Happy Wednesday Reapers!
Here is the latest piece of lore from Nethril! This time it's about Ashee, the Mech Navigator.
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The Shot
“Elayne, I’m tracking five targets on intercept vector.” Ashee’s voice, piped directly into Elayne’s cockpit speakers, was high pitched and carried a warning note that Elayne barely registered, the AI was always overly worried about Elayne’s safety. She didn’t have time to acknowledge it now. She was lost in the void of her rifle, the void of death. Her omniframe’s back was pressed against a rock, and her enormous rifle was resting on second work in front of her. Her frame could have easily supported the weight, but any tiny adjustments in the suit would cause huge changes in her aim.
And she had to be perfect.
Through her scope, five-hundred meters across the icy, rock-strewn field, a monster out of legend took a lumbering step. When its foot touched the ground the ice under Elayne's omniframe cracked and splintered. Sprinting around the lumbering beast’s feet were dozens of zeros. The smallest and weakest of the alien race they barely understood. Their objective, however, was clear. A trio of MEK-A units stood; guns pointed up at the oncoming tide. They were formed up in a defensive posture, covering a fourth, much smaller figure that Elayne could not see clearly from this distance.
She knew what it was though.
The downed form of a reaper in their omniframe.
A small holographic figure blurred into existence on top of Elayne’s rifle. The figure appeared with its back to Elayne and facing the gigantic creature, “Analysis confirms it is a category three. Capable of squashing that pilot down there with ease.” The hologram turned on its heel to face the cockpit of the omniframe, nearly overbalanced, and just barely managed to keep from toppling over.
Ashee took the appearance of a small girl with her dark hair cut in a loose bob and wore platform heels and a close-fitting suit with a dress over top. Elayne knew that the AI had chosen the appearance it thought would best please her pilot. Elayne thought the AI took the cuteness factor a little too far, but that was an argument she didn’t ever feel like having. She made a minute adjustment, shifting the rifle up a hair, “You’re distracting me Ashee.” The beast was almost in the right position.
Ashee shrugged her holographic shoulders, “I don’t care, so long as it’s me who’s distracting you.”
Elayne snorted softly, “What is the sitrep on the incoming targets?” Elayne didn’t dare take her eyes from the scope. This shot had to be perfect. She wouldn’t have time for a second.
Ashee's voice piped through the cockpit, "Still on an intercept course. ETA, thirty seconds." A pause, and then, "You'd better not let them touch you Elayne, or we will have some serious discussions later."
“The reaper team will engage them when they cross the range marker.” Said Elayne.
Ashee vanished from her gun barrel and took her usual place in the upper right corner of her HUD. The AI’s avatar shrugged her digital shoulders, “Maybe Elayne, but I am not confident in their abilities.” The AI’s eyes shifted from their normal stormy grey to deep red with skulls for pupils, “And if they allow any harm to come to you, I will track down each and every one of them and…”
Elayne ground her teeth together and palmed the mute switch on her HUD. She couldn't deal with Ashee right now. The AI was the most useful tool she'd ever encountered. Capable of seamless interface with all of her systems and had increased her accuracy by orders of magnitude. But an OP-AI as powerful as Ashee inevitably came with software quirks.
Elayne took a deep breath and focused on her scope, and the monster bearing down on the reaper. The thing was truly breathtaking in its hideousness. It reminded Elayne of the pictures from Earth showing prehistoric lizards, though no lizard on earth had ever reached such size and mass, and certainly had never evolved to spit acid or carry enormous energy weapons.
However, even a creature this large had a weakness. Elayne curled her finger around the trigger. The beast was seconds away from being close enough for effective fire. With Ashee’s help, hopefully, they could take the thing down in a single shot.
The AI appeared directly in front of Elayne. This time Ashee's eyes were bloodshot red and filled with empty rage, which Elayne had come to associate with the AI as her most... interesting feature. Ashee stomped her feet and gesticulated with her hands. Elayne unmuted the AI and a burst of high-pitched shrieking filled the cockpit, “ELAYNE THE REAPER TEAM HAS ENGAGED THE CATEGORY ZERO TARGETS.”
Elayne winced and her aim was momentarily thrown off, “Ow. Why are you yelling?”
“Because you muted me, and I wanted you to feel the same pain I felt.” She replied primly, “And because you need to remember that I’m the only one who can really watch your back.”
The beast took another lumbering step, and Elayne’s targeting HUD blinked green. It was finally in range, “Ashee, get ready to fire.”
The AI vanished from Elayne’s HUD leaving her vision completely clear, “Activating targeting enhancement software. Your gun is hot, and you are clear to fire.”
Elayne took a deep breath and whispered softly to herself, “And now I am become death…”
The AI took up the mantra, “Destroyer of worlds…”
Elayne squeezed the trigger.
