TerroirNoir's "Cable Channel of AE!" Reviews. Part 2.

[cranebump]

4 hours ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

Sorry, I'm blanking here!  I'm only on Mission 1 of Mobius 5 and I've not posted anything yet.

No worries. Maybe I hallucinated it:-)

[TerroirNoir2]

Arc 16 from our second esteemed author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @cranebump's Mobius 5: Auguries of Fate and Time.

 

Mission 1: All Heaven in a Rage. Paula Dempsey has called Engineria in for a talk. It's been a month since Dis' organization was decimated by the Autumn Wards. Dempsey is the new director (Fame!  Sorta.) We're barely past the reintroductions when an alarm goes off, and so off to Skyway I go!

 

Timespikes appearing across Skyway. With all the fallout that that might entail.  Seems there's people already on the ground but they'll need back up.  That's Engineria. 

 

Right.

 

Shadow Supers.  I've met some of these before, and they were a total pain.  Well, time to find my ground team, Hollow Point too I suppose, and shut down these timespikes.

Lady MacDeath?  Ok then.

 

 

And I'm held!  Gah.  And there's a Raymond Barnes and a Rose Ruin moving fast to my position. My non moving position!

 

 

Sez you, Lady MacDeath!  We'll see who gets to go through that particular door!

 

 

And it wasn't me, Lady MacDEATH.  No ma'am.

Now however I'm getting hit by some sort of sonic attack by Rose Ruin, and yes, held...and immobolized!  This is turning out to be a shitty day.  Which is a pity because I got promoted in the office just before all this kicked off. Special Assistant to the Director.  Isn't that nice?  I might even get a badge.

In the meantime, OW OW OW.

 

 

I punch through Rose's defenses with Proton Blast and take her down.  A moment to recover before looking over the edge of the flyover to my right....and what now?  How is that possible?

Rose Ruin? Again? And Street Angel.

 

 

Well this time I'm expecting a sonic attack, so I snipe her and stun her before mopping her and Street Angel up.  A few moments to take down the Timespike and then move on.  Still no sign of Hollow Point though.

 

(ROFL)

 

 

I run into a variety of Shadow Supers, Gunbone, Tidal Townes, Kestral ( and they were another major pain) 

Hey, there's Hollow Point!  Help (of a sort) finally.

 

 

Or not.  Oh you total ...remind me why you're not just a villain again?

 

 

Shortly after taking down the last few Timespikes the remaining Shadow Supers just vanish.  And back to Dempsey to file a report.  

 

So what's happening is Dis' is reversing the process that pulls people out of the Mobius Strip.  Supers that respond to these 911s are getting pulled into this other dimension.  That's not good.  I wonder why I wasn't dragged in?  Or Hollow Point for that matter.  Though I can see why he vamoosed outta there. We need to find out who Dis is and apparently Engineria is the key!

Eh, what?

 

[Mission 1 = Straight into the action!  Time to bring Dis and their gang of miscreants down.  Mystery laced through the fight, love that.  Good stuff! On we go]

 

Mission 2: Eternity in an Hour. Paula Dempsey shows Engineria the largest Interlinked Time Portal Network in the world.  Yep, impressive.  (Secretly thinks "largest...that you know of, Paula"). And there's various technobabble that goes completely over my head. The big dealio is a thing called the "Resequencer" apparently.  We simply (simply!) slide some of Dis's "chrono-DNA" into it and...what?  Boil it like a kettle on the stove? Ok, from the top then, and this time I PROMISE I'm listening.  PROMISE.

 

So Dis places an overlay of her own consciousness on all her minions.  Ah, so like that's a near hive mind thing? No?  Ok, carry on. Whatever. Dis gets full control until the recipient goes mad.  What if they're ALREADY mad?  Never mind.  I'm listening.  So Dis herself is broadcasting like a timespike, almost.  And if we can tap into that then we can find out who she really is.  But we may go mad.  Hang on, you mean me? The me that I am, that me? I may go mad.  I may go mad? No, it's ok, I may go mad, but I also may not. Well, I'm sooo glad that's settled, you know with science and everything.  Yup.  Settled. (Note to self, stop working for these people)

 

And the resequencer boots up and Engineria is elsewhere.

 

 

And now I'm in a building.  Ruined and damaged. There's a visitor log to find.  And that's tucked into a corner upstairs in a mezzanine area. Got it. So, there's a Reichart Von Gehirensturm here so see Natascha Gressman.  Von Gehirensturm AKA Dr. Brainstorm! Well, that's a thing.

 

And I answer a phone call.

 

 

So I attach the thingy to the other thingy and wait for a bit.

 

 

And then an image or ghost...maybe a memory? Of Johann Parker appears, and I go chat to him. He of course has company.  Honestly, this is all a bit Inception right now!  I mean the mind's defences are trying to kick my ass!  And I do NOT have the option of imagining bigger and better weaposn!

