maskormenacelogs | Eternal Chrome: Finale

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Eternal Chrome: Finale

WHO: The base raid is closed to characters investigating the Maurtia Falls kidnapping plot; the ballroom is open to all
WHERE: A secret hidden base outside of the city -AND- A fancy ballroom in Maurtia Falls
WHEN: The night of October 27th
WHAT: ImPorts have tracked down the location of the missing youths, and go to take down the group who kidnapped and transformed them. Meanwhile, a small group of cybernetic soldiers cause trouble in the city.
WARNINGS: Body horror, violence

THE BASE: ENTRANCE

Cassandra's vision has revealed the current fate of the missing youths. They're resting in strange, clear pods, suspended on curved walls of a laboratory filled with doctors and machinery. However, were it not for her powers, they would barely be recognizable as the missing people; their bodies are encased in metallic armor, and the only human flesh that remains visible are the lower halves of their faces.

The base is roughly sixty miles north of Maurtia Falls, camouflaged by trees and dead leaves that litter the ground, and the only visible building is an old, abandoned shed in the woods. The rotting wood is more camouflage, though; the building itself is made of thick metal, with machinery and computers inside. Any technological wizards in the group might be able to find a way down with some trial and error, but they'll have to work quickly; once security sees them, it's only a matter of time before the guards catch up with them. Then again, they might be able to use the guards to their advantage. After all, they have to be coming from somewhere

02. THE BASE: ATTACK

Congratulations, imPorts, you've made your way into the base. However, nobody is going down without a fight. A mechanical, androgynous voice can be heard over intercoms throughout the base, speaking over the noise.

"CODE INDIGO. REPEAT, CODE INDIGO"

At that signal, the cyborgs begin to march down the halls, slow and steady and without a single trace of emotion. Their visors cover their face, save for their mouths, and they glow red as they raise their arms, preparing for a fight. Meanwhile human guards watch over the scientists deep within the base, keeping them safe while they gather as much information as they can before making their escape.

CHARITY FUNDRAISER

The Chrysalis Spooktober fest is going plendidly. Locals mingle with each other and any imPorts in attendance, and the dinner is peaceful (though the chicken is a bit dry). There will be a costume party later, but now, it's time for the charity auction!

The first item is a very fine antique vase, but before the auctioneer can hit the gavel to announce its sale, there's a loud crash and screams from the crowd. Four figures break through the window, flying in on jetpacks, and they hover above the frightened crowd. Covered head to toe in steel, their visors glow red as they raise their hands, sending bursts of lasers at their feet. Should any imPorts catch their attention, though, they'll quickly find a new target.

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Lying flat on his stomach in the dry fall leaves, Jacob surveys the shed from afar through his costume's advanced visor, tracking and recording all available information. Only when he's sure that no hostile eyes are watching does he slowly get back to his feet, brushing leaves off his armour as he does.

"I don't see any defenses on the surface," he says to anyone around him. "The heavy stuff must be inside."

He pauses, looking downward with regret, feeling the weakness still heavy around his bones. He's been out of the hospital and training again for weeks, but still has to admit that he's not back up to full strength yet. Which makes him a liability on a mission like this, a risk that the people they're trying to rescue don't need.

"Probably best if I don't come inside," he says reluctantly. "I'll stay out here and help coordinate. Just take it easy on the cyborgs if you can. They didn't ask for this."

From what he's heard about Chrysalis' experiments, this is one of the most monstrous plots he's ever come across in his time as an imPort 'hero.' Kidnapping young people was bad enough, but warping their bodies into weapons sets a fire in Jacob's heart.

Veronica's not exactly the likeliest person for a mission like this, and thankfully, she's not planning on charging in herself. But she looks up now at Jacob from her seat on the ground, where she's using a flashlight to review what they've pooled together of the plans.

"You need help with coordination?" she asks.

Jacob blinks when she volunteers. He's used to seeing teen heroes around, but usually they look like they're at least used to that life, covered in gadgets and spandex and armour. But he's learned not to make assumptions about imPorts... for all he knows, Veronica is a thousand years old and learned the arts of war on another planet.

"Sure," he says after a moment. "Whatever you've got to offer. Don't think I got your name though- I'm Jacob Taylor. The Protector."

He doesn't offer a handshake, as he usually would. Some shit with cyborgs and abducted kids and mad science is about to go down, it's not a good handshake situation.

She once accidentally got caught up in the murders of three classmates, that's the closest thing to war Veronica's ever come. At least before coming here.

