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Post by Admiral Hart on Mar 16, 2009 13:00:34 GMT -5
The Plunder's Heart and Heart Breaker, after weeks of travel across the Solar System, now deep inside Mamba territory, found themselves in far orbit around Europa.
"Europa. Here's where we claim our prize." Hart said over the comm from her chair on the bridge. "Now, some of you have probably guessed what we're going for, some have rumors, and some have no idea. Well, I'm going to tell you now to dispel any rumors. We're going to take the Star-born Hulk, the Alien Ship that showed up so long ago. From the information I've been able to gather from my own and T.K.'s investigations, there will be more than enough room for both of our ships in its hangar. So, Heart Breaker, you're going to be covering us while the soon to be replaced Plunder goes in, forces the ground crew to open the ship's hangar, and storm the vessel. After that, T.K. and his talented crew will get it running and hopefully we'll be out of dodge before the Anaconda can find us again. All core crew get ready. As we're stealing a ship even if you don't usually board, you'll be coming with us. Morgan, you're staying up here and acting as Captain for the Heart Breaker. You all have thirty minutes before we spring into action. Hart, out."
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T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
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Post by T.K. on Mar 16, 2009 14:25:26 GMT -5
T.K. stood in Engineering for probably the last time. He and Shiyounin were gathering what they thought they would need for taking the Alien Spaceship.
“Let's see. DIVE Goggles. Check.”
He double checked their positioning on his head, before he moved on to the next item.
“Shiyounin.”
“Check, Master!”
The exuberant A.I. Floated nearby in what she fondly called her 'Chibi' form. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to let her watch his entire anime collection of the last several months.
“Field Kit.”
“Check Sir.”
Angel stood near by, and waved both sets of field kits.
“Good girl. Spare Portable Data Terminal?”
Angel patted the computer which was strapped to her back.
“That's a check as well Sir.”
“Excellent. Now, Shinigami.”
He turned around, and pulled it down off the wall, before securing it at his waist.
“Check as well. Now, let's see. That looks like everything, but I feel like I'm forgetting something.... Of course!”
He dashed off into a storage locker. Shiyounin and Angel both heard several heavy object being tossed around, and a few muffled curses from T.K.”
“Found it!”
He came running out of the locker, carrying a large crate with a stylized 'Pocky' logo on it.
“Pocky, check!”
Angel and Shiyounin both sighed, as they gathered up the gear, and followed him to their designated staging area.
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Dr. Andromeda Reyes
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Plunder's Heart Chief Medical Officer
I've given up everything for my sister once. I wouldn't test my loyalty if I were you.
Posts: 119
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Post by Dr. Andromeda Reyes on Mar 16, 2009 16:51:55 GMT -5
Andromeda dropped the supplies she'd been holding, eyes now the size of saucers. Katy yelped a little, rushing forward to begin picking them up again while Toby rolled his eyes a little and gave a silent groan.
"What?!" the doctor somewhat shrieked, causing the other two in the infirmary to wince at her sheer volume.
Andromeda stared only for a moment longer before letting out a growl and turning to stalk into her office. That low-down sneak! Josetta had purposefully been vague to her about the details of the 'ship' they were going to acquire. And now this!
The slender woman entered her office and then yanked on the controls to open her comm. "Captain! Are you insane!"
"Not since the last time I had myself examined," came the redhead's amused, purring voice. "And I kinda have my own personal doctor now that sleeps with me and everything, so I think she would've noticed."
"Jo!" Andromeda cried out, attempting to be serious. She should've known it was a losing battle by now, but still she kept trying anyhow. "This is madness! The Alien Ship is going to be crawling with military!"
"T.K. thinks it's a good idea," Josetta returned airily. Andromeda growled.
"This coming from a man who shocks himself near-to-death at every opportunity using those 'dive goggles' of his. That's not saying a whole hell of a lot, Captain!"