 

 

I wish I did!  OW OW OW!  Oh dear mippety me!

Even when I clear around him I'm still getting attacked!

Activated dormant chronostrands you say?  Well, I'm defaulting to Engineria Mode #1: Shoot them with radiation until they stop moving.  Then shoot them some more. Plan? Plan.

 

 

Ok, now what the hell are you doing?  I really should have listened more to Paula Dempsey.  Ok, I did listen, but I'm not a science geek here, so some of it was above my mental pay grade so to speak. Although that looks more like magic than science.  Is there even a difference at some point?

 

 

Now I have to face the First Phantom, whatever or whoever that is.  Time to go exploring then!

Found them!  

More pain.  Maybe another armor upgrade is needed.  Or a new job.  Still waiting on my medals from Freitag, so I'll stick a request in there!

 

 

Well now, the First Phantom is ...well, I'm not going to spoiler this!  So check below.

 

Spoiler

 

That's interesting anyway.  Is the First Phantom a part of Dis?  Or is Dis actually some sort of hybrid mind/gestalt?

 

There's now a Second Phantom to meet.  In similar circumstances they are heavily guarded by these chronostrand things...at least I think that's what they are.  Either way they're getting slowed with Kinetics and blasted with Radiation.  (I mean is this even happening?  Are people outside the biogel chamber getting hit by my powers going off or is it all in my head?)

 

No time for that!  Second Phantom, pleased to meet you.  Let's hope that's not jumping the gun!

 

 

And you are?

 

Spoiler

 

Well hell. Something outside.  That sounds hella Lovecraftian.

Well of course there's Nazis.

I mean how else is my day going to go?

 

Third (Reich) Phantom come on in, your time is up.

 

 

I might have guessed.  I'm surprised others didn't.  Did they though?  I'll have to re-read my notes.

 

Spoiler

 

So A Supers version of Operation Paperclip I assume.  Stands to reason that such a thing would happen.  Look at Von Braun and his cadre.

 

And a Final Phantom.  Ominous.  And some odd ritualistic items, like altars or whatever.

 

 

Well the first three have been interesting, let's see who you are and how you tie in to Dis.  And how this gets us any closer to finding her.

 

What now?  Oh that's not good.  Not good at all.

 

Spoiler

 

Ok I carefully take out the Chronshards around them and...oh I think I need to report back in to Paula Demspey about this.  How the hell do I get out of this biogel chamber?  I should have REALLY asked that question.  Maybe they told me but I was busy getting covered in biogel.

 

 

Oh, that's how...

 

 

Followed by four days being comatose and then a few more in recovery before Engineria can even speak. 

Paula lays out what she thinks happened [I had to re-read back a bit but whoo!] 

 

As a result of Engineria's actions with John Knox, all this ensued.  Sheesh.

 

[Mission 2 = Well hell, that was an eye opener! Not spoiling it, just play the thing!  Whoo!]

 

Mission 3: Gold and Gems Adorn the Plow. So I get some explanation explanated to me.  I am explained at. Explanatee is me.  I might as well be a manatee for all the good it does me!  So I managed to pass through the Mobius Strip somehow, rescued Teknique after I left, because absolute time isn't linear and now thanks to me having the same instances of chronoDNA that Dis has, it's driving her mad.  It's not doing me any favors either.

 

Anyway, part of Engineria's issues are, well, all the parts of the gestalt are warring amongst themselves in Dis, causing the madness.  And Engineria has been infected too!  Oh, that's not good. So is there a solution. Kinda. Cold turkey for Dis.  Cut her off from connection to the Mobius Strip.  And with a good headwind that should help Engineria too.  No pressure.  Just have to find a source of power that will allow us to do that. Sheesh.

 

So I'm off to Oranbega to steal the Azh Gadur from Baron Zoria.  Angevin will be coming along, so that's good.  Because this will get rough I'm thinking.

 

It begins.

 

 

And it seems that not everyone in here is Circle of Thorns, or at least not yet.  Let's hope he gets out safely because I can't go back with him.

 

 

Ah, what the hell are these hound things?  My armor is full of holes now!  That's going to be a pain to buff out!  Also, OW!

 

 

Although - ha ha ha - I'm not the only one having trouble with those things!

 

 

And there's Angevin!  Now we can get somewhere. Ok, let's go find Baron Zoria and get this Azh thing.

Getting out will be an issue?  Ok one thing at a time then.

 

 

And we find Zoria.  I get jumped by Hounds and whatnot and Angevin chops his way to Zoria and seems intent on beheading him!

 

 

I manage to fight my way to Angevin to back him up and zap Zoria with Kinetics, slowing him down and pulling health into myself and Angevin. And Zoria goes down cursing us.  We're dung beetles or something.  We grab what we have to and run for a portal to get the hell out of here before the reinforcements arrive.

