I'm going to be in-and-out for the majority of the evening.

I know the last day has been pretty stressful for various parties, and there'll be some sorting out and re-calibrating and whatnot over the next couple days. While I am very happy and honored to have the chance to keep this place going, this is still very bitter sweet for me, because one of my dearest and oldest internet friends is stepping away from this community.  I hope that I can properly serve as a steward for his legacy.

I've posted this in the Whateververse mainly because I didn't want it to overlap with Greg's words.

I'm not going to be around much tonight, because I'm going out to dinner with my lady.

I invite everyone anyone out there to bombard my mailbox with all your questions/concerns/suggestions/rage/grief and any other emotions you may feel.  I want to reassure you that I will do everything in my power to best help this place grow.  I'm just a person -- I have my flaws -- but you have my word that I will work as hard as I can to serve you all.

I likely will not respond to any individual messages.  I'd rather take them all, remove the names they are from, answer them, and then share that information here.  I do a similar thing every quarter with my classrooms to try and assess the moods and the culture.

So please.  If you have thoughts, send them.

More or less, I’m sick of dealing with people complaining about how the chatbox is going the wrong way, lecturing me on how https is important, and how someone phrased something the wrong way and so it’s real important that we start a holy war. Go start your own Omniverse if you dislike it, otherwise, please go. No more.

I’m leaving this place to Alex, because I’m tired of the above.

There will be no more skirting around the rules. If you start abusive shit, you’ll get banned. If I have to come back, I’ll nuke this place into orbit. I’m tired of y’all. Leave me alone.

I typed up a longer thing but it’s more or less just a longer way of saying the above. I wouldn’t read it unless you’re looking to add more stress into your day.

[spoiler]I’m still seriously tempted to just delete this website. It’s not the majority, but it’s a large minority of people who have pushed it to the edge with absolutely no fucks given. The flagrant attempts to get around the rules, to use the rules or positions of power to your own advantage, or to manipulate me personally. Some are almost blatant with trolling and abuse, just remaining within the margins of the rules (I’m looking at you, Cirno). Others do it while pretending to be victimised, as though I’ve EVER banned ANYONE for speaking out politely and objectively. I think I have been more than fair to those who disagree with me.

Generally I’m pretty good at being diplomatic but when the people you’re trying to serve end up being the ones making your life hell, you start to wonder why you’re doing it. It’s not like any of the most vocal critics could ever run their own Omniverse, so part of me wanted to erase it just to spite them. But that would be spiting all the good people too, who HAVE busted their asses to keep this place alive. And that’s the majority, I feel, even if they’re quiet. Some like Daniel have slaved away for years, others like Dane are pretty new to the game, but these guys do so without any expectation of recognition, and at the cost of their own time and mental wellbeing. Seeing people rag on these guys is like watching someone kick a dog, and then having to calmly explain to the abuser that dogs feel pain. I’m tired of being that guy, now.

I’m not chummy with everybody on the site or the staff, but I respect the hell out of everyone who genuinely puts the site before themselves. I apologise to Blink if this is somewhat personal, but we’ve hated each other for years – but we work together to make the site better because we both care more about the site than any personal garbage. That’s beautiful. I have lost friends by being impartial, because that is how important being impartial is to me. No friend of mine, or group of friends, is more important than the community. I give a shit about people even if I don’t know them personally, because that’s just the kind of brain I have. I think that’s generally accepted, I’m just on a rant here because I’ve been accused of favouring those I’m friends with, and that sticks with me more than anything. I like to think that’s part of why the community flourished. I am dedicated to this being a neutral ground for all kinds of people. I mean, it’s a crossover community. That makes sense, right?

I’ve busted my balls to try and understand the problems people have of late, but as far as I can tell it’s about humans always looking for SOMETHING to argue about, especially during peacetime. The site is literally the most optimised it has ever been. Yet somehow people are more dissatisfied now than they were back in 2014, when we had real problems. Go figure. I mean hell, I’m ruder than Dane, and I always made it clear that while etiquette is cool and nice, it’s not as important as getting shit done, which is what Dane is doing – because the latter is what’s keeping this site running. If you don’t like hanging around someone, you can leave the chatbox. Is that so fucking hard?? We have discord rooms, you can start your own private chats with your friends. You can go read a book or play a videogame. I understand that some folk are around here to a suffocating degree, but that’s not a bannable offense.

