Hook, Line, and Sinker (Verus)

GEAR

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#61
By the time Farron returned, Eris was busy typing away at a control panel in the upper levels, having evidently found what she came for. She gave the man an irritated look as he arrived - which then turned to one of surprise as he seemed to have located a scantily clad woman... But, the screen caught her attention, thankfully, before she could start asking questions, a prompt rising from its holographic surface in front of her.

DISENGAGING SAFETY LOCKS
ADDITIONAL CLEARANCE REQUIRED
PLACE HAND ON SCANNER
At length, she placed the container she had brought with her on the floor, her delicate fingertips tapping a code into a dark corner of its surface. Telltales winked from red to green, and its top slid open with a hiss of compressed air. Coils of white mist erupted from its confines, as Eris reached in-

And produced a severed human arm, her fingers wrapped around a clean break at its shoulder. It appeared to be a man's, average in its composition, with a barcode conspicuously tattooed on its wrist. Examining it momentarily for any traces of decay, the woman then pressed its pale palm against the scanner, similar to the one Farron had interacted with only minutes earlier. A couple of anxious moments later, the machine gave an affirming chirp.

>DNA ACCEPTED: DR. F.GRANVEIA
>DRAINING CONTAINER #4
The limb's apparent use concluded, the woman tossed it back in its container with the casualness of one used to such things. She had little desire, it seemed, to continue to carry it around with her - but just in case it was needed further, there was no need to cause any additional difficulties.

A set of warning lights came on overhead, and one of the large containers below gave a rumble as it began to rise into the air, the platform below it elevating it. It reached the second level above before coming to a halt, the lights changing from red to yellow. The fluid in the tank began to fall away, and pumps that extended from the underside of the tank, snaking away into the undergrowth below, whirred to life for the first time in years.

As she waited, she turned her attention to the fretting Ayatane, calling out to her over the sound of the rushing water:

"What's the matter, Ayatane?"
 
Jun 14, 2018
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#62
The einst had taken on an unnatural stillness, staring at the silvered foliage as though frozen in thought; Eris' words seemed to rouse it from the stupor, causing it to glance her way. Rather than responding, it scanned the area above them, seemingly inspecting the crisscrossed network of platforms and catwalks. The third level, it appeared, had been oriented toward the actual research on...whatever clandestine thing they had been working on in this place. Ayatane dropped into a crouch in lieu of a verbal response, the musculature of the woman's calves and thighs seeming to bulge and swell as mass shifted there from areas deemed less important. The joys of body control on the cellular level. With a single colossal bound she launched from her current position to an upper catwalk, landing with a clang that echoed through the cavernous space.

...forces beyond...their control... The words would echo in Eris' head, but felt somehow...unintentional? It seemed as though humans were not alone in thinking out loud, or perhaps it was just the influence of Ayatane's biology on the alien mind. Striding rapidly to the nearest terminal, the doctor pressed a palm to its surface. Her hand appeared to sink straight through the metal-and-plastic casing as it bonded with the material, and much as before a dense cluster of sinewy feelers branched out to contact the computer's inner workings, snaking their way into every connection, nook, and cranny. The woman's eyes glazed over as she processed the information contained within - data that was split off from the rest of the station's systems. Research too sensitive to risk exposure through an outside line, even just within the greater confines of a secure military installation.

'Alarming' would have been a gross understatement for what she found, for einst and human alike. There had been a suspicion from the moment they had first spotted the metallic, plant-like growths. But this was....

There was a distinctly thick, wet sound, like someone had dropped a bowling ball into mud. Judging by the gray object that dropped briefly through Eris's field of view, Ayatane had plunged into the vat nearest to that which she was draining, seemingly diving headlong into the orange fluid.

-----

It was dark, viscous, and slightly warm.

Shadows loomed up at the einst as it descended slowly through the murky liquid, the contents visible only as vague shapes even to its beyond-human vision. It made no attempt to halt its progress into the depths of the vat - that was, until the great bulging curve of a colossal sphere emerged from the fog. Just as it had feared...a Core.

Kicking through the heavy liquid, it approached the globe with long fingers extended. Hesitated. Then plunged the digits deep into the sphere, arm sinking effortlessely through the surface.

