Armor fit for Gods

[Ardgal Raxis]

For many the Yuuzhan Vong were now nothing more than a dying breed. The stigma remained. Perhaps part of it was the fact they used organics and eschewed conventional tech. Perhaps part of it was part of the fact they had plunged the galaxy into a seriously bloody war that had cost more than the Empire or Clone Wars.

But for both of these reasons, Ardgal wanted to find them, to seek them out and get their assistance. Anyone who was strong enough to fight off Jedi, soldiers, and a galaxy united in an all out war was one that he was going to learn from. They were great warriors, strong warriors. He was willing to learn from all of the greatest warriors. That was how you became a warrior of legend.

There was one part of these great warriors that he was most interested in--their Vonduun Skerr Kyrric--or their crab armor. He knew there was a colony of Yuuzhan Vong somewhere here on Rodia who had dabbled in the very expensive and exotic weapon and armor dealing they had perfected. He just had to find it first. Of course, being a disheveled group that most hated and who eschewed common technology, there was a difficulty in finding this place. That was where he had to call in help, a certain @Cyrus Falcor who could help.

((Or whichever character you would like ))

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

Known to his allies as a loose cannon, with anger issues and a knack for the extreme, it was no surprise that he'd received a job from Miss Blonde to assist another ally in a task. Finding a species called the Vong on the planet Rodia. One ugly green species hiding amongst another ugly green species, clever, to one who wasn't capable of seeing the patterns and the signs.

Cyrus landed in the main city, he'd forced himself to resist the urge to slaughter all the stupid slow drivers on the lanes, but he'd made it to the meet up previously disclosed by the man he was sent to help. A mister Ardgal Raxis, an arms and armor manufacturer who was trying to develop an armor to be used against those pesky Force Users. That was a task worth it's weight in credits. Upon arriving to the destined location, Cyrus hopped out of his 'borrowed' speeder and walked over to the man he assumed was this...Ar...Ardgal...He'd worry about the pronunciation later.

Dressed in his standard black suit, around his head was the Mask that Blonde had made for him, his hood pulled up to hide the pointy ears that denoted him as a Nagai. Cyrus approached the man, extended a hand and presented a datapad that read <<Pleased to meet you, I'm Surgeon.>>

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

[member="Cyrus Falcor"]

Ardgal gave the man a polite smile as he took the hand with a firm but professional grip. "It's good to meet you too, Surgeon."

The general led the man into the interior of the offices. It felt weird for this mercinary general to have offices in the heart of this metropolis but if he was going to gather recruits he needed an office for it. And if he was going to become this planet's Lord and Master, he had to start with solid public relations.

"I'm sure you've been made aware of our attempts here," Ardgal said pouring a cup of coffee for himself and offering one to the Surgeon, "the Vong Armor. However, it's a matter of finding the colony first. I've been told your an exceptional slicer. My men have yet to be able to cut through the local government's firewall to access the satilites and find it that way." he took a sip of coffee, motioning toward the room with a super computer acquired for the man to do his work. "I won't waste your time by telling you how to do your job, good sir. I'm confident in your skills."

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

Cyrus relinquished the given hand and accepted the cup of coffee. Walking into the room where the super computer was. Setting down the coffee and set his equipment down, including his Type 8 SMG. He brings his toys everywhere he goes, keeps him safe, what with there being murderers and psychopaths out there.

Cyrus pulled off his mask, revealing the youthful features of a Nagai beneath. The steel grey skin, black grey irises and pointed ears have him the appearance of something out of a fairy tale. Sipping his coffee, he sat down and inserted a Slicer Chip into the computer. Pulling up his Datapad once more, he showed Ardgal the progress of downloading the entire planetary satellite system and uploading a backdoor into the controls. Completely illegal in most systems, hopefully not here.

The screen then read, "It'll be a few hours at least." Cyrus turned to the computer and began repositioning all of the satellites to scan the surface for signs that pointed to Vong activity. Most notably, any area that suffered blackouts of modern tech and power and was supplanted with biological systems.

