((Sorry for the delay, I'm swamped by homework and terrible at managing my time, as always.))
Ugh... knew it. Too strong. Cannot focus on it.
John heard a voice coming through to him, but it was a minute before he realized it was talking to him. He focused on it as an anchor to reality.
<<Too strong to read its technosense... I'm hurt, but bomb planted. Getting out now!>>
Focus on getting out as fast as possible. If I can get to ~75m away, detonate.
Your hand begins to twitch and move on its own. The cold spreading from your arm to your chest brings the loss of control there with it. Your thoughts are incoherent. Your hart feels strange. You can't breathe.
<Parasitic influence detected. Implementing quarantine...>John, perhaps urged by the voices of his allies or maybe the voice of his entity, manges to form one coherent thought in his mind and hold on to it.
Escape. He uses the one arm he can still move willingly to push the jetpack's control stick backwards. There's resistance from his alien hand as it clutches and tries to hold on to the cables and the bomb. But it is too weak, its grasp too awkward. The hand slips away and he breaks free.
Immediately, the scream in his head stops, and he is able to open his eyes, only to see a large number of robotic arms rushing towards him, trying to box him in.
He looks around, using the increased awareness his helmet provides him, hoping to locate an opening or an alternate route of escape. He succeeds, finding a small opening where the density of hostiles is slightly smaller.
John flies straight towards the opening, not taking any evasive action. Ironically, this seems to confuse the BETA, for it had positioned its arms with the intent to intercept someone dodging. By the time it realizes that he is moving in a simple straight line, it's too late for the arms to do anything more than punch him in the gut. Which while unpleasant (he was hit by a metal fist after all), isn't very deadly (or indeed, very painful, compared to what he's experiencing from his leg.)
He rolls with the punch and continues flying towards the rapidly closing gap between the BETA's armour segments.
He manages to weave his way through the outer parts of the BETA and the large arms holding its armour. His legs graze the metal plates as he passes between them, which elicits some pain, but he manages to escape without further harm coming to his person. The reverberation of the BETA's armour closing behind him is heard only a moment later.
You keep flying, reaching a nearby rooftop, fleeing from the sounds of electric motors behind you. You cut off your jetpack, slam on the roof and tumble on for a few meters, amplifying the pain coming from your limp leg in the process. You come to a stop, your cheek resting on the cold floor of the roof.
You can see your enemy from here. The building is in the way but you can see through it, both due to the abilities of your helmet and the strange light the BETA is emitting that seems capable of going through solids. It's lifting its arm towards you.
Exhausted, your energy leaving you, you retrieve the detonator, which has thankfully remained mostly intact despite the abuse your body has taken.
You flip the switch and press the button with all your strength.
The detonator beeps.
Nothing happens.
You press it again.
Another beep, another load of nothing.
You press it a third time.
The electromagnetic signal finally manages to find a gap in the BETA's thick plates of interstellar spacecraft grade armour, making its way inside its torso and reaching the bomb buried in there. In John's multivision helmet, the BETA lights up. There is a muffled sound of an explosion.
Most of the arms holding the armour of the BETA fail, some of them standing still while others hang limp and few fall outside, pushed by the force of the explosion, leaving large gaps in its armour. Its dome hand, which was pointing at him a only a couple of seconds ago, falls to the rubble-filled street with a thud.
John closes his eyes, exhausted. He was going on on adrenaline, but that's running out now. His leg is still hurting, his lungs refuse to fill with air completely, his arm still feels weird from whatever that thing did to him. He can still see the light of the BETA dancing in front of him, dimmed but there.
Nikolai thinks to himself (And his entity)
Damn future people. No booze, no smokes, nothing good, only perfume. At least they have good taste in art.
Place a drop of the leaking fuel on a piece of scrap metal, test if it's flammable. If it isn't, then test the perfume.
Craft as many molotovs as I can with the flammable liquid, dump out the rocks and fill my bag with molotovs.
