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Eryl Fairfax      For once, the Elites do not emerge into the dusty landscape of 'Scorched Earth.' Instead, they emerged inside Jefferson Airport, in what was once a gift shop that was the point of entry for the first batch of Elites to aid ReGenesis. Upon arrival, they are lead down to the tarmac by some unfamiliar members of the Eden Defence Force. On the way down, they can see that the airport has been totally revived, all stores opened, looted and converted into barracks or storage.

     Down on the tarmac, they join the six members of the Defence Force that had been helping them with the reclamations. Staff Sergeant Lily Cooper, Sergeants William Davidson and Tabitha Reston, Corporals Phillip Troch and Bonnie Moon and Private First Class Jamie Hsu. Up on a pedestal, a man with a graying military cut that contrasts sharply with his neat goatee stands. He is clad in one of those jumpsuits in forest green with a white insignia of a tree flanked by two shields over his left breast. He begins to speak.
Eryl Fairfax     "Thank you all for coming. For the Elites that are joining us, I am Major General Alexi Fohm. I am the one who put together this reclamation effort. To begin, I just want to thank Elites who have returned to help us again. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. To those who are joining us for the first time, thank you for coming." He nods to the Elites before clearing his throat. "To business. Our mission today is to reclaim the three largest solar power plants on the continent. If we can get the three of them going, power should return everywhere that can still receive it, a huge boon to us."

     A blue hologram of the planet is projected, and zooms into what seems to be the American continent. Three red dots appear, one down by the equator in what would be Mexico, the second in where the Sonoran Desert would be in the United States and the third far north in the wilderness that would be Canada. "You'll all be split into three teams, each one with two members of the Eden Defence Force. For once, we're not going in totally blind, so teams will be assigned based on potential threats."

     He then begins to list these teams. Mizuki and Ayako will go together with Lily Cooper and Jamie Hsu will go to the Siqiniq Power Plant in the far north. The Floatilla will be teamed with Rory White along with William Davidson and Phillip Troch to tackle the Sonoran Power Plants, and cautioned to be wary of a fight, as satellites have picked up signs of people unknown to ReGenesis milling around there of late. Lou will be teamed with Crys, along with Tabitha Reston and Bonnie Moon to deal with the Brillo Del Sol Plant in Mexico.
Lou     For Lou, it's impossible to go into something without having done at least some homework, due to her nature. There's only so much mere words and reports available in the multiverse can really prepare one for, however, but at least she had finally made good on her own promise to see this world that had been spoken of with her own eyes. The reconstructed airport is a bit different than her calculations suggested it might be, a fact that quickly gets plugged into several of her algorithms. If nothing else, behind her cold and mask-like expression, there's some manner of respect for how organized the reclamation effort appears from here.

    Her partner for this operation also isn't ignored, and once the important details of the briefing are over, she makes her way over to Crys in distinctively hydraulic-cushioned steps. "Greetings, I am Lou. I will be your partner for this operation," she says, with a slight bow at the waist. She doesn't remark on any familiarities she might have with this person, assuming the coincidences of the multiverse have arranged this. Crazy random number generators. Instead, she opts to outline her own specialties, for the purposes of coordination; "I am best when I am allowed to attack at range. However, I am also trained in the use of Double Sabers, should you require me to take point, and we encounter unknown resistance."
Rory White     It hasn't taken Rory too long to get a grasp for the situation here. Reclamation that she can actually help with! Now that's a worthy endeavor. And she'll be working with allies she's already familiar with! That's a plus.

    Today won't be like other days. She intends to prove her mettle this time.

    "Understood, sir! With the Sonoran team. If we do encounter anyone hostile, what is standard protocol?"

    She'll have to consult with these people later... getting their technology up and running again will be all the easier if they have nano-fabrication!
Mizuki     North is ever the direction of optimism for Mizuki. Even though it likely doesn't hold in this specific context, upward movement tends to mean travel toward the cold -- toward the snow and the stars. It may be a bit silly, but she can't help assigning the word a positive connotation in light of that. She's all too happy, then, to accept the 'suggestion' given her by the ReGenesis officers, and is likewise glad to be allowed to cooperate with someone she is already acquainted with. Yes, she and Ayako may not have had the times to speak with one another that she and Riva had, but she has still become rather fond of the water spirit, however distantly, as she has continued to help with the affairs of her world. Or perhaps that would be 'as she helped', now; past tense.

    Assuming Ayako has her own means of swift transport, Mizuki would travel via wing at a fairly leisurely pace. She takes the opportunity to get a glimpse of whatever Eryl's world has to offer. No strait of desolation in her path goes unscoured, no broken city skyline is left unchecked, and certainly no barren desert is by her eye unmet.As it is with Lordran, she has a deep love and respect for worlds like this one that have fallen into states of 'disrepair'. All the knowledge of the past is scattered to the proverbial winds, after all, giving her an unusual challenge in her scrying. Then there's the atmosphere! The stagnant wind, the quiet, the...

    ... always. This -always- happens when she comes across a dystopia of any kind.

    Mercifully, there's not likely to be much consequence for her mental meandering this day, and she at least has the good sense to collect herself before she alights on the campus of the Siqiniq Plant. She would bow and smile in greeting to any allied agents she finds there, keeping her blade sheathed until the time comes for it to be used. She's no interest in traumatizing these poor people beyond what they may be already after seeing a winged, red-eyed girl fly out of the sky like so many angels of death.

    ... ah, what? They wouldn't be traumatized by that? Well, yes. They've likely seen their fair share of mutilation and horror across their tenure with ReGenesis. Of course.
Crys Gattz So here she is once more, upon the 'Scorched Earth' and she's been left wondering about the art she found on her last trip here. Odd thing was she wasn't much for visual arts really. It was strange, either way she's got the chance to make some more mesta and help these people out once more. She listens as each objective is hammered out. She pauses as she's partnered up with Lou.

"Very well then been a while since I worked with a CAST."

Crys is a Newman but she's not much like the ones from Lou's system at all.

"A Ranger got iut I'm generally up close and preronal. So you keep me covered and I will also bring some techs to the mix as well."

She nods and shakes her head.

"No I'm on point here, I'll let you hang back your a better shot than me."

She points to her patched eye. She's got no depth perception after all.
Starbound Flotilla     The STARBOUND FLOTILLA is all here today! They helped reclaim this place, and now they're back! It's nice to revisit. They're not in their COMBAT ARMOR yet, but that's for later. Albert, the Apex of the group, seems to be the primary leader for this operation, and he's the one who addresses the general. "Yes sir." He says, simply, after grunting apeishly. "We've a good history of working with White. We'll have your power plant re-connected." He does a swift salute, both to the general and to the Eden Defense Force. "Troch. Davidson. It will be good to work with you again." He says.

    That's... Just about all he has to say, of course. He's very businesslike. The others seem to be following his lead so that he doesn't yell at them. The whole group of six are going to get going as soon as Rory's question is answered. "White. Any necessary violence, we can handle for you." He says, with a firm tone. After the question's answered, he'll immediately get his flotilla marching to any provided transport that the Flotilla can take on out to their objective!
Eryl Fairfax      Once the teams have been organized, Alexi says, "Good luck, all of you. And uh..." He pulls a folded piece of paper from a pocket and reads it. "Bring the light of hope back, all over the continent." He sighs and crumples it before throwing it away. "Bloody hell DeFoe... look, you're all the best at what you do, so do it. I have the utmost faith in you all."

     With the speech done, the teams are lead to their transports. Each one goes down a different 'spoke' of the tarmac to their transports, all of which look very odd. They are cobalt blue, with an aerodynamic nose that contains the cockpit. However, the body of the transport consists of a rectangular frame. On each side is two 'wings' with large holes in each. On the back is a pair of engines, and a spoiler.

