[Game Thread] Chapter 1: New Beginnings

[The Rat Queen]

Anima Alysa Raine Alysa held up a hand, saying, "Wait! Before we go charging off into a storm, perhaps I can locate the source of the scream, the way I located Lt. Corso." Pinching her brow, she added, "And there is no 'Well...there probably IS, but Alysa doesn't know it.air freshener' spell. Magic isn't a wave-your-hand-and-fix-everything kind of thing. Magic is surprisingly similar to science. There are rules, formulae, procedures..." Looking at the others, she sighed and shrugged. "Would my energy and time be better spent locating the source of the scream, trying to develop some..." Her tone left no doubt as to her opinion on the option, "air freshener spell, or to some other end?"

[Anarchy]

With power systems knocked out and electronics fried by the geomagnetic storms, the attack has crippled modern society, plunging cities into the darkness of the late-industrial revolution. Dark clouds loom overhead providing a constant downpour as booming thunder threatens catastrophe in concert with jagged forks of lighting that provide only fleeting glimpses of the twisted surround.

A barricade of burned car chassis, building rubble, and broken concrete fills the cluttered streets, making movement slow and fraught with ankle-twisting missteps. Gathering up supplies, the motley crew of superfolk and ex-hostages brave the weather anew, though this time there is a subdued energy as if not wishing to tempt the fates with predators cruising the shadows.

Retrieving the missile from the Cairns Central Shopping Centre goes off without a hitch, though it is noteworthy to find that nearly half the parkade has collapsed since you were last there. The Prototype Plasma MX-77 missile is about 50 kilograms in weight and 1.6 meters in length, though a rather nervous proposition to carry for those that do not wish to experience the plasma contained within up close.

Water is up to your ankles as you enter The Cairns Museum and Historical Society, advertising in bold letters their most recent exhibition featuring artefacts from the Dark Ages gathered from all over the world. Entering the building provides the group with an assortment of rusted yet servicable lanterns, fuelled by whale oil, that provide sufficient illumination to work with. Anima senses magic as she nears the building, and incredibly strong magic at that, located on the ground floor in the back of the building. Alysa finds the source of the magic to be a dusty hand mirror in the storage room, hidden 'neath a rack. For a fleeting second she thinks she caught a glimpse of something within the cracked surface of the mirror, but try as she might she cannot replicate it.

Ian hears sounds on the winds that suggest that attacks are happening even now. Distinguishing screams from the background noises of the storm is difficult, but he has a heading where most of the noises are heard and it’s a few blocks away closer to the esplanade.

Kate bravely wades up to her knees into the partially-submerged lower level of PurestMed, memories of the 4+ meter long saltwater crocodile fill your thoughts, but all hostages make it to the second floor of the laboratory without being eaten. Immediately after a survey of the area the military pathologist takes charge of those standing idle. The first order of business is getting the generator back up and running, which takes time to coax it to life, but soon it is humming along, the room a frenzy of activity with long shadows thrown by lantern-lit illumination.

Returning to the others, Mirage relays Successful Investigation Check with additional successeswhat he had found, a torn paisley-patterned red bandana, but no body, and the weather has conspired to eliminate any traces of blood, if they ever existed. The vaguely shark-shaped creature’s crash position was closer to the delicatessen than expected, contributed by the fact that it exceeds 5 city blocks in length. The creature's crash had destroyed a dozen buildings, leaving a long furrow in the pavement. It’s hull/skin still smoking from the friction of entering Earth’s atmosphere, elongated tentacles stiffened with rigour, its flesh scoured and burned from re-entry, damage from the crash and the explosion that downed it very apparent on the body of the deceased creature. Glancing within its mouth, permanently braced open reveals metallic componentry within. Closer examination of the corpse reveals evidence that it has been gnawed upon from the inside, its innards raw and dripping. Easily accessed Julian finds within the creature voluminous digestive system are all manner of strange mechanical components fashioned from the same “organic metal” that Ian found affixed to the comet, though all componentry is without power and has sustained catastrophic damage. Hundreds could travel in this living ship with a great deal of elbow room. In those sections that are shielded from the storm you find viscous pools of fetid protoplasm. Then it is time to go, something niggling at the back of his mind that to stay a moment longer would accrue great pain.

