Background: After a series of tense political negotiations failed, the civilizations of Earth crumbled inward, imploding in the excess of their aggression and militarism; advanced weaponry devastated major metropolitan areas, and scorched vast swathes of arable land. When the dust settled, the death toll surpassed six billion. The remaining survivors found themselves amid a holocaustic landscape; polluted water supplies, deserts turned to glass under the intense heat of nuclear explosions, and a disfigured genome. Malignant cancers were rampant, forcing the mortality rates to unprecedented highs, while the average life expectancy continuously plummeted, finally stabilizing at just nineteen years of age. The remaining species of Earth would eventually expire from a disease that took generations to claim its true victim; all sentient life on the planet. Some managed to escape Earth before the nuclear war, however; the elite, the powerful, and the important. Along with these influential expatriates, many soldiers and their dependents were sent to top secret facilities in geo-synchronous orbit. From these small, disjointed space stations, the sentient species of Earth would stage a return from the brink of extinction the likes of which no creature had ever done before: Engineering an organic environment suitable to sustain humanoid life. The refugees of Earth turned their sights, once more, to the moon. Gameplay: The year is 650 AE (After Earth). Welcome to New Hope, the first colony of the Earth Peoples. Nestled in the center of the moon’s Aitken-basin, on the southernmost pole, only half of its surface and atmosphere have been engineered to support life. The first of many, New Hope once served as the epicenter of technology and science, providing a base of operation for further terraforming of planets and satellites of the solar system, and eventually, the galaxy. For nearly half a millenium, New Hope was a thriving interspecies metropolitan Urbana. Their success was not to last, however; its economic growth slowed, and due mainly to the ever deepening reach of the humanoid species into the Milky Way galaxy, it was forgotten. It became a lost colony, everyday further from the growth and progress of its ambitious species. That is, until it erupted into violence and rebellion. It exists today in the midst of a bloody civil war, the first of the new space-faring species. The balance of power, over centuries of nepotism and corruption, gradually shifted from a policy of equal representation amongst species, to overwhelmingly Human. The government of New Hope declared itself the "New City Fathers”; a ruling class, granting privilege and favor to their fellow humans, stratifying peoples, and constructing ghettos into which it would force non-Human citizens. The Elves were the first to defect. After several months of the institution of the “Programs for the Promotion of Human Equality”, Elven militia had armed themselves with improvised explosives, and a small cache of primitive Earth weapons smuggled in by the Goblin servile class. The Humans were more heavily armed; the Elves, overpowered and outnumbered, implored their fellow humanoids to join the uprising. Among them, Dwarves, Goblins, Dark Elves, and Gnomes all agreed to the cause, amassing an armed rebellion against the New City Fathers. The United Earth Federation Space Force humanitarian division has provided the rebels with simple arms and ammunition, as well as a small specialized unit of battalion officers to assist in strategic implementation and asset deployment. Rules: Weapons are simple firearms and melee weapons; during the nuclear arms race of the Earth Years, long-distance, digital weaponry was more intensively developed than personal firearms, leading to little evolution in personal defense weapons before the Final War and the perpetual winter. All mythical races are playable, and classes are flexible, with all types of alliances allowed. Characters may be human, allied with humans; they may also be human, allied with the rebellion. You will create your own class (Scout/Scout Sniper, Demoliteur, Bounty Hunter, etc.) or use a pre-existing class from your favorite RPG, and also design one special feat associated with that class (Stealth, Evasive Dodge, Keen Sight, Combat Proficiency, etc.). The war has spread to every biome of the small satellite. The environments of the moon are entirely at your creative discretion. I have, however, placed a few features myself. There are lush, tropical jungles surrounding the Aitken-basin (and consequently, New Hope) collectively known as Terminus. They are complete with a variety of new genetically engineered species, some of which have been evolving at an alarmingly rapid pace, making the wilderness a potentially dangerous place to be. There is a terraformed yet underdeveloped area of the moon, known as the Sonoran II, which is mainly desert, and possesses a thin atmosphere capable of supporting life indefinitely. A tundra exists at the northernmost region of the moon, a byproduct of the “lake effect” from the moon’s only source of fresh water. You don't have to be located on the moon; you could be a U.E.F.S.F. Spatial Traffic Controller monitoring the condition of the rebel factions from geosynchronous orbit, or a spacecraft pilot evacuating civilians in the war-torn districts of New Hope. Your creativity is welcomed; I only ask that you play a character that will, eventually, interact with the rest of the PCs. Your character template should be as follows: *Name: *Species: *Gender: *Age: *Class: *Class Feat: *Alliance: (New City Fathers or the Rebellion) *Faction: (You may create your own "group") *Weapon: (two long-range weapons maximum, one melee weapon maximum) *Character Background: (PM to the GM) *Other Relevant Modifiers: (For Pilots or for PCs stationed aboard orbiting ships/stations, name your Vessel/Ship/Station Class, Vessel/Ship/Station Name, and Call Sign) PM your character template to the GM for approval, and before posting. Further Rules: As mentioned previously, weaponry is primitive. While many realms of scientific advancement have expanded rapidly, weaponry is underdeveloped, as the species of space were rushed into space far before they were ready, and as such, have struggled to develop technologies to sustain their presence in the galaxy. They have had little time to focus on the weapons of war, only those of survival. As Earth’s species have spent merely a few centuries exploring the vast reaches of the Cosmos, they have not yet discovered alien life. As it stands, alien hominids (or any other type of “alien life-form”) are not playable. Though, I am open to the discovery of extra-planetary species. Magic exists, but is weak, and often times, discourage by social stigma. The source of the magic, the heart of life on Earth, has expired, leaving only weak traces of magic existing in the bloodlines of its few remaining practitioners. If playing a magic character, keep in mind that their magical abilities will not be their primary source of power. Most importantly: The mechanic of the game relies entirely on the PCs meeting and interacting. Please, when writing your posts, strive to make contact with your fellow PCs, even the ones allied with the opposing side. It will make for a much more interesting experience. 