I made this website partly because I like to play with systems. I like to design things. I also had the privilege of growing up with play-by-post sites. Nothing like the Omniverse existed when I made it, so I had to make it. After I made it, I felt an obligation to make sure it worked as intended. As people constantly reminded me, the systems were “in beta” or “in alpha”, and some problems never arose until players started playing with the systems. That’s natural when you’re treading unexplored territory.

Frankly I found the process of iteration and improvement to be fulfilling, and still do. But what I don’t enjoy is getting hassled about things that have nothing to do with that. Https, https, the chatbox is going the wrong way, someone didn’t use the correct term of endearment and I started a holy war. While I find myself to be very calm and reasonable most of the time, I’d much rather be tinkering away than dealing with community stuff. And the site is inherently a COMMUNITY, not just a game. I’m good at the game part, not so much the community.

What I fear most about stepping away is that the site will degrade. Clearly that’s what’s happened in the last six months to a year. People tell me to try stepping down for a while, but that’s what I’ve been doing already, friends. And that’s exactly why things have fallen apart. So frankly I’m pessimistic. But I have been implored by many to leave the site up, to at least let people use it. Alex has assured me that he is happy to take it over. So that’s what I’m going to do.

But make no mistake, this site is still my baby. And I’d rather nuke it than watch it slowly go to shit. That won’t be the end, because there will always be another PbP, but it will be the end of my Omniverse.[/spoiler]

I’m sorry this had to end on such a negative note. But while this has been negative for me, I hope that it’ll mean positive things for me moving forward. My tendrils have been wrapped up in the Omniverse for so long, I’m sure I’ve got new ideas to breathe life into. It’s time to give them some love.

Love,

Greg

Quote:Warning: Dark water's ahead, please read with caution. Subject matter may not be suitable for all audiences. If you are offended by even the mention of sexual assault, please do not participate.
[spoiler]I do not encourage or approve of rape in any shape, form, or to any gender. I have agreed not to include any graphic imagery about the subject upon joining, but I have used it to make my bad-guys more unlikable by implying the villains have done and will do it again. This is merely a warning for anyone who wishes not to be subjected to it at all. I have aptly tagged my thread as Mature because the subject is merely threatened on my own character but do not plan to initiate it as made obvious by the end of this post. [/spoiler]

Ash heard the swooshing of several floors being passed in different increments. She could see and feel her voluminous yet light hair floating due to the high-speed movements of the small space but resisted the urge to play with it in front of her company or else be arrested for having too much fun.

They both were graveyard silent as the tier’s rushed by, and she noted that her body was a bit tensed up while Ash was completely relaxed. Other than that, Jazza didn’t seem to be ready for her own interrogation or probing questions that would get on Ash’s nerves at most.

Unfortunately for her she now had to think of a way to talk to Harlan Higgs without her escort raining down on her parade. And if she did, they had to at least talk about that guy who knows how to do a good tattoo at some point. She could manage that no problem, but she wasn’t really interested in any new ink despite the tribal skull she received as a result of her last visit down here. If anything, she was missing a piercing she’d like to get redone since the resurrection process did more than just heal the damage done by Dark Jak. It completely undid 9 years.

Ash quickly put that on her to-do list.




By the time they reached the point of the elevator coming to a gentle stop at tier five, the storm demon was beginning to think this companionship wouldn’t end horribly like the other ones did. Mostly because it was very clear neither female wanted the other one involved in their business. So she decided to at least approach this with that mutual respect as her boots tapped the metal on her exit.

Out on the street she turned to Jazza. “Am I allowed to summon something to get us to the casino faster?”

There was a bit of silence. “Affirmative. However, I might suggest hailing a cab instead. Might be faster than your promised abilities.”

The demoness wasn’t sure if the female soldier was trying to be a smartass or clever. After all, she could summon anything, anything destructive enough to wipe her out. “Good idea.” Ash acknowledged before reaching out a hand and trying to flag down some kind of transportation.

Something straight out of the 1950’s swerved around the corner almost instantly, a bright yellow car, curved and bulky as fuck compared to anything Ash has ever sat in. It honked its horn twice before it pulled to a less than safe stop in front of the girls. A thin grey skinned guy hung his head and arm out of the window, blowing the drag from his cigarette out to the side before flashing them a smile. “Where are you headed, ladies?” He had a bit of a Bronx accent.

Ash’s attention was instantly drawn to him as possibly a gang member of the Gentlemen of Jacks. Which was only solidified when the man finally recognized her. He was about to drop his smoke with his jaw when she put her finger against her lips. “Just a couple of gambling girls here, know where we can have some fun?”

