TerroirNoir3

Not all of them.

Arc 23 from our second author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @cranebump's Gravity. Mission 1: Velocity. So D.A.T.A. Been a while since I was there but I get a call from Rick Davies to mosey on over and check in. Seems my bona fides are still fidey. Rick is his usual self, friendly but efficient and focused on the task. So anyway, Crey...Ack. They'll just lawyer us, Rick. Like they ALWAYS do. Chris Jenkins will roll out all smug and lay down some documents and then we'll go home. (Jenkins owes me some, but not enough to overcome a Crey pay check.) Oh. This is different. Go on. So intent on bringing them down by slowly going through every tiny detail...they recruited Machine Maiden. She can tap into anything, hack it and get out. Alas, something hacked her back on the last job and now she's gone haywire. Which considering she's normally a pacifist is something. The job is to shut her down and bring her in. Gonna have a little bit of help too from MARK IV. (I met him once over in Founders Falls I think) He'll upload a worm and I whack her over the head. Right. So I ain't the brains in this operation. Nice to know I'm appreciated. So in I go. Hang on, robots? Crey doesn't use robots, they're all up in your face about power armor and protectors and so on. And there's some remaining human staff to rescue. FROM the robots? What's going on here? They go down to Engineria's finely crafted artisanal Rad Blasts all the same though. So, Team Lead....Ok, just run off then! See if I care! I dunno. He did say that whatever caused those old bots to break out of their crates is probably affecting her too. At least I think he said that. There was a sort of yodeling doppler effect as he ran down the corridor. Right. So who's next on the agenda? Constance Truheart. Now there's a name! You don't see those sort of names these days! (Well, yes, we just did but go with me here.) Another batch of organically reared Radiation and Kinetics, hand delivered by Engineria to robots across the board. And stay down. So, Constance. Can I call you Constance? Ms. Truheart. What's the skinny here? Yep, bit of a mystery there. Rick said as much. Rick Who? Oh, Rick ... O'Shea. You've probably not heard of him. And over there is the Chief Custodian. I'm a coming! Stop hollering, you'll bring the roof down or something. So I rescue him and he claims that there's nothing important here, it's old cold stuff from years back. And have I seen Constance because they have a hot date? Ah. No. No I haven't. Sorry. Sheesh. Priorities! Not seen MARK IV yet, so I move further into the building. Ok, found him. He's...scanning the bots? I hope that helps. So MARK IV, where's this upload spot for the worm? And the objective is set and off we go. Jeez Louise, MARK IV does NOT mess around! I think he left a dent in the wall from that bot's head! Oh hell! Singularity! I'm hoisted into the air and zapped! Not good! MARK IV is on hand to punch this Sounder Prototype into iron filings though! It doesn't take him long. Scarily short in fact. I am glad he's on MY side. Anyway, we proceed around the corner and he starts his upload while I activate the power system. Then I have to pacify the pacifist and drag Machine Maiden home for a nice long lie down and some milk and cookies. Because of COURSE it's going to be that easy. Why wouldn't it be? Stop looking at me like that. ACK! Also, not Paul! Not Paul! Who the hell is Paul?! Mother of...my Endurance just vanished! Not good! Blues blues blues! Popping blues like candy! Now have an Atomic Blast! Oh, you didn't like that, didja? Thought not. Moments later she's down and off I go with her over my shoulder. Well, I say moments later, there was a brief incident with some Paragon Protectors but they got what was coming to them. Rick Davies has no idea who Paul is. And he's not exactly sure how Machine Maiden functions, so can I stick around for a bit just in case? Yeah, why not. Get me a coffee and a sandwich though. [Mission 1 = Timer! @cranebump loves a timer. But it did add to the tension of the mission. Nice mystery there to hook us too. Looking forward to part 2. Good stuff indeed.] Mission 2: Inertia. So, Rick fills me in (Good sandwich by the way). Machine Maiden has rebooted herself following her shut down. She should be fine in a few weeks. It seems that