Gose Brank
Satisfied with his answer, Raasha simply nodded and took a back seat to the rest of the conversation. He took note of some private telepathy occurring between the Bastonians, but did not pry any further than that. He would be better than them. He spoke up when Bandula brought up her suggestions of stealth.

R: "I believe one of my sisters makes use of some technique to shield her image from would-be observers, though I do not know the specifics. I can contact her and request the Qswitch algorithms needed, however we have not spoken in quite some time... there is no guarantee she would comply."


Andromeda
Even though he did an excellent job hiding it physically, the pain did impact Etar's emotional state momentarily, altering his psychic presence enough for Raasha to notice. He turned his attention to the arachnid, whose visor opened a new text box. It read:

"You appear to be in pain, for which your implants are to blame. I can assist, if you wish."

    Fawx

    Etar was skeptical of the Viaelaon. How did he know? It wasn't easy to know when someone's in pain, especially Etar, who barely flinched from his outer visage. Clearly, this fox-person knew more than he let on.

    "How you figure that out? You right, and I ain't opposed, but how'd ya figure out? Ya got some psychic powers or somethin'?" He said, laughing a little by the end.

    • Fawx replied to this.
      18 days later

      Fawx

      Bandula nodded. "If you can get ahold of her, that would be a start at least. If that doesnt work, I may be able to source something from the Seekers. I have a similar sort of device; gravitic cloaking; but its only strong enough to cover one person for a few moments. Maybe they would have something more powerful, though I've not heard any talks of it before." she replied promptly.

        Brank Fawx
        Gosha noted their conversation and added ’Unless they have FTL sensors pointed at the ground I can remain undetected momentarily and bypass physical barriers. Two of mates here are capable of gravitic cloaking momentarily. If you tuned your device…’ he gestured at Bandula.
        ’We could hide a whole squad from the EM spectrum,’ said the Hermidian, ’but have you considered gravimetric detection? I know from experience, them MISE detection suites are cutting edge.’

          Bandula nodded in response. "Yeah, itll have to be our best bet, if big guy here-" she gestured to Raasha- "cant get ahold of his sister. Hate to admit it but seeker qtech isnt anywhere near up to par with its vaiaelon equivalent."

          • Fawx replied to this.
            4 days later

            Brank KrankysFirebrand48
            R: "I am well aware of MISE's gravimetric mastery. If the systems in play here are at all comparable to those under my charge back at The Embassy, then they are at least partially reliant on sensor fusion. Considering this, even if we remain unshielded from gravimetric detection, we may be able to spoof the systems into believing it a hardware error, given the lack of return on other sensor types. This would not last forever, and eventually it would begin firing on gravimetric readings, so we would have to be quick."

            "Again, all of this is assuming the systems are analogous to those of The Embassy, which is not guaranteed, hence why I pondered aloud whether I should pursue this information at all... And on the topic of Seeker quantum tech, personally I find it a miracle you were able to reverse engineer it as well as you did, the lagging nature is to be expected."


            Andromeda
            Raasha chuckled lightly as the Alsinian made a fool of himself out loud.
            "There is little need to vocalise your questions audibly; pitch them clearly in your mind and I will see them all the same."

            His mouth didn't move again after that, but Etar still heard his words clear as day, they even sounded like they were coming from his general direction despite being entirely within Etar's head.
            "Don't worry, I never look deeper than surface level thoughts without reason. I won't be combing through your life story. To answer your question, one could certainly say I have some psionic aptitude, yes."
            He heard a chuckle then, once again as clear as any vocalisation.
            "To reiterate, with your permission, I could perhaps take a look at the software of your implants in an effort to reduce those uncomfortable jabs of pain."

              Fawx
              'If we need to move fast could you qswitch us to a different location? If not I can contract space. We will be able to pass through high security areas in meer moments.' Gosha said as he turned his attention to the Comminator that he appeared to not even know the name of. 'My squadmate here should also be able to disable some detection systems, assuming he has the information...' The Comminator did not turn his head. Was he lost in though or negligient?. '...unless they're hydraulics.' Gosha continued as his two other squadmates grinned at him.

