Event #14: THE GIFT OF BLESSED SILENCE

[vivalamods]

Event #14: THE GIFT OF BLESSED SILENCE

Though the vote was contentious, the Corsairs have decided to capture the facility. This will require an enormous mobilization of forces, but it is fortunate that the Corsairs are on they fight, unbeknownst to the Empire, on their own domain. In a real sense, the Vault has been preparing for this moment for decades.

The forges burn bright as rail and cannon are brought to bear. This ambitious plan will see Skysplitters placed across the continent as a crack strike force tears through the facility and kills or captures its personnel without putting the site itself to the sword. An operation both forceful and delicate, difficult, but hardly impossible for the Corsairs’ finest.

Missions:

Build the Rail, Ignite the Powder: The Corsairs, working under the cover of night, will need to establish a perimeter around the research facility.
Description: The continent of Bavrecht is usually where the Adamant Curtain, a major airship Legion, makes its base, testing munitions on the continent with constant carpet bombings. Their schedule is a bit irregular, but there are times where their bombing isn’t active. The Corsairs will need to take this opportunity to encircle the research facility and quickly erect temporary rail lines and set up Skysplitters to keep the airspace clear.

Rip Down the Curtain: The Corsairs will need to drive away the Adamant Curtain when it returns.
Description: The Adamant Curtain airship legion is a minor legion primarily concerned with munition testing. Their airships shuttle back and forth to gather new test munitions from the mainland and rest before returning to bombard the continent, and even then often in staggered groups. The Corsairs seek to employ one of these gaps to set up their perimeter, but once they return they will need to then destroy the legion so they can’t provide aid to the research facility or, in desperation, destroy it.

Laboratory Conquest: The Corsairs will need to enter the research facility and sweep it of hostiles, one way or another.
Description: Log Leader required. The Corsairs will be pitted against the 13th Legion Legatus Dr. Emric Folken and his legion of scientists. While not frontline combatants, they have any number of horrific abominations and weaponry available to bring to bear against the Corsair forces. Defeating them in their home turf will be a herculean effort indeed.

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[theriflespiral]

"One moment--" She extends a hand, and the meteor hammers wrap about the prisoners, securing them with the spider-silk rope and knotting about each other. Hopefully, that with the fans will be enough.

As for the door, she clicks her tongue at the door, hums. She definitely can't pick the lock that fast. So! A more brutish solution is required. She supposes it's fine that her naval breaching charge hasn't been used yet. She places the satchel charge. "Stand as far back as you can, the pressure wave's going to be nasty."

Honestly, she's mostly just glad she's going to use the thing instead of setting up and picking it up several times.

In about five seconds, or when everyone's next to her, she will press her detonator, and the satchel charge will blow a hole through the wall where the door is ostensibly secured.

Now, though?

Demolitions officer is running.

Do try to keep up.

[straykitty]

Renne quickly moves to the choke point, ether gathering around her as she weaves elements together in a burst of silver and black.

"Nebulous Cannon!"

An enormous burst of energy erupts where the enemy is to emerge, creating a distorted vortex of mirage and perception that cloud the senses of all within it.

cw for gory imagery again

[singlemilletgrain]

Donnie and Renne's efforts combined seem to be effective. As the prisoners are unable to escape from the gravity trap, the gas is blown their direction. They have no natural compulsion to defend themselves - no instinct to hold their breath or otherwise try to get low. They simply watch it wash over them and one by one, slump to the ground.

Crk. Tccchrk. Kssshkkk!

The ice cracks and shatters as predicted. The first creature rushes out of the vents just as Renne releases a burst of ether, but in the span of those few seconds, its full visage is visible. ...Because, well, there's not very much of it. It is a head that looks feminine with... lots and lots of bloody tubing and viscera dangling from the neck down. And nothing else..

Shu forgets to pay attention to anything else for a moment and allows her brain a tiny little moment of vulgarity. What the fuck.

Alas for Renne she cannot send heads toppling today. But perhaps severing their entrails will still be effective? Who knows. It's hard to say how effective the Nebulous Cannon is, given how inhuman these bizarre abominations are, but as they emerge, they do sort of... wobble around the room. Perhaps that's their normal method of locomotion? Perhaps not?

MEANWHILE far away from the disembodied heads, Natalia's successful demolition of the door is a fresh breeze of relief. Literally, Donnie's gas was getting a little close for comfort. Natalia may try to flee, but she is perhaps forestalled by the appearance of a dozen guards in uniform in a line, blocking any escape.

