Heh. ^_^
So I'm starting to write Due and Quattro interaction into this version. The scene I just wrote is going to happen earlier in SB than in this version, if only because it's a plot thread I wasn't properly weaving into the design- things kept coming up, you see.
That, and it's bloody hard to write. Hits me in a weak point of mine, you know?
**********
Existence snapped back into shape, and I released my dimensional transfer spell. The instant I let go of the spell, Tre and I dropped about six inches, landing on bare dirt.
We'd returned to P3J-992- specifically, to the ruins of the Krepani Syndicate base we'd assaulted on our last trip here. According to Tre, the Syndicate had rather quickly evacuated what remained of the base shortly after we'd left. Nobody had been back since- not that the doctor's sensor net could detect, anyway.
Once the two of us were standing again, having landed in crouches, Tre looked over at me, and said three words. "Thirty seconds. Go."
Halfway through the sentence, I was off running. Three seconds later, I'd invoked Air Comet and was flying low to the ground between piles of rubble, making for the section of the compound I'd not demolished. Within twenty-five seconds, I was hiding in the seventeenth floor of a disused administrative building, halfway across the base from where Tre and I had appeared.
At the thirty second mark, I gave a mental command. Sixty-four Argus balls rose from where I'd made them, right around the halfway point of my mad dash for cover, and began to spread themselves across the compound. I'd tinkered with the distribution a bit, so they'd keep lower and favor the less ruined areas; with any luck, I'd be able to keep a fix on Tre wherever she went.
Speaking of Tre, there she is. On cue, the Argus AR displayed a dot. It flickered for a second or two, going from gray to purple and back again, before finally settling on purple. Okay, looks like I need to work on the magical detection and IFF... no, just the IFF code. The magical detection code is pretty much standard- I doubt it's the problem....should her dot be moving around like that? [Malleus, give me a top-down view. Entire compound.]
As I said it, a map appeared, just below the window I was looking through at the time. Right. Given what's in that area, Tre has to be flying. Need to add height indicators to map view for Argus 2.0.
Looks like she's flying a basic search pattern- probably trying to narrow things down by clearing out the demolished zones first. But what's with that sudden movement? Every few seconds, Tre's icon on the map jittered for a bit, bouncing back and forth for a bit before settling down- a good bit away from where it'd been. It's not a lost lock. I know what those look like. Maybe lag in the triangulation function? Position uncertainty? Or maybe- wait.
[Malleus, take Sphere A027 off the network for, oh, three seconds.]
As I watched the results, I couldn't help but smirk. Going sphere hunting? Clever girl. Are you doing it to blind me long-term, or for short-term tracking disruption? Suppose it's a question for the AAR.
Idly, I created another two dozen Argus balls, and laid in a course for them. Around the central wall, out a distance behind rubble, then loop back around and go into the wall. From there, skirt around the fortress to the trench I dug, go down the bottom of the trench, and spread out from there across the open areas. Don't really need to be this sneaky, but it's a good habit to be in.Still grinning, I eased myself out of the building I'd hid in, floating down a road to the other end of the non-destroyed part of the base. With a sweep of my arm, the Malleus on my right wrist extended out to shooting form, my Air Comet powered down, and I planted myself in a firing position.
Okay, still got enough telemetry for a position fix on Tre. Second group of Argus spheres come online in twelve seconds- should be enough. Elevating Mal to 50 degrees... charging multiple Arcane Blast... g-mana tap at ballistic levels...
Just keep flying around for another three seconds, Tre. Almost ready... almost ready.........crap.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
So I'm starting to write Due and Quattro interaction into this version. The scene I just wrote is going to happen earlier in SB than in this version, if only because it's a plot thread I wasn't properly weaving into the design- things kept coming up, you see.
That, and it's bloody hard to write. Hits me in a weak point of mine, you know?
**********
Existence snapped back into shape, and I released my dimensional transfer spell. The instant I let go of the spell, Tre and I dropped about six inches, landing on bare dirt.
We'd returned to P3J-992- specifically, to the ruins of the Krepani Syndicate base we'd assaulted on our last trip here. According to Tre, the Syndicate had rather quickly evacuated what remained of the base shortly after we'd left. Nobody had been back since- not that the doctor's sensor net could detect, anyway.
Once the two of us were standing again, having landed in crouches, Tre looked over at me, and said three words. "Thirty seconds. Go."
Halfway through the sentence, I was off running. Three seconds later, I'd invoked Air Comet and was flying low to the ground between piles of rubble, making for the section of the compound I'd not demolished. Within twenty-five seconds, I was hiding in the seventeenth floor of a disused administrative building, halfway across the base from where Tre and I had appeared.
At the thirty second mark, I gave a mental command. Sixty-four Argus balls rose from where I'd made them, right around the halfway point of my mad dash for cover, and began to spread themselves across the compound. I'd tinkered with the distribution a bit, so they'd keep lower and favor the less ruined areas; with any luck, I'd be able to keep a fix on Tre wherever she went.
Speaking of Tre, there she is. On cue, the Argus AR displayed a dot. It flickered for a second or two, going from gray to purple and back again, before finally settling on purple. Okay, looks like I need to work on the magical detection and IFF... no, just the IFF code. The magical detection code is pretty much standard- I doubt it's the problem....should her dot be moving around like that? [Malleus, give me a top-down view. Entire compound.]
As I said it, a map appeared, just below the window I was looking through at the time. Right. Given what's in that area, Tre has to be flying. Need to add height indicators to map view for Argus 2.0.
Looks like she's flying a basic search pattern- probably trying to narrow things down by clearing out the demolished zones first. But what's with that sudden movement? Every few seconds, Tre's icon on the map jittered for a bit, bouncing back and forth for a bit before settling down- a good bit away from where it'd been. It's not a lost lock. I know what those look like. Maybe lag in the triangulation function? Position uncertainty? Or maybe- wait.
[Malleus, take Sphere A027 off the network for, oh, three seconds.]
As I watched the results, I couldn't help but smirk. Going sphere hunting? Clever girl. Are you doing it to blind me long-term, or for short-term tracking disruption? Suppose it's a question for the AAR.
Idly, I created another two dozen Argus balls, and laid in a course for them. Around the central wall, out a distance behind rubble, then loop back around and go into the wall. From there, skirt around the fortress to the trench I dug, go down the bottom of the trench, and spread out from there across the open areas. Don't really need to be this sneaky, but it's a good habit to be in.Still grinning, I eased myself out of the building I'd hid in, floating down a road to the other end of the non-destroyed part of the base. With a sweep of my arm, the Malleus on my right wrist extended out to shooting form, my Air Comet powered down, and I planted myself in a firing position.
Okay, still got enough telemetry for a position fix on Tre. Second group of Argus spheres come online in twelve seconds- should be enough. Elevating Mal to 50 degrees... charging multiple Arcane Blast... g-mana tap at ballistic levels...
Just keep flying around for another three seconds, Tre. Almost ready... almost ready.........crap.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.