The X-scrolls., Eat plasma, Daedra. Options

[jack cloudy]

yeah, but unfortunately said professional soldier/murder-death-killer/asswhooper from Terra has only fought aliens for the last few months and a sword is pretty much worthless against those. So he'll have to improvise while he's gunless.


Gerard looked at the metal structure he’d made with more than just a bit of pride. He wasn’t an engineer, but he still knew how to do the simple things. Getting those mages to give him the needed resources had been the easy thing. He just needed to say that it all was for the pursuit of knowledge.

,,Good, start firing those spells of yours.” He spoke to the assembled mages and waited till his new toy was struck by lightning. He picked up one of the few scraps of alloy lying around and held it within the now glowing metal structure while making sure he kept clear of the lightning dancing around. The alloy in his hands became surprisingly soft and he carefully shaped it into a simple tube.
,,This is what we call electro-magnetism. It is the only way you can manipulate these alloys. Once you get them outside the magnetic field, they become the toughest metal in the known universe. For your information, this place isn’t the known universe so there might be tougher stuff lying around.” He explained while he molded a second tube.

,,And now, we’ve got a gunpart.” He whispered as he held up the two tubes.
,,It looks like a staff to me.”
Gerard rolled his eyes and sighed.
,,Mages.”
,,A gun is a bit more complex than that big strip of steel you guys call a sword. This is just the barrel. I’ll draw down the rest of the design on a bit of paper and take it to a smith in the morning. For now, I’m hungry so I’m gonna see if I can’t get something to eat.”

The next day he went back to the fort. This time, he was alone. As he’d said to Andre, getting lost was deadly in his profession. Just the fact that he was still alive should be proof enough that he wouldn’t get lost in the city. He dropped in by one of the local smiths to drop his design for the simple rifle and then continued on his path.

He looked at every guard he passed with some worry.
,,Come on, these guys are just like the local police. What could possibly be so dangerous about this job?” He told himself. But he also realized that where he came from, the police didn’t find it necessary to dress up in heavy armour and wield big swords. He was grateful for the fact that he wasn’t running around in guard armour. He didn’t want to find out just why the guards where dressed up like that.

To his embarrassment, he did got lost a couple of times when he ran into the wrong alley. As a result, he was a bit late for his meeting.
,,You’re late…European. I do hope you learn to be on time.” The captain told him dryly.
,,My name is Gerard Dreyfus. I won’t bother you with my military rank cause I’m in the wrong army anyway. Anything you want me to do for my money?” Gerard responded in exactly the same tone.
,,Just show me how you can handle that sword of yours.”

Gerard took the sword out of its scabbard that hung on his back.
,,Right, this is just like tennis. Just give it a big swing.” He muttered to himself and swung with all the strength he could muster, which was a lot. He forgot to remember the weight of the sword and failed to slow it down, causing him to spin around, lose his balance and fall on his back.
,,Yeah, just laugh. Morons. I’d love to see you laugh when you’re standing in front of a Sectopod.” He grumbled and crawled back up to his feet amidst lots of laughter. His second attempt was more careful and he noticed that the sword was more controllable if he swung it around in large sweeping arcs that were much slower than his first swing.

,,It needs some work but it will do. You’ll patrol with me today. Just stay out of the way and see how it is done.” Was the captain’s comment. Gerard muttered a few not so polite words under his breath but managed to keep his expression neutral.

[The Metal Mallet]

I wonder what Gerard is going to use for ammunition for his gun in-the-making. Is he going to forged bullets, or somehow make plasma... only time will tell.

Hopefully that time will come quickly!

[DarkHunter]

I doubt he could make plasma... prehaps he'll find some use for magic (Wouldn't he be surprised by Life drain bullets?)

[milanius]

yeah, but unfortunately said professional soldier/murder-death-killer/asswhooper from Terra has only fought aliens for the last few months and a sword is pretty much worthless against those. So he'll have to improvise while he's gunless.

I can wait besides... they might laugh and make jokes about him now, but once he gets his gear up & running... bwhahahahaaa...

[jack cloudy]

I was thinking of bullets personally. The Plasma used in X-COM is exotic and very destructive. And he needs Elerium for it which is a substance he can't find in Tamriel. But I am thinking of magic in some ways. Maybe he'll tie a ring with a light spell to it to act as a lasersight?
And oh yeah, when he finds it necessary to take out the big stuff. Let's just say that no castle wall can handle the mighty powers he wields.




