TerroirNoir3

Arc 25 from our first author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glows 1: Nictus Amongst Us. I'm a little bit hazy after the whole trip to Cimerora. See, I ventured into the past to "aid" Terentius in his ordeal, and after all that I return to the present. Except...I don't know if I came all the way back to MY now. Let me explain. I step from the crystal in the Midnighter Club and after I go to the lockers and retrieve my phone I see there's a message from Lt. Buddy Bolton. He's thanking me for returning his call. I don't remember that call. I DO remember a Buddy Bolton though, and he wasn't... Let's just get to it. Be easier that way. Mission 1: Crystal Clear. So Buddy is in the PPD and he appreciates that I can ...bend...the rules a bit to get things done. Nothing illegal, but more practical. He's at the scene of a crime involving a Kheldian citizen. Ok, I'm intrigued already! Seems this guy's store was robbed and what was taken included a book, some crystals and some Nictus weapons. Why would a Kheldian have Nictus weapons? And now for the MOST intriguing part. One of the thieves was overheard saying "When Engineria shows, Stardust goes." Time to visit the store and find out what the hell is going on. Off to Steel Canyon then. Ok, Bolton lets me in and there's our Kheldian shopkeep, Orthas/John. He let's me have a poke around the place and look for clues. Orthas/John explains that the book stolen contained information about a "Dark Comet". Something he thinks is related to the Nictus, possibly a bigger form of Shadow Cyst. Nasty. While I'm looking at the office PC we get an attack by Void Seekers! Not sure exactly how they fit into the 5th Column hierarchy but they do. Nasty pieces of work intent on killing Kheldians. Or capturing them. Time to deal with these punks then! Fortunately I have some PPD back up already here! And Orthas/John also defends his store! We soon take them down and catch our breath. Finally getting to examine the CCTV footage and yep, there's one of the earlier thieves mentioning me by name. Nope. Nada. No idea why they would. Like I say, I'm not even sure I'm all the way back to the right spot in my own timeline. (Which reminds me, is there another earlier me out there...WAIT. Does that explain the other me I met working with Whipsmart? I'll never know for sure.) A last examination of the store's vault reveals the following. What to make of all that? I need to debrief with Buddy Bolton and get his thoughts on this. [Mission 1 = A nice little set up for a mystery. Plenty to go on and I've utilized the previous arc played to handwave that this arc is obviously set earlier 🙂 Looking forward to the rest.] Mission 2: Dancing in the Streets. Buddy Bolton has good news. Well, relatively good news. The thief that mentioned "Engineria" is one Wade Wainwright, a petty criminal. Lots of small potatoes crimes until word on the street says he merged with a Nictus...called Stardust. Ok then. One part of the puzzle clearer. Still no idea where I come into all this though. But a Nictus WOULD be searching for Nictus things, including possible N-Fragments. The crystals. Time to hit the streets and see what's what. Orthas/John says that Steel Canyon has seen a rise in 5th Column and so on presence. Oh great. That'll help. And there dear friends, is one Oberst von Andrian. Seems his gang is looking for the same thing I am, though he seems more general. Grab ANY as opposed to one guy. Do they wear lifts in their boots? Why are the 5th Column always so damn tall? Are the Council that tall? I'll have to check some time. Right now I'm a little busy working on the "the bigger they are" routine. Ah, still works. And stay down. (Examines the Oberst's boots. Nope, no lifts. He IS that tall.) And tucked into the boot is a recruitment list of Nictus AWOL from the Council. Stardust's name is on that list! Plus a map to a Council Void Hunter base here in Steel Canyon. interesting. Oh that's not good! Stardust has been captured and innocent bystanders have been injured in the crossfire! Let's take the fight to these guys! The PPD arrive and help take down the Voids. Stardust is all quiet for now. Let's see what he's up to. I'm going to lead him to a PPD beacon so we can call further back up and get him to safety. Ours and everyone else's. But he's not too enamored of that plan. Thinks I'm setting him up or something. Dude, you just got captured by VOID SEEKERS! What can I do to you that is possibly worse? Seriously. So I boot him a lot until he stays down. He'll be a bit bruised but...oh good. Company. More of these fascists. Like my day couldn't get any worse. (Don't jinx myself!) I jinxed myself didn't I? AH! I have had it with you people! RAD BLAST! BOOM! DOWN YOU GO! And breathe. And breathe. Time to talk to Buddy Bolton again. This idiot had a list of known Nictus. Half in the service of Requiem(!) and the rest independent. Stardust was on the latter list. I'm still no wiser but let's see what's what. Bolton takes custody of Stardust and interrogations will be starting soon. Hopefully that will shed some light on things. [Mission 2 = More interesting developments in the Kheldian sphere. Not sure exactly where we are going with this as my Kheldian lore is a mite sketchy but let's see. Fun mission!] Mission 3: The Hunter's Den. Oh misery. Bolton has questioned Stardust and let me tell you, that guy...that guy. Well, he says he met me 2000 years ago. Ah, MAYBE? For me it might have been last Monday? MAYBE? I dunno. He's been waiting all that time to see me again and says I'm some sort of omen. Oh misery. And he also claims he's going to get to go off world. Ok, that I definitely know nothing about. I've been back in the past but I've never been...oh. The Galaxian thing. Yeah, I've been off world too. Wait, how would HE know about that? Sorry, carry on! Seems the only other lead is that Void Commander base of the Council's. Sigh. More tunnels. Ok, let's go. I go to the location and it's instantly chaos! Ahead of me I can hear Orthas calling for help. They've killed his merged human side, John! Oh, that's very bad! I'm coming Orthas! Hang on! I free him he tells me that he overheard them saying the traitors Shadowfall and Helix are next. So I boost him with Speed. He rushes off taking down Council at a ferocious rate! Vengeance is his motivation I feel. We navigate through the base, taking out more troops and destroying a Shadow Crystal along the way before running into Galaxy Archon Wedekind. After pounding Wedekind into a grease stain on the floor Orthas lets up and we examine a nearby filing cabinet. In it we discover information about a Nictus deserter named The Gloaming, who fled 2000 years ago and was involved in the voyage of Marcus Valerius! Nah, I don't recall them. I mean maybe? Shortly after we find John's body. And we move on. Up ahead is one of the named individuals from the filing cabinet, Helix. They're a prisoner of the Council. Hang on! HELIX? Like PRAETORIAN Helix? She's not a Kheldian. No no no. Either way she needs rescuing so Orthas and Engineria go in blasting. Take that, Council! No more votes for you! Not that you like voting, you fascists! We free Helix and she makes her escape. The Void Hunters are too much for her. Then we find Commander Zane. He rants about me being an omen. Honestly, I really, I mean REALLY have no idea what these people are talking about. No need to look at me like that, Orthas. Get back to your revenge! And then, Shadowfall. And he is NOT helping. Nope, I STILL have no damn idea what you're talking about. Plan? What gawdamn plan? Or is this something that a "future" me is about to have done? He vanishes. What now? Before Orthas and I leave we ransack a computer and find out that the Void Hunters are monitoring the Warriors (the Warriors?) in Siren's Call. They think two of those on the list are hiding in the Warriors' ranks. Well, of course they are. Sigh. C'mon Orthas, let's go talk to Bolton. Bolton commiserates with Orthas about John, and what else need be said? As for Siren's Call? Bolton is going to give the Red and Whites a call, since they patrol there, and see if there's any leads. [Mission 3 =Well, that got heated! Void rifles everywhere! Blasts! Orthas mangling anything that got near him! Ok, the Speed boost and Density effects from Kinetics helped but even so. Next mission please!] Mission 4: Warriors' Code. Been a while since I ventured into Siren's Call. It's...not a nice place. Though you'd think by now the city would have repaired this place. Whatever. For now it remains a hellhole. Arachnos presence, various factions fighting through it. For what? I'm not sure. It's not like there's much to get here anyway. Time to take to the air because (a) it's safer and (b) it's faster. And scooting along I see one of my targets on land on the far side of a semi submerged ship. He seems ...irate? I'll go with irate. You know, I probably will end up doing more time travel shenanigans in the future (my future that is...or wait, my personal future) but right now they're realy starting to piss me off. If you agree with me why are you fighting me? I don't know what you want! Stupid man. An he goes down. As he does a nebulous purple shape rises and speeds away. And now I have an idea where your base is. In the meantime I need to find the other Nictus on the Council's list. Off into the skies again to scan. AHA! There you are! Time to...oh not you too! No, I definitely do not remember you. Or do I? Never mind! Task in hand. Stop this guy punching my lights out. Dark Matter? Well, lights out for you! And he too takes the gassy express and zooms off in the direction of that same building. I think I need to meet with Bolton and have a debrief. I'm a little tired and a lot baffled. Bolton is with Orthas and they muse on the ability to craft N-Fragments and infuse them into things. Even though it costs them part of their own energy to do so. As for their base? Well, we're going to be looking into that soon! [Mission 4= Nice "breather" of a mission. Just the right amount of space while still advancing the plot. On to the finale!] Mission 5: The Gloaming. Well, between one thing and another, me and Buddy Bolton and Orthas all agree that something must be done. So, to a nondescript building wherein hides...well, who can tell? Not my temporal sanity, that's for sure! Buddy is tooling up in PPD Power Armor. Now that sounds familiar! I could call in...oh, maybe I can't. MY Buddy may already be out there with me doing something. Come to think of it he does remember missions we've been on that I have NO recollection of. I used to put it down to concussion. Maybe it wasn't. You know, you people have issues, I mean real needing therapy and possible imprisonment after, issues. Sigh. What's a girl to do in a crazy world only Rad Blast the hell out of them. So I do. You guys just lay there and relax. It's still safer in here than out in Siren's Call, ya know? Now, Orthas. Thought I saw you up ahead. I DID! Hey hey! Let's get this party started. A Peacebringer in action, huh? If it's more actiony than when you were on a vengeance kick after John was killed then I dunno what to say. I wonder what that's about? Doesn't sound good whatever it means. Anything to do with leaving the planet I wonder? Helix? Is it actually you you? I mean ...I am confused now. I didn't think Kheldians ever made it to Praetoria! (Wait! Wait! I've been going on about not getting back to my proper place in time...am I even in my own universe?) Oh my head hurts. I'm going to need some of Araminta's jasmine tea after...ah rats, she moved out...WAIT! If this is when I think it is then she hasn't moved out yet! Excellent. I just have to avoid myself for a bit. We meet again? Oh this will be interesting! And with that Helix is gone. Poof! Hmm. Meanwhile The Gloaming has spotted us. Because more attention from a possibly nefarious Nictus is just what we need right now, right Orthas? There's that speech about me being an omen again. I swear, if anyone and I mean anyone, calls me Damien then there will be trouble. Orthas and Engineria deal with The Gloaming and several Unbound Nictus creatures. And let me tell you those things are a pain in the butt. Ah, no offence Orthas...or...nope, I'll stick with that. Thing is Buddy Bolton is nowhere to be seen which leads me to thinking that he has gotten himself captured. Happens to the best of us. So we scout ahead and sure enough there he is in a pillared cavern. We're on the way, Buddy! Once Orthas and I free him, Buddy Bolton joins in and pretty soon we have the remaining Nictus powered Warriors on the run. It's starting to look like a job well done all round. We finish up and have a ponder. Sure, we "got" them, but Shadowfall and Dark Matter are already gone, and that Dark Comet is still on the way. This will need following up. Over to you, Lt. Buddy! [Mission 5 = Good wrap up here while also laying the seeds for the next arc. Nice! Looking forward to the sequel.] Verdict. Well, this was different! As I said earlier, my Kheldian knowledge is a bit low, but I'm learning as I go. Possibly if I knew better I'd have played this earlier, but I'm having fun with the "time travel" RP! Good stuff.] Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glows 2: Nictus Exodus. And next on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE reviews is @cranebump's Fallout 2: The Puzzle Box.