“Of course I do.” He said, promptly, if a bit stiffly. “Hope in the back, I’ll run ya there faster than anyone else can.”

“I doubt that.” Jazza said dryly, climbing in after Ash. “If all members of the taxi community continue to follow all the driving laws then you would not be able to-”

“Harlan makes the rules here.” The driver said, before ramming the vehicle into gear and hitting the gas.

This silenced Jazza as it pushed them against the back seat, Ash giggled a bit. After they were able to move again she moved closer to the cage between her and the driver. “Harlan? That prime that was in Dante’s Abyss last year?”

“The one and only.” The driver claimed. His name plate said Benny Baltimore.

“Do you think he will be there? I’d love to get his autograph!” Ash let a moan slip from her as she spoke.

“He should be. I’ve been on the road for some time though, haven’t checked in in a while though. Can’t say for sure. I do know he has been looking for a couple of dames though. Something about a friend in trouble lately and he needs to address that. Then the thing with the Ultramarine happened. This is all coming down from the good ole grapevine, but damn you look a lot like the girl they said they banished.”

“Do I?” Ash said, acting stupid.

“Yeah, but we don’t get a lot of demons down here. Or anyone new really.” He made a point to look at the stormtrooper, too. “Not many of you guys either.”

“I imagine a lot more after that incident,” Jazza responded, cold, dry.

“A few,” Benny replied shortly.

“About that girl?” The Storm Demon tried to get more information, try to figure out if she needs to approach Harlan or not.

“Hm? Oh yeah. She comes in, right? No one sees her enter. And then suddenly some giant fucker- Excuse me. Some man in power armor drops in while armies of the troopers surround the casino. No one can tell me exactly what went down and how… Mostly because of the Isoverse. BUT the aftermath! Man I would have loved to see that fight. They took the guy out in a gunny and she was nowhere to be found. Just some blood stains on the floor. Boss was a bit miffed about the stains in his brand new carpet, he had to be, cause now he wants to find that girl.”

“Oh… Is he mad?” Ash shrank back, but it was only for Jazza’s sake.

“I don’t know, not for sure. I just hear what comes to me in the break rooms.” Benny said, his voice notably changing to reflect how he didn’t want to scare her off.

Ash could feel Jazza’s eyes on her before she spoke. “Not that excited about his autograph now. Ash?” She sounded only slightly smug, the rest of her voice was authoritative and dry.

The morality mirrored humanoid noted how fast she was to use her real name. It meant that Jazza believed her act of second-guessing her actions. “N-No.” She said, before sitting back and letting the cab speedily take them to the destination.

-

The female stormtrooper got out first this time while Ash paid for the fair with her omnilium manipulation to make cash for the guy. “Thanks for the ride, Benny.”

Benny grabbed her hand and held a bit, lowering his voice. “Yer her, ain't ya?” He waited for Ash to smirk and nod. “He ain’t mad.” He whispered, before letting go of her hand and counting away at the cash. Or at least looking like he was, he couldn’t concentrate because now he had a story to tell the boys.

Jazza stood there and waited for the sex demon to follow. Her second entrance was less grand than her first. Already there were plenty of people playing the games, lights and sounds filled the rooms. Between laughter and tears however, it was hard to put one mood to it all. Excitement ran high, higher than the gambling high.

They walked down the main aisle and were nearly hit by an old woman who was pulling on the arms of three machines. When she saw them getting too close, she glared at them both with no fear of pissing off the stormtrooper at all. “Get yer own machines.” She strained to be heard over the voice, but then pulled out a short shiv. They avoided her area.

Ash looked around again, noting a lot of card games going on towards the back. She saw crabs and roulette happening in the distance at other tables. Small crowds of people managed to push themselves around the games and several groups cheered each time they won the games of luck.

Jazza herself actually observed a few games with an intensity of a guard of the Emperor. She had noticed a few notable figures in the crowd and debated heavily if she should go up and say something. She eventually decided against it and instead reported it to her superior through some communication system in her helmet. If the figures were ever questioned about what they did with their personal time, she would feel confident that she managed to help in that investigation.

Ash on the other hand was looking at the guards. The muscle all around. There were plenty of bouncers watching to make sure no one caused more trouble than she had already did. There were obviously the people tending to the games, some already being replaced to keep the games fresh. Yet, Ash wasn’t looking for dumb muscle. She needed someone more important looking. She prefer Harlan but he was nowhere to be seen.

