[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)]
"Whiskey", Ethoya said, "isn't for everyone. It's got a bit of a burn going down, and if alcohol affects your system... well, a good whiskey certainly will." Then Ethoya brought a fist to her chest in salute and greeted Tigris. "Ethoya Uvalex." Glancing between Gabriel (whose soul felt too off for Ethoya, but who she recognized in theory as a man mortals would find attractive) and Tigris, she said, "looking forward to the show?"
"Gabriel Kardos" Gabriel said, with a sweeping bow towards the newcomer. "Slayer of demons and cosmetologist, at your service. A pleasure to meet you, Madame Liarren." Then he turned to Jen Jara. "Now if that's settled... shall we dance?"
It only occurred to him a moment after that was maybe not a good choice of words given Jen Jara's current state, but, too late now. He did fell into a fighting stance — clearly intending to use his bare hands — in case the answer was "yes". Still, he would be fighting defensively, feeling out his foe's attacks and capabilities (the better to exploit with a devastating counter-attack) rather than rushing into things.
edited 16th Jun '18 3:12:52 PM by KillerClowns
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)]
A Red Alert message was sent to the Void Maidens' communications microchips. A Web of Friendship member was under mind-control. Other Web members were already on the case, so the Void Maidens showed no signs of reacting to this news. Besides, their role in a situation like this was to lay low where the mind-controller couldn't find them, just in case a secret underground resistance movement needed to be started.
Author's note: belated acknowledgement of this event
.
Jen Jara fought the urge to wink at Gabriel's choice of words, but couldn't stop the exhilarated grin on her face.
Syrni Sandra laid down the rules, "All right, let's keep this simple and brief. Spar until one of you yields. No cussing, no disrobing each other, no groin attacks, no lethal tactics or excessive bloodspilling. On my signal..."
Jen Jara's knees bent, her leg muscles preparing to spring, she posed in an ambiguous stance. She was fully expecting Gabriel to use his super-speed to charge her right off the bat. One of her sparring mentors liked to pull the trick of standing in a defensive stance only to switch to offense as soon as the match started.
Syrni Sandra held a palm out between the two fighters to stop Jen Jara from Deliberately Jumping the Gun, then counted down, "Three, two, one... Now!" and leaped backwards out of the way.
Evasive maneuvers. Jen Jara leaped to a floating platform above her head. Let's see if he could get up here.
edited 19th Jun '18 1:14:19 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Combat Zone (Tigris, 'Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, Gabriel Kardos, Ethoya, M3D1C B0B)
Tigris felt her breath catch a bit at "Madame Liarren", and she smiled back at Gabriel, hoping she was not visibly flushed. She felt a fool for crushing on the guy like a schoolgirl—after all, he couldn't have meant anything by that greeting. She resolved to focus only on the fight, and what an interesting one it would probably be at that.
Tigris heard Ethoya mention something about whiskey to Syrni Sandra, before realizing the woman was now speaking to her. She wrenched her attention away from the center of the room.
"Looking forward to the show?" Ethoya asked.
"Yes," said Tigris, watching the fighters take their opening stances. "At first I wanted a quiet vacation, but I guess I should be careful what I wish for. I've been bored until now."
"Now!" yelled Syrni Sandra. Jen Jara leaped into the air onto a floating platform, and the fight had begun.
edited 18th Jun '18 7:49:25 AM by BrainSewage
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)]
Gabriel could, in theory, get up to Jen Jara's position. An easy leap. But he didn't fancy attacking from below. How was Jen Jara's ranged game? A half-dozen silvery flechettes of pure light energy appeared between his fingers — and with a lazy flick of his wrist, went flying towards Jen Jara. They weren't particularly powerful, but they'd give her some painful papercuts. Ordinarily, they'd be difficult to dodge, having some ability to change their flight course, but while they'd turn a near-miss into a hit, Jen Jara had only to teleport out of the way and they'd be in the opposite wall before getting a chance to turn and account for the new target.
