[March 2nd, 2011]
[Jason Wilke]
It has been only 6 days since the Simurgh's attack on Canberra, and yet we had already made a great deal of progress on restoring the city. With the dozens of MRVN units working in conjunction with the Australian city's utility and sanitation workers and the drones ferrying much-needed supplies to the repair teams, we were able to get a fair amount of Canberra's critical infrastructure restored; while we didn't have buildings repaired, we did have water, electrical, and other key things fixed. Every inch of the city was scoured clean, and the "zombies" had been eliminated to the last, their names and faces cataloged for the next of kin, and then cremated and placed in urns for the surviving family members to bury when they were able, and once that was done the Australian government officials cleared people to return to their homes on the outskirts of the city.
The restoration of critical utilities took almost half of the encampment we had been supplying out of the equation, which freed up beds and housing for families whose abodes had been in the center of the city; the tent city that had been created near the Emergency Connex Complex Frontline had set up shrank down virtually overnight.
The Globetrotters flew in all sorts of supplies that were donated to us from various charity organizations within the United States- plywood, drywall, concrete, asphalt, wiring, cinderblocks, bricks, plaster, steel rebar, roofing shingles, nails, screws, bolts, and anything else that would be needed to rebuild the city. It was a huge PR coup, with our massive flying wings touching down in parking lots, empty fields, and airfields all across the United States to retrieve the supplies, but the vast majority of what was brought was supplied by Frontline; we had unlimited resources and it would be silly to not use them.
It looked great for us, it looked great for America, it looked great for Australia, and more importantly, it looked great for the whole world- for the first time in a long time we had a "victory" and now we had the resources and ability to make a swift recovery; while in the past critical supplies like food and water could be airlifted in, the various organizations were constrained by how much their aircraft could carry and the costs associated with bringing those supplies in. Fuel and aircraft maintenance were not cheap, and while the food and water were very much needed if it cost $280,000 in fuel to fly $130,000 dollars worth of supplies... then the government was looking at a very hefty expenditure with each and every flight.
It would have taken a few dozen flights around the clock to keep all of the citizens of Canberra watered and fed, which added up to an eye-watering price tag every single day; and that was just fuel costs- I didn't even bother calculating the maintenance costs as well as the wear and tear on the pilots and crew. However, with my Globetrotters being able to fly around the clock- only stopping by the ocean to top off their water for their Hydrogen tanks- and robot pilots... we were able to ferry massive amounts of supplies into the region in a very short amount of time. We had to set up a very large flat yard outside of Lake George to put everything that we were bringing in, and after fixing a boatload of damaged flatbed trucks we were able to get the local Canberrans to work ferrying supplies in and out of the area.
With my new perks allowing me beyond superhuman planning abilities, we were able to plot out a whole boatload of needed plans to get the center of the city restored to its former glory and then some.
Frontline's desalination pump design was given emergency authorization by the Australian government and we built a large concrete pump house that housed 50 units that could each output about 25 gallons per minute of salt-free water, and that water was thrown into the Googong Reservoir; we were well above the daily evaporation rate so that would slowly but surely refill the lake that fed the aquifers supplying Canberra with all of its water needs. The city used roughly 5.1 million gallons of water per day for its 100,000 citizens, and our pumps would supply about 1.8 million of that, though there would be some rationing going on until a more permanent solution was created.
We laid out a half dozen miles of piping into the ocean that would spread the super salty brackish concentrate back into the ocean to reduce the environmental impact, but considering how much water was in the ocean, to begin with, the negative effects were barely noticeable; it was mainly done to keep the tree-hugging, fish-kissing hippies happy. It was a massive project, digging under 80 miles of land and laying out the piping, but robots and Canoptek Scarabs made it incredibly painless and stupidly quick; out of sight, out of mind. Everyone else was so focused on the city that when they found out that we'd dug all of that out it was quite a shock. "Robots" was an acceptable answer to their few questions.
A good-sized solar farm using our state-of-the-art solar panels along with a very impressive sodium chloride battery bank would keep the desalination farm supplied with the necessary power to run it, and while we "didn't have the resources" to do more than supply a few hundred more solar panels for the city, it would make a fair amount of difference. While we have technology that would put our solar panels at about 93% efficient, the current technological limitations had a 44% maximum efficiency rating, and so we stuck with that; considering the best non-Tinkertech panels on the market could get was 14% in an Endbringer stricken 2011 Earth Bet, a jump to 44% was astounding.
The fact that these were non-Tinkertech panels that could be mass-produced in an appropriate facility? Yeah, that turned quite a few heads, though we would let Brockton Bay be the first to manufacture such things; they needed an economy, and something like this would bring a great deal of employment opportunities to the people within the city.
A small sigh escaped my lips as I looked over the large touch screen table in the middle of the "Command" tent and I raised my fingers up and scrubbed at my eyes; we'd practically planned out everything we could, and have the supplies set up to do it, so the only thing that was left was to get it done.
"Looking a little tired there mate, why don't you go on and take a break, yeah?"
A very Aussie voice spoke out to me, and I turned my eyes over to Outback, the lead hero of the Australian Hero contingent that was here helping us. I nodded to him and grabbed my helmet before slipping it over my head, "Yeah, I probably should take a break- been at this practically since the start, so a few hours of sleep wouldn't go amiss."
"Well, you done right by us, and considering we've already got everything we need to rebuild Canberra better than ever..." The man adjusted his hat and shrugged with a grin, "Eight months to rebuild everything? Well, that's a timeline I think everyone can be happy with, especially with all of the small improvements that we'll be making."
He leaned his hip against the table and crossed his arms over his chest, "Don't worry about a thing, I'll keep an eye on everything while you're gone."
"Well, we're going to have to be leaving here soon, we can't leave our own home turf undefended for too long; the nasties will be crawling out of the woodwork if we do," I popped my neck and turned my helmet to look at him, "It would be best if you and the Canberra government got more familiar with everything that we'll be leaving behind for you all; however, once the reconstruction is completed we will be taking everything here back- the MRVNs and Disaster Relief containers will be needed elsewhere."