The scans turned Infrared as a few satellites circled the planet. Another set were using ultraviolet scanners for electrical signs and then the third set was using a system of electromagnetic scans. Aiming to home in on places of increased electrical activity outside the cities.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Ardgal stepped back and began to watch initially as the scans began. However, Ardgal had a feeling this quiet possibly could turn ugly so he turned on his heel and briskly walked to the elevator, past the two guards there. Down it went, into the basement where the armory was. Blasters and rifles lined the walls with a glistening, glittering glory for the use of the Alpha Company. However none of these were his--or what he came for.

One of the shelves slid aside in a simple secret door, revealing a hidden chamber where his Ardgal'gam hung, ready for use. He stripped down and with the help of two other soldiers, he changed into the power armor. He felt the familiar pang through his body when the backplate hooked into his spinal implants. He shook it off and secured the final plates.

Satisfied, he loaded his belt with ammunition, grenades, and his retracted vibroblade. It was always better to be ready for the worst than it was to be caught off guard. Helmet tucked under his arm, he made his way back to the super computer room where the scans were finally complete--yes donning the Ardgal'gam was that timely of a process. He looked over the data, while he wasn't an expert in the Vong, or their tech, he found from the visual imaging and the cross referenced data what looked to be a Vong Colony. His neural implants agreed it was a 98% chance of being their target.

He pressed his comm active, "Red unit, we are go, prepare the speeders. We are going in." He looked to [member="Cyrus Falcor"] and gave a nod, 'Let's go."

They went from there to the garage where the fifty commandos were finishing loading onto the open-top speeders. Ardgal heaved himself into one of them. A moment later it was screaming across the Rodian landscape towards the target. The general sat back and closed is eyes, preparing himself for the probable coming conflict.

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

Cyrus updated the datapad to link to the satellite that had identify a likely match for the Vong colony. [member="Ardgal Raxis"], seemed to confirm the findings and escorted Surgeon to the lift. During the descent, Cyrus replaced all of his gear and mask to their homes. This had been the first time anyone had seen his face in a long time.

The LED's on the masks visor lit up, going through the spectrum as the HUD powered up, then stayed a solid green. He didn't need a weapons check, they worked, he was certain.

"Take the leader alive if possible" scrolled across the datapad that Cyrus would show to Ardgal. The Stinger gauntlet brandished a couple new serum of Sodium Pentathol and a Paralytic. It would be used to interrogate the Vong for the info on their armors inner workings. Another serum contained a strong hallucinogenic and a large dose of Corticosterone to relax them into a more cooperative state during their 'trip'.

The speeder raced across the planes towards their target. Cyrus uploaded the satellite image onto all of the commandos via a network hack. A small screen would appear on the HUD of everyone that gave each soldier a direct link to the satellites scans.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Ardgal made a note to consider this fellow later on for more missions. He was incredibly good at what he did--and honestly Ardgal hated the interrogation sessions he generally had to commit personally. It wasn't that his men were incompetent, only that he would bear that, not them.

Shots began to ring out, making the speeders shake with the ground as the Vong opened fire. They must have scanned them coming with their strange bio-tech. Their guns must have been old, out of calibration as it were, mixed with the serpentine driving of the speeders were off target. A chunk of molten earth went soaring through the air, blasting into the ground next to Ardgal's speeder. The vessel twisted, rolling on its side for several meters before finally grinding to a halt.

"Are you alright sir?" asked one of the other soldiers through his comm.

Ardgal shook the dizziness off, unbuckling, "I am clear," he checked the bio readings of the others in his speeder, "We do have two broken arms and a broken leg here. Other than that, clear."

"Yes, sir, good copy."

The general climbed out with his other soldiers and pulled out a mobile B-2 medical droid from the speeder's trunk. It got to work right away patching up the three injured men.

"Continue the assault," Ardgal ordered over all comms, "Take them, kill all who resist, prepare the non-combatants for assimilation. Maximize the loot we gather from this, especially the intellectuals and armor. Move in and strike hard."