"Oh, no. You mustn't leave now."

The loudspeaker crackles once more. Although... the voice seems less tinny this time.

"Aggravating, yes, aggravating! What kind of people go around with enough knockout gas to disable a dozen and a half prisoners? You are quite disturbed, really quite disturbed. But as the old adage goes... why, if one wants something done..." And Natalia will watch as someone steps around the line of guards into view. "One must do it oneself." The doctor, a man with receding hair and a plump and pleasant demeanor, smiles benignly at the demolitions expert and raises a strange-looking gun. But... instead of pointing at Natalia, he turns it back towards his own arm.

[purplexing]

At least it's easier to hold a couple of mystic fans, and Donnie does so without having to think too hard once they've been constructed. He pulls his filtration mask on, trying to gauge the windspeed to make sure it's not too strong to render the gas ineffective, but not too light either lest it start leaking over in their direction.

But it seems to be working, and the turtlekin's glad that whatever poison's controlling them, isn't enough to force them through being knocked unconscious. One less thing to worry about, which is good because the sound above isn't a good one at all.

Donnie turns his head, eyes widening at the sight. His own brain seems to falter in its processing as he sees the disgusting monstrosity, a head still moving impossibly with its...guts? He would have thought he'd be ready to see anything after watching Nephenee nearly cleave a person in half right in front of him, after being in battles with Renne, and seeing undead things still rush after them despite being in pieces. Something about this still just doesn't connect, like blindly trying to join cables and finding yourself stuck with two of the same endpieces.

He's only vaguely aware that the voice over the speaker has changed somehow. He can't pry his eyes away from the horrible head. Disturbed, really quite disturbed, the phrase echoes in his head and he feels like maybe he might laugh. Maybe the voice is right.

[theriflespiral]

Natalia does not, in fact, miss a beat, shouldering her rifle. She shoots once for the gun because, for all her virtues, she is still a bit of a showoff.

It pulled a little to the left and its recoil, while more manageable than the bolt-action, still felt a bit like someone wanted to put as much powder downrange as possible.

Her second shot is a much more reasonable attack on the Doctor's center mass. "Tch."

But unlike her shuddering, shuffling, grinding action when she was moving at top speed while shooting with the bolt-action, her motion in the moment after adjusting was fluid, consistent, of a speed with the fastest people who could fan a revolver.

Ten shots.

"... Feh. Middling quality at best."

[straykitty]

"How distasteful."

Indeed, the monster here is not something that can be so easily decapitated, but that is hardly a deterrent to Renne. Whirling her scythe to build momentum, Renne unleashes wide sweeps at the emerging heads, aiming to cleave them either vertically down the center or horizontally at the nose and making use of hardening and sharpening enhancements on her scythe to deal maximum damage.

[singlemilletgrain]

"Tch. No manners!"

The doctor's hand jolts back as the retort of the rifle rings concussively through the hallway, a pained expression on his face, though regrettably, his hand has not exploded into a grisly mess. Both shots seem to have... deflected, somehow, well before they reached the doctor. Briefly, Natalia can glimpse the appearance of a sort of circular bubble around his body. A sort of shield? Deflector technology? Repulsive EM waves? Something to be investigated.

"I am speaking, thank you! The problem with people like you - no understanding of what is appropriate for this society. We shall be well rid of such -- such bottom feeders, yes! Now what was I saying?"

A faint pause.

"Oh yes. Ahahahahaha!"

The gun goes off - though quite silently, for it shoots not a cartridge, but several needles attached to syringes.

"Behold! My magnum opus! The next evolution of man! Once I finished tinkering with those waste products, why, they had no use for their natural ether capabilities. I am the first to combine genetic engineering in service of ether channeling! Yes, you are lucky - so lucky to see this power unfold before you! I have isolated - really perfected the exact genetic mutations that allow for specific control over subclasses of ether! By modifying the ion channels regulating ether flow, I have broken my own limitations! Reality is mine to bend at my whims!

"...And without any of those ridiculous mutations that always seem to accompany these sorts of things in popular media; I don't see why one must be horribly disfigured to be all powerful. So idiotic, yes, idiotic indeed.

"Erm. Yes. ...Anyway."

And he raises a hand and shoots a pillar of flame at Natalia.

