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Post by Hanhan on Dec 27, 2010 1:49:23 GMT -5
Helen remained silent for now, there was little to be said, and she didn't think Trace felt like talking much either. The look in his eyes was one of sheer determination, she hadn't seen it before, and so she couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head. Memories perhaps, jogged by something he saw. Shrugging it off, Helen went to work on the door in front of them. Sealed, like many others she suspected. It was little trouble, however. Her AI programming had no difficulties in tapping into the door's electronics. Most of the ship may have been down but it looked like emergency power was up in this sector, which was just as well. The lighting made it much easier to look around. Hopefully there would still be power in the bridge, though it seemed unlikely that there wouldn't be.
The door slid open after only a few moments - child's play for the android. Being able to process raw data so quickly had some major advantages. The downside was difficulty with interpretation, but that was what her human companions were for, after all. She was still working on those skills. Helen raised her shotgun to chest level, aiming low as her eyes quickly scanned the room ahead.
The room itself was large and open, and it wasn't long before Helen realized what she was looking at. She couldn't help but smile a bit. Getting around on this ship looked like it was going to be alot easier now. A tram system by the looks of it. The tram wasn't actually there, but she assumed it would be as easy as calling it. A narrow electromagnetic railine that traversed from the bow to the stern. She hadn't actually been on a ship big enough to need one, though she had read once that they were often used in large ships with specialized sections.
Helen was about to call in their discovery when Jamal's voice came through into her ear instead. Nothing that the man had to say was good news. It seemed like the the ship wasn't entirely abandoned after all. Jamal didn't seem to be going into much detail, so Helen could only make assumptions. Maybe it'd be best to wait before you start coming up with theories. You aren't there, he is. I'm sure Chloe will ask him more about what he found. Still, it was hard to stop those wheels in her head from turning. "Any thoughts, Trace?" She asked after a moment of silence.
Chloe's expression had become set in a grim line as she listened to Jamal. Her initial belief that the ship was empty and that the rest of her crew was just being overly paranoid was thrown up in front of a mental firing squad, and all it took was Lala's mention of the lift being used less than four days ago to confirm it. It was possible that whoever was here left, but unless they didn't leave the luxury decks the way they came in, there were people still there. I swear, this whole thing better be damn well worth it. I smell trouble already, big time. At least my crew is capable. But...Shit, we need to figure out what we're dealing with.
Chloe didn't like the way things were unfolding, not at all. A malfunctioning automated system was one thing. It was a broken machine, easy to deal with. The thought that someone may have actually brought them here on purpose.. She shuddered to think of it. The bodies of crew members didn't ease the tension she suddenly felt, either. "Alright..." She said into her comm after a long pause. "Change of plans. Helen, double back to the ship, set up some counter measures in case someone decides to try and steal it, and for now, hold there until I say otherwise. Lala and I will continue to- Chloe suddenly cut out. Her attention had been grabbed by the warning hazards on Lala's bot. She flinched as the jolt of power blasted the thing back, turning it into a pile of scrap by the looks of it. "Everything's fine. Lala's Ziek bot just had a malfunction, or..an overload. As I was saying, we'll continue to look for a way down to engineering. Jamal, you and Mackenzie link up with Trace. You've got some hacking experience so he'll need you up there. Stay where you are, Trace, let them come to you."
With that said, Chloe turned her attention down to Lala who seemed to be doing her best to tend to the obviously broken bot. She put a hand on the Ka'tarl's shoulder, trying to comfort her despite the fact that she didn't see much of a reason to grieve. It was a machine, after all, but she kept those words to herself. "Sorry about your robot, but we really need to get down to engineering. Is there anyway you can get this elevator working or should we start looking for another way?"
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Post by David on Dec 27, 2010 13:58:50 GMT -5
Trace took point with his rifle and aimed around the next room, checking to see if the Tram System was the ONLY thing in the room. When he saw it was all clear, he strapped the rifle on his back once more, and checked out the Tram System. It wasn't here, but calling it back would be easy...
Though, he heard on his com, Jamal's "encounter". So, they weren't alone... but where they survivors? Or just dirty bastards who wanted easy pay. Chloe's voice later came through now. His helmet's integrated communication system let him hear their ship's frequency quite clear. He turned to Helen now, and with a click of a button, activated his helmet's vizor. The two little pupils lit up bright red, and at once, gave Trace vision, as well as the option to see in night-vision or infrared.
"You heard Chloe. We need to set up a perimeter. Let's head back. I'll take point, you cover me if things start to get too hot alright? No need for any stupid heroics... or casualties.
It really didn't matter to him. He was more focused on finding and taking down the bad guys right now; well actually, he wanted to interrogate at least one of them. Maybe they knew what had gone on this ship; or at the very least, knew some info about it.
Well, he wasn't going to find out like this. He quickly began to move out from the Tram Server and began to re-trace his steps back to the hanger. As he did though, he slowly began to stick to the wall now... keeping himself glued to it, so that way, no one would catch him by surprise. He knew that if Jamal had just been attacked, that he and Helen were next; since they weren't that far off from their position. It was all just a matter of time, before this became a fire fight, and bodies would start to pile up.
