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  1. - Top - End - #91
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Adventures in Time & Space IC

    Ky did his best to steer clear of the graffiti eyes. Straying into the Gods' vision would complicate things. For all he know, they'd come to 'escort' him to Laurel (or vice versa). Of course, doing this greatly limited his search area. And his TARDIS didn't seem to be in it. He hoped that Laurel was having better luck. Because he really didn't relish the idea of revisiting the Toymaker.

  2. - Top - End - #92
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    Quellian-dyrae's Avatar

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    Default Re: Adventures in Time & Space IC

    Laurel had not been aware of the perception filter, or even that perception filters were, strictly speaking, a thing. Fortunately, her own psychic powers kept it from fully affecting her, so when she saw the only first aid station in the place that didn't have the creepy eye symbol, she deemed that a clue. ~I think I might have found it, maybe?
    Or at least, it's a first aid station that's covered in graffiti that doesn't include the weird eye symbol, and the only one of those I've seen. From the entrance, go {insert directions here}.~


    While she sent Ky the message, she approached the station and tried the door. She figured it'd be locked, but who knows?
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  3. - Top - End - #93
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Adventures in Time & Space IC

    [W-wonderful! Good job, Lauren. I'll be there as s-soon as I can.]]

    Ky resisted the urge to rush headlong towards his TARDIS. Having a sanctuary would do him no good if he didn't reach it. So instead, he continued to carefully avoid the Gods' gaze. Careful, precise movement was the order of the day: Unless he accidentally got spotted, of course. Then the headlong rushing would commence.

  4. - Top - End - #94
    Ogre in the Playground
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    The graffiti was omnipresent in the broken remains of the Dark Circus, they pulsed every so often with a blue light like they were blinking, the Gods were aware of Chaiti and Laurel but Ky was something new and a Time Lord to boot, distracted as they were by the Malmooth's tales from the ruins and relics of ancient civilizations, he still merited some small part of their attention.

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Ky'll get back to his TARDIS no problem (he just triumphed over a Guardian, the poor guy deserves a breather) but give me a Subterfuge+Coordination to determine how much attention he draws in the process.

  5. - Top - End - #95
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Ky's heart soared when his TARDIS came into view. He and his vehicle had a complicated relationship. For all he knew, it might be the one responsible for a lot of his problems. But regardless, it was still his home away from home. Seeing it usually managed to put him at ease. And as a bonus, Laurel was standing right next to it. Ky fumbled in his pockets as he rushed towards her. Ah, here it is! As soon as he was close enough, he jammed a shiny key into the medical booth's seemingly dilapidated lock. Then he hustled both himself and Laurel through the door.

    "Inside inside inside! Hurry!"

    The vast intimidating realm of the control room became almost comforting today. Its towering shelves were a nice change from the decaying circus outside. There was no time to give his very first guest a tour. Ky just rushed towards the information desk that housed the control console.

    "W-welcome aboard. We're (maybe probably) safe now. B-but there's still a passenger left to collect. Here's the best plan I've got so far: I land the TARDIS around her, so that she appears in here with us; Then we flee. A-admittedly, I don't exactly know how to flee the Gods of Ragnarok. They might just find and a-abduct us all over again as soon as we step outside. But it's the best I've got. U-unless you have a better idea?"

  6. - Top - End - #96
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    Default Re: Adventures in Time & Space IC

    Laurel waited for Ky a bit antsily. She was peering around and the various side-streets, acting like she was trying to figure out which route to take or maybe a bit lost. Really she was mainly keeping an eye out for glowing graffiti. She didn't want the Gods to notice her waiting around.

    She hissed out a sigh of relief when Ky came into view. She didn't waste a moment in following his command, hustling into the ship. Hopefully now they would have a-

    ...Wow.

    Laurel had gotten two steps inside before she noticed where she was and stopped cold. This was Ky's ship? This was Ky's ship? The more time Laurel spent with Ky, the less she was able to make sense of him. On the one hand, he seemed to have almost zero courage, confidence, self-esteem. He had said outright he was a mere student. But then just when you think he's nothing more than a scared teenager he does something like beat the Toymaker in a game of his own choosing (and, look, Laurel wasn't entirely clear on the specific strengths and weaknesses of the Toymaker, but what she had gleaned so far suggested that was a significant accomplishment) or own...this.

