Robert Meta

Project Bastion: Chapter Thirty-Seven

I had only just closed my eyes when I felt someone sit beside me. I looked over to find that Dr. Salinado had moved, slowly rubbing her dozing daughter as she gave me a look.

"So… what sort of group is the Bastion Crops?" She asked softly. "I've never heard of you, but that isn't exactly a surprise after seeing… whatever the he-heck happened to your friends."

"They went back home, and yes, I know it's disturbing to watch. I recommended you cover her eyes for a reason," I respo...

The Brink and Back Poll!

Hello everyone! Welcome to the first Brink and Back poll! So exciting!

(Spoilers if you aren't up to date!)

So, as discussed in the most recent chapter, Jackson has agreed to talk to Vik about possible bioware. You guys get to pick his first chrome!

Keep in mind that there is a large chance that any bio or cyberware will have to be removed before applying any of his own enhancements. The more he has, the longer/harder it will take/be to remove.

The Brink and Back - Chapter Eight

By an unspoken agreement, Jackie and I left the Coyote behind when we were done with our business with Padre. He said a quick goodbye to his mother before we headed out, making it all the way back to my truck. We climbed in, him in the passenger seat, before sitting there silently for a long moment.

“So, how badly did I get washed?” I asked, looking at my friend, who was sporting a shell-shocked look similar to mine.

“What? Washed? Well… If your goal is to stay out of the ...

Project Bastion: Chapter Thirty-Six

I spent twenty minutes getting our new charges into their new gear. Dr. Salinado helped her daughter put on the stab vest, then the jacket, followed by her thickest pair of pants. I then passed the obviously nervous mother a roll of duct tape and a pair of scissors.

"The most likely source of transmission is through bites of the infected," I explained. "Tape her pants to her shoes and her gloves to the sleeves of the jacket to cover as much skin as possible. Then… you need to cut her ...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 112 - Assault on the Huntress Interlude

As the shuttle sealed closed, leaving Deacon behind on the Demanding Fury, a silence settled over everyone. The Commodore respectfully stayed quiet, guiding the ship away from the small patrol craft, making a beeline for his own ship, the Huntress. After nearly a minute of silence, Nal finally spoke up.

"Boss will be fine," He said after he lifted his blaster pistol from his holster, checking its power pack before sliding it back home. "Between his armor, his magic, an...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 111

The two lovers nominally agreeing to work with us was apparently enough for Tatnia to stop with the stoic, silent, threatening badass act. She turned to me expectantly, but when I didn't respond, she reached out, grabbed my arm, and led me away. She pushed through one of the all-glass doors, stepping out onto the small balcony attached to the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a hushed whisper, one way to load to actually be private. "How in the hells do you plan on taking both...

Project Bastion: Chapter Thirty-Five

Sally woke up everyone who was going on the Resident Evil jump early the next morning. We met downstairs in the kitchen, where we had a simple light breakfast of leftover raptor meat. A big meal now would only slow us down.

In total, there were ten people coming with me, four of whom would be returning home almost immediately after seeing proof of the jump. George, Barry, and Jessica were a given, so much so that Jessica had just rolled her eyes when I confirmed she would be coming with...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Seven

It took me about an hour to finally calm down after realizing what was happening.

A solid hour of pacing around my apartment, wondering what I was going to do, chewing my fingernails down, and lamenting and berating the entity that had abandoned me to my new, cruel fate.

Eventually, my own capacity for dramatics outran my mental stamina, and I dropped down onto my couch. I stared up at the ceiling, mind wandering on all the threats that could possibly catch me now. As my panicked ...

Fate of -Spoilers!- (Rise of the Battlemage)

The Skyforged made quite the discovery on Omega Station in the form of a large group of clones. As many of you have guess, I do intend to have a group of them join up to work alongside the crew. Now you guys get to decide how many. (Ranger is a given and is not counted in this number. )

Some things to keep in mind!

The first option is intentionally small, and if chosen, the story will have a greater focus on individual clones, turning them into a sort of secondary strike team...

