Re: The Steam Emperor and The Plastic Ponies - IC

kajisora Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:35 am

Lying on the ground, face in the dirt with his legs trailing behind him, Cloud observes the armored dog enter the underground structure and sighs.
"Well, in for bit, in for a bag, I guess." "ow, ow ouch!"
He gets to his hooves, and makes a beeline for the opening.

Appkes Tue Jan 29, 2013 6:12 pm

STL finished ploughing into the ground, coming to a halt at the end of a thirty-foot furrow in the cavern scree. It clambered up, spent a few moments regaining it's balance, then started walking off in the wrong direction. Noticing it's mistake, it soon got back on track and was headed for the still-open hangar bay.

**Paper Shadow** Wed Jan 30, 2013 5:46 am

Khaarazite stops before the door and waits for Just Desserts and the rest to catch up...

Cardbo Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:10 am

Just Desserts and the rest finally reach the door. Its about 10 meters X 10 meters tall, and it looks like it like it could dispense a good sized vehicle from it. Looking inside, its dark, with only a few emergency lights showing. Its difficult to make out anything.

"I don't know about you, but I need to retrieve the orb." says Just Desserts.

----
OOC: Quoting Silent Belle's last post.

SilentBelle wrote:
GentlemanOtherwise wrote:
"Alright, then! Hang around for a bit. Sit on the roof or something while I get the brew on." With that, Miracle hops into the caravan again. Then sticks her head out. "Also, if you hear a noise like an explosion and some bubbling, open the door very carefully and then fly back as far as you can before the pressure breaks. Then salvage what you can. If not, come in for coffee!"

With that, she comes fully into the caravan, walks to her desk and begins industriously opening little boxes of brown tablets, labeled I Love the Java: A Virulently Vitalizing Vim, Complete with every Capsule!*

*Warning: Untested in high atmospheric conditions. May violently detonate. If java becomes blight o'er the earth, Miracle Elixir is not responsible for damages dealt or extinction of pony race.[/i]

Golden Spike chuckles at that. What a strange pony. In the morning's light he begins stretching in preparation for the day ahead, and then he hears a muffled popping sound from inside the caravan. A strange pony indeed.

OOC:Let me know when you're ready to go.

Grey Pen The Flawed Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:15 am

((Just lemme know where Xeca is in all of this, and I'll edit this post accordingly.))

Xeca awoke to the sound of the coffee machine starting up. She had seen it working any number of times in her time there, and was starting to understand exactly how it worked. She still wondered why they would go to such trouble for the brown liquids it produced (having not yet tried it herself).

She decided she might as well try and figure out what they called it, once and for all; there seemed to be quite a few sounds associated with the machine and the drink it made, and she just couldn't figure out which one was which.

Waiting until the one pony came into view, she drew some attention to herself.

"What?" she asked, pointing at the machine with a hoof. She hoped that got her idea across.

SilentBelle Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:05 am

Having stretched out and feeling limber, Golden Spike entered the Caravan. The pungent smell caught in his nostrils.

"Oh, gosh," he coughed slightly, "that's some strong coffee you're making Miracle. You sure that's safe to drink?"

He then notices Xeca pointing her hoof at the strange brewing apparatus. "Oh and I see she's awake too. Say, we don't even know her name do we?"

kajisora Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:08 am

Cardbo wrote:
Just Desserts and the rest finally reach the door. Its about 10 meters X 10 meters tall, and it looks like it like it could dispense a good sized vehicle from it. Looking inside, its dark, with only a few emergency lights showing. Its difficult to make out anything.

"I don't know about you, but I need to retrieve the orb." says Just Desserts.

"We're down here anyway, might as well continue. Any idea what sort of... thing this is?"

**Paper Shadow** Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:57 am

kajisora wrote:
Cardbo wrote:
Just Desserts and the rest finally reach the door. Its about 10 meters X 10 meters tall, and it looks like it like it could dispense a good sized vehicle from it. Looking inside, its dark, with only a few emergency lights showing. Its difficult to make out anything.

"I don't know about you, but I need to retrieve the orb." says Just Desserts.

"We're down here anyway, might as well continue. Any idea what sort of... thing this is?"

Khaarazite takes a look at the drill machine to see if he knows what it is or, if not, he can figure it out...

