Chapter 42
The party are in the final leg of their journey aboard the Lunar Whale! The mighty Starship and Spirit is currently holding station in deep space. The views from most of the windows show the glittering expanse of stars and the ship has informed everyone that they shall be ready to depart after tea and story time! Vazkor however has also been receiving some private instructions from the Lunar Whale with regards to how to fly the ship so is a bit distracted but for most everyone else the ship is about to start the tale of "What the Aegyl did"
Vazkor stands at the crystal, away from the rest of the party, the man sporting a look of concentration as he can be seen nodding every so often, and quietly posing the odd question, as he receives his instructions... Rolling his shoulders a bit then, and clasping his hands together to lightly crack his knuckles, he soon wanders back towards the other, looking at each as he speaks up, "Hm, so it seems I'll be doing the main manuevering of this fine vessel, but I will also require some aid from each of you." The man pausing then as he looks around, and then points at various consoles spread around the bridge, before adding, "I will need each of you to pick a crew position. Weapons, Shields, Scanners and Power... I will leave it up to yourselves to decide which one you might best be suited for." The man smiling a bit afterwards.
Raziel stands from the seat which he had taken and he sips from the cup while looking off in a random direction. Clearly the man's mind is elsewhere. Pausing for a moment he looks at Vazkor then around the able of those gathered for a moment before nodding quietly, "I'll see to the power then." Tilting his head o the side he sets down the empty cup, "where do you need me at?"
Talen looks over at Penny and Thaylorn, "Well, I'll hop on weapons then if you two do not mind?" The Viera wanders around the different consoles, peering at each one, trying to work things out from what he sees on screen. "Well, this one has a button marked PewPew. So hmm." Talen sits at that console and spins around in the chair.
Penny blinks at Vazkor over the rim of her tea cup while sipping, then following the responses around, blinking again at Taln and giving an uncertain shrug, "I, uh, really dunno? I've got no experience with ships or anything, so I'm not sure what I'd be best for." That said, she takes another sip of her tea, her shortened tail flicking a bit a she waits patiently for the Lunar Whale to begin the story.
Thaylorn had ended up taking a seat at the table with others "I really don't know either, but shields I might be able to handle?" The Burmecian ponders as he too, sips at his tea a little "I can't promise I'm doing to have any idea of what I'm doing, though." He shrugs slightly and turns his gaze back towards Vazkor.
The Lunar Whale levitates the tea pot and refills the cups, "The controls are quite clear I shall explain them all to you. I fear we shall have need to fight our way through to our final destination. Please wait a moment though, we are not yet ready to depart and I have much to say. Of the event long ago when the Aegyl performed a great ritual... it co-erced me down from the heavens and forced me to fly at their command. The destination... the temple of Starlit... the bonds of Fate were shattered and the Stellazio stolen."
The glowing blue field sets down the tea-pot and flickers, becoming a blue eyeball that hangs in mid-air and turns to regard Raziel. "The explosion caused by the disruption of the Court of Heavens shattered the bounds of destiny. Many people died, others were severed from the path fore-told for them, all possibilities were lost to them and they became as shells who could not progress. A great war raged, the Aegyl fell, many fell and the Stellazio were scattered and the destinies of Terra were forever skewed... it was the catalyst that started the great breaking. For in that shattering explosion of destiny did the Green Light rebell and the war of Eons begin. Terra was shattered, the world as we knew it remade... reforged, the peoples scattered for with the Stellazio absent from the heavens the anchor points of the Jails were broken and Ultemecia and those who stand by her side broke free to wage their war once more agianst the king."
Vazkor nods at both Talen and Raziel as they choose their positions, before looking towards Penny and Thaylorn and offering them both a smile, "Ah, do not worry, I'm quite sure none of us have any experience with a ship of this advanced magnitude." The man grinning some afterwards before he adds, "Shields are all yours, Thaylorn. I guess that means you'll be our eyes and ears, Miss Penny." The man pointing out each console then, including the one Raziel will be needed at, flashing another grin at the Aegyl, before he settles down some again as the Lunar Whale begins its story, soon looking at that floating eyeball, and raising his brows some at the mention of a great, ancient war and the planet reforged... Glancing at Raziel again then to see how he might take all this.
For his part Raziel has no reaction to this other than his eyes growing darker. There's a little flinch of his hand, but then he stills and he looks at the eye which is studying him. "You too have a /very/ just reason for disliking the race which I was born to. It is... impossible to formulate a responce to all of this." Those who are intimately familiar with the man may sense that there is much that goes unexpressed and unspoken." He turns away then and silently walks over to stand at the console where he's been directed. Once there the man states bluntly without looking back, "Everything, Lemures, the Sun Cryst, the Mist due to the Aegyl." There's a little shake of the head then and the man goes silent."
