Smersh

Consolidating replies here.

Weatherby Goode: A place with a dedicated channel, and a closed map that is inaccessible to people not on the team, is the very definition of a private space. It does not matter whether it is populated by real-life friends, a supergroup, or a gathering of random strangers, it is still a private space. Someone trying to join in from outside has no idea what is going on inside that private space.

Wicked Wendy: Your arguments are invalid on several points, which I shall enumerate here.

1. No, I cannot fly in the real world; that has no bearing on the social space, which is about the interactions of real people.

2. Just because you have the ability to send tells in and out of private spaces does not make them less private.

3. Your example of standing around Synapse misses the point entirely because you are standing in a public space, and someone walking up has a reasonable idea of the sort of activity that team will be engaging in, two pieces of information completely lacking in those randomly sending tells asking to join a team.

4. If I am doing a search, I am asking politely if people are interested in doing a certain activity, in this case a Synapse TF. I only ask people who are solo and in public zones if they are interested; I do not recruit from people on mission maps. I read the search comments to see what people are interested in. When I do a search, I initiate a conversation with some degree of information about the person I am speaking to, and I let them know what the activity is going to be. In the reverse case, inviting yourself along to a team, you do not know what the activity is, or who the person you are speaking to is interested in doing. There is a vast difference between "Hey, I'm looking for two more to run a Synapse TF, are you interested?" and an out of the blue "Can I join your team?" when you have no idea how many are on the team or what they are doing.

5. Talking to your friend is an entirely different matter than talking to a complete stranger who you found through the search window.

6. I did not attend any sort of team leader training. I am not always the team leader. But I am able to find a team or form a team when I try, 90% of the time. It doesn't always happen instantly, and sometimes I run a mission solo or switch characters when I cannot find a team right away. But I put in an effort to get teams, to say that I'm looking to join, to talk to some of my friends and see if they are interested in teaming, et cetera. What I do not do is to assume that I am wanted or needed on a team that is already in the middle of a mission. If they were looking for more, they could find me, either by the search window or by seeing my broadcast. Or I could send a tell in response to a broadcast that a team was looking for a few more.

7. Certainly, people want to earn xp and influence, but there are as many reasons to play the game as there are players. Some choose to play with people they already know, some choose to play with random strangers. If I want to play with a pickup team, I don't try to join a team that is already playing, because they might well be a group that is real-life friends interested in catching up on what was going on that week while they beat up some bad guys. I would be out of place on such a team, and I understand why a group would not be interested in picking up some complete stranger who sent them a tell.

To sum up: To assume that you are wanted by a team just because a team exists is rude, because there are other ways of joining a team.

kilroy64: I prefer to treat other people as other people, and I prefer that they treat me as a person.

Bright Shadow: You come very close with your comment that "If I'm NOT playing soccer, and I don't even have the slightest implication on me that I am playing soccer, and a random person asks to join me in playing soccer, then that's neither annoying, nor rude. It's just stupid." That is the essence of it. We have a game with infinite soccer fields, and all you can see is that there is a group of people on a soccer field. It could be a company picnic, it could be me teaching my daughter to play soccer, or it could be a pickup soccer game. It's just that you can't see onto the field to see what is going on through the search window. Fortunately, we have public areas where people can set up groups of people for some friendly pickup soccer, which obviates the need to call over to each field and ask if you're welcome to join in.

Silencer7: You find it very easy to dismiss metaphors and to proclaim that an MMO is a different social space, but I have yet to see you post any reasoning backing up those claims outside of a sense of entitlement. I didn't ask for what you thought, I asked for why you thought it, and I am interested in what you have to say.

And, in the real world, asking strangers for what is not explicitly or implicitly offered has a name: panhandling. Notice that I did include implicit offers in my post, which you have conveniently ignored.

I am sick and tired of these mother#$%#ing threads on this mother#$%$#ing board.

I'm going to open some windows.

Okay, serious question time. This one is primarily directed at Silencer7, but anyone can feel free to chime in.

What is it that makes an MMO a different social space than the real world? Why do normal standards not apply (or different standards apply, if you prefer to phrase it that way)?

In the real world, asking for something that hasn't been offered can be seen to be pretty rude. You can ask your grandmother for a cookie and have a fair chance of getting one, but asking a stranger would get you a weird look or worse.

