saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

Yellow bowed her head and smiled slightly at the thanks and funds she received. “Alright. I was happy to help.”

Leaving the drop-off point, Yellow made for where she’d stowed her backpack, but only walking there. She needed some time to think.

First thing being, what was she to do with the Gold she’d received? She didn’t really need it, so perhaps she could give it to charity? Then again, there was every possibility she had to get some local items for making her ventures here easier.

Yellow sighed, reflecting on what the man had said earlier. The need for medicine worldwide was so great that their supplies couldn’t always keep up.

A problem best left for another time. She alone couldn’t do much to help unless she called the Initiative here to create medical bases in orbit. Which was definitely not something she wanted to do at the moment.

And then there was the other matter. It was clear that to do better and be safer she had to find and join a party of other Adventurers. Not too hard a choice to make, considering her earlier encounter with the Harpies.

But sooner or later they’d ask for her name. She needed a pseudonym.

And one came into mind unbidden, a memory from her childhood back on Earth. Of her reading a book on foreign languages. The names of colors in other tongues.

As she reached the spot and picked up her concealed backpack, Yellow smiled to herself. She knew exactly what to go by.

“Time to head back to that Hall. I have a party to find…”

Once Yellow returned to the Guild Hall, the receptionist nodded to her.  “How was your first quest?” he asked.  “Hope it wasn’t too much trouble for ya.”

Yellow shook her head. “It was not much trouble. But I now see that I would help others better if I joined a party.”

She really hoped no one would inquire too much about her Valkyrie suit. It would be tough to come up with an appropriate answer as to how she got it.

But enough of that, there was the matter of adventurer parties to focus on. “Are there any available?”

A Gummi Shipgirl

reluctantkeybladewielder:

fleet-admiral-red:

reluctantkeybladewielder:

fleet-admiral-red:

reluctantkeybladewielder:

The Firelance almost had the realization that the planet she was looking at was the one she had been destroyed on when she was finally contacted. She was visibly startled at hearing the transmission, but quickly tried to compose herself as she realized it should’ve been obvious she could hear those transmissions. “I do. Who are you?” Only now did her eyes settle on the small ship, and she realized it was probably a scouting ship.

“This is corvette 22386. We represent the Galactic Defense Initiative.” Came the reply.

“We request that you identify yourself.”

Onboard, the crew were somewhat unsure as to what to make of Firelance. Their readings of her were odd, to say the least.

“This is the Firelance, um… I guess… representing the Void Phoenix?” She was quite iffy on the details of that one. 

No doubt her status as a Gummi Ship had a good part to play in that. Naturally resistant against darkness and with some mystical, perhaps magical properties, she definitely had a degree of separation from any other shipgirls they knew of. 

“Copy, Firelance. Do you require an escort?” The corvette crew inquired.

One of them went through the Archives for anything on her and the Void Phoenix. To their puzzlement, details were extremely scarce. All they knew was that the Void Phoenix was a (very) minor ally.

The sensor readings were beyond weird. However, the more advanced sensor arrays on larger vessels would have detected the arcano-technological nature of Firelance.

“Well, um… I don’t exactly have anyone to back me up, so…” the Firelance started. “Do you… know… what I am?” she asks afterwards. 

The Firelance was definitely more geared towards detecting magical signatures over traditional ones. Not to say that its sensors for normal stuff weren’t bad, but they weren’t particularly advanced either. 

“Ma’am, to use some of our terminology, you are an SME. Sophont Maritime Entity.” came the reply from the corvette’s lead officer.

“Common lingo for what you are would be shipgirl, but that would be non-academic. Would you prefer to come aboard for further discussions?”

Aegis of Hope

howlofthewolf:

fleet-admiral-red:

howlofthewolf:

“Okay, point of tension dispelled…” Wolf said, “Sorry about the… bad attitude.

Despite the argument, Wolf felt a bit foolish. Again, he’d let his stubbornness get the better of him. Seating himself heavily, he held his head in pain.

Again, he had failed to control his anger.

