rekindledtitan | Excerpt 001: Enquiring Minds

rekindledtitan

TYPE: Patrol log

LOCATION: Ishtar Sink, Venus

PARTIES: Three [3]. One [1] Ghost-type, [1] Guardian-type, designate Blaze-37, Class Titan [

rekindledtitan ], One [1] Unconfirmed, designate Aran, Samus [

onemorebounty ]

ASSOCIATIONS: Multiversal Nexus; Samus Aran; Chozo; Ishtar Sink; Hezen Protective; Pelsor; House of Winter; Drevis; Blaze-37; Ishtar Academy

They land in a clearing on the city outskirts with grass under their boots and a heavy overcast above. The breeze that greets them is hot and humid, a little acidic. Around them is a densely-grown treeline, with broad leaves that are near-luminescent shades of green. Their rustle is echoed by the distant wash of waves from beyond the ruins.

Blaze turns to scan the area, hopeful of opposition even though her Ghost already checked the site. The broken towers and city blocks are quiet within the overgrowth. But then it’s not the human ruins which really stand out. To the north a massive volcano takes up much of the sky, belching out a noxious plume of ash and gas. Small wonder that each shift in the breeze makes the scent of the air waver between sulfurous and salty. Over the hills to both south and east loom dark geometric structures. Look at them with anything other than the optical spectrum, and they emit some very peculiar readings.

“At last,” the Exo remarks, feeling a thrill that doesn’t break her readiness. Her head’s turned up to check the skyline as she speaks. Then she's moving for the buildings. “We’re in Guardian territory, more or less. Doesn’t stretch too far yet. Won’t take long to find some trouble.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

From:

rekindledtitan

The floating machines are quick and maneuverable - they're also rather big, with three broad, ridged segments sweeping petal-like from the central eye. For some reason they have tentacle-like filaments coiling out from behind them. They scatter and reform trying to get a fix on Samus. They can't fire while moving, so they only manage to spit the odd hail of rapid-fire energy bolts at her. All the while they squeal and trill like dry gears: it would be an awful sound, except that in context they sound more like a panicky flock of robotic chickens. With laser turrets.

Blaze misses this particular fun, making a thrust-aided hop to the ridge Ghost points out. From there she can charge in to that half-hidden opening, only briefly wondering //Was this here before-?//

She's greeted by the cry of a minotaur. More than one. No stopping to shoot this time: she just lets off a flashbang. //Woah. Kinda crowded in here!//

From:

onemorebounty

*If Samus can't kick off of the drones, she'll just kick off of the air itself--her suit's jump-assist jets don't care much whether she's on the ground, and she can keep bouncing back and forth, changing trajectories at a whim, for as long as she cares to keep it up. Or until Blaze needs back-up.*

On my way.

*She reconfigures her arm cannon again, this time to a shortened, stubby-looking setting with a rectangular module projecting up an inch from the top rear; blue-white light illuminates the seams as a hum of power builds. Leaping clear of the cloud of drones and in the conflux's direction, she fires a missile behind her into the midst of the swarm. This one is different from her earlier explosives; larger, heavier, its warhead carries a payload of cryonic gel, and it explodes without impacting on anything (unless she's very lucky), scattering the frigid liquid in a fine mist. It should be an instant icing problem for any drones caught in the cloud, leaving Samus free to charge into the conflux and see what Blaze has found.*

From:

rekindledtitan

//No rush.//

The crippled drones can't hope to pursue, and though the snipers far behind take a few potshots Samus has an otherwise unobstructed run. Behind the opening is a rather small room, definitely too small for the three minotaurs inside. They surround a pillar of glowing white lines, interconnecting in a grid-like mesh. The conflux itself - or its visible representation.

It's not visible to anyone but Samus just now. Blaze's flashbang has blinded her as well as the hulking robots. Two are wandering aimlessly as they try to recover their inputs. Blaze has the the third in an armlock and is giving it a new sort of input, via punching its side until she feels armour buckle.

From:

onemorebounty

Ghost, does this thing need a controlled shutdown, or can we just wreck it?