    Laurel realized she had been staring, mouth agape, and she closed her mouth with an audible click. She shot a somewhat embarrassed look over to Ky. "It...looked smaller from the outside," was the best she could come up with.

    "Um. Right, plan. Land it around her. So, like, you can open up a hole in the floor, or something? Would that be...tricky piloting? And wouldn't the tent kinda get in the way? ...Actually, wait, how do you even aim that if it's bigger on the...?"

    (It was just barely possible that Laurel had precisely zero idea what a TARDIS was or did. I mean, she wasn't completely unable to imagine some possibilities. She assumed it flew.)

    "Um. Assuming the logistics can be dealt with, I don't think we'd quite have to worry about being recaptured. I mean, I don't know how fast this thing goes though I assume it's at least eighty-eight miles an hour or what sort of things they can do to like shoot down a flying ship or whatever. But assuming we can get out of this pocket dimension or whatever, what I've been picking up so far suggests that it was the Toymaker who brought us here, not the Gods of Ragnarok. Granted, that doesn't inherently mean they can't do the same sort of thing, but..."

    Laurel trailed off with a huff. She was rambling, and worse, she was speculating. When you're completely out of your element, your best guess isn't worth rubbish. "Look, honestly, I don't have a clue what they're capable of, but we don't have much in the way of options. So I say let's try it and if it doesn't work...well, we'll deal with that if we live long enough to get the chance to! How can I help?"
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  7. - Top - End - #97
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Ky didn't really notice Laurel's shock. He was too busy operating the controls. This was just normal technology to him. So it never occurred to him that others might not take it in stride. He did have the presence of mind to answer Laurel's questions, though.

    "Hole in the floor? Tent? Erm, no no. You've got the w-wrong idea. This ship doesn't fly. Well, it can; But there's rarely any need. It's easier to just s-skip the space between s-source and destination. Straight from here to there, you see? Assuming I can find out exactly where 'there' is, anyway.

    As for help, you could...erm...Oh, I know! Stand by that green switch over there; No, the other one. When I say so, flip it down and then up again three times.
    "

    He'd set the scanners to seek out any Malnooth in the area. Barring an unexpected colony of them around here, that should be enough to find Chaiti.

    Spoiler: OOC
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    I'm not sure what (if any) roll is needed here.

  8. - Top - End - #98
    Ogre in the Playground
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    It took a moment for the scanners to calibrate for the slightly different physical qualities of the Toybox but the view quickly lit up and Chaiti was exactly where they had left her, standing in the center ring of the Dark Circus and regaling her audience with the tale of the Glass Empires, such a story of cruelty pleased the Gods of Ragnarok.

    A few more switches flipped and dials turned and the sound of grinding engines and (to those possessing telepathy) beautiful song filled the control room as the TARDIS dematerialised and reappeared around the confused Malmooth. To say the Gods didn't take this well was an understatement...

    "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" They bellowed as one in a deep resonating voice, no longer a well dressed family but a trio of angry eldritch beings carved from dark obsidian. Inside the time ship the warning tones of the Cloister Bell rang out and the control room began to shake as outside the Gods each thrust a hand forward and began to bombard it with bolts of searing blue energy.

  9. - Top - End - #99
    Ettin in the Playground
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    "FLIP THE SWITCH! NOW IS DEFINITELY THE TIME TO DO THAT!"

    Ky frantically danced around the shaking console. Why oh why was he cursed with a conscience? He and Laurel could have just escaped on their own. That'd have been so much less stressful. But he just couldn't bring himself to leave Chaiti behind. And as a result, he was having a very unpleasant time. Using the few seconds to spare, he checked the controls one last time: Vortex trail masked? Check. Evasive protocols active? Check. Weird purple button pulsating? Check; Though as usual, he had no idea why. Maybe one day, he'd work out what that button did. Ky turned the final dial that'd (hopefully) send them on their way.

    "Hold on to something! This won't be pleasant!"

    With a lurch, the TARDIS started to depart this realm.

  10. - Top - End - #100
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    Quellian-dyrae's Avatar

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    Default Re: Adventures in Time & Space IC

    Laurel flipped the switch. LAUREL FLIPPED THE SWITCH!!!!!
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  11. - Top - End - #101
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    "WE WILL FIND YOU! WE WILL HUNT YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME!" The trio boomed at the departing timeship, still bombarding it with energy bolts as it slipped in to the Vortex, the last blast striking it hard the split second before it dematerialised entirely.

