[GA] Time After Time, Part 2

[Chef Icky]

Perception: 1d100<55: [75] = 0
JIC: 1d100: [90] = 90 / 1d20: [10] = 10

About hour after you leave the nexus behind, Metri reports picking up Sarge’s trail again, and confirms that it is headed for the hills in the distance. You take back to the air, but it isn’t long before Metri reports losing the scent again. Hard to say why, but as you get closer to the hills (and potential caves therein) you also draw closer to the ruins. With all the other funky stuff that is happening there, it’s not out of line to assume that it would have an effect on psychic scents similar to a ley line. Regardless, you’re only a mile or so northwest of the hills at this point- close enough that you might as well hoof it the rest of the way and give the place a once-over. The area is all unassuming wilderness- the base (and ruins) above you are built into the top of an escarpment that a quick survey reveals is unbroken. The terrain around the base of the cliff is a little rougher- a few very big hills, and lots of nooks and crannies big enough to hold a suit of armor. Icky’s about to give up the search when Metri, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, abruptly points Icky around one steep curve. There, nestled in-between a couple of hill faces, is a small cavern- practically an alcove.

Sarge is there, standing silently at attention. A thin, dark-haired human is standing before the powered armor, touching Sarge’s left arm with one hand and staring into its “eyes.”

Icky’s hopes are at rock bottom as he and Metri set out from the nexus and really is choosing to head into the hills out of stubbornness more than anything else. A one in a million chance may be better than absolutely no chance at all, but that still doesn’t mean the odds are anywhere near being in your favor.

It’s like the word ‘incest,’ he thinks to himself. It’s a relative term.

His hopes rise as Metri picks up the ‘scent’ only to fall again as the trail starts to go back cold. When Metri points in a direction around a sharp bend. “Oi Boog, ‘ere’s hopin’ ya ain’t zeroed in on some Caerbannog Cave Rabbit or somethin’.”

The moment he sees the human fondling his armor he draws a bead with this Volcano and clears his throat. “Oi, do we need ta give da two o’ ya a moment alone? Maybe time ‘nuff fer a celebratory cigarette an’ a chance ta come up wit’ a good-‘nuff excuse ta keep me from snuffin’ ya over stealin’ me armor?”

At your approach, the man starts and turns, raising his hands if you point a weapon at him. He looks at you, wide-eyed and a little wild-eyed. Icky doesn’t know the man, but Metri identifies him as Corvin Decker, the visiting VP from Naruni with whom the Yhabbayar dined the previous evening. ”More than you seem, you are, hmmm?” Metri accuses, pointing a finger at Decker. Decker for his part, addresses Icky and merely says ”Wait! I am not your enemy. I am here…” he jerks a thumb at Sarge ”…we, are here- to find some answers.”

Icky keeps his rifle trained on the human. “Well I reckon dat makes all four o’ us, Decker me ol’ chum. Why don’t ya start off wit’ da basics -- who are ya really, what’s yer interest in Sarge, what da frell are da both o’ ya doin’ out ‘ere in Dionysus-knows-where havin’ a quiet moment alone. Y’know, da obvious stuff.”

If Icky relents, Metri will follow his lead but keep a steely-eyed gaze on the man. Assuming he doesn’t open fire, Decker looks you both up and down, licks his lips nervously, and slowly (if you let him) eases his hands back down. Any insistence that he leave his hands up will be met with an annoyed grimace but nothing more. Should you examine Sarge, everything will appear normal.

When he is allowed to speak, Decker will look Icky in the eyes, and say ”You’re from that ship. Tell me… are you, or any of your crew, experiencing particularly acute déjà vu today?” Metri stiffens fractionally at the mention, but tries not to let it show.

Icky’s still a bit too riled up at the thought of Decker stealing Sarge out of the DSM’s cargo bay (at least that’s his working theory at the moment) to show too much reaction to the human’s question, but he does relax his aim slightly. “Quite da suspiciously random question dere, chum, but fer da sake o’ entertainin’ conversation let’s assume ‘yes.’ What about it?”

[Dark Lord]

It’s quiet. Too quiet. On the ground Kar, Kaedras, and Starchief fall to chatting about their situation. When nothing happens they debate returning to the ship, activating the water relic in an attempt to draw out their foes, or of continuing to wait and search for an attack that now, may never come. Starchief decides to give the Necrols another half-hour, and radios Icky and Metri for a status report (without receiving an immediate response). While you wait, Kar wonders aloud how it is that they came to survive- what force or mechanism is responsible? Starchief offers a few thoughts, but is the first to admit that he doesn’t know for sure. The ex-guardsman also confirms that the others have less memory of events than he- Kaedras’ is returning, but still in the form of vague, disjointed recollections. Quan still has zero memory whatsoever of what happened. Kaedras speculates as to why the Necrols aren’t attacking at the same time as the previous loop, and deduces that they must have a dynamic source of information about events on Axis. Hoping against hope that that doesn’t mean a spy, he radios up to the ship and asks Juan to search for any sort of sensor array.

Up in space, Juan passes the time in conversation with Draggor, and otherwise just watching and waiting the space above the planet for any sign of an incoming Necrol attack. Perhaps recognizing one another as kindred spirits the two ancient, well-traveled immortals share a few thoughts comparing and contrasting their unique viewpoints. Draggor finds himself more than a little anxious at the prospect of piloting such an unusual ship into combat, and expresses as much to Juan. He also spends a little time getting to know the ship’s AI.

"Space Whale, what do you wish to be called" [/i][/b]

”MY DESIGNATION IS DATEPHUS…” the robotic voice pauses, then adds ”DEFINITELY NOT SPACE WHALE.” Draggor has never heard a machine sound irritated before. Sounds like this Juan Echo makes for an interesting travel companion to say the least.

Before too long, comms. chime as Kaedras reports the lack of any Necrol attackers on the surface. You report the same from in space. Juan agrees with Kaedras’ conclusion that the Necrols must be getting new information about the base somehow, and performs a quick search of the area for any sensor arrays or other means of observation. Being unskilled himself, Juan asks Drax to disperse some of his scouts, with the pirate leader begrudgingly replying. ”You promised me and the boys a fight, Echo. You better provide it, one way or another- can’t have my men losing their edge.” Meanwhile, Draggor addresses Datephus.

"Space Whale, can you search for any detection systems?" [/i][/b]

”AFFIRMATIVE. SCANNING NOW.” A minute or so later Datephus pings again. ”NO ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURES, SHIPS, OR SATELITES FOUND. NO ANOMALIES DETECTED.” Whether that means that the Necrols have some means to conceal themselves from sensors, or that the space above the planet is as empty as it appears, the magical AI cannot say.

Meanwhile, jaw set and brows furrowed, Icky continues his dogged pursuit of Sarge. Despite his fears that his beloved armor is forever beyond his reach, Icky’s stubbornness pays off as he stumbles across a most unlikely rendezvous. With his trademark nonchalance and verbal repartee, Icky draws a bead with his volcano.

“Oi, do we need ta give da two o’ ya a moment alone? Maybe time ‘nuff fer a celebratory cigarette an’ a chance ta come up wit’ a good-‘nuff excuse ta keep me from snuffin’ ya over stealin’ me armor?”
“Well I reckon dat makes all four o’ us, Decker me ol’ chum. Why don’t ya start off wit’ da basics -- who are ya really, what’s yer interest in Sarge, what da frell are da both o’ ya doin’ out ‘ere in Dionysus-knows-where havin’ a quiet moment alone. Y’know, da obvious stuff.”

Hands raised, Decker slowly shakes his head. ”Not stealing, communing.” At Icky’s mention of his god Dionysus, Decker winces (Icky barely spots it), and takes an involuntary half-step back from the minotaur before recovering. Then, assuming Icky allows him to, he lowers his hands and continues. ”As your little friend there can attest, my name is Corbin Decker. I am a Vice Executive Director at Naruni Enterprises, and I am here as a guest of the Free World Council. I can assure you, I have no need to steal your, ah what did you call him? ‘Sarge.’ Warlock Armor is rare, but easy enough to come by if you have money and know the right people.” His eyes glitter darkly as a smile steals across his face. ”I woke up this morning and sensed that the planet was awash in demonic energy. I reached out towards what I sensed, and apparently so did Sarge. I thought we should compare notes and try to figure out what happened.” It is at this point that Decker asks a very specific question, one that would be trivial save under normal circumstances, and things start getting interesting. In all the excitement, he and Metri both miss the comm signal from Starchief.