It is really very rude of Renne to bisect heads without even giving them time to latch on to her scalp and start sucking out her life force, though they make a strong effort. Hopefully Renne moves quickly, because there is a quite substantial horde that pours out of the vents now, even as their numbers are culled. A few wobble out of the way and have the presence of mind to avoid the cleaving bits and well...

There's a small number that start biting on her toes.

A few more escape down to the delicious pile of unconscious prisoners fresh for the harvesting.

"Natalia needs backup quickly. Let us deal with... this as soon as we can." Shu, abandoning any attempt to try to handle this in a reasonable manner, simply walks forward and starts swinging her baton like a golf club, sending the heads bouncing off the walls.

"I would like to say, for the record, that I am not enjoying this mission."

[purplexing]

"Pull it together, Donatello," Donnie murmurs to himself, mostly ignoring the doctor's explanation as the things pouring out of the ventilation system seem to be more important a matter at the moment. Probably for the best- he'd be making all the faces at the guy's blathering otherwise.

"No-!" he shouts, seeing some of the slithery things move towards the prisoners. He doubts gas will have as much of an effect on something that's just head and viscera, but he dismisses his ether fans, reforming the brilliant purple energy blade of his glaive, the sharp edge glowing white hot. The turtlekin dashes for the ones going towards the cell, swinging down with a shout, which somewhat helps dissipate some of the nausea. He'd hate to throw up in his mask.

But having another focus helps keep his mind off what's disgusting. He won't allow anything to happen to the prisoners they've been trying so hard to save, that drive making it easier to thrust and slash with his glaive towards humanoid faces and squirming guts.

[theriflespiral]

"Ho! A challenge." She listens to his little game and sighs. "Ah, yes. What empires always do."

The bayonet sways in her hand, and as she leaps aside the flames catch at the circuitry and casings.

Now, now she's testing the limits of the Doctor's shield with her bayonet. One wild tip slash skitters off, and she brings the rifle back around for a straight push, a near-perfect translation of every muscle she can bring to bear at the point of the knife. "Of course, your tactics leave much to be desired."

What strikes work best to push the shield's limits?

What angles most test its capabilities?

She watches with eyes honed by power.

[straykitty]

OK, yeah, we're not about this. As the monsters begin to go for her toes, Renne leaps backwards, clicking her tongue in annoyance as her eyes flash dangerously. An enormous stream of blue and silver ether form up around her glove, and moments later she invokes an enormous mirage-born whale to drop on the swarm of creatures.

[singlemilletgrain]

[so sorry for the delay the last few nights! been at parties etc for the holiday, tag quality is a little mid today also apologies as I’m still out]

Natalia will find that any strike produces a similar effect, a sort of ‘activation’ of the shield around the Doctor. As she continues to strike, she may notice that regardless of where she attacks from, the shield seems to radiate outwards from the same place: the coat pocket of his outerwear. He, perhaps rightfully, smirks as she attacks fruitlessly.

”One does not need martial technique when one has power beyond the gods.”

And so it is that in the next instance, he flicks his hand and attempts to freeze the very air particles around Natalia so that she might be stopped in her tracks, unable to move.

In the meantime, over in disembodied head corner, the collective efforts of the three are bearing fruit. At this point, they might go to assist Natalia if they wish, though there are still a few remaining stragglers that might pose a danger. The ones biting at Renne’s toes are deeply disappointed to gain no traction from their efforts (why can one never suck on some toes when one needs to?)

“Renne, we - or I - can take care of the rest here. Your combat strength far exceeds my own.”

Natalia facing the doctor alone makes her feel ill at ease.

[purplexing]

Please don't suck on Donnie's toes- he's probably the only one not wearing proper shoes.

With the abominations being thinned out, Donnie finally allows himself to spare a better look at the Doctor.

He...doesn't recognize him, but then he'd been afraid to look a lot of Imperials in the eye, back when he'd been made to tag along for weapons-based consultations. With a jerk of his head, he lowers his goggles again, to try getting a read on any Ether patterns or specific concentrations. He can see the localized pulse whenever Natalia's strikes make contact with the Doctor's shield.

"Power beyond the gods," the turtlekin snorts. He taps at his bracer, sending his readouts to Renne. "See it?" he calls to her before turning to sweep his glaive at another writhing bit of entrails before he turns, focusing on something simple as he conjures up a simple flash-bang, right in front of the Doctor's face.

