Project Babel

Uh oh, Bomber's now subplot-capable with two character pairs. *spamspamspam*

This is the subplot for Emily Delumia and Mir.exe, Project Babel. Length is indeterminate, as the overarching theme is merely discovery, and DISCOVERY IS ENDLESS. Or something. I'm making aliens canon by the way, cool beans.

Project Babel - Table of Contents

Mission 1: First Transmission - In Progress

Project Babel - Index

Characters:
Operators — Emily Delumia, Glenn Casey, Walter Neimann
Navis — Mir.exe, Apollo.exe
SPs: Gamma.SP
Mission 1: First Transmission - Overview

Navis: Mir.exe, Apollo.exe
Operators: Emily Delumia, Glenn Casey, Walter Neimann
Others: Asteroid 200X MV2, Geminga's Child.???
Setting: NAXA, NAXA Net

With the tests and simulations of the Lumian Transmission Cannon finally complete, NAXA brass has given the go ahead for Project Babel: a deep space exploration initiative built around Navis transmitted through Lumian pulses and wavelengths. Current theory has it that digital space does exist outside of the Earth sphere, and Project Babel is committed to land Navis in those foreign networks. While NAXA is the only organization undertaking this task, there's a great deal of competition within the ranks of the astronaut Navis and their Operators, all of whom see this as a modern-age moon race with fame as the prize for whoever makes the big discovery.

Last month marked the launch of Tower, the orbital satellite housing the real-construction Lumian Transmission Cannon. Coinciding with the virtual test data provided by Emily and Mir, final tuning of Tower finally just completed, clearing the way for the first mission to deep space under Project Babel. NAXA gathered the top astronauts from various nations across the world to select the Operator for this mission, and the winner of that was Netopia's own Glenn Casey with his Navi, Apollo.exe.

Being the lead scientist behind the Lumian Transmission Cannon, the crux of this entire project, Emily is deeply rooted in all parts of Project Babel, even having a seat in central command at NAXA HQ for the launch. Naturally, she is ecstatic to see her work at its full potential, but Mir is a little down after, as part of the research staff, not even being considered for the astronaut position in this mission. Still, she wants Emily to succeed, and focuses on the work at hand to keep those frustrations at bay.

Come launch day, all involved staff are on hand at NAXA HQ, as well as NAXA's most senior leaders as well as some of the most prominent physicists from the world over. Naturally, the actual astronauts for the mission, Glenn and Apollo, are present, as well as Emily and Mir, along with Emily's uncle, Dr. Neimann. After the necessary calibrations to Tower, a Lumian transmission beam is shot out on a path close to the Geminga neutron star, where a coalition of NAXA's astrophysicists and data analysts estimated where an extraterrestrial dataspace would be most likely to occur. Glenn jacks Apollo into Tower's local network, and from there Apollo boards the Lumian transmission beam, and proceeds into deep space at hyper-lightspeeds.

Despite the near-instantaneous travel times, Apollo must investigate possible offshoots in the transmission stream, and yields no results in the first 15 minutes of the mission. Central command estimates at this point that Apollo is approximately 10 parsecs away from Earth. Shortly after, Apollo claims to have discovered an outbound link, but as soon as he leaves the transmission stream from Tower, all communications cut off. Central command goes into a frenzy to try and re-establish the link before Apollo is lost, but something is blocking Tower's beam completely. Another Navi needs to be sent to investigate the obstruction, but Glenn and Apollo were the only astronaut candidates brought in today. Waiting to fly in one of the other candidate pairs would risk permanently losing the connection with Apollo, so NAXA needs a substitute immediately.

Enter Mir, who volunteers herself quickly. From the simulation testing, she and Emily became more versed in practical Lumian properties than anyone else in the organization, so if something in Tower needed to be adjusted to clear this obstruction, the two of them were best suited to be out front to do it. NAXA brass is reluctant to send out a Navi with absolutely no prior practice in the Lumian transmission stream's environment, but a vote of confidence from good old Uncle Walter sways the opinion and puts the two girls on the spot to rescue Apollo.

