Matoran und Panzer

[Voltex]

IC: Ikira - Jatikko

 

"As long as they are not told too much... although with our commander and resident alcoholic, there is a higher chance of that occurring than I would like."

[silo]

IC: (Olis/Vingt)

Their "guide" seemed to be speaking a foreign language.

Oh well.

[Nato G]

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Office Complex).

 

"Alright...." I turned to Einefus "Where do we go from here?"

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: "Aye aye sir, I'll meet up with my crew and start making our way there." Golutaka took the note and started heading back to the tavern he told Horic he'd meet them. Hopefully he'd have gathered the others up by now

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/Road alongside Sgt. Logan's group

I soon encountered Sgt. Logan and the group. I waved and began to walk alongside the group.

[Not Quite Dead]

GM

Mangai's central park was an idyllic place. A wide open plain of short, neat grass, copses of exotic and well maintained trees to provide shade, simple and well crafted benches, tables, campfire and cooking areas. Also, an ancient and decaying temple smack dab in the center. It loomed over the park like a dying animal, squat and pallid. No entrances were immediately recognizable, though several guards were stationed around the structure at innocuous corners and walls. Including a particularly self-important looking bo-skakdi. He might as well have worn a gleaming crown and coat of arms for the aura he rather forcefully gave off.

 

Alongside the eastern edge of the park were several stalls and carts, makeshift food vendors that rolled in at first light and departed when the office workers and guards packed it in at the ends of their shifts. Some of the larger ones were ; Kiel's Kebabs, Phredrika's Pasta and Ningen's Nachos.

 

Based on the guard's earlier comment, the matoran trio of Einefus, Oblitus and Olis was meant to bring food to the captain.

 

* * * * * *

 

The Sergeant looked quite relieved at the sight of Shard. The winds were whipping ever more furiously, so he came in close to speak with him. Calling a momentary halt to the group while he conversed with the Cy-Matoran.

 

"Tell me everything about your scouting Shard. Anything you noticed about or saw around the camp or any sight of the other three?"

 

* * * * * *

 

A low rumble coursed through the ground in Ertrunken. Silat looked on as the dust cleared, he had looked through three of the supposed highway entrances himself, all had been clogged with debris. Tired and impatient, he had ordered mining charges to be set along the debris. It had been a successful idea, a gaping dark passage way stretched before him. The metal tracks continued onward, some lights still seemed functional, far ahead. They glowed a harsh and sterile blue-white.

 

"Get word out to all exploring parties!" He barked to a matoran behind him. A smile formed on his face, the smile that had garnered him the epithet of Snake. "We've found our way into the underground."

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/On Road Alongside Sgt. Logan

I shook my head.

"Nothing. I searched everywhere in the camp, and there was nothing but tents. I didn't see any of the others either. Have you heard from any of them? We should tell them to withdraw as we will be at the camp in a hour or two. We could use the tents for shelter."

[Nato G]

IC: Lufon Vance - Ertrunken.

 

"Reading you loud and clear, sir," I snapped off my radio and started out of the building, following in the direction the explosion had come from. "Are you two coming?" I snapped to Mokoran and Zelcram. They still seemed to be focused on the crinkly thing that might have once contained food. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Office Complex).

 

"I think that one's the captain." I pointed out the pompous-looking skakdi. "Should we go over to him?" 

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/On Road Alongside Sgt. Logan

While I waited for him to give an answer, I decided to check with Kain, Cor, and Zekev directly changing my radio for the three to hear. 

"Hello? Are you there? Did you see or hear anything suspicious?"

[Timageness]

IC: Kain - ???

"Already reported it to the Sergeant," Kain said, continuing to scan the area. "And yes, I'm still here, but I'll just assume that you picked up on that already by the sound of my voice."

Edited February 2, 2015 by Timageness

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/On Road Alongside Sgt. Logan

"Thanks," I replied to Kain.

I looked at the Sarge.

"What did he report?"

[Daniel the Finlander]

IC: Derkahn (Neuf, in a tavern)

 

I think for a moment and answer "Sure. Go ahead, fellow." I'm curious to hear what he will say; it must be interesting if people think that it's insane. But whatever it is, I won't judge. He did pay some of my drink, and I respect him for that.