     They each currently stand on stilts that extend from the sides of the frame, above an open pod which the teams are guided into. There are seats bolted to the floor of the pods, holographic projectors currently indicating destination, estimated time until arrival and information about each plant. Along the back is an equipment rack, fully loaded with weapons, armour and utilities.

     Once the teams are in the pods, the doors close up, and the transport extends several sets of arms down the side of the pod, where they slot into holes along the bottom. They begin the job of lifting the pod into the hollow frame of the transport, where it locks into place and gives the ships a much more aerodynamic look.

     At this point, the transports begin to taxi into the takeoff point, starting with the one headed north to the Siqiniq Plant. The roof of the airport opens up, granting it clearance. The 'holes' in the wings come to life, the circumference glowing blue as air is forced through them with enough power to lift the ship! Stilts retract into the frame as it ascends, the main engines coming online once it clears the airport, blasting it to the north! The same happens with the other two transports, heading west and south.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako blinks her eyes slowly as she enters 'Scorched Earth' through the warp gate. Ah. It's the gift shop they went through a while ago. She waves hello cheerfully towards the Eden Defense Force members and walks after them. Whoa, that's quite the change. "Whoa, you all really cleaned up the place."

    Once they are lead down to the tarmac, Ayako bows politely to all of them and listens quietly. "You're welcome, Major General. I hope I can be of some help." She inclines her head to the side as she looks at the hologram and continues listening. "Mmm, mmm..."

    Ayako then turns towards Mizuki happily. "Mizuki! I hope I don't slow you down any!" She smiles sheepishly and scratches her cheek with a pointer finger. She then turns towards Lily Cooper and Jamie Hsu. "I'll do what I can to keep you both safe and healthy!"

    When Mizuki takes off to fly, she smiles softly. She herself flew around Eryl's world herself a few times. So much dust! But Ayako herself goes with Lily and Jamie using their own transportation. Just in case she's needed enroute to the point.
Lou     For once, it seems that someone - or something - else is doing the flying, which Lou is more than comfortable with. Given how trustworthy and organized they seemed, they are certainly in good hands. Once they actually land and begin the operation, according to her calculations, is when there will be reason to be on guard. For the duration of the flight to what there is of Mexico on this world, she can be seen to continuously glance out the windows. The concentric rings in her eyes spin, visible to Crys and the local members of their team no doubt, as she isn't making a secret of it. She's doing her own sort of sight-seeing, it seems.

    "Even here, there is life," she allows her mind to wander, as a rarity, having detected isolated pockets even from this distance. "Yet it is even more barren than the wastes of Moatoob. My calculations had not prepared me." She then turns her attention inward to Crys and their coordinators, or handlers, "For once, I am completely unprepared for what we might face on the ground. It is a good thing my processors for worrisome thoughts are inactive." She also, a bit belatedly, recounts to her familiar-yet-not counterpart, "Understood. You have worked with CASTs before, then? I trust we will get along."
Eryl Fairfax =THE SONORAN TEAM=

     Rory's question is answered by William as they board. "Depends on the situation. Follow my lead," the gruff, bearded man answers. He nods in response to the Flotilla's greeting, while Phillip is a lot more candid. "Yooo, it's the motleyest crew! Good to see ya!" Hugs and handshakes are offered all around by the albino (which William says 'no' to).

     Their fight is relatively short, something that everyone might be thankful for. As it turns out, Phillip is pretty hyperactive when confined, and more than a little grating to some. Eventually, they are spared any more terrible jokes when the pilot speaks with them over the radio. "I'm seeing a lot of light from the plant. Looks like they got bonfires burning all over, and everyone is out and about." William grumbles, before answering. "Set us down here. Don't want to set them off by flying overhead."

     "Aw man!" Phillip complains, but he goes to suit up along with William. The ship lands, stilts extending and pod doors opening up to allow everyone passage into the night-cloaked wasteland. "Help yourselves to equipment," William says to Rory and the Flotilla, before leading the way across the dusty land under the star-speckled sky, towards the glowing power plant in the distance.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako, funnily enough, starts bottling healing water to add to the pod's supplies during the trip. She's pulling corked glass erlenmeyer flasks from her witch hat and is filling them with Healing Water of various colors. Said flasks are already labeled with what they do and directions for use.

    What? She does this so often it's almost become habit now. Besides, ReGenesis might find a use for it. Even if they just store it away somewhere.
Mizuki     Since Mizuki had elected to travel on her own, she meets Ayako and the rest of them as they arrive. She lands near the helipad, likely just before (or after) the arriving ReGenesis craft.
Eryl Fairfax =BRILLO DEL SOL TEAM=

     Crys and Lou are with the large machine woman and her shorter partner! Their pod only has half the chairs of the others, to make room for Tabitha's bulk. Both Crys and Lou are greeted by the pair and they chip in on the tactical talk during the ride.

     "Well as you can see, I'm pretty huge!" Tabitha says, sounding terribly proud of the fact. "No better meatshield than a girl with hardly any meat! Maybe I should take point." Bonnie rolls her eyes and looks at the two Elites, rubbing her chin. "All right, how's this? You-Lou, right?-You ride on Tabitha's shoulders. You're our sharpshooter, so you need the vantage point, she'll keep you covered. Tabitha will focus on using her internal weapons to keep any opposition scattered and confused." Tabitha grins at Lou and gives a thumbs-up! "You, Crys. You can take point, and I will stick with you. Focus on offense, I'll keep you covered."

     Their ship touches down outside of the plant. It stands on a cliff, far above the slushy ocean below. Oddly, there are no solar panels in sight here. The pod doors open, and the two soldiers step out first, Bonnie equipped with her curious riot shield and Tabitha only bringing what is loaded inside her form. "Right... satellites picked something up, and I can confirm it. Things in this place are still running, we'll probably have security drones to deal with," Tabitha says. Bonnie nods, and leads the way through a ruined fence into the plant.
Starbound Flotilla     "Good to sssee too! Genesssis friend!" Biteblade says, getting very eager and energetic at the Eden Defense Force people, especially mirroring Phillip. The Flotilla are okay with strange transports. These are particularly baffling, with the strange, elaborately multi-sectioned construction, but they obligingly get in, patiently wait -- Seft and Biteblade seem to particularly be fascinated by this construction -- and then head west. Given that there's a lot of them, they may be split up into pods, but they keep networked wirelessly.

    Biteblade is the one who speaks up here. "Floran remember old tribesss. Tribesss, get shooty, ssstabby if you fly around. Big aircraft, they try to hunt. Floran hunt big ship too, once. Floran build railgun, shoot shoot shoot!"
    Albert's a bit more businesslike. "An approach by ground is practical. Reconnaissance is more flexible. Let's begin. Biteblade, George, scouting operations now. White, do you have an aerial scouting option?"

    George is going to grab any ranged low-key weapons he can get -- Rifles? Pistols? What's on the menu here? -- and then put his spy skills to use. Biteblade is a hunter, and already fully equipped, so she'll take the appearance of a proper desert brush. The pair won't go armored up yet, for ease of stealth. They're ESPECIALLY careful of TRAPS, with Biteblade often scouring ahead for them specifically. They hope to investigate whether or not the locals are likely to get violent. The other four are going to hold back and advance as the scouts clear the way. Ideally, Rory can scout ahead with less obvious aerial perspectives too, to make sure they don't get ambushed!
Eryl Fairfax =SIQINIQ PLANT TEAM=

     This trip is the longest by far. Both Ayako and Mizuki are greeted by Lily and Jamie. The former is rather motherly in her greeting, remarking on the 'two lovely young ladies' she will be working with. The latter is very begrudging, and only delivered after a stern look from Lily. While Mizuki's decision to fly outside of the ship draws some confused looks, the crews seem to have been taught, 'Elites are weird, just roll with it,' so they allow it.