    Even though they had managed to escape our heroes weren't quite out of the woods yet, the console sparked in response to the God's last attack and the Time Rotor shattered, all at once the room began to shake violently and the warning sounds of the Cloister Bell intensified as bright mauve warning lights flashed through the control room.

    Then with a final almighty book scattering crash everything went still, they'd landed...

  12. - Top - End - #102
    Ettin in the Playground
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    The crash sent many ancient tomes tumbling to the floor. A surprising number of said tomes landed on Ky. After a brief pause to collect himself (I.E, groan in pain), he dug his way out from beneath the pile. That's when he saw that he wasn't the only one injured. All thought of his own pain was quickly forgotten.

    "Oh my g-goodness! Are you all right?!"

    The young Time Lord rushed straight towards Laurel and Chaiti; Then straight past them. He skidded to a halt in front of his true first priority: The TARDIS console. With unconcealed panic, he started assessing the damage to his faithful ship.

    "Just h-hold on! Everything's going to be okay! Just tell me where it hurts, and I'll f-fix it!"

  13. - Top - End - #103
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    Default Re: Adventures in Time & Space IC

    Laurel cried out as everything went wild, the jarring motion of the ship throwing her to the ground. Once everything was still again, she picked herself up though. "Yeah I think I'm- oh." Well okay then.

    "You good, Chaiti?" she asked the alien woman.

    And then, after a beat, "And, um, where are we?" she added. Assuming Chaiti was okay...she'd start picking up the books. Telekinetically, as it happened. Partially because that was simply more efficient, but mostly...well, look. Laurel had always been told she had to conceal her powers, that she couldn't let people know about them. Only use them when necessary, and ideally, only when alone. And she had followed that, even after breaking with Torchwood. She could see the logic.

    But let it never be said that Laurel was afraid of her own abilities. Oh, sure, she was entirely cognizant of their potential for harm. She respected the power they represented, and the responsibility it entailed. But that didn't make them any less cool, didn't mean she didn't enjoy having them, and the opportunity to use them. And since Chaiti and Ky were already more-or-less aware of them, well, why not?

    (She did notice Ky talking to his ship like it was alive and sentient. She did not comment. Laurel had a pretty strong weirdness censor and the past few hours had expanded it significantly. It should be taken as a sign of just how much that she deemed the odds of Ky just being the sort to talk to his machines and the ship actually being alive and/or sentient to be roughly even.)
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  14. - Top - End - #104
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Ky's outburst was met with the mournful groaning of metal from his wounded timeship but you didn't need to be a telepath to know what was wrong. The crash had badly damaged the central time rotor and the helmic regulator was completely shot, to say that trying to fly it right now would not be smart was something of an understatement, while technically not impossible there was every chance it would simply bleed in to another dimension.

    Luckily the damage wasn't irreparable but it would take time and of course parts. Parts that of course may or may not be difficult to find depending upon where our heroes had landed...

    ((Use of the Scanners (rather than just taking a peek outside) will require an Awareness+Resolve roll and the expenditure of one of the TARDIS's SP))

  15. - Top - End - #105
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Ky sympathetically patted the console. His ship had suffered to deliver him from danger. He'd definitely repay that debt. As he examined each damaged component, he made a mental list of the things required for repairs. Hmm, tricky. Did he have any biphasic amplifiers left in stock? Maybe somewhere. But they were probably deep in...wait, what was that noise? Ky belatedly realised that Laurel was talking to him. Without looking up from the console, he filled her in on the situation.

    "Hmm? Where? Oh, erm, I d-don't know. We got knocked w-way off course by the blast. But wherever we are, I hope they've got some decent technology. I don't have all the spare parts I need to make r-repairs; At least, not nearby. S-Searching all the TARDIS storerooms would take years. S-so we either need to scavenge outside, or g-get really used to one another's company. Let's s-see which option it'll be..."

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Awareness + Resolve: (2d6+8)[16]

  16. - Top - End - #106
    Ogre in the Playground
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    After a few seconds the scanner reluctantly flickers in to life to show that, quite understandably given their rather abrupt landing, the TARDIS is sitting in a crater, oh and it's pitch black outside! Luckily for our heroes, the soldiers that are standing around the edge of the crater were very kindly providing light via the torches mounted on their helmets and rifles.

    Underneath their body armour and dappled camouflage they all appeared to be human though, so that was a plus, right?

