Iron Warlords - IC Thread

[GrandDukeJerot]

Almost twenty years ago, dozens of children were injected with the Einstein Serum, turning them into geniuses of incomparable measure. As they have grown, they have followed their own paths of learning, becoming masters in their field. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, seven of these 'Einstein Geniuses' have been contracted by the military.

Their purpose in involving these dark secrets of a long dead corporation? To take modern warfare to the next level by piloting suits specifically designed for them. They were destined to be known as:

The Iron Warlords

Prologue

Spoiler

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In the mid 1990s, genetic advancement boomed, taking leaps and bounds. And that's only what the public saw. In private laboratories, the Einstein Serum was created. A potent cocktail of substances that could rapidly alter the brain chemistry of the injected. However, as it turned out, it did not work out so well on adults. Only children of a very young age were able to take the serum (you don't want to know how many bodies they had to dump before they got that figured out).

But one adult survived through the potentially fatal dosage. Well, long enough to write up designs for the 'Warlord Armor'. This body suit was completely immune to infantry munitions, and quite resistant to most of the heavier weaponry available to most armies. Combined with its heads up display, it showed promise as the next generation platform for warfare. However these suits were designed to be used by people with optimal thought processing speed. Which is where all of you come in. You're children who have been tested on with the Einstein Serum, who have grown up into sheer geniuses.

Warrant Officer Jerot, head of the Iron Warlord Program (Billed as USIWP) has called you in after a week of setting you up with a personal lab space to work on the suits. You are ushered into a rather plain looking board room with a projector and screen.

Welcome, to all of you. I hope that your hard work so far has paid off. Before a response can even be made, he continues I say this because yo are about to get your first slice of the action. At 2300 last night in Afganistan, over a hundred militants stormed a major prison in the Kandahar region, freeing over 400 Taliban soldiers. Now, with local help, we've pinpointed their base of operations where they have holed up.

Up on the projector screen, an aerial view of the area was projected.

Now, we could have just dropped a cluster bomb, and have been done with it. Jerot tells you. But, we've decided that it would be a better idea to test you all out. The general wants to see what all those taxpayer dollars are for. Unless you have any questions, suit up and meet on the tarmac. We head out in one hour.

OC:

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If you guys want to look at it, here's the news article that I based this on: CNN Goodness
Since not everyone is in, I'm really just setting this up so you guys can get a feel for what I'll be doing for this. You won't be heading out until I post again here, and I won't post again until everyone else has posted once. Toodles!

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

Conflet, considering her probable role in the fight to come, is the first to ask a question. When do you want us to head out by?

[RationalGoblin]

Walter

Walter is excited by the by prospect of testing out his suit, but keeps his calm exterior.

"So, what kinds of resources do the milliants have? We'd be better prepared for this if we knew exactly what we were dealing with."

[starwoof]

Kevin doesn't ask anything, sitting silently and paying close attention to the others. He is excited to get out in the field but... how will the suit hold up? He can't help but think it.

He snorts at himself and gets back to listening.

[Levyathyn]

Jonathan sits quietly, tapping away at the screen of a PDA. On the little screen, three-dimensional blueprints spin back an forth under the tip of his stylus. His attention span easily covers the modifications he makes while he listens to the Officer. When the briefing is finished he saves the changes to the module and clicks the machine off.

[The Necroswanso]

Dr. Leonardo Schwartz

Leo looks around after the group is briefed.
Good a time as ever to test the new displays.
He turns his attention to Kevin when he snorts.
Increased blood preassure.... 160 over 70, adrenaline to match, nervous system bulging with anticipation. Good. Diagnostics have proven accurate.
"Thank you Kevin. You've been most helpful."
He speaks as though Kevin should have been expecting it, or had even willingly lent a hand.

[starwoof]

"Er, you're welcome?" Kevin responds, slightly flustered and a little creeped out.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Tanya Summers

Tanya leans back in her chair and watches her companions through lidded eyes. After a few seconds, she speaks in a dark, rich voice that is rather at odds with her appearance.

"We'll need another hour, officer. I somehow doubt that my companions all decided to include air filtration in their designs, and I know the government wouldn't want to risk minds such as theirs."

[GrandDukeJerot]

The Officer takes the questions asked in the order they came to him.

