GodofGamingRWBY

"Ugh... Five minutes of rest... That is all I ask for..." Tekeshi muttered as Chance drove him up from the ground (again). He honestly did want a bit of rest after the continued pain he had gone through the last hour, but it was clear that he wasn't going to get it anytime soon. At Mercaider's plan, and near direct (scratch that, completely direct) statement towards him, Tekeshi merely shrugged, picking up his sword again before following the plan, moving towards the eastern path. Despite just getting back up, Tekeshi moves to H5 to be the team's actual tank.

Freya While Law explained how these computers worked, Freya pulled out her journal again, writing down notes on it, along with potential uses. It sounded really interesting... Complex, but interesting, and potentially very useful. She'd have to figure out how to use one with her stuff at some point. Once Law got to his statement about souls, Freya simply nodded, "Yep, that I do know" she replied, then paused, looking between the two, "... Wait, are you guys trying to make one right now?"

Freya In response, Freya did a small whistle, glancing at Law's printer. She herself was starting to get new ideas... Kinda. That was something though, something that created entire things on its own accord, "That's pretty cool" she replied, quickly growing a bit more excited on the subject, "What else can these computers do? How do they work?"

Freya At Law's explanation, Freya merely gave him a blank expression. The first part of the explanation made sense, though she was already thinking that was the case, but the second part threw her off once again, "... What's a computer?"

Freya As Freya finished her little perfume-bone, something came back into her mind, something that had been pushed aside by Claptrap for a bit. Specifically, what the hell an AI was. It was an Artificial Intelligence, that much she got, but she didn't exactly understand WHAT that meant. How can someone make intelligence artificially? That didn't make any sense, and Orion clearly wasn't a spirit. She'd be feeling something if he was. Eventually, this train of questions in her head caused her to stand with a frustrated sigh, picking her staff back up as she marched back into the bunker-or-whatever-it-was-called to find answers. Which, thankfully, she found two that might be able to give her an answer. Specifically, Lucine and the little Precursor, "Sorry for butting in, but I need to ask you two something" Freya said as she approached, dusting her boots off for a second before continuing, "Do either of you know what an Artificial Intelligence is supposed to be?" she asked, tipping her staff to the side to point in the general direction of Orion, "Orion told be that was what he was, but I don't exactly know what that means thanks to Claptrap."

Frigus Lazurus merely shakes his head, “Unfortunately, no. ADVENT makes sure to kill their test subjects before transportation… These people are nothing more than preserved DNA material for them now” he said, before placing his rifle on his back, “... Thankfully, we know how we can make sure that they won’t further ADVENT’s plans, at least” he stated, pulling out a small device from his belt, bringing another hand to his helmet, “Central, permission to plant?” “Permission granted Lazarus. Plant the X4 Charge… There, 8th Pod away from the lightswitch, second up” Bradford replied over the coms, causing Lazarus to nod, before moving to place the charge. As Frigus picked up the datapad, Lazarus turned his head to see it, “Hm… I’d say more information on ADVENT’s doing and the Avatar Project. They’re putting tight lids on where their facilities are… We’d doubtless be able to pull something out with Director Rose’s expertise” he said, getting back to work with the charge. After a brief pause, he quickly added, “... She’s our Propaganda Director. One of our best hackers.” Harry Investigation of the pile As it turned out, Harry nearly managed to gloss over a color in the pile that didn’t match the rest of the standard ADVENT black and red rifles. Specifically, a dark grey metal with dull green outlines. When he pulled it out of the pile, he quickly found a rather fantastic find, a highly advanced rifle that looked like it packed much more of a punch than the rest of ADVENT’s arsenal. Harry has found an ADVENT Plasma Rifle, which deals 3d6+Int damage with an Int% Chance to deal double damage. Take the gun from this picture and there you go. Investigation of the container The container… Didn’t seem to have anything that indicated that it could be opened safely.. It had lines running through it that appeared to indicated that it was able to, but no button or latch. Aquila Sneaking around roll Aquila was, somehow, able to sneak close enough to the hostiles that he could begin seeing their features… Specifically, their dull, dark green armor, their perpetually pissed off expressions, and the saws on the bottom of their weapons. Unfortunately, when he saw that, one casually turned its light towards him, shining on him before he could get out of the way. The Alien seemed surprised at his appearance, actually recoiling from the find before growling angrily, its gun beginning to flare up with green light as the other two turned towards the Crusader. Aquila has found THREE Mutons! Status Initiative

