Scene #6240: Broken Prophecy P1

Owner	Pose
Nova Terra	"So after I finally managed to take him out, what should appear? A fucking Protoss army!" Nova casually walks out of the warpgate first, Canister Rifle resting over her shoulder as she walks down the stone steps. The world that the Ghost has led the other Watch members to is... Really hard to see through the heavy jungle around them. Only a little light is able to filter down through the heavy tree tops. Numerous vines hang from tree branches and have wrapped themselves around the golden and crystalline structure of the Protoss warpgate they just exited. On the ground, roots regularly rise up out of the ground, having broken up the stone path leading forward. It's this path that Nova follows as she continues, "Of course, this was around five years ago. Before the Protoss had warmed up to us Terrans." She pauses for a moment, before adding, "Not that they've really warmed up to us much. But at least they're no longer trying to stab us on sight. Well... Most of them aren't. Those black and red ones still do." The jungle begins to thin as Nova keeps leading the others forward. She continues, "Thankfully initial scans showed the Protoss aren't here anymore. Which makes sense. Their population has taken some pretty big hits in the intervening years. Anyway, I'm off track. The point is, for that short time I was here, I did get to see something just a little interesting." Things quickly brighten up as light begins to shine down on the Watch members. The trees open up to reveal a clearing ahead. The stone path solidifies into a more complete road, flanked by pillars that rise several metres into the air. They too are made of a dark stone, but the precise measurements of their details, the smoothness of the stone and the purposely embedded crystalline accents hint at more advanced methods of construction than their stone material suggests. Most of the pillars are broken in one way or another, but a few are still intact. The road itself leads towards their destination: A temple-like structure made of the same material as the pillars. Though 'structure' is a bit generous in its description, as the temple is in ruins. Faded scorch marks and debris patterns suggest it was destroyed, though the impact points are far too scattered for it to be the intended target. Over the tree tops of the jungle surrounding it, additional temples can be seen in the distance. But they appear equally as damaged as this one. Nova grins as she stops, looking back at her allies, "Welcome to Braken. Your one stop shop for Xel'naga temples. The planet is littered with them." The road leads forward, passing through a broken archway and into the main courtyard of the temple. That is likely where the main entrance is. But there is a lot of rubble and debris covering it.
Corona Arclite	Corona was listening to the story. Really she was. But as soon as they're at the perimeter of the structure she's distracted by the remaining and half-standing pillars. She walks over to one and gives it a few light knocks with the metal brace over the knuckles of her glove, an ear swiveling to listen to the resulting sound. Then her gaze sweeps towards the rest of the area, noting scorch marks and rubble scattered about. She whistles sharply, then comments "That's some helluva collat'ral damage." Then turns her attention back to Nova, proving she was still at least partially listening to the reaccount with her questioning. "Yer sure they didn't just take this thingadoodle with 'em? Or is that what we're here to find out in the first place..."
Yang Xiao Long	"Xel'naga? Sounds like some mutant Grimm from the southern reaches of Mistral." remarks Yang morbidly, the blonde brawler tagging along behind the group a bit, poking randomly at interesting looking flora as she passes... but otherwise not trailing too far back. "So, what's so special about these temples? I'm assuming they've got some freaky ancient tech or something in 'em if you're pointin' 'em out for our little project."
Nova Terra	As Corona knocks on the pillar, her finely tuned hearing will tell her that the pillar actually goes underground for a fair bit of distance. And that the pillar is just one solid block, not made of smaller pieces. Meanwhile, at the mention of collateral damage, Nova nods, "It was a big ass war. Wouldn't be surprised if hundreds of battles were waged on this planet." She's probably exaggerating. As Yang asks about the temples and the Xel'naga, Nova gives her a grin, "Got it in one." She continues walking down the stone path, passing through the broken archway, explaining, "The Xel'naga were an ancient species not native to our universe. They had hypertech well beyond anything any of us currently has. So we're bound to find something interesting... Admittedly the Protoss might have taken it. They are the favoured 'children' of the Xel'naga and aren't fond of sharing. But I figure if we're going to find anything, it'll be on this planet." Nova stops at the collapsed entrance, rubbing her chin as she looks at it, "Finding it is going to be the problem though. The Xel'naga didn't make it easy."
Yang Xiao Long	"Nothing worth getting is ever easy." replies Yang, jogging to catch up to the others. "Security systems, puzzle locks, traps... places like this are full of danger, even if there's noone around anymore." she chuckles. "Curious is the trapmaker's art. The results of their craft never seen by thier own eyes."
Corona Arclite	"Welp, whoever built this place knew how to put down a foundation, that's for sure... Can't say so much 'bout what's barely standin' above ground though." Corona ambles over to the blocked entrance with the other two. "Well Yang, iffen they saw someone gettin' through their traps, they'd be pretty lousy trapmakers." The vixen stops to lean against the rock pile, scrutinizing it. "But with traps in mind, demo'ing this heap pro'ly ain't a good idea. We probably gotta dig our way through." She reachs over a shoulder to pull the siege hammer from her back, though turns it around for the pick-hook on the backside instead. "Bet Blondie can impersonate a piledriver darn good with those fancy punchin' gloves of hers."