     As they head north, brown dust gives way to a mixture of snow and dust, their becoming bitingly cold, not helped by the fact that it's night. If Mizuki elects to feel it, she might start wishing she had gone with the others. After a couple of hours, they land in a snowy, dusty plain. The combination leaves for a gritty, slushy underfooting, the former helping to cancel out the treacherousness of the latter. All around are solar panels, jet black ones from what is revealed from what little light there is, and a concrete building in the distance.

     The transport lands soon after Mizuki, and Lily and James disembark, equipped with their pistol and shotgun respectively and clad in armour. They've also accepted Ayako's healing water, each carrying a couple vials. "Whew! Pretty bracing, huh boy and girls?" Lily says, grinning under that visor as she leads the way, a flashlight in her other hand to light the path. Jamie follows after, a light fixed into his helmet.
Lou     "I am Lou," the CAST confirms, giving a single eyeblink but not looking particularly perplexed at the suggestions being tossed around, "While I calculate it will look odd to any bystanders, your tactical analysis is sound." Perhaps, in fact, looking odd to bystanders is exactly what they need, were any to be sentient. The strategy is going to be tested soon enough, as it isn't long before they've arrived and disembark. Lou, for her part, hops up to Tabitha's shoulder - perhaps a bit dense relative to her 1.5 meter-ish frame, but certainly light enough to be carried. She also readies her own sensors, even if it seems they have a satellite doing most of the important observations, while withdrawing a photon rifle from..somewhere, on her back, which appears to simply materialize in her hands from solidified light. Crys would recognize it as some variant of Photons.

    "Automated defenses," she repeats, whether detecting it on her own or just recounting some memory is hard to determine, though her eyes seem to be doing that odd telescoping movement again, towards the body of the plant itself. "Do you have any blueprints on file? I will stand a better chance at disabling them with my shots with that data. Otherwise, I will do what I can, and assist with sensor scans." In fact, if they have the capabilities, she will - through instinct or programming - begin simulcasting her personal threat radar, which in this unfamiliar territory is of limited range.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako turns her amber gaze outside as the outside turns into... dust and snow. Yes, even if there are no windows on the transport, she glances off to the side. Ungh. Snow is wonderful! Dirty snow is just... bleh. There's no fun in that. As for the cold, Ayako happens to like it, so she's fine. Still though. Gritty, slushy snow. Double Ungh.

    Ayako exits the transport and pulls the brim of her witch hat down for a moment when comfronted with the dusty snow. Triple Ungh. It's worse in person! "I'm not used to this kind of snow." Ayako would stick out her tongue but she doesn't want to lick any of this snow! "Water Bubble!" And Ayako forms her usual weak setup barrier. Can't ever be too safe!
Crys Gattz Crys Gattz Says "I can see that, and I don't mind and humm so basically a CAST I getcha and if you want."

She's just used to being the party meat more or less but well if someone's going to offer she's not going to complain too hard about it, or getting a partner fot it. She nods to the massive cyborg for a moment, before she moves to summon a pistol from her photon trap along with a DB saber.

"All right then let's go shall we??"

Once they touch down she's off the ship and listenst to the information.

"Drones? Just like busting up the mines back on Ragol, got it. Least theyw on't be infested by something from a Dark god of destruction, right? Well Lou you handle that and just tell me where I need to go, I'm better at killing and breaking things anyway."
Mizuki     Oh, Mizuki would be glad to feel the biting cold for the first few miles of her flight. After that, though, and as they begin to encroach upon the extremes of the frigid North in earnest, she is all too happy to take the liberties afforded her by her unique, tenuous connection with reality. She becomes so chilled, in fact, that a phantom sensation still lingers for some time after she's shut off her ability to sense the temperature; and a very niggling, irritating feeling it is. For good measure she tears a portal in reality on their walk, reaches into its expanse, and withdraws a thick pitch blanket which she speedily ties around her neck. That seems to abate her discomfort and she sighs with content, nestling happily into her coil of warmth.

    From where she's looking, though, there's someone -else- who could use some warming up. Once she's gotten over Lily's comments -- no, she is not used to being referred to as a 'pretty young lady' and is actually rather poor in taking compliments on her appearance -- she turns her attention to the more matronly woman's cohort. She returns Jamie's look with a smile, and when she's fairly certain that there is no impending doom to which the act may make them vulnerable, she wraps her blanket around Jamie. Regardless of their reaction, she widens her grin yet further, though she would at least pick the thing up if Jamie decides to toss it to the ground. In the event of such a staggeringly rude rejection, the article would be transferred to Lily, or Ayako; whomever looks like they could use it more.

    To Lily's commentary, Mizuki shrugs. "I've always found the yuletide aesthetic to be quite delightful, myself. The quiet, the brightness, the majesty and purity of the ivory snow..." She holds out her palm briefly to accept a few flecks of the stuff into its expanse in demonstration. When she's satisfied, she gingerly blows it away, scattering back to the breeze from whence it came. "It's absolutely enrapturing. Though I suppose it's unfair for me to ramble about that when I can not know the challenges that beauty brings. But if of course the cold should become too much to bear," She gestures to her blade, "let me know. I've a myriad of solutions for a veritable cornucopia of issues in my little Pandora's Box."

    She has no idea if she's endearing herself to these people or making them hate her, but eh. Either way, they just have to work together for one day.

    ... probably. Most likely. Yes.
Rory White     "Whow ould be down there?" Unknown to many, Rory's vision is actually ZOOM-CAPABLE to a remarkable resolution. Her irises do slightly rotate and focus oddly when she peers around while getting out. She's not picked much equipment - lightly armed by a glance at her, several toolbelts full of dangling odd things - the use of which isn't immediately evident and which involves lots of nanites...

    "Let's have a look from the sky?" Soon she has one of her few Saucer drones floating over towards the plant. It has TONS of sensors and a range of several kilometers... thing looks like a tiny UFO.

    Flies like one too. Wobble, wobble, wobble... no apparent propulsion systems. Hooray Ionic drives!
Eryl Fairfax =BRILLO DEL SOL TEAM=

     Tabitha grins at Lou, kneeling so the CAST can climb up on her more easily. "Oooff, bigger girl than I expected!" she comments teasingly before standing up straight, giving Lou a rather unobstructed view of things. Bonnie takes point alongside Crys as they walk the short distance from the fence to the plant. Along the way, an intercom squawks to life and starts blaring a message. "WARNING, UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL. THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA. TURN BACK NOW. YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE TO COMPLY."

     Tabitha's answer comes in the form of her pointing at the intercom box with the hand attached to the shoulder that Lou isn't on. A metallic slug is launched from her fingertip, destroying it and silencing the message! Apparently, the security AI gets the message, as suddenly, pods begin rising up from the ground all around!

     "Oh for God's sake Tabitha..." Bonnie mutters, before making a break for the building, pulling Crys along! Tabitha gets the message and follows, as drones begin emerging from the pods. They match the blueprints that Lou acquired. Optics in the form of a dome camera atop their head, bearing stunguns and beanbag bazookas as arms and rolling around on singular, spherical wheels.

     The front doors have sealed themselves, but Bonnie hurls a grenade ahead of the team to blast an opening into the reception area. More drones are becoming active inside, but now they've forced the ones from outside to get past a narrow area to get to them. "Lou, Crys. Help me with the ones inside while Tabitha deals with the ones coming in," Bonnie says, tone even despite the hot water they're in. She bashes a drone with her shield, something about it causing it to crumple to the floor immediately. Tabitha gets to work, turning around and mowing down the drones trying to get in with guns built into her fingers.
Eryl Fairfax =SIQINIQ PLANT TEAM=

     Lily smiles at Ayako. "I'm not used to snow at all, really. I suppose in places other than this, it's not so dirty huh?" As for Jamie, he stares hard at Mizuki when she drapes the blanket over him, like he's trying to figure out her game. He takes it off, and hands it back to her. "ReGenesis jumpsuits alter themselves in response to the environment. I am warm enough," he says curtly before following after Lily.