Back on patrol, he devoted most of his time looking at the people. He began to see the need for all the heavy gear the guards used. While most people were unarmed and looked like simple citizens, there were also a few who openly paraded with clubs, bows, axes, swords and other stuff that could be quite lethal if properly wielded. In fact, some looked like they easily could go toe-to-toe with one of the guards.
,,Oh dear, I seriously doubt that all those weapons are just for show. I’d better start practicing with a sword before someone knocks my head off. Maybe I can get the captain so far that she’ll allow me to trade in this big lump of steel for something smaller and more manageable.” He forced a thin smile on his lips at that thought.
,,What did I get myself into?”

The captain put a hand on his shoulder and pointed at a dark-skinned human among the crowd.
,,See that bump under his clothes? Let’s see what you think of it, sir Dreyfus.” She spoke.
Gerard looked at the man she was pointing at.
,,Hmm, looks like a big grenade. I’d say, enough to blow you in two. Oops, wrong planet. Looks like a pointy object. Sorry, I’m not the expert on what people carry under their clothes around here.” He responded.
,,That bump has the exact shape of a Dwemer cog. Trading in Dwemer artefacts is illegal. I’ll go and interrogate him, see how he responds. You stay here and keep out of trouble.”

While the captain went to talk to the dark-skinned man, Gerard leaned back against a wall. His attention soon drifted to more interesting things.
,,Now you look like a dependable friend, Nord.” Gerard looked around to see who had spoke to him but didn’t saw anyone. He then looked down and saw what looked like a child. Except that this child had the features of an adult and weird pointy ears.
,,Oh my god.” Gerard muttered.
,,Elves, can things get any weirder?”

The little Bosmer had apparently seen Gerard’s words as a signal to continue.
,,You see, there is this bad man and I can’t get rid of him. Then I thought, why don’t I hire a strong adventurer to dispose of that man?”
Gerard, who already felt where this was going, interrupted the Elf.
,,No, I don’t rough up people for money. Well, I do but I don’t rough up people without a very good reason. I only rough up people who are ruining the planet. So why don’t you ask the guards?” He said as he looked down on the little man.

The Bosmer looked around agitatingly.
,,Are you crazy? There is no crime. I just don’t like it that he’s nosing into my business. I can’t tell the guards that!” He whispered. Gerard began to see the full picture.
,,In the name of the United Nations of Earth…..eh, nevermind. What I was trying to say is: You’re under arrest, punk! Put your hands where I can see them! You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can be used against you at court. You have the right to hire a lawyer. If you can’t afford one, you will receive one for free. Do they even have lawyers here?”

He stopped at the sound of a big yell.
,,European, get over here!”
He looked up and saw that the Redguard was running away, with the captain in pursuit. Gerard weighed his options. He could either continue arresting the little Elf in front of him for what was likely a simple crime or help chasing the sword-bearing man. He chose for the latter and ran off.

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Jul 3 2006, 07:38 PM

[The Metal Mallet]

Ahhh, Gerard runs into his first elf, and one of the annoying sorts too!

At least he handled it moderately well. I wonder how catching the crook will go.

[DarkHunter]

He's about to get Swords: lesson 101

[jack cloudy]

I suppose lesson 101 is: Don't use a sword if you don't know how to use it? Anyway, here's the chase.



He easily overtook the captain thanks to his lack of armour. That was perhaps the advantage of the police on earth, they didn’t had a lot of metal to slow them down. Then again, on earth you had donuts so things were quite equal. Shaking of the thought, he went into a small alley that ended in a wall with a small door.

There he found the culprit who was banging on the door in an attempt to break through.
,,You’re under arrest. Drop your weapons and kick them across the floor towards me. Do not even think of making any sudden moves. I’m as lethal as they get and you don’t want to mess with me.” Gerard shouted as he blocked the only way out of the narrow alley. The man stopped banging on the door and looked at the soldier, giving Gerard a good chance to see what he was talking to.

