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[Begin a Session: External factors create new danger, urgency, or importance for a quest]
Thread: Time Cop on Patrol
Oracle: Strengthen Alliance
Tempus Wright is hurtling through the time stream and picks up an anomaly from the year 2080. He reroutes his journey to 2024 to make this stop further into the future. When he emerges, Forge City is in ruins, and strange cybernetic spires rise above a black cloud-choked sky.
“This can’t be right,” Tempus remarks, checking his gauntlet, and it shows a divergence in the timeline at multiple points. The readout implies a connection to Jude Olmeda/Kismet. The focal point is in 2024, but there are other smaller events before and after. Just as he’s about to jump back into the time stream, metallic tentacles emerge from the rubble and drag the time cop under…
Back to our Story
Thread: The Machine Collective
Oracle: Resist Power
Kismet takes time to rest after the prison fight. He attempts to recharge his Spirit by shooting hoops with Paragon on the Academy’s outdoor court.
Hearten – [Weak Hit: 1 + 3 + 0 = 4 vs 1 | 8]
The game is fun, and it’s just what Jude needs. He still feels strange about how Nano reacted when he checked on her, but he’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. The game is cut short when the Academy’s proximity alarms start sounding off. Paragon and Kismet rush to the monitoring station, where Panthra has spotted Silver Sentry on the front lawn walking towards the house. He appears to be alone. They notice Aiden Bell rushing to meet the long-dead and now-resurrected android hero. They follow.
Aiden Bell: Disposition: Friendly
Bell steps out of the Victory Academy mansion with his trademark phony grin. “Sentry, buddy. I heard you were back; so glad you came to visit. What can we help you with today?”
Silver Sentry looks at his former ally and responds coldly, “I have come to speak with the girl, Nano. I can wait here for you to bring her out.”
Bell chuckles and touches his chin as he glances up towards the treetops. “The thing is, she’s technically the property of the school. Feds signed her over to us and Forge City. I don’t think that’s going to happen, pal.”
Sentry silently looks over at Bell. “You are saying you refuse to comply? And you speak about this child as if she is your choice to decide her fate ?”
Bell looks back at him sternly & jabbing a finger at his chest. “You don’t have the authority here to make anyone comply, Sentry.”
Sentry nods. “So be it, Aiden Bell.” He rears back to slug the school’s headmaster directly in the chest.
Paragon reacts, speeding to block Sentry’s fist with his invulnerable body.
Oracle question: Is Paragon able to take the punch without consequence? Odds: 50/50. Answer: [Ask the Oracle: Yes]
Paragon smirks as Sentry steps back, checking his fist for damage. He’s about as strong as the teen, so there is none.
Kismet thinks about his recent Diplomacy & Negotiation classes, trying to figure out a way to de-escalate. Bell won’t be any help in that regard. He offers to bring Nano out to talk with Sentry, but she has to stay here.
Compel w/Heart – [Miss w/a Match: 1 + 3 + 0 = 4 vs 6 | 6]
[Pay the Price: A friend, companion, or ally is in harm’s way (or you are, if alone)]
Sentry looks tired. He responds. “You act as though this girl is your…property. She is a living thing. Machine life. I didn’t want to fight the people here, but she can no longer remain with you.”
He touches his wrist, and his eyes flash. Blayde and Mangle teleport in at his side.
Progress Track: Protect Nano from being taken by the Machine Collective – Dangerous
Kismet takes a step back as Blayde wields her switchblade hands, fingers flipping and shifting, and a razor-sharp mouth ready to slice and dice.
Kismet focuses his mind, feeling the tension build. Blayde freezes in place, as do the other people fighting on the front lawn of the Victory Academy. The crystalline frozen people shatter, letting Kismet glimpse them just a few minutes ago.
Time Travel – Look (Take -1 Spirit)
Gather Information – [Miss: 5 + 2 + 1 = 8 vs 9 | 10]
[Pay the Price: A surprising development complicates your quest]
Strange, dissonant distortions are ripping and tearing through time. The images are so scrambled that they threaten to destroy Kismet’s psyche. He has to jump back to the present. Something is blocking him from peering back. Blayde lunges, ready to cut up our hero.
Enter the Fray w/Heart – [Weak Hit: 3 + 3 + 0 = 6 vs 3 | 10] – You are in control
Kismet dodges out of the way as Blayde’s finger knives get stuck in the stone fountain. She was moving with such force it was taking her a moment to dislodge them. Kismet takes a combat stance and attacks.
Strike w/Iron – [Weak Hit: 6 + 2 + 0 = 8 vs 8 | 4]
[Mark Progress: Protect Nano from being taken by the Machine Collective :2 boxes]
[Mark Progress: Protect Nano from being taken by the Machine Collective :4 boxes]
Kismet strikes Blayde in the spine, sending pain rippling through her. She gets loose and slips past her slices to elbow her on the base of the neck. She’s on the ground but manages to contort her cybernetic and come running on all fours at the young hero.
React Under Fire w/Heart – [Miss: 2 + 3 + 0 = 5 vs 5 | 7]
[Pay the Price: You face the consequences of an earlier choice]
Kismet holds his ground, pulse quickening, trying to slow his breathing & anticipate his foe’s next strike. The air around him ripples, and he takes a slice across the cheek. He swears for a microsecond that time had a hiccup, which made him miss a bit of it and not react fast enough.