    Spoiler: Ky Ingenuity+Knowledge 12
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    Given the relatively primitive nature of their equipment, it's a pretty safe bet that you've landed somewhere in the 40th century, which would make this part of the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. So good news! It might take some doing but they should have the technology for at least a patch job to take you somewhere more advanced.

  17. - Top - End - #107
    Ettin in the Playground
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    "...Option B it is! Don't w-worry. After the first few months of s-searching s-storerooms, I'm sure we'll learn to like it. It'll be like a fun scavenger hunt!"

    Ky forced a sickly smile. He could already sense that this plan wasn't popular. But it was still better than plan 'step outside and hope not to get shot'. He silently prayed that Laurel and Chaiti would share his passion for avoiding bullets. It wasn't cowardice: It was pragmatism. At least, that's what Ky told himself.

  18. - Top - End - #108
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    Laurel gave a little laugh, before she realized Ky was probably serious.

    "If we just hide from them, they're just going to get more confused about who and are and why we're here,
    and that will make them more scared, and that will make them more likely to react violently. If we show them that we're peaceful they'll have no reason to shoot us. Maybe they can even help us find what you need. Do you have any way to communicate outside of the...TARDIS, you called it?"
    She could have contacted them telepathically, of course, but if the goal was to not get them confused, and thereby scared, and thereby violent, speaking directly into their heads was probably not the optimal plan.

    She'd go out to speak to them in person if need be, but well, making sure they weren't hostile before exposing oneself to possible gunfire was generally a sound strategy.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  19. - Top - End - #109
    Ettin in the Playground
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    "S-some people don't need a reason to shoot. They just like doing it.

    ...But I suppose we s-should at least try some diplomacy. I'll set up the link.
    "

    Ky beckoned Laurel over to an intercom on the TARDIS console. After adjusting a few settings, he stepped aside to let her use it.

    "There you go. Just p-press the button and speak. Your voice will be transmitted outside. B-by the way, these humans are from a much l-later time than you. There's no need to e-explain the concept of spaceships or aliens to them. But don't mention Time Lords or TARDISes! Just k-keep it general and spoiler free."

    He was doing his best to avoid spoilers too. Laurel wasn't supposed to be witnessing any of these future events. Ky still hoped to get her back home with a minimum of dangerous new information.

  20. - Top - End - #110
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    Laurel walked over to the intercom, nodding at the instructions. She started reaching for the button, only to pause when the enormity of what Ky had said hit her.

    They were in the future.

    That was, it, what did...about a dozen questions raced through Laurel's mind and crashed into each other. The notion of being in another dimension, it was like...yeah, that was weird, but it was so blatantly supernatural that was actually not that hard to assimilate. But being in the future...

    Laurel shook her head, shooing the thoughts away. Right now it wasn't the priority. She pushed the button.

    "Greetings! We come in peace!" ...What? How often do you get that opportunity? "Do you speak English?" Okay, that probably would have made more sense to come first, but whatever.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  21. - Top - End - #111
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Ky clarified something to Laurel, once she took her finger off the intercom.

    "It doesn't matter what l-language they speak. The TARDIS automatically translates for us. I'm n-not even speaking 'English' right now. You just didn't realise it, because your p-perceptions are being secretly edited. I-Interesting, hmm?"

    He spoke as if dispensing a fun bit of trivia.

  22. - Top - End - #112
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    The last thing the soldiers peering in to the crater expected was for the meteor, because that's what the Chameleon Circuit had settled on (what else would blend in to a crater?), to start talking and they jumped back.

    "It talks!" One of the soldiers shouted

    "What's English?" Another asked in confusion.

    "Get out of my way!" A woman shouted, forcing herself passed the other soldiers and glaring down at the mysterious talking rock, raising her hand the other soldiers clicked the safety off their guns and pointed them down at the rock. "I am Captain Usha Schneider, representative of the Empire and its territories, you will identify yourself and your connection to the Object."

  23. - Top - End - #113
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Ky left the diplomacy to Laurel. Best to have a spokesperson who didn't stutter. The soldiers had reacted pretty much as expected: With lots of shouting, gun pointing and demands. Typical. Ky really didn't relish the idea of mingling with these people.

  24. - Top - End - #114
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    "...Okay, that's cool," Laurel said to Ky.

    ...So, wait, did that mean the ship was telepathic? Was that more or less weird than it being able to time-travel? It was like, time travel was the objectively weirder power, but it was more thematically appropriate to a vehicle, but- ...Not important.