1. The GM can break and modify the rules without notice. 2. No deity modding. Balance is expected among all player characters (PCs). 3. No controlling other PCs or named Non-Player Characters (NPCs). 4. You cannot kill other PCs or named NPCs unless told to do so. 5. Players can make generic (unnamed) NPCs if necessary so long as they do not obscure the goals or plot. 6. No out of character content (OOC); OOC belongs in the Discussion Thread. 7. Please use third person perspective to maintain the flow of the story. 8. Write the next part of the story. Avoid re-telling a previous post from your perspective. 9. First Post: Introduce your PC, your location, your faction, and the amount of character background you deem necessary. 10. No one-liners or excessively short posts. 11. Read every post, or at least the last post to ensure you contribute accurately and with relevance. 12. Dialogue from other posts should be put in bold type. 13. “Be excellent to each other.” 14. Be creative. Keep in mind: Try to think of this less a story and more a world to explore. While this story begins with the war on New Hope, it most certainly does not end with the resolution of it. There will be life after the war, and where that life goes will be entirely up to those who help to write its story. Lastly, PCs can use this website to create a more technically developed character, making it easier to write and manage combat sequences. I highly advise using it, as it provides a more interesting experience, allowing PCs to succeed at tasks based on their merits and skills, introducing risk into a style of game that often has little. Of course, you don't have to, but if you're interested, ask me for a brief “how to” when you submit your character template. Thanks, and I hope we can enjoy the game together!
Aeros His ears filled with blood. They always became hot and red when his adrenaline surged, drawing more attention to the size and shape of his typically Elven auricle. He breathed deeply, his back pressed against a concrete wall. Pushing himself, his thin, lanky frame still flattened along the cold, bare stone, he silently moved toward a shattered window, peering out to the detrititic remains of the street. Debris was still settling, and clouds of dust and ash dispersed throughout the rubbled streets. Thick, black smoke poured from the smoldering remains of the four-story building across the road. Beyond the shroud of cinder and smoke, he could see figures moving. Four... eight... eleven. I can handle eleven. In an instant, he hauled himself agilely up and over the splintering frame of the broken window, sprinting through the smoke and dust. The ash hung so thickly in the air that it blocked the sunlight; just enough filtered through to illuminate the deep gray of scorched buildings, their glowing shells still blazing fresh infernos, smattering the smoggy haze with brilliant reds and oranges. Striding effortlessly over the shivered rubble of the city streets, his feet pounded down the pavement. He could feel the strap of his HK G36E rifle digging into his shoulder as he bounded through the disjointed urbana. Suddenly, he heard an excited shout proclaim, “There!!! HE'S OVER THERE!!!” Three-hundred and fifty meters at 186 degrees. Six pairs of feet converging on his location. His acute senses honed in on his enemies' location. His finger is inside the trigger guard now. He's squee-- BANG! A bullet ripped through the space beside his right ear, causing him to grab the sensitive organ reflexively. He lost his pattern momentarily, disturbed by the dangerous accuracy of the round. How could that have come so close?!?! They shouldn't see a thing with this interference! More shots rang out, bullets screaming past him, each one closer than the last. They must have infrared scopes. I wasn't prepared for this. He reached into his overcoat, pulling a HK USP .40 pistol from a holster loosely fastened to his waist, and simultaneously ducked into a burning building. As soon as he passed the threshold into the first deck, smoke filled his eyes, and they began to water. He re-holstered his weapon, sure that he was the only one in the structure. His senses were quickly overwhelmed by the deafening roar of the flames spitting and crackling around him. He dropped to the floor, searching the room for a stairwell. There! He spotted a flight of stairs in the far right corner of the room. Orientating himself, he stood up and rushed blindly to the stairwell, his vision flooded with thick smoke. His foot fell on top of the first step, and he vaulted freely up the remaining stairs. He rounded two more staircases, fighting through the choking smoke and flame on each level, until he reached the roof access. They wouldn't have been able to follow my heat signature; this is my only chance. Tugging on the strap slung over his shoulder, he flipped his rifle into his arms, and looked through the scope. He rested on the warm concrete ledge to stabilize his view. As he strained to see through the haze, he spotted movement on the street below, just two-hundred meters from his perch. He followed the figure, and three more slowly emerged from brume behind it. He seated his magazine, training the reticle on his first target. Four shots were fired with such rapidity that they sound like one; silence fell after the cracking, thunderous echo of the high-powered rifle. Four dull thuds followed each other in immediate succession, and screams rang out five-hundred meters east of the neutralized targets' position. Aeros lifted himself from the ledge, he lying flat on the roof, and ejected his magazine. Four rounds? My sidearm only has 12... if they don't get here soon, I'm-- His thought were interrupted by a deafening explosion, and a shock wave tore through the building, shaking it violently. His heart skipped a beat as the force of the vibration blasted through him. He grabbed his chest, coughing violently, and leapt to his feet. The roof felt uneasy as a sudden gust of wind blew his thick, blood soaked hair back from his eyes. The building groaned under its own weight, and the sound of stone grinding and cracking against stone consumed the air around him. The wind became stronger as he felt his stomach tightening, while ash blew past his face, and rubble pelted his skin. His balance faltered; he stumbled dizzily. Vertigo... Through the smog and soot, he saw the ground rushing up to meet him.
