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Post by Lorie Zetros on Aug 9, 2023 11:32:46 GMT
Lorie stared at the illuminated blast door at the end of the hall, the entrance to the Light Security facility. The full term was two words and six syllables longer than that, and she did not bother to spend the brain cells to remember all that when Hofud no doubt already had it on file somewhere. The important thing was that the Volunteer Commission called them up while they were relaxing in their bunk room, and gave them this mission. So much for a time of reprieve. It hadn't even been a day since the Admiral's announcement and they were already busy. Well, at least it involved combat rather than... whatever intelligence gathering they might have instead undertaken. She awakened her Device and donned her Knight Armour before turning left to address Sigi. "They called it a 'familiar', but it is certainly unlike any sort we're familiar with." Unintentional pun aside, she was quite serious. "Otherwise, it would not have escaped secure containment."Yes, even though it was light security. Perhaps that only spoke to its relative threat level, rather than its overall danger. The intercom above them broadcast sounds of combat devices firing off shots, and security personnel yelling unintelligibly over a TACNET signal so weak video wasn't even available. "It seems we have our work cut out for us, do we not?" She gave her vassal a confident smirk before starting the walk toward the blast door. [242/242] Sigi Winter
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Post by Sigi Winter on Aug 9, 2023 19:20:30 GMT
Sigi did one last check of her gear before the techs started to cycle the blast door open. This was her first real combat mission in a long time, and she didn’t want anything breaking once the fighting started. She glanced over the disgnostics as Gungnir scrolled them across her vision. Lorie was commenting on the nature of the threat, and Sigi couldn’t help but feel this was a little bit of karmic retribution for complaining about not knowing enough about what they were facing earlier.
Still, she was reassured having her friend stand beside her. Sigi didn’t know how much real world combat experience Lorie had, but she knew she was amazing with her device, and surely a lady of such high standing had had plenty of training. Sigi would have much preferred their first mission together to be a leisurely walk through downtown, but if they ended this quickly enough they might have enough time to do both. Lorie had been generous lately, so maybe she would take her out even if it wasn’t a mission if she did a good job. She grinned at the thought— unlikely though it may be, she chose to keep her fantasy.
Sigi racked the cartridges on both arms in response to Lorie’s question. “I’ve got your back, Lady Hechingen.”
[232/232/1]
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Post by Lorie Zetros on Aug 10, 2023 16:30:44 GMT
Lorie's smirk grew into a smile as she nodded at the eagerness in Sigi's response. At least, the racking of cartridges was an action speaking even louder than her verbal reassurance. "Then let us sally forth."The self-proclaimed Archon took the first step, leading her companion down the dimly lit hall to the blast door. The pale blue barrier serving as its hardened reinforcement evaporated as the techs announced it was ready to open. With a mechanical whir, the circular seal at the centre of the door turned clockwise for a full revolution. Deadbolts audibly retracted with a loud click, and with a sudden brief hiss, the door split in two, revealing... more hallway. A sign printed in Michildan lettering hung from the ceiling, giving directions to certain areas. Directly to the right was another blast door, albeit with a reinforced transparisteel window: the Security Room. Further down the hall, it would split up to Labs 1 through 10, and 11 through 20 in opposite branches. Straight ahead led to the Containment Wing. Nothing looked too out of the ordinary just yet. Although the lack of people in the hall aroused a liminal unease. Lorie glanced at the window to find a number of guards, one waving them along to head further down the hall. As soon as the two stepped past the security room, the intercom buzzed. <<VOLUNTEER UNIT KAPPA-3, DESIGNATED "TWIN-TAILED FOX", HAS ENTERED THE FACILITY. ALL SURVIVOURS ARE ADVISED TO STAY IN THE EVACUATION SHELTER OR ANY OTHER SAFE AREA UNTIL THE UNIT HAS SECURED THE FACILITY. WE'LL START ESCORTING PERSONNEL OUT ONCE THE ESCAPED THREAT OBJECT HAS BEEN RECONTAINED>>It ended with a grating metallic squawk that echoed through the empty hall. "Kappa-3... ugh... so plain." Good thing it was a designation for this mission only... In the distance, she thought she heard the report of magical boltshots, intermixed with a strange, unearthly warble. [255/497] Sigi Winter
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Post by Sigi Winter on Aug 10, 2023 20:44:39 GMT
"Don't say that, Lady Hechingen. Kappas are cute! Sigi wasn't sure a mythical creature that drowns children was an appropriate designation for this mission either, but at least they didn't get named after a tanuki. The things she had heard from some of the other volunteers...