“Quite da suspiciously random question dere, chum, but fer da sake o’ entertainin’ conversation let’s assume ‘yes.’ What about it?”

Decker sighs, then looks at Icky. ”Given your relationship with Captain Tran, it seems obvious that you are the group of mercenaries good old Thraxus has had running around for months. Come to think of it, I seem to recall something about a minotaur matching your description being at the Battle for Center. So I don’t think I’m going out on much of a limb when I guess that your team specifically pissed off something very, very powerful. So pissed that they’re trying to rewrite the whole lot of you out of the space-time continuum. You or some of your guys maybe are experiencing it as looping time- the same period over and over. Except, every time you go through, some folks don’t make the trip back with you, right? All gone, like a fart in the wind. Like they’d never been born. So how ‘bout you quit playing coy and help me figure this shituation out? How long you guys been looping- a day? A week?”

Assuming Icky provides an answer even vaguely close to the truth, Decker frowns and replies. ”Fuck. Okay. Listen carefully, ‘cuz we don’t have a lot of time.” That joke hasn’t been done to death, right? ”You know that relic that Tran has, shoots fire and such? Don’t act like you don’t know its his entire reason for being here. But you might not know about some of the others, with two in particular being real nasty pieces of work. Like Three-Galaxies-ending nasty. Well, whoever you pissed off got his hands on one, and is bringing it here. Quan’s relic is all about fire. This one is about time. The bad guy gets in there, uses the relic, and starts trying to erase you lot of it from time. It’s a fixed point in time- no matter what you do to change the past leading up to it, it’s still gotta happen. Otherwise it causes a paradox that cancels itself out. Still with me there, champ?” You could be forgiven for your eyes glazing over at this point, but Decker presses on- seized by a sense of urgency.

”Unless whoever sent you here is a lot smarter than their hiring would suggest, you lot are the luckiest sons of bitches I’ve ever seen. Or it’s the biggest act of hubris the Three Galaxies have seen in years. Either way, you happened to be here while all this time travel junk is happening. That means you still get a chance to stop it. Whatever it is- you stop it from reaching the First Race gizmo in those ruins and activating the time loop, and you’ll undo it all. The good news is he, she, or it always has to try and come here- the time relic needs to be used today, no matter what else changes, or it’ll cause the very paradox you need to survive. The bad news is, that time relic isn’t just good for causing causality loops that give one a headache. With it, a powerful enough mind can read time like a book. Backwards, forwards, it doesn’t matter- and that includes any previously loops you guys have been through. So if you ever get the sense that your adversary knows what you’re going to do before you do, you’re probably right.”

Then, you hear a massive explosion outside, coming from the direction of the encampment. Decker curses again, then states ”The attack has already begun- listen to me! Death can disrupt the looping process, make it easier to remember. The information I have given you must make it to the next loop with you- one or both of you must kill yourselves. If you are not erased from time, you will be able to brief your team and finally prevent this from happening. Neither Sarge nor I carry any memories forward- it has to be one of you.”

Back at the ruin entrance, a sharp-eyed Kar catches Commandant Torrigan stiffen slightly, then put her hand to her ear (as if accessing comms.). The same moment, both Kaedras and Starchief feel the hum of impending danger. You have about five seconds to act as Torrigan says something- Starchief’s ring of tongues translates it as ”Execute order 5! For the greater good!” At this, the Atorian troops nonchalantly stationed all around you repeat ”For the greater good!” before pressing a button on their arm panels. While you may be able to stop or mitigate some of the Atorians nearest you, there is no way for you to stop a small army of suicide bombers as they light up. Simultaneously, in orbit above them, the Dime Store Magic registers a rift opening. And it’s a big one. You only have a few seconds before something begins to emerge.

What are you doing?

Posting Instructions

I don’t need a combat post from Icky, and I don't necessarily need formal combat posts from anyone else, but you all have about half a melee (round down) to react to these developments before opponents emerge and it will be a true battle.

[Joan Echo]

Perception: 1d100<27: [51] = 0
JiC 1d20: [8] = 8 / 1d100: [81] = 81

Relevant Skills
Pilot: Star Frigate 1d100<59%: [77] = 0
Dodge 1d20+8: [12]+8 = 20
Dodge 1d20+8: [15]+8 = 23
Dodge 1d20+8: [11]+8 = 19

"You promised me and the boys a fight, Echo. You better provide it, one way or another- can’t have my men losing their edge."

Juan picks up the radio, and barks back, "We'll search for one more hour. (That's about as long as it took you to get un-lost last night.) If we don't find anything, we'll go back to your camp, have an old-fashioned melee, and I'll make dumplings with dipping sauce for the winners." He looks out the window at the salvaged Black Eagle.

"Things are happening so differently this time," he wonders aloud. Then he continues to Draggor, "I wonder if we're somehow changing how things play out. Our every action causing ripples that affects causality in millions of unseen ways. You know the old saying, 'A Photin flaps its wings in Bing-J8...' and all that."

When the sirens go off, Juan looks around until he spots the rift tearing through space. "We've got incoming! Have your weapons ready for when it turns out to be hostile." Then on the ship's speakers, "Urqos Mara, be ready to lock on whatever comes out of that rift. If it's a drop ship I want you to take out as many landing pods as possible."

When the invaders make their appearance Juan leads a wing of fighters towards the rift. Assuming there is a drop ship, Juan will prioritize targeting that, making sure to limit the invading force reaching Axis-5. If he cannot find a drop ship, he will go after a battle cruiser that is roughly the same size (or a little bigger) than the Dime Store Magic. He will swing the ship to pull towards its least defended side, allowing for a series of easy volleys. While doing this, he checks the computer to see if anyone has locked on them and makes the appropriate evasive maneuvers.

[Kaedras Starfall]

Perception 45% 1d100: [79] = 79

JIC: 1d20: [8] = 8
JIC: 1d100: [20] = 20

Conditions (at end of post):

• Sixth Sense (triggered) | +6 initiative, +2 parry, +3 dodge, cannot be surprised by a sneak attack (1st round only)

"Roger that Urqos Kaedras. We'll see if we can find why we aren't dead yet. Again."

Kaedras nods, and holds his radio as if a weapon at the ready, waiting for an update.

"Kaedras, we have yet to question something that seems to me maybe even more important. Why are we alive? Or better yet, how? I mean, if it wasn't a dream or a premonition, and I died as some of the others did. Then what brought us back? And why?"

Kaedras nods at this. "There are forces at play of which we are only dimly aware. When the Galactic Adventurers first formed they were swept through time to a future we are now trying to prevent. Along the way, various of us have experienced visions and visitations. When we - If we get back to the Dime store Magic, Datephus has it all in his archives. Suffice for now that we know we are pawns in a larger game for the fate of the Three Galaxies."

Kaedras sighs.

"We should have perhaps told you that when you joined."

"Neither of you have any recollection of the incidence?"

Kaedras looks dubious. "When I saw Captain Quan, outside the ship, I... had a sense of déja vu - of flying, with him at my side - Metri's voice calling out from behind. An attack, and a race of some sort across this planet's terrain. I do not recall dying, however."

At that moment, Kaedras' danger sense goes off (-2 ISP), screeching an alarm in his mind.

”Execute order 5! For the greater good!”

He quickly erects a TK Force Field to block any of the Atorians from reaching their position (-30 ISP), and watches in horror as they explode, one after another.

Butcher's Bill
-32 ISP

[Kar Fallax]

Perception: 1d100: [70] = 70 vs 24%
JIC: 1d20: [9] = 9 and 1d100: [92] = 92

Kar is almost fully at ease, Well, looks like we live today, when the rift opens. @#$%, what the @#$%! He hears the Commander give the order, Executive order 5?, then sees soldiers start to blow up, how is that for the greater good? When the TK force field goes up he blurts a quick, "Thanks!"

Kar looks up, "It isn't tied to using the relic! Something else is driving it." he quickly turns to Quan, "We should use the fire relic to repel the invaders. We may have saved ourselves by keeping it available." Kar looks back to the entrance, "Not much time left, I will try to hold any of them off, maybe you can activate it before it becomes irreversible?"