Freya At Claptrap's rant, Freya kept a straight expression, nodding as if she understood what he was talking about, "Nice. Well, I hope I get to see this Ark that you've foreseen, sounds nice" she replied, "Anywho, I got things to do. Have fun" she added, turning on her heel and walking out of the bunker and back onto the surface, taking a deep breath of the fresh air as she walked over to the still rather fresh corpses of those psychos that tried to kill her earlier. That was a fun time... Kinda. As she did so, she plucked a single rose off of her staff, placing the purple flower on her hat before pulling out her knife, beginning to go to work with the bodies. ... Long story short, she managed to cut an entire psycho arm off, then reanimate it to get a Necromized Arm that was promptly tossed into one of her pocket dimensions, along with cutting out one of the femurs, along with crushing 5 of her roses, to create some rather strange Undead-Perfume. She had to admit herself, it smelled rather nice. Freya creates: One Necromanced Hand for later Black Rosewater

Freya "Thanks Orion" Freya replied to the AI, still a bit confused on the subject but at least knowing it was something with fast and precise calculating skills. For the most part, she mostly focused on Claptrap, raising an eyebrow at his (its?) statement, still seeming to be completely unfazed by the sound of his voice, "Do you mind if I ask what you mean by 'the Ark'?"

Supply Barge At Nader’s comment, the Commander spoke up from the coms, “That’s why we’re keeping an eye out for anything. I don’t like sending troops into the dark, but there are moments where you have to” she replied. Database herself looked up at Frigus as he asked his question, seeming to think for a second before shrugging, “Yeah, we have enough anyways” she replied, picking up one of the boxes of Elerium and carrying it back to Firebrand as her Gremlin picked up a smaller box of alloys. Frigus has acquired 6 Elerium Crystals! Alan Alan and his DOOMBOT decide to help Database out with bringing materials and crates to Firebrand, hauling in two crates of ADVENT’s Alloys to the ship. Nothing much else aside from that. Right Team (Lazarus, Nader, Frigus) Those that followed Lazarus, who went to the right door, would find another large laboratory… Only in here, there was glowing tubes of green liquid, with what appeared to be preserved human bodies floating inside of each. About 50, in total. At the sight, Lazarus sighed, “Commander… We found more victims” “I see them Lazarus… Dammit… They were probably bringing them to one of their damn labs. Keep an eye out for anything… We can’t do anything for these people at the moment…” Frigus inspection Frigus, thankfully, is able to feel around the wall, managing to find a lightswitch that fills the entire room with light, revealing a knocked over dissection table with a body messily covered in a bloodied sheet. No prizes on guessing what was going on with that. There WAS datapad that had crashed onto the ground as well, seeming to still be in decent shape despite a few cracks in its screen. Frigus also finds an ADVENT Datapad Left Team (Contagion, Harry) Rachel and Harry both move to the left, with Contagion leading the way with Harry behind. It isn’t too hard for the Doctor to feel around the wall, managing to find another light that fully revealed another small armory, with a single ADVENT trooper corpse near one of the weapon racks, seeming to have a large pile of weapons covering him from the crash. However, aside from weapons, armor, and whatnot, there was one thing that stood out from the rest of the armory. Specifically, a medium sized white container, with several glowing yellow lights traveling its sides. Considering its design and uniqueness to the rest of ADVENT's containers, it was probably something special. Harry Investigation Harry has found a small container of MELD! Aquila After a bit of searching, Aquila would find himself the switch to open the middle door, hearing a rather quiet hissing sound coming from the doors as it began to slide open, moving cleanly and silently to the side, revealing a large hanger filled with darkness. Aquila Investigation As he continued in though, he’d notice several new lights round a corner into the room, shining their way through the room. At the same time, he could hear some very muffled grunts coming from their direction, just before one began to jog towards the other end of the room. Looks like there were some hostiles still on the ship. Rachel The Sister of Battle herself went back outside the barge, climbing up the side until she had reached the top... Which wasn't anything too special. Namely, only a large hole halfway through the roof was noticeable, as well as the Reaper, barely visible aside from the shifts of perspective that his cloak gave off. It was clear that he was scanning the horizon with his rifle though, considering it was raised and slowly moving from side to side.

Freya At O.R.I.O.N's comment towards her, Freya nodded her head, "Yeah... Seriously what's an AI..." she muttered, trying to put a finger on what it was specifically. It was what Orion was... She just didn't know what that really meant. Some kind of... Undead Spirit? ... Scratch that, that sounded dumb and impossible. Thankfully, her attention on that question was stopped by the appearance of a small robot with a familiar, tad bit annoying voice screaming at them, causing her to turn to it and walk towards it, "Hey Claptrap... How long have you been here?" she casually asked as she approached, then paused as she remembered what one of the Orions said before, how long this place had been down, "... Actually, nevermind. I didn't even think you'd be here. But, uh, yeah, we're here! That thing we you sent us was kinda... Uuuuuuuuuuuh.. Terrible to ride..." she stated, remembering the aftermath of the landing.

