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Post by Carillus on Jul 22, 2009 21:54:31 GMT 8
Kamin had not really wanted to leave Constantine behind, but she had to link up with the rest first.
Wouldn't it be good if there were some sort of mobile device we could use to contact each other...
In any case, she had thought that the most appropriate place to meet would be the New Technia Headquarters Reception.
As she stepped out of the RRTS unit, she saw Yuki and Venser standing at the counter.
Well, at least I've found someone.
She walked up, and made to say hello.
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Post by skiboydoggy on Jul 23, 2009 22:12:55 GMT 8
"All the stuff? Wow, that's hardcore. Anyway, Emperor Tatsu just sent a message of peace, so I'm not sure how useful that one's going to be. Thanks for the help!"
Taking the PDA that had been passed to him, Yuki wondered where he had seen the numbers on that list before. It was a serial number, and would probably be seen on a receipt somewhere, and the item he wanted was the point-defence nanobots. His pockets were also metaphorically full of money, and quite literally holding a proof of sale he had gotten a while back.
"Well, that settles it." He muttered as he pulled out the receipt he had obtained from Weapons Research and Development (CS), cross checking the numbers and letters.
Woer4t4terbsdfas903.!@#re94#r9fs !@3frf9xt5#$: 3Fdasd934RF32s #$teas12cx93fas0@345#$@#@4osdf3n
"Doesn't really seem to correspond... The number of characters are too different for one thing, and Tatsu's list is alphanumerics... Hmm... Anyway, hi Kamin, glad to see you're all better."
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Post by Carillus on Jul 23, 2009 22:26:26 GMT 8
"Nice to see you again, too."
Kamin gave Yuki a once-over, and couldn't shake the feeling that somehow he had a ridiculous amount of good luck.
Blah, karma isn't supposed to exist anyway.
At that moment, she noticed the multiple sheets of paper that Yuki was holding.
"What are those?" She looked at them, and immediately noticed the original lists they had come from.
"And this corrupted stuff..." She pulled out the information that Constantine had managed to acquire from the Point Defense Nanobots, and gave it another look.
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Post by schrodinger on Jul 23, 2009 22:53:21 GMT 8
Whilst waiting for the receptionist to finish attending to Yuki, Venser noticed Kamin walking up behind them. Without him needing to turn around to look, her thoughts announced her presence as effectively as if she'd spoken out loud.
But seeing as Yuki was just about finished anyway, he decided to address the receptionist first.
"I'd prefer a portable document handler, please."
The plot thickens.
One person's perspective of a situation usually wasn't enough. It helped to have multiple sources of information that one could cross-reference and form a coherent image from. In a moment, Venser combined Kamin's experience of the past 12 hours with Yuki's, and after some judicious editing, arrived at a reasonable approximation of what had been going on.
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Post by Carillus on Jul 23, 2009 22:59:01 GMT 8
Kamin eyed the two, and suddenly realised that Venser and Yuki were both finished with their respective tasks and were now focusing on her.
Oh, okay. Does this mean I have to do something?
Kamin flailed her arms in the air.
Wait, I don't think that was the something I was looking for.
She slowed down her thought processes and quickly reorganised her mental capacities, arriving at a coherent middle point that would logically work for both guys.
"Let's go outside, then."
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Post by RaineScarlet on Jul 24, 2009 4:53:49 GMT 8
Mmm... where am I?
Sierra's eyelids fluttered like the wings of a tired butterfly, and she sat up slowly on her seat. She sneezed. Locks of her hair were all over the place, and she was a bit out of sorts. As the Undine reached up sweep aside the curtain of her hair, she noticed two things.
First, that Venser, Yuki, and Kamin had somehow met up and were walking out from a nearby building, and second, that she could see through her arm.
"Oh." She commented in a detached tone. The exhaustion must have taken a toll on her body as well. Sierra's eyes glossed over as she took a breath, and the cockpit of the aircraft flashed with a turquoise light.
Seconds later, she tumbled out of the aircraft and landed on her face on the ground near the Tengu.