The man’s skin was very dark and had a greyish hue. His ears were pointed like those of the Elf he tried to arrest earlier, though this man was at least a head taller than the little bugger. The most notable feature were his crimsonred eyes.
,,Creepy.” Gerard mumbled to himself. He noticed the balcony the man was standing under, with two slender wooden pillars for support.

,,I won’t surrender, Nord. Die, Fetcher!” The man spat and drew his sword, which appeared to be a longsword made of a strange black crystal. Gerard stumbled backwards while he tried to wrestle his own sword out of its scabbard. He leaned back and evaded the first blow which struck the wall instead and a strange glowing cloud erupted across the blade’s surface. As a result, the Dunmer lost his balance for a moment and Gerard got his chance to unsheathe his sword.

It didn’t help much. Not only was he a complete amateur with the big Claymore but he also simply didn’t have enough room. He just couldn’t beat the man with his sword. He stepped back to evade a couple and then managed to parry the last blow by pure luck. He dropped his Claymore and grabbed his opponent by the wrist before lunging forward with his full weight. One elbow to the face, and the Dunmer staggered backwards. He had already dropped his sword after Gerard crushed his wrist. Gerard picked up both swords and pointed them at the Dunmer.
,,As I was saying, you’re under arrest. Any last words?” He spoke in a grim tone.

The Dunmer smiled and raised his hands as if he was going to surrender. Instead, a black cloud flowed out of his hands that obscured Gerard’s vision.
,,Oh, you’re going to pay for that, bugbrain! No one is allowed to blind me!” Gerard shouted and smacked away the pillars that held up the balcony. The wooden platform crashed down on the Dunmer and pressed him to the floor.
,,For the third time, you’re under arrest.” Gerard growled and pressed the tip of the long sword against the Elf’s neck.

Fortunately, the captain had managed to catch up before the Dunmer would have done anything that would put Gerard in the position to arrest him for the fourth time. Maybe the fact that she’d found a few guards to join her was one of the reasons why the Dunmer was suddenly so calm.
,,You got lucky, sir Dreyfus. They’ll take it from here.” The captain told and motioned towards the guards.
,,No need to thank me. Can I keep his sword? I can’t handle the damn Claymore. It’s too clumsy.” Gerard complained which caused the captain to frown.
,,Go ahead. Just keep an eye on it. Ebony weapons are valuable. Enchanted Ebony weapons are even more valuable.” She muttered.

[milanius]

I suppose lesson 101 is: Don't use a sword if you don't know how to use it? Anyway, here's the chase.

Oookay, here's an idea: since he is a sort of a Commando, why not make him a Hand-to-hand specialist ? Say, let him beat the crap out of annoying s'wits who are breaking The Law ?...

[jack cloudy]

Well, I had him fail the introductory's test so he won't be a guard. But hey, he can still go beat up bandits in the country side. And I think I'm going to keep the 'angry cop' attitude. Oh boy, I can't wait to write the next update. Bandits against ex-alienhunter with a primitive rifle.


Gerard looked at his new sword for a while. He had no idea of what was valuable in this place and what wasn’t. So if this sword was so valuable, then how did a simple smuggler get one? He decided to ask.
,,There are several ways to obtain one. One way is to be filthy rich and buy one. Another is by becoming an adventurer and getting lucky. Yet another way is to have an illegal trade that is quite profitable. Dwemer artefacts are valuable on the right markets and unfortunately adventurers run into smugglers almost all the time.”

Fortunately, the rest of the day was spent without any further incidents. Needless to say, Gerard was very relieved when they approached the castle again. He might be a walking miracle with a gun, but he was just an amateur with a sword. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had noticed his lack of skill.
,,You’ve failed the test. You’re not good enough to become a guard. You’re too serious about trying to capture the criminals alive. I can’t have a guard who puts the life of a smuggler before his own. Maybe you can ask my husband for work. The mages usually have need for someone to scour the country-side for whatever those mages do.” The captain told him as plain as if she was commenting on the weather.

That stung him. He knew she was right but it still stung him. He’d been chosen for a top-secret project before and had been the only line standing between Earth and the aliens but now he’d failed to become a simple cop. It stung him. His weakness was that he couldn’t bring himself to kill a human, or someone who was almost human. He swallowed hard.
,,I get it. Bye.” He whispered and left.