*While she's waiting for an answer, Samus pounces on one of the minotaurs while its back is turned. She's been spending energy fairly freely in this fight, and while her suit's reserves are deep, she's always willing to replenish them given an opportunity. Finding a weak point and tearing into it, the Hunter goes hunting for a power supply to drain.*

From:

rekindledtitan

Getting hands-on with a minotaur reveals a few things about Vex anatomy. There's a local power supply, that's simple enough, but it's intertwined with what looks like the comms system (which is nigh indistinguishable from central processing). Nor does the power supply extend out to any recharge ports. Additionally, the milky fluid she might have seen spurting from a few of the broken Vex is here too, around the processors. If Samus is doing any analysis, she'll notice it's not coolant - the stuff's biological. Radiolarian soup.

//We need to shut it down. This is just an access point.// the Ghost responds. Her optics are recovering - faster than the minotaurs', it must be said - but Blaze is working largely by feel as she presses her fusion rifle against the break she's made and holds the trigger.

"Don't worry," she says aloud, shoving the husk aside and lunging for the hazy column of light. Extending a hand, she lets the Ghost out to work on the interface, then looks around to check on Samus.

From:

onemorebounty

*That the minotaurs are alive is a bit of a surprise; Samus had taken them for remote mechs of some kind. What she's finding in there, though... that's interesting. She's going to see if she can patch into their comms, get a look at their side of the board--perhaps even talk to them. She's setting up some very good defenses within her suit's systems first, though, to ensure they don't backtrace through her and latch on to Blaze and Ghost.*

It's your show, Ghost.

From:

rekindledtitan

The Vex comms are full of activity. The minotaur isn't just communicating with some central command, it's actively linked with every other unit on the field, working with the other surviving minotaur as a local processing unit. What it transmits is more like a partial neural stream than discrete messages. Somewhere, perhaps, lies a superior mind coordinating the entire set of thought processes.

But even on this level, the individual Vex is clearly reacting. Connections are pruned as Samus' intrusion is detected; its influence on the lesser units surrendered. The foreign connection is immediately tested, analyzed, explored aggressively. Samus had best be careful on her own behalf, too - both Vex programs and biological agents are highly infectious. All the data it collects is streamed both to the larger network and into the complex calculations in its own core. The minotaur is doing some of its own thinking, building a new and peculiarly-structured program for itself. It doesn't seem to mind if Samus looks.

Happily focused on matters more concrete, Blaze tackles the remaining minotaur as it finally restores its sensors. The Vex reinforcements, if they're coming, don't seem to be rushing in to save the conflux. She has time to knock its shields down and start testing exactly where its frame is weakest.

From:

onemorebounty

*The neural stream is a little bit of a disappointment. She doubts she has time to learn how to speak into it, so her speech will have to wait. Fortunately, her suit is as good at data combat as it is the regular kind, so those aggressive explorations from the Vex are met with false leads and ripostes. If they learn anything, it's likely to be a general impression of the level of technical skill that the Chozo brought to crafting their armor.*

*As much as Samus would like a look at that program, she decides she's learned enough. Besides, she knows bait when she sees it, and putting together something interesting to plant a virus or get her to leave herself open to intrusion would be a good plan. So she'll ruin it by jamming in her plasma beam and slagging the minotaur's interior. That should burn off most of the bio-agents, too, and decontam can take care of the rest later.*

Well, that was interesting. How're we doing out here?

From:

rekindledtitan

"Oh, we're just fine!" Blaze reports, knocking aside a swing from the minotaur. There are deep dents in her armor and one elbow's sparking. But so is her opponent, its cranium crushed in and one leg malfunctioning. "Ghost?"

//I've almost got this!// The AI's voice is strained, grappling with opposition of its own. //Something big is coming through - I can't stop it.//

OK, time to break the minotaur's leg and slam it into the paving slabs. "Leave that to us. Just take care of the conflux."

From:

onemorebounty

Can you tell us where it'll land?

*As Blaze seems to have the last minotaur well in hand, Samus edges back toward the entryway. She expects the Vex will have been forming up around it to contain them, waiting for enough reinforcements to storm in and kill them. A quick glance will tell her whether she's right.*

Edited Date: 2015-08-21 03:53 pm (UTC)

From:

rekindledtitan

(( The game says this but my brain assumes something like this. ))

A dozen of the smaller infantry units have moved up on the ridge opposite the entrance, ready to open fire as soon as she moves into view. On top of that, there's a quick gliding motion to the left as a couple of harpies take up the wing position.