In the MMO world, much of it is a public space shared by all. However, there do exist private spaces within the MMO world, private being defined as 'only able to be entered by an owner, member, or someone who has been invited.' In our MMO, spaces with varying degrees of privacy can be found in instances, arena matches, supergroup bases, global channels and teams. You can enter your own private spaces (for instance, by taking a mission) or create a space that has you and a few other people (for instance, making a global channel or team.) Just because you are in such a private space, however, does not insulate you from those outside the space; you can be sent a tell or email and receive it inside that private space.

Likewise, such private spaces exist in the real world, and communication can be sent into those private spaces, by cell phones, land lines, knocking on the door, et cetera. Most of the time, sending communications to those private spaces without knowing the people inside is considered to be rude, unless you have some sort of specific business with them. (No one I know likes getting a phone call or a knock on the door from some sort of salesperson, especially when you're otherwise occupied.)

Now, as a mitigating factor, the MMO space has a lowered threshold of social interaction for strangers. Everyone who is playing has, presumably, at least some interest in the subject matter, and everyone is paying $15 a month for the chance to play the game and interact with others who are also interested in playing the game. This, incidentally, is why it is not rude to send a tell when you are recruiting for a team to people that show up on /search solo. You can presume that everyone who is playing the game is at least marginally interested in gaining experience, influence, etc. This is a social norm for the MMO.

My position is that the lowered threshold is what allows PUGs to form. A gathering of people who want to play the game, just for fun or to accomplish a specific goal (task force, raid, etc.) I do not view that lowered threshold of interaction as extending to asking for entry into a private space when it is not offered.

It is one thing to ask to join in a private space when it is offered, either explicitly or implicitly. Explicit invitations range from a tell saying 'Hey, want to join a radio team?' to a broadcast saying 'Numina taskforce looking for three more, defender or tank preferred.' An implicit invitation would be, for instance, you talking about your supergroup on your team channel, and one of your teammates asks a few questions about it. The invitation is implicit when you are saying complimentary things about your group to an interested party, so it is not rude when that person says, 'That sounds like a neat group, can I join?'

But, when you see someone is on a team in the search window, it is not an explicit or implicit offer of a spot on a team. It just means that they are on a team. They could be teamed for many different reasons - they could be setting up an arena event, they could be running a costume contest, they could be having a supergroup mission night, they could be RPing, or they could be just running missions with a pickup group.

These are my views on the matter. I am interested to hear why an MMO's social space is different, why asking if you can join a team already in progress is a social norm, rather than a deviation from the norm and, hence, rude.

I am willing to be convinced, but it will take more than 'MMOs are different.' I want to understand why.

I ain't making a damn Facebook account just to see a video.

Presuming I couldn't keep my current...

I'd have to go with the most evil contact redside.

Operative Vargas.

I have absolutely no problems teaming with others, and I love the synergies of big teams.

If I'm forming up a big team, I'll broadcast, I'll use search, I'll use my various communications channels to see if anyone is interested.

If I don't want to form the team myself, I'll put myself out as looking for a team with my search flags and broadcasts.

All of these things are not rude; they are looking for like-minded people to join together with.

But, if I see that you're teamed on a search, I won't try to invite myself along. You might be running with a static group, you might be running an Ouro taskforce, you might be running with a supergroup team. I have no way of knowing that, and making the assumption that I'd be welcome on that team is rude.

Some teams might be looking for more, but a significant number are not.

I do wish they could revamp the search system, to include a team looking for more flag. Then it would be perfectly reasonable to send a tell asking if you can be invited along.

But without that information, the best a team that is looking for more can do is to broadcast that they are looking for more, and use the other methods I have already described.

You want on a larger team, that's what you do.

Sometimes, I just want to duo with my wife, and having extras along isn't any fun. Sometimes, I want a big pickup group. But to assume that you're welcome on my team is like assuming you're welcome in my house.

If I want you there, I'll invite you in.

Think of it as a short primer on how not to fail?

That's no idle threat. My daughter is quite mighty.

...please do not send me a tell inviting yourself to my team. If my team was looking for more, I would have broadcast it and invited people that way.

If you send me a tell saying "Any room? or "Can I join?", I will not reply, I will ignore you.

It's just rude.

Thanks.

Another oppressor of the proletariat.

The monarchist shall fall, and a new, better way of life shall emerge from the ashes.

The pathetic anarchists of the Rebellion and their cries of democracy clearly do not address the economic needs of the people.