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

"What was that? I couldn't hear it. Something about weight gain being in vogue?"

 

IC: Vaxel

 

"What was that exo trying to do?"

 

IC: Mokeron

 

Mokeron let go of the crinkly paper and followed Lufon.

 

IC: Horic

 

Horic scoured the streets for Erixel. Golutaka might have been done by now.

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Ash Hound.

 

Weight gain being in vogue.... What the Karz?

 

"You need to get your ears checked, idiot," I snapped, never looking away from my viewfinder. "He said that Kain has gone rogue. Radio him back, ask if we have permission to blow Kain's sorry arse into pieces. I'm going to do it either way, but still..." 

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

"If an exo is exploded, but no one claims responsibility, does it make a sound? More importantly, how cool was the explosion?" I mused aloud as I called for confirmation.

 

"This is Recon Gamma Unit One, requesting permission to take out rogue Unit Two."

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Einefus Ingrayv (Vingt - Mangaia Office Complex)

 

I take a few moments to scan the area, taking in Oblitus' first question about what we are supposed to do now. I know getting in the temple isn't going to be easy. It's surprisingly difficult to find an entrance, and the guards are ever-watchful. My eyes fall on the Skakdi at the same moment Oblitus asks about him.

 

If we play our cards right, he might be our ticket in. The obvious might not work two times in a row, but as I said earlier, it would be stupid not to try.

 

I pinch the lit end of my cigarette to extinguish it. "He's prolly our bes' bet, fo' shue." I slide my eyes over to Oblitus. "Jus' 'membuh you's da 'food boy.' You'd bes' ask 'im wha' he wan's, jus' expec' som' self-impohtan' anger."

[Dane-gerous]

IC: Kulkakahn

"I dunno, I guess he is starved for interaction lonely or something. Poor bugger."

[Nato G]

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Office Complex).

 

"So sorry about being late..." I said in my best meek and nervous tone as I approached the captain, "...what kind of food did you want, again?" 

[Not Quite Dead]

GM

Sgt Logan looked at Shard rather grimly. "He reported that radio communications came over his set, saying that the Vortixx and Skakdi had gone rogue, he claims they were in my voice. I told him this wasn't the case, so now we need to locate the Ash Hound before anything happens to them. Or," he grimaced. "They attack Kain. If he's receiving faulty transmissions, they could've just as easily received similar ones."

 

Any further discussion is interrupted by the voice of Zekev coming over Logan's handheld set.

 

"This is Recon Gamma Unit One, requesting permission to take out rogue Unit Two."

The Sergeant exchanges a glance with the others before replying. "Negative, Ash Hound. No such orders went out!"

 

* * * * * *

 

"Huh?!"

 

At first, rage shows in the Skakdi's eyes. For all Oblitus knew, he could be vaporized on the spot. Civility, albeit pompous, soon replaced it.

 

"What was that, peon? I believe I have already told you what sustenance I required..."

 

* * * * * *

 

Dark hallways stretched before the party, Kat had barely been able to fit Legion through the blasted entrance. Lufon, Zelcram and Mokeron had been given any supplies and gear necessary for travel on foot. Four mooks other soldiers travel with them. Outfitted with rustic miner's helmets and hardy crossbows.

 

Silat's voice crackled through their radios.

 

"Every several hundred bio, there ought to be a map of some sort posted down there. Set in a glass case in a lobby area. We're looking to get to the junction furthest southwest. It will be a three way crossing of three separate tunnels and the tracks."

 

* * * * * *

 

Wearing a relieved look, the Su-Matoran begins to tell his story to Derkahn. "It all started out in Seize, ya see. I got into business with a pirate warlord of sorts... A scary green skakdi." He shivered at the thought. "He claimed ta know where to find treasure, so I figure I'd tag along, yeah? Well we sailed out west past all the docks a Motara. Further west than I thought the island even went... Found a peninsula, whole thing made of stone!"

 

He finishes his drink, setting it loudly on the bar to alert the bartender. Refill, please.

