Meanwhile...An old man sits in his office, drinking a few shots to calm his nerves.
He sighs, polishing off a brass nameplate. He hadn't thought to use one so soon. Especially not this one. He gets a call on the red phone. An X-Com agent confirmed dead.
...
In time, he heads into X-COMMAND-it falls silent. He rarely makes an appearance. The plate is heavier to bear than he thought it would be.
He walks to the North wall-previously empty, cold grey-and places the name plate on the wall, right in the center. The name on the plate is
Feanor Lindon.Inscribed above the wall are a few simple words.
THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE PRECIOUS ARE SAVED ONLY BY SACRIFICE
NEVER FORGET. NEVER FORGIVE....
The Old Man is tired.
But he refuses to sleep. He goes back to his desk.
And takes out the rest of the nameplates, polishing them soberly. The missions not over yet.
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Shake your head and motion for him to calm down.
I'm not a part of the maintenance staff, I'm a field agent. I saw a notice on the holo-map and figured I should try to help you out. Those fellows do have a tendency to lay down on the job.
Look at the door and how it is sealed (hydraulic, mechanical lock, etc.). Find the door's maintenance panel try to open it. If it is sealed, search for something to pry it open. If nothing is to be found, use your hands instead. Once the panel is removed, see if you can identify which wires control the sealing mechanism.
"Just open it aleady, okay Jarhead?" He says, crossing his arms.
You begin a through inspection. The man taps his foot impatiently.
The door seems mechanical in nature...
"...Yeah, this is one of the newer doors-it's entirely mechanical. You're not going to find...a rope, or whatever you're looking for. The others you can open with a elbow grease and a primed handle...not that I'm strong enough to open one of those monsters anyway. You'll have to disengage the motor or whatever." He says petulantly. You do wonder, if he's so good at giving advice, why he couldn't do this himself...
Continuing your adamant work, you detach the nearby control panel with a firm tug-the spot helpfully highlighted by an arrow-and look into the tangle of mysterious wires.
ntelligence Check[6-1=5]
Whoever laid this out was extremely helpful-perhaps knowing in an emergency, anyone might have to manipulate the electronics. You find a full and clear blueprint on the inner side of the door, listing in English what is what. Feeling satisfied, you quickly disengage the wire that leads to the doors power system-it makes a *CRUNCH* noise. That is odd. It means the door was locked previously. By deduction, that means someone was already inside to do so...
The man seems more incensed.
"You dumbass! We'd need the Incredible Hulk to open the door now!" He rants, turning a pale shade of red himself.
Indeed, the door must be opened completely manually at this point-there are emergency handle grips inset for this purpose. The question is, what do you expect to find in there?
=====================================================================================
Hmm, a bot contest eh? Only heard of these in the news. Let's see what these techies are up to.
Ria moved over to the crowds to check in on the contest -- finding a rifle would take time, and this may be a good place to see ideas.
Watch ye contest!
Who was that man and...why did it look like he pitied me?
Within the hour, the techies assemble in the center of the room-placing their bots in a cage made of blast proof glass.
You watch the first match-Rocktogon Vs Carve Diem. Both machines look harmless at first...until one of them pops a tiny weapon from it's hull, and melts the other into a pile of circuits with some sort of blue laser beam. It's a quick battle.
"Rocktogon goes down! Next match is five minutes-Dr. Overkill vs Mr. Benihana!" A nerdy sounding announcer proclaims.
One of the enginerds bumps into you, laughing. He's a bit of a cliche-skinny, glasses, thin beard.
"Woah! Sorry there, Ma'am...you actually came to watch this?" He inquires.