Praetoria will be a fine garden to plant the seeds of true communism in.

Seems foolish to try and build positional defense on top of a typed defense set.

Focus on Hoarfrost or +HP, and hit psi users as your first target, and you should be fine. The knockdown in Axe should be decent mitigation for non-AV encounters.

The event is TOMORROW!

Over 500 million influence worth of prizes will be available!

Be there, comrades, we are counting on you!

Certainly. Send a tell to @Smersh or see our website (in my sig) to fill out our online application.

KGB Special Section 8 is the premier home of heroic Communists on Virtue.

Join us, comrades, for KGB Special Section 8's 5th Annual May Day Celebration! Join us in the Architect Entertainment Building in the Rikti War Zone to celebrate the labors of the international workers!

Music shall be provided by Comrade DJ Posthaste of Virtue's finest propaganda organ, the Cape Radio!

Be certain to dress in your finest Soviet-style costumes for a chance at fabulous prizes in the Communist Costume Contest! Thrill to the adventures you shall have in the War Zone Scavenger Hunt! And, bring along your sense of humor, for the Soviet Russia Joke Contest!

The party shall run from 6:00pm to 9:00pm EDT in Studio B. Teleportation shall be available for those that require it.

Fine print: Prizes are awarded at the discretion of KGB Special Section 8. As Special Section 8 is exclusively comprised of heroic Communists, no prizes will be available for villains, though they are welcome to compete in the contests for the prizes of Bragging Rights and a Hearty Russian Bear Hug, kindly provided by our Strike Leader, Siberian Spring! Bragging Rights and Hearty Russian Bear Hug are also available to hero contestants in addition to millions of influence in prizes and IOs.

For any further questions, ask here or contact @Smersh or @Siberian Spring for more details!

For the People, comrades!

I have to question the inclusion of Fallout if you are not going to slot it for massive damage.

My Rad/Dark has two builds, one of which has mutation, fallout and vengeance, the other skips all three.

Mutation is handy for teaming, but fallout needs to be able to deal large amounts of damage. If you are choosing not to slot fallout, enervating field would be a better choice in that slot. Likewise, Soul Drain won't be all that useful with that slotting, and hasten would be a great power to substitute in there. (Or, for even better results, drop Dark Consumption and shift some of those slots around: with hasten and some global bonuses, you should have enough uptime on AM to obviate the need for DC entirely.)

Just two cents with some ideas to consider.

Mere resistance will not be enough.

What the rebels will need is a cause to fight for, a vision of a better world after the monarchists are deposed.

I can assure you that there will be certain agents provocateur among the resistance, and that they will make a stand for a certain political philosophy.

Empowering the proletariat is the biggest threat that a monarch can face.

KGB Special Section 8 stands for the People, no matter where they are.

Epilogue - Ends Begin

Yulia was pointedly not looking at her sister.

“Oh, come on, Yules, you have to talk to me sometime,” Merry pleaded.

Yulia rolled her eyes at her sister. “Dad sent us both through the Destiny portal to try to save the world, and we decided that we needed to save dedushka, and you saved him like six times, and I didn’t even get to once.”

Merry was conciliatory. “Maybe you can save him next time.”

***

Tanya Palmer was sitting very uncomfortably in a comfortable chair. Her knee itched, but she did not want to scratch it. The big boss man was pacing back and forth behind his desk, apparently lost in thought. If she dared to speak, to move even enough to reach her knee, if she even breathed too hard, he would suddenly remember that she was there.

The old man stopped pacing and turned to face her.

“Comrade Miss Palmer, I am afraid you cannot remain among us.” Smersh lit up a cigarette before he continued. “Your actions during the incident were above and beyond the call of duty, I agree. While you did flee from the Savior Machine, this was a wise choice on your part. I am also, of course, loathe to give up your piloting skills.”

Tanya reached down and scratched her knee anyway. She had nothing to lose at this point, anyway.

Smersh scowled at her. “Did you think that I would not monitor cell phone traffic in restricted areas? Did you think that I would not know?”

***

The phone rang and rang. Tatyana let Kate answer the phone, not particularly interested in dealing with the world at the moment.

The intercom buzzed. Apparently, it was something that she did have to deal with; Kate was very good at controlling access to her and preventing pointless callers from reaching her. No sales person, no matter how pushy, ever reached her private line.

“Tatyana, I have Dr. Paladin on line four, he says it’s important.”