(Knowledge Roll: 8 + 7 = 15)

GentlemanOtherwise Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:04 am

Grey Pen wrote:((Just lemme know where Xeca is in all of this, and I'll edit this post accordingly.))

Xeca awoke to the sound of the coffee machine starting up. She had seen it working any number of times in her time there, and was starting to understand exactly how it worked. She still wondered why they would go to such trouble for the brown liquids it produced (having not yet tried it herself).

She decided she might as well try and figure out what they called it, once and for all; there seemed to be quite a few sounds associated with the machine and the drink it made, and she just couldn't figure out which one was which.

Waiting until the one pony came into view, she drew some attention to herself.

"What?" she asked, pointing at the machine with a hoof. She hoped that got her idea across.

Miracle is caught off guard - a bit - by the mysterious soft-spoken little... whatever-her-deal-was initiating conversation. And with a new word, no less! But she recovers pretty quickly.

"This -" - pointing - "coffee maker." Then she points to the inside of the cup, where a brew... well, "festers" wouldn't really cover the extent of it. "This... coffee."

SilentBelle wrote:Having stretched out and feeling limber, Golden Spike entered the Caravan. The pungent smell caught in his nostrils.

"Oh, gosh," he coughed slightly, "that's some strong coffee you're making Miracle. You sure that's safe to drink?"

He then notices Xeca pointing her hoof at the strange brewing apparatus. "Oh and I see she's awake too. Say, we don't even know her name do we?"

"Sure I'm sure it's probably safe to drink! It's sometimes all I've got to drink!" And, to prove her fortitude, Miracle gulps back half the cup in a single swig. The flavor is mostly like coffee, if coffee were banned as a weapon of chemical warfare, but the texture is closer to the forbidden love child of molasses and a hedgehog.

Finishing, with tears running down her face, Miracle smiles and says "Just *hack, argh* what I need to wake up in the morning! You want any? Because *cough, hack* if you don't, we're getting on the road!" Her face is vaguely red. Besides her, the empty cup shows clear signs of corrosion. "Don't want to *hack, wheeze* waste all this energy!"

((Miracle Elixir has the Acidborn racial talent. Why? She's been drinking this coffee every morning for weeks. Acid doesn't frighten you then.))

Grey Pen The Flawed Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:22 am

((Guys, I know it's not on the character sheet (sorry) but nobody knows Xeca is a robot yet.

I thought you knew... I'll update the sheet to reflect this momentarily.))

"Cooffeee," the unicorn said very slowly and carefully,, rolling the word off her tongue to make sure she got it just right. "Coffee." She watched as the pony drank the stuff (again) and hacked and wheezed on it (again) and wondered what the wisdom behind drinking it was.

Well, one way to find out. "Coffee?" she said in a questioning tone, pointing at herself, trying to indicate she wanted some.

GentlemanOtherwise Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:31 am

((Oh, no. We don't know. When I said "robot", I was narrating rather than giving Miracle's thoughts - she just thinks XECA's weird or foreign. Changed my post to remove confusion.))

"Oh, you want some?" Miracle grins ear to ear and drops a few more of her Java Tablets (note: by purchasing the Java Tablets, you agree that Miracle Elixir is not responsible if Java Tablets abduct you or your family) into the brewing device, which makes an otherworldly shriek as it processes them into tarry caffeine. Within moments, a mug is filled. Miracle hands it over to XECA and watches intently.

"Whenever you're ready."

SilentBelle Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:37 pm

He looks at the foreign unicorn and a grin tugs at his lips. She's learning pretty fast.

"That's okay..." he says warily, "I already had some pineapple juice to drink, I'm fine. Although I'm sure it's quite... flavourful, if the scent is any indication. I do agree though, we should be on our way before the sun reaches it's zenith. We don't want to be baked alive in here."

Cardbo Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:53 pm

Paper Shadow wrote:
kajisora wrote:
Cardbo wrote:
Just Desserts and the rest finally reach the door. Its about 10 meters X 10 meters tall, and it looks like it like it could dispense a good sized vehicle from it. Looking inside, its dark, with only a few emergency lights showing. Its difficult to make out anything.

"I don't know about you, but I need to retrieve the orb." says Just Desserts.