Nova Terra	Nova mumbles a little, "Maybe. But easy would be nice for a change..." Corona does make a good point. Much of the temple is destroyed. It looks like there are still some relatively intact sections that could contain rooms with potential loot inside. Nova doesn't look too enthusiastic at the thought of trying to dig their way through, but, "Anything too explosive could cause the temple to collapse more." She looks at Corona's pick. That'd probably take a while. She looks at Yang, "Think you're up for giving it a try?"
Yang Xiao Long	"Hey, I'm not heavy digging equipment!" remarks Yang insensed, but smirks as she's asked if she's up for punching stuff. "Rocks, faces, all the same to me at the end of the day." she says, deploying her gauntlets then smashing her fists together. "Lets see if I can't knock a hole through." The blonde steps up, then, with a kiai starts to punch at the rubble pile, pulverizing rock as the shotgun built into the gauntlet begins to sound off reports, blasting kinetic force into the pile to additionally disrupt the structure of it.
Corona Arclite	"Neither am Ah, but we don't wanna waste the time of me goin' back to get my labor mech." It would of taken a long time to dig on her own sure. But Corona can still use the pick to help move rubble out of the way and pull off chunks that don't come entirely free. "See, told ya she'd do a good jackhammer impersonation."
Nova Terra	Punch. Punch. Punch. Each punch blows away a part of the fallen rubble, Corona helping to move away some of the large pieces that survive. Soon enough the final piece cracks in half, causing it to fall to either side and reveal a path through. Some dust is kicked up, Nova waving it away as she tries to peer inside. She nods approvingly to Yang, "Not bad." There's a rumbling sound and Nova freezes still, asking, "What was that?" The ground beneath the group suddenly collapses, dust and debris flying as the stone breaks apart and caves in, dragging the Watch members down with it. The fall is not very far, though it'd probably still hurt a little to land amidst the broken rocks. Nova groans quietly as she regains her senses after the fall. She gently slides off the large slab of stone she'd landed on, but gets a bit of a surprised look on her face as there is an echoing CLANK sound as her armoured boots hit the ground. The floor of the hole they'd fallen into is neither stone nor dirt, but rather metal. A shiney metal alloy of unfamiliar composition. Nova remarks, "... That was easy." Using the light filtering down through the hole above, the group can see that they've stumbled upon an underground chamber of some sort. In the center of the chamber is... Something. It's cylindrical in nature except for where it spreads out at the base to merge with the floor. The base and tip are made of the same alloy as the rest of the room. But the section inbetween is clearly crystalline. Etched into the surface of the floor are two ornate patterns that spiral around each other, spreading out from the center object. Each pattern then ends in a circular shape, on opposite sides of the room and with differing, unrecognizeable symbols etched inside them. Probably a long, dead language likely used by the builders of the temple above, the Xel'naga. However, each person who approaches the symbols will have a single thought, clearly not their own, intrude into their mind. Depending on which symbol they approach, one thought is 'Form' while the other is 'Essence'. There is no obvious exit or entrance for the chamber.
Corona Arclite	"See, that wasn't so hard in the en--" And then the earth literally moves under their feet. And away from under their feet as well. Corona gives a surprised yelp, but reflexes react faster than she can think about them. As nimble as one would expect a fox to be she kicks off one of the falling pieces of debris, angling herself away from where the rest of the rock is landing and rolling as she hits the floor to minimize her own injury. Which works up until the point she rolls into the wall. Not as hard as she would of hit the floor directly, but she ends up awkwardly upside down against the surface. She blows some bangs out of her face with a huff, but instead of trying to get back up immeadiately tilts her head for a closer look at the metallic floor and listening to the sound made by rubble clink clattering down the hole. "Never heard alloy like that." Kind of expected on an alien world, but it's still worth noting.
Yang Xiao Long	"And. that. should. do... it!" Yang says as the last few fragments fall away, then the main chunk cracks. "Hah... that was a work ou---" then the rumble comes and the blonde instinctively tries to jump backwards... but the shot from her gauntlets to get her clear only slows her fall, so instead of a thud, she lands with a similar clank on the metal, though does stagger from the awkward position. "Well... that was a thing." The blonde then frowns at the large central pillar, walking over towards it and approaching the Essence symbol... "Wait, what... Essence?" she muses aloud, looking from the symbol, then up at the crystal. "Does it want something?"
William Pauwel	Sometimes, running late has its benefits. Like, you know, not standing on a thing that's about to collapse into rubble. Will winces as he comes up onto the rest of the party, having arrived just in time to see them all plunge headlong into the alien abyss. "Whoof, that looks like it coulda been bad. Hold on, folks! I'm-a comin!" The team would see something distinctly ropelike uncoil down from the lip of the sinkhole. That is, it /is/ a rope. Or at least, some kind of cable. There's a soft whirring noise as something distinctly Will-shaped descends, grappling the fibrous thing in steel-shod hands before gently touching down, no worse for wear, on the ground below. "Sorry fer the delay, y'all! I just wanted t' make sure I had everythin' good and ready for the dig! Heheheheh--hm?" Will stares at the symbols at each end of the room. He squints long and hard at each of them before deciding that he can't properly make heads or tails of either. Well... If Yang's going that way, then... Someone's gotta go and take a look at the other! "What's 'form' mean anyway, though? Huhhhh."
