Galactic Ruins

LoopyPanda

Black Jacket
Joined
Sep 3, 2015
Posts
12,024
Location
cyberia cafe
Website
babyufo.tumblr.com
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Important Links
Posting Rules
  • Posting order won’t be enforced unless indicated otherwise. I usually follow the unspoken practice of posting my new turn after everyone else does.
  • Most of us are busybodies, so the idea to maintain consistency is to post at least once a week. I will announce if I can’t do my minimum weekly post; I trust that anyone going on vacation, not being able to post for the week, or otherwise dropping out can notify everyone as well in the planning thread or smth. You may jump back in any time, just keep an eye out for my posts especially since they advance the game (or ask me to catch you up in the Planning thread). Those who don’t post their minimum weekly post without saying why will be skipped over for when I use my turn-- longer periods of unexplained absences will result in your character getting benched.
  • I will not do Bunny modding. Posts requesting me or others to play their characters for them without explanation will be removed and the character will be temporarily benched if the player is MIA.
  • Some may find it easier to just read my posts because they’re the ones that advance the plot as the game progresses. Especially note any OOC sections I post in bold. I recommend you subscribe to the game thread so that you will be alerted.
  • Try not to make things too convenient or far outside the realm of possibility in-universe.
  • The lore thread is the foundational background you need to make your character. I'm not changing it :p
  • Please let me know if you find we are moving too slow or have similar grievances that can be resolved by me. If you wish, you can PM me about it. Post any questions concerning the game in the Planning thread, OR PM me. :)



[img=700x470]


The early hours within the Terranovan Union headquarters were no busier than usual, but today was an important day for the leaders of each planet enlisted within the Union. Deep within Mars' crust, below the city of Arkadia, they were deliberating.

"So, when are we gonna get to see our little test subjects?" The Empress of Venus asked the Chairwoman, who was in charge of leading the agenda's proceedings. "I'm sick of waiting. We need to take action already."

"Please, Empress... According to Aurelia, they've fulfilled their required training and the draft tests finished about a week ago. I think this will be the first time they'll all be meeting each other together."

"And? How many do we have?" Another chair inquired. "Was the process that rigorous that we weeded out half the applicants?"

"Well, when you want something done right the first time, there has to be adjustments to control for errors when we can..." The Chairwoman answered, steepling her fingers together. "But of the ones that passed so far, only four have responded to the invitation for today's council meeting."

"Four? Just four?" Cut in Earth's chair. "Tch... this ought to be good. We're basically resting the fate of our Solar System in the hands of four people at the moment... What are the other ones doing that they decided our correspondence wasn't worth their time?" He hissed in frustration while rubbing his temples.

"No idea as of yet, but if it makes you feel more assured, two of them are technically my subordinates. If I remember right from Aurelia's report, all four of them are right here on Mars. We'll see them later this morning once they get acquainted with each other and their commander." She began to go through holographic messages as she spoke.

"Great... what could possibly go wrong?"


[align=center][Text transmission for the players]​


THIS INFORMATION IS CLASSIFIED: CIVILIANS DO NOT HAVE CLEARANCE TO VIEW THIS DOCUMENT. DO NOT FORWARD IT.

AFTER passing through each round of the draft and completed your basic training, you have been summoned to the headquarters of the Terranovan Union, located 3 kilometers beneath Mars's surface where Arkadia is: only TU personnel have the clearance to enter, but two of your fellow Orion Squad members know how to access the pathway safely. They have been working for the Terranovan Union's branch on Mars for some time now, so they will be familiar with the regulations of the Unions. Once you meet with them together, you will be escorted to the meeting room to meet with your Commander. The council of planetary representatives for the Union will also meet with you to discuss the project's agenda.

PLEASE remember that the Orion Project is a top-secret project that is not known to the general public. As far as civilians will be aware of, your uniform will simply appear to belong to any low-clearance personnel of the Union. The insignia of the Orion Squad differs from the standard TU design just enough to indicate your level of clearance with higher-ranked personnel, but shouldn't draw any wandering eyes. Any information you gain must not be shared with anyone outside the Terranovan Union.

[Union Chairwoman & Martian High Council Leader Ziara Elmak]


...
...
...

In the outskirts of Arkadia, west of the Badlands...

"How long is it gonna take to wait for these chumps to show up? Did they even tell us how many we were supposed to wait for?" A young woman with black hair and strange-colored eyes asked her taller, one-eyed companion. She looked impatient and grumpy, holding her biker helmet loosely under her arm.

"Don't know. We were all given the same coordinates, so it's just a matter of time before they arrive. What does it matter to you? Were you up late again?" The horned cyclops replied without sympathy in her telepathic voice.

