It was already getting worse. Not that she expected it to take very long when you tempted the fates with something so delicious like that. She just hadn’t expected it to literally only take twenty minutes to get worse. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat as she formed the word salad in her head into a more cogent response to the Administrator’s question of “Federation Command said they ordered you here sooner. So why did it take you so long to show up?”
“Administrator Patton,” she began. The short man in his pristine suit shifted as she addressed him. “As I just said, my delay was because of my lack of supplies. I acknowledged receipt of those orders. And I also informed command that I fully intended to respond to them once I had to materiel to prosecute this conflict. And make no mistake, administrator, we’re going to need every round, every potion, and everybody to eke out a victory here.”
Patton scowled. “I’m fully aware of your crushing defeats at Kofex and Tohruun. What guarantees do we have you won’t fail miserably here either?”
Morwen glanced down, a frown creasing her face as she shook her head. “I can’t offer that. All I can do is offer to fight this battle to the fullest of my abilities. You would do well to temper expectations to the worst case. We are under gunned, out manned, and behind on time.”
An admiral straightened this time, tugging his white and black uniform straight down his chest. His many bars of ribbons standing out as a mark of service and accomplishment among his people. His clean-shaven face was neutral, though Morwen caught the flashes of irritation whenever the Administrator spoke. Especially when he trampled the Admiral carelessly to do so.
“Administrator, I think it’s best you return to solidifying our ground position. We’ll do what we can here in the skies.”
Patton huffed, “I firmly refuse. The Captain is under firm orders to be taken into joint custody and command of the ship remanded to Lt. Rayshe who is to continue prosecution of combat missions.”
“Noted Administrator. Now, with all due respect, sir, let the soldiers fight. You go play bureaucrat.”
The admiral pressed a button on his chair’s console and the Administrator’s face winked off of the small screen the Admiral had set up. He turned to Morwen and gave her a thankful nod. “He’s honestly a better man than this. These are just trying times. I’m not sure he’s coping with the stress terribly well, but I can’t say I blame him.”
He stood and shook her hand firmly with an appreciative nod. “Now, I’m just gonna pretend I wasn’t here when he made those complaints. The Federation said to come support this fight, and here you are. I understand the delay and I don’t hold it against ya one bit. Especially after the way you just ran rough-shod over that gigantic dragon out there. I’m inclined to let ya fight this war, however you see fit to. But I feel the Administrator ain’t gonna budge.”
“Is he always so prone to resisting solutions?” Morwen asked, honestly a little unsure of where all this sudden hostility towards her was coming from.
The admiral shrugged, his massive broad shoulders tugging the jacket up and down gently. He sat down with a sigh. “Not always. After he sent the emergency aid request, he’s been different. Himself, but odd.” He shook his head, looking defeated, and glanced up to her, “it’s hard to describe honestly.”
Morwen pursed her lips contemplatively. It wasn’t uncharacteristic for people unaccustomed to war and violence to crack under the pressure. So it wasn’t too out of bounds to rationalize the behavior, but something about it rubbed her wrong. She made a note to monitor it for now.
“So what’s your plan, Captain?” the admiral asked, leaning back in the seat they had given him.
She cast a small illusion spell, manufacturing the planet and the station. Then she manipulated the station to grow bigger, their focus shifting in closer. The dragons were now visible. “We need to cement our control of the skies before we can move on the planet. Which means dealing with the rest of this dragon wing. This presents us with an attrition problem that I was hoping you could help me with.”
“You need some of my ships to help with the attack, don’t you?”
Morwen nodded. “I do, but I don’t want to uselessly waste your resources. Make no mistake, there will be losses either way. This just minimizes it to only those absolutely necessary. Here’s my plan.”
She laid out what she hoped was the strongest path to winning the skies of Hidros. And prayed that the Admiral didn’t toss her in the brig and fetch Rayshe to assume command. She finished and held her breath anxiously as she eyed him for a response. After a long pause, the Admiral sighed and nodded.