[straykitty]

There's a flash of motion as Renne twirls gracefully through the air, a flash of black and red ether momentarily coating her as she quickly boosts her own abilities before coming down hard on the Doctor, using the force and momentum of her spinning leap to bring the point of her scythe down as hard as possible, aiming right at his chest and putting everything she has into punching through his shield and his soft, fragile flesh underneath.

[theriflespiral]

Natalia's first temptation is to attempt to wrest control of the ice spell targeting her-- to prove her control is more than his--

But she thinks back to Gaurus, and Terra, and rather than attempt this, uses the nature of the shield against him, sliding around it and letting his own spell form another point of stress on a shield that's now dealing with three attacks-- her one handed bayonet strike, Renne's decapitating blow, and protecting him and Natalia from his ice spell.

Her empty hand charges a spell. Frozen blood wasn't the only thing she got from Gaurus-- there was also how to use positive energy to make someone's blood boil. And if there's anything Natalia has plenty of, it's raw vitality.

Of course, she has to touch the Doctor to do it, but such is the cost of victory.

[singlemilletgrain]

"Pshaw!"

He enunciates aloud in rather dramatic fashion as the flashbang explodes in his eyes. In the afterlife, he will claim that the rest of what proceeds was only allowed to happen because he was temporarily disoriented, and it was a complete affront to fair hand-to-hand combat to resort to such parlor tricks. As it is, as the others begin to dash forward with their various strikes and blows, the Doctor cries out in great exasperation.

"Enough!"

And just as Renne lunges, he thrusts out a hand and vibrates the very molecules of the air around him such that they rapidly expand to create a devastating shockwave outwards. In short, an explosion. The scythe strikes, the bayonet stabs, and the concussive burst of air sends the Doctor - and anyone near him - flying backwards at great speed.

The Doctor lands among his men, several of whom are bowled to the ground.

And in the aftermath, a single sound can be heard.

Shlurp. (It is the sound of one last penanggalan sucking on Donnie's toes.)

...Oh. And the sound of faint crackling. Perhaps like something has broken? The Doctor -- annoyingly unharmed -- struggles to his feet with the aid of the soldiers whose spines he hasn't cracked, heedless of such things that are beneath him as crackling sounds.

"Hah.... hahahahaha! You fools! Do you see what you are against now?! This genius, yes, genius cannot be stoppered by such... simpering cretins! My shield is impenetrable! I alone am fit to direct this new age. I alone am worthy! I shall be the one -- "

Donnie, if he is not too distracted by the toe-eater, may notice that his readouts now indicate that the shield has broken. Natalia may touch him all she wishes.

[purplexing]

Parlor tricks his fo-

"EAUGH! Get it off, get it off get off!!!!" Donnie sputters, a massive hammer head instantly taking place of the blade as he shakes off his foot. He doesn't hesitate to slam it down on the penanggalan with enough force to crack the flooring.

The annoying laugh doesn't help his mood, but conveniently his goggles have fallen back into place from all his movement.

"Nat, you're clear," he says.

[theriflespiral]

Even if Donnie hadn't said it, her anger would have been enough. She gathered her strength and rocketed forwards. "Shut! UP!"

With her glowing hand, she grabs hold of his face in an iron claw grip. "Power beyond the gods!?"

The spell is, in its way, an extremely simple form of Life magic. Overclock the metabolism of every cell the spell meets, and use the victim's own Ether to pass it along. A cursed fever that kills with the body's own functions. "細胞死握力!"

The spell transferred, she drops the Doctor. "Power means nothing without the wit and will to use it properly, you hack. Let that be your testament."

[singlemilletgrain]

"Urgh! Unhand me with your filthy -- psh."

The doctor spits as Natalia releases his face, his lip curled into an expression of sheer disgust.

"How -- how dare you lay hands upon me! Inconceivable - inconceivable! Who allowed her to -- who allowed her through my -- "

He is trembling so violently in anger that it seems he is losing his capacity for speech.

"My s-shield! I -- " A fit of apoplexy strikes him. His words almost seem gargled. "Phhhhh... you. You... YOOOUUUUUUUUUUU...!"