The next arc on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews will be part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, and is @Jiro Ito's On the Claw-Tipped Wings of Betrayal. Now, have I mentioned that time travel is starting to have me doubt what's real and what's not? It absolutely is. Mostly I blame the Midnighter Club folks and their obsession with that crystal. And now they have a cube thing with access to a Labyrinth! Dear me! Mission 1: Chapter 1. So resting up (like I ever get rest!) after working with Briggs-Hughes, I end up somehow answering a call to return to ancient Cimerora. Not from any mustache bearing gent this time though. It seems that after Romulus was defeated one of his captured generals, Terentius, wants to speak to me. Me? What did I do to single myself out like this? Who can tell? He speaks contritely but not humbly, as far as I can tell. He's more annoyed that all Romulus's plans to "save" Cimerora only led to worse. But he wants peace with his former brothers and will give information on where those still loyal to Romulus are hiding as they no doubt plot to free him. He asks only that his beloved Okythoe, who supplied this information, is spared. Well, we will see, won't we? Why is it always caves? I mean here in the ancient Mediterranean, well it's lovely. But no, caves caves caves. Sigh. Right. First things first. I find Justinus Clarus. Oho! There you are! Well met, and all that. And of course instantly we are attacked! But with my Rad Blasts and Justinus's arrows we see them off. Let's explore further. And I head up around the corner and STRAIGHT INTO THE ARMS OF A MINOTAUR! ("Straight into the arms of a Minotaur"? Worst. Love. Song. Ever.) Justinus is a little behind so I'm facing this guy and his handlers solo. And... ...that did not go well. I think if Justinus can't surreptitiously drag my body away I'll have to use the mediporter. And plan for this. Every time I forget about the minotaurs. And I bet there will be cyclopes too. Now, where was I? Oh, that armor piece will need hammering out or replacing. I don't normally get stood on like that. And I rip his Endurance out so he can't use his abilities to murder me! This is going a little better. Justinus arrives and seasons him with arrows. And take a deep breath before moving on. Justinus and I move further into the caves and deal with a General Cordius. He fights well but we defeat him in short order. Plenty of these renegades that Terentius spoke about throughout the caverns though, all intent on putting me to the sword or whatever the phrase is. Didn't I say? I told you! A cyclops! I KNEW there would be a cyclops after I ran into that Minotaur. And he's pretty angry about something. I could just ask him "Where's the Beef?" But he won't get it. However THIS time (PMT = Post Minotaur Time), we're ready for monster style attacks and the ripping of the Endurance happens first! Down you go, you one-eyed maniac! No eye patches for you! Ok, we've reached an open area now with members of Cimeroran traitors patrolling the place, guarding Okythoe. And this Okythoe... she does NOT look like the sort of woman that maybe Terentius thinks she is. Or if she is then love is definitely blind. Spare her? She has a giant axe and seems intent on our imminent demise so I'm not willing to just stand here and let her hit me. ARGH! Set up! Justinus, we've been set up! She was expecting us! Wait, idol? That was mentioned before concerning the voyage of Marcus Valerius and that DOES seem familiar. What timeline am I in now? Has this already happened for me? Or is now currently have been happening before? Tenses break down with time travel! Ok, I have no idea what you just did, Justinus, but it worked! But Okythoe has fled! Now, run! There's a swarm of Talons intent on picking the meat from our bones, bones and meat that I am very attached to! We leave and I return to Terentiuss's cell. He's a bit glowery and is not the seemingly contrite man I met yesterday. He didn't expect to see me again is what I'm thinking. Well, we're gonna have ANOTHER little chat, my Roman friend. Oh yes. [Mission 1 = Straight into the action. Interesting to have an antagonistic contact. I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops. Good stuff!] Mission 2: Chapter 2. Yeah, Terentius, I survived. Surprised. Oh, you warned her that I was dangerous? Seems she didn't listen to you. Terentius says he allowed his love to blind him. And yes, she's alive. Got away in that last flashy fight. My days, but this guys is full of himself. And I've spoken to Transmuter! He'll tell me where she is now but only because I'm part of her plan. I apparently have no idea what it means to defend, to be the shield for my nation. You're totally right. I don't. And I don't because I don't think I'm Numero Uno. Right, you sack of BS in old timey armor, where is she? Oh, in a cave. Well, seems about right. Justinus is going to be coming with me too. That's good. He's a useful man with a bow! Ah, there he is! Yoo hoo! Justinus! Nice dead Elementalist you got there. Shall we continue the search for Okythoe? Yeah, it's definitely another trap but at least THIS time we know it. C'mon. So Justinus. We're gonna find out what Okythoe's plan is, and once we do we're gonna try and take her down. And while that flash bang thing you did last time was hella impressive, I couldn't see for a few minutes after. So, less of that. Unless we've no other option. Hmm, a mystic portal thing. What does this do? It does nothing. Or at least nothing useful to us. For all I know there's an alarm going off somewhere and even now Talons of Vengeance are rushing to swarm all over us. No, calm down. We'll deal with them. On we go. Clues clues clues. Here clues. Here boy! AHA! Wait, are you supposed to be glowing like that Justinus? You are? Alrighty then. It just looks a little off. Nevermind, let's see what this thing does. MY EYES! THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING! No? Not a fan? Before your...no, AFTER your time. What are "goggles"? Oh this is gonna take a while. (Cue Justinus and Engineria walking carefully through a Cimeroran cave system while she explains to him the intricacies of (a) TV, (b) animation and (c) goggles.) YES! Like those things some of the vampire creatures wear on their eyes! Doh. Should have started with that. Wait. Another thing! Hopefully THIS will have an answer for us. Nope. It's a box with four skulls. Not sure whose and don't wish to know either. We keep moving. We get attacked frequently along the way but Justinus is very capable in dealing with things. (@Jiro Ito, Justinus is very tough! If I was playing this on a higher level I'd be even more glad of him as an ally.) We round a corner and there before us is Okythoe. She's pretty adamant that I reveal the details of Marcus Valerius's plans. Ah, if I DID know I wouldn't tell you. And since I don't know...or maybe I do and I either forgot or the time travel has swiss cheesed my brain...either way I ain't saying diddly squat. Welp, that got me all in a flap. In your own time, Justinus. Nice and easy. Just ....fergawdsake shoot her! SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER! Like now! COLD! VERY COLD! But Justinus comes through and that guy should talk to the Midnighters and join the Big Leagues. He has it in him to be a hero for the ages. Anyway, Okythoe is dead. Once I thaw out we have a look around the cavern and find Okythoe's plans. She seduced General Terentius in order for him to set a trap so that I (yes, me!) could be captured and tortured for any information on Marcus Valerius. If his voyage could be stopped then the Talons of Vengeance could retrieve the Idol of Mot and release the God of Death upon the world. That's a horrible plan. I'd like to say I know Mot is defeated, because I know he was. But...that hasn't happened yet in the now I'm currently in. So, yeah. Let's go and see how Terentius reacts to being told that Okythoe was just using him. He turns away and you can tell he's shaken up. [Mission 2 = The tables are turned and now we see Terentius as the pawn he really is. Time to shake things up. Loving Justinus!] Mission 3: Chapter 3. Terentius has worked himself up into a fit of anger. He rages at me, asking me what I want. All that is left for him is the executioner and he says that won't come soon enough. And then there is panic and mayhem as the alarm bells of Cimerora ring out. The Banished Pantheon are attacking! Terentius offers his sword in defence of Cimerora, it is after all what he vowed to do even though his path was twisted. I head to the Temple and prepare to help in the defence! And talk about serving things up to me on a platter! I'm literally just out the door of the tunnel and I'm faced with several of the Banished Pantheon and one of their captives. Ah...get help maybe? One if by Land and Two if by Sea? Is that how it went? I dunno. I don't even have a horse so there's no point in worrying about it. Let me see. Ah, no? We'll go with a very definite NO. Mainly because I don't have it, don't know where it is and even if I did I wouldn't tell you. I think that covers all the variations of NO. So, NO! And there's my boy Justinus! WOOT! Good to see you by my side! Defend the city? I reckon that's as good a battle cry as any. We climb the hill and cross over to the place before the temple itself and Terentius joins us. He's not a happy man (Ok, he's never been a happy man from what little I've gathered from him so far) and he's about to unleash hell on those who used him. OH MOTHER! Justinus...can you see what I see? Yeah, that's Adamastor. You don't know who he is? You kinda don't need to know really. Just...it's not good, ok? For you, me, Cimerora, the world in general. Ah, I'm gonna free that last Cimeroran over there before girding the loins (what does that always remind me of lamb?) and returning to have a chat with Adam here. DON'T GET SEEN YOU IDIOT! We free the last Cimeroran and take out some of the remaining Banished Pantheon. And then we return. Is he still there, Justinus? I really don't want to look. I mean I just KNOW this is gonna hurt. (Right now I could use Araminta's help with all her bots) Right, Justinus, let's do this. (Check mediporter. Mediporter is a go.) And eye beams! Well, I got his attention at least. Adamastor is dangerous but he's actually not known for being fast. So hopefully we can do this. Get around behind him Justinus! Hit with everything you got! We're doing it! OMG we're doing it! Banished Pantheon is taking a beating! Adamastor Shmadamastor! And we are TRIUMPHANT! (Does weird dance with Justinus! Go with it, it's a "future" thing. Yeah, we all do that in the future. No, really.) Justinus, where the hell is Terentius? I mean I'm not 100% worried right now after we just took this guy out, but I've not seen him for a bit. Back in the cells in the city? Yeah, let's go find him and have another little talk. We don't make it to the cells though. A fresh wave attacks and the three of us (we found Terentius) take shelter in a building. We've hit a snag. WE didn't tell them of the whereabouts of Marcus Valerius and the Idol...but someone did. We need to put a stop to that. Like soonish! [Mission 3 = Great fun! Loved the mission. And that final fight with Adamastor was brilliant. Got some really good shots of it, but not posting more due to my attachment limit.) Mission 4: Chapter 4. And now? Now it's the end. Engineria and Terentius leave to stop the Talons and the Banished Pantheon getting the Idol of Mot and plunging the entire world into a hell, while the others? Justinus, Sister Solaris, Imperious Daedalus and the rest battle the horde of invaders that threaten to overwhelm what remains of Cimerora. We want to be there with them but we can't. On we go. We arrive at our location by boat. (Ok, not this boat, but I really liked the shot!) Sheesh, they're bringing out the Totems, General! That's never a good sign. We're going to have to cut our way through to the end by the looks of it. And we start as we mean to go on. One Totem left cooling on the sands behind us. Terentius has a battle frenzy on him now and he's charging from one Talon and Banished Pantheon member to the other, cutting each down as he goes. I'm blasting where I can and giving support. A Speed Boosted Terentius is a scary thing to see! We move on through and over the bridge, tackling Spirits of Pain and their Elders. At one point we come under attack from seemingly nowhere until I think to look up and there above us is a Reviler! A Harpy! Well, Terentius can't reach her but I can! Eye beams and Rad Blasts! And down she goes! Bit of a fall. Don't care to do that myself. So, it's back through the doors and down the stairs. Up ahead the path forks and we'll see the remains of the 5th Column base in this time. They keep coming at us but we struggle on. (I am low on useful Inspirations and it's my Kinetics HP drain of enemies that is keeping Terentius up, I think, he's pretty tough.) Soon though we're moving among the legs of the giant robots left behind by the 5th Column and hitting the leaders of the invaders. Until finally there is but one left, Podarce....and she nearly gets me! I'm held in place but Terentius comes in like a gawdamn MACK TRUCK and hits her full on! Go General! She did not like that! Once I recover I rip her endurance out and we start cutting her down. Alas, Terentius did not survive that though. Still, he went out fighting. After that there's a few stragglers and then I stagger back down the hill to the ship. It's over. This says it better than I can. [Mission 4 = Great finale! Really well done and wonderful mood. Recommended. And recommended to play on a higher level/bigger team size to fill out the larger maps. I don't usually because I'm doing this and trying to keep track of everything.] Verdict. I can see why this received a Dev's Choice. Great story. Also works as a strange companion piece to @Darmian's Three Sisters arc. But if you want some Cimerora action then play it. Next up on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews as part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, will be @TheOneTitan's Divinity Quest. And immediately next up is @Ankylosaur's All That Glows 1: Nictus Among Us.