 

 

And we are out.  Time to talk to Paula Dempsey and see where we're going now and what the hell the next part of the plan is.

 

Paula orders Engineria to get rest.  It seems (oh doesn't it get better by the minute) that using the portal has sped up the condition.  Let's hope it spreads back along the chain to Dis too! Then she gets interrupted by the phone and it looks like Engineria is NOT getting rest.  Pep Becktrees has seemingly spotted Dis in Kings Row!

 

[Mission 3 = A straightforward fight through Oranbega at the side of a sword wielding MANIAC.  Lots and lots of fun. Loved it, LOL]

 

Mission 4: The Fruits of Two Seasons. And Paula Dempsey via Brainstorm confirms things. An old 5th Column base, and they were some of the ones Dis first coerced/converted to her cause.  I suppose I should say "their" cause, since Dis is a gestalt. And hey, the sewer is our way in.  Go us!  (sigh)

 

I'm going in team handed this time.  Acrobattle (I remember him!) and Giogre (oh, him too!) along with Whipsmart (Blogger Boy!) plus a local Vig called KR Devil. 

 

 

Yeah. Let's do this.

 

Well this place is a whole passel of fun from what I can see here.  Oh yeah.

 

 

And it begins I suppose.  Or begins to end?  Whatevs.  Time to kick some ass.

Also, FIRE!  OW OW OW!  Not cool.  In all sorts of ways.

 

 

Engineria fights her way down through various foes, Tidal Townes being one, and Soldiers and time spikes, to reach an elevator.  Ok, let's go further!

 

 

Oh yeah, you're all alert NOW but a moment ago I was watching you sleep!

 

 

OH HELL.  I haven't linked up with my allies and I've run into Dis already!  OH BOY.

 

 

JEEZ LOUISE! This woman wants me erased!

 

 

Well, that went like I imagined it would.  OW.  TP out and maybe bring Marcus and Buddy if I can't find my allies.

This ain't over Dis!

 

 

I arrive back in and long distance blast Dis this time.  She's taking some serious damage!  And...who the hell are these guys?  

 

 

And Dis is DOWN!  

However don't let me standing fool you, I'm dead.  I just haven't fallen yet.  My armor has probably temporarily locked.

Those guys...

 

 

Mister Liberty.  JEEZ GAWD DAMN LOUISE. Who the hell are you?  Some sort of alternate Statesman? And your friends?  I didn't even get hit by them, they just arrived to gloat at me after he dropped me.  There's a TP on my suit here somewhere. OW OW ...et cetera.

 

 

Back in and I do something I've never done before, I don't call Buddy or Marcus, I call my Vanguard allies (Lores) and just go for it!  I know I know, I should have found the allies but my dander is up now and I'm finishing this!

 

Tough tough tough but we make it through!

 

 

And we're done.

I need PT and a vacation and some wine.  Or whiskey.  And some advil. And maybe a new head.

Paula, talk to me.

 

So in the fight with Dis, poor Annika (supported by her gramma) rose to the surface and she's dominant now. So we have her. There's only one thing left.

There's a thing left?

The Strip itself is sentient and it's activating to destroy us.

ADVIL!!!

And maybe a duvet to hide under.

 

[Mission 4 =HOOO BOY.  I rushed through this like a damn noob. And paid the price.  I mean the allies are there for a reason, folks.  And Mister Liberty hit like a damn Mack truck.  I ache from playing it, never mind poor Engineria herself.  Great mission!]

 

Mission 5: Finale: Made for Joy and Woe. This is it.  Mind you I thought taking out Dis was "it".  But this is the BIG IT.  The Mobius Strip needs to be destroyed or sealed off or whatever.  Locked into stasis in the void forever or the heat death of the universe, whichever comes first.

 

We've got the magic doohickey in the form of the Azh Gadur we stole from Baron Zoria. We've got a device called a Reverse Bridger built by Reichart and Hans that will use the energy to fuse things together.  Sort of melt the lock?  Hey, I'm not technical! 

 

After that we have Aaron Ruegad. (OMG, that guy!) [There's a bit of spoilering here that I refuse to do, so you'll just have to play this!] 

 

Aaron is brave and has volunteered but he's new at this, so Richard Cory and Angevin are going too. Only room for one more.

Engineria straps on her burned and battered armor and pushes the medic away.  Lead on. 

 

Arrivederci amore.

 

I enter and up ahead I can hear Angevin.  He's probably stabbing someone or something.

Yep, makes friends quickly, that man.  They don't last long though.

 

 

Mysterious much, Angevin?  Well, out with it.  I figure we know each other pretty well now, seeing as I spent a lot of my time trailing around with you.

 

 

Nope?  Ok, let's get going then.

We battle our way forward until we find Cory.  Honestly, he makes Angevin look positively friendly sometimes.  