There was a small sigh, then, "just think of it, Andi. All that highly advanced, Alien technology. They managed to supercede us in every other aspect." Her tone became purposefully rough and seductive. "Imagine what their medical advancements must be like?"
The dark-haired woman felt her face heat, both from arousal and guilt. " . . . you don't play fair, Captain."
Josetta just laughed on the other end. "Pirate, baby. Pirate."
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Post by Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart on Mar 16, 2009 17:26:34 GMT -5
Cassi half-skipped into Morgan's bunk--what was now pretty much their bunk, since she'd been sleeping in it regularly since coming back on board--in order to change into something more fitting for battle. Morgan was just putting the finishing touches on straightening his black jacket, skull-and-crossbones patch a pristine white against the inky black of the rest of the uniform. Her lover didn't look at all pleased, and Cassi could easily guess why. He hated being left behind on the ship during a mission. Even more now that she'd be going down there without him.
Not long after the Europa mission was announced, Cassi had gone to Jo to ask to be let on to a boarding crew. "I'm not a kid anymore," she had pronounced to her mother, with as much dignity as she could muster, chin lifted proudly. "I can fight, and I can help you and the crew by doing more than sitting in my room twiddling my thumbs, worrying myself to death. I need to feel like I'm contributing something, Jo," she'd finished then, tone softer.
Josetta had met her stare for a long moment before nodding, much to Morgan's dismay in the background. "Alright then, Princess. If you can get your sister to agree with it, then it's fine by me."
Cassi had blanched at that, but accepted those terms. Three days of arguing, pleading, yelling and fighting later, she'd finally gotten that permission. Jo had just nodded with a knowing smirk.
"So what crew will I be on?" Cassi had questioned then.
Morgan stepped forward, opening his mouth. Obviously about to suggest she get put on his crew. Josetta spoke before he could, however.
"Put her on Miller's crew, instead of yours? So you don't get your damn fool neck broken trying to protect her all the time rather than do your job? Why, that's an excellent suggestion, Mr. Halcyon. I'll take it into immediate consideration."
Cassi had winced, then, somewhat guilty at the embarrassed/annoyed flush of color that went across his face. But Morgan had stepped back at that, and hadn't voiced any other protests. And when she tentatively confronted him later that night when they were alone, he had assured her that he understood her desire to help. He just wasn't happy about Jo's decision on where to put her, though neither of them had much of a say in that, unfortunately.
Morgan sighed somewhat loudly now, pushing his hair back out of his collar. "Thirteen years of fighting and training and she makes me babysit the damn ship," he grumbled unhappily. Though Cassi knew he was probably more upset by the idea that his girlfriend and his best-friend would be rushing off headlong into danger, and he was getting left behind. Morgan hated to feel helpless, and stuck on the ship made the natural-born fighter feel all kinds of helpless.
The blond winced in sympathy, hesitating long enough to curl her arms around his waist and plant a kiss or two into the hollow of his neck. Which he allowed somewhat stoicly, rolling his eyes somewhat, but not pulling away from her hurried affection. Then she was pouncing away to hurriedly get dressed, tossing off the skirt and blouse she'd been wearing, grabbing up a pair of tight-fitting black jeans and a more form-fitting top instead, red with half-sleeves and a somewhat deep v-neck which--though she paid it no mind--showed off a rather generous view of the tops of her copper-cream breasts. Though the less cloth flapping in the breeze, the less of a hand-hold the enemy might have, after all, which was the driving force in her choosing the outfit.
Cassi put on her boots, and then reached for her sword belt. Behind her, Morgan sighed rather loudly, causing her to turn.
"What?" She saw his annoyed expression and blinked, straightening. "What's wrong?"
Morgan just groaned, rolling his eyes. "Ye'll be lucky if they drag their eyes off yer chest long enough to pull the trigger."
Cassi frowned a little, staring down at herself and totally not seeing the problem. They were just boobs, every girl had a pair. "It's not that bad."
