Robert Meta

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 264

The trip back to Nirn was uneventful, and I spent most of it catching up with enchanting and spending some time with Ahsoka. We had taken to sparring most mornings, at least when we could, and with a day basically just waiting to arrive at our destination, we spent some extra time relaxing on the couch.

When we finally stopped at the security checkpoint, which at this point had grown considerably since we first established it as a legitimate point in deep space, rather than just a rando...

Headquarters: Capital Wasteland (Poll)

Hello everyone! So, if your up to date on Headquarters (Spoilers if your not,) you'll know that the rules around the HQ system are about to change. I have a specific reason and direction I plan on taking this change, but I would like to hear what the readers think. So, if you have an opinion on this, or any facet of the story, leave a comment. Consider this a check in and a opportunity to point out problems you see!

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 263

After we split up, both our teams pushed deeper into the ship. Corvak's target was located somewhere along the back end of the starship, which meant first moving directly up and then heading backward above the hangar. This was likely going to be a meandering path, as the ship was in such bad shape that there was no way a direct route still existed. Meanwhile, we would be pushing down and forward while fighting our way through the twisted and broken ship. 

Progress almost immediatel...

Headquarters: Capital Wasteland - Chapter Twenty Three

By the time we arrived at the connection point, all of us were starting to feel worn out and tired. It wasn't a physical exhaustion, as the sun shining down on us still filled us with the same strange, multifaceted vigor as it usually did now. Instead, with the adrenaline gone and our destination quickly approaching, a mental tiredness began to settle over us. 

We had been on high alert and high tension since we walked out of the connection point almost four hours ago, and now we w...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Eighty Three - Aldecaldos, Fixer, and Arasaka Interlude

Aldecaldos

Alexander Shepard sat at the end of a long set of tables, a TV playing in the corner.  Attached to that TV was a series of scanners and signal catchers, where a handy little program was slicing into the nearby broadcast nodes. All of that tech worked together to allow the Nomads to watch local television without paying local taxes. That included, of course, the live feed of the press conference their benefactor was putting on, though technically, this was a recording o...

Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter 119

For the next few days, while the city recovered from another megalomaniac villain being captured, I spent most of my time working at the compound. The city had officially been scoured of all major criminal enterprises, and was under the watchful protection of the Guardians, as well as New Wave. I had more or less completed my first objective of saving the city, and now it was time to really start working past that. 

Oh, don't get me wrong, it was far from a utopia. But the cops cou...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 262

As we approached the end of our lightspeed journey, everyone gathered at the bridge and common room of the Talos Chariot. It had been quite a while since we had all last been together, working on one mission and basing out of the Chariot, so it actually felt a little nostalgic. Our ship had been like our home, and while I wasn't usually one to let wistful thoughts get in the way of progress, there was something about our ship that was special.

In truth, I had been cons...

The Brink and Back (Poll)

Hello everyone! So this weeks poll is about choosing the focus of a Brink and Back interlude. I already chose one of the perspectives, now you guys get to pick the other. Just a warning, this chapter will have a very quick turnaround, so get your votes in ASAP.

Depending on how the writing goes, I might choose to do both the first and second place choices.

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 261

I took a shuttle down to the surface of Nirn, landing on what we were already calling Ysalamiri Island. Vaz had elected to come with me, mostly because she was interested in seeing the facilities on the ocean island, and I was happy to have her company. As we approached the lonely island, it was easy to see that construction on the facility had progressed significantly over the last few days. Several large buildings had been completed, including a place to stay for the on-site security team.<...

Headquarters: Capital Wasteland - Chapter Twenty Two

Walking along the shoreline quickly slowed down, as the ground shifted from stable gravel to larger stones. As we walked, we were forced to move carefully, lest the rocks shift under our feet and cause one of us to roll an ankle, or worse, land on our packs filled with highly flammable blaze. 

