Re: Intense Struggle Season 2! (Round 1: Training Facility ONX)
08-01-2010, 01:15 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by GreyGabe.
Marcus picked up the robot, twisting it this way and that to get a better look at it. It waved its arms and spun its wheels in a vain attempt to escape his grasp.
“PLEASE TO PUT DOWN THIS UNIT! THIS REPAIR BOT IS NOT DESIGNED FOR PERSONAL USE!”
Marcus snorted.
“Uh, is this really the time for this? That thing could come back at any second!” Sarika whipped her head from side to side to illustrate her point.
“Well, then. I guess you should keep an eye out.”
“What are you doing with that thing, anyway?”
Marcus ignored her. “Repair bot XM342?”
The machine stopped its struggling for a moment. “PLEASE TO PUT DOWN THIS REPAIR BOT TO ALLOW THIS REPAIR BOT TO MAKE REPAIRS PLEASE.”
Marcus nodded. “Repair bot, I give you new orders. Guide us to the nearest medical bay or laboratory.”
The repair bot was silent for a second. “UNAUTHORIZED PERSONEL ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO GIVE THIS UNIT INSTRUCTION. PLEASE TO PUT DOWN THIS REPAIR BOT TO ALLOW THIS REPAIR BOT TO MAKE REPAIRS PLEASE.”
“This is a waste of time. We should get going before that creature gets brave again.”
Marcus rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Sarika.
“Trust me. Now that we’re onto it, it’s gonna hang back a while. Bide its time. We’ll get distracted, or our wounds will weaken us so that we’re easy kills. Then it’ll be all over us.”
Sarika inhaled deeply, wincing at the pain it sparked in her chest.“…I guess that makes sense. Still, we shouldn’t hang around.”
“No. We shouldn’t. That’s why I’m asking for directions.” He looked back at the small repair unit that had now resumed waving its arms and spinning its wheels. “Repair bot XM342. Please to give us directions out of these tunnels or to the nearest medical bay, please.”
The little robot stopped once more and seemed to consider, or perhaps to communicate with a central control unit. Which is basically the same thing for a robot. “REQUEST GRANTED. PLEASE TO WAIT ONE MOMENT WHILE FACILITY MAP IS ACCESSED…”
A small opening appeared on the robot’s head… top… area, and a small projector peeked out. As the projector flipped on, it showed a detailed wiring schematic, which quickly cleared. Marcus put the robot down so that he didn’t have to look straight up to see the hologram. It began projecting a three-dimensional map. A spider-web of tunnels and ventilation shafts became visible, broken up in places by larger chambers. Several places on the map were overlaid with purple blocks, some over passages, a few covering entire rooms. About two-thirds of the way down the map, a large red stripe ran across, undulating slightly. A few inches from that, a small green light blinked in a tunnel leading away from the stripe. As Marcus watched, a thin, green line wound its way down the tunnel and towards a large, round room, passing through several smaller chambers in the process. A large red arrow appeared in the center of the large chamber, pointed up. Marcus took this to be an elevator… or stairs (Oh god no…) Thankfully, their path was a fairly straight shot, only turning a couple of times. He noticed that it passed through one of the purple areas, and not one of the smallest on the map.
“PLEASE TO FOLLOW THIS ROUTE TO ENSURE MAXIMUM CHANCE OF SURVIVAL. ROUTE AVOIDS MAJORITY OF POWER DEPRIVED AREAS. PLEASE TO AVOID PROLONGED TRAVEL IN POWER DEPRIVED AREAS.”
“I take it that the purple represents ‘power deprived areas?’”
Marcus glanced back to see Sarika regarding the map with interest.
“AFFIRMATIVE. PLEASE TO AVOID PROLONGED TRAVEL IN POWER DEPRIVED AREAS. MANY SUBJECTS CURRENTLY IN SUBCOMPLEX ARE ADAPTED FOR TO THRIVE IN DARKNESS. CONTACT WITH SUBJECTS HAS BEEN FOUND NOT CONDUCIVE TO CONTINUED FUNCTIONALITY.”
“You’re just a bright ray of sunshine, aren’t you?”
“NEGATIVE. THIS UNIT IS DESIGNATED REPAIR BOT XM342.”
“Hmph.”
The projector shut off and the panel on top of the robot shut again, barely leaving a seam. “REPAIR BOT HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH REQUESTED INFORMATION. PLEASE TO MOVE ASIDE TO ALLOW THIS REPAIR BOT TO MAKE REPAIRS PLEASE.”
Marcus stepped to the side, and the little machine trundled off the way Marcus and Sarika had come from.
Sarika sighed. “Well, at least we know where we’re going, now.”