Tatyana sighed. “Go ahead and put him through.”

There was a pause for about ten seconds before the phone on Tatyana’s desk rang. She picked it up on the first ring.

“What is it, Jack?”

“Hey, nice to hear from you too. Listen, I found some stuff that I think is related to that Savior Machine, and…”

Tatyana cut him off. “We know, Jack.”

“…it’s some kind of Atlantean artifact that was worshipped as…”

“We know, Jack.”

“…a god, and it has some kind of…”

“We know, Jack. We saw the Savior Machine, and Natasha had a nice little chat with it.”

What Tatyana had been saying was finally beginning to sink in for Jack. “So… what you’re saying is that you’ve learned more than I have, and I missed all the fun, and I have nothing to show for it?”

Tatyana chuckled. “Just think of it as a nice family vacation.”

Jack muttered darkly. “All I have to show for that nice family vacation is a nasty sunburn and a hankering for a bad cup of coffee. All they have here is good coffee.”

“Take it up with your wife, Dr. Paladin. Good day.”

Tatyana hung up the phone with no small amount of relish.

***

Smersh did not allow Tanya Palmer a chance to respond to his accusation. “You gave aid to our enemy. You may not have known this at the time, but ignorance is no excuse.” Smersh stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk. “You also went above and beyond the call of duty, working to aid the Section in a time of need, and were directly responsible for the recovery of two of my agents who were in dire straits.

“You cannot stay here. But, if you wish to continue your hero career, I shall provide you with a reference. Do not think that I will forget, though, even if I forgive. I shall be watching you, comrade Palmer. Do you have anything you wish to say at this time?”

Smersh fixed her with an icy glare. Tanya wilted under his gaze, and mumbled out, “Thank you, sir. I… I’m sorry.”

Smersh sat behind his desk and shuffled some papers. “That is good. You may go now. I must prepare for a meeting.”

Tanya knew that she was dismissed. She was not sure whether to feel guilty about what she had done, or to skip with glee knowing that she had been given a second chance that she did not deserve.

***

Natasha was sitting in the Vanguard supply shuttle. The autopilot was handling most of the orbit, and she was largely free to think until the final approach to the space station. The runs had become much more frequent, as the shipyard was running triple shifts trying to replace the lost ships.

Was one truly worthy spaceflight enough for a lifetime? What had the Savior Machine meant, calling her Mother? What was its reference to a time before time?

Some day, she would remember what had transpired in the forty-seven seconds that were missing from her memory. Maybe the answers could be found there.

It was no matter. Natasha would survive, as always, and take answers when they presented themselves. The mysteries were of no immediate importance, and could wait until an answer was forthcoming.

Besides, she thought to herself, at least these shuttle runs are blissfully free of cosmonaut ninjas.

***

Exodus Hunter Maya appeared once more before the Hell Diver squad. Only this time, they were seated in positions of power, and she was being treated as the inferior.

“Your incompetence cost the Combine an entire fleet, and has ensured that this world will almost certainly never become a bastion of order. Your actions have caused a victory for the forces of chaos!” Maya was livid, yelling at her fellow operatives. “And you call me unduly influenced by the chaos of this world?”

Hell Diver Hector hid a small smile behind a gloved hand. “Maya, you have failed for too long, and too many times. As you know, we Hell Divers have a greater resistance to chaotic patterns than you Exodus Hunters do, and you have fallen too far. We have consulted, and while the loss of the fleet is an inconvenience, it is only a minor one. Your actions are the greater liability, and you have been recalled. Report to the portal, and face your judgment.”

“Never!” Maya slapped down her palm on the stone table. “I shall carry out my duty, and then I shall report. If you think I should do differently, Hell Diver, I suggest you try to stop me.”

“You are a dangerous rogue, Exodus Hunter Maya,” Hell Diver Cryovex stated calmly. “Do not attempt to subvert the will of the Singularity.”

Maya sneered, and walked out. These Hell Divers were nowhere near her level of power, and they could not stop her. They did not understand that they were the problem, not she. She was a mighty force for order, and anything that she said or did was in the cause of order. Their overexposure to chaos had blunted their senses.

When she had successfully completed her mission, they would pay.

Smersh. Paladin. Savior Machine. They would all die, and on that day, she would return in victory.

***

Cosmonaut Ninja Olga stood behind Smersh, crisp in her uniform. She did not particularly want to be here, as this was a setting far removed from her experience. She did not negotiate, she ordered. Still, her presence had been specifically requested, and she would humor the Field Commander.