Arc 24 from our second author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @cranebump's Fallout 1: The Unlock. Mission 1: Blink. So I'm resting up from the madness that surrounded the whole "P. Mayhem Goes to Cimerora" thingy, you know, feet up and my coffee laced, and I receive a call from one of my favorite people to work with. That's Lt. Briggs-Hughes. Remember her? Yeah. Scrappy gal who gets things done. One of the good ones. Right. I'm already slipping on my armor as she talks because if she needs help I'm gonna go help. She's keeping it on the downlow though. Doesn't "know" me (wink). But that's government politics for you I suppose. Anyway, she has a spot of trouble at an S&L. It caters to vets mainly ---wait, veterans or veterinarians? I'm gonna assume the former but in Paragon you never know. Lot of Master Minds around with Beasts and so on. Sorry, go on? Briggs-Hughes's trainees are already in the S&L. Things are squirrely though. Closed sign down when it shouldn't be, doors locked. No answer. Yeah, I'll head in and take a look. Okie dokie, let's have a little looksee. Sheesh. First thing I find is a body. Beaten to a pulp. Nasty. No sign of Briggs-Hughes's team though. Next up is a safe. Still with loot in it. Weird. Body pieces nearby. Like they stole it and had a fight over it then they left. Leaving it behind like it didn't matter. Definitely weird. Let's see what's on this. Hmm. An AC crew was supposed to fix some ventilation. Didn't happen. Regular Ghost Town in here. Ok, it ain't Dark Astoria but what is? Ok, further along I find some gas tanks. Empty. But set on wide dispersal. Made by FinnCo. Interesting. Another body. It's the AC repairman. Beaten to a pulp, just like the earlier body I found. There's a baseball bat beside him, like he was using it defend himself. Why does an AC repairman need one of those? And wouldn't you know it, there's a massive hole in the floor leading to...well, I dunno. We will have to see. And there's some folks down there. They LOOK like civilians, angry civilians but still just civilians. Stealth on then and slip by them. No need to go all Justice Vigilante on them until I know what's going on. Ah, of course we're down in the sewers. Like I don't spend enough of my time here already. You know, in all the time I've been investigating things I've NEVER seen a sanitation worker down here. I mean I'm pretty sure the city has taxes for that but I've never seen one. Something to mention to Brighid Moreira when I see her in City Hall. Meanwhile. Trailing along the dank tunnels, avoiding "patrols". I say patrols but these people are a bit blank, like something is controlling them. And they have a captive. Might get some answers if I free them. Looks like I AM hitting some civilians after all, even if I don't want to. Rescue mode engaged! I dive in and drive them away from their prisoner. Sheesh, these people are tough and I'm a super! I'm always saying I'm a mid level supe in a city of more powerful supes, but even so I'm supposed to be stronger than a roided up bank teller! And that's all of them...wait, what the hell is hitting me? I'm still getting shot! Some of them can fly now! Crap. Well, I'm NOT putting up with that! Down you come, lady! Ok, Mister. Spill it. What the hell is going on here? Come on! Well, that's about as useful as a bicycle is to a fish. Wait. You're here to monitor that machine in the corner? Why? Let's have a look at that machine then ---hey! He just ran off! Grr! Ok, machine. This has been altogether odd. I need to talk to Briggs-Hughes about this. The ESWAT team have the remaining bank staff in shackles. They're looking a bit rabid though. Not at all normal. Talking to Briggs-Hughes, yeah, looks like the gas turned these folks into pseudo supes or something. Not gonna lie, it's odd. And maybe we should investigate this FinnCo. That name seems familiar though. [Mission 1 = Great moody start to a mystery with one of my favorite NPCs as the contact. Liking the build up so far. Let's see what's next!] Mission 2: Drive. Some of those Skulls got through the teleporter, apparently along with some of the bewitched (that's what I am calling it) bank staff. And something similar happened in Steel Canyon. Skulls show up, bank staff attack them and chase them though a TP device. Briggs-Hughes is almost stunned when she says "we have to stop people hurting the Skulls". Yeah, you and me both. So, with the aid of a captured techspert I'm gonna scoot through one of the devices myself and see where that lands me. Glorious. Going in blind as usual. And AWAAAY we go! Great, another dingy place. Why don't gangs want to live in NICE places? What's with that? I run into a few Skulls and have to take them down before encountering some of the crazed bank staff harassing a captive Skull. I "rescue" him, but he just hightails it out the door. Can't say I blame him to be honest. On we go. Jeez, the city needs to do some eminent domain on these places and clear them out or patch them up or something. Of course, since the Rikti War, and the the Praetorian War, and all the other whatevers, and lord knows what the cost of running a War Wall is, I suppose there's not a lot of money in the war chest to do anything much. Further ahead I find another FinnCo container. BA332 written on it. Make a note of that. Well, she came out of almost nowhere! And how much steroid type gas does it take to make a Perky Secretary take on a super? I mean actually be able to as opposed to just thinking they can, because the latter is easy. I run into a Bone Daddy Skull boss and his companions. They're not happy with the bank staff but they're also not pleased to see me. Well, I leave them nursing sore heads on the floor and move further in. And success! Or at least I think it is. Who is this person? Ok, let's get to is, Site Boss! And on we go! Wait, they summoned zombies?! Ok, they're with the Skulls, and the Skulls can sometimes use Dark powers, but I've not seen anyone use zombies since I ran into Veles a while ago, and I think he's in the Zig these days. I think. Still, precedent I suppose. But what did you mean by "this world"? Wait, she has implants? A cyborg Skull? That's...peculiar. And she's dead dead. Some sort of neurotoxin released from the implants. No questioning her it seems. Around the corner I find another of those TP machines. It's set for long range but is completely dead power-wise. Right, I'll head back out, figure out where in the city I am and call Briggs-Hughes. [Mission 2 = Oh, @cranebump loves a mystery and this one is not giving up its secrets yet. Enjoying the investigation as I go. Let's see what Briggs-Hughes has planned for Engineria next!] Mission 3: Start with Why. Briggs-Hughes is on the case! Skulls are mostly low rent. Leave aside Veles and the Chernobog thing for now. And normally we'd be less worried. But this gas thing? That amps up the bank staff into Stepfordian Murderdroids? Not a good look. So we need to figure out where they are getting it from. Well, there's FinnCo ALL over the labels, lady! Oh, you thought of that. Go on. Ah, that's another part of the investigation. Skullia and me will be checking out the "gas ring" gang in the Skulls. Got it. Ok, where to? And from the get go we're...no, we're not on the back foot, we're taking the boot to the Skulls! Yep! We have to wade through several patrols of Skulls before we find Deathmoth (Deathmoth?) and "ask" him some sharp questions. Very sharp. Pointed even. Again, Deathmoth? Are you guys running out of scary names? I can think of loads! Like Lord Vengeance! Or The Persecutor! Or...oh, we don't have time for this! Skullia's suggestion is very ...Troll-like. Or Freakshow. Beat the tar out of them and ask questions later. Leave enough breath in them to ask questions later. You know, Skullia, I reckon you're a Vig. Mind you, in Kings Row that's fine. Now we drag ol' Deathmoth out and do some serious questioning. Nuff said. Back with Briggs-Hughes. We relay what we got from the perp. It's the location of the canisters. I reckon I know where we're heading next! [Mission 3 = Short and sweet. Good simple mission, in and out and no fuss or running all over the place. Like it!] Mission 4: Stealing Fire. More ASAP]So we're convened in the ESWAT offices. Me, Briggs-Hughes, Pep Becktrees (Hiya Pep!). What's the skinny? Me and Skullia pay a visit to the canister site. But I'm to keep a watch on Skullia because Briggs-Hughes thinks she's not telling us everything. Sure. No worries. Briggs-Hughes and the rest will be the decoy. Rounding up the "usual suspects" and taking names in Kings Row, making a big enough noise that attention iss away from the real team. So, we rest up and prep then we go in. Not frenzy but...hmm. Anyway. There's a lot of clocks getting cleaned here! With Skullia leading the way! None of these schmoes are getting away from her. Wait, FUTURE TECH? I do not like the sound of that! And that earlier woman mentioned "This World". What the hell is actually going on here, Skullia? We can chat later but in the meantime hit them! Jeez Louise but that Gun Drone of hers is dangerous! We hammer them down and when a closer look is taken at the equipment the familiar name of FinnCo can be seen. Tsk. Have to look into that. And then it gets, well not weird but very...niche? Yeah, niche. We find Dentine (As in teeth? Like in teeth? Or was that a gum back in the day? What do I know?) And the niche bit? Well, his musical tastes are era specific. I'd have pegged the Skulls to be listeners of Norwegian Death Metal. So after promising NOT to smash his face in he spills his intel. I think Skullia broke several of his ribs though. In her defense he only said not in the face. Shortly after we come across ---I swear, these people need a thesaurus --Philogrief. And she's all "I didn't do nuttin" and "I was only following orders" and "Not in the face". Which has me grinning at Skullia after the Dentine thing. So yeah. Elmo (Elmo?) met some new people who promised weapons and a gas that would pacify people, and they would make more money than with the Petrovics. Ok, how stupid are you? Morana will skin you if she finds out about this. No, I'm not gonna tell her. No, don't thank me. Enough of you bozos have loose lips that she probably already knows. And just behind Phil here is a forklift with a box of beam pistols! No name, it's been removed but dollars to donuts they're from FinnCo. Skullia and Engineria move further in. She's still smiling to herself. Odd woman. Oh Hi Mark...I mean New Site Boss. And Skullia's Gun Drone minces him. I don't have much to do here. Go though his shredded pockets I suppose. And up around the corner we meet Waldo. Who goes by a different name. I'm sticking with Waldo. (You know what I saw referenced the other day? A Where's Waldo? audiobook!) We take Waldo down like the rest. Seems there's an attempt at some new Skull leadership going on. We've got all the kit so time to get back to ESWAT. Briggs-Hughes is pleased. We're to swing by the PPD and confab there. There's stuff to discuss. [Mission 4 = That was very funny. All the odd names and weirdoes. Really getting across the "while the cat's away the mice will play vibe" from the Skulls after the Petrovics went to the Zig, apart from Morana who can't be everywhere at once. Liked it!] Mission 5: Future Presence. Right. Briggs-Hughes informs me that most of the FinnCo materials were the property of the Autumn Wards. (Hey, I know those folks!) Some heavy duty details there! The Mobius Strip and "leaked" interdimensionality. However, their operations were scaled back and their equipment stored carefully, BY TOP MEN. TOP MEN. At least that's my take on it. So the Skulls stole it? Not exactly. Probably someone on the inside. We'll have to worry about them later but for now we need to deal with the Skulls. Me and Skullia will be taking one site while Briggs-Hughes and the rest of ESWAT will cover the others. No effect. Hmm. Well, hopefully! What the holy moly?! A Skull with spine powers? Also, OW! Spikes! Not good! I do not like! You, sir, are getting a Radiation Bath! A tasty one! Once I drop this douche I find Skullia. She's ready to go and handily came prepared. She has a mask to filter out the gas. I'm wishing I had thought of that. Oh well. If I lose it then Skullia will no doubt try to drop me! On we go. We have to take out as many canisters as we can, and then eliminate the leaders here. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy! Or not. Anyway, we get started on the canisters. One down, some to go! And then we run across the first of these Lts! We're both hit with some sort of confusion! Can't hit them! Trying not to hit Skullia as my Rad Blasts go wild. Should have brought some Break Frees. Next time! Come on! Shake it off, Engineria! Nope. Didn't shake it off in time. I fumble for my mediporter and get the hell out of there. The last thing I see before porting out is Skullia is also down. Sorry, kid, looks like we were outclassed here. I'm stocking up on Break Frees before I come back in though. Okay then! Skullia is still in the medbays. I'm stocked up on Break Frees and heading back in. I have some asses to kick. Or Rad Blast. Or whatever I can use to take these guys down. I take those guys down and then move on to the next Lt. Being more careful now, I take them out from long distance. And that worked. However, that Grave Walker managed to summon a Spectral Terror that hangs around for a bit. It keeps trying to attack and terrify me while I'm unable to touch it at all. Shoo! Go away! Shoo! It disperses. Finally. I reckon I can expect more of that. Unfortunately. On the way to find the rest of the canisters and bosses I find a Spectral Sensor. Looks like the Skulls were going to TP out later. I need to shut down the control console for this when I find it. Hmm, more of those gas tanks. And BOOM! That's you dealt with. Slowly whittling down the numbers. Still have some bosses to find and deal with though. I wish Skullia hadn't been taken down earlier, some back up would be useful now. Especially with that Gun Drone of hers. Down around the corner I find Koli talking to someone about the "Pawnbroker". Whoever they are. And...hey! Minion of orthodoxy? Minion of orthodoxy? What in the blue blazes are you talking about? One, I'm nobody's minion, unlike some of the goons I've met in here already; and two, orthodoxy? Ok, you got me on that one. I can't respond adequately because I don't know your context and frankly I'm not your friendly neighborhood Engineria here to quip with you, I'm gonna kick your sorry ass into next week for all you've done. Who knows when poor Skullia is getting out! Last thing she said to me was it hurts. Well, let's see if that applies to you! See, I called Skullia as being a Vig. But what I didn't tell her is that I most definitely am one too. So, let's do this. Ah rats! She was about to say something interesting! Then again, if I hadn't hit her as hard as I could she'd be Lil Miss Gloaty McGloatface right now. And I'm not having that. And she's down! Engineria for the win! I clean up the rest of the canisters and once I find the TP console it too gets destroyed. Time to see Briggs-Hughes. She informs me that some fall out from the Mobius missions meant that these guys aren't from "around here". And that's trouble with a capital Trub! Skullia is on the mend too. Next up, finding out the insider in the Autumn Wards and dealing with them before they unleash who knows what on us. [Mission 5 = Great wrap up. Really looking forward to seeing what the next part of this is. Looks like there's a Craneverse to complement the Ankyverse!] Verdict. @cranebump remains the master of intricate, noirish tales set around the dingy streets of Kings Row and environs. Play this. But maybe play the Mobius missions first! Next up from @cranebump is Fallout 2: The Puzzle Box. And immediately next up on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews as part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, will be @Jiro Ito's On the Claw-Tipped Wings of Betrayal.