    She'll admit though, "What's English?" wasn't the reply she had been expecting. "Why would you ask us if we can speak English when you're clearly able to speak our language" maybe. If they were so far in the future that English was essentially a dead language, then maybe "What? Nobody speaks English anymore. Are you crazy?" But given the ubiquity of English where she was from, and the obvious technological advancement of these people (ruling out some tiny isolated culture) "What's English?" suggested they were both in the future and on another world entirely, or so far in the future that the English language had been entirely forgotten. Possibly in the aftermath of some apocalyptic event.

    ...Or maybe she should stop speculating and just ask Ky when the opportunity presented itself. He seemed to have a clue where they were, based on being aware of what these people knew about aliens.

    She pushed the intercom button. "My name is Laurel. We're travellers from another world. The, um, Object is just our transport. I'm afraid it suffered some damage and crashed here. We apologize for the unintentional intrusion, and we mean no harm."

    Removing her finger from the button, she looked to Ky. "These storerooms of yours, do they hold anything you'd be willing to trade for parts? That wouldn't take years to hunt down, preferably?" Commerce was usually a good way to bridge over hostilities, but she didn't want to go making offers she couldn't follow up on.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  25. - Top - End - #115
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    "...Maybe. But I'd have to be a-absolutely, 100% sure that the trade wouldn't c-contaminate history. We need more information before making any promises."

    Ky was in full 'by the book' mode. The Time Lords had a million protocols for this kind of situation. And to his shame, he'd already been forced to break a few of them. He cast a worried glance at one of said breaches: Laurel. She definitely wasn't supposed to be here. Ky was sure that his teachers would understand why he'd had to bring her along. But until he managed to return her to her rightful time and place, she was an accident waiting to happen. Besides, Ky had a nasty suspicion that she possessed the fatal curiosity so common in humans. While the humans outside formulated their response, Ky tried to impart some more warnings on the one in here.

    "P-please please please be mindful of your actions. And if p-possible, try not to learn anything. You've already seen too much. Every s-second we spend here is another spoiler about the future of your s-species."

  26. - Top - End - #116
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    Captain Schneider didn't even wait for Laurel to finish speaking, she didn't have to, the second the stranger identified her connection to the Object she knew exactly what to say. It was quick, simple and to the point.

    "OPEN FIRE!" At her command the soldiers surrounding the crater did just that (despite their misgivings about what an infantry weapon could hope to do against a lump of rock) and rained bullets down in to the crater, which achieved precisely nothing. There were precious few weapons in the Empire that could hope to damage a TARDIS and none of those were to be found in the hands of a random regiment on a backwater planet.

    "Cease fire!" She yelled, though she needn't have bother, like herself most of the soldiers had already thrown themselves on to the ground to avoid ricochets. Trying to regain control of the situation she hauled herself up off of the ground and barked orders to her subordinates "Johnson! Pancho! Get the detpacks from transport!"

    "Yes Ma'am!" A pair of soldiers responded and hurried off whilst the Captain returned her attention to the crater.

    "You will surrender and submit to questioning on the Object and its forces! NOW!"

  27. - Top - End - #117
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    Ky knew that the soldiers were no threat to his ship. But he still dove for cover anyway. It was a common reflex among people who didn't like being shot. He yelled at Laurel from behind his totally unnecessary shelter.

    "I TOLD YOU SO! No excuse n-needed! Shooting is j-just their default response! Now can we p-please abandon any thought of r-reasoning with these animals?!"

  28. - Top - End - #118
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    Laurel could scarcely believe they had just attacked on the spot like that, but she wasn't giving up that easy. She didn't know how long the TARDIS could hold out or what weapon systems it might have had, but neither "wait for them to punch through its defenses and capture everyone" nor "slaughter the attackers wholesale" were a valid option to her.

    Good news was, they didn't know that.

    This time Laurel didn't need the intercom. This time she sent her thoughts directly to the leader.

    Spoiler
    Show
    Resolve+Ingenuity to make contact: (2d6+9)[13].


    If she was able to make contact, her telepathic voice would be much more stern than her spoken one had been. ~That was an error.~

    ~I am in your head now, Captain, which means you have one chance. Call off your troops immediately. If you refuse, I will snuff the thoughts from your head entirely and then proceed to do the same to every soldier under your command. If you are lucky, it will kill you instantly. However, there have been some occasions where it merely leaves you trapped in a vegetative coma, unable to think or perceive and yet still not quite dead. You have ten seconds to comply.~


    Which, to be fair, was a total, bald-faced lie. Laurel could no more snuff the thoughts of another person than she could shoot lasers from her eyes, and would never subject any living being to such a horrific fate even if she could. But, again, she didn't know that.