One must understand that the einst were, under ordinary circumstances, a hiveminded entity. Many bodies possessed of a single consciousness, all thoughts and desires driven by the will of the regisseur - the Director. The being that had become known as Ayatane was one such 'individual'; cut off from the greater presence, it required autonomy which the rank-and-file einst did not possess in order to complete its mission of scouting mankind's progress. And so its thoughts did meld easily with those of the thing in the vat, for it too was a living creature. Sleeping a deep artificial sleep, but alive.

What mankind had accomplished - through no small effort and decades of study of the frozen Ayatane - was the creation of an artificial near-einst. A thing similar enough in composition to possess all of the inherent advantages of einst biology, yet made thrall to man's will through genetic and mental programming. It had rested here, undisturbed and in stasis, for many years as it continued to grow ever larger, ever more potent. The greatest biological weapon.

It woke slowly at Ayatane's touch, mind sluggish and restricted by the limits that had been placed upon it. It lacked individuality beyond the most basic instincts, reliant on the thoughts of a human pilot for more intricate behaviors. It was almost like...a puppy, perhaps, as the closest comparison. A tremendously strong and dangerous puppy that had no concept of right or wrong. To the einst this thing was an abomination, regardless of the tremendous scientific accomplishment it represented for the researchers of Anemone Station.

It sunk into the gemlike Core, melding wholly with the other being. A singular body with a combined consciousness, Ayatane's intellect overriding the powerful animal instincts that had been left intact by the thing's creators.

This...slavery...must be corrected.

-----

A low, growling tone rumbled through the structure, originating from the vat Ayatane had entered. It was replaced a moment later by the tremendous crash of shattering glass as a gargantuan fist - violet in color and clearly organic in nature - was driven through the side of the tank from within. A chain reaction of cracks ran around the vat's circumference, a vast volume of orange fluid flooding the area as it collapsed wholesale.

The figure revealed as liquid gushed to the floor was hulking and bestial, so wide in shoulder and hip that it appeared squat despite towering to more than 35 meters in height. Deep purple armor was clad over an obviously biological frame; beyond the bare left fist, what appeared to be an almost comically large weapon module was wrapped around the right arm. The shining core, a flawless crimson sphere, lay nested in the center of its bulky torso.

Red eyes glinted from beneath its brow, scanning the room for Eris and Farron...
 
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VeraC

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#63
Farron and Z1 returned to see Eris tapping away at a console, and Ayatane freaking out over… something.

“Query: Are these your companions?”

“...Yeah.” Farron wasn’t sure what to think at the moment; everyone was in their own world.

“...” Z1 had a troubled look on her face. It seemed that Farron’s companions weren’t all she expected them to be.

“Did you all find what you were looking fo-” Farron was interrupted by Ayatane, just jumping into one of the vats of orange liquid. A look of disbelief hit Farron, as he was getting more and more confused at what was going on. He took a sigh and leaned against one of the railings of the catwalk.

“First space pirates, then a mercenary, then getting locked in this place, some shapeshifting alien, and now this… I don’t blame you, I’d go insane too.” Farron was slightly laughing to himself, looking away from everyone else.

“Query: Master, are you alright?” Z1 had a slightly concerned look on her face.

“Not really.”

Farron spaced out for a brief moment, before being startled by the vat that Ayatane had went in shattering and tang being spilt all over the surrounding area. Farron turned to see what was going on, with an irritated look on his face.

“Now wha-” He stopped mid sentence as he saw the hulking thing. Z1 rushed infront of Farron, holding her arm in front of him, and had her right arm cocked at her side, for some reason. Farron thought for a moment, and tried connecting the dots.

“Ayatane, you still alive?
 

GEAR

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#64
Eris watched as the water drained from the tank nearest to her. The orange liquid receded to reveal... A humanoid form, standing upright, about 23-odd meters in height. It was onyx black, its form dominated by a series of thruster-laden spires that jutted out from its back and shoulders. A pair of ear-like bladed protrusions swept back behind a closed, helmeted head, its lineage to the Gespenst series of Personal Troopers clear... Yet, its surface glistened unlike any of its predecessors, the living metal that made up its exterior drying rapidly as it hungrily absorbed the last traces of the nutrient-rich preservative that had held it in suspended animation.