"We're down here anyway, might as well continue. Any idea what sort of... thing this is?"
Khaarazite takes a look at the drill machine to see if he knows what it is or, if not, he can figure it out...

(Knowledge Roll: 8 + 7 = 15)

Its an extremely large underground drilling machine. Besides, that, you've got no clue.

Grey Pen The Flawed Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:01 pm

Xeca looked at the mug that had been thrust towards her. Carefully taking it between two hooves, she took a tentative sip.

It turned out to be rather bitter, strong tasting drink. Her face scrunched a little for a moment. And then a wave swept through her, giving her a sudden, momentary sense of vigour, followed by a feeling of relaxation. She sighed audibly as the whole process took no more than a second. She took another sip. Followed by more and bigger sips as she grew in confidence, being careful not to chug it as Miracle had, until it was gone.

She grins triumphantly at the coffee pony, at the realisation that she had probably enjoyed it substantially more than the other mare.

**Paper Shadow** Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:13 pm

Cardbo wrote:
Paper Shadow wrote:
kajisora wrote:"We're down here anyway, might as well continue. Any idea what sort of... thing this is?"
Khaarazite takes a look at the drill machine to see if he knows what it is or, if not, he can figure it out...

(Knowledge Roll: 8 + 7 = 15)

Its an extremely large underground drilling machine. Besides, that, you've got no clue.

"It's a drilling machine. It's mainly used for drilling..."

GentlemanOtherwise Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:35 pm

Miracle stares, perplexed. Drinking coffee... at a reasonable rate? What madness is this?

Then she dismisses it. "Ah, you're new to coffee. Soon you'll learn - the point of java isn't to enjoy it! It's to prove your incredible stamina, your resistance to all sorts of pain, to be pointlessly macho and to wake yourself up so hard -" - Miracle's eye twitches as the coffee does its work on her sleep-addled brain, and the other emits a mild electrical spark - "- You just move like lightning until you collapse standing up!" With that, she leaps to the steering wheel and smashes it inward. "LET'S GET A MOVE ON!"

The effect is rather spoiled as the caravan moves at a sedate, reasonable pace, onward through the new day.

SilentBelle Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:44 pm

"Alright, I'll leave it to you." I kind of forgot where we are headed, Golden Spike thinks to himself, oh well, at least it's more exciting than being at home.

The pegasus then looks for a comfortable spot to sit and enjoy the soft lurching of the vehicle. Like a cloud on a breezy day.

Grey Pen The Flawed Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:53 pm

Xeca wasn't sure what the meaning of Miracle's outburst was. After all, the only sound she could pick out for sure was "coffee". So clearly it had something to do with that. Maybe it had to do with how fast she'd drank it; it did seem to have an energizing effect. Perhaps the mare had too much all at once, and those sound were meant to communicate that? And what was the spark for? Then she realised something.

She knew what that spark was. She had no idea what words to explain it with, but somehow she understood it nonetheless. But what was it called, and it was already gone; trying to ask would result in frustration. She'd have to wait until she saw more.

Or she could make more.

(Carefully) getting up onto her hooves, she made her way to the "coffee maker" as the wagon lurched forward. Looking to see if anyone was watching, she pulled open the back panel. Despite not knowing what anything was called, she understood the thing perfectly. And now she was going to figure out how she could explain. She was going to find out what the little flash of energy were called.

Mechanics Check:

Locating the energy source, she pulled out the to wires coming from it, disconnecting it from the rest of the machine. She lightly tapped the two wires together, and saw the flash again. Putting them down (carefully) she went and pulled the stallion over to the coffee maker. Picking up the wires again, she tapped them together to show him the sparks.

"What that?" she asked again, hoping and praying he'd get the picture and TELL HER...

SilentBelle Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:05 pm

Grey Pen wrote:
(Carefully) getting up onto her hooves, she made her way to the "coffee maker" as the wagon lurched forward. Looking to see if anyone was watching, she pulled open the back panel. Despite not knowing what anything was called, she understood the thing perfectly. And now she was going to figure out how she could explain. She was going to find out what the little flash of energy were called.

Mechanics Check:

Locating the energy source, she pulled out the to wires coming from it, disconnecting it from the rest of the machine. She lightly tapped the two wires together, and saw the flash again. Putting them down (carefully) she went and pulled the stallion over to the coffee maker. Picking up the wires again, she tapped them together to show him the sparks.