She was broken out of her musings by the sounds of magical explosions and ominous moaning. She had expected this would be some kind of monster, but that didn't make it any less unsettling to hear such clearly inhuman noises coming from down the hall. It was reassuring, though, that there seemed to be some survivors.
Knowing that Lorie was more than capable of keeping up with her from their drop onto this planet, Sigi didn't hesitate to dig in her boots and shoot down the hall toward the sounds. Whatever this was, they had to take it out before it hurt any more people.
Gungnir, prepare for contact. Ready charges for loading."
"Roger~"
Gungnir started an active scan of the surroundings. Thankfully it only identified a single target, though the threat level was still unknown. Whatever it was, she'd just have to hit it until it went down.
[213/445/2]
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Post by Lorie Zetros on Aug 11, 2023 16:24:06 GMT
Lorie opened her mouth to say something, but Sigi's reply was simply so out of left field that nothing could come to mind. The self-styled Archon could only concede. "You... have a point, Sigi."Still in something of a stupor, it was all she could manage, rather than devote brain power to explaining that this Kappa was an old Midchildan letter, rather than the water beast from the legends of planets following a certain aesthetic. As the pair sped down the hall in the direction of the target, she could only steel herself. "Hofud, verify the figures given to us by the security room."The search for life signs was a quick one, at least when one focused on where the sounds were coming from. "Meine Herrin, there are three troopers currently engaged with-"A blood curdling cry echoed down the hall, followed a few moments later with the loud bang of a mana grenade. "Scratch that. Two troopers currently engaged with the target."Lorie scoffed in irritation. Why were low class mages so fragile? Belkan footmen would not fall so quickly. At the very least, if they did, they would have used their last breaths to ensure they brought the beast down with them. The two knights rounded the corner just in time to see a hint of a vaguely humanoid figure dart down another intersection of the hall. Before them, though, was some sort of dead end with a large machine of some sort, and three guards. One sprawled on the floor, with gristly fresh wounds that smelled like... ketchup...? And... mustard...? "Oh, thank the Sanktkaiser," the man sighed in relief, "They sent Knights!""The familiar's kissed most of the unpowered staff," the woman started explaining. "We think it might want to redact them all in one place."Lorie squinted in confusion. Kiss? Redact? There really was a lot that they needed to learn. And while she understood the basic definitions of these words, their current context was... inexplicable. These two had a lot of explaining to do. [343/840] Sigi Winter
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Post by Sigi Winter on Aug 11, 2023 22:37:20 GMT
Sigi ran to the troopers' sides and examined their wounds. She wasn't a medic, but it didn't look like they were going to die. One of them was talking about kissing or something, which didn't make any sense at all. Maybe it was a concussion or shock from seeing their friend die in front of them. "You're ok now. Lady Hechingen and I will take care of the hostile. Can the two of you make it back to the entrance on your own? You both need to go to the med bay immediately to get checked out."
Sigi turned to Lorie and tried to give her a discreet, "Did you just hear her say that too?" look. She had hoped they might be able to give them more information on the target, but if neither of them were able to make a coherent sentence... And why did she smell ketchup? Surely the familiar hadn't torn that poor soldier apart with a bottle of ketchup. Was it some kind of spell that used ketchup as a catalyst? Sigi's head was spinning with the possibilities. Earth magic was too strange.
"What should we do, Lady Hechingen? I don't want to leave these two alone, but we can't let the familiar escape."