"Meh, you could take them all right now if you needed to, it wouldn't be any skin off our noses," Outback waved a hand, "You've done far more than enough for an independent hero organization from another country should need to do, but I'm not gonna lie and say that your presence hasn't given our government the time to mount a more organized and effective relief effort."
"Well, those of us in Frontline believe in doing the best we can, wherever we can; it's not like we won't be reimbursed by the Australian government," I shrugged my shoulders, "We'll be sending an itemized list of supplies consumed."
A smooth chuckle escaped Outback's lips as he shook his head, the Cape turning to the side so that he could begin swiping along the interactive map, "Yeah, I wouldn't doubt it, though from what I can see you won't be charging quite as much as most contractors."
"No, of course not, just 'cost +10%'. Should give us a small little profit that we can use to pump back into our home town, but that's about it. We're pretty self-sufficient like that." I waved at Outback over my shoulder, "Well, you have a good one."
I exited the 'Command' tent, gave a few nods and waves to some other Australian heroes that were out and about, and stopped to answer some questions from a few PRT Agents that were helping get some of the finer nuts and bolts of my Canberra reconstruction plan put together. With that complete, I moved through the camp towards the Frontline housing area and popped inside my room, and stepped up to the armor removal station to be disrobed. I quickly popped into the shower and when I walked out I was surprised- not really- to see Qi and M16A1 laid out on my bed, the American and Chinese Assault Rifles languidly making out with one another.
We'd been together for almost four years by this point, and the sight of their bodies intertwined never failed to send my rod sky high.
I slipped behind M16A1 and slid myself into her pussy, the hot, wet folds welcoming me inside. I was a little tired from all of the work we'd been doing the past few days, so instead of being rough with her as she usually preferred I thrust in and out of her lazily as my lips, teeth, and tongue worried her ear. My left hand slid under her ribcage so that I could squeeze and grope her right breast while my right hand gripped her thigh and pointed her knee towards the ceiling.
As soon as I finished filling her womanhood with my seed, her sex milked me until the last vestiges of pleasure tingled down my spine. I climbed over her into the center of the bed where Qi happily clambered up and sank onto my cock in a classic cowgirl position. I fondled her breasts and captured her lips as she rolled her hips, her clitoris grinding against my pubic bone until she decided she wanted something a little more physical. With her heels planted on the mattress, she began to lift her lower body up and slammed herself down, the sound of flesh clapping against flesh filling the air.
I let out a grunt and I released her breasts so that my hands could wrap around her hips and I held her in place as I filled her with my essence; the Chinese rifle's eyes crinkled in delight as my cock twitched and filled her to the brim. When our respective climaxes tapered off she slid off of me and nestled into the crook of my arm on my right side just as M16A1 mirrored her actions on my left.
Two gentle yet firm kisses and a couple of sincere "I Love You"s later and we were drifting off to a restful four hours of sleep.
I woke up exactly four hours later to the rumbling of the Forge, and the two small stars that were pulled into my orbit perked me right up.
[Attempted Re-Forge: 17.0030 - Good Enough For Science. Not Aperture Science! - 100CP - Portal - Knowledge Intelligence]
[Re-Forge Successful]
[Purchased: 100 CP Remaining]
[Attempted Re-Forge: 14.0010 - Shadow Clones - 100CP - Generic Naruto Fanfiction - Database Magical]
[Re-Forge Successful]
[Purchased: 0 CP Remaining]
Wow. Hoo~kay.
The first one allowed me to either pick one "real life" field of study and immediately become a Doctorate level in that field... or I could pick three Aperture Science fields of study and become Doctorates in all three. I mentally went through the list and I chose "Quantum Tunneling", "Applied Multi-versal Searching Algorithms", and "Multi-versal Portaling Technologies".
Quantum Tunneling was the process of using Quantum Entangled Pairs to act as anchor points for peerless point-to-point teleportation and travel; it was limited in that the pairs had to be placed, but that issue was solved with Applied Multi-versal Searching Algorithms and Multi-versal Portaling technologies. AMVSA and MVPT gave me the scientific background to create technologies that would allow me to scan the multiverse around me and then open portals to estimated locations. From there I could open up a portal in the general vicinity of the area where I was looking to utilize Quantum Tunneling technologies and then just toss through a teleportation anchor and have it fly to the actual location where I wanted it to go.
The issue was that I didn't actually have any ready-made technology to feed the Bois and Ted in order to make any of this happen. I knew that I could create this technology, but it would all have to be done from scratch... but that was acceptable to me because I now had the multiverse at my very fingertips!
There was the warning that the technologies made for Multi-versal Portaling would only be as accurate as the data from Applied Multi-versal Searching Algorithms, and that basic portaling tech using these methods could be anywhere from a few centimeters to a few hundred AU off.
Aperture Science was not liable if I opened up a portal to the center of the sun instead of the Earth in the universe next door.
The second one was arguably just as important as the first, and I didn't need any introduction to the wonderful Shadow Clones of basic Naruto fanfiction. Just the ability to utilize Chakra was another huge boon- the ability to do so many different things at the same time while learning so many different things at the same time was far, far, far more important than the limited combat utility that the clones could bring. They would copy my armor and weapons easily, but if I put someone to sleep using cloned darts then they would begin to wake up immediately, and even with the cloned shields they still would be dispelled with a single strike hard enough to destabilize them.
At best they would be excellent distractions for me and the girls in combat, but the main draw was their learning utility, and that was what I was going to abuse the hell out of.
I sent a copy of the descriptions of both Perks to all of the girls before I relaxed back into the bed and began the slow, arduous process of uploading every single scrap of Aperture science knowledge up into all of the Bois and Ted; I could feel the figurative saliva from all of them dripping into my noggin as I organized everything together and started the process.
Rather than get up I just laid down in the bed and luxuriated in the feeling of the two beautiful women laying down next to me.
