[IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

For all of your Play-By-Post games.
Post Reply
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Sakuro »

Monday 23th, March 2019 - Return of the First Born

Carter doesn't look like much of a sanitation worker. Fortunately he is sneaking, not trying to blend into a crowd. While he works at the dumptruck's alarm, low to the ground and using as much of the vehicle as cover that he can, he hears footsteps. Radio static. A conversation. Looking under the garbage truck he can see urban camo pant legs and polished boots. A pair of Stronghold mercenaries walks by the lot he is working in. Though they pause to look into the lot they do not enter. Instead they move on, carrying on their foot patrol.

Once the soldiers are gone, Carter double times it. The alarm disabled he crawls into the cap and rapidly works the ignition open. It only takes one try for him to spark the engine into action. Then he's driving to his ambush spot, whistling a tune while he waits. Time passes. Cars go by. The metaphorical clock ticks. Soon it is fifteen minutes to go time. Any last minute preparations and contingencies need to happen now ... or maybe never.
OOC wrote:Make a Perception check and two Insight checks.
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
MacynSnow
Posts: 5631
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:56 pm

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by MacynSnow »

SNAPDRAGON(Carter Howell)
HP-0 CND-Fine FAVOR-0 DOM-0 INIT-+2

Monday March 23rd, 2019--
Return Of The First Born

Breath in, Breath out....
Everything that's happened in the last four months of his young life slowly drains from Carter's mind....
Breath in, Breath out....
His senses attuned to every little change in the environment, every sound accounted for and noted...
Breath In, Breath Out....
He reviewed every piece of this plan with a fine tooth comb, ensuring he had everythin accounted...
Breath In, Breath Out....
OOC:oK, last minute checks....
Perception check: 1+6=7
NO,NOT NOW! HP to re-roll it...
Perception check(HP re-roll):19+6=25
Let's see if the Insight's are any better....
Insight check 1: 6+6=12
Insight check 2: 15+6=21
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Sakuro »

Monday 23th, March 2019 - Return of the First Born

Fifteen minutes till the transport should be underway, while monitoring the main road, Carter observes a man and a woman in business attire leave an alley way a block from the Autumn Dawn building. The woman is holding a metal case. From there they begin heading to the agricultural corporation's Hadron City branch office on foot. Neither looks familiar to him. There are no features or aspects of their attire that stand out. Except the metal case. But two people in suites cutting through a dark alley, in this new Hadron City where unemployment and homelessness have become endemic, it is unusual.
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
MacynSnow
Posts: 5631
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:56 pm

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by MacynSnow »

SNAPDRAGON(Carter Howell)
HP-0 CND-Fine INIT-+2 FAVOR-0 DOM-0

Monday, March23rd 2019--
Return Of The First Born

Cursing himself for his curiosity, Carter'll put it in Park(Engine running just in case) and mark 10 minutes on his watch. That's ALL the time he'll give himself to check this out. Sliding out of the truck, he'll attempt to follow those nicely dressed Homeless folk in the Alley...
OOC:Never gonna make this easy are ya? Alright, attempting a Stealth roll...
Stealth roll: 16+2=18 hey, pretty good!
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Sakuro »

Monday 23th, March 2019 - Return of the First Born

It is just starting to get dark. That sort of gloomy gray between time between day and night has fallen over Hadron City. The winter air is cold. You can see your breath with each exhalation. You aren't alone on the sidewalk as you try to tail your targets. There are other pedestrians. Walking to their car. Dipping in and out of buildings. Living their meaningless lives. Following dull and dim routines that take them nowhere. Though it hasn't gotten dark enough to impair vision, street lights have come on, casting patches of yellow light over the sidewalk. Tailing them should be hard. They aren't making any effort to conceal themselves or their destination.
OOC wrote:At this point we will be moving Carter to the main IC thread.
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
User avatar
Supernaturalist
Posts: 2275
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:48 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Supernaturalist »

Iona
HP: 1
Cnd: Bruised (-3 to DCs); Fatigued; Hearing Impaired
PP:2

Monday, March 30th 2019 - A Meeting with The Master

In the aftermath of the "Viridi Mater Mission" - as it came to be known - Iona is busier than ever. Her opinion, namely that an infirmary would be a necessary element of the new base, is vindicated when several members of the mission-team became its first patients. Not all survive unfortunately, and Dr. Duncan Redwood becomes the first patient to die in the new sickbay. Others are more fortunate, and eventually they all appear to be on the road to inevitable recovery. With the acquisition of the super-science algae, a new food source capable of sustaining the caloric needs of a physically demanding job such as soldiering, the large-scale production of it will soon begin. The female cyborg knows that it is only a matter of time before the bodies of wounded fighters will crowd her miniature "hospital".