Even at the furthest distance of anyone, Shu cannot help but notice that the Doctor seems to be growing quite red. Rather like a tomato. And as his organs and brain boil within the confines of his mortal shell, he rears back both arms and screams his indignity. One last wave of energy - containing all the 'power of the gods,' as he put it, unleashed as his control over ether completely unravels. Lightning in all directions, violent eruptions of flame, the earth beneath him cracking and shuddering, even all the electronic machinery in the room exploding in crackling bursts.

Shu jogs over to Donnie's side in all this and puts up her shield.

Then with one final, nova-like burst of energy...

The Good Doctor's organs disintegrate into finely chopped sausage. The pile of gory flesh before them still has the shape of a human, but is so bloated with ether energy that it can hardly be identified. Ice and flame and wind and other forms of energy coalesce and dissipate at rapid speed from various portions of his body, but it does not seem safe to touch any part of it.

...His men - the ones still standing after that obscene show - take one glance at the former Doctor and scatter.

"I believe... this experiment, like the others, may be deemed a failure."

[theriflespiral]

Natalia... May. Not be thinking straight, after the blows she took. She's getting up, stalking over, and, despite everything...

Is. Screaming at the remains as she continues to kick it. "Torturer, masquerading as a scientist! You think I've never heard of your kind!? You think yourself UNIQUE!? You think yourself beyond judgement by mortals!? It's because of people like you, that I'm! Like! THIS!"

Cussing in Russian and Chinese follows in much the same way.

The entire lab's temperature is dropping like a rock.

[purplexing]

His goggles still in position, Donnie can see when the Ether begins to show signs of instability within the Doctor. He gasps as the energy starts taking releasing itself in different forms, realizing how very ineffectual a staff is for a shield- but then Shu is there to assist. The brilliance from the blast still makes him shut his eyes.

Very carefully he peers around Shu when it seems it's over. He kind of regrets doing so, not quite hiding behind her as he sees what's left of the man. ...and then Natalia starts kicking the thing, and as the temperatures drop, Donnie moves a little closer to Shu with a shiver.

He's cold-blooded, give him a break..!

[straykitty]

There's a sharp finger snap and some of the cold ether Natalia is emanating is siphoned off as Renne shapes it in an attempt to freeze the legs of the fleeing subordinates.

"Now now, we can't have you running off," she says sweetly. "Who then would pay for the crimes committed here?"

[singlemilletgrain]

"Oh dear."

Shu murmurs as she hands Donnie the shield, just in case Natalia unleashes any more ether unwittingly, though she doesn't think it will extend to causing true harm to her teammates. Still, as she trudges forward through the manipulated temperatures, she finds it difficult on her body to push through. But agriculture and frost were two sides of the same coin and indeed, what goddess of the harvest could not withstand a bit of cold?

Shu is by Natalia's side eventually. Her eye wanders towards Renne approaching the frozen soldiers - she's torn between addressing two possible issues that need attention but judges that Natalia is in greater need.

A hand falls gently on Natalia's shoulder as she kicks.

"...He has moved beyond the reach of your words, Natalia. Let not such a poor facsimile of humanity inspire in you such pain. I fear you may harm only yourself."

...And Shu and the others, but that is not relevant at the moment. Her eye glances towards Renne again. If only she were psychic, she would intimate something like 'do not be rash,' but alas, she can only silently urge the girl not to be too, erm, overly murderous.

[theriflespiral]

There's an absolutely frustrating moment where she gives the corpse a final blow, but then there's a wild cry of anguish, and then... her skin gets cold to the touch, her teeth start chattering wildly, her entire body shakes.

She can't even form any words, though she tries.

[purplexing]

Donnie's doing his best to hold staff and shield, huddling behind them like it'd do anything against the frigid temperatures. He tries to hold his focus, looking worriedly towards the pile of unconscious prisoners, but at least they should be a little better protected, bunched together as they are.

The end of the shield rests on the ground as he tries maintaining a grasp on it. He'd worry about his feet (and his poor nibbled on toes!) if his thoughts weren't struggling to think of something more useful to do. Ohhh, not good, warmth- he needs warmth or he'll start shutting down like he threatens to do after a winter sea hunt.

He breathes out a frosty wisp, forcing himself to focus, purple light of his Ether constructs tracing out a heater, warm air gusting out from it once the final panel completes. Again he sighs, dragging himself closer to sink beside it.

[straykitty]

With the doctor's personnel properly shackled, Renne sighs a bit, downs another potion and focuses her ether, drawing forth a warm flame around the Corsair team to fight the mounting ice more directly.