Kar readies his V-81 backs himself into a protected position and prepares for the worst. "How bout stay alive and fight, for the greater good!"

[Chef Icky]

Perception: 1d100<55: [46*] = 1
JIC: 1d20: [20] = 20 / 1d100: [47] = 47

Meanwhile, jaw set and brows furrowed, Icky continues his dogged pursuit of Sarge. Despite his fears that his beloved armor is forever beyond his reach, Icky’s stubbornness pays off as he stumbles across a most unlikely rendezvous. With his trademark nonchalance and verbal repartee, Icky draws a bead with his volcano.

“Oi, do we need ta give da two o’ ya a moment alone? Maybe time ‘nuff fer a celebratory cigarette an’ a chance ta come up wit’ a good-‘nuff excuse ta keep me from snuffin’ ya over stealin’ me armor?”
“Well I reckon dat makes all four o’ us, Decker me ol’ chum. Why don’t ya start off wit’ da basics -- who are ya really, what’s yer interest in Sarge, what da frell are da both o’ ya doin’ out ‘ere in Dionysus-knows-where havin’ a quiet moment alone. Y’know, da obvious stuff.”

Hands raised, Decker slowly shakes his head. ”Not stealing, communing.” At Icky’s mention of his god Dionysus, Decker winces (Icky barely spots it), and takes an involuntary half-step back from the minotaur before recovering. Then, assuming Icky allows him to, he lowers his hands and continues. ”As your little friend there can attest, my name is Corbin Decker. I am a Vice Executive Director at Naruni Enterprises, and I am here as a guest of the Free World Council. I can assure you, I have no need to steal your, ah what did you call him? ‘Sarge.’ Warlock Armor is rare, but easy enough to come by if you have money and know the right people.” His eyes glitter darkly as a smile steals across his face. ”I woke up this morning and sensed that the planet was awash in demonic energy. I reached out towards what I sensed, and apparently so did Sarge. I thought we should compare notes and try to figure out what happened.” It is at this point that Decker asks a very specific question, one that would be trivial save under normal circumstances, and things start getting interesting. In all the excitement, he and Metri both miss the comm signal from Starchief.

“Quite da suspiciously random question dere, chum, but fer da sake o’ entertainin’ conversation let’s assume ‘yes.’ What about it?”

Decker sighs, then looks at Icky. ”Given your relationship with Captain Tran, it seems obvious that you are the group of mercenaries good old Thraxus has had running around for months. Come to think of it, I seem to recall something about a minotaur matching your description being at the Battle for Center. So I don’t think I’m going out on much of a limb when I guess that your team specifically pissed off something very, very powerful. So pissed that they’re trying to rewrite the whole lot of you out of the space-time continuum. You or some of your guys maybe are experiencing it as looping time- the same period over and over. Except, every time you go through, some folks don’t make the trip back with you, right? All gone, like a fart in the wind. Like they’d never been born. So how ‘bout you quit playing coy and help me figure this shituation out? How long you guys been looping- a day? A week?”

Assuming Icky provides an answer even vaguely close to the truth, Decker frowns and replies. ”Fuck. Okay. Listen carefully, ‘cuz we don’t have a lot of time.” That joke hasn’t been done to death, right? ”You know that relic that Tran has, shoots fire and such? Don’t act like you don’t know its his entire reason for being here. But you might not know about some of the others, with two in particular being real nasty pieces of work. Like Three-Galaxies-ending nasty. Well, whoever you pissed off got his hands on one, and is bringing it here. Quan’s relic is all about fire. This one is about time. The bad guy gets in there, uses the relic, and starts trying to erase you lot of it from time. It’s a fixed point in time- no matter what you do to change the past leading up to it, it’s still gotta happen. Otherwise it causes a paradox that cancels itself out. Still with me there, champ?” You could be forgiven for your eyes glazing over at this point, but Decker presses on- seized by a sense of urgency.

”Unless whoever sent you here is a lot smarter than their hiring would suggest, you lot are the luckiest sons of bitches I’ve ever seen. Or it’s the biggest act of hubris the Three Galaxies have seen in years. Either way, you happened to be here while all this time travel junk is happening. That means you still get a chance to stop it. Whatever it is- you stop it from reaching the First Race gizmo in those ruins and activating the time loop, and you’ll undo it all. The good news is he, she, or it always has to try and come here- the time relic needs to be used today, no matter what else changes, or it’ll cause the very paradox you need to survive. The bad news is, that time relic isn’t just good for causing causality loops that give one a headache. With it, a powerful enough mind can read time like a book. Backwards, forwards, it doesn’t matter- and that includes any previously loops you guys have been through. So if you ever get the sense that your adversary knows what you’re going to do before you do, you’re probably right.”

Then, you hear a massive explosion outside, coming from the direction of the encampment. Decker curses again, then states ”The attack has already begun- listen to me! Death can disrupt the looping process, make it easier to remember. The information I have given you must make it to the next loop with you- one or both of you must kill yourselves. If you are not erased from time, you will be able to brief your team and finally prevent this from happening. Neither Sarge nor I carry any memories forward- it has to be one of you.”

In spite of himself, Icky chuckles. "Oi, pissin' off da grotesquely powerful is pretty much what our bunch does best..." he relaxes his stance just a little more. "I can't argue, by rights we all should'a snuffed it several times over." He rolls his eyes. "Well, some o' us more even more dan we already done anyway." He finally relents entirely and lowers his rifle with a sigh. "Ya don't mind if I don't test a theory, do ya?" He moves over to Sarge and puts a hand on the armor as he concentrates. "What's da story, chum? Dis yutz shootin' straight or what?"

Assuming he gets some confirming vibes from his armor, he turns back to Decker. "Alright, ya sold me. Yeah we've been gettin' deja vu flashes. Yeah we've lost track o' a crewmate or two. An' maybe Quan ain't da only friendly wit' a relic 'round 'ere. From best I can tell, dis is da 2nd time we've danced dis timestream tango. We tried doin' some stuff different dis time 'round hopin' it'd be 'nuff ta stop da loop. Ta hear ya talk though it sounds like we ain't done it right. So what all ya know 'bout dese relics, especially da really nasty two? What makes 'em tick? What's dat gizmo down in da ritual room really for? Two relics were strong 'nuff ta purge Sarge's corruption, what would three or more do? While we're at it, how did ya an' Sarge know stuff was fishy? An' how did ya know how ta find each other? An' why can't either one o' ya carry over memories?"

When they hear the explosion, Icky's expression darkens. "Alright, so we gotta snuff ourselves an' hope we wake back up dis mornin' rememberin' 'nuff ta throw off da big-bad's time snappin'. What else can ya tell us? Anythin' at all?"

When it's clear that Decker has no more information to share, he nods slowly. "Den I guess it's time." He looks down at Metri. "Never figured I'd find meself askin' a friend dis, but d'ya want me to cap ya first? If we both snuff it, da better our odds o' rememberin' everythin' an' da better our odds o' convincin' da others. But if ya'd rather do it yerself or take a chance on stoppin' it dis time 'round instead, I understand."

If Metri asks/agrees, he'll administer the coup de grace with a soft "forgive me, chum" before wedging his Volcano's barrel up underneath his massive jaw. He glares at Decker. "If dis works, den we all really owe ya one. If it doesn't... well, I swear ta Big D I'm comin' back as a ghost an' I'm gonna haunt yer arse every mealtime." He gives Sarge one final look and gives his armor a sad nod. "Hopefully I'll see ya on da other side, chum, corrupted or not. But if ya walk off out o' da cargo bay again, leave a note or somethin' alright?"

Funny... you'd think dying wouldn't suck as much the more you do it... he thinks to himself as he squeezes the trigger and everything goes black.

[Captain Andra Sekona]

Perception: 1d100: [13] = 13 /62%
JIC: 1d20: [7] = 7 / 1d100: [77] = 77
Huh. No word back from Icky or Metri... I hope everything's OK over there... Starchief stands guard, finding ways to keep himself entertained while a whole lot of nothing goes on. The philosophical musings about the situation from Kaedras and Kar only partially do the trick. He wants to respond but he thinks We know next to nothing about what is going on here. Who is pulling these strings? How do they know what they know? If it's an evil version of me, I'm going to be pissed. Well, it's long past when they were supposed to attack. Maybe it's time to call it a...