Anima probes out into the storm-wrought darkness in search of the one who screamed, but while she does not reach any one person, she is overwrought by impressions so powerful that her nose starts bleeding. A barely-perceptible animalistic whisper urges Alysa to consume, an endless hunger that can only be sated when coppery life’s blood flows over her fangs. There is no more pain or fear, just a sadistic need to inflict pain, as she momentarily joins the hive mind, finding bliss in any connection with the queen, finally understanding her role in life, to be breeding stock, a species imperative to propagate your people, the Sleazoids. Only one thing is more important and this is for Alysa to protect her queen with her every breath, or all of those that have been transformed will be released from the Slaver Virus and regain all of what they were before their eggs were implanted. Such is the way of the Brood. Glancing up she knows the name of the "ship" in Earth's orbit: Acanti, held in thrall by the very same Slaver Virus. And then the connection is gone, though the memories remain.

PurestMed's broken second floor windows, on the Coral Sea side of the building, continue to let in just enough of the storm to let rainwater mingle with the broken glass, permitting a great view of momentary flashes of bright light in the storm as Mirage goes off by himself.

Ian cocks his head to the side, with his eyes closed he hears a high-pitched man's scream in the middle distance, confirming that the esplanade is a really dangerous place to be right now.

Propane tanks, both large and the type used in barbecues, are the primary source for cooking in Cairns, giving Pressure a ready source of keeping a fire going.

5…10 and then 15 minutes pass without any sign of Julian.

[Malkavianmilkball]

Panacea Emilia helps carry the heavy missile, cradling it like a temperamental child, not eager for it to throw a deadly tantrum. The group gathers the materials from the museum eventually arriving at the mostly intact lab. After making sure that Kate has everything she needs to work Emilia stands by in case someone needs her for something as the rest of the team carries out their various tasks and important work. She watched Lt. Corso work. "Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I feel a bit useless at the moment so anything I can do would be appreciated. " She returns to looking out the window for any threats.

[RedMoney]

"Well, no live aliens yet but I'm wagering there's more than one. I'll keep an eye out and try to locate them."

As the LT works in the lab, Julian will busy himself by slowly and carefully expanding his search radius, looking for signs of aliens as he teleports around carefully.

[Classic Gamer]

“A few blocks closer to the esplanade. I can kind of hear them. Anyone in that area has likely become food or zombies.” It was a dark reality but sugarcoating the facts weren’t going to keep anyone safe. Maybe the could collect some fuel and use fire against the creatures. What they really needed was a way to shut the creatures down before they got their hands on even more people.

Other than the hearing, Ian still had not gotten a handle on what all he might be able to do thanks to the strange energy from the meteorite. Maybe he could increase his speed but that would only likely put him quicker into a confrontation that he did not have the abilities to deal with or the stamina to survive.

 

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[The Rat Queen]

Anima Alysa Raine Alysa looked puzzled for a moment, stopping and staring at the pooled water for a moment before bending down and reaching into the water underneath a rack. Fishing around a brief moment, she pulled out the hand mirror, the cracked along the surface slightly distorting her reflection. Ugh, she couldn't help thinking, my hair looks a right mess. Then she sensed...something else in the reflection. Gasping slightly, she turned the mirror away from her face, keeping it pointed away from everyone until she could do a closer investigation. The mirror, whatever it was, was a powerful source of magic, but the last thing they needed was a possession. Ironically, that's very nearly what happened when she cast her mind about for a connection. She connected with something so powerful, so bestial, that it caused her to stagger with a sharp cry. She had no idea how long the connection lasted, perhaps only a moment, but it left her stunned. Lifting a hand to her face, she felt her nose and pulled away a hand with blood on her fingers. Duly noted, she thought. Avoid making mental contact with completely alien minds. "I...made contact with one of them," she said, her voice wavering slightly as she showed them the blood. "It was unpleasant, to say the least, and I shan't try again, but I did manage to learn a few things about them." "They are called Sleazoids," she told the group, folding her arms to prevent herself from shuddering in fear and revulsion. "They are insectoid in nature, possessing some sort of hive mind with slavish obedience to a queen. They are...ruthless and cruel to the point of being unaware that any other feelings exist, so we can probably rule diplomacy out." She drew a deep breath and added, "They transmit some sort of virus, a Slaver Virus. The 'ship' currently in orbit, the creature called Acanti, is held in thrall by this virus, as are the humans they are capturing. Not only held in thrall, but transformed." Her brow furrowed a moment as she tried to sort through the powerful images, while simultaneously loathing to recall any of it. "I believe, perhaps, that by eliminating the queen, the changes caused by the virus...passed on by implanting eggs into the host...may be reversed." With a sigh, she said, "They will do anything, and everything, to protect the queen. However we proceed, we must be very cautious."