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Post by ~L~ on Dec 29, 2010 7:42:56 GMT -5
"Nyaaaaaaaah?!~ Ziek doesn't malfunction Cappy-Chloe!! Mean people boobytrapping deep-log scans... maybe backlashed.. or or orrrow.~ layer encryptions, but that would just fail the link.. Mrow~ Makies no senses. Hmmm hmm hmm, sense. sense.. cents. nyah.~ Oh-ho moneymen, oh, so so so so so clever."
She tugged her drone's processors, command drives, and other usable or fixable hardware out and piled them aside while muttering to herself about the incident, her ear pinned back irritably and her eyes sharp. If she had been in her hybrid form the fur down her back would have bristled, after tossing the pile of salvagable parts and equipment onto the workbend that 'Suppy' carried, she leant down to pry the drone's wheels off as she froze in place after mentioning something about "clever", suddenly scrambling to the linkport that had destroyed her robotic friend. She sync'd her GizTech Pad to it and typed silently for a moment, just nodding to Chloe's question, still moody about Ziek and determined about her new idea. The work bench lid heaved open with a hydrolic hiss, the extra parts clattering to the floor in the Ka'tarl's absentminded haste, she hopped up and 1/2-dove into the chest, catching herself on her hips and holding herself balanced with her knees agaisnt the outside of the large metal box, making scarping and rustling noises inside, tossing out a few cables a small switchboard and a smaller box that rattled as it bounced across the floor.
She sprung from the box and landed near Ziek, hefting a large pair of wirecutters and a crowbar. She glanced at Chloe as if seeing here there for the first time since muttering, likely noting the unease her strange randomness was causing in the woman. She flashed an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of her head after snipping the main powersupply cables, explaining in a strange mix of 'lecture-tone for a child' and 'nervous-tone for authority firgures' clashing in her voice.
"The power surge was a rrrredirection bug.. that ish normally for just flippping breakers when sectors are sealed or destroyed in normal setups!! butbut someone changed the codexeses.. erm, yesh! ...to send it when a hardlink ish made to the log database! Not a simple job either. Definitely was paid to do it.. But methinkles I can get around it. Nyah~"
"Sooooo, Nyah.~ We just splicewire the lift ~and~ the blastdoor to the ship-nerves.. then relay my GizPad to the database ~again~ with a little low-density wire breaker-circuit... aaaaaaaand. That gives ush free power from the ship and no more damage to ous stuffs. Ziekie's battery will give the hardline the illusion that something that can download ish connected through some fiber optics... It'll read it as nonsense, but it won't care! ... Mrrrrrawr!~ They thinkles they ish sooo clever.. they shockblasted the --wrong-- techkitty's drone!"
She blithered on in explanation while prying the drone's custom batterycore from the chassi, running wires from the core and to the switchboard, moving her Pad to plug into the switchboard and then running several cables and smaller wires to the command panel, even pulling up a floor grate and locating a nerve-bundle for the ships' power systems. It only took her about the time she used to make her explanation before the engineer had all but set up the little plan, detailing final adjustments on her GizTech pad and snarling the last part of her explaination/rant.
"There! All ready if Cappy-Chloe is agreeable, nyah?~" She adds with a sheepish grin after sitting crosslegged near the pile of scrap that had been Ziek, her ears perking up slightly, anticipating the captain's reply. She scooted a chunk of drone chassi between herself and the batterycore, gesturing nervously for Chloe to get behind 'Suppy' and the mobile toolbench. "Oh, right, yesh.. also the overload to thish battery could.. umm, cause it to... well.. "pop"! yesh.. sooooo cover for you is very important, Cappy-Chloe" After the last bit of warning she primed the lines by switching the circuitboard on, but held back until she was actualy told she was allowed to follow-through with her little plan... the whole deference thing, again.
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Post by SarzieBeara~ on Dec 31, 2010 8:47:33 GMT -5
She inhaled deeply and nodded at him, turning away from him before she froze. Shooting him a look, Mackenzie pursed her lips,narrowing her eyes at Jamal. Without even thinking about it, she became fixated on him, and she pressed her finger to her temple, staring downwards.
I'm...probably imagining it.
She let out a breathless laugh and flickered her gaze back up to him, observing him as he patted down the two remaining men. Without thinking, she murmured a thought of his. "...someone killed and robbed these people of their accessories...?" She stared at them and blinked repeatedly, her face twisting up in confusion. "Er, I mean...um...that, uh, that guy...heh...he looks pretty bad.. Dead and disgusting..."
You did it again! Stop using his thoughts in your sentences!
She swallowed hard and chewed at her lip, straightening herself up almost immediately when Chloe responded. "Right then. We're coming for you, Trace." She spoke for the both of them, giving a little bit of a cough as she faced the door, hands touching and feeling the walls just in case she'd hear anything on the way. Scowling to herself, she felt the need to respond to his recent thought. "I suggest not drinking anymore...it's...bad for you?" Since she was facing away from him she mouthed to herself; "What are you even saying?!" Sighing, she stuck close to the room, but then started to wander, determined to find Trace in as less time possible before anything suspicious happened...Jamal's conclusions had brought her to feel skeptical about the crew's safety.
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Post by Clipse on Jan 1, 2011 21:02:04 GMT -5
"What are you, my mother ? Just keep your sights clear and move out." The seriousness of the situation began to grow on him, and the dizziness and disorientation of drinking was fading rapidly. Jamal followed Mackenzie as they both backtracked towards the hanger, moving through corridors carefully, checking corners and preparing for any type of ambush. When they approached the final corridor towards the hanger, Mackenzie began to slow as they neared the door, but Jamal prodded her forward. "No time for this check. Helen may already be at the ship and from the lack of gunshots I'm guessing the hanger is still empty. Hurry, we don't want to leave Trace waiting."