the "guard dog" she hit in the files was connected to some scrapped Crey projects. Well, that Custodian did say it was old and cold. And Paul? Yeah, Paul is Paul Summerfeld, a former Crey employee now doing time for his part in the Revenant Hero fiasco. So it's possible those files were his and if we could get them then that would help in our case. I love how he keeps saying "we" and "our" here, as though I'm part of this. I sense I'm about to be though. Wait for it. Wait for it. There we go. So, we have the location of some hard copies. Vital stuff in an age where things can just be digitally erased. So Engineria and MARK IV will go in. MARK IV will set off the fire alarm, then we find the files, firebomb the place and get out. Wait, firebomb the place? Aren't you supposed to be the "good" guys? Yeah, yeah. I know I have done stuff like that before, but not for you! Fine fine. I'll go. But I don't like it. Have more of those really nice sandwiches ready for me for when I return. What? How is that extortion? So we go in. MARK IV sets off a fake fire alarm and ....I suppose that's gonna be connected to why the place burns down? Well, I hope the assessors don't find explosive residue. Or if they do I suppose it could be from literally anyone Crey has pissed off in the last 20 minutes, never mind years. Camaraderie you say? Sure. Get me a sandwich. We move deeper into the warehouse. I spot a couple of computers but I leave them alone. We're after hard copy files after all. And there's a filing cabinet! Come on , MARK IV, let's have a looksee. Hmm, odd. What do you make of this? And don't be robotically literal and say a hat. Ok, let's set the explosives and get outta here. First spot is just next to us. Yeah. I suppose SOMEONE was going to respond to that alarm. I thought we'd have more time though. Pity. Hit them, MARK IV. Once we'd dealt with them and pushed them out of the rear loading bays into the yard (What? Like I'm gonna leave these schmucks to burn to death?), we set our explosive and then look for two other good spots. There's one. And then on the way out we set the final one and head for the exit. When we're gone the place goes up. Job done. Time to visit Rick Davies I think. Rick has heard of Dr. Zeist. Oh, DOCTOR Zeist, is it? Big into cloning. Rick will touch base with D.A.T.A.'s director about this. Zeist is the next lead. [Mission 2 = Short, sharp and to the point. Like it! Also, another timer! It coalesces rapidly and I can see why this arc got a Dev Choice.] Mission 3: Momentum. So after contacting the director Rick tells me (munch munch munch) that Zeist is apparently freelance. That's Crey-speak for "Who him? No, we have nothing to do with him, officer", in my opinion. But he hasn't been on the books of Crey for a while now. Though his current whereabouts are weird. Night Ward. I mean how (pass the chips) do you find out stuff about there? Monty and the gang in the Midnighters maybe? Or Azuria is just next door. As if I hadn't just had a whole bellyful of Praetoria recently. At least this place is just ("just" she says) dead, and not overrun with Hamidon. Anyway. I've finished my snack so time to go investigate I suppose. So find the Doc, get his files and anything else he might have. And Rick gives me what he calls an e-shunt to beam stuff to him electronically. So like an Aether-Drop, ya? I don't remember Night Ward being so...cavernous. Still, we're obviously in the right place because I found some Drudges. They're never friendly. So I am forced to give them a beating. I dunno what exactly happens to them. I mean, I don't think they're technically alive so...whatever. Take that! And how's about you stop hitting me and we'll be friends? No? Didn't think so. Leaving their faux bodies lying behind me I wander deeper and find a crate full of wax. Except it's wax currency. The sort that the Drudges use. I have NO idea what they spend it on though? Birthday candles? Depilation? Maybe! Some of them ARE pretty bald. Ahead I see Taskmaster Dross. Might get a word with him. Taskmasters tend to be a bit, what's the word, more sanguine than their minions. Of course they'll still let their minions have a go at me so that gauntlet has to be run. Yeah. Had to take those guys down. Dross doesn't seem in the least bit bothered...wait. Are these guys MADE of wax? Nevermind! I do not care