“Just take me to Altia so I can get shit done.” He said. 

“And what, if I may be so bold as to ask, sir, would be your business there?” The captain asked.

He felt he had the right to know. While the Archive entry on Wolf was rather minimalistic, one thing stood out to the Caldari; he had visited Eden in the Minerva system and the Admiralty with concerning frequency over the years.

Perhaps Wolf did not know it, but he had acquired a fell reputation as a walking bad omen amongst the Initiative’s rank and file personnel.

“I have debts that need to be repaid.” Wolf said, not saying much else. He fixed the Caldari with a look.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” He asked, “Take me to Altia, please.”

The captain gave a nod, returning to his seat as a standard galaxy map popped up in front of him.

“Plot a direct Jump to Minerva, then take us to Eden. Locke, I’ll leave coordination to you. Execute Jump when the Battlegroup reports ready.”

The captain looked across to Wolf. “Repaying debts…let’s hope things do not go sideways while you’re there.”

secondshipgirlsquadron:

fleet-admiral-red:

secondshipgirlsquadron:

Tempest floated around lazily, although still paying full attention to her tutor. Perhaps she had even more respect for the Titan than before, if that were possible. Not that she would ever admit it, of course.

She gently glided over to join Hope and Lumi nearby.

Aegis was there to answer Tempest’s unsaid question.

“Our cousins over at the Global Defense Initiative and their erstwhile nemesis, the Brotherhood of Nod, shared their knowledge for us to work Tiberium into a warhead.”

“This is a planetary-denial and biosphere-contamination weapon of last resort. With any luck, none of us will ever have to deploy it.”

A small swipe of the hand dismissed the Tiberium warhead’s display, as Aegis flew closer. “What I am about to tell you is classified Nova-6.”

A few hushed murmurs arose amongst the seniors. Lumi flew slightly closer to Tempest, pulling Hope along with her. “That’s the highest security level for classified intel. Why’s she telling us this?”

Aegis continued, folding her arms. “We have two worlds in separate non-listed systems as our source of Tiberium for research. The substance is the ultimate expression of a double-edged sword if there ever was anything else. It has unfathomably high energy and mineral densities for a material of its like, making it an extremely formidable source of power and raw resources.”

“Unfortunately, it is also lethal in the extreme. Tiberium self-replicates by assimilation of materials into itself, whether organic or mineral, upon contact. Even the smallest micro-sized shard can eventually kill a humanoid by simple growth and conversion. And a small patch of it can grow to cover a continent. When energized by high-energy weapons or events in liquid form, the detonation is catastrophic. As our cousins found out the hard way in their Third Tiberium War.”

Another display screen appeared, showing a video feed of a planet, likely Earth. A single beam of blue-white light lanced into the surface, causing a detonation easily visible from the orbital feed that sent a cloudy green dust-filled shockwave across the entire curve of the planet.

No one spoke as they watched the recording. There was no need for words anyway.

After the recording was finished, Tempest turned away from the display. She couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of circumstances would be required to even consider deploying such a weapon? When all the shipgirls around her already had planet-destroying Relay Guns, what point was there for the T-bomb?

Hope put a hand on the carrier’s shoulder in concern, keeping her voice low. “You okay, Tempest? I know it’s a lot to…take in.”

Aegis, now, had also softened the tone of her voice. “If there’s one thing I can reassure you girls about, it’s that we likely won’t have to use this terrible weapon unless we were fighting for our very lives. A situation we have, so far, rarely found ourselves in. Its use can only be authorized by the Fleet Admiral.”

The Titan took a deep breath and exhaled. “Alright. To get your minds off this, I’ve prepared a simulation for us to test our skills. When you’re ready, let the network know. We’ll begin then.”

saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

Yellow nodded at the question, stretching out a hand as the container with the herbs energized from replicator storage. “I am. Here they are. Those Harpies were indeed…troublesome.”

And so it was that Yellow reconsidered her prior resolve to helping out alone. She’d managed to stay safe, but who knew if there were other, more dangerous monsters out there?