If that is to be the case, then issues of equipment must be resolved. Some critical medical equipment was lost on a prior mission. That, she knows, must be replaced. These are the problems of someone responsible for the operation of a department that everyone will increasingly depend upon. She is fortunate that she does not need to sleep. Losing 7-8 work hours a day due to involuntary unconsciousness would deprive her of an indispensable time resource.

Her damaged body has given her some inconvenience. The hearing loss in particular has proven quite annoying. Soon she will make an escorted trip to visit her creator for repairs. Since their last meeting, she has given much thought to her relationship with Dr. Zory Sokolov. Angry due to a perceived mistreatment by the brilliant scientist, she has since reconsidered some of her feelings. Perhaps she was too harsh on the man. After all, she did take his advice on the last mission, acting in a decisive manner with less regard for the cost in life around her. Dr. Sokolov, she must admit, was probably right. But Iona cannot help but think that her master is a being capable of much greater horrors than she. When she first knew him, he did not frighten her like he does now. To be fair, she does not view him in the same light as Praetor Null. That...thing frightens her more than anyone or anything she knows. But still, she is more wary of Sokolov than she used to be.

In the days prior to her trip, Iona is busy 24 hours per day. Dealing with Dr. Applegate, having meetings with Diego (and even more rarely with Praetor Null, if they request it), keeping an eye on her medical staff, organizing and planning new construction projects that she feels necessary due to recent threats to the base, and finding a little time to continue research in her laboratory. Her recent research is primarily concerned with the chemical and mechanical structure of her own body. While alone in her lab, she takes the time to collect loose fragments from her body, damaged in the recent battle with Stronghold. Artificial "blood", "muscle", "bone", "nerve pathways"...anything that can be easily collected with a dropper or pair of tweezers is removed, analyzed and stored. She utilizes her computer's camera to take close-up digital photos of her wounds, hoping to use them later for more research. She has to be careful though. Cutting things loose, or forcibly removing internal components would undoubtedly make her creator suspicious. She still wishes to remain on good relations with him. Fear of him keeps her restrained from overreach.

When the time for her trip arrives, she meets her usual escorts. They are neither friendly or hostile. They are simply there. Without fanfare they lead her back to the place of her "birth"...to the man she has until recently referred to as "Master".
mrdent12
Posts: 4215
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by mrdent12 »

Monday 23th, March 2019 - An Ascendent and his Arms

Diego departed from Dr. Applegate not pressing her further on her relationship with Duncan. He guesses it was either familial or intimate in nature. Neither he cared about. What he needed was for her to do her job and start producing the plant. Without food for an army to show for their efforts, they would be even worse off than they were now. Before leaving though, Diego, spoke to her in a comforting tone. "If there is any family or loved ones you wish me to inform please let me know when able. I shall leave you to your mourning now, but my skills of free movement around the city are at your disposal to pass any messages to whoever you think should know about Duncans heroic sacrifice.", remarks Diego.

Outside of Dr. Applegates precense, Diego reverted to his native form. Others would be put off, but he didn't care about them unless they served a purpose. Praetor Null did not bring in fools or soldiers who could not do their job. So, Diego expected them to follow orders and execute. It was clear there would was much cleanup ahead, but right now he needed to plan ahead a little. Weapons. 50,00 fights with fists were no match for Stronghold.

Upon returning to the infirmary, Diego returned to his solid form. No use in scaring the injured arms deal gone bad members yet. For the one indicated by the nurse as able to talk, Diego approached with a look of concern. "One of the nurses told me about your plight. How are you feeling? Did all of you make it out?", inquired Diego. His voice sounded sincere. Of course, all he needed was a name and what happen. People tended to like being asked about how they were before grilling for a debrief though. He'd been through plenty before and when humanity was shown to him he was more forth coming.
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Sakuro »

Monday, March 30th 2019 - A Meeting with The Master

Looking into he wounds Iona is able see beyond skin and into musculature. Well, her equivalent of musculature. There are fibers of gray material woven together in a fashion similar to human musculature. Almost like flexible threads of metal, but she does not sense any magnetic qualities in her makeup. Iona is not able to see much more than this, and the layers of skin atop the 'muscle' in her invasive self exploration. But now se had some small documentation of what lay beneath the surface of her synthetic body.



