08-30-2016, 11:32 AM
Carmelita smiled and shook her head.
“No payment necessary, though having a magic expert on speed dial would certainly be of assistance.”
Sombra nodded and brought out his crystal ball, placing it on the surface of the table and focusing on it to make it glow. Symbols and colours began to whirl around it and he looked over to Carmelita expectantly.
She closed down her eyepieces and removed her earpieces, running the communicator syncing program as she touched them to the glowing black circle that floated in front of her. Sombra’s crystal ball faded back to clear crystal at the same time that her earpieces pinged to inform her of the new contact.
“It is good to see the arcane can interact with your technology,” the stallion said, curiously. “I must confess it took me a while to realise you were using those eyepieces to look into the Dataverse as I do through my ball.”
Carmelita put her earpieces back on and re-engaged the eyepieces before nodding.
“That’s pretty accurate. You were asking about other technologies as well, weren’t you?”
“I heard something similar to cannonfire earlier and your ability to fade in and out of existence impressed me. Are both of these things also accomplished through this ‘technology’ of yours?”
Carmelita nodded, silently musing on how much she should reveal. The fact that her collar was her cloaking device was something she’d rather keep to as few people as possible, but the autoturrets would be pretty hard to hide.
“If you want to see what made those noises, I can show you the results.”
“Please.”
---
The two of them soon found themselves climbing the dunes. The sun was setting, casting its scarlet light across the base and starkly silhouetting the four autoturrets that stood at each corner of the base.
The two of them walked slowly up the dunes, Carmelita informing Sombra of the various pitfalls of browsing the internet, or in this case the Dataverse.
“...and so these ‘Princes’ that keep requesting they leverage the security of my coffers are in fact con stallions? What wretches.”
“Well, at least you’re aware of the possibility. Do you even have a bank account? No, nevermind, we’re here.”
The two of them came to a stop next to the burnt out wreck of the buggy. Sombra examined it with confusion.
“This looks like some form of cart, but I cannot see the reins or the place for the pullers to harness themselves.”
“It is, was, a self-propelled vehicle. We think it was driven by some of the same bandits that attacked you, though of course we can’t be certain since they fled. Still, if we step away I can show you the capabilities of the autoturrets.”
As they stepped back, the stallion looked over at the four spheres held up on the pylons.
“I did think them guard-towers. You say that the turrets are in fact auto?”
“It means they can fire by themselves. Fire at the buggy, three shots.”
The nearest tower lit up, the red and green lines difficult to make out against the glare of the sun. Three bursts of red energy struck the vehicle’s remains, scorching the engine block and setting one of the tires on fire.
Sombra turned to Carmelita, an impressed expression across his muzzle.
“Their aim is commendable, given you brought us this close without fear of being hit.”
Carmelita nodded.
“It’s definitely a start, but the base is still being worked on. At the moment, enough attackers with heavy weapons could probably take out the turrets quite quickly, and then we’d be down to individual combat.”
The two of them headed back down the slope, leaving the burning buggy behind.
---
Once back in the mess hall, Carmelita excused herself for a moment to fetch the maps she’d printed out earlier to hand to Sombra.
“Here you go, some maps and environmental details for the Omniverse. Hope they help you avoid getting lost again.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome to stay the night, though I would ask you head off tomorrow. We’ve got to get the base ready for the recruits, and whilst I’m happy to have you as a consultant I’d rather get their heads on straight first.”
“That sounds excellent. I must say, your hospitality has been most enjoyable.”
Carmelita grinned.
“Just helping out someone who was in a bit of trouble. Practically my job description.”
“No payment necessary, though having a magic expert on speed dial would certainly be of assistance.”
Sombra nodded and brought out his crystal ball, placing it on the surface of the table and focusing on it to make it glow. Symbols and colours began to whirl around it and he looked over to Carmelita expectantly.
She closed down her eyepieces and removed her earpieces, running the communicator syncing program as she touched them to the glowing black circle that floated in front of her. Sombra’s crystal ball faded back to clear crystal at the same time that her earpieces pinged to inform her of the new contact.
“It is good to see the arcane can interact with your technology,” the stallion said, curiously. “I must confess it took me a while to realise you were using those eyepieces to look into the Dataverse as I do through my ball.”
Carmelita put her earpieces back on and re-engaged the eyepieces before nodding.
“That’s pretty accurate. You were asking about other technologies as well, weren’t you?”
“I heard something similar to cannonfire earlier and your ability to fade in and out of existence impressed me. Are both of these things also accomplished through this ‘technology’ of yours?”
Carmelita nodded, silently musing on how much she should reveal. The fact that her collar was her cloaking device was something she’d rather keep to as few people as possible, but the autoturrets would be pretty hard to hide.
“If you want to see what made those noises, I can show you the results.”
“Please.”
---
The two of them soon found themselves climbing the dunes. The sun was setting, casting its scarlet light across the base and starkly silhouetting the four autoturrets that stood at each corner of the base.
The two of them walked slowly up the dunes, Carmelita informing Sombra of the various pitfalls of browsing the internet, or in this case the Dataverse.
“...and so these ‘Princes’ that keep requesting they leverage the security of my coffers are in fact con stallions? What wretches.”
“Well, at least you’re aware of the possibility. Do you even have a bank account? No, nevermind, we’re here.”
The two of them came to a stop next to the burnt out wreck of the buggy. Sombra examined it with confusion.
“This looks like some form of cart, but I cannot see the reins or the place for the pullers to harness themselves.”
“It is, was, a self-propelled vehicle. We think it was driven by some of the same bandits that attacked you, though of course we can’t be certain since they fled. Still, if we step away I can show you the capabilities of the autoturrets.”
As they stepped back, the stallion looked over at the four spheres held up on the pylons.
“I did think them guard-towers. You say that the turrets are in fact auto?”
“It means they can fire by themselves. Fire at the buggy, three shots.”
The nearest tower lit up, the red and green lines difficult to make out against the glare of the sun. Three bursts of red energy struck the vehicle’s remains, scorching the engine block and setting one of the tires on fire.
Sombra turned to Carmelita, an impressed expression across his muzzle.
“Their aim is commendable, given you brought us this close without fear of being hit.”
Carmelita nodded.
“It’s definitely a start, but the base is still being worked on. At the moment, enough attackers with heavy weapons could probably take out the turrets quite quickly, and then we’d be down to individual combat.”
The two of them headed back down the slope, leaving the burning buggy behind.
---
Once back in the mess hall, Carmelita excused herself for a moment to fetch the maps she’d printed out earlier to hand to Sombra.
“Here you go, some maps and environmental details for the Omniverse. Hope they help you avoid getting lost again.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome to stay the night, though I would ask you head off tomorrow. We’ve got to get the base ready for the recruits, and whilst I’m happy to have you as a consultant I’d rather get their heads on straight first.”
“That sounds excellent. I must say, your hospitality has been most enjoyable.”
Carmelita grinned.
“Just helping out someone who was in a bit of trouble. Practically my job description.”