2624/Mercury Curiosity

Mercury Curiosity
Date of Scene:	14 July 2015
Location:	CAMELOT Solar System <CST>
Synopsis:	Royce leads a group of Elites to Project MORDRED's world. They are greeted with open arms, but before they can secure the Sword of Storms, one of MORDRED's servitor robots grabs the artifact, activating it. The Elites stop the robot, secure the artifact, but the trail, once again, has gone cold.
Thanks to:	Thanks to Project MORDRED for letting me run this in his world.
Cast of Characters:	162, 675, 804, 806, 834
Tinyplot:	The Man and the Mission

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Project MORDRED (804) has posed:
The CAMELOT solar system is, first and foremost, a copy of the solar system. With the sun and all the planets and other massive objects that orbit it. Earth itself looks wartorn, many of its great cities in ruins and some of them vanished into nuclear crates. Terrifying robotic lifeforms still scour its surface, occassionally clashing with Knights in mechanical Armour. However, human life still exists there, and some rebuilding projects have started.

But that's not where the Lost Logia's signature can be found, no, it's closer to the sun, on the smallest of the terrestrial planets. Mercury is host to very little biological lifeforms, its few human outpost have been smashed and have never been reclaimed. The robotic lifeforms only have a small presence, but they stay far away from the single outpost on the planet that is actively maintained.

And the signature comes from in there. Somewhere in between domed city and medieval fortress, impressive crystal barriers protect the sky and let light through while rock and steel protect the place from land. Its first gate is open, but the one beyond is empty. With no appreciable atmosphere, visitors ought bring their own oxygen to the planet.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Approaching the solar system at a reasonable speed, not running its D-Jump or other FTL drives, the TSAB Cruiser Ganemede silently coasts through the black void. On the bridge, the Captain looks at the upcoming solar system on enhanced zoom. "Looks a lot like Unadministered world 97." he says softly to himself, but is heard by the bookish man stood beside him. "That's because it is. At least one itteration of it... Comm? Open hailing frequencies, we should let them know we're coming instead of dropping into their laps, so to speak.

    Royce speaks with a confidence that makes the comm officer obey without waiting for the captain to speak up. "Frequencies open, spread across as many channels as possible." reports the comms officer.

    Royce steps into the broadcast pit and speaks up. "Attention any locals able to receive this transmission. I am Royce Artega aboard the TSAB Cruiser Ganemede. We come in peace, seeking a dangerous artifact that our sensors have traced to this solar system. We ask to speak to representitives from any governments in the system to assertain the whereabouts of this artifact, and contain it before it can become active and dangerous. Please respond."

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
The Gray Team has accepted the mission to come along in order to kick some possible alien ASS. It is what they do best after all and they also love the fact of going deep into possible enemy territory, because for them. That is home.

Killing aliens-- is home. They probably should take more missions from these XCOM guys, seriously. The only trouble is if there is any non-humans on this team, because they may get some long stares from the head of the leader of the Gray Team, maybe even a few from their tech expert, Mike-120. Though given these three SPARTAN-IIs are fully geared up, its hard to say if they are staring or just--- chilling there.

The Gray Team are all in their respectful armors, but they all have the same color scheme, dark gray armor, with silver visors. They been pretty much quiet the whole trip, beyond Mike-120 keeps playing around with his assault rifle. Seeming to making some kind of adjustment to the scope. He even may hum a tune from the golden years of music.

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Other solar systems are strange to Cirra Constantine. Her own world looks more like a clockwork aperatus then a normal planet. Though the techno-magical nature of the TSAB cruiser feels more familier than their destination.

    Her own armor is some kind of blend of high tech and medevil. She sits with the helmet off in proximity to Grey Team. She however waits by reading a book with one hand.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    Valentha Summers is wearing a basic Union spacesuit made of heat and cold-resistant materials (coincidentally, also resistant to radiation), but relying on her magic to breathe in the harsh environment. Breathe Without Air is much better than the recycled and bottled air of an external supply, so long as her PPE supply holds up.

    That'll be... for quite a while, really.