Gotta find young Aaron Ruegad now.

 

 

And there he is.  Quikling has lent him his suit to act as a Chronoshield or something. (I'll need to repair this armor myself at some point)

Ok Aaron, let's get going and finish this.

 

 

And we trudge on.

 

Hang on, I have a thing for this.

"To every man upon this earth

Death cometh soon or late.

And how can man die better

Than facing fearful odds,

For the ashes of his fathers,

And the temples of his gods."

 

Well, yeah. I reckon.  I probably wouldn't have said it as fancy, I'd be more JL Picard, the Line is Drawn here!

 

Anyway, we're here gang.

 

 

We get Aaron to the focal point to do his thing and then we get attacked by an Eternal Guardian.  And they look a lot like the late Sister Psyche!

 

 

I'm flat on my back!  That hasn't happened in a while.  Aaron holds off my attackers while I stumble up and join him.

 

 

We clear them down and then seal the second focal point.

 

But they keep on coming and we keep on fighting.

 

 

And then we're done. Finally.

The Mobius Strip is sealed forever.  And it looks like we're stuck here too.

But we saved everyone else.

And then..

 

Spoiler

 

Engineria gets to go home.

Richard Cory doesn't.  It's not right but it's needed.

 

Paula fills me in on everything.  And then Engineria goes for a long sleep.

 

[Mission 5 = SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER and this is a great finale]

 

Verdict.  WHY AREN'T YOU ALL PLAYING THIS?  IT'S GREAT! Seriously, treat yourselves to a long involved story with life or death consequences and plenty of feels.

 

Next up from @cranebump is The Bleed 1: Insecurity Measures.

Next up on TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @Darmian's The Eve of War.

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by TerroirNoir2

[cranebump]

Will the thing EVER be attached? WILL IT? 🙂

[Darmian]

2 hours ago, cranebump said:

Will the thing EVER be attached? WILL IT? 🙂

I know it says 2 weeks later, but LOL, TN has been updating the same post which is reading as "2 weeks later" for replies.  Actually the way that works is a bit strange if you ask me.  It really should give the latest date of updating.

[cranebump]

31 minutes ago, Darmian said:

I know it says 2 weeks later, but LOL, TN has been updating the same post which is reading as "2 weeks later" for replies.  Actually the way that works is a bit strange if you ask me.  It really should give the latest date of updating.

As well I know. But I was mainly commenting on the interesting “cliffhanger.”:-) 

[TerroirNoir2]

HEAVY GOING, @cranebump!  Very cool.  Callbacks and what not!

[cranebump]

3 hours ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

HEAVY GOING, @cranebump!  Very cool.  Callbacks and what not!

Nice! I was scripting that entire thing with Engineria in mind. I know others may play it, but to me, this is a part of her story. Just hope the rest of it is worthy of her.

[Ankylosaur]

Here's hoping Engineria is not trapped in a Möbius strip.

[cranebump]

On 4/22/2023 at 11:33 AM, Ankylosaur said:

Here's hoping Engineria is not trapped in a Möbius strip.

Too late for that.:-)

 

(desc of Angevin as a maniac=:-D)

 

[TerroirNoir2]

Apologies to all on my severe delays in updating my playthroughs.  RL work really hit me recently and finding the time to play. 

[cranebump]

All good. The fact you're even doing this is amazing.

Edited April 27, 2023 by cranebump

[Zhym]

On 3/25/2023 at 6:47 PM, TerroirNoir2 said:

WHY AREN'T YOU ALL PLAYING THIS?  IT'S GREAT! Seriously, treat yourselves to a long involved story with life or death consequences and plenty of feels.

 

QFT.  This is a great arc with a very satisfying finish (way more satisfying than a certain SSA...).

 

On 3/25/2023 at 6:47 PM, TerroirNoir2 said:

After that we have Aaron Ruegad. (OMG, that guy!) [There's a bit of spoilering here that I refuse to do, so you'll just have to play this!] 

 

It's been ages since I played through this, and I have no idea anymore what Aaron Ruegad's deal was.  I guess I just need to play the story arc again (or I could beg someone to post a spoiler-tagged spoiler...).

Edited April 27, 2023 by Zhym

[TerroirNoir2]

1 hour ago, Zhym said:

 

QFT.  This is a great arc with a very satisfying finish (way more satisfying than a certain SSA...).

 

 

It's been ages since I played through this, and I have no idea anymore what Aaron Ruegad's deal was.  I guess I just need to play the story arc again (or I could beg someone to post a spoiler-tagged spoiler...).

SPOILER.

Spoiler

Aaron Ruegad is the Primal version of Quikling, but he's been hiding his powers.  What with us meeting him as a kidnapee waaay back he's grown through the story.

 

[TerroirNoir2]

1 hour ago, Zhym said:

QFT.  This is a great arc with a very satisfying finish (way more satisfying than a certain SSA...).