As one would find, the herbs were perfectly intact in the container. A thought sprung into Yellow’s mind as she handed them over. “If I may ask, has anyone tried growing these herbs in a greenhouse? Then at least it wouldn’t be so risky to get some.”

“Sometimes we just face shortages,” the man answered, taking the container.  “It’s not a surprise given how many medical supplies are needed around the world.  It’s gotten to be slightly less of an issue with the advent of the Holy Drive, but we can’t always rely on just growing them in greenhouses, given the demand for some of these herbs.”

After checking to see the herbs were intact, the man closed the container and nodded to Yellow.  “Thanks for your help by the way.  Folks’ll be happy to get these supplies.”  Then, the man handed over a stack of bills to Yellow, totaling at 500 Gold.  “And here’s your payment for your hard work.  Don’t spend all that Gold in one place, alright?”

Yellow bowed her head and smiled slightly at the thanks and funds she received. “Alright. I was happy to help.”

Leaving the drop-off point, Yellow made for where she’d stowed her backpack, but only walking there. She needed some time to think.

First thing being, what was she to do with the Gold she’d received? She didn’t really need it, so perhaps she could give it to charity? Then again, there was every possibility she had to get some local items for making her ventures here easier.

Yellow sighed, reflecting on what the man had said earlier. The need for medicine worldwide was so great that their supplies couldn’t always keep up.

A problem best left for another time. She alone couldn’t do much to help unless she called the Initiative here to create medical bases in orbit. Which was definitely not something she wanted to do at the moment.

And then there was the other matter. It was clear that to do better and be safer she had to find and join a party of other Adventurers. Not too hard a choice to make, considering her earlier encounter with the Harpies.

But sooner or later they’d ask for her name. She needed a pseudonym.

And one came into mind unbidden, a memory from her childhood back on Earth. Of her reading a book on foreign languages. The names of colors in other tongues.

As she reached the spot and picked up her concealed backpack, Yellow smiled to herself. She knew exactly what to go by.

“Time to head back to that Hall. I have a party to find…”

secondshipgirlsquadron:

Tempest floated around lazily, although still paying full attention to her tutor. Perhaps she had even more respect for the Titan than before, if that were possible. Not that she would ever admit it, of course.

She gently glided over to join Hope and Lumi nearby.

Aegis was there to answer Tempest’s unsaid question.

“Our cousins over at the Global Defense Initiative and their erstwhile nemesis, the Brotherhood of Nod, shared their knowledge for us to work Tiberium into a warhead.”

“This is a planetary-denial and biosphere-contamination weapon of last resort. With any luck, none of us will ever have to deploy it.”

A small swipe of the hand dismissed the Tiberium warhead’s display, as Aegis flew closer. “What I am about to tell you is classified Nova-6.”

A few hushed murmurs arose amongst the seniors. Lumi flew slightly closer to Tempest, pulling Hope along with her. “That’s the highest security level for classified intel. Why’s she telling us this?”

Aegis continued, folding her arms. “We have two worlds in separate non-listed systems as our source of Tiberium for research. The substance is the ultimate expression of a double-edged sword if there ever was anything else. It has unfathomably high energy and mineral densities for a material of its like, making it an extremely formidable source of power and raw resources.”

“Unfortunately, it is also lethal in the extreme. Tiberium self-replicates by assimilation of materials into itself, whether organic or mineral, upon contact. Even the smallest micro-sized shard can eventually kill a humanoid by simple growth and conversion. And a small patch of it can grow to cover a continent. When energized by high-energy weapons or events in liquid form, the detonation is catastrophic. As our cousins found out the hard way in their Third Tiberium War.”

Another display screen appeared, showing a video feed of a planet, likely Earth. A single beam of blue-white light lanced into the surface, causing a detonation easily visible from the orbital feed that sent a cloudy green dust-filled shockwave across the entire curve of the planet.

No one spoke as they watched the recording. There was no need for words anyway.

saviorgoddessastrid:

fleet-admiral-red:

Yellow huffed, the container energizing into a light that was absorbed by her field replicator for safekeeping.