    Of course, any mention of powerful magical artifacts has gotten her attention. Even if she can't get her hands on it, simply being able to see it and maybe learn what it is and does is great inspiration. And the TSAB might need help. Favors she can call in on later.

    So of course, the Techno-Wizard signed up! Even if none of her devices are exposed to the searing heat of Mercury's day side.

    At least it's not Venus?

    She awaits touchdown or drop deployment, whichever works. Near the Gray Team, in fact. "You guys ever gone after magic stuff before?"

Project MORDRED (804) has posed:
There is a response over the comms, a man who sounds like he's in his twenties. "Hail and well met, Artega. My name is MORDRED Arthur, and I have been expecting the TSAB, as such I invite you to my home as guests, with all that hospitality entails. The front gate is open, please let me know when your entire band is past it and I will close it and open the second gate, same applies when you get through the second. There are three gates in a row, serving as airlocks for Mercury Base. Food and drink will be ready in my dining hall, follow the red lights to get there."

True to his word, the airlock gates are operated as advertised, by the time the second gate starts closing, the air is comparable to that of sixteenth century earth, lacking many later pollutants. The path of the lights are simple, and the dining hall is empty but for the throne at the table's head, where MORDRED seats. There are as many ivory plates and silver goblets as people who have passed through the gates, and several tasty looking dishes (both vegetarian and not) are placed in easily accessible central spots. The drinks on offer are wine, ale, water and Coca Cola.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Royce hmms. "Understood. We will teleport our team down to the coordinates provided, Artega out." the TSAB Archeologist nods to the Captain, then turns to leave the bridge. "Away team to Primary Teleportal." announces the Captain. "Repeat: Away team to Primary Teleportal."

    Royce would be waiting in the main teleporter room, Device in hand and Barrier Jacket on. "Okay, we're going to go down with the intention of talking..." he says as the others arrive. "But be ready to fight if need be. Politeness is secondary to making sure this Lost Logia does not activate and cause irrepairable harm."

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
Jai-006 stands, instead of sitting, resting his back against the support near his group. His arms are crossed over his chest. He has a handgun at his hip's side, a combat knife up in a shoulder cradle, and an assault rifle on his backside.

He hasn't really moved any and he is a bit of a giant of a man in that armored suit. Standing around eight foot or a touch more, though this was common for all SPARTAN-IIs. They were all very tall. When Summer's asks, Jai-006 doesn't respond, he doesn't even look at her.

Mike-120 glances in her direction, from where he is sitting, but he returns back to work on the assault rifle. While Adriana-111, the female of the group-- though nearly impossible to tell by how she wears her armor and she too almost reaching eight feet, though is the shorter, is also not saying much. None of them have said really anything.

At last though Mike breaks that silence as he speaks up, checking then on the assault rifle's scope. "No. We haven't. Not yet anyways. That could change." Short, curt, and seemingly to the point this team is. At least for the moment.

Adriana-111 looks over to Mike every so slightly and Mike seems to shrug. The female SPARTAN then looks over to Cirra, giving the woman a slight inspection. As for what Adriana-11 was packing. One could see a Sniper rifle and an assault rifle, along with a handgun.

Where as Mike-120 had his assault rifle he was toying with, and only a handgun at his side. He was-- perhaps the less equipped of the group, but he didn't have to be the most equipped because of what his normal job was.

That is then when the comms open and Jai-006 makes a motion with his hand as he goes for the door, ducking his head. The other two also have to do the same. The Gray Team moved in perfect unison, step for step. They were on the job, a serious job. This wasn't time for them to be goofing off, even though Mike-120 did glance over to the side to look at something as they walked by it. It was hard for Mike to be always serious.

Once they arrived to the pad they took a step to the side mostly to not block up the whole thing. Very aware of their towering size and structure.

Jai-006 then looked over to Royce once they arrived. "Yes sir, understood sir. We are ready for go."