“Alright Captain,” he said in a long drawl common to the Brotherhood. “Let’s make it happen.”
The two stood and parted ways, the Admiral returning to his shuttle to rendezvous with his fleet, and Morwen to the Crasher’s crew bays to link up with her mage company. Most were on their cots already in various states of rest. Akamori was fast asleep with his feet crossed and hands clasped, but he kept his spellarmor on. Amara too was fast asleep in her own. Yasiin sat on his cot with a rag and some oil cleaning his spell rifle quietly. Sala lay on his side with his back facing out. Sirsir sat on his rack with a rag cleaning his spell machinegun. When he saw Morwen’s approach, he popped up and hustled out to head her off before she hit the bay.
“Ma’am.”
“At ease Sargeant. We have a plan. I want you to select a team to accompany Lt. Rayshe to retake the station.”
Sirsir blinked, wondering how the hells she planned to get anyone past the blockage of adult dragons. His expression twisted up in preparation of asking and she arrested his progress with a hand to forestall the protest.
“I’ll explain later, Sergeant. For now, I just need you to select who will go.”
He folded his arms. “The new kids are ready. As ready as I can make them. Send everyone but Yasiin and I. He’s got the most time on the bridge and he’s the second best counter speller you’ve got. Plus, he can lob his own share of void magic. The rest are well suited to the close in fighting we’ll run into on the station.”
Morwen nodded approvingly, appreciating the sergeant’s appraisal of both of the mages and the tactical needs. “Are you sure there’s no chance I can’t convince you to take a field grade promotion?”
“Fuck no ma’am. Respectfully, I mean. My place is out there fighting. I can’t be bothered with command’s bureaucracies. Besides, I don’t think Rayshe would let me live it down.”
Morwen’s lips quirked at that. “No, I suppose he wouldn’t. A pity, that. Regardless. Let your people rest for now. They’ve earned it. Give them an hour, then we move. See to it, they are ready then.”
Sgt. Sirsir clapped a fist into his palm with a broad grin. “Count on it, ma’am.”
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In the Mage bay everyone was setting about ensuring their gear was ready to go. The insertion team had been chosen, comprising Lt. Rayshe, Akamori, Amara, and Sala. They’d already formed the party and had an internal comm line set up. Of course, Rayshe had to be the first one to speak.
“Ensure your skills and gear are set before we depart,” Rayshe said.
Akamori blinked. That was a good question. He turned to Yasiin, whispering, “How do I make sure my skills are set?”
Yasiin nodded understandingly. “Rayshe?”
“Yeah.”
The nomad sat down and withdrew his sniper rifle, dabbing a rag in oil and running the rag along the length of the barrel.
“So as you train and fight, you gain experience. You can exchange that for improvements to skills or even physical attributes. All that PT and magic training? That can apply. Marksmanship and sword training and voidspawn slaying? It all applies.”
Akamori nodded with a frown. This felt like important information that no one had told him. Yasiin gave him a wry smirk, reading the confusion on his features.
“Don’t worry, it’s not immediately obvious, so it’s easy to miss. Most folks never put the work in improving enough to make sure of it. Summon up your status in your armor.”
Akamori willed the armor to display his status.
Name: Akamori Shinjo
Race: Gold Seal Enchanted Human (Similar to a curse mark, gold seals are the highest and most powerful form of enchantment and usually used in binding and shackling. Often used on very powerful essences.)
Class: Warrior
Path: Spell Soldier
Magic Rating: 2
Hit Point: 35
Aetherpool: 20
Initiative: +6
Attributes
Agility:4
Fortitude:3
Strength:5
Intelligence:2
Intuition:4
Will:3
Appearance:2
Charisma:2
Defenses
Resiliance:3
Resolve:3
Dodge:3
Armor:6
Resistance (Air):3
Resistance (Void):3
Skills
Melee, Rank: 3, Mastery: Yes, +8 bonus
Ranged, Rank 3, Mastery: Yes, +6 bonus
Spellcasting, Rank: 3, Mastery: Yes, +7 bonus
Perception, Rank: 2, Mastery: No, +6 bonus
Athletics, Rank: 3, Mastery: No, +6 bonus
Piloting, Rank: 1, Mastery: No, +5 bonus
Infusions
Magic Expression: Intuition
Magic Infusion: Air
Aspect: Air
Magic Infusion: Void
Aspect: Void Magic.