He was still measuring out his opponent. Hardly even trying yet. This annoyed Ethoya, who could sense how little of his potential he was using. Then again, that corruption she sensed in it. Was he afraid of it? Reasonable, if so. She lazily conjured a shield to protect herself and Tigris from any errant projectiles — a thin, shimmering surface, very slighlty mirrored. "Maybe he's not movinga as fast as he could because of those boots?" Ethoya said, noting the alien design. Heels, as far as she knew, were only good for keeping one's feet in a camel's stirrups, but she kept seeing them here as fashion statements. First time she'd seen a man wearing them, though. "What's the point of that design?"
edited 24th Jun '18 7:46:41 PM by KillerClowns
Combat Zone
Jen Jara jumped. As soon as her feet left the platform, she teleported to a different floating platform behind Gabriel and watched the homing blades of light crash into the ceiling. She looked down at herself and found the closest flechette had managed to lodge one of its edges in the chitin next to her shin. She plucked it out and glanced at the shallow groove it left behind. Neat trick, it looked like something Mequoql could do after enough practice.
So, Gabriel wanted to go ranged, did he? All right, time to kick things up a notch, almost literally. She moved to the edge of the platform, disengaged an anti-airshock feature and tested its absence by making a stamping motion off the edge at supersonic speeds. If she'd stamped the platform instead of the air, she would have hurtled herself off.
She looked to see what psychological effect the unexpected gunshot-like sonic boom had on everybody.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Syrni Sandra could only shrug in shared bewilderment at the high heels, before she heard and felt the sonic boom. To her credit, she only flinched a tiny bit. She recovered quickly, though she could have sworn her ribs were still vibrating like tubular bells.
M3D1C B0B merely started scanning for gunshot wounds or damaged ears, soon finding that Viporis ears were tough.
edited 25th Jun '18 9:29:06 AM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)]
Gabriel was impressed. A kick like that might hurt if it connected. If.
Well. It was time to put a bit more effort into this. He held his hands out, palms opened towards one another, and dancing bolts of lightning began to crackle between his hands. He highly doubted Jen Jara intended to let him finish the casting; it would take entire seconds, an eternity in the heat of battles he was used to, and he was quite ready to let the spell go and dodge whatever attack Jen Jara used to stop him. Or, of course, if she let him be, the platform Jen Jara was standing on was going to get blown to pieces.
Ethoya was entirely unperturbed, the shock wave slightly ruffling her feathers.
Edited by KillerClowns on Jul 6th 2018 at 6:05:41 AM
Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)
Author's note: verbs in italics denote which of Jen Jara's actions are performed in super speed. Note that she can only manage twitches of super-speed at a time.
Uh-oh! Jen Jara stepped off the floating platform and teleported mid-drop behind a shoulder-high pile of empty soda cans. She ducked and spotted within reach a large rectangle of solid plastic that might have been a table once. She grabbed it, braced her back on the floor, balanced the panel on her wound-up feet, and thrust. The panel slammed the pile, launching cans towards Gabriel's general vicinity. Jen Jara stood (her lower body and abdominal muscles made it look a bit like a vampire coming out of a coffin, for anyone who can see it happening that fast) and watched Gabriel and the cans to see if her next move should be an attack or a retreat.
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)]
Gabriel spotted the cans flying towards him. That was when the adrenaline kicked it.
The cans were still. Or near enough to still. A supersonic round's motion would be perceptible at this speed as a leisurely glide. Gabriel did not rush; those on his time scale would see him walking at a saunter. On the way, he plucked one of the cans out of the air and crushed the aluminum as easily as if it were tinfoil before gently letting it go and allowing gravity to take the wrecked remains to the floor. At the speeds he was thinking and moving in, however, the flying cans had not drifted half a millimeter further before Gabriel was standing behind Jen Jara. He took a moment to register a movement out of the corner of his yes; Ethoya was smirking at him, another moving form in the stasis. Each understood, with annoyance, that the other was showing off, but that could wait.
Not wanting to wreak too much destruction, he returned to the normal flow of time before delivering a (still super-human) chop aimed at Jen Jara's back.
As with Jen Jara, italics represent actions at Super-Speed.
Edited by KillerClowns on Jul 6th 2018 at 7:52:54 AM
Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)
Syrni Sandra saw the whole thing — Gabriel could outspeed ancient Viporises. She was so glad he was friendly and just sparring. She didn't physically react to what she just saw, it didn't warrant a twitch from her just yet.