Another trip into the Superbolic Time Chamber was upon me, and I knew that more children would be in my future as the women wanted. I had a perfect excuse to go in again too- getting the Portal technology up and running was going to take more than a few years, though with Clones and Do One Thing at a Time in my corner I might be able to cut that down by a fair degree. No doubt the Bois and Ted would also be of great help, but while they had their strong points the abstract thinking that Aperture multi-versal technology required was something I feel like they would struggle with; neither the Necrons nor the Forerunners had any sort of technology that was similar to this... they both looked at their native galaxies and universe but didn't extend much thought to other universes.
This would be a learning experience for us all.
When the translation from meat-to-quantum code was completed I regretfully climbed out of bed and slipped back into the shower, and like clockwork, my girls were not too far behind me; we had a little more fun underneath the cool spray of the water before drying off and getting all gussied up in our armors again.
There was still work to be done around Canberra before I felt comfortable leaving this city behind to continue where we left off.
Though, before I left the room I popped open the warehouse and made the ever-familiar crossed-T sign. I felt my chakra get split into three distinct parts before three more versions of myself appeared in a single cloud of smoke.
I grinned. They grinned. M16A1 and Type 95 grinned as well.
I blinked and sent them through to the other side of the warehouse door to begin working with the Engineers and my Necron Canoptek Spyder on clarifying all of the knowledge that they had just obtained; hopefully, One Thing at a Time would apply to my clones as well because we had a lot of work to do.
The Multiverse was calling, and I intended to answer it, for both fun and profit.
[March 9th, 2011]
[7 Days Later]
It took us an additional week to get everything to where we felt comfortable leaving- I spent the majority of my time refining plans and the supply chain to make everything as quick, easy, and efficient as possible; no need to go 'full-Accord' (You never go 'full-Accord') and make plans as complex and convoluted as possible to eke out the best possible outcome. Keep It Simple Stupid - K.I.S.S.- protocol was in full effect here, with more than enough wriggle room to shift projects left and right in the schedule provided that the essentials were taken care of.
The essentials were obviously food, water, and shelter. Those were followed by power, internet, and other infrastructure needs; we needed the people to have internet so that they could communicate with the outside world, and according to Artie, tell them all what a wonderful job we're doing. We couldn't release any of our combat footage of the Simurgh fights because of the gag order they placed on us the moment the battle was finished, but all we needed to do about that was have the people of Canberra do that job for us; we didn't use helmet footage, obviously, but there was plenty we could do with the camera feeds from the various drones that were all around the city during the fight.
Tone down the image quality - a lot- add in some shaky cam and running, and then upload it to PHO through a horrible bit-rate compression algorithm that most people were using with the limited cellular services already, and BAM! Heroic footage of people running from the Simurgh, the camera jostling up and down as people piled into the Helljumper and took off; the cell phone camera turning back outward to look at Alexandria slamming into the Endbringer and almost taking it off of its feet.
We didn't make too many of those, maybe a half dozen of the few hundred videos that were being posted online by Canberra citizens; most were flagged and taken down due to 'Forbidden Content'- PHO had rules against gore and violence- but ours along with a few dozen others stayed online.
We didn't even need to do our own PR for the camps or the supplies because the people and the news agencies were more than happy enough to do that for us, though we did make a short film showing some "behind the scenes" of Frontline working around the clock in Canberra while still not neglecting our self-imposed obligations in Brockton Bay.
The video showed pick-ups of donated supplies from communities large and small from all around the world, the meetings between Frontline and the Construction and Dockworkers Unions, the meetings between all of us and the Mayor, then having jump cuts to interviews and voiceovers from the girls who were interested in performing for the camera, and then finally of our construction efforts in Canberra. The Chief Minister of Canberra was smart enough to make sure we got some good footage of his administration working alongside us, the PRT, and the Australian government so that it would help his re-election campaign; the City would be voting again next year, and despite the tragedy of the Simurgh's attack he was ready to capitalize on the reconstruction efforts.
So as not to leave the city bereft of Frontline presence, we had a system set up where at least one Frontline member would be around to both answer questions and provide some extra security; despite all of the Cape presence in the area there was still some attempted widespread looting that we put a stop to with the judicious application of sleeping agents. Being my Second-in-Command, my 2IC, Emmie decided that she would be the one to take the first week-long shift since Qi, Type-95, was responsible for handling the busy work for the city of Brockton.
With a last-minute infusion of building materials, the Frontline camp was packed up quickly, loaded onto the Globetrotters, and after a quick farewell tour of the camps, the entirety of my organization- sans M16A1- piled into our respective aircraft and we took off into the early morning sky.
We flew at a more sedate pace, it taking us roughly half an hour to make it back to the Bay, and we flew a slow, sweeping arc in our flying 'V' formation; plumes of colored smoke streamed behind us as our squadron of white-silver flying wings lumbered over the city. It was roughly 6:30 in the evening in Brockton, so there was plenty of light and plenty of people to watch us make our triumphant return to the city.
No doubt it would be another great thing for PHO.
There were seven Globetrotters with us, and with each lazy loop we flew around the Bay, another aircraft split off and made its way toward the cliff entrance to the Hangar; seeing as I was the one with the "keys to the garage" my aircraft went first. We flew a few dozen kilometers to the south before swooping in low with some map-of-the-earth flying before breaking off east over the ocean and then making our way north. The GB-01 was already folding up its wings and spinning around by the time I hopped out of the back onto the camouflaged catwalk and made my way over to the door and opened it up.
Over the next ten minutes, the rest of the Globetrotters made their way back in and I waited in the back of the Hangar until everyone was assembled. I looked across the many beautiful women - my women- arrayed before me and I gave them all a very proud smile. "We did well. Now, let's go slip into something more comfortable and we'll go down to Fugly Bob's in a few hours to celebrate, yeah?"
Someone called Fugly Bob to let him know we were about to descend upon his property while I turned around and hopped back out of the Garage door and took off into the sky back toward home; I really wish I could get that Perk that lets me open up to any door I'd used previously, that would have been pretty sweet right about now.
The Forge grew hot and grabbed onto a small star from the "Facilities Mundane" constellation and pulled it in. It was a small star, only a single charge, but I knew that even single-charge Perks could be quite powerful, and this one was no different.