about that right now. So Drossy, my old pal. Have you seen a fella goes by the name of Zeist? Ah. Ok then. Seems Zeist was paying the Drudges for contact with a particular spirit. And everything was cosy until they go fed up with him. Ah, that does not sound good. Which spirit was that by the way? Oh that's ok. I'll just find his base by myself. Later (hopefully never!) Further along I find what appears to be a makeshift base. I have to clean some Drudges out of my way, along with those lantern things. They smart like you wouldn't believe! Ok, what do have here? Ah. A body. That'd be Zeist then. Should have expected that. What else? Hmm. video footage of Zeist demanding that the Drudges bring him keys. And they get fed up and kill him. Notes on something called a Universal Interferometer (yoink) that will be handed over to Rick Davies...and oh. A folder. The "keys" he wanted was Raymond Keyes. Praetorian Raymond Keyes. Well fiddle dee dee. Need to get back ASAP and chat to Davies. Rick has a look. Seems Zeist was reverse engineering Anti-Matter's Orbital Platform shenanigans. With help from the man himself! And he runs off to spread the good news. Says he'll be back. Time for a lay down and maybe another of those nice sandwiches. There's a lot to be said for pastrami. [Mission 3 = Wonderful little mission with lots of twists and turns. Looking forward to the next one!] Mission 4: Action and Reaction. [More ASAP]

ACK. Getting a DBserver error. Was trying to update All That Glints 2: The Ids That March, can't even get on!

I did enjoy it. And while I have another break due to work coming up, I hope to get to the second Dhahabu arc to complete the set.

Arc 23 from our first author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All The Glints 2: Beware the Ids That March. So, when last we met Aurora Pena, Engineria and her were taking a truck ride into the woods on Striga. Sheesh, that woman needs therapy. I mean she says she's not Mother Mayhem despite having housed that consciousness for years, and I think she consciously believes that, but she goes out of her way to atone for anything that Mayhem might have done while possessing her. I'll leave it at that. Tricky subject that you can't just randomly bring up. Mission 1: A Meeting of the Minds. So Katie Douglas mentally uploaded/telesent everything she and I experienced previously to Aurora. She's up to speed now with the Cliff Notes and Ii don't have to explain anything. She's been searching for Penny Mayhem since the whole Faultline thing though, and sensing the hate wave that flooded Striga she headed there, and was caught up in it until Engineria and Katie rescued her. Now, she wants my help. And then our phones buzz. As in both of them. Same message. It's from Splice! Ah. See, Splice is involved with Mr.G and a whole passel of "bad" Praetorians. Not sure how this is gonna work but let's see what she has to say. So Splice was looking for a different Subjugator than the one I found. Ok. And maybe sharing some intel would help everyone out. Aurora has Vanguard contacts too, and those could be useful. Can we meet up and ...have a chat? Engineria looks at Aurora. Mind ride? Mind ride. We/I head off to the location given. Well, that's a great start to the day. Moving through the warehouse I pass the Milipals mentioned by Splice. They're stationary and (so far!) non-threatening. Ah, there's Splice ahead. With some company I remember from Steel Canyon. Time to give her a helping hand I think. Ok, same tactic as before (Don't get complacent though!) and I Rad blast them until they dissipate. Dissipate? Diffuse? Drift away? Whatever. They be gone now. Hi there, Splice. Got your message. What's the skinny? Thorn? Have you SEEN Praetoria recently? Nuff said! Right, who are we seeing? If there's a Tinman and a Cowardly Lion and a Scarecrow around here I will not be happy. (Although I wouldn't put it past you, @Ankylosaur!) Well, I should have guessed it would be him. Ok, G, what's YOUR deal? This had better be good. You do know you're wanted across....well, nearly everywhere. Mr. G leads me on to a desk and places a formal request in my hands. Down below I can hear someone...is that Transmuter? I think it is! And we pass by Bobcat! Ah! I have reasonably good standing with Vanguard, I have since I helped with the whole Richter in the RWZ thing, and