[225/722/3]
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Post by Lorie Zetros on Aug 12, 2023 16:52:12 GMT
"We'll be fine, ma'am," the male trooper nodded. Somewhat rattled, but clearly calmer as soon as he exclaimed the arrival of knights. "Jenkins, though..."The woman shook her head. "That should've been me. He jumped in with the grenade and..." The story was at least starting to come together. Sort of... When Sigi gave her that interrogative look, Lorie could only nod, her eyes showing genuine confusion. For the things that were more discernable, however, she looked around, and sure enough, there was some scorching of a large area of the hall nearby, consistent with a mana grenade. The damage was minimal, as one would expect from all magical weapons. But the firepower was sufficient to leave those burn marks. She turned back to Sigi to address the question. "There is only one familiar. If we pursue it, and they say they'll make it, then the odds are good that they won't encounter it again if they head the other way." Unless the hallway looped around again... To which she had Hofud check the facility map. A golden projection filled the air in front of her. Yes, it didn't look like a looping architecture. But it did branch out more than she would have preferred. Lorie faced the lady trooper. "If you wish for us to avenge Jenkins and save the rest of the staff, we require everything you know about the familiar. Like what did you mean by kissing?" And that was only the tip of the iceberg. That smell of ketchup and mustard for one... why? The trooper lit up once she realised they barely knew anything. Her explanation was concise, about the kiss. And the most likely place it would have led its kiss victims: the large, centrally located testing chamber. As for the smell... "You'll understand once you face it," was all she could say, before wishing them luck and helping her comrade in the direction of the med bay. While all that was rather helpful, Lorie found it somewhat annoying that they left out the most bizarre mystery of all. "Let us go then, Sigi. The hunt continues."[353/1193] Sigi Winter
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Post by Sigi Winter on Aug 13, 2023 11:03:33 GMT
Sigi set off down the hall after Lorie, growing increasingly more concerned. This thing was going around kissing people?! All the Midchildan familiars she had seen were cute animals, so it wouldn’t be all that bad to be kissed by one, but she definitely saw some human features in the brief glimpse she got earlier. If these alternate universe familiars were more human-like…
“Lady Hechingen, what should we do about this thing kissing us? I-I’ve never been kissed before, and I do NOT want my first time to be with a weird monster that smells like ketchup!
This was silly. She was a trained knight of the Sainktkaiser. She shouldn’t even be entertaining the idea of getting hit by a threat of this level. But if it did happen… The thought set her spine tingling, and she could feel her face getting hot. She had fought countless monsters across the univers, but never any that would do something like THAT. Sigi covered her face so Lorie couldn’t see how shamefully she was acting. “I’m sorry lady Hechingen, I know it’s ridiculous, but I just can’t stop thinking about it. I mean, what if it’s REALLY gross or something?!”
[222/944]
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Post by Lorie Zetros on Aug 13, 2023 14:10:00 GMT
As Hofud continued to guide the two down the hall, Sigi voiced a very legitimate concern. The female guard's explanation was concise, but something still felt off about it. She'd said the familiar's kiss placed those without magic capacity under its sway, a kind of mental interference spell, based on the researchers' best guesses. But she never clarified whether it was a literal kiss or a metaphorical one. Researchers did tend to have this annoying habit of giving whimsical names to things. Probably having to do with spellcrafting in general. Sigi had a point, though... Even considering their linker cores providing protection against that mental interference, if it was a literal kiss, it would be at the least, a sickening, ketchup-laden slobber... Lorie held back a shudder as best as she could, and hoped that Sigi covering her face would in turn conceal the suzerein's own unnerving from the thought. She cleared her throat. She was the suzerain. She had to project strength for her vassal's morale. Stopping for a just a moment, she held up her hand and concentrated, once again bringing her family's signature magic into play. Two faceplates made of golden light materialised in her grasp. She offered the first to her vassal before putting on the other. "This should be enough to ward off the physical aspect of the kiss," assuming it had one. "But aside from kissing, it is fragile. Do not think of it as a helmet."Lorie cleared her throat and resumed the trek down the hall. "We are Knights of Belka, Sigi. As such, we must protect our honour. Hopefully, with these plates, no foul ketchup will tarnish our lips."She could hear something now... something unusual. Again, the unearthly warbling. It couldn't have been far. Lorie's chain of thought was interrupted when she suddenly lost control of her footing and slammed into the wall of a T intersection. When she came to, she was looking down at a creamy white substance with pale green lumps, which had now splattered over her armoured skirt. Looking back from whence she came, a disturbing realisation dawned on her. "The hall... when did it start being covered in this...?" It looked nothing like this earlier. She swiped a bit of this substance with her finger and brought it close enough to smell... She gritted her teeth... "Tartare sauce...?" Just what was going on here? [401/1594] Sigi Winter
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Post by Sigi Winter on Aug 14, 2023 14:03:44 GMT
Sigi slid the mask over her face and nodded, sure that her precious first kiss was now safely out of reach of the horrifying monster. Lorie may be a bit rough around the edges, but she always came through when it mattered. Unfortunately, Sigi was not able to return the favor when Lorie started to slip on the tartar sauce. She was barely able to keep her own footing on the condiment. Her legs sloshed around frantically and she waved her arms every which way, eventually steadying herself and finding a good balance. Where did this stuff even come from? Both of their devices should have picked up a terrain hazard well before they encountered it, let alone that they should have been able to see a huge puddle of white goo easily as they walked down the hallway. Sigi had seen illusion spells create similar effects, but those broke down quickly once you interacted with them. Lorie was absolutely covered with the stuff, so it seemed real enough.