Still not quite used to moving yet, I see.
Sierra stood carefully and gathered water to assist her as she waited from the group to fully emerge from the edifice.
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Post by schrodinger on Jul 25, 2009 5:46:37 GMT 8
Collecting the portable data handler from the receptionist, Venser idly browsed through it while following the others out. Years of last-minute cramming for tests had refined his ability to speedily read and absorb large amounts of information in a limited amount of time, and the material on the handler was nowhere as extensive as the notes he'd had to memorise over the course of his education.
He smiled nostalgically, reminiscing on times gone by, but stopped abruptly when he recalled how it had all ended.
All that was... far behind him, now.
Never mind. There'll be time for regret later. I have to live in the present.
Addressing nobody in particular, he raised a discreet inquiry.
"So, what do you all plan to do now?"
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Post by skiboydoggy on Jul 25, 2009 16:43:16 GMT 8
Following Kamin and Venser outside, Yuki continued to wonder what it was that he was missing. There had to be something more than this, and he could not see any of it. Frustrating, to say the least, but he would have to plough on anyway, since that was the only thing he knew how to do. Apart from being a nice person and generally having impossible amounts of luck, somehow. That was the only way to explain how to got through the Empire of the Rising Sun deal in one piece, and came back only to have access to everything New Technia had to offer.
"Well, I have to keep chasing after that bomb, obviously enough. New Technia promised me all the help I would need for that, no point disappointing them. I wonder if they'll lend me a mobile suit if I ask nicely..."
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Post by Carillus on Jul 27, 2009 20:39:06 GMT 8
Kamin looked back at the motley crew behind her, and gave a deep sigh. No one seemed to have any inkling where they had to go. "Give me that paper again." Kamin took the sheets out of Yuki's hands again, and compared them. First, Constantine's alphanumeric chain. Woer4t4terbsdfas903.!@#re94#r9fs !@3frf9xt5#$: 3Fdasd934RF32s #$teas12cx93fas0@345#$@#@4osdf3n
Then, Tatsu's list. Nasul Royal Army | JFGUDN381043648D | World Without Boundaries | 3FDASD934RF32S | ST Kinetics | S1147AEGH276CP | BAE Systems | Q956HUDN19554CH | UNSC Alternate Approach Research Centre | AUEN176301HNCP | ST Aerospace | HDPAN34710CB78A | Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty | HDUEM24891DS56V |
So many numbers...Then she noticed. 3Fdasd934RF32s, 3FDASD934RF32S. Match.There it was, plain for all to see. There was a one-in-8.71x10^10 chance of a similar permutation, and there were 24+9 different characters that could be put in a single place. That made it 462 characters, and resultingly 4.0x10^13 chances of a similar code arising from a corrupted alphanumeric chain. That meant it was almost completely assured that it was this organisation that had bought the device. World Without Boundaries, eh? Sounds like a non-governmental agency to me. Like high-class terrorists."Hey, guys, I've found it. The numbers match. World Without Boundaries."
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Post by skiboydoggy on Jul 29, 2009 22:10:11 GMT 8
"World Without Boundaries huh? I never noticed that. Thanks Kamin. If we assume Cipher came from that group, then flying in is probably going to be a stupid idea. Let's ask New Technia what they can offer us."
Running back into the building, Yuki announced to the lady at the counter.
"We've probably found our target. World Without Boundaries. We'll need all the information and preferably all the help New Technia can offer. Please get to it as quickly as possible."
They were getting somewhere, and Yuki was not letting this chance slip away between his fingers.
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Post by NPC Controller on Jul 29, 2009 22:44:23 GMT 8
The lady at the counter was silent for a while.
Then.
"Your request has been approved. The New Technia Army Headquarters has committed 20% of its total army strength to this operation. You have been given full SatNet authorisation. Operation: Earth Liberation has commenced. A coalition force has been established with the Empire of the Rising Sun."
Click, click.
"A liasion has been dispatched for future communication between you and New Technia. Codename: Static-Fox. The liasion will meet you here shortly."