The Lunary Whale laughs softly, "Not everything Raziel, those... were the actions of modern history. BY modern Humes and their squabbles. You cannot take blame for recent history, this... this was long ago and is forgotten by most."
Talen peers over at Raziel and shakes his head slowly. "That is all in the past. Water under the bridge, and nothing to be done about it. We're all here now to see if we can't right what was broken, yes?" He looks around at the others and then back to Raziel. "We're nearly there, yeah?"
Penny bows her head in thanks as her cup is topped off, cocking her head at Vazkor and nodding as he gives her the only unclaimed post, Scanners, "Ah, um, okay Mr. Vazkor." Then there's a giant disembodied eye, and she shudders at the strange creepiness of such a thing, distracting herself with her tea again as the story begins, her ears perked and listening to the ship's tale while she tries not to focus too much on the idea of phantom eyeballs.
Thaylorn just sits and listens for a moment as he watches the eye form and tell of the past of the Aegyl before he merely offers Raziel a look for a moment before moving over to the own panel he was directed to. "I hope that this is going to end well, Vazkor." He reponds with a smirk in the Captain's direction.
The Lunar Whale's voice is soft and gentle, "The Aegyl made a mistake and have more then paid... they make them now as do all mortals for the journey of life is fraut with danger. But today... today at least the Stellazio can be retrieved. After that only the Pieces hall be left and he who comes after... but that is a task for the future... for today. We are ready to leave please all take your seats.... Captain.. if you would care to step up to the podium."
<Paste from Silvante>---------------------------
Vazkor: To steer the ship it will be Willpower+Alertness to adjust speed is is Attunement+Endurance just so you know.
Power to the Engines is currently at 40% Maine Engines (Always On - Speed variable with regard to power) Fine Manouvering Thrusters: 30% Hyper Boost - Offline: 60%
Raziel: Power Console shows: To control the power it is Insight+Knowledge to see where it is all going and to make adjustments. Current Power distribution is: Weapons 20%, Shields 30%, Scanners 10%, Engines 40%,
Penny: Scanners: To read scanners it is: Insight+alertness Scanners are Online: Short Range (10%) Medium Range (30%) Long Range (50%) Jamming Field (60%)
Thaylorn: Shields: Intelligence+Fortitude Minimal: (20%) Standard: (30%) Reinforced (50%) Reverse Polarity (60%))
Talen: Weapons: Dexterity+Ritual Point Defence (10%) Main Laser: (20%) Missile Launchers (40%) Hyper-Cannon (60%)
<Paste to [OOC]: TP Room 1>------------------------
Vazkor looks after Raziel for a few moments as the ship finishes its story, and the Aegyl wanders off... But he doesn't offer any comment on the subject yet. He just nods at the others, and gently smiles as he states, "Well, let's get this show on the road, as the popular phrase would be." The swashbuckler turning then to walk back up towards that crystal, and taking a deep breath as he steps up on the dais... Shifting his feet apart a bit and rolling his shoulders again, trying to relax and prepare for the effort ahead.
And they are off, there is a slight juddering sensation as Vazkor touches that crystal.... and the star field outside begins to move....
Penny is currently 20 minutes idle and may not get back to you soon. You page, "You can see several routes plotted in on the console by the Whale. Each one has different hazards. One has a strange "Gas" symbol, one of them has a rocky symbol. One of them has a little bird symbol and the fourt one has a symbol you have never seen before." to Penny.
Raziel shakes his head a little bit, "sins of the fathers and mothers and all that.. may be ancient history, but we're fixing it now." He doesn't state why they're fixing it now though he does toss a quick look at Vazkor and Thaylorn both. The man's gold wings twitch but then he sets his attention to the new task which he has been given. As the ship begins to move the mans attention goes to the console and he reaches out to 'test' it and give the engines a smidgen more power.
The change in power works flawlessly, the ship hums and Vazkor finds he can start pushing the Lunar Whale toward greater speed as they really start to get going!
Talen hmms, "Well, there isn't much call for major weaponry anyways, is there. Keep me posted if there's anything that needs shooting." The Viera busies himself by constantly reading over the viewscreens he has, and peering out the windows at the stars floating by.