     As they approach the building, they see something lying in the snow ahead, the area around it stained crimson. A dead moose, with chunks torn from its frozen boy. A worried look passes between Jamie and Lily as the latter kneels to inspect it. "Teeth marks... consistent with some kind of animal." Both breathe a small sigh of relief. There is a slight trail of blood leading into the building itself.

     "Whatever did this might be living in there. Stay on guard," Jamie says to Mizuki and Ayako. The front doors have been smashed open for a long time, allowing the group easy access. Jamie and Lily do the whole careful entrance thing, checking the corners and such.

     In doing so, they came face-to-face with a pair of polar bears that were hiding against the walls to each side of the door. Jamie takes a bite to the shoulder while Lily is slashed across the chest with claws!
Lou     "We have lost the element of surprise," comes the flat-toned appraisal from Lou, once the security system announces all too clearly that it is aware of their presence. ..and then gets provoked. It is just as well, as by her calculations this was unavoidable. "Understood," the girl affirms, that thankfully didn't seem bothered by the playful comment about her weight differential. She stands slightly onto one knee from atop Tabitha's frame, in a peculiarly steady crouch given that her 'platform' is herself moving relative to their targets. Just in time, the requested blueprints make their way into her local memory, and in Lou's vision as she aims down her scope, various internal mechanisms are superimposed over the pods, augmented reality style.

    While Tabitha barrels forward to avoid being left behind, the pink curls of Lou's hair waft about, and somewhat uncharacteristically for her, she spares a hand for a moment to steady the hat atop her head, lest it be lost to the surge in momentum. After things steady, she begins squeezing off shots. The rifle doesn't make anything resembling the sound a conventional projectile weapon might; instead, a muted sound like energy being condensed, and then fired forward. Being at least partially a machine, herself, it makes it a bit easier to adjust for Tabitha's movement. The first target would be their obvious sensors - even machines have a harder time fighting what they cannot 'see'. From what she can tell, their more important bits are more heavily armored - perhaps better left to her more direct counterparts.

    "Did the people that built these facilities often include override commands," she wonders openly to her allies? "It seems inefficient to deal only with the security system."
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako nods her head quickly. "It's supposed to look white, like this!" And the water spirit swiftly forms a white snowball in her hands. She puffs her cheeks out in a pout. "But oh well." And just tosses the snowball off to the side.

    When the ReGenesis Jumpsuit is mentioned... Ayako makes... a peculiar face. It's like her mood is trapped in between disgust, amusement, and awe. Of course she remembers Eryl wearing that silver... thing. In her opinion, it made Eryl look like a spaceman in the worse way possible. But eh. That's just her opinion.

    When the dead moose is spotted, she inclines her head to the side gently. She frowns slightly when she notes the blood is leading into the building. Ayako stays back when Jamie and Lily take point and carefully enter. And then eeps when Jamie takes a bite to his shoulder and Lily slashed! Polar bears?!
Eryl Fairfax =SONORAN TEAM=

     George may be able to liberate some hi-tech rifles, SMGs and pistols from the rack. They're lighter, all bearing external clips and magazines. And yet, they all also have something that slots into the grip, some kind of battery. Phillip says in answer to Rory, "Well, you know, there are survivors out there other than us. Some of 'em mighta gotten missed by Fairfax, others mighta broken off from a group. We dunno yet."

     As they advance, George and Biteblade's sweeping does indeed uncover some snares, but they seem to be for animals, not people. Rory's elve-sorry, robot eyes would see people milling around the solar panels embedded in the desert floor, the lights from the fires casting them in shadow, but it seems they're all wearing some manner of accessory that could be called 'ritualistic.'

     Her drones would go unnoticed, and they depict a crowd gathering around a fallen panel that seems to have been repurposed into an altar of sorts. Here, she can totally tell that they're all dressed for some kind of ceremony.

     When the group finally arrives around the outskirts, William and Phillip guide them to take cover behind some rocks. The ceremony begins, an old man in more ornate fashions, wearing a headdress in the shape of the crescent moon leads a young man and woman who are in the grips of two men much bigger than they.

     "The Night of Sunfall has come!" the elderly man says. "Here, on this altar to the blasphemous sun, we will spill blood, and condemn the Sun to damnation! Never again will we suffer its baking light, an eternity of cool darkness!" The crowd cheers as the two sacrifices are pinned down onto the panel altar.

     "Oh shit damn, we walked into a cult meeting... William, what do we do, there are your kind of people right? How can we interfere without pissing them off?" Phillip asks. He seems to be losing his cool, and his words do the same to William. He glowers through his visor at the albino. "My people are /nothing/ like this. And if they're going to kill people, we have no time for cultural sensitivity."

     On the altar, the priest is raising a knife, preparing to plunge it into the chest of the young man first, when William stands and aims his gauss rifle. With a single shot, he hits the flat of the knife with unerring accuracy, shattering the blade and blowing the shards back. From the screams of the priest, it sounds like his arms might have been broken from the force.

     There's a long, pregnant moment of silence, followed by howls of outrage from the assembled cultists. "HERETICS!" "YOU RUINED THE CEREMONY!" "/KILL THEM!/" William snarls and leaps over the rocks, bellowing, "Take them out!" over his shoulder at the team!
Mizuki     Angry wildlife is something that is -not- typically a component of the idyllic, pastoral mental image Mizuki keeps of a chilled world. There's no aurora to be seen here, and the only paints that interrupt the infinite tapestry of blankness are the crimson stains that emerge from Jamie's and Lily's wounds. Perhaps because she's so perturbed she emerges from her romantic reverie fairly quickly, immediately drawing her focus to her quarry: the polar bears. There's something extremely different about this confrontation from those she normally involves herself in in that these animals are of the non-sapient variety. She has no qualms harming beings that are able to think and reconsider themselves, but these beasts... she almost feels sympathy for.

    As such, she does not rush in with her blade lashing immediately -- rather, she attempts to open stasis fields at each of the bears' four paws. If she's successful, they would be held in place, hopefully giving her enough time to place a hand to one of their back's. If she's allowed to do so, she focuses her magic on the heart of the one that had struck Lily. She would compress time further and further until its heart had stopped, and only release when she's certain the beast had fallen unconscious. Then she would turn to the other one which, on account of the vast degrees of concentration that other maneuver entailed, would likely have broken free of her grasp.

    "Ayako," She softly intones, "I am going to have to harm this one. If I wound it mortally, I will be counting on you to keep it alive." Then she moves over to the animal as quickly as she's able, attempting to slice it cleanly across its side. Anything to incapacitate it.
Crys Gattz Crys Gattz has to admit as they reach the base and get a warning? Well the drones at least give people who blunderd this way time to run. She'll have to gives the designers that right? She looks to Lou as they note the status of the situation and now she's getting ready to move in.

"If you can hack in and size control of the drones I suspect our employers would be pretty happy with that as a bonus!"

She's now starint to move , or should we say dragged along at this point it dopesn't take long to get her there though.

"Right clean em out inside."

she now steps forward making ready to take point and shoot several shots at the drones before she presses in with her DB saber ready.
Rory White     "What in the world is this?" Rory uses an Ecto - a PDA - to display what she's seeing. "Tribal attire... and they appear to have captives for some ceremony?" She's not familiar at ALL with these weird religious things... but then a different voice comes out - FROM THE ECTO.

    It's a young boy in a stylish tuxedo, blue hair... drawn anime-style! With a rather polite tone. "Most likely ritual sacrifices. The ancient Aztecs, among others, believed ritual killings could bring them good fortune by appeasing their gods."

    Rory's face would pale if she was capable of such expression. Instead she scrunches up. "stop them!"