A new, noobish player Master is here for the Second War! Along with that, an Ayylien Caster!

XCOM Frigus got his answer from Bradford, from over the Coms, “Generally anything that we can easily transport out. ADVENT doesn’t leave their UFOs around a lot, and we’re pulling every flavor we’ve got with the Resistance Groups in the surrounding area to keep ADVENT off their feet long enough so we have a chance at getting something from one of their Supply Ships” Bradford responded. At Nader’s own comment, the Reaper simply pulled out a small device out of his cloak, before tossing it to Nader, “Claymore, lined with Elerium. Motion tracks for anyone not registered in our database once armed, which does include you. The Commander made sure of it” he stated before running forward, beginning to climb the side of the Supply Barge to get to a good sniping ground, his cloak beginning to shimmer and shift colors until he was practically invisible. Nader acquires an XCOM Claymore. This device can be attached to any surface, or enemies, via extremely sharp, retractable claws on its back, and can be remotely, forcefully, or automatically activated to deal 2d6+4 damage to up to two targets. Lazarus and Database merely raised their own rifles, moving steadily forward towards the downed Barge, keeping an eye out for anything themselves. Supply Barge As the group began to move into the Barge, they would notice that most of the lights seemed to have broke from the ships crash, as only light from the cracks in the hull and occasional electrical sparks lit the room they were in. The room in question seemed to be a smaller storage compartment in the ship, where normal crates were stacked for transport. Said crates were currently all tipped over and spread apart, though clearly undamaged despite what had transpired. Along with that, there were still bodies of ADVENT troops scattered along the room, most crashed against the wall. In response to the darkness, Lazarus and Database merely flicked on their rifle’s lights, making sure to shine the light everywhere they could to avoid missing something. Database’s own drone began shining two lights out of its eyes, floating through the room on its own. At that point, the Commander spoke through the Coms, clearly hearable to anyone that was connected to XCOM’s radio, “This seems to be where ADVENT keeps their alloys and Elerium. Databse, begin extraction of materials, as much as you can. The rest of you, continue forward, I want a full sweep of the ship. ADVENT could still have some surprises active."

Mira Mira, one she felt her wounds repair themselves and the fire on her arm go out, renews her advance towards the enemy… At least, until a spear made of ice rammed into her side, shattering and causing her to stagger for a single step before stopping herself. For a second, the armored figure simply stood there, completely still, before letting out a breath of annoyance, which event came out as a visible stream of air. Then, she straightened, turning back to the enemy, quickening her pace, once again dead silent. Mira takes advantage of the acid and whacks Lahmu B with her sword, dealing 2d8+6 damage. 2/8 Magra. Mira will generate one more at the start of the next turn. 3/4 turns until the Magra Generator generates an extra Magra charge. Walmond uses Healing Field on Empi, Lambda, Victoria, Rampart, and Kino, healing them for 2d4+9 HP each. Lambda gets healed for half. Lambda uses Self Repair to heal herself for 1d6+4

Freya It didn't take long for Freya herself to get over her lack of finding anything worthwhile, as an entire hideout opened up from the ground. Needless to say, for the young Necromancer, it was beyond cool, though she was the last one to walk into the dusty vault... Thingy, due to her staring in wonder. Then, the entire place lit up on its own, and not long after, a spirit flickered to life, turning to them in greeting before going into shock at their outfits. Which made Freya herself raise an eyebrow before looking down at herself, noticing the fact that her outfit, at the point, had multiple tears and holes in it now. That was bad, mostly because she didn't exactly have anything else on her to change into. Which was saddening, and quite frankly, annoying. Really annoying. "Well, I am Freya" she replied to the spirit with a small wave. Now that her attention was off of her outfit, she noticed that something was off about this spirit. Specifically the fact that she didn't actually feel anything coming from them. It was like they just existed. ... Weird.