On its chest was a snugly-encapsulated red sphere, one not-unlike the one on Ayatane's new monster machine... Yet, its function couldn't have been more different, for it was, in her mind... The true prize of this expedition: The Tsentr Project's opus: Medius Locus... And with it, the artificial intelligence module, AI1. After all this time... It was finally in her grasp.

She began to make her way towards it - but the splash suddenly caught her attention. She scowled as she turned, expecting Farron to have cast something into the liquid - but when the true source became apparent, she gave a shout:

"Ayatane!"

As the glass shattered, Eris shielded her face, eyes going wide as saucers as something truly monstrous made its presence known, its fist erupting into the room. She gasped and tumbled back onto the catwalk with surprise, eyes tracing up... up the behemoth as it emerged, trying to fit all of it in her view at once to no avail. Not even her intelligence had suggested something like... this was being built here. What... Was it? Some kind of... Hybrid?

At a loss for words, she merely gaped, rooted to the spot, her prize temporarily forgotten as she waited to see what... If anything, this monster would do.
 
Jun 14, 2018
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#65
The machine's heavyset frame shifted, loose shards of glass tinkling and popping audibly beneath its feet as it took two colossal steps free of the vat's base. Its mutated left hand moved in Eris' direction, great branching veins and rippling musculature visible beneath the limb's surface; a single bulky digit extended towards her, the thing's clawed index finger coming to rest at the catwalk's edge. A clear invitation to climb aboard.

Do not...worry. We...are here. Come. There was something different about the einst's mental 'voice' - deeper and more baritone, shadowed by a slight echo. The influence of this new presence, no doubt. Beyond that it seemed to match the same old Ayatane...what little they knew of the alien entity, that was. Should Eris opt to accept the einst's help it would turn 'round, armored right arm swinging out almost casually to likewise scatter to the wind the tank that enshrined the Medius, and deposit her near what appeared to be a hatch set into the unit's upper torso. Getting access was her own problem.

In truth, Ayatane had been so distracted that it had not even registered Farron's disappearance. Having caught sight of him as its gaze panned across the room, the einst could not help but notice (as one would hope) the near-nude figure that now accompanied the man. Another companion from the Valstork? Unlikely. It had seen the ship in his thoughts, but this woman did not match any of the descriptors it could recall. Another blasted black research project, then - the einst was easily agitated by being out of the loop on information, a state which it had been increasingly left in even since its escape back into the world. Perhaps it would probe his thoughts again later to fill in the gaps.

You have...found what you...sought?
 

VeraC

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#66
The Thing before him was grotesque almost; a strange amalgamation of machinery and organic matter sown together like a patchwork chimera. He was, strangely, slightly relieved at the sound of the thing’s voice, as it was clear that Ayatane was, in some regard, still alive.

“Found what I was looking for?” He repeated to himself. “I mean, I found something but not what I was looking for…” He motioned toward Z1 next to him.

He turned to Eris, who had now taken acquisition of a black mech, almost similar to her last one.

So that’s what she was after…

With questions answered, and goals completed, Farron was ready to leave this place sooner rather than later.
 

GEAR

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#67
Eris nodded dumbly at Ayatane's psychic communication. The sense of someone speaking directly into her head, uninvited, was unnerving - but was overwhelmed by the gratitude she felt knowing that the... Monster, for lack of better word, wasn't going to harm her, with Ayatane at the controls. She accepted the proffered palm, clinging to a meaty finger as it rose, depositing her neatly onto the Medius's chest. Taking care not to slip on its slick surface, she slid into the cockpit, dropping down into the pilot seat with ease. Her fingers worked across the controls, bringing it to life under her fingertips, and at length, its head tilted up, yellow eyes flashing as it focused on the Alles Geist.

AI1 ONLINE
SCANNING...
MOBILE WEAPON DETECTED
RRR-X7 ALLES GEIST
CLASSIFICATION: EXPERIMENTAL HYBRID
BEGINNING DATA COLLECTION.
As the Medius stepped forward out of the ruins of its containment, however, a siren began to whine overhead - perhaps better late than never. The same female voice came on over the loudspeakers, calm and pleasant as always.