Yeah, well I reference this as part of the "Ankyverse" and any divergence is fine 🙂 And the M3 thing? I dunno! I think it ADDED to the severity of the mission. It really made it tough but it wasn't "smash keyboard in frustration tough", which frankly is a mistake that some writers make in an attempt to outdo in game high end stories.

Engineria was delighted to meet Second of Equals!

Arc 24 from our first author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glints 3: Super Ego Maniac. Mission 1: A Meeting of the Minds. Sometimes you need to kick back and meet with your friends, especially since Araminta came back from helping out some newbie hero called Storm Warning and has been worrying about her. A coffee with Hornet from Wyvern was on the To Do list. Been putting it off for a while. You know how it is. Busy busy busy! So we're having a coffee in the Arrow Diner in Atlas Park's Downside. It's not the best part of the Park but it's great coffee. "Dhahabu?" Asks Hornet. Yeah, that's a place. Pretty but so different to here. And I woke up a while back to find a floating painting talking to me! He mutters something about being thoroughly sick of Nerva and maybe a few floating bits of artwork are just what he needs. And then Aurora Pena just...appears. She's immediately all bidness. I dunno. Do Praetorians EVER take time off? I suppose they have so much to prove after the war. She recounts how she took the Soothseer stone to Dr. Frost at S.E.R.A.P.H. The same one she's planning to use to disrupt the Apparitions we encountered before. Hornet is puzzled by me talking to thin air but he's piecing things together from my side of the conversation. Then Aurora vanishes. Not that Hornet ever saw her according to him when I gave him a quick rundown on the chat. He offers to give me a lift to Steel Canyon in his Arachnos Flyer. His what? That's you and the Meteors now. Is Recluse having a yard sale or something? Nevermind. Off to Steel Canyon! Hornet lands and says he'll wait for me before putting his feet up. I get a PING mentally from Aurora telling me that some of the 5th Column have captured her while she was waiting for me! You'd think a psychic would be impossible to sneak up on! Ok, I'd better go rescue her------WAIT! Is Hornet angling for a date?! Waiting for me? No, no. Eyes on the prize, Engineria. Go rescue Aurora. Ah, there she is. Ok, Vamps can be trouble even for psychics. But vamps don't take well to being irradiated! (Nor does anyone else for that matter) Ok, 5th Column nada and Engineria FTW! Aurora, what's the skinny? She was taken completely off guard. Hmm, you Praetorians need to lighten up a bit. You're so super focused on your thing that other stuff gets lost in the peripherals, you know? Ah, she's not listening. Well, let's go find Dr. Frost then. Again in this S.E.R.A.P.H. building. Hang on, I checked this out earlier for my own curiosity. I just need to scroll a bit through my phone to find the shot. SEE?!! It's a bank half the time! Ok, it's a mysteriously closed bank. And there was that one time that I was doing a job with the Meteors when it WAS a bank, but they gave me some goggles so I could see the S.E.R.A.P.H. entrance. So we go inside and I see Officer Butler from Longbow. She's waiting for us. Ah, that's nice. You do know there's random 5th Column literally outside? Anyway, let's go see Dr. Frost about this stone thing. Or stone. "Stone thing" sounds like a pillar or monument or something. She too is straight down to bidness. We're gonna monitor things from here while Aurora heads out to start the disruption. Scanning on a nearby console we can see that as Aurora does her thing that in fact the appearances do decline. That's good. But in the middle of the overall decline there are spikes in Skyway and Boomtown. Boomtown? Oh that's not good. Lots of Clockwork there. And here too it seems! Blast. And then some actual blasts! How the hell did they get by Butler? And Aurora has been blindsided by Clockwork! See? Too much focus on one thing and out of left field you get bopped on the noggin! Not that that hasn't happened to me too over my career. Hang on Aurora, I'm a coming! She's thankful though and after clearing around us suggests that we jet back to Hornet and get out of here to regroup. Sounds like a plan. Climbing into the flyer we see Hornet has slept through all of that. Lucky man! We lift off and I fill in Aurora about the spike in activity...and then both Engineria and Aurora see Katie Douglas. Another psychic projection. Hornet glances around as the chat changes before shaking his head and keeping his eyes on the controls. Katie wants to know what's going on. Aurora fills her in. [Mission 1 = Classic. Classic @Ankylosaur intro mission. Small scale but lots of set up. Good stuff! On to Mission 2!] Mission 2: Mental Highways. So with Katie filled in on Aurora's op, we get an update from Katie. As the Apparitions started to lose their grip on Primal Earth, they latched on to anyone with some psychic ability. And with defences weakened these folks were safe ports for the fleeing spirits. As for the Clockwork, they are already infused with psychic energy and some sort of mental magnetism happened, causing them to be hosts too. Ok, we have Boomtown and Skyway to check out. Aurora is going to gather her allies and check Boomtown. Katie will come with Engineria to Skyway. Hmm. You know, "Divide and Conquer" doesn't mean we split up. But on we go. Hornet drops us off in Skyway and heads for Boomtown. Skyway is chaotic. Possessed Citizens and Clockwork are causing havoc everywhere. And they've stunned and grabbed Katie! I free her and we proceed to look for allies. In particular Synapse and Mynx should be here in the park, but they're missing. That's not ok. No no no. Somethiing that can take out Synapse is mucho bad. Hang on, Katie. I gotta call Buddy and tell him about this. One of the Freedom Phalanx getting captured is rare. Well, rare-ish. And I took a pic of it. Right, let's go rescue him. I'm sure he'll be fine about that. Not in the least bit arrogant or anything. Task Force? I did one with you last week! (I think it was last week) Did that not work? Or is this an escalation? Anyway, there's our next target, Colonel Bolton of the PPD. Let's get him! I wonder what happens when you speed boost Synapse....oh. Well, Buddy Bolton is rescued. Engineria and Katie stroll up and join Synapse and Bolton. We're fine, Synapse. Feel free to zoom around smashing everything. You know, I don't even know why you need other people for a Task Force! Now, didn't you have a companion in the park? Where is Mynx? Ah, over there. Let's go collect her. Why? Well, it's the right thing to do and also I'd like some more numbers when taking on Babbage. Yeah, Babbage. Spotted him lurking....can something that big actually LURK? Well, attempting to lurk. Lurkage was implied. But first Mynx. She's a bit ungrateful. Ok, maybe not ungrateful but that comment about Bobcat? What's with that? Also, I need to talk to Marchand. Me helping the New Praetorians while not a secret, isn't fully public. Now that the gang is all here, well, the Skyway gang, we'll find out what Aurora is up to in Boomtown later, let's go kick Babbage in the nuts and bolts. Yah. Hmm. This will be tricky. Or not. I knew speed boosting Synapse would be an issue. I just knew it! Ok, everyone follow the blurry man! And BOOM! We dismantle this version of him pretty fast actually. Or rather Synapse is pretty fast, Katie whacks him with psi and me and Mynx do our thing. And clickety clack, down he goes. Skyway is free for now of the threat. C'mon, Katie. Let's leave these to sort it out. We need to meet Aurora. Still mysteries involved though. Aurora projects herself to us. (I will never get used to that.) She, Marauder and Riptide are in Boomtown and have entered a warehouse where a VERY powerful psychic presence is manifested. Then we get a crossed-line call! Another projection appears! Praetorian Vanessa DeVore! She too is hunting Penny Mayhem but not to destroy her, but to save her daughter. Complications! [Mission 2 = Need I say classic @Ankylosaur again? I will anyway. Good stuff. Plot develops and the world building continues. Plus the by now almost trade marked technical moments of allies leading you to other things. Liking it!] Mission 3: Clockwork Madness. Vanessa is mentally hitching a ride! She can see what Aurora Pena sees in the warehouse. (I wish I could see it, but I'll be there soon enough.) The details are that Clockwork parts are everywhere. It seems Aurora's attack on the Apparitions left the Clockwork weakened enough that Panny Mayhem was able to control them. Oh goody. Katie needs to recover so it's just me to assist the others...and Aurora reports that Marauder and Riptide are down! Awakened are there too! Then Aurora's voice is gone. Ah clackety! Time for Engineria to mount a rescue. Oookay. I'll just scoot carefully around this corner and...ah. Hmm. Time to call Buddy. And it's early in the day too! I mean calling the cavalry BEFORE it gets heinous is a bit odd but...well, you look at what's facing me! Oh hell that was intense! Whew! Deep breaths, Buddy. Ok, now let's find our friends. Penny can lay here for a bit. Buddy, old pal of mine, I think...bear with me now, I think...we may have counted some chickens before they were hatched. Just saying. More of her! I mean sooo many more of her! Not good! Not good at all. Buddy, get your ass out of here. I'll go stealth and take to the air to find the others. Call you again if I need you! And I skim