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Post by Omegarex24 on Sept 23, 2009 20:38:11 GMT -5
"Thank you Mr. Maxwell. Natalie?"
"I'm on it."
McKenzie moved to set up the laptop she had brought with her. The unit also came with a built in projector, which she turned towards a blank wall before giving the thumbs up to the General.
"Good. I'm sure that since all of you are heads of the various branches of the GDF, you should al have clearance to view this. whether or not you have seen this information before is another thing. Ben?"
Davidson nodded as he moved from his position along the wall and dimmed the lights. The projector glowed to life with the first of many slides and technical specs, this one labeled "GDF-EXP001 :Jericho:"
"Shortly after the formation of the GDF, plans were put forth to design a fighting machine capable of eradicating every last monster in the Lawless Zone. The machine was designed to feature a nigh impenetrable armor frame with enough firepower to level a small city and then some. GDF Command christened the project Jericho, and construction began."
The next few slides showed the design specs of Jericho. The machine bore a roughly humanoid frame with a wide, thick chest and shoulder area. Cylindrical arms attached via ball joints hung at its sides, each one ending in a massive metal sphere. Four large cannons hung from an array on the machine's back. A dome shaped head with a three pronged crest finished off the look. The entire machine appeared, heavily armed and armored.
"Construction was halted several years ago when funding dried up, as it was deemed too much of an expense. The frame sat in cold storage, mostly finished, until recently, when Central Command greenlit the reactivation of the Jericho project. Several key components are missing, however, such as the Gravity Manipulator generator needed to hold the machine together and give mobility to the Gravity Flails," he said, motioning to the metal spheres where the hands would be, "and the the Stonehenge Cannons. Jericho was also designed to be linked to an orbital weapons platform that was not deployed. Like Jericho, it too sat in cold storage until recently. Aside from manufacturing ammunition for the Stonehenge Cannons and the Firestorm Cannons," he said, motioning to the hidden guns in the forearms, "Jericho is otherwise nearly complete."
"An impressive piece of work," Vladmir said, eyeing the machine's specs. "But it is not yet finished. How can this aid us?"
"It should be fairly simple, really. Mr. Heron, I believe Phantomb Industries has some experience working with gravity manipulators?"
"We do."
"And you, Mr. Ilchov, have great knowledge of the workings of nuclear weaponry, which would be used in the shells for the Stonehenge Cannons. Not to mention the advanced robotics technology we all bring to the table. Combine that with Imar's relative closeness to a viable launch site for a the satellite weapon, and we have the capability to bring Jericho online in short order. with it, we finally stand a chance against the combined forces of the alien invaders AND these new shadow monsters."
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Post by tyrantisterror on Sept 23, 2009 22:49:28 GMT -5
Basil rose his hand, saying, "Now am I correct in saying that I heard you say gravity flails?"
"Yes."
"That...," Basil took a brief pause, "... is probably one of the most badass ideas for a weapon I've ever heard." The other representatives looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Realizing his language slip, Basil said, "Excuse the use of coarse language - I usually try to refrain from using the parlance of our time when engaged in my professional activities, I assure you. I think I can definitely work out something that can power such an...," Basil paused again, trying to think of a suitable replacement for the BA word, "...impressive weapon."
The speaker was about to go on with the presentation, but Basil again interjected, "Is this to be a piloted mech, or are we going with A.I. with this one? If the latter, how advanced are we willing to go - function based, full and adaptive free will, or some middle ground between the two? And if the former... who's the pilot?"
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Post by Omegarex24 on Sept 23, 2009 23:01:51 GMT -5
"Jericho is currently designed to operate with a limited capacity AI system. It's set up to seek and destroy pre-designated targets, but is also linked to a remote terminal that new information cna be uploaded from. Giving the machine too much free will, if you catch my meaning, seems like a bad idea, lest it interpret its duties in an unpleasant manner. With as much firepower as Jericho packs, making it too smart might be a bad idea."