She gave Jazza a nudge and pointed upwards into the second floor before heading that way. She was being polite, but Jazza decided she’d follow regardless. Ash took to the stairs in a lazy calm pace, Jazza was stiff but followed her assignment despite becoming impatient right away at her pace. At the top, they were able to give the place a once over and found no one of interest.

“Who are you looking for?” Jazza asked. It was much quieter up here.

“My friend.” Ash lied, looking harder for someone who could do the best job.

They were interrupted by a group of women, laughing at something apparently hysterical. She turned to face the group which turned at the sound of a door. A young red-haired girl with a thin neck and a small frame expressed her boredom perfectly with a single word. “Finally.”

Out of a board room poured a few important people, none of them Ash truly knew, but Charlie stood out specifically because of his scars. Unfortunately Harlan had set up a schmoozing party with some people and he hadn’t had time to properly reschedule with them. Thankfully he was able to bullshit his way through the meeting long enough for the rich or famous to get bored and excuse themselves. After all their conversations were for Harlan, not Higgs’ men.

One of the kids they hired as valley drivers who’d been waiting for him to exit slid right up to Charlie as he was telling his company good luck on the games. The kid whispers about two words to him before stopping and looking in a different direction. Charlie felt the urge to cuff him for not explaining himself but his eyes were drawn in that same direction as well.

Harlan’s right hand man’s eyes landed on the girl he’s been trying to track down for three months and coming up blank. He would know, he’s been obsessively staring at her image in the surveillance videos trying to figure out who she was and why she’d come to their place of business with an Ultramarine on her tail. Her gorgeous black hair bounced in the wind as she took as few as steps as possible towards him. He remembered being plenty confused about the grin that she wore but quickly thinking it looked like she had found exactly who she was looking for.

The next few moments were blissfully confusing as Ash wrapped her arms around Charlie’s thick neck and went straight into a kiss. Out of pure instinct and reaction his hands took her by the waist and twisted a little. He didn’t pull away immediately, but he didn’t kiss back either. He just stared at her in confusion, later he’d kick himself for not at least enjoying it.

She slide right out of the kiss as natural as could be and smiled brightly up at him. “There you are baby, I was thinking I was going to miss you again.” She said loudly, sounding every bit as excited to see an old friend as she looked whens he wrapped her arms around him in a hug, twisting her weight back so he’d be facing the stormtrooper. “Play along, hun.” She whispered.

Fortunately for the woman in his arms, the stars have already aligned perfectly so that he had ever bit of a reason to go along. If he hadn’t… Well they were called the Gentlemen for a reason, in theory he’d do it all the same. Charlie could only come up with one reason why he shouldn’t, she had yet another law enforcer on her tail and Harlan wouldn’t be happy about all that. Luckily this was a legitimate business and they had nothing to hide.

“Sweetie.” He purred, wrapping his arms along her body and giving her a squeeze. “Where have you been?” He pulled away and brushed her hair out of her face. Everything about her face matched the one on the video.

“Oh. Just… Around.” She said, smiling and acting shy about where she’s been. “Is Harlan around, stud? I was hoping to catch him this time. He’s always busy when I try to visit.”

Charlie couldn't help but seek out all the hidden little messages she may or may not be sending him. He dissected every word and motion she made from that moment on. His mind worked as fast as he could force it to. “No. Actually. Harlan’s been missing for a while now.” He looked up at the trooper, then back at the demoness. “Sorry I haven’t been answering your calls. Been really busy trying to find some leads.” He cracked a smile. “Say doll, promise you won’t be mad?”

She pouted her lips, but then straightened out of the hug. “Sure.”

“I.. Lost yer number. It got tossed about with some other papers and I can’t find it.” Charlie tried to look ashamed of himself, as one would towards a long-term girlfriend. If he managed it he had no idea.

“Baby…” She groaned, pulling away and crossing her arms sternly.

He fell right into the role as he worried that she was going to slip right out of his fingers. “Don’t be like that dollface. I promise this time I’ll pin it to the board.”

His pleas were met with as much silence as you could achieve in a bustling casino.

“How about this. Give me your number again, and I’ll make sure as soon as I see Harlan again, I’ll arrange for ya and him to meet. We’ll go get coffee with him after I take you out to lunch.” Charlie found himself trying to put in his own messages.

Ash looked like she was caving into his sweet talk, her shoulders tension softening and the arms slowly unfolding so she could put them together in front of her. She pouted over her shoulder. “Promise?”