"Yeah, fixin' my bike 'cause the oil filter was clogged to fuck with this shitty red sand!" The shorter woman cursed, kicking at the dirt. "Couldn't get a wink of sleep anyway. Talking to fancy big-wigs isn't my thing."

"That's too bad. Suck it up."

"Son of a bitch, you're no help at all, you know that Pinky?"

"I do not offer sympathies to a criminal that stole the equipment she's going to use for the mission. I also prefer to keep the idle chat to a minimum."

"Wow. That's... harsh."[/align]
 
A young, medium build woman appeared from the distance, seemingly walking without any transportation. Spotting those two chatty individuals, the woman let out a deep sigh.

“Man, I thought I gotten the wrong information. That’s what I get for trying to squeeze in a quick match before getting here.” She mumbled to herself as she met up with two.

“Heya! Sorry for being late, I was caught up in something. I would’ve gotten here faster but I gotten into a bit of a pickle along the way, and truthfully, I got lost a bit too,” She explained. “Anyways, you can call me Mex! I assumed you two the ones part of the squad?”

Mex’s clothing was dirty, with few specks of blood on the end of her shoes and tons of dirt on her clothes—it seems to imply that she crashed her bike along the way. Each time she moved, dust would fling out.
 
An older looking redhead eyed the three group members and managed to just overhear their conversation. He snorted a laugh or two when he listened to the two bickering members. Nonetheless, he approached the group carefully despite knowing it was where he needed to be, holding up a hand and a peace sign that followed it. 

His face, untouched by his cybernetic parts, had a lighter skin tone in some patchy areas from what appeared to be healed burn wounds. He didn't look all too pleased to meet the trio, especially when they were all girls. He felt somewhat awkward and seemed to regret showing up but held up a forced smile, no doubt a sign of his cocky and arrogant demeanor.

"Hey there." the man finally spoke, his voice deep and rhythmic. "Now, before you all start fighting over me and my dashing good looks, the name's Erik, Erik Lebber."

Erik bowed his head slightly.

"Anyways, are you the group I'm supposed to meet up with? Yeesh... I didn't think it would be full of girls."
 
"Yeah, and I didn't ask a bucket of bolts for his opin-- Yowch!" The shorter one recoiled by having her ear pulled roughly. "Let go, Mioi!"

"Stop talking, idiot." Mioi said before glancing between Erik and Mex. "Pleased to meet you, mouth-breathing life forms. My name is Mioi. Please excuse my  coworker, she's one of those Venus junkheads who doesn't know how to converse properly." Digging into her pockets, she flipped open a badge briefly flashing her identification to show she was with the Union. "It's fairly early right now, so please don't concern yourselves with tardiness. It won't take long to get to the facility anyway." Mioi released her other hand. "Now you may identify yourself."

"Yeah yeah- name's Azumi." She grumbled before holding up her own badge, rubbing the side of her head with the other hand. "We're supposed to take you there ourselves so you can learn the route later. D'you think they'll hook us up with breakfast before the big meeting? I'm hungry."

"Most likely, I was told it would be a long morning. Did the both of you come here on foot?" Mioi asked the newcomers. "If not, it's no problem. My vehicle can hold a few people, Azumi can just follow behind us."
 
"I guess having someone drive me around isn't that bad. Heh, kinda makes me feel like a celebrity." Erik laughed. "But to answer your question, I flew here." Erik tapped his feet. "Rocket shoes. However, I rather not make a huge scene while we head to our location, giving it away. I think I'll stick with riding with Mioi since the smaller one has the biggest mouth. I'm scared she might bite my head off, haha!"

Gotta keep my boundaries with the small one... Erik sweated. She's about as tame as a firecracker... 
 
"My transportation got trash along the way." Mex chuckled. "So it'll be great if you can give us a ride!" She slapped Erik's back, hard, to showcase her excitement. "You got rocket shoes?! That's pretty amazing!"
 
"Impressive mode of transportation... Very well. My hovercar has more space than that motorbike of hers." Mioi took out a set of keys before pressing the button to summon the hovercraft from its original parking spot. "I will fill you in on today's agenda while we're at it." The doors automatically opened for the passengers to get into the backseats. "I'll await for any other members for a good 5 minutes before notifying headquarters."

"Yeah, I'll just follow you guys." Azumi cracked her knuckles and put on her neon-blue helmet before slinging a leg over her motorcycle, which despite its sleek up-to-date design, appeared too 'different' from the average model since she heavily modified it. "It'll look less obvious if you go with her anyway."
 
A man with serpent eyes and green hair, sends his report to his department head. After he checks if he got any orders.
 