"Are you alright Lady Hechingen?" Sigi shuffled over to her and looked her up and down. She had hit the wall pretty hard, but that was nothing a knight couldn't withstand. Navigating the freshly lubricated hallways was a different matter though. Capable as they both were, it wouldn't matter much if they couldn't stand on their own two feet. Sigi did have a technique she had been meaning to try out though...
The House Winter combat style relied heavily on mobility, and Sigi's device had been outfitted with several tools to make her as nimble as possible in any situation. The foremost among those tools were the various thrusters and anchor lines arrayed along her armor. Usually, she used these for an extra boost of speed to dart past an enemy's guard. After a particularly difficult encounter on the ice planet Jarilo VI, however, Sigi had begun practicing finer control over her gear, so that she could use them to skate across a smooth surface in the absence of normal traction. She had even gotten good enough to be able to swing around corners and change direction at will. She had never tried it with another person in tow though.
"I think I have a plan. If you would permit me to put my arm around your waist, Lady Hechingen, I can push us through the sauce. Our boots will get dirty, but it should be relatively easy to keep your balance as long as you keep your center of gravity low and lean with me when we turn.
[444/1188]
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Post by Lorie Zetros on Aug 14, 2023 15:22:36 GMT
The sauce was everywhere. All over the floor, dripping from the ceiling, oozing down from the walls. Both their Devices were unable to provide any early warnings. Was it because of the strange magic the familiar used? It was the best explanation she could come up with. And if anything, it was consistent with its earlier use of condiments... Lorie carefully brought herself back up and gave Sigi an affirmative nod. "Yes. The impact was mild." She planted an armoured palm into the wall to steady herself. The longer her eyes stayed on the tartare sauce, the more it seemed to be... breathing. Just what on Belka was going on here? Did the familiar really have the capability to transmute the environment on such a scale? Wasn't the facility equipped with countermeasures? Or was it simply because of the difference in magic? Sigi proposed a plan for navigating through this slippery muck. It wasn't going to keep them completely free of the sauce. But at least they wouldn't lose their balance. And for what it was worth, the cost was just a bit of personal space, as opposed to what Lorie had already been considering: expending a potentially large amount of mana to conjure photonic pavement. A quick glance down the hall told her that doing that all the way to the familiar would bleed her dry before they even started fighting it. The self-styled Archon gave a nod to her vassal. "Your proposal is acceptable, Sigi." Personal space was still quite personal, though. And although Lorie trusted in her vassal's competence, there was... just a hint of uncharacteristic timidity in her movement as she slowly closed the gap between them. Just a step or two, no biggie. She raised her arms to grant access. "You may embrace us."[299/1893] Sigi Winter
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Post by Sigi Winter on Aug 16, 2023 12:02:32 GMT
Sigi was thankful for the mask because she couldn't hide her sly grin. Was Lorie actually being shy? She was happy to see this uncharacteristic side of her friend, but avoided teasing her about it. She felt like she had gotten just a little bit closer to breaking down Lorie's thick walls, and didn't want to damage that. "If you'll excuse me then, Lady Hechingen." Sigi closed the rest of the distance, probably a bit faster than Lorie would have liked, and slipped an arm snugly around her waist. She wondered how Lorie managed to smell nice, even covered in tartar sauce. Was she using magic for it, or was it just some kind of high class soap perfume only rich girls could afford? She'd have to ask once they were out of here, considering she'd likely be scrubbing the scent of mayonnaise out of her hair for the next month. "If you start to lose your balance, you can hold on to me to steady yourself. I'll try to keep the pace relatively slow, but if there's an emergency be ready to hold on tight. Ready? Ok, here we go." Sigi powered on her thrusters, and the two started off down the hall. Gungnir had lost track of the creature while they were regaining their bearings, but it had picked up some weird noises coming from this direction just before the tartar sauce appeared. The first turn was coming up, so Sigi latched an anchor line to the corner and squeezed Lorie a little tighter. The G-force from turning a corner was always a little jolting, and they'd have twice as much momentum as normal with two of them together. She dropped her stance and spread her legs further to compensate, leaning into the turn and bracing Lorie with her outside leg. Thankfully, while the increased momentum made it harder to hold on, it also made their turn slower, and the timing for releasing the anchor was easier. When she was first learning this technique, she missed the timing and slammed into a wall more often then not, and she doubted Lorie would appreciate that very much. "Very good, Lady Hechingen! I'm not picking up the familiar anymore. Can you see anything?" [397/1585]
