Beastly: Ryuu has a chat with Misha. (09/08/2401)

Ryuu was quite aware of how important it was to Cloud to not upset Ms. Teragi, but holding his tongue was never one of his strong points, especially when unsupervised.  Luckily for the Itami, Ms. Teragi’s skin was far thicker than Cloud made her out to seem. “Finally, the famous Misha Teragi…” Ryuu smirked as he entered the room, causing Misha to raise an eyebrow. “I take it you are the replacement.”  She smiled, before pausing slightly.  “I did imagine you to be bigger…”  She continued, causing Ryuu to laugh lightly. “I come from a small family.” Ryuu replied in jest.  “Plus I’d imagine that we can’t all be the physical pinnacles like you.”  Ryuu replied, his hand gestures signalling his reference to her height.  “I’ve been thinking about coming to see you for some time, since I read about you power bombing that Gabriel kid… you seemed fairly beastly.”  Ryuu explained, causing her to raise an eyebrow at his terminology. “Beastly?” She inquired now. “Yeah, beastly… impressive… overwhelming in terms of power.”  Ryuu explained.  “Why don’t you have a more active life, as such a physically impressive channeler I’d figure you would be more combat oriented.” “I assure you that I’m as combat oriented as any other channeler at my level, but I don’t see the need to run around and get myself into trouble like the rest of you children.” Misha explained. “First Roun now Rueben, I swear you people are the splitting images of my brothers.  Since when has building power become something that’s for children?”  Ryuu inquired. “Our perceptions of power are very different, brute force can only get you so far, and physical strength has its limits.  You should seek to gain power in a number of areas if you truly want to be considered strong.”  She explained. “Heh, I guess you got a point.”  Ryuu shrugged, pondering it for a while as he considered her words.  “I guess that makes sense.”  He replied, realising that she had a point, and that his skull cracking approach may not necessarily be the only path that he should be considerng.  “Thanks for the advice.”

Outcome: N/A

 

One Hell Of A Gamble: Roun has a chat with Xavier. (09/08/2401)

“Look here Itami, I don’t want you going up there alone… if you trip this character and he goes off his rocker, there would be a repeat of Italy.  I’m not willing to take that risk!”  Tyler scolded him over the communications link as he sat in his F-25 on his way to Morroco. “I fully understand the risks Commander.”  Roun replied, taking a very patronising tone.  “But I know Xavier, if there’s anyone that can talk him down, it’s going to be me… I’m willing to take full responsibility for the consequences if things don’t go according to plan.” “That’s all well and good Roun, but are you willing to take responsibility for the lives lost if he snaps and levels another city?”  Tyler inquired. “Xavier’s only been responsible for one death, and that was an accident.”  Roun countered, thinking about the situation.  “I will do whatever I can to ensure that it stays that way.” “Very well… but I will hold you to your word, I will ensure that you take full responsibility for whatever happens there.”  Tyler replied. “Understood, Feratu out.” Roun replied, cutting the transmission and bringing his F-25 to a halt as he exited in search of Xavier. Locating the old acquaintance took quite some time, and Roun was horrified to find Stryke in the middle of a rather populated residential class area.  Roun wasted no time in informing the local authorities of the threat, and having them prepare measures to neutralise him, should he fail to convince Stryke to comply with his solution to the problem.  This allowed Roun to approach Xavier with less fear, gaining the channeler’s attention as Roun approached him. “What are you doing here…”  Xavier inquired coldly, looking Roun up and down as he visually inspected the uniform.  “A cop now… you’re here to take me in?” “You helped me before, now I’m here to help you.”  Was all Roun said in reply, causing Xavier to laugh loudly, drawing attention to the two. “I’m beyond your help Itami, I’m beyond most things.” “Bullshit X, if there’s one thing that you need its help, and I’ll be damned if I let you walk around the place being a menace.”  Roun retorted harshly. “So I see the balls came with the uniform, is that right?” Xavier replied now, his anger building as he brushed the sides of the jacket behind him, opening his arms in a patronising gesture.  “You think that being a lackey for some perfect makes you better than me?” “Don’t give me that.”  Roun retorted yet again, pointing at Stryke to emphasize his point as he circled the channeler slowly.  “You’re smart enough to know that you’re a danger to everyone around you… what I don’t know is if your heartless enough not to care, or just blind enough to think that you can’t change that.” “Those are big words, from a little man… you know as well as I do that you hold half the responsibility for all of my actions.  You were the one who awakened this beast within me.”  Xavier explained, powering up now, causing the users around him to move some distance from him as Roun powered up to match him. “What, so now you’re going to nuke me?  Is that it?  That’s your solution right?  I say something you don’t want to hear and you blow me up?”  Roun pushed him, still maintaining the finger that pointed at him.  “Try it.”  He said with a slight nod.  “Power up that technique and I’ll drop you before your form starts registering the summon times.”  Roun prompted, summoning his energy around him. “You talk big for a boy who hides behind his brothers for protection…  Why don’t you roll on out before I power up and tele-frag your ass.”  Xavier retorted, channelling the ominous blue flames around his hands, dissipating the energy around him.  It was only at this point that Roun thought back to what he said about awakening the beast inside him. “Do it…”  Was all Roun said as he rushed Stryke, who prepared to expand a wave of destruction from him, only to find that the area had been nullified, and Roun was still rushing at him. In his user form, he wasn’t able to react as quickly as he usually would have, so it wasn’t difficult for Roun’s hook punch to connect with his face, sending him stumbling back before, before Roun followed up with an uppercut to the gut and an elbow strike to the back of the head, incapacitating him.  Roun sighed, looking down at his hands which were now shaking, from the adrenaline and the fear as he knew that had there been any delay in that null zone that he and half of the city would be waking up to pearly gates.  Nevertheless, he had managed to sedate his unstable friend, and he wasted no time is removing the Power Inhibitor from his own expansion suit and placing it on Xavier, before loading him in his F-25 and heading back to The Garrison. Roun didn’t even want to think about what he would have to deal with when Xavier came to, so he just kicked his F-25 into full gear and headed straight for his headquarters.

Outcome: Xavier is now in Rogue custody.

 

Dedication: Kenshin does some training. (11/08/2401)
After Leonardo’s lesson, Kenshin was eager to perfect what he learned, spending the next day in the Rogue simulation room practicing a number of his techniques. He would continue for the entire day, training his techniques until his stamina was exhausted, allowing him to call it a day. Outcome: Kenshin has confirmed that his shadow blast does work as well as his Dragon Explosion.  Bloodline and Dragon Explosion were de-equipped after the training exercise.
Kenshin: 24 Exp
Awareness: 4 Exp	Technical: 8 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 4 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

An Offer You Can't Refuse: Donovan has a meeting with Dr. Mirakama. (11/08/2401)

As Donovan arrived in Maine to meet with the scientists, Dr. Markus Mirakama and Dr. Julia Rosso, he greeted them politely before stipulating the specifics of the offer that he was making available to them. Donovan assured them that funding for this project would not be a problem as he had already secured the one million dollars that would be needed for the project launch, one which Dr. Mirakama predicted would be soon given the length of time with which they had been working on the project. As Donovan continued his proposal, he made it very clear that the scientists would be the main share holders in the business and as such will have the final say in the company’s direction as well as the distribution of funds, a thought that pleased the two greatly. Donovan continued to go into specifics, and as he predicted, the scientists were more than pleased with the offer. “If you agree, we can have the legal papers drawn up and we can get the company on the road within as soon as week, Donovan explained, having done his research. So what do you say?” Donovan inquired. “Well, needless to say, your offer is ideal, I can hardly think of ways to make it better. We have made an appointment to speak with another party interesting in sponsoring us as well.” Markus explained. “But I doubt that there offer will be as attractive as yours.” He laughed. “In the most likely case that we will refuse their offer for sponsorship, I will contact you tomorrow evening with my acceptance.” Markus smiled, drawing a similar smile from Donovan. “Well then, tomorrow doctor.”

Outcome: Donovan will be contacted on the following day.

