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originally posted in:The New Dojo
Edited by Kruos the Wicked:
11/25/2017 10:42:36 PM
58
[b][i][u]Remnants of Past Sins[/u][/i][/b]
[i]What is it like to die?[/i]
The woman watched from a high bluff the movements of the rippling water. The sky was gray and the world was bleak, and she almost wanted to curl up into a little corner and forget about everything. However, she had a job to do. There wasn't any time for games. All there was was the need for revenge.
She killed the man who had walked along the shore with such coldness that she had almost forgotten she had existed.
[i]But what is existence? It's definition is beyond that of our own scope...[/i]
Now she was walking down an alleyway in the city of Olympus Solis, rain crackling down in a melodic pattern. There were ships above, moving rapidly as they disregarded the life of those that lived outside of their temporary bubble of travel. She looked up at them briefly, keeping her head down, with her white hair being hidden by her black raincoat. If she could just find the operative, the woman would have everything she needed.
[i]Actions carry weight. Decisions shape the lives and experiences of everyone. But you forgot that, didn't you? You killed her anyway. The pain... that is all that you are now.[/i]
She was standing in the midst of a broken valley of ash and bone and war, with nothing but empty sky above. The sea was dry and the mountains cracked, and the ground was soaked in blood.
[i]Do you see what you have done? Do you see the result of your painful existence? DO YOU SEE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO INFLICT ON YOUR VERY SOUL!? You deserve to be in hell. Why? Don't you hear their screams? The demons are coming to take you back to whence you came.[/i]
Darkness swirled around her, and she was being stalked by living shadow. She could hear it now. The screaming of lost souls and shrieks of demons. Then she saw a shadowy figure step out to her in a fiery blaze. She saw it smile wryly as it approached, reaching out to her. It's black hand was like death itself, and it melted the air as if it was reaching from another reality to find her and take away her soul...
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Caroline woke up terrified.
It was early morning, and she was still in the Dojo sick-bay, "recovering" from her wounds after the crash. This place was different than others, almost more... authentic. It was better than what she was a part of before. But that... that shocked her. She needed a distraction. Something to ease her mind.
A few minutes later, Caroline had found her way into the VR room. She wasn't currently in her exosuit, as it had earlier been damaged and needed to be repaired. Nonetheless, she sat in there and started to configure a simulation, until she heard someone else approach...
[spoiler]Open! I still needs to do the test, so you can't yet directly fight me. Unless you're a tester, then please give me a fight[/spoiler]
English
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A figure stood behind her, standing in the doorway with a look of utter surprise on his face, his pale blue eyes widened as they expressed what looked like horror. His face quickly reverted to his casual charm, but internally, Michael Drake couldn’t stop his heart from its rapid beating. [i]Holy shit, she’s the splitting image of her...[/i] he thought to himself as he regained his composure. The man seemed about the same age as her, with a rugged. handsome face accompanied by gelled black hair. His blue eyes, which still seemed slightly uneasy, contrasted strongly with the crimson jacket that he wore, nearly disguising the loaded holsters that he wore on his torso and belt. His right arm, which was a prosthetic that looked like a skeletal appendage painted black, casually leaned against the doorframe. “[b]Sorry, wasn’t expecting to see anyone ‘round here this early,[/b]” he said, attempting to pass off his initial surprise with a laidback grin. “[b]Come to think about it, I haven’t seen you before either. You new here?[/b]”
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"Yeah. I'm new here." she replied, eyeing him skeptically. Caroline had noticed his surprise, charting his patterns of behavior in an attempt to figure out why he reacted in the way he did. Had he somehow seen her before? Had he mistook her initially for someone else? Whatever the case, it made her slightly uneasy. "My names Caroline. Caroline Winter. You?"
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“[b]Michael, Michael Drake. Pleasure.[/b]” he said easily, putting on his infamous poker face. [i]Shit, I really buggered that up,[/i] he thought to himself, as he gave Caroline one last look up and down. On a second glance, she was almost identical... but definitely not Celina. She’d just taken him by surprise, and she knew it. He exited the doorway and walked towards one of the simulation chambers, where he started to input the necessary data. Seeing Caroline clearly analyzing him, Michael attempted to divert the topic. “[b]So, uh, you need help calibrating the simulation or something? Takes a bit of time to figure it all out.[/b]”
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"No." she said, quickly running his name through her internal database just to make sure she hadn't actually encountered him before. Probably not, but it didn't hurt for her to check. "I'm already experienced with tech like this. I appreciate the offer."