The smith turned out to know his job. Despite never having even heard of a gun, the green-skinned man had managed to make a fine twin-barreled rifle with the help of Gerard’s sketches. He’d even corrected small mistakes. Gerard paid the Orc before heading back to the guild hall where he told the news.
,,Too bad. But she’s right about one thing. We are always in need of strong people to scour the land. That’s the problem with pursuing knowledge. You usually lose your muscles.” Andre said with a small smile.
,,We do need a couple of plants. Maybe you can go look tomorrow? Don’t forget to pack your weapons though, bandits are all over the place these days.” He added.
Gerard frowned.
,,Damn, I guess I’ll start making bullets then. I’ll need a bit of iron, a bucket with water and a metal tube for the bullet itself. I’ll also need paper and something that explodes when you pound on it. Do you guys have that?” He asked.
Andre grinned.
,,More for the pursuit of knowledge? I’ll see what I can do.” He chuckled.
,,No, this is for the pursuit of firepower. Till I can handle a sword, I’m going to pack a rifle.” Gerard replied in a more serious tone.

[Lord Revan]

...... man Jack you've made an extremely interesting story. You have my rapt attention......, but I'm more of a Halo person myself.


Oh and about starcraft marines their one of the most versitile infantry in the game

[The Metal Mallet]

Alchemists are the key here. Alchemists!

Hopefully Gerard becomes armed before running into those bandits, it would be shame to have him stabbed to death.

[DarkHunter]

most pitiful excuse for power armour ever...

Back on topic... Giving up the life of a guard? Good for him!

[milanius]

Well, I had him fail the introductory's test so he won't be a guard. But hey, he can still go beat up bandits in the country side. And I think I'm going to keep the 'angry cop' attitude. Oh boy, I can't wait to write the next update. Bandits against ex-alienhunter with a primitive rifle.

Yea, Instant Slaughter

He knew she was right but it still stung him. He’d been chosen for a top-secret project before and had been the only line standing between Earth and the aliens but now he’d failed to become a simple cop. It stung him. His weakness was that he couldn’t bring himself to kill a human, or someone who was almost human. He swallowed hard.
,,I get it. Bye.” He whispered and left.

Fudge... I officially like this guy now. Get him to "Lucky Lockup", Balmora, any bloody given night, and I'll give'im a lesson or two in alchemy, along with few (FEW ?!) rounds of Sujjama.

The smith turned out to know his job. Despite never having even heard of a gun, the green-skinned man had managed to make a fine twin-barreled rifle with the help of Gerard’s sketches. He’d even corrected small mistakes. Gerard paid the Orc before heading back to the guild hall where he told the news.
,,Too bad. But she’s right about one thing. We are always in need of strong people to scour the land. That’s the problem with pursuing knowledge. You usually lose your muscles.” Andre said with a small smile.
,,We do need a couple of plants. Maybe you can go look tomorrow? Don’t forget to pack your weapons though, bandits are all over the place these days.” He added.
Gerard frowned.
,,Damn, I guess I’ll start making bullets then. I’ll need a bit of iron, a bucket with water and a metal tube for the bullet itself. I’ll also need paper and something that explodes when you pound on it. Do you guys have that?” He asked.
Andre grinned.
,,More for the pursuit of knowledge? I’ll see what I can do.” He chuckled.
,,No, this is for the pursuit of firepower. Till I can handle a sword, I’m going to pack a rifle.” Gerard replied in a more serious tone.

DOuble-barrel shotgun ? OUCH. That will hurt. A LOT. Bwhahah...

[jack cloudy]

Maybe Starcraft marines are versatile, but they'll be hard pressed to be more versatile than an X-COM soldier. The average X-COM soldier is well skilled in the use of: Stunning weapons, Laser weapons, Plasma weapons, Projectile weapons (worst guns in the game, but they can still handle them.), Grenades, Rocket launchers, melee weapons (the stun-rod), medikits, motion detectors and the insanely powerfull remote-controlled Blaster Bomb.

If you're unlucky, you run into a psy who can take over your mind from a distance. And an X-COM soldier never fights alone.

And now, Gerard learns rule number 1 in TES: No underground area is uninhabited.




Chapter 2: Out in the woods.