 

Worthy of Knighthood: Jubei requests to be inducted into the Knights of the Xelots. (11/08/2401)

The Xelot headquarters at Odessa was one of the safer faction facilities to approach, not because it was in anyway less capable of doing damage, but simply because of the generally non-hostile attitude that the faction took in non-war situations.  This allowed Jubei to be cleared and allowed into the facility in just over thirty minutes, just over half of the time it took for the less ‘friendly’ factions.  His request to speak with Deacon DeSaint personally would take a bit more time to process, as he was busy, working with his subordinates to coordinate upcoming Xelot activities. When the chance presented itself, Deacon finally managed to get away from the consultations, making his way down into the main lobby to see Jubei. “Good morning Mr. DeSaint.”  Jubei greeted Deacon. “Good morning.”  Deacon replied seriously. “I won’t waste your time Mr. DeSaint, I am interested in joining the Xelot Knights.” Jubei explained, handing his Data Pad to Deacon.  Deacon browsed over the files on the device, noting Jubei’s success with most of the quests set in the country of Japan, whether they be diplomatic or research related.  In fact, Jubei’s track record showed that his problem solving skills were quite impressive, regardless of the type of the problem, as Jubei proved to be quite resourceful in completing the Itami dictionary module. “This is, admittedly, an impressive resume that you have here.”  Deacon started.  “You’ve left me with little to question of your skills.  In fact apart from the lack of information on your combat skills, I am convinced that you would be worthy of Knighthood.”  Deacon explained.  “If you are willing, I would be willing to give you membership on a trail basis, pending your first official act as a Knight of the Xelots.  At which time your membership will be confirmed or denied.  I will see to it that the Junior Knights keep you informed of upcoming faction activities.”  Deacon reasoned, handing Jubei his Data Pad back. “You should transfer that information to your own Data Pad sir, there is a particular piece of information that I believe the faction will be particularly interested in.”  Jubei explained, causing Deacon to examine the information more clearly. “I see.  You’re resourcefulness is indeed impressive, I look forward to your practical performance.”  Deacon replied as he read the file.  “I must return to my duties.” As Deacon left, Jubei was politely escorted out of the facility, where he awaited contact from one of the Junior Knights.

Outcome: Jubei has been put on probation.

 

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: Strike Team kidnap Dr. Mirakama and his assistant. (12/08/2401)

Thanks to Jinzo’s persuasive abilities, he had managed to secure at least a meeting for the sponsors of the Assistance Required quest. Unfortunately for Dr. Mirakama and his assistant however, their willing cooperation went from being paramount, to being preferred and now, as time had continued to tick down it seemed as though it would have merely been a bonus. As suspected, their would be sponsors were not the humanitarians that Jinzo made them out to be, and honestly had no chance of securing the contract after Donovan and his associates had made such an impressive offer to scientists, leaving them with a single option if they wanted to complete the project which they had worked so hard to complete. A small assault team burst until the rented laborator space early that morning, Red wasting no time in whipping out the modified whistler and pinning the first through the door to the wall, only to see a zeta grenade rolling through the door. The small woman wasted no time in ducking behind her desk, which was torn from the ground and hurled into a nearby wall, along with he young secretary. As the rest of the assault team poured in, the young meta-human powered up, utilising her strength to kick the desk off of herself, and into another member of the assault team, dodging fire from an Iger V-4 before releasing another beam from the Whistler. Her attempt would be valiant, but it simply would not be enough as the other poured into the room, riddling her with energy rounds. The young woman’s eyes glowed as her form reached the full channeler threshold, but it would be too late, as reversion set in. All she could do was watch as those that she had been assigned to project were tracked into the streets on the outside of back room.

Outcome: The two scientists have been kidnapped.  The agent assigned to protect them, Red, has managed to detain two of members of the strike team, the appropriate authorities are looking into this matter.

 

Bridging The Gap: Rei and Rayne run a few tests on I-Type Zeta. (12/08/2401) [Back Dated]
Rei was as pleased to see Rayne as the professor was to see her.  Already living in Maine, and becoming quite familiar with the area, Rayne had made it to the small laboratory in which the experiments were to take place first, leaving him to wait until now for Rei’s arrival. “Ah Selen, you’re here, we can begin the tests.”  Professor Aidea smiled as he pointed Rei towards the small room that they had prepared, allowing them to get straight to the tests. The first test was simple, involving Rei simply firing her Beam Pistol at a few targets on its normal mode, followed by fusing it with Ingenious and then using her own energy to boost the weapon.  Her prediction had been slightly off for the weapon however, as it didn’t bother to convert her energy to zeta, instead using her ethereal energy to boost the efficiency of the capacitor, launching off a combination of I-Type zeta and ethereal energy to deliver the concussive force for the attack.   In the meantime, Rayne ran his own tests, using the personal manipulation of Absolute Ego and energy manipulation ability of Absolute Integration in an attempt to control the flow of I-Type Zeta through his body, from his expansion.  This proved to be quite difficult as he quickly realised that his form, for the most part, was very zeta incompatible.  With some trying however, he achieved the process with limited success, allowing them to move onto the next test. With this done the two now moved onto their second test, with Rei equipping the I-Type Zeta Expansion to her expansions suit’s head slot, boosting her Deflection before she activated her Spectral Transparence.  In essence, her goal was simple, attempting to make herself immune to the zeta spectrum by allowing all I-Type Zeta to pass through her unaffected.  Off the bat, this was not particularly easy, but with some calibration she believed that she was able to achieve the effect, now prompting Rayne to fire at her with the Beam Pistol.  As expected, the attacks passed through her unhindered, allowing her to be effectively intangible to the attack, taking no damage from the rounds, which sailed through her and impacted the wall behind her.  Rei paused now, turning to the young translator Barry. “Explain this to them.”  She paused now, as she tried to put the feeling of the expansion into words, a task which she then realised to be very difficult.  “The expansion tries to apply a form of absolute logic to the system it’s attached to, almost like it’s overwriting you in a way that it better understands… one that makes more sense to itself.”  Rei explained, allowing Barry to translate while she and Rayne moved onto the next test. The next part of the experiment was exceedingly sketchy in the mind of the professor, as he wasn’t sure how Rayne’s Absolute Savant would be able to interface with the projections of the Experians, as it would be almost like interfacing with pure zeta.  To aid in this process, he also utilised his Absolute Savant to link with the translator Barry in hopes that his natural affinity for binary would be as helpful to for communication as it was for him.  As he attempted to set up the relay, he read a number of errors, his form simply being unable to process the high end logic patterns generated by the Experian’s pure zeta forms.  Unlike regular zeta based technology, which manipulated zeta within the zeta stream, these being were forced to express their zeta within native ethereal space, making it impossible to interact with them directly without being able to code zeta.  Even Barry found it impossible to communicate with them while they had this level of connection, as his mind was now flooded with the information being projected by their forms as well as their true attempts at communication, forcing Rayne to break the link for the safety of the young man. Rei, now on the other side of the room, equipped the I-Type Zeta Expansion on her Energy stat once more, now attempting to integrate it with her Ice expansion and her Hexadecimal Algorythm in an attempt to demonstrate Zeta in a lattice form, to give the Experians some idea of “solid”, then “liquid” before she switched the Ice Expansion for a Wind Expansion and demonstrated zeta with a wind-like properties to give the Experians a grasp of the concept of gas.  With this down, Rei attempted to generate a powerful zeta storm in the middle of the room.  The effects of the storm wasn’t as massive as she would have hoped, but at this point s.p. output was of little interest in the experiment, allowing them to move onto the finale. The final test was a simple one, involving Rei with Rayne’s zeta expansion equipped to her speed stat, trading Rayne her two wind expansions before they engaged in a small sparring match, utilising just physical attacks.  This made for a relatively interesting martial arts match up, as Rei’s primary fighting style utilised mainly strikes, performing a number of kicks and close elbow strikes, whereas Rayne’s style tended to be more counter offensive, utilising mainly take downs and locks.  The fight went on for quite some time, as Rei’s high deflection countering Rayne’s high force, and Rayne’s low deflection doing it’s best to hold up against Rei’s relatively low force as well.  At the end of the match up, Rei healed them both and proceeded back into the room to see what the researchers had managed to determine from the tests.
Rei: 50 Exp			Rayne: 50 Exp
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp		Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 4 Exp	Tactics: 6 Exp		Accuracy: 4 Exp	Tactics: 6 Exp
Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 12 Exp		Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 12 Exp

 