Miss Frecenna, we shall be heading out in another hour or so. As for Mister Beckert's question, we assume that they are armed with the usual. AK-47's, F-16s, with potential grenade attachments, rockets. All of the used weaponry of these militants falls far below the threat rating for the Iron Warlords. We're just trying to test your skill.

At Tanya's comment, Officer Jerot starts Why yes, Miss Summers, that is on the highest priority of the USIWP. I recommend you take the hour to do so. Otherwise, we can provide environmental suits to wear under the armor. Also, for those suits without flying capability, I would ask you to fit a parachute system to the back of your suit. We're going into a hot zone with Anti-air, and we have no time to land the plane safely. Assuming you haven't modified the back plate already, there is a slide on lock that we can place it on.

Either way, all of you have one hour to prepare. Once that hour is over, you are expected to make your way to the Tarmac and prepare to board the ACCA waiting to take you into combat.

[Levyathyn]

Jonathan

Jonathon nods to himself and stands up, ready to head out. He goes to his suit, prioritizes his almost finished glider system, and decides to test it out today. He regards the box holding an air filtration system nearby, wondering if he'll have time to add it.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

Conflet nods to herself silently, then heads to her Warlord. She had already installed an air filtration unit, having streamlined it so as not to give away the Quicksilver, but she still needed to add an external parachute. She set about fixing it to her Warlord, knowing she would finish with time to spare.

[starwoof]

Kevin

Kevin nods and returns to his workshop, humming quietly to himself on the way. He had not installed an air filter or a parachute, and it was actually going to be difficult to find a place for the latter. He grinned to himself. I guess thats why I'm a super genius.

[RationalGoblin]

Walter

Walter is puzzled, and brings his puzzlement up, talking to Jerot.

"What about my suit? It's probably heavy enough to rip the parachute if I tried to use it, and with my suits armor, I have no need for a parachute. I could easily survive the fall. Still, if I really needed a parachute, it'd be idiotic to not bring one, so I guess I'll take one."

After Walter is answered, he takes the parachute system when they give it to him, and walks off to his workshop to install it, and modifies the back while installing the system. Once done installing it, he takes out a PDA much like Jonathan's, taking notes on what the others said, especially the part about the air filters. Sounds like she has some sort of airborne weapon. Chemical, especially gaseous, perhaps? For now, he takes the environmental suit, wearing it over his normal outfit. Walter also puts in some shock absorbent material so that he is protected, as well as his suit.

He whistles softly in astonishment. "I am going to be very well-protected by all this armor, I think."

Walter then starts putting on his armor, hopefully finishing with lots of time to spare.

Spoiler

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OOC: Thoughts are in italics, at least for me.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Tanya Summers

Hearing her dismissal, Tanya Summers stands slowly up, stretching her lanky form and brushing her dark hair out of her face. Without a word she turns and strides out of the briefing room, heading directly for her lab.

Let's see...we're going in via airdrop, likely from an altitude exceeding 3,000ft, given the anti-air defenses. The chassis is strong enough to take the blow, but any biological entity encased within will most definitely experience sufficient physical shock to destroy most bodily functions.

A slight modification to the existing propulsion systems should suffice to allow for a flawless touchdown, but the inclusion of a shock absorbent material to the pilot compartment will ensure safety during impact. That should be easily accomplished in an hour.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

After re-checking all her systems for the 4th time, Conflet is confident that none of them will betray her. After checking the clock, she decides to use her extra 20 minutes to check up on the other Warlord Pilots. She had considered visiting Tanya first, but she didn't seem much of a conversationalist, maybe it was just the way she carried herself, but she always seemed to simmer on the edge of anger. So, instead, she opted to meet with the more pleasant Kevin. She approached the area where her fellow pilot was busily at work, and waited silently for him to notice her.

[starwoof]

Kevin

I think I've got it. This probably wont snap and send me crashing into the ground...

Kevin is in the final stages of attaching his external parachute when he notices the tiny Conflet watching him work. "Oh hi." he blurts, "Whats up?" Kevin grabs a rag and starts wiping off his hands, more from habit than that theres any actual grease on them.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

Conflet smiles a little, her smile is small, almost a smirk, but it is undeniably friendly. I just wanted to talk to some of my colleagues. Were going to have to work together soon enough, and I just thought we should all talk a bit.l

[Levyathyn]

Jonathan

Finished with his own systems, Jonathan finishes his write up of the new technical layout, srawling quickly across a notepad. That done, he realizes that he has time to spare. He tests the glide system for a minute, and it seems to work. His backup parachute functions normally, but he decides to calibrate the reel-in time.