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Post by skiboydoggy on Jul 30, 2009 21:00:47 GMT 8
"Great! Kamin, Venser, get in here! We're going soon."
Yuki was overflowing with excitement in spite of himself. Of course, this was a quest to save the world, and was to be taken seriously, but this was a quest to save the world and it was therefore extremely, extremely awesome.
"I wonder where Sierra is... I'll probably need her to come along too. Her abilities would come in handy."
That, and he was used to doing everything with Sierra nearby, but he was not about to tell that to anyone.
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Post by schrodinger on Jul 31, 2009 0:52:50 GMT 8
"Get in where, exactly? Your enthusiasm is refreshing, really, but do take a moment to think this out before charging in headlong. Time's a luxury we can ill afford, if your information is right, so let's walk and talk."
Venser raised an eyebrow at Yuki slightly, and took a few steps towards the entrance. Pausing, he turned to face Yuki and Kamin.
"And think. We mustn't forget to think.
Shall we?"
He gestured in the direction of the glass doors, then realised that there was a somewhat disheveled-looking young lady waiting outside, not all that far away.
Oh me oh my. From the looks of her, I'd say...
Told you so. Apparently our amorous friends are members of the mile high club.
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Post by NPC Controller on Jul 31, 2009 21:00:42 GMT 8
The large aircraft circled the tower once, pinging air traffic control.
"Control, this is Victor-Three-Sixteen. Carrying precious cargo <Static-Fox>, repeat, carrying precious cargo <Static-Fox>, over. Request permission to land."
"Roger, Victor-Three-Sixteen, you are cleared to land at landing pad 02."
"Roger, Control."
The Dragonfly hovered in place, then slowly started to descend. Six jet engines whined heavily as the plane slowly went down, its exhaust redirected through four downward-facing ports that also served as landing struts. As the plane reached the ground with a slight 'clunk', the bay door opened, and a few soldiers jumped out of it, standing to attention.
Shortly after, a brown-haired girl stepped out.
"Ahh, fresh air again." she gave a slight stretch, then started down the walkway toward the building. The trip had barely taken a few minutes, but she still preferred her feet on solid ground.
She strolled into the building, noticing the young lady standing outside.
A rather beautiful person.
Walking up to Yuki, she extended a hand in greeting.
"Hello. My name is Misaka Mikoto, codename Static-Fox. I am the Head of Special Operations for New Technia and the military's highest ranking Knight. I was instructed to fetch you and your party to the main preparations area. Would you care to come with us?"
She gestured to the lady outside and betrayed the hint of a smile.
"Your girlfriend over there might also like to come with us, I presume?"
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Post by Carillus on Jul 31, 2009 21:10:29 GMT 8
Kamin considered the new person with interest.
But she had something else to do first.
"Well, I'll be off then. Be back soon."
She threw a small square block at Yuki. It was a handphone.
"Here, take this. I'll use it to keep in contact with you. I gotta go do something first."
She stepped outside the building, then spread her wings. Once again, an intense light aura swept over her.
"See you guys then. I'll be calling in a while."
Giving a last smile, she exploded off into the sky, a white streak heading in the direction of the Port.
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Post by schrodinger on Aug 1, 2009 23:31:36 GMT 8
Well, that was prompt. This operation looks to be moving pretty fast. Considering the way things have been going so far, I rather think it's time to look into a more direct approach in handling the...predicaments we find ourselves in.
Hey, speak for yourself. I'm not the one putting myself in danger's way.
...It's pretty hard to do that without physical agency, you know.
Oh, whatever. The point is, there are a few spells I need access to again. Can you -
That depends. You remember the promise you made with me before you left that world. In your current state, you're not stable enough to handle spells like...
For a metaphysical entity, Evermind's tone was surprisingly grave. Venser knew he had a point, though.
I remember. And I know. Trust me, what I need isn't aggressive or lethal in any way.
In your hands, kid, even a levitation spell would be lethal.
But there was a trace of humor in that rejoinder.
