Allen gave the Commander a quizzical look at this, "Then why'd you say they wouldn't...ah. English. Right. I need to stop doing that. Well, that should make things easier for you, huh?"
"Perhaps." Six gave answer, the Necrian having visibly addressed that question to him, "Further information would be needed to draw a proper conclusion. However, I will defer to your experience."
"Good." the wolflike alien smirked mischievously, "Then call up Papa Dragon and get some backup, just in case. I'll head back and see if the Rowers have found anything new."
"Yes, General." the Cerosian gave him a mixture of nod and bow, likely some gesture of respect, then set his step toward the outside, clearly expecting the redcoats to come along. If they didn't though, he'd resort to using words. If they still didn't after that, well, he wasn't going to wait for them.
"Not bad." Allen meanwhile remarked to Yale, "I hope to see you again soon. Let's see where this goes..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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Yale nodded "Godspeed." and looked back at his desk, which was primarily dominated by the sword. He looked over it, but decided it best to move it safely to a safer place later. "If you want a tour of the wilds, talk to the Acquisition Officer at the Armoury, he'll get a Hunter to guide you, tell 'em Yale said you could."
The mercenaries and redcoats filed out, the redcoats talking to each other quietly, and in some sort of numerical code.
Outside the command center, the various mercenaries went their separate ways, some back to the portal, the others going for a look about and some to the armoury. The hero Azurewing returned back to the portal.
The redcoats convened in the centre of the courtyard, talking among each other. A few more of their number showed up, coming from the portal building and carrying metal crates. These redcoats seemed more human, in that their hoods didn't cover their entire head, showing the skin underneath, though they all displayed signs of ferocious cybernetic replacements.
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I was doing some playthroughs of City of Heroes. Now they will serve as memories of a better time ...
This actually lifted Six's mood considerably. Now that the redcoats exhibited what he saw as lessened attempts to hide their augmentations, they became much more sympathetic to the himself heavily 'wired' Cerosian.
Even though he was technically wireless.
"I see you have come more prepared than I initially believed." he remarked to them while the Necrian with whom he'd come here with joined Azurewing with course due back to Primal Earth, "When will you be ready to depart...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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One of the augmented humans, a large, quite well-built woman, who was also bald, went to answer, until one of the redcoats raised their hand to bid silence.
"We intend to set up camp due south of here. We have other research we wish to carry out."
One of the humans put down a crate and looked about idly. The redcoat glanced at the crate, then back.
"Nothing malicious, assured."
I was doing some playthroughs of City of Heroes. Now they will serve as memories of a better time ...
"Your perceptions of morality are irrelevant to my mission." the Cerosian replied, though his neutrally intoned response made that sound in no way disparaging, despite his choice of words. It was just as if he'd stated some observation, such as the measure of a hill or the color of the sky, "Our goals have coincidence, and that is all that matters. How much time will you need to complete transportation and construction...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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One of the redcoats did some calculation, murmuring numbers under his breath and pointing at each of the present redcoats, counting on his hand and so on.
"About a day and a bit for minimum running capacity, provided weather stays favorable."
The redcoat looked at the sky
"Most likely not, however."
I was doing some playthroughs of City of Heroes. Now they will serve as memories of a better time ...
"Perhaps I should rephrase my question." the Cerosian replied with what almost could've been a sigh. Verbal communication was so terribly inefficient, "How much time will you need to complete transportation, and how much time will you need to complete construction...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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The redcoat repeated his counting procedure, the others simply staring back at him, probably thinking he was a bit mad. When he'd done calculating, he turned back.
"Transportation should take no less than a day with a proper guide, construction about ... three days, provided the weather and environment remain favorable."
I was doing some playthroughs of City of Heroes. Now they will serve as memories of a better time ...
"Inadequate." the Cerosian snorted steamily, "Gather your supplies and make ready for transit by air. A shuttle will be arriving shortly."
Sure enough, the growl of distant thunder past the sea of clouds above soon marked the appearance of another portal somewhere overhead. Granted, radar or the like was more than likely to pick up on the quickly appearing hole in the world up past the stratosphere, especially since what lay beyond was something very much akin to Saturn's rings. A sense for magic was liable for the same, as the oblivion gate was very much a product of forces from beyond the veil, called into the physical world to do the world to do let the caller's will be done.