Yikes! Jen Jara flinched backwards a step as Gabriel started sauntering towards her. On this timescale, she was stuck, another clearly frantic step backwards was almost as fast as him crushing that can, she was stuck again, she was moving like someone was toggling "pause" on a TV. She'd sparred ancient Viporises before, but this outmatch was beyond that outmatch. He was behind her already and she was in another interval between twitches.
She didn't need to face him to know what he was up to back there, she had heat sensors all over her skin. Thank goodness, he was tailoring the spectacle for any non-speedsters in the audience. Well, if this was going to be a cat-and-mouse match, Jen Jara might as well be the best mouse she could be. Now let's see, he was preparing a chop to her back...
Jen Jara did the exact opposite of bracing herself for the blow. She released the tension in her muscles and started moving in a metaphorically boneless way. She moved with the direction of the chop, softening its impact — she still got thumped hard enough to grunt "Oof!" — and twisted to turn the blow into a glancing one. As the cans clattered where they landed, she continued twisting her momentum to arc back at him, trying to close the distance on him.
If she could get inside his reach, she could try to grapple and sting him. Because her paralytic reserve was down to the dregs, she could only use smaller doses that would only tighten small parts of muscles at a time.
Edited by Miss_Desperado on Jul 7th 2018 at 10:06:00 AM
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.Author's note: Killer Clowns is unexpectedly leaving. The previous comment assumed that was not going to happen. This comment is an alternate reality of the last few seconds, tailored to end the fight faster so that Killer Clowns can have his characters exit.
Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, M3D1C B0B; Ethoya Uvalex; Tigris)
Syrni Sandra saw the whole thing — Gabriel could outspeed Ancient Viporises. She was so glad he was friendly and just sparring. She didn't physically react to what she just saw, it didn't warrant a twitch from her just yet.
Yikes! Jen Jara flinched backwards a step as Gabriel started sauntering towards her. On this timescale, she was stuck, another clearly frantic step backwards was almost as fast as him crushing that can, she was stuck again, she was moving like someone was toggling "pause" on a TV. She'd sparred Ancient Viporises before, but this outmatch was beyond that outmatch. He was behind her already and she was in another interval between twitches.
She didn't need to face him to know what he was up to back there, she had heat sensors all over her skin. Thank goodness, he was tailoring the spectacle for any non-speedsters in the audience. But curb stomp battles weren't particularly fun to watch. They weren't particularly fun for the one getting stomped either. Now let's see, he was preparing a chop to her back...
Jen Jara did the exact opposite of bracing herself for the blow. She released the tension in her muscles and started moving in a metaphorically boneless way. She moved with the direction of the chop, softening its impact — she still got thumped hard enough to grunt "Oof!" — and let the inertia carry her further away.
"I surrender!" Jen Jara called out as the cans clattered where they landed. She turned and bowed to Gabriel, "I'm too young to match your speed. My great-great-grandfather is too young to match your speed. I had gambits to try luring you onto a platform or teleporting you into freefall, but I doubt I could get you where I wanted you even if I compensated by teleporting."
"Congratulations, Gabriel!" Syrni Sandra interjected.
"Besides..." Jen Jara blushed, "My head's just not in the game. Somebody..." she cast a sly gaze towards Ethoya, "...has captured my curiosity to a distracting degree."
Syrni Sandra realized it was now or never and cleared her throat, "Ethoya, a moment of your time please."
Off to one side away from the crowd, Syrni Sandra murmured, "Consider this the obligatory warning. Jen Jara is not biologically my sister, but we know each other so well, we might as well be sisters in spirit. If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her... you'll rouse the wrath of the entire Web of Friendship."
Jen Jara stalked over and stage-whispered to Syrni Sandra, "Oh, take a hike, it's just a one-night stand!" She masterfully suppressed the urge to do a nervous gulp.
Syrni Sandra had already had her say, so she took the clue-by-four and walked away.
Combat Zone -> Room 8.091 (Jen Jara, Ethoya Uvalex)
With her stinger-thumbs tucked, Jen Jara held out her arms to carry Ethoya. Jen Jara purred, "Now, how about we forget the whiskey and skip to the... anatomy lessons... in Room 8.091?"