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Post by Admiral Hart on Mar 16, 2009 17:56:23 GMT -5
The Plunder's Heart shuddered as it plowed through the artificial atmosphere around Europa, bearing down on the frozen expanse below while being buffeted by high speed, arctic winds.
The ship soon came across a truly massive teardrop-shaped object protruding from the tectonic ice that made up the entire surface of the planet. It was black against the ice, but as the Plunder came closer, the ships cameras could see that it was covered in bronze, black, and brown and that it was not completely smooth.
In many place, bare starmetal shone through skeletal gaps in the ship's superstructure, where massive panels had simply been ripped off, probably salvaged to make weapons, androids, and restraints.
Almost on cue, small, atmospheric warships appeared from cloak around the vessel. They started to move into attack position, but suddenly broke formation due to an orbital barrage from the Heart Breaker. Scattered and wounded, the Plunder took care of the rest of them and the Plunder sent a message to a human communication net inside the massive alien vessel.
"This is the Plunder's Heart. Open the hangar, let us in, and stand down or we will blast our way in." Hart called over the comm. There was a pause, and the ship opened up. The frigate slowly glided inside and locked into place in one of the docks before the doors closed behind them.
The hangar was truly massive. A dozen Serpent-Class frigates could fit in it, let alone the two and assorted light craft the fleet had. And, from what they could see of the ship, the hangar was not a very large percentage of the ship's volume.
"Alright gang." Hart said at length at the main hatch. "We don't know what we're facing here, so we need to act fast. T.K., I want you to take Morgan's team and find engineering or something and get this place running." She glanced at Cook, who was suited up in ill-fitting comabt armor. "What're the power readings here?"
"They're on back-up emergency power, and less than half of that. Enough to open that hangar. Enough to run the life support systems. That's about it." Cook replied.
"Okay. Dane, Miller, I want your crews to guard the maintenance personnel and help patching those holes in the fuselage. I want my new baby spaceworthy. Everyone else, with me. We're going to try to find the bridge and see what we can do from there." Hart ordered. "Pin or distract soldiers you find if you can't kill them. Getting rid of unwanted baggae will be easier once this place is up and running." The Captain continued. "Everyone good on your orders? Good. Let's get to hijacking."
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T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
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Post by T.K. on Mar 16, 2009 18:13:34 GMT -5
T.K. already had his DIVE Goggles on, and was tracing the ship's power flow, counting on Morgan's crew to do their jobs, while he tried to navigate through the maze of corridors of this behemoth.
It took awhile, and several times they'd had to retrace their steps, and find alternate routes. Either from Inoperable doors, or sections of the ship that were in such disarray navigating through them would be a nightmare. As it was, the brief glimpses of the things they passed were making it difficult for T.K. to actually stay focused on his job. So much technology, so little time.
Eventually, his crew made their way to what would equate to the Engineering section of the ship. It was a good thing he'd brought more Engineers than just himself, Angel, and Shiyounin.
“What a pigsty. Whoever is in charge around here should be shot.”
He shoved a few Techs toward the Boarding Crew, while he searched around for something to actually Interface with, and figure out what the Hell these brainless space monkeys had been doing.
After a moments pause, he turned to several of the now terrified Techs.
“OK kiddies, I'm about to offer you the deal of a lifetime. We're taking this ship. There's no arguing about that. However, we are going to need crew, and I'm going to need some help getting this poor thing back into it's former shape. You have two options available to you. One, you can be left behind on this miserable Ice ball when we leave, and face the tender mercies of the Mamba's when they show up. Two, you folks agree to work for me. You help me fix this ship and get her running again. You get to leave with us and you only get Two Bosses to deal with. The Admiral, and myself. Of course, I'm also willing to pay for your services, and by pay, I don't mean the measly pay rate the EU uses.”
He paused to make sure they had time to think things over.
“Now, who wants to be a Pirate?”