Anna "Kelly" McKeller "Clear the area." Kelly's voice came through the radios spread among the Rebellion's fighters. A space large enough for a small cargo ship was made and Kelly landed it as softly as possible. She flipped off the switches, turned off the engines and opened the doors. Half a dozen rebels swarmed in and began relieving The Deliverer of it's burden. Medical supplies, ammunition, and food was efficently stocked in their appropiate places. She took off her helment and oxygen mask as the Rebels moved about at expert speed. Jarnar, one of the Rebel leaders, came over to Kelly and shook her gloved hand. He was a black and burly Oger. Those who knew him, knew to stay on his good side. Whenever humans thought of ogers...they thought that they were stupid and not at all intelligent. And they would be right...about most. However, a few ogers were brilliant; even smarter then some of the scientists on New Hope. And Jarnar was one of them. "Thankyou for all you do for us, McKeller." He said, his voice deep and rich. "This base wouldn't survive without your willingness to risk imprisionment or worse." "It's no problem, Sir. What the NCF are trying to do to us aliens...it's not right." She brushed her brown hair behind her slightly pointed ears. "You could live peacefully among the humans. Considering you are a half breed, but I'm glad you don't." "As am I, Sir. I would never forgive myself for being such a coward." "You are indeed not a coward, which brings me to the next thing I must ask of you. Several civilians and Rebel fighters are trapped in the northern part of the city. If you are willing, I need to you land your ship near the town square, set off the recall beacon, and retreive as many survivers as you can." Kelly didn't even have to think. She knew her answer; but before she got a chance to responed, Jarnar continued. "You wouldn't be going alone. I'll send 6 of my best men with you to help cover their retreat." "There is no need to think about it, Sir. I'll help." Jarnar nodded gratefully and motioned for the six men he had chosen to load up in the now empty cargo ship. "I can carry 15 people at the most. If there are more...I'll go back for them." Jarnar stood straight and tapped his fist on his chest. The Rebel salute. "Bring them home safely, Capitan." Kelly nodded, strapped on her oxygen mask and helment and climbed into the pilot's seat. The switches were turned on, the engines reved and within two minutes Kelly had the cargo ship, The Deliverer, back in the sky.
introducing Kate Erstine As one ship rose another fell, one week ago a lone surviveing human climbed aboared a shoty space craft and made a desprate flight for paradise, that fabled world called New Hope. She clutched a picture of the last few survivers hudled inside the ark, the last place were a rag tag group of fifty humans lived and died. Her mother, father, and the only other child there, her twin Nate. half a millennia had past and not a single person had set foot outside until that fateful day, one week ago when she stepped out onto the surface; to bury her only friend and twin, strangely she shed no tears. Kate Climbed onto Hope her own space craft and watched earth disappear, broken and destroyed. It was hard for her to imagine that it used to be green. But more disheartening, was the idea that none of her family survived to come with her. "well at least I have you Nate." she said smiling stroking her auto sapien on the head, the human looking machine looked at her and smiled. But now it seemed even the last human known on earth would not survive this journey. She was awoken violently by rocking and shaking as her ship Crashed into the atmosphere, something was wrong. She had checked and double checked this ship many times before take off, what could she have missed? The artificial side of her brain began scanning for the problem. "What is it Nate! do you know? fuel rods are green, energy cell at full, Damn why our we losing power?" Her auto sapien just looked at her and smiled again, "Now is not the time for joking Nate! your the one who installed the emergency system you figure it out." An alarm went off behind her as her ship began falling aimlessly into New hopes atmosphere. But Her comp brain detected the problem first, "Fuel rods out of fuel... amazing, nearly 700 years of gathering supplies and we couldn't even gather enough to make it to the moon." Earth truly was a spent planet. "Buckle in Nate! we are making an emergency landing!" She guided the ship as best she could not with any control device, but with her mind. human and machine becoming one. A fire ball streaks across the sky, and then..*Boom.* the ship ironically named Hope crashes into a building. At the moment of impact Kates brain activates emergency protocol number #345 which was simply a go limp command to her muscles. The ship hit the building sounding a blast that could be heard for miles, she was spun mercilessly before rolling to a stop. She dragged her self from her damaged ship and with out doing anything, not even before seeing to her own injuries turned screaming "Nate! Nate! are you okay? Say something!" The A,S responded with a smile. It climbed out of the wreckage with the fluency of a real human. She sighed with relief, then looked down. "O dear", she was standing on someone, she jumped off him apologetically then bent over to take a closer look, he wasn't dead at least.