Penny finishes her tea as the Lunar Whale concludes the story, setting the cup down as she hops out of her seat and heads for her assigned position, taking a breath as she puzzles over the controls and displays, starting, cautiously at first, to fiddle and experiment... Giving the display a closer look, she cocks her head a little, and looks up, "Um, Lu-, er, M-, ah... Mister Whale?" She seems uncertain what to call the Spirit/Ship, but after settling on that, she continues, pointing to a symbol on her screen that she doesn't know, "What's this little thing mean? And, um... I... I don't think I can see very far, either."
The current navigational symbol means Radiation Fields... my scanners are currently set to minimum. At our current speed we have five minutes before you must make a decision as to which route to take. If you wish to study the routes in more detail you will require more power.
Penny ahs and blinks, not really sure what 'radiation' is, but seeming to assume it to be something unsavory. She looks up again, "I guess I should ask...?" And then looks to Raziel, "May I please have more for, um, Scanners, Mister Raziel?"
"What the heck is polarity." Thaylorn states, frowning as he looks down at the controls before him. "And since we're not fighting things...We probably don't need shields right now? I dunno." The Burmecian looks more confused than anything as he looks on before sighing and turning about to look towards Vazkor and the path they might be taking.
"Polarity is the current magnetic state of the shield. Somethings are attracted to them in this state, others are repelled. Once power has been transferred to the shield console you will have to decide how to distribute it and increae the power level of the output function."
Vazkor, with both hands on the crystal and a look of concentration, steadily increases speed as more power is diverted to the engines, testing the ship's capabilities a bit, getting more of a feel of it... But also trying to pay attention to the needs of the others, he soon lets it drop back once more, to allow Raziel to divert power to the scanners so Penny may tell him what direction to steer the ship in.
Raziel looks up as Penny's told what sort of a delay they have, he looks to Penny then before nodding in responce, "right.. of course.. lowering shields to minimum and boosting the scanners." And since the attempt to increase the engine speed worked a moment before he does similiar with the shields and scanners.. dropping the amount of the sheilds to 10% and increasing hte scanners upto 30%.
And it works, power is transferred, more options coming alive on Penny' screen as the shields flicker and dim....
Talen hmms, and alternates between looking at his screens, and looking at everyone elses, curious to see how it all fits together. "What happened to your previous crew, Lunar Whale?", he asks. "I mean, did they all just leave after some battle, and never came back?"
"A pertinent question young summoner, I have no crew. I have not had one since Cecil Harvey and his companions. Once I was called to the Lost City to take my place as an airship of great historical note there was no need for a crew. But at times like this when companions journey aboard me toward the fullfillment of quest and destiny I invite them to be the crew. For to do everything myself would be to deprive them of the right to succeed on their own."
Penny turns her attention back to her display, and smiles as she gets more power and more choices light up. She studies her options for a second, then selects the one to extend her sensor range before selecting the first course, with the gas symbol, to try and get more detail about it, followed in turn by the other three, while speaking, to let Vazkor know what she's doing, figuring that's important for a Captain to know, "Seems there's four paths to choose from, Mister Vazkor. There's one with gas, one with... rocks, I guess, another with, uh, birds? And the last with that 'radiation' thing Lunar Whale mentioned. I'm trying to find out more."
You page, "Ok! Results from each path are as follows: The 1st one, Some sort of Gas Streams whirling around two planets that appear to be made up of different types of gas! It is very pretty and you can see currents you could ride through to the other side. The rock path appears to be a HUGE field of tumbling rocks all scattering about lost in the void o space! It looks dangerous, the paths are constatly being blocked and filled with tumbling rocks of all sorts! It'd be a real driving challenge! Path three is BIRDIES! You can see sort of flappy winged things zipping this way and that through the void all tiny compared to the Lunar Whale's HUGENESS! And the Radiation Path! Well.. there is this HUGE BURNING BALL OF PLASMA! And you'd be riding the waves and currents of its red hot spaarkly madness! It looks very dangerous but is the fastest route." to Penny.
Penny furrows her brow as she examines the results her scanning has produced, hmmming a bit, "Mister Vazkor, looks like... The path with rocks is a big field of tumbling stones, no consistently safe path through so far as I can see. The one with gas looks like it has some currents of some sort the ship could ride. The bird one has, uh... I don't know what they are, some kind of big swam or something of little winged creatures. And that last one... Seems the shortest route, but also looks like the most dangerous: there's a big, giant ball of burning stuff pumping out waves of energy; I guess that might be like sailing through a bad storm or something, by the look of it."
"Rocks don't sound too bad." Thaylorn chimes in from his station as Penny talks about the different routes they could end up taking. As Penny explains more he merely shakes his head, rocks don't sound like a good idea "Instead of rocks, maybe we could go through something fully focusing on shields, and engines to go through a path as quickly as possible?"