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Edited by GingerlyWalnut3: 11/26/2017 8:53:58 PM[spoiler]Can I assume that she has access to some of the Dojo’s databases? They’re common knowledge, so you don’t need to be tested for it. If not just message me and I’ll edit this. Also I’m mostly just referencing other RPs here. Sorry if it comes off as arrogant. [/spoiler] The results were... slightly off-putting. [ [b]Search:[/b] //Michael Drake ] [quote][b][ Status: ][/b] //Alive; //Wanted In [Amoridia, New Terra, Gydaton, Solara, Skiraja]; //Death Sentence in NTR territory. [b][ Profession: ][/b] Outlaw, Smuggler [see Arrowhead for more], Vigilante, Bounty Hunter [see ASF for more] [b][ Threat Level: ] [/b]Moderately High [b][ Synopsis: ][/b] [User Records are incomplete] Michael Drake was once the captain of an outlaw crew called the Arrowhead [b][see Alpha//Aaron Sawyer//Winchester//Garin Fohrik//Agent Colorado//Grape for affiliations][/b], which participated in numerous illegal activities in Coalition space, including the infamous raid on the NTR Hermes. Rumors state that he and his crew were motivated for revenge, though others state that it was merely for fame. At some undisclosed time afterwards, the Arrowhead was dissolved, and he was seen a year later on Amoridia, where he served under Hendrickson’s regime as a member of the ASF Police Force [b][see Lucien Farcón//Pandora Radriar//Samuel Weiss for affiliations][/b]. An undisclosed informant said that he sought amnesty for his crimes, and had turned over a new leaf. [b]//End[/b][/quote] “[b]Gotcha, no problem.[/b]” Michael Drake said in real-time, oblivious to her research on him. He finished calibrating the simulation’s data pad, and nearly stepped into the simulation chamber, before a sixth sense warned him. He looked back over his shoulder at Caroline, and asked, “[b]Everything alright? I don’t mean to pry, but you look like you’ve seen your fair share of messed-up shit.[/b]”
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Edited by Kruos the Wicked: 11/26/2017 10:54:11 PM[spoiler]Not at all. She has access to Dojo databases and others, as she was a highly trained assassin beforehand.[/spoiler] "I suppose you could say that. I have... well... not a very pleasant past." she said, as she cross-referenced Micheal with the Frontier database. [quote][b][i][u]Accessing Contract File...[/u][/i][/b] Name: Micheal Drake Location: Dojoville, Tatakai [((Encrypted Coordinates in briefing))] Affiliation: Arrowhead, ASF police force Client(s) requesting contract: NTR (or others associated) Frontier involvement: Operation "Blue Sky" [((Possible Witness))] [b]Refer to file// Operation: Blue Sky for details[/b] Current Operation Status: [((ACTIVE))] Estimated Time of Arrival: [((3 mins))][/quote] "Holy shit." she muttered, looking around frantically. "We need to get out of here. NOW." [spoiler]If this is alright, no actual damage will be done to anything. I'll probably edit it, but I just wanted to do something interesting since I can't actually fight anyone but myself yet. After all, it is feasible that he's being hunted down by certain organizations, right? Again, just trying to do something new. Probably overstepped my boundaries, but hey. Can't hurt to try[/spoiler]
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Edited by GingerlyWalnut3: 11/26/2017 11:52:26 PM[spoiler]Nah it’s cool. I’d wish more people tried to push boundaries a little more often actually. Also, you’re totally allowed to bring in your faction and fight them with me, if you’d like. [/spoiler] “[b]Whoa, what’s wrong?[/b]” he asked, before he truly appreciated her sense of urgency. Yet another time this woman had taken him by surprise. He muttered some invective under his breath, and withdrew a ramshackle canister from a bandoleer beneath his jacket. Drake could be foolish sometimes, but he certainly wasn’t an idiot. When somebody said that they needed to go, he should [i]probably[/i] get moving. He pressed a button on the device, and when nothing immediately happened, wrapped on its side with his knuckles. Suddenly, a thin energy shield emerged from the device, sending blue sparks shivering through his prosthetic arm as it travelled into his chest, and encompassed his entire body. Sheathing the canister, he quickly withdrew his two pistols from their holsters, and waited for her lead. “[b]You better not be bullshitting me.[/b]” he said, his voice modulated by the energy shield, as if it were muffled behind static. “[b]But you can explain later. Let’s go.[/b]”
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Edited by Kruos the Wicked: 11/27/2017 1:14:43 AM[spoiler]Nice. Any preferred difficulty? And how epic would you like this to end up being?[/spoiler] "There's got to be [i]somewhere[/i] that's secure in this Dojo, right?" Caroline said, running back to the place where she stored her exosuit. Even though it was damaged, it would definitely help her survive the encounter. If her own training was enough to tell, the person they had sent would be hard to take down. She finished putting it on, loading up the interface. "Okay. Have you ever been hunted down by a bounty hunter or assassin before?"