Andra's Star-Alarm goes off. "Trouble incoming. Weapons up." he says to Kar and Kaedras. When the Atorians all go out in a blaze of glory, Starchief jumps backward away from as many of them as he can. If he ends up in Kaedras' protective field, he'll watch as they all explode and say "Order 5?! What the frak just happened?"

"How bout stay alive and fight, for the greater good!"

"You've got it! Let's stay alive!" Starchief readies Champion for whatever may come through the door.

[Draggor]

Perception: 1d100: [50] = 50 | 21%
JIC: 1d20: 1d20: [13] = 13 | 1d100: [61] = 61

Pilot Advanced: Military Spacecraft 1d100: [80] = 80 | 69%
Dodge: 1d20+10: [17]+10 = 27
Dodge: 1d20+10: [5]+10 = 15
Dodge: 1d20+10: [2]+10 = 12

”MY DESIGNATION IS DATEPHUS…” the robotic voice pauses, then adds ”DEFINITELY NOT SPACE WHALE.” Draggor has never heard a machine sound irritated before. Sounds like this Juan Echo makes for an interesting travel companion to say the least.

"Greetings Datephus." Draggor announces upon learning the name, then casts a confused, if incredulous look at Juan upon learning that this ship apparently has emotional capacity. "Apologies for the... other name, Datephus." The Ship's name is Datephus. That's what I just learned, yes. Assuming something happens, we want to remember that in case you don't. Like how you remember symbols?

”AFFIRMATIVE. SCANNING NOW.” A minute or so later Datephus pings again. ”NO ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURES, SHIPS, OR SATELITES FOUND. NO ANOMALIES DETECTED.” Whether that means that the Necrols have some means to conceal themselves from sensors, or that the space above the planet is as empty as it appears, the magical AI cannot say.

"Juan, what's the longest duration of time this crew has been without... major incident?" If you're tired of incidents, we can think about The Void. A shame the extremes only ever present themselves as options.

"Things are happening so differently this time," he wonders aloud. Then he continues to Draggor, "I wonder if we're somehow changing how things play out. Our every action causing ripples that affects causality in millions of unseen ways. You know the old saying, 'A Photin flaps its wings in Bing-J8...' and all that."

"If you remember what happened before, then it's still a single path. One we, I, wish to keep walking."

Simultaneously, in orbit above them, the Dime Store Magic registers a rift opening. And it’s a big one.

Draggor sighs, resigned to this interesting life: Whether it's the Sploogs, Necrols, or some new entity, the fickle finger of fate directs event after event the monster's way. Time to focus, can make sense of this later. That's what we've been saying! The subtle glow of the being's eyes increases and holds, gaze hoping some scanner or display gives some kind of insight as to what might emerge from the massive rift in front of the ship. A hand seems ready to act at the console, be it firing or maneuvering, while the words "Datephus, evade!" are locked and loaded as potential candidates to be shouted in a hurry.

Only the ones who died remember the loop the most. We didn't die. What happens to us, does that count? Whether we want to find out or not, we just might. "What's most likely to go wrong on this ship in combat?" Something, anything that could be useful to getting out of this impending disaster.

[Dark Lord]

Your continued conversations (aside from Icky) are interrupted. In orbit, Juan and Draggor brace for a fight, the latter alien waiting anxiously amidst the strange controls and unfamiliar ship design. Juan orders Mara to get a lock on anything she can, she replies that she is arming the ship’s main cannon. Juan then begins evasive maneuvers, and radios Drax and his men to be ready for incoming from the rift. Bearing in mind the previous timeline, Juan knows that he needs to target the drop ship, but he’s ready for anything. What emerges are a few squadrons of what appear to be large, flying fish- some sort of mollusk, specifically. It’s not that big of an intuitive leap to conclude that these are some sort of Necrol fighter craft, what you don’t expect are the tentacles on the hind end. The Necrol fighters emerge and promptly begin engaging Drax and the other pirates- literally grabbing the pirate ships out of space and crushing them. With the pirates still dispersed in a wide search pattern, Drax’s forces nearest the Dime Store Magic begin taking severe losses- or at least, many ships are taken out of the fight. Six of the fighter craft make for you- and behind them, a large Necrol destroyer (this one actually does look like a whale) emerges from the rift and begins heading towards the planet.

On the surface, Kaedras spots the Atorian attack coming. Fortunately, the three of you (plus Quan and his bodyguards) are clustered about the entrance to the ruins, meaning you are easy to shield telekinetically. Unfortunately, the Atorians placed four troopers around you before they detonated. Even Torrigan explodes, and for a moment everything goes orange as Kaedras’ force field holds back the combined explosions. Then, the field fails, and all of you within go flying ((-150 MDC to Starchief, Kaedras, and Kar)). Everything goes blurry, and your ears start to ring and the explosions hurl you back into the ruins’ antechamber. Kar manages to roll with the explosion a little, and comes to rest outside the structure not far from Quan- while Starchief and Kaedras are knocked further inside and stunned briefly. Of the Uteni’s bodyguards, there is no sign.

Outside, Kar shakes his head to try and clear some of the cobwebs. Several nearby buildings are on fire. Several more are pulverized. Men and women scream faintly in the distance, but the defenders in your immediate vicinity all appear to have been decimated. He spots bodies here and there, but pieces are far more common. He has a momentary flash back to the previous loop as tendrils of black smoke waft down from… somewhere, and coalesce into the form of an Atorian woman, dressed in white. You don’t recognize her, but when Starchief or Kaedras emerge they will- priestess Jesse G. Haad, most recently of Seeron. All Kar knows when he sees her, however, is that she immediately moves to behead Quan with a flick of her wrist. Were it not for the death and destruction she would cut a graceful (and attractive) figure as she reaches down to pluck the fire relic from Quan’s now-lifeless chest. Pausing, her gaze slides to Kar and beholds him as if for the first time. She smiles (it doesn’t reach her eyes), and says ”Ah, the new one.” in Trade 5. ”Not the job you signed up for, was it? I can free you, you know. All you have to do is walk away, and your future is your own once again.” At this point, Kaedras and Starchief shake it off, and hear muffled conversation outside the antechamber.

Meanwhile, Icky is on the verge of having his own horrific experience. For a first step, while Metri keeps a wary eye on Decker, Icky reaches out and tries to communicate with Sarge. As always, your communication is ephemeral, subconscious- more snatches of thought, of a certain primal awareness, than honest-to-goodness communication. Sarge lost a piece of itself. Much time passed. Sarge gave up hope of finding its missing piece, until one day it found it. But there was still a piece missing. Incomplete. Sarge sensed something. Like itself. Thought it was the missing piece of itself. It was not. Icky ends his communion, and figures that that’s as close to confirmation as he’s likely to get. He turns his attention back to Decker and asks a few follow-up questions.

"So what all ya know 'bout dese relics, especially da really nasty two? What makes 'em tick? What's dat gizmo down in da ritual room really for? Two relics were strong 'nuff ta purge Sarge's corruption, what would three or more do? While we're at it, how did ya an' Sarge know stuff was fishy? An' how did ya know how ta find each other? An' why can't either one o' ya carry over memories?"

Decker shrugs helplessly. ”Ironically, you don’t have a lot of time, friend. I don’t have all of the answers, but I can tell you that they’re old. Rumor has it, First Race-old. I am also given to understand that this time relic has something to do with the deevils and their realm of Dyval- what, I’ve no idea, but I probably wouldn’t go showing it to any demons from Hades. I don’t know about ‘Sarge’ as you call him, but I am not part of your little time-travel adventure. That is, I’m not the target. Like I said, you pissed someone off. They didn’t just want you gone, they wanted you to suffer.”

By that point, the explosions punctuate Decker’s earlier point. Icky feels a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he decides on what he has to do, and with some side-eye at Metri deduces that the Yhabbayar realizes the same. The odds will be the best if both of them do it. A helluva thing, to kill oneself on the hope that it won’t be permanent. Icky gallantly offers to kill Metri himself, but the Yhabbayar firmly shakes his head. ”Agree with your choice, I do. All our own choices, we must make hmm, yes. And live with. Burden you with this, I would not. See you on the other side, I will.” Icky politely admonishes Sarge not to leave the ship (at least, not without a note) next time, and asks Decker if there’s anything else. The Naruni EVP shakes his head, and murmurs ”Good luck.” He will stay and watch, unless you order him not to. When Icky is ready, Metri will summon a lightblade, and plunge it into his own chest.