    Thankfully William's already on it.

    Which leaves her standing behind Albert, blinking and wincing... then shaking her head. "WHY is it always crazy people jumping straight to violence?!"

    The day she can use reason instead of standing witness to utter violence against such hair-trigger reactionary sorts will be welcome indeed.

    Putting away the Ecto and side-stepping to get a clear shot, she whips out what looks like a pistol with a really weird set of attchments along the barrel...

    There's also no trigger?

    But soon enough... tiny darts fly from the barrel's sides, detaching and trailing incredibly fine wire. It seeks bare flesh, the little hooks guided by nanite-make control surfaces and microjets for slight course corrections.

    And upon making contact... ZOOOOOOOOOOOORCH!

    It's a tazer.
Eryl Fairfax =SIQINIQ PLANT TEAM=

     Both bears are suddenly contained in stasis! Lily, thankfully, doesn't seem to be bleeding, her armour having blocked the swipes, but the strength behind them still knocked her to the ground. Jamie though, is bleeding pretty badly.

     The bear that Mizuki is getting fancy on does eventually succumb to the heart stop, slumping over, but the other one goes to finish Jamie off! The Private First Class, running on pure shock and adrenaline, goes for his shotgun and slams the tip of the barrel under the polar bear's jaw shutting its mouth before he pulls the trigger. The slug blasts clean through the bear's skull, painting the roof in blood and brains.

     "T-Take that ya f-f-fuhh..." he mutters, clearly delirious from the wound. Lily gets up and starts putting pressure on it, looking at Ayako! "Can you do something?!"
Starbound Flotilla     Ritual sacrifice. Captives for a sacrifice ceremony. Dedicated to the gods... This is where things get messy. Normally it's Albert or Biteblade doing the frenzy fighting. This time, though, someone else does. Pavo's in her piratey energized armor now, and suddenly drawing a Power Cutlass. When things break into combat, Pavo does not wait one single minute. She's LEAPING in huge bounds, suddenly overtaking Biteblade and George with a whoosh, her humming cutlass sparking in the air, and she intends to dive right into the fray. Where Rory handles things from long-range, Pavo moves right in at close range.

    Screeching like an enraged eagle, she descends from a leap that must have gone 30 feet into the air, trying to slam down on the cultist cutlass-first and then immediately begin stabbing people.

    Normally she prioritizes loot, she prioritizes greed, she doesn't kill where necessary. Unfortunately, these people had the poor fortune to look very much like adherants of the worship of Kluex, and this has driven Pavo into a frenzied rage, due to which she intends to begin stabbing, cutting, and slicing anyone here. She might not still have the clarity of mind to preserve that ornate gear.

    Meanwhile, George and Biteblade both start swearing in their respective languages, and open fire. Biteblade with a more effective magnetic induction compound bow that will hopefully railgun hefty bolts of dense metal through cultist torsos, while George uses an SMG he took to immediately open fire in short bursts, intending to spread the cultists. Mostly because Pavo might not be able to handle their proper combat numbers, and isn't in a state of mind to maneuver properly! In fact, she's kind of squawking and screaming while she leaps around in swift, gliding bursts.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako blinks her eyes slowly... and then nods her head quickly. "I'll try!" And then flinches when she hears the shotgun go off. She runs over to Jamie quickly he starts showing signs of deliriousness and cups her hands together quickly. "I can! Just hold on for just a moment!"

    Purple healing water forms in her hands and is carefully applied to Jamie's wounds. As she does so, Ayako looks a bit sadly at the very dead bear. She can't bring the dead back to life.
Eryl Fairfax =BRILLO DEL SOL TEAM=

     Picking off the optics seems to be a pretty wise move from Lou. These drones don't seem to be terribly smart, so they keep pressing forward depite the lack of them, typically ending up bumping into other drones, or wandering into range of Bonnie's shield or Cry's shots/sabre. Their armour isn't actually all that strong either, so Crys has no trouble taking them down with her attacks.

     "You are correct Lou. If we can get to the security room, we can cancel the alert. It's deeper inside. Let's go." She begins to lead the way with Crys, keeping the Newtype covered with her shield, bashing those that get to close and using the inbuilt coilgun when none are near. Passing down the corridor beyond the reception, Tabitha takes up the rear, having to move side-on to fit. She makes sure that Lou has clear shots at anything down the corridor while keeping their rears covered.

     It takes a bit of fighting, but they soon stand in the main body of the power plant, where the big machines are stored. Catwalks criss-cross above them, Bonnie looking up at them. "The security office is up there. Stairs are-oh no." Along with the small pods, larger pods are rising out of the ground, ones that would be familiar to Crys from the airport. Lou receives data on what lies within. The big brothers of the drones, riding on treads of spherical wheels, packing lethal railguns and missile pods. In addition, their presence makes the small drones smarter.

     Tabitha suddenly reaches out and grabs Bonnie, throwing her up to the catwalks! The shieldbearer actually lets out a yelp as she lands on one. The cyborg goes to do the same to Crys and Lou. "Get to the security room, I'll hold them off!" Tabitha yells, before rushing at one of the bigger drones and tackling it!
Mizuki     For some reason, even after watching her world (nearly) crumble before her very eyes, it's still... quite a shock to see the aftermath of Jamie's desperate gunshot. She immediately sheathes her blade and rushes to Lily's side, but by the time she's arrived there she already knows that there likely isn't much to be done. Not... that the well-being of the bears should have been her priority in the first place, but she can't help herself.

    She remains mostly silent as Ayako works her magic, electing toward the end of the procedure to take point. She keeps her sword held firmly at her side as she scans the interior of the station.
Eryl Fairfax =SONORAN TEAM=

     When future generations of soldiers for the Eden Defence Force are taught about situations that went FUBAR, this fight as captured by William and Philip's suitcams will be first on the curriculum. The former bashes one of the charging cultists in the face with the stock of his rifle, then affixes a bayonet and stabs him through the belly before pulling the trigger. The shot goes right through and takes down two others before he yanks his gun back and moves on. Philip is still freaking out a little, hanging back and peppering the cultists with rapid-fire rounds from his own SMG.

     The cultists aren't sure of what to do about Pavo. The presence of a pirate making gliding leaps and carving them up is totally new to them, and for the first few seconds, some just stare at her as she massacres them. But they do get it together eventually, and form a plan. When she starts coming in for another attack, two launch a third into the air! He tries to grapple Pavo on her way down and pin her! Should he succeed, his fellows start raining blows on her.

     George, Biteblade and Rory are likely hanging back with Philip, their contributions not going unnoticed despite the two berserkers in the thick of things. One of them that Biteblade shoots down returns fire with his own bow, others also drawing and firing at them! The one that Rory tazes is followed up by two more who rush at her, stabbing with primitive spears!
Lou     So far, it hadn't been terribly difficult, besides how frantic the presence of so many targets makes things, even when you're connected to a supercomputer. As far as Lou was able to tell from the schematics, many of these drones had been equipped with non-lethal armaments. It is almost as if they were more for dissuasion than to be particularly hazardous. She doesn't comment on this aloud, but by her calculations, this isn't likely to be the full extent of the security system, going by how these are typically organized. To Crys, she responds, "Given how alien the technology is, I am unlikely to be able to do anything from here." At least, in enough time to be practical. However, their companions confirm that they can shut it down by reaching the appropriate terminal, and that meets Lou's approval. "Yes, let us continue the operation."