 

"So anyway, this skakdi seems to know the way. Gets us into a... City of some type, ain't look like no city we've got. Not even like the ruins across Naho Bay. This place is old, even older than them. We enter a metal catacombs a sorts, that's where all karz breaks lose. Huge manas crabs come outta all sorts of nooks and crevices, cutting people to pieces!" By this point, the Su-Matoran is retelling the story a little louder than is necessary, attracting strange looks to the duo.

 

"The skakdi captain manages to keep me and another guy alive, we work our way to some big room. It's dark so you can't see much, but what we find was a screen, it's like a smart tablet but big, and built into a wall. Message comes up on the screen asking who we is. The other matoran goes first, says, we're here for treasure! Karz... What a rough way he went, burnt up in a flash. This is about the point I hightail it outta there. Somehow I get past the manas and out to the daylight, find my way to the ship we had docked and take a lifeboat, row myself back here I did! I dunno what happened to the captain, I don't wanna know either..."

[Nato G]

IC: Lufon Vance - Ertrunken Tunnels.

 

"Here's a map!" I shouted to the others, shining the lightstone I'd affixed to my crossbow onto the glass case.

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Office Complex).

 

"I.... you did.... I'm sorry.... I must have...." I stammered out a distraction, hoping the other two would busy themselves trying to find us a way inside. 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

IC: Cor Saeva - Ash Hound.

 

"Like karz you didn't!" I pulled out my handheld radio and patched through to Logan. "We just got a transmission, from you, warning us that Kain had gone rogue. If this is some kind of joke I swear that you'll regret it." 

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Einefus Ingrayv (Vingt - Mangaia Office Complex)

 

I have to admit, this Oblitus isn't half-bad at this stuff. He's playing the forgetful errand boy, keeping the captain's attention focused on him. I maintain my I'm-with-him-but-there's-no-need-to-pay-attention-to-me stance. I keep my cigarette in hand, letting my gaze drift across the temple. To most eyes, I'm just a guy who desperately wants to smoke but is too conscientious of his surroundings and his "betters" to do so. Hopefully, that will prevent anyone from noticing that I'm looking for a way inside.

[Khromatose]

IC: Shard/Alongside Sgt. Logan

I began to think for a while, the things the Sarge said confirming a hypothesis I was just thinking about.

"Sarge? I think someone's intercepted our radio waves and is trying to turn us against one another. They must also be aware thar Kain, Cor, and Zekev are criminals and are taking advantage of them. That probably explains why I myself didn't get a message saying that both of them are rogue. I suggest we regroup at the camp."

Edited February 2, 2015 by ArcticFreeze17

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Kat:

 

I carefully made my way over to Lufon's position,

"Figure out where we're headed?"

[NorikSigma]

IC: Mokeron

 

He shrugged.

 

"That map."

 

IC: Zekev

 

I'm getting the heebie-jeebies. Something was wrong.

 

"Are you sure? Your voice is pretty memorable."

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Ash Hound.

 

"It was definitely your voice, sir." I agreed into the radio. I could hear the worry in Zekev's voice, and it had me on edge. I leaned down and tapped him on the shoulder. "You okay?" 

Edited February 3, 2015 by Roman Torchwick

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

"Huh? Er, yeah. Just wondering how loud the explosion would be. Also whether or not the world exists if our Sergeant told us it didn't."

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Ash Hound. 

 

"Okay...." as infuriating as he could be at times, Zekev was the only friend I had out here. The last thing I wanted was him loosing his head. "Just.... be careful, yeah?" I tried to lighten the tension a little with a joke. "The last thing we want is to run over another land mine." 

 

Someone, or something, was messing with us, and when I caught up with them, I was going to make them regret it. 

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

"But it's always our fault."

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Ash Hound

 

"Zekev...." I couldn't think of what more to say in response to his last remark, "....I know this situation sucks, but... you've still got me. We've survived worse than a glitchy radio."

[NorikSigma]

OOC: HAHA I wanted to say 'your'

 

IC: Zekev

 

"What? I was talking about land mines."

[Nato G]

IC: Cor Saeva - Ash Hound.

 

"You know what? Forget it! The one time I try being nice, and you just..." I broke off with a scowl, taking another swig of my whiskey. 