"What that?" she asked again, hoping and praying he'd get the picture and TELL HER...

"Whoa, that's dangerous girl!" Golden Spike shouts and grabs the wires from her, ignoring the electric shock he recieves, he'd gotten worse from storm clouds. "Electricity is dangerous, you could burn the whole caravan down!"
He then proceeds to try and fix the machine.

Mechanics Check:

"This may take a moment."

GentlemanOtherwise Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:14 pm

"Hey, just a heads up - if either of you burns down my caravan or wrecks my coffee machine, I will kick you so hard that you will forget what it even means to have intact teeth. That goes for you, Spike, and you... what's-your-face."

Miracle turns momentarily from the wheel and inspects them both. "What is your name, anyway? And what are you doing to my coffee machine? Were you just trying to make electricity or something?"

kajisora Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:21 pm

Cloud looks around the inside of the drilling machine. The whole structure looked like nothing he had ever seen before, and he wanted to commit every detail to memory. Maybe he could incorporate the style of it into his paintings....
He also kept an eye out for any possible flight routes their quarry might have taken.
((Perception: 1d20+20+3 7+20+3 = 30))

Grey Pen The Flawed Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:56 pm

Xeca listened intently to the stream of words, trying to catch the ones that got used the most. "Electricity". "Dangerous". "Burn".

She thought over them for a moment. And then there was a near audible "click". Electricity! That was what the energy was called! She suddenly remembered something!

"Electricity!" she said excitedly. "E-lect-tric-it-y!" she pronounced each of the wonderful syllables from her own memory.

Now for the next step. She had to somehow communicate a connection between the coffee and the electric spark that came from Miracle, and therefore show her that drinking it so fast was bad for you.

Coming over to her, she pointed and said "Coffee!" She mimed the act of drinking. "Electricity!" she finished in an admonishing tone. "Dangerous!"

GentlemanOtherwise Sun Feb 03, 2013 4:16 pm

"What, the static eyeball thing? Yeah, that basically happens whenever anyone drinks my coffee fast. I can deal with it." Miracle pats XECA's head and half-fills a cuppa, then drinks it slightly more slowly than before. "But I appreciate the concern... you."

She turns to Spike. "We really need to give her some kind of nickname. It's too awkward to not have a name for her. I vote either Au Lait or Decaf."

Cardbo Sun Feb 03, 2013 5:07 pm

kajisora wrote:Cloud looks around the inside of the drilling machine. The whole structure looked like nothing he had ever seen before, and he wanted to commit every detail to memory. Maybe he could incorporate the style of it into his paintings....
He also kept an eye out for any possible flight routes their quarry might have taken.
((Perception: 1d20+20+3 7+20+3 = 30))

Its hard to see, as the only thing on are red emergency lights. The rooms is quite large and has a number of smaller drilling machines, looking like trucks, but they have treads instead of wheels, and drill attached to their fronts.

For Cloud Brush:

From above and in front of you, you hear a voice. "Come this way! Quick!", but when you look up you see nothing. On your left however, inside, a corridor lights up. "Please, there's no time."

"So do we follow the disembodied voice." says Tea Time.

"Disembodied voices are important. They tell me stuff to do all the time. Of course, they usually tell me to shoot stuff, so may be you can take that with a grain of salt." says Tea Time, with a little giggle.

Just Desserts, Cueball, and Monkey Tail just kinda of slowly back away.

----

Going to hold off on updating for Miracle, Golden and Xeca. Just enjoying the witty banter for now. Let me know when you want me to update.

SilentBelle Sun Feb 03, 2013 5:44 pm

GentlemanOtherwise wrote:"What, the static eyeball thing? Yeah, that basically happens whenever anyone drinks my coffee fast. I can deal with it." Miracle pats XECA's head and half-fills a cuppa, then drinks it slightly more slowly than before. "But I appreciate the concern... you."

She turns to Spike. "We really need to give her some kind of nickname. It's too awkward to not have a name for her. I vote either Au Lait or Decaf."

"Huh. Named after coffee? I'd rather call her Spark or Sparkler or something like that. Short and simple, plus I think it fits her a bit better." He then looks to the unicorn. "Of course, it should be a name that she likes."

Sponsored content