The hospital was pull of prospective patients in the waiting room and staff was busy with intakes. No doubt just as busy actively working to care for people elsewhere in the facility. Iona bypasses all of this and heads for the elevator. The doors open. She steps inside. Then she descends to lower levels. When the elevator doors open she can head Dr. Sokolov's voice even though he is not present. She is given directions to a surgical prep-room. On her arrival Iona finds Dr. Sokolov scrubbing his hands with soap, his back to the door. The he speaks in a mild tone without looking away from his hygienic task.

"Get yourself cleaned up and prepared for surgery. I'll be observing while you work."


Monday 23th, March 2019 - An Ascendant and his Arms

Behind the curtain Diego finds a black haired man with tanned skin and brown eyes. His initial estimate was a person of Mediterranean descent. Perhaps Sicilian or Italian. One of his arms and both of his legs were in casts. His chest had a supportive wrapping. One of his eyes was patched over with bandaging, and the other one was both bruised and looked as though every blood vessel in it had burst, leaving his eyes a very dark pink. Diego had seen people who had been literally ran over by a truck look better.

Diego asking how the man was feeling earned him a silent glare from his one 'good' eye. There was an expression on his face that said something along the lines of 'How do you think I feel?'. The glare faded with the realization of who Diego was, as did the expression.

"I'll live. Three of us didn't."
Last edited by Sakuro on Mon May 10, 2021 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
mrdent12
Posts: 4215
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by mrdent12 »

Monday 23th, March 2019 - An Ascendent and his Arms

Diegos show at humanity only extended so far. The man could have said he was on his death bed and all Diego would have cared was the man able to provide some contacts for an arms deal plus give a debrief. Small talk out of the way, Diego went for the meat of it. "It is god you recognize me. It will make this further questing easier. Mister?", inquires Diego prompting for a name.

"Pity on the deaths. Good fighters are hard to find. You still made it out though, so you have shewed your ability.", remarks Diego sizing up the man. He was hoping the man would register in some of the files he read, but with the limited time to get up to speed with base personnel he focused on the "key" ones.

"What can you tell me about the arms dealer who set up your deal, what the deal was, and how it went south? If things go according to plan, your information could prove invaluable.", inquires Diego. Diego had been in a similar sort of recovering from near death than being questioned. It was right about when he lead his whole unit into a death trap. This man didn't lead his comrades into a trap, Diego hoped.
User avatar
Supernaturalist
Posts: 2275
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:48 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Supernaturalist »

Iona
HP: 1
Cnd: Bruised (-3 to DCs)
PP:0
EP:3

Monday, March 30th 2019 - A Meeting with The Master
"Get yourself cleaned up and prepared for surgery. I'll be observing while you work."
Caught off-guard by Dr. Sokolov's "greeting", Iona found herself responding with a meek "Yes, Master."

You swore you'd never call him that again. You foolish thing!

Finding a set of surgical scrubs in a nearby cabinet, the young cyborg proceeds to a dressing area where she quickly changes. The open wounds on her body are still there, stained by the artificial blood that has long since dried around them. If my wounds are all covered up I suppose no one will be offended by them. With a sigh she returns to the scrub-sink outside the surgical room. She proceeds to sterilize her hands before donning surgical gloves and a mask. With her hair tucked up under a cap and her scrubs further covered by a surgical gown, she stands ready to accompany Sokolov.

"What procedure will we be performing today, Doctor?"
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Sakuro »

Monday 23th, March 2019 - An Ascendant and his Arms

"Private Andrew Congilio."

The young man raised his one good hand in a weak salute. The hand then dropped to the bed and he began addressing Diego's questions in a slow, distracted fashion. As though he was having through sorting through the events. Maybe it was the damage to his head, pain, or the drugs he was on. Either way he paused every so often to think on something before going on.

"We were trying to purchase some assault rifles. I know this guy who knows a guy named Aiden Faust. Said he could hook us up with a good deal. Thing is he isn't part of the Jaguar's black market. Doesn't pay their tax. I don't know how they found out, but they showed up in the middle of the deal, grabbed Faust, and curb stomped the rest of us. Left us for dead."