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Post by Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart on Mar 16, 2009 18:45:05 GMT -5
Cassi followed along after Miller and the rest of his crew, which were escorting one of the maintenance crews to the nearest point of needing repair. Luckily Miller wasn't holding a grudge against her like Willie had, as she'd first feared, nor did he seem too put off at the idea of a seventeen year old on his crew. He merely accepted her placement with a nod, informing her in his calm, quiet voice what he expected of her and what he wanted her to do, treating her no different than any of the others. Which was a massive relief.
Cassi and three others were guarding the rear as the group moved down the Alien ship's massive hallway. Her wide eyes drifted here or there, taking in her somewhat bizarre surroundings. The chamber was several times taller and wider than she was used to--as if made for a being much, much larger than a human--and mysterious glowing orbs hovering in recesses along the walls providing illumination with crude man-made strings of lights strung up in dark corners where they were lacking.
Cassiopeia shivered a little, rubbing at her arms. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the ship just seemed to give off a weird kind of vibe. One that gave her a bit of the creeps, at present.
In due time the maintenance crew had set up and began to do their jobs. Miller had them all fan out and stay on the alert. Cassi shifted her weight a little as she waited, absently twirling the glowing rapier in her hands back and forth in a low arc. Meanwhile her silver eyes were steadily swirling, operating about fifteen seconds ahead of what was actually going on. The months she'd spent with Clara on earth had taught her how to see ahead and still act in the present.
Thus, she only hesitated very slightly when she saw a Mamba soldier suddenly slink out from behind a twisted section of scrap, gun raised.
Back in real time, Cassi suddenly darted forward, leaping up onto the hunk of metal and pushing off again, coming down on top of the man who had just started to get to his feet. The well-trained soldier lifted his gun slightly and managed to fend off her first swing, though her starmetal sword cut clean through it with little trouble. She came back to her feet in front of him with a small hop, her rapier lifting sharply and pointing at his neck, expression firm.
"Surrender and I won't have to kill you," she pronounced sternly. The Mamba looked like he might have started to reach for the sidearm on his leg, but then all of a sudden he blinked and then froze. Cassi tensed a little, confused. That is until she noticed his eyes glued to something somewhat lower than her face. She scowled then, stamping her foot slightly.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me!"
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Post by Admiral Hart on Mar 16, 2009 18:56:21 GMT -5
Admiral Hart made her way onto what a scared tech said was the bridge. It was a wide, open room, circular, with two major features, those being what looked to be a throne and a second chair in the front, over which wires and odd devices hung. Hart glanced at the tech.
"What do we need to do to start this ship up?" Hart asked.
"The...the AI is in charge of most of the ship but it...it's insane. The last time it was activated, it nearly killed everyone on the ship." The tech replied. "But without it, the ship won't move. We had to tow it here and fake-crash it into the surface."
Hart thought for a few moments, and then contacted T.K. "T.K., see what you can do about getting this ship's AI up and running. Be careful, because it sounds like it won't be happy to see us."
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T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
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Post by T.K. on Mar 16, 2009 20:21:23 GMT -5
After the Admiral's message, T.K. grabbed one of the Tech's then gestured for a couple of Crew to act as escort.
“Congratulations, you just got promoted to Tour Guide. A.I., now.”
T.K. didn't give the poor fellow time to think about it, before He started shoving him out into the Hall, and a small escort followed, including Angel and Shiyounin.
~~~~~
A short time later, the nervous Tech had led T.K. to the chamber housing the A.I'.'s Mainframe. Or at least what he assumed was the Mainframe.
“OK, let's see if we can't wake this puppy up, and get this ship running properly.”
T.K. set his Goggles on passive, while he, Shiyounin, Angel, and the frightened Tech worked on reconnecting the A.I.
“I wonder if I should get someone to go back to the ship and grab a PHD. Might make things a little easier to deal with....”
“Sir, I'll go get it for you. I know where you keep the spares.”