Between this and @Darmian managing to give us a nearly likeable Darrin Wade, I'm impressed.

[cranebump]

2 hours ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

Between this and @Darmian managing to give us a nearly likeable Darrin Wade, I'm impressed.

Hey. Speak for yourself, I still hate that bastard.:-)

[cranebump]

4 hours ago, Zhym said:

It's been ages since I played through this, and I have no idea anymore what Aaron Ruegad's deal was.  I guess I just need to play the story arc again (or I could beg someone to post a spoiler-tagged spoiler...).

Spoiler

Ruegad was kidnapped by Dis because she was trying to replicate certain aspects of The Five in order to control the strip. Since Quikling's powers were mostly excised in the shunt, she turned her attention to Ruegad, believing she could harness his growing powers (which are the same as Quik's, since Aaron is this universe's version of that). He was kidnapped, and his death faked. Unfortunately for Dis, they didn't get a great deal from him before he was rescued by the PC (i.e., you), and returned to the Wards, where, with Quikling's help, he gained some measure of control, and became essential to closing the strip.

 

[Zhym]

1 hour ago, cranebump said:

Hey. Speak for yourself, I still hate that bastard.:-)

Don't hate Darrin Wade.  Hate whoever wrote the story that made that third-string minor villain the guy who offed Statesman. :)

[cranebump]

44 minutes ago, Zhym said:

Don't hate Darrin Wade.  Hate whoever wrote the story that made that third-string minor villain the guy who offed Statesman. 🙂

My hate is well-developed, Zhym. I can embrace them both.:-)

[Zhym]

23 minutes ago, cranebump said:

My hate is well-developed, Zhym. I can embrace them both.:-)

Outside of WWD, he's not that bad.  Just another single-arc contact in the Rogue Isles—and the arc is actually pretty decent.

 

But with WWD, though...hoo boy.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Zhym

[TerroirNoir2]

Arc 16 from our third author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Darmian's The Eve of War. 

 

(Caveat. I have played these before but never reviewed them.  Although it has been a while, considering the number of other AEs and stuff I've been getting through!)

The Eve of War is subtitled "(Neutropolis Warden, Ch. 7)" which means it is meant to follow on directly from @Darmian's "Damnatio Memoriae (Neutropolis Warden, Ch, 6)", which follows on from "The Spark of the Blind (Neutropolis Warden, Ch. 5)" and that follows on from the in game "To Our Health (Neutropolis Warden, Ch. 4)".

 

Once more Belladonna Vetrano gives Engineria the old call to arms.  Things are getting fliggety now and we're moving to actualization of the REVOLUTION.  I think. The B.A.F. is the first target. Vetrano herself thinks Lambda should be more important but apparently intel has revealed a plot that needs the B.A.F tackled first. Primal Earth allies will be porting in to Praetoria and assaulting the B.A.F.

However, to do that  we (and that means me!) need to access the exterior doors. So, Engineria is being tasked with some rendition work. I'm to kidnap/retrieve several members of the PPD who guard the doors and deliver them to the Resistance. Then they'll be mind probed and access codes extracted before they're returned none the wiser to their jobs. 

 

So Engineria has to get in, stick a mind control disk on them, upload a virus to the building's security system as a cover for what's actually happening so it looks like a "normal" Resistance attack, and then get the hell out.

 

Off we go!

Interesting. So those are Monitor Spheres.

 

 

Oh cool!  I have a little robot friend!

 

 

Seems if they take damage they will summon cloned T.E.S.T. guys who work with them.  Let's see if that happens.

It does!  AND AND AND, they're on MY SIDE!  (Not like when minions attack a Confused Mastermind)

 

 

And I now have ANOTHER TINY ROBOT PAL!

(Ok, I'm not even out of the first room and I love this mission.)

 

Ok, time to use the localized security console. Using s thing Beholder built the command goes out for officers to gather in the rear of the building. Then I pick them off.  Let's gooo!

(Look at my little doggies!  They're so cute!)

 

 

So we move through the building dealing with PPD as we go.  I say "we" because my Monitor Spheres are pulling more allies in for me. I may not need to call Buddy in on this one. That's my new troops appearing there!

 

 

Engineria and her troops! (so far!)

 

 

I find a terminal and upload the decoy code and then go looking for the door guards. However, the upload will be detected (I think it is supposed to be) and the Security Commander will be summoned by an alarm and he will have to be dealt with.  I've got an army though, so let's see how tough he is!

 

LOOK AT THEM GO!

And we get the first B.A.F. guard and stick the disk on him. He's compelled to leave so we can get to him for code extraction.

 

 

And there's the second one.  There we all are, almost saying to that guy "Try it.  Come on.  Try it."  ROFL.