Nova Terra	Nova walks over and offers a hand out to the upside down Corona to help her up. Then as Yang questions the word 'Essence', Nova ponders it in thought for a moment, "It does sound familiar... Something to do with the Xel'naga..." She's not terribly well versed on the ancient race. She really wishes she could have brought her advisor along. Unfortunately he was otherwise occupied. Not to worry though, because here comes Will! Nova nods to the man, "Welcome to the party. Though I wasn't personally expecting the 'dig' to be quite so literal." Then the word 'Form' is mentioned. Nova nods along slowly, "Riiiight... If I remember some of Reigel's ramblings correctly... The Xel'naga were big on those two things. It's why they created the two races."
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite accepts the help up onto her feet, and dusts herself off a bit afterwards. "Better late than never Will. 'Least you missed the nasty first step." She trudges over to pick up her hammer-pick from where it landed. "Form and Essense? Two races? So one based on appearance and one based on substance? Form and essense."
Yang Xiao Long	"Two races?" asks Yang, as she moves from the symbol, and starts to idly circle the central pillar... "You think we could unhook this? I mean, is this what we're after?" she seems a bit out of her depth here. She can't punch this problem to solve it.
William Pauwel	"Hahahaaaa that just means I'm fresh-faced and ready to deal with whatever comes our way, right!?" Like this conundrum of a puzzle room here. "Huhhh so the Xel'Naga made things with essence and form... But what's between them?" He murmurs and makes his way to the cylinder at the center of the room and... Starts fiddling around with it? Is that really wise? Is pointing your gun at it wise? Because Will's doing that too! "Judgment, y'all getting any weird energy readings from this crystalline doohicky here? Maybe we can try a low power plasma pulse to see if we can't wake whatever is connected to it up..."
Nova Terra	Nova chuckles at Corona's suggestion, "Not sure if 'appearance' really comes into it." But she does nod, "Two races. The Zerg and Protoss. One a bloodthirsty race of genetically engineered monsters. The other a bunch of super psychic know-it-alls. Until recently they were actively trying to wipe each other out and we Terrans got caught in the middle." At Yang's question, Nova pauses for a moment before walking over and trying to tug at the large crystal. It doesn't budge. She tries harder... The artificial muscles of her hostile environment suit buldging as she does so. Not even a micron of movement. Taking a few breaths, Nova shakes her head, "Nope." Pointing a gun at the crystal evokes no response. It's currently inactive. And Will's scans indicate that. However, it does pick up some minor energy readings elsewhere in the chamber. Namely the two runes on either side. Form and Essence.
William Pauwel	"Hmmmmmmmm," Will frowns, stroking inquisitively at his chin. "Well, that's a bust. Getting a reading at the runes, though... How about we each split up and stand on the sigils? Two of us on each?" Will heads over to stand on the 'Form' rune and quickly squats to begin prodding at it for secret compartments or anything like that. Maybe they need an energy charge, or... something? Hm. Do the symbols move at all, or are they just... stuck in place...?
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite shrugs a little at the explaination. "So maybe it was an experiment to see which one comes out on top? But they were too evenly matched." She pulls out her own analyzing device, but instead of pointing it at the crystal pillar like everyone else she points it up. She's making sure the rest of the chamber is still stable and won't collapse on top of them while trying to solve whatever puzzle this peculiar reminant of technology represents. She's only partially paying attention again, the engineer taking more interest in the structure around them. Though someone could easily grab and drag her to a certain spot if they need to.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang circumnavigates the room, and returns to the Essence symbol. Her brow furrows a bit, and she shrugs, "Won't know if you don't try." she says to herself, then activates her Aura, channeling it down into her right hand then placing that hand on the symbol
Nova Terra	As Will steps on to the Form symbol, his trusty tool will read a brief surge in power beneath him. But it then goes idle again. Nova thinks Will might have the right of it, moving to join him. Once again there is a surge, but still nothing. The rune is etched into the floor with great precision, the indentation unable to be felt by the average person's skin. However the metal floor is completely seamless. There's no signs of mechanisms or means to move it. Nova frowns in annoyance at the unaccomodating chamber. The chamber itself is pretty sturdy, apart from where it caved in already. It's fairly safe to say they're safe for the moment. Nova does nod in response to Corona, "I think it was something like that." As Yang proceeds to channel her Aura into the Essence rune, it doesn't show any signs of obvious reaction. But she will get the sence that something is probing her as she makes the attempt. But it then stops.
Yang Xiao Long	"Huh... Guys? Something just kinda... scanned me, or something when I tried channeling my Aura into this panel..." says Yang as she releases her Aura and stands back up. "Lemme try on the other one, might be something to this." she moves to join Nova and Will at the Form symbol, kneels down again, and repeats the process she just performed on the Essence symbol.