Vazkor has his eyes closed as he interfaces with the ship through that crystal... But as Penny gives those options, he briefly opens them to look at her, and then everyone else... The man visibly pondering as the choice is left to him, and after a few moments giving a bit of a shrug, "I must say the gas route sounds the least ominous... Though I doubt any of them are without its risks. We shall see what happens, hm?" And with that, he picks said gas route, concentrating on the crystal once more and steering the ship.
Raziel looks at Penny, then Vazkor and he ponders for a moment before murmuring, "Gas makes me think of poison spells... I'm going to increase the shields at a cost to some of the engines then, just incase. If afterwards it seems alright I'll revert it." The man starts to make the adjustments, nudging a little more (5%) power into the shields at the cost of the engines.
Talen has the cushy job it seems, for now. "Is there any tea left?" he asks of the Lunar Whale. "And is it possible to have teacup holders on the consoles?" Raziel pages, "is talking to staff about incorporating this or something like it for airships as a whole" to you.
"I am afraid the consoles do not have teacup holders Master Talen... Master Raziel... current power transfer to shields will have no operational effect. Time to encounter Gas currents is T-Minus 3 minutes..." The forward screen is filled with a mafnificent sight! The Lunar Whale identifies them as Varan and Telna, the double gas giants of the system, locked together in a deadly dance. Varan is a world covered in blue and yellow bands, swirling clouds that race from northpole to south pole as the planet rotates on its axis from north to south. Telna however is a darker planet, red and brown clouds, larger then Varan and with a huge storm system covering one side of the planet. It also appears to be out of shape, the cloud layer punctured at some point in the past sending it careening into Varan's orbit. This closeness and the unusual behavior of Telna fills the space between the two gas-giants with streamers of gas hundreds of kilometres thick. A glittering band of gas drawn from each planet due to their proximity. It truly is a breath-taking sight and the party can see that they will have to somehow ride those whirling currents of gas to the other side....
Penny nods, adjusting the sensors to focus back on the Gas course once more, to keep an eye on the path ahead, smiling as she seems to feel she's getting the hang of this fancy console thing.
As Penny works the scanners several entry points are flagged up on the main view screen for Vazkor, options with which he could enter the swirling tumult of storm energy!
"Well then, how's this going to turn out..." Thaylorn mutters softly as he takes in the views that are presented towards the group, the thought that they're far off from where they were before finally penetrating his mind. As his controls start to flash at him some, his attention quickly turns in their direction, a concerned look crossing his face for a moment before he calls out "I need more power on shields, else we're not going to survive closer due to the energies there. Reinforced, if possible!"
As Thaylorn speaks the Lunar Whale seems to buck and shake! The shields, as minimal as they are flouresc with colour and sparkle and then collapse as lots of nice red lights start to flash across Thaylorn's shields. Various warnings about Hull Temperature start to throw up over RAziel's screen and Vazkor skillfully manages to turn the ship and pull back. It is a slow process though as the Lunar Whale is a BIG girl. Seems there are swirling energy fields on the outside of those interecting gas streams which were about to bombard the ship but for now you are safe.
Vazkor continues to concentrate on steering the ship, not letting the near 'disaster' distract him much, or even paying much attention to the view, wonderous as it might be... He just speaks up, his voice calm and a bit low, as he gently eases the Lunar Whale into those gas currents, "Feel free to boost the shields however much you need, Raziel, using engine power... I will be taking us slow for now."
Raziel gnaws on his lip, his attention flicking between the, rather impressive, display before them and back down again. As the alert is given though the man murmurs, "answers that question. No half measures." The man makes the adjustments again, nodding to Thaylorn quickly, "reinforced? How much is.. hell. Half power to shields then!" Raziel starts boosting the shields upto half power and in turn lowers the engine's down, "Right, we'll have to go in slower and steadily, but that will likely be for the best." His eyes go to Talen then and he notes while nodding ahead, "You might find yourself called upon soon, summoner."
Talen nods and readies himself, "Not sure what we'll need to shoot, but I am ready to go." He fiddles with a few of the screens. "I am sure I can aim at something now. Just a complete lack of targets. Which is fine, in my books, this journey is going to be rough enough without enemies."
Penny clutches at her console to keep her feet as the ship lurches and alarms start going off, the mouse squeaking a bit in dismay, completely not used to such things. As things steady out from Vazkor steering th ship, she starts working the sensors to see if there's any additional information she can glean from them about the gas streams and the surrounding area, muttering to herself, "Of course it couldn't be *safe*... Safer than the others, maybe, I guess, but not totally *safe*, should'a known..."