Training Sim: Hyaku and his automa run a training sim. (14/08/2401)
Hyaku was quickly realising that he had wasted too much time and had no dedicated himself to a more serious pursuit of his goals. It was for this reason that he needed his Vetira, now named Spark, to be at least combat proficient, as it would be pointless to have a combat oriented automa, with no combat experience. For this reason, he would need to run a small combat simulator to give the automa some hands on training. Having already downloaded a combat simulation into the automa, Hyaku analysed the record of this, utilising his TARGA and Code Vision to better under the simulation while getting a feel for the logic patterns behind it. With this in mind, he now set up a small obstacle course, utilising his Geddon expansion and it’s various energy types design a number of rudimentary obstacales; ranging from turrets to landmines, to counter the strengths of that simulator. Hyaku was sensible enough to set these traps at a very low output, given the weak armour of the automa, when compared to a channeler. Once this was done, Hyaku used his energy to maintain the battle field, and monitor it to ensure that nothing went off before it was supposed to before it was supposed to, before sending Spark into the obstacle course. It was somewhat amusing seeing the pint-size humanoid automa rush into the obstacle course, with a beam pistol that was suited for a person which was twice its size. The first thing that Hyaku noticed was the fact that the automa did not used it’s hover thrusters, even though Hyaku had placed a number of contact mines, instead utilising it’s scanners to identify these mines and stay clear of them or detonate them from afar with his beam pistole, while the hover thrust provided the ability to quickly dodge the turrets and return fire. Hyaku did note the Spark started out rather slowly, something he expected as the simulation was designed to exploit the weaknesses of those that Spark had already loaded into his system, but the automa’s learning curve was rather exceptional. Halfway through the course, Spark was simply ploughing through Hyaku’s obstable course, finally coming to the end with a time that wasn’t at all bad. Hyaku nodded, and called it a day, retiring to analyse the data he had collected.
Hyaku: 40 Exp
Awareness: 6 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 6 Exp
Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

A Credit To Your Country: Itamis deal with situation in Japan. (14/08/2401)

As the four Itamis converged upon Japan, it was an uneasy reunion, especially after the last activity that drew all of their attentions proved to be one that left them on opposing ends of the battle field.  Luckily, they were all on a similar page of this action. As the met, Rueben wasted no time moving up Roun and putting him in a headlock, causing Rayne and Ryuu to raise an eyebrow. “So you going to arrest your brother, Mr. Policeman?”  Rueben inquired with a jest before Roun could pull his way out of the lock, causing the others to laugh lightly.  Roun laughed as well. “Hey, just doing my job.”  Was all he replied as he looked around.  The team hadn’t gotten much of a chance to coordinate, so they each arrived with their own plan. Rueben’s suggestion was to simply forge registration papers, a suggestion that they all laughed at before he made a more serious suggestion, suggesting that they could fill out registration forms for each channeler utilising only the information that they would be willing to give, submitting it to at least stall the Japanese government as they processed it. Roun on the other hand preferred to not have to deal with any form of confrontation, opting rather to in some way speed up their extraction.  Rayne, looking after his father’s interests contacted Shin to inquire what he would have done about the situation, while Ryuu interests extended as far as protecting the team from possible threats until they managed to get out. The final compromise more or less involved a bit of everything.  Rueben collected the information on the forms of the channelers, while Rayne contacted Shin.  As expected, Shin did have a vested interest in the action, preferring that these Itamis never make direct contact with the Japanese government, so more or less promoting either Ryuu or Roun’s plans, that being to speed up their extraction or protect them at all costs.  Rueben’s collection of information however revealed something that would be useful, one that the team would probably have never had found out without his assistance.  One of the shinobi, the one most technically oriented possessed a technique which provided half of the way to get them home, essentially transporting the entire team to Gaia.  The completion of this technique relied on a similar technique being opened from Oya, to allow them to come home.  The Itamis found this to be somewhat strange, as this method of realm breaching could not have gotten them to Terra in the first place, causing Rayne to inquire just how it was that they had gotten there. The squad of six explained that they had been able to travel to Japan by following a lingering rift created by the great threat, one which the team now understood to be the origin of the viral energy known as Maverick, as it breached the gap between their worlds.  Unfortunately, they had not been able to destroy the threat, which escaped Japan too quickly for them to follow.  What they did manage to do however was suppress his power, locking him in a form which reduced his potential to be a threat considerably. Rayne and Roun pondered the situation, as Roun went over the only action that he had performed in preparation for their attempt, that being to read and assimilate the information made public by Amanda Real about her ability to bridge the gap between Terra and Oya.  This left the two to attempt to devise a way to now bridge the gap between Gaia and Oya, something that they both theorised would be easier.  The only foreseeable problem they had, was that none of them had any practical experience when it came to the relationship between Terra and Oya or even Gaia and Oya for the fact, making their task seem near impossible until Rayne offered a suggestion. With his Absolute Savant, he could link the entire party, and use their combined abilities to figure the problem out.  With some reluctance, the group agreed, finally allowing Rayne to erect the Relay.  Rayne scoffed loudly as he browsed the relay now, realising that he and Rueben were the only two that were completely open, while the other volunteered just enough to assist each other.  Luckily, the information that Roun possessed, along with his Spot Hashing ability and a few of his techniques, as well as Rayne’s Ether Build and his Veranos variants, when coupled with Rueben’s Dimensional mastery and Ryuu’s Lumina V2, gave the Shinobi cleric all that he would need to complete his technique, utilising the technical assistance of all present. With this done, Rayne contacted Shin again suggesting that if he wish Setto to return to Oya as well, that he arrange for the boy to be brought.

Outcome: The Itami Shinobis have returned, taking Prince Setto with them, the situation in Japan is to be updated.

 

Do It Yourself: Jinzo does some training. (14/08/2401)
Jinzo had been desperate to try this technique in his last few actions, but the opportunity just didn’t seem to present itself. It was because of this that he decided that he would test it out in a none battle situation. Jinzo scoffed to himself, muttering something about cowardice and his teammates as he powered up, summoning his Grand Viper. As the summon appeared, it naturally paused at Jinzo’s command before he forcefully controlled it to do his bidding. Jinzo wasted no time commanding the guardian class summon to cleave into his form, blood flying everywhere. The process was more painful than he would have thought, causing him to stop after losing just a fifth of his total health before summoning his Banshees. As the entity was summoned, it moved into Jinzo’s form, fusing with it, then dissipating, sacrificing its energy to heal him. Jinzo watched as the damage to his form was repaired gradually, until eight seconds later when he was fully healed. Seeing this, he nodded, powering down his form and calling it a day.
Jinzo: 20 Exp
Awareness: 4 Exp	Technical: 4 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 4 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

Culmination: Rayne reaps the rewards of 5 days of training. (15/08/2401)
Rayne’s training proved to be quite effective as in just 5 days his accuracy had risen to an average level, from the pitifully low level that it had previously occupied. In addition he had being doing quite a bit of research on the schematics and creation of add-ons and other pieces of technology. Unfortunately, he was beginning to realise that this aspect of his training was far more time consuming that the other aspects of his training as access to less common pieces of technology tended to be restricted, allowing him at this point to just learn the basics and gain the schematics on generic weaponary instead of the brand name weapons that tended to float around the market place. Nevertheless, it was better than nothing. He would now at least be able to create a few of the basic weapons he would need in combat, at this point possessing the ability to fashion a generic energy sword, a beam pistol and standard energy shield and thrusters.
Rayne: 96 Exp
Awareness: 4 Exp	Technical: 16 Exp
Accuracy: 52 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 16 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

Further Training: Crydus does some training. (15/08/2401)
Once again, Crydus found himself training. After the incident with the Virus Busting facility, he realised that it would be very necessary for him to be able to access a number of his elemental senses without having to power up fully into the morph. Crydus already knew how to enhance his senses, using his natural morphing abilities and boosting the energy going to them with his Celestial Assistance. This left only the elemental imbuement of this ability. Crydus understood that he would at least need to power up the desired Rune to get the effect, so he started at the lowest output he could manage, focusing the effects of the morph around his sensory receptors and trying to activate his elemental sense. Failing at the lowest output, he slowly increased the power of the Rune, finding the minimal power that he would need before he could activate the sense. With this accomplished, he then attempted this was all four of his morphs. Luckily, Crydus had just enough Force to power all four of his elemental senses simultaneously, leaving him with just the task of filtering the information in useful data instead of the flood of sensory information that he was the victim of. It would take quite some time before he could train his mind to use the senses proficiently, and even then he still found himself sometimes getting confused by the rush of information into his mind. Crydus would train for a bit more, before accepting that he had reached the limit of his mind, forcing to him accept the draw backs. Finally, he would attempt to be fully powered into a morph and activate the senses of an alternate morph. Utilising the same process, he was able to redirect his energy bonuses from Elemental Assist and his Celestial Assist to boost the senses, providing just enough energy to power up fully into one elemental form and utilise the senses of two other elemental forms. He would need to increase his force if he wished to achieve all four senses while fully powered into a morph.
Crydus: 24 Exp
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 4 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 4 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