Had he been a random stranger when he prodded her, he guessed he would have lost his hand if anything. But best not add fuel to the fire that is Mackenzie's ego. His mind barriers were down, and she had read his mind several times. Not that it offended him, but if she had dug deeper then she would have been in for a whooping. Jamal smiled to himself. Thank God I'm all business when it comes to missions. No interesting, private thoughts for her. They entered the hanger, not seeing any friend or foe at all. He motioned Mackenzie towards the center doors, noting that thats where Helen and Trace would be. He put his finger to his ear piece.
"Trace, we're almost there. Don't get trigger happy." Not that Trace would shoot them by accident, but he felt like something was gnawing at the man from inside, and when that happened to someone, then they usually become very unpredictable. Jamal and Mackenzie moved to separate sides of the door, maximizing firepower in case hostiles are on the other side. The door slid apart silently, revealing an empty corridor and a bend. They both move in, rifles aimed at the ground but high enough to be summoned to shoulder level. Jamal slid up against the wall, next to the corner and peeked around. His eye's widened in shock as he looked into the face of the Devil, but relaxed as he realized it was only Trace. Helen was close behind.
"Honestly Trace..." he started, but shook his head and changed the subject, "Whats our situation ? Chloe says you need hacking expertise." Did Helen blow a circuit or something ? It wasn't such a good idea to start bickering with Helen while Mackenzie was still on his case. But since this mission suddenly went south fast, there wasn't time to fool around anymore.
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Post by Hanhan on Jan 4, 2011 17:34:03 GMT -5
Helen wanted to question why Trace felt the need to accompany her in the first place, as he had been told to wait for Jamal and Mackenzie but she decided against it, figuring the three could meet halfway. She let him take the lead, holding her weapon at shoulder level but keeping it aimed low as she checked open doorways. Nothing. It seemed that whatever happened here, their only clue so far was what Jamal and Mackenzie had stumbled upon. She wasn't sure how she felt about being sent back to the ship. Jamal had some experience doing what she did, true, though she felt her processes could do it more efficiently. Still, it made sense to her. She could set up an adequate defense/alert system in the hangar fairly quickly too. You're overthinking this. They don't doubt you, they just-
The android's thoughts were interrupted as she looked up, noting the guns pointed at them first before realizing who it was. She gave a nod to both Mackenzie and Jamal, listening as he spoke. Something in the way he was looking at her..doubt? Maybe he had thought the same thing she had, and only then did she realize why that might have been so. At times she forgot she was a machine. "There is nothing wrong. Chloe needs me to set up a perimeter in the hangar, she's sending you with Trace to the bridge to try and gain control. You might not be as efficient as me, but..you'll manage, I think." Helen added that last bit with a small smirk. It was rare that she tried to get under her companions' skins, and so all the more surprising when she did. "I'll go set up, good luck."
With that, Helen proceeded through the hangar doors, leaving the other three to continue on to their own objectives. She took a moment to look around, noting various places to set up. After a few moments, she made her way inside the ship, taking a second to check the controls at the bridge. Still locked out, it seemed. Hopefully Jamal would be able to fix that when they arrived at the bridge. Strolling toward the armory, she holstered her shotgun - the armor she wore had a conveniently placed magnetic plate. Small, but powerful enough to hold her shotgun in place until it was needed. She entered the armory, immediately looking along the side walls. Where did we put the..here we go! With both hands she grabbed a stack of small square metal plates. She turned them on briefly to sync them with her wrist console, then switched them off so they wouldn't go off unnecessarily. Exiting the ship, she scoured the hangar for inconspicuous locations. Door frames, shadowy spots, anywhere that the mountable motion detectors could pick up movement in a wide range or at choke points such as doors and not be easily spotted by anyone who might set them off. Minutes passed, and Helen's voice came in on everyone's transmitters. "Motion detectors are set up, I'll continue to lay other countermeasures but if anyone enters this area, I'll know about it."
"Copy that, Helen." Chloe responded to the transmission that motion sensors had been set up while listening to the engineer talk about what she was going to do. She rolled her shoulders once, watching while Lala did what she could to salvage the destroyed drone before retrieving the equipment she needed. She honestly didn't understand alot of what Lala was saying, but the gist of it she caught. She would be able to take care of their issue. From the sound of it, Chloe assumed Lala could get the maintenance elevator working again. "You're the expert, do what you have to." She replied as Lala asked if she agreed. Raising an eyebrow as the engineer continued to drone on, the emphasis on the word pop caught her attention. She nodded, backing away and hitting the open switch for one of the doors nearby, intending on using the room to take cover. It was dark, but she slipped inside, giving Lala a thumbs up to proceed before shutting it behind her to wait out the blast.
She waited a few moments, letting Lala work. In the meantime, she decided to check out the room she was using for cover temporarily. She switched on the mounted flashlight of her smg, and the first sight to greet her wasn't that different from Jamal's and Mackenzie's discovery. Great..trouble here too. Bodies, only four here though. All with gunshot wounds. It looked like there was trouble after all. Piecing it together, she figured it was very likely that whoever did this was up in the luxury decks, where Lala said the lift had stopped last. As she waited for the blast that Lala was no doubt preparing, she decided to call it in. "More bodies. Keep your guard up. My best guess, from what Lala told me about a maintenance lift we found, is that whoever did this is holed up in the luxury decks..but..there could be more, too. Watch yourselves."