Nader The Reaper merely nodded at Nader, his face darkening at the mention of Dysto and everything else, “I’ll make sure to let the Commander know about the dangers then. We do have a small gym on ship though, that can be what you can use for now. Follow me” he replied, turning to lead him to XCOM’s gym… Which turned out to be rather smallish, but filled with different training machines, weights, and other equipment. The Reaper quickly vanished not long after leading Nader to the room though. Somehow. Psi-Labs At Harry’s question, Ao merely shrugged, “Depends on what you’re trying to do and how strong you are. Some effects such as mind control are harder to push out without being weakened than sending out a telepathic message. Hard to get the specifics on it when everyone varies with their psionic prowess” she stated, before letting out a rather large yawn as she straightened, “Either way, I’m out for now. Don’t break anything in here” she said before walking out of the room. Rachel It wasn’t really hard for Rachel to get the gist of how the audio and other recording equipment worked, due to it simply being regular. The only thing was, actually getting everything would require a computer, which unfortunately was occupied by the sleeping woman. Unless she was really planning on moving her, it would've been difficult to really use said computers at the current moment. Next day For the most part, the group was able to continue with what they were working on a bit longer into the night. Eventually though, they would be informed that the Commander had prepared a dorm area for the group to stay, which when they investigated, would’ve been a room void of life, with plenty of beds and room for the group as a whole. If they came back to the room for the night was up to them, in the end. However, in the morning, not long after they would’ve gotten up, the Commander herself opened the door to the dorm area, rubbing her eyes with another steaming cup of coffee, “Good morning, I apologize for the intrusion” she greeted, bringing her hand back down to look at the group, “While early, there is something I would like you to do for me. About ten minutes ago, a Resistance Cell sent us a message that they managed to shoot down one of ADVENT’s UFOs. Specifically, a Supply Barge. Needless to say, ADVENT is going to try and recover the wreckage, so I’m sending out a small team to get as much as they can before then. I would like it if you tagged along with them. Most of my troops have been fighting day after day and need some rest” she explained, “... That, and I’m sure your own skills would be useful on the field” she added, taking a drink from her mug. “If you wish to go, as I’m not forcing you to, you are currently guests here, Firebrand is leaving in approximately 5 minutes. I’m sure you all remember the way to the hanger, correct?” she asked, seeming to wait for an answer before turning away, “I must get back to my own post, so it is your decision in the end” she stated before walking out. Proditor himself decided to stay behind, resigning himself to assisting XCOM back at the Avenger rather than investigating the downed UFO. For those that did decide to go in the time they had, they would find Lazarus and the Reaper already on the ship, along with the other woman with the small drone following her. Their task was to essentially act as guards for the downed barge. Well, Lazarus and Reaper, anyway. The woman was meant to retrieve supplied with her drone. There were some small earpieces supplied in Firebrand, which as explained by Lazarus, allowed communication between Central and the user. ADVENT Supply Barge For the most part, aside from some small talk between the three XCOM operatives, the trip was long and quiet. When they arrived though, they were met with a bright, expansive desert… And a destroyed ship half buried in the sand already. The ship matched ADVENT’s normal design, sleek and black with red armoring around it, but fitting its crashed appearance, there was denting in the armor and a large hole near the back. The front entrance to the ship was opened, with an ADVENT trooper’s body not a foot away from it, a trail of yellow blood behind him. Overall, this seemed to have been a big crash. “Don’t have much time here. Let’s get moving” Lazarus stated, mostly to the other XCOM operatives, before pulling out his rifle, beginning to move to the ship with his rifle raised.