“Promise.” He said with a smile that said he believed he already won her over again.

Ash grinned back at him and threw herself into his arms again. This time he hugged her back tightly. She was about to go in for another kiss but apparently, Jazza had her fill with this.

“If you two wouldn’t mind. I’d like to get on with our errands.” Jazza said dryly.

Charlie looked over back at the demoness. “Who’s this?”

“As knew girlfriend. Were going to go get matching tattoos.” Ash replied, looking miffed but not really feeling it.

“Is that-”

“Negative. I am Officer Jazza. I have been charged with escorting a known fugitive to her desired destinations before escorting her out of Coruscant to ensure she behaves.”

Ash pouted. Then snatched a cocktail napkin off of a girl’s trey. “She’s no fun, as you can imagine. I was looking into the idea of another tattoo, maybe a piercing. Didn’t you say you knew a guy?” She said as she rummaged through his breast pockets for a pen. As she did she noticed the concealed weapons but kept them a secret from Jazza. She found an ink pen finally before using his chest as a writing desk.

“I know plenty of guys.” Charlie replied, trying to stay calm as she rummages through his clothing, trying to remember this is supposed to be his sweetheart. She began jotting some information down. “But I don’t know no one who can help you with either of those, Sweetheart.” He then began to wonder if he’d like a girl that was full of metal or covered in ink. It wasn’t very pretty in theory, was it?

“I’ll find someone.” She said, them smiled up at him. “Don’t forget your promise now, hun.” She said, folding up the paper and putting it and the pen into his inner breast pocket, folding it over neatly and sealing her con with another kiss. This time on the cheek. “See ya.”

“See ya Dollface.” He said with as much charm as he could with a scarred up face. As soon as she was headed down the stairs he ripped the paper out of his pocket and began to read it. There was a number, a series of numbers and a note promising that he just has to input it in a phone and it will reach her. Along with a thank you for playing along and that she expects him to contact her some time later. Promises to explain what's going on, and finally her name in short broad strokes. “Ash.”

That settles one mystery… Now to find Harlan Higgs.

The stormtroopers led Shadow 1-8 to a building that was purely industrialized. Tier 1 seemed like the “Eden” of the Omniverse but to him: The buildings around here were too clean and pristine to look anything like Vekta City to him. The Shadow Marshall was accustomed to moving place to place, becoming too accustomed to a life in the Vektan military.  

The two Helghan plated stormtroopers stopped at a holographic red scanner. One much like the ones on New Helghan that scanned through disguises and vice versa.

Officer 443 frowned and said “I’m going to ask you to step through the scanner.”

Lucas was quiet and turned to the the officer and walked through the reddish scanner.

A light scanning his body, his weight and vice versa.

Name: Lucas Kellan
Age: Unknown
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown

The report printed and the officer shrugged, looking the suited man up and down “Alright, Mr. Kellan, you are welcomed into Coruscant: Tier 1.

It kind of made Lucas only mutter a bit as they already got his first name, not only that but his last name.

Too much like “Big Brother” was watching him everywhere he went here. Signs of Vektan or Helghast propaganda were replaced with signs of the empire and hatred was strung with perfection.

For once, it made him question if he ever left New Helghan at all.

Somewhere along the line, it caused Lucas to stare up at the real sky and wonder if there was more this city was hiding.

If Echo was here, it would give her a sense of caution walking into danger.

Lucas didn’t bother with the perfect streets of Tier 1, where the high class went, but he summoned a comm/dataverse device. He’d need it sooner than later.

He typed in his comm and left himself a note in his own language:

Day 1 in the Omniverse:

Found out this Coruscant place knew my real name. Could be a real danger if someone else found this out.

He found his legs running toward the nearest elevator and him pressing the button more times than was necessary.

Maybe he’d regain his breath in the elevator on the way down. Before Lucas could take a deep breath, the elevator had reached the top floor and he stepped inside, pressing the button for a button named Tier 4.

He sat on the elevator floor, watching the streets of “New Helghan” and/or Coruscant flood his head with Empire Propaganda.

Traveling in this manner was still very new to him, using what felt like gates to transverse around was probably one of the only things he hadn't done when he was back in his own world, at least not as much as it seemed in this realm. Regardless as he stepped out, having gone a random direction in the nexus to end up god knows where, he would be greeted by the smell and look of lush greenery. Some part of him immediately thought he had made it back home but this place was different, this place had its own vibe to it, one that made it feel completely native to what he was used too as he stepped forward and scanned the tree line. The foliage was different here, a mix of browns and greens while some herbs he could see from just a distance were not native to the lands he was from at all, but he could tell they were herbs just from how they were growing and where they were currently.