After launching through Tower's Lumian beam, Mir travels roughly 5 parsecs before hitting the obstruction. Within her virtual realm, there is a flat wall where the data stream just... stops. Rapid analysis from central command yields that a stray asteroid had found the transmission beam from Tower and was blocking the low-level Lumians from continuing on to Apollo's location. Understanding the issue, Emily realizes they need to switch Tower's output to a high-level Lumian beam to physically break through the asteroid, but that comes at risk to Mir inside the beam, who could become disrupted or flat out destroyed by the quantum bombardment of her medium. Resolute to continue, Mir convinces Emily to issue the order, and thus Mir enters into a survival game against her own data stream as it digs a path through the asteroid.

(Battle 1 vs. Asteroid 200X MV2 Start)

While the virtual representation of the asteroid, the solid ending wall Mir encountered, is harmless, the danger she faces comes from the way she came. Super-condensed data packets come flying in and strike the wall, as in physical space high-density Lumian clusters are doing the same against the asteroids surface. Mir has to dodge, defend, and break through the data packets until the asteroid finally gives and breaks apart in the real world.

(Battle 1 vs. Asteroid 200X MV2 End)

With the full transmission stream re-established, Mir rapidly traverses the remaining 5 parsecs to Apollo's last known location, where she finds the outbound link her fellow astronaut Navi had mentioned. After making sure her connection with central command is stable, Mir ventures through to the first known dataspace not constructed by mankind.

While she has room to land on her feet, the alien network is a complete patchwork, full of so many gaps and holes that many back at NAXA HQ can only theorize that this place is a pure happenstance produced from the surrounding interstellar radiation writing information into the local Lumian clusters. Emily manages to stabilize Mir's interfacing with the network slightly by adjusting Tower's output frequency to match the dataspace's as closely as possible, but only so much can be managed. With everything that can be done from the other side already done, Mir cautiously proceeds into the shoddy natural network to find Apollo. Her search radius is frustratingly small due to interference from some unknown source, but luckily she manages to stumble upon Apollo quickly... as well as the unknown source. The first astronaut Navi managed to get himself caught up in battle with a strange data entity, and wasn't doing so hot against this digital interference the entity was producing. Mir hurries to assist Apollo, and the two astronauts engage the data entity in battle.

(Battle 2 vs. Geminga's Child Start)

Quickly both teams find trouble against Geminga's Child, but not really because their attacks are ineffective... It's just that neither the Navis nor Operators can really tell what their attacks are doing to the entity. Apollo soon finds himself relegated to breaking up interference waves, while Mir continues to pelt Geminga's Child with LTC blasts. The tide of battle still doesn't shift an inch for either side, but as Mir continues to fire, she realizes that Geminga's Child is having peculiar responses to the Lumian attacks. Suddenly realizing that the entity is taking the shots as transmissions instead of attacks, Mir tunes down the LTC to low-density beams and establishes a clear, albeit one-way, communication with Geminga's Child.

(Battle 2 vs. Geminga's Child End)

Finding herself able to, surprisingly, speak with the entity, the battle quickly diffuses and Geminga's Child ceases its creation of interference. With Glenn's connection to Apollo re-established, the rescue mission is complete, but now there's the issue of what to do with this... frankly, alien. While it absolutely had its odd structures about it, Geminga's Child exhibits AI properties, and seems to take to Mir, to the point of even following her towards the link back to Tower's transmission stream. Nevermind the successful rescue of one of NAXA's top astronaut Navis, having inadvertently secured a genuine digital alien, Mir is suddenly the heroine of NAXA and the astronomic sciences as a whole. After some initial tests and a few days' time, NAXA manages to adapt Geminga's Child to an SP base and make it... well, now him, compatible with Earth's networks. Dubbed Gamma due to the radiation-like properties he exhibits, all of NAXA's researchers would love to study him, but his attachment to Mir is unshaken, and thus he is assigned to her and Emily for observation in addition to continued LTC simulations.
Mission 1: First Transmission - Key Details

    [li]NAXA completes LTC satellite "Tower" to transmit Navis into deep space
    [li]Apollo.exe selected as first explorer Navi, with Operator Glenn Casey
    [li]Mission starts, Apollo discovers data network outside the solar system
    [li]Beam suddenly gets cut off, connection to Apollo lost
    [li]Emily and Mir volunteer to reconnect to the network and rescue Apollo
    [li]Mir reaches the disconnect point, an asteroid that crossed into the beam
    [li]Mir breaks through Asteroid 200X MV2 (Battle 1)
    [li]Beam reconnects with the foreign data network, Mir enters
    [li]Mir finds Apollo being suppressed by radiation data
    [li]Mir discovers Geminga's Child amidst radiation
    [li]Mir and Apollo fight Geminga's Child (Battle 2)
    [li]Mir establishes communication with foreign AI through Lumians
    [li]Geminga's Child follows Mir and Apollo back to NAXA
    [li]Geminga's Child adapted into Gamma.SP for Mir
  • Rewards: Gamma.SP, Mod's discretion
Mission 1: First Transmission - Character Profiles