Corona Arclite	"Something like that, yeah," Corona muses as well. Seeing as there's already two people poking at the Form rune she wanders over to check out the one Yang is fiddling with. "Any luck?" Those long fennec ears continue to twitch around but so far there's been no machinery for her to hear moving around. When Yang steps away to try the other side Corona hunchs down to examine the Essense rune more closely for herself. Being an engineer this involves a lot of poking and tapping as she tries to figure out how the rune was even made with so little evidence of actual construction to the chamber.
William Pauwel	"Well now we're just inbalanced!!" Will says when Yang comes over onto the Form symbol. He only moves to transition to the Essence symbol after Corona's stepped on it as well, though. "There's no visible way to /move/ the things, but I am detecting a power surge whenever someone steps onto them. Maybe the thing is scanning to try and figure out if any of us meet the criteria of whatever Essence and Form are supposed to represent?" Or maybe it's just broken. Whatever. Worst case he can just start shootin'
Nova Terra	As Corona moves over to the Essence rune, it takes a few moments, before it suddenly lights up underneath her. Soon after, Yang makes her way over to Form, channeling her Aura into it. It too lights up. The successful combination is discovered, light beginning to rush across the patterns in the floor, spiralling towards the center. The moment they both reach the device, it activates and a field of light sweeps out from it, washing over the entire room. It has no real effect on those it touches except for a light tingling feeling across their skin. Nova looks a little confused. For several moments after the light has faded, nothing happens. Then hidden panels in the floor of the room slide open, crystals rising up from within. They begin to glow and hum with energy. Within moments, there is a blinding flash of light and everyone will be suddenly hit with a feeling of vertigo. But the feeling quickly fades. And after their eyes are allowed to adjust to the flash and the change in lighting, the group will find they've been teleported into a massive underground cavern. The group are standing on a platform embedded in one side of the cavern, a similar device as the previous in the center. Looking over the edge of the platform will reveal nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see. That's a long way down. There is another, much larger, platform on the other side of the cavern, an obvious door in the wall. Shortly after the group arrives, a bridge of swirling light forms between the two platforms. Lines of crystal embedded in the metal platforms light up, making it easier to see details. Such as more patterns in the surface of the platforms, similar to the previous chamber. In the center of the far platform a pile of strangely shaped objects, made of the same alloy and crystal as everything else, begins to rise up. The objects separate from each other and float into specific positions. They begin to form a vaguely humanoid, and rather massive, shape. It includes a large torso, arms tipped with crystals and a head with a mask-like face. The construct's crystal 'eyes' flash to life, the larger crystals in its arms beginning to glow bright. In an artificial voice it booms out through the cavern: "Sentinel online. Purity of form. Purity of essence. Prove your strength." The 'Sentinel' then floats patiently. Nova's response to the towering robot is pretty short, "Well shit."
Yang Xiao Long	"That seems to have done some---" the flash makes Yang blink, and by the time the vertigo is over and the group's been teleported, she finishes her sentence with a deadpan "thing..." she looks over at the Sentinal. "Aww crap, now we gotta fight an ancient defense mechanism... I told ya these places were dangerous even without their owners around!" Yang then stands and smashes her fists together. "Alright then ugly. Lemme show ya how we do it Remnant style!" Her Aura activates, and with all the absorbed energy from punching the rocks, she triggers her Semblance, hair billowing out and embermotes rising off of the golden strands.
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite yips and jerks her hand back as the rune activates. It's a reflex. You know how many times she's had something go haywire on her after something like that? "Ah reckon it's working now." She takes a step back. Then it becomes a hop to the side as the floor opens up so seemlessly and smoothly even she almost didn't realize things had started to move to new positions. "Oh, this ain't gonna be--" ZAP! SUDDEN TRANSPOSITIONING. "--Good." Corona finishes, shaking her head to to clear it. Which is followed by a huff as the 'Sentinel' pulls itself together. "Goddammit, another one of these things?!" She means mechanical golem in general, like the electromagnetic scrap monster her posse dealt with a few weeks ago, not this type of construct specifically. Either way she grabs her goggles and pulls them into position on her face, keying up the internal mechanisms. Doesn't look like much but this is definatelly 'getting ready' to deal with fighting and other insane shit that's likely to follow. "What kinda strength does it mean, though?"
William Pauwel	Oh, so they /did/ have the right combination of traits. Will was worried for a second there that they'd need to go and wrangle one of those 'zerg' rascals and slap them onto the panel or something. That would have been an adventure all on its own! Thank his lucky stars that they didn't have to go track any down! Will spends a moment wondering at the shifting surroundings, "Oh wow, I wonder if there's going to be a secret passage or--" !!ZOT!! "Waugh!" Will yelps, blinking the flash-spots out of his eyes. "What the devil? What was that? Was that a teleporter?" Yep. That sure was. But... Light begins to filter out from crystalline structures, weaving together into a bridge of solid brilliance that stretches out into the distance. Will mutters as he moves to follow it along, when suddenly...! A CRYSTAL GUARDIAN! BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY...! Well, the warning is already given over the radio. But there's something /not right/ about the way the floor is... arranged? The circuits don't flow together like they should. Will takes a moment as Yang does her thing to dive to the floor and begin... trying to figure out what all this does. And whether they can use it to get out of a potentially hyperlethal fight...!
