[Nexus] Home 10

[The Bushranger]

[Talnissa's]

"True...of course, there's always the possibility it wouldn't work on you at all, but I don't think we'd want to find that out," Kara observes.

[C'nor]

[Talnissa's]

"We could always try it on a spare body. No chance of damaging this one that way, and I as an identity should be unhurt no matter what happens to it," the robot points out.

[The Bushranger]

[Talnissa's]

Kara shakes her head!
"No...I couldn't do that," she admits. "Better to just assume it works and be pleasantly surprised if, Lantea forbid, we ever have to find out."

[C'nor]

[Talnissa's]

The robot nods, smiling.

"Alright... Who's Lantea, anyway? Other than a deity, I assume," she asks, sounding curious.

[The Bushranger]

[Talnissa]

"Well, Lantea was actually the artificial intelligence of the primary city we lived in," Kara explains. "There weren't actually any true deities, as far as we know, but many false gods, and some energy beings with sufficent power to attract worshipers."

[C'nor]

[Talnissa's]

"Odd... How did they attract worshipers if you knew they were just energy beings?"

Talnissa sounds rather confused by this.

[The Bushranger]

[Talnissa's]

"We knew," Kara points out. "But...the majority of the people in the worlds they ruled over were simple Iron Age traders. Kept that way, of course. To them, the abilities of an Ascended being were nothing short of magical, and only the gods could possess that much power. Even corporeal beings with sufficent technology could, and did, pass themselves off as divine to massive empires."

[C'nor]

[Talnissa's]

"One would think they'd have introduced widespread steel-making, at least, since it wouldn't be too much of a threat to their power... Although, I suppose that giving it to specific smiths with some sort of fake, but plausible if you accept the right type of magic, explanation of how it was made, incorporating what one actually needed to do into it, would be even less of one..."

[The Bushranger]

[Talnissa's]

"Pretty much. And of course if you give them steel, they can make better swords - or firearms. Most groups wanted their servants dumb and cowed - and working in the mines - while others just wanted their worship, they were actually able to gain nourishment from it in a way. With fear being like high-octane fuel." Kara sighs. "And even where they weren't there were things that made you wish they were there. Like the Wraith."

[C'nor]

[Talnissa's]

"Wraith? Ghosts aren't that bad, at least in most cases... I used to know quite a few of them, actually. Though I suppose that they can be a bit tough to get rid of if you need to, at least if one doesn't have access to a competent necromancer."


And so, the problem with naming alien species after things that already exist becomes apparent...

[The Bushranger]

[Talnissa's]

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is really quite important...even when it's the same word." Kara chuckles softly as she (partially) quotes Twain. "Different sort of Wraith. These were genetically engineered human/insect hybrids that fed on human life-force. And...basically farmed a galaxy for their food."

[C'nor]

[Talnissa's]

Talnissa nods, looking thoughtful.

"Interesting... What sort of oddity in their feeding mechanism restricted them to humans? Most such species can feed of off many types, even if one is most nutritious. Or was it cultural?"

[The Bushranger]

[Talnissa's]

"I think it was a bit of both. Partially it was a requirement - they could feed off just about anything, but from what I know, I think they could only be truly nourished by the life-force of a sapient creature," Kara explains. "And it was cultural in that they had a desire for prey - both to cause terror in their victims, and for those who weren't terrified, to have a satisfying hunt, for dessert, if you will."

[C'nor]

[Talnissa's]

"I see... That makes more sense, then. Who made them? And why? Were they some sort of bioweapon?"

[The Bushranger]

[Talnissa's]

"We never really knew. The people who did it had all become some of those energy beings, most of them refused to have anything to do with us, and didn't allow those who would to tell us very much of anything. We think they were designed as a bioweapon against something even worse than they were, but they escaped the lab prematurely, went off the reservation and wound up destroying their masters."

Kara chuckles sardonically. "It probably says something for 'sufficently advanced intelligence' that the second try at a sentient bioweapon, this time to kill Wraith, produced remarkably similar results. They were easier to deal with though. Thankfully."

[Mindfreak]

Hell - City of Demons
As Dave heads for the exit, he's flashing winning smiles and: 'Eh!'s to people like some sort of guy from Grease.
He also may have tried to sign his name on one of their heads.
He obviously mistook their hungry looks for being hungry...FOR FAME!
Once he gets out of the casino he's going to take a quick look around him outside, looking for any giant signs that say: 'Clarissa's Master Lives Here'
'Cause when you're a star, you get used to the easy life.