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Post by David on Jan 6, 2011 0:44:24 GMT -5
Trace sighed as he pressed a button, and undid his vizor, as well as his face mask. He turned to see Jamal's face, and then to Helen who began to speak and waited until she explained the entire situation to them. He kept himself busy for a bit, by scanning down the halls, to see if they were empty.
So far, so good. It looked like their "guests" hadn't made it this way just yet, but that wouldn't be the case for long huh. He turned to Jamal and Mackenzie and with a flick of a button once more, he put on his vizor and face mask once more. When he spoke, it sounded like he was talking over an intercom and breathing at the same time; it couldn't be helped, his face mask was an old model.
"You heard Helen, let's move out. I'll take point again. Jamal, cover me, Mackenzie, you watch our backs. From the reports from Chloe, our "guests" aren't exactly friendly. So I guess, its shoot to kill... Either way, don't get distracted or let your guard down. I'm pretty sure, that these guys are pretty good at what they do, and won't hesitate to take our lives."
He wasn't the type to take a leader role; nor was he the type to be cautious as of late, but frankly, this ship had been giving him nothing but bad vibes. His memories were starting to get to him. If Mackenzie took a peek now, she would, the same nightmarish images he was seeing before. Only much darker.
Injections of strange serums, going through lots of painful rehabilitation procedures, more time in tanks of water, and surgeries. It seemed Trace had been awake subconsciously, and felt all the pain and suffering first hand. He couldn't get it out of his head, but something happened to him... For the first time in his entire life. He felt... less human.
This place was toying with him. Cursing him with vile and perverted thoughts of torture and suffering. And he couldn't do anything to stop it. But he swept it aside, for one reason and one reason only; his team, his "family" if he could call them that. He wanted to protect and be with them always. Especially with Helen... but feelings like that still had to wait as well.
Trace began to take point once more, raising his rifle and began to aim down his sight and turned on the laser sight as well, to make sure that he had a clear shot. He wasn't going to let Jamal take lead, since he couldn't cloak, or sneak up to the target, and slit his throat. This was a perfect job for Trace. He was essentially... a killing machine all in all. A ninja or assassin if you will, just with a bigger gun and sharper knives.
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Post by SarzieBeara~ on Jan 8, 2011 6:24:53 GMT -5
"I might as well be." She muttered under her breathe, lowering her gun as Trace appeared. Rolling her eyes, she let out a low growl out from the corner of her mouth, eyes narrowing at him. She most certainly took a peek, her expression grave and solemn as the memories flitted past her eyes as if she was reliving them. Grimacing at some of the torturing techniques, his doubts about being human threw her off. Mackenzie shrugged it off and decided to leave that to when they finished this mission and got some well deserved rest.
If you get out alive, that is... ...Very funny, whoever you are.[/i]
Holding onto that voice, she managed to zone in on Trace, feeling that the more she looked, the more she got. However...Trace's last little comment caused her to glare, her words coming out in a sneer without a second thought. "He is perfectly capable of handling himself and this mission without having a cloaking device, and I think his guns are just fine." Jamal was probably dead confused, and she knew Trace would either have to explain, or bullshit about it. She then moved out of line and even though sheathed by the visor, he'd feel her eyes piercing right through it as she moved up as close to him. "Now, I think we'd like to focus less on bragging about our big boy guns and start acting like adults. Don'tcha think? Oh, and. I think I'll be heading out in front of you, I hope you don't mind, soldier." Without giving him the time of day to retaliate she practically flashed her plazwhip and cocked it in front of him, moving forward without either of them.
Ooohooo~...touchy? Shut it. Who are you, anyways? That's for you to find out, right? Mackenzie Veillion! Taking charge!
He was egging her on. And she didn't like who this he was. Rolling her right hand in a clockwise motion, her laser would roll with her, and she flung her hand up and down, causing an at least 5 meter line of melting, burning floorboard to appear.
That little laser isn't doin' you no good.
"Right." She chuckled outloud, flicking her wrist as the thick whisp of light slurped and retracted right back into the nuzzle of her gun. She walked forward, hand outstretched, heading for the door that the two would have ignored. She stood still for a good few moments, listening, waiting. Closing her eyes, she focused solely on her hearing. Low, heavy breathing would be heard as well as the slight rustle of polyester clothing. The little clink of a metal or gold watch from shaking the wrist from side to side. The shifts of feet as the person moved around in his little sanctum. And then the cock of a Colt Revolver identical to the one at the side of her hip.
Getting waaarmer, you're almost burrrning up, little missy. Damn right I am.
The man inhaled sharply, not aware she was eavesdropping this well.
It was simple to her. How and where she knew where he was would remain a secret. Until they prodded her for answers. But that wouldn't happen after her episode with Vader. At least she hoped. Jamal wasn't easily shaken. Finally reaching the door she held her breathe and smiled.Turning the knob, a man's voice be heard; soon descending into a gurgled gasp as Mackenzie disappeared through the door. She dropped her gun, and took hold of said man, grasping his forearms and jerking him around, her own arm curling around the front of his neck. Mackenzie yanked him backwards and pulled her pocket-knife out from a holster on her leg, jabbing it immediately into the guys thigh. "There," She breathed raspily. "Just in case you decided on escaping." Walking in sight of the men, she turned to Trace and gave him a sweet smile. "Yes. We must indeed watch out." into the guys back, taking hold of his hands and holding them horribly tight behind him. "You done, lovely?"[/b] He'd chime smugly. "If you're wondering where the others are, you're not gonna find theemmmm~ I took care of them, ya know, so you only had me to deal with."