Monday, March 30th 2019 - A Meeting with The Master

After Iona has finished changing into scrubs and washed up, Dr. Sokolov, now waiting near the door to the operating theater, motions for her to enter ahead of him.

"You will be harvesting the subject's skin in preparation for your repairs, and collecting both neural fluid and brain tissue for your upcoming cognitive maintenance."

Opening the door into the operating theater Iona is greeted by the sight of a central table with a naked caucasian woman strapped down to the operating table. She is conscious, but gagged by a black ban over her mouth. Overhead a beam of white like spills down over the operating table, though what is projecting this light is hard to discern. There is monitoring equipment arranged around the head and the table, but there is no sign of anesthesia or any thing entering the woman's body, such as needles.

Dr. Sokolov enters behind Iona, the door closing in his wake. With one hand he gestures to the surgical tools stationed to one side of the table, laid out neatly on trays.

"How have you improved since your lesson on decisiveness and empathetic compartmentalization?"
Last edited by Sakuro on Tue May 11, 2021 5:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
User avatar
Supernaturalist
Posts: 2275
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:48 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Supernaturalist »

Iona
HP: 1
Cnd: Bruised (-3 to DCs)
PP:0
EP:3

Monday, March 30th 2019 - A Meeting with The Master
"How have you improved since your lesson on decisiveness and empathetic compartmentalization?"
Without looking at Dr. Sokolov, speaks while adjusting the surgical gloves on her hands. “I believe I have improved, though I’m nowhere near perfect.

Looking down at the young woman, the cyborg scans her from head to toe. “You’ve acquired a fine subject. I’m sure she’s perfect for the resources we need.” Iona knows better than to second guess Dr. Sokolov this time. On her first test, she assumed the innocence of the test-subjects. Later she would regret that. But how am I to know the guilt or innocence of this one? You don’t. You must assume that she is unworthy of life unless you have reason to think otherwise.

No anesthetic of any kind? Despite being restrained, the subject will squirm and scream. It’s very distracting. Could I give her something to calm her…even if it does not induce unconsciousness? She will still be able to see me strip the flesh from her body like a banana peel. There will still be horror in her eyes. Is that not what you wish to see?
OOC: Iona will lobby for some kind of sedative, but she will not insist. She has other requests from Sokolov, so she doesn't want to piss him off. If he says "no", then she'll just power through it the best she can despite the distate she has for it.
mrdent12
Posts: 4215
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by mrdent12 »

Monday 23th, March 2019 - An Ascendent and his Arms

"Save your energy. You do not need to salute me.", remarks Diego flatly. In his area, there was superiors. Diego knew by virtue of his transformation he held some form of rank in Praetor Null's hierarchy. Still, he didn't care for being saluted so much as obeyed.

Giving the private a chance to take it all in. "Pity about the weapons. They would have come in handy.", states Diego not even acknowledging the death of the other soldiers. Sacrifices done in error. Standard mistakes in games of strategy. He caught himself in time though and did the customary empathy required. "You and your comrades made it out. Those who died will go down in history as heroes of Hadron City. The Jaguars will also be made to obey Praetor Null and answer for the deaths.", adds Diego.

"Did your contact know of any other dealers and did the Jaguars seem intent on killing the Aiden? Your mission, while failing to get the weapons may open the door to something even greater.", inquires Diego. He needed a line on some weapons and this was one possible one. There was certainly other tasks to build an army, but an army with no weapons is rather useless.
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Sakuro »

Monday, March 30th 2019 - A Meeting with The Master

Dr. Sokolov's hands are still and at his side. For Iona this is noteworthy, as normally the man's hands are in constant motion. Like a wizard in the midst of maintaining some complicated spell or ritual. Dr. Sokolov's gaze is usually off into the middle distance, or staring through things. As if looking into some place beyond normal perception. Now his attention was on Iona. When he responded to her request for something to calm her victim she was met with an explanation.

"The harvested material must be unpolluted. Anesthetic would disrupt neural conductivity. I expect your skill will be sufficient to overcome any additional difficulties."

With her effort to ease the woman's suffering rebuffed, Iona set to work. Her scalpel cut into the woman. Muffled screams followed. As did the predicted attempt at struggle. As she carved up the restrained woman, Iona could see her tearing eyes looking up at her desperately. Pleading. From behind her, observing, Dr. Sokolov spoke while Iona set about her gruesome task.