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Cirra doesn't seem to mind the look from Adriana, she gave each of Grey Team a look over when she met them. The only weapon she seems to have is a msall pistol like thing at her side, though without a cartridge ejection port, who knows what it really is.
    As the call to get ready comes, she closes her book and puts it away neatly as she stands and picks up her helmet, sitting it on top of her head. Otherwise she moves almost as neatly as the SPARTANs towards the teleportal.
    "If judging by how you look, it's probably no harder then what your accustomed too. Perhaps only slightly stranger."

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    With the Gray Team being so quiet, Val frowns a bit... and instead focuses her efforts on the meeting they're about to have. She was expecting more EVAs in harsh environments, but the moment she's out of the ship and onto solid ground...

    Boing. She's clearly unsure of this whole gravity change thing and spends a few moments leaping around experimentally, waving her arms, then doing a handstand. "Whoah! I'm light as a feather over here!"

    In fact she hand-walks over to the table before righting herself, and executing a bow... only to remove her helmet on the way up. MORDRED is given a big, impish, fun-loving grin. "Greetings, MORDRED Arthur. Valentha Summers of Lazlo. It's a pleasure!"

Project MORDRED (804) has posed:
When the visitors enter, MORDRED stands up and bows as they come into sight. "Welcome into my humble abode, it's not much I fear, the rich bounties of Venus, Earth and Mars are denied to me; but it suffices, and with the Multiverse I am at least capable of acquiring some luxuries." To accentuate his point, he fills his own goblet with that black liquid from the twentyfirst century.

His eyes also settle on Jai, recognizing the armour. "It's a pleasure to meet you again, sir. You did best me once, I hope to even our score one day. But not today, unless you would consent to a duel, you are my guests, and as such have my full protection as long as you remain in my home." He raises his goblet, "But enough formalities, you did not come here for food or drink, nor to reminiscence about the past. You came for the sword."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    "So it is the Sword of Storms." says Royce as the blade is mentioned. "I hope you have it secured and away from idle hands? That artifact above many others is exceptionally dangerous." the TSAB Archeologist adjusts his glasses, and shifts his grip on the spear-like Device in his hand, silently commanding a scan for the Lost Logia. The results can be seen on the inside of his glasses, a small holoscreen showing a layout map of the bunker.

    One of the large robots seems to be drawn towards the Sword, reaching out and grasping the hilt. A surge of power runs through the arm servo and into its AI core, overwriting its primary processes with one command: Destroy.

    The blade sends pulses of magic power through the 15ft machine, causing pulsing blue circuit patterns to run along the arm up to encompass the head, and down part of the central torso section. Its 'eyes' burn with ethereal blue light, and the first sign of trouble is an explosion deeper in the bunker.

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
Mike-120 glances over to Cirra as she addresses what he said to Summers, "I'm sure we'll keep that in mind." Jai-006 only looks over his shoulder at the conversation, but says nothing more as he goes on the pad to be teleported along with the rest of his team and everyone else.

As Summers seems to have a great deal of fun with the lighter gravity, the Gray Team seem to act like its another day in the park. Gravity changes from earth, slightly higher, to lower, and even zero was no big deal for them. They were a space going team and given UNSC's wide coverage of territory across several planets before many of them were glassed, different locations had different gravity.

As they entered, they stepped to one side and as MORDRED addressed Jai, all three of them looked his way. Though Adriana-111 looked up to Jai-006 who seem to be giving a dead on stare. She could only tilt her head to him, but when he spoke up, she looked away. "MORDRED." Jai-006 said calmly. "I am sure you will have that chance... eventually."

Mike-120 then makes a hand gesture and gives a head tilt to Jai, which Jai only places up his hand to Mike. Apparently a form of silent communications going on between the group about this whole thing. Adriana-111 gives a sigh before she speaks up, always seeming to be the one more willing to break the ice. Her voice carrying a slight Slavic accent, which is picked up on which she hits specific words. "It iz a pleasure tu be here, Mister MORDRED. I am glad zat ze battle between you and my command have not seemingly tarnished anyzing."

There when the explosion happens, the Gray Team looks in that direction before Mike-120 tsks softly. "That can't be good."

Jai-006 doesn't even wait for any orders or commands. He is actually on the move to where the explosion happened, unless his way is jammed or blocked. Thankfully the Gray team didn't bring any charge explosives-- or there could have been an attempt on structural damage to get to the problem spot.