Attacks/Combat Spells
Void Bolt
Manifest Void
Air Bolt - Unique Trait: Air Bolt. Rather than a normal cast ball of compressed air, your Bolt spell takes the form of a razor-sharp edge capable of slashing at range.
Manifest Air -
Abilities
Dragon’s Roar: (learnable by humans)
(Variable Breath Weapon) Dragon’s Roar. Aetherpool base cost: 2, Range: 10 feet Cone, Damage: 10 , Attack Bonus: +7, Defense: Air Resistance.
Bottomless Pool: Spell Soldiers may reduce the cost of their spells by 1 to a minimum of 0. Applies to spells cast through weapons and armor, and excludes invested point (constant cast) spells.
Built like a Tank: All Spell soldiers gain defensive benefits through use of their armor. +1 to Resiliance, Resolve and Dodge.
Perks & Flaws
P is for Phobia – Jonah Complex: Fear of Fate/Destiny.
Bit of an Ass — 1 to all negotiation checks
“Show me that again?”–You are the opposite of a savant. Learning takes twice of much effort or a good dose of luck.
*Superhuman Strength Seal - Seals certain spells, abilities and attributes. One of the three gold seals of the All Mother.
Float like a butterfly….- +1 Agility
Aetherically well endowed- +1 Aetherpool
Not buying your bullshit - +1 Will
Miracles
Broken Seal: When your HP total is reduced to 0 The Broken Seal miracle is triggered granting a buff. The buff restores HP to max, preventing the character from regressing into unconsciousness. A 120 second invulnerability buff is added. All stats are doubled, and the racial limit of 5 is ignored. Aetherpool is unlimited. The effects of Broken Seal can only be triggered once per scene or day, whichever is longer.
At the end of the buffs, a stat debuff is applied that halves all stats, and applies the Stunned debuff for 10 minutes.
Temporary spell gained: Mass Disintegrate. Cost 10ap. Effect: AOE spell that attacks all enemies. Damage: 50. Mastery, Yes. +30 Bonus.
PVP Merits: 1
Experience Points: 28
“Says I’ve got 28.”
Yasiin nodded, “Ok good, now you should be able to select any skill or attribute and increase it. If it doesn’t increase, it’s because you lack the required amount of points. You can also buy new skills or spells if you want to. It’s all up to you.”
Akamori folded his arms, studying the translucent scroll in front of him. Experimentally, he bumped his agility up from 4 to 5. His XP counter ticked down to 8. He moved it back and then tried to bump his will up, noting the change was slightly less, leaving him with 12. So changing his attributes cost him 4 times whatever the target number was. Good to know. He’d spent most of his life training his body, but he lacked depth.
He pursed his lips as he studied the information. He was pretty light on spells and figured that he should maximize his attributes before sinking into other areas. Hone his body first, then his mind. That was the approach his father had taken with his training. Sgt. Sirsir reinforced it with their pt and magic endurance training.
That settled it then. He selected agility and bumped it up to 5. The boost to his dexterity and ranged capability get him farther for the cost. That still left him with 12 more points. With the remaining points, he gave himself a short range teleport, boost initiative to give him faster combat reflexes, and air whip, a spell that let him use shaped air to reach out and grip things.
He completed his choices, and the armor pulsed with aether, finishing the process. Now all he needed was a target to hurl himself at.
“Assemble in the airlock,” Rayshe’s voice said over the party line.
Yasiin gave him a bro nod as Akamori rose from his bunk and. “Good luck out there,” Yasiin said.
“Thanks. I have a feeling I’m gonna need it,” Akamori said.