After about twenty minutes of struggling to walk on the loose stones, we gave up and climbed further from the shoreline, eventually walking through the thin underbrush that surrounded most of...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Eighty Two

As time passed, we gained a better understanding of how people, specifically the ordinary, middle to low-class citizens of Night City, were reacting to the announcement.  There was a fair bit of scepticism, as well as references to what happened with Pacifica, of course, but those would hopefully pass with time as we proved that we were both determined and capable of making this project a reality. 

Of course, there was also the general corpo hate. This was not nearly as bad as...

Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter 118

Hello everyone! So, somewhere along the way, I made an error and forgot I planned on making the capture of Coil Arcanum's quest for this cycle. So, attached is an edited version of the previous chapter, in which I correct that error. Its honestly not much, just a few blended lines to include the quest, but its included just in case you want to see it.

Thank you for your understanding!

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Tattletale's sudden reveal was met with a lot of yelling, everyone trying to...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 260

Over the next hour, while I watched and listened, the clone troopers put together a list of twelve locations that might fit what I was looking for. A few of them seemed like stretches, but when Ahsoka showed up about twenty minutes in, she was able to confirm a few and suggest crossing out those that might not be that useful. As you could imagine, the atmosphere was both nostalgic and somber, as these warriors wandered through their histories, looking for relevant memories.

Once the gro...

Rise of the Battlemage (Poll)

Hello everyone! So bit of a pinch in terms of ideas for this weeks Poll, so this one is kind of simple. The next batch of ships the Skyforged add to their fleet, what will their naming convention be?

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 259

After describing broadly what the Skyforged was about and what sort of things we got up to, Commander Frost finally asked the question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Are you going to let us go free after we pay you back?" He asked, looking directly into my eyes as he did. "We are willing to work off our debt, but will you agree to free us once we have? We cannot be slaves again, not after spending so long under the control of the Imperials."

The clone commander's question...

Headquarters: Capital Wasteland - Chapter Twenty One

The three natives crossed the rope bridge one at a time, the young man hauling a bag over his shoulder. As they came across, I instinctively reached out to shake Toando's hand, not thinking that he might not recognize the gesture. Thankfully, he did, or at least a form of it, as he grasped my forearm in a warrior's shake. 

"Greetings, Connor, it is good to see you are well," Toando said, giving my arm a single shake before releasing me. "I see you have more people?" 

"Ye...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Eighty One

I woke up early the following morning, wanting to rush through the final steps of the Jurassic tech tree. Most of what I wanted to explore had already been completed, which left nearly a dozen handheld tools that I could whip up in an hour or so, and several smaller machines, all of which were mostly exposed on the tech tree already. The entire branch of genetic manipulation and creation of life had blossomed with each step I made, and now that I was at the end, an incredible amount of knowle...

Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter 117

Once we collectively decided that working in the PRT to our plan was more trouble than it was worth, our plans progressed rapidly. The PRT would have been the most complicated aspect of the whole scenario, between convincing them that Coil was a problem in the first place, to organizing their forces with ours. Hell, convincing them to take a back seat while we led the operation would have probably been a monumental accomplishment on its own.

So, without them, the plan was considerably m...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 258

Mara Jade sat up on the edge of her bed, her body coiled like a cat's, every muscle ready to run or attack. Her eyes scanned the room with a practiced calm, looking past me at Tatnia, then past both of us at the red energy barrier that sealed us in. There were a dozen horizontal reinforcing beams that also acted as bars, but in addition, there were physical doors that would slide into place once we had stepped out. I might love the future tech of this world, and was happy to use it when it wa...

Brockton Bays Marvelous Mage (Poll)

Hello everyone! Its once again time to select William's bonus unlock. Just a reminder, I take the two top options from the previous poll, and then add two new subjects. There somehow seemed to be a bit of confusion that people had to select the repeat options, but that is not the case, all subjects are valid options!