Marcus nodded, “Yep. Break’s over, now. Let’s get moving.”
The bird-woman groaned, but didn’t see how she could possibly disagree. Although…
“Hey, what do we do if that thing, uh… sneaks up behind us?”
“I’ll carry you while you watch our backs. Everything’s pretty well lit, so I don’t think we’ll need your crazy future vision thing for the moment.”
“Uh… right.”
Marcus picked up Sarika once again, barely even making an effort. After a moment of thought, Marcus shifted her to hold her supported by his hip and a single arm across her lower back. She helped by tightening her good arm around his neck, managing to only hit him in the head once with her staff.
With his other hand, Marcus drew one of his pistols. It was a simple, straightforward model with no built-in ammo counters or target trackers or any of the other bells and/or whistles that manufacturers had managed to incorporate into guns. Still, since he could hardly wield Retribution one-handed, the pistol would have to do. He shifted his shoulder once to make sure the Retribution was still hanging securely from its strap.
“I just want you to note that this is as awkward as it is uncomfortable.”
“Yes, I noticed that. Thank you.”
“Okay, just wanted to be sure. Let’s go.”
Marcus set off limping down the hall. He was pretty sure he had damaged his leg more, but the binding helped. Slightly. Still, he couldn’t afford to use any painkillers right at the moment. He needed to stay aware if he wanted to live.
A tiny part of him whispered that if he really just wanted to live, all he would have to do is leave the girl behind.
And the rest of him knew that, if worst came to worst, he would. He might hesitate. He’d certainly feel real bad about it afterwards. But he would leave her behind to die, if it came to that.
Shit. This is morbid, even for me. When did I get this way?
Marcus frowned and began moving faster, despite the pain in his leg.
It watched the small dead creature roll past it, sparing it only a moment of attention before turning back to the hateful prey. It had tried to eat one of the small, dead creatures, once. They had no taste, no blood, and their hide was hard and hurt its teeth. No... the hateful prey would not escape. Especially not the feathered one. The feathered one would suffer. It would kill the one with the armored hide first, quickly, quickly, and then it would savor the feathered one, the one that had struck it with the club. But first it had to catch them. It crawled out of its nook, squinting in the light, and began to follow, slowly, staying far back to escape sight. It stopped once, extending a long tongue to lap at some blood left when the hateful ones had stopped. Delicious. But not enough. Never enough.
Marcus picked up the robot, twisting it this way and that to get a better look at it. It waved its arms and spun its wheels in a vain attempt to escape his grasp.
“PLEASE TO PUT DOWN THIS UNIT! THIS REPAIR BOT IS NOT DESIGNED FOR PERSONAL USE!”
Marcus snorted.
“Uh, is this really the time for this? That thing could come back at any second!” Sarika whipped her head from side to side to illustrate her point.
“Well, then. I guess you should keep an eye out.”
“What are you doing with that thing, anyway?”
Marcus ignored her. “Repair bot XM342?”
The machine stopped its struggling for a moment. “PLEASE TO PUT DOWN THIS REPAIR BOT TO ALLOW THIS REPAIR BOT TO MAKE REPAIRS PLEASE.”
Marcus nodded. “Repair bot, I give you new orders. Guide us to the nearest medical bay or laboratory.”
The repair bot was silent for a second. “UNAUTHORIZED PERSONEL ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO GIVE THIS UNIT INSTRUCTION. PLEASE TO PUT DOWN THIS REPAIR BOT TO ALLOW THIS REPAIR BOT TO MAKE REPAIRS PLEASE.”
“This is a waste of time. We should get going before that creature gets brave again.”
Marcus rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Sarika.
“Trust me. Now that we’re onto it, it’s gonna hang back a while. Bide its time. We’ll get distracted, or our wounds will weaken us so that we’re easy kills. Then it’ll be all over us.”
Sarika inhaled deeply, wincing at the pain it sparked in her chest.“…I guess that makes sense. Still, we shouldn’t hang around.”
“No. We shouldn’t. That’s why I’m asking for directions.” He looked back at the small repair unit that had now resumed waving its arms and spinning its wheels. “Repair bot XM342. Please to give us directions out of these tunnels or to the nearest medical bay, please.”