Aquila Training: 13 vs 13 Quality: 13 Soon enough, two new recruits came into the room, both clearly fresh men who didn’t seem that battle hardened. Lazarus at least gave them a small rundown of the spar, which was essentially no weapons and nothing that would seriously hurt the opponent. Then, there were free to go at it, while Lazarus merely leaned back, letting Aquila take over. Needless to say, Aquila would’ve probably gotten annoyed by their sheer unrefined fist fighting and forms, yelling out advice to the two and probably getting up to adjust their stances at some points. In the end, while it was entirely different than what Lazarus would've done, it seemed effective, as the two seemed to get better rather quickly with Aquila's guidance. "Hm. Good work, they looked like they actually managed to improve" Lazarus stated at the end, after the two took their leave, panting after the sparing. Contagion Tygan nodded in response to Contagion, examining the tablet to check the chemical makeup of the toxins, “Fascinating… I’m surprised that one could make a toxin such as this without harm to their own body. The Commander will find this useful if we can begin making it ourselves…” he whispered, before yawning, "My apologies, it has been a long day. I will probably be taking my rest soon enough" he stated, handing the tablet back to Contagion. Rachel Rachel, thankfully, was able to get directions to the Propaganda Division with some asking around (though the person in question seemed confused as to why anyone other than the Commander would go to it at this hour). Eventually, after a bit of walking, she managed to find a door that slide open to reveal… A rather small room, with most of it being covered in a plain green screen with cameras set around it and a smaller area set aside for a large combination of no less than 5 different computer screens, which were the only thing that really lit up the room. Sitting at the desk was another woman… Who was currently snoring rather loudly, head resting on her arms. Her outfit was, like everyone else here, refined and vaguely militaristic, but like most of XCOM’s personnel, she did seem to have a strange addition to her, specifically, a large white stroke that went through the front part of her dull red hair. On the computer screens itself was a large number of different programs and feeds, several of which being either security cams (seeming to be viewing ADVENT facilities) or records that seemed to be constantly updating. There were other things that were open, but most of them seemed rather unimportant. … Welcome to the Propaganda Division. Psi-Labs Ao, just before helping out Harry, pointed towards the vaults of dull purple crystals, “Those Elerium Crystals in there have concentrated psionic power in them. How is anyone’s guess, but that’s what we use. You can take one if you want, ADVENT has enough that we can take” she replied, before focusing on helping Harry not burst a blood vessel in his brain. Frigus Harry Nader “We have plenty of defenses, the Commander isn’t a fool, she already knew the risks of sending out a distress call, and we’ve already terminated the signals coming from the devices we sent out before” the Reaper replied before shrugging, “Besides, if ADVENT can’t pull their heads out of their asses and use their world spanning empire to find one cargo ship, I doubt another would be able to find the Avenger” he added.

Take advantage of the performance and move to C7, all to whack the Journeyman in the face.

"Hm... Perhaps I do. Can't really blame myself, labor here sucked" he replied to Chance with a shrug, "Thanks anyway. Appreciate it" he added, before straightening, running back towards Mercaider after seeing him take an axe. Kind of his fault he was even there, so he had to at least give a bit of a hand to fix his mess. Tekeshi moves to D6.

Blue & Frigus “Ao Toshinori, and yes, this IS where the Commander focuses on Psionic Research. Not too much to look at right now, since it hasn’t been too much of a focus for the others. I’m really the only person here that knows a lot about Psionics… aside from your Ethereal” she replied, her voice still a bit angry when she mentioned Proditor. Before she could continue, however, Frigus came in, and began questioning her about how Psionics worked. Needless to say, Ao was a bit annoyed by the sudden entrance, but merely began to answer his questions, specifically answering that while Psionics do come from the mind, they can be enhanced by machinery, like the gauntlets she wears into battle to create her blades. Aquila “Well, I was waiting for two recruits to arrive here. One last spar before midnight. You’re free to watch and give pointers” Lazarus replied, gesturing to the seat beside him as he waited for the two recruits to arrive. Nader As Nader stepped out of the closet, he managed to walk out on one of XCOM’s soldiers, a man with a thick black beard and disheveled, medium length hair. Judging by the outfit, sniper rifle still slung over his shoulder, and Russian voice, this was still the Reaper from before, “Hm. I see you’ve been allowed use of some of our supplies.” Contagion Tygan didn’t seem to surprised at the fact that Contagion’s rifle blew up, aside from a curious glance to the side from the explosion. At Contagion’s explanation though, Tygan nodded, “I would appreciate having a blueprint of the battery on hand for later use. Unfortunately, we do not have much projects going on right now worth noting. Mostly smaller things to make the troops lives more comfortable” he stated, before pausing, “That said, I was informed you could generate toxic mist from your armor. If you can give me a few contained samples, it would offer a decent distraction from the Lance.” Proditor Proditor and the Commander merely moved through the Avenger, taking a direct route to her office. Needless to say, Proditor got several shocked looks from people he passed, but he ignored it as the Commander told everyone who seemed like they would do something to back down. Eventually though, the two arrived via elevator, leading into the Commander’s office, which looked more like a living quarters with a desk at the far end that, aside from a coffee machine to the side, looked like it has never been used. The Commander herself moved behind her desk, placing her mug down as she sat in its chair, looking up at Proditor as the Ethereal floated in the middle of the room, “Now. Give me a reason not to regret letting my men shoot you in the head when they saw you” the Commander ordered. After a second of thinking, Proditor began to speak, “We have a common enemy, one that I am willing to tear ADVENT apart to defeat. Angelis, the leader of ADVENT” Proditor replied. The Commander herself paused for a bit, before sighing, “That gives us a name for whose leading them, at least…” she muttered, leaning back in her chair. “I myself am Proditor, ADVENT’s past military tactician and close friend to Angelis. Past being the key word” Proditor continued, adding the final part when the Commander’s eyes widened a bit, “I left a year ago, if my time frame is correct, due to Angelis’s project-” Proditor stated, only to cut off when the Commander straightened, “The AVATAR Project” For a second, Proditor was silent, before nodding, “... Yes, who’m you’ve already met. I left ADVENT because Angelis’s pursuit of power went against our original goal, preparing other worlds for a threat one cannot defeat on their own. The Trespassers” Proditor explains. “You say that name, but what are they, exactly? I only have the knowledge that they’re world devouring” The Commander asked, not seeming that phased at the news, “Not saying that isn’t bad, I’d like to know what I’m dealing with” Proditor, for a second, thought, then continued, “I can’t explain. I was young when they devoured my home planet, over three thousand years ago. Since then we have been moving from planet to planet, raising species to be able to fight against these Trespassers, as they were following us ever since. I have no doubts about that. Unfortunately, none of the creatures we rose were psionically capable… So Angelis merely turned them into soldiers. Humanity was the first race aside from us with incredible psionic potential… but it seems Angelis is still trying to create simple soldiers” he said with a shake of his head, “... Either way, I left ADVENT because I was sickened at her new corrupted goals, and returned due to my task of helping worlds prepare for the Trespassers” he finished. For a few seconds, there was utter silence as the Commander thought it over. Proditor couldn’t even hear her own thoughts if he tried, her head was too secure for him to peek into. After the silence though, the Commander simply nodded, “Alright... Good enough. You’ll have to keep that psionic dampener on, I don’t want a fully powered Ethereal wandering my ship. Otherwise, you’ll be given a bit of freedom here until I go over this with Central” she replied, “You’re dismissed for now, Proditor. I’ll make sure to relay that you’re considered an ally to the rest of the troops so they don’t shoot you on sight” she added before pulling out a small tablet, turning it on to look over some files. Proditor, in response, nodded, turning away to move. However, as he did so, he paused, “Commander” he began, turning his head to look at the smaller woman, who simply rose her head a bit, “What is the status on the AVATAR Project? When will it be completed?” he asked. For another second, the Commander was silent. Then, she sighed, “About three weeks away from being completed, from what our contact in ADVENT tells us. We’re preparing to take it down as soon as possible, we just need an opening” she replied. At that, Proditor nodded again, “Thank you” he replied, before floating out of the room.