Finally, he steps out of the lab. In the hallway, he sees Conflet walk by, and nods to her. He cracks his knuckles, and decides to meet up with the one known as Walter, to see if his weight concerns were addressed. He walks to the entrance to Walter's area and knocks politely, three times. Then he clasps his hand behind his back and waits.

[starwoof]

Kevin

"Oh, uhh, yeah." Kevin responds, looking a little flustered. Social interaction is not his strong suit. "So uh, hows the suit?"

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

Conflet, unsure of his meaning, checks over his suit analytically her mind It looks ok, but you might want to check it over again, a couple of those look a little loose she points at the parachute and a couple of other external systems.

[starwoof]

Kevin

"Yeah I was working on those... I didn't design my add ons with a chute in mind. Hows your suit? Any weird hiccups?"

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

Don't worry, if I'd seen any I'd still be working on it. However, my camouflage system could use some refinement, but it works well enough for now. Really, it works very well, but there's still a 6.8% visibility rate, even when standing still

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Tanya Summers

The last panel slots back in place, and Tanya turns off the magnetic drill to survey her handiwork. Satisfied, she is just putting away her tools when the sound of conversation drifts down the hallway. For a second she looks towards the door, and a thoughtful expression crosses her face. Then, as if angry with herself, she shakes her long dreads violently and turns back to her suit, her tools in her hand once more.

Surely something can be improved.

[starwoof]

Kevin

Kev grins. "Well mines bright yellow with a racing stripe, I think that makes you look more invisible by comparison."

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

Conflet grins back True, but I'm probably the most likely candidate to do reconnaissance is we need it, and I wouldn't want to get spotted.

[RationalGoblin]

Walter

Walter metaphorically jumps at the knocking on the door, but relaxes a split second later. Walter thinks. It's probably just one of the other pilots. I should chill out. Paranoia doesn't suit me. Or does it? Eh, it doesn't matter for now.

"Come in." He continues peering over his suit, looking for any problems. To his credit though, he does shift slightly towards the door, for ease of communication.

[starwoof]

Kevin

Kevin just keeps smiling and goes to tighten up the parachute.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

Conflet smiles back, then watches him work while running calculations through her head for awhile, before walking over to Tanya's room and knocking on the door, calling back See you when we leave.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Tanya Summers

The door to the lab is torn off its hinges by some unseen and immense force, and what waits behind it is a thing of nightmares. Tall, sleek, and dangerously powerful, it is the incarnation of fear. Claws glisten with damp blood, the stench of death and decay fills the air, and bright, vicious eyes glow evilly in a cloud of darkness. Conflet feels her mind begin to bend under the strain of raw, primal terror as the beast leans closer, its fetid breath washing over her body as the mists override her senses and everything fades away to darkness...

When Conflet opens her eyes she is lying under a fume hood, with a tall black girl looking down at her with a mix of concern and interest. A quick glance around reveals no monster, and the door is still in its rightful place.

"Sorry. I was sure the gas had dissipated, but my sensors must have malfunctioned. Either way, you're alive, and should suffer no lasting damage, although you might have a bit of a headache for a few minutes."

The girl picks up a magnetic drill and turns towards a Warlord suit a few feet away. The suit is dark and menacing, and two bright eyes glow gently in the helmet. Its stare is frighteningly similar to the gaze of the nightmare. However, it looks slightly less menacing with several panels off, and the black girl quickly exposes a complicated electrical system and begins moving wires around.

"Don't want that to happen again. Now, if you're ready to answer questions, what did you want?"

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Conflet

Conflet eyes the other girl coldly, her dark eyes, a sharp contrast to her pale skin, narrowed. She had seen through the illusion with the logical part of her mind, but that hadn't helped her much in the face of such irrational fears. I came to talk with you, so we could know each other better before we got... "stuck in" is probably the term I'd use. What the hell was that anyway? I'd suggest using a more... secure location if you're going to test something like that. At the least a warning on the door would have been nice.