She sighed and stomped the heel of her shoe into his back, mushing his face into the ground, close to the still-cooling-floorboard. "Don't know what you would like to do with him, however I'd love to chop him up into little, itty bitty pieces and have him for dinner. Questions later, yeah?" Mackenzie shot directly at Trace, her trust for him growing thinner and thinner by the minute.
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Post by ~L~ on Jan 10, 2011 6:17:03 GMT -5
Finalizing the circuit and running a test pusle, the Ka'tarl chewed her lip in thoguht as her ear twitched thoughtlessly. She had the go ahed from Chloe and all things were green... the system warned of a battery overload if the equated amount of current was used, but the magnitude was anyone's guess... site age deterioration, energy backlash, radiation, and tampering... all could effect the outcome. It would work though, of that she was certain. She tapped on her own commlink and spoke nervously over the system, a rare occurence, but one that she did when she felt the need to. "Okayz everyone, I ish going to kickstart this heap's subsystems in a moment. Keep away from counduits that could be staticy, and don't disconnect any uplinks until it ish done. Nyah!~ And believes me when I tell ya, you'll know when! Don't be alarmed if ya feel some resonance or a tremor, don'tchu worry! Bear in mind that whoever may or may not be still here will likely feel thish too, poooossibly react to it, shoooooo, like Cappy Chloe said, keep alert 'n stuffs!! Umm.. Kyu~ over."She finishes with an awkward signoff and a flush of color in spite of her being alone in the room now. "Alllllllllllrighty Zieky, let's make it hot!" She says to herself, suddenly excitable about the scheme. She flips the switch and watches in silence, holding the switch down, her expression all doe-eyed with anticipation. A dull low resonance builds, the batter warming and the system reacts, all shut down doors except for danger-level security sealed ones reacting with an overload or reboot prompt as the power is drawn and forcefull redirected. The lift groans in protest, runner lights flicker on, some outlets come back to life while the batterypack begins to glow bluish, getting brighter as the rumbling resonance builds with each second as power diverts and all lights and outlets blackout. A deep sub-harmonic boom pulses from the ships powergrid. forcing reboot power to everything, but being blocked and diverted by Meilala's little rig, it kick starts the lesser systems, the Lift displays lighting up, runner lights, and outlets grids suddenly have power again. She holds her breath and yanks a few cables from the circuir board, putting herself between the door, board, and her GizPad as the battery hums wrathfully about the hyper-critical levels, before... !!!=====B-O-O-M=====!!! The blast's concussive rumble heaves nearby rooms, rattles rooms within a several hundred yards, and sends tremors and smaller rumbles as the energy disperses further, and Meilala's personel link system indicating it's destruction on H.U.D's or on wrist panel screens, a blinking red " x" in place of her usual place marker. A thick, toxic, ozone-smelling haze hangs in the air of the junction area an alarming dent flecked with shrapnel and super-heated melty spots at the blastpoint. The freighter's ventilations and hazard control systems kick in with a silent alarm and flashing yellow hazard lights, the automated innercomm repeating the hazard over the ship's P.A. "Warning: Biohazard detection on Central Junction level F, sections 4 though 15. All personel evacuate and avoid until contained. After retreating the area see your health rep or assigned physician immediately. Thank you and we apologize for the inconvienience.... Warning: Biohazard dete-..."Groaning and tilting her head with a snapping sound, Lala pulls herself up from the corner of the doorway, glancing at the dented wall dizzily. After standing she blinks and looks around the hazy room, wide-eyed. "Uuuugh.. Owy... Murrrowrl~ That.. was.. big. Uh... Nyaaaah? Eep!" She squeeked for three reasons; The first being her notice of the thick haze and holding her breath, ducking below it as the vents filtered the smog out. The second as that her GizPad had a crack down the screen, which had her glaring with an irritated curl to her lip, and the last, and most obvious, being... well, her "uniform" had ~definitely~ not been made to withstand heat and chemical blasts, and so she crouched with a hand over her face with scorched, tattered, and sizzling -formerl- vintage clothing, the only garment up to par with the situation being her boots, belt, and pack. She growled to herself, angry that she hadn't thought of that before initializing... -What a waste of a perfectly cute outfit... ugh, rrreeeeeeeeal smooth, dumb-dumb..- She thought with bitter seriousness as she made her way, still woozy, to the work bench, also still ducking.. intent on hopping up and digging through the workchest for some spare clothing she likely had.. or her uniform, preferably. She kept just about everything with her work gear, afterall.
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Post by Clipse on Jan 10, 2011 22:31:44 GMT -5
Eyebrows raised, Jamal still did not understand what had just happened. He understood that in the presence of psionics and deadly assassins it was best to remain quiet. Not that he was scared though, but usually crew politics involved huge egos and showmanship, and he was never one to involve himself in these displays of talent. But the liquor he had consumed was really getting to him, and adding to his usual morning feelings of suicidal tendencies, he wanted to speak up at the senseless destruction of the floorboards. Most likely Mackenzie was trying to scare the poor sod out of his hole. Brushing past Trace, he leaned over and scooped up the man's colt revolver. Then he knelt down in front of their prisoner. "We didn't ask what you did with the others, but if we asked if anyone wanted their head blown off," jabbing the revolver between the man's eyes, "you wouldn't sound so fuckin' smug now would you ?"