Project Bastion: Chapter Thirty-Four

On our first trip from the station to the bastion, we prioritized women and children. Sarah stayed behind, but with two young kids in the kid carrier and one in one of the bike carts, plus two adults in the golf cart trailer and one riding passenger, we managed to fit all of the kids and women in one trip. The second bike cart was filled with some of what they had used to set up camp. While Sally had brought up a potential solution, I wasn't about to leave good resources sitting behind, espec...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 110

The prep for our next mission, compared to the last time we smuggled ourselves down to the planet's surface, didn't take nearly as long. A few hours after we arrived, Calima dropped Nal and Tatnina off somewhere in the city and picked them up about three hours later, after they had stolen a large airspeeder. They had a bit of a hard time finding a speeder that was big enough, but once they did, they made quick work of claiming it and hiding it away.

Once they were done, we settled in to...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 109

By the time we were done doing our muckraker research, we were well on our way to our pseudo-CIS base. It was only a day-and-a-half-long journey from the station, which was close enough that the base could come in handy. I asked Nal to investigate the idea of making it an emergency meeting point should Station Omega come under attack. Nothing too fancy, just a safe location we could limp to, fix ourselves up, and disappear from, with enough supplies and materials to keep us going should we ne...

Project Bastion: Chapter Thirty-Three

The table was silent, all of us staring at the floating blue crystal projection. For me, it was because I was trying to figure out what she meant since we had already established that the system had failed too early to form dungeons. A quick glance around showed that my guests, as well as George and Alissa, had absolutely no idea what she was even talking about, missing even the basic context of what a dungeon would be. I turned to focus on Sally, wanting my own answers before I tried to expl...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Six

I parked my new truck in the large parking structure attached to the Megabuilding and paid the first month's fee in full, despite the fact that it was more than halfway through the month, before making my way back up to my room. I went through my evening routine of refilling the Elerium generator and the AA smelter before setting an alarm and collapsing into bed.

It felt like I had just closed my eyes when I was awoken by my alarm. I bolted upright and slapped the alarm interface, turni...

Project Bastion: Chapter Thirty-Two

Despite my declaration to meet the neighbors, Alissa was determined to check me over for any life-threatening injuries before I did anything. She went as far as to shout at me from the roof of the building she had been shooting from, telling me to stay where I was. We also had to deal with the still technically alive Dino-Dog, which was still collapsed near the fire station.

It only took a minute or so for Alissa to rush down to me, quickly checking me over. My back was battered and bru...

Next monster (Project Bastion)

You guys chose for Aiden to explore the Pool cave, so now you get to pick whats inside! 

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 108

When we arrived at our destination the next morning, I had recovered enough to make my way around under my own power. I still felt a little well done around the edges, but it faded more the longer I was awake. Frequent healing and Respite spells helped the process.

We spent a few minutes approaching the station at sublight speeds, dropping out of hyperspace far away from our destination. Omega Station was now the center of a lot more activity, which meant approaching it took more time a...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 107

General Syndulla led me to a small conference room not too far from where the clones were being kept and processed. We settled down and, after a few minutes of waiting, we were joined by Tatnia, as well as another individual that I recognized but couldn't put a name to immediately. He was older than me by at least twenty, maybe even thirty years, with white hair and a white beard. After a few moments of wracking my brain, I finally realized who it was, which was shocking. As far as I knew, he...

Project Bastion: Chapter Thirty-One

Rather than take the bikes or golf cart, we left the bastion on foot. While we all would have been able to fit on three bikes and the golf cart, I wanted to approach the fire station as quietly as possible. Our pipe bombs really depended on our targets staying more or less in one place to work. There was no way we could time the fuse well enough to take one out if it charged us, so catching them off guard was our primary option.

Before we left, Roger stopped Barry, Jessica, and me at th...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Five

We quickly found out that, with my armor on, I was just slightly too big for the passenger seat of the large van. Jackie joked about me running alongside him as he drove, but I just climbed into the back. I was worried I would be taking up room for the loot, but he assured me he had it covered. The van was just in case we found something either of us wanted to keep.

I climbed into the back and sat down against the outside wall of the vehicle. Thankfully, it was relatively clean.