Broken Mind, Body and Soul: Xian does research on the creature captured from Hawaii. (17/08/2401)
Xian moved down to the holding cells of Fort David to greet the creature that Cloud had been able to acquire for him. Xian, being a biological enthusiast, was quite pleased with the gift, wasting no time in moving into the cell. He had requested that the ethereal jamming be localised to the creature, allowing him to use his channelling abilities to run his tests on the beast. Xian wasted no time powering up into his Unholy form before he moved into the small room where the creature was being held. He had done his best to make his ethereal signature and his scent as close to the creature’s as possible, as task that he was moderately successful at. With this accomplished, he proceeded towards it, performing a passive scan of its mind to assess its mental state. The result was somewhat surprising for a creature as physically dominating as this beast, which Xian realised seemed to be suffering greatly from depression. Further attempts to probe the creature’s brain, using more active methods, were met with hostility, forcing Xian cease his attempts. This prevented Xian from gaining too much information about the creature’s psychic make up, alerting him only to the fact that it could sense and resist psychic attacks, even in its equivalent of a user form. Using this, Xian moved onto another part of his plan. Xian had to request that the researchers at the base take genetic samples of the creature, something that they would normally have not done. Using this information, and the virtual model of the creature which he constructed, Xian did his best to manufacture a food that would be akin to a treat for the creature. Unfortunately for Xian, the beast was having little of him, defending itself when it felt threatened and otherwise seemingly wallowing in sadness. Much like his encounter with the creatures in Yukon, these creatures found all attempts at psychic manipulation to be equivalent to a form of attack, responding with hostility. In its weakened state however, it was no real threat to Xian, so he refused to retaliate, simply dodging and shielding as necessary while he attempted to dominate it’s mind with his Beast Master ability. As the session continued, Xian could sense more and more resistance from the creature, whose sorrow became despair and finally desperation, causing it to charge him. Even in his unholy form, he found that his physical strength could barely match the creature’s strength at times, and he sound found himself wrestled to the ground. This forced the use of his Soul Calibur to amplify his strength, allowing him to knock the beast off of him before he pinned it to the ground. Xian watched as the creature struggled below him, until finally the fire left its eyes, its spirit broken. Xian would receive little resistance from the creature afterwards, in fact he would receive little of anything from the creature afterwards, as it simple sat there and submitted to his tests. Even his transmission of pleasure and security did little for the creature’s mood, its mind remaining focussed on its loss, as despair settled in. Xian sighed, as he left the creature alone, he would need to rethink his taming strategies for his next approach of the creature.
Xian: 40 Exp
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 2 Exp	Tactics: 2 Exp
Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

Complete Overhaul: Roun constructs two new bodies for his automas. (17/08/2401)
After realising the popularity of the Automa companions, Roun realised the obvious problems that came with owning one, problems like what Jais had been the victim of.  Roun smirked as he though about possible ways to deal with these problems, acknowledging that five days was long enough for persons to think about why it was bad to stealth from him, but he sensed that this would not be enough, and instead decided that he should make his automa companions rather distinctive. This would also give him a chance to test the abilities of his Native Alter, the upgrade to his Alchemic Arms, which allowed him to not just transmute, but to now try his hand at ethereal constructs.  Unfortunately, Roun has spent very little time in the labs since his induction into the Rogue Special Forces, and he didn’t wish to bother the hard working scientists, so he would need someone to keep an eye on him, ensuring that his inexperience did pose too many problems in his work.  For this, Roun sent in a purchase request for a Ptera model Automa, to oversee his reconstruction of his Vertira’s body. Roun knew well that he was in not yet skilled enough to make modifications to the automa’s actual systems, so his project was simple, utilising his abilities to construct a custom casing to house the automa’s already present intricacies.  For the body design, he chose a canine base, utilising the scrap metal that the Rogues had collected from the destroyed turrets to form the new body.  This provided higher than normal defense for the unit, though without a new generator to provide increased structural integrity this would be a small factor it if was attacked by a player.  The denser metal however made for increased weight, forcing Roun to attempt to compensate for that.  Once again, his ability to modify zeta based hardware was limited at best, so Roun decided to stick with what he was good at, utilising his material mastery to build a physically sturdy model.  The thick armour forced him to build the body of the automa slightly bigger than the body from which he would transfer the circuits, but it also allowed him to utilise powerful hydraulic joints to aid in movement.  As Roun completed each section, he utilised his own energy to convert the matter into energy, allowing him to manipulate the structure with his Energetic Rave, modifying it to feature his energy types before converting it back to matter, providing for a sturdier body.  He would also design the body in such a way as to accommodate a number of preset shifts and transformations, as well as making the basic provisions for a Dynamic Morphing feature that he would implement when he became more proficient.  With this done now, he implement a few solid state defensive features, even providing the basis for mass driver cannon mounted on the back, for which he would need to transmute ammo later.  With the primary body complete, Roun then transferred the delicate circuitry into the frame, utilising his Ptera at this point very heavily to watch for mistakes and ensure that everything was connected where it was supposed to be.  At the end of all of thise, Roun realised that some modifications would need to be done to the internals of the automa, to make sure that everything lined up, causing him to call for more professional assistance at this point.  Under the guidance of the scientist, Roun was able to complete the process rather quickly, causing him to check his energy reserves before proceeding onto his second project. His second project would be much like his first, though less imaginative, as he now designed an extended humanoid body for his Ptera, to replace the three foot tall frame that it currently occupied.  This would possess a number of the features of his first model, requiring a very similar process, and taking only slightly less time than the first body.  Once complete, he would make the transfer as he did before, and spend the rest of the day working on the cosmetics of the two new automa bodies. Roun smirked at the end of his job, powering down to let his critically low stamina recharge, contemplating talking to Paco and Yasmin about possibly altering the personality features of the automa to better suit their new bodies. Outcome: Roun had modified his automas for to canine and fully humanoid model respectively.  He has also commenced training on modification of zeta based technology.
Roun: 64 Exp
Awareness: 12 Exp	Technical: 20 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 16 Exp	Control: 16 Exp

 

Preparations for War: Kyasho Mirakama and Amanda Real make arrangements. (19/08/2401)

With her current line of research finally marked complete, the busy Amanda Real could finally find time in her busy schedule to meet with Kyasho Mirakama, the founder of the Rogue Special Forces.  For many, this would be an honour, coming face to face with hands down the most powerful man on the planet, but for Ms. Real this was just another meeting with an old friend. Short of Hyaku, to whom Commandant Mirakama was simply a father, the entire base was in an inquisitive state, keeping their eyes peeled as the illusive father of the faction made his way down to greet their guest.  Paco and Yasmin, the two that had been escorting Ms. Real were quite surprised to see their Commandant standing outside of the transport carrier as they disembarked the vehicle, forcing them both to snap to attention as they exited.  Amanda descended the small ramp and made her way over to Kyasho, hugging him warmly and kissing him at the side of his mouth before taking a step back and looking at him.  The members of the faction all stared on, almost in disbelief at the casual way in which Ms. Real addressed their leader. “You look good Kyasho, I swear you look younger each time I see you.”  She smiled pleasantly, drawing a smile from Kyasho as well. “You old flatterer, it’s a pleasure seeing you again.”  Kyasho replied, extending his arm and leading Amanda inside.  “We have much to discuss, Amanda.”  Kyasho continued. “So it would seem, all is well I would hope?”  She replied, causing Kyasho to waver his hand. “At present… but I sense that a war is upon us, and the Rogue Special Forces requires your assistance in its preparation.  We will require your services for the duration of a three week contract, will you be available?”  Kyasho inquired now. “You’re in luck dear, my schedule was just freed up.”  Amanda replied pleasantly. “Maybe you will even consider staying on longer.”  Kyasho pushed with a wishful jest, causing Amanda to laugh lightly. “I’m a free spirit Kyasho, you of all people should know this.”  “That I do.”  Kyasho smiled as the two disappeared into the facility, leaving the Rogue operatives to get back to work.

Outcome: The Rogues have entered into a three week contract with Amanda Real.

 

A Loud Sigh: Brian in Maine. (21/08/2401)

Arriving in Maine, Brian was unable to locate the agent Red, leaving quite concerned for the safety of the secretary and her employees. It would be then that he would check the networks one more time, this time seeing a message from a channeler by the name of Roun Itami, making reference to the situation and stating that the Rogues would be handling the situation. Brain cursed under his breath one more time. He would either need to get in contact with Roun Itami, or the channeler that had been assigned to replace his subordinate, Red directly. “Why do none of my plans work the way they should!?” He exclaimed to vent his rage as he plotted his next action.