over them and soon find Aurora Pena held in some sort of mental energy chains. Oh, I'm wishing I still had Buddy with me, but he doesn't do stealth and his armor would be shredded by the time we'd got through however many Pennys (Pennies?) I just flew over. Ok, nothing for it but to land, Atomic Blast her, rip her Endurance out to stop her hitting me and then hope! Oh! I have a thing! A quick scrabble in the old utility belt brings up a set of Envenomed Daggers! Yay for tiny tiny advantages. Or something. However...pat on back. Careful to avoid smoldering shoulder pads, that actually worked and now Aurora is with me! The Soothseer stone? You couldn't figure out a way to use it on her BEFORE that? No? Rats. Ok, that's my life. Venturing further into the warehouse we find Marauder and free him from yet another pissed off Penny! Also, so sleepy now. In a minute, big guy. Snoozing here. Ok, so who is left? Riptide? I love that guy. He's not a fish, you know? Calling him one will not go down well. You will not get invited to the Annual Praetorian Remembrance Day celebrations. And there he is. With a speed boosted Marauder and Aurora beside me we soon have him free. But up ahead somewhere is the Clockwork Queen! And by up ahead, I do mean just around this here corner. Have a look? Buddy, tell Araminta to come over to our old place and get the regeneration engine online, plus coffee. And some Drenched Donuts. I'm gonna need all of...oh, a hot bath! (Both of them are gonna hate me later.) Ok, with everyone charged with speed boost and density from my Kinetics, we dash in. Bravely. I say bravely but I mean in a blind panic. I have just downed about 4 Break Frees just in case. Not getting killed while snoozing! Argh! Cornered! And why is she calling me Rusty? Playtime friends? Hey, Marauder and Aurora? Can you help me and Riptide? Any time now would be good. Thanks. And with a mighty clackety clack the Clockwork Queen is in pieces! Deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths. And just for the record, JEEZ LOUISE, Aurora! We wander out. Getting Marchand on the phone with a text. Across Paragon the possessed citizens are returning to normal. Ok, that's good. Despite the fact she is standing beside me, Aurora does her mind visiting trick...oh, it's a conference call because Katie and Vanessa arrive in my head too. I barely have room for me in here! Vanessa is shouting. Inside my head. Ok, not at ME, at Aurora, but I'm the one who is going to get a migraine! What has been done with her daughter?! Ah, it might be my head but over to you, Aurora! [Mission 3 = Well, that was a drag out, knock down, free for all of a mission! Great stuff indeed! Loved it. Very challenging!] Mission 4: Madness Takes its Toll. Eeeesh. It's all getting a bit crowded in the Engineria headspace. Aurora explains that Mother Mayhem used the Soothseer stone to effectively trap Seers inside in their own personal reality. And Aurora thought this was a kindness to Penny, as opposed to her devastating the city. Now she's in her magical kingdom with her Playtime friends. Yeah? And I'm Rusty. Whoever that is. Vanesa is still pissed off. Her husband gave up all his memories so that Penny could be healed, and now? Now it may be possible to project into the stone and help her. Or so says Aurora. So yeah. Time to go rescue Penny from the kingdom of madness. I need a new job. Sooo, inside the mental projections generated by the Soothseer thingy with Penny Mayhem. And all is well. All is well. Blah. All is not well. I mean TECHNICALLY I'm still sitting in Hornet's Arachnocopter but I could still get seriously hurt here. Time to find the others. Ok, take to the skies and do some recon. Nope! Nope nope nope. Not going over there. Not unless I REALLY have to. Ok, found Vanessa and freed her. That's good. Now, Aurora and Katie should be somewhere. Oh, what are you? A friendly spirit of some kind. A Trapped Augur Psyche, whatever you are. And you're leading me where? To Katie! Excellent! Another friend freed! Ok, after this I'll look for more of those spirit folk. And we find another Auger spirit that leads us to Aurora! Success! Ok, she IS guarded by three versions of Penny that do NOT want to let her go, but we deal with them. I mean, it still hurts when I walk, but we deal with them. So, searching for Penny...and you know I said I'd avoid Arakhn? Yeah. Well, I did. I did it by not avoiding this guy. Sigh. On the bright side it turns out that Penny is near by! But busy right now! And he and his SEVERAL War Walkers are so much fun. I really must go to Boomtown and kick some of them again. You know, why not? Just me and Katie here now. Where the hell are the other two? So Ms. Douglas and Engineria take out the War Walker...only to find that Aurora and Vanessa have subdued Penny! Well, that's handy. Although they have drawn attention to us. RUN! As in REALLY REALLY RUN! And we run for it! Exiting somehow we find ourselves out of the Soothseer thingy and weirdly breathless, despite that all being in the mind. Psychosomatic? I have no idea. Let's hear what Aurora has to say about all this. Not much. However Vanessa shares that she managed to implant the memories of Penny's father. Now we just have to check. Wait, what? I am not going back into that hellscape! It'll be different? Can you guarantee that? I didn't think so. Still, nothing ventured nothing et cetera et cetera. [Mission 4 = Another romp of a mission from @Ankylosaur! Great stuff. Looking forward to the finale of this.] Mission 5: Imagination. Katie is drained, too drained to go herself but she's willing to project Engineria into the Soothseer stone. So, it's me and Aurora and Vanessa visiting Penny's newest reality. Yeah, it's been mere moments for us but time is different inside the stone. Who knows how long Penny has had to remake the interior? Ok then. We coalesce in...Cimerora? I know Cimerora when I see it. I've been there recently...well relative to my timeline. Relative to the world? A long time ago. And we hear Penny's voice telling us that someone has captured "Daddy". I reckon that girl needs help. Ok, just a short while ago she wanted to flay us all alive but hey, this is what it means to put the costume on and try to be the best you can be. Isn't it? It is. Ah, hello Vanessa. You seem calmer now. That's a good thing. I do not need another psychic mad at me. One is enough. To be honest none is enough. None is far too much actually! Soon we pick up Aurora and she voices her opinion that this world is based on MY memories. Ah, that means Penny scanned me and I'm not at all comfortable with that. Then again can any psychic do that? What stops them from scanning anyone in the entire city? I'm surprised that no one has attempted to make a "Minority Report" sort of society. I definitely think Ms. Liberty might consider it. I think it was her inherent morality that prevented Sister Psyche from doing it back in the earlier days of the Freedom Phalanx, if I think about it. Although I know a few supers, particularly those with certain Dark powers, who seem to have a resistance to this. I'm (ha!) overthinking this. Let's find Penny. And we do. Now we need to find "Daddy". And there are "rules" to this mindscape. Ah, I was afraid of that. It seems that her new reality has been invaded by her own fears. So Mother Mayhem and others have invaded and captured "Daddy". You couldn't just have a nice fantasy? I mean if I think of it, think about what little I know of this Praetorian Penny, of course she couldn't. Her life was pretty grim. She has no frame of reference for what we would consider nice things. Or even relaxing things. We free Wu Yin, who is Penny's father. Or rather Penny's memories of Wu Yin. Or Wu Yin's own memories transplanted into Penny's mind. I think. I may have gotten confused somewhere in there. I think. Because somewhere in the Rogue Isles the physical Wu Yin is out there doing whatever he does. Go with it. ARGH. Malaise! JEEZ LOUISE. Malaise. I haven't run into this guy much, and as far as I know he's actually dead now in the real world but even so he's STILL a major pain in the neck. And of course I'm put to sleep. Everyone else hit him! I'll be with you in a moment. Mind you I need the rest. Any second now. We smack that miserable sonuvabeach down though and move on. But you see Malaise is always, always, accompanied by Mother Mayhem. (Kind of an echo of how Primal used to be with Sister Psyche and...Malaise....hmm.) And she has to be one of Penny Mayhem's biggest fears. But if we take her down then maybe, just maybe Penny will find peace. Not to mention Vanessa. Aware of the entire sleepytime thing that Malaise just subjected me too I keep circling Mayhem and hitting her from the sides. It seems to help, especially as the others hit her with psi attacks. She's weakening! Excellent. And then Mother Mayhem is dealt with and we are free to go. Penny is at peace, or as much at peace as a troubled soul like her can ever be I suppose. A final loose thread of the Praetorian War is resolved. [Mission 5 = Not as challenging as the previous two missions but definitely the right capstone to the arc. Great stuff there @Ankylosaur.] Verdict. This arc is a thoughtful examination of the fate of Penny Mayhem that doesn't descend into just hitting her a lot until there's a "win". Not easy to do but it works. Good stuff here! Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glows 1: Nictus Amongst Us. And next on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE reviews is @cranebump's Fallout 1: The Unlock.