    Spoiler
    Show
    If contact was successfully made, attempt to talk her down. Presence+Convince+2 for specialty. Spending a Story Point for +2d6. (4d6+12)[29].


    Meanwhile, she looked at Ky.

    This was, if she were honest, awfully frustrating. When he had first advised her against speaking to them, it had sounded like mere cynicism. But his "I told you so" sounded more like an understanding of these people specifically. Which, combined with his "try not to learn anything", made it seem pretty clear that he knew who they were dealing with, had at least a general understanding of their likely behaviors, and was trying to keep that information from her to protect...well, history for him, but the uncertain future from her standpoint.

    And look, Laurel could put herself in other peoples' shoes pretty well. She'd have been leery of messing with the past herself. Who knew what the consequences of one decision could affect if they altered the course of history? But at the same time, that couldn't be an excuse for inaction. One's consequences could ripple forward to have unintended effects just fine from the present, too. Laurel lived her life by a simple philosophy. Do the best you can to improve the world around you, wherever you may find yourself. If time travel was on the table, adapting that to whenever seemed far more sensible than trying to avoid any possible change. After all, her present would still be Ky's history, and she had precisely zero intention of not doing what she could to influence that.

    Which was absolutely a philosophical debate for another time. In the meanwhile, she knelt down beside Ky, and faced him squarely, though she kept the frustration entirely from her face and voice as she spoke to him. "Listen, Ky. I understand what you're trying to protect. But you can't just leave me in the dark here. You might have noticed, I'm not just your average 21st-century girl. We all want to get home, and I can help you. But to do so I need to know what we're dealing with."

    "Here's my proposal. You give me what information you have that's tactically relevant to this place and time and these people - things I'll need to know to blend in, or talk with them, or understand them. But I won't ask you or otherwise seek out information regarding where in time and space we are or how history progressed to this point. Okay? Nothing I can use to influence how we got here, only things I can use to keep us safe and get us home now that we're here. Can you do that for me?"
    Last edited by Quellian-dyrae; 2018-01-11 at 03:00 PM.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  29. - Top - End - #119
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2012

    Default Re: Adventures in Time & Space IC

    Captain Schneider froze when Laurel made her ultimatum, only the very pressing time limit that the telepath had put her under forcing in to action.

    "STAND DOWN!" She barked to her subordinates.

    "What about the detpacks Ma'am?" One of the other soldier's queried, understandably confused about his commanding officer's sudden change of heart.

    "Are you questioning me soldier? All of you return to transport right now or so help me I'll have you all on Ood duty for the rest of your lives and you tell those two idiots that I do not want a single pack out of place! Do I make myself clear?!"

    "Yes Ma'am!" The soldiers responded in unison and began to move back to their transport. With her authority reaffirmed, the Captain stood alone in front of the mysterious psychic rock.

    ~What do you want?~ She thought.

  30. - Top - End - #120
    Ettin in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2008

    Default Re: Adventures in Time & Space IC

    The disgruntled look on Ky's face said it all. He really really didn't want to break protocol. He opened his mouth to give an excuse about there not being time to explain; Then promptly closed it again. The soldiers were standing down! That seemed really out of character. A trap, maybe? Either way, Ky couldn't exactly wave Laurel off now. And loathe as he was to admit it, she had a good point. Withholding too much information might get them both killed. With a reluctant sigh, he broke his silence.

    "...Fine fine f-fine. J-just the basics. Listening? This is f-far (I won't say how far) in your future. H-humanity has formed a vast galactic empire. They're highly militaristic, and ethically c-compromised. For example, those 'Ood' the Captain m-mentioned are a type of slave. That's not to say that every s-single human of this time is bad, of course. There are good people and institutions all over. B-but the empire as a whole is going rotten. W-want my advice? Assume the w-worst of everyone, until they prove otherwise. Though that m-might just be my natural pessimism speaking."

    It was now obvious why he'd been so reluctant to try diplomacy. He had a very low opinion of this particular chapter in humanity's history.
    Last edited by Anyr; 2018-01-14 at 10:32 AM.

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