Alistair Sur'ma-rac Alistair pressed himself against the side of a building. He heard gunfire around the other side. His unit had been pinned down and were outnumbered by those NCF dogs. He checked the clip of his SMG, only half left. His pistol had been empty for hours. He regretted that he hadn't killed more humans with all the ammunition he'd burned though. He eased the small staff he carried out of the special straps on his back, and tapped it on the ground twice. It made a hissing noise as it doubled in length and a wicked blade appeared at the top. "Fall back behind the buildings! Full retreat!" He called. There were only four of his elves left, he didn't want to risk losing any more. He heard the gunfire lull, and saw one of his men toss a smoke grenade over the hovercar he was taking cover behind, then break cover and run for the alleyway in which Alistair stood. Two more followed, and finally another. "We lure them back and then finish them at close range." He ordered. "You and you, there!" He pointed to a branching alleyway. Then directed the other two to the other side. He himself stood right in the middle of the alley. Waiting. This had gone on long enough, and he was eager for revenge for the men he had lost. He heard footsteps. Saw the barrel of a gun pop around the corner, saw a flash of white from the brilliant uniforms of the NCF Guardsmen, then he heard the order, "Move, move!" And they all poured around the corner. The saw him just standing there, smiling at them and hesitated. He closed his eyes. There was an explosion of black and the troop of guardsmen were being hurled in every different direction at once, smashed into walls, and tossed in the air. A swirling black mass in amidst them. Alistair went down on one knee from the exertion. "Kill them!" He shouted, and his men rushed out and opened fire into the maelstrom. Alistair smiled again as he watched the carnage. As the vortex faded, and the lifeless bodies of the Guardsmen fell to the pavement, a transport ship flew directly overhead. It looked like it was heading for the extraction point. He stood, with effort, and walked to the end of the alley. One of the Guardsmen groaned at his feet. He flipped the halberd point down and planted it in the man's chest. "Let's move out! To the LZ!" He shouted to his remaining men, as he removed the blade from the body at his feet. He shook of the blood and returned it to travel size. "Move!"
Aeros The wind swelled and buffeted as Aeros gasped to catch his breath amid the force. His stomach wrenched and knotted as the crumbling building began to fall. He was dizzied by the sudden change in altitude; breathless, he fought off the shock of near-weightlessness. In a rapid flash of reflex, he spun on the ball of his foot, and ran up the roof's increasingly steep incline. His footing began to slip, forcing him to grab the crumbling remains of the roof and climb the remaining meters to the ledge. The wind was deafening, tearing at Aeros as he clawed his way across the roof as the stone and wood frame loosed and splintered under his weight. He leapt upward, grabbed the disintegrating ledge, and pulled himself atop the windward side of the collapsing building. He was nearly parallel to the ground as the massive structure continued to fall, now just meters before impact. Aeros ran lithely down the building, leaping over large chunks of stone as they dislodged from the rebar frame of the building, deftly placing each foot more firmly than the next. Super-heated flames leapt out from holes ripped into the building's exterior, licking greedily at his feet as he tore over the decaying stone. He had already sprinted the half the length of fragmented tower, but as he lifted his foot to propel himself over a growing rift, the building smashed with staggering force into the smoking ground, dissolving into a deadly shower of rock, metal, and cinder. Aeros stumbled beneath the shock wave. He fought to keep himself standing, but was consumed by the massive cloud of stone as it rained down around him. He felt a crushing blow, and then another, and his vision blackened. A warm liquid ran down his neck, into his collar, and slid down his back. He lost his balance, falling hard into the granulated and rubbled remains of the building. Burning debris still hung in the air. With his last fading moments of awareness, he lifted his hands to cover his head. His consciousness slipped to the sensation of a weight on his back.
Kate Kate studied the man she was standing on a few moments before, the world had gone quiet as if in silent welcome to the new arrival. A dusty wind past by caressing her hair. She scanned him with her comp side of her brain, then pondered him with the human side of her brain, and came to a stunning conclusion. "This creature...it's not human. Its, its, an a-alf" Her accent was thick and foreign, half a millennia separated from all other sentient life had bred some notable differences between her and anyone living on New hope. "It's an alf...That means...WE MADE IT!" She jumped up and down like a kid on her birthday her face was over joyed, she ran over and hugged her auto sapien. "We made it! Were're on New Hope, we can begin our lives over again. Oh Nate I knew we could do it!" She looked over at the man on the ground and her joy dropped dead as she realized, he was bleeding. She ran back over to him ordering Nate to move the rubble off him she struggled to pull him from the wreckage the man was much bigger than she thought. Turning him over she saw something remarkable, he was regenerating. "Magic!" She whispered in wonder. Kate knelt over him again confident he would be all right, but couldn't help playing with his ears a little pulling on them gently, flicking them to see how rigid they were. everything about the creature fascinated her and she admitted that he may even look a bit handsome. She decided to wait until she was certain he was okay before moving on. she was eager to get Her life of blissful happiness under way.
Kelly McKeller Captian Kelly McKeller landed the ship in the pick up zone. She could hear the gunfire and explosions around her. Screams of pain were also heard on occasion. A terrible thing it was. War. But sometimes necessary. "Captian." One of the men who had accompanied her gestured for the beacon at her feet. Kelly handed it to him and the men charged outside, random bursts of gunfire signalling they had made contact. One of the soldiers set the beacon and shrill whistle rang out. The whistle would recall any surviving soldiers and alert any nearby civilians that transport to saftey awaited them. Now it was time to wait. She hated waiting, especially in a war zone. A bullet hit the pane of glass right in front of her face, sending a series of mini-cracks across the shield. <Stupid, Kelly. Put up the blast shield. You're in a war zone. Stupid.> She pressed a button on her console and a thick metal shield slid over the glass. Just in time too, as several more bullets pinged off the metal. She couldn't see now, only glimpses of the outside through the doors behind her. She'd just have to trust that the soldiers were doing thier job, and hope the survivors arrived quickly.