Here is the latest piece of lore from Nethril! This time it's about Ashee, the Mech Navigator.
---------------------
The Shot
“Elayne, I’m tracking five targets on intercept vector.” Ashee’s voice, piped directly into Elayne’s cockpit speakers, was high pitched and carried a warning note that Elayne barely registered, the AI was always overly worried about Elayne’s safety. She didn’t have time to acknowledge it now. She was lost in the void of her rifle, the void of death. Her omniframe’s back was pressed against a rock, and her enormous rifle was resting on second work in front of her. Her frame could have easily supported the weight, but any tiny adjustments in the suit would cause huge changes in her aim.
And she had to be perfect.
Through her scope, five-hundred meters across the icy, rock-strewn field, a monster out of legend took a lumbering step. When its foot touched the ground the ice under Elayne's omniframe cracked and splintered. Sprinting around the lumbering beast’s feet were dozens of zeros. The smallest and weakest of the alien race they barely understood. Their objective, however, was clear. A trio of MEK-A units stood; guns pointed up at the oncoming tide. They were formed up in a defensive posture, covering a fourth, much smaller figure that Elayne could not see clearly from this distance.
She knew what it was though.
The downed form of a reaper in their omniframe.
A small holographic figure blurred into existence on top of Elayne’s rifle. The figure appeared with its back to Elayne and facing the gigantic creature, “Analysis confirms it is a category three. Capable of squashing that pilot down there with ease.” The hologram turned on its heel to face the cockpit of the omniframe, nearly overbalanced, and just barely managed to keep from toppling over.
Ashee took the appearance of a small girl with her dark hair cut in a loose bob and wore platform heels and a close-fitting suit with a dress over top. Elayne knew that the AI had chosen the appearance it thought would best please her pilot. Elayne thought the AI took the cuteness factor a little too far, but that was an argument she didn’t ever feel like having. She made a minute adjustment, shifting the rifle up a hair, “You’re distracting me Ashee.” The beast was almost in the right position.
Ashee shrugged her holographic shoulders, “I don’t care, so long as it’s me who’s distracting you.”
Elayne snorted softly, “What is the sitrep on the incoming targets?” Elayne didn’t dare take her eyes from the scope. This shot had to be perfect. She wouldn’t have time for a second.
Ashee's voice piped through the cockpit, "Still on an intercept course. ETA, thirty seconds." A pause, and then, "You'd better not let them touch you Elayne, or we will have some serious discussions later."
“The reaper team will engage them when they cross the range marker.” Said Elayne.
Ashee vanished from her gun barrel and took her usual place in the upper right corner of her HUD. The AI’s avatar shrugged her digital shoulders, “Maybe Elayne, but I am not confident in their abilities.” The AI’s eyes shifted from their normal stormy grey to deep red with skulls for pupils, “And if they allow any harm to come to you, I will track down each and every one of them and…”
Elayne ground her teeth together and palmed the mute switch on her HUD. She couldn't deal with Ashee right now. The AI was the most useful tool she'd ever encountered. Capable of seamless interface with all of her systems and had increased her accuracy by orders of magnitude. But an OP-AI as powerful as Ashee inevitably came with software quirks.
Elayne took a deep breath and focused on her scope, and the monster bearing down on the reaper. The thing was truly breathtaking in its hideousness. It reminded Elayne of the pictures from Earth showing prehistoric lizards, though no lizard on earth had ever reached such size and mass, and certainly had never evolved to spit acid or carry enormous energy weapons.
However, even a creature this large had a weakness. Elayne curled her finger around the trigger. The beast was seconds away from being close enough for effective fire. With Ashee’s help, hopefully, they could take the thing down in a single shot.
The AI appeared directly in front of Elayne. This time Ashee's eyes were bloodshot red and filled with empty rage, which Elayne had come to associate with the AI as her most... interesting feature. Ashee stomped her feet and gesticulated with her hands. Elayne unmuted the AI and a burst of high-pitched shrieking filled the cockpit, “ELAYNE THE REAPER TEAM HAS ENGAGED THE CATEGORY ZERO TARGETS.”
Elayne winced and her aim was momentarily thrown off, “Ow. Why are you yelling?”
“Because you muted me, and I wanted you to feel the same pain I felt.” She replied primly, “And because you need to remember that I’m the only one who can really watch your back.”
The beast took another lumbering step, and Elayne’s targeting HUD blinked green. It was finally in range, “Ashee, get ready to fire.”
The AI vanished from Elayne’s HUD leaving her vision completely clear, “Activating targeting enhancement software. Your gun is hot, and you are clear to fire.”
Elayne took a deep breath and whispered softly to herself, “And now I am become death…”
The AI took up the mantra, “Destroyer of worlds…”
Elayne squeezed the trigger.