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[spoiler]Full epicness.[/spoiler] “[b]Yeah, sure, this happens to me every weekend.[/b]” he says half-sarcastically. He starts tapping on a wrist-pad, but then swears in frustration, “[b]Crap, I forgot! I crashed the ship.[/b]” He put his hands on his head, thinking quickly. “[b]Uh, well, know what we’re going up against? Dojoville’s pretty open, so the woods might work. Maybe we could try the wall?[/b]”
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[spoiler]Okay. Then you'll encounter two separate groups. The assassin first sent to kill Nathan and the retaliatory Frontier reinforcements. That cool?[/spoiler] "We'll need plenty of cover. If my experience is any indication, then the person their sending will be incredibly hard to take down in the-" She was cut off by the sudden sound of automatic gunshots firing toward their direction. They had somehow snuck into the Dojo without raising any alarm... [i]Shit. If they were that stealthy, then that means their E.V.E based. How much does the NTR want Nathan dead? Or more importantly, Frontier?[/i]
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One of the shots [i]~pinged~[/i] off of Michael’s energy shields as he scrambled for cover, exchanging covering fire at their assailants with his MH31 blaster. The semi-auto particle accelerator lit the room crimson as it fired, boiling the air around its trails. “[b]Huh, they really [i]do[/i] want me dead,[/b]” he said as he returned to cover. Holding his blaster in his organic hand, Drake held out his prosthetic hand from behind cover, the tiny camera in his palm syncing with his neural interface to get a better look at who exactly was shooting at them.
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Edited by Kruos the Wicked: 11/27/2017 11:39:56 PMThe person who was shooting at them wore a black exosuit, similar in design to Caroline's own. Yet it was bulkier, more advanced even. It seemed this particular soldier had come from the A.R.E.S. fleet, which meant Frontier definitely wanted Michael dead. The person was holding two automatic SMG's, which fired... enhanced bullets? It was some sort of technology that, once they hit something, was far more efficient in tearing through it and killing it. It continued to fire.
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[spoiler]It’s Michael not Nathan lol. I get that a lot. [/spoiler] “[b]So, is this a friend from work or something?[/b]” Michael asked Caroline over the staccato of the SMG rounds. Peeking out from behind cover, he fired his blaster at one of the guns, hoping to turn it to slag in the assassin’s hands. While waiting for an answer to his sarcastic question, Michael took a quick look around the room, looking for possible escapes and options for cover. There wasn’t much. Until then, he had a plan if the assassin came any closer.
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[spoiler]Rip[/spoiler] "A.R.E.S division. Better , more powerful, more durable, more... everything. They're basically soulless machines." was her response, firing shots of her own at the assassin. Michael's blaster shot did not fully melt the gun, rather, it burned threw a good amount of it. The gun was no longer able to fire correctly. After a few clicks, the assassin angrily threw the SMG on the ground, keeping up the shooting as he moved forward steadily.
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"[b]Huh... Reminds me of someone I used to date.[/b]" Drake holstered his blaster, and reached into his jacket. Somewhere within its folds, he pulled out what looked to be an improvised explosive--just small enough to fit in his hand. The words [i]ＨＩ－ＥＸ[/i] were scribbled in black marker on a strip of tape that held the package together. He hefted it gingerly in his prosthetic hand, like a pitcher getting ready to throw a ball, and glanced over at Caroline, "[b]Hey, are you a good shot?[/b]" Michael called out to her as he got ready to lob the device at the approaching assassin.
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"Heh. Does years of horrible training in a hidden research base with cybernetic enhancements [i]just[/i] so we can kill people with deadly accuracy warrant a 'good shot?' Because if it doesn't, you're out of luck." she said, smiling. "What do you need my to aim at? Detonate the explosive in mid-air perhaps?" At the same time, the assassin's head suddenly jerked into the direction of the makeshift explosive. With his free hand, he activated some sort of... keypad on his left arm. A small part of the exosuit "opened up" to reveal a small, black device. He then ripped it out, and momentarily stopped firing at the two as he chucked the small device onto the ground behind them...