Thaylorn nearly ends up on his face as the ship starts to shake, but luckily manages to grip onto the nearby shield station to avoid falling over "I'm going to need more than half, I need 60% for that shielding function!" Thaylorn states simply back towards Raziel as he allocates a percentage of the power to shields. "Else we're going to be shaking like that the whole way through most likely." )
Pennies Scans bring up a route through the clouds, it is a swirling mass of incandescent yellow and purple gas that seems to be riding a slip stream between the roaring gravity wells of the two planets. There is also a little tag line fed over to Talen's console informing him that the gas is flammable and that if he thinks he can pull it off. Firing the Point Defence Cannons at the right moment could create a pressure wave that could carry the ship. That however would be a risky mnove, it is also relayed to Vazkor too so the captain is aware of the option, otherwise it will mean a 3 hour flight through the gas currents with constant course corrections. And that's only if they are able to maintain the shield strength required.... however as Thaylorn has only brought the shield up to Standard, the yellow field engulfing the ship will mean they are going to be bounced around quite a lot which will make firing the Point Defence lasers at the right angle and steering the ship incredibly difficult. The choice however... is theirs!
Current Power distribution:
Raziel: Power Console shows: To control the power it is Insight+Knowledge to see where it is all going and to make adjustments. Current Power distribution is: Weapons 10%, Shields 50%, Scanners 30%, Engines 10%,
Penny: Scanners: To read scanners it is: Insight+alertness Scanners are Online: Short Range (10%) Medium Range (30%) Long Range (50%) Jamming Field (60%)
Thaylorn: Shields: Intelligence+Fortitude Minimal: (20%) Standard: (30%) Reinforced (50%) Reverse Polarity (60%))
Talen: Weapons: Dexterity+Ritual Point Defence (10%) Main Laser: (20%) Missile Launchers (40%) Hyper-Cannon (60%)
Vazkor somehow manages to mostly keep his footing on that raised dais he stands on, the man still facing that large crystal and using his connection to it to steer the ship... As that option is given however, he soon glances over at both Raziel and Talen, regarding both a moment before he speaks up, "Talen, do you think you can make the shot if Raziel manages to balance out our shields?" The man raising his brows at them questioningly.
Raziel looks at Vazkor then at Talen and then back again before he glances at Thaylorn, "I'll raise your power to sixty percent.. that should enable you to keep the shields fully functional the problem is.." He looks down at his power display before nodding Vazkor towards Penny, "I'll have to drop the scanners down to minimal so I can give some power to the weapons." He hovers his hand, prepared to start making the adjustments while waiting for Vazkor's go ahead.
Vazkor seems to ponder some at Raziel's response, taking a moment to look at each individual 'crewmember'... But then he just nods, firmly, and speaks up, "Do it, long enough to balance us out and so Talen can take the shots. Be prepared to boost scanners again right after, however. I suggest taking the energy from weapons then." And the man grimacing a little bit right afterwards, as he adds, "Hold onto something, I suspect this might be rough."
Raziel nods to Vazkor and he starts adjusting the powergrid, lowering the scanners so that there is still short range capability (10%) and then shifting the newly freed energy into weapons (20%) and shields (60%) while the engines are allowed to maintain their minimal power.. after all if they're going to be riding the energy wave. Once done the aegyl braces himself.
The screens flick and shift as coloumns of data track this way and that... Thaylorns controls and Talens light up even as Penny's go dark.. the ship is ready for insertion into the wake of energy betweem the two tumbling plasma streams!
Talen looks over at Vazkor and nods, I think it should be alright." He hmms and peers at the screens before him. "Oh I don't know about this. I have no idea what I should shoot at... hmmm. Maybe that...? No, too fast. Aha, that one for sure!" He closes his eyes and presses one of the buttons on his console.
The main screen shows a stream of light seeming to flow out of the underside of the Lunar Whale! it strikes a pocket of gas just ahead which erupts with a beautiful explosion of swirling light and flaring images! The vessel rocks slightly and the shields flouresce as the back lash of energy strikes them. The vessel is second away from diving into the malestrom of energy particles!"
Penny clutches the console to help keep her feet, while her poleaxe slides to the floor at the room's rear wall from the rough ride. Footing re-affirmed, she nods at mention of dropping Scanner power for at least a short bit, and keeps her hold on the console in preparation for more turbulance as her console reacts to the shift in energy allocation. She blinks over the top of her console as Talen fires, and, such a beautiful explosion! But she quickly brings her attention back to the present, bracing for some half-way-expected impact.