The man simply starred back into Jamal's eyes, a slight twitch in the man's jaw, and his smile faded. But not completely, and his eyes were full of mischief, as if he was going to find amusement at being a captive. Jamal's eyes were completely reversed. The laughter and joking of a few moments before were gone, as if something had clicked, and all that remained was an icy cold glare. The eyes of a killer, who wasn't concerned about blowing a man's brains out all over his friend's shoe. A man who had lost everything, his home and his family. A simple man, he had no powers, no telekinesis or artistic swordsmanship skills. He was just a simple man with a lot of anger and nothing to lose.
The man's smile began to turn into a smirk, and his mouth opened as his rebuttal took form. All that came out was a cry of agony as Jamal's fist came around, the revolver still grasped for extra velocity, striking the man's jaw. A crack was heard, blood sprayed out of the man's mouth, and foremost a tooth rattled to a halt a few meters away. Mackenzie, who had never even suspected this side of Jamal existed, gasped and stepped away. Trace's reaction remained hidden behind his visor. The prisoner, now free of her foot, instantly rolled over and grabbed his jaw in his hands, mumbling and shrieking in pain. Jamal stood up to his full height, towering over both his squad mates. He felt no pity for the man. Mindless murderers, who killed simply for the sport. Like the religious fanatics who massacred his home. Like a judge rendering judgement on a convicted felon, he thought justifying, the red mist that was forming in front of him clearing faster then it had formed. One who has a lot of rage, also experienced a lot of sorrow. He let that thought drift openly in his mind, hoping Mackenzie would pick up and at least understand his actions. Jamal suspected they would question him about it, but he would be reluctant to share.
His ear piece began to chime, indicating an incoming message from someone else in his crew. Good, something to take his mind off of what he had just done. He answered, and heard the nervous ranting of Meilala. Nervous ? A nervous engineer about to implement some form of action that could possibly atomize all of them in seconds ? But it made him nervous too, cause for one, Meilala was never nervous. He turned to face his two crewmates, who were probably having second guesses about teaming up with a psycho like himself, or moved on from the incident. It was good to let them know whatever it was, was out of his system. "Brace for impact-" he started, until there was a sudden vibration in the wall. Jamal glanced to the side, but was cut short as the entire hull shuddered violently, rocking them from side to side. But as quickly as it begun, it ended. Meilala's status light blinked red. He tried to raise her on the comlink but he was met with static. Damnit. Hopefully Chloe, whose light was still green, wasn't injured or knocked unconscious. Trace, or Mackenzie rather, was the de facto leader of this small group, so he couldn't rush off and check on his fellow crew mate. The thought of a dead crew mate, a friend rather, was gnawing him up on the inside.
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Post by David on Jan 13, 2011 15:19:59 GMT -5
Trace was now impressed by Mackenzie's actions. He had never seen someone taking down that bastard. When Mackenzie wanted to kill him though... He wasn't sure that was a good idea at all. Truthfully, he wanted to ask him, what he knew about this ship, and also, what secrets was it holding. However as soon as the hull had begun to shake, Trace was smashed a couple of times. His body hurt, but he got over it. He was use to pain.
Ugh... The fuck just happened. Hey! Chloe! Helen! What's going on?! Did you encounter anymore problems with the ship?! Hello? Hello?!
Trace wasn't sure if his communications went down, or if the communications in general was down. He hoped his message would get to someone at least, but it was still a long shot.
But the worse part, didn't come until he heard the alert. Biohazard?! What was going on?... And yet, when he heard those words. Something happened that would further alienate Trace, from everyone else, even more now than ever.
His eyes dilated, his pupils expanded, and then receded. They slowly began to turn red, and in a monotone voice, Trace began to speak.
Biohazard in effect. Activating protocols. Switching to search and destroy. Objectives are to eliminate all-
He was cut off, as he was able to snap back into himself. He had no memory as to what had happened... but he felt, so cold then and there. What the hell was going on? What the fuck just happened. He blacked out; no... rather, he could see everything that was going on, and couldn't control himself... He felt like a cold calculating machine. No heart, no soul.
Was this really what he was, just a cold and grueling assassin, with no emotions of his own? This ship was truly pushing him to the limit and beyond. He wanted answer, but at this rate, answers may have seen less then likely pleasing to him; since the truth in his eye... would look very grim to him and perhaps drive him even more insane than he was feeling right now. Humanity for him, seemed less than likely now.
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Post by SarzieBeara~ on Jan 14, 2011 3:10:00 GMT -5
Blushing furiously at her immediate gasp and need to step away, she felt slightly satisfied that the man would roll around and roll right back as he burnt himself. She bit at her nail, glancing waaay up at Jamal. If she had ears, they'd be pinned so far back. Swallowing hard, she stalked back into that room and reclaimed her own gun, gripping it tightly before starting up again. "Torturing isn't my thing...but if I mu--Whatthehe--" As they shaked she kept her eye on both her crewmembers. Giving a half grimace, a half thoughtful look she finally whispered into the itty bitty piece of technology that kept them all connected;"Well, that was interesting. Lala is okay, I can hear her."
