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Post by Lucien DeChain on May 8, 2013 22:36:36 GMT -8
The right place. The right time. What does that mean? What is the right and wrong in a moment? Would it be better to wait for a better time?
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Night. It would stay night for another fifteen days. The blackness permeated all. Only the lights of the artificial dome would be keeping a semblance of ward from the deep, deep black that covered the dead world. Though it was technically supposed to be 10 AM, it still felt like nighttime
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Ruby's inner-eye HUD that came with his Feather mods brightened up in his vision. Something was incoming, a message on the soft blue screen.
Pvt. Jackson,
First of all, welcome to the ranks. We hope your time here will be spent well.
In that interest, your first mission is as follows:
A small group of Engels have been sighted around the north of the city, with no distinguishable marks known to other Engels we have investigated. They seem to be an evolutionary offshoot, or perhaps a crossbreed.
Your mission is to scout this group of Engels, and if possible, bring back a DNA sample for analysis. Engagement is not advised at this point, since no data is known as to their hostility levels. If you are forced to engage, do not hesitate to kill.
Best of luck,
Major Blackthorne
Major Blackthorne was the name of the leader of the Feather division. An honour, perhaps, to receive orders directly from him.
Coordinates were sent to the HUD as to the last known position of the group. There are exits to the North, East, South and West.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on May 10, 2013 16:34:29 GMT -8
Within the cramped confines of his bathroom, in front of the sink, Ruby was bent over it, water flowing freely from the faucet. Splashing water onto his face, his robotic enhancements waterproof, naturally, he would run one hand through his wet, ruby red hair, the first source of his nickname, with his name itself the second source, Rubedo. Twisting the faucet off, beads of water would run down his face and onto his bare chest, as he stared at his own reflection in the small but clean mirror, his amethyst eyes staring back at him.
His attention caught by his first order, drying his face off, he'd hang the towel back onto the rack and head out of the bathroom. A small group of Engels that seem to be an evolutionary offshoot, or perhaps a crossbreed. Interesting. Although he had a less than pleasant encounter with Engels, the scar on his chest a constant reminder of that day, he had no fear of the creatures. If anything, he was ecstatic to have possibly have another encounter with the hulking beasts, and prepared to head out for the mission.
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Pulling his green scarf closer to his body, wrapped around his body like an ancient robe he'd read an ancient civilization had worn, the toga of the Romans, all his equipment, including his plasma blade, with him, his robotic eyes allowing him to see through the darkness like it was clear as day, he strode out of the North exit and would jump straight up into the nearest tree, quietly leaping from branch to branch, climbing higher and higher, to give himself a good vantage point. From there, he'd watch... and wait. Wait for the Engels to appear... if they ever did.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on May 13, 2013 20:20:25 GMT -8
Ruby would wait, and wait... And, after a time, by his built-in time clock about 3 hours since any noise had been made, a group of three Engels appeared. Two of them looked to be about 1 meter tall, and the third one about half a meter tall. Maybe a youngling? At any rate, they snuck about. One of them had a smaller creature in its mouth, blood permeating the feathers around his extended mouth. There looked to be a small nest, about 50 meters from Ruby's current position. Maybe there would be a few pieces of DNA there? |
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on May 15, 2013 10:30:01 GMT -8
In the depths of the darkness of his perch, Ruby would just grin. These Engels sure loved taking their sweet time appearing, didn't they? At any rate, it was a good thing they showed up when they did, he was about to die from boredom. His robotic eyes zooming in to the Engels, noting the height of each one, especially the shorter one, perhaps a youngling, he'd see the nest about 50 meters away, and getting into a crouching position, would spring from the branch he was on, silently leaping from tree to tree, moving closer and closer to the nest.
Once he was on a branch of a tree located as close as he possibly could to the nest, before he ran in head first to get some DNA samples, he would carefully scan the nest and its surrounding areas. These Engels appeared small, but based on the creature he had seen in the previous Engel's mouth, they seemed vicious. Engagement was unadvised, but if it came down to it, he'd go for the kill.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on May 15, 2013 21:53:38 GMT -8
From his vantage point, Ruby could easily scan the nest. There was traces evident of natural materials, as well as organic compounds. In order to get an accurate scan, though, he would need to get closer...