Operator
Name: Glenn Casey
Age: 27
Gender: Male
==Appearance==
Giving off the image of a handsome, pretty posterboy, Glenn Casey is... well, exactly that. He's the most popular astronaut NAXA has, and as such is front and center on all advertising by the organization. Glenn is actually listed at 6'1" per his initial filing into the NAXA employee database, but since then he has grown to 6'2" courtesy of some extended stays in the zero-gravity space of orbit. Perhaps that abnormal growth is what made him look a little lanky, but in truth his body is very-well toned, mostly out of necessity to tolerate the launch procedures of space missions. Glenn's short hair is a rustic red color native to rural east Netopia, but there's a natural waviness to his that it somehow still looks good. By preference, Glenn keeps his hair parted in front of his face, exposing his clear blue eyes for all to see.

While he keeps a relatively simple profile around NAXA HQ, sporting just a regulation blue NAXA jacket over a shirt, pair of paints, and shoes, Glenn has a sharp sense of fashion and isn't afraid to flaunt it. He rocks a suit and tie like a champ, and in general stays well-dressed even in the most casual situations. Glenn's very photogenic as a result, and perhaps that may be the only real reason he's NAXA's main advertisement.

==Personality==
Glenn is pretty absorbed in his status as the "ace astronaut" of NAXA, and as such can come off as arrogant... pretty much all the time, really. His good looks and fashion sense don't do much to humble him, either. By his own standards, Glenn usually knows better about things than the people of the research division, despite the comparison of their skills and his being apples and oranges. He is fairly intelligent in truth, having the level of talent for engineering required for an astronaut and then some. Somehow, though, that genuine ability that Glenn has can sometimes be lost in his "greatness". For all that trouble, though, he puts on a good show in front of the cameras, and that has helped NAXA out as well as earned him his following of fangirls.

Glenn's thoughts of Emily are iffy at best. Used to girls fawning over him for his status or looks, Glenn is maddened by Emily's tunnel vision for her research, and in addition he is not fond of all the attention the prodigal astrophysicist has garnered for that work. While he'd never admit it, Glenn fears losing the spotlight to her, and because of that often ends up acting antagonistic towards Emily when they encounter each other.

==PET Modifications==
Glenn's white and black PET is a NAXA custom work that is very, very noticeable for how sturdy it is. There's enough extra shell on it that one could run it over with a car and not scratch it. The enhancement seems very excessive, but given that Glenn has to take this PET out into space to interface with the satellite network, the thought of "too much" suddenly fades away.

NetNavi
Name: Apollo.exe
Gender: Male
Element: Fire
Subtype: Speed
==Appearance==
As an astronaut's Navi, Apollo is well-equipped to act in a similar capacity amidst NAXA's various satellite networks. He's very tall, standing around 6'7" or 6'8", with a surprisingly strong body for someone not regularly exposed to gravity. Apollo wears a sleek, hi-tech spacesuit much akin to NAXA's current regulation gear for Glenn and other astronauts, with black lining around the joints and white padding. In addition to that, Apollo sports moderately heavy armor made of silvery-white heat resistant alloy. Unlike Mir, Apollo is not very much opposed to wearing his helmet, which is set up with a long-range comm system that covers up his mouth when worn. Like all NAXA space helmets, the full-faced visor is polarized against solar rays, so his short cut blonde hair and dirty blue eyes seem a few shades darker than they really are.

By far, though, the most eye-catching part of Apollo is his jetpack which also explains why he needs such a strong body. Strapped to his back is a mounted thruster as wide in diameter as Apollo's shoulder span, with its fuel canister tucked underneath. This is fully functional by itself, and total overkill to propel even a heavyweight like Apollo. That's just the start, however. In addition to the main thruster, four additional attitude thrusters are attached to the alloy backpack, two on each side, through robotic arms that Apollo can freely manipulate at will. Even beyond that, two more, heavier robotic arms extend out of the top of the backpack, attaching to extremely large alloy shields that tolerate incredible amounts of heat. One would think all this equipment would leave Apollo very hunched over much of the time, but he figured out the specific balance points between all the robotic arms to let him stand up straight.