[member="Cyrus Falcor"]

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

Cyrus saw the shots coming in and ducked as one whizzed passed his head. Red LEDs shown bright against the interior of the speeder. When the speeder began its roll, Surgeon used the momentum to launch himself through the air. At the peak of his aerial arch, a pair of glass, liquid filled grenades left his hands at speed. Slamming into an entrenched position of Vong. Yellow gas began to spill onto the pseudo-battlefield. Vong came rushing out as quickly as they could, coughing, choking and blinded as the Chlorine gas took affect on their entirely organic body and armor systems. Even a Vong wearing Vonduum armor would succumb to the choking affect as it fed off the host more viciously to sustain itself. In the end, the armor and its wearer suffocated and writhed in pain against the deadly gas.

As he landed, Cyrus drew a pistol and pumped two energy enveloped slugs into the chest of a Vong. The powerful slugs punched through the hardened carapace armor. Bouncing inside the Vong, it shredded its way into a vein and clogged it. The creature clung to its chest as blood backed up into its heart until 'pop'.

Sprinting ahead, Surgeon slid under the guard of an exposed Vong and shot two more rounds up under its chin. Coming out of the power slide, Cyrus was met with a devastating punch to the sternum. Dropping him, only to have him kip up to retaliate. Another wild haymaker from the Vong had Cyrus ducking into the chest of the creature and stabbing it with a powerful paralytic. Stund and immobile, the warrior fell forwards like a stiff board, breaking its nose, yet unable to comfort itself, it passed out from the pain as blood pooled under its face.

Cyrus detached one of his spike grenades and tossed it towards a few Vong who'd bunkered down behind a makeshift hut. The Thermal stuck to the wall and 3 seconds later, vaporized everything within a few meters.

[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Repeating assault pistols in hand, Ardgal charged foreward, his men with him. Luckily this was more of a colony in design than a military base--it wasn't initially designed for war. Most of their defences were tacked on like distasteful decorations. He bypassed the choking Vong Cyrus had tainted with the chlorine into the city. A trio of their warriors met him with swords, he barely had enough time to evade. He backpedaled as the three of them continued their assault--right into the waiting sights of Ardgal's soldiers. The blaster shots tore through their heads, dropping the bodies like rotten fruit.

With his men he charged ahead once more. From a roof top a Vong on a giant centipede beast tackled one of Ardgal's men. The monster's maw opened wide, the soldier gripped it with both hands and struggled to fight back. Blaster fire from the other soldiers bounced off its hardened body like pellets. Ardgal rammed both of his pistols into the beast's mouth, squeezing the trigger down with all his might. Green blood and gore spewed out of the monster's body as it quivered, heaved, them collapsed. The vong rose to his feet to flee, only to be cut down with a pair of shots from the general.

"You alright, Vod?" Ardgal asks helping the man up.

He nodded, "I'm hot as hell to beat these bastards, sir."

The air was cut with the sound of beating insect wings. Ardgal turned around to see larger than natural, deformed wasp-like creatures rising in the air. Their soulless black eyes glared at them menacingly.

The general cursed under his breath, firing into the mass before they descended on them with vengeance.

[member="Cyrus Falcor"]

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

The Vong were a ferocious bunch to say the least, that was why Thermal Detonators were the best for groups...swarms of Vong bugs. Pulling another spike grenade, Cyrus flung it into the air, at the center of the swarm and shot it at the peak of its trajectory. A few meters of air vaporized, tearing apart a handful of unlucky bugs in the explosion.

A sword wielding Vong came down upon Cyrus from the roof of a hut, slashing Surgeon down the back. The pain shot through his bones and into his brain. His vision blurred, causing him to stumble to his knees. With pure muscle memory taking over, he plunged a syringe from his stinger into his back, flooding the area with Bacta and morphine. Tucking to his side, Cyrus rolled and brought his hazy eyes to bear upon the Vong standing over him. The last few rounds of his clip embedded themselves into the chest of the alien, unfortunately causing it to fall on top of Cyrus, trapping him below the immense dead weight.