Psi-Labs Ao herself seemed to pause even before Blue even began to start trying to make himself more noticable, her eyes slowly moving across the room until she saw the small speck saying “Greetings”. Needless to say, that got her to stand, moving nearer to Blue before crouching down to get a better look, “... Greetings?” she replied, obviously a bit confused at the psionics she was feeling from the speck, along with the fact that it was even speaking. Aquila Aquila himself was able to grab himself a nice glass of beer from the bar rather quickly, as it seemed the bartender was rather quick with getting drinks ready. When he made his way back to the small training room, he found one person standing in there, his opponent having left already. Specifically, the armored form of Lazarus… At least, without his helmet on, revealing an inhuman, wrinkled face. Lazarus was simply sitting down on one of the benches, relaxing after his spar. He did quickly take notice in Aquila, straightening a bit at the sight of the armored Crusader, “I take it you’re looking around the Avenger?” he asked, resting an arm on his knee as he stared at Aquila.

Platinum Platinum didn’t really notice Lexi coming back in and getting knocked out in record time. If she didn’t, it probably wouldn’t have surprised her. She did hear the announcement that there would be no more ins, so it was a simple three on three match now. Well, three on one, since it was clear that two of the enemy team was barely even trying, at all. Just as she began to think that it would’ve been a rather simplistic win however, she took notice of the girl with deep blue hair throwing a ball her way… One that was almost impossibly fast. Platinum barely had time to react, only managing to get her hands up before the ball made contact with her smacking into her hands and managing to make the smaller girl skid a few inches as her hands gripped the ball. It WOULD’VE been a rather impressive catch, all things considered… If Platinum didn’t fall off her feet not a second after she caught it, hitting the ground hard and causing the ball to drop out of her hands. Needless to say, seeing the ball roll slowly on the floor after losing her grip was a huge disappointment for Platinum. But, not a second after she fell, she began to stand up again, heading over to the sidelines whilst shaking her hands, as they were stinging quite heavily after the failed attempt to catch Kaede’s ball. In the end, this was just a game. It didn’t really matter anyways.