==Personality==
Apollo is not a far cry from his Operator, in that he has quite the high opinion of himself. He is strong and fast, no doubt, but Apollo is a real hotshot that doesn't imagine much he can't do. Granted, that imagination does not think up things that require delicacy, which Apollo lacks in most respects. Given the rocket strapped to his back, it's perhaps fitting that Apollo is prone to charge in head-first rather than wait and calculate. Like Glenn, though, Apollo isn't stupid like his attitude may suggest. Just by the nature of the work, NAXA employees need to have a certain degree of wit about them, and one way or another Apollo meets that. Most just... aren't sure where that wit is on him, exactly.

While the negativity is fairly one-sided between the Operators, Apollo and Mir share a mutual and definite dislike for each other. Maybe it's just natural for the bullish and proud Apollo to butt heads with the pragmatic and sensible Mir, but the two of them have been off on the wrong foot since day one. The situation did not improve any when Apollo was selected as the subject for the first live test of the Lumian Transmission Cannon, which Mir really wanted to have.

==Custom Weapon: Saturn EVA==
As would probably be expected, Apollo's combat abilities are largely rooted in his wild jetpack arrangement. His most common attack function is to grab the large mounted heat shields and wield them for bashing, sometimes linking the two together and ramming his enemies. Additionally, Apollo can flip forward the small attitude thrusters and use them as flamethrowers. Technically, he can do that with the main thruster too, but the recoil on that is very impractical for the average battle.

However, the question remains as to what the point of such an outlandish weapons system is. In truth, the Saturn EVA is a disassembled space-grade rocket. The main and attitude thrusters are for what one would expect, and the heat shields linked together are actually the nose cone of the rocket. The plating of the shields can extend a pretty long ways from their mounts, and with that in mind Apollo can reassemble the rocket by effectively transforming his jetpack around him. The end result is about 30 feet long, and has more than enough propulsion at its disposal to launch and fly freely through the skies and space.

==History==

Level: 37

HP: 300 (+ 10 levels)
Actions: 6 (+ 6 levels)
Buster: 5/3/3, Element Shot, Seeking Shot (+ 9 levels)

==NC (70/70)== (+ 6 levels)
Undershirt
FloatShoes
AirShoes

==Folder (30/30)== (+ 6 levels)
DashAttack1 x4
DashAttack2 x2
Condor x1
Burner1 x3
Burner2 x2
Burner3 x1
HeatBreath1 x4
HeatBreath2 x2
FireBurn2 x3
FireArm2 x3
StandOut x1
BronzeFist x1
Guard2 x3

==Signature Attacks (1520/1540 points)==

Multiple Staging (100 Break damage + 50 Fire damage x 4 hits, 8TCD; 320 points)
Apollo forwards all four of his attitude thrusters connects his heat shields into the rocket's nose cone, then unleashes a firey conflagration while extending the nose cone out to plow into his target.

Lift-Off (280 damage, Movement x2, 8TCD; 320 points)
Apollo transforms the Saturn EVA into rocket form and immediately blasts off, careening into an enemy before readjusting his trajectory back into a flight pattern.

Scrub (240 Heal, 8TCD; 320 points)
Abort the mission! Abort the mission! Ugh, back to the drawing board...

Forward Venting (Imbue Fire, Passive; 20/80 points)
With an array of freely-adjustable, arm-mounted thrusters on his back, why wouldn't Apollo add a little more fire?

Ignition (Microburst, Passive; 40/160 points)
The main thruster? Yeah, that's only 3 million N of instantaneous force.

Liquid Fuel Transfer (Buster Charge, Passive; 40/160 points)
Apollo pulls a little extra out of the fuel tank underneath the main booster.

Heat Shields (2-Hit Shield, Passive; 40/160 points)
Huh, so they really do work as shields after all.


Asteroid 200X MV2 and Geminga's Child sheets generated and held at mod's discretion. Rewards outside of Gamma.SP also at mod's discretion. Mod is Asator for this subplot.
Approved.