11-18-2017, 12:05 PM
The ship lurched as something deep in its bowels seized before tearing itself apart in a dazzling mixture of fire, steel, and salt water. Proto Man had barely been at the scene of the portal for a few moments when the vessel entered its death throes. In an instant, it went from gently lolling with the waves of the ocean to a nearly forty-five-degree slant. It didn’t take a highly advanced computer processor to understand that the engineering levels had blown apart, taking the underbelly of the ship with them. Even at this distance from the boiler rooms, the roar of sea water could be heard.
Without wasting any time, the preteen machine broke into a sprint toward the churn maelstrom that lay near the far end of the storage bay. Marines who had served aboard the vessel for who knows how long fired their weapons—more out of panic than in any determination to slay the invaders. The deck was slanted, and most parties had already started to stumble and slid with the rest of the ship. For his part, Proto Man simply avoided the need for run with the tilting steel floor—his boots left the ground and he propelled himself forward with the flight boosters in the backs of his shoulder pads, elbows, and ankles.
Proto Man narrowed his eyes and clenched his tiny hands into fists as he zoomed toward the churning portal. He heard the steady thud of boots on the lopsided steel floor as his companions likewise made their desperation charges toward the exit.
Something exploded in the background.
From the corner of his eye, the red robot saw that the rivets were starting to pop from the walls of the hanger bay. Seawater began to stream into the ship as its list neared sixty degrees. Crates started to leave the ground and drop as darkling marines roared out in fury at the death of their capital ship.
A few seconds later, Proto Man was through the portal. When he emerged on the other side, he killed his thrusters and dropped down onto the wooden surface. Cursory scans revealed that they were alone, save for a variety of cargo shipments. Whether these boxes were new arrivals or waiting to be shipped out to see was unclear.
A glimpse down showed that he was standing on a pier. Perhaps, in a different world, this had been a quaint wooden pier servicing a mass assortment of sailing vessels. In his mind, Proto Man imagined fleets of galleys and mercantile vessels. His GPS and the liberator device around his wrist verified that he was in the vicinity of Blue Flame Island, yet…
The preteen machine crouched down and pressed a palm against the pier. It was certainly wood, but there was something else there. Much like with the marines, there was a visible corruption in the material. Beyond the pier, the same corruption seemed to hang in the air like a veil—if this had been Blue Flame Island at some point, Proto Man wondered how much still remained. Moving silently, the robot scaled a large shipping container to get a better view of the seaside location.
As he ascended to the top of the wooden box, he heard dull thuds on the ground behind him. He stole a glance back down to see that the others were arriving from the portal. They could take whatever time they needed to regain their bearings. Proto Man pulled himself onto the top of the crate and silently stared at the darkling-infested town. Wooden shacks and shanty houses were prevalent closest to where the docks started, but beyond that, it there were actual structures of brick and stone.
A passing glance may have overlooked a dingy little coastal town, but there were harrowing details when one lingered over the image. In the backdrop, the cliff face was a great skull with eyes that bled purple corruption into the air. Built out from the cliff was some sort of fortress of steel and cobblestone. Perhaps it had originally just been a fortification at some point, but infestation had expanded the defensive structure over the town proper. Mesh, wires, and beams of steel snaked down through the settlement and up the sides of the cliff. Proto Man could spot various defensive fortifications alongside what appeared to be half-concealed gun turrets.
Signs on many of the structures revealed them to be public houses. The stone streets were dotted with stumbling darklings and darkspawn, and while he initially thought them injured, it took the machine a few additional moments of analysis to see that they were drunk. Seemingly, the life before infestation lingered after the transition, because they were content to go about guzzling down rum and breathing in the seaside air.
A look down at the liberator devise showed that Proto Man was already within the stronghold. If what the doctor had said was correct, that meant the portal into Nebula’s domain should be somewhere close.
“They are non-hostile.”
Proto Man turned to see the Vision floating in the sky just behind him. The android was likewise scanning the seaside town.
“Correct,” the Vision repeated as he swept the visible streets a few more times. “Our presence is unlikely to be a surprise, and they have not moved in to neutralize us. It’s probable that a direct confrontation can be avoided. Possible we may even engage them in conversation without violence. We may be able to learn much about the situation by pursuing that route.”
The preteen machine activated the Proto Buster and scowled at the Vision. “You want to talk to the monsters who infested this place and tried to kill everyone, you go ahead. I’m not parlaying with the villains.”