Harry, Nader & Aquila As Tygan began to move away, he turned to address Harry’s question, as well as take the grenades, “The Proving Grounds are where we experiment with our weapons” he stated. Not a second afterwards, Bradford spoke up, watching as he others began to move with Shen and Tygan, “The Armory and Proving Grounds are this way. Follow me” he stated, gesturing for the three to follow him. Essentially, Bradford led the two through the Avenger, leading Aquila and Nader to the Armoury, while leading Harry to the Proving Grounds before heading off himself, saying that there was some things he needed to deal with at the Central Hub. The Armory was mostly a broken up area of several different functions, from a large training ground that had two people already sparring in it, dorms, a break room, a storage room, and then a bar (that had a memorial lined up with pictures). The Proving Grounds, however, was much smaller, essentially coming up to be an engineering room with plenty of tools and spare parts to work with, with a separate room for testing the effectiveness of each type of material made with multiple dummies. Workshop Unfortunately, Frigus was unable to find himself a Moogle Shop inside of the Avenger as Shen led the people going with her to her workshop, revealing a place filled with machinery, tools, and weapons being manufactured. She herself did say that she would be willing to give Alan some assistance with upgrading his DOOMBOT, as long as she could use it to up XCOM’s own mechanized units, but for the most part, she began to go over the schematics for the Lasgun, quickly becoming absorbed into the read as she absorbed the information from the Primer. Science Division “I believe we can figure out a way with the basic design of a plasma power source. The only complication is figuring out how to make one. And do not worry… I believe the Avenger has enough power to keep itself running three times over” Tygan replied to Contagion as they approached the science lab, the door opening to reveal a large room situated a large power generator, clearly creating a massive amount of power while remaining almost completely silent, “Currently, the Commander is wanting a way to increase our sniper’s effectiveness on the field, and right now, she has tasked us with creating a plasma rifle, or what we refer to as a ‘Plasma Lance’. I would always appreciate new minds on the team to assist” Tygan added, continuing to lead Contagion through the labs to where most of the ‘action’ was for XCOM’s scientists. Psi-Labs Blue himself was practically drawn to the Avenger’s Psionic Labs, discovering a rather small room with several machinery, a computer, and a resting room inside of it. Sitting in said resting room was the familiar face of Ao Toshinori, still in her Templar uniform. Seemed she was the only person inside of it.

At Harry’s proposal, Tygan stepped forward, taking the rifle in one hand and examining it, “Ah… Yes, similar in design to their previous models, but in pristine condition. It might reveal more about ADVENT’s technology” he said, looking up at Harry and nodding, “I would be glad to start disassembling some of their grenades as well” he added, turning to Contagion, “Your help would be much appreciated as well. Especially if you were to lend me that for examination.” Bradford himself raised an eye at Harry’s mention of “the Trespassers”, right before he closed his eyes and sighed, “Great… Not like we don’t have our hands full with ADVENT” he muttered. Right after he did so, he opened his eyes, looking at Rachel as she introduced himself, her introduction managing to confuse him a little bit, and going by the face of Lily, it confused her as well, though Tygan didn’t seem to take notice. Not a second after Rachel finished speaking, the Commander began to speak herself, having taken a pause to take another drink of coffee, “Yes, we do have quite a bit of fabric left over. Most civilian grade, but we have several crates stored aside that hold our military grade supplies” she replied, turning to face Rachel, “I’m sure Shen would be delighted to take a look at some new weapon schematics for our troops, right?” At the Commander’s question, Lily seemed to snap out of her confusion, going into a quick nod, “Yes, that would be a good side project for the ones I’m already working on” she replied, before looking at Alan’s Codex Brain that he held, “... Wait… You got that from a MEC?” she asked, walking forward to get a closer look, “That’s… Not normal… These are never found in one of their mechanized infantry…” she muttered, thinking on it for a second, “Hm… It must be a test ADVENT is trying to do to enhance their units…” “Considering the amount of processing power and intelligence a Codex has, I wouldn’t be surprised if ADVENT was beginning to use the Codex as their permanent AI” Bradford threw in, “... Either way, it’s not often we get a group with as much new skills as you all. Tygan, Shen, you may want to inform your teams that they’ll be very busy soon” he said, getting nods from both Shen and Tygan. The Commander, however, was now staring at Proditor, her tired eyes looking at him critically, “Bradford, I want you to direct this group to whatever station or area they wish to go to. I need to speak with this Ethereal” she stated, causing Bradford to turn, already looking like he was going to object before a sharp look from the corner of her eyes stopped him, “Follow me Ethereal” she ordered, turning around with another drink, before walking off, with Proditor silently following shortly after. Due to requests, here is a list of places one can go to: Science Division: Tygan's Domain. Lots of scientific crap where you can help advance XCOM's scientific knowledge/reverse engineer things. Workshop: Shen's Domain. Lots of building, as the name suggests. Armory: Where XCOM keeps their weapons, supplies, and troops. This is where you can help train up XCOM's troops or get trained yourself. Psi-Labs: Exactly what it says on the tin. Propaganda Division: Where XCOM's Propaganda is made.