    After no doubt a set amount of the smaller droids are dealt with, unfortunately, another of her suspicions also comes to pass, in the form of far more deadly sentries barring their path. They materialize as far darker and more glaring red pips on anyone's radar that is shared with Lou's, and the availability of information reinforces what is obvious to anyone with at least one eye. Lou is just about to comment on this, before even she is caught somewhat by surprise by being hefted upward - though her servos kick in quickly enough to still allow her to land, slightly off-kilter, on one knee. She once again reaches up to her monogrammed hat, "I trust that Miss Tabitha can hold her own." Whether a statement of confidence, or of hope, is hard to discern given Lou's near-monotone and lightly reverbed voice. She once again does a quick scan of her eyes, before beginning to step forward, with a bit more hurry than usual, though still deferring somewhat to Crys and Bonnie to keep things clear.

    "I should be able to deal with the terminals, if you can get me inside." She then adds, more as if emulating someone else in distant memory, which makes it sound a bit strained than confident, "I have the knack." She has also taken note, peripherally, of Crys' weapon, but there's little time for small talk about it. They need to hurry, for Tabitha's sake and their own. Given the chance in situation, she returns her rifle to its apparent storage place at the small of her back, withdrawing two sabers with glowing, photon blades.
Eryl Fairfax =SIQINIQ PLANT TEAM=

     Lily squeezes Jamie's hand as Ayako gets to work. The purple water begins to clot the blood, skin and muscle starting to knit back together. The young man lets out a small sigh of relief and begins to try and get up, before Lily pushes him back down. "No, stay down. You're going back to the ship." He starts to offer some protests, but she cuts him off. "That's an order. I bet Ayako would recommend the same."

     As Mizuki looks around, she realizes she is standing in a reception area! A long-wilted fern sits on the receptionist's desk, and a couple of vending machines lie in ruins, cans and packages ripped open by hungry predators. As she takes this moment to reflect, she may hear something coming from the flight of stairs leading down just before the group... snarling, and the padding of four feet.
Rory White     SO much blood! But Rory can only be so squicked by it, and she's already at her frustration limit for this. After the mess with the Fiends.... well, sometimes there's no time to be reasonable.

    Hence why she's still using non-lethal weapon.

    Nevertheless, she ends up SPEARED! CLANG!

    ... What?

    Yep.

    When the two spearmen rushed her, something ODD happened! The spears went right through her clothing as expected, pierced flesh, drew blood... and then rammed hard into a metal wall.

    No serious damage to the advanced synthetic materials that make up her Synth Morph's structure. Just some scratches, maybe! However she IS bowled over by the sheer kinetic force of two humans slamming into her with all the weapon swing they can manage... and goes tumbling over backwards like a ragdoll, squealing in protest!

    When she settles on the ground... despite NOT LOOKING at either of her assailants, MORE prongs fly off the weapon in her hands right for the offending hands! ZORCH!
Crys Gattz Crys Gattz has an objective and she's going to press on ahead so that's what she's going to do as she move ahead she banishes her pistol raises one hand and mutters something. Lighting arcs from her finger tips in her best impersonation of a sith lord. The lighting might just jump from tartget to target as she closes trying to get in nice and close to go after the brian bots.

"Brain bots, they are going to boost all the others around them!"

meanwhile Lou is getitng to work and proving to be very good support at this point. She pauses at Lou's comment.

"It's pretty stock Earth tech!"

She half expects the OS on thes drones to be by a certain window making software company. Still Lou's got a very valid point.

She's going to just try to keep the brain bots as she called them tied up.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako nods her head quickly to agree with Lily. "Yes, you are going back to the ship. No, I don't care if you say you feel okay now. That was a really nasty wound, and you need to recover properly." She looks back towards Lily, "Lily, could you help me bring Jamie back to the ship?"

    She blinks her eyes for a moment as she looks back at Mizuki... and then smiles softly. "Ah. Un." Ayako nods her head once. It looks like Mizuki has something in mind right now, and Jamie does need to pull back anyway!
Mizuki     Assuming Ayako obliges her, Mizuki remains perfectly still. As she sits in place, her form passes through phases -- solid, then translucent, then transparent, and then completely invisible. Goodness willing, this same act should dilute her scent and sound as well, meaning that the only way she would be discovered is if whatever this 'thing' is happens to bump straight into her. She attempts to lessen the chance of that by creeping gradually to a corner of the room. From there she keeps her vigil for a while, but if the creature in question does not emerge into her room she pursues it, creeping stealthily to the steps and, if necessary, up. This movement would make her a bit more conspicuous than if she were to stay still, but there is still a good chance that she would blend in with her surroundings even so.

    She keeps her sword held tightly, but in the other hand she's begun to twirl a finger. For the first time, though, that hand is not conjuring a stasis field -- it's calling upon an illusion. The beast might hear a sound echoing from around the bend, just loud enough that it could be lured into Mizuki's sight, but not so boisterous as to startle them. If and when it -is- within her aperture, she flicks two fingers in the creature's direction to attempt to lock them in a deep, deep sleep.

    Ironically, this is the first time since she has joined the Multiverse that the so-called 'Dream Witch' has ever been able to use this ability.
Starbound Flotilla     The launch of a third person to intercept Pavo in mid-air is extremely difficult for her to deal with, and entirely surprising! The launched man does successfully pin her and begin to rain down blows. But, thankfully, this is where Moonfin, Seft, and Albert all arrive at once. Moonfin, with a two-handed power-katana, Seft with a power-axe, and Albert with a power-hammer, all try to tear through any cultists that stand between them and Pavo, to rescue her! She's suffered some pretty heavy wounding though, even from the simplified weapons and despite her armor. Ideally they'll be able to drive them back!

    What comes next is /very/ unusual. George calls out something to one of the Flotilla members. "Hey! Seft! Run the thing! Do it!" There's a sudden burst of sheepish embarrassment from Seft, in gentle, stressed tones, but... Albert and Moonfin cover her while she raises what looks like some kind of gnarled staff that she's retrieved from her Matter Manipulator. It glows brightly for a moment... As if casting a spell!

    And activates the Red Giant PSI-pattern. Very suddenly, there appears to be a miniature sun here! The small red sun floats just above Seft and shines brightly. These anti-solar cultists will either be very afraid or very angry soon! George is calling out, as he leaps out of cover and begins spraying. "C'mon! Look at us! Sun's here to take some revenge! Get on the ground, get begging for mercy or get running! Here comes the sun, yeah!" Pavo, for her part, actually seems taken out of the battle, in a way... She may recover shortly, though.
Eryl Fairfax =BRILLO DEL SOL TEAM=

     Crys decides to stick around and help Tabitha! The cyborg is below, ripping at the optics of one of the tank drones. Another comes up behind her and starts powering its railguns, but she ducks below the projected arc and uppercuts it! Crys's shots don't really seem to be doing much to the 'brain bots,' their thick armour deflecting pistol fire.

     Lou and Bonnie progress across the catwalks. Up here, there are only drones, but they are far smarter due to the presence of the larger bots, backing up to avoid strikes from shield or sabre and firing their beanbags in conjunction to make avoid them all the harder, taking advantage of any openings that creates to get in and try to shock the pair!

     As such, it's pretty slow going for the pair of them, but they soon make it to the shuttered door of the security room! Bonnie takes another grenade and tosses it, blowing the door open! "Alright Lou, do your thing, I'll cover you." When Lou goes inside, Bonnie blocks the door with her shield, standing firm.
Eryl Fairfax =SIQINIQ PLANT TEAM=

     Jamie glowers at the two women fussing over him, but lets out a defeated sigh. He lets out a pained grunt when the two start helping him back to the ship, but he does manage to stagger along with their help. Once inside, Lily dumps him into a chair and glowers at him. "You try to follow us, I'll see to it that you are dishonourably discharged. You hear me?" Jamie gives a grudging salute, and straps himself into a chair. Lily nods, and smiles at Ayako, leading her back to the plant.

     Meanwhile, Mizuki is getting fancy! As her form and presence fades, the padding pauses for a moment before speeding up, like the owner was confused. Soon, another polar bear emerges in the reception area, sniffing the air and looking around. The phantom sound causes it to flinch, and look in its direction, wide open! Mizuki's spell nails it, and it immediately slumps over, snoring.