"Warning: Critical Containment Failure. Beginning Facility Self Destruct Protocols. All personnel, please evacuate immediately.
"...I think that's our cue to go." She breathed.

The large, purple monstrosity and the Medius advanced to the back of the laboratory, where they would find a service elevator - presumably one for moving materials and test subjects to the spaceport. With some hurried alterations - and Eris providing a lift to Farron and his curious new companion in the Medius's spacious cockpit, the group were able to get it working. With painful slowness, the platform rose into the air, carrying them upward...

...And sure enough, right back to where they had started, the form of the Valhawk, Valstork, and Axio Burglar coming into view as the platform rose out of the ground. Eris maneuvered the Medius forward as the facility continued its countdown, scowling at the reinforced doors behind the ship that had sealed shut.

"Any bright ideas?" She asked Farron, the tension clear in her voice - even with all three of them, she wasn't certain they had enough firepower to break through something like that...
 

VeraC

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#68
Farron and Z1 squeezed themselves in the cockpit of the medius; while it was rather spacious for a cockpit, fitting two people taller than 6’0” made it a tight fit. The group navigated through the lower levels towards the service elevator, and proceeded up to where they had left their mechs. Farron and Z1 transferred to the Valhawk, each taking their position in the cockpit.

“...Farron? Farron?!” Two female voices came on the comms of the Valhawk.

“I hear you, sorry about that, a lot of things happened.”

A visual feed opened up and Vallen’s and Kara’s worried faces could be seen, though their expression changed upon seeing Z1.

“Who’s that?” Kara asked.

“Greeting: I am Z1, a Automated Assistance AI, built by Erich Longinus. I was programmed to assist the Longinus family, and help operate the Valstork and Valhawk.” Z1 respectfully nodded her head in her greeting towards the two girls.

“...Like I said, a lot of things happened.” Farron followed up.

Kara had a doubtful look on her face, while Vallen had a smug look on her face.

“Statement: Beginning Synchronization with Valstork. Updating Databases, Firmware, Miscellaneous resources…” Z1’s body went stiff, and her voice switched to a more monotonous, robotic voice.

Any bright ideas?

“...Updated.” Z1’s normal voice returned. “Farron, I am capable of controlling both Valhawk and Valstork remotely, as well as manage various other systems of the two units. Would you like me to uplink to the Valstork?”

Farron thought for a moment. “...Yeah, do it.”

“Uplinking… Releasing limiters on Valstork… Artificial Memory linked.” An onslaught of information flowed through Z1’s AI-core, taking in the information of the Valstork’s systems and previous flight data.

“How do we get out of here?” Farron had Z1 link, hoping that there might be something the Valstork could do to get the out of the base, which had closed due to the safety shutters locking them in.

“Accessing Functions… Confirmed. Reccomend using the directed proton cannons.”

A series of menus came up on both the Valhawk and Valstork, as Z1 was accessing the commands of both units.

“What is she doing…?” Vallen raised an eyebrow, watching the systems of the Valstork move on their own.

“Let’s do it.” Farron spoke. “Vallen, Kara, get ready.”

“Right, we’ll connect.”

The dual proton cannons on the front of the valstork disconnected, and Valhawk maneuvered to lock them in its arms. Farron turned to aim at the shutter doors, and began charging the attack. Large spheres of energy began forming at the tips of the cannons, before unleashing a torrent of energy forth, impacting the shutter doors, causing the whole facility to shake violently.
 

GEAR

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#69
Eris could only watch in shock as the Valstork's fearsome main batteries lanced out from its front, snapped up by the Valhawk and carried overhead. What kind of battleship even had that kind of function? Just when she was beginning to doubt whether it would make a difference - the massively powerful weapon lit up, sending a stream of plasma that let out a blinding light, causing the Medius to shield its cameras instinctively.

When the light cleared, and Eris's own vision was clear of multi-colored dots dancing across its periphery... The entire door had been blown away, rendered into chunks. She gave a low whistle, the black machine floating forward to inspect the damage, glancing all about the periphery. AI1 recorded the entire spectacle in its database, silently filing it all away under the appropriate header.