Outcome: N/A

 

A Relatively Productive Day: Seig does some training. (22/08/2401)
With his mission complete, Loki now decided to do a bit of tidying up in terms of dealing with his life’s issues. His first order of business was quite simple, simply requiring him to make a trip to the Xelot research and development team, allowing him to request the production of a weapon which he would be needing for later actions. With his Drake in production, Seig then moved onto the next order of business, whipping out his comm. link and attempting to call and old friend Roun. For some reason however, the link would not connect, as it seemed that Roun was either busy or avoiding his calls, forcing Seig to leave a message for the young channeler before he and his subordinate, the operator of a Ghost frame, moved to the Xelot simulation room to train their combat skills. Having nothing in mind, Seig called up a generic training simulation, powering up his form and going to work as the Ghost operator enganged their stealth and faded into the background allowing Seig to draw most of the simulation’s attention. Starting on the lowest difficulty rating, the simulation slowly increased in difficulty, raising the level of the sim by one, every two minutes. This unfortunately meant that Seig would not be receiving a challenge until well into the simulation. The difficulty would continue to increase until Seig decided to call it quits, leaving the facility and calling an end to what he considered to be a very productive day.
Seig: 46 Exp (-210HP)			Ghost: 42 Exp (-100HP)
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 4 Exp		Awareness: 12 Exp	Technical: 4 Exp
Accuracy: 8 Exp	Tactics: 8 Exp		Accuracy: 8 Exp	Tactics: 4 Exp
Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 10 Exp		Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 6 Exp

 

Further Overhauls, Bigger and Better: Rogues make some modifications to their technological possessions. (24/08/2401)
After realising that the scientists at The Garrison’s research and development facility were capable of the same feats that those in Maine were capable of, Paco and Yasmin realised that it would not only save time, but money if they simply had their scanners upgraded at the Rogue facility.  With this done, the two now made their way to the other end of the research and development facility, where they came upon Roun, once again fiddling with technology. “Hey Roun.”  Yasmin sounded happily, causing Roun to look up from the schematics that he had been preparing. “Oh hey, what’s up?”  Roun now inquired now, making an arc across his data pad with a stylus to complete the angular transformation for the guns that he was designing. “We heard you needed people with zeta modding skills, to mess with your automas’ personalities.”  Paco explained, causing Roun to nod. “Oh good stuff.”  Roun replied, slightly excited, saving his specification for the personalities to a small card and handing it to Paco and Yasmin.  “I would describe it in detail, but unfortunately, I gotta finish up these weapons before the day is out.”  He explained. “Safe, well no problem then… we’ll just check with you if we have any problems.”  Paco replied before Roun decided to get to work on his Dual Cannons. As Paco and Yasmin went to work on the reprogramming of the automas, Roun once again engaged himself with more technical work, his major task for the day being the creation of converting dual pistols as well as a pair converting blades.  As Roun powered up and prepared to get to work, Hyaku made his way into the room, with his automa spark trailing behind him.  As usual, he wore his trademarked scowl, causing Roun to be slightly mused as he entered the room, the young channeler choosing to entertain his teammate slightly before getting to work. “What’s up Hyaku?”  Roun inquired now, before Hyaku reached down and picked up the small automa, putting it on the table. “I heard that you were making modifications to zeta based hardware, and you were taking requests.”  Hyaku replied now. “Yeah, I need the practice honestly, so I’m up for making stuff for you guys if you don’t mind the possibility of a screw up.”  Roun laughed, causing Hyaku to sigh lightly. “Maybe I should lend some assistance, given the modification, I’d much rather not have you screw up.”  Hyaku explained, now proceeding to explain what he wanted done with the automa. “Well I guess with your Code Vision and AI, and my Psychomance, Cognisance and Spot Hashing… that actually sounds fairly doable.”  Roun nod smirked.  “Heh, I can even throw in a solid state blade if you want.”  He offered causing Hyaku to shrug. With this now decided, the two Rogues got to work, utilising the huge mass of confiscated weapons at their disposal for capacitors and raw materials, while Roun’s Ptera, Venus, monitored them to ensure that they didn’t make any drastic errors. The four Rogues would work for most of the day til the completion of their various projects before their work came to an end and they could call it a day.  At the end of it all, Roun request Hyaku’s help in making a few zeta based modifications to his pre-existing automas, finishing the weapon mechanisms that he had already prepared the automa to house in his last action. With this complete, they too called it quits. Outcome: Modifications were successful.  Roun's automas have been given personalities to better match their current forms, and their offensive systems and Janan's transformation module have been installed.  Roun has succeeded in making his Dual Pistols and Dual Blades utilising pre-existing weapons in the facility, as well as constructing his basic physical shielding. Roun and Hyaku have successfully modified his automa with a hawk body designed, grafting the beam pistol into it's design and modifying it to output Red Energz.  Roun and Hyaku have also created Hyaku's Nodaichi. Paco's Gull had been modified to incorporate some of the weapons confiscated as well, bringing it to Light Assault class.  This process was overseen by more skilled scientists.
Roun: +68 Exp			Hyaku: +56 Exp
Awareness: 16 Exp	Technical: 24 Exp		Awareness: 20 Exp	Technical: 16 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp		Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 16 Exp	Control: 12 Exp		Precision: 12 Exp	Control: 8 Exp
Paco: +36 Exp			Yasmin: +36 Exp
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp		Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp		Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 8 Exp		Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

Busy Man: Xian attends to some business. (11/08/2401)
Xian had a lot of things to do, so he decided to get an early start on things. The first order of business would require a simple phone call, as he phoned the Hawaiian authorities, requesting that the creature, which he now identified as a member of the Genon species, in his possession be allowed to stay with the other creatures that had been turned over to their custody, in hopes that it was raise the creature’s spirits, and make it more useful to Xian. This was easily arranged, as Xian offered to pay rent for the space that the creature would be taking up, though in the end the Mercenary Army offered to flip the bill, an action that caused Xian to be rather pleased and at the same time slightly puzzled by the show of good will be the faction towards him. Regardless of this, he wouldn’t have much time to look into it, as he now needed to get into his production. His first action was relatively simple, producing pawns for later use, their specification kept relatively quiet to non mercenary personnel as they would need to possess the element of surprise if they were to be effective. Such modifications to these organisms were simple for someone as technically skilled as Xian, allowing him to move onto a more complex project. For this project, he would need to be overseen by one of the factions biological experts as well as one of the researchers skills in robotics. With them over looking the process, and ensuring tht he did not go wrong, Xian attempted to do most of the work himself however, as he knew that he would need the technical experience from the process, one that he hoped he would be able to do to a much larger extent in the future, and more importantly, one that he hoped he would be able to do on his own in the future. Much like the modification of his pawns, Xian acquired the bio mass as well as the synthetic raw materials that he would need to create his Oni, instantly getting to work on creating the biomechanical automaton. As he realised, with guidance, the creation of the creature’s body was actually quite easy, in fact his main problem only came when he was attempting to create and program its processing organ from scratch. This required a great deal of help from his biological overseer, though Xian made a note to pay close attention to the process so that he would be able to do it when his skills reached that level. His stamina would dwindle down as the process wound on, but he would be able to finish the beast, mostly to his specifications before he ran too low to finish his day off with his final action. Unlike his other activities though, this would be considerably less effective. As he analysed the DNA and metabolic structures of the Genon samples, Xian slowly began to realise that the organic magical abilities possessed by the creatures was not the result of a magic channelling or magic storage organ in anyway. In fact it was quite different from what he theorised. He was not sure of the method, but his tests showed that the creature simply possessed a highly evolved body design, nothing which would suggest the induction of any magical abilities. It was only given this knowledge that he determined to run a number of scans on the creature before shipping it off the Hawaii. It was then that he realised that the organic magical abilities, seemed to stem from the latent magic in the environment forming specific patterns around the creature, rather than the creature somehow commanding the magic. It was almost as if the magic opted to grant it these abilities, something that boggled Xian’s mind completely. It was only then that he took a step back, realising that his overly logical thought process, being a matter user, could be one of the main reasons for his current problem. As an Oyan, he knew full well that their was little about magic that followed what humans would consider to be logical. With this in mind, he realised that he would need to find the source of these organic magical abilities, without the use of more conventional methods. With a slight grin, Xian began to ponder his position, still organising for the creature to be moved. He would need to check back in with it after the mercenaries next mission. Outcome: The pawn modifications have been completed successfully.  The creation of the Oni unit has been successful.  The transfer of the Genon creature has been successful.  Xian's biological tests yielded little positive results.
Xian: 68 Exp
Awareness: 16 Exp	Technical: 24 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 16 Exp	Control: 12 Exp