     Just in time for Lily and Ayako to arrive. "... damn. You're good at this," Lily says to Mizuki, grinning.
Lou     In her report of this later, Lou will be honest. Despite not having to deal with the strongest of security system's resistance, it also did *not* make this easy. As much as she would like to monitor the other teams' progress in order to coordinate their own, it's become enough of a struggle to make it this far. Far superior numbers, and now better coordinated, begin to threaten to overwhelm Lou's CAST abilities -- every so often, one of the smaller drones' non-lethal shots proves all but impossible to dodge in the closer quarters, causing her line shield to glow. With their increased smarts, it doesn't take the drones long to figure out that it takes a few moments to recharge after the deflections, which is when they get their real hits in.

    Thoroughly pummelled, Lou continues defending herself as necessary, but for the most part tries to shrug off the bruises and scorch marks that now cover primarily her arms, in the interest of just pressing forward with Bonnie. She is a CAST - as long as the mission is accomplished, this damage will be irrelevant. "It is just up ahead," she confirms, having now had time for her sub-processors to build an adequate map of the place to both be more certain of that fact, as well as project a slightly longer range threat radar for those that have remained behind. As she paces up to the door, there's a noticeable extra whine to the hydraulics in one of her legs, but it will be dealt with later. Right now, their objective is in sight. She braces behind cover as the way is blown open, and then continues in. "Understood. I will attempt to hurry."

    As Cryz had promised, it is..somewhat standard Earth technology. Things that Lou had managed to pick up from her research in the multiverse will be of help here. Despite that, though, it's the small details that are different that can be so problematic. Taking a moment to steel her focus, amidst all the clamor going on just outside, she places both hands over what appears to be any primary terminal in the security room, projecting a glowing, runed circle from each as the pupils of her eyes seem to glow with the same light, reflecting code that isn't displayed elsewhere. "I am attempting a direct access now." Hopefully she can complete it quickly. She's pretty much completely vulnerable while she's doing this.
Eryl Fairfax =SONORAN TEAM=

     The battle continues! The two spearmen pause, horribly confused as their spears meet metal and make an unexpected noise, leaving them wide open for Rory's taser rounds to knock them out cold. The cultists are so focussed on Pavo, they don't notice her allies arriving to bail her out until they're already dead.

     When Seft does the thing, the air is suddenly befouled with smells indicating that a lot of the cultists just lost bowel control. They never expected the sun to come down and settle their grudge personally! Some pass out, others flee and some even roar challenges, only to be gunned down by Philip.

     "DIE, ACCURSED SUN!" The priest is back on his feet, and he had a backup knife! In shaking hands, he raises it to try and stab the sacrifices, when William rushes onto the altar! He's a mess, covered in cuts and one eye swollen shut. He's lost his rifle at some point, but replaced it with a spear slick with blood.

     He roars, and rushes the priest, crushing his knife hand in his own and twisting it, driving the point through the priest's ribs into his heart. Then, he follows it with a kick, knocking the dying priest from the altar. By now, the cultists are all dead, unconscious or escaping.

     It's over.
Mizuki     Mizuki is not above indulging herself a flourish or two of pride now and then, particularly when she's allowed to utilize what she considers to be her 'more elegant, less lethal' panoply of skills. So she retains her flamboyance as long as she is able, waiting to reappear until well after Lily has entered the room. As she voices her appreciation, Mizuki fades back into view directly in front of the woman, body already poised in the telltale afterimage of a curtsy. She rises shortly after with a smile and a quick dusting of her dress, saying only, "Let's move on, shall we?"

    It has been way too long since she's been allowed to act smug, but all this success might be getting her head a bit. Just a little!

    Thankfully, though, not so much that she completely lowers her guard. She keeps a hand firmly over her sword's grip as she advances up the stairs, swift and silent as she's able. Assuming Lily is still in her vicinity, she asks, "Remind me, or otherwise inform me should I never have known: where is our ultimate destination? I'm afraid certain details tend to slip my mind now and again." No, really, she is totally that flighty. Before she even receives an answer, though, she peeks her head into the room beyond the stairwell, trying to get an impression of what lies ahead. As Ayako enters, she would receive a more candid grin and nod too. "Thank you for tending to that man. I do so lament my lack of healing arts, but there's naught to be done about that I suppose."

    Can magically tranquilize bears and stop their hearts, but can't heal anyone, ever. Those are blind spots for you! But that's also why her pairing with Ayako is so effectual.
Rory White     THIS is new! First thing Rory sees when she clumsily rises back up to her feet is the giant red sun-orb thing.

    Blink.

    Well THAT sure doesn't compute. WHAT?!

    It would surprise her if she wasn't aware that Seft had done it via the saucer above. Having eyes in the sky helps wonders!

    Even knowing about it, just looking at it fills her with wonder and bits of terror. That is FREAKY. Very, VERY freaky.

    She's brought out of that little trance by the sound of screams however. THAT gets her focusing on William's final fight against the priest... "William?!"

    A quick review of her footage reveals some of the injuries and their natures, so she rushes over to him and slaps a Nano-bandage on the biggest of the cuts. It will not only sooth paine overall but work on staunching bleeding and disinfect everything...

    But the dead priest gets only a look of pity.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako smiles softly at Jamie. "I know, I know. But you still need to rest." As if she's very familiar with this sort of thing. As Lily leads her back, Ayako also applies purple healing water to where Lily was hit. Just in case. Even if Lily seems fine.

    She notes the bear unconscious thanks to Mizuki's spell and blinks her eyes quickly. "Ahhh..." Ayako then smiles brightly when Mizuki makes her graceful reappearance. As expected of Mizuki! Of course she claps her hands together in soft applause. Ayako is appreciative of such showy things and Mizuki should be allowed to be elegantly smug, after all.

    "That's right... where exactly are we going to turn this power plant on, Lily?" She inclines her head to the side gently. "Mmm..." Ayako makes a gentle sound of disagreement and smiles softly at the Dream Witch. "You're welcome, of course. But it's nothing, really. It's why I'm here, after all."
Starbound Flotilla     The sun goes out approximately when the priest's life does.

    "Meek. Please never discuss what just happened." She says in her synthesized monotone, putting her staff away. She is really, really ashamed of casting spells.
    Pavo gets Albert helping her up onto her feet, and he's going to be propping her with her arm over his shoulder. "We have a soldier down, but she will be okay." She seems to want to go after those cultists, but they look like they've wounded her legs too badly! "Tactical recommendations are that you don't let her move her legs yet."

    It looks like this is mostly dealt with. And so, Biteblade and George are right back into action. George knows how to set up solar stations, and Biteblade's good for tribal fighting, and both are still relatively fresh. George is reloading, and Biteblade's pulling out a pair of power-daggers! Albert hands off Pavo to Moonfin, and joins up with them! They're going to head towards that power station, hoping to burst in and get set up for reactivation -- or fight the cultists therein -- before news gets too far! Biteblade always says that the best way to fight tribals is simply: Outrun the bad news.
Rory White     Rory steps timidly around the fallen. She knocked out some of the tribals with tazer shots - those now retract. She doesn't move to do anything with them herself - a small drone on treads does that. Binding their arms and legs with some kind of cordd! She'll let the others figure out what to do witht hem when they wake up.

    Moving without any apparent instruction to do so, the little frisbee-siced Saucer drone heads towards the administration buildings to do a full scan of the layout. She'll need direct access to do anything important... but now that things are quieter?

    "Step one is to survey the site and determine what state it's in... I'm lead to understand that these installations are any years old and dormant?"
Crys Gattz Her inital bolts go wide but Crys isn't about to give up she is getting closer to the brain bots as she calls them. She actually stops using her other weapons and leaps into their tanks using her photon barrier in an attempt to parry incoming shots once she's got to the middle or as close as she can of the enemy formation lighgting comes agian as the bolts ark about her like a explosion and may very well jump from machine to machine.