"Now, why can't you do something like that, hm?" She said coyly, giving the console an affectionate pat. AI1, for its part, was silent as usual... but no doubt confused.

For the moment, there seemed to be no sign of the Flatfish - but no doubt it was lurking close by, and the resulting explosion would surely attract its attention in no time...
 

XekuZwei

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#70
The einst watched in rapt silence as the Valstork's guns efficiently and effectively clearing the way for their escape. Z1, it seemed, was more than just a pretty face. Three-pronged feet - with two artificial toes and one clearly organic talon - pushed the Alles Geist free of the elevator platform; here, at the edge of the station, the artificial gravity was weak enough that even the bulky unit could effectively float.

There is...one more...obstacle... The machine's eyes, insofar unclear as to whether they were mechanical or living flesh, flashed crimson as it activated in earnest. The wings sprouting from its back shifted, spreading wide; a pulsing blue glow emanated from the thrusters with which they were laden as the propulsion systems fired up for the very first time. It was no surprise that the biomechanical beast would operate flawlessly...the einst cells at the core of the unit had had far longer than originally planned to adhere and adapt to the man-made components, blending into one seamless creation.

Wordlessly it rocketed forward on a streak of bright azure flame, the einst at the helm seemingly intent on bull-charging the Flatfish for a head on confrontation by the way it charged past its compatriots, through the destroyed shutters and into open space.
 

VeraC

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#71
Farron was amazed by the sheer destruction of the proton cannons. The door was blown open with ease, and the Einst rushed out into space. There indeed was one more obstacle.

“New Lifeform… Identified.” Z1 spoke up, now detecting the fish from before. “Massive Pescatarian lifeform detected. Alles Geist moving to engage.”

“Then let’s go too, we need to clear a path. Can we use the Proton Cannons again?”

“Negative, still on cooldown.” Z1 replied.

“Surely the Valstork could deal some damage to it, no?” Vallen came up over the comms.

“Analyzing Target… Expected outcome: minimal effect. Mohs hardness rating preventing effectiveness.”

“Any ideas?” Farron asked.

“Cross Pattern System identified… Unlocking feature…” A console appeared on the screen of the Valhawk and Valstork, with code scrolling down rapidly, ending with a final line

>[Cross Pattern]... Unlocked

A blueprint appeared, showing a massive mech, as the design began breaking down, showing a connection between the Valstork and Valhawk.

>Codename: Valguard

Farron whistled at the design, and inspected the armaments and details. “We’ll give it a whirl. Vallen, can you manage the Systems of the Valstork on your end?”

“Yeah.. sure,” Vallen sat in her chair and began tapping away at the console. “Systems stable.. For whatever is going to happen.”

“Z1?” Farron asked.

“Systems linked… commencing docking…” The Valhawk and Stork exited the hangar of the base, and Valstork began to shift form. The thruster sections shifted out, becoming legs; the sides of the ship unfolded becoming arms. The Valhawk docked into the Valstork, and a new humanoid mobile weapon was formed, towering over the Alles Geist and Medius. It was in size comparison to the giant enemy fish even.

“Transformation… Complete. Proton drives linked. Raising output levels to 150%...” The eyes of the Valguard flashed to live, as it clenched and shook its fist, sights set on the fish before it.
 

GEAR

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#72
Eris followed Ayatane out into the vacuum of space, the jet-black Medius easily keeping pace with the brutish Alles. She was almost starting to relax, believing that the accursed fish had been driven off... but then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw what had initially appeared to be just another piece of jetsam give an errant... twitch.

The next few seconds, she would likely remember for the rest of her life, occurring as if in slow motion. It was there. It had never left! The Flatfish had pressed itself against the facility, waiting in the shade. It had coated itself in the dusty debris of the prior battle, and remained utterly motionless, exactly like its namesake... Until the two of them were right on top of it.