As Penny pays attention to the screen she is able to feed the details needed to Vazkor's console and the crystal... a path lining up for the ship toward the perfect place to enter the slipstream of exploding gasses!.
Thaylorn manages to stay still even with the ship moving about as it is by clinging to the shields panel, and as Raziel mentions raising the shields he lets out a happy little cheer-sounding thing. "Good, I didn't want to be shaken to death." With Talen firing though, he retains his grip and makes sure the shields aren't going to be failing for any reason as they head towards the malestrom.
As Thayrlorn starts to feed the extra power into the shields there is a crackle of blue light that seems to sweep across the ship! The entire vessels shakes, the shields fail and behind Thaylorn a cirecular disc on the floor between the rat and the crystal where Vazkor is driving POPS out... a four foot tower of blue light that glows faintly. It's emergences from the floor is accompanied by the shields collapsing and the ship bucking like crazy as it strikes the energy stream without any shields! What is worse 60% of the power reserves have just drained away..... they are gone and there are flashing icons on Raziel's screen. Thayrlorn is flung from his console to roll across the floor and fetches up in a tangle with Raziel as the whole bridge seems to just drop! Penny hangs on for deer life, the mouse shaken somewhat but not thrown away and Talen is the same, clinging to his station for dear life as he all but lifts off the floor and there is Vazkor. Well.. he's just smooth! The current Captain just sways gently with the ship as he tries to steer the vessel without any shields through an explosion of magnificent stellar proportions! Kier is also still on his feet the young Hume so far has been able to just watch all his friends manipulating the controls but now the Lunar Whale speaks, "Master Kier... if you would be so kind as to push that breaker back in! Or else we cannot access that part of the power system.... the emergency system has tripped!"
What keeps Kier from falling over is actually the very same 'breaker' crystal that came out of the deck. Holding onto it a moment, he looks at the four foot tall pillar, and then shrugs once before he places his hands on top. While not being the strongest of people, he has the height for good leverage, and as he grits his teeth, the crystal begins to slide back in place. Once he's able to bend, he grunts once and thrusts down, locking the breaker back in place. Panting a bit, he takes a moment to turn the locking lever, a now-familiar sight thanks to all the other levers like it on things like doors and such, which causes the power to re-engage. As the power rengages it all flows back to Raziel's console.... a new line flicking into life on the currently un-manned power station. The Lunar Whale however is continuing forward, picking up speed as the slip stream catches it... Vazkor is going to have his work cut out for him driving this thing through those raging, exploding currents with no shields and limited view of what is ahead! But at least he has Penny's entrance path to follow... Pasting to: [OOC]: TP Room 1
Current Power distribution is: Unused: 60% Weapons 20%, Shields 0%, Scanners 10%, Engines 10%,
Vazkor just sort of wobbles in place as all that drama happens, managing to keep his balance like that, perhaps thanks to his years of martial training... And casting a briefly glance around then, he asks, "Everyone alright?" Even as his gaze ends up on Kier, watching the man shove that crystal back into the floor... And nodding his thanks to him then. And with that, as the ship threatens to slip into danger, he promptly focuses on his own crystal again... His expression one of sheer concentration as he starts to steer the ship into the path previously selected by Penny... And then, as it dives into the slipstream, almost deftly managing to pilot the vessel around a sudden, large explosion of gas. The swashbuckler gritting his teeth as he states loudly, "I need shields again! And scanners! Flying blind."
Raziel is tossed to the side and as Thaylorn joins him the aegyl feels the air knocked out of him. For a moment then he holds still before the power is thrust back on. then quickly disentangling himself the aegyl half crawls, half runs back to his console, catching himself from running past by gripping the side and the other hand comes up quickly to redistribute the currently unused energy right back into the shields before they break apart.
The shield console goers from red and purple warning lights back to green! It is ready and waiting for the activation sequence to start... problem is with all that energy in the shields Penny is limited to short range only!
Talen holds on for dear life, "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh." It's a slightly girlish scream, but at least he manages to remain seated. Once things calm down, he looks around, and then to Vazkor, "Should I shoot another one then? Or was that good enough? Oooh, I have main laser capability now... awww, no, it's gone again."
Penny hangs on for dear life as the shields go down and things get crazy, and Thaylorn and Raziel go tumbling! Managing to keep her feet as Kier pushes the power linkage/breaker back into place, she looks back and forth between her screens and the view outside, watching the explosion from two perspectives, "Blind is right, I can't see sh-AH!" She's cut off as Vazkor steers the ship into the previously labeled entry point, jostled a bit by the turbulence of the flight past that point, "Sorry, Mister Vazkor, I got nothing for ya just now except snow, crazy lines, and the explosion!"