Nova Terra	The Sentinel stares down the group intently. As Yang smashes her fists together, the Sentinel proceeds to smash its crystal arms together. An aura of green energy lights up around it, making it look even more menacing. As Corona pulls her goggles down over her eyes, the Sentinel's own eyes flicker for a moment, before changing colour. Its face-mask then begins to turn and follow Nova as she begins to circle around the very edge of the platform. Light washes over her as she vanishes from view, hoping to again an advantage with her cloak. However, the Sentinel continues to follow her movements, even as she appears invisible. As for Will's examination, it takes a bit of crawling but he soon finds a floor panel. Well, floor sensor might be more appropriate as it doesn't so much sink as it does detect objects above it. But as he starts to fiddle with it, it detects him and activates. There is only the briefest of warning in the form of a quiet sound of charging energy, before a beam of light erupts from somewhere in the darkened cavern above. It streaks down to engulf... The Sentinel. The robotic defender is assaulted by the stream of energy, parts of its metalic body beginning to sag under the heat and damage. But soon enough the trap beam fades and the Sentinel floats 'tall' again. Though the aura of energy around it has grown considerably after taking the damage. It also seems that the Sentinel takes the damage its received as a sign to begin as it charges Yang, bringing one of its large arms back to swing at her.
Corona Arclite	"Ya keep workin' on that," Corona murmurs to will. Then pulls her handguns from their holsters. "Ah'll go give the others a hand." She twirls both the guns briefly in her hands as she scampers closer to the others and the Sentinel looming in on them. She takes aim with one gun, then hmms softly. And changes to point it down instead of directly at the Sentinel. A quick calculation on trajectory and kinetic force, and then she fires, aiming to ricochette her trick shot off the floor so it rebounds up under the Sentinel and into whatever crystal/mechanism is keeping it moving.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang's eyes narrow, squinting against the trap-beam's light as it engulfs the Sentinel... but that only seems to piss it off. "Here it comes!" she warns, bringing her arms up. She aims to take that swing head on, grabbing that crystal with both hands and digging her heels in to bleed off its momentum. Her Aura flares brilliantly, concentrated around her hands as she fights to stop the massive construct. Should she manage to get it stopped, or just slowed down enough, she ratchets her right arm back, and brings a haymaker punch around into that armcrystal, firing a kinetic burst shot on impact to try and shatter the arm. "THAT ALL YOU GOT!?" she bellows, eyes turning red as she absorbs all the extra energy, turning it back on the Sentinel.
William Pauwel	Well. /That/ trap certainly knows how to light things up. Will shields his eyes as the world is consumed in a cataclysm of light and heat. Fortunately, none of it is directed at any of them-- not directly anyway. Instead, he sees as the Sentinel is consumed by the blast, but clearly whatever the Xel'Naga built this thing out of is a little too durable to be overwhelmed by a single energy blast. So, why not trigger /more/ energy blasts? "I see another few sensors!" Will yells, darting over to trip one that looks like it might hit either the sentinel or the area nearby. "Keep it busy! Just keep your heads on a-swivel too! Don't want nobody gettin' caught up in one of these blasts!" That shield is worrying, too. ...It's building up a charge, isn't it...?
Nova Terra	The round fired by Corona ricochets off the gleaming metal of the platform, apparently bypassing any shield the construct has and rising up through the openings of the Sentinel's bottom. It strikes a crystal protected within and several pieces of the Sentinel's floating form suddenly fall out of the air, clattering to the ground. They create a small opening into the Sentinel's torso, revealing another crystal within. Yang is able to withstand the Sentinel's initial blow by holding it back with her own strength. She then proceeds to fire a punch-shot into its crystal arm, which produces to shatter into hundreds of pieces at the impact. In fact, that seemed surpisingly fragile. But as the Sentinel loses one arm, its energy aura grows even stronger, until it is channeled into its remaining arm. It proceeds to swing that one at Yang too, this time unleashing an explosive blast of energy on contact. Corona doesn't go ignored though, the Sentinel's face-mask turning to face her, its crystal eyes lighting up before twin beams of light lance out from them to cut into the fox. Meanwhile, Nova has managed to sneak around behind the Sentinel, raising her invisible rifle and firing several shots to test its shield. The first bullet bounces of the shield harmlessly. The second meets no such resistance though, blowing a hole through one of the Sentinel's pieces. The third shot is once more met by the energy barrier. Nova looks a little confused. Or she would, if you could see her. As for Will, he proceeds to intentionally activate another of the traps. Risky business. Another hum of energy and burst of light leads to the firing of another trap beam. This one streaks down from above like the previous, right into the darkness of the deep chasm, completely missing the platforms and the bridge. That... Doesn't seem right.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang blinks as the crystal shatters so easily... "That was too easy..." she looks up, just in time to get exploded. She's lost in the smoke and dust that follows, her Scroll going offline from the impact shock and disabling her comm array. But that just seems to have pissed her off even more. The blonde Berserker's position explodes again, clearing the smoke and revealing a bloodied, scorched, but very much standing and very, VERY angry Yang, whose hair is a golden mess flaring around her like living flames, and her eyes turned into glowing coals of baleful red rage. "That all you got big guy? How about I give ya one back!?" she roars, firing behind her to launch up... aiming to smash her fist into the crystal revealed by Corona's trickshot. She grabs onto plates, ridges, crystals or anything else, and starts punching with her free hand, just going to town with the explosive force from her gauntlet, each strike boosting the power of the next in a near-exponential trend.
