Tag Archives: Mech War

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #033

Keyanna stopped walking and thought for a bit to correct herself, “Well, Building is a thing.  It’s just not an official Talent Set, more of a side skill.”

AD7 stopped just as she reached Keyanna trying to think of a good reason her favorite Talent Set would disband.  None came to mind.  Building was never the strongest of Talent Sets.  It was mostly used to surprise opponents with tricky gadgets or aid those that lacked fighting skill.  AD7 enjoyed planning her machines and seeing what she could do with the gadgets.

She only used what she built to create wonderful cities and tower style defenses.  Of course, the only real limit was what the Builder knew how to build.  With eyes wide and mouth open she couldn’t believe what she had just learned.  Her Talent Set, what she used to define herself for all her life was no more, “But… Why?”

Keyanna stood at the entrance to the Talent Square and scratched her head awkwardly looking at the mossy ground.  She wanted to think of a good answer other than the obvious reason AD7 was famous, or infamous.  She finally gave up and spoke her way around the issue, “I’m not really sure exactly what happened.  I wasn’t around.  I do remember something about it causing problems.”

AD7 listened intently and thought.  Unsafe?  That was possible if someone abused machines, it would cause problems.  Regardless of what she thought of her favorite Talent Set, it was gone now.  She had to choose another one or come up with something close to it.

“All the old designs were destroyed,” Keyanna continued, “only a few plans have survived.”  She glanced at AD7 and started walking.

AD7 followed Keyanna suddenly realizing why she was so important to Pure in Sanity.  She was the only one that still had plans for the old style machines.  Granted, they were buried somewhere in her mind, but she used them before they were never really forgetten.

The two ladies looked into the Talent Square and its restless activity as they passed.  There were a few targets made of wood in the center of the square.  Most were broken, burning or otherwise destroyed.  Champions continued to strike at their remains though.  Other Champions sparred in the open field.

There were two sparring Champions that seemed out of place.  While lacking none of the fighter’s spirit, they were far less talented than others.  Their clumsy attacks and awkward movements made AD7 giggle a bit.  She could only imagine herself as one of them when she started training.

“I’m sorry if I interrupted you before,” Keyanna said beginning to meander towards the equipment sellers, “We really are happy that the two of you decided to help us.  But we’ll have to act fast to get your friend out of Rubin’s Trail.”

AD7 followed Keyanna taking the hint of their next destination.  The two of us, she thought.  AD7’s mind went back to the hanger entrance.  Was she talking about that guy?  He was kind enough but something about the way he looked at her was just plain creepy.  “No.  It’s perfectly fine.”  The way AD7 spoke said more than her words could have.  She was quite happy to be away from Cyd.

“I thought so,” Keyanna smiled as she spoke.  Looking at AD7’s clothes and the fact that she had no possessions, Keyanna decided to start with the basics, “We’ll need some good equipment for you.”

AD7 followed Keyanna’s gaze to her clothes.  She was still wearing the simple brown shirt and pants from the Rejuvenation Center.  She picked that particular shirt for the fitting dark humorous message.  The words “I Live Again” were printed in bold letters on the front while “Why is everyone older” was printed on the back.

The clothes did their job well enough, but she’d need a bit more if she was going to survive an adventure, “Sure, where are we going?”

#1 – Awakening #32 – Awakening #34

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #30

Stealth Phrygian slowly weaved its way down the canopy.  In an effort to keep the city hidden, the inhabitants of Sanity kept the larger trees alive.  They built the city around and through the trees to ensure the jungle canopy above the city would be no different than any other patch of trees.  As a result they had to create their own light sources.  At least they would not be found by a wandering pilot.

The large arrowhead of a ship had to dip, twist, and spin to traverse the thick branches safely.  From time to time, the pilots spotted a defensive turret in the trees.  The team was expected so they had nothing to worry about.

Only the pilots fully experienced the decent through the maze of branches and vines.  Strapped to their chairs for protection, April and Jai felt the full force of natural gravity and used the ship’s mechanical limbs to push the smaller limbs apart.  They had to be careful not to damage the canopy too much as they descended.

Passengers didn’t feel any of the complicated maneuvering thanks to the regional artificial gravity throughout the ship.  They walked, ate, and carried on unhindered as the ship tipped and maneuvered.  Things were no different for them even when the ship was flipped upside-down.

The gravity technology was based on Mech Fortress research.  Keyanna was proud to tell AD7 about the huge leaps in technology that came after researching the Mech Fortress devices.  Several of the gadgets were unheard of in AD7’s time.  Naturally, AD7 wanted to know more and asked questions repeatedly.