"Tell me about your recent undertaking in Ward 8."
OOC wrote:Iona receives a stain on her soul ... and a Villain Point. You may use this any way you would a HP, but only while performing a horrible villainous act.

With Skill Mastery you do not need to make checks for either the skin or brain surgery. The quality of the equipment and operating theater Iona is using balances out the penalty she would normally receive from a struggling patient.


Monday 23th, March 2019 - An Ascendant and his Arms

Andrew stared silently at Diego as the Ascendant initially showed more concern for a handful of rifles than he did the three dead men, and those injured in his base' hospital. When Diego does try to show some empathy, he can tell that the Private doesn't fully buy into it. But he doesn't speak out. He takes a while in responding though. His eye closes and he seems to work through some otherwise unexpressed pain before opening his eye with a sign.

"I don't know how far his contact list goes, but he seemed well supplied. That's probably why the Jaguars took him alive: they want access to his stock."
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
User avatar
Supernaturalist
Posts: 2275
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:48 am

Re: [IC] - In the Shadow of Imperator: Extended Interludes

Post by Supernaturalist »

Iona
HP: 1
VP:1
Cnd: Bruised (-3 to DCs)
PP:0
EP:3

Monday, March 30th 2019 - A Meeting with The Master

She is the enemy. She is the enemy. Iona keeps thinking this thought all the while peeling the woman like a pear. The cyborg does not particularly enjoy her task, and she is distracted multiple times by the behavior of her captive subject. Still, she manages to continue until her “patient” goes into shock from the intense pain.
"Tell me about your recent undertaking in Ward 8."
Iona pauses for a moment, disturbed by the work she is performing. Closing her eyes for a moment to block out the bloodied mess now lying on the operating table, Iona turns to Sokolov and reopens her eyes.

The mission was carefully planned, Doctor. We were prepared to infiltrate the Autumn Dawn facility and secretly steal the algae specimen. But then…” Iona shakes her head slowly with a slight look of confusion on her face, “…the situation changed drastically. We received word that the company was in the process of transferring the specimen. We had to act quickly.

She pauses again as she attempts to remember the details of the mission. “We set out for the tower with a hastily made alternate plan to capture the specimen at some point along its transportation route. Our hope was to grab it at the source as it left the building. But we also had a contingency plan in case we arrived late and it was already on the road. The mission was further complicated when a man named Carter, claiming to be one of your agents, accosted us at gunpoint. Although he let us go almost immediately, he was caught on camera brandishing a weapon. We are not certain, so I do not want to accuse him falsely, but his actions may explain why Stronghold was able to respond so quickly and powerfully to the extraction of the specimen that occurred shortly thereafter.

Turning only to place some surgical instruments back on the table, Iona turns back to face Sr. Sokolov before continuing. “The agent…Carter…was gravely wounded. One of Null’s assets, Corporal Sander, saved his life by returning him to the base for surgery. He is still there recovering as we speak.

As for the mission, our attempt to capture the specimen at the first transport site was discovered. But through deception, we managed to lure the specimen out at the secondary transportation site. Once we took possession of the algae, out identities were revealed, and Stronghold rapidly intensified their response to the attack. At that point, Doctor, all hopes for a stealthy withdrawal were gone.

I was determined to maintain possession of the algae, Doctor….no matter what the cost. I was compelled to use many of the abilities you gave me. There were a number casualties, and a considerable amount of property damage. But I shall say that the time you spent training me and testing the limits of my capabilities proved invaluable for the mission. I felt confident, even if I did not always do the right thing. I was forced to push myself to my limits and beyond in multiple cases, and I found expressions of my powers that I did not previously know that I had.

In the end we acquired the specimen and returned it to our botanist. One of our “inside assets”, the boyfriend of our head botanist, died aiding us. I sustained considerable damage myself. But I believe it is safe to say that this time – unlike our previous mission – Stronghold suffered the defeat instead of us.

Finally having the stomach to turn back to the gory scene on the operating table, Iona proceeds to finish the remainder of the work assigned to her by Dr. Sokolov. “That is the summary, Doctor. Perhaps I have left out something that you wish to know more about. If so, I apologize. If there is a detail about which you wish to have more information, then I shall tell you all I know.
OOC: I have a question about the "Villian Point". Does that cancel out or effect my "Hero Point" in any way?
Post Reply