[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The Alpha Company's blaster fire tore through the enemy with the ferocity of trained soldiers, with their precision and accuracy of their history. Each one was the size of a man, if not more, they knocked some of the commandos over, engaging them in close one-on-one combat. It was hell. War was always hell.

Ardgal side stepped one of the wasps, sprinting towards one of the nearby hut. His momentum carried him upward and forward, three bounding steps up the hut. He sprang off it at the last second, twisting in mid air. His elbow came down with all his weight and momentum in a bone-crushing blow. The wasp's exoskeleton split, spilling its filthy guts all over Ardgal and into the ground. He shoved off out of the mess, flicking the filth away. It was a struggle to keep his bile inside at the filth. He staggered away from the carcass and fired off a few shots, into the melee where his men were pinned down here and there. Then the charge picked up it speed again, and roared forward.

Ardgal turned just in time to see the Surgeon fall and the body collapse on him. He quickly shoved the dead body aside, giving its neck a good twist for good measure first. He wasn't about to have them both done in by some fool playing dead. The general checked the man's vitals before sealing off the Surgeon's wound and beginning to clean it. His brain's cyborg implant sent out an automatic ping for a medic--luckily those were not in short order and one was quickly on its way.

[member="Cyrus Falcor"]

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

Cyrus could feel the Bacta taking effect and when the medic patched him up with Bio-foam, he could feel the skin and foam attach to form a pseudo-skin bond that was all tingly. It sent shiver throughout Cyrus' body that were visible. Using the medic to get to his feet, Surgeon patted [member="Ardgal Raxis"] on the goo covered pauldron. Flinging the muck off, Cyrus retracted his Stinger to full rest mode and pulled his second pistol. He'd need to take it slow for a bit while his body healed.

So, methodical and efficient was the name of this new game, no more running and gunning. Fine with Cyrus as long as the Vong would die. Looking to Ardgal, he tossed him a plunger of sedative to use against a live specimen if they could capture one. It was clearly labeled so as not to confuse the man since Surgeon was mute and all.

Turning on the bugs, Cyrus shot the wings off of one who'd tackled a commando. It screeched as it attempted to run, but the soldier turned the tables and rolled the bug over and emptied his clip into its thorax. Goo sprayed the man, dripping in a vile manor. Cyrus plugged a few more in devious places, knees, ankles, privates. He was pissed and looking to punish the Vong.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

[member="Cyrus Falcor"]

When the Surgeon got up, Ardgal felt a tinge of relief. Every man who rode out with him he personally felt responsible to return home as unharmed as possible.

"Sir, we found something. Transmitting you the location," one of the commandos reported in Ardgal's ear.

The general walked through the dead bodies along the streets like it was gala not a warzone. The Vong soldiers and their formed biots were putting up a good fight, he did give them that. They lived up to their heritage and had earned an honorable death. But none would stand against Ardgal and his ever moving war machine.

He came to a stone building, wide and squat but clearly larger than the dwellings. The bodies of a dozen vong lay before the door, charred blasted and carved to pieces in the fight. A squad of commandos were taking guard at the door.

"What am I looking at?" Ardgal asked.

"Step inside sir, I don't know how to describe it."

The general stepped into the doors. Inside was a wonderland for a Vong shapper. Their sickening organic tools and workstations were set up in an organized, carefully planned lay out. There were vats of organic chemicals, beings under bio engineering, and some strapped to operating table-like stations. A slick smell of organs and the living mixed with the dead and dying hung in the air.

"Take this place, I want everything here packed and parceled for use--"

A Vong sprang out from the scaffolding above, a squid-like bio weapon in his hand. Judging by his lack of armor, he was no warrior. Reaching up, Ardgal gripped his attacker by the throat, stopping the kamakaze attack. He sank the needle Surgeon had given him deep into the Vong's flesh and it quickly went limp. They'd need to question this thing. Later. But for now there were more shapers to capture. And preferably a leader.