[Attempted Re-Forge: 7.0070 - Weapons Lab - 100CP - Starbound - Facilities Mundane]
[Re-Forge Successful]
[Purchased: 0 CP Remaining]
This would definitely be seeing some use in the very near future; anything that I could do to enhance the utility and lethality of my girl's imprinted weapons would do wonders for my peace of mind. I can't radically change their armaments more than I already have to adopt their tranquilizer rifles, but if I can't modify their rifles then I can at least modify their munitions; I would have to split off a new Shadow Clone to handle that once I got back to the house.
Invisible to everything I touched down softly on the back porch of the double-wide and I smoothly opened up the back door, shutting it behind me before I dropped the cloak. Spring was seated on the couch with my son in her arms, with Lisa next to her and my favorite old biddy Tiffany between them; they were watching something on a crystal screen that floated perfectly in the middle of the living room.
My helmet seals popped off with a slight hiss as my waifu-raifu stood up and strode over to me with the most beautiful smile on her face. I leaned down and planted a deep, firm kiss on her lips before I broke it to plant a gentle, close-lipped kiss on the top of my son's head. "I missed you both very much."
Green eyes crinkled as Spring bounced my boy up and down in her arms, "We missed you as well, dear~."
I breathed in deeply.
'I'm going to ruin you tonight.' I sent her a message and a visible shiver crawled down her spine as she hooded her eyes and bit her bottom lip.
"Well, I see that you didn't get your fool self killed," Tiffany groused, though there was a clear playfulness in her voice, "Saw the work you've been doing in Kangaroo land, and I gotta say I'm impressed. Turns out that there just might be a brain between your ears after all."
I grinned stepped around Spring and strode over towards the old woman, and I bent down so that I could place a chaste kiss against her cheek, "Come on, Ma'am, you should know better than to bet against me; the Simurgh was repelled, the city of Canberra is being restored, and now the ball is moving in getting Brockton Bay back on track."
"Heh, yeah, it sure is," The woman waved her hand with an unlit cigarette between her fingers, "Now, come on boy, let's go out onto the back porch; I've missed my smoking buddy."
Tiffany stood up and made her way through the back door, "I'll just be a minute, Ma'am- need to get this armor off real quick."
I turned my focus down to Lisa, the blonde's fox-like features were a bit more apparent as she smiled; no doubt Spring had been working her over- massaging her into adjusting to the idea of working for us- and the fight against the Simurgh as well as the display of our reconstruction abilities had probably cinched it for her. "Why don't you go out and join Tiffany for a few minutes, hmm?"
She rolled her eyes before leaving the sinfully comfortable couch, "Sure thing, boss."
The sassy blonde-haired teen waved over her shoulder at us as she stepped out onto the back porch.
I opened up the Warehouse and strode inside and went to the quick-doffing armor station near the entrance; it would take my armor and hand it over to the Huragoks to clean and repair, and then it would be moved to the main armor rack. Next to the rack was a very nice blue crosshatched button-up, black denim jeans, some white socks and comfortable leather boots, and a nice brown leather belt to tie it all together. The sonic shower was quick and pleasant, although truth be told it wasn't nearly as nice as a good hot water shower, but it got me clean in under 30 seconds and that was what mattered.
Dressing was a quick affair, and I walked out of the Warehouse, sealing it up behind me before stepping out back; just because I was going to bring Lisa into the fold didn't mean I was going to read her in all the way- her Shard was a threat, so I wasn't going to expose it to all of the wonders of the Warehouse until that little problem was solved.
I took the cigarette from Tiffany with a small nod of thanks and we both lit up; Lisa crinkled her nose a little bit in distaste, but that disappeared quickly. My blue eyes tracked her as she moved over to sit down on one of the wrought iron chairs, adjusting the cheap cushion until she got comfortable. "So, Spring finally convinced you to join up?"
The former Undersider waggled her hand from side to side, "Eh, it was more Tiffany than Springfield, but regardless, despite the fact that I can't read you guys very well with your anti-Thinker countermeasures, I have learned to trust my own gut; Frontline, for the most part, appears to be on the up and up."
A small vulpine grin stretched her lips, "And you've seem to have gotten rid of Coil, because his base is empty and his Mercs are all now your employees. That and I've been hearing on the grapevine that a new Protectorate Cape should be making his debut soon..."
I nodded as I pulled on the cigarette before letting the smoke exit my mouth, "Well, I guess you can say I had a very civil discussion with Coil- Option A was six feet under, and... well, he chose Option B."
"Too good for a guy like him," A snarl curled her lips.
"I know, trust me, I do, however in this world sometimes people get second chances they don't deserve because they can be useful," I shook my head, "Regardless, he's Alexandria's problem now, and I have no doubt if he steps out of line even one time she'll spatter his brains all over the wall with her fist."
She blinked, "Wait, he's going to be under Alexandra?"
"Could you trust anyone else to not be outmaneuvered by him? I've met Alexandria in Canberra- sharper than a tack, that woman, but you already knew that, didn't you?"
Lisa shrugged her shoulders and grinned, "Well, when I first got my powers I wanted to make sure that knew the 411 on all of my favorite capes, but considering she has a strong Thinker power of her own I wasn't really able to glean much. After a while, I just stopped thinking about it and focused on taking care of myself."
We were silent for a few moments before she leaned back enough to pop a few vertebrates, "Sooo~, what will I be doing within the organization?"
"Well, you'll be the assistant to Qi, that is Type 95; she is my attache' and nominally in command of our members that aren't part of the Strike or Patrol teams. You'll be assisting her in working with the various organizations that we have contact with- most notably the Australian Government, the City Administration of Canberra, and of course our efforts here in Brockton Bay. That and in your civilian identity you can be the assistant to my assistant for my legal business."
Her face went through a variety of expressions, from astonishment to a non-plussed duck face, and then she sighed deeply before she began digging into her temples. "Fuck, that's a whole lot of responsibility for little ol' me. I thought being the Head Shed for the Undersiders was a lot of work..."
I tilted my head, "Then why don't you hire the Undersiders?"