Dazed, and moderatly confused about what just happened, Thaylorn manages to get untangled from Raziel mostly due to the Aegyl's doing. Once clear, he makes his way back towards his station as quickly as he's able, stumbling slightly from having gone tumbling like he did. Luckily the Burmecian manages to get back to the shield controls, and this time, manages to activate the correctly. This is well shown as the shields power back up into existance, keeping the ship safe from the immediate danger of the gasses!
A bubble of energy engulfs the Lunar Whale, it glows blue and sparkles, waves of energy rolling across it as the ship crashes through a wave, still picking up speed and rams full tilt into another expanding explosion! This one just rolls over the shields and the ship barely trembles.... it is still looking hary and dangerous out there!
From his spot, Kier stares at the screen for a long moment, his eyes flicking back and forth, and then tilts his head almost like a cat watching a moth flutter about under a lamplight. "Here." Is all he says as he walks up next to Penny, and then takes his finger to run it along one of the screens, finger dipping and whirling like he's painting. What comes up is... a course? He's actually winding the ship through a couple safe eddies, as he says, "Fish swim the river by finding the points in the course where the current is lessened by rock and eddies, how the actual flow of the water can be sluiced through, and used to their advantage. Sometimes... they require a little help to get the speed to lean over falls. All to find their home again." As he speaks, everything he's doing becomes translated to Vazkor's screens, and then he steps back.
Vazkor seems about to ask for scanners again, opening his mouth... Only to raise his brow as the course is suddenly laid out before him, and he glances Kier's way as the hunter talks about water and fish or the like... Nodding at Kier then though, he focuses himself back on his own crystal, and starts steering the ship... The man grunting as he overshoots at first, but quickly manages to slip back around and find the correct entry point, guiding the ship into the path Kier laid out. His steering impeccable from then on, even though he has some trouble with the speed, "Let's get through this."
Raziel grits his teeth for a moment, having missed the order from Vazkor for more scanners. His head comes up and he looks at the display then at Penny and Kier before he looks at Vazkor, "I can give them the power from the weapons, but if I do we'll still be ten percent short. I'll have to lighten up the shields too. Things might get a bit rougher." Thats all the warning which is given before Raziel starts to adjust things again, dropping the weapons back to 10%, the shields to 50% and the scanners back up to 30% so that the two have more than just short range.
As Vazkor weaves a path through the dangerous pathways of gas he rides the currents Kier has picked out and then without warning the ship is leaping free of the gas clouds into clear void! The stars gleam all around and behind them the whirl the spinning gas clouds of the two giant planets as they spin in toward one another! Vazkor and his crew are through the first obstacle and out into a patch of safety.... The Lunar Whale then speaks up, "Well done, everyone... you work well as a crew but now I fear it grows more difficult, there are three barriers between us and the Stellazio and we have cleared but the first one.... now you must pick your path once more."
Raziel grits his teeth for a moment, having missed the order from Vazkor for more scanners. His head comes up and he looks at the display then at Penny and Kier before he looks at Vazkor, "I can give them the power from the weapons, but if I do we'll still be ten percent short. I'll have to lighten up the shields too if they find that they need it." He doesn't make any changes though until they make it through the dangerzone, and then afterwards the man begins to adjust things, lowering the weapons (10) and shields (30) a little to increase the scanner (40) distance and the engines (20).
Current Power distribution is: Unused: 0% Weapons 10%, Shields 20%, Scanners 50%, Engines 20%,
Penny: Scanners: To read scanners it is: Insight+alertness Scanners are Online: Short Range (10%) Medium Range (30%) Long Range (50%) Jamming Field (60%)
Thaylorn: Shields: Intelligence+Fortitude Minimal: (20%) Standard: (30%) Reinforced (50%) Reverse Polarity (60%))
Talen: Weapons: Dexterity+Ritual Point Defence (10%) Main Laser: (20%) Missile Launchers (40%) Hyper-Cannon (60%)
The power adjustments go ahead flawlessly and the consoles adjust their available options clearly...
The Viera is still concentrating on his screens, but he peers over at Penny's. "See anything interesting, Penny? Something that might need some shooting, perhaps?" Looking back at his, he does a little targetting practice, aiming the point defense at things near by, locking on, and then moving to the next. "Only one barrier and two more to go? Well, if the worse thing is being bounced around, it shouldn't be all that bad, yes?"