Begin Round 1!

[Joan Echo]

Perception (33%) 1d100<33: [76] = 0
JiC: 1d20: [18] = 18 / 1d100: [55] = 55

Relevant Skills
APM: 7
Initiative 1d20+6: [13]+6 = 19
Pilot (63%): 1d100<63 -- Tail Necrol destroyer: [73] = 0
Pilot (63%): 1d100<63 -- Evasive maneuvers: [79] = 0
Dodge Rolls
1) 1d20+8: [10]+8 = 18 2) 1d20+8: [14]+8 = 22 3) 1d20+8: [3]+8 = 11 4) 1d20+8: [19]+8 = 27 5) 1d20+8: [2]+8 = 10 6) 1d20+8: [3]+8 = 11 7) 1d20+8: [16]+8 = 24

"If you remember what happened before, then it's still a single path. One we, I, wish to keep walking."

The Wanderer does a quick check of the space around them. "Sometimes their is a path to follow, sometimes you are treading through unknown lands. And even if I am reliving today, this feels like the latter."

When the Necrol ships start to fly out of the Rift Juan realizes that it is beginning again. He has a quick moment to contemplate what he is experiencing. Is he reliving this? Or was the last time a dream, a warning that death would come for them? Would he die again? Would he waken again? Even if Joan was with him, Juan doubts he could answer those questions. He turns to Draggor and says, "This what we encountered last time. And we need to stop it from reaching the planet, again."

Juan puts the ship into evasive maneuvers as he weaves around the tentacles of the Necrol fighters. He radios in to the pirate fighters following him to check their status, but each one cuts out as it is destroyed. Even for someone as accustomed to the chaos and death of battle the scene is unnerving. It's not just the tentacles, but they are not helping, as they effortlessly pluck and crush the pirates around Juan. And that is before he spots the Necrol destroyer.

It looks more like a space whale than the Dime Store Magic. It may have even been a space whale at one point, Juan reckons, but it has been corrupted by whatever they are fighting. He recognizes that as their target and swings the Dime Store Magic around to tail it. He pulls behind the ship's engines and orders Mara to open fire with everything they have. If/when he realizes this will not be enough to take down the destroyer, Juan decides to do something more drastic.

Juan speeds up the Dime Store Magic, putting it on course to rear end the destroyer. He then raises the ship's nose, colliding with the destroyer's engines belly first. The force of the engine should cause significant structural damage to the Dime Store Magic, but hopefully it will stay intact. If Juan can still has any control over the ship, he will use it to force the Necrol destroyer into a steep reentry path. This should make landing near impossible. Once Juan is satisfied that he has stymied the destroyer, he will pull the Dime Store Magic up and attempt to put the ship into a steady glide.

"There's a good chance we won't survive this. Weird as it sounds, if you wake up and you find yourself reliving this morning, remember what happened and prepare to find a new path."

[Kar Fallax]

Perception: 1d100: [55] = 55 vs 24%
JIC: 1d20: [3] = 3 and 1d100: [55] = 55

Pausing, her gaze slides to Kar and beholds him as if for the first time. She smiles (it doesn’t reach her eyes), and says ”Ah, the new one.” in Trade 5. ”Not the job you signed up for, was it? I can free you, you know. All you have to do is walk away, and your future is your own once again.” At this point, Kaedras and Starchief shake it off, and hear muffled conversation outside the antechamber.

---

Post

Kar opens in time to see Quans head fall from his body followed by his body slumping to the ground. He looks down in horror as he realizes his armor is shredded. He looks back up at the woman as she addresses him. Who the hell is this?

Kar jumps to his feet, not again!, draws his sword and swings wide and hard at the woman's mid section, "I am free, don't talk to me as if I am a slave."

Bringing the sword back around he chops down at her upper body, "I don't run from battles lady." he draws the sword back and drives it toward her in a stabbing motion, "My future is mine!"

---

Actions

Initiative: 1d20+3: [10]+3 = 13
Actions: 7

Action 1: Stand up
Action 2: Draw phase sword
Action 3-4: Aimed Shot, Strike 1d20+9: [6]+9 = 15 , Damage 4d6: [2, 5, 3, 5] = 15
Action 5-6: Aimed Shot, Strike 1d20+9: [4]+9 = 13 , Damage 4d6: [6, 5, 2, 1] = 14
Action 7: Stirke 1d20+6: [2]+6 = 8 , Damage 4d6: [6, 4, 1, 6] = 17

Parries: 1d20+6: [9]+6 = 15 , 1d20+6: [17]+6 = 23 , 1d20+6: [15]+6 = 21 , 1d20+6: [15]+6 = 21 , 1d20+6: [14]+6 = 20
Auto Dodge: 1d20+2: [20]+2 = 22 , 1d20+2: [12]+2 = 14 , 1d20+2: [1]+2 = 3 , 1d20+2: [8]+2 = 10 , 1d20+2: [8]+2 = 10

[Draggor]

Perception: 1d100: [48] = 48 | 21%
JIC: 1d20: 1d20: [16] = 16 | 1d100: [46] = 46

Relevant Skills
APM: 6
Initiative: 1d20+4: [2]+4 = 6
Pilot Advanced: Military Spacecraft: 1d100: [1] = 1 -- Scan the movements of the ships | 69%
Pilot Advanced: Military Spacecraft: 1d100: [54] = 54 -- Use secondary weapons to clear the way to the big ship | 69%
Dodge Rolls
1) 1d20+10: [6]+10 = 16 2) 1d20+10: [16]+10 = 26 3) 1d20+10: [18]+10 = 28 4) 1d20+10: [3]+10 = 13 5) 1d20+10: [20]+10 = 30 6) 1d20+10: [9]+10 = 19

The chaos of battle erupts suddenly, and luckily for this new co-pilot, certain instincts are kicking in just fine. "Datephus, track how the tentacle ships move, then try to predict evasion plans." Who knows if that will work, but it seems to be aware, so it's worth a shot. The symbols might be foreign, but scanners and spatial displays still make a hell of a lot of sense, if only because this creature has been in a losing situation at least once before.

He turns to Draggor and says, "This what we encountered last time. And we need to stop it from reaching the planet, again."

That's a big ship. This is a big battle. This is a big something alright, and for the first time in many a cycle, hopefully has nothing to do with Draggor! It allows for a certain calmness despite staring down certain doom, again, with a madman pilot sending the ship further into a fever dream. A secondary weapons system on the console is located, and helps provide cover fire for the route Juan takes us towards the actual space whale of a ship.

"There's a good chance we won't survive this. Weird as it sounds, if you wake up and you find yourself reliving this morning, remember what happened and prepare to find a new path."

Draggor has a sudden flash to those first moments on the new world, and with haste relays the following: "Juan, in case I don't remember, there is a path underground where I wake up. If what you say about the looping is true, I will not investigate it." Slamming one ship into another causes both relief and concern to set in at equal parts: not being tossed like a ragdoll on the bridge of this ship sure is good, yet not being able to escape whatever Juan does next seems questionable. "Do you fly like this often?!" Draggor shouts, while scanning to see if this little maneuver has had any effect on the other ship.

If there's a next time, we MUST remember this location! What happens if our memory is worse than it already is? Wouldn't exactly be uncharted territory, now would it? Then I hope this time continues...

[Chef Icky]

Perception: 1d100<55: [24*] = 1
JIC: 1d20: [14] = 14 / 1d100: [15] = 15

Icky found himself floating along… somewhere… with his eyes shut and a throbbing headache. Why is my head pounding? Oh yeah, because I shot myself. He reaches up and starts rubbing his temples to massage away the pain. Wait. A point blank blast with a Volcano shouldn’t have left me with enough of a head to have a headache. Where am I?

He opened his eyes and found himself floating high in the air above a relatively narrow strip of coastal lowlands (relatively in the fact that by his estimation it was only about 80-120 km wide) dissected by streams/rivers and dotted with various sized lakes and settlements. Is this Olympus? No, there are no mountains here. Can’t have Mount Olympus without any mounts. Maybe Dionysus has his own little pocket dimension getaway spot?

As his eyes scanned the landscape below he noticed his rate of descent starting to increase. As he got lower he noticed more and more primitive forms of aircraft crisscrossing the air underneath him. One in particular seemed to almost be on an intercept course with the trajectory he seemed to be floating (falling?) down.