Her head snapped to me and her eyes widened a fraction, "I thought you weren't going to bring them in?"
"No, I said if they wanted to look for 'protection' that they could negotiate for themselves, however, I have some flexibility in bringing the Undersiders under the aegis of Frontline now that we're not busy handling the gangs and the Endbringer fight is over and done with," I rolled my hand, "I'm certain that we can work with the PRT in getting their petty criminal records expunged so that you kids can operate with us, and I'm certain that when I open a legitimate storefront for my business I'm going to need some trusted employees."
Lisa licked her lips, "Well, I think that Brian and Alec would be amenable to picking up some work if it's good and legal- that's uh, Grue and Regent- and Bitch wouldn't care as long as it lets her take care of her dogs."
I looked over at Spring and smiled, "Bitch, she takes in stray animals, right?"
"Dogs only, but she doesn't seem to hate other animals," Lisa corrected me, though after mulling it over for a moment she shook her head, "Though she does hate squirrels, amusingly enough."
"Well, the girls are wanting to have a lot of pets around to spoil rotten, so as long as she doesn't mind cats or other animals I think that she can be an excellent caretaker," Springfield smiled demurely as she gently bounced Julian up and down in her arms.
Lisa blinked owlishly up at the brunette, "You guys are... setting up a small zoo?"
The rifle's green eyes crinkled as she let our son grab hold of her finger, "Well, combat is quite stressful, you know, and nothing balms the heart and soul like an animal that loves you regardless of whether or not you're a 'good person'."
That seemed to sober the blonde Thinker up a little bit and she nodded, "Well, I guess I can see it. I'll... talk to them later on tonight, give them a call and have them meet up somewhere?"
"Here is fine, or since we're going out to Fugly Bob's to celebrate our homecoming in a few hours we can meet up there, neutral ground as it were," I posited, but Lisa shook her head.
"No, as much as that would be a nice gesture I would think that everyone being there in domino masks and the like would be a little too uncomfortable for them- if we're going to be working together in a civilian and as Capes then meeting here would be for the best," She waved her hand around, "Brian is big on displays of trust like that- everyone unmasked gives him a sense of comfort that stems from Mutually Assured Destruction."
Her lips turned into a grimace, "Not that it really matters- Frontline is so secured now that you could literally do no wrong in the eyes of the public, so all outing you would accomplish is getting everyone on their asses."
I shrugged my shoulders, "It is what it is, Lisa. However, if meeting here out of costume will make them more comfortable then I have no problems with that. Be sure to include all of the perks as well- we're not going to be cleaning up just Brockton Bay, so if they want an opportunity to help out in other cities then if they want to change their cape identities around we can help with that."
She squinted at me. "Well, considering you're like one-fifth the size of the Protectorate already I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't be just sticking around the Bay."
Lisa continued to stare, "Are you... offering them all of the perks of being a member?"
"If you're talking about training, equipment, weapons, power armor, a salary, legal help, and the like? Then yes, yes I am." I smiled reassuringly, "Also, we have the best medical and dental the world has to offer."
The teen rolled her eyes before standing up, "I'm going to make the call and then crash on the couch until later tonight. You people give me headaches."
A chuckle escaped my lips as I watched the former Undersider walk down to the footpath we made to get access to the Headquarters. I tamped my cigarette onto the ashtray as the Forge spun up and tried to latch onto a massive star that was so large I couldn't even glean its name.
[Remaining 100 CP]
"So, boy, why don't you take some time to fill me in on all that was happening in Canberra, hmm?" Tiffany pulled out another cigarette and began puffing on it, "I remember taking a vacation there back in 78' and -"
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Topic: Simurgh Attack - Canberra, Australia
In: Boards ► United States ► New Hampshire (NH) ► Brockton Bay ► General Discussion ► Endbringers
Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Posted On Feb 24th 2011:
Hello everyone, it's Bagrat, your Guy-in-the-Know.
It's a bit strange for me to be this jovial on the day of an Endbringer attack, especially when its from the Simurgh, but I find myself feeling incredibly uplifted on today of all days.
The Simurgh was repelled within 27 minutes of her landing in Canberra, Australia, and with how few the civilian and Cape casualties were for this event (and the fact that the city didn't need to be contained) is a reason to celebrate in my book. The reason for this stunning defeat of the Ziz?
Our very own Hero Team, Frontline! Yes, you heard me right, Frontline was - if you'll pardon my humor - front and center for this action. If you thought that their capabilities were bananas before then I think you'll all be incredibly surprised to see what magical rabbit our new Home Team managed to pull out of their hats.
Lots of very slick aircraft, small arms that didn't appear to be Tinker Tech capable of putting some pain on the Endbringer, and a whole slew of other disaster relief supplies and equipment that would probably put most major cities to shame. (Initial photos and videos can be found - [HERE] - [HERE] and - [HERE]. Special thanks to our Aussie Brockton Bay forum lurker Down_Under365 for collating the best pics and footage for us.)
Still are incredibly light on the details, but from the initial reports it... well, I'm not going to get my hopes up, but it sounds like the Ziz accidentally blew herself up?
If anyone has more details then please contact me anonymously in my inbox, especially if you were at ground zero in Canberra. Be aware scams and pranks will not be appreciated.
[Update 2/25/2011: Okay, so it has come to my attention that the Simurgh DID indeed banish herself, though just like all things that are too good to be true it didn't stick. She was working on some sort of dimensional breeching device that was supposed to flatten the city when Alexandria, Eidolon, Frontline, and some other capes worked together to spoil her plot. You can see that Frontline reacted incredibly quickly in this footage here, supplied to us by an independent cape who was wearing a body camera [HERE]; they somehow built a pseudo-leaning tower of... bubble shields? This funneled the explosion up and out, away from the city; I'm not an explosives expert but just seeing that video I can feel the rattle of my bones- that would have done a great deal of damage had Frontline not formulated a plan so quickly. Regardless of their efforts it appears that the Simurgh managed to walk back her own exile and she escaped back into orbit; I don't have any good sources, so we'll be relying on you keyboard warriors in the land of Kangaroos to get us the deets.]