,,From blowing up aliens with high-tech weaponry to collecting flowers in a forest. What a life.” He muttered to himself with a chuckle and cut off a leaf from one of the plants he’d been looking for.

He’d left early that morning, feeling quite confident in his abilities to deal with any bandit he might encounter. Most of his confidence came from the new rifle on his back and the bag filled with hand-made bullets at his side. He’d also decided to bring along the Ebony longsword for when things became a bit too close-range for comfort.

So far, he hadn’t encountered anyone and had began to believe that all those bandit stories were exaggerated. He whistled a tune while he put the leaf in the bag with ingredients. The sun had reached its highest point and it was getting rather warm. Gerard also felt a bit hungry. Luckily for him, he spotted a door inside a rock not too far away from the road.

He moved over to investigate. The door looked like it could fall out of its hinges at any moment.
,,This place must have been abandoned for a while now. They probably moved to the city. It’ll be the perfect place for lunch in there.”
He opened the door and walked inside, pleased with the cool air.

A flickering on the walls told him that the place wasn’t empty after all. It looked like there was a campfire burning. Gerard rounded the corner to see three people sitting around the expected campfire.
,,Hi, everyone. It’s pretty hot out there, so mind if I join you for a moment?” He spoke in a cheerful voice to draw their attention.

The three Imperials looked around and began to laugh when they saw that Gerard hadn’t drawn his weapons.
,,Foolish Nord, did Skyrim freeze your brains? We’re bandits who rob people. Do you have anything valuable on you?” One of them said with an evil grin as they all stood up and drew their weapons.

Gerard muttered a few curses, took out his rifle with one hand, put his other hand in the small bag at his belt to take out two bullets and shoved them inside the barrels of his rifle. It all took just a bit longer than it had taken the bandits to draw their daggers. He took aim and pressed the trigger.

The bullet shattered a big cup near the campfire. The bandits all recoiled in shock as the huge bang echoed through the cave and a small puff of smoke came out of the rifle. Gerard brought his rifle around and aimed it at the nearest bandit.
,,Yeah, I’ve got a bunch of bullets to the head if you don’t shut up, Muton breath.” He said with his teeth bared.
The bandits re-evaluated their situation and stepped forward again.

Another bang and another puff of smoke, this time accompanied by a scream as the bullet severed the bandits hand from the wrist. The hand was still holding the dagger when it hit the floor. Gerard made use of the confusion to reload. He was quite impressed with his rifle.
,,Last warning. Get out of here and think of a different profession. If I see you again, I’ll tear of all your limbs. The same goes for your friends. Now drop your weapons and beat it!”

Once the bandits had cleared the cave, Gerard emptied his rifle and sat down near the campfire. His reluctance towards killing people didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to inflict permanent damage. He calmly picked up each of the daggers and stuck them behind his belt. He might be able to make a small profit from selling them. He sat down near the campfire and had his lunch.

After his lunch, he looked around the rest of the cave for anything he might be able to use. The bandits he’d scared away hadn’t been very succesfull lately, and he only came up with some shoes, clothes and a few coins.
,,Just why do these bandits steal clothes? Clothes aren’t a rare commodity.” He muttered to himself and shook his head. He went outside to find the remaining flowers he had been looking for. There were no more bandits to be seen.

[DarkHunter]

I just thought of something... Imagine when he gets back to the future in Full Deadric with an Ebony longsword

[The Metal Mallet]

His reluctance towards killing people didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to inflict permanent damage.

There's just something about that line that makes me grin

More more!

[Lord Revan]

So Gerald just owned a bunch of bandits

But like I said I prefer Halo.

[milanius]

Once the bandits had cleared the cave, Gerard emptied his rifle and sat down near the campfire. His reluctance towards killing people didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to inflict permanent damage.

And now I like him even more next time, aim for the knees

I just thought of something... Imagine when he gets back to the future in Full Deadric with an Ebony longsword

Enchanted, even !

[jack cloudy]

I figured it was time to bring out the big stuff for once. Well, not the biggest stuff but size isn't everything.



When he arrived back at Kvatch, the mage guild was in total chaos, with mages running all over the place. Gerard reached for the rifle on his back but the laughing faces of the mages stopped his hand. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t anything to worry about. He looked around till he spotted Andre the Breton.