Enter Simon Everything was blocked out. Noise was nonexistent, and the only feeling of touch was produced by the trigger against Simon's finger. The only thing he allowed himself to see was his target. Simon was focusing. A spotter stood by him. It was some nameless dwarf, bumbling around a building captured by the vermin and firing the occasional rocket into the fray. The building was roughly 300 meters away, so the shot should be easy. As easy as that mother elf he had hit earlier. Not that the NCF had to know about that; they were only allowed to kill those actually involved in the Rebellion. It was almost like the NCF treated these races like second-class citizens, instead of the pests they were. A deafening bang rang out in the air, and the dwarf fell down, out of a window, dead before he even hit the ground. He was firing a rocket when he got shot; it went off-course and hit another building occupied by the Rebellion. Simon smiled. He heard two more bangs, created by his partners. They were both Exterminists as well. His spotter briefly looked through his scope, a rather advanced piece of tech mounted on a tripod. He grinned briefly, as though he saw something amusing, but it suddenly turned sour. "I found a traitor, Simon. It looked like she was killing an elf at first, but she's actually helping it. I think there's a cyborg with her." Simon grunted. Exterminists consider any human helping the vermin a traitor. The spotter showed him their position, and Simon took careful aim. Through his own scope, he saw it for himself: a girl, a cyborg, and an elf. The elf was lying down, bleeding. He aimed for the girl. Spotter and sniper normally rotated roles, but everyone knew he was one of the best shots available. Bang.
Doctor M "Ok hold still now." M said as he wrapped his last bandage around an elfs leg. The elf winced as he pulled it tight. M sighed. They had been on the rooftop for a day now and had run out of supplies. With NCF troops waiting on the floor below there chances of escape looked slim, not to mention they were out numbered. Including M and his patient there was one gnome. The trio weren't in high spirits. "So how are we for ammo glen?" M asked. The gnome patted around inside a backpack before sighing. "I have 1 spare clip, 8 shells and one rocket. I can bet you the NCF troops downstair aren't short on ammo. I'm amazed we haven't been rushed yet." "That stair way is tight, even with out a gun we could keep them at bay for a while. But we're never going to get down the stairs." There was silence as the trio considered there position. Their chance of getting down the stairs and into the stair well were low. At most they would be able to kill 6 people before getting gunned down. A rumble in the sky brought them out of their thoughts. No doubt another NCF ship bringing more troops. M turned to check, his heart jumping slightly as he realised it was on their side. It flew past them landing at the other end of the street. M watched as troops got out and placed down a beacon before fanning out to guard it. "An evac squad." Glen said. M nodded. His mind racing to think up an escape plan. "Ok here's what we're going to do. Glen, you're going to fire that rocket straight down the stairwell towards the NCF. It should break enough floor for us to jump down onto the next level of stairs. From their we make like the wind down the stairs and out of the building." "But they have the ground floor aswell." Glen interjected. "Had." M said pointing over the side. NCF troops were rushing out onto the road after the ship. "Ok but theres still Pharae. He can barely walk." Without a word sank a claw into Pharae's leg. He bucked for a moment as colour seemed to return to him. Carefully he got to his feet. "What was that?" He asked voice full of wonder. "It's pixie but it won't last long. You've got about 5 minuts of above elf capabilities so lets make the most." M said getting up and heading to the stairwell. He krept down it, pausing at the corner as Glen came down carrying a launcher almost as big as he was. M nodded and he popped round the corner and fired. They didn't wait for the smoke or heat to clear, going straight down the stairs and diving through where the whole used to be before the NCF could realise what they'd done. Down the stairwell they went. A super charged Pharae led them, his leg now stronger than ever. Reaching the door at the bottom Pharae rammed through it, carrying it on with him like a sheild. The NCF in the hallway didn't know what hit them. All they saw was a door before being flattend. Pharae dropped the door as they exited onto the street. M had been right. They couldn't see any troops. But that didn't stop them being cautious. Hugging the cover of a walkway they sped towards the ship. M could see Rebel troops surrounding the area. Nearing the ship M drew his guns as NCF troops appeared out of the building opposite. He fired towards them without looking before grabbing a straggling Glen and swinging him to Pharae. "Go!" He shouted Pharae putting on an extra burst of speed. His leg was going to need a serious break after this. The rebel troops motioned to hurry as the leapt the car they had been using as cover. Passing them they went straight onto the ship. Pharae collapsing as the pixie wore off. M opened the cabins first aid cuboard quickly pulling out a pain killer and a sedative and giving them to Pharae. Patient dealt with he headed to the cockpit. An elf in a dark blue jumpsuit sat at the controls. "Hello ma'am I'm Doctor M. Who are you?"
Kelly McKeller The first three survivers jumped aboard. One elf was bleeding badly, but the other two seemed to be alright. "Hello ma'am I'm Doctor M. Who are you?" The doctor said. At first Kelly couldn't respond because she was mezmorized by his eyes. Though he looked human they were red. A pixie? She had never met one in person. The rumors claimed they were short but this one was definitly not short. "Kelly." She would've held out a hand but he was busy tending the leg of a now unconcious elf. "How long have you guys been out there?"
Kate narrowly misses death. She stood over him for sometime the novelty of seeing her first elf was waning a little. She was getting tired of standing there just staring at him but she hadn't the heart to leave him bleeding. She suddenly knelt down for no reason save boredom. *BANG* the bullet struck before she heard the sound. As she had ducked down a bullet singed off the top of her hair and hit the ground before her sending gravel flying everywhere. In that moment, time stopped, what happened next took places in a mere second. Nate was first to respond a complex machine but still a machine, it didn't think, it didn't need to think it just reacted. With razor reflexes it spun scanning the area the shot was fired from for the slightest sign of life, an energy signature of some sort and detecting something it opened fire. Before Nate even opened fire, Kates comp mind, before her organic brain could even process what happened had already calculated that if the bullet had entered the ground at a 45 degree angle then there's a 90% chance the target is... Her human mind eventually caught up and took over, she knew what she most do and faster then any normal person could respond she too spun, she didn't need to see the target, math was on her side. BANG, BANG, BANG! Three shots were fired joining the chorus of fire from Her auto sapien, blue bolts soured through the air like lightning waiting to strike. Now time for her sped up. "Nate cover me!" She ordered while still firing at the estimated location, she grabbed the injured elf and with surprising strength hosted him up on her shoulder and bolted for a near by building. She jumped through the window with her A.S still filling the hill sides with shots. She tossed him on the ground and remembering her math, dashed to the nearest window to assist her Auto sapien. "Your move..."She muttered raising her bolt rifle.