//Central courtyard- defending the Citadel gate.// If Samus can snatch a glance, there's another black mist forming up on that platform. keen to see what's out there, Blaze drops the minotaur and heads straight for the door.

From:

onemorebounty

((The inside of my head sounds like this, or will once the action starts.))

*Samus holds out a cautioning hand--she doesn't want Blaze to step into the line of fire just yet.*

I'd like to say something to them, first. Ghost, you've got their teleports down? No more reinforcements after this, for a while?

*While she waits on an answer, she programs her suit's holographic projector, creating an obviously-projected image of herself standing in sight of the enemy. She's set her suit's audio output to overlay her words with as much of the Vex's language as the translator's been able to figure out; it should come out sounding like both.

This might be loud. [[Attention: you are trespassing on this planet. As a representative of its rightful owners, I order you to either surrender or depart. Any who leave will be allowed to do so unharmed. Any who disarm and surrender will be taken into custody, and may speak in their own defense at trial. If you have not left, or disarmed, by the time I find you... it will be taken as given that you decline this offer, and there will be no mercy, no defense, no escape. Think carefully.]]

*The projection flickers and fades.*

From:

rekindledtitan

Blaze comes very close to brushing straight past before checking herself. Samus gets a startled look, even through the reflective visor.

"Talk to them-?" After a moment, the Titan settles her weight back, head lifted to listen and fusion rifle lowered by her side. The promise of action holds her there, ready to move every moment.

//Done. It should take them a while to restore access.// Anticipating trouble, the Ghost leaves the dimmed conflux. It returns to Blaze, glancing aside at the fallen minotaurs it passes before vanishing.

"...Huh." The message finished, Blaze looks at Samus. "So are you planning something, or actually hoping they'll listen?"

The Vex hold their position, analyzing the message. There's no immediate response - but they don't lower their weapons, either. They remain perfectly still, waiting.

From:

onemorebounty

I didn't think it would work, but I had to give them the chance. I do have a plan, though. Can you set a longer fuse on one of your flash-bangs? Say, twelve seconds or so?

*Having picked up some shiny piece of metal, Samus holds it at the edge of cover in such a way as to see the arrangement of the Vex outside.*

They've seen you use them a couple times this fight. They probably know by now to shield their sensors. When it doesn't go off, though, they'll relax. And then, flash! They're blind, and we take our opportunity. Still, they have us bottled up in here, so when the lights go out, they'll probably open fire and hope to catch us as we charge. Which is why we're going to flank them with a PINpoint portal, instead. Thoughts?

*Ms. Nice Samus has just clocked out. This time belongs to Space Bitch.*

From:

rekindledtitan

The infantry outside are in two neat lines, one staggered behind the other to give clear lines of fire. It's harder to see the floating units, but they seem to have adopted a similar formation off to the left flank. On top of that, the rest of the drones are up on the central platform, arrayed to fire down at the entrance. Behind them drifts something big, veiled by a glimmering shield.

"It's a sound maneuver." Blaze is bemused, not used to having such a tactically-inclined partner along. "I could break their line, no problem, but that's a smart move. Only thing is, my grenade-"

She turns her left hand over, fingers half curled around a bright orb of energy. "It's not mechanical. I'll try making it slower, but I can't make any promise on the timing."

From:

onemorebounty

You're already sparking, and we have a lot of citadel left to break. Besides, the harder we hit them now, just the two of us, the more they have to consider when they start counting how many of your people there are.

*The revelation about the flash-bang is a little disappointing, but informative.*

Ah. Alright, we'll make the best of it, then. Even if they aren't blinded, they'll expect us to charge out after it pops.

From:

rekindledtitan

She glances down at the damage and shrugs it off. "Ah, maintenance cycles are taking care of that. Give it a minute, it'll seal. But hey, I'll go with your plan. Guess the sooner we clean up the small fry the sooner we get to a real opponent."

She looks down at the grenade in her hand, concentrating as she works out how to change the release of energy. After a few seconds it dims, going from a brilliant spark to a bright orb of light wrapped in a strong electrical field. Blaze cocks her head, inspecting it.