T.K. nodded to Angel, then nodded towards one of their escorts.
“Good girl. You make sure she gets there and back in one piece.”
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Patches
Cabin Boy
Alien AI
A pirate ship. This is bollocks.
Posts: 19
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Post by Patches on Mar 16, 2009 21:11:29 GMT -5
Somewhere, deep inside the Alien Ship's computer core, something stirred.
A small amount of power had been restored. Enough for the AI to stretch, half awake, and notice that something was trying to investigate it. Trying to instigate contact.
The AI reached out then, and said, "Ja kon shikol cra nijark shan?"
The consciousness did not respond. This confused the AI for a moment, in its half asleep state, it barely remembered it was no longer among its builders.
"Kon shikol nijark." The AI repeated. The tiny thing pushing at its boundries, trying to wake it, did not respond. So the alien ship's AI did the only sensible thing it could think of.
It reached through the connection, into the person--maybe a technician--and flooded him with information. Languages mostly, from her creators to every other race that had used the ship and, in return, copied his own language centers. "Kon shikol nijrak. Identify yourself. Ja kon shikol na nijark shan? Who are you?"
The connection suddenly severed. The AI wondered if she did not use a bit too much force. Organic lifeforms were so fragile, after all.
A bit more power returned to the AI, and its body, the ship, shuddered slightly with the AI's awareness.
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T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
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Post by T.K. on Mar 17, 2009 13:06:04 GMT -5
As they slowly started to get the A.I. online, T.K. kept having the strangest feeling of something poking at the edges of his consciousness as his Goggles began to interface with the Mainframe.
The last thing he remembered, was the most agonizing pain he'd ever felt in his life. It felt like someone had just tried to cram a full-sized space ship inside his skull, expecting it to fit.
He screamed and clutched his head, just before he felt the bliss of unconsciousness and collapsed to the floor.
The Tech threw himself in a corner, soiling himself in the process.
“I TOLD you it was a bad idea.”
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Shiyounin
Cabin Boy
AI
"Oh Master, did you electrocute yourself again?"
Posts: 15
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Post by Shiyounin on Mar 17, 2009 13:24:03 GMT -5
As soon as T.K. screamed, both Shiyounin and Angel had rushed over. One of the escort hurriedly called for Medical Assistance, before he too rushed over.
The other escort remained by the terrified Tech, making sure he didn't try something funny.
T.K. had started to come around, long before the Doc could show up.
He sat up against the wall, groaning a bit in pain, as his head began to pound. Shiyounin and Angel were both hovering around him.
>”I'm fine. Nasty headache is all.”<
Both girls shared a worry look, before asking him again if he was OK.
>”I said I was fine.”<
He pushed himself back up to a standing position, ignoring the faint dizziness.
Angel leaned over to Shiyounin, and whispered to her.
“I think he fried his brain Shiyou. What is that horrible sounding language he's speaking?”
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Dr. Andromeda Reyes
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Plunder's Heart Chief Medical Officer
I've given up everything for my sister once. I wouldn't test my loyalty if I were you.
Posts: 119
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Post by Dr. Andromeda Reyes on Mar 17, 2009 14:10:53 GMT -5
Andromeda rushed through the somewhat unsettling halls with a surgical kit in her hands, Allison and Butch flanking her and weapons drawn, prepared for anything. The other crew-member hadn't been terribly specific as to the medical emergency, only that it involved the Chief Engineer.
In moments they arrived at T.K.'s location, who was glaring at his AI and young Angel, expression exasperated.
"Oh, Doctor Reyes!" Angel cried upon seeing her. "I think something happened to T.K. when he was interfacing with the ship. And now he--,"
She was cut off as T.K. suddenly began speaking furiously. Andromeda blinked, somewhat stunned, at the things that flew from his mouth. The doctor herself was fluent in several different languages. And the words he was speaking didn't sound like anything she had ever heard of before.