[NorikSigma]

OOC: Cor is so tsundere, much more than even Xara.

 

IC: Zekev

 

"What? I..."

 

What was wrong with her.

 

"Need a snack?"

[Not Quite Dead]

GM

"Good idea, Shard." The sergeant responds to Cor Saeva and Zekev. "We'll regroup at one of the camps our engineers left, it should be due south of your location. Assuming you stayed on the scouting paths we assigned to you. From there on out we'll be sticking together, we don't need to be splitting up any further in a situation like this."

 

He switches to the radio channel he had contacted Kain on, relaying a similar message to him. Hopefully those two mercs wouldn't end up actually going rogue.

 

* * * * * *

 

"Hmph. I shan't say it again, knave! My lunch of choice is the spaghetti bolognese from Phredrika's!" Oblitus narrowly avoids a face full of spittle due to their height difference. To onlookers, investigators or burglars (Olis and Einefus belonging to the tertiary of these), Mangaia Temple would appear conspicuously smooth and organic. What kind of entrance, by nature a sort of flaw or blemish, could exist on such a continuous structure? Their only clue would be the seemingly random placements of the guards on it's boundaries, and curious marks on the ground near some of these policed locations.

 

* * * * * *

 

The earth is very cold, very deep and very unexplored. Past the cursory exploitation of minerals and resources, the underground world is a scientific lacuna. Thousands of mio of caves and tunnels existed below the island, extending under the mountains, the oceans and deeper into the heart of the planet, where a womb-like world of magma and primordial elements allow much older things than even the gods to gestate.

 

Our story doesn't cover those kind of entities, but it was not an understatement to say that the maps were vital to the members of the expedition out of Vingt. Spaced out in ancient train stations, they guide the party towards the end of the tracks. Many kio to the south and the west of where they had started, before them opens the end of the line.

 

Ancient building materials lay scattered about, bright protosteel railings, great spikes and electrical components. The tunnel becomes roughly hewn rock and then, nothing. A vast cave opens before them, water glittering several dozen bio ahead. The sterile white-blue lights of the subway are voraciously eaten up by the dark.

 

How to proceed?

[NorikSigma]

IC: Zekev

 

I accelerated south. Sand brushed pass the tank.

[Nato G]

OOC: Here we go again....

 

IC: Cor Saeva - Ash Hound.

 

"A snack? Yes..." I hesitated, hearing the radio message. "...please." 

________________________________________________________________

 

IC: Oblitus - Vingt (Mangaia Office Complex). 

 

"Ah.... might I ask sir...." I noticed the scuff marks on the ground near the Captain's feet. A concealed entrance, perhaps? "Why are you standing out here in the hot sun instead of in the shade? I'm just not sure if hot food like that is going to taste any good in this heat. Perhaps you'd prefer a cold drink instead?"

_________________________________________________________________

 

IC: Lufon Vance - Ertrunken Tunnels.

 

 I pulled a flare off my belt and strapped it onto one of my crossbow bolts, before lighting it up and firing the projectile off into the darkness in the hopes that it would give us some idea of what lay ahead....

[Daniel the Finlander]

GM

Wearing a relieved look, the Su-Matoran begins to tell his story to Derkahn. "It all started out in Seize, ya see. I got into business with a pirate warlord of sorts... A scary green skakdi." He shivered at the thought. "He claimed ta know where to find treasure, so I figure I'd tag along, yeah? Well we sailed out west past all the docks a Motara. Further west than I thought the island even went... Found a peninsula, whole thing made of stone!"

 

He finishes his drink, setting it loudly on the bar to alert the bartender. Refill, please.

 

"So anyway, this skakdi seems to know the way. Gets us into a... City of some type, ain't look like no city we've got. Not even like the ruins across Naho Bay. This place is old, even older than them. We enter a metal catacombs a sorts, that's where all karz breaks lose. Huge manas crabs come outta all sorts of nooks and crevices, cutting people to pieces!" By this point, the Su-Matoran is retelling the story a little louder than is necessary, attracting strange looks to the duo.