Keep a few rocks in my pocket.
If nothing burns, then go meet up with Jordan and Rune with my bag of rocks to drop on the robot.
Oh, and take the poster if it's intact.
To team:
<<Rescue isn't needed, I'm fine. Okay, not fine but I'm functional. What I needed was some wings.
Don't suppose anyone else can fly? I have some bombs to drop.>>
The perfume is not flammable, at least not without you continuously supplying it with heat. The alcohol content isn't enough. Apparently, people don't want to spontaneously combust when hit by a random static electricity spark. Who would had thought?
The liquid leaking from the truck is better at burning, but not the best. It looks like its primary purpose isn't to be burnt. Although it does a good job burning your fingertips. Ouch.
Nevertheless, you manage to craft 5 low quality firebombs from it by putting it in the small bottles and attaching a piece of cloth to them.
<What do you mean "good taste in art"?>You crawl into the back of the truck and begin searching for the poster. It's surprisingly intact, despite the damage done to the truck and the fact that a large part of the back of the truck has been punched away by a giant robot.
<Are you actually going to->You grab the poster and detach it from the wall, carefully roll it and put it in your bag.
<I'm unsure about whether or not I should berate you for doing this while there are more important things to do or commend you for your cheeky attitude.>There's the muffled sound of an explosion and the ground shudders.
You limp outside through the rubble to see what's going on. There's something wrong with the BETA's armour. It has opened up in places, plates hanging limply from robotic arms, especially near its torso. Well, its problems are your opportunity to strike. Time to take advantage of that opportunity.
Question is, how do you kill a huge robotic humanoid the size of a building?
Continue staring
Staring intensifies... ((Warning, large image file.))
You hear an explosion and feel the ground shudder. At least one of you is using his time in a productive manner.
<Um...what do you like to do? I'm Angel, by the way.>
<Ambiguous request, refine query.
Acceptable. Player 7 will now be referred to as "Angel".>
Meanwhile...
Bryan
<That is a hard question to answer. It is one of those questions that you cannot fully answer until you are forced to. It is also a question where the answer may change. Nevertheless, I will try to answer it. Most certainly I would be willing to fight and, if necessary, kill for it. I would be willing to die so that others could go free. And if I died fighting for my own freedom, then I would be okay with that. I would be conflicted about killing someone who has done me no wrong. For example, were it not my express orders, I would probably not kill Target Amethyst. If I knew for a fact that the world would be a better place without my freedom, then I would be okay with that as well. That is what I can think of at the moment. May I ask you the same question?>
"Yes, but can a man who stands between you and your freedom be truly innocent? After all, is he not one more thing keeping you imprisoned?
As for my answer... I believe in fighting for something greater. Fighting for freedom. And paying the price. Almost any price."
Alan's imagining of his face assumes a configuration resembling 
.
This is pleasing! What could be happening on this world, I wonder?
Be the annoying guy in the movie theatre who loudly speculates about future events in the movie.
The camera continues to zoom in towards the earth ball and then the scene quite awkwardly cuts to a view of a mountain, covered in dry sandy dirt.
The scene of a flashlight that moves towards the camera, the left and downwards is superimposed to the scene of the mountain. Then a small firework is detonated on the side of the mountain, filing the air with smoke and sparkles. An eerie light appears in the sky above the mountain and starts moving towards it, slowly at first, but getting faster by the moment. It crashes on the mountain, raising large plumes of dirt.
The music stops and the scene cuts to two men sitting on separate desks filled with what would pass for high tech science equipment in the late 50s (meaning things with lots of switches and wires coming out of them that beep a lot). One of them is writing something on a large notepad, pausing from time to time to pick up the machine and look at it. The other sits on his chair looking bored while reading a newspaper and eating peanuts.
"Checks out allright..." The note taker mumbles. "I don't understand it..."