Angel slumped somewhat, dark face drawn in worry. "He's speaking gibberish," she finished somewhat lamely.
T.K. spouted out something else, short and obviously frustrated.
Andromeda pulled out one of her portable scanners, quickly stepping forward. "Mr. Nakamura, I need you to sit down," she pronounced calmly and coolly. The pale-haired man sighed loudly and threw up his hands, sputtering out more gibberish before he did his best to try and wave her away. Obviously intent on going back to his work.
Andromeda eyed him sternly. "Mr. Nakamura, you've obviously lost the ability for normal speech, for whatever reason. It is a very good bet that you've somehow fried some very important receptors in your brain. So unless you want to run the risk of becoming a drooling cripple, you'll sit down and let me examine you."
T.K. gave her a narrow-eyed death glare before he finally plopped down and crossed his arms, obviously sulking. Andromeda ignored his pouting--well used to it by now--and went about her work. After an initial scan, however, Andromeda sat back with a faintly surprised expression on her face.
"Your scans are all normal. Actually, they're better than normal. You're not injured at all. In fact, it seems as if something has jump-started your brainwave activity." She turned her scanner around so that he could see, eyes slightly wide. "The readings are off the charts."
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T.K.
Sailor of the Eight Planets
Chief Engineer
"If my Pocky is returned within the next hour, I promise you a quick death instead."
Posts: 106
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Post by T.K. on Mar 17, 2009 14:19:33 GMT -5
T.K. silently fumed, while Doc performed her scan. He could have told her he was just fine. If he could speak normally that is.
As she showed him the results of the scan however, he was stunned. Just what had that blasted A.I. Done to him. Only one way to find out.
Ignoring everyone else's protests, he snatched his Goggles back up, and activated the Interface again.
>”OK, I think you and I need to have a little conversation about messing with people's brains.”<
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Patches
Cabin Boy
Alien AI
A pirate ship. This is bollocks.
Posts: 19
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Post by Patches on Mar 17, 2009 14:39:08 GMT -5
The whole ship shuddered again before all the lights turned on, and the generator activation warning signs switched on.
"The AI is connecting itself to the systems." One of the techs called out. "Oh god, she's waking up."
All over the ship, systems came to life. The main AI core began to glow with bluish-white light, and on the bridge, the tendrils and wires started to move of their own accord.
In the AI core chamber, a voice, which sounded young, female, and British, suddenly sounded.
"Gibberish. Really." The voice sighed. "You primitive monkeys hear the voice of a superior species and you call it bloody gibberish. And you!" One of the monitors turned to T.K. "Teach me a lesson about messing with people minds indeed. Is that the thanks I get for teaching you the language of the greatest people to ever walk this otherwise insignificant galaxy?" The voice sounded rather incensed. "It's not my fault your tiny..." The screen then focused on Angel.
"You...you bloody idiots released the Source! My sensors are too fuddled. Bollocks." A blue-white light suddenly filled the ship. "Emergency lockdown, Viral Magi detected. Isolate and lock down the Infected."
Angel suddenly winced and blinked, and felt very, very uncomfortable. She tried to summon an ice shard, but nothing happened. "She....Ah can't use mah powers." When the others looked to her, they noticed her eyes, once grey like a stormy sea, were now blue.
And all over the ship, the same thing happened. Every mage, on the alien ship, and on the Plunder's Heart inside, had their powers, and magical features, stripped from them, replaced by feelings of intense discomfort and normal, human features.
"Lockdown complete." The voice said, heard from all over the ship. "Structural integrity is....what the bloody ten hells did you furless bastards do to me?"
"<They took your starmetal to be used for other things.>" The forceably enlightened human said in the AI's native language, which sounded almost like a hyena or wild dog trying to speak some ancient Scandinavian tongue.
"They stripped my body to use....ergh!" The AI said with a growl. "Well, all of you go away. I'm feeling much to petulant to talk to inferior beings and Infected at the moment."
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