 

"The skakdi captain manages to keep me and another guy alive, we work our way to some big room. It's dark so you can't see much, but what we find was a screen, it's like a smart tablet but big, and built into a wall. Message comes up on the screen asking who we is. The other matoran goes first, says, we're here for treasure! Karz... What a rough way he went, burnt up in a flash. This is about the point I hightail it outta there. Somehow I get past the manas and out to the daylight, find my way to the ship we had docked and take a lifeboat, row myself back here I did! I dunno what happened to the captain, I don't wanna know either..."

IC: Derkahn (Neuf, in a tavern)

 

Wow, this person really is insane, haha. It's a nice (if not a bit odd) tale, but if it's true then I'm not an alcoholic. I try to not show signs of amusement, because that would be rather rude and I certainly don't want to insult someone I respect, so instead I appear ruminative and nod slowly a few times. "Interesting", I finally mumble, "I have heard stories of strange things in the Nomansland." That was a lie of course, purely based on something Ikira said about rumours. "Maybe I will try to find this peninsula you speak of, and avoid getting fried or eaten by crabs."

 

Well, I've been here long enough. The Jatikko is waiting for me. "Anyways, I must go now. Thank you for helping a fellow drinker in trouble" I say, pat him on the shoulder and walk towards the door. It's a nice tavern, with all the dark gloom and emphasis on a shadowy atmosphere (As an Onu-Matoran I'm very fond of these things) so I might visit it later. Now, how do I get out of this rocky, labyrinthine city again?

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Kat:

 

"We do have lights, y'know," I said with a chuckle, flicking on the flood lamp it's beam penetrating the darkness....

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Einefus Ingrayv (Vingt - Mangaia Office Complex)

 

My eyes take in the temple in my brief sweep. There are no obvious entrances. I'm sure the guards are a clue of some kind, at first glance, there doesn't appear to be any pattern to their placement. Secret entrances, perhaps? That's the only thing that comes to mind. If that is the case, however, they can't all be guarding an entrance. There are too many of them. Besides, I'm sure most could make the connection I made, so having more guards than entrances would make it harder for someone to figure out which guard was just for show and which was actually guarding something.

 

As I scan the building, my eyes begin to drift down and up. Above the guards and at their feet. This is when I notice the marks on the ground. I don't focus on them--I don't want the guards to notice my interest in them--and I turn my attention back to the captain. He appears to be standing near one, and I see Oblitus' eyes inconspicuously take it in. He makes the same connection I did, and he appears to be trying to lure the captain away.

 

I play along, making a show of running my arm across my forehead and squinting at the sun. I abstain from the overly dramatic, but goodness, it sure is hot out here, isn't it? I sure wouldn't mind a spot of shade.

[silo]

IC: (Olis/Vingt)

Olis scanned the walls, looking for a way out...

His face showed no emotion, but he was sure that the three of them could take this skakdi and be neat about it without much trouble

[Not Quite Dead]

OOC

Ya'll can always feel free to explore caves without too much GM stuff >__>

 

GM

The captain's eyes narrowed, eying the trio with a hint of suspicion. Why was he being tended to by a trio of delivery boys? Surely they weren't allocating thrice the amount of taxes to such menial labor as they had been previously! That was his bonus they could be eating up in the budget. He began to reach for his radio, his solitary position at the temple feeling a little... Uncomfortable.

 

"Say, what were yer names again?"

 

* * * * * *

 

Gods, was the sea usually this loud? Perhaps it was the storm, but the Sergeant could barely hear over the din in the engineer's camp. He, Shard and the others from Treize had just arrived. The Sergeant immediately searching for the engineering captain's tent, there had to be something to explain their absence.

 

Around the perimeter, Uno, Dix and Shard were stationed on guard. The two medics seemed a little on edge, saying as much to the Cy-Matoran.

 

"S-say, doesn't this place give you the creeps?" Had he not been standing next to Shard, his voice would've been swallowed by the ambient noise.

 

* * * * * *

 

Lufon's flare arced high into the cave, going higher and higher, and higher... Still, the ceiling of the cavern was not lit. They had gone quite a bit deeper than one would've suspected. Kat's flood light was aimed closer to the ground, revealing a path of coarse sand, leading off to the right of the underground lake.