Yes, though my Demorecord skills are very rudimentary.

One last one then, just to watch Araminta's eyebrow rise!

Just before I really get in to this week's work 🙂

Well, I look at them on my tablet, which unlike my main computer has a phone level screen, so the images look so much better! Much sharper in detail.

Re-reading some of my reviews (vanity) I think I've picked up some phrasing from the three main writers I've been playing through, all to their credit, just by osmosis exposure to their work.

Appreciate that! Unique review format? Well, if you look at my early reviews they're a little more traditional but I decided along the way that my Main, Engineria, would progress to 50 primarily through these AEs, so I leant into them all being her adventures rather than me TerroirNoir reviewing as a player. Obviously there's a few out of character asides and spoiler hides (as in your arc) but that's how things evolved mainly. And Araminta Levin was announced a while back as a future Main (if you read through some of the reviews you'll see why) and this is her first foray. Hoping you do write more. There's no TerroirNoir AEs out there but I think I've learned a few things from the writers here along the way.

Ok, I'm back on some awful work hours for a bit. I only got @Zakur's lovely arc posted because I actually ran it yesterday (Sunday). Later for a little while fellow AE lovers!

I think I've hit 372 missions! 367 with Engineria and 5 with Araminta.

Ok, I have done a write up. But as Araminta Levin and not Engineria. Just testing the waters with my other character.

Araminta's Adventures. Hey. Not everything is about my buddy Engineria. Some things are about me and my bots. There's Laura, she's the big one; Mary, Janet and Alice, not so big but still tough girls; then there's Violet and Veronica, all protectory, and last but not least, Keri, my floaty friend. Engineria and I used to share an apartment (we still share an SG base) but there's only so much room when one of you is a Master Mind, so I moved out. Nice place in Atlas, not far from the cinema. Anyway, while Engineria is off being famous (yes, I know she says she's a "mid level supe in a city of bigger supes" but she's pretty well known in some circles), Araminta here (that's me) is more laid back and takes things slower. I've still done a few things though, enough to have some decent contacts, the odd Task Force for Positron and the FP, all that. So, here's a little thing that happened to me recently. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Carve One's Own Destiny by @Zakur (@seravius on the AE console) Mission 1: The New Kids in Town. So I received a message from a hero I didn't know, someone called Storm Warning. And I've been getting more work like that since I stopped sharing an apartment with Engineria. The two things may be connected but I'm not going to bring it up when we bump into each other while restocking the racks in the SG base. How many Boresights does one person actually need though? So, I go and meet Storm Warning. She seems surprised that I actually showed up. And she thinks that I am crazy famous. I mean compared to herself as she says she's not really known around Paragon. So anyway she fills me in on what she thinks is something that could cause big trouble here. It involves a weird sale, an abandoned building in Brickstown and a villain named Hollowfrost. Hollowfrost, huh? It's, if you'll pardon the bad pun, a pretty cool name actually. I get some background on Hollowfrost from Storm Warning, and with one thing and the other we have a location for him. Will I help? Sure. Let me gather the bots from the SG...no, they'll arrive fast, I don't need to go there. Then we can go. And we're in. We being me and the girls. It's quiet in here. For once in my life it seems an abandoned warehouse is actually abandoned. Novel. No sign of this Hollowfrost. Storm Warning hasn't seen him either. Exactly. Mysteries can be solved with some investigation. It's not always shoot first and so on. Let's have a look around. Come on. We examine a computer nearby but it's been wiped. Scrubbed I believe is the term. Although it seems quite recently. Although we have set off a Zenith Hoverbot somehow! It zones in on us from among the racks but the bot girls deal with it in their own special way! Further investigation finds a used portal projector. Hollowfrost has definitely escaped. A spot on the floor nearby has a chemical residue of some sort. That'll have to be analyzed when we get back. So, no sign of this Hollowfrost but maybe we'll have some leads once we put everything together. Araminta and Storm Warning meet up to discuss things. She's slightly embarrassed that things were anti-climatic. It happens. She suggests looking into the robots might give a solid lead perhaps. [Mission 1 = Good set up of the mystery. Contact is characterized well and comes across as more than a "Go here/Do that" cipher, which is always great to see. On to the next mission!] Mission 2: The Center of the Plot. Time to investigate the Council's connection to Hollowfrost. Storm Warning (though she seems to prefer being called Bella), has a contact with (to my mind) seriously good intel. Within a few minutes of calling him we have information that a known Council base was raided and their robots stolen. Well, it seems Hollowfrost has no fear of retribution from an entire fascist organization! That shows he's either supremely arrogant and powerful or supremely arrogant and delusional. Although I have to say, from listening to Engineria recount some of her more outlandish adventures, those are not mutually exclusive. So, our plan is to hit that same place and see what intel they have on the theft, find Hollowfrost's footprints so to speak. Ok, typical Council base. They seem to like this sort of cave structure. I'm surprised they haven't fallen into Oranbega actually. Ok, some enemies ahead. Have to deal with them. The girls take him on and yet he still manages to fire through their protective cordon and hit me! Not good. Fortunately I've some gymnastic ability and spring back into a defensive position by the time he's dropped. He has some access codes on him so that'll be useful. And Storm Warning arrives late. I wonder where she was? Ok, Bella, let's explore further. We run into some resistance along the way but it seems that this Council base isn't at full strength after the Hollowfrost theft. I mean, I don't know if anyone knows what a full strength Council base is like, or their real numbers, but it seem sparse compared to other ones I've seen. We deal with them though! Nearby we find a console and the access codes get us straight in. Excellent. Plenty of sensitive material but there's a noticeable gap in the data around notes for a reverse-enginered serum of some kind. Council Super Soldier? They do like that sort of thing. We find the Archon, a guy called Keller, who confirms Hollowfrost's presence here. Between myself and the girls and Storm Warning we beat him down. He gives up the ghost and informs us that the serum was somehow connected to Marauder! Marauder is...let me get this right. Marauder is a member of the New Praetorians, but he used to be a Praetor on the enemy side during the Praetorian War. I've heard he's a doppelganger of Back Alley Brawler. LOL, and you know, I've NEVER seen them together! Anyway, that's a lead. Time to regroup and think. Bella/Storm Warning is well clued up on the Marauder link to the Council. He had been juiced up on a serum to be able to fight Incarnate level enemies. If Hollowfrost has got his hands on this serum then that's a worrying result. Not to mention stealing the base's automated defenses, which takes some chutzpah! I agree with Bella. Something needs to be done. [Mission 2 = The investigation continues. Good pacing and Storm Warning's characterization develops further. Looking forward to the rest of this.] Mission 3: The Cold Dark. So, as Storm Warning recounts, Hollowfrost didn't strike at the base alone, he had what is described as a swarm of creatures with him. Bella's "guy in the chair" delivers on intel about these creatures. I really need a guy in the chair! Though for Master Minds, I sort of am the "guy in the chair", although also getting shot at. These creatures were seen in Kallisti Wharf using Ice and Dark powers, identical to Hollowfrost's powerset, particularly near a lab on the East side. That side has some Arachnos presence which might be a problem. To be honest Bella, I don't go to Kallisti Wharf much. I've got mid 30s Security Clearance so while KW is classed as a "peaceful" area, I'm wary. But if that's where he is then that's where we go. In the middle of our planning I notice Bella is a bit off. And her guy in the chair seems to behave more like her boss than her backup, so ...yeah. I've been my own boss for a while, and living with Engineria has helped in boosting my confidence and profile, so I get things done myself. I wonder if she would be happier purely solo or say working for Hero Corps on a full team, where her boss isn't expecting results from her and her alone. But on we go. Despite all that we still have a villain to track down, so we speed over to Kallisti Wharf and straight to the lab. In a bit of luck, the attack is still ongoing! Storm Warning is a smart woman though, and has a plan. We just need to let one of the attackers get away. We mop up a few minions and then the plan is to let the Swarm Leader escape with the tracker on him. He's visibly the strongest of them so his escape makes the most sense to me. Although that particular plan nearly didn't work when my girl Laura nearly vaporized him with a blast beam! Dial it back! Ok, now to find out why they were even here. We have to fend off some Arachnos while we're here but you know, are they going to complain to Black Wing or something? Ask for help? Actually, they MIGHT. Just to screw with us! Not an issue right now though. And hopefully we'll find what we're looking for in here. The safe contains a drained Incarnate Shard. And only one. The rest are missing! Oh dear. Incarnate Shards + Super Soldier Serum? That's not good. Let's get out of here, Bella. Talking to Bella later, her mood is visibly somber. She deliberately perks up a bit when she sees me staring though. But she's worried about all this. From what I can see at this point she's never had something this big face her before. That's understandable. But she's obviously smart. Yes, I'm smart but it's mainly with robotics and AI, not with this sort of thing. She thinks Hollowfrost is probably working on an Incarnate Serum. Well, used on himself that would be terrifying enough, but suppose he sold it like Superadine or something? Imagine Incarnate Trolls? Oh dear. [Mission 3 = The building of tension continues. Really enjoying this. It's driving along at a good pace and each mission is linking and adding to the mystery.] Mission 4: Hollowfrost. Bella answers her phone. Guy in the chair? It seems like it. Hollowfrost is hiding out in an abandoned Crey laboratory. Bella is anxious. This is the time to apprehend Hollowfrost and the big moment is facing her. Well, facing us. (And my bots). She gets a little bit fan girly with me and says it's an honor to have worked with me. Thanks! You're not so bad yourself! She's still worried that this could all go south though. I don't tell her I step into EVERY mission feeling like that. And if she ever meets Engineria, then...well, let me say it wasn't just lack of space that caused me to move out of the apartment. The ozone of burnt armor and hair. Blood all over the bathroom. Plus finding her friend Buddy asleep IN FULL PPD ARMOR on my bed. MY bed. Anyway. We get to the place and it's cold. The unnatural cold from certain powers. He's here. Bella gives me a warning. We run into several of Hollowfrost's swarm minions. At least they don't seem to have been upscaled to Incarnate level! That would be bad! The lab is devoid of any visible Crey presence. But's it's not derelict yet. Things are still running. I wonder how many of these places Crey actually have across Paragon? More than are officially listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission I'm betting! And there he is! Our efforts have paid off. Ok, let's see if he has powered himself up yet or if (fingers crossed) his serum is still in the development stage. And we get lucky! His serum isn't ready yet! And you've been expecting me? I don't like that at all. So we tackle him and do him some serious damage before he takes to the air to snipe at us! I was not expecting that! Cold blasts rain around me but the bots knock him out of the air and he falls to the ground. He's been muttering about Storm Warning for a few minutes too. Hollowfrost's last words were about his master claiming him. And then he died. I didn't hit him THAT hard! Weird. Once we've taken him down we get into a fight that shouldn't have happened. I thought we'd wiped out his minions but he had unexpected back up. I deal with it but Bella goes down and gets out via mediporter. Then it's time to leave. On the way out I find an empty crate. It used to contain the Incarnate Serum, quite a lot of it in fact. And now it's empty! Not good. With Hollowfrost dead who has it? Bella is distraught though. I get a teary and sincere explanation of her time as a hero, how new she really is at this entire thing, and she's ashamed of herself. But she has a determination in her I've not seen before. Something beyond the "perky junior hero" that I first met. One of her issues is she thinks she's on borrowed time and it sounds like she wants to do at least one great thing, or even one GOOD thing before that chance is lost to her. Good for you, girl! [Mission 4 = Great mission. Loved the resolution and looking forward to the finale.] Mission 5: The Chains we Loathe. It seems that Crey base wasn't ENTIRELY abandoned. Guess who has the Incarnate Serum? If you said Crey R&D you're not getting a prize because that was too easy. This time I'm going in on my own. Well, me and the bots. Bella can't be there. We have the location so it's time to take the fight to Crey. Paragon Protectors enhanced to Incarnate Level. That's not good. I mean as far as most of the public is concerned, they're just supers who work for Crey. And I think some of them might actually be just that. At least the ones who appear on TV to talk about their work. That Erin West is on a lot these days talking about the Altruist people. This lot here don't seem particularly altruistic though. Positively antagonistic to me! Finding that serum is paramount. Not to mention any recorded method of making it. I hack into one of their databases. No sign of that intel here. Time to move further in. Well, I suppose it had to be here. I'm in a large open laboratory surrounded by what appear to be cloning vats. And yes, there's a Paragon Protector guarding the place. I'd better deal with her before searching further. My god but this one is tough. And my Scans say she's only a Yellow! Does Crey grade their colors differently than everyone else? If they do then no wonder people have trouble with them! OOF! That got me right in the chest! Thrown back. Fortunately the girls continue firing on the Protector and bring it down. As Engineria would say, ACK! With the Paragon Protector's weird final words ringing in my ears, not to mention all the actual ringing in my ears, I stumble over to a safe and open it up. Jackpot. Now? Now I have to decide what to do with this stuff. For the time being no one, not even Bella, knows I have it. I'll stick it in the SG base for now. Engineria is already an Incarnate so she won't even look. As for Bella. I hope I see her again. That little hero did good. She just needs to build her confidence. [Mission 5 = Excellent finale. Can't say more without spoilering things.] Verdict. Play this. Go and play it now. I mean RIGHT NOW. Yes, it does take a few liberties with the so-called "Ocelot Rule", but in my opinion the arc is well worth that. Signing off of now. Araminta Levin's Adventures are not so regular as her friend Engineria's. (@Zakur, I hope I haven't spoiled anything here. Great work and hope to see more from you in the AE!)