Thinking to himself, he'd try to evaluate what was going on, or at least what situation he was in as he was essentially alone out here in what felt like an endless forest of trees. "So the big gate sent me here, at least it wasn't somewhere more harsh, other wise I'd have trouble surviving. I'm sure if Omni enjoys collecting things he has some form of a civilization around that's established, if not then I should look for a means of living out here, even if it would be temporary...or for as long as needed." Yes he was talking to himself, but it was the bets way in his book to get his facts and priorities strait over all even if he seemed like he disliked the forest. Not that he hated this place on first sight, his main goal was to head back to his place of belonging, not sight see and enjoy seeing new places that he hadn't signed up to see in the first place. For now though he would stay alert and begin to walk along, looking around as he took simple steps, examining the plant life he passed and sniffing the air to ensure he would be able to pick up the scent of a fire maybe in the distance.

He smelled nothing but the rich flora around him, maybe a bit of rain that rolled over the grass, and the clean air which was very much welcome to his lungs as he breathed in and out. He'd be traveling for about ten or so minutes, still wondering if he could find any sort of civilization but no dice, so he was slowly beginning to wonder if he should simply make a camp of some kind to set up a sort of base for himself for the night that was quickly rolling in. He'd have to position himself along a stream or source of fresh water, this he knew well enough from his days camping out on his own, after this he would just need water and to build a shelter to live in for a bit. It was slowly rolling into the afternoon so the mustelid would need to work quickly, but fortunately for him he found exactly what he was looking for once he moved towards some water. A smoke stack, probably a camp of some kind, better to go look into it rather than roam around aimlessly.

Hey all,

OmniCon 2018 is a go now that we have eight more or less confirmed attendees.  Since everyone who has confirmed thus far is from the northeast or the rust belt, we're looking into renting a place further north into Pennsylvania, rather than the West Virginia location we were considering originally.  That being said, I have lots of options for you guys to check out and vote on.

Please do not vote unless you are attending or hoping to attend.

Review the options below.  All places can comfortably sleep at least 10-12 people.

Just to provide a proper OOC notice, to all participants who want to take part in it: the Finale is fully planned and ready. When the final thread in the Deeps wraps up in the next couple days, there will be an IC message provided to all surviving participants. At that point, things will go on hold for an indeterminate amount of time IC (because time fluctuations, likely several days at the least), and OOC long enough for DA to run its course.

What this means for you is some time to rest and recover, and anyone who wishes to join in will have time to heal and recover their wounds/damage and SP in an in-character sense.

After that, the Finale will begin proper. During the interim time, during DA, I will occasionally have little tidbits and things (such as this thread) crop up, where the leader and remnants of Nebula are preparing for the final showdown and to help set the stage properly.

Any further updates regarding this will be made here, as/if they become relevant. Happy days in the future.

(05-21-2018, 07:07 AM)Proto Man Wrote: Does this mean health and SP will regenerate?

Will the Liberators retain their boost from the gear from Dr. Regal?

Also, I'm in. Gotta keep Samus alive.

In his lab situated on Tier 2, Doctor Regal heaved a sigh of relief. His monitoring of the situation had been constant, his sleep almost nonexistent during the duration of this crisis. But it had finally ended. He was detecting the collapse and destruction of the last of Nebula's strongholds. Their power was broken. The situation had been resolved.

"It will take some time to fully undo all the damage they caused, I suspect...but everything is already on the mend." He carefully and methodically shut down the banks of monitoring equipment. He would have to see to converting all of this equipment and hardware back to the usual tools and his lab to its original arrangement, now that Nebula was no longer a threat.

There was the faint sound of doors opening, relayed by a security feed to his office. Visitors, even at this hour... He simply sighed, not turning from his monotonous task. Too tired to deal with that; he would leave it to the staff.

He could distantly hear chatter, the receptionist droid greeting and trying to explain to the visitor that they were closed. The conversation went back and forth rapidly, growing quickly in pitch and developing first an agitated and then a frightened tone. Then there came the sound of tearing metal and shattering glass, and everything went eerily silent.

Doctor Regal's exhaustion and indifference evaporated in an instant. He slowly turned to look over his shoulder, through the partially-open doorway of his office toward the hall that lead to the front room. "What's going on out there?" No response. He turned around fully, concern etching itself onto his features. "Core, Sark!"