 

Singularly Vital: Val attempts to join the Mercenary Army. (30/08/2401)

Val wasn’t too interested in the middle men, so he would take his offer straight to the Mercenary High Command, requesting a meeting with Maika Smerkyov himself. Needless to say, his high ambitions were impressive, but unfortunately, Mr. Smerkyov was a busy man and could not meet with any and every channeler that claimed to have useful information for him, assigning Val to instead deal with his Secretary. For Val however, this would do. Entering the meeting in the finest of black suits, his ethereal scanners displayed as a visor across his face, he took a seat, removing the visor before present what it was that he possessed that he deamed to be of great interest to the faction. The young woman had to admit that she was quite impressed with the young man’s resourcefulness, inquiring as to the price of his information. Upon informing her that he simply wished to join the faction, she was certain that she could accommodate him in that request. Informing Val that she would need to speak with her superiors, she suggested that he wait in the lobby.

Outcome: Val has been accepted into the Mercenary Army.

 

The Pursuit of Knowledge: Cloud goes to Maine. (10/10/2401)

Maine was by far one of the last places that one would expect to find the Oyan, Cloud Styfe, especially given the nature of his business in the area. As usual, he was quite secretive, about the actual purpose of his actions, and the nature of the research, revealing his intensions only to the scientists whom he had paid, and his subordinates who were assisting him in the tests. The scientists with whom he now found himself working were quite impressed with the technical nature of the Oyan’s theories, especially given the nature of the research. Unfortunately, they would need to run quite extensive tests if they actually wanted to provide any useful data on his theories. With this in mind, they wasted no time starting the tests. The actual testing process took quite a while, and the analysis of these results took even longer, trying the Oyan’s patience quite a bit. What was even more frustrating was that they couldn’t seem to discover anything that would even be analogous to this signature that he had been theorising about. Cloud scowled briefly in frustration, before accepting the remainder of the results to his Data Pad to be analysed at his leisure. With his business concluded, Cloud left the area and made his way off to deal with the rest of his business.

Outcome: Cloud has received information on his research.

 

Some Slight Modifications: Donovanmakes and tests some mods. (10/10/2401)

With so much to do, Donovan decided to get as early a start as possible. It had been quite a while since he had made any upgrades to his form, as could be seen by the display of his status on the networks, which made the modifications to his form even more vital. As he arrived in Barbados, he made the necessary switches on his techniques, equipping the newest Glyph which he had acquired at level up, and shuffling the others around on his form. With that done, he now attempted to test the upgrades of his Common Tongue technique on Rutaedes. This was surprisingly simple and actually took minimal time, as he received little resistance in the process. With things done, Donovan retired early, designating the rest of the day to rest and relaxation.

Outcome: Donovan's mods have been successful.

 

Small Step for Rayne: Rayne makes some upgrades to his automa and trains. (10/10/2401)
Rayne never imagined that driving from Washington to Maine could take so long, especially since he had seldom experienced travel in his Archel, which travelled a mere two squares a day, compared to the Hyper Drive travel systems of faction transports or the engines of commercial vehicles that allowed them to travel near ten times the speed of his vehicle. Once back in Maine, Rayne made a quick stop by his home, to ensure that everything was in order before he and his automa Rude, made their way to a nearby scrap yard to see if Rayne could try his hand and some engineering. As was expected for a scrap yard, most of the materials present were in some way broken or destroyed, and very few of them possessed working zeta capacitors. In fact, this was so much the case, that Rayne could not even find a working capacitor even after hours of searching. He did however manage to find a great number of fixable parts, which would prove to be very useful to him in his upcoming activities. Even with his intensive research, Rayne still found it quite difficult to replicate the interfact system for the expansion which he was attempting to utilise for Rude’s upgrade, forcing him to narrow his search in an attempt to track down a disposed expansion in which the full interface, or at least the unit that allowed it to connect and share power with the automa, was working. This took some time as well, even with Rude’s help, but Rayne was eventually able to track one such part down, and used this interface for what he was attempting to create, using his limited knowledge of zeta coding to reconfigure the device as best as he could, so that it compensated for the differences between its previous function and the function which he now needed to code into it. This seemed to work for the moment, but the true test would come after he was done and he attached the device to Rude. With this in mind, he continued, creating three basic tools. The first was a precision cutting tool, for which he used an old zeta based torch, with a variable width IR laser, modifying it as best he could to get the minimum sustained width out of the device. After this, he constructed a grasping tool, utilising a small hydraulic clamp, before he moved onto the welding tool. As he already possessed the variable width laser, all he would need to do would be to modify the output to compensate for the melting point of the substance, which Rude could easily calculate, allowing it to be used for welding. With this done, he made the necessary modifications, before moving onto his next task. With this done, Rayne moved onto a more generalised training action, where he tested the limits of his control and precision. As would be expected, with no mechanism in mind, Rayne’s attempts to surpass his charge limit were futile, as were his attempts to control more energy than he normally could. Additionally, his attempts at creating I-Type Zeta, via ether combination was equally unrewarding, leaving Rayne to study the process and hopefully propose a mechanism for these actions. With his action semi-successful, Rayne called it a day before he and Rude headed back to his residence. Outcome: Rayne has successful created the expansion Repair Kit, and is working out the bugs.  the kit current exhibits a high power drain on Rude as it does not possess its own power supply.
Rayne: 60 Exp
Awareness: 12 Exp	Technical: 24 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 16 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

Going Nowhere, Slowly: Loki trains. (10/10/2401)
Seig had now changed his name to Loki, much to the confusion of most of his friends and colleagues, leaving most of them somewhat perturbed as to actual reason behind the change. Regardless of public opinion, the now Loki, carried on like business as usual, making his way to the Xelot training room to test out his new theories for Zeta Channeling. He had the first steps down, purchasing both Zeta Scanners and an I-Type Zeta Expansion, which would hopefully create the bridge that he needed to cross the ether to zeta threshold. He started off by observing the Zeta-Stream as the scanners now overlaid the detected zeta onto his visual output. For a moment, his zeta scanners and ethereal scanners had a small conflict, but the two modules quickly resolved the issue and allowed him a blended vision, something that proved to be quite confusing. As he attempted to sort through the displays, applying various filters, he finally came to a point where he could overlay the I-Type Zeta without confusing himself. With this accomplished, he now attempted to modify his natural senses to detect zeta. Unfortunately, having seen the stream did not make it any more accessable to his own senses, as what he was viewing was the overlay of the stream and not actually the stream itself, as this would prove to be quite disorienting for the channeler. Equipping the Zeta Expansion to his energy, Loki now attempted the process again, this time modifying his Odin’s Eyes to move external to himself so that he could scan the zeta scanners. This was slightly difficult as the zeta scanning abilities that the visor provided were not extended to the external scanning abilities of Odin’s Eyes, making it impossible for him to scan the zeta aspect of his zeta scanners. Loki growled now, realising that even if he could scan the scanners, actually being able to understand and decode the function would probably require a higher technical knowledge than his, which was quite average. Loki sighed now, moving onto stage two of his plan, before realising that he was being faced with the same problem. Once again, he lacked the technical knowledge to scan, decode and decrypt the function of the expansion which allowed his energy to exhibit the I-Type function. Loki sighed, assuming that this would have been easier. Decided to just scrap this and move onto the final phase of his plan. Here too he realised that he was simply not inadequate when it came to what he would need to be able to do to actually successfully track messages through the zeta stream. Unfortunately, he quickly realised that, for obvious security reasons, it was simply impossible for a channeler of his limited skills to track messages through the zeta stream, a task that trained controllers still took levels to master. The implications quickly dawned on him, that if he could so arbitrarily effect this ability, then the worlds telecommunication system could be so easily tapped just every run of the mill channeler that no one’s communications would be safe. Loki sighed, realising that he had effectively wasted a day that he could have used to assist his faction. Feeling somewhat disappointed, he left the training room, seeking out Nikolai to see if he could be of any assistance. Outcome: Loki has failed in his Zeta Channeling attempt.
Loki: 32 Exp
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 6 Exp	Control: 6 Exp

 