�...

What is the Skyforged Vanguard's next target? (Rise of the Battlemage)

Even with Rebels helping restore a significant chunk of the station, the process is going to take some time. While repairs are on going, the team needs to keep busy. What should their next target be?


(Keep in mind one or two of this mission might pop up eventually later, you are just picking what happens next)

(This poll is closed)

Project Bastion: Chapter Thirty

We waited silently for a response, George gripping the mic tightly. Finally, after a few seconds, the radio crackles to life again.

“George! You old fucker, how are you still alive? Are you at the police station? What happened? Over.”

As George talked, I waved to Jason, who had been sitting nearby. I whispered for him to go downstairs and get Jessica and Roger while Alissa sat down beside me. Soon, almost all of us were sitting around, listening to the radio.

“No, I’...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 106

After twenty minutes or so of watching multiple people scanning and monitoring the trapped clone troopers, one of the doctors began to guide one of the carbonite slabs out of the large room. Surprisingly, it was the same Mon Calamari who had been in charge of the reception at Thila Command, along with a medical droid. As they moved, Captain Rex followed behind them, and after motioning for Tatnia to stay behind, I did as well. The medical droid of all things, spotted me first and attempted to...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Four

Surprise weekend chapter!

Hello everyone! So I decided to release this chapter early, both because I am eager to start releasing public chapters, and because the quicker we move through the next few chapters the quicker we can get through the update gap for Patron and Investor tier supporters. 

Normal posting will continue on Wednesday, though, again, it will be a few weeks before Investors and Patrons see Chapter Five. Thank you for your patience and enjoy the chapter!

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 105

About fifteen hours after we discovered the carbonite-encased clones, the Talos Chariot took off from the large hangar bay. Tatnia, myself, and Allum were all on board, as well as Luke and Ahsoka, with Calima as our pilot. Our hold was full of fifty-three slabs, all hooked up to a temporary power generator and a crude monitoring system, which Miru set up for us. We ended up having to leave the Arrow, our speeders, and a crate of Gozanti parts behind to make room for our cold guests, ...

Project Bastion: Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jessica and Roger both picked up on the somber atmosphere as George and I returned. The older man was silent as he stashed a small bag in the back of the cart before climbing into the golf cart, leaving Jessica, Roger, and me on the bikes. We left without much discussion, George and golf cart following behind us.

We crossed the town outskirts with relative ease, with only Roger having any issues. He was clearly not as in shape as Jessica and hadn't been blessed with a total workup like ...

The Brink and Back - Chapter Three

Jackie treated me to a small pizza shop on the outskirts of Valintino territory. The pizza tasted like cardboard, and I had to threaten physical violence to keep him from putting crickets on it. I was also pretty sure I spotted a few people eyeing me up, but when Jackie called one out by saying hello and asking how they had been doing, they stopped sniffing around. It was still nerve-wracking, though, and closer to gang contact than I really wanted.

Mind you, I wasn't naive enough to th...

What sort of changed location should they explore? (Project Bastion)

So, the world is starting to shift around the bastion, as the effects of the failed system start to sink in. They have already noted the swimming pool cave at the high school, which is an option. Keep in mind, all of these are things that are happening, your just picking the one they explore first. 

Project Bastion: Chapter Twenty-Eight

I stopped outside the room and knocked, waiting to hear a muffled "come in" before opening the door and stepping inside, the heavy door moving silently.

Amelia was sitting up against the head of her bed, a bowl of what looked like broth in her lap. Jessica was sitting next to her on a seat while Alissa and Molly sat on the edge of Jessica's bed. As I closed the door behind me, I nodded to Alissa before focusing on Amelia.

"Hello," I greeted with a smile. "It's good to see you awak...

Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 104

With the Munificent now fully powered down and disabled, the engineers began to inspect some of the more important systems, primarily life support, around the station. Most of the critical systems broke the station up into four quadrants, each a corner of the station. There were four central life support centers, one for each quadrant, as well as several secondary systems supporting each of the centers. Heating was a more dispersed function, with heating coils built through the structure that...