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Michael grinned. “[b]Yeah, I was hoping you’d say that,[/b]” he said as he started counting down from three on his available hand. On his mark, he lobbed the explosive in an arc, giving Caroline enough time to shoot it, while hopefully not giving the assassin enough time to dodge. He didn’t, however, have time to check out the device that assassin threw at them, and only had time to press himself against the wall before it went off...
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Caroline shot it, and the following explosion rang out in the air. The assassin had already begun to roll away at the time, but the bomb still had done some damage. It was unclear as to exactly the extent, as there was barely enough time to see before the device started to beep. It clicked, and an electric blue light moved outward. An EMP. "Gah!" Caroline yelled, falling onto the ground. Her suit was damaged, and didn't fully shield that of a modified Frontier EMP device. Her suit went completely dark, and she writhed in pain.
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Drake grunted as his shield flickered out, and blinked rapidly as his prosthetic eye--newly installed and not yet perfected--faltered as well. His arm, however, was hardened against EMPs, and seemed to escape the device perfectly fine. After a brief moment of recovery, Drake stepped out from behind cover, blaster drawn at any sign of a threat. If the coast appeared clear, he'd rush over to Caroline, to see if she had survived the blast. If it wasn't clear... well, he'd shoot whatever stood in his way until it [i]was[/i].
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The coast happened to appear clear, the assassin missing from the scene. Wherever he was, however, he was nearby... [spoiler]Sorry for short post.[/spoiler]
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[spoiler]No problem.[/spoiler] Drake was cautious, but in the end, decided to make a break from cover to check on Caroline. As a fellow cyborg, she'd be especially helpless against the EMP. He lifted her up, his still-active prosthetic arm helping to carry her power armor as he propped her up against a nearby wall, and tried to look at her face. Maybe her suit was damaging her. "[b]Hey, you alright in there?[/b]" Drake asked, surprised by how sincere he sounded.
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"Gah! Dammit. GET ME OUT OF THIS SUIT. That damn EMP really seemed to..." She yelped in pain, the suit unintentionally hurting her and her cybernetic systems.
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“[b]... Right. On it.[/b]” Michael looked at the armor for a moment, wondering where to start, before he decided upon the helmet. With a satisfying [i]~hiss~[/i] of released air, the helm came off, and before long, the armor was dismantled, piece by piece, until she was finally out of the armor. “[b]You alright?[/b]” Drake asked again, looking at her again with a bit of worry. His prosthetic eye was rebooting, but its iris remained a pure off-white until it was finished. His other eye was still the same pale blue that it had been: like the sky, with a tinge of green.
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"I'm... alright." she said, trying to move yet faced with extreme difficulty. "The EMP -blam!-ed up my suit, and it completely just went electrically haywire. Those Frontier EMP's are also super shitty for cybernetic and electrical equipment. I'm glad that at least it didn't -blam!- up my brain. At least, I don't think so." She glanced around the area, her advanced cybernetic systems still completely operational regardless of the EMP, as they were designed to be. Even so, the pain she had felt was like a continuous high-powered electric shock throughout her entire body. "They'll be back."
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“[b]I’m sure they will...[/b]” Drake said, unease building up in his stomach. He’d been in a few stakeouts before, but at least in those times, he knew exactly who and what he was going to be up against, and he’d always had The Arrowhead... and his crew to watch his back. Now, he had no gear, no money, and was being pursued by some unknown military force in an unknown land. What made things worse: this strange woman who looked almost exactly like [i]she[/i] did. Drake wasn’t very superstitious, unlike most Captains. But he’d really stepped into the shit this time, and there were only a few options left to him. They could stay here, and risk running out of ammunition and cover. Yeah, scratch that option. They could try running into the woods, or somewhere with dense cover, but chances are the faction would find them. Cover alone wouldn’t save them... “[b]There’s somewhere we can go.[/b]” Drake finally said, gazing outside a nearby window cautiously. “[b]If you’re able to make it there, we can try catching a ship to the Celtic Isles. There’s some sort of magical barrier protecting it, and even if that doesn’t work, we’d disappear into the crowd. Think it’s worth a shot?[/b]”