Before he'd left the Academy, Venser had taken advantage of the massive power he'd had access to at that time to annex the entire library of spells kept within the institution into his own collection. For various reasons, however, he'd had to leave the spellbook that he'd inscribed the bulk of the spells in the Academy itself.
That wasn't really a big problem. Even now, worlds away, he was connected to it.
Inexorably.
Ineffably.
He still required some help to make use of the connection, though, and that was why he'd asked Evermind.
I'm going to honor my end of the promise. Will you honor yours?
Very well. I'm streaming the spell specifics to you now...
Whilst waiting, Venser casually raised a question.
"Before we set off, could you tell us what it is that we're going to do now? My companion here seems to think that we are on a quest to save the world, and I wouldn't want him to be disappointed."
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Post by NPC Controller on Aug 3, 2009 14:37:35 GMT 8
Misaka Mikoto - Static-Fox
Misaka eyed the person who had just piped up with interest. He looked Caucasian, what with the grey hair and blue eyes and all that. The runic circle in his eye was distinctly visible from this distance.
Is this a magus, then?
When the Headquarters had sent for her, it had simultaneously streamed all the data about her charges into her head via a data uplink. Sierra had water manipulation, Yuki had gravity control, and Kamin had light - all standard ESPer skillsets. Venser, however, seemed to have the ability to partake into wholly different standards.
"We are going to recover this bomb that was purportedly stolen by World Without Boundaries. In the process, if anyone attempts to obstruct our movement, we will take action against them with extreme prejudice. As the original quest holders for this bomb case, you should know the ability of this weapon to end the world as we know it."
She turned. Kirisame Marisa - it was indeed a familiar name in New Technia. The legendary magus who had single-handedly taken out the SatNet system back when the President was still trying to take over new territory. Not that she had seen it, though. Back then, she was still struggling with 2D vectors.
"As for the current plan, we will transport you along with your party to the Dragnea base. This base will be used as the overall base for the coalition forces to be launched in the attack."
There was actually someone else who was listening in on this conversation - Mikoto could sense her via a large-scale low-wave electromagnetic field that she had sent out around her.
A Guardian was watching. Not someone you could mess with, but then again, not someone who would cause problems.
It's not a problem, anyway. She won't do anything if everything's kept under control.
Mikoto pulled herself back onto the Dragonfly, turned back to the group, and gave a grin.
"Well, coming on?"
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Post by skiboydoggy on Aug 3, 2009 23:12:03 GMT 8
"Right then, let's go! But first..."
Yuki ran off and kidnapped Sierra along for the ride, before jumping into the Dragonfly with something approaching glee. It was about to be time to do the whole saving the world thing, and breaking stuff. Either one was good enough for him, but both together was plain awesome.
"I wonder what I'm going to do with my Tengu. Anyway, is there an armoury or something on board this plane? Because I think it's high time to get myself more fitting equipment to go. I can't just get by on my magic and my fist you know. Maybe a sword, preferably with a beam. Or a hammer, a hammer is good too."
He had been promised everything New Technia had to offer after all, it only made sense that he got himself some new gear to go.
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Post by schrodinger on Aug 4, 2009 1:01:54 GMT 8
Idly observing Yuki grabbing Sierra, Venser walked into the waiting vehicle.
My, they're...affectionate. Sort of makes me mourn for my wasted youth.
You made the choice to give your time away, you know. Don't cheapen your decision by calling it that.
Do you think I could have lived with myself if I hadn't made that decision?
You'd be surprised what people can live with...
...I hope I never need to find out. Speaking of time, I need to stay in the present.
Turning to the liaison, he echoed Yuki's question.
"Is there an armory around here that I could obtain another weapon? The firearm I'm using at present is a little lacking in subtlety."
Inwardly, he reflected on what she'd been thinking earlier.
She's right... for better or for worse, I'm not the same as them. But I barely know anything about these people at the moment. Everyone's bound to have a few skeletons in the closet.
In your case, it's way more than just a few.
...they're sleeping. Not dead. What do you think I'm here for? Someday I'll return and give them the closure they deserve - but that's out of my grasp for now.