He gets up and looks at the other one. "Hey Dan, it doesn't make any sense." Dan absent-mindedly responds with an "Uh huh." engrossed on his newspaper, not paying any attention to the man talking to him or perhaps simply ignoring him. The man grabs his newspaper.
"
I said it doesn't make any sense. The Geiger counter has been going on and off all morning. And the nucleometer checks right along with it."
"Come on, you know that can't be right. Radioactivity is a constant thing." responds Dan. "Either it's there or-"
The machine he is inspecting begins beeping louder than the rest and the needle on it begins jerking left and right in an erratic manner.
"Oh yeah?" exclaims the note taker. They both approach the beeping machine and Dan inspects it. "See? Radioactive readings appearing and disappearing randomly."
"Radon gas leaking?" asks Dan.
"No, I took readings earlier, there's nothing around."
"Could it be a pla-"
This is pleasing!
What could be happening on this world,
I wonder?"-osmic radiation or a solar flare?"
The movie theatre fills with the sound of people shushing you.
"Impossible." responds the note taker and begins pacing left and right, like a man getting ready for a speech.
((*points at arm drawn above*
Case closed.))
. . .Theri opened her thoughts to her host, and connected it to what she was telling Irene that she could hear (<> can now be heard by my host)
Awena I-...guess you heard me talking back there, huh. It wasn't mean to be hidden from you more than it was meant to be my...err, thoughts--I didn't not mean to hide it from you, is what I'm saying. Anyway, I think I told Irene the wrong thing, let me correct it.
<Irene. The fish came from the crystal. Not the bracelet interface thing.>
...I will use myself and advise Irene to form a defense around this room through our intangible methods. I do not trust Victor, but I...in my own personal opinion-I can't see him lying that way.
<Irene, please tell Zoe not to shoot. I understand what to do>
I know this is all new to you, and I'm not the 'I'll explain later' type, but I've to say this now: Please trust us. Either way, you've my eternal gratitude for listening to me.
<I will stay on the alert, but I suggest you defend the perimeter with your powers. I am only adept in physical prowess. The fish comes from the crystal, not the bracelet. The firebird symbolizes danger in whatever form. Vict-Boris is important here.>
Also Awena, no matter what happens...thanks for trusting me and trying to understand me first. That means more than anything I can say. I cannot help as I have no connection to...whatever forces preside here, but I am limited in physical prowess. I'm open for anything you need, and sorry for thrusting you into all this (no this isn't a set-up.).
But please tell Zoe to not shoot him.
Theri: Keep alert. Feel the surroundings outside our area or in the machines (roll for common sense) for any enemies and help be the 'spotter' to Irene's eyes.
Suggest to Awena.
Also, get Amelia in place!
((It's actually a 3d model I got from
here. I feel bad taking credit I don't deserve.))
Your host is still confused but accepts your words nevertheless.
Do you want go take a look outside and give Irene the enemy's location? Or remain here and let the guards handle it?
See below for rest of your turn.
Irene: Lenglon, forgive me.
<...I will not shoot him.>
Let him work. Let Zoe handle this. Sense the area for any hostilites; work in tandem with Theri: Aim to block doorways with fire-based diversion or any openings of sight to the room if sensed any. If I sense any kind of hostility, try to feel the general area wherein they are located and issue a sweeping wave of flame in that area--but not precisely at that individual. Disrupt rather than attack.
If none are sensed? Create a pop or a flash of fire in a random area outside to subside only a moment later, just to be safe.
<What is with Awena?>
"Wait! Please, don't shoot him. He's right. We don't have much choice." Awena tells Zoe.
Zoe seems to consider it for a second. She is still conflicted. But she's right. They can't afford to fight with each other when there are people who want to hurt them outside. Then again, the people inside aren't much better.
Zoe emits a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan, filled with displeasure.
"Fine." she says, lowering her gun.
"Great, now that that's been settled..." Boris says and approaches Amelia's gurney. Zoe blocks his path.