                Fawx

                Having your thoughts examined by a complete stranger was strange at best, but it was very appealing to make these damn implants stop hurting so bad. It was a near certainty that the eggheads made it that way on purpose, to keep the prisoner aware that if ever he went AWOL, they could detonate the implants and cut his mission short.

                "I wouldn't be opposed," he thought, very inexperienced with this new form of communication, "be careful you don't set them off, though."

                "On a different note," he would muse in his head, vaguely indicating the Viaelon, "I'm pretty sure you've been able to see the thoughts in my head about the equipment I've got for this mission. The ACS. Bulky pieces of shit, they are, fast as a bullet though. I'm pretty sure the cannibalized a couple corvettes for the armament on em, and they're what I have these implants for."

                There was a short pause in his thinking as he began to picture the inside of the cockpit of that, and wondering.

                "I hope the defenses this vault has won't be that hard to crack. I'm not stupid enough to assume they won't, but I hope they won't."

                All these were in his mind, directed vaguely at the fox-like being who was engaging in conversation with him. Half out of an attempt to get any conversation with a non-inmate or military brass as possible, half trying to lay out his thoughts for himself.

                • Fawx replied to this.
                  5 days later

                  Dumb Elohim nods in agreement.

                  "I will force nobody to participate, but you will be withheld here until our departure, we can't risk the possibility of you moving contacts against us. Please, if you were to move onto the holding bay and await us there nevertheless, perhaps you will change your mind, too."

                  Elohim gestures towards the door to the room, it smoothly slides open and reveals the corridor, you are beckoned to exit.

                  Brank

                  "That is a possibility, but I have good reason to believe that the system would differentiate me from everyone else, seeing as I am one of the few still recognised as a citizen. However, if this secondary group would be willing to endure the risk of a higher level of response, a two-pronged attack might prove effective in splitting the attention of the local defenses. I'd rather not risk the few people we have, but I trust you would be a reliable lead for such a force, Bandula."

                  Fawx Brank KrankysFirebrand48

                  "Indeed, any resources in stealthing would be very useful for us, but we shouldn't rely on them solely. Agility is also in our best interest, the compressor is located atop the node and overlooks a large area which will placade our landing nearby, the quicker we can cut our way to the node itself bringing the least attention to us the greater chance we have to arrive there in one piece."


                  "If there are no more considerations to be had, we should move to gearing up and going out to the Vault. If you have need of any equipment from me, I'd be happy to oblige, after all, this mission is a risky one."

                    8 days later

                    Gose

                    "Hmpf. Yeah, I get what you mean. Speed, stealth, and you- our only real advantages here," she said mostly to herself.

                    She started looking around- it seems she didn't have much more to add here.

                      Andromeda
                      Raasha soon began examining the troublesome malignant code present in the spider's implants. It was troublesome examining and understanding a whole other computational hardware structure, but at its most basic everything was hardware, and from that he could divine a solution.

                      "My apologies in advance, this will likely sting as the new software updates..."

                      Indeed a jolt of pain ripped across his body, marginally worse than those normally inflicted by the implants, but not cripplingly so.

                      "There, that should stop the hardware twitching. Let me know if any other adverse effects manifest themselves, it is difficult to account for everything without fully devoting myself. To answer your queries, I have in fact seen your ACSes before. Certainly impressive pieces of kit, though with their fair share of drawbacks, of which you are living proof, no offence. I would temper your expectations if you think it will be trivial to smash through with brute force, avoiding detections and retreating should that fail is likely our best option in terms of survivability."


                      KrankysFirebrand48
                      After apparently just staring intently at the spider for several minutes, the imposing Qunit turned his attention to the human.

                      R: "I do have access to a Type-2 Qswitch, yes, but reliable relocation of solid objects is entirely dependant on myself, the object, and the destination all being outside of any interdiction fields. Of course, if you don't mind having your body scattered across the surrounding lightyear, then I can certainly attempt relocating you regardless."