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Cirra stands aside as Royace and MORDRED speak. She's trained as a bodygaurd, not as a diplomat. She doesn't pick up anything to drink, not yet at least. Theres a thousand different things that can be added to water that are tasteless and would be no good for a human to ingest.

    She does however watch the interplay between Jai and MORDRED, making note of the fact this confederate has a history with the SPARTAN.

    When the noise happens, Cirra's hand goes down to her sidearm. "It certainly won't be." She takes off after Grey Team.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    "A duel? Ahahaha. I'm afraid my swordplay's not up to the--" RUMBLE. Valentha nearly's knocked over by the deeper explosion. "...task. Oh wow, what WAS that?" Her senses are open for intense nearby magic, and this brings her looking downwards, but otherwise she scratches the side of her head, glances at Royce... "Sword of Storms?!" Oh well. All she can do for now is run along with the others. EASILY keeping jup with the SPARTANs...

Project MORDRED (804) has posed:
When things appear to go sour. MORDRED is immediately aware. His reaction speed impeccable, "That fool of a servitor." MORDRED swears, jumping up right as his Armour arrives from a side door, caught inside and Armoured up. "This is no simple threat, I'm well aware. If you wish to help me force him to surrender the weapon, I will welcome your aid. However, do not feel obliged. At the very least I will hold this off until you can escape." He's already running down an alleyway. "Those who help, follow me closely. The dungeons are a labyrinthine affair, and I will not disable traps I don't need to. Stray from the path at your own risk." Once down there, Royce would find his layout map is woefully inadequate, showing large rooms and halways that correspond to the thickest walls, but many smaller walls are obscured from nearly all sensors that operate beyond line of sight.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Royce follows after the group, and once he finds out his Pulse Search failed him, he deploys a Wide Area Search, little wisps of golden magic spalling off from the central gemstone of his Device. They act like little Camera Drones, flitting off ahead to provide a datalink. He's not a fast runner, but he /can/ levitate to keep pace. "If an artificial being has activated the Lost Logia... it may need to be destroyed... I am sorry for the loss of property and any damages this item may cause. Al Hazard made many wonderous things that lesser mages have corrupted over the centuries."

    The servitor is running amok in the lower levels, slashing with the sword... a blade that would be a Zweihander in anything smaller's hands, and using any built in weapons to simply destroy anything it can see. There's seemingly no reason or purpose to its target selection, save for 'Destroyed' and 'Not Destroyed'.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    "Sounds like someone WAS near it!" Valentha frowns. Just what could this artifact accomplish that was enough to get the GROUND rumbling? Very few spells she knows of could be THAT destructive. "Well.. I could try making a Rift right to the location if you can get me a visual of it, but..." But, into the labyrinth they all go. Val still has no trouble keeping up despite not wearing any kind of power armor or seeming terribly athletic. She mumbles out a few spells, subtly invoking various detective magics and protection spells. While running with the Spartans, she grabs team mates in sequence, still mumbling. They won't really notice it, but the invisible, weightless, noiseless Armor of Ithan is layered over their own suits.

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
Once MORDRED catches up with them, Jai-006 steps aside. It was good advice and a sound idea, not one that the Gray Team leader was going to argue, or the rest of his team either. While they don't play well in teams, they do very well when it comes to common sense.

As they go in, Jai-006 is the first to actually wince as his HUD goes crazy. The Centurion MJOLNIR was designed for battlefield awareness and uploading that information, all which systems were being screwed with in such a place. "Gah." is all the Gray Team Leader gets out before shaking his head.

"Zero Zero Six?" Adriana asks him seeming concerned a touch, even though she can pick up on her own HUD how much the motion detector and some other systems are being messed with.

"I'll be fine." Jai remarks lowly.

Mike-120 also tsks a bit. "Some type of electronic fielding that is jamming up the works." He tilts his head, "You know I bet..."

"Mike. On Mission." Jai quickly comments, getting Mike's attention back on the fact they are on a mission and he can ponder over things like he was when they are /not/. There was some big time stuff going down and they didn't have time for it.

