mogmelodies | To All Heroes

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To All Heroes

To Everybody:

Whether we've met or not, I'd appreciate a reply from as many people as are willing, especially if you didn't just come from a version of Earth.

So, let's talk holidays. Christmas, I was willing to let pass as a coincidence. Any civilized planet out there with a winter season ends up with some version of a winter solstice. It doesn't matter the time or the planet or the alien race, they've got some kind of tradition that we would recognize. Celebration for being 'almost out of the dark,' as a friend of mine would put it.

But Valentine's Day? Definitely a product of Earth, of a specific time period of Earth, to be sure. At least, in my experience. And that's where you guys come in. Anybody else, not from Earth, have a custom or a legend like this? Something specifically surrounding a holiday, something that's celebrated. Also, is anybody else reading up on Aqures Ixen legends enough to know if we're going all going to be dealing with rabbits and eggs in two months? If so, I'm calling shenanigans now.

-Captain Jack Harkness

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Oh, I can tell you all about the Dark Knight class if that's what you want to know about.

Really? Well, then, I am all ears. How would you explain it? It's like, these sword attacks seem to draw on energy, but what kind? I'm, what's the best way to put this? Tapped out of the life energy I used to have?

Long story.

That's pretty much it. In games, they'd call it 'HP' or 'Hit Points.' It's really just a numerical way of measuring your life force. Dark Knight attacks drain HP in exchange for dealing more damage. It's a risky strategy, but if you pair up with a healing class like White Mage it can be really effective.

Wait. So maybe this is like something I've done before. I'm going to have to test some of this out.

But, you said it's safer if you've got a White Mage with you, hunh? Any chance you're going to be free for some training sometime soon?

A White Mage can heal the Dark Knight after each attack, making it possible to use their strongest techniques indefinitely.

[She smiles just a touch at that.]

I'm free now if you want to try it out.

Let's set something up behind the house, before we try this on something that's hitting back.
-----

When Chiaki gets back to the house, Jack is working on setting up a makeshift target. He's still a little uncomfortable holding the sword; it's just not a weapon he's trained with before. He raises a hand and smiles with Chiaki appears. "Hey. Thanks for agreeing to this."

Sure. I don't mind.

[Chiaki's standing by, clad in her job costume, staff at the ready.]

Okay, ready when you are.

Jack nods firmly, and draws the heavy sword. The knowledge of how to use the attack is just- innate, like the training got put into his mind. It's a little unnerving when he tries to concentrate on it, and finds that the skill comes just as easily as shooting a gun would. But he didn't learn it traditionally, so it doesn't feel like he understands it.

"Right." He raises the sword, focuses on the Soul Eater attack. He feels the drain of the magic as he swings down. Pain, should be making him feel weaker, but the sword is strong as it bites deep into the wood with a loud sound.

"Ow." He shakes a hand out a little, takes a deep breath to steady himself. "Hell of a trade-off, why do they keep doing this?"

[As Jack's attack hits, Chiaki raises her staff and heals his wounds with a Cure spell.]

It's not an economical long-term attack strategy without a healer, but some Jobs work better alongside others. But Dark Knights do tend to have higher HP levels in general to compensate for repeated use of their attacks.

The healing feels odd. It's nothing like the sped-up way that Jack used to heal, but a wave of energy that feels like it just erases the damage as it goes through him. He holds up a hand to look at it. Certainly hurts less than the way he healed back home, so he's not complaining.

"Doesn't that put a drain on you, though? Not on your hit points, but on your energy, overall? It isn't exactly fair if all I'm doing is off-loading the cost to you, instead of myself."

Yeah, eventually I would just run out of MP and be unable to keep healing you. It's not an infinitely sustainable strategy. The gamble you take there is can the Dark Knight deal enough damage to win the fight before the White Mage runs out of magic. But most of the time we'd have at least one or two other party members with us anyway.

Jack's brow is still furrowed in thought, but he nods. "I can see what you mean. Good for a short-term damage output all at once. Not so good in a sustained fight." There's something there, that all makes sense to Jack. "It's a risky strategy, yeah. I tend to do well with those, though."

"Well, I know there's this other attack, I'd need an active target for it, that lets me heal off of what I'm attacking. It's one I just recently picked up, haven't gotten a chance to test that one out, either."

...Will it work on machine targets?

"I- Hunh?" Jack tilts his head curiously. "I...think...so? Although it should be weird, if it does. Why?"

I have a pet Mech Gunner that I can heal right after.

"A pet- what?" Jack shakes his head incredulously. "Did it follow you home? Where is it? I mean, if it's okay to use for a test, then sure, let's do it." But, seriously, Chiaki, what?

A Mech Gunner. They guard the Magitek Facility. Mogomi and I went in to capture one with my Beastmaster class abilities. It's stored away magically most of the time, and I can summon it into battle to help fight. If I had to describe it, it's kind of like an Electric/Steel type.

Jack looks even more amazed. "Wow. That's incredible. Beastmaster, hunh? And it's a machine, but you can control it now?" It's always a little weird when 'magic' and 'tech' cross over, in Jack's mind. He always ends up looking for an alternate explanation.

Yup. That's what Beastmasters do. Machines are a lot easier for me to work with than living creatures.

"Neat. Well, if you're sure it's all right? Normally, something feels bad about using a pet for target practice. But if it's just a machine..." Jack nods. "Maybe it's all right?"

Just a machine...

[Chiaki thoughtfully repeats Jack's words, turning them over for a moment.]

Its programming is very simplistic. It can't feel pain or emotions. All it knows how to do is guard things, because that's what it was created to do. I can recognize a high class AI when I see one, and the machines here don't come close.

[She looks back at him, tilting her head.]

Even knowing that, is it wrong of me to offer it up for something like this?

Hmm. Jack is not always the best moral compass in the universe, but even he can tell there's something wrong with the suggestion. "If it doesn't feel right, then it's probably not the right thing to do." If Chiaki has even a little hesitation about this, then maybe they shouldn't do it.

"On one hand, it doesn't have awareness, or sentience. But running a test is different than using it in defense or as a guard." Jack shakes his head. "We'll wait. Find something that's actually a danger, try it out on that. Okay?" Feels like the right answer, but Jack still watches to see what Chiaki's reaction will be.

...You're right. There are plenty of monsters out there. If we go out adventuring together, I'm sure we'll find some that we can try this on.

Even if the Mech Gunner can't feel pain or emotions, it would be wrong of me to use it like this. It's my trusted friend and partner.

See? Hey, Doc. Jack can get a thing or two right when you're not looking. He smiles a little in encouragement. "Shouldn't feel bad for having the idea. But it's not right to do."

"You tell me, then. Where's a good place to start, if we want to try this out for real? What would you call a beginner area?" If Chiaki is going to couch this in game terms, maybe Jack can do the same.

Usually in a setup like this, the low level mobs tend to be located just outside the starting town. Which would be here, so all we should need to do is leave the city and wander around for a while.

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