, along with some other confused-looking Technicians who were probably drafted to aid with putting together the metal structure that sits in the middle of the light. It's not much more than a box with a door cut into it, at least on the outside... but on the inside, various technological bits and bobs are around in a manner that indicates that it was fairly hastily put together.
There are no formalities. Simply an acknowledgement that everyone is ready. The other Technicians move back... and Cain throws a switch. Power from a battery surges into the box, the insides glow a brilliant white... and a strange smell, feel, and taste fills the air. Something otherworldly. Unnatural. Energy in its rawest form.
And it's not long before something else appears. A small pink and purple goblin, holding a ring in one small hand. It seems to utterly ignore the humans, basking in the energy, clearly absorbing it by the way that the air suddenly lessens. Cain throws the switch to shut off the machine... but the machine refuses to shut off. There's a flash. A minor explosion from inside as everyone's forced back a little. When the smoke clears... the pink Pokémon is still there, though glowing more. It does a little laughing noise, before blinking. At first it seems to still be in the same space, but the background behind it is... different. It's not the box. It's another part of the Under. Dimly lit, a tear seems to be floating in midair, though the edges appear to be stitching together, closing even as the group watches.
"Go!" says Cain, looking at Silas, Blake, and Thoron. "We can't let it get away. There may be something else to do, but we can't lose it. See if you can stop it!"
The tear certainly doesn't seem like it will hold for too long...
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Post by Moriya on Nov 23, 2019 4:56:15 GMT
As they proceed to the Under, Silas tries to work out a solution to this mess to distract himself from the people dying with every second without power. The problem is that both sides are hiding something, and a proper solution will likely make both sides unhappy. However, being on this mission means that they must be stronger than most Technicians. They have the power needed to take action when an opportunity arises.
When Cain gives his order, the medic nods. "We should finish this." Silas prepares his new Pokemon's ball and approaches. It would be best to hit hard and fast to finish this quickly. And if it goes down first... that might be a good thing too.
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Post by ThRevanchist on Nov 23, 2019 5:32:36 GMT
Even after all of the preparation they could muster, the intruder with the power to stop Arcadia still managed to be surprising. And surprisingly small, they would need to take care not to lose their target.
For the first time today at least, their path was clear: Follow the creature.
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Post by Bowyer on Nov 26, 2019 1:28:50 GMT
It was a dreary trek down to the Under. All the faces questioning and fearful. What answers could he offer them? Blake and the others held the future of the city in their hands. They couldn't afford to fail. It wasn't an option, even if they still had questions. There had to still be a city for them to change.
And then the descent was over and Blake was left by the makeshift trap, wondering what the Pokemon they were hunting would look like. The reveal is less than awe inspiring. Who could have thought that such a little imp would be the source of all this trouble? And then it ran away. This was beginning to feel a tad familiar. At least this time they weren't coming into the fight roughed up from another one.
Giving a smart salute, Blake hustles to the portal. Getting left behind wasn't something he wanted to have to explain to anyone. Teris could handle anything the energy glutton could throw at her.
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Post by DataNinja on Nov 26, 2019 20:31:43 GMT
Through the tear in reality, which swiftly seals behind them, the group finds themselves in a wide open area of the Under. Somewhere where there's neither machinery, nor people, just faint emergency light and an oppressive air. That, and their quarry, which is softly glowing, in the midst of some familiar Pokémon.
Standing around where the gremlin had made its way to, there's an Alakazam, Gardevoir, and Xatu standing in a triangle. Silas is able to see that they're channeling psychic energy into the creature in the center. From the far side of the triangle, facing the new arrivals only a short distance away from the display, the Alakazam speaks, tersely. "I see we have company. I do hope that you have not come to interfere. That would be... unpleasant. For you, for us, and for this city. Eschaton is ascending, and she will free us from our pain."
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Post by ThRevanchist on Nov 29, 2019 4:31:09 GMT
And there went their simple mission, joy. Thoron answered with indignation, "We came this close to shutting the Technicians down, only for you to shut down everything else first. Causing all this chaos was not part of the plan."
Thoron gestured to the gremlin and said, "Step away from... Eschaton, and then you can tell us why all of this is necessary." Given that this was the first they had heard of Eschaton or their ascent, he was not optimistic.
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Post by Bowyer on Dec 2, 2019 4:14:34 GMT
The jaunt through the portal was just as disconcerting as the last time. It was made worse by the familiar faces that greeted them. Why did it seem like everyone was hiding secrets from them? "We were only interfering in the first place because Eschaton has been overloading the sources of sustenance for the city. And I have a doubt it was in an effort to mitigate the weapon the council has."
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