Once they arrive to where the robot is, Jai-006 holds up his hand for the other two to stop and he speaks lowly to Royce, "How does your bot work? Does it pick up on a visual level or sensors? If we can get its attention, Adriana can go around behind. Her suit is designed to hide her from any non-visual devices."

Mike-120 then chirps up keeping his voice quiet. "Or I could try to hack it!"

"No." Both Adriana and Jai snap at the same time.

"...aww.."

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Cirra also lets MORDRED pass, this is his ...castle after all. THis is however clearly above something a little pistol will manage to deal with, so she reholsters the sdie arm and holds out her hand.

    A blade of pure, light blue crystal forms in her hand, extending out until the length of a long sword. "I'd recomend cover." She takes a card out from thin air and lays it down on the ground, "The. Rampart." And unless something block her magic, the Law Card creates barriers of angeled spears to impede the servitor, and give Grey Team cover.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Royce lands at the back of the group. "The Sword of Storms is a heavily modified Cross-Range device-type Artifact. It doesn't have the Mana Lines to fire ranged strikes, but it can draw in ambient energy to empower its blade with Flame or Lightning elemental magic, or raw destructive force... in the hands of an organic foe with a Linker Core it would have likely leveled the fortress above us during activation." he confers, readying his Device and silently casting a 'Bubble Shield' around everyone. "If you can detatch the Sword from the robot, I should be able to Seal it and disable its influence." he adds afterwards, remaining behind everyone else. He's not a Combat Mage, after all.

Project MORDRED (804) has posed:
MORDRED makes one thing very clear, "Though he is but a servitor, and a bit dull, he is fully sapient and I would rather not slay him if I have no need to." He follows it up emotionlessly, "I will see that he is duly disciplined for his transgression." The Labyrinth opens into a hall, a place to pass time for troops stationed there, it would appear the servitor has cut a path towards it from some kind of vault. One of his fellows already is on the ground, split in two and immobile.

Another loses his arm for his attempts to keep the errant servitor at bay right when MORDRED and co arrive. At that moment the still moving loyal servitors pull back, they don't truly appear designed for combat, a castle levy more than an army. "His arm can be repaired if lost, his mind can not." The hybrid draws his Monofilament broadsword and leaps into the fray in an attempt to block the next strike.

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
The magical forcefield is given to the Gray team, almost with an optional wall cover if they so choose, which Mike-120 takes gladly as he lines up his Assault Rifle. Sadly that stuff that Royce tries to explain means /nothing/ to Jai-006 as he grunts in mild response. Though he gives a nod to MORDRED, "We'll see what we can do."

He looks at Adriana, "I'll try to keep you covered. Go." As soon as he says that, he takes his assault rifle and fires a few shots out in the open. "Hey ugly!" pop pop pop, "Over here!" That is probably when he goes to roll behind one of those covers that Cirra brought up.

Meanwhile Adriana-111 gets down low and goes to move around the machine. She keeps down low in a crouch walk with long leg strides to cover ground quickly, she is also trying to keep herself out of its visual sight encase it uses sensors to detect presence around it. As soon as it looks good, she goes to spring into action with a leap and tries to get her body around the machine's backside, including taking her handgun and trying to shoot into the shoulder joint that is holding the sword!

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    While stopping the servitor is important, Cirra also observes the SPARTANs. The armed forces of the multiverse are a subject of interest to her.

    She take scover behind her own ramparts. She converts the crystal sword into a crystal /rifle/ and pops back up, firing two shots of knife like blades at the Servitor, trying to give Adriana some cover, and possibly put some damamge on that sword weildign arm.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    Stuck in such cramped quarters and with little desire to reveal her true abilities, Valentha does the next best thing she can think of. start throwing spells around!

    Valentha stands in the rear with her hands together, gesturing wildly and chanting under her breath. Every few seconds she throws another spell around.

    Most of these are restorative spells aimed at the fallen servitors - which may or may not work - but the flashiest when she spreads her hands out and launches a MAGIC NET. Tightly woven strands of crackling blue netting fly out and attempt to latch onto the berserk Servitor and restrict its movement, if not tangle it up entirely!