"But don't be mistaken. If you try to pull anything, I will kill you.""OK. Can I get back to work now, please?" That "please" didn't sound sincere.
Zoe gives him an angry look and gets out of the way. She keeps watch on him as he works.
While Awena helps Boris put Amelia in the operating table, Irene asks Victor
<I asked you for the location of the enemy.><Oh, right. Let me just take control for a bit.>Boris suddenly stops what he's doing and approaches the table with the radio. He looks unsure, as if he is surprised with his own actions.
"How many and where are they located?""Uhh, they're near the other block, on the other side of the street. Two cars, one police and one government. One of them-""Where exactly?""Uhh, they're maybe 50 meters away towards the north from the front of the compound?"<There.>Boris walks away from the radio and returns to checking the various machines surrounding Amelia, seemingly oblivious to what just happened.
Irene uses the time to concentrate on using her powers while maintaining the combustion resistant field. It's a quite complex task but she manages to do so, creating a pattern of flames near the location Boris provided her and sweeping it forward.
A few moments later, she, along with everyone else in the room, can hear the muffled sound of gunfire. A sound both familiar and foreign to her host.
Boris runs to the radio and speaks into it again.
"What's going on out there? I didn't tell you to shoot!""Could it be? Gods, is the driving finally over? I can scarcely believe it!"
>Grab shotgun plus ammo, tear gas, C4, machine pistol, put on gas mask. Advance carefully toward the warehouse, circle around before approaching. If any wretched parasite comes out of that warehouse, terminate with slight prejudice.
In a way quite similar to the hero of a certain action movie or perhaps an FPS video game character, your host gets out of his car and starts wearing all the pieces of his
armour, ensuring all his spare mags are full of ammo and attaching various
weapons and ammo on his body, leaving only the spare bullets, the RPG-29 and the two spare rockets behind.
Just as your host is about to leave, the radio on your car crackles with and then voice speaks your host's name.
Your host approaches the driver side door to respond. It's a bit difficult moving and bending with all that armour. He grabs the mic, holds it close to the gas mask so that he can be heard clearly and starts speaking.
"Where are the reinforcements I requested? We have them boxed in at the warehouse.""There will be no reinforcements.""What?!""You heard me. Now stand down and get out of there.""But we have them right here. High ranking members probably. They-""You WILL stand down and get out of there! THAT is an order! Did you hear me? If you" as the man on the radio proceeds to threaten your host, he notices something. A thin line of light coming towards his car. The line deforms into a diamond pattern. A diamond pattern made of fire.
Your host groans from the effort of pushing himself out of the car and hides behind the open door, pushing himself against it. A moment later, the wave of fire rushes past him. The door does good job protecting him. Only his boots are slightly melted. Good thing he wore all that armour.
<Crap. It's her. I was hoping she was on our team.>A second later, the wave reaches the police car behind him. One of the officers is slightly burnt in the hand. The other's jacket catches fire but is quickly extinguished by his comrade before he can be hurt too much.
Both your cars' interior catches fire as the fire rushes inside, but it is only a small ember for now.
The wave of fire is followed by the rattle of AK47s firing somewhere in the direction of the warehouse and the sound of bullets ricocheting around you, hitting the car and the glass. They sound strange, like they are somehow... silenced? Who would put a silencer on an AK47? Your host thinks they're coming from the second floor of the factory. 2 or 3 of them. They pause after a few bursts.
You're all OK. Looks like whoever is shooting you is a terrible shot.
There are still angry shouts and orders coming from the radio.
"Did you hear me? What the hell is going on there? Respond immediately."Your host is angry. Those traitors are in there. They just shot at you. Tried to kill you with their powers. You can go in there and finish this right now. Bring them to justice. And this guy wants you to retreat?
"Fuck you, sir." he says and hits the radio with the butt of his shotgun.
Poll
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Author
Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1149192 times)