The Harpy that swooped in would be in for quite a surprise when it crashed into Yellow’s golden personal shield. The healer reacted faster than any normal human, a shimmer of light resolving into the slim shape of her staff-polearm.

The omni-blades on the ends of the weapon activated, Yellow managing to slice a leg and a wing clean off.

But the other Harpies were closing in. Quickly, Yellow channeled a stasis field from her suit systems to her staff. With a groundward slam, it exploded outwards in a radial pulse, freezing every Harpy briefly. Yellow didn’t waste any time firing on all of them with her pistol, effectively killing them when the stasis effect wore off, before trying to take flight in a different direction.

As she suspected, the magic-generated winds made take-off somewhat risky. But she had to try.

Yellow took off as she dismissed her staff-polearm in a flash of energy, the winds battering her flight even as her shields and her suit adjusted to compensate. Going with the momentum, the healer was roughly flung clear of the forest, emerging into safer air shakily.

Yellow could hear more Harpies screeching behind her. But she wasn’t going to outstay her welcome.

Rerouting power to her propulsion and antigrav, Yellow made for the city at top speed.

When Yellow made it to the dropoff point, there were a few civilians walking around the area, who looked over to Yellow and nodded.  “You the Adventurer who took the contract?” one of them asked.  “I hope those herbs are safe, Harpies are nasty to deal with.”

Yellow nodded at the question, stretching out a hand as the container with the herbs energized from replicator storage. “I am. Here they are. Those Harpies were indeed…troublesome.”

And so it was that Yellow reconsidered her prior resolve to helping out alone. She’d managed to stay safe, but who knew if there were other, more dangerous monsters out there?

As one would find, the herbs were perfectly intact in the container. A thought sprung into Yellow’s mind as she handed them over. “If I may ask, has anyone tried growing these herbs in a greenhouse? Then at least it wouldn’t be so risky to get some.”

A Gummi Shipgirl

reluctantkeybladewielder:

fleet-admiral-red:

reluctantkeybladewielder:

The Firelance almost had the realization that the planet she was looking at was the one she had been destroyed on when she was finally contacted. She was visibly startled at hearing the transmission, but quickly tried to compose herself as she realized it should’ve been obvious she could hear those transmissions. “I do. Who are you?” Only now did her eyes settle on the small ship, and she realized it was probably a scouting ship.

“This is corvette 22386. We represent the Galactic Defense Initiative.” Came the reply.

“We request that you identify yourself.”

Onboard, the crew were somewhat unsure as to what to make of Firelance. Their readings of her were odd, to say the least.

“This is the Firelance, um… I guess… representing the Void Phoenix?” She was quite iffy on the details of that one. 

No doubt her status as a Gummi Ship had a good part to play in that. Naturally resistant against darkness and with some mystical, perhaps magical properties, she definitely had a degree of separation from any other shipgirls they knew of. 

“Copy, Firelance. Do you require an escort?” The corvette crew inquired.

One of them went through the Archives for anything on her and the Void Phoenix. To their puzzlement, details were extremely scarce. All they knew was that the Void Phoenix was a (very) minor ally.

The sensor readings were beyond weird. However, the more advanced sensor arrays on larger vessels would have detected the arcano-technological nature of Firelance.

Aegis of Hope

howlofthewolf:

“Okay, point of tension dispelled…” Wolf said, “Sorry about the… bad attitude.

Despite the argument, Wolf felt a bit foolish. Again, he’d let his stubbornness get the better of him. Seating himself heavily, he held his head in pain.

Again, he had failed to control his anger.

“Just take me to Altia so I can get shit done.” He said. 

“And what, if I may be so bold as to ask, sir, would be your business there?” The captain asked.

He felt he had the right to know. While the Archive entry on Wolf was rather minimalistic, one thing stood out to the Caldari; he had visited Eden in the Minerva system and the Admiralty with concerning frequency over the years.

Perhaps Wolf did not know it, but he had acquired a fell reputation as a walking bad omen amongst the Initiative’s rank and file personnel.