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Post by RaineScarlet on Aug 4, 2009 9:03:56 GMT 8
Why is it.. that I always seem to find myself on airplanes lately? Sierra wondered as she allowed herself to be led by Yuki. Something told her that this was the right way to go--a light tug by the spirits.
The Undine missed the lush forested areas that she had grown used to, and that she had been separated from since beginning this awkward journey to save lives. However, it was a necessary sacrifice.
She noted the others inquiring about weapons and frowned inwardly. Of course, they would be needed, no matter how much she personally disliked the notion. Sierra patted her water pouch--quite full, since she had been adding to it while waiting for her companions. That was the only weapon she needed.
Somewhat satisfied, she detached herself from the group and wandered over to a window, where she hummed one of her songs absentmindedly. Without the influence of the spirits, it was only a harmless melody.
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Post by NPC Controller on Aug 4, 2009 11:13:35 GMT 8
Misaka Mikoto
"An armoury in this plane? No, that's not possible, it's really small." Mikoto laughed slightly as she patted the airframe.
"And if you're worrying about your Tengu..."
Suddenly, a small whine could be heard out of the back of the Dragonfly. The whine slowly increased in pitch and resonance - until Yuki's Tengu careened over and righted itself under the rear overhang of the transport plane.
"Electromagnetic crane. Best of the best. Lifts anything from civilian cars to main battle tanks."
The Dragonfly gave a short blast of air, and pushed itself off the landing pad. After rising about fifty feet, the rearward facing engines fired, and the plane shot off.
"There is an armoury on board the Dragnea base. You can stock up on equipment after we get there."
Mikoto walked into a corner of the bay, and picked up a phone.
"Command? This is Static-Fox. Precious cargo Wolf-Bravo-One has been secured."
She stayed on the phone a while, then shut it off.
"We should be arriving at the base soon. Please watch your step when you get out."
As if in response, the whine of the engines died down, and the struts of the Dragonfly hit solid ground.
The bay doors opened, and Mikoto stepped out. She turned back, and smiled at the people she had just met moments before.
"Welcome to Dragnea base."
The base was a vast facility, with aircraft and vehicles visible in all directions. A control tower was situated right in the middle of everything, its radar array in constant motion far above.
It was a very impressive base.
It also happened to be floating fifty thousand feet in the air.
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Post by Mathus on Aug 4, 2009 15:49:12 GMT 8
After wandering for an hour or so, Sol arrived at the entrance.
'Let's see, the more weird the building looked, the more important it probably is..'
Sol entered and approached a nearby desk.
"Excuse me, is this some sort of an information center by any chance?"
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Post by skiboydoggy on Aug 4, 2009 23:08:23 GMT 8
"We're still in the air." Yuki murmured as he got off the plane. He knew things like that, it came with the magic. An inherent instinct for height, weight, vectors, and more than anything, gravity. Which allowed him to come to one conclusion: This was one helluva base.
"So we're heading towards the World Without Boundaries base from here? That should make a brilliant entrance." He grinned as he walked towards the base.
"Although I wonder how effective entering by air will be, considering what we saw from Cipher..."
"Oh, who cares, we'll deal with that when it happens. Now then, to the armoury!"
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Post by NPC Controller on Aug 6, 2009 15:00:11 GMT 8
New Technia Headquarters - Information Counter
The counter girl smiled at the new arrival at the information centre.
This was most definitely not a resident of the area.
His armor was overly dramatic, and stuck out at weird angles all over him. In fact, the counter girl was rather inclined to laugh at such an archaic look.
But of course, customer is king.
"Welcome to the New Technia Millenium Sail. This is the Information Counter, where you can get information on any aspect of this city you wish to know about. How may I be of assistance?"
[[Dragnea Base now has its own thread.]]
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Post by Mathus on Aug 6, 2009 17:03:50 GMT 8
'Ah, so it is an information center'
"I'm not sure if you might have it, but I want all the information regarding 'Trans'"
'I doubt I'll get anything useful..'
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