Taking Care of Business: John makes some calls. (10/10/2401)

John strolled into the Research and Development facility at Tel Aviv a bit after midday after doing a bit of research on Aikido.  He had managed to actually secure a trainer that would instruct him in the art, so he decided to move onto the second part of his day’s actions.  When the team in the R&D Facility saw the list of demands for the add-on that he wanted, they were quite reluctant to tell the large channeler the price, which they predicted would be rather high given the design specs. After some brief calculations, the estimated the cost of the add-on, assuming that all the functionalities ran at optimal outputs, at around 230 000$.  John’s jaw dropped at the exceedingly high price, before the team explained to him that the two combined powers of the s.p. cores would be somewhere in the region of 135 s.p.  John pondered this now, thanking them for their assistance before leaving the room to contact his superior. “Ms. Amon.”  He stated as Tiana accepted the link between them. “What is it?”  She inquired now. “I have a request of you.”  John started, once again being cut off. “Okay, well make it quick, Mr. Demar’s orders cannot wait.”  She explained. “I want to train with you, I need to increase my combat and field skills, and I can’t think of someone better who I would like to learn from.”  John explained, causing Tiana to raise an eyebrow for a second being caught off guard before she returned to her usual demeanor. “My current mission is of the utmost importance, I have no need for your inexperience… but if your skills prove to be useful in the future… I will contact you.”  She replied before cutting off the link.  John just smiled as he returned to his regular day of actions.

Outcome: John has found and Aikido sensei.

 

Just How Long Simple Things Take: Xian does some work on his own. (10/10/2401)
Xian was particularly displeased that all of his requested activities could not be authorised for that single day, a reality that greatly annoyed the summoner, who consider all of this to be fairly simple work. Xian sighed now, realising that this faction life did come with a few downsides in the way of restrictions. Regardless of this, he decided to make good use of what time he did have. Sitting at the terminal in his room, he used the power of the Mercenary mainframe to call up data, requesting the utilisation of the Mercenary surveillance satellite to make a note of the different creatures present in the area around the location of their next mission, as he began to compile a library of said creatures. This process proved to be more tedious and time consuming than he would have imagined, as the speed and precision of his scanning was limited by the hardware and his ability to interface with systems best suited for the more interlinked control methods of the faction’s Controller class channelers. Regardless of this, he pushed through, coming to a finish after some time and allowing him to move onto the second stage of his action. This woud be far more technical, involving either the construction of complex biological organs from scratch, or the integration of foreign organs into an organism without a harmful effect. Granted, this was an everyday thing for Xian, but he still managed to forget how time consuming something like this could actually be, even for someone who processed at the speed which he did. What made this even more complicated now, was his wish to give his creatures at least a minor ability to sense ether or at least get a feel for the varying concentrations of ether. Unfortunately, to his knowledge, there were now physical structures that had the ability to react to ether as a whole, making it near impossible to make a material construct, furthermore an organ, that could actually sense ether without some other ethereal component. Xian pondered this topic for a while, deciding to make his way to the scientists at the Mercenary Research and Development Facility to ask for their assistance. Unfortunately, though extremely knowledgeable, they could not provide him with any feasible solution to his question short of developing a form of ethereal alchemy and applying this to his creatures. With at least some ethereal component, they would have a higher chance of being able to interact with the ethereal world outside of just matter. Xian sighed loudly, pausing briefly before making his way back to his quarters and beginning the coding for the messages that he would need to send out to his creatures to get the whole process started. Xian glanced around at his clock, hours had passed since he started work, and from simply processing alone, his stamina was considerably diminished. With a final sigh, he called it a day and implemented the changes to his biomass populations. Outcome: Xian has completed the modifications to his populations.
Xian: 48 Exp
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 32 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 4 Exp	Control: 4 Exp

 

Pushing One's Limits: Jais does some astral training. (10/10/2401)
Jais found his action to be somewhat ambition, but regardless of this, he still wished to at least give it a try. By now, the transfer from the ethereal realm to the astral realm had become second nature, allowing him to astral project much easier than he could fall asleep. As he reached the astral realm, he greeted his self-assigned counterpart Fate, who greeted him in kind, before allowing him to commence his training. There were a few things that Jais had intended on working on today, the first being the most important, his ability to sense the astral realm. By now he had already developed an intermediate astral sense, but even this was nothing compared to the astral sense of Fate and other astral masters. To fix this, he decided actively utilise a relatively unique astral sense, one akin to an olfactory sonar. Expanding his astral energy out from his centre, he waited for it to reach the edge of his range of personal control, allowing it to collapse back in on him before he began to analyse what it had interacted with. Fate was amused by this, which seemed rather round about, but given the short period of time since Jais’ had commenced his astral activities, he had to admit that this would supplement his natural astral sense for the time being while they developed naturally. With this achieved, Jais now moved onto something a bit more hands on, as he tried to get a feeling for the astral equivalent of force. Sense his inception into this world, he realised that the astral energy around seemed to move and shift, almost like a watery environment. This lead him to conclude that something would have to be at the centre of this movement, and this driving force was what he was looking for. As he concentrated points of his astral form, he then observed the action of this driving force on himself. The force seemed to operate on some kind of dynamic equilibrium, pushing him in varying directions but each time returning him to his point of origin. Jais paused now, trying to get a feel for this force before he attempted to emulate it. At first he failed, but as he became more adept at this he realised that he had skipped to his final test. His ability to expend this force only seemed to apply to things within direct contact with his own astral form, allowing him to ‘touch’ ethereal constructs. Otherwise, he found it impossible to affect the ‘force’ of the astral realm. Through this ‘touching’, he did manage some basic molding of the realm, but everything that he managed to move seemed to return to it’s original position once he let go of them. Considering his action to be a success, he startled Fate by shaking its hand before he left, feeling rather pleased with himself. Outcome: Jais had developed a form of active Astral Scanning, and has gained the ability to 'touch' the astral realm.  For some reason his seems to correspond with his channeling ability.
Jais: 52 Exp
Awareness: 16 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 8 Exp	Control: 16 Exp

 

Running A Few Simple Tests: Dark and Juggerknot do some training. (10/10/2401)
With his form recently having been rewired, Davius found himself demoted back to level 5, a depressing reality since his ascension past this basic level. However, Davius was determined to make the best of this restart and decided to get a feel for the new abilities that came with the reworking of his form. With this in mind, he and the Juggerknot decided to test a number of their abilities, to get a feel for their forms. These tests encompassed just about all of their techniques, in a futile attempt to develop all of their various skills. The training session would be long, but not particularly involved, bringing the two to a conclusion almost an hour later, allowing them to call it a day and get some rest.
Dark: 30 Exp			Juggerknot: 26 Exp
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 4 Exp		Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 4 Exp
Accuracy: 4 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp		Accuracy: 4 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 6 Exp	Control: 8 Exp		Precision: 6 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

Damage Surveying: Paco checks out teh facility acquired in Italy. (10/10/2401)
Damage surveying seemed to be the order of business for the day, and with Yasmin and the rest of the females in the Rogue Special Forces out on their girls day out this left Paco to do it alone. As he travelled to the Don’s facility in Italy, he decided to get some more social actions, making a call to Amanda Real. Unfortunately, with the Rogue project in the Alpha testing phase, she didn’t have much time to entertain him. This left Paco to simply train his technopathy before he arrived to survey and carrying out the damage analysis on the Don’s facility. The entire process would take a little over 3 hours, but he would eventually finish before calling it a day.
Paco: 38 Exp
Awareness: 8 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 12 Exp	Control: 6 Exp

 

Operation Hangtime: Brian does some training. (10/10/2401)
Given his track record, Brian was simply leaving nothing to chance. This new technique was exceedingly simple, relying on his Angle, Dodge and Surgical Strike to facilitate proper flight as well as attacks. The perfection of this skill, which he called Hang Time, was simply a matter of getting the timing down, something which his Instinct made exceptionally easy.
Brain: 32 Exp
Awareness: 6 Exp	Technical: 6 Exp
Accuracy: 6 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 6 Exp	Control: 8 Exp

 