Penny relaxes her grip on her console as the shields rematerialize and the ride smooths out considerably, heaving a sigh of relief. She blinks up at Kier as he joins her at the console, cocking her head, ears perked, as he traces a course on her screen through the static and crazy lines that she can make no sense at all out of herself, "Huh! Whadda ya know!" Looking back up at Kier, she smiles, "Thanks, Mister Kier!" And then, the ship is clear of the gas and turbulence, and in open space, and the mouse sighs again in relief! Looking up to where she imagines, at the very least, where the Lunar Whale's voice is coming from, she turns back to her scanners as Raziel allocates enough power for Long Range, scanning out as far as she can for the courses available to them, giggling a bit at Talen's question, "Shooting? Hm, let me see..." Her eyebrows lift a bit, and she hrms, then does her best to send the scanner results to Vazkor, "Looks like there's two paths available, sir. The bird-things from before still looks like an option, and then there's this... metal thing? I don't know what it is, but the second available course passes it. Beyond those, there's a big swirly-glowy thing, but I have no idea what it is, except that it *might* be our destination, maybe, I think..."
"Well then, that's one spot done, huh." Thaylorn remarks from his station as he looks out to see the calm stars about them. He pauses for a few moments as he waits for the results of the scans, and when the results are revealed he offers up "Metal thing, is it big?" He questions towards those at the scanner station before offering a nod towards Talen "Hopefully something that isn't so reliant upon the shields."
Kier walks back over towards Vazkor, "I have an idea. One that should appeal." And he then moves around behind to look at the Rozarrian's screens, "Put all of the magic of the ship into the offensive systems. Use the largest weapon at full might to fire towards our goal, but not at it directly. Then... put on all speed, put on all protections, and we follow the shaft. Like digging a mineshaft. If we can fly fast enough, we can chase our own path of destruction with little time for anything to react?"
Vazkor lets out a breath as the ship sails into 'calmer waters', the man taking a moment to look at the star-lit space around them... Before he rumbles towards everyone, "Good job." And falls quiet again as Penny speaks, listening to her and nodding some... "So, mysterious metal objects or strange birds... Which sounds safest, to any of you?" The man obviously asking opinions, and promptly raising his brow as Kier comes to him with that idea... A bit of a grin slowly curling his lips then as he remarks, "I'm sure that would make Talen happy, for one... But we might have to get a bit closer still, figure out what's what, until we do anything somewhat drastic like that. What does everyone else think?" The man asking for opinions again.
Raziel considers quietly before he looks at Vazkor, "before we avoided what seemed like a danger by approaching what looked to be safer. Perhaps the same will be true, of course perhaps it will be entirely reversed." He looks out the display for a moment and then chews his lip for a few brief moments before shrugging a little, "if I were to guess I would say that that which seems the safest is likely something nasty. I would lean towards the bird things."
Talen hmms, "While I would like to fire off the hyper-cannon, I could not suggest it in good conscience until we know what is out there first. We do not wish to obliterate something good in this ... universe, do we? So let us first power the scanners to maximum, and let Penny take a good, long look. Maybe then we can better see our path. We are safe, here, for now, yes? Let us first see before we run and gun."
Penny continues to fiddle with the sensors, an ear twitching towards Talen, "They already are at maximum, Mister Talen; the next level up is something called "jamming", whatever that is. Sounds like something that you put on toast, to me, though I'm sure that's not what it really is." She pauses, as a thought occurs to her, and looks up, "Mister Whale, sir, what *is* "jamming", anyway?"
"That's a rather unique idea, but I doubt it'd be the best way to go through these barriers, spirits and all." Thaylorn offers in general response to blowing a hole through things to their destination "Some toast would be nice about now..." The Burmecian chimes in softly as he looks towards the others "But otherwise, I think that those bird things would probably move around lots, and be hard to hit? If they're like regular birds."
At Penny's question the Lunar Whale answers, "Jamming refers to the distortion of electronic chaff... signals that are pumped out into the void to create confusion and disrupt the guidance systems of others. As Penny fiddles with the controls she is able to bring up a clearer picture of the big metal object. It is some sort of construct, clearly man-made... all curving donuts of metal and lights and spires with flashy lights and a long spire sprouting out of the bottom, "Space Station identity confirmed... Maximum Scan... station belongs to the Lost City.... any further information. Unknown." As Thaylorn speaks there is a soft swirling sound and a pedestal oozes up out of the floor next to him, with a plat of toast along with spreads, jams, preserves, butter and knives. "Toast... as request Master Thaylorn... Captain we at our current speed it will take us three hours to reach the divergence point where we must decide which route to take... please continue to discuss and choice your course of action soon.
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