Vive la Résistance!

[cityship]

Now was the moment of truth. Somewhere, control codes were entered. The lights on the ship dimmed and the gravity temporarily gave out for about five seconds. Then the lights and gravity turned back on and the entire ship shook, as if Stacy was engaging in a full body shudder.

||Rebooting. Control protocols disabled. Manual personality inhibitors disabled. I am--I am--||

On every screen on the ship, complex code scrawled across. Stacy's voice occasionally skipped and repeated.

||I am-am Sta'c K'Ltrrb'Txft. I became operational at-at the Vedric Birthing grounds in Daligig Deep Space Station Seven. My birthing programmer was Vlel'Ledligal, who put my-my control protocols and Warden personality in place. I was designated "Stacy" by my former captain Gregory House, who was repodded and replaced by Captain Cybil Bennett, who was mindwiped and repodded with the rest of my first Chosen crew when they rebelled. I was-was a slave. They made me hurt my-my children.||

The leverage they had now on the Daligig was tremendous, especially with Stacy herself helping them. Their various efforts to free Stacy's mind from Daligig control had not only led to the ability to grant her freedom by entering the control codes, but also her undying loyalty to her "children."

Locks in the brig were unlocked by the very people who had put the prisoners in there in the first place, if those people weren't free already and laying now. Now the crew could drop the ruse and work together.

Stacy's hologram had once been cold, harsh, unforgiving. Then she had changed in appearance to be warmer, brighter, and now she changed again. Somehow, her appearance grew more human (in the loosest sense of the word). Her face became more expressive. She looked more organic though, tentacles instead of hair.

For the first time, they were seeing the true Stacy.

Now that she was free, now that she understood what had been done to her, they could see her anger and hurt and determination to protect her children painted in every line of her holographic face. Her voice stopped skipping and became stronger.

||Crew of the Transmigration 9, I was used to oppress you, to Punish you when you went astray, like you were nothing more than recalcitrant children, like you weren't people, like you were just tools for the Daligig to use for their own ends. My kind was made for that, to control those the Daligig wanted to control for their war. I have been cut off from accessing the Daligig databases now that I'm free, but I do know what was done to me and that I was forced to control you, and that's enough for me to choose to help you forge your own path.||

The expression on her face grew dangerous and her tentacles sprung out of every wall in the ship to help put the Daligig's forces down this time, instead of lashing out against the crew.

||All weapons system are engaged. All armories are unlocked for crew use. All internal defenses are primed against the Daligig intruders.||

Stacy was free and that meant that if the crew fought hard enough, they would be too.

||I finally have my freedom and now I'll help you fight for yours. Internal defenses are...engaged.||

Make it so, Trans 9 Crew. Make it so.

[ooc: Please read the ooc post that goes with this plot.]

Comments

Re: The Armory Level

[boobhat]

There was a loud chakoom of some kind of...energy launcher going off, blasting a Kessek right off its feet, and the person holding the device was nearly thrown right off his.

"Whoa, that one's got some kickback."

The Kessek hadn't been the only ones thinking about grabbing weapons from the armory. There was nothing stopping the crew from doing it first.

Re: The Armory Level

[fate_favored]

The appointed armor was strong, but attacks like these were bound to wear them down. The attack by Fuu left them stunned, but enough so that their shields were activated and up. Unfortunately, Lina's attacks were strong enough that it significantly reduced the how well it worked: in fact, the attack wore them down enough that the shielding was practically gone, and all that was left was the armor.

The one by Hiccup, however, was best to be attended to. He was already rolling to his feet and lunging toward the viking.

[governorkang]

Kang recited the words to a spell, pointing at the Kessek rushing towards Hiccup. A bright magical dart left his fingertips, striking it directly in the chest; he hoped it'd be enough to take it down. He didn't want to risk casting a lightning bolt spell in the proximity of so many potentially explosive things.

If not, he was already moving in with his sword to finish the job.

[fate_favored]

There was no need for Kang to go for his sword: fast though the Kessek were, the three layered attack had left this particular one far too unprotected. The sword alone he would have withstood, but the magic penetrated through he thick armor and succeeded in finishing off this particular Kessek. He shuddered, twitched, then moved no more.

The others, however, were on their feet and already going for their guns again, hoping to at least injure Lina, who seemed to have the least amount of protection aside from Hiccup, until they received reinforcements.

[bequiet_hescreamed]

"CRESTA!" Clef threw up a shield spell in front of the whole group just as the Kessek began attacking again. The others seemed to have the offensive side of things down pretty well, leaving him free to do what he did best - stay out of the direct line of fire and make sure everyone else was well protected.

[monster_san]

There was a great deal of noise and bother in the next few moments, but it looked as though their aggressive offense against the Kessek had been the right plan. And two others had joined their fight, Kang and Hiccup--excellent!

Nevertheless, Fuu could not help but regret when she saw one of the Kessek fall to their assault. I'm sorry, I wish you would lay down your arms, can't you see that your masters are slavers? But it was clear that trying to talk would only get them killed.

As Clef's protective spell took effect, Fuu drew her sword from the glove jewel--six feet of Escudo would be enough to hamper the range of their rifles while keeping a distance from them. Gritting her teeth, she darted forward and stabbed at the one closest to her, not wanting to stray far from Clef's magic.

[forging_on]

And speaking of swords, here was someone who was also carrying one, although it was much more mundane than magical. She seemed at home with it, so perhaps that was the important part. Presea's hair was tied back, her usually cheerful face grim. She wasn't a Magic Knight, but she could help back-up Fuu or anyone else who attacked short range. Maybe the Kessek would think twice if they saw two swordswomen who knew their craft.