With the swiftness of a descending nightmare, the Flatfish lunged. Its face unfolded in that horrifying fashion it had before, like Satan's own discarded origami, revealing 4 sets of gnashing, pearl-white teeth and a depthless, crimson throat. She watched, paralyzed with horror horror as its mouth seemed to expand, along with the sides of its body, in a manner not unlike that of a Basking Shark, as it came crashing down-

"AYATANE!" She screamed;

- On the closest, most scrumptious looking target: The Alles Geist, even before she could bring the Divided Rifle to bear. She barely even noticed the Valstork's dramatic transformation behind her as it completed, her entire focus on the creature she had only just befriended...
 

XekuZwei

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#73
Much as it itself had earlier set upon Eris and Farron with claw and fang, the gaping maw of the Flatfish was set to engulf the charging einst almost too quickly to react...and precisely as intended, if not a bit sooner than expected. In fact, had she not been distracted by the sight of the colossal space flounder, Eris may have picked up on the fact that a shift in the Alles Geist's thruster trails indicated that Ayatane was purposefully diving into the beast's yawning gullet. The thing's grotesque jaw snapped shut with finality, seemingly having swallowed its new meal whole.

-----

It was truly unfortunate that the einst had an exemplary sense of smell.

Beyond the fetid, overpowering stench of rotting organic matter, the depths of the Flatfish's gut were dominated by sound; the loud, popping, spitting noise of alien digestive fluids slowly but surely grinding down all manner of ingested debris. The remains of several Axio and hunks of the Peregrine lay somewhere inside, invisible in the blackness but audible as they dissolved. Those same juices lapped at the Geist, and an odd rumbling groan rattled through the bigger einst's frame as its outer tissues were slowly eaten away and regenerated simultaneously. It would have been indescribable agony for a lesser entity, but the einst had long ago learned to adapt as a 'species' to such conditions.

You...are a...failure.

For once, Ayatane kept the thought to itself. Whatever it knew of the Flatfish's genesis, it apparently was not interested in sharing. The monster's guts would suddenly be illuminated by a brilliant glow as what appeared to be a miniature sun flared to life within, a roiling sphere of flame and plasma whose impossible heat flashed the stomach liquids around it into a great gout of steam. It lay at the end of the Alles Geist's armor-encased right arm, the base of the conflagration nestled in the wide barrel that had been mounted there.

The biomachine raised its arm high, though there was little need to aim being within the enemy; it unleashed the gathered energy, a raw font of blazing power spewing forth to pierce the beast from within.
 

VeraC

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#74
“Ain’t so big now are ya’?” Farron cracked his knuckles, and seized control of Valguard. “We’ll be going close, so grab on tight.” He spoke to Vallen and Kara.

“...I don’t want to be anywhere near that thing.” Kara objected.

“You can hit me later if you want.” Farron gave a smile and ignored her plea. He set his eyes on the fish before him and gave a serious expression.

The thrusters of the Valguard ignited and produced a massive release of energy as Valguard began charging forward. For a mech of its size, it was rather agile; at least in a straight line. Valguard quickly gained speed and rushed for the fish. Shoulder compartments opened, revealing round projectiles loaded into its bays.

“Space Torpedos, Fire!” Farron shouted as the projectiles sailed forth. The Einst seemed to make its attack from the inside-out, but the heavy weaponry of the Valguard should be able to damage the outside well. The Valguard continued its charge, winding up its right fist at its side. As it got within melee distance, the arm thrust outward, aiming to hit the fish in the eye, where Eris had previously shot at. The right straight was followed up with a left hook, aiming at the front-most point of the fish, in an attempt to send its body into shock. After the second punch, Valguard would aim to ‘grab’ the fish in any way it could and slam the fish into a nearby asteroid, cratering the surface should it hit.
 

GEAR

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#75
The Flatfish's mouth snapped shut around the Ares, swallowing it whole. For a few moments, the fish's appetite was sated, and it turned its attention on the mortified form of Eris... But as it began to make its way towards its next meal, something... reverberated in its head. A genuine, honest to goodness communication.

You...are a...failure.

That, it thought, hadn't happened before.