Erik tumbled slightly when Mex slapped his back. It was obvious he wasn't exactly a strongly built man. He grumbled at Mex's action and stared at Mioi's hover car with a very interesting look in his eyes. He chuckled to himself and simply went inside the car, taking a seat in the back. A piece of him only hoped that Mex didn't sit next to him.

That lady can sure pack a punch... Better not piss her off.

"Anyways, Mioi was it? Any ideas as to what our mission might be? You and that Azumi chick seem to have a bit of knowledge about the situation. Well, let's see how much you know."
 
Mex jumped over the hovercar, landing next to Erik. "Oh? We have more people coming in?" Mex looked around, see any newcomers will show up. "I'm eager to jump into this mission already!"
 
A new message from higher in command had come in for Jack, which read:


[This is a confidential transmission from the Chairman of the Union. Do not forward this.]

Jack,

Your work has been exceptionally well-developed in accordance to your department's progress reports. I am grateful to have you as one of our personnel. On my behalf, I would like to assign you a long-term mission that requires your expertise in the biotechnology you managed to develop recently. As you may know, the Orion Project is about to launch under official operation. The Squad is set to perform their first mission soon, but haven't undergone debriefing yet. Please meet them on the first floor of the TU Headquarters in Room B2. You will not be reporting to me, but the Squad's Commander, Aurelia.

We apologize for assigning you the task on such short notice, but we feel that the Squad's probability of success will highly depend on the availability of immediate medical attention. You can think of this as an opportunity to make further studies for your technology if you wish to test its limits. As payment for your services, your department will increase your research's funding in addition to the payment the Orion Squad may receive should they complete their ultimate goal. Aurelia will explain the details in her debriefing with the others. After your meeting, the Squad will have a conference with the Terranovan Union's Chamber of Galactic Leadership, myself included, to discuss the state of things.


Sincerely yours,

Ziara Elmak, Chairwoman of the Terranovan Union and Martian High Council 
=====================================
"We were not told how many of us there are, other than it being a small number. As for the circumstances of the mission, we haven't been given a briefing yet," Mioi explained. "But I suppose I have the clearance to discuss it since my telepathy is only picked up by the people I need to speak to directly. Azumi and I are staff of the Terranovan Union, but we aren't necessarily highly ranked personnel. Technically, I'm her superior since I've been employed longer, although we answer to different people."

"At the least, I was given the proposed agenda." Mioi took out a small device and expanded the screen for a wider look, although it was written in a language other than Earth English. "In about 30 minutes, we are to meet with the Orion Squad's Commander and receive our debriefing on our mission. Though, I think we'll be assigned multiple in order to reach our ultimate goal... our first one will probably test how we all do as a unit. Most likely a simulation or something."

"I hope we get paid for this," came Azumi's voice through a communications speaker.
"Certainly. I heard that we get paid per mission anyway. Perhaps not as much as you would like, Ms. Mercenary. But you are in no position to complain."

Azumi groaned.
 
Jack thinks grabbing his Living Doctor's Kit and logs out of his computer "I trust everything been set up." Jack heads to the first level and to Room 2B.
 
"A simulation eh?" Erik scratched his chin with interest. "Guess that sounds interesting. Heh, if either of you ladies gets scared, you can just grab on to me. Trust me, there's enough of me to go around." Erik chuckled to himself. 

"But anyways, I wonder how my skills will play out in a simulation, I'm kinda curious... We should probably get a move on and we might catch on to the few others members who are in this group. Besides, your loudmouth girlfriend wants big cash, maybe if we're there early they'll spare us some pocket change. Haha!"
 
“This simulation thing sounds like a swell idea!” Mex’s eyes glittered with excitement. “As long I can get in a good fight in, the payment of the missions won’t be much of a bother.” 

Mex places her hand on Erik’s shoulders. “Well, if I’m ever in a pickle, you can jump in at any time! I hope your legs s used to running around a lot!” She pats his back, hard, multiple times, as she chuckled.
 
"Like I said, it's just a guess. But..." Mioi cracked her knuckles loudly while starting the engine of the hovercar and putting it into drive. "Don't think Azumi is my girlfriend. I have no interest in binocular lifeforms like her anyway-- only a princess among Cyclops may have my heart in such a way...." She said, poking a finger at a small picture of herself with a green Cyclops woman with purple pigtails for hair, sitting neatly on the dashboard. "Humans are too annoying for my tastes. And short. They also have mouths and depth perception, so our lifestyles are fundamentally incompatible."

Before anyone else could get a word in, a beeping noise rang in Mioi's headset, alerting her to straighten up and sit at attention. "!!"

"This is Lieutenant Avan, coming in. Mioi, Azumi, you've got orders from Headquarters to bring in the recruits you have with you now. Chairman Elmak said the preparations are done."