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

Cyrus was slow to his feet as the medication took its sweet ass time kicking in. It was good that Ardgal had such ample supplies with him. Noticing that he was missing the fight, he shuffled, hurriedly, towards the hut he'd seen [member="Ardgal Raxis"] enter. There was a sound of commotion, but it faded quickly with a light slumping sound.

He peered in to see a Vong snoozing on the ground beneath Ardgal's armored feet. There was so much Vong tech here, it was a treasure trove of hacking potential. If he could learn how to hack Bio-tech, he'd be unstoppable. The LED's on his mask lit up blue as he began to jitter with excitement until they quickly turned green as the waves of pain from his injury made his stomach turn and he doubled over, inaudibly laughing at the simultaneous pain and excitement.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Ardgal saw the LED lights on the Surgeon's helmet go through a sequence of blinking lights. He couldn't help but wonder for a second what that meant. His first conclusion was they were scanners or processors of some kind, but then he disregarded it, there wasn't really much in that way as far as military tech went. His second guess was some sort of Morris Code, but they didn't match any he knew. 'Got a prisoner for you," he said motioning to the Vong at his feet, "Please be gentle, he's the only shaper we have right now."

He could see his men look at each other with surprise from behind their helmeted faces. Several of the lighter armed and armored regular soldiers began to pour in, storing everything into chests, boxes, and photographing everything. It reminded the general of when normal people left one apartment for another, except this was tech used to make lethal devices that were alive--and the living vong tech wasn't exactly a willing participant. If they had a will.

"I am sure that if we captured one, we can get more," He said looking to the surgeon with a slight smile, "the more we get the more info we can pull out of all of them collectively." He made to step out of the hut to give the men space to work and return to leading the assault, 'Don't you agree?"

[member="Cyrus Falcor"]

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

Surgeon's lights returned to blue as the pain subsided and he squatted down to the unconscious Vong Shaper. He poked it with his fingers and watched its armor wiggle atop the skin. Interesting...LED's flashed to yellow when he saw it move. Cyrus looked to [member="Ardgal Raxis"] when he mentioned gathering more Vong. The Light flashed green in agreement, Cyrus nodded along with the light to confirm the idea.

Standing, he turned to one of the soldiers and tapped him on the shoulder. When the marine turned, What, Sir? A lot of interest and apprehension behind his voice. Cyrus gestured for him to follow and bent down to grab the Vong by the legs, gesturing he needed the marine to grab the torso and help Cyrus carry him to the ship. Red LED's lit up at the exertion of energy, accompanied by the pain from his wound.

Cyrus and the soldier exited the hut and moved towards the ship, once on-board, he waved off the marine back to his duties. Cyrus rolled the Vong over and inspected the armor that covered the squishy parts of the alien. Extending a syringe, he sank it into the surface of the armor and injected another dose of anesthetic. He was sure the armor would suffer the effect of the previous dose that was injected into the host Vong, but he didn't want the Vong to wake when that happened. The armor released and actually fell off the Vong. A fist sized hole lay in the center of the Vong's chest where the armor anchored itself into its host. Once separated, Cyrus injected the armor with a paralytic and began slicing it open with a laser scalpel. It was a bug, of sorts, that had a hard exoskeleton, providing the host with armor whilst simultaneously feeding of the host's life force.

Surgeon restrained the vong to the bulkhead and injected a dose of adrenaline to wake it. It was no sleeping beauty when it roused. Instantly thrashing against the restraints and probably the exposed hole in its sternum. To stop the thrashing, Cyrus shot him up with some of the same paralytic used on the armor. With it immobile, it was safe to poke around inside the creature, while it cursed him in its native, audibly irritating tongue, Cyrus flicked on the recorder on his helmet to capture what was said to translate it later. Inside the hole he saw wires, but not normal wires, they were organic, and seemed rooted in the body of the shaper. Tracing on such wire, that went to the heart, Cyrus plugged into it with a clamp, fed it to a VT shuriken he held and rigged it to send a few volts to the bio-wire when the trigger was pressed. He had it scan the responses, filter the data into his datapad and then used a little more voltage to cause some pain. Screams in Vong speak could be heard from the ship as the marines under Ardgal's command worked on securing the camp.