Slowly, Icky and the aircraft drifted closer and closer to each other until Icky could clearly see its nature. It was an incredibly odd craft, clearly some sort of dirigible balloon providing lift with a flimsy structure slung underneath including a large collection hose at the front leading to an equally large fabric bag at the rear. Manning this rather whimsical craft was a red-bearded human at the controls along with a small purple dragon seated at the back of the structure. As he drifted closer he could hear some strange, happy-sounding music coming from the craft. The human was singing along with it.

“Two magic swords, an impressive bellow,
Horns of a steer -- a formidable fellow!
From head to tail, he’s polished bronze-ish pigment,
And there, voila! You’ve got a--“

“Boss! Boss!” the little purple dragon shouted. “There he is! He’s just great!”

“Unh-unh-uh, not quite…” the human tutted. “He lacks a dash of childish delight!” He turned his attention to Icky. “Oh, hello there. So glad you could come along. I love these flights of fancy. Searching the universe for sounds, colors, ideas, anything that sparks the imagination. Everything I collect can inspire amazing and marvelous new ideas, and you never know what kind of figment you may come up with.”

Icky sighed as the little dragon giggled. Great. Another frakking near-death experience. Icky, what are you in for this time? He shook his head. “Aright, Chuckles, I’ll humor ya. Who are ya an’ what am I doin’ ‘ere?”

The human chuckled. “Oh, my dear fellow, who we are isn’t important here. Who -- are more precisely -- WHAT you are, on the other hand? Now that’s the most important question of all.”

Icky rolled his eyes, all the while wondering which was more impossibly chirpy -- the man’s attitude or the music. “Oi, well, I wouldn’t imagine dese experiences would be ‘bout anybody else. So what’s special ‘bout yers truly dis time? An’ if I ain’t me, den who da frell am I?”

“Ha ha ha, such a sparkling choice of words…” the man chuckled. “For imagination is at the heart of the matter!” As if on cue, the music got a little louder as the man and dragon started to sing.

“One little spark of inspiration
Is at the heart of all creation!
Right at the start of everything that's new
One little spark lights up for you”

Noting Icky’s annoyed expression, the human cleared his throat. “We all have sparks, imaginations… that’s how our minds create creations. And you, my friend, are the product of someone’s spark. You are a figment of imagination!” At the sound of the dragon clearing his throat as well, he turned back and gave his little friend a wink. “Don’t get jealous, now. I said ‘a’ figment, not ‘THE’ Figment.”

Icky made a face. “Whaddya mean, ‘figment?’ Ya been suckin’ on dat balloon gas or somethin’? I ain’t no figment o’ nobody’s gorram imagination! I feel fine, all solid an’ everythin’ ‘ere!” He shrugs. “Y’know, aside from bein’ dead an’ all. Again.”

The human laughed again. “You’re dead but you feel fine eh? So many times we’re stumbling in the dark, and EUREKA -- what a spark!” A light blinked on his control panel. “Hold on, the idea bag is full. We must store these ideas with the others in the Dreamport.” He pulled out a pocket watch. “And you, our new friend, need to get on your way as well. He’ll be quite upset if you’re not there before the weekend! Ta-ta!”

“Wait, who da ya mean? Big D? Decker? Sarge? WHO????” Icky grunted as he tried to keep pace with the airship but to no avail as he started falling once again. By his best guess his flight path was steering him towards a posh beach house along the coast. As the odd little airship disappeared from Icky’s sight, however, he could still hear the human singing in the distance.

"One little spark of inspiration,
Could save your friends, and all creation
Right at the start of time loops that are new
One little spark lights up for you..."

[Kaedras Starfall]

Perception 45% 1d100: [37] = 37

JIC: 1d20: [12] = 12
JIC: 1d100: [40] = 40

Conditions:

• Sixth Sense (triggered) | +6 initiative, +2 parry, +3 dodge, cannot be surprised by a sneak attack (1st round only)

Kaedras tries to hold his force field in place, but it comes down and sends him flying, shredding his armor in the process. He begins to try to drag himself back to the door. Got to... Quan needs to get in here... have to use the fire relic!

When he sees Priestess Haad outside, however, his stomach drops. He's reaching for his radio when she cuts off Quan's head. Kaedras clicks on his radio as she talks.

"Kaedras *coughs* to everyone... It's Priestess Haad... she... she has the *coughs* fire relic..."

From his place on the floor, Kaedras pulls himself to a standing position. Can't give her access to the temple.

He places a Telekinetic Force Field between Haad and Kar. "Kar! To us!" We will make our stand here - she will NOT gain access while I live! He orders his Clockwork wolf to d stand its ground. "Aldón! Defend!"

Initiative: 1d20+4: [13]+4 = 17

APM: 5

Action 1: TK force field (-30 ISP) between Kar and Haad. "Kar! To us!"
Action 2: Trigger Enhanced Reflexes (-10 ISP)
Action 3: Summon Psi-Sword (-30 ISP)
Action 4: Bio-Manipulation (blindness) on Priestess Haad (-10 ISP)
Action 5: Reserved for Dodge 1d20+8: [9]+8 = 17

Contingent actions: Kaedras will summon a new TK Force field at the door if Kar enters the facility, or dies. If that force field goes down, he will sacrifice an action to continue to resummon it for as long as he can. If at any point Haad gains access to the facility, Kaedras will abandon any actions and fight with his Psi-Sword, as follows:

Contingent action 4: Strike with Psi-Sword 1d20+9: [14]+9 = 23 ; 4d6: [3, 5, 1, 5] = 14 MD
Contingent action 5: Strike with Psi-Sword 1d20+9: [9]+9 = 18 ; 4d6: [1, 4, 5, 2] = 12 MD

Parries (if needed): 3) 1d20+7: [11]+7 = 18 ; 4) 1d20+7: [18]+7 = 25 ; 5) 1d20+7: [14]+7 = 21

If Kar and Starchief both fall and Kaedras lives, he will attempt to fall back to the portal room, and try to use Telemechanic Mental Operation to shut down the portal device.

Telemechanic Mental Operation (-12 ISP)

[Captain Andra Sekona]

Perception: 1d100: [33] = 33 /62%
JIC: 1d20: [9] = 9 / 1d100: [98] = 98
Picking himself up from the ground of the antechamber, Starchief fights to understand what is going on. The Atorians were suicide bombers? Kar? Where's Kar? Starchief motions for Kaedras to follow him outside. "Kaedras! Good save. Let's meet back up with Quan and..." Starchief watches as Quan is beheaded by a familiar figure, Priestess G. Haad. As she plucks the Fire Relic from him, he just yells "Go!" to his remaining team mates, expressing the direness of the situation. Wielding Champion, he goes in for some close quarters combat, knowing that if he doesn't stop her now, that this may be the end for the Three Galaxies.

Initiative: 1d20+10: [11]+10 = 21
APM: 11

Action 1: Close in with Priestess.
Action 2: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [13]+16 = 29 Damage: 7d6: [5, 6, 1, 3, 4, 6, 6] = 31
Action 3: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [8]+16 = 24 Damage: 7d6: [4, 3, 4, 6, 6, 5, 6] = 34
Action 4: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [16]+16 = 32 Damage: 7d6: [4, 3, 1, 6, 2, 5, 3] = 24
Action 5: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [14]+16 = 30 Damage: 7d6: [3, 5, 3, 4, 5, 5, 2] = 27
Action 6: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [5]+16 = 21 Damage: 7d6: [6, 4, 6, 3, 1, 6, 6] = 32
Action 7: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [5]+16 = 21 Damage: 7d6: [3, 2, 5, 1, 4, 3, 6] = 24
Action 8: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [14]+16 = 30 Damage: 7d6: [6, 4, 2, 4, 5, 4, 2] = 27
Action 9: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [9]+16 = 25 Damage: 7d6: [5, 5, 2, 4, 2, 4, 6] = 28
Action 10: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [7]+16 = 23 Damage: 7d6: [1, 2, 3, 1, 5, 6, 1] = 19
Action 11: Strike with Champion. Strike: 1d20+16: [18]+16 = 34 Damage: 7d6: [4, 5, 4, 3, 5, 5, 1] = 27

Parries: 1d20+20: [17]+20 = 37 1d20+20: [18]+20 = 38 1d20+20: [3]+20 = 23 1d20+20: [11]+20 = 31 1d20+20: [19]+20 = 39 1d20+20: [10]+20 = 30 1d20+20: [14]+20 = 34 1d20+20: [5]+20 = 25 1d20+20: [14]+20 = 34 1d20+20: [2]+20 = 22 1d20+20: [19]+20 = 39
Auto-Dodge: 1d20+13: [12]+13 = 25 1d20+13: [1]+13 = 14 1d20+13: [17]+13 = 30 1d20+13: [2]+13 = 15 1d20+13: [19]+13 = 32 1d20+13: [18]+13 = 31 1d20+13: [15]+13 = 28 1d20+13: [14]+13 = 27 1d20+13: [5]+13 = 18 1d20+13: [20]+13 = 33 1d20+13: [5]+13 = 18

[Dime Store Magic]

Twin emotions of hope and despair engulf the Galactic Adventurers as the confirmation that events are unfolding in the same direction as their vague recollections.