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Post by ravensaursrex on Sept 23, 2009 23:12:35 GMT -5
Robert followed along, still a little stunned by the raw power being brought to bare in this machine. These weapons would make short work of just about any monster who even glanced in the GDF's general direction.
The magnitude of such a thing almost stalled the man's brain, but then they got around to the AI of this thing. Robert snapped out of it and analyzed this information before speaking up.
"Miss Janet Smith who is under my command is a programmer of some skill...she is most noted for the combining of a living brain and computer one." he said in a rather strong tone "If need be I offer her services on this machine...and perhaps some sort of rules or guidelines be hardwired into it and I have no doubt that she will be able to build into it some fail-safes in case this weapon falls into the hands of others or it goes out of control."
Robert then fell silent once again, feeling a little better that he of so little could give something to the collective.
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Post by Omegarex24 on Sept 25, 2009 2:41:10 GMT -5
"I think we could work something out. Are there any other questions before I turn things over to Mr. Maxwell? Keep in mind that all technical specifications for Jericho will be issued to the involved parties once construction begins."
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Post by Inferno Rodan on Sept 28, 2009 15:47:02 GMT -5
After a few moments of silence, Neil speaks up. “Very impressive, General. Let’s hope we can get that beast completed as soon as possible. Now, Jason, your turn.”
“Alright.” The man gets up and passes out a stapled packet of papers to each person in attendance. “First is some information on our alien enemy. As I’m sure you’ve all noticed by now, several of their monsters appear very earthly. We recovered and analyzed blood and tissue samples from the monsters in the New Orleans battle last week - by the way thank you, Mr. Heron, for sending assistance to that.”
Basil waves him off. “Not a problem. Tarantutron needed a proper field test anyway.”
“Anyway, as I was saying we analyzed samples from all three of our opponents in that battle. The angler fish is a true alien, the snake is a chimera of several Earth snakes, and the other one is... human.
There is a collective “WHAT?!” among the congregation.
“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too. He’s also a walking tumor. We have no idea what caused the mutation, but I think it’s safe to assume the aliens had something to do with it. But that’s not what troubles me. I’m more worried about the snake. The fusion of the thing’s genetic material is amazing, at least on par with that of Suchodon. I assume the same is true for the lizard and insectoid chimeras. Whoever made them knows their stuff.”
“Well they are highly advanced aliens, after all...” says Ben rather sarcastically.
“Yes, but they’re also aliens, meaning they shouldn’t have enough experience with our native life forms to make such a perfect fusion.”
“So... you think a human is working with them?” asks Natalie.
“Bingo, and I have an idea who. Do you remember that Neo-Nazi organization that was causing so much trouble a few years ago?”
Everyone nods.
“There was a brilliant scientist by the name of Rudolph Ackert that was involved with it. He carried out all sorts of bizarre genetic experiments on captured civilians. He disappeared after the organization broke up. I think he’s joined the aliens.” After pausing for a few moments to allow everyone to finish looking over the first few pages of the packets, Jason continues. “Now, onto the events of two days ago. During the attack on our base, I couldn’t help but think the monster, which we’ve since named Overkill, looked somewhat familiar. Afterwards I got to looking through the database and came across a monster called Zorn. I think you all can see the resemblance.”
“So, what, you think this Zorn monster got captured and outfitted with mechanical parts or something?” asks Ben.
“That was my initial thought, yes, especially since we haven’t seen the monster for well over a month now, but then I started looking into the other four monsters.”
“Four? Don’t you mean seven?” asks Basil.