Clash w/Iron – [Strong Hit: 6 + 2 + 0 = 8 vs 3 | 2]
[Mark Progress: Protect Nano from being taken by the Machine Collective :6 boxes]
[Mark Progress: Protect Nano from being taken by the Machine Collective :8 boxes]
Kismet shakes that strange moment off just in time for Blayde to swing around with another strike n’ slice. He catches her arm, striking it at the elbow joint. He can hear the metal skeleton inside crack. She lets out a howl of pain, swinging her other arm around. He blocks that and pushes the blades back against her, the synthe-skin that covers her face it get sliced open. “Little shit!” she screams.
Kismet remembers that Silver Sentry triggered a teleportation device on his wrist. If Kismet can strike at just the right spot, he could send Blayde and Mangle back to where they came from and possibly cause Sentry to retreat.
Take Decisive Action w/Progress – [Weak Hit: 4 + 8 + 0 = 10 vs 10 | 8]
[Take Decisive Action: It gets complicated: The true nature of a foe or objective is revealed]
Oracle: Betray Secret
Kismet charges across the lawn, dodging Mangle as Panthra tosses him. Sentry is tied up in combat with Paragon, matching each other blow for blow. Kismet strikes at the wrist device, and in a sudden flash, Sentry’s partners are gone. The android staggers back. Paragon tells Kismet he did good. Paragon is ready to clock the android into next week.
Sentry’s face splits down the center, the human-like exterior sliding away to reveal the strange mechanical skull beneath. The eyes and mouth light up with a ghostly blue energy. Sentry aims it at Aiden Bell, who is watching from the front of the mansion. The light hits the Victory Academy headmaster, blinding everyone momentarily. Bell is no longer there when it fades, and the presumed dead Captain Quantum stands in his place.
Interlude – Thread: Alien Tech Aftermath
Oracle: Alien Beacon
A STRIKE clean-up crew is trawling the Katuhowkan River south of Forge City’s Central Island. A pile of alien tech that sank to the bottom is dumped onto the ship’s deck, and people in hazmat suits begin sorting it. We cut to beneath the water, where a bucket-sized device is lodged into the sediment. It is flashing the steady pulse of a green light.
On the other side of the moon, hidden from the eyes of Earth and its many satellites, a ship sits dormant. Suddenly, its systems come online. A cryotube hisses as the pressure release is activated. The heel of a large black boot hits the metal floor of the ship. Something has awakened.
Back to the main story
Kismet, Panthra, and Paragon stand on the lawn in shock as Captain Quantum is there. Everyone had believed Aiden Bell when he said the alien entity had been purged from him. Silver Sentry’s face restores itself. He gives Kismet a knowing glance, then taps his wrist, teleporting away. Others in the school emerge from the house, including Euphoria and Incognito. Everyone is shocked.
Oracle: Scheme Fellowship
Quantum lets out a cry of pain, his form shimmering, and then another burst of light. Aiden Bell is restored, and he collapses to the ground, unconscious. Panthra, Grail, and other instructors rush to him. Panthra shouts that he needs to be taken to the medical center. Kismet is surprised and wants to know if their headmaster has been lying to him or if they were some trick done by Silver Sentry.
Make a Connection with Paragon – [Miss: 3 + 3 + 0 = 6 vs 9 | 9]
[Pay the Price: You are stressed]
Kismet tries to check in with Paragon after the fight. His teammate sneers at Kismet. “Where were those time powers at? They probably could have helped, don’t you think?”
Kismet is taken aback at the hostility and says nothing as Paragon zips off into the sky, angst-filled about not getting to finish off his opponent.
Later, Kismet decides to go to the doctor and check in on Nano, who is almost recovered from King Krog’s attack. He asks how she’s doing and if she heard about the fight on the lawn.
Develop a Connection with Nano – [Miss: 2 + 1 + 0 = 3 vs 10 | 4]
She says she’s okay but remains distant. Kismet has to wonder how much she knows of what Silver Sentry said. Kismet is questioning whether keeping the teenage robot here is the right thing to do. Did she ever get a choice?
Kismet peeks in on Bell, who is held in a private room and can only be glanced through the door.
Gather Information – [Weak Hit: 1 + 2 + 0 = 3 vs 4 | 1]
[Gather Information: Involves a machine or technology]
Kismet only glances at it briefly before the door slides shut as his nurse exits, but the tech hooked up to Bell resembles the alien tech he saw at Silvestri Prison. What would they be using that for with the headmaster?
Interlude – Thread: The Machine Collective
Oracle: Begin Vengeance
Blayde goes to check on Silver Sentry who is healing his synthe-skin with a handheld device.
“You okay, boss?” she asked, leaning against the doorframe to his private quarters in their temporary HQ. Sentry nods.
“What’s next, now that we didn’t save that little girl?” she continues.
“We’ll save her from them soon enough,” Sentry responds. “In the meantime, it’s time to steal the next component.” He points at the large screen against the wall where drone footage of Improbable Plaza, home of the Family Forge, is shown.
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