One teleport later, Jen Jara let Ethoya stand. "I'm culturally limited in how I use my hands, but you don't have to follow that same limitation. Just don't expect me to reciprocate whatever you do with your hands in the exact same way, I'll be reciprocating in other ways..."
Let's give them some privacy and see what's happening back in the Combat Zone, shall we?
Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B; Tigris)
Syrni Sandra addressed Gabriel Kardos, "You should visit my home moon sometime. There are plenty of Ancient Viporises who would love to meet you. They would make better sparring partners than we could. Come to think of it, there are some Web of Friendship members who would love to meet you. Lemme get a business card..." She teleported away and was back a few seconds later with the business card. "It's psychic paper. It'll respond to you, but not your enemies. It can contact the Web of Friendship and show you how to get to whichever member is most easily able to meet you."
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Combat Zone (Gabriel Kardos; Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B; Tigris)]
Gabriel nodded and said, "Are you sure you want to end it so soon? I think you underestimate yourself greatly..." he paused as a cell phone pinged, alerting him to a message. He looked at it and said, "oh. Oh." Then he looked back at Syrni and said, "though it seems I have... other business to attend to. Bit of a mess involving a snake demon in the sewers, the usual." He sighed dramatically and then took the offered psychic paper. "Even so, I would love to take the Web of Friendship up on the offer. I could do with new sparring partners — demons tend to be a bit more interested in fights to the death, less interested in exchanging notes afterwards. And if I can help you with your business, all the better." He gave one, final, extravagant bow and said, "so, while it was a true pleasure to meet you, Syrni Sandra, I must bid you farewell." With a sweep of his fans, he cut a thin white line, which opened into a glowing portal he strode through.
Edited by KillerClowns on Aug 12th 2018 at 5:36:11 AM
Combat Zone (Syrni Sandra, M3D1C B0B) -> ??? (Syrni Sandra)
Blushing, Syrni Sandra waved goodbye to Gabriel. She looked around, but Tigris had wandered off, and the medic bot had duties to attend to, leaving her alone. Syrni Sandra flitted erratically around the ship, searching for bass rumbles low enough to be felt more than heard.
Unfortunately, musical bass was not a substitute for the kind of terrestrial rumble that signaled a natural disaster, finding that out the hard way lead to Syrni Sandra teleporting off the ship in embarrassment.
Room 8.091 (Jen Jara) -> ???
Eventually, Jen Jara stirred. She'd only dozed off for a moment, but that was all the time Ethoya Uvalex had needed to slip away. Jen Jara had had fun, but that did not change the fact that she was still in heat.
Humming, Jen Jara gathered up the IGPS computers and their harnesses, waltzed up to the Nebula Lobby to check out, and teleported off the ship.
Note to future Thread Necromancers
Despite my interest in this setting, my CPR on this thread has failed. Assume all characters previously mentioned are absent unless otherwise specified by an author.
Edited by Miss_Desperado on Aug 13th 2018 at 9:14:13 AM
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Combat Zone (Tigris, 'Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara, Gabriel Kardos, Ethoya, M3D1C B0B)'
Tigris eyed the scene before her in confusion and intrigue. There was who she’d correctly assumed was Jen Jara, exchanging her purple-black feathers with those of two others. There was some sort of significance, some symbolism to the feathers, but she could not place it. She wished she could be privy to the conversation Syrni Sandra and Jen Jara were seemingly having.
The first stranger, Ethoya, was a vaguely elfin-looking young woman dressed in feathers, her hair shaven close, and her eyes a striking black and gold. She looked almost angelic, but there was something…off about her. It was some sort of…deceptive purity. Hiding…what? Mischief, or something darker?
The other stranger, Gabriel, was draped in flowing, feathered garments of white and gold, with elaborate jewelry and a cape—not to mention the stiletto boots and the long white-blonde hair. At first, Tigris could scarcely tell whether the stranger was male or female, but upon hearing Gabriel’s voice and sensing his aura, she realized she was simply looking at an exquisitely beautiful man. Her mouth was suddenly a little dry.
“I’m, uh—Tigris Liarren,” she said, forcing herself to keep it together in spite of Gabriel. “A sorceress from the royal house of Illenmere. Nice to meet all of you.”
edited 18th Jun '18 7:34:07 AM by BrainSewage
How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?