Calm. Cool. Collected. Breaaathe. Deathly Still. Ice Cold. Gravely Serious.
Her gaze went from Trace to Jamal to the man on the floor. Kneeling down next to him, she smoothed her hand up and down his leg tenderly. Her fingers curled around the handle of the knife she drove into his thigh. Smiling sweetly, she twisted it three hundred and sixty degrees. "...BITCH." The man managed to cough out, still moaning and groaning in pain.
Straightening up, she parted her lips to speak, her hands almost coming up to rest on Jamal's chest to push him away from the man...but she didn't. Trace was acting up again. Dumbfounded, her eyes grew wide as he spoke in a...robot like tone. "Search and Destroy?! Object is to eliminate all WHAT?!?!" She fumed and tightened her jaw, losing much more than her calm, cool and collected self. How could she have not picked something up like this before?
Inhaling deeply, she looked at Trace and brought her finger up to her ear."Seems like we may have more than just two non-humans on board." She reported, a tiny little smirk darkening up her features. Dropping her hand to her side, it swung, and she shrugged. "SO. Before I overreact or something, aha. What do you think, Jamal? What do we do with...this. Lovely situation we're in?"
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Post by Clipse on Jan 18, 2011 23:12:35 GMT -5
Biohazard in effect. Activating protocols. Switching to search and destroy. Objectives are to eliminate all...Biohazard in effect. Activating protocols...
The thought repeated in his head over and over again, drowning out whatever thoughts that were plaguing him just a moment ago. Was there some connection with Trace and this ship ? Perhaps he had worked here as a bodyguard or something. But with his skill set, he clearly was too heavily trained for a mere guard. This ship seemed to have its own secrets. Dark secrets that Jamal would have preferred to remain hidden and left alone.
He was so deep in his thoughts that he had just realized Mackenzie was speaking. "...situation we're in ?" Jamal raised an eyebrow in question, but quickly withdrew the reaction. What the hell she just say ? If she could read his thoughts, she would probably put more pocket marks in his armor than the moon. He glanced down at the prisoner that had so recently been the target of his anger issues. I need to get that locked down fast. I wonder how Trace keeps his emotions in check... And then suddenly he realized what idiots they were.
Motioning to Trace, if he was himself at the moment, to watch over the prisoner, Jamal drew Mackenzie to the side. Five meters down, away from the prying ears of the prisoner, he flicks the center of her forehead. "I wonder what goes on in there, if there is just two monkey's wandering around or gears turning. Anyways, why haven't you gotten around to reading the poor fellow's mind ? Cause I'm getting sick of his attitude." Raising his voice a little for the poor sod to hear, "Teach him some manners or I'm gonna paint these hallways with his blood. Two coats. Maybe that will teach him to respect the people with the guns." He pumped the lever on his rifle, injecting a round into the chamber with a click. He smiled with satisfaction at seeing the man gulp hard.
It wasn't his intention though. His real concern was Trace. Jamal knew at that instant if Trace did change and become some ice-cold, threat removal assassin, he would not be able to shoot his friend to save himself. He prayed to God, and that was something he rarely did, that Trace could overcome whatever internal struggle he was going through. Thats if he had the option of resisting this...protocol ? For one, he knew it wasn't some joke or freak of nature accident. Trace did joke, but not on this level. Some deeper nature of his that he had yet to discover was lurking near the surface, ready to explode outward in a moments instance. For the first time in years, Jamal wished he could have stayed in bed this morning.
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Post by Hanhan on Jan 21, 2011 13:22:00 GMT -5
Chloe had been busy studying the corpses she had stumbled across. Definitely gunned down, by whoever had shown up here. She thought it a bit strange that they hadn't seen another ship docked in the hangar, but assumed that there were others they just didn't see. The fact that the ship's systems had directed them to dock in one place specifically blinded them to looking for other entry points. Yes, that made sense. It makes sense, though I'm still wondering if coming here was a good idea after all. We've run into nothing but trouble since docking with this damn super freighter...boy it better be worth it. Chloe quickly patted down her hips, feeling a sudden relief when she felt her "emergency supplies" in place. Getting a little paranoid, like I dropped them or something. I should take another dose, soon... Her thoughts were interrupted when suddenly the lights went out. She assumed something like that would happen as Lala did her thing, but had not expected the explosion that followed. She had thought by "pop," Lala had meant a flash of sparks, or maybe a small blast.
Boy was she wrong.
Chloe had hardly gotten far away, only stepped into the nearest room and sealed it. The door was effective cover from the explosion of course but the resulting shockwave violently shook the room she was in, knocking her clear off her feet. As the ground settled, Chloe pushed herself to her feet, disoriented at first. The "x" in place of Meilala's marker that was flashing on Chloe's visor heads up display was the first thing that caught her attention, and it made her sick to her stomach. Oh no... She could hear the warning repeating over the intercom, something about a biohazard just outside the room she was in. Which meant not only did Meilala get caught in an explosion, but now she was breathing in toxins. And if it was as bad as the warning made it sound, it didn't spell good things for their head engineer.