She does not say anything she does not banter as she hopes Lou can carry out what she needs to do. Then again Rory is also on the job there is no doubt in her mind between both CASTs this job can get done. As for the drones they better like a whole lot of lightning.
Eryl Fairfax =SONORAN TEAM=

     William grunts his thinks as Rory rushes over to patch up his worst cuts. He radios the transport to come over now, as Philip goes to join Biteblade and George in the power plant. Thankfully, all the cultists were attending the ritual, so now the plant is deserted.

     However, it's clear that the cultists have been in here for a while, and have been taking out their hatred of the sun on the machines. But, due to their primitive technology, they couldn't do anything truly debilitating.

     What follows is a night of working, Philip directing the repair effort with the aid of Rory and the Flotilla, clearly much more in his element. William stays in the transport, getting treated by the pilot. As the sun begins to rise, enlightening the desert landscape, the final repairs are complete, and Philip brings the plant back online.

     Outside, all the panels come to life, spinning and whirring to ensure the motors that turn them to face the sun are functioning. A few aren't, but not enough to severely hinder the plant. As the sun hits them, they turn to face it, panels obsidian black as they absorb every bit of light.

     "AAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW YEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!" Philip yells as he runs around inside the plant, handing out hi-fives like they're going out of style.
Eryl Fairfax =SIQINIQ PLANT TEAM=

     Lily blinks as she looks at Ayako and Mizuki. "Oh, huh. I guess with all the excitement, I didn't get time to tell you. Basically, these Before Time power plants would automatically hibernate without human input. We're just here to provide it."

     Venturing down into the plant, the three woman no longer encounter any resistance. It seems that those bears were all that were there. It's clear that they've lived here for a while, judging by the wake of destruction they left in offices as they hunted for food, and all the bones and waste here and there.

     Thankfully, they've not done much damage to the machines, so when the team reaches the control room, Lily can activate the whole place immediately. The three make it outside, just in time to see the sun rise, the light racing across the snow. The panels all swerve to face it, taking in the light, the machines within the plant converting it into usable power that spreads through underground cables.

     Lily smiles and squeezes Ayako and Mizuki on the shoulder. "You two did great. Thank you," she says, sounding a little choked up even.
Eryl Fairfax =BRILLO DEL SOL TEAM=

     By upping the voltage of her blasts, Crys starts to see the effects! Those big robots are now starting to turn their railguns on the catwalk she stands on as she fries one, but Tabitha shoulder-barges one just in time, the shot going wide and blasting through the roof!

     At the security room, Lou has little trouble accessing everything, and soon the alert is rescinded! All the drones immediately start to return to their pods, and Bonnie breathes a sigh of relief. "Good job Lou. Let's meet the others."

     Upon rendezvousing, the time comes to get the plant running again. Thankfully, it is also not terribly damaged, and they manage to get it going just before the sun rises. On a balcony overlooking the nearby ocean, the team can watch as solar panels emerge from the ocean below, wiping the silt and grit from themselves with wipers, and turning to face the sun as it begins its journey.

     "Maaaan. All worth it for times like this," Tabitha says fondly, leaning against the wall. Bonnie offers a stiff nod of agreement, looking to Crys and Lou. "You two did a fine job." "Hell yeah they did. Should rename this place after you two. The 'Lou-da-Crys Power Plant!" Tabitha cackles at her own terrible joke at Bonnie moans an pinches the bridge of her nose.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako nods her head slowly. "Ah. Well, here's hoping it's still working when we take it out of sleep mode." She looks around, staring at the signs of bear habitation around the plant. "A-ahh... It looks like they made a home out of this place for quite a while." She quietly watches Lily activate the plant... Ayako isn't so technologically knowledgable, after all.

    She continues to follow Lily curiously as they head outside and then smiles brightly when the panels move to face the sun. "Ah! It's working, it's working!" Ayako smiles cheerfully at Lily. "You're welcome! I hope the others were successful too!"
Lou     Despite looking a bit roughed up, and slightly hobbled by a servo that slows her pace, Lou emerges from the security room unscathed and successful. Thankfully, now that their team isn't being constantly attacked by automated defenses, the rest of the operation is relatively simple, with the aged machinery doing the rest. While scenery appreciation processes are not currently active, there is still some corner of her collective mind that feels satisfaction that their work is complete, and she notes, "I have indications that the other teams have met with success." The pun goes right over her head, sadly, so she only notes, having apparently taken it at face value, "That will not be necessary. It is reward enough to have been of assistance, Miss Bonnie, Miss Tabitha."

    With this complete, she does turn her attention to Crys next, assuming the newman is well off enough. It's now time for a cross-reality tradition. "Thank you as well, Miss Gattz. If you should require my help in the future, please call on me using my Partner Card." She waves her hand in the space between them, producing a seemingly holographic card with her image and details upon it, which solidifies shortly after. "Is that a DB's Saber," she wonders? "It is somewhat different than the prototypes currently in testing, that came from the Relics, but it is similar enough to match ninety-eight percent. Please tell me about it next time."
Mizuki     Mizuki is not one to overlook the value of such picturesque moments. As the trio departs from the facility, she pauses. She gingerly sets the tip of her sword against the ground, allowing its form to part hers in perfect equilibrium. She looks to the sky with a quiet smile, draws a deep breath, and allows for several moments of silence once Lily has finished delivering her thanks to savor the moment. When she finally does find the energy to do so, though, she flicks a bang aside with one of her fingers and turns to Lily in just the most cinematic way that she can. Then she says, her voice tinged with an essence of climax and finality that only an author could muster,

    "One day the light you see on the horizon will envelop this whole world once more. So fear not, you who dwell deep within the veil of night, for henceforth you shall have the protection of the moon. And I will see that all those with hope are delivered safely to the coming dawn."

    For a moment, her face is decorated with the proudest of smiles. Soon, though, that countenance crumbles into a fit of flushing and nervous fidgets that Lily might not previously have believed her capable of. Mizuki quickly retreats once she's lost her footing, waiting in some shadow until she has an opportune moment to open a portal and disappear, as she's so wont to do, unto the world of fantasies from whence she had come.

    ... remind her to never, ever do that again. That was so embarrassing.
Starbound Flotilla     George knows solars. He was a space-station engineer. Biteblade understands solar power intimately, as a plant. Albert's a good computer hardware specialist. Between the three, Rory, and the GeGenesis folks, they should be able to get the place in working order damn quick. These guys may put the action in action scientist, but they're still damn good engineers!

    The others will eventually be able to get inside and help as well. They will also all partake of high-fives. Everyone except Albert, of course, who is too messed up to take a high five. The others are perfectly fine with celebrating!
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako looks over at Mizuki when she starts to speak. "Hmm?" Her head inclines to the side gently as she quietly listens. When Mizuki smiles proudly as she finishes her spiel, she claps her hands together quickly. "Oh oh oh, very nice, Mizuki!"

    Oops! Why is Mizuki suddenly blushing and fidgetting nervously? Ayako tries to follow Mizuki when she suddenly starts to try to hide. "Eh? Eeehh? Mizuki, what's wrong? That was nice! Really!"
Crys Gattz Crys Gattz is done and she takes a deep breath as things seem to finally settle down ther She looks about for a moment and turns off her weapons as she takes a moment ot lkookj about the place they have reclaimed she laughs for a moment.

"...That's a heck of a pun I love it!"

Getting an intact power plant is a huge thing, it might allow for a community to be built or support existing ones. Even more the tech behind it could be recovered right?

"Not bad Lou, not bad at all I think you'd surived in the Ruins on Ragol pretty darn well."