 

 

And then we get the final guy. So it is time to deal with the Security Chief. And there he is at the bottom of the stairs.

 

 

Now he thinks we're traitors!  Confusion rules!

 

 

And Engineria's Army is successful!

(I wonder what that mission would be like on +8 team size!)

 

 

Off to see Vetrano I go.

 

So the guards have been psychically scanned and the needed intel extracted. That is being couriered to Apex who will pass it on to his side for the attack. All good so far.

The Vetrano tells me we have two major obstacles ahead of us with that attack.  Siege and Nightstar.

 

[Mission 1 = Ok, that was a LOT of fun.  I think I've only seen the Monitor Spheres in one mission in game before. I'd pretty much forgotten they existed. But having those little bot friends was sooo much fun.  Like I said above, I can't imagine what a +8 team size version would look like.]

 

Mission 2: The Dust of the Past.  Right, here's the "plan" according to Vetrano.  The combined forces of Primal Earth are assaulting the BAF, and they'll have to take down Siege and Nightstar. Sheer power should do it but if we can help that would be good.  Turns out we know where there is a warehouse of original SPECTRA and RAM clockwork stored, and Siege and Nightstar originally were based off these sort of robots. Soo, go check out the warehouse and see if I can find any useful intel on their specs.

 

Piece of cake.  Supposedly. And try not to off the caretaker apparently.  Vetrano may be getting soft in her old age.

 

Ok, into the warehouse and...oh boy!  

WAIT!  Ok, that's odd.  I can go right up to them and they don't do anything.  Interesting. 

 

 

These SPECTRA around the corner in the main area of the warehouse are not so shy though.  THEY do not LIKE me.  Not one bit.  But nothing a little bit of radiation blasting can't fix.  Ok, not fix.  Unfix?  Break.  Everything's a nail when all you have is radiation.  I know what I mean.  Shut up.

 

 

Ok what's in here?  A whole lotta nuthin' is what's in here.  And there, and there. Hmm.  One set of files to find and not get mangled by antique Clockwork.  I've had worse missions.

I've jinxed it.

 

 

I can hear the caretaker around here somewhere!  And he sounds a bit cabin fevery.  

 

 

There he is!  I'll leave him alone. For now. He tries anything though, well that's on him.

 

 

OHO!  Now THAT sounds interesting!

(Is this a seed for something else you've planned @Darmian?)

 

And there's more of those static robots.

THEY'RE NOT STATIC ANYMORE!  RUN!

 

 

I run and fire and run and fire and use Kinetics to heal myself, steal power and slow them down while speeding me up!

And turn and blast!  And I'm ...still alive!

 

Whew.

 

Ok, back down that corridor to find...TWO sets of filing cabinets.

 

 

Make that THREE.  There's another one in the little alcove/nook place at the end of the hallway.

I'll check that one first then move back to the others.

 

 

BINGO!  Right first time!  And then I turn around.

Not my day, is it?  I KNEW I'd jinxed it.  Knew it.

 

 

I make a run for it and they activate and shoot me in the back.  I stagger to the turn in the corridor and there awaiting for me are more of the SPECTRA Clockwork.  Antique they might be but they're still very very nasty.  I mean Nightstar is based on these apparently.

 

 

So lovely floor Caretaker Denby has here.  Well maintained.  I'd write a good Yelp review.  (Does Praetoria have that?)

 

I get back in and proceed to repeat my run and jump and fire and turn and use Kinetics and ...OH!  Repel!  I stick on Repel, so that the RAM boss can't get near enough to me to beat my head in!  Just gotta keep using blues to keep my endurance up.

And run and run and... they're down!  I stagger out of the warehouse and make my way back to Vetrano.

Ow ow ow ow ow.

Ow ow ow ow.

And so ow.

 

Vetrano is pleased with my success.  The specs are handed over to Splice to analyze and then Apex will receive a copy for the Primal forces.

Unfortunately Engineria's little mission is the only good news today.  It seems Virgil Duray is alive. Again. Still. Mainly the little bastard is not dead.

Argh.

 

[Mission 2 = Deceptive!  I mean it's almost like an anti Stalker mission, or an anti Blaster mission.  You can't sneak attack those statue types at all, or range blast them.  They just don't register. You have to get close enough for them to activate before you can fight them.  Loved the idea while still swearing at it. (I wonder do Mastermind pets "see" them?)  And on to the next one]

 

Mission 3: The Sky is the Limit. Duray Duray Duray.  Will we ever be rid of that man? Bleh. Even Vetrano is fed up.  She says it's like trying to eat soup with a fork, trying to kill Duray. The BAF attack is imminent but there's a build up of troops near Neuron's Tower, and Duray's IDF 2nd Battalion, has been seen massing in a nearby facility.  Soo, Engineria isn't going on the BAF attack, she's to find out what is going on with Duray and his gang. Engineria will be linking up with an independent called Disconnect in this mission.