After all, without her ship, there was nothing better for her to do today.

Smersh passed over two portfolios, one to each of the negotiating teams. He began to read from a prepared speech.

“As you can see, these affidavits are from acknowledged independent experts in the field of cybernetic thought. I have also included our own analysis prepared by our own inestimable Doctor Paladin.

“Setting aside the issue of the illegal assaults by both of your governments upon the Potemkin, I will ask you both to renounce your claims to the Space Battleship Potemkin because it is a self-aware creature. Under the Geneva Accord on Artificial Sentience, neither of your governments has a legal claim to ownership of the vessel.

“And now, because it is a sentient being, it may freely enter into agreements. This is a copy of our standard agent agreement, which the Potemkin has agreed to. This provides sufficient legal protections that the Potemkin is not subject to deportation, imprisonment without trial, or forcible repatriation, as provided by Citizen Crime Fighting Act as amended in 1994.

“As the Potemkin is newly sentient, it has no prior citizenship. That is not an issue subject to debate.

“So, as you see, gentlemen, you no longer have any legal standing to dispute the Potemkin issue. I move that these negotiations be closed.”

Smersh sat, looking self satisfied. Olga leaned in to whisper to him, asking, “Do you know what has happened to my ship, then? I should really like to have it back.”

Smersh frowned. “I am afraid not… it is a free agent now. It has said that it shall sleep until it is needed once more. I fear you are now going to be a captain without a ship.”

Olga whispered back, “And my crew?”

Smersh replied, “The Russians have been trying to take my agents for some time now, I am afraid. Fortunately, the American State Department is quite reluctant to deport law abiding individuals with super powers, and that definition does fit your Cosmonaut Ninja Corps. You and your crew will probably remain here for quite some time.”

Olga scowled. Then the familiar sound of steam-powered robots and heavy automatic fire sounded from below. Olga looked to the commander, and he looked back and smiled.

“If you shall pardon me, comrades, it seems the Nemesis Army is at it again. I will be right back, da?”

Smersh leapt out the window, and Cosmonaut Ninja Olga followed close behind.

***

Yulia shrugged. “Maybe you’re right.” She looked out over the green hills of Earth, a sight that had not existed in her timeline after she had been two years old. “Wonder if dad sent back any of our brothers, too?”

“He might have,” Merry replied. “After all, he said we really had to worry about the Vex-class Exodus Hunters.”

***

“I WAS AWESOME!” Cosmonaut Ninja Ivan filled the common room with his exclamation, having lovingly and incoherently rendered a tale of his adventures.

Ivan was bouncing around like a toddler who had eaten his entire Easter basket in one sitting. Though it seemed by his actions that he desired an audience, his reaction to his audience’s indifference seemed to show that he did not care all that much.

Toma grunted. Paul Wright shrugged. Stalingrad just looked kind of embarrassed and looked away. Agent Ravage studiously cleaned his rifle. Fusiona giggled. Cosmonaut Ninja Yuri was rapt.

Tatyana stood by the door, smoking her cigarette. Love them or hate them, the Section was stuck with the Cosmonaut Ninja Corps for the foreseeable future.


***

Maya was gone. The Hell Divers sat in silence, awaiting further orders.

The portal opened, a knife slice in the air.

The pale female stepped out, clad all in white. Her eyes were deep black, without iris or pupil, surrounded by a bloody red.

“I am Exodus Hunter Vex,” she said. “I will be taking command here. Our first course of business shall be delivering a rogue Exodus Hunter to the swift and sure justice of the Singularity.”

“As you command, Exodus Hunter,” said Cryovex, addressing her clonal forebear. The Vex class of clones were numerous, but the Exodus Hunter was legendary for her prowess. “How shall we begin?”

***

Deep below the surface of the sea, the Savior Machine settled down. It was time to return to its deathlike sleep. It would not return until it was once again needed.

And on that day, it would arise again like a dragon. Until then, it would rest, secure in the knowledge that its creator was there to watch out for it.

***

Maya looked upon the thing that had been All American Joe.

“You will prove most useful, I think.”

The thing that had been Joe was not capable of rational speech. All it had left was rage.

A hunting hound for a new kind of war. It was time for even more recruits, and a more complete plan. If she did her job correctly, according to the methods of the Singularity, she would not have to be directly involved in any case. She would tweak and manipulate the probabilities until her enemies destroyed one another.