AD7 and Keyanna traversed the ship along with Tirzah towards the exit ramp.  Seeing that they were getting along, Tirzah had orders that she knew Keyanna would like, “Keyanna, AD7 is new to this time and place.  Show her the sights will you.  Get her geared up and ready to fight with us.”

Keyanna was ecstatic at the thought, “Really!  Yes ma’am.”  She saluted and looked over at AD7 who didn’t have any complaints about joining her for a trip around the city.

They kept a good pace through the ship.  Everything was fine until they passed a window.  AD7 rushed to it hoping to see if the gravity technology was real.  She had only dreamed of such a thing.  Her feet were planted firmly on the floor yet the view out of the side window showed the city below them and spinning branches.

“Wow, this is so coo…,” AD7 was amazed for the brief moment she could stand.  The visualized but unfelt motion overloaded her balance.  It took only a short while before she fell to the floor completely dizzy.

Keyanna thought to warn her, but it happened so quickly.  Seeing that she was otherwise unharmed, Keyanna walked over to help her up.  “Sorry,” Keyanna giggled, “I forgot to tell say ‘It makes you dizzy.’”

Tirzah witnessed the events well away from the window.  “No worries,” she commented, “I fell a few times too.  Just stay away from the windows and you won’t get airsick.”

She and Keyanna helped AD7 up.  The two had to help AD7 to walk the rest of the way while AD7 regained her balance.  The three ladies made their way to the exit ramp where they met the rest of the passengers.

Before long, the pilots made the announcement.  Stealth Phrygian had made the final flip through the canopy and was free to land in the hanger.

Soon after, the doors opened.  While most of GarDNAnge1 left, AD7 and Cyd lingered behind looking at the wondrous city.

#1 – Awakening #29 – Awakening #31

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #29

Tosca walked to her workstation pushing the sphere droid on the hand truck.  She smiled at the thought of a possible breakthrough.  The idea of an immobile but important droid was intriguing.  She only needed to find its function.

The possibilities were far from limited.  There were only a few things that immobile devices could do.  Many plans of various stimuli passed through her head.  The most difficult thing to do was pick which one to try first.

On her way to her workstation, she passed by many other interns working on projects.  They had little time to do more than glance at her as she passed.  They were far too entranced with their respective projects.

Gold and silver were promised to teams that found something marketable in their devices.  The more marketable the device, the more gold they would earn.  If they found a way to produce a weapon, they’d have a wondrous wealthy career ahead of them.

Tosca was still working with the same droid.  She had gotten no progress or money from it.  As they glanced at her, some of them had eyes wondering why she was still working with that same droid.  She had a brilliant mind but was making no money at all.

She sat the heavy droid at her station.  It was slightly easier to move than she remembered.  ‘I do feel a little stronger.’  No time for those thoughts.  She had theories to test.  Theories were fun to make but to test them; she had to put in some work.

—–

Above the Lost Jungle over city of Sanity:

After only a few hours of travel, ‘Stealth Phrygian’ had reached the canopy above Sanity.  The great city was in a secluded part of the world.  The founders of this city wanted to stay as far as they could from the faction wars and politics that plagued the rest of the world.  Only a relative few people knew how to get to the city.  Those people got really strong by training in Sanity.

The pilots signaled the final approach to the Tirzah.  In her office, she was still speaking with AD7 and Keyanna.  Eighty-Seven was still a prisoner in Rubin’s Trail.  They needed to free her.  Also, it may help AD7 get her life back.

“You know your helper more than anyone,” Tirzah reasoned, “What do you think she’ll do now that she’s awake?”

AD7 pondered a bit before speaking.   Her memory was still returning but she knew her helper for certain, “I think… I think she may try to follow my old orders again.”

During the conversation, Keyanna was brought up on AD7’s history.  AD7 left simple instructions for her helper.  She was to defend the wall from attackers and make defensive adjustments if necessary.  Those simple instructions started the crazy war.  Those instructions are what she would try to do again.  “But to do that, she’d have to escape,” Keyanna reasoned.

“The war started after you were…,” Tirzah paused looking for the most delicate wording.

“Blown up,” AD7 finished the thought with a shiver.  Understandably, she never wanted to go through that again.

“Yeah,” Tirzah said reluctantly before starting agian, “and since then, she led a gruesome war against a powerful army.  They were losing until they asked for Champions to help.”

There was another loud beep on Tirzah’s handheld signaling their landing.  “The planning will have to wait,” she said standing up, “We have to get you ready to help bust your friend out.”

#1 – Awakening #28 – Awakening #30