 

So, off we go. Time to infiltrate the IDF 2nd Battalion's facility and retrieve whatever intel I can.  Wish me luck!

(Buddy is on speed dial if Duray is around)

 

Get in, meet with Disconnect, grab the intel, call the extraction team and get the hell out.  Simple, ya?  SURE.

 

Ok, looks like new ally Disconnect ran afoul of some Seers.  Then again, Seers.  And the T.E.S.T. guys are not the only ones baffled by Duray.

 

 

Right, that's a rendezvous with Disconnect done.  Jetpacks?  T.E.S.T. don't use jetpacks.  And a safe to find.

 

 

And Disconnect and Engineria run into a Provost McKibbin and his goons almost immediately.  But we deal with them.  Disconnect lances them with electrical power.  I suppose that makes sense given his name.

 

 

We battle our way through the facility, meeting waves of T.E.S.T troopers.  

 

 

Then we run into the jetpack goons that Disconnect was talking about!

(SKY RAIDERS! WTH!!)

 

 

After dealing with them we head into the back of the place and find that wall safe with Duray's plans inside.  Of course I'm expecting it to go wrong!  Doesn't it always?  We've been far too lucky so far.  And I'd love some Monitor Spheres as allies right now, no offence Disconnect.  Although he is hella tough.

 

 

And there we go!  Hang on!  FUSION!

 

(Oh @Darmian!  I know when this is!  Or at least I think I do.  This is just before the Sutter TF!)

 

And Duray isn't here.  He's somewhere doing something more important. (Meeting up with his Primal version and planning whatever.  No sign of Jane Temblor that I can see though)

 

 

Fusion is damn tough!  Fortunately there's two of us and Disconnect is blasting Fusion with electricity constantly.

 

 

And he's down.  (Though for Primal peeps you'll see him again in the Sutter TF, along with TWO Durays!)

 

Ok, we grab his passkey to unlock the facility. time to meet with the extraction team, well I say team, looks like Vetrano herself has come to collect me!

Ok, that's the base unlocked, come on, Disconnect!

 

There's the boss!  Whoo!  And she looks pissed.

 

 

Of course she instantly takes the lead and drops several T.E.S.T. along the way!

 

 

Then we're heeling and toeing it for the exit!

 

 

Job done!  Engineria and Belladonna Vetrano reconvene in the Resistance base while Disconnect vanishes to wherever.

 

Vetrano goes over the stuff Engineria found in the safe. Ship manifests.  Some sort of huge floating barge thing. Several names attached to this thing. Riptide, Fusion, Jane Temblor and two Durays.

Vetrano seems to get a little testy when she receives news that the B.A.F. attack has just completed.  Scott signed off on it as soon as she went in to extract me.  She's gonna have words with him.  The B.A.F. attack was a success though. With one snag.  Any non Incarnate (nope) that accompanied the attack is currently dying from some sort of energy poisoning after Nightstar's destruction.

 

[Mission 3 = Well, that was FULL of lore and various other things.  This is playing out like DLC for the iTrials!  Loving every minute of it.  On to the next one!]

 

Mission 4: Eternal Darkness. And now it gets weird. Now, she says.  Sigh. Ok. Vetrano is pleased the B.A.F. assault succeeded and Siege and Nightstar were destroyed. However we did just visit a warehouse where earlier versions of those two exist, so "destroyed" for a mechanical foe may not be permanent.  

 

And in destroying Nightstar some dark energy was unleashed that dropped all the support teams.  We have to cut it off at the source. Nightstar, despite being a built creation, used to claim that her power came from "The Black Shroud Dimension".  Turns out our Primal friends tell Vetrano that's a real place!  So I'm going through a temporary portal to it and I have to shut off the links to the Nightstar contagion.

 

Huzzah. Go Engineria.

Oh well.

 

And through I go! Several node things to destroy and get home.

 

 

Well if that isn't just hella creepy I don't know what is.

 

 

Ok, found one of the Node things!  Let's take it out.

 

 

And BOOM!  And a few more BOOMS!

Yeehaw!

 

 

One down and four to go.  Eazy Peazy!

 

 

Ok, this place is just weird.  I mean creepy and weird. I mean, WHERE are they going?

 

 

OH!

This is not good.  Not good at all!  That thing is monstrous. Literally.  And VERY close to this node.

(Also, Shroud City?  That's cool!)

 

 

So I manage to take out the node without getting murdered by the GM.  Barely. Barely.

Whew!

 

Only 3 more to get, which I scoot around looking for.

I found a sort of monolith stone thing.  And got attacked.  But I got over that fast.  It's not like they're the previous thing I ran into.

 

 

And an inscription!

Spoiler

 

So another alternate Darrin Wade. Who appears to have been a hero?  Interesting.