The only response was an electrical buzzing as the lighting in the hall outside flickered. Moments later, a shadow fell across the doorway, and with a fizzling crack, the lights went out. Amid the tinkling of fallen glass, there came the whining of steel as clawed fingers closed tightly around the edge of the door and simply crumpled it in on itself. "Hello, Doctor," a smooth voice spoke up, as its owner loomed in the doorway.

Regal's eyes went wide, some mixture of surprise and abject terror robbing all the color from his face as he stumbled back, grasping at his desk for support. "Y-You?! Why-- What do you want?!"

"We need to talk," the looming figure answered simply as he lazily drifted through the doorway. "About that little party you organized."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Regal stammered.

"Oh, Doctor. Don't lie to me, please." The unwelcome visitor flashed a smile, the needle-sharp points of fangs glinting brightly in the dim office lighting. "I'm not upset about all the trouble you caused, you know. Just that you set up such a wonderful party without informing me so I could make proper preparations."

Doctor Regal closed his eyes, shaking his head and trying to steel himself. "It had to be done. Before you and your monsters caused any more damage."

The only response was a dark chuckle. "Well...if that's what you think, Doctor," he said quietly. "But enough about the past. I've come to talk about the future. You're going to help me very much. By playing host to another lovely party." He threw his arms wide, wings flaring out from his back and throwing him into stark shadow. Only the blaze of red eyes, the glimmer of white fangs, showed against the darkness. The remaining monitors and lighting in the room flickered and sputtered, throwing wild shadows all over. "Let us talk further, and properly organize things this time, shall we?"

With a piercing shriek, as if a massive swarm of bats had screeched and cried in unison, he struck. Regal screamed, voice lodged somewhere between terror and agony. The lights blew out with a hissing electrical whine, glass raining over the room in the ensuing darkness.

And out front, the armored shutters slowly closed over the external windows and main entrance, amid a low-pitched, reverberating laugh.

The night had settled over the desert as Jim sauntered into the pub again, tracking sand over the worn wooden boards. The drive to Nippur and back twice in two days had taken its toll on the old soldier. His heavy feet dragged him to the bar, his coarse fingers sliding over a bar stool. He dropped onto it like a sack full of sand and stuck his elbows on the bar. His forearms stung with the ruddy burns of the unforgiving sun.

Jim lifted his head to order when he noticed the unusually high occupancy rate inside the bar for the second straight night. His eyes moved slowly over the crowd, again a sullen and morose bunch nursing their drinks and barely saying a word. Unlike the previous evening, Jim spotted Swann sitting at a table with Sergeant Lewis Baxter, Jim’s squadron leader and Private Adam Carlton, scratching at his thick black beard.

Finding one of the few empty chairs in the bar, Jim saddled up to the table and joined them. “Hey fellas. Another big day?”

“You said it, cowboy,” Swann said, taking a hearty swig of his beer. “Those damn bandits don’t know when to quit.”

“Bandits?” Jim said. “You’re tellin’ me they attacked the town for the third time in two days?”

“It’s unprecedented,” Lewis said, fingers tapping on the cold glass of cola in his hands. “They’re relentless.”

“Did they say anythin’? They demandin’ anythin’ different?” Jim said. 

Adam shook his head. His normally jovial attitude was absent. “It’s like it was yesterday. They all seem to be teaming up and trying to brute-force their way into the town. It’s almost like they think we’re sitting on a treasure pile or something and they’re willing to divvy up the spoils. What could be making them act like this?”

“Not to mention willing to work together,” Sergeant Baxter added. “Most of the bandit tribes have so much in-fighting, it’s a wonder they manage to pull off any raids at all. We’ve never seen them working together ever.”

“Not somethin’ easily answered,” Swann said. “You seen ‘em? They’re mad. They ain’t stoppin’ to talk. Maybe the desert’s finally scrambled what was left of their brains.”

Jim rubbed at his prickly chin. Could the dark creatures he had fought not so long ago have survived somehow and passed on their corruptive influence to the bandits? Had Nippur’s recent revival had something to do with stirring them up? Or was it something completely different, something they didn’t even know about?

“Well whatever’s goin’ on, I’m stayin’ put,” Jim said. “Seems whenever I’m away they hit the town.”

“Get your sleep,” Private Carlton said, standing up. “If tomorrow’s anything like the last few days, you’re going to need it. We all will.”