[Shadowcaller]

Originally Posted by Slii Arhem

Mithar Keep - Kashi

Kashi stares at Cessie, puzzled by the foreign words coming out of her mouth.

"Snnyuuui~? <What do you mean? I'm a dragon... right?>"

Well, clearly he thinks otherwise. Silly Cessie, you can't even tell what's a dragon anymore.

Originally Posted by Harnel

[Mithar Keep - Kashi]

Harnel looks at Cessie rather flatly, "I was leaving to go deliver the gifts when you said, 'Watch him while I do research,' dear." The amusement is clear is his voice though.

Originally Posted by Lost_Deep

Mithar Keep - Kitchen

Kirin will finish her food and wait patiently wait for her hosts to finish. It's only polite, you know. She doesn't start any more conversations for now.

Mithar Keep - Kashi

"But that's since I knew you would go deliver the gifts otherwise." Cessie protests. "You can go now if you want, just don't forget my gifts." She pauses and gives him a meaningful look. "And try not to get involved in too much trouble okay?" Cessie says with a smile, seemingly in a much better mood then before.

Mithar Keep - Kitchen

"So Katie, how do you like my husbands cooking? And don't worry, you can speak your mind, he's not as dangerous as he looks." Cessie asks with a amused smile as she looks over to Harnel.

[Harnel]

[Mithar Keep - Kashi]

Harnel just grins, "I make no promises I can't keep," and then he's out the door an instant later, and will be flying off towards GLoG to rejoin continuity.

[Lost_Deep]

Mithar Keep - Kitchen

Kirin misses Cessie's slip with her name, instead pondering the cooking.

"Not professional, but good wholesome home cooking. Light on the seasoning, and the dish is easy to make with limited resources... a traveler's cooking, I think. Very nice, overall!"

[Harnel]

[Mithar Keep - Kitchen]

Harnel looks surprised, "Intelligent and thought out in examination. I spent most of my life as a mercenary, so I have to admit, this is how I cook."

[C'nor]

[Talnissa's]

"What was the next try? And why the fascination with sentient bioweapons?"

[Shadowcaller]

Mithar Keep - Kitchen

That was well beyond the mage's cooking ability. "That's much more then I can about it for sure. I'm not that particular about food, as long as it isn't too sweet or too fat. Strong tastes tend to overwhelm me. Are you a good chef..." Katri? Katie? "Kirin?" She was usually good at names but for some reason this one had slipped her mind.

[Lost_Deep]

Mithar Keep - Kitchen

Kirin shrugs. "Not too good. I can feed myself if I have access to a pantry, but I don't really do cooking beyond ground meat, noodles, or sandwiches. I have to know to cook some, of course, since I have to eat so much."

...this is in direct contradiction to her apparent physique.

[ThirdEmperor]

Riv's Fortress

Rael is allowed to fly free, Warsh likewise meeting no more difficulty in his tactical retreat than a confused stare from Icarus.

As Warsh hides in the jungle, he'll see the armored car that was being geared up go racing past towards the town. In finding outer installations to damage, however, there is one small issue; a complete lack of external installations. Riv apparently has absolutely no idea how to run a military complex, because, well.. There're no cameras. No waste vents. No outposts, power generators, external weapons turrets, nothing.

But while he's circling around the mountain, looking for something to sabotage, he'll see something else; the missile bay. A huge metal dome sticking out of the mountainside, snow piled up on all sides to hide it from spy satellites. If there's a way into the fortress that doesn't involve fighting through an army, that's it.

[Harnel]

[Mithar Keep - Kitchen]

Harnel narrows his eyes at Kirin, wondering. Or rather, he narrows his eyes at the apparent issue, "Why exactly do you have to eat so much?"

[Lost_Deep]

Mithar Keep - Kitchen

Since Cessie has nothing to add at this point ((as I have been informed)) Kirin will speak immediately in reply.

"Well, I have a metabolic disorder. My body burns through calories at a downright unhealthy rate, makes me a little hyperactive. That's not really as important as the little detail that I just can't gain any fat; none at all. Even if I go on a specific fat gain diet, it does me no good. If I don't exercise, I just turn into skin and bones. It's not healthy, I know it's not, but I can't do a thing about it but eat as much as I can and exercise to try and keep my body from withering away." She shrugs. "It's really annoying."