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    The Sword detects incoming hostiles that could damage it, and it activates its defense system. The Servitor emits a shriek, like it were in pain, and lunges at Mordred's Armor, clashing blade against blade and sending sparks flying in all directions. The Sword of Storms is wreathed in a ghostly blue light, much like the Crown before it. With out other weapons, the others are free to pepper the Servitor with various fire, and Adrianna is left unmolested. She manages to get a good grip as the Servitor is blade-locked with MORDRED, and the AP rounds punch through the metal shell, severing servos and causing /something/ to go horribly wrong in the joint, as with a small burst of electricity, the entire assembly flies off and smashes into the wall, the blade fizzling out and the circuit-lines fading away on the servitor's body.

    Royce darts over, and incants. "Restrict." pointing the tuning-fork head of his device at the sword, still clamped tightly in the servitor's hand. "Lock." Bands of golden magic form around the blade as it crackles and pulses. These then clamp down around the artifact, sapping what little magic it had left and putting it dormant. "I'll contact the Ganemede... we'll need to get it moved so we can teleport it out, but it should be safe to touch now, that Binding Seal was designed for this kind of work."

Project MORDRED (804) has posed:
His blade is in dire need of repairs from this clash, but by the sound of it, MORDRED doesn't care. "My apologies, I had thought him smarter than to touch what he knows he ought not touch. I will see to it he won't repeat his mistakes." Emotionless and, coming from a confederate, might not involve the kind of discipline certain others present would approve of. "If any of you have suffered significant costs due to his misbehavior, I will see to it that you are recompensed. Now please follow me on the way back." The way back is identical, but a careful observer might notice walls shift in location a bit before they arrive to make it so.

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
Adriana-111 kicks off it and flips in the air landing on her feet like a cat one the joint blows. She pistol mag-locking back to her hip as she tilts her head. "I zink zat takes care of zat. hm?" She asks looking at Jai-006 who gives her a thumbs up.

Jai then watches as Royce uses his magic to bind the weapon. He can only stare at this with some confusion, thankfully such a facial expression is missed thanks to the helm he wears. Mike-120 reloads his assault rifle. "So... that is it?" He asks the group. "We are done?"

Jai turns to look at Summers and Cirra, "Thank you both for the extra shielding and cover."

Once it is time to go, the Gray team don't hang around long. They are not fond of their gear being messed with really.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    Valentha snaps a mock salute. "Not a problem, folk. Looks like it wasn't needed much. I'd love to get a look at that sword once it's properly contained... looks a bit too volatile to do much except lock it up though..."

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Cirra stands back up as the servitor's arm is severed and the artifact contained. "It's good thing so far these havent' been in the hands of capable fighters."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Royce stoops, the weapon being contained now shrunk to a short-sword length. He grasps the hilt, picking it up reverently then turning to leave. After a moment, he casts a spell which levitates the sword and he releases it, allowing the Auto Suspension to carry the thing along beside him. He's quiet as the group exits the Labyrinth and if anyone looks, they'd see an odd expression on his face, a mix between doubt and glee, an odd thing to be sure.

    That expression vanishes quickly enough as once they're out of the dampening field, Royce calls to the ship in orbit. "Ganemede, Artega. We have the Sword of Storms secured and ready for transport along with the away team. You are clear to teleport at your disgression." the TSAB archeologist looks over at MORDRED and nods in thanks. "Thank you, Sir Mordred. A question, though... where did you acquire this artifact? We are seeking to secure and render innert the entire set of them, and any leads could prove useful."

Project MORDRED (804) has posed:
Over the radio, MORDRED responds, "We noticed an unusual energy signature nearby and due to its similarities in energy signature to the Crown, I believed it may have been something of that sort, so I tried to hold it in safe keeping until you could come pick it up. I didn't know how to contact you, or I would have."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Royce hears the response, and sighs without turning the return comm on. "Another dead end... but soon... soon they will all be together." he lets a smirk creep over his lips for a moment. "Yes. Soon."