now this? This is not a good position to be in. Sigh. Ok, what is it? Don't open it until I leave. (You seeing all this Aurora? I hope you are.) And then we're done. The computer nearby contains intel about moving Subugators to the volcano on Striga. Weird. Right. I'll see myself out then. I leave and have a brief chat with Aurora in my head while walking back to where she is in the truck. I think of it like being on the phone, it's easier to get my head around it that way. Ok, gimme a minute. I open the request. Ah. Penny Mayhem ne Yin is the once responsible for the recent outbreak of viral hate. (Let's hope she never crosses over to Dhahabu!) She's currently with the Council. Plus she has taken over the Awakened. (She should look at Kallisti! They're all over that park in Flagtown!) She's also captured Subjugator 5, one of Mr. G's "people". Here's the catch. G will help us find Penny if we can free 5. However to protect 5 from Penny we need a device. And it's in Praetoria. Yeah. Told you there was a catch. Aurora says/thinks that we need to talk to Marchand first. I definitely agree. [Mission 1 = Great set up. Like the progression from the Mr. G arc in the Rogue Isles and crossing over with the equivalent New Praetorians. Nice!] Mission 2: Mental Block. Well, Aurora and Engineria meet Marchand, before all of us head over to Vanguard to see Gaussian. We're told that there are far more Apparitions appearing across Paragon and Vanguard have agreed to open the portal we need. Sneaky old Marchand did NOT tell Gaussian about Mr.G though! In the meantime we've updated the ubiquituous G with what's going on. Now (now she says!), it gets confusing. We're off to retrieve what Mr.G refers to as "hats". Tinfoil hats? I'm assuming some sort of neural relay cap actually. We'll be dashing into the CMF, hoping not to get irradiated (again, I have some immunity to that, so go me), swiping the "hats" and running back to the portal. So, in I go. Oh, I believe I've seen those sort of robots before. Neo-Tokyo? I think they are! Ok, too busy to check. (Also, this mission is on a timer!) Ok, nothing in here. But there's more of these things so I rush around checking. In between getting shot at by robots! And I found it! One "tin hat" collected, I run for the portal. Whew! Aurora (who was mind riding along with me) thought those robots were one of Cole's experiments. Nah, you're Praetorian but there's whole sections of your history you don't know. Well, for obvious reasons. She also catches me up on what the Awakened and the Apparitions actually are. Neither of which is very nice. Mother Mayhem was an unpleasant person to say the least. And she reckons that the Apparitions are drown to Penny and the Awakened like moths to a flame. [Mission 2 = Short, timered mission. This could have been done as text but frankly I think it adds to the total "vibe" of the arc so far, delving back into Fallen Praetoria.] Mission 3: Recurring Dreams. Ok, we have an email from Transmuter of all people, updating us on the volcano situation. There's a way into the vents and he's attached coordinates for us. Well, for ME. (Honestly, I probably should take a lecturer position with Hero Corps if Whipsmart isn't hiring.) We bring the Hat, stick it on Subjugator 5 and bingo bongo, she's protected from Penny's mind control. How hard could it be? Well, that's the thing, isn't it? But this time Aurora isn't going along for the ride. She's wary of having control wrested from her (and surely that couldn't be good for me either) plus she doesn't trust Mr. G. You think I trust him? I trust him as far as I can throw the Atlas statue. I get in and tackle a few flying gun bots and a Galaxy guy. Honestly, do they even KNOW they look like Luchadors? I'm surprised one of them isn't called Nacho Libre! Aha! An Awakened Mindstorm. Well, mind powers or not she succumbs to some Rads and I move deeper into the complex. Carefully does it. No need to get cocky and die in a stupid way. I slide around a corner and suddenly I'm in a small computer complex with arrays of data banks. In the middle of all that is Beholder, held captive by the Awakened! Kingdom? What Kingdom? If you're talking about Praetoria then that ship has long since gone to Davy Jones's Locker. Or whatever the Praetorian Hamidon equivalent of that is. Kiting around the equipment I take down Beholder's