Corona Arclite	The head swiveling around is all the signal Corona needs to know something is coming. And Will isn't having the best of luck with the traps now. The platform suspended near a chasm doesn't leave her a lot of her usual mobility options so Corona just has to think fast on an alternative. On an impulse she pulls a sheet of reflective material out of her inventory, and holds up like a shield as she hunchs behind it. Or more accurately, like a mirror. Trying to reflect the optic beams back at the source. Or at least away from -her-. Necessity is the mother of improvisation and all that.
William Pauwel	Well... Uh. Hm. That really didn't work out well. Why would there be a beam emitter positioned to blast a totally unimportant location to oblivion? It's almost like there should have been something there but now there's just... Not. Hm. Well, at least Yang seems to be doing a good job of it. Mostly. Something's wrong. The first of Nova's shots doesn't get through, but the second does, and then the third fails again? Will's brow furrows. "...Adaptive defenses? No, that doesn't seem right. Is its shield fluctuating, rotating, or... Something else entirely...? ...Well. No use tripping more traps if it's just a big question mark as to whether or not they'll hit anything important. Will unlimbers his favored weapon, the Solano's barrel rippling with barely-visible energies and crackling arcs of electricity. If it's using a shield system, then maybe if they can strip some of it away, there might be a chance...! Will takes aim. He fires... Right for the top of the monster's barrier. If they can vent some of that accumulating energy in a controlled manner-- Well, at least they might not die.
Nova Terra	The beams reflected by Corona's inventive improvisation, and reflective material, streak back towards the Sentinel. They slice into its face-mask, neatly trisecting it. The Sentinel seems confused by this result, going still. This is further exacerbated by Will firing his weapon at the Sentinel's shield. It turns out to be active at that moment, the EMP weapon hitting the shield. There is a sudden rise in power from the Sentinel, the shield bubble visibly forming around the entire construct and starting to glow brighter and brighter and brighter. CRA-COW. The sound echoes through the chamber. Through the opening created by Corona, the crystal in the Sentinel's torso can be seen. A large crack has appeared in it. The energy forming the creature's defense, namely its shield, vanishes in a flash. Meanwhile the energy forming its attack, namely the glow around its arm, quickly fades too. This leaves it quite open for Yang to charge in. The firery blonde punches and punches and punches at its chest pieces, stripping them away until she's finally able to punch the crystal within proper. The vulnerable component shatters on impact and what remaining light animating the robotic construct fades completely. The pieces that make up the Sentinel all fall to the floor with a clatter. Things quickly quiet again, signifying the victory of the elites. A crystal embedded above the door leading ahead glows to life, a beam of light streaking out to impact the remains of the Sentinel. It proceeds to come apart, being disassembled at the molecular level. Once the parts of the Sentinel are completely gone, the crystal goes dark again and the door beneath it slides open, providing deeper access. Nova reappears once more, shrugging at the others before beginning to move forward. The next chamber is almost as large as the previous and is perfectly spherical, the wall constructed of the same alien alloy. But almost the entire surface is covered in crystals emitting varying levels of light. Streams of energy regularly flow amongst the crystals, producing an almost lyrical sound as they move from one to another. Those with even decent eyes will notice that more than a few of the crystals are completely dark, some showing cracks through their structure. Another bridge of light forms to connect the door the group entered in to one on the other side of the chamber. The final room of this underground complex is much smaller and simpler than the previous. Several screens are being projected from the walls, but they aren't displaying anything of particular note right now beyond some streams of light that flow from one side to another. Every now and then, one of the holographic screens flickers for a moment. Somewhat unusually, some symbols are carved into the metal wall on the far side, their meaning unclear. What is clear though is that these carvings are not the same pristine etchings seen in the previous chambers. They are much rougher, looking very out of place in an otherwise meticulously designed and constructed room.
Corona Arclite	That worked! Though reflecting the beams also marred the reflective surface. "Gonna have to buff that out," she mutters as she tucks the panel back into storage and follows the others into the next room once the door is open. Almost immeadiately her ears perk up, both at the harmonic sounds and the energy crackling about the chamber. Save the few crystals that appear to be busted. Interesting. But they're not doing anything to imped their continuing through at least, so moving on! Into... "Some kinda control room?" Corona muses, looking towards Nova. "Or 'least a monitorin' station."
Yang Xiao Long	Yang manages to vent her rage into that crystal, so as it collapses she hops off the remains, and lets out a soothing breath. Her hair falls from its billowing flame-like appearance, and her eyes, after a blink, return to lilac. She follows the others through the rooms, looking at the crystals, then making a beeline for the etched runes on the wall. "Someone else got here first? Or one of the owners got trapped here, maybe? There was some damage in the musical crystal room too..."