The LED's of Cyrus' mask turned purple, maybe a combo of enjoyment and rage. Cyrus then turned to find another wire to trace, he'd do this until he built a scan of every part of the Vong body. A little torture included, of course.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The general watched as his companion trundled away, he couldn't help but smirk, everyone had their play things and joy, he couldn't help but feel that this was the Surgeon's. Maybe he was wrong, but that was what it seemed to be to him.

He checked his blaster pistols and reloaded each of them, switching out their power backs and gas canisters for fresh charges. The sound of gun and blaster fire resounded up the other side of the small colony. The general turned his attention to the data filtering in through his helmet into his neural implant. All the data of his personal sensors and the satellites overhead compiled into a nice neat map almost like call of dooty-thing but where all the units were outlined with little heat blimps. Most of the fighting was localized around what looked like the capital in the center. It appeared the enemy had holed up there to make their last stand. Ardgal could guess they were probably trying to protect something or someone.

He quickened his step and came upon the battle scene. A massive black castle-like building rose from the ground like living coral that had been grown more than built. Knowing the legends of the vong--well, he didn't doubt that.

"Sir, the doors are standing firm against the cannon fire, the area has been cleared, but the enemy has holed themselves in the building," an officer named Virgil reported to Ardgal.

The general gave a satisfied nod, "Good, very good, gather the P-6's we have. Detonate the door."

"Of course sir."

A few moments later the explosives were placed at the door and detonated, evaporating it in a ball of intense heat. The Alpha Company surged in, right into the vong with their crazy swords and religious devotion. But the Ardency and the training of the Alpha company proved to be superior, cutting through them like hot butter.

[member="Cyrus Falcor"]

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

The Vong had ran through its usefulness, so Cyrus replaced the armor parasite and left it tied up like a hog and passed out.

Cyrus walked outside as some of the gear was being brought into the ship. In the distance, explosions rattled the dirt. Cyrus trotted over to see [member="Ardgal Raxis"] and his men filling into the hut and eliminating the Vong inside. He walked towards the hut, his wound started itching, but he couldn't reach it.

He waited outside the hut for Ardgal to come back out. The new toys to play with will be fun, but he didn't want to start without his employer.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

You know the whole thing in a cartoon where you see the fight "poof" dust coming from off the screen? That is what Ardgal and the Alpha Company did. It was mainly because, frankly, the writer was tired of writing fight scenes. You get the idea; someone comes up, pow pow pow, Ardgal wins. Another one--pow pow pow--he wins. No one could stand against his awesome strength and combat. He was a warrior without equal, one that the people needed. More than that, he was the warrior that was present, leading his men to victory.

When it was done, he and his men carried the subdued Vong shappers over their shoulders, there for the brain picking of the esteemed Surgeon. Ardgal removed his helmet and gave a satisifed smile. The battle was over, the enemy was subdued. He typed out a quick message to the local government, the message was simple: Mission accomplished.

"Let's get these prisoners into questioning, shall we?" Ardgal asked waving his hand towards their speeders that had brought them here on the outskirts of what was left of this village.

[member="Cyrus Falcor"]

 

[Cyrus Falcor]

(Totally forgot to reply)

Cyrus walked with Ardgal as they loaded up the captured Vong. It was a good haul, one appeared far more 'altered' than the rest. Cyrus was excited to begin his 'interrogation' that should hopefully help Ardgal get the tech he wanted. With the knowledge he'd gathered from the first prisoner....guest, it should be fairly easy to find the right technique to get the answers they desired.

The ride back would involved random screams from the 'leader' as Surgeon picked it's implants apart from the inside out. The back of the speeder would have random visceral spray noting what Cyrus was doing.

[member="Ardgal Raxis"]