[Update 2/27/2011: Another update here for you data-hungry mother grubbers. We are getting more information about Canberra and the current state of the city, and once again we have to thank Down_Under365 for getting us these pictures and videos (which can be seen [HERE]). I don't know about anyone else here, but while the PRT, Protectorate, and various governments of the world have done the best they can when it came to getting supplies and relief to people out in Endbringer stricken areas... what Frontline was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time is simply mindboggling. They're like what would happen if FEMA, the Protectorate, and the Small Business Administration got together and had a baby that grew up to be an adult that wasn't satisfied with their lot in life and decided to do better.
Of course, that isn't to slight the named organizations, but if you just look at things objectively speaking then Frontline has done more than just showed up and fought- they're helping Canberra recover, and that to me is just as important as fighting the good fight. Granted, the Frontline organization as we know it has a very, very large roster, and that frees them up to do all sorts of things that others just can't do. The advanced tech base they're working with no doubt helps a lot (and I mean a LOT).]
[Update 3/2/2011: Bagrat here again with the story, but Down_Under365 back here again with the sauce. Mmm. Delicious sauce. [HERE] - [HERE] - [HERE] - and [HERE].
If you are just now catching up, then here is the information that Horizon himself dropped in an interview with Sydney local news affiliate Channel 17 News. They did the usual, talked about the recovery efforts and other things, but this is when Horizon dropped the bomb.
Frontline wants to turn Brockton Bay (and by extension Canberra) into a test bed for NON-Tinker Tech advancements. Apparently, their team can reverse-engineer Tinker Tech, just like our dear Lady Dragon, and to make sure that entire sectors don't get wiped out they're willing to work with various civilian companies from around the world to spread the love. No doubt they'd get paid significant royalties for their designs, but in the long term that means vast improvements in various technologies that you just might one day have in your home. Of course there have been other Tinkers who've claimed that they would accomplish the same thing, but they got buried under NEPA.
Will this fly? I don't know, but if there is a group that has the political capital to push through the red tape then I think Frontline just might be the ones to do it. I could use a new juicer, the one I have is a hunk of junk.
Anyway, if you look through you can see just how much work was able to get done in restoring Canberra even in the short amount of time since the attack. Frontline has been organizing a very successful campaign to gather needed supplies from various countries around the world- communities just needed to park what they wished to donate in a spot that had a reasonable amount of space to land and one of Frontline's jets would fly in and pick everything up.
IDreamofSummerTimeShandy is a fellow Gal in the Know posted up in Boulder, Colorado, and she took a superb video of the Boulder Endbringer Relief Charity "Hearts Across the World" setting up one such drop off point. (You can see the video [HERE]) They had toilet paper, freeze dried foods, blankets, clothing, and even some construction supplies all donated from local businesses and community members, and they set it all up in a little league baseball field- within a few hours of sending the message to Frontline one of big, beautiful aircraft flew in and some robots gathered everything up into a single shipping container and they loaded it up. The robots took a few photos with some of the children, but other than that they were too busy to stick around.
Quite a lot of hard work being done, and I for one am glad to see it.]
[Update 3/6/2011: Well everyone, I'm certain you all got to see the impromptu airshow from Frontline as they returned to our now fair city of Brockton Bay. They flew in formation and let out colored smoke as they flew in circles around the city, splitting off one aircraft at a time. Considering their plans for improving the Bay with the help of the Mayor's Office, the City Council, the Dockworker's Union, and the Construction Union I for one am glad to see our newest Hero Team return triumphant.]
[Update 3/6/2011: I know I just updated not twenty minutes ago, but I just got word that Frontline would be at Fugly Bob's in a few hours to enjoy a nice homecoming meal and do a meet and greet. How do I know this? Well, you plucky, inquisitive reader, it's because ART_556 just hit me up and asked me to help spread the word. Who knows, I just might go down their and enjoy a fatty burger myself- I've abstained so that I could watch my girlish figure, but for something like this I just might leave the basement.]
As always, I just provide the information and let you all draw your own conclusions. Not everything I find can be considered "real" even though I do my best to corroborate my sources. If I get something wrong then PM me and I'll double-check.
What do you guys think about all of this? Let me know.
P.S. Keep the technical discussions to the Frontline Tech Discussion Section. And yes, we do now have a dedicated Discussion Board towards discussing Frontline's tech; considering they have almost a dozen Tinkers (that we know about) working together I foresee that particular board getting a LOT of traffic. Whatever Frontline is working on deserves more than a mere thread.
P.P.S. Holy Mackeral. 137 pages? This thread has only been up for a little while... I think that this might be my most commented thread to date.
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►Down_Under365 (Veteran Member) (Forum Lurker)
Replied On Feb 27th 2011:
Hey, Bagrat. Here is some stuff for you. [This}, [This], [This], and [This].
I live in Canberra and I was at Ground Zero when the Simurgh hit. Saw some pretty crazy stuff, but managed to get some decent pictures and footage while I was running away. (Yes, I do run away from Cape fights, as rare as they are in Canberra. I live vicariously through the crazies in Brockton Bay)
►IDreamofSummerShandy (Veteran Member) (The Lady in the Know)
Replied On Mar 3rd 2011:
Bagrat
Just giving you a heads up if you don't already know, but Frontline is running a supply collection service. They just flew in and picked up some things that we could scrounge together on such short notice.
You can find their website here- " .gfl"
Here are some photos and videos we took [HERE]. Unfortunately, we didn't see any of the actual members, but the robots were quite a treat! I didn't even know Frontline HAD robots!
►Gosilver (BB Moderator)
Replied On Mar 3rd 2011:
IDreamofSummerShandy
Please remember to fold in URLs using the LINK tool. You can find the guide on how to use our source code [HERE]. If you don't use the link creation tool then PHO's systems can't scan any urls posted for malicious software, and while we can't be held liable for any such woes that would befall someone for clicking on an unverified link we do try our best to protect our users from outside actions.
►ART_556 (Verified Cape) (Frontline Member_Alpha Team)
Replied On Mar 3rd 2011:
Gosilver
Hey! That's a totally legitimate link and is very secure!