William Pauwel	That... Was certainly a more energetic reaction than Will was expecting. "Hhhhhuh," he mutters to himself, looking agog between his gun and the shattered remains of the sentinel. "...I'll haveta remember that shields 'round these parts don't take well to EMP. Y'all go on ahead. I'mma pack in some-a these crystals. Might be worth a study--" And then the door straight up disintegrates what's left. Clearly these Xel'Naga didn't want to leave much of themselves behind, did they? The way forward is lined by even more of those strange, resonant crystals. But there are some that are... damaged. Clearly so. Something must have been through this way before. Or maybe this place is just that old. But for crystals of that size to crack so thoroughly-- that doesn't seem like natural damage. Maybe that's why the trap misfired...? The markings on the far wall of the final chamber seem to confirm his suspicions, though. Will makes a concerned noise as he goes and holds his weapon up to the symbols. Judgment flashes once or twice, before speaking in a crystal-clear tone: Image recorded. Beginning analysis. "...Right. Well. This does look like somethin' like a control room. I'm thinkin' Yang's right, someone got here first. But that don't mean they found what they were lookin' for." Will moves to the holographic screens and... tries to treat them like hard-light hologram controls. "Gimme a sec. Judgment, try a wireless connection. Let's see iff'n we can't figure out what this is all about, and what coulda happened here..."
Nova Terra	Nova is looked at by Corona. Nova shrugs back, "No idea. Honestly I was figuring we'd find a small trinket or something. This is way out of my league." Will proceeds to try and use Judgement to connect with what appears to be a computer system. Attempts at more conventional wireless connections fail. But soon enough Judgement is able to adapt, forming a psionic connection. Unfortunately, forming a connection is only the start. Getting something out of it is another matter entirely. Given the hyper-advanced alien technology based on psi-crystals, not to mention potential damage to the system and whatever security systems were put in place, Judgement is able to access very little. However, it does manage to trigger something. In the center of the room a platform rises out of the floor. Above it a panel opens and a large pointed crystal lowers down. It hums to life and shoots a beam at the platform. It then begins to rapidly sweep across it, materializing something from the bottom up. That something quickly becomes clearer as a pair of dress shoes are formed. These are quickly followed by some navy-coloured pants, equally navy vest, hands that are obviously human, a white, long-sleved dress shirt and black tie beneath the vest. Finally the beam finishes off with a feminine face and long blonde hair, some of it tied into a ponytail on the left side of the head. A pair of fox ears poke out of her hair, twitching a little after forming. The girl-It's actually a little hard to tell given her somewhat athletic build and choice of clothing-looks to be in her early teens. The platform she stands on lowers down to the floor proper and soon enough she opens her eyes, revealing them to be a vivid red. She glances between the four elites before giving them a happy smile, "Hello! I am an interface created to assist you in the operation of this device and to... To..." Pause. She raises a finger to the side of her head as her face scrunches up in concentration, muttering, "I feel like I should know this..." Finally she gives up, smiling and shrugging, "Oh well. It's probably not important." She looks amongst the elites again, "So... Who are you?"
Corona Arclite	Between a collapsed hole and a sentinel constructed out of crystal one can't really blame Corona for being a little more jumpy than usual. She grabs one of her handguns but only gets it partway from it's holster before stopping and realizing it's not another sentry being reassembled when it introduces itself as an assistant. "Oh." Ahem. She coughs softly and reholsters the weapon. Then switchs gears to take her hat off polite like. "Corona Arclite." Another brief pause. "Nice ears."
William Pauwel	You know how people sometimes wonder how their kids would look? Even if they've got no real romantic interest at all? Yeah. That's kind of an awkward question, isn't it? But then, what explains... This? "...You're... an interface? But you look just like someone stuck Corona n' Yang into a blender. Uh. Name's William Pauwel, explorer and gungeoneer. Nice t' meet you. Uh. Miss Interface?" Well, this is probably easier than trying to hotfix the computer system to open a way in. At least Judgment was able to trigger something useful, though! This should help out a lot! Beat. What is with the universe and fox ears though? ... "They are pretty cute though-- I mean. Uh. Do you know what happened here? What's the stuff carved into the wall over there? Is it rude to ask iff'n there's any neat treasure down here?"
Nova Terra	The interface's ears twitch once more at the attention and she replies to Corona, "Thank you! My features have been chosen to represent a merging of your two races. As a symbol of your upcoming... Mmmm... Well, something! However, if you feel that they are inappropriate, they can be changed." The inferface smiles at Corona, "Would you like to customize me?" As the interface is addressed as 'Miss Interface', she looks a little thoughtful, "Hmmm, that name does not seem appropriate." She smiles at Will, "Would you like to name me?" But questions are abound about this place. She proceeds to answer them to the best of her ability, "It would appear that this enclosure has sustained some damage. I'm afraid I don't know how... I can't seem to remember anything that would explain it." Apparently her best isn't much! However, she does glance over at the carved symbols and nods, "That is the language of the Xel'naga. It roughly translates as, 'He who harnesses this world will someday wield great a power, sanctified by the Ancient Ones.'" Then at the question of treasure, she tilts head head, "What would you consider a 'treasure'?"
