trans_9 | Loud noises in the City [Open]

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Loud noises in the City [Open]

For the keen-eared to hear, there's shouting and loud voices coming from the lab opening cut high in the side of the Jedi Temple. Those new to the area, or possibly GLADOSed for an extended period of time -- in short, those who haven't learned to tune this sort of thing out -- might even be able to make out words, if they listened.

"No! That was not a command!"

"Command entered! This section of the laboratory is now being guarded against all intruders."

"Oh, for the sake of--"

"Warning! Intruder, leave the premises or face the wrath of arcane fury!"

"...I'm an intruder. In my own laboratory. You've got to be--"

"You have ten seconds to comply!"

"End instruction! Keyword: Sielwode."

"Keyword override is locked out for protection. You have 5 seconds!"

A few seconds passed.

"Why does it always have to end like this?"

A moment later, flame belched out of the laboratory opening, as a low thump heralded the fireball's detonation. Another moment later, the elf drifted out of the cut and to the ground, waving away the smell of brimstone and scorched defective golem with a miserable look on his face.

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<Dude, a few moments ago you were on fire. Unless you've got some secret ability to not burn, I kinda doubt that you're fine.> Peering closely to make sure the flames were all gone, Marco carefully landed on the ground nearby. <What the hell were you even doing, anyway?>

"Just the fringes of a fireball spell." Aibghalien dusted some ash off himself with a weary expression. "I do that all the time. I've been working on golems, but I've had little luck so far. Most of them have tended towards opening hostilities, so... it becomes necessary to destroy them."

<Ah, so the little clay men are getting uppity> Marco said, bobbing his head. <Have you tried, oh, giving them an off button instead?>

"Wooden, in this case. A fireball IS their off button," he grumbled. "They keep getting lockdown in the orders phase. I'm enchanting them improperly, and I'm not certain where."

<Right, and how much of the City is going to be burnt down before you figure that out?> he said, chicken-hopping closer to Aibghalien.

"None, I assure you." The elf disguised his mild annoyance with questions like that to the best of his ability. "My lab is completely fireproof and contained. I do have some experience in this."

<Ah, good to know. If I ever need someone with experiencing in setting themselves on fire, I will come to you man.>

"I haven't set myself on fire since my apprenticeship, than you." No more disguising the irritation. He was tired of the failures, tired of the insults, tired of the ship, and his diplomatic streak was at an end. "Have you any more witticisms to share? Feel free to get them all out now!"

<Dude, do elves not have a sense of humour or something?> Marco paused. <Uh, you are an elf, right?>

The challenge brought Aibghalien slightly more back to his senses, at least enough to muffle the outright anger shove it down, replacing it with irritation once again.

"Yes, I am an elf. And I apologize," he said, as charitably as he could manage (which wasn't very, but he was trying). "My failure, thusfar, to have arrived at a productive answer to our present dilemma has made me more sensitive to perceived slurs against my ability than I ought to be."

<Hey man, it's cool,> Marco said, shrugging (which admittedly looked rather odd on an osprey). He chicken-hopped a little closer to Aibghalien again, turning his head to deliver the elf a piercing stare. <But dude, who the hell said that you had to solve everything? I mean, come on. There's no way any one person is gonna be able to defeat the Ohm all on their own.>

"I've destroyed armies and crushed gods," Aibghalien said, angry only with himself now. "Maybe I can't solve the situation, but I ought to be able to do SOMEthing more than I have!"

<Oh, well if you've crushed armies and gods. In that case bigshot, we'll just sit back and watch you have at the Ohm.> If it weren't for the fact that he was a bird at the moment, Marco would be rolling his eyes right now. <Dude, did you miss the part where they destroy worlds? These guys don't just throw lightning bolts from above and pillage cities. They obliterate entire realities. We aren't gonna beat them by just throwing more firepower at them. What we need is to find out what their weaknesses are, and exploit them.>

"I know. I'm not honestly expecting to destroy them in one spell." He sighed, looking back up to his lab. "But it seems all of my major resources have been curtailed. I'm unable to summon, for example; something about the ship or the medium it travels through makes other planes unreachable. That would have made a monumental difference in numbers and capabilities. Nor can I contact outer plans to ask questions and glean answers... so thus far I feel I have accomplished nothing. And that galls me."

<Dude, you've still got more firepower than most people on the ship. Spare a thought for the rest of us mere mortals who can't can't use the Ultimate Spells of Flaming Death, or whatever it is that you do.>

"I have, actually," the elf mused, half-to-himself. "I was working with my roommate, Stephen Valkonan, on a weapon that would provide for personal defense and offense to those without magical training, but after a delivery of ludicrously potent weapons, that kind of took the wind out of our sails."

<Ah, so you're only happy if you're the one to give everyone ludicrously potent weapons, is that it?>

"Well, it did rather spoil the reveal," Aibghalien said. "Not that we don't plan to introduce the weapons anyway, but it irks me to be unable to do something not easily replicable by others. If that is egotism, so be it, but I didn't pursue a discipline specifically known for versatility to be unable to provide at least some meaningful help in a crisis."

<Except for all you know, yours will still be more effective,> Marco noted. <For all the tech those GIA guys have got? They're still not winning this war. I told you man - we don't need more firepower, we need to find their weaknesses. Fight smart.>

"Or, alternately, mitigating their strengths. That's why I've been pursuing golem research... to increase our numbers, which right now is their strength. Beyond that... they seem to fall to anything substantial. It is their sheer overwhelming numbers that give them the advantage everywhere."

<You'd be surprised how much damage a small group can do against a much larger and more powerful enemy, if you play your cards right,> Marco said dryly. <I for one would suggest investing in giant cans of bug spray.>

Edited 2011-01-08 03:04 (UTC)

"Hmm. You know, that's actually a good idea, in modified version..." You've only given him more horrible ideas, Marco.

Marco however, was just grinning.

Well okay, he wasn't actually grinning. Not even Marco could managed to do that when he had a beak. But he was thinking about grinning.

<See, who needs laser weapons when you've got giant bug spray? Or magic giant bug spray, if you're the one making it.>

"Well, I could certainly attempt to modify a basic cloudkill spell to utilizing a specifically inimical toxin... but I'd need further data on their biology..." He stopped abruptly, frowning. "And a disintegrate spell is more effective than any of those lasers, the lasers just have the advantage of greater usage and greater ammunition."

<Riiiiiiight,> Marco said. <I'll just sit here and pretend that made sense, shall I?>

Loud noises in the City [Open]

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