A few moments later, a football-field-and-a-half of deltoid nearly as wide as it was long 'splashed' into the thin air of the high atmosphere, almost instantly riding a plasma trail that mulled its way through the clouds with an eerie glow. Then speakers crackled, both on Six's suit and on any radio that happened to be picking up the rather wide frequency band momentarily hogged by the broadcast from beyond the oblivion gate to ensure it reached as many as possible.
"All ground-bound, this is Papa Dragon." the oddly southern-accented tone of someone who sounded like a military man with a surprisingly laid-back attitude came through, "Does anybody read? I say again: does anybody read? Come back..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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((Hm. So I guess this one kind of petered out, huh?))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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((RL isn't leaving much room atm))
The redcoats looked at each other, then back again. One of them spoke up.
"We will conduct our research on foot. Much of what we have to do is for our eyes only."
The one that spoke nodded the rest away, who began moving towards the main gate with their equipment. He looked up at the craft, then back down again.
"Impressive though it may be, we'll leave you to your work, whilst we do ours."
He nodded, somewhat respectfully but more out of courtesy than anything else and headed back to the main tower, to acquire the use of a guide and some sort of ground transport.
I was doing some playthroughs of City of Heroes. Now they will serve as memories of a better time ...
Six didn't respond, at least not verbally. If they wanted to work alone, that was their decision. Still, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at their designation of the inbound shuttle. Yes, the corporation did fine work, and while their transports couldn't compete with what the military had, they were quite proud of being one of the only firms to both design and build the craft that carried their business entirely in-house.
The shuttle meanwhile lumbered on down, six mammoth turbines tearing the snow and ice from the frozen ground like the proverbial ton of bricks, as if its designers had deigned to ensure the thing could punch a hole into what lay below with equal ease on both sides of the sound barrier. The still-expanding hole in the multiple layers of clouds above were certainly evidence to at least one region there, the transport's bow shock having carried enough energy to level a city - just one reason to leave it behind up in the high atmosphere, well out of the way.
Another was of course to not crater the craft, which now set down softly as a feather on more than a dozen wheels larger than most cars. Soon thereafter, engines spun down and the rear ramp groaned open, revealing a hold of well-secured packs, crates, and a 'dozer that looked like it could've run down the Great Wall of China without even slowing.
And then there was the elf.
Okay, so he wasn't an elf elf, but the tall, lithe figure in the short-sleeved, olive-drab uniform sure could've hopped right out of a Tolkien. Had the sharp-tipped ears and androgynous frame not been offset by that buzz cut, as well as a belt graced by both a sizable sidearm and a number of high-tech-looking pouches, the jokes would've practically written themselves. Still, the steel-gray eyes which sat below that snow-white hair spoke volume, and more than that belt, hard boots, and fingerless gloves all put together. This was a soldier.
And he smiled.
"Well now, I do believe I've lost my bet." the voice of 'Papa Dragon' remarked with a chuckle as he marched down the loading ramp, pale skin apparently utterly untouched by the cold, "This thing feels great. Who'd have thought? You boys do good work."
"The company will be glad to hear you are pleased with your advance." Six responded with a curt bow, being the one to whom he spoke, "As well as your choice to oversee the agreement personally."
To this, the new arrival chuckled again, eyes briefly passing over the locals, including the redcoats. However, he didn't seem to so much be looking at them as through them, as if he sought something else.
"With a place like this, how could I resist?" he said with that same smile, "So, what's the deal? They suitable?"
"I am about to discern that." the Scribe reached an arm to his side, and both their attention went with it. Not a moment later, the stripped earth first cracked, then boiled and churned, and a creature of the abyss clawed its way out into the open.
But what did it look like?
On Primal Earth, they were the locals, the embers of the inferno, harbingers of hellfire. On Cerosia, they were what the ache of that world had once held. But what were they here, on this frozen world of ice and cold? Just mirrors of their Primal counterparts, disparate in naught but sense? Or were they truly of the cold, true demons of frigid ice that burned with an utter lack of heat in the same infernal manner as their 'cousins' across worlds...?
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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Yale chuckled
"Hard to find? You wander out there at night, you probably aren't coming back."
The redcoat still seemed unphased and shrugged.
"We are adequately prepared and equipped for an ambush"
Yale also shrugged
"Well, I ain't going to stop you, but if you want to find them in the day, they're practically crawling all over Detroit. Just watch out for any Icescale."
I was doing some playthroughs of City of Heroes. Now they will serve as memories of a better time ...