Smoke filled the sky and gunfire rang out in the streets. Their troops were scattered. The city was a mess. Arun had only arrived that morning, and it looked like there were a lot of problems to fix. The NCF were horrible leaders, and an even worse military. Cowards, every last one of them. The radio in his helmet had called for backup from so many different locations that he turned it off. The Judicators were the only way the city could be taken back, and it was in everyone's best interest that that happened as soon as possible. They had each called for a squad of twelve soldiers. For now. Arun didn't know how long these troops would last. They stood behind him, some shaking, awaiting his orders as if they knew nothing of warfare. They were in an abandoned parking lot by the largest shopping centre in northern part of the city, where the fighting was particularly dense. For now they would watch, and wait for the best place to strike. A cargo ship flew over them and landed a couple of blocks down. Then he heard it. A shrill whistle - an evacuation beacon. "We're moving out," Arun spoke over his radio to the three other Judicators in the city. He then faced his squad, "we move to that ship. Partner up and stay behind me." The men hesitantly agreed to the orders and began partnering up, but Arun was already making his way. He moved quickly for someone armoured head-to-toe in a titanium alloy suit. Within minutes they reached their destination, taking cover in the alleyway of an apartment building. The cargo ship seemed to have deployed six rebel soldiers, and were helping civilians or the wounded board it. The pilot had boarded herself up in the cockpit of the shuttle. Arun quickly gestured for the squad to divide in two and file out in opposite directions. But before they did, he stepped into the battlefield unaccompanied, no weapons drawn. Immediately the soldiers took notice of his presence, aiming their weapons in his direction. They obviously didn't know what to think. The Judicators had never been on New Hope before. Maybe it was just the opportunity he needed. "Lay down your weapons and no one will be hurt!" He announced through the loudspeaker in his helmet.
Simon Simon swore under his breath. Of all the possible times for the girl to duck... "Spotter, what's the maximum effective range on this thing?" "About 800." "Let's move back a bit, then. If the girl gets obscured by buildings and we can't kill her, so what; we're close enough for them to retali-" A sudden rain of electrical-charged bullets rained down of them, as though the utterance of a counter-attack had summoned them. For a few seconds, everyone fell flat. Fortunately, it seems they weren't shot with precision in mind, only estimation. After checking around for casualties, it was found that the only damage appeared to be Simon's Spotter's scope, which was rendered useless. Further swearing poured from Simon's mouth. He could try aiming for the girl with his own scope, but it would be more time-consuming, and he didn't feel like waiting for another attack to hammer them. His partners shot an accusing glare at him; they no doubt knew that he had somehow brought this attack onto them. Simon wouldn't be getting any help from other spotters. As his partners started to move back - they didn't want another attack, either - Simon moved into an abandoned building by the hill. To his left, he saw a Rebellion ship with some of those horrible Judicators surrounding it; how the NCF had fallen low enough to recruit vermin was beyond him. Forward was the former position of the girl. Even the elf was gone. She must have taken it inside with her. It would have made sense for him to find and fire at the girl again, but a sort of curiosity overtook him. The girl had moved quickly, almost as quickly as the cyborg; she could be useful. Simon took out a small device from his pocket. It was capable of sending messages to any machinery, regardless of signal. The device couldn't hack the computer it sent the message to, but it was useful for communication. Simon pointed it in the general direction of the girl and cyborg and sent a small message. The cyborg would hopefully repeat the message to its master. Simon was pretty certain the girl didn't have a computer in her brain. A girl with a computer in her brain? What on the Moon made me think of such a ridiculous idea? The message is as follows: offering peace and chance to join ncf if not i can kill you easily very easily In truth, he wasn't entirely sure there were no obstructions between him and the girl. But she didn't have to know that.
Kate offering peace and chance to join ncf if not i can kill you easily very easily Nate got a message to his memory sever and passed it on to it's master. In her view the message appeared to be floating in mid air, she read it before storeing it in her own memory files. "Peace, why would there be war in paradise in the first place? and what was the NCF?" Her comp mind and her real mind worked simitaniously, one useing the imagination, trying to think of what would happen if she accsepted. The other scanning the area for the fastes exscape route. The last part of the message unnerved her, could he see her? "Well it wasn't a hacking attempt." She looked at the elf who was lying behind her. "What about him? should she bring him?" She needed time to think, to think in a way machines couldn't think. "If only this was a math problem." she muttered. She messaged him back saying. I need a moment to think about it. You did just try to kill me after all, maybe an act of good faith will, convince me. Dropping that sniper rifle might help and standing were I can see you might help. As she wrote she scanned her ship for any sign that it could fly, if things went wrong she would use it as her back up.