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite shakes her head. "Yer just fine as is, missy." This kinda got a bit awkward now, didn't it. It takes her a moment as is to catch 'two races', remembering everyone else here at least looks human. So. But back to this matter at hand. An ear perks at the translation. At least assuming it's accurate, considering the AI seems to be a little spacy. "'Great power' could be considered treasure." Let's just keep the foxalgamation on the right track, hopefully. "After all it's somethin' to be revered and handled with great care."
William Pauwel	"Ah, uh." Name!? She needs a name!? Will is terrible at names, though! What kind of name does someone like this deserve? Hm. That's a hard one. "Well, I can think of one! But it'll take me a little bit. Uhhh." Wind names don't seem to be right. But she is some kind of a crystalline projection-entity, right? Amalgam doesn't sound cute enough either. "Maybe Crystal? Or Chris for short? Orrr Ruby? Stella, what with the whole star thing? Uh..." Will... Might be kind of bad at names. Oh uh, that's of secondary concern though! Especially considering... other matters. "Oh, uh. So repairin' what we can might help, then...? Hmmm, that's too bad. Well, anythin' you can help us with would be just grand. We were lookin' for some kind've... impossible object, you know? Something amazing, that breaks all kinds'a physical laws!" Beat. "But-- first of all though, do you know what this place was meant for? S' clearly meant to be a test fer... Races that've met the criteria, right? But I can't make heads or tails of what any of this does. Is there more to 'harnessing' this world?"
Nova Terra	The interface looks at Corona for a moment, "Missy?" She hmms in thought, "Missy..." She smiles at Corona, "Very well. That is an acceptable name!" Poor Will. At least he doesn't have to think of one now! The newly named Missy nods slowy in understanding, "It's possible that the great power the carving speaks of is this device. Its ability to... Do... Something... Is quite great indeed." She doesn't seem at all disturbed by the lapses in her memory as she simply smiles. Nor does she seem to realize she's not actually indicating any specific device as she just stands there in front of the group. Will's questions about their current location seem to get a bit more out of Missy, "Yes! This enclosure was designed to confirm the existance of those pure of form and pure of essence. Then to test their ability to work together in order to overcome the obstacle that was the Sentinel. The fact that you have done so indicates that your two races are ready for... Something. And I was created to assist you with the operation of this device to that end, and to... To..." Pause. Oh well. At the offer of repairs, Missy hmmms, "The knowledge I was able to gather from your minds suggest your technological level does not yet meet the levels required to provide repairs. We will need assistance from the Xel'naga for that." It's at this point that Nova finally gets a word in, saying rather bluntly, "The Xel'naga are all dead." Missy ohs, seeming a little upset at that fact, "That's not good..."
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite blinks a moment. She hadn't intended that... but whatever. It works. Especially since the AI seems to be a little scattershot in the memory department. You could even say she's a bit Hit or Miss But Corona isn't going to say that outloud and possibly upset the super advanced even if not fully functional alien computer entity that's their only real link to anything at the moment. Instead she rubs her chin in thought for a moment. "Nova, y'said the Xel'naga controlled this whole planet at one point, and there's more temples like this one? Or what this one was." She jabs a thumb towards the newly christened 'Missy'. "Our technology might not be advanced enough, but iffen we can find more of there stuff maybe we can get this gal runnin' properly." That's about the sort of answer you can expect from an engineer, isn't it?
William Pauwel	O-oh. Well, maybe /none/ of Will's name ideas will be used. That's probably for the best anyway...! After all, 'Missy' is a good name for someone more clearly on the Miss side of Hit or Miss. But...! "Yeah, what Corona said!" Will chirps cheerfully. "Iff'n we can't make do with repairin' the good old fashioned way, then we just need to find spare parts and make do the way that all the generations of jury riggers before us have done! Hot-swappin' similar lookin' bits until somethin' works better than it did before!" "Unless, uh," he says, suddenly a little more subdued, "There's maybe a Xel'Naga manual around here somewhere? Or if you have any other ideas that might help jog your memory?"
Nova Terra	Nova thinks about it for a moment, then nods, "We might be able to find something here. If not, then maybe somewhere else. There are a lot of other remnants of the Xel'naga in the sector." Missy shakes her head sadly at Will, "I do not think there is a 'manual'. As for my unaccessible memories, all that I am aware of is that I cannot access them. I do not know the reason." Nova nods in conclusion, "Alright, sounds like our best bet at this point is to try and find what we need elsewhere" She begins to walk out, saying, "I'll have my forces start scouting out the rest of the temples on the planet. Hopefully they'll find another secret underground base we can fall into." Missy begins to follow Nova out. Nova notices and pauses. Looking at the interface, Nova asks, "Where are you going?" Missy replies helpfully, "To assist you with the operation of this device." Nova shakes her head, "No, stay here." Missy looks confused, "I cannot assist you here." Nova rubs the back of her neck, then sighs, "Fine. I suppose you might be of some use. Come on." She points at Will, "I'm blaming you for this."