It has probably colored the entirety of her life, and she calls it "really annoying"?

[Harnel]

[Mithar Keep - Kitchen]

Harnel looks to Cessie, and she can see the look on his face and what it means. She knows this look well by this point. He wants to help her, as much as he can, because of how he is. But at least this time he's taking the time to confer with her first. he'll follow her if she wants to leave the room.

[The Alexandrian]

Originally Posted by Mindfreak

Hell - City of Demons
As Dave heads for the exit, he's flashing winning smiles and: 'Eh!'s to people like some sort of guy from Grease.
He also may have tried to sign his name on one of their heads.
He obviously mistook their hungry looks for being hungry...FOR FAME!
Once he gets out of the casino he's going to take a quick look around him outside, looking for any giant signs that say: 'Clarissa's Master Lives Here'
'Cause when you're a star, you get used to the easy life.

[Hell - City of Demons]



There are no such signs on the street level that say: 'Clarissa's Master Lives Here'! There are humongous, glitzy television monitors that display regularly scheduled advertisements and commercials instead! There is one recurring commercial, or rather warning, that Dave might happen to fortuitously notice. It repeats itself every three minutes or so, and, although the television screens are not synchronized to one another, it shows on all of the screens simultaneously. In the warning, a smirking Clarissa appears posing atop the corpse of a massive devil! A masculine voice booms out of hidden speakers buried in deep recesses behind most features of the landscape!

"Master. She killed your leader. She can kill you too."

Interesting... Sounds like Master is a bit of a dictator. One could even go so far as to say she is a tyrant! And that person would be right.

There are demons strolling up and down the streets at this time. Looks like everyone here is heading home from work. Rush hour. Ugh. Most of them are too drained to pay Dave any heed.

And there's a bar across the street just in case Dave wants to throw in the towel and drown his sorrows!

-------

Originally Posted by C'nor

[Sparrow's Fall, World of Eight Moons]

Trium's reaction to that is much the same as Spec's was a moment ago, but without the subject change.

"Wait, what? Not that it's a bad idea, necessarily, but... Sort of sudden, and unrelated, don't you think?"

[Sparrow's Fall, World of Eight Moons]

"Uh... Alcohol and crime are totally related!"

Spec nods! She hopes that Trium will buy this explanation of the abrupt topic change! It sounds much better than Spec admitting that she suspects Trium of trying to convince Spec to kill someone for her so that she (Trium) doesn't have any chance of being indicted for the murder.

Spec is still a little paranoid. People aren't randomly sucked into other dimensions for no good reason. Seven years have also elapsed since she last met a kind person other than Trium who wasn't trying to use her. That is the only reason why Trium is subject to her distrust. Spec's suspicion is simply a reflex. It is nothing of greater substance.

-------
[Riv's Fortress]

Cool! Missile bay! Riv is, without a doubt, a James Bond level villain!

Warsh will attempt to sneak closer to the missile bay, keeping low to the ground and hidden behind tree cover if possible. He observes the area for a good ten minutes if uninterrupted! He's visually scanning the area for any guards and things that look manufactured or completely out of place. Even if there are no guards, there must be a sensor around here that will alert Riv to his presence if he trips it! Warsh has been very careful up to this point, and he isn't going to stop now if he can help it!

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep - Kitchen]

Cessie probably don't have the same reaction as Harnel, if this was a probably she had learned to live with. She don't see a problem that immediately needs fixing. Besides, suddenly walking off would be rather rude.

What is it Harnel? You want to 'cure' her?

"Just how dangerous is it?" Cessie asks the catgirl untelepathically.

[Lost_Deep]

Mithar Keep - Kitchen

"It's not all that bad, as long as I eat enough. It's easy for me to go from "fine" to "starving," though, and I'm always hungry. Really annoying, yeah, but as long as I don't wind up in the wild without enough food, I should be OK. Whenever possible, I carry snacks around with me. Probably the worst thing is that if I don't work out, I just wither away. It's rather ridiculous. Good thing I have a genetic tendency toward muscles, or I would have no flesh on my bones at all."

Now that she mentions it... yeah, she has an athlete's build, but minus any fat whatsoever. Just muscles instead. This means she's probably a bit heavier than she looks... but she's still so underweight.