I played it, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I may try to include it in my TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews (I've got it screenshotted). But I need to have a think about how to do that without spoilering the plot and with this arc that will need some careful thought. Between just glossing over some stuff or using spoiler tags. Anyway, it gets my recommendation!

No offence taken at all. I sometimes wonder that myself but I don't expect an audience. I just wanted to share my fun of playing all these AEs. If some people read and enjoy it then that's good. If they read and don't enjoy it? Well, ok, it's not for them. If they don't see it at all? Not much I can do about that!

Yeah, you're mostly not getting that from me! LOL.

If you want bad writing have a look at what the AE offers! The amount of dross I have to wade through to find good stories is incredible. So, for those who think they can do better, try there and then see if you can match what HC's output is, and no, I'm not automatically saying HC's output is amazing or anything of the sort. Ok, you won't have the same resources to do certain things but players make allowance for style over substance. At least in my experience. (I deliberately haven't mentioned farms because farms are farms, they're not story.)

No problem. Yeah, there's a violation of the "Ocelot Rule" but Engineria brings her own Ocelots so what ya gonna do?

The next arc on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews will be part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, and is @sponazgul's The Return of Despoticus. (@First of Equals on the AE console.) There are times when I don't know why I get up in the morning. And when I do get up I seem to be in someone else's apartment. Still, they have nice drapes and some decent streaming services. And a floating painting that talks to me. OMEGOD. Yeah, that's what it calls itself. Is everyone sitting comfortably? I'll begin. Mission 1: In the Clutches of the Ultrahorde. Omegod introduces itself ... well actually it doesn't. It claims to know me and obviously any unawareness I have of that fact is due to Cosmic Awareness. Yeah, that sounds wrong. Run that by me again. Ah, with great Cosmic Awareness comes an equal and opposite Cosmic Unawareness. Does it? Ok, it definitely seems to be working then because I have NO memory of you. Now, for reasons that basically amount to innate curiosity, I decide to play along. Mainly because it hasn't tried to kill me yet and that's always an up in my opinion. So, Mr. Omegod, or is it Ms? Mx? Nevermind, dish the skinny. Do I not remember defeating the Ultrahorde of Despoticus on the Rings of Saturn? Yes! Yes I do....no wait, that was a guy called Galaxian and it was on a meteor shard or something. Ok, no I don't. Carry on. Oh I trounced him, did I? (Remember "trounced" for the autobiography, good word that.) Except now he's captured some of your champions and you need me to rescue them. Well, sure. Let me ...this is definitely not my apartment. Gimme ten minutes, yeah? I need to go home and change. You CAN follow me to my apartment? Oh you can. Good. Just not rescue your own people. No, no, I understand, can't be everywhere at once and all that. Shortly after all that I'm standing in something charmingly called the Prison Pit. My left hand? No no, it's fine. Are you sure you weren't talking to Praetorian me? No? Ok. Ion Eyes. Interesting name. You apparently need rescuing. Ally oop! A collection of solar-powered bucky balls in a suit. Hnnh. Ok, you meet all sorts in this line of work I suppose. Like, don't feed the Blarf in Pocket D 'cos it'll try to eat YOU. And yes, I prefer it when I'm at full strength. And can I recommend the sandwiches at...wait, can you eat? Forget it. There's various minions of the Ultrahorde slinking around. Meteroid creatures and Murderbots and so on. Bit of a mixed menagerie really. Ah, Homeland Securer! I think I saw you on the cover of Padlock Weekly! More murderbots and little beasties, none timorous so all the more to annoy. Up you get Homeland Securer. Talk about me behind my back? To who? The Meteors? Hornet? Whippy? Just lay there then. Finally there's Warrior Titan. He too has these Ultrahorde pests around him. A few selected Rad Blasts clears them off though. Ok, WT, what's your deal? Radioactive you say. Not ideal but I have a smidgeon of immunity/resistance to that particular ailment. And Omegod needs talking to. [Mission 1 = Exactly as the writer's notes set out. You get to wade through mobs like some sort of super powered being against lesser mortals. Nice start. Love the comic book touches too!] Mission 2: Clueless Captive. Clue Lass has also been captured. CLUE LASS? Oy. Despoticus has long wanted her as a protégé but has given up on candlelit dinners and brochures about work benefits. Well, you would, wouldn't you? Although I'd just put an advert in the Hero Corps Gazette or something myself. Or what's that firm in the Rogue Isles? Minions. Yeah, there. Anyway, Omegod, where is she being held and how do I get there? Hmm, very Arachnosy. Oh, that's not good. Weaker? Well, despite what Omegod thinks or imagines, I know my limits and I'm still a mid level supe in a city of much more powerful supes. And..ah fer crying out loud, what is HE doing here? He can be such a PITA. Oh. That's why. You wait, Sands. You wait. I still have Ghost Widow's phone number. I can make your life hell. In the meantime... ...I'm just gonna lie here and get my breath back while I fiddle about with my mediporter and utility belt. Yeah, that'll teach you. OW. While I'm down here, did I see a WIFE OF DESPOTICUS back behind you? I mean what? Ok, I'm back. I don't want to have to call Marcus or Buddy for this one but I may have to....WAIT! I have a thing in the utility belt (email)!! It's an Ultimate Insp! Ok, it's not much help but it racks my power level back up a bit. Wait, I missed a part of that! No, actually I do not want to know! (Note to self: Take Nemesis Staff off my rotation! Did not mean to hit that.) Funny how the red beam didn't affect you, Sands. Or is that something to do with you being Arachnos and this place also being Arachnosy? Yes? No? But yes, you're "doing well". Too well in my opinion. Of course doing well against Sands means sweet fanny adam when you get hit multiple times in the back by monsters at the same time that more Arachnos Drones are summoned. Tsk. Down I go. Oh, Omegod, there's a special hell for you if I have any say in the matter. And Sands makes the mistake of standing too close to the door when I come bursting back in all Rads blazing and him bouncing off my Repulsion field. Now scuttle off to the Rogue Isles and I don't want to see your greasy hair for a long time. Oh, Invinci-Belle is it? Well, maybe I won't mention that to Clue Lass. Or maybe I will! Still have to find her though. On I go. I scout carefully ahead, watching out for members of the Ultrahorde. I see a Bride of Despoticus (or two) and a Widow of War. This is a very strange place. Not to mention the monsters chatting to each other about the Comics Code. Is that her? Could be. All Omegod did was send me a mental image of what she looked like. And it does kinda look like her. From over here anyway. Now, without Sands and his Drones these Ultrahorde beings are a tad easier. Not much but a tad. Ripping Endurance and Health from them using Kinetics keeps me alive, and then I continue to blast them with Radiation. BOOM! Yeah, you're not Clue Lass. I heard you. Kinda busy here so see yourself out, ya? Thanks. And it's time for a breather. A quick examination of the Insp tray reveals...two Break Frees and one of those combo Red/Yellow things. No idea. Clue Lass is finally found in an end room, again surrounded by Despoticus's Ultrahorde minions. Ok, same tactic. These guys aren't smart, and I've taken enough hits to the head today to say that neither am I, so nothing complicated. Kinetics ripping and Radiation blasting here we go! And moments later Clue Lass is free! And there's flowers strewn across my path, and little birds are putting up drapes and...Ah, I need a lie down. And this girl needs a better beau than Arbiter Sands! Right, time to talk to Omegod I suppose. Even Omegod is confused by which girl is which or even if they are clones or different versions of the same person from different points in time. Sands appears to be cheating on his girlfriend...with his girlfriend. I'm glad I'm single at the moment. But Omegod has become aware (cosmically) of Despoticus's Evil PlanTM. [Mission 2 = Oh hell that was tough! I am strong enough to weather someone like Sands normally usually, but not when he has a narrow corridor full of monsters also hitting me. The Ultimate Insp in my email was a stroke of luck. Ok, technically it didn't work but it let me weaken him enough so that when I came back my regular attacks dropped him. Whew!] Mission 3: Facing Despoticus. And even as Omegod and Engineria converse, Despoticus's Stellar Dreadnought speeds to Xennocentia V. That's where now? No, can't recall visiting. You say I did many times? Are you SURE you haven't met Praetorian me? Or some sort of doppelganger at the least? Because let me tell you, I for one HAVE met them, so...anyway. Cosmic Unawareness is it? Fair enough. (There was that one that was working with Whipsmart as well.) Device you say? You think he has a device that is weakening me? Well, let's fix that problem. In my current state? I've been worse. No, honestly. I have. So Stellar Dreadnought it is