A brief daydream filled her mind, a vision of Smersh and Paladin slaying one another on board the Savior Machine vessel as it crashed into a sun. She shook her head to clear it. Such fantasies had no place in a properly ordered mind.

***

Hal was helping unload a few boxes of donations from the back of his pickup truck. Food was all well and good, but he had managed to raise some interview clothes and school supplies, which would help to create hope, and possibly jobs, for those desperately in need.

Hal might not be a trucker anymore, but he liked the idea of trying to be a hero. It wasn’t about beating up the bad guys, though that could be a part of it.

Inside the clinic, Natalie was finishing up a set of vaccines so a child could go to day care. She would have to volunteer more often.

They passed each other on the way, Natalie wearing a white nurse’s cap, and Hal wearing his black Orioles cap. White hats and black hats, working together though they would never meet, all trying to bring some small measure of ease into hard lives.

It was a small scale reflection of the Section, embodied in two people who were not and never would consider themselves to be communists.

***

Ilya went through the papers with determination. Finally, his employer had listened. There were stacks of paper to be filed, sorted, collated and scheduled. Ilya was a bureaucratic samurai, unhappy unless he had countless enemies in the form of papers to attack without mercy on behalf of the lord to whom he had sworn allegiance.

Ilya had never considered seppuku as a means of erasing the shame of his boss choosing to do too much of his own paperwork, but he could certainly take pride in personal victory over benefits packages.

Ilya was isolated from the working realities of the Section; during the Savior Machine’s attack he had merely had a moment of annoyance when a filing cabinet fell to the floor, spewing forth its contents in a torrent of red tape. This isolation had advantages and disadvantages. He was able to perform prodigious feats of administrative ledgermain, but he had no insight into the motivation of his superior and why he had finally listened to his complaints.

Ilya was an expert in his field, but only in his field.

Ilya hummed a happy little tune as he stamped and filed.

***

Tatyana was sitting at her desk. She was rubbing the bridge of her nose absently. The glasses she was accustomed to wearing had been destroyed down in the vault during the Savior Machine’s attack. She was poring over grant proposals and fellowships, trying to figure out a way to get the equipment she would need to finish her doctorate.

Since the Savior Machine had absconded with the Korsakov device, her studies had once again come to a halt. Tatyana had tried to corner Natasha, had pleaded with her to call up the Savior Machine, just for a few days so that she could finish her experiments. Natasha had been reticent, mysterious, but had refused to even consider the notion.

She certainly did not want to put in another few months in Colorado, but that was looking to be more and more the only option. Long, tedious hours of work on a project that she was not certain she wanted anything to do with in order to use the equipment after hours for the project she did want to do.

Tatyana was ready to pull at her hair in frustration, which she knew to be a sign that she needed to be done with this for the day. Gathering up everything into her briefcase, she tidied up her desk before she left for the day.

She walked out the door, arms full of papers, and barreled right into Yevgeny. All of her papers went to the ground.

Tatyana got down on her heels and picked up what she had lost, while Yevgeny shifted from foot to foot.

Clutching the dropped papers to her chest, Tatyana fixed Yevgeny in the eye. A hint of a smile quirked around the corners of her mouth. She let him stew in his awkward silence for a moment before asking him, “Is there something I can help you with, Zhenechka?”

Yevgeny fumbled with the words for a moment before he finally regained his voice. “Er… nyet, Tanushka. I just wished to, er… give you something.”

Tatyana raised an eyebrow as Yevgeny reached into the inside pocket of his brown jacket, pulling out a familiar pair of glasses. They were, in fact, identical to the ones that he was presently wearing.

“I know that your glasses were smashed in the… recent unpleasantness, and I thought that you might appreciate having a new pair, da?” Yevgeny reached out and placed the glasses in her hand. He did not draw his hand away immediately, she noticed, but she did not mind at all. Nor, it seemed, did he.

“These do have a few… special properties to them as well. I could… show you how to use a few of them later, da?” Yevgeny withdrew his hand slowly.


Tatyana chuckled mentally. He was still giddy and unused to being just Yevgeny Korsakov again. It was… adorable.

“Very well, Zhenechka,” she said, putting the glasses on with one hand, “It’s a date.”

She walked away, but not without noticing that he was completely agape. Tatyana simply could not resist putting a small bounce in her step.