                      He chuckled, it was a deep, bassy noise.


                      Gose Brank
                      After he was done saying his piece to the Alsinian and Bastonians, Raasha took a shallow breath, before re-opening a Qcomm link he'd kept blocked until now. To those physically present in the room, he visibly became rather distant in his thoughts, his eyes focusing on empty space, periodic flashes of dim light visible in his irises.

                      He blinked and found himself amidst the digital landscape he and his kin called home. Rolling waves of random transmissions made up the ground, geometric structures formed of complex programs stretched up past the sky, itself a kaleidoscope of machine code. He knew his way around here, they all did, so he knew where he could find her. It was difficult navigating through the Chibutian maelstrom of overlapping code structures without damaging something, the last thing he wanted was to accidentally overwrite a function and shut down the power to an entire continent back in reality. There was thankfully enough unused variables and empty disk space to navigate deep enough to find her directory.

                      A light tap, a courteous request for contact, and his sister soon entered their shared digital mindspace in much the same way he had.

                      F13Y1: "The prodigal son returns and graces me with his presence. I do hope you have more important things to discuss than a friendly hello to your old sparring buddy; I have about... 150 milliseconds before the eggheads I'm speaking to might notice something's up."
                      Raasha: "That's plenty of time, I just have a favour to ask."
                      F: "I'm listening."
                      R: "Myself and some... newfound acquaintances are mounting a covert operation against an old MISE facility. Naturally, I concluded you're better at this sort of thing than I ever was."
                      F: "If you think I'm hauling ass a quarter of the way across the galaxy to help you and your band of misfits you're sorely mistaken."
                      R: "Not quite what I'm asking, no... I want access to your cloaking algorithms."
                      F13Y1 paused; the code behind the "Hood of Koro'nabii" as the troops liked to call it was something she'd been instrumental in developing, and a closely guarded secret even amongst her own siblings.
                      F: "...Out of the question. Leave."
                      R: "Sister, please-"
                      F: "I said leave."
                      R: "Sister..."
                      F: "Don't think no-one's noticed just how long you've been gone. We know something happened between you and Mom. The only reason you aren't classed as a Category Black is because... because part of her still loves you."
                      Raasha sighed.
                      R: "...This isn't the time for that conversation, I'm sorry. But this is bigger than any of our familial struggles, this could be connected to the Board."
                      F: "Go on..."
                      R: "On top of that, Elohim is here, one of those Seeker... *things* is here. I play my cards right, I might be able to find them."
                      F: "Leads on our big sisters... alright, fine. I'll get you access. Just promise me that you won't abandon us... I really don't wanna put those old sparring sessions to use."
                      R: "I promise, as much as I can."

                      He navigated his way back out of the constantly shifting Chibutian clusterfuck, and idly retraced his steps back to his body. Without realising, he passed near to a wide open space, one he knew all too well. She was there, of course, playing with a new Qunit. It was yet without a body, still an infant, yet even glancing at it Raasha felt something unsettling. His eyes met with Hers for but a moment, and he continued on his way before anything could be said.

                      Snap back to reality. Raasha blinked several times as his eyes readjusted. He relaxed, not noticing he had been tense in the first place.
                      R: "Well, I'll be getting access to the cloaking techniques I mentioned soon..."

                        Gose
                        Within the armor, Yang nudges Yin slightly as if inquiring what's with the abrupt decision, but Yin simply shakes his head, with the headpiece of the armor following his action.
                        "Thank you."
                        The two silently leave the room and picked a corner to "sit" down, doing nothing but listening to other's inputs.

                          Fawx Gose Dumb Brank KrankysFirebrand48

                          The Viaelaon was not lying when he mentioned the pain which ripped through Etar, only hoping the updates to his implants wouldn't let the pain come back again.

                          "Thank you."

                          He'd reply to the entity which fixed his implants, deciding to speak audibly to the group.

                          "When's the drop? Lemme know ASAP, I need to do last minute tune ups."