Rightenous Fury: Jubei learns Xelot fighting style. (23/10/2401)
With the Xelot plans on hold while Mission Control assessed the information that they collected, Jubei took the time off to train himself in the Xelots’ unique combat style. The style, which was originally created by the former French monarchy, was the same style that Marshack Almed utilised in his early days as a knight. In recent years, the new comers to the council took the time to adapt the style to combat more modern martial arts, with each update attempting to present the traditional aspects that made the style worthy of the Xelots. As Jubei began to learn the basics of the style, he noted mentality its components. He could trace the origins back to the traditional form of European boxing, as well as bare-fisted boxing styles utilised by hooligans. The other forms of the style, being late additions, could be best likened to basic karate forms, utilising a number of Kempo style attacks. This was the main source of their kicks, kicks that weren’t usually utilised in their fighting style. Jubei’s first day would be spend learning the basics of attacking, defending and dodging, before he could move onto the more intermediates some time late
Jubei: 54 Exp
Awareness: 6 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 16 Exp	Tactics: 12 Exp
Precision: 4 Exp	Control: 4 Exp

 

Fail: Rei and Hyaku do recon for the Mercenary Army. (23/10/2401)
Rei had worked well for the Mercenaries in the past, so it was only natural that she would be doing the reconnaissance for their final assault again the team that had grown to becoming their nemesis.  Unfortunately, the Mercenaries seemed not to factor in one obvious fact.  They knew that their last attack had been orchestrated to test their skills, and hence noted that doing anything that they had done in the previous attempts, would result in it being countered.  Unfortunately, Rei did not seem privy to this information.  Having played the same role in previous attempts, her stealth abilities had been assessed, and hence planned for in this attempt, allowing the owners of the facility to lead her into a trap.  Luckily, at the same time, Hyaku had been attempting to run recon on the same facility, as a favour to Cloud.  Hyaku had taken a similar approach to Rei at this point, but focussed most of his actual recon on long range scans, utilising specialised recon scanners, designed for military use.  Given the output and the design, these active scanners proved to be nigh undetectable, which usually served as the purpose for their extensive use.  Once collecting basic data on size and shape, he then noted possible entry and exit.  He then noted personnel number and the ratio of personnel types, also noting external defences and gauging structural reinforcement. What Hyaku found strange was the facility snapping to high alert, as the saturation of zeta in the air spiked.  Actually being able to sense zeta, Hyaku’s scanners instantly became flooded with the energy, which had a chaff-like effect, forcing him to filter out the zeta from his display so that he could actually see. “The hell…”  Hyaku wondered to himself, still being unable to scan the inside of the facility.  Regardless of the lack of data, he could tell that something was up, this seemed to be move of a response to a possible threat or infiltration than anything else.  Interestingly enough, they didn’t seem to be homing in on his location, so it clearly could not be him that they detected.  “…odd…”  Was all he said now as he turned his scans to the perimeter.  All he would pick up would be a single automa, which he would phase in and collect before leaving the area. “This is Hyaku Yagami…”  He commenced the encrypted transmission back to Cloud at the Rogue base.  “…there has been a strange occurrence at the facility where I was running recon… I have an automa that you may want to look into.”  Cloud’s single reply would express his total displeasure. “…Fail…”
Rei: 50 Exp (reverted) (imprisoned)			Hyaku: 56 Exp
Awareness: 12 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp		Awareness: 24 Exp	Technical: 16 Exp
Accuracy: 4 Exp	Tactics: 4 Exp		Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 0 Exp
Precision: 10 Exp	Control: 8 Exp		Precision: 12 Exp	Control: 4 Exp

 

A New Alliance: Xian meets his new subordinate. (23/10/2401)

After having ascended to player status, Xian was particularly displeased to have his subordinate Charlotte Widows sent off on a new assignment, away from him. In his depression, he decided to vent, searching for an activity that would at least be remotely interesting that he could indulge in as a channeler. As he searched the online records, one particularly interesting bit of news caught his attention, causing him to instantly board the mercenary transport carrier and travel to an area of Africa. He was particular intrigued by the fact that the rumours had described an odd serpentine creature with dark feathery scales, that seemed to have an affinity for theft. After tracking its movements through reports, he managed to track the creature to a small cave system on the outskirts of one of the African villages. Utilising his various techs to locate the creature, he managed to confirm his suspicions that the creature was actually what he had imagined, a Shadowdrake. Unfortunately, his target was not as elated to see him as he was to see his target, and instantly rushed to attack him, forcing Xian onto the defensive. Only the word “truce” would manage to halt the attack, spoken in the battlefield tongue of Xian’s people, the Shadowsong clan. It would take Xian another two hours to convince the beast not to attack him, and that he could help him, offering him a safe place and allies in this strange land. The creature would eventually agree to the terms of Xian’s offer, accompanying him back to the Mercenary Fortress, Fort David.

Outcome: Xian has acquired Cree

 

Means to an End: Leonardo does some interrogation. (23/10/2401)

Tyler’s eyebrow rose as she saw the youngest member of the Rogue Special Forces dragging two blind folded prisoners towards the Rogue Training room, causing her to wonder, just want the young lieutenant could be up to.  As she turned to Roderick, he just shook his head, not bothering to even ask what was going on. As he passed his field commander, Leonardo made his way to the Training room, utilising its simulation functions of the room to simulate a Zeta Wing, in which he rigged his interrogation device. The screams coming from the training room resonated throughout that floor of the facility, causing Tyler to actively investigate Leonardo’s interrogation strategy.  She would enter to find the training room to find it simulating a skyscape, and a Zeta Wing, which he was now dangling his two suspects from. “So, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way…”  Leonardo started, burning one of the ropes with his Soul Call, catching the rope just as it was about to slip out of the simulated air craft and allowing the occupant of the seat to dangle just a bit.  “I prefer the easy way… since it’s faster… so what’s it going to be?” His threats were only made more real, when one of the two suspects attempted to power up, only to realise that they couldn’t. “What’s going on here!” He exclaimed, causing Leonardo to laugh. “You’re powers won’t work against me… now, are you going to talk, or do I have to drop one of you to prove that I’m serious?”  He inquired, lowering his hand just a bit. Needless to say, it would be long before the two told him everything that they knew, but unfortunately, he would at that time realise that they didn’t know as much as he would have assumed.  The two men that had been captured were the grunts of a freelance mercenary group, and being low ranking members, they were not privy to a great deal of information.  Leonardo did however manage to acquire the location of the group’s base of operations.  The facility which housed them was located in a residential area, and though secure, was not heavily defended, as any form of all out assault would cause mass civilian casualties.  He also learned that the group was comprised of eight steady members, including the two grunts, and seldomly outsourced assistance.  Unfortunately, the two had no idea who had paid them to acquire the scientists, meaning that Leonardo would need to use the information that he currently possessed to get to the bottom of it all.  With that discovered, he ended the simulation, signalling to the frame operators to take the two to a holding cell. “Pathetic…”  Was all he said as Serai’s energy dominated his form.

Outcome: Leonardo has gotten some useful information.

 

Taking The Initiative: Crydus does Mission Training. (23/10/2401)
Crydus’ dedication was very amirable, hence the reason for the Xelots actually pulling the strings to facilitate his mission training. Given his unique abilities, he was the one most equipped to infiltrate zeta reinforced facilities, as he had done in the previous Xelot mission. However, on his previous attempt at it, he was quite sloppy, and he would prefer to be a bit more competent in the upcoming mission. For this reason, he would spend the day training his zeta fusion ability, attempting to fuse through a number of zeta based structures until he at least got his skills up to the point where he could penetrate outpost, or at least sub-outpost class reinforcement. The Korean government would provide the necessary facility for the training action, with a variable output generator supplying the zeta reinforcement, allowing them to raise or lower it as Crydus trained his skills. The actual process was more or less grinding, but it provided an increasing challenge, which made it actually beneficial. Struggling to reach outpost level, Crydus found that he was able to penetrate the walls, though he did so with minimal finesse and did absorb some damage. Regardless, he had expended more than half of his stamina with that action, and reserved the other half for running through tactical simulations. With his training complete and his stamina exhausted, he called it a day, and awaited word from his team on when they would be making the first attempt.
Crydus: 76 Exp (-230HP)
Awareness: 12 Exp	Technical: 12 Exp
Accuracy: 0 Exp	Tactics: 12 Exp
Precision: 20 Exp	Control: 20 Exp

 

Making Friends: Brain searches for L'Qatu. (24/10/2401)

After his encounter with L’Qatu, Brain was quite pleased by the Morphers skills and found his female companion to be even more intriguing. With this in mind, he decided that the two of them would not be a bad group to travel with. He would spend most of the day tracking them down, before inquiring whether or not he could join them. A shrug from L’Qatu would signal that it Brian’s company would not be minded, allowing the three to form their travelling party.

Outcome: Brian is now traveling with L'Qatu and Kikoto.