“Good point,” Sergeant Baxter said. “Let’s all turn in for the night.”

Swann downed the dregs of his beer and hopped to his feet. “Now there’s somethin’ we can all agree to.”

Jim let his drinking buddies leave the bar first, taking one last glance at the tired and worried faces that filled the room. The townsfolk knew hardship – just day-to-day life in the Town With No Name came with heaping handfuls of it – but never were they so smothered by it. He could see the toll it was taking through every crinkled brow and drooping, downcast gaze. Jim wished there was something he could do to lift all their spirits, but it was up to them to ride out this storm. With any luck, the treaty with Nippur would soon kick in and improve everyone’s lot in the town.

Jim pushed through the swinging doors of the bar and into the chilly night air. He almost fell over when a giant orange figure stepped from his side. He calmed himself. The Hammer. For whatever reason, The Hammer was almost always inside her firebat suit, even when she didn’t need to be. Jim had never seen her outside of it and had no idea of what her real name was. Hell, he hadn’t even heard her voice before. Jim knew most firebats were resocialised criminals so there was a chance the process may have left her with some… issues, so Jim hadn’t probed further into her past.

Still, it was quite the shock when he heard her voice echo inside that big orange suit.

“Commander.” The Hammer’s voice was deep and mirthless, but unmistakably female.

“Hammer?” Jim said, both in recognition of her presence and bewilderment of hearing her speak. “What are you… what can I…” He cleared his throat. “Sorry. We’ve never talked before. I’d be lyin’ if I said you didn’t throw me just now.”

“Commander,” she continued as if Raynor hadn’t spoken at all, “there is something about the raids that I think should be brought to your attention.”

Jim furrowed his brow. If there was something unusual about the bandit attacks, why wasn’t it brought up by the others? “What? What is it?”

“The others dismiss it, but the bandits have been attacking differently,” she said.

“So I’ve heard. Bandit’s ain’t in the habit of formin’ alliances, temporary or no. But they don’t seem to be dismissin’ it.”

The firebat’s hemispherical head twisted, its glowing yellow eyes aimed at something in the distance. “The bandits are more hysterical than usual. They are more reckless, less concerned about their well-being. They seem prone to the point of what I would almost call suicide.”

“Yeah?” Swann and his squad hadn’t mentioned suicidal bandits. “What’s standin’ out?”

“Some of the bandits are running directly into the line of fire,” The Hammer said. “There’s no attempt at self preservation. And they’re shouting, screaming. I know they’re not all right in the head, but they’re all shouting the same thing.”

“And what’s that?” Jim said.

“Let me in.”

Jim shifted his weight on his feet. “Let me in?”

“And the terror in their eyes…” The Hammer said. “It’s almost as if they’re running from something.”

Jim cleared his throat and digested the unsettling report. “So you think their attacks ain’t really attacks. You think they’re tryin’ to get into the town because they think they’ll be safe here. And maybe they think allyin’ all their tribes together gives ‘em the best shot at gettin’ in.”

“That’s what I think,” The Hammer said.

“Do you have any proof?” Jim asked.

Hammer’s head swiveled back to Jim. “No, commander. Only my gut instinct.”

“I ain’t one to discount a soldier’s intuition, but I’ll need to see this first hand,” Jim said. “You understand.”

The firebat stared at Raynor for a moment longer and plodded off without another word.

Jim sighed and went his own way. The stars in the clear velvet sky twinkled. The utter silence of the desert night seemed a world away from a bandit assault. Whatever was going on, Jim would find out what it was. After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, he and the squadron would suit up and start questioning the agitated outlaws the most effective way he knew how; down the barrel of a gun.

Finding the small room set aside for him off the side of Swann’s garage, Jim thrust off his heavy boots and collapsed onto his stained, lumpy bed. His mind attempted to piece the puzzle together but he soon slipped into unconsciousness.

<James Raynor!>

Jim shot up with a start. His bewildered eyes fell upon Karax standing over his bed, a torch in his four fingered hand. The din of shouting, revving engines and piercing bangs boomed from outside. “Karax! What are you doin’ in here? What’s goin’ on?!”

<I’m afraid it’s bad news, James Raynor,> Karax said. <The bandits have returned for another attack and we need you to assist in the defense of the town.>

Jim frowned, eyes wide. “The bastards are back again?!”

The protoss phase-smith took a step back from the terran commander. <Yes. And you best hurry. I hear this may be the biggest incursion yet.>