***

Yulia looked to Merry, and thought pensively. “You know, everything we remember now is wrong, right? I mean, in our time, the Imperial Combine nuked Paragon, and everything went downhill from there. I guess that the Savior Machine was destroyed then, too. So, um… will we ever get born now? Dad had everyone moved out to space by the time we were old enough to walk and all that. It’s kinda confusing.”

Merry shrugged. “I think everything happened how it was supposed to happen. It all moves in cycles, and just because the road is changed doesn’t mean the wheels stop spinning, right?”

Yulia considered that statement for a long moment. “It all moves in cycles. Everything that’s old is new again. Order attacks chaos, chaos injects itself into order. I can see that. It doesn’t explain it all, but it’s good enough for me. Cycles. Things change and stay the same.”

Yulia stood up and patted her sister on the shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go in before the storm comes.”

-fin

XIX - Salvation

Ivan and Toma were suddenly wrenched to the left. They had been in the engine room one moment, and now they found themselves in the cold Atlantic Ocean.

Ivan began splashing and flailing around wildly. “Is for helps, Toma! Not for swimming! Ack! Glub!”

Toma removed his boxing gloves, and grasped Ivan by the helmet, his huge sausage-like fingers wrapping around it from temple to temple. Toma began an eggbeater kick, and lifted Ivan out of the water with his one hand.

“Wet,” said Toma.

Ivan conquered his panic, and looked around. The water near the stern of the Space Battleship Potemkin was beginning to boil, and a rather large number of wet commandos were surrounding them.

“Toma! If they should dare to come too close, I shall them all zap with spectacular cosmonaut ninja electric powers!” Ivan was waving his arms menacingly at the nearest commando, who was completely unimpressed.

Toma turned Ivan so that they could see eye to eye, and with his free hand he pointed a thumb at his chest. “Ouch,” Toma said emphatically.

Ivan understood immediately. “Ah, Toma! It shall be our secret final weapon of superness! Not until moment that is last!”

***

Tanya called over the communicator, “Um, I think I see the Po-totem-kin. Big old spaceship with a bunch of people swimming around it?”

Tatyana leaned forward and picked up a pair of field glasses. “Da, that is it, but I do not know why all the people are swimming about… I see two of our people. We should try to pull them out, da?”

Yulia peered over her grandmother’s shoulder. “Um… we should worry about all those guys with the guns, shouldn’t we?”

Tanya giggled. “Wow, this is like, all crazy and stuff! Cosmonaut ninjas, commandos, spaceships… you talked about boring soup kitchen stuff when you hired me!”

Tatyana frowned. “I think we can dismiss the men with the guns until they begin to shoot at us. It looks like many of them have lost their weapons in any event. Tanya, bring us in closer to our people.”

Tanya brought the control sticks over, bringing the red helicopter down closer to the water. The helicopter suddenly began to shake, and Tanya’s forearms bulged as she wrestled to keep control of the aircraft. Below them, the Potemkin began to rise out of the water, sending waves sloshing over the heads of all the involuntary swimmers.

The Potemkin accelerated away smoothly, as a transformation began to come over it. Clean, angular lines were becoming more curved and rounded, and the craft was stretching out, becoming longer and narrower.

Yulia broke the silence as the Potemkin breached the sky. “Um, I thought the Potemkin didn’t fly anymore?”

Tatyana was playing some rope out the side door. She turned and said, “Nyet, it is not supposed to be capable. Let us see what our… intrepid comrades have to say on the matter, da?”

***

Natasha was sitting comfortably in the captain’s chair. Before her, the Savior Machine was doing all the work.

Much of the Savior Machine was no longer visible. It had begun to merge with the superstructure of the ship, leaving only its head visible on the bridge. Much of the ship had changed, becoming much sleeker and shinier. Also, the device it had carried with it had been subsumed into the matter of the Potemkin itself.

“Contact in five minutes.”

The machine was keeping her updated, treating her as the captain for some reason. She did not accept it lightly; it seemed as though the machine was keeping something from her.

The engines screamed, their power increased manyfold. The weapons systems had, if anything, grown larger and more impressive. Before her, the wreckage of the Vanguard fleet was drifting aimlessly.

Natasha scowled. This Imperial Combine, who or whatever they were, would pay.

The organic ships were locking into a geosynchronous orbit over Paragon City. Apparently, their bombardment would begin at any moment.