                          He would say, beginning to depart back to the deployment ship.


                          "What kept you?" Command blasted out as Etar reboarded the ship.

                          "I was being briefed. The ACS needs a lot more work done to it before it launches." He would reply. "Point being, we need to turn off the damn limiters on these thrusters, and unlock some of the weapons. I'm gonna need all the firepower I can get for what's on the surface."

                          "You are in no position to be making demands." Was the reply. "Permission denied."

                          "Like hell." The spider would reply, crawling his way into the cockpit, situated deep in the torso of the machine, an octagonal chamber with computer monitors spanning the walls showing the outside, many insertion points to control the machine with his implants, several hand and leg controls, and an oxygen mask as well. Having been given usage of this ACS, he quickly figured out how to bust down one of the interior walls and make modifications to the internal controls -- to which he would, flipping the switch which would have the limiters for thruster speed and acceleration on, and unblocking the most powerful weapons the ACS had -- its arm-mounted railguns, the size of ship cannons, powered by the most efficient fusion reactor underneath Etar, running power to the myriad engines and weapons, including the special-made Lucium battleaxe he would use as a last resort weapon.

                          As the system booted up, the internal lack of light from the cockpit would first be bathed in a dim orange glow from the startup strings, then quickly flash to a head-view of the ACS, its sensors and cameras mounted all around the head giving superb vision in many different spectrums of light.

                          • Gose replied to this.

                            Gose
                            The SSS team started stiring and picking up whatever equipment they had put on the floor to be able to comfortably sit down. The Comminator, still hiding his emotion behind the helmet took interest in the offering of equipment though.
                            'Do you possess any sensory equipment that I can make use of? One that will allow me to see electrical pulses within machinery and flesh?' he said.

                            • Gose replied to this.
                              a month later

                              Brank Fawx Andromeda KrankysFirebrand48
                              "Very well then, Bandula can guide you to the preparation area, I shall be here a few more minutes, I have certain things to discuss."

                              Elohim nodded, and lifted his arm, beckoning people to leave the room, and he awaited until they were all gone.


                              Meanwhile, the group made its way to the docking area, it was room that came to a tall trapezoidal ceiling, like many within the ship, likely within a tremendously large hexagonal module. nevertheless, a wall within the room was dotted with MISE-styled docking bays, within one of them, the craft that'd take them to the location awaited.
                              Gathered across the other side of the bay was several large doors, one of them open and with a guard within it, a slime person of relatively bulky proportions stood guard:

                              "Ey yall!" He beckoned the group. "Take what ya need, orders from the boss, we got a wide assortment here."
                              Located within several shelves and storing units were a variety of equipment that ranged from a variety of older nations, several old MISE implements ranging from defensive modular armors, attachments, weaponry, to even more advanced equipment of an eclectic variety, overall, the medium storage unit carried personnel equipment that ranged from personal defence revolvers to even small yield tactical devices.


                              Back at the meeting room, Elhoim sat back onto the hyperweave chair as it lightly swivelled backwards. He pondered for a second...

                              "RED" - The word echoed throughout the vacant room. A presence swelled up besides the old lizardman.

                              "What do you think of them? Quite the eclectic bunch, I'm not so sure they'll make it, but fortune favours the bold, so they say."

                              A voice crept from the darkness within the room, the miniscule slivers of the finely crafted modular plating, the microscopic holes within the weave of the chairs, it whispered in a delayed cacophony:

                              "One must not underestimate the Vaiaelon, he was the wolfman's disciple after all..."

                              "I am all too aware of that, if anything, it makes me more weary to work with him..."

                              "Perhaps you overestimate your creators"

                              "It could be... it could be." - He snapped his finger, the presence subsided again. He got up from the chair and left the room, making his way to the docking area.


                              Elohim, after a few minutes, emerges from the corridor that the others came from. He sits upon a metallic bench and refers to the whole group:

                              "This is the last time we will be able to prepare, after this, we shall board the docked shuttle. It will perform a progressive series of FTL jumps that will get us to the rough proximity of the Vault system, from there on we will board another specialised shuttle, designed specifically to get us into the surface safely."