"Think that's done it. Ready?"

From:

onemorebounty

Field repairs. Good to know.

*She nods.*

Ready. Do you want to pop up near the snipers, or behind the big one?

*She's got either set of coordinates ready, waiting only on the burst of the flashbang to go. She'd like to hide the PINpoint's energy signature in the general EM confusion as much as possible.*

From:

rekindledtitan

"Heh. That a trick question? Let's go for the big one." That cheering prospect in mind, Blaze steps around the corner and sends the grenade bouncing gently into the center of the assembled ranks. Not quite where she'd intended, but the longer fuse means bouncing it into the air isn't an option.

She pulls back a little, just enough to avoid the inevitable detonation. Her fiddling seems to have worked: the orb remains where it fell, glowing gently as the Vex around it flinch and lift their gun arms to shield their single optics.

Five, six...

Chattering to one another in hard tones, they lower their arms, retrain their sights on the doorway.

Seven, eight, ni-

And the grenade erupts in light and Light and a ringing thunderclap. OK, not twelve seconds. It's a first try.

From:

onemorebounty

*It did what it was meant to, catching the Vex with their guard down. The portal snaps open, and Samus dives through, trusting Blaze to do the same--she'll close it as quickly as she can, the better to keep the Vex from spotting it, and starts scanning the big enemy for weaknesses.*

From:

rekindledtitan

Blaze is with her, rifle raised. Before them the newest Vex turns to look down upon this sudden challenge.

//A hydra,// Blaze mutters appreciatively. It must be three times the height of the minotaurs, with jutting ribs sweeping from its segmented, serpentine body. Armor-laden as it is, it floats gracefully above the ancient stone, the side facing them veiled by the large rectangular shield which moves counterclockwise around it. Something much more than a standard energy shield: three can play with dimensions here. Blaze fires a fusion round into it, testing, but that doesn't make a scratch.

The hydra trains a brilliant blue optic on them, the one point left unarmored. Then the cannons either side of its broad head open up, right through its shield. Twin streams of concussive purple fire scour into the stone. Even Blaze moves fast to avoid them.

From:

onemorebounty

Safe to say, then, that we've risen in their estimation?

*Samus dives aside, turning a leap into a handspring and giving the hydra's shield a prod with the wave beam. While she has faith in her armor, she's in no hurry to test it against that weapon. She is interested to see if she can lure it into scoring a few friendly-fire kills while trying to tag her. It'll be a tricky line to walk, looking like the easier target without actually being it. As she tumbles, a question occurs to her.*

Hydra, minotaur--are those your people's names for the types, or theirs?

From:

rekindledtitan

//Kinda flattering, isn't it?//

The hydra is wary of firing too close to its own troops, and will angle and maneuver to try and protect itself without doing so. Its shield seems impervious to anything thrown at it - but covering the hydra's body, it doesn't reach the ground, so anything thrown in there will have an effect.

Or one can try to circle around its limited coverage and hit it from another angle. That's the route Blaze takes, and while her shots are hitting its armor, they aren't having much effect.

//Ours, I think. Unless the Collective decoded them but-// Circling brings her into line with the remaining infantry, abandoning the courtyard exits to advance onto the bridge. They gladly start taking shots, aiming to pin her between themselves and their guiding Mind. //-seems unlikely. Ow. Look out for the little guys.//

From:

onemorebounty

Good to know. If it'd been theirs, I would start wondering if this were a time-displaced, heavily cyberized offshoot of humans, trying to reclaim the planets they remember owning from occupants not like themselves. That gets irritating, fast.

*That the shield doesn't go all the way to the ground is something Samus notices quickly, and she decides to capitalize on it in her usual way--diving for the opening and tucking into her morph ball to try to fit through the gap. If she can, she'll see about climbing the hydra from inside its shields, and take another shot at that sensitive-looking eye.*

From:

rekindledtitan

//Nice dive- wait, is that a real thing?//

Oh, the hydra doesn't like this. It's covered in nice ridged handholds, and the last thing it wants is an opponent using them. It coils and writhes, trying to shake her off and bring her into its minions' line of fire. Blaze switches to her pulse rifle to try and distract it with a few shots to the head, but she's been entirely dropped as a priority.