"I'm Veronica," she says. "Sawyer. No codename, I just came along because of Club Metro." Which she came to because she'd been digging into the disappearances, looking at what was going on, trying to ignore that horrible nagging feeling that she could be next. "And I can't really offer a lot, outside of coordination. I'm not bad with tech and I know how to talk to people, and I can swing a croquet mallet, but that's pretty much it."

A sardonic smile. Yeah, she knows, that's not a very glowing resumé.

"I've heard about you on the news," she adds.

"Yeah?" Jacob gives a half-smile at that. "Good stuff, I hope."

The smile fades, and he looks downward. "I heard about the club. It's awful stuff. I'll take any help I can get while the others are headed inside."

What they really need is some kind of monitor setup with biometric tracking for each team member. What they have is Jacob's helmet and their communicators. They'll have to figure something out.

"Mostly," she says.

She lets out a breath and looks back down at the files. "It was shit," she says, simply, but passes the files over to him. "If they're in there, do you think we could talk them down, somehow? They're just kids. They didn't deserve that."

"Hopefully." The thought deepens Jacob's frown. He focuses on the files, trying to put his energy toward something productive, on new information and tactics. "Whatever's been done to them, it looks like they're being controlled somehow. They might not be able to stop."

And no one deserved that either, but that wouldn't change the violence the heroes might need to inflict on their altered bodies in order to stop this insanity.

"If they're being controlled, then someone or something has to be doing the controlling." It's a logical leap to make, but there are clues missing, things Veronica doesn't know and is fairly certain she may have missed. But this is something, this is a thread of hope.

"If we take it out, or even if we just seize it, we can make them stop," she says. "It's just a matter of finding the thing or the room or whatever that they're trying their hardest to protect. Getting in—that'd be harder."

Jacob brightens up a little at her words. "You're probably on to something," he says, impressed. "Maybe there's a control signal that we can track back to a source. Once we know where they're being controlled from, we've got a target."

A surgical strike against one particular nerve center appeals to him a lot more than trying to clear out the whole complex room by room.

"They'll probably have beefed up the security on wherever that is," Veronica says, puffing up slightly with pride. "Physically and, if they're smart, over tech too. And if they're smart enough to turn people into cyborgs, that'd be easy for them. You'd have to be a very good hacker to track down the signal and find its source."

Which she isn't.

"Who's here who could do that?"

"So if we throw our people at wherever the defenses are thickest, there's a good chance we'll find something worth wrecking," Jacob says dryly, but without sarcasm. Honestly, a huge chunk of how missions had worked on worked on the Normandy involved moving toward the source of the next wave of mercenaries and mechs to find out what they were defending.

"That hacker on the Majority Report- Oracle," he continues. "I don't know who they are, but they've got skills. And they've been looking into this too. I don't suppose you know how to get in contact?"

[ Cassandra's probably going to yell at him for this.

It's a funny thing to think of after having finally tracked their leads down to the source, but it's what comes to mind nonetheless. Kark that. He's been following this from the beginning and he intends to see it through - that, and he's got people he can rely on by his side. After some thought, Rex arrived in his police uniform, both to lend this operation a little more validity and because he knows that if he needs his armour, he can suit up in the blink of an eye. He has four firearms on his person - two guns and two blasters - though his blasters are the ones he keeps near, hands hovering over them as he crouches behind one of the quickly rotting trees. ]

Right. Far as I can tell, first priority's getting those kids out safe. Second is making sure that any evidence remains untouched. We want to get them out, but we need to take whoever's in charge of this operation down too.

Agreed. Prisoners first, then we shut these people down so they can't do this again.

[ Kanan is always glad to have an ally with similar priorities. Information is great if they can get it, but no information is worth more than innocent lives. And he trusts Rex to know this. ]

What's the security look like?

[ He can sense people but robots and alarms and such he'll need a heads-up for. ]

Four guards at the entrance. Most of the place is camouflaged by rotting wood. I'd bet my blaster that some of that's disguising security cameras - I know where I'd put them, if I were them.

[ He's got his eye on a couple of suspicious patches of wood. A quick blaster shot in their direction would give them away, but it'd also mean they won't know what's coming for them. It'll be worth it eventually, though not immediately. ]

That's it. They've only gotten this far in the first place by ensuring it looks as inconspicuous as possible. I say we take out the guards from afar, shoot out the cameras we can sniff out, and storm the place. Keep up the element of surprise.

I like the element of surprise. Though, be ready for anything. There might be more security that you're not seeing.

[ They all know this, of course. ]

I almost miss the stormtrooper uniforms sometimes. Those helmets sure can be convenient.

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Eternal Chrome: Finale

Entrance: Pre-raid

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ENTRANCE

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