At Contagion’s question, Ao turned her head to look at the armored man, “Dr. Tygan is figuring out how to make plasma weaponry, since several of ADVENT’s forces use those types of weaponry. I’m sure he’d take any assistance he can get” she answered. “As for these ‘Lasguns’, if they’re as effective as you say, our Chief Engineer would want to take a look into these to manufacture herself” The Reaper added, turning to Alan, “ADVENT’s AI is one of the few things they actually get right. Shen and Tygan can tamper with their AI however and shut off their tracking and signal producing capabilities. That would give you the ability to test around with it. And we do have equipment to reduce psionic manipulation” he answered himself. Not long afterwards, the intercom came to life again, “Alright, we’re landing now. Welcome home” the voice said on the other side before cutting off. After two seconds, the ship shuddered slightly as it set itself down, before the back hatch began to open with a loud hiss. As Firebrand’s back hatch opens, the party could see a rather large platform, lighted with spaced out lights in the ground, with a large door not far off of it. In addition, there were multiple guards standing around, keeping an eye out while two figures began to approach the platform. The first was a rather tall man in a very militaristic outfit, with a noticeable grey 5 o’clock shadow, and short brown hair, folding his arms as the operatives stepped out of Firebrand. The other was a much shorter woman, clearly about Satomi’s height, appearing as an asian woman with lightly greyed, medium length black hair and black circles under both of her eyes. Her outfit was a bit more casual than the man next to her, mainly being plain tan pants and a tan sweater, though she did wear a trench coat with a strange symbol imprinted on her left shoulder. In addition to all this, she had a plain white coffee mug, which was currently steaming in the night coolness. As the operatives approached, the woman took a long drink from her mug, before beginning to walk forward, “Again, good work out there troops. Phantom, get some more medical assistance for that scar. Lazarus, I would like you to come to my office in 10 hours, once we both get some rest” she said, getting a “Yes ma’am” from both in return as she walked past the operatives, the man at her side the entire time as she approached the party, “Greetings to all of you. I am Zhou Hua, Commander of XCOM and unofficial leader of the Resistance” she greeted, gesturing to the man next to her, “This is Central Officer Bradford, my second in command” she added. In response, Bradford raised a hand a little bit, before putting it back into his fold, “A pleasure to meet you all as well. It’s good to see more faces willing to help us” he said after a quick pause, with his gaze lingering on Proditor for a bit before going back to the group. As he did so, there was a small hissing sound from the sides of the platform… Right before it began to descend, bringing Firebrand and everyone on the platform down into the ship as a hatch began to close above them. Around the group was now multiple levels of small rooms, each seeming to be related to store tools and other material to repair and keep Firebrand functioning. The Commander herself simply gestured around with her hand as the platform continued to go down, “Welcome to the Avenger, one of the last true bases for Humanity’s Resistance” she stated as the platform reached the bottom, allowing two new people to step on, another asian woman in a orange shirt with the same symbol as the Commander’s on the trench coat, along with a simple vest and black gloves, and a bald man with a clear scientist’s outfit, along with a datapad in his hand. As the two approached, the woman scanned the group before looking at Proditor, her face turning into that of shock, “Wow… You weren’t joking when you said that we were bringing in an Ethereal…” she whispered. The man himself stared at Proditor, though in less of a shocked way and more of a wondered way, “Fascinating… I’ve never seen one of their kind in person. I shall have to ask the operatives on the field how they brought him in…” he stated, quickly writing something on his datapad. Once the two talked, the Commander turned her head to look at them, before looking back at the group and gesturing to them, “These two are our Chiefs of Technology Departments, Chief Engineer Lily Shen and Chief Scientist Tygan” she said before taking another drink from her mug.

Tekeshi himself... Really wasn't doing good himself. He could be feeling a lot worse, but he was also not doing quite well, as he was now taking on another swordsman in addition to another axeman, all while feeling ready to drop if he was about to get hit again. Seemed like the odds were stacked against him here... At least, before Mercaider came in and finished him off. "Yeah, I was beginning to think the same thing myself. Wasn't planning on sticking around here anyway" he replied, sheathing his sword before running off. Tekeshi gets the hell out of dodge and moves to G6.