Alistair Sur'ma-rac A low hum burst into the air. Alistair looked up and saw a ship, coming from the outer atmosphere, surge overhead and impact headlong into a building. "What the h*** was that?!" One of his men shouted. "Let's sit tight a minute!" He called and went into cover behind a dumpster. A moment later, a hatch opened on the ship, and two figures jumped out. They both looked human. "Hostiles!" He hissed. "Lets try and make to the LZ unseen!" Then he heard a gunshot, like a sniper rifle, and ducked back into cover. When he didn't hear an impact, he popped his head and looked at the top of the building. Three bright blue burst erupted from the top of the building, aimed at the one across the street, the one they were covering behind. He was curious now. Rebel forces wouldn't be sniping from buildings, not here. Something was off. He darted out, just in time to see a spotter scope getting blasted apart and a human sniper falling back behind an abandoned building. Why would a human sniper be attacking another human. Maybe the girl he had seen wasn't a human, she just looked like one? He didn't know, but he had already decided that the sniper needed to go. He had line of sight on the LZ, and that could wreak havok. "Sniper, 10 o'clock, hiding in an abandoned building 700 meters away." He informed his team. "Set up some cover fire, try not to get shot!" He took out his halberd, but didn't open it up yet. Alistair pictured the spot, right in front of the abandoned building. He could see it, saw the approach, it was all clear in his mind. "Wait three minutes, then open fire." He said and darted out from behind the dumpster, agile as a cat. He zig-zaged from cover to cover, closing ground fast. When he got within 100 meters, and there was only a stretch of open ground before him, he waited behind a low retaining wall. Right on cue, he heard shots flying towards the snipers nest. He broke cover and ran, extending his halberd to full length. When he was 50 meters away, he shot a small vortex, only a fraction of the last one but still enough to skew a shot from a sniper, right outside the buildings window. The exertion slowed his stride, but he still had enough energy to keep going. He saw the rifle level on him and a the flare from a shot being fired, the little vortex did it's job and the shot went wide. Alistair darted to the side of the building, halberd poised, and burst in through a side door.
Aeros Aeros gasped, inhaling sharply. His eyes rolled loosely in his head as he slowly regained consciousness. Where am I? He turned his head to survey his surroundings, but in an instant a blinding, searing pain fired through his neck and into his head, causing him to cry out in pain. He heard movement close by. Even over the ringing in his ears, he heard the sound of gravel giving way underfoot. Two pairs of feet... one pair bearing excessive weight for their size. Why haven't I been killed or captured yet? Aeros drug himself uneasily to his feet as pain receptors popped and flashed, sending waves of excruciating pain blasting through his body. He screamed again, louder and more defiantly, and reached into his holster and quickly produced an matte black pistol from beneath his grey wool overcoat. He spun around, searching wildly for a target while with one hand, he scratched the caked clumps of blood from his eyes. His vision now fully restored, he saw two humans standing before him. “What's going on here?” The female human asked, her eyes alight with concern... and fear. Aeros unsteadily pointed his pistol at her. I'm in no condition to fight, especially not when outnumbered. “You know exactly what's going on here, human. The real question is, why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?” Suddenly, his ears twitched. He became aware of a high pitched whine, a frequency being emitted from no more than 3,000 meter north. The evacuation beacon!
Simon need a moment to think about it ou did just try to kill me after all maybe an act of good faith will convince me ropping that sniper rifle might help and standing were can see you might help About a minute later, Simon received this message. It took him a few seconds to understand it; the device he used was incapable of processing capital letters and punctuation. I'm sure glad the NCF supplies me with the best messaging equipment possible. He could nearly taste the sarcasm in his own mental voice. Simon considered meeting her demands. He could stand on top of the building, drop his sniper rifle in an exaggerated way, and would be able to quickly fall down flat if she shot at him, if he was even in her range. He began to get up, when a storm of gunfire flew through the window above his head. His reaction was nearly robotic; he was trained for these situations. This was nothing more than cover fire, probably. As soon as the flurry stopped, Simon stood up and took aim. He saw a dark elf zig-zagging on the street below, carrying some sort of halberd. A halberd? Those weren't in use since the Medieval times. But that didn't matter. The elf had briefly slowed down. He leveled out his rifle - the scope was useless, this shot was cake - and fired. Simon was quite surprised when a sort of vortex was shot from the halberd; his bullet got caught in it and missed. He saw the vermin run into his building. Simon now had two options. He could hold the staircase with his pistol and use his short-sword if necessary, or he could surrender. One particular fact stood out; the creature was obviously competent with that halberd. Simon had never fought a halberd, and was pretty average with the short-sword. Moaning with disgust in himself, he laid out all three of his weapons before him, and sat behind them with his hands up.
Kate. I'm in no condition to fight, especially not when outnumbered. “You know exactly what's going on here, human. The real question is, why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?” "I don't know s*** now put the gun down or Nate here will rip your arm off. If it weren't for me you would be dead." She couldn't afford to take her eye off the sniper, and spoke with out looking at him. Suddenly a flurry of action erupted, Another elf suddenly rushed forward firing some strange energy at the man she was talking to. He had attempted to stand showing his good faith when he was attacked. "Good lord I've landed on a battle field!" she thought. If she helped the sniper she was certain they could take out the man with the halberd together. If she stayed she would be stuck with this elf person. Or she could help the sword wielding guy. After thinking for a moment she made up her mind. "I think...I think I'll go with that NCF guy, he did stand where I could see him. If he died it be my fault for making him stand. I'm not sure. What do you think Nate?" Nate just smiled at her again. "Oh so that's how you feel?" "..." "Well that is a good point." "..." "All right it's a plan." She turned to the elf behind her. "That NFC guy called me so I got to go, my ship is behind this biulding. It can fly and your injured, use it to get out of here...I'm sorry I crashed into your building...and stood on you. Come on Nate lets go!" Kate ran for the door her auto sapien still holding it bolt rifle at the elf followed.