Up above in space Juan and Draggor pull and tug at the controls of the Dime Store Magic, as the sentience in the ship resists the efforts to crash it into the Necrol vessel. It's efforts are are to no avail as the pair at the last minute turn the ship into the belly of the ship, blowing through it's defensive plating. Inside the Dime Store Magic, Juan and Draggor find themselves hanging upside down, the control panels all flickering warning symbols. The local gravity of the dropship reorients them. Warm coppery scented liquid is dripping off their faces. Across from them they see a huge structural pylon from the drop ship piercing the the bridge and occupying most of the same space as Mara, her legs and lower torso jerk spasmodically in reaction to her entire upper body and head being pulped. They see around them red lights, sparks, various ominous gases and sounds fill the bridge. Datephus' voice comes erratically out of the hidden speakers, to the left, then below, in front, etc. "ENGINES OFF LINE, LIFE SUPPORT OFF LINE, WEAPON SYSTEMS OFFLINE, DEFENSIVE SYSTEM OFF LINE..." the list of damaged systems continues and eventually stops. Datephus' voice is heard once more, "REACTOR CORE OVERLOAD IMMINENT IN 10, 9, 8, 7," the quality of the voice changes mid countdown, "I don't want to go. 2, 1." A bright light fills the sky above AXIS V as a huge explosion appears.

Icky and Metri standing before Decker and the suit of Warlock Power Armor steel themselves for the inevitable and decide that the loop will happen again and it's better to take matters into their own hands and take their own lives. In that moment between life and death, Icky experiences a near-life vision(instead near-death).

On the ground Kaedras, Kar, and StarChief face off against the Priestess. Kar defies Haad and slashes at her with his phase sword. There is a wave of disorientation that affects all three heroes, Kar watches as the sword seems to slow in it's arc, then Haad is no longer in front of him, but 10' away from him. With a missing moment of time, he is unable to stop his swing and spins around out of position. He hears her laugh and say, "Oh you poor simian, your generation of Guardsman are the past." She turns the newly acquired fire relic towards Kar and says, "Burn!" a stream of fire engulfs Kar. He feels his fur catch fire and his muscles forcible contract all at once from the heat, intense pain flares for a second until all of the nerves in his skin are burned away. He falls to the ground in a thud.

StarChief and Kaedras make it into the antechamber in time to see Kar's body fall to the floor. Haad sees them and says, "Time is no longer on your side, fools!" Kaedras erects a shield to protect the entrance behind them as StarChief streaks forward to strike Haad. Haad stands there putting up no obvious defense to StarChief's actions as Kaedras launches a psionic attack to blind her. Champion swings down toward the woman ready to cleave her in half, but suddenly she is no longer in front of him. Champion bucks in StarChief's hand and it give's a telepathic warning. She's affecting the flow of time. She is suddenly a blur and then he feels a burst of pain. A knife has been sunk deep into the vulnerable joint at the elbow. While StarChief hasn't dropped Champion, he can't lift his forearm.

Kaedras enhances his reflexes and a bar of light appears in his hand as he summons his psi-sword preparing to jump into the fray. With his enhanced reflexes, his heightened sense of awareness is almost able to keep up with her movements as she moves around the room. Oddly, it looks like she is walking and not running.

StarChief, his special tingle ability tingles and makes him side step to the left, then the right from what appear to be empty spaces as he moves forward to finish Haad switching the sword to is other hand. One, then two more, and finally a fourth figure appear in the room.

Kaedras and StarChief yet again recognize their Necrol enhanced foes that they encountered on Seeron. There's a pause in the room as everyone looks at each other.

The silence is broken as Kaedras wrenches his psi-blade out of a Guardsman and swings again. The fight is on...

Multiple sonic booms echo in the antechamber as StarChief and Kaedras lie slumped on the floor. StarChief pinned under the bulk of multiple metal monstrosities, is forced to watch as Haad slowly moves across the room. She steps on and over the body of a necrol-guardsman lying lifeless on the ground. A wild smile across her face as she moves towards the elf. Her hand, claw-like, reaches down and rips the water relic out of Kaedras. His body spasms by it's forcible removal and slumps to the ground lifeless. She holds up both relics with triumph and turns back towards the Shield of Seeron. Her laugh echoes in the room growing louder even as the sounds of multiple sonic booms are heard and a bright light from outside enters the room that grows brighter, brighter, brighter...then fade to black.

Round 2 Summary:

Draggor: Dead
Icky: Dead
Juan: Dead
Kar: Dead
Kaedra: Dead like Vision
Mara: Splattered
Metri: Dead
StarChief: Alive before the light came.

GM EDIT: Continue posting here. Feel free to post replies in this thread to reflect your characters' final moments.

[Joan Echo]

Perception: Juan sees blue tunnel and hears long departed loved ones calling him
JiC: Eh, what's the worst that could happen?

Juan does his best to steady the Dime Store Magic as he crashes it on to the drop ship. Steady is a relative term as the ship is under attack from a fleet of Necrol fighters armed with (shudder) tentacles, his pirate escort has been wiped out, and he's aiming for what is effectively a zombie space whale. He briefly blacks out on impact.

Juan opens his eyes to see that he's accomplished his goal. He tries to power the engines again, ensure that nothing can walk away from this fiery wreckage. The engines don't start. He checks the console and only sees flickering lights, nothing is functional. This is very bad. This is very good. He looks down to the remains of the lower deck, wrecked into the upper level of the drop ship. The engines will explode soon, and this will hopefully disrupt the invasion. Maybe even break the time loop that the Galactic Adventurers are currently stuck in.

"ENGINES OFF LINE, LIFE SUPPORT OFF LINE, WEAPON SYSTEMS OFFLINE, DEFENSIVE SYSTEM OFF LINE..."

Juan looks over to Draggor to see if he is alive. "Urqos Draggor, it looks like my plan worked perf- eh... He groans in pain, his hands cracked and glowing as he nears the end. "If we get stuck in another time loop, we're not repeating it."

Datephus' voice is heard once more, "REACTOR CORE OVERLOAD IMMINENT IN 10, 9, 8, 7," the quality of the voice changes mid countdown, "I don't want to go.

"I'm sorry Space Whale. I don't want you to die like this either." Blowing up is should be a glorious death, but it's sad to see a space whale explode. As Juan thinks about how exactly this will happen he has an epiphany, wait, Space Whales don't have engines-- that is punctuated by a wave of fire.

[Draggor]

Draggor has spent many a cycle trying to reconcile past lives and voices with this current life. Of course staring down a possible actual death is what gets them all to shut up!

Juan looks over to Draggor to see if he is alive. "Urqos Draggor, it looks like my plan worked perf- eh..." He groans in pain, his hands cracked and glowing as he nears the end. "If we get stuck in another time loop, we're not repeating it."

While Draggor isn't impervious to the damage crashing the ship brings, Juan sees quite plainly that this creature is fine compared many of the other beings around. Instead of trying to wrangle any controls or look for an escape, the glowing eyes return, and with an intensity not seen by Juan or the rest of the party yet, the red glow casting upon the controls. "Agreed, let's crash someone else's ship next time..."

Those turn out to be the final words of what feels like Draggor's first loop. The glowing of the eyes changes, a hint of purple energy around the edges, while the rest of the being's exposed body gets an aura to it as well. While it's not known to the rest of the group yet, the being is preparing for one hell of an energy absorption, if it'll even work. It's always painful to some degree, and as the ships detonate, the searing hot flame and plasma washes away to...