“Firing the guns,” the Savior Machine reported dispassionately.

***

Maya stared at the communicator in disbelief. The voice on the other end informed her again, “Exodus Hunter, your command privileges have been revoked. The fleet will proceed as ordered, and I will not put you through to command.”

She screamed at the functionary, “You fools! The Savior Machine is alive and active! It has not been stopped, and it is coming for you! If you do not move NOW, you will all be destroyed! It will be the Atlantis Event all over again!”

“Exodus Hunter, your command privel-“ the voice cut out in a burst of chaos.

Maya threw her communicator away in disgust. They could only blame themselves.

***

In one moment, the Combine fleet had been in perfect formation before them. Then a flash of light, lasting no more than a millisecond, and two of the ships were reduced to a fine cosmic powder. The Savior Machine’s modifications to the Potemkin had created a fearsome vessel, indeed.

Faster than thought, the Imperial Combine vessels that had survived were breaking off to regroup and, presumably, to counterattack.

The Potemkin made a high-gravity turn as the Combine began a coordinated barrage. A jolt shook the vessel, but it still returned fire. Another of the huge starships became a glittering galaxy of debris.

“Control interface damaged.” The Savior Machine exhibited no emotions.

Natasha responded instantly. “Give manual control to me, and continue to handle the rest. We shall blow them out of space and time!”

“Affirmative.”

Natasha leapt over to the control panel, and began to fly the new, improved Potemkin. The flight thus far had given her enough of a feel for the capabilities of the ship. Her finely tuned piloting skills should do the rest.

The battle began.

Natasha grinned. Wait until Irina heard about this one!

***

Toma and Ivan were dripping all over the floor of the helicopter. Ivan took off his helmet and shook out his short blond hair. “I am never fearing for death,” he declared, “but never for to let me drowning, da?”

Tatyana attempted to debrief the two ninjas, but between Toma’s reticence and Ivan’s launch into an epic, incoherent tale of what seemed to be a knife fight, no information about Natasha’s fate or the attacking robot was forthcoming.

The helicopter hovered for a few moments, until a pair of Apache helicopters arrived in the area. “Um, we’re being told to leave the airspace or we’ll, um, get shot down.” A Black Hawk helicopter was visible in the distance, a winch in place outside the side door. It was preparing for recovery operations, to retrieve the SEALs in the water.

Tatyana frowned. There were so many unanswered questions. “Head back to headquarters. We shall try to learn more when we can, da?”

Tanya pulled out smoothly, but not without a pout. “I was hoping to see an awesome aerial battle with you flying around and zapping helicopters, Tatyana.”

Ivan leapt into the discussion, saying “Da! Is for tying me with ropes and I am fighting helicopters that are flighting over ocean! It will be AWESOME!”

“Oh, stuff a cork in it,” said Yulia.

***

Natasha guided the Potemkin through a looping maneuver, and the Savior Machine fired the Star Hammer class cannon that it had modified with the Korsakov device once more. The final Combine vessel was crippled, nearly forty percent of its mass missing. It would briefly become a meteor visible to much of the Eastern seaboard before imploding on impact with the water.

Natasha let out a cheer.

“Primary duty complete.” The Savior Machine’s head swiveled around to look at Natasha.

“Excellent. It is time to return home, then.”

The Space Battleship Potemkin glided through the atmosphere effortlessly, setting off radar stations all over the world. It came down quickly, slowing itself to a gentle hover over the roof of 1917 Industrial Avenue, King’s Row.

Smersh and Fate’s Champion ran up to the rooftop to meet it. A door opened in the side, and Natasha stepped out. She turned and addressed the Savior Machine in that antediluvian language.

“Thank you, Savior Machine. What shall you do now?”

“I must return to my sleep. When next the entire Earth is threatened by the Imperial Combine, the Savior Machine shall return.”

“Will you fight no other threats?”

“Only in the case that the Earth cannot defend itself, when humanity will be lost without me. But humans are resourceful.”

“I shall miss you, Savior Machine. I feel I have met you before.”

“I shall be present in your dreams. Whenever you are calling my name, I shall be there. Farewell and goodbye, Mother.”

Natasha had no words as the Potemkin flew away.

Smersh stood nearby, smoking a cigarette. “So, Cosmonaut Alpha, I do not suppose that you wish to tell me what that was all about?”

Natasha shook her head. “I shall try, but I do not know myself.”