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Post by Lorie Zetros on Aug 16, 2023 13:52:57 GMT
All things considered, Lorie was surprised at Sigi's rapid approach. Though at least this time, she managed to successfully suppress the squeak that threatened to escape her throat. She just had to think of it as something like a medic carrying her out of a crippling situation, for example. Except such things only tended to happen when she was already unconscious. She was particularly stubborn when it came to combat, and would continue to get up until you put out her lights, no matter how badly she was injured. Lothur learned that the hard way when despite practically peppering her with little cuts, she still charged at him despite the burning pain. Most others would be immobilised by that, but not Lorie. Must have been her Strong Blood. The little Archon took her vassal's advice to heart and mirrored the move, securing one arm around Sigi's waist while the other held onto her Device. Giving a nod, she braced herself, and Sigi sprung into action. Well more like blasted off, really. It was fast, probably exceeding their earlier run. And yet Sigi had taken to it like a fish to water. As they approached a corner, the minor noble threw out an anchor and used it to swing around without a hitch. "We take it that your House deals in mobility? Or is this something you developed on your own?"In either case, it truly was impressive. Sigi did make an important inquiry, though, and she looked about, presumably because Sigi was keeping her focus on maintaining control. What she saw was... interesting... "It appears to be leaving a trail. We wish it were of breadcrumbs, though." From green speckled white, the hall was now covered in goopy deep, almost orange shade of yellow. There was no doubt that it was now cheese. Paying attention to each intersection and fork, it was suspiciously convenient that there was exactly one path... of condiments. Sometimes it would go straight ahead. Others, it would make a turn. But it never went both ways. Always a single path. Whether it was a trap, or just its natural tendency was still up for debate. But that unearthly warbling was definitely drawing closer... [367/2260] Sigi Winter
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Post by Sigi Winter on Aug 16, 2023 19:29:26 GMT
“Hehe, it’s a little of both. Sigi puffed out her chest, proud to be able to show off in front of her friend. House Winter’s style is very mobile, but I actually developed this technique myself to help deal with icy environments. It works pretty well in zero gravity combat too, but I’m still working on that.”
Sigi felt the resistance against her boots change just before she noticed the hallways were now covered with cheese instead of tartar sauce. The smell was much better, but while the cheese was still slippery it was also a lot more goopy, so she had to give her thrusters a little more boost to keep up pace.
What in the world was this creature, and why did it keep splattering condiments everywhere? It didn’t seem to be running away— if it were then it wouldn’t be leaving behind such an obvious trail— but if it were trying to ambush them why not do it when they were off guard slipping around on tartar sauce? Perhaps it was trying to lead them into something even more dangerous. If that was the case, then playing along would put them both in danger.
“Lady Hechingen, I am going to try to catch us up to it. Please hold on tight. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”
Sigi pulled Lorie closer again. There was a brief moment while they coasted as the thrusters charged up to high gear. The whine of the engines quickly built to a roar, then they jerked forward, sending a spray of cheese behind them.
Sigi was unsure if the familiar was trying to throw them off or if they were just moving that much faster, but the turns felt like they were coming much more frequently now. Thankfully, the other still didn’t split, and she gathered speed as the catapulted around each bend.
They continued along, until Sigi rounded another corner and found something large and red straight in her path. She reacted on instinct, using two quick anchor lines to direct them around the obstacle without losing speed. ”WAS THAT A TOMATO SLICE?!”
Pickles, onions, bacon, and lettuce— all manner of giant toppings cluttered the hallways. Sigi deftly weaved between each one, sure that they must be getting close by this point. “I think we are almost there. Just a little further and— OH COME ON!”
A huge slice of bread was wedged in the hallway, just before the next turn. If they hit it at this speed, they’d be painting the walls instead, but at this speed there was no way they’d stop in time. Alone this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but with Lorie here… well she supposed now wasn’t the time for decorum. Sigi dipped low, keeping Lorie braced with one hand and scooping her up into Sigi’s arms with the other. Then, she jumped. There was a moment of weightlessness as the two sailed through the air, then Sigi put her legs out in front of her, impacting with the wall full force and putting two deep dents into the wall. She pushed off again, righting herself and setting Lorie back down as they continued down the hallway. “Apologies Lady Hechingen, but there was no time to warn you. I think I see something moving up ahead.
[613/2198]
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