The voices of the others, Jamal and Trace, came through on her tranceiver but she ignored them for now. An ablative ceramic cover slid up from the bottom of Chloe's helmet, meshing with the visor and effectively sealing the helmet. It also acted as a filter, so unless she was in an absolute zero atmosphere, like space, running out of air to breathe was a non-issue. "Hey, hey! Are you alright out there??" She didn't wait for an answer, moving to the door right away. The door was sealed due to the quarantine but a quick work-around did the job, and the door opened. She stepped out hurriedly, relief washing over her when she saw that the head engineer was thankfully alright.
"Lala is alright, everyone, we're alright. She just fried her personel link system... nice going. Didn't think ahead on that one too much, did you? Chloe out." Chloe heaved a sigh, the fact that she was cracking a smile unnoticeable thanks to her now sealed helmet. It was hard not to, given the current state of the engineer. "Or were you just looking for an excuse to undress? Aheh...at least you managed to get the elevator working. Maybe you can woo whoever is up in the luxury deaths so we don't have to deal with them." All joking aside, she stepped forward and placed a hand on Lala's shoulder. "Lets just try to be more careful, next time."
With that, Chloe turned her attention to the elevator, giving the engineer plenty of time to fish out some new clothes to cover herself with. Chloe hit the call button, and was happy to see the elevator respond this time. "Good work, by the way." She said with a nod, the electronic ping that came from the elevator as it moved down by floor sounding like music to her ears. "We've gotten the elevator working. Express trip to engineering decks. Have you guys reached the tram system that Helen and Trace found yet? We need people up on the bridge ASAP."
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Post by David on Jan 29, 2011 17:50:08 GMT -5
Trace wasn't sure what the hell was going on anymore. Rather... what the hell was he now. Human wasn't the word anymore. How can someone human... just, have all these horrid memories, as well as just, become so... he had no clue what he was! He was losing all sense of himself...
Until something happened. Another set of memories began to enter his thoughts. It was a smaller Trace. Sweet and innocent; a child essentially. He was just having fun as a kid; on a lunar colony. It fast forwarded a little now. He was in school now, getting into a fight now. He was protecting a red-haired girl now... he was blushing after he had stopped her from being bullied.
In a sense... this was more of Trace's "true" memories; truer rather. This in a sense... put his mind somewhat at ease. But it wasn't enough to him really. Just a few memories that would make him feel... human, just wasn't enough.
Answers. That's all he wanted now. Answers as to what had happened to him; answers as to why he was like, and answers, so that he could finally have his consciousness at ease. He knew however, that wasn't going to be easy; since he didn't even know where to start. Then again, the best way, was to head to the bridge now.
He took another glance at their prisoner now. He slowly drew out one of his knives, and placed it at his throat, while he picked him up. His eyes started coldly at his soul. He was not in the mood for any tricks, nor games.
"Alright... I'm going to make this quick and simple for you to understand. You give us trouble.... A knife to your knee is the worse of your problems. If you even try to pull something on us, i'll personally make sure I chop off your nuts, and shove them down your throat. If taunt or talk to us in anyway... i'll slice off your fingernails and prints slowly... and dip them into acid. If you so much as LOOK at us wrong... i'll make sure you regret every last moment. Understood?"
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Post by SarzieBeara~ on Mar 1, 2011 8:11:14 GMT -5
As Jamal pulled her off to the side, her face held a scowl. As he proceeded in flicking her forehead she growled and smacked his arm with the handle of her gun. She began to speak, but immediately shut up as he began to do so. Her eyes turned into slits as he insulted her. He had a point, but he hadn't known that she was reading his mind. Every second and every other moment. Swallowing a very inappropriate, and very racist remark, she inhaled sharply through her nostrils. "First of all, Mister...were you even listening to me when I was ranting?! Second of all, I have been keeping tabs on that 'poor' guys mind," She made air quotations and snarled, her attitude as fiery as her hair. "And THIRDLY, I am not teaching anyone -any- manners. You know what I think we should do? I think we should go back to the bridge and bring this son of a bitch with us."
She gave a shrug and a mini hair flip as she turned away from him, snapping her flexible laser next to his foot, never daring to even approach his shoe, but she knew that the fact that she even tried would cause a reaction to brew. Almost trotting back to Trace, she gave a sagacious nod as she heard the end of of his threat. "Mm, I'm sure he does, Vader. Now. I think we'll head over to the bridge. Helen advised us that we do so." She sighed and glanced down at the stubborn little shit they were dealing with.
You showing some interest in me, lady? ...I'm actually trying to find it inside of me -not- to let my teammates rip you apart like a pack of hyenas discovering a dead fuckin' Zebra.
To which the gentleman finally shut the fuck up. Grinning at Trace she raised her eyebrow and outstretched her hand, fluttering her fingers as a signal for him to hand the knife over. He might have threatened the man for the benefit of the team, but there was no way in hell she was giving him her trust that easily. Not yet anyways.
Awh, c'mon sweetheart, you're not -actually- going to let the dick-wads tear me limb from limb are you?
She'd raise both her eyebrows in disbelief and burst out into laughter.
"Guys, guys. Listen to this. He actually had the nerve to ask me if you guys were serious about ya know..." her laughter ended boringly as she turned to Jamal, waving her hand about his figure. "You giving the walls a new paint job--" She whirled around to face Trace, letting out a short,snippy burst of laughter out. "and YOU with all your threats...I don't even know, aHAH!." She cleared her throat and straightened up. She adjusted her belt and snorted, throwing her hand in the air as she turned to the exit.
"Let's move~!"
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