The Dashboard Melted But We ... (Ch. 3b: Day 1, pt. III)

Jahkari · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:06 pm

"Excuse me- let me through, please -I'm sorry, move aside-"

In the curious rush over to the computer, Astrid had been completely left behind. It seemed that one minute she was opening her mouth to reply to the hedgehog, the next crowds everywhere. Somehow, she made it through to the ancient terminal. She arrived just in time to hear the last bit of conversation between Sheff, Rock and Rodolph. Ignoring the unicorn as best she could for the time being (it was a unicorn!), she stepped forward somewhat reluctantly.

"May I see?" She asked, polite despite the situation. "I know I'm useless in a fight, but I did most of my early research in a horribly funded lab. This would have looked high-tech there. I'm almost certain I can operate it. This crap, as you call it, can be surprisingly helpful under the right hands. "

Was that a bit of a smirk in the primate's direction? Probably not, but Astrid liked to think that maybe it was. She had a fondness for old tech. Hurriedly she added, "It'll at least let me be of some assistance to you this time. I'll find what I can while you do... whatever it is you're going to do."

psikeout · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:23 pm

Unfortunately, Rock was already gone.

Mie · Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:56 pm

Jam had remarkably little to say on the whole situation, even after Rock's translation of the terminal jargon (which was evidently enlightening, albeit). She eyed the hedgehog contemptuously, as could only be expected of one with her grip for grudges, and seemed to regard the unicorn's commentary with approving smirks, but departed with her decidedly hodge-podge group just as soon as she was able.

It wasn't until nearing the rear of the docking bay that she sputtered forward a few steps to catch up and match pace with Rock, to ask in a tangibly concerned, but hopefully private volume, "I know what you said about 'risks,' an' crap, but how likely is this to actually work? I mean, trying to power an antique space station with a cannon and a Chaos Emerald idn't hangin' all our hopes on a star, is it?"

Tau · Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:46 pm

Tau had moved away from the terminal about the time Rock had, though instead of following the siman, for a change, Tau silently moved along the bay to a more remote, less crowded area. Tau had ignored several of the obvious methods of exiting the bay in favor of stopping infront of an obscure grouping of miscellaneous objects, which had been gathered around several aging crates placed along the wall.

Tau inspected the wall for several moments before proceeding to pull a few of the crates out of the way and dig his 'fingers' into the sides of a large, cosmetic panel, one of many mounted to the wall, and removed it. Removal of the panel revealed a single heavy duty airlock style door with a recessed, also heavy duty, lever located above it. Maintenance corridor #2476; Access hatch 36 was printed on the door in faded, grime-covered lettering.

It was an old-fashion style lever-based door ratcheting system, one that hadn't been maintained in decades, something which made itself apparent as Tau felt the need to exert more force than would be humanly possible to 'pump' the door open. As the door slowly creaked open, it gave way to a unlit narrow corridor with a musky odor gathered over decades of disuse.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:27 pm

Wild Badge had begun to move away from the crowded terminal not far behind Rock and Tau, but paused momentarily. He felt as though he was forgetting something... But it hit him again shortly afterwards.

"Uh..you guys go ahead, I forgot something."

He said before heading back toward the shuttle. He forgot his llama-shaped luggage. Upon reaching the shuttle, he stepped in and looked toward where he had put her down.

NPC · Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:10 pm

Another distant boom rolled through the station.

The light above the terminal began to blink again, but it would take very little imagination to guess what it was going to say.

psikeout · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:30 am

"I dunno," Rock answered Jam honestly. "Technology that can harness Chaos Emeralds is... kind of..."

He searched for the correct word as he watched Tau work. He grimaced at the particular one he was ultimately forced to select.