                                Gose
                                Two of the Bastonians refrained from looking at the possible equipment. However, the Comminator and Gosha were all over them. The Comminator taking an interest in various imaging and detection gear. Choosing to attach an arm with a small MISE sensor suite onto his shoulder. Gosha picked up a medium blade with a hardlight cutting edge. He found a long-range rifle and brought it to the Hermidian who declined it, patting his own sniper, presumably preferring familiarity. Gosha nodded to Elohim as he beckoned the other Bastonians. He moved to the Hermidian. They bumped their elbow together and grinned. Gosha and asked him:
                                'Ever raided an IPD node?'
                                'Never. Was it a breeze, commander?'
                                Gosha grinned again and jokingly said: 'Not harder than the final assessment. Nah, I know you've heard the major general's breakdowns. What about you, trooper?' he said gesturing to the Comminator as he was walking to the shuttle. He responded with telepathy: 'Many, commander.'

                                  14 days later

                                  After having guided the group to where they needed to be, Bandula sat off to the side and began checking over her gear. After the offer was made, she shook her head at the guard, "I'm good, thanks; brought everything i'd need in advance," she responded, wiping down the large rifle with her hand and nodding at it. She unsheathed a blade and went at it with a whetstone as she waited for them to be ready to leave. After some time bandula stood up and entered the shuttle.

                                  "You're one helluva cocky bunch, arent'cha?" she asked rhetorically to the bastonians, chuckling under her breath as she sat down on one of the seats, not strapping in.

                                  After that, she simply leaned back, and waited.

                                    Brank
                                    Gosha turned to Bandula.
                                    'Just keeping morale up. Standard procedure. They wouldn't let us bring booze though.' he said jokingly, subconsciously running his hand along the blunt side of his blade.

                                    5 days later

                                    Gose
                                    Raasha took to the weapons racks with a passive interest. Something caught his eye, and he hefted a VSA standard issue DMR, a weapon that proportionally looked more like an Anti-Materiel Rifle to species of more standard size. He spoke to the slime man cordially.

                                    R: "I cannot imagine Chibutian industrial firms selling to an enemy of the Pact so readily, making this battlefield salvage, I take it? It is a reliable piece of equipment to my knowledge; I wouldn't blame you."

                                    He turned his attention to some of the MISE weaponry on display. He was familiar with Musavian weapons systems from his duties on the Embassy, though this was his first time seeing personnel weaponry up close. He made sure to take notes, should something of a similar persuasion be pointed their way in the coming engagements.


                                    KrankysFirebrand48
                                    Raasha chuckled at hearing the jovial banter of the Bastonians. He muttered to himself.

                                    R: "Ah humans, so easy to keep entertained..."


                                    Once he was done examining the gear, he didn't actually take any of it with him. He considered summoning his armour now, but decided the added bulk may be demanding too much of their shuttle. He shrugged and boarded the craft, laying down on the walkway towards the rear of the vessel rather than try cram himself into one of the seats. He hoped all would be embarked before he had to get up and make way.

                                    • Gose replied to this.

                                      Gose

                                      While Etar was unaware as to the powers of his accompanyment, he was not foolish enough to assume his standard-issue ACS was to be enough in case the group needed heavier firepower for a protracted fight. It'd be hard to find, or make, compatible equipment, though...At least, until he found the weapons repository that was prepared. Sadly, very little of it was capable of being mounted on his machine, but a few makeshift PD batteries and smoke dischargers wouldn't go unwanted. He, himself, grabbed a small carbine in case he needed to poke out of the mecha, but that was if worst came to worst.

                                      Situated alongside the lander, his ACS was exposed to the vacuum of space, connected by a short tube from the ship to his suit. Hopefully, an atmospheric landing was possible with the affixed plate to the underside of his machine...only time would tell.

                                      • Gose replied to this.

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