“No. The attack on Moscow was the doing of the aliens and completely independent of the rest of the attacks. The battle in London... I’ll get to later. Anyway, all five of the monsters that attacked simultaneously two days ago appear to be chimeras. The one that attacked Osaka, which we’ve named Flex, is a fusion of the alien that calls itself Myston and possibly Scorpius. Nightmare, the one that appeared in Giza, seems to be made from an as-yet unnamed dolphin monster that we’ve only spotted once and the giant Tyrannosaur, Tyrantis. Hotspot, the one Lenneth fought in Monument Valley, has clear influences from Valcanus and some type of canid or other similar creature. My best guess is the mutant hyena, Bujuoqora. The one that appeared in the Lawless Zone we know very little about. From the single satellite photo, it looks highly deformed, so it’s possibly related to the Klenthurian cancer monster and as such we’ve named it Tumor. Beyond that, we know nothing about it.”
Before Jason can continue, Ben interrupts him. “This is all well and good, Mr. Collins, but could you get to the point?”
Natalie gives him a swift elbow to the ribs, making him recoil. “Just because YOU don’t find this interesting doesn’t mean no one else does and that it’s not important.” She then turns back to Jason. “Sorry Mr. Collins, Ben can be rather impatient sometimes. Please, continue.”
“Thank you. As I said, these creatures all appear to be chimeras. However, they are definitely not the work of Dr. Ackert or any of the aliens. Aside from the fact that one of the alien monsters helped fight off Flex in Osaka, each and every one of the monsters' appearances was immediately preceded by an energy spike greater in magnitude but otherwise identical to the ones that occur when those shadow monsters emerge from their portals. Likewise, when each one died, it completely dissolved into energy exactly as the shadow monsters do, with the sole exception of Overkill’s metallic parts which we’ve collected and are currently analyzing. Now, all of this leaves us with contradictory evidence which points to two different origins. This is where the London battle comes in...”
Everyone simultaneously turns the page of their packet. Most eyes widen at the picture. It’s blurry, taken by a cell phone from some distance away, but what it shows is unmistakable.
Everyone is speechless, but Natalie manages a quiet “No way...” in response.
The picture shows Thaussian, standing in front of a large portal and flanked by two other monsters.
Jason continues. “As you all know, Cyclone was destroyed last month. The few survivors had no idea what happened because it was so sudden and violent, and we assumed it was an attack from an unknown alien monster or weapon. It would appear the truth is far darker. I believe Lance Erobern is responsible for those five monstrosities two days ago.”
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Post by stealthartist24 on Sept 28, 2009 16:35:04 GMT -5
Vladimir glances around the room before speaking up, "So, vat you're suggezting iz that Mr. Erobern haz joined a non-alien enemy and iz rezponzible for all zis?"
Mr. Ilchov leans back as both Dimitri and Nikolai look very interested in the topic.
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Post by Inferno Rodan on Sept 28, 2009 16:49:00 GMT -5
"Correct." responds Jason. "We have two factions trying to conquer the earth. The aliens, and these new 'shadows' which seem to be either interdimensional or... well, mystical. Being a scientist, I hate using that term, but that really seems to be what they are."
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Post by ravensaursrex on Sept 28, 2009 17:04:49 GMT -5
Robert opened his mouth to say something about the purposed "magic" beings who were supposed to be attacking the Earth. But the glare faded and strong jaws shut, memories of the strange three headed dragon bubbled up in his mind, the raw power and strange energy readings it gave out while fighting Cytosaur.
While he was not a man to give in to fear, a very human shiver went down his spine as he began to comprehend all the doomsday weapons pointed at his world...Earth.
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Post by tyrantisterror on Sept 28, 2009 18:47:50 GMT -5
Basil Heron listened to the news with a casual interest. He felt everyone stir at the mention of the shadow creatures - the idea of such supernatural beings, even in a day and age ruled by giant monsters, was perhaps more than the sane, rational minds could handle. Thankfully for Basil, a little bit of madness went hand in hand with genius.
"So we're being besieged by a coalition of alien invaders and a separate group of eldritch abominations," he said, "Sounds like fun."