Lol. Jk, I'm not mad or anything, but that is indeed our disaster relief website. If you can wrangle up some supplies and you want to donate then you will be linked in with others in your area who wish to donate as well and you can coordinate a date, time, and location to compile your donations and we'll swing by and fly it out to those here in Canberra.
This IS a new service, so if there are any bugs or technical issues then submit a help ticket and we'll try to resolve them as best we can, but we're obviously quite busy.
Replied On Mar 3rd 2011:
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[Brian Laborn]
Brian Laborn scrubbed at his face as he put his phone down on his lap.
An unmasked meeting with Frontline?
Was Lisa high?
Even if they were apparently going to show up at Horizon's house, that was still a huge risk.
The dark-skinned young man looked down at the phone and picked it back up to surf down through the forums some more. Ever since Frontline stepped out onto the scene there was a certain feeling that he had, a sixth sense that told him that Brockton Bay wasn't going to be the wild west anymore. It was one of the primary reasons why he told Tattletale to refuse a few jobs that their mysterious boss had been sketchy- the last thing the Undersiders needed was to stick their necks out in a Capeless Brockton Bay; without other gangs there to keep everyone's attention suddenly eyes would start swiveling in their direction.
As much as he hated the ABB, the Merchants, and the E88 they were at least an excellent distraction so the Undersiders could do their petty smash and grabs pretty much unmolested; no one had time for a bunch of kids stealing paperwork as some jewelry when the nazis were beating down people in the streets and the ABB were kidnapping more young women.
Now that he thought about it they were only able to do their jobs because other people were suffering. It left a sour taste in his mouth- sure, the money had been good for the amount of work they actually had to do, but was it worth it when it was earned off the backs of other people?
He flicked over to his 'Messages' and looked at them.
Wednesday, 3/9/2011
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:32 PM: Besides, the "Boss" is gone now. Not that it makes a difference because you've been part of the club since the beginning Bri- June may I remind you- and when was the last time you even heard from the case worker?
That... stung. More than a little bit.
When he joined on he was promised by their "boss" that he would get custody of his little sister, the pain in the ass that she was, and that was ten months ago. He'd met with the case worker twice in that whole time period- the first meeting was the initialization of the paperwork, and the second time was a quick check of his finances a few months later. He'd worked as security for Fortress Construction as a part-time guard, mainly sitting in a booth and checking badges of various construction crews that went in and out of the three Endbringer shelters that were being built in the city. It paid more than enough on paper to show that he was indeed capable of supporting Aisha, and the cash from the more illicit jobs helped pad his accounts, but since then he hadn't heard about his case at all.
He'd asked Lisa here and there to raise some questions, but the response was always the same: "We are working on it. The Government isn't quick nor is it efficient. You must have patience."
That should have mollified him for a few months, but the red flags should have started raising themselves after that... but he kept getting distracted by the $2,000 a month retainer along with the cash bounty for relatively simple and easy jobs that only required them to break into an office and watch over Lisa as she searched through computers and paperwork.
The thieving was a rush, and the cold, hard cash made it that much sweeter.
Brian thought he was a criminal, with his costume and cool demeanor, but in actuality, he was just a dog slobbering at whatever meat was dangled in front of him when he should have had his eyes on the real prize.
Their unnamed "Boss" had them all distracted by easy jobs and easy money, and he used them to keep hold of his leverage.
And wasn't that a sobering thought? He had inadvertently turned his sister, the whole reason he had turned to villainy in the first place, into a piece on a chessboard when he didn't even have a seat at the table. There was no doubt in his mind that had 'Grue' not been such a well-behaved doggy that was eager for the scraps that Aisha might very well become a hostage or worse.
No.
Deep down he knew that could have been a possibility the moment he listed out his demands for working under the "boss", but he turned a blind eye to it in order to assuage his own unease at becoming a criminal. What was it that his old man always said?
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Brian wasn't an overly religious person (what person was in this day in age with the Endbringers running rampant all over the world?), but it had been a comfort knowing that he was only committing crime to rescue his sister instead of because it was easier to steal from someone else.
Wednesday, 3/9/2011
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:35 PM: Ugh. Don't make me feel like a total bitch for pointing that out, Bri, but you know I'm right. He wasn't ever going to help you get custody- he would push things along until you stopped making noise and then he'd have his man sit on it until you started making noise again.
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:35 PM: And I know its sudden, believe me, but Horizon wants to meet you all in person first.
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:36 PM: I can't get a good read on them, they have something that blocks my powers hard, but I can still glean enough from them to know that this offer is legitimate, and considering everything that is going on in the Bay... or the lack of anything going on in the Bay... this might be our one chance to get in on the side of the Angels without a whole bunch of extra bullshit keeping us down.
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:36 PM: So... are you going to keep surfing PHO and ignoring me or are you going to actually respond?
Brian rolled his eyes and he typed a message back.
Street Rider 5:36 PM: This is a whole lot to dump on us in such a short amount of time, Tats. We can't really make snap decisions like this...
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:37 PM: You're being offered a legitimate civilian job along with a much better paying cosplay job tacked onto it with the most prominent play-acting troupe in all of America. They have pull like you wouldn't believe- your costumed misadventures can be water under the bridge, Bri. More importantly, they can actually help you get custody of Aisha.
The teen inhaled deeply and let it all out. Fuck.
He tried to play it off, or simply ignore it when Lisa was right, but over the past ten months, he'd come to trust her when it came to things like this. She might have a bad habit of trying to be the smartest person in the room, but when it came to people she just knew what made them tick. Most important of all, Frontline was a hero organization that had massive amounts of clout and street cred to go along with its accolades and resources.
They had over a dozen jet aircraft capable of flying around the world in less than twenty minutes, all the while carrying large amounts of supplies for beleaguered people in need. No one else in the world had that shit, not even the Protectorate- only Dragon came close, but she was the top Tinker in the world with dozens of patents to her name and tens of millions of dollars flowing into her bank accounts each quarter from patents alone... and even she didn't have the same resources as Frontline did.