[Chef Icky]

Perception: 1d100<55: [81] = 0
JIC: 1d20: [8] = 8 / 1d100: [24] = 24

Icky flew down, lower and lower, with the posh beach house all the time getting closer and closer. Just as he had just about resigned himself to the inevitability of crashing into the structure like a large organic missile, however, he noticed a tall and impressive-looking human in a red-and-black bodysuit flying up towards him on a semi-transparent energy disc.

“Right on time,” the man smirked. “Alright, Beefcake, we can’t have you trashing the place.” He held out his hand and a large energy catcher’s mitt materialized in front of him. “It’s a high fly ball to deep center field… Cassidy’s under it… annnnnnnnnnd… HE’S GOT IT! THE CUBS WIN THE PENNANT! THE CUBS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!” he shouted as Icky landed in the giant mitt.

Icky groaned -- not so much as from the pain of landing but rather from the fact that he had already had enough of these visions. Couldn’t whoever’s doing this just reset the clock already? “Alright, super sport guy,” he grunted. “Let’s get dis over wit’ already. Who are ya, an’ why am I ‘ere DIS time?”

“Shush, you.” The man held up a finger to his lips. “You’re dead, remember? Corpses don’t talk without a Ouija board except to moan out ‘braiiiiinnnnnnssss’ or something like that.” He grinned. “As for why you’re here, well, it’s Mardi Gras and we’re all dying for some proper gumbo. Now c’mon.” He flew down with Icky in tow down to the house and in through some sliding glass doors to a large kitchen/dining room area. Seated around the large table were a much-larger-than-average human male with Latino features dressed in a multicolored sarape, a more average-sized human male with a crescent-shaped scar on his right cheek, a comparatively small canine with reddish-orange fur and goggles, a leather-clad ogre almost as tall as Icky, a large android with human-like features, an elf with a head shaved bald except for a bright red ponytail, another elf wearing a long armored trench coat and wide-brimmed hat, and an elderly human with a perpetually constipated expression dressed in a padded jacket and brightly-patterned mittens. “Alright, gentlemen, the ‘life’ of the party is here. Let’s get this show on the road.” He unceremoniously slid Icky into a chair in the kitchen part where the minotaur slumped over limply.

“So he’s dead again eh?” the scarred human chuckled. “What was it this time? Space ninjas? Eaten by a dinosaur? Death by snu-snu?”

“I am sure he wishes it was snu-snu, amigo…” the Latino replied. “This time around it was self-inflicted. He committed suicida in the hopes of remembering the intel he got on the time loop when it resets again.”

“What is meant by ‘again,’ friend David?” the ogre spoke up. “This is recurring thing? Is not chef’s first death vision?” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “Sorry, am new to group.”

David sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, it’s kind of a running gag. The big lummox snuffs it every so often and has these intensely trippy visions while he’s floating between life and death. One vision had him convinced he was going to be caterer to the gods in the afterlife. That’s why he joined the priesthood even though the one he signed up for didn’t even know who he was.”

“Icky unit is fortunate that he returns to operation status so many times after offlining,” the large android interjected with an obvious bitter expression. “Most units only offline once and never restore to their previous status. But Icky unit is at least on unit’s forth reboot if self’s count is accurate.”

“Can we please not talk about Icky’s unit, moji prijatelji?” the canine raised his hand (or paw). “He’s got enough of the velika glava as it is. Keep it up and there’ll be no living with him.”

“It’s inherently unfair that Icky gets to come back from the dead repeatedly when so many are impoverished with only a single life,” the elderly human spoke up. “Every single person alive today deserves at least 15 resurrections per hour. There is no moral excuse for the wealthiest to--” Suddenly aware of the uncomfortable silence in the room accompanied by all the awkward stares in his direction he nodded and stood up. “Sorry, force of habit. If you need me, I’ll be upstairs knitting mittens for you all.”

The Latino nodded in return. “Gracias, amigo. We will call you when it is ready.”

The scarred human waited until the old man was out of earshot. “Why’d we get stuck with him? Why couldn’t we have gotten Mac, Kopell or Wrightson?”

The flying human shook his head. “The first two won’t return our calls and the third one’s dead -- like our corpse guest of honor here. Before we get back to him, though, can we talk about the languages for just a moment?” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Why is it that most of us have funny speech patterns or feel the need to interject random expressions in another tongue? You do Spanish, you do Wolfen, you yodel in Gobblely, you talk like a robot, the Legolas Brothers over here drop Dragonese, and Beefcake over there sounds like he’s stuffed live chipmunks in his cheeks. In fact, me and David are the only ones who talk… well, normal.”

“Just to make a point of clarification…” the elf in the overcoat raised his hand. “While Oberondil and I are from the same family, we are not actually brothers. We’ve never determined an accurate genealogical connection, my rudimentary estimate would be that we are akin to distant cousins. Likely several times removed as well, of course.”

“Alright, so he’s your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate or something like that. I gotcha.” The flying human shook his head. “That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Perhaps it has something to do with building character and reinforcing one’s culture, amigo…” the Latino replied. “But that is a conversation perhaps best saved for another near-death hallucination.” He gestured to the canine. “Señor Rufus, are you ready to cast the spell?”

The canine nodded as he stood and walked around the table for a clear view of Icky’s slumped corpse. Before he could start casting the spell, however, the ogre spoke up. “Friend Rufus, this seems like suspiciously specific spell. Where did you find it?”

The canine chuckled. “It was in a book Septimus kept in his bedroom. I would sneak in on nights while he was out partying with Uncle Cato and memorized some of the spells in it.”

The ogre’s brow furrowed. “This sounds like grimoire of questionable spells.”

Rufus’ chuckle broke into a full-blown laugh. “You don’t know the half of it, prijatelji. On the very next page was ‘Prismatic Ritual of the Earwax Dragon’ -- I think Seppy had a secret dream of becoming a Ludicrous Mage. Anyway… if Officer Flyboy will make with his music, we’ll get this ritual started.”

“I said it was from roughly my era, not that it was MY music…” the flying human groaned as he pulled out his smartphone. As he tapped the ‘play’ button he added “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Gumbo Number Five.”

As the canine gestured and the human’s music played, Icky’s corpse began to faintly glow. The minotaur’s body began to dance around the kitchen and gather ingredients while his throat bellowed forth with strange lyrics.

One, two, three, four, five
Everybody in the car, so come on, let's ride
To the grocery store around the corner
The chef says he want some omnispice
But I really don't wanna
Soufflé like I had last week
I must not yeet ‘cause the chili’s fleek

I like fricassee, étouffée, pasta, and chili
And as I continue my song is gettin’ silly
So what can I do? I really beg you, my Lord
To me is cooking is just like a sport

Bake it or fry, it’s all good
Let me dump it and send in the crumpet

A little cup of celery in my life
A really big ol’ onion by my side
A little bit of garlic is all I need
A little bit of sausage is what I see
A little bit of bouillon in the sun
A little hot pepper all night long
A little bit of okra, here we go
A little bit of shrimp, heat set to low

Gumbo Number Five -- aaaa-AH!

Jump up and down and stir it all around
Make the roux nice and brown
Pepper sauce? Yes I’m down
Take 4 bay leaves and one cup rice
Beer in the mug, and bread to the side
Stir the pot once and stir the pot twice
And if it smells like this then it’s gonna taste nice

A little cup of celery in my life
A really big ol’ onion by my side
A little bit of garlic is all I need
A little bit of sausage is what I see
A little bit of bouillon in the sun
A little hot pepper all night long
A little bit of okra, here we go
A little bit of shrimp, heat set to low

Crumpet, the Crumpet

Gumbo Number Five -- aaaa-AH!

A little bit of Al at the Alamo
A little bit of Rufus from Lazlo
Servo, rest in peace way out in space
A little bit of Bonk with the yo-de-lay
Doctor David Ritter’s suit is fine
Officer Cassidy holds the line
Good ol’ Brother Obie in Lopan
The Rivendell Kid always gets his man

I do all to keep things real with the G.A. crew
'Cause you can't run and you can't hide
Meatball’s crew’s gonna make you cry

Gumbo Number Five -- aaaa-AH!