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Post by Omegarex24 on Sept 29, 2009 13:31:19 GMT -5
"My only question is, how do we take the fight to Lance's doorstep," Ben asked as he studied the information provided on the new shdow monsters. "The aliens are at least a tangible threat, one that Jericho can deal with. But these new critters...they just pop up out of nowhere. I mean, can we build our own gateway or portal to go after them? Lance seems to be able to do it from his side of things."
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Post by ravensaursrex on Sept 29, 2009 14:33:52 GMT -5
"To do that we would have to know how their gates work or we might find ourselves inside of Mars!" Robert interjected "But I have yet to see any way to take a sample of their power, every time they die the bodies just vanish." which made the man wonder if there was another option.
The question was though, was it even possible to catch one of those shadows alive so that the GDF may study it's powers? He decided to keep this thought to himself, now was not the time to seem insane in front of all these powerful people.
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Post by DinoHunter2 on Sept 30, 2009 22:27:53 GMT -5
-Meanwhile, in another section of the building-
“I know they’re having the meeting today…” Caitlyn grumbled aloud, heaving a backpack over her shoulder and setting it on the nearest table. "But we're not GDF, Theraga." Laying nearby, the giant protomammal crossed his forelimbs and growled. He was making it clear that he thought she should be attending. I'm well aware! She hastily responded through the grendelstone. And I would never turn my back on them... we've only been here for a few weeks and it's already obvious that they need our help more than the Allinians do. But we're not part of their military or anything like that... hell, we're not even part of their WORLD. I don't think either one of us has any business in there. Theraga lifted his head and looked at Caitlyn sternly. The conversation paused for a moment as he transferred his thoughts, then Caitlyn continued. I know... Jason will just have to tell me about it when I get back. Theraga made no sound, but a fierce look suddenly flashed in his eyes. Dammit! She replied testily. We can't wait any longer, Theraga! It was one thing when Imar was under attack, but they've got everything under control now. There are people who need our help a lot more than they do right now! Theraga uttered a low growl and raised his head, obviously not happy with where the conversation was going. I know it's important! They've got a lot going on, but- Though the hangar remained silent, Theraga interrupted her; Caitlyn sighed and tossed her hair before continuing. Yes, I agree... BUT, She said. That doesn't change the fact that Valcanus is still on the loose. The GDF's been too busy with the aliens and everything to deal with him, and if they keep ignoring him like this- Theraga grunted, disagreeing. Okay, okay. They're not ignoring him. But they may as well be! Tanks aren't going to do anything to him- they know that! The synapsid swayed his head in a motion akin to a shrug, then conveyed his thoughts to Caitlyn again. She waited patiently, then responded. And that's not their fault. But my point is, things are only going to get worse if we stay here. Valcanus isn't going to stop killing people unless we step in and DO something about it, and you know it! The scaly behemoth made no response. He simply sat there for the next few moments, looking at Caitlyn. He did not want to abandon his new friends. He did not want to travel half the globe in search of his old rival. And he most certainly did not want to face him immediately after the tiring battle with Overkill. But unfortunately, Caitlyn was making sense.
At that moment, a soft whirring noise caught his attention. Lifting his head and peering across the hangar, he noticed something going on at the table where Caitlyn had set her things. It didn't take Kate long to realize something was up and, turning around, she gasped.
"The box!"
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Post by Omegarex24 on Oct 5, 2009 10:17:11 GMT -5
"We might be able to capture a live specimen," Natalie said, "in theory. We could rig up some sort of containment suite and stuff one of those Tormentors into it. Get a mech with proper heat shielding, and it's possible to incapacitate them without killing them outright, mostly because they're so frail. The trouble comes from the fact that they constantly regenerate unless decapitated. I've seen how that works. It's not pretty."
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Post by Inferno Rodan on Oct 5, 2009 13:22:12 GMT -5
"Actually..." begins Jason, rubbing his chin, "That regenerative ability might make it easier to capture one alive. We could cripple it badly enough to subdue it wouthout fear of actually killing it."
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