 

I finish off the remaining nodes and get portal jockeyed back to Praetoria to speak to Belladonna Vetrano.

 

It worked.  Even as I was transitioning through the dimensions the infected troops were coming out of whatever ailed them.  We some normal meds they'll be fine shortly.

However, Vanessa DeVore has gone AWOL.

 

[Mission 4 = Short mission but very very atmospheric.  The creep factor was high.  Liked it a lot.  ( @Darmian I spotted a typo, but I think that it being a Dev Choice you can't do anything about it, yeah? Something the GM said.)  On to the finale!]

 

Mission 5: Prelude. So Vanessa DeVore is missing. That seems like a bad thing, especially now that the REVOLUTION is in full swing and people are overthrowing the regime here. It's up to Engineria and Disconnect to find her. Vetrano says the Carnival of Light need her in First Ward.  Vetrano is also puzzled by this because First Ward is a ruined waste. But it's still up to us to find the missing woman and get her back safely. 

 

Vanessa was attending a meeting in the Underground and hasn't returned.  She's powerful but anyone can be got to, so says Belladonna Vetrano, ace assassin. I reckon she might know a thing or two about that!

 

So rescue Vanessa and Disconnect will then escort her to First Ward.

Ok then!

 

There's Disconnect. What has he got himself into now?

 

 

Ah!  I hadn't spotted these two on the far side of the energy barrier!  

 

 

But I deal with them and Disconnect joins me in the hunt for DeVore.

 

 

On we go.  Lots of bodies along the way. Seared by psychic energies.  Not surprised.  There's a lot of Seers, or Awakened or whatevers down here.  All intent on frying us alive.  Or possibly dead.

 

Now that doesn't sound good, does it?  NOPE!!!

 

 

Sheesh!  I had used my Kinetics to Speed Boost Disconnect, and the Subjugator does NOT escape him when she makes a run (float?) for it!

ZAPP!

 

 

On we go ever down into the Underground.

Through more Subjugators and Awakened and Psychotics, until we finally find Vanessa DeVore.

 

 

So we rescue her and she takes off, giving Disconnect his orders.  We only have one last thing to do and that's defeat Augur Sonoir.

 

 

Found her!

And Held. Oh no.  No no no. Not good.

 

 

And thrown over the railing where I land beside Disconnect who had been dealing with some Hench-Seers, or whatever Sonoir's minions are called.

 

 

And Disconnect just flies at her and starts lighting her up with electricity!

 

 

I join in with a couple of Rad Blasts and hurt her but she blasts me back!  Take her out Disconnect! Dunno how much more of this I can take before I drop!

 

 

And he does.

Time for me to report to Belladonna Vetrano and Disconnect to head to First Ward.

 

Vetrano is pleased to see me.  There's several options open to me, and all this while an attack on Lambda is being prepped.  I can take a Rift Portal to Primal Earth and show them that we're REALLY not all like Tyrant.  OR I can follow Disconnect to First Ward and see what Vanessa DeVore and the Carnival of Light are up to over there.

 

In the mean time, I need a bath.

 

[Mission 5 = Small mission that just wraps up the whole arc nicely.]

 

Verdict. Honestly, there's a level of story craft (No, I don't know what the technical term is!) in this particular AE that's just great. Really felt like a parallel part of the Incarnate Trials, because obviously the Level 20s and so on were not just sitting around waiting for the 50s to show up and do all the work! Wonderful stuff.

 

Next from @Darmian is Spirals: Part One.

And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glimmers 3.2: Banished in the Spirit Realm.

Edited May 17, 2023 by TerroirNoir2

[TerroirNoir2]

I'm hoping to get a better or faster flow of play throughs now having sorted some work times out.

[cranebump]

Man, TN, you're dead on when you wonder what would this look like at x8, etc.? I ask that every time I run an @Darmian arc (well...I mutter it...usually while I'm flat on the floor, or running away like a cretin).:-)

[Darmian]

23 minutes ago, cranebump said:

Man, TN, you're dead on when you wonder what would this look like at x8, etc.? I ask that every time I run an @Darmian arc (well...I mutter it...usually while I'm flat on the floor, or running away like a cretin).:-)

Let me know when you try Spirals: Part Two!

[cranebump]

35 minutes ago, Darmian said:

Let me know when you try Spirals: Part Two!

I have it on my Friday morning agenda.:-) Did some tweaks to Asa Ronan earlier, and am working on Potter's Field (mainly trying to figure out how to bring it to a close).:-/

[Darmian]

On 5/9/2023 at 1:25 PM, TerroirNoir2 said:

OHO!  Now THAT sounds interesting!

(Is this a seed for something else you've planned @Darmian?)

Nope!

 

That is in fact a nod to "The Origin of the Remote-Control Man" by @Shockstorm. Arc id 29309.

 

@Shockstorm is the leader of our little SG of Praetorians on Reunion.