The little robot stopped once more and seemed to consider, or perhaps to communicate with a central control unit. Which is basically the same thing for a robot. “REQUEST GRANTED. PLEASE TO WAIT ONE MOMENT WHILE FACILITY MAP IS ACCESSED…”
A small opening appeared on the robot’s head… top… area, and a small projector peeked out. As the projector flipped on, it showed a detailed wiring schematic, which quickly cleared. Marcus put the robot down so that he didn’t have to look straight up to see the hologram. It began projecting a three-dimensional map. A spider-web of tunnels and ventilation shafts became visible, broken up in places by larger chambers. Several places on the map were overlaid with purple blocks, some over passages, a few covering entire rooms. About two-thirds of the way down the map, a large red stripe ran across, undulating slightly. A few inches from that, a small green light blinked in a tunnel leading away from the stripe. As Marcus watched, a thin, green line wound its way down the tunnel and towards a large, round room, passing through several smaller chambers in the process. A large red arrow appeared in the center of the large chamber, pointed up. Marcus took this to be an elevator… or stairs (Oh god no…) Thankfully, their path was a fairly straight shot, only turning a couple of times. He noticed that it passed through one of the purple areas, and not one of the smallest on the map.
“PLEASE TO FOLLOW THIS ROUTE TO ENSURE MAXIMUM CHANCE OF SURVIVAL. ROUTE AVOIDS MAJORITY OF POWER DEPRIVED AREAS. PLEASE TO AVOID PROLONGED TRAVEL IN POWER DEPRIVED AREAS.”
“I take it that the purple represents ‘power deprived areas?’”
Marcus glanced back to see Sarika regarding the map with interest.
“AFFIRMATIVE. PLEASE TO AVOID PROLONGED TRAVEL IN POWER DEPRIVED AREAS. MANY SUBJECTS CURRENTLY IN SUBCOMPLEX ARE ADAPTED FOR TO THRIVE IN DARKNESS. CONTACT WITH SUBJECTS HAS BEEN FOUND NOT CONDUCIVE TO CONTINUED FUNCTIONALITY.”
“You’re just a bright ray of sunshine, aren’t you?”
“NEGATIVE. THIS UNIT IS DESIGNATED REPAIR BOT XM342.”
“Hmph.”
The projector shut off and the panel on top of the robot shut again, barely leaving a seam. “REPAIR BOT HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH REQUESTED INFORMATION. PLEASE TO MOVE ASIDE TO ALLOW THIS REPAIR BOT TO MAKE REPAIRS PLEASE.”
Marcus stepped to the side, and the little machine trundled off the way Marcus and Sarika had come from.
Sarika sighed. “Well, at least we know where we’re going, now.”
Marcus nodded, “Yep. Break’s over, now. Let’s get moving.”
The bird-woman groaned, but didn’t see how she could possibly disagree. Although…
“Hey, what do we do if that thing, uh… sneaks up behind us?”
“I’ll carry you while you watch our backs. Everything’s pretty well lit, so I don’t think we’ll need your crazy future vision thing for the moment.”
“Uh… right.”
Marcus picked up Sarika once again, barely even making an effort. After a moment of thought, Marcus shifted her to hold her supported by his hip and a single arm across her lower back. She helped by tightening her good arm around his neck, managing to only hit him in the head once with her staff.
With his other hand, Marcus drew one of his pistols. It was a simple, straightforward model with no built-in ammo counters or target trackers or any of the other bells and/or whistles that manufacturers had managed to incorporate into guns. Still, since he could hardly wield Retribution one-handed, the pistol would have to do. He shifted his shoulder once to make sure the Retribution was still hanging securely from its strap.
“I just want you to note that this is as awkward as it is uncomfortable.”
“Yes, I noticed that. Thank you.”
“Okay, just wanted to be sure. Let’s go.”
Marcus set off limping down the hall. He was pretty sure he had damaged his leg more, but the binding helped. Slightly. Still, he couldn’t afford to use any painkillers right at the moment. He needed to stay aware if he wanted to live.
A tiny part of him whispered that if he really just wanted to live, all he would have to do is leave the girl behind.
And the rest of him knew that, if worst came to worst, he would. He might hesitate. He’d certainly feel real bad about it afterwards. But he would leave her behind to die, if it came to that.
Shit. This is morbid, even for me. When did I get this way?
Marcus frowned and began moving faster, despite the pain in his leg.
It watched the small dead creature roll past it, sparing it only a moment of attention before turning back to the hateful prey. It had tried to eat one of the small, dead creatures, once. They had no taste, no blood, and their hide was hard and hurt its teeth. No... the hateful prey would not escape. Especially not the feathered one. The feathered one would suffer. It would kill the one with the armored hide first, quickly, quickly, and then it would savor the feathered one, the one that had struck it with the club. But first it had to catch them. It crawled out of its nook, squinting in the light, and began to follow, slowly, staying far back to escape sight. It stopped once, extending a long tongue to lap at some blood left when the hateful ones had stopped. Delicious. But not enough. Never enough.