Golden River Crusade: "What Goes On In The Dark"

"Okay, all systems go!" says Dr. Chelsea Rivers. After minutes of waiting, she finally worked out the kinks of the teleportation device. Back at the warehouse, five hidden passages open up on the back way, revealing five teleportation tubes. "Step into the pods one at a time and come on over guys. Don't worry, the trip is safe."

With his arm patched up, thanks to Zane, Xavier is the first to make his way over to the teleportation pods and take it over to where Dr. Chelsea Rivers and Commander Elliot Rivers are. Once stepping into the pod, it lights up and submerges Xavier in a cylinderical white light. Xavier fades almost immediately and gets teleported to the same destination as the Rivers. Terry is next to follow behind him, taking the other transport.



Xavier and Terry arrive in two very similar teleportation tubes, now on the ship with Chelsea Rivers and her husband. The room they transported to is the lab beneath the dock of the ship. The design of the lab is simple. The walls are white all over and around the lab are tables carrying chemicals and laboratory equipment. The room is quite roomy in size, as Xavier and Terry soon find out. They step out of their pods to meet Dr. Chelsea Rivers, sitting next to a computer.



"Looks like you guys made it with your bodies in tact" , says Chelsea Rivers. She shoots both of them a playful smile, assuring them they were going to be safe no matter what.

« Last edited by KOG on Jul 12th 2012 »

"How convenient there are exactly five..."

Riku follows right after Terry and Xavier arriving seconds after them a little after Dr. Rivers joke making him wonder what the smile of hers was about. He looked around while waiting for everyone else.

Garm had silently listened to the entire exchange, even putting up with the bickering the couple seemed prone to. When the teleporters were activated he hesitated until after he saw that even Riku, whom he'd thought a bit off, had gone through without any reservations, and decided that he couldn't back down now. He stepped into the teleporter, and once on the other side, he felt a bit disoriented by the suddenly scenery change.

It looks like I'll have to get used to that.

Garm, too, noticed the smile, but figured that he had simply missed out on some joke. He decided to cut to the chase.

"Given the fact that I'm too old for school now, what kind of cover are you going to assign me?"

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Zane followed behind. "Agreed. That would be nice to know. Coffee shop be nice. The teleporter hadn't bugged him too much, it was a technology that was sound if you had the resources, and after seeing Greg, he knew they did. Interesting sensation, however.

Little did the new recruits know, the try out is far from over. Although the combat training is finished, both Dr. Rivers and Commander Rivers had a lot more in store for the group. After watching the combatants appear one by one in the teleportation pods, Doctor Chelsea Rivers stands up out of her chair and walks over to the pods to greet them.

"Nice work all of you" she said. "I won't lie that I am a tad bit upset you totalled my model, since it took me three months to build it, but I must say you all looked quite impressive out there."
"Put it on our tab" Terry said, sarcastically.
"I wouldn't joke around with me like that, mister" River retorts in a playful, smarmy manner. "I'll do it if you make me."
"I think we're already forming a wonderful relationship, haha" Xavier chimes in. "Nice to meet you miss ... what??"
Xavier decided to be assertive and reach out to grab Dr. Rivers' hand. However, when he did, he saw it go right through her hand and saw the entire body or Dr. Rivers digitize into the air and disappear. It then quickly returned the very next second.
"You're a hologram" said Xavier.
"Actually, I'm a digital clone of the real Dr. Chelsea Rivers" said the now revealed clone of the doctor. "Sometimes when the real Dr. Rivers is needed elsewhere, she calls on her digital clones to continue her work here in the lab. We are constructed from the DNA particles drawn from her blood. We are unable to touch real life solid objects, but the computers have sensors that lock onto the DNA used to construct us and allow us to type commands on keyboard. Most of the time, I just call out commands through voice."
"Wow, unreal!" said Xavier, amazed. "I knew this lady had to be smart, but she I'm starting to see why they call her Doctor."
"So what are we here for anyways?" said Terry.
"I'll explain once everyone is present" said the hologram.

« Last edited by KOG on Jul 12th 2012 »

Devin took his time to enter the tube, while Reona bickered at him for a little longer. Finally, the voice died down somewhat. "I'm going to sleep for a while, I'm a bit exhausted from all your stupidity. Try not to get us killed or show your ability off to the whole world while I'm out, will you?"
Devin was thinking of a witty remark, but he knew it was too late as he felt Reona's presence weaken in his mind.
With a shrug, he walked through the teleporter in time to catch the exchange about the Doctor's clone. "Teleportation; now that would be useful to have on demand," he muttered as he took up a position at the back of the ground.

"I believe everyone is present" spoke the cloned Chelsea Rivers. "Now we can begin!"