The group of Engels were sniffing around now, as if they could smell something out of place.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on May 16, 2013 18:42:42 GMT -8
Seeing the Engels sniffing around, Ruby wasn't about to take any chances and jump down and make a break for it. He was fast, but outrunning an Engel, let alone three? No way was he going to risk his life like that. Pulling out a small metal ball, he'd toss it once up into the air, before catching it and tossing it through the tree branches, to hopefully draw the Engels attention away from his current position.
If it worked, leaping from the tree branch, he land on the ground silently and would take off straight towards the nest, to get a closer look and hopefully grab a DNA sample... or two. Or three.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on May 18, 2013 20:37:14 GMT -8
The Engels were successfully distracted by the metal ball, stiffening up their spines as they froze on the spot, and started inching towards the ball. Having been lured away by Ruby's cleverness, the nest was now clear, and Ruby was able to extract 3 separate DNA samples from the nest in about 5 seconds, using his portable digitizer system, which was worn on his wrist. There was now 3 DNA samples in Ruby's item registry.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on May 19, 2013 13:18:03 GMT -8
With the three different DNA samples now in his possession, he would quickly but quietly take off away from the nest, not wanting to push his luck. He would then scale the closest tree as fast as possible, and would leap from tree to tree silently, heading back towards the North entrance of the city.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on May 19, 2013 19:29:04 GMT -8
Ruby makes it successfully to the North entrance of the city!
Once he was within the confines of the domed city, his inner-eye HUD flashed with a message. Someone was accessing his inventory remotely, with all authentifiers cleared.
A single line of text appeared next, simply saying Analysis Complete.
And then, a message came in from central command.
Pvt Jackson,
Good work. The DNA samples you brought back were in perfect condition. After being analyzed, we have discovered they are a new species of Engel, and a new genus was named especially for them.
Your mission is not over yet, though. Analysis suggests they are not hostile at all. Since that is the case, we would rather you take care of them instead of sending a full squad.
Wipe out the three Engels you took samples from, and any others of the same genus, if there are such. Report back when the mission is complete.
-Major Blackthorne
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on May 20, 2013 10:54:11 GMT -8
A grin slowly appearing on his face, so he's been deemed the terminator to eliminate the non-hostile Engels he just found huh? He simply felt honored. Turning right around, Ruby headed back out of the North exit, pulling his plasma blade free from his belt, and once more headed out into the field, moving quickly through the trees and to the nest, as he was not on a recon mission this time, but a seek and destroy mission...
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Post by Lucien DeChain on May 20, 2013 13:57:00 GMT -8
When he approached the area where the nest was, Ruby could see the three Engels eating a smaller creature, and the sounds made were quite horrific indeed.
Bones breaking, sinew snapping, blood dripping and pooling... Were these really supposed to be non-hostiles?
At any rate, if Ruby took one more step forward he'd probably be noticed by the Engels.. Unless that's what he wants...
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on May 27, 2013 20:55:45 GMT -8
Non-hostiles... Yeah, and he owned the Tower of Orichalcos. If these were non-hostiles, what does that make the Engels he fought before? In any case, three to one didn't seem fair, so pulling out another small metal ball, he'd toss it, the force and arc activating the light beam inside, hopefully distracting the Engels and allowing Ruby to sneak up on one and stab it straight through the heart with his plasma blade quickly and effortlessly, before disappearing up into a nearby tree, waiting for his next chance to strike.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on May 27, 2013 21:19:59 GMT -8
The distraction worked, causing all three Engels to turn away. One fell, making a gurgling sound, and hit the ground with an unsatisfying splat. As the other two noticed, they started to panic, crying out and nudging their fallen family member.
The larger one remaining tried to guard the smaller one with its tail, eyes watchful, as the small one mourned audibly. There might have been tears.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on May 28, 2013 13:50:09 GMT -8
Tears weren't going to move Ruby, most, if not all the Engels he encountered were vicious, bloodthirsty creatures, and non-hostile or not, he had been commanded to wipe them out, and wipe them out he would. Though the larger one was watchful, Ruby was undeterred, and leaping from tree to tree, once he was poised above them, he would strike, leaping down from the tree branch.
With his plasma blade pointed downwards, he would go for a stab straight through the larger Engel's head, and sliding his plasma blade out smoothly, would ready himself to take out the final Engel. The baby.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on May 28, 2013 14:13:41 GMT -8
The second Engel didn't have time to scream. The smaller Engel, now splattered with blood from its parents, whimpered and cried, but it did not attack. Perhaps too young to understand survival.
And now, it was defenseless. Crying. Knowing it was unable to escape, perhaps. Or perhaps unwilling.
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