"Yessir... one gaggle of misfits and freaks to the building, coming up!" Azumi replied through her comms with sarcastic glee. "Your turn, boss."

"... Mm," Mioi grunted in affirmation since she was unable to use telepathy across such a long distance. Without further hesitation, she began the route to headquarters. "Must be a change in the roster..."
She began the drive down a deserted alleyway, into the busy streets by flying above all the other cars for clear passage.

Meanwhile at room 2B...



Jack was the only squad member to arrive at the briefing room, but he was not alone. 

Across the room stood a small group of people who were typing away furiously on their keyboards, whild making calls and redirecting messages. 

"Sorry about calling you here on such short notice... we weren't expecting you to take the job," a meek-looking reptilian alien man wearing a set of glasses approached Jack, gripping a clipboard in his hands. "Commander Aurelia should be here shortly, but she decided to take care of some last-minute business while waiting on the recruits to arrive. She hates repeating herself twice, so I guess she'd rather have everyone meet her at once for the briefing. In the meantime, feel free to wait..."



[Ten minutes later]


After Mioi and Azumi secured clearance for entry into the TU Headquarters, they parked their vehicles in the designated facility and led the small group to a large elevator, operated by what appeared to be complex machinery with heavy guard detail. They flashed their badges once more into a scanner, allowing the elevator's heavy metal doors to open for entry. A small automated voice in the elevator's speakers advised them to maintain their balance during the descent deep into the actual facility, and remain aware of any changes from such depths. After several minutes, the elevator opened again to let the group leave. At such early hours, the facility had low activities in the lobby.

f2.jpg
"Finally. Alright, I think we go to room... 2B?" Azumi said after reading the same summary report Mioi was given earlier. "First floor." She jerked her thumb over to the hallway with the rooms marked with glowing fluorescent lights. Mioi gave a nod of affirmation and gestured for the other two to follow them.
 
“Man, this place is wicked.” Mex looked around as she walked along with Mioi and Azumi. “Everything looks so clean and empty—I never seen this place in the underground. You’ll be lucky to get 10 minutes of privacy without someone trying to fight ya.” 

She turns to Mioi, pressing her with a question. “Hey, back there during the ride… you seem to be spooked when the commander ranged you up. Is he strong?”
 
Erik grunted at Mex's rough handedness and knew that he was going to have a rough time being around the girls. He let out a sigh of disappointment as Mioi took them to where they had to go.

Once he arrived at the area, he was in awe of the technology around him, remaining silent throughout the short walk they took until they reached the room they needed to be in. He followed the girls with his hands in his pockets, curious to know who he will meet next.

This place is friggin' awesome. Erik thought to himself. I just wish I can spend some more time here to get myself into their system, who knows what juicy information they have locked away? I'll just have to stick around and see where this takes me.
 
"No way! Mioi's not afraid of anything!" Azumi said gruffly. "She just hates using headsets cause she doesn't talk-- lookit her, she hasn't even got a mouth! I think..."

"Telepathy does not work well with devices the mouthbreathers use over long distances." Mioi said to Mex, rubbing her head sheepishly. "But that was just the Lieutenant-- he is the Commander's subordinate... she is a different story..."

"Is the Commander the same lady who cuffed me and held me in an interrogation cell for 11 hours? I hope not, she's a real-" Azumi was turning on the heel of her boot but bumped into someone by accident. "Ack! It's YOU!" She hid behind Mioi, peeking at the new woman she bumped into.

"A real what? Finish your sentence."

The woman was tall (perhaps due to the heels of her long boots) and wore a suit that was reflective of having high status with the TU. Her long purplish hair was mostly down at the front with some of it tied back. The most distinguishing feature was the rather cold look on her face accentuated by her gold-colored eye; the other was hidden beneath an eyepatch, with remnants of a long scar running down that side of her face. Strapped to her waist was a scabbard presumably containing a sword, making her look even more intimidating. She stared Azumi down with a scowl.

"Commander Aurelia. Please excuse her unsightly manners..." Mioi said, bowing forward to greet the Commander.

"I see she hasn't changed, as expected from a junkyard punk. So, these are the recruits? Pleasure having you in our service-- we'll be having our meeting properly in a minute, but I had to take care of some business." Her neutral expression didn't change much. "I am Commander Aurelia, as Mioi said, but just Commander is fine. And your names?"

"I ain't a punk..." Azumi grumbled.
 
"The name is Erik Lebber." 

Erik walked up next to Mioi and offered a lazy two finger salute to the commander. Her emotionless face and stature intimidated him. 

Yeesh, if this Azumi chick is scared of this commander lady, she must be the real deal. Better watch my mouth around her...

"I uhh... I hope we can get along? Sorry, I ain't so good with chit-chat."
 
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