Brian sighed as he typed out his response.
Street Rider 5:39 PM: You said he promised benefits?
He could easily visualize the vulpine smile on the girl the moment he sent that message. She knew she had him, he was now just stalling the inevitable.
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:39 PM: Oh boy did he! Clean records, a fair civilian salary, a fair performer salary with bonuses, medical, dental, and while he doesn't have a 401K plan or anything he did say that if we collected some tip money from our customers we could keep it.
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:39 PM: That and all-new costumes. Heavier duty ones, like you see on all of the troupe's other performers.
Brian felt his mouth dry out just a little bit. Lisa using code for every one of their text conversations on his personal cell was a pain, but he was picking up what she was putting down.
Power armors?
He bit his lip as he flicked over to the Tech Headz forum and quickly re-read over the analysis of Frontline's power armors from some people who were all too happy to nerd out. Stronger, faster, better protected... just that alone would be a boon for him- his powers were shit at actually fighting, and he had to make do with the hellish boxing training his old man had put him through.
The fights that the Undersiders had gotten into could hardly be fights, but considering the "boss" had been wanting them to hit the ABB there was no doubt in his mind that had Frontline not taken them down then things could have gotten very dangerous very quickly. Having some good armor would likely be the difference between coming home in a body bag or not.
He went through a lot of ass pain to provide himself with a possibility of getting Aisha out of their mother's home- even going so far as to become a criminal and risk a lot of jail time. He stole from people to get custody of his sister... why couldn't he do the opposite and help some people instead?
Brian tore his eyes away from his phone and looked to the coffee table sitting next to the couch, the young man gazed at the photograph of him and his little sister for a few moments before he looked back down.
Street Rider 5:41 PM: Alright, I'll text the team and let them know. Now whether they show up or not for this audition is up to them.
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:41 PM: We got options if you really don't want to audition, Bri, but out of all of them this is the safest bet.
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:41 PM: It's not like we can pack up and move to another city because they are going to be setting up their performances all across the country. We really don't want to try and start out fresh... and so if we can't beat 'em, can't outrun 'em, and can't out-smart 'em... we might as well join 'em.
That was the real rub, wasn't it? Even if he had somehow lost his mind and decided to leave his sister behind there would be no place safe for the Undersiders to go- Frontline was what the PRT and Protectorate wish they could be; they were fast, agile, efficient, and as long as they played by the PRT's rules they would be able to operate with impunity. The people had given them a mandate to clean up the streets, and that meant that no one- not even petty criminals like them- would be able to roam around freely.
Brian had two options- well, three, but he really didn't like to consider the third. He could join the Protectorate and deal with all of the hassles that would come along with it, including a mediocre salary for the amount of danger being a Cape involved, or he could join Frontline. Considering the Bay was now clean of all Parahuman gangs except the Undersiders he doubted that he would be allowed to stay in the city; they'd likely transfer him to another branch, and that was if they would follow through on helping him get custody of Aisha.
Frontline was by far the more attractive choice, and it even included power armor. Power armor made by one of the best Tinker teams on the planet. If it had been just him he needed to worry about he would have signed on just for that- he had been a young boy once, not too long ago. He smirked to himself slightly; his sister would likely roll her eyes and mutter something about "boys and their toys" before she began needling him over it.
It didn't take long for Alec and Rachel to respond, and when they did he was kicking himself off the couch and grabbing his wallet and car keys. At this time of night, it would take a better part of half an hour or more to get across the city, and that wasn't including the travel time to the Redmond Welding building.
Brian had the GPS coordinates plugged into his phone and was hopping down the stairs after locking up- it was always better to be early rather than late.
He snorted at the picture Lisa sent him of her and Horizon sitting in a packed Fugly Bob's- the pair of them wearing high-tech domino masks.
Fox (in the Henhouse) 5:56 PM: See you when you get here!
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A/N: This one took a little bit longer to write as I have been preparing for my brother coming home; he's spent the last two years in Korea with the Air Force, so I'm glad that he'll be spending some time with me before he gets to his next duty station. I don't know how much I'll be able to write, but if there is some radio silence from me for the next two weeks don't be alarmed. lol
Also, I was kind of surprised when I found out I could get multiversal portal technology from someplace else other than the Doom portal, so when I rolled the Aperture Science perk it sort of slapped me in the face like a fish. I spent the whole day thinking about various worlds that could be traveled to instead of working on the chapter, so that was also a big reason for the slow down. LOL
Good Enough For Science. Not Aperture Science! (Portal) (100CP)
Pick one of these two options: one PhD in a subject which actually exists, or 3 PhDs in subjects which only exist in Aperture. Applied physics of quantum tunneling, multiverse search algorithms, and event horizon containment are examples of Aperture only degrees. You can buy this perk twice, but it's only free once.
Shadow Clones (Generic Naruto Fanfiction) (100CP)
Ah, shadow clone no jutsu. The signature jutsu of the Naruto franchise. And now you can join in on the fun. You have a copy of a technique scroll for the shadow clone jutsu, of such quality that an idiot could teach himself from this thing in virtually no time at all. It even has safeguards built-in that eliminate any possibility of killing yourself by putting too much chakra into it, or getting a headache from too many clones dispelling at once or anything like that.
The worst that can possibly happen is that it fails to work.
You still can only make as many shadow clones as your chakra can support but outside of that you can feel free to abuse this handy jutsu for training, decoys, diversions, paperwork, chores, or whatever else you can imagine. In the event that this technique is supposed to have some additional features in the particular fanfiction you go to, or even a better version, this scroll will contain both versions.
* Some of the best shadow clone fanfic features include shadow clone self charka regeneration, temporal split clones instead of normal clones, mind merging without dispel, constant hivemind like connection etc
Weapons Lab (Starbound) (100CP)
A lab full of analysis and test equipment aimed specifically at deciphering and improving deadly weaponry. You can use this lab to analyze any weapons that you come across, and given time, can figure out how to isolate and combine the different features of the weapons into other weaponry you create. Comes with a melee and firing range for testing out any weapons as well.
* 100cp because a 1 module ship costs that much.