Sitting back down behind her desk, the clone types away at the laptop and activates a projectile in the center of the room. In this projectile is a picture of a metallic, silver gauntlet, made out of unique hardware.



"The real Doctor Rivers programmed me to inform you about our weaponry and artillery while she is out" said the clone. "What you see before you are authentic electromagnetic gauntlets customized by Dr. Rivers herself. They are called Sykes, paying homage to her mother. At times, it takes a lot of energy for the human body to manipulate Synet liquid into the weapons of our choice. With these gauntlets, not only will you be able to construct weapons more proficiently and quickly, but you will also be able to construct a whole new variety of weapons at free will."
"Oh sweetness!" said Xavier.

The clone types another weapon into the computer, changing the gear on the projectile.



"These specialized boots contain magnetic energy that counteracts the pull of gravity and allows you to hover into the air" said the clone. "We simply call them Hover boots. And these .... "

The clone types another piece of gear into the computer. The picture of the boots changes to a pair of sunglasses.



"These are Syberspecks, pronounced Cyber Specks. Besides acting as normal sunglasses, these glasses carry night-vision, magnetic energy that allows you to see through walls and other solid objects, and also pick up radio frequencies that allow you to listen in on phone calls, radio stations, and other wavelength conversations. Plus, they are made out of skyblue metal, which makes them hard to destroy."

"I think I'm gonna like it here" smiles Xavier, impressed by the customized gear.
"You would" responds Terry.

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Riku agreed with Xavier, the boots sounded like a lot of fun and the glasses seemed extremely useful though the gauntlets he could do without. The glasses were easily the best out of the three in his opinion being able to pick up radio stations. All that in mind Riku smiles deviously.

"Very nice indeed anything else you wanna show us or tell us?"

"Hmm...I don't know if I can use those gauntlets, given that my hands contain the liquid and I can already manipulate it using them quite well. Unless this means I'm getting an upgrade to my hands, I don't think I can wear those and use Synet liquid at the same time very efficiently. The rest of it is pretty useful though."

Garm seriously concerned about the gauntlet business. Other than him, it seemed everyone else was able to use all the equipment.

No, scratch that, there is that glasses guy. He probably has those things custom set.

Garm thought about the equipment a bit more, realizing that they weren't through with their job interview just yet.

"I am in the same boat to a degree, these are custom created to work specifically with my prosthetic eye while maximizing synet fluid in their small design. The processor in them alone took ages to find for them. Plus, they look a lot better and are a lot more inconspicuous than those things. Now if yes, you could upgrade the fluid capacity, that would be appreciated. Though I doubt you aren't just giving us this with another test, catch or something along those lines?"

He was also thinking about the boots too, but wasn't sure yet. He just wanted to get through all this testing, it was making him slightly ansty.

"Finally, your battle suits. Observe."

The final projectile is one of a one piece battle suit made of elastic material colored with gold and black.



"This battle armor is made of bullet proof material that will keep you safe from any type of gun or fire arm. Oh, except plasma guns, which can disintegrate the suit. Doctor Rivers has not quite worked out the kinks for that yet. On the upside, it will fit any size and protect you from a large variety of fire arms. That concludes all the artillery for your crusade. Now, if you all will be so kind as to look over to the right of the room. You will see a open pod."

In the corner of the room is a human sized pod, similar to the teleportation pods the recruits used to get to the ship.

"I'd like for you one at a time to enter the pod and recite your own code name. Be careful. Once you recite this codename, you will not be able to change it until you resign from the crusade. So choose your name wisely."
"I'll go first" said Terry, stepping into the pod. "Codename. Reaper"

"Access Granted. Welcome Reaper."

Terry steps out and in steps Xavier. "Well that looks easy, ehem!" he said, clearing his throat. "Codename. Phantom"


"Access Granted. Welcome Phantom."

"Alright, who is next?" said the clone of Doctor Rivers.


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Garm steps into the pod, leaving his comments on the battle suit unsaid.
"Codename: Angel of Death."

Access Granted. Welcome Angel of Death.

Garm steps out and again wonders what sort of job he will be given. He hopes it will be something that at least doesn't bore or have a demanding boss. The thought of such a situation causes Garm to sigh. He looks at the others and wonders what their code names will be.

Riku waited until Garm had fully left the pod before skirting around him and entering the pod himself.

"Codename. Nightmare."
Access Granted. Welcome Nightmare.

He left the pod and once again skirted around Garm and stood a little ways from Xavier looking up at the suit.

"I don't have to wear that do I? No offense but I really don't wanna go anywhere in public in that."