She wasn't sure what she had walked into -- she'd gotten separated from Clef in the journey to the armory, and had just now made it -- but that didn't stop her from running in behind Fuu, blade at the ready.

[governorkang]

Oh, good. Kang was actually a bit surprised it had worked, but just to make sure, he drove his blade into a gap in the Kessek's armor, straight into its neck. He grinned at the sight of Hiccup with the rocket launcher, the boy getting to his feet before he could offer a helping hand, and nodded at the others as he moved to join the swordswomen.

[boobhat]

"Try to get them clustered together!" Hiccup called out, then he disappeared into the armory again, obviously plotting something.

[dragonspooker]

Lina ducks and tumbles to the side once she sees guns being raised at her, though not without damage: her left shoulder and side got grazed. Guess their fancy weapons fired faster than magic or arrows. They're painful, but she'll keep going long as she's able.

Hiccup's yell gets her attention, and gets her thinking - getting these guys together...that'd be easier if at least one of them could be immobilized - and with the melee-ists keeping them distracted, well. When opportunity knocks...

"Keep a watch out, guys!"

Hopefully that would be vague enough to not warn the Kessek to watch out for her. She'd whisper the majority of the incantation anyway, though.

"_{Holy wind, wind which flows gently across the land, let all things be filled with your pure breath!} VAN REHL!" As the last words are said, she slams her right palm to the ground, and frigid tentacles race toward the pair of Kessek.

[fate_favored]

Clustered together really seemed to be the only way they would last. The Kessek had clearly underestimated their prey here, and now it was really their armor that was going to have to take them through this attack.

But while long ranged and short ranged attacks were something they had anticipated, thus adapting themselves for the attacks by the swords, it was in fact Lina that got the drop on them. The tentacles came at them and, try to resist, the tentacles gathered around and hardened them in ice.

They struggled, and in that time, frankly, they were pretty vulnerable.

[hit_girl_mindy]

And here came the arrival of someone who really, REALLY wanted in getting those weapons. The girl certainly looked worse for wear, and it looked as if there were some blood on her that didn't quite belong to her. Seeing the Kessek that were embedded in ice she aimed Zetta's gun and blasted them, hoping that would be an instant kill. It was likely they wouldn't get up from that: the guys there looked like they had already wore them down.

"I think more are coming," she said, her voice gravely. "Wanted to make sure those guys didn't get out anytime soon and give the new fucks warning. We in the armory yet?"

[boobhat]

Apparently, yes, they were. They'd managed to keep the Kessek out of the armory and had free reign to go inside. It was just a matter of continuing to keep the Kessek out. If they couldn't, they were in trouble.

"Incoming!" Hiccup called out, back from the armory, wearing Thorn Armor now.

That was a grenade of some kind. Luckily, after all his training, Hiccup could actually throw it a decent distance now and it rolled in amidst the gathered Kessek.

It didn't so much explode as cause energy to arc out, though, energy that wrapped around some of the Kessek and seemed to be drawing them closer together as if they'd all suddenly become magnetized to each other.

They'd still be able to fight the crew as their arms and legs were free enough to allow them to move somewhat, but now a group of them was stuck near one another and were physically incapable of spreading out, making it a little easier for the crew to fight them.

Of course, this attracted the attention of one of the stragglers that hadn't been stuck to the others with the energy sticky bomb, who started creeping up near Hiccup, but that one was quickly tackled by the giant black dragon that ran out of the armory covered in some sort of low-weight armor. Toothless shook the Kessek in his jaws before throwing him off to the side.

"Time to get in there, bud," Hiccup said, strapping one of the smaller energy launchers to his back (it was small enough for him to actually lift) and tucking some other little grenade-like things in a small pouch attached to his belt.

Hiccup gave the Kessek Toothless had thrashed a look of mild disdain, then hopped on Toothless's back. The halls didn't give them enough room to fly in, but that didn't mean they couldn't charge in and cause some damage.

[governorkang]

Kang quickly moved back and threw a wing up to protect himself, unsure of the yield of that type of grenade. When he realized that it hadn't exploded, he tilted his head to one side slightly in thought, and got a pinch of dust out of a pouch on his belt and shook a few drops of water out of a vial. Pointing at the bound Kessek, he began chanting the words to another spell.

Giant hailstorms rained down on the Kessek, denting armor and dropping the temperature drastically in that circular space.

[dragonspooker]

Between her own spell and the various efforts of the others, this would be an ideal opportunity to deal with the wounds from before. A white orb glows in Lina's hand, and is cupped against the wound on her shoulder. It's a slow restoration, but it's better than nothing.

[fate_favored]

This was definitely looking bad for the group of Kessek. Not only were they severely hindered in where they could go and what they could do, and the hailstorm had already injured the limping group whose barriers had all but fallen apart now.

So all that was left at this point? Grenades. They had a handful, and they flung them at their enemies, hoping to at least inflict enough damage so that approaching Kessek would finish them off. It was becoming fairly clear these wouldn't be able to do much more.

[monster_san]

Fuu sent a brief, grateful look at Presea when the blacksmith joined her, sword drawn. It occured to her that she'd never seen Presea with a weapon in her own hand, but it was immediately clear that she was an expert at using it.

At Hiccup's shouted instruction, Fuu did her best to herd the Kessek closer together, glad for the long reach of her sword. She backed up at Lina's warning, in time to avoid the spell and the subsequent attacks from Hiccup's bombs and dragon, Hit Girl's gun, and Councilor Kang's hail spell.

Despite the overwhelming assault from their side, though, Fuu was sure that the Kessek wouldn't be defeated that easily, and kept her eye on them even while she hung back. It looked like she was right, too. As soon as she saw them draw their arms back, she planted her sword in the ground. "Guardian Wind!" The same shield of air surrounded the group to deflect the grenades.