With that, Proto Man leapt from the shipping crate and hit the ground running toward the end of the docks. The Vision could only watch as a Finish Buster tore through the seaside town’s square before exploding through one of its many taverns.
Without wasting any time, the preteen machine broke into a sprint toward the churn maelstrom that lay near the far end of the storage bay. Marines who had served aboard the vessel for who knows how long fired their weapons—more out of panic than in any determination to slay the invaders. The deck was slanted, and most parties had already started to stumble and slid with the rest of the ship. For his part, Proto Man simply avoided the need for run with the tilting steel floor—his boots left the ground and he propelled himself forward with the flight boosters in the backs of his shoulder pads, elbows, and ankles.
Proto Man narrowed his eyes and clenched his tiny hands into fists as he zoomed toward the churning portal. He heard the steady thud of boots on the lopsided steel floor as his companions likewise made their desperation charges toward the exit.
Something exploded in the background.
From the corner of his eye, the red robot saw that the rivets were starting to pop from the walls of the hanger bay. Seawater began to stream into the ship as its list neared sixty degrees. Crates started to leave the ground and drop as darkling marines roared out in fury at the death of their capital ship.
A few seconds later, Proto Man was through the portal. When he emerged on the other side, he killed his thrusters and dropped down onto the wooden surface. Cursory scans revealed that they were alone, save for a variety of cargo shipments. Whether these boxes were new arrivals or waiting to be shipped out to see was unclear.
A glimpse down showed that he was standing on a pier. Perhaps, in a different world, this had been a quaint wooden pier servicing a mass assortment of sailing vessels. In his mind, Proto Man imagined fleets of galleys and mercantile vessels. His GPS and the liberator device around his wrist verified that he was in the vicinity of Blue Flame Island, yet…
The preteen machine crouched down and pressed a palm against the pier. It was certainly wood, but there was something else there. Much like with the marines, there was a visible corruption in the material. Beyond the pier, the same corruption seemed to hang in the air like a veil—if this had been Blue Flame Island at some point, Proto Man wondered how much still remained. Moving silently, the robot scaled a large shipping container to get a better view of the seaside location.
As he ascended to the top of the wooden box, he heard dull thuds on the ground behind him. He stole a glance back down to see that the others were arriving from the portal. They could take whatever time they needed to regain their bearings. Proto Man pulled himself onto the top of the crate and silently stared at the darkling-infested town. Wooden shacks and shanty houses were prevalent closest to where the docks started, but beyond that, it there were actual structures of brick and stone.
A passing glance may have overlooked a dingy little coastal town, but there were harrowing details when one lingered over the image. In the backdrop, the cliff face was a great skull with eyes that bled purple corruption into the air. Built out from the cliff was some sort of fortress of steel and cobblestone. Perhaps it had originally just been a fortification at some point, but infestation had expanded the defensive structure over the town proper. Mesh, wires, and beams of steel snaked down through the settlement and up the sides of the cliff. Proto Man could spot various defensive fortifications alongside what appeared to be half-concealed gun turrets.
Signs on many of the structures revealed them to be public houses. The stone streets were dotted with stumbling darklings and darkspawn, and while he initially thought them injured, it took the machine a few additional moments of analysis to see that they were drunk. Seemingly, the life before infestation lingered after the transition, because they were content to go about guzzling down rum and breathing in the seaside air.
A look down at the liberator devise showed that Proto Man was already within the stronghold. If what the doctor had said was correct, that meant the portal into Nebula’s domain should be somewhere close.
“They are non-hostile.”
Proto Man turned to see the Vision floating in the sky just behind him. The android was likewise scanning the seaside town.
“Correct,” the Vision repeated as he swept the visible streets a few more times. “Our presence is unlikely to be a surprise, and they have not moved in to neutralize us. It’s probable that a direct confrontation can be avoided. Possible we may even engage them in conversation without violence. We may be able to learn much about the situation by pursuing that route.”
The preteen machine activated the Proto Buster and scowled at the Vision. “You want to talk to the monsters who infested this place and tried to kill everyone, you go ahead. I’m not parlaying with the villains.”
With that, Proto Man leapt from the shipping crate and hit the ground running toward the end of the docks. The Vision could only watch as a Finish Buster tore through the seaside town’s square before exploding through one of its many taverns.
Quote:1003 words
Used Tier 1 Super Attack (-1 SP)