Devin grunted as he stepped towards the pod. He toyed with the idea of mocking Reona with a name like 'Golden Heart' or 'Steel Arms', but other than the novelty of ticking Reona off, those names might cause more trouble than they were worth, so he defaulted to his old circus nickname.
Devin stepped into the pod and spoke clearly: "Codename. Gray Jester."
Access Granted. Welcome Gray Jester.

Devin made no further comment, but unlike the others, he cared little for the gadgets being waved in front of him. He always preferred his own gear, and despite some unnecessary bells and whistles, it seemed like he could do without any of the gadgets. The only one that might be useful is the suit if he was ever in a large firefight, which he planned not to be.

Zane had to think for awhile, trying to properly decide a codename that fit, and was still different from the others. He went back and forth between the "Crying Death" and Blind Thief, but as Garm already had Death in his name, he went into the machine.

"Codename: Blind Thief."
Access granted, welcome Blind Thief.

He got out and went and examined the suit again, realizing its usefulness in major battle but not much else.

"Does it have any stealth capabilities?"

The clone model of Doctor Rivers confirms all the registered recruits on her laptop and then approaches the members.

"Great, you're all registered! So now you are all free to try out these gadgets. The room behind me is a training facility for combat training and skill development. It is where most of our soldiers hone their abilities during times of peace. You guys should spend time there until you're called on for your next test. Thanks for your time. Bye bye."

Immediately, the clone of Doctor Rivers disappears into thin air, reminding the group that she is only a hologram. In front of them, a door opens up and reveals a training room. The walls are made of unbreakable titanum. Target boards for arrows and guns, punching dummies, weights, lifts, silent chambers, and even a sparring chamber for those who want to fight.



Terry and Xavier head in first, checking the place out.

(( Let's use this time to interact with one another and develop on our characters. ))

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Riku follows after the two and sits down in a corner taking out his pocket watch and plays catch with it. He looked about rather uninterested, he only found the glasses of any use and the use he had in mind couldn't really be practiced or honed for. He had no actual use for the guantlets as he didn't use the liquid to create weapons, only bullets which was extremely simple. He wasn't a fan of hieghts so the boots weren't exactly his thing and finally the suit just wasn't his style. So all in all he had nothing to do but wait for the next test which was what he did. Sitting in the corner, throwing his pocket watch into the air and catching it, then repeating.

Garm was tempted to practice his marksmanship, but the targets were too close for any real improvement. Besides, he preferred trick shooting to normal fire fights. Instead, he headed to one of the sparring chambers. He quickly took off his shirt, gloves and the chain around his neck holding his old badge, and formed two scythes with his hands again, and began to practice his use of them. Spinning one scythe around isn't all that easy, but two was basically impossible if you wanted to deal with modern day situations, so he'd had to develop his own style of wielding them by incorporating elements of various styles of footwork and even dance. Mainly break-dance and Parkour served as the foundation for his movements, but even then, he had to practice constantly to make sure his muscles got used to moving and reacting in those ways. Otherwise, he'd risk cutting himself up into tiny little pieces.

This is a pretty useful room.

Garm was literally jumping off the walls and executing difficult break-dance moves while spinning two deadly scythes around, not only with his hands, but around his legs, arms, feet, even his neck. Every part of him was involved in this style. There was even a separate version for when he could only use one scythe. Normally, he'd use the second scythe to direct the blade of the other so that it doesn't cut him, and vise-versa.

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Taking off his shirt, Terry heads over to a large punching bag and begans unleashing lethal punches and kicks all over it, preparing himself mentally and physically for what is next to come.

Meanwhile, Xavier decides to train light and simply stretch near the weight section. He noticed that the other recruits are not talking as much. So to liven things up, he decides to start a conversation.

"So uhhh, what made you guys decide you wanted to be apart of the crusade?" said Xavier. "I mean, I can't be the only one who wanted to do this ever since I was a kid, right? Cause then, I'd feel like a dork. Heh."
"You are a dork ... " mutters Terry, kicking the punching bag.
"Am not!" said Xavier. "I'm just .... unique. I've always wanted to be a hero. You know. A real one. Not like the cartoons. I can't fly like Superman and I don't have money like Batman or Iroman. I just to be someone who can preserve justice and uphold the things that are right in this world."

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Zane was busy trying to create something from a game, a Gun sword. He could use sniper rifles but despised using them up close, it completely ruined the feel and satisfaction of using one. He could quite get the weight balance and strength correct though. It may have to be custom made , he thought to himself. He had heard Xavier's question though.

"Simply put, I'm in hiding. I'd prefer to leave it that.

He decided on a weight balance. He figure out ammo later, as he had already figured that in. Walking over to some weight equipment he took off his outer shirt and began lifting, push ups, pull ups et cetera. It was his normal routine, but he upped the weight and reps to ready himself for a new weapon.