"You're making the wrong decision, human!" Aeros called after the two as they fled. "Today, it is us who is oppressed, but tomorrow, it will be you. It will be you because your skin is not fair enough, nor your eyes blue enough, nor your heritage pure enough. The machine of hatred stops at nothing. You may go, but know this. Soon, your freedom will go with you." Aeros slowly backed away, still holding his pistol on his target, and without hesitation, made his way toward the human's still smoking ship. Another lost...
Alistair Alistair swept his halberd in a wide arc in front of him as he entered, there was nothing there. It would have been headless is it were. The room was completely empty except for trash on the floor and a paint can. In one corner was a flight of narrow stairs. That would be where the sniper was, upstairs. Alistair weight his options for a moment. He could still here the sounds of gunfire from outside. His men were still laying down suppression. He had one option. Go up. In a pinch he could still throw another vortex, but it would leave him completely drained. He shrank his halberd down, he could activate the spring at close quarters and shoot it right through the dogs guts it it came to a stairwell fight, and started up. He kept his pauldron forward. He reached the top and saw a shut door. He kicked it open, expecting a surprise attack, and was shocked to see a human sitting on the floor beneath the sill, his weapons laid out before him. It completely caught Alistair off guard. He wasn't prepared for this.
Kate in combat "You're making the wrong decision, human!" Aeros called after the two as they fled. "Today, it is us who is oppressed, but tomorrow, it will be you. It will be you because your skin is not fair enough, nor your eyes blue enough, nor your heritage pure enough. The machine of hatred stops at nothing. You may go, but know this. Soon, your freedom will go with you." What was he blabbing about? What right choice? Her options were, team up with a dangerous soldier, team up with a dangerous soldier, or team up with a wounded but equally dangerous soldier. There was no wrong or right choice as far as she could see. But that didn't matter now, she was focused on attacking her foe in the most effective way. She had no intention of killing any one, no she didn't have the mind set of a killer, but she would do what she most. She studied the situation carefully, going around the building she was in to avoid being spotted by that mans men. "Nate scan the building please and thank you. What do you mean you don't feel like it?" "..." "Fine I'll do it, sheesh!" There was two heat signatures inside, one was kneeling, the sniper had surrendered. They snuck around to the back of the building finding a back door. Kate now had her plan of attack, she opened the door, slowly moved in side, once there she commanded Nate to go on standby mode. Nate lay on the ground a droid seemingly out of power. She then travelled to the flight of stairs the man had ran up. "Here goes nothing." she said taking out her bolt gun, her close range weapon of choice. When fired at close up it disables electronics it doesn't recognize while hitting organic targets with a ton of force. She held her breath...and charged. Skipping three steps as she bounded up and, opened fire on the man who was just standing there,her bolt gun sent a wave of electricity and force enough to knock over a grown man, and more importantly knocking out electronic equipment. She then switched to her bolt pistol and yelled. "Unless you want to die drop your weapon!"
Alistair He heard the steps and was turning when a heavy shock knocked him off his feet and against the far wall. As his vision cleared he saw a young looking human girl bearing a strange looking pistol. "Unless you want to die drop your weapon!" She shouted at him. He judged the distance, she was about five feet away, just in range of his halberd. It was still clutched in his hand. He tapped it twice on the ground and the spring loaded mechanism shot the upper half and the blade out, fast as lighting, but somehow, the girl had seen it and moved out of the way. Alistair swung it at and again she evaded. Her speed was incredible. "I warned you!" She said and raised her gun. Alistair rolled out of the way of the first two shot, but the last glanced off his pauldron. He was on his feet and swinging his halberd. She flowed under the sweep and leveled the gun on his abdomen and fired. He twisted at the last second and again swept the halberd at her, towards her feet this time. She hopped over it and closed distance. He retracted the blade and tried to move in as well. The gun was in his face before he even had a chance. "I didn't want to have to do this!" She said as her finger tensed on the trigger. Alistair mustered all he could and flew a vortex down, right in the middle of the room. He felt gravity fade away and everything was spinning. The exertion had been to much, he couldn't focus on anything. Next thing he knew he was flying through a pane of glass out into open air.
Simon Simon had watched the short battle with a combination of interest and fright. The girl and the elf were both quick and powerful; he doubted he could take either of them dead on, if he ever had to. He decided the girl was an ally; she was fighting the vermin, after all. Fortunately, things seemed to be going in his favor. The girl had managed to get right up to the elf, her gun in its face. Simon didn't know if she would manage to kill the pest or not, but he decided to get up and grab his short-sword. If she failed to kill the dark elf but stalled it for a few more seconds, he would stick the sword right into its back. He was right behind the elf when the vortex appeared. Simon was sucked in and the world was nothing but spinning. He desperately reached for his remaining weapons and got them in his grip; right after, he flew down the stairs, coming to rest on a landing. Even when still, it was impossible to focus on anything; the world was still spinning in his eyes. He looked down, and saw red all over his body. His vision eventually came to a stop, and he let out a loud groan. He quickly packed a flare into his pistol - it was a hybrid weapon - and shot it through a hole in the roof, created by the vortex. Looking through a window, he saw the dark elf lying on the street; too weak to aim his rifle straight, Simon shot a flare at the dark elf as well. With some luck, it'd die; at the very least, it'd suffer some serious burns.