captors and then free her. Ah, a voice you say. Might be Penny Mayhem. Might be. Not sure whether I really want to trust Mr. G on this. Ok, he's not led us wrong so far but then again everything so far has apparently suited him so why would he? Nevermind. things to do. Trouble is, according to Beholder, that same psychic energy is going to be used to power some sort of giant robot. Hmm, looks like they're scaling up from the Teslas. Up ahead we find Dr. Arvin. Former Praetorian who now works with the Council. He's not happy to see us. Not at all. He rants at us as we fight him but in the end he and his Council bodyguard go down. There's...what the hell is a Riesengarde? Oh, I'll find out. In the meantime there's some stuff to examine. Things like this! What's in here? Aha! Vials for an Uber Soldier. (Some text missing here @Ankylosaur I think.) Is that the Riesengarde? Oh, I reckon the Uber Soldier IS the Riesengarde! Look at this guy! He's roided out completely! Plus he's pretty much given the game away with his mention of serum from Dr. Arvin. Even so, he too goes down to Kinetics ripping away his Endurance. No energy = can't hit me! Love that. Gives me a breather every time. Well, every time it WORKS! Beholder and I also find some information detailing that Marauder and Mynx's DNA has been used for something. Oh oh. That's not good. Time to report in to Aurora Pena. We've gathered a fair amount of intel now so let's sift it and see. Yeah, Aurora is anxious. Giant psychically controlled robots, the DNA stuff, all of it amounts to pure nasty. And she reckons that Mr. G wants that Mynx intel for Bobcat. Ok then. More than I knew but that's about it. She's going to contact G and see what's what. It's not like he'd LIE to her, is it? [Mission 3 = Tense. Good action all the way through and some really lovely placement of NPCs and items. Particularly like where Beholder appeared. On to the next mission!] Mission 4: Mind Blown. Of course the first thing is...we still haven't rescued Subjugator 5. So that's still live. And hopefully she is too. If there are other Subjugators there then they have to be stopped permanently. Ah, that sounds a bit final but ok. They're uber dangerous left under the control of Penny Mayhem. Or anybody for that matter. Beholder? Aurora is on that and will keep me updated. In the meantime, it's back to finding Sub 5 and sticking a tinfoil hat on her head. Oh, the things I get myself into. So it's off to volcano city on Striga where the Council do play. Worst. Nursery. Rhyme. Ever. Place is dry and hot and all paths seem to lead downwards. So towards the magma? Great. How heat resistant is my armor anyway? I mean I haven't been set on fire for , I dunno, whole hours. Oh yeah. Definitely down. Down down down. This is gonna be one of those days. I just know it. OW! Oh, I was NOT expecting that! These guns just pop out of the gawdamn wall and shoot you! OW OW OW! Ok, I deal with that, plus the clankers around the corner. (Little bit of a PSA here for other players) So, I move around the corner and there in front of me is that giant robot thing. I saw something like this once on a trip to Cimerora, except that was not the Council, it was the 5th Column. Ah, they're all fascist scumbags at the end of the day. Oh for Pete's Sake! Those pop up guns are literally everywhere! I'm getting riddled with bullets! I have to take to the air and get to a ledge above them before whittling enough of them down so as not to be in a crossfire. Ok, a few minutes later after all that I spot one of the enemy Subjugators, Subjugator 3. Swoop down and blast her! Oh! I missed one of those pop up guns! Fortunately it also missed me! I trash the Subjugator and stalk after her compatriots. Soon 23, 19 and 11 are joining their squiddy headed sister in oblivion. And there's Subjugator 5! Note to self, don't fall in the lava again. That was not good. She floats along behind me as I make my way to the bottom where the lava venting control console is located. And with some judiciously placed Rad Blasts it is no more! Now to get the hell out of Dodge before it becomes hotter than hell! Hey there Aurora! I'm back! And look who I have with me. And of COURSE Mr. G has another ask. So, it builds and builds. This time in exchange for intel on Penny he needs another (another???) portal back to Praetoria. Trouble is the apparition rate is rising and he is our best bet. (Is he though? I mean what's Primal Penny at? Or Aurora Borealis? Ah. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned HER. That's as tricky as mentioning Mayhem. Poor Sister Psyche is dead so at least I don't have to worry about that. [Mission 4 = Oh, that's a NASTY mission. Glad I did not have it on a high difficulty level. Fighting hordes of enemies around the giant robot would be intense while also being shot repeatedly by those pop up guns! Good stuff though. On to the finale!] Mission 5: Mental Distress. Aurora has some unbelievable news. Vanguard is willing to open another portal, although Gaussian was heard muttering that if G and his gang got stuck there that wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen. Hah! But the temporal aspect of where we are going is...tricky. The TUNNEL system only ever seems to deposit you in the past, and other methods are as unreliable too it seems. So we may not all end up in the same immediate "when". Sure sure. I don't understand it but I'm getting used to it. I think. And only then does Mr. G contact us. There is a device called the Soothseer that Mother Mayhem herself used. G believes the dissonance it causes can break Penny Mayhem's control. Now here's the catch. We have to go to Mayhem's hospital in First Ward. Oy! And Aurora says that Mother's presence so permeated that place we might even see versions of her there! Ack. ACK I say. And then I stop saying ACK and walk through the portal. (ACK) The first person I see is Bobcat. She's a bit trussed up but I soon cut her free. The pair of us prowl along (Well, Bobcat does the prowl thing) and shortly after we find Subjugator 5. Hello...dammit woman! Now I can't see a thing! Blinking for several minutes ensues. Hang on! I hear someone! We scout ahead and up some stairs through a narrow corridor and come out on a sort of mezzanine where we find Transmuter. He's grateful to see us and joins the gang. At the back I notice. HMM. Splice and Mr. G himself join us later. Quite a little army we have. And it looks as though we'll need it. THAT looks rather dangerous. Although for once we have the numbers on our side. Well, nothing ventured nothing gained. Let's GO GO GO! "Embrace the madness"? That's a resounding NO from this little supe! Not having that, Malaise...err...echo resonance of Malaise. With this many of us he goes down like a ton of bricks through a rotted floor. Yeah, that's a terrible phrase but I'm busy here, so leave me be! Of course Aurora DID warn us that Mayhem's presence might manifest itself here. And it does. As if Malaise wasn't enough. Now that's just asking us if we want to embrace the madness, isn't it? Join the Seers? Well it is to my way of looking at the world. fortunately for us this is not the real Mother Mayhem. That... that would not go so well I think. We take her down though and then multiple sighs of relief percolate around our little band of fighters. And the job is done. We have the Soothseer. Except the only person to return was me! Mr. G and gang have stayed behind! They have plans of their own concerning Neo-Tokyo. [Not going to spoiler those for other players] Aurora is still pleased. She can use the device to disrupt further apparitions. Once she does homing in on Penny Mayhem will be their next objective. [Mission 5 = A great little "collect the allies" mission. Lots of character and tone and then having them stay behind? Very different. Good stuff all round!] Verdict. @Ankylosaur delivers again in his own inimitable way! Further building out the universe we encountered earlier via the TUNNEL system and Neo-Tokyo. Looking forward to the third part of this story. Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glints 3: Super Ego Maniac. And next on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE reviews is @cranebump's Gravity.

Yeah, I admit I can get a little spoilery here and there but I think it adds to the fact that I said WAY back at the beginning that these are more "The Adventures of Engineria" than a pure review. They are what they are.

Yeah, I'm keeping this image to go alongside my avatar pic here.

Slowly getting there! There may be a break next week though as I've got some overtime to handle. Ah, that's life.

Getting prepped. TerroirNoir2 is close to 90% on attachments!