The modified Einst cells in the Flatfish had mutated out of control, much like a cancer - but not to the point they had completely forgotten their own kind. As such, for a brief moment, the creature... paused, what passed for a look of troubled uncertainty flickering across its pescatarian features, as neurons fired in its simple, albeit mutated brain, trying... to remember something. Something from before it was... this. Something important-

This newfound sense of self-awareness and intellectual discovery, however, was unsurprisingly short lived, as a blast of luminescent energy suddenly punched out of its stomach, scorching a hole through a nearby asteroid as it did. The Flatfish reeled in agony, writhing, thrashing about as the Valguard's space torpedoes smashed into it - and by the time it caught site of the massive machine's charge, it was already too late.

Farron's punch swung out like the fist of an angry God, smashing into the fish's face as if in slow motion with a spray of silvery blood not unlike what they had seen within the facility, causing it to cease its thrashings briefly as pain went through its body, and the Valguard's massive arms closed about its sides. The two were propelled forward on a massive blast of flame as Eris gave a gasp at the sudden appearance of the transformed vessel.

"Is that... The Valstork?"

Both monstrosities smashed into the surface of an asteroid, sending up a blast of dust and smoke into the surrounding area-

But the mutant bioweapon wasn't quite finished yet. As the smoke cleared, Farron and the crew would have been treated to a horrific sight as the Flatfish's mouth opened once more - and from its innars projected a massive, bridge-red spike - almost like a tongue, one big enough to easily skewer a smaller ship. directly towards the chest of the Valstork, aiming to pierce it whole...
 

VeraC

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#76
Farron had a moment of triumph as the fish was slammed into the side of the asteroid. He wanted to let out a cry of victory, but was stopped by Z1.

“Vitals have yet to cease.” As Z1 said that, from the dust kicked up by the impact, the flatfish’s mouth open wide and out launched a tongue-like spear thing. It was a grotesque image, and the crew had front row seats at the spectacle. Kara, unfortunately, had a weak stomach and disgust of the flatfish, that she had to leave the bridge as she felt like she was going to puke.

“Like I’ll let you…!” Farron shifted the torso of the Valguard and held out an arm, allowing the tongue to slide by the side of the torso of the Valguard, but as its momentum died out, Farron seized the tongue with the arms of his massive mech. Grabbing ahold of the skewer like a large log, Valguard began to pull.

“Z1, up the Proton Reactor’s output, to max!” Farron shouted.

“...Raising output levels to maximum…” Z1 replied monotonously. As the Proton Drive’s energy began rising, the hands of the Valguard began glowing with a vibrant green energy and the mech, in a way, was becoming stronger. With the tongue of the Flatfish seized, it aimed to pull on the fish, bringing it around in a full circle, before slamming it again into the asteroid.
 
Jun 14, 2018
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#77
Farron's manhandling of the Flatfish churned the beast's stomach in quite the literal sense, with the contents of the thing's gut sent tumbling as it experienced tremendous acceleration courtesy of the Valstork. The einst within was able to grab hold of the stomach lining, meaty fingers sinking into the fish's flesh and holding it - relatively - steady as the environment around it was spun up into a chaotic cyclone. The monster came to rest momentarily as it was smashed headlong into the waiting asteroid, the shock of the blow being nearly enough to unseat Ayatane. Perhaps it was best to escape the belly of the beast while there was a moment of stillness.

Diving headlong into the gaping wound left by its earlier blast, the Alles Geist erupted from the Flatfish's bowel accompanied by a spray of platinum ichor and stomach acids. Those fluids that still clung to the machine's frame were thrown off as it did an abrupt about-face upon making some distance from its fleshy former prison, surrounding it with a dense cloud of droplets that glittered as they drifted in the void. The einst's 'flesh' seemed to crawl as the outer layers rapidly knitted themselves back together in the wake of tissue damage caused by being partially digested.

Eliminate the...obstacle.

Once more the Geist's right arm snapped up, the unit this time raising the limb high above its horned head. The same blazing orb blossomed at the barrel of the weapon, bathing it in crimson light; it waited patiently for the scant moment it took the Valstork to again dash the beast against the asteroid, showing uncharacteristic restraint in caring not to strike the ship-made-mecha in addition to its target. The Big Right then dropped, arcing diagonally down as its power was released in an effort to slash the coarse beam across the Flatfish's midsection in the fashion of a colossal plasma blade.
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
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#78
The Flatish flailed even harder in the face of the Valguard's vicious grappling, straining against the machine's grip in such a way that made its servos whine with additional effort. As Farron attempted to pull out the tongue, however, the Flatfish simply... Retracted it, its body extending to allow its maw to close shut about the Valguard's exposed arm, slamming its teeth into the fingers of the massive Super Robot, attempting to dislodge its grip by removing the offending manipulator at the wrist.