,,Hey, what’s going on here?” He shouted above the noise and grabbed the Breton by his arm.
,,What? Oh, Gerard. It’s good to see that you’re back with the ingredients. We’ve just received wonderful news. The Emperor is coming!” Andre shouted back.
Gerard blinked.
,,The Emperor? You mean there’s actually an emperor coming to visit this hall?”
,,No, not an emperor. THE Emperor. Uriel Septim himself will visit Kvatch tomorrow.”

Every single citizen of Kvatch had lined up on the streets the next day in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Emperor. Among those people was Gerard Dreyfus who was wearing a robe he’d borrowed from an Orc mage. Andre had kept bugging him to wear a robe for hours. Gerard had finally agreed in the end, though he still felt a bit ridiculous in the deep blue robe.

He put his hand in one of the robe’s pockets and felt the reassuring shape of his old Plasma pistol. Wearing weapons openly was forbidden on this day but he’d already learned that being unarmed in Tamriel was a bad idea. If this meant that he might spent a some of his irreplaceable Plasma clips, so be it. Dying was an option he would never consider. Besides, he knew that he wasn’t the only one who carried a hidden weapon around.

The parade came in view. First came the local Kvatch garrison with Andre’s wife, the captain who had told Gerard he wasn’t good enough, among them. Then came Legionnaires from the capital who were finally followed by people who Andre identified as ‘Blades’. Then an open coach came in sight and Gerard finally got to see the Emperor.

Uriel Septim looked like an old, frail man and who could be crushed any moment by all the jewels he wore as a sign of his rule. But a single look at the man’s face told Gerard that this truly was an Emperor and a man he could respect. Uriel Septim had seen and endured terrible things but he clearly hadn’t been broken and he kept his head up in a proud manner.

An odd movement in the crowd on the opposite side of the street caught Gerard’s attention. A small group of people had begun to follow the Emperor while sticking to the shadows. This triggered Gerard’s instincts, which had been honed by the most terrible enemy a human had ever faced. He began moving himself to keep up with them and brought his hand in his pocket where he gripped his pistol.

The further they walked, the more worried he became. As the Emperor neared the castle, the streets became less crowded and all the guards seemed to become less wary as they knew that they would be alone soon. Alone, but unaware of the people who stalked them. Gerard ducked inside an alley and got rid of the robe. He didn’t want to trip over it if trouble came knocking. He wore his X-COM uniform underneath. It had originally included a Kevlar vest, but they’d learned after the first engagement with the aliens that Kevlar was totally useless against Plasma. As a result, the Kevlar vest had been removed to reduce weight, thereby also eliminating all of its defensive properties. Gerard decided that he would keep his distance if possible.

Gerard came out of the alley and ran to catch up with the parade. Just before the Emperor reached the gates of the castle, the stalkers struck.

Uriel Septim was tired. He wasn’t the youngest and things like this were hard for him. He would prefer to just stay home and in his bed but if the people never saw him, then why should they follow him? His mind drifted off towards more pleasant things, such as the bad he would take. He could see the gates to the castle. Just a few more minutes, and he could rest.

A sudden shout woke him from his dreams and he looked around to identify the source. A group of people wearing strange robes had thrown themselves on his Blades. Magicka engulfed them and frightening suits of armour took shape.
,,Bound armour? These aren’t normal assassins. What is going on?” The Emperor thought.
One of the assassins broke through the lines and jumped on the coach.
,,The Mythic Dawn claims your life, Emperor!” The Assassin shouted fanatically and raised an Ebony mace. The Emperor closed his eyes and awaited the blow.

There was a sudden green flash that penetrated through his eyelids together with the burning sensation of superheated air. The Emperor coughed to clear the burning air out of his lungs and opened his eyes to see why the assassin hadn’t struck. The assassin’s head was completely vaporized. It had been the only part not protected by the Daedric armour. Said armour had disappeared upon his death.

,,Hello sir. Are you alright?” Another man had jumped on his coach, this one was a Nord who was holding a small hammer by its business end. The man’s eyes focussed on something and he raised the hammer. A blinding green flash erupted from it. This was definitely not a hammer. The Emperor suddenly realized that it was the strange weapon the man was holding that had been responsible for the vaporization of the assassin’s head.
,,Who is he?”