and.... ...can you at least let me finish a sentence before TPing me! Ok, where am I? SEE?! This is what happens when I get TP'd in like that. Right into monsters! And now I'm angry. And...I don't have an Ultimate Insp in my utility belt either. Hmm, shoulda remembered to get one of those. Will you two stay down! Ok, Despoticus is...oh, that's a LOT of Force Field. A heckuva lot. And he's not alone in there either. Ok, I have a DIFFERENT plan. Bear with me, it has some similarities to previous plans in that it WILL involve Kinetics and Radiation, but I'm going to run in (and this is a vital bit) NOT IMMEDIATELY DIE, hit him with Fulcrum Shift, rip his endurance so he can't hit me, Irradiate him and then Rad snipe the bejebus out of him. All the other things with him? Repulsion Field is on. Let them bounce off me. (Hopefully!) AND...GO! And engage all the things! BOOM! RIP! BAM! OTHER SHOUTING! (Oh hell, it's working! It's working! WOOHOO!) He's getting the bouncy treatment too! I cut him down to size and then mop up the rest of the Ultrahorde minions before my armor simply depletes its power cell. Omegod? I wanna go home. Ah, hello. So that's that wrapped up. One tiny thing. I'm still weakened. We need to fix that. Oh, you know where the Disempowerment Device is? Why does everything have to be said EPICALLY? Ok, one of his sstrongholds. Let's get to it then! [Mission 3 = And Despoticus goes down! The crowd goes wild! Engineria for the win! Good mission with a great fight. Much more even than Arbiter Sands, but I'm thinking if you didn't have my exact power set or a variation it could be fiddly. On to the finale!] Mission 4: The Lost Power. Apparently I have my own Revenge Squad. That I did not know. Should I be flattered? Worried? Is that something in your eye(s) Omegod? Tissue? No, not tissue in your eyes, I mean...just TP me, ok? Revenge Squad doesn't have Infiltration though or I wouldn't have gotten this close. Ok Not-Me, let's see your moves. Show me what you got! Nice throwdown! Is it Dark powers you have? If you'd trained with MY powerset it might be you bouncing me across the corridor now, but you didn't. That's a score for OG Engineria I feel. That's exactly what I was saying! She IS like me! And I might have guessed there would be more than one person in a squad. Ok, where's the rest of them? Ah! There you are! And OW OW OW! I was expecting more Dark. She does not have Dark! OW OW OW! Held! ACK. Pop a Break Free. I burn through her armor with my eye beams! (And now that I see that I should test my own armor against them!) She goes down in a heap and mutters about revenge and avenging. But around the corner is the thing I came here for, the Disempowerment Engine...Device...contraption. Look, that thing there! I'm very pleased to announce that it is now a bunch of irradiated bits of metal and plastic. And I am feeling MUCH better. Although a bit hungry. Omegod is PLEASED. I think he is. I'm an INSPIRATION! Well, I try. And once I've had a lie down and used my mediporter, I try again. [Mission 4 = Lovely epilog to the arc. Kudos! Loved it.] Verdict. @sponazgul hasn't delivered an AE for everyone. I know folks that will get riled by Mission 2 for instance, but the overall arc, trending from super being, to still being a hero despite being underpowered? That scores highly for me. Well done! Next up on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews as part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-offs, will be @Jiro Ito's On the Claw-Tipped Wings of Betrayal. And immediately next up is @Ankylosaur's All That Glints 3: Super Ego Maniac. [But due to work I won't be able to get to those for a few weeks, apologies to all.]

Snap! This is literally the next thing I'm doing! LOL.

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. And the soup thickens. It looks like Zeist wasn't working for himself but for someone called The Doctor. (Hey, I think I've run into her before! Or at least a version of her. Which if you're a digital person is entirely possible) Carole Friedkin. Yeah. That's the one. And the Universal Interferometer? Oh, it seems they can be used to impose gravitational fields on top of each other in layers. Ok, lost me there. I can field strip a radiation gauntlet and kinetic suit with the best of them but gravity? That's magic. Well, not actual magic. But not in my wheelhouse. And of course knowing my luck that's not the end of it. Anti-Matter's Protocols. Which would make any module infused with them basically immune to hacking. Machine Maiden bounced off an early iteration of those. So I'm off to Primeva in Nerva, where D.A.T.A. has tracked emissions from such modules. Right. Nerva. I'm starting to dislike that place. Which is why I'm in a cave system in a jungle. AGAIN. Sigh. Oh hello. Looks like the help haven't been paid. AGAIN. Not my problem, amigo. Once more with feeling. NOT MY PROBLEM, AMIGO. Ah, you'll realize in a moment or two when you're lying on the cave floor wondering about your life choices and how you too ended up in a cave in Primeva. I pass a forklift on the way. Why is there one of those here? Ah, Nemesis? Nemesis is here? I'd like to say things are making sense now but only in the sense that Nemesis has fingers in soooo many pies that I'd be a fool to think it couldn't be involved. (@cranebump, little typo there.) A comms satellite. Looks like they're really getting ready for something bigger. I wonder where it's meant to target once it's launched. Well, maybe I'll find out further in. In the meantime satellite go boom now. BOOM!. I stroll down to a large open area filled with equipment and people. There's a Site Commander shouting about stuff. Some about Roibart. That's the guy I flattened earlier. And this commander is not happy. Well, I'm about to make his day that much worse. Every silver lining has a cloud, you know? ACK. They've all spotted me! Time to go to town on Nemesis then. Feets don't fail me now! And I proceed to "diminish their capacity for action". Yeah, that's how I'm going to record this in the report. You don't think I write reports? Oh I write reports. You have to or otherwise who knows what sort of legal trouble I might get into. Admittedly I don't write reports for everything. Now to examine this gear. Hmm. Long range TP. The comms sats will be launched into space using those. Much handier than conventional methods. And over here? A crate of those Interferometers ready to be attached to the satellites. Power nodes and antimatter receptacles. That's "regular" antimatter (if there is such a thing) rather than the deceased Praetorian. It's not a space coffin. So the satellite will be able to create large but localized gravitational fields. In space but also on Earth. Time to get back to Rick Davies I think. [Mission 4 = Great little click and investigate mission. Filling in the blanks. Good stuff indeed.] Mission 5: Free Fall. Rick has a theory. And honestly it's insane. But not that insane. It's basically cloud removal. Invert the gravity around any cloud bank and bingo, no clouds. No clouds no rain. Ransom the rain time. I mean, yeah. Ok. Wasn't there an old timey villain called the Weatherman who did that back in the 70s? Or was that a cartoon I saw? Whatever. Dangerous. However, what Rick knows of Friedkin is she would never do this, so it's Nemesis who is behind it. Friedkin had her ethics but Rick thinks she's being played. So, with Friedkin being the Digital Doctor, we need Machine Maiden to get in there and deal with her. And I'm the muscle again? Yeah, figured. So with signals triangulated off we go. We get into their secret hideaway. Yeah, not 100 percent but you can handle it. And remember, I am not Paul! Engineria! Not Paul! Ok, this place is partially caved in. It's a wonder anything in here is working. We get to an active terminal though, and once Machine Maiden starts her interface I'm going to have a look around for Nemesis. Oh, and activate the containment device for Friedkin. That'll be vital. No Friedkin, no...I was gonna say no clouds but I actually mean the opposite of that. So, yeah. Sheesh, that's one chunky machine! Hmm, Arachnos design. They do like to roid out their stuff. Kinda looks like an engine block. Ok, Maiden, I'm gonna patrol and see if we have any visitors. And of course we do. I find them by being shot. OW. But you haven't brought enough backup. my Nemmy pal! And down you go! What the hell is going on out in the main corridor? Manifestations are fighting each other. I mean ok but what? Body cam records all this so I'll ask Rick when I get back. No sign of Machine Maiden at all either. So anyway, back at D.A.T.A. I have a sandwich while Rick goes over my cam footage and the telemetry results. The modules are inert. That's good. As for the Interferometers? We might find a noble use for them at some point. Also good. The Doctor? Still technically alive but internalized in Machine Maiden. Nemesis erased part of her ethical self so Maiden kinda had to become her. So if I'm understanding all that the Manifestation fight was that happening. Ok, weird. Not the weirdest thing I've seen in my life as a supe but it's up there. Rick suggests we all relax and head outside to enjoy the nice cloudy day. Ah, no. I'm not doing that. [Mission 5 = Sweet round up. Worked perfectly!] Verdict. Excellently tight story. @cranebump can do single arcs just as well as multiparters. Recommended! Next up from @cranebump is Fallout 1: The Unlock. And next on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE reviews is @sponazgul 's The Return of Despoticus.