As Ayatane's beam sliced across its exposed stomach... There was movement.

From the innards of the creature came... Something, no - somethings, wriggling forth from the bloodied guts of the Flatfish. They resembled... Caterpillars, almost, crossed with some kind of fry or tadpole... Only, enormously huge, their bodies wet with the blood of their "parent"... But what was distinctive was their wretched, human-like faces, lips curled back in a permanent grin that exposed two rows of diamond-hard teeth, not unlike the fish itself, and two beady yellow eyes, which gazed at the world around them with... Hunger.

Six of the things emerged at once - and lunged as one towards the Alles Geist, teeth gnashing, ready to devour it whole-

But... all of a sudden, there was an obsidian blur... And the lead Tadpole suddenly split in two, its tiny, trotter-like like feet wiggling in futility, before it detonated in a small cloud of viscera. The group began to scatter - but not before a lance of yellow punched through a second monstrosity, causing it to swell up and burst like overripe fruit.

"Revolting." Remarked Eris as the Medius pulled up above Ayatane, glowering at the abominations from below its dark visor. Within the cockpit, the azure-haired woman tensed over the controls, eyes narrowing in utter contempt of the things before her.

Targets locked on:
Commence destruction.
"...I'll put you out of your misery."
 
Last edited:

VeraC

Member
Staff member
Jun 18, 2018
314
1
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#79
“Structural Damage detected, suggest ending quickly.” Z1 spoke up.

“I see that…” Farron looked at the fish gnawing at the arm of the Valstork, and was growing irritated of this piscine pest. “We’ll end this in one swoop.” Farron looked to Z1, and she nodded her head in approval.

“Maintaining output levels, Proton Cannon is ready and charged.”

“You’re going to regret biting this arm…” The fish, thoroughly focused on the arm and in a way stuck on the Valguard, made it perfect for the final attack. With the fish locked in place, using its free arm, the Valguard came with a downward hook, the glowing green fist aimed to impact -and penetrate- the fish’s abdomen. Once thoroughly inside, the Proton Cannon emitters in the forearm began glowing, before releasing the built-up energy, which would cause the fish’s gut to first bloat unnaturally, before exploding in a spray of juicy fish-guts.
 
Jun 14, 2018
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#80
The einst reacted with only silence as the worm-things erupted from the stricken gut of the Flatfish, seemingly unperturbed by the sight. While their appearance was unanticipated, it was not so impulsive as the humans in its reaction to such things. The Alles Geist's hulking left fist drew back as the first of the spawn bore down on it, but the creature was split asunder by Eris' fire before Ayatane was given a chance to lash out.

...

Though it 'said' nothing whatsoever, the woman might have experienced an odd feeling...a combination of knowing you were the center of someone's attention - that feeling of being watched - and being given a sternly disapproving look. Her assistance was perhaps not appreciated as having been fully necessary. Regardless, the inkling would pass after only a brief moment.

The streamlined pods mounted over the Geist's shoulders snapped open, looking like nothing more than a pair of gaping maws thanks to the fang-like protrusions at their heads. Twin oblong barrels shifted forward to protrude like tongues; numerous gray fibers, muscle-like, spanned the gap and seemed to hold them steady in their moorings. A brilliant scarlet glow emanated from their depths as energy gathered not unlike the arm cannon, but it seemed instead to concentrate in the form of multiple smaller points that darted, wisp-like, around the guns' apertures.

Ayatane's vision traced the forms of the remaining caterpillar creatures, their shapes highlighted in a fashion not entirely dissimilar to the Medius' own targeting arrays. The multitude of energy sprites the Alles Geist had gathered up launched forth at the einst's command, each lancing out as a concentrated beam that curved through space to target the smaller beasts, homing in on their locations seemingly of their own volition.