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Dimensional Partitioning: First level allows the MC to make the physical boundaries of small spaces more flexible. This is not an increase in size pe...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 257

The long line that our crew carved into the forest was hard to look at, like a long scar cut into the skin of the planet. Dozens of labor droids and several biological workers had cleared a path through a forest area of around three hundred feet, cutting down trees and using them to shore up a path wide enough for construction equipment, specifically a few haulers and lifting vehicles. It was ugly, it was unfortunate, but it was also necessary.

At the fat end of the long, brutal cut was...

Headquarters: Capital Wasteland - Chapter Twenty

It took a few minutes for me to describe exactly what a sawtooth was to my soldiers, at least ot the best of my ability. Its design was stuck firmly in my head, as it was the first really dangerous zoomorph you fought in the game. In the encounter, it was attacking the Nora, the tribe that Aloy came from. It really trashes the place before the main character comes around to finally put it down, and if I remembered correctly, it was a fight known to put players down at least a few times. I kno...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Eighty

The MRVNs moved like a swarm, spreading over the buildings and warehouses. The first step to building something new was tearing down the old structures, and that required scans and planning, at least for the more complicated, structurally reinforced buildings. The greenhouses that occupied one of the corners of the space could simply be removed, as there wasn't much to their structure in the first place. 

Walking the area for the first time gave me a sense of the space that I mostl...

Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter 116

The next few days were busy, but not overly complicated. 

I spent most of my time working on the soldier project, putting together the baseline of equipment and building on top of the boots and cuffs that I had already designed and made. On top of that, we ran several patrols, working with New Wave to provide Weaver with as much experience as possible. She was an incredibly fast learner, easily picking up the lessons that Lady Photon and the other experienced members of New Wave ha...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 256

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 256

Hello everyone! Just to let you all know, I will be returning to the normal schedule as of now. Thank you all for your kind words and patience!

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I ended up hanging out with the clones late into the night, listening to their stories and occasionally sharing my own. During that time, I learned a bit about their stationing at the secret storage facility. Nearly everyone on the station had been a clone, and their c...

Headquarters: Capital Wasteland: Chapter Nineteen

Headquarters: Capital Wasteland: Chapter Nineteen

Hello everyone. So the way my writing schedule works out, this chapter headquarters just happened to be finished and ready for posting. Its unlikely that I will be posting tomorrows chapter, again due to my issues. Thank you all for your patience and kind words!

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For the next few days, the soldiers and I worked hard to complete quests and improve our situation. On the first day, after completing our morning routi...

Medical Issue - Brink and Back delay (and warning)

Hello everyone. Due to surprise medical issue, my week has been hectic, unpredictable and difficult. I thought I had everything under control, but as I sat down to do the final editing of today's chapter of Brink and Back (which I do right before its released to you guys) I realized that it was not fit for release, and that I am struggling to make it presentable.

I know this is incredibly disappointing for a lot of people, and I can only ask for your patience as I deal with th...

Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter 115

Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter 115

Once we gathered around the ritual platform, I pulled out a teleport crystal and held it out to Taylor. She accepted gingerly, her eyes wide as she turned it over in her hands.

"This is already set to teleport, you just need to focus on a location and say 'Goodbye,' I explained. "You don't have to worry about imagining us moving or how we get there or anything like that. Just focus on imagining your backyard, as it is right now."

S...

Star War: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 255

Star War: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 255

After a few hours in hyperspace, we dropped out in the middle of nowhere. Immediately, we landed the Starcaller inside the Hope, the massive central hangar bay easily fitting the freighter inside. Once we were secure, we debated on what exactly we could do with Mara Jade. 

"We cannot bring her to Vercopa," Ahsoka pointed out. "Not with how strong her potential connection is to the Emperor. We stripped her down a...

Headquarters (Poll)

Pretty soon, the headquarters will be receiving its next building! What do they unlock?

KEEP IN MIND! This doesn't mean these buildings wont appear in the future, just which one will come first.

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(Things produced, repaired, taught, or trained by the below buildings are not attached to the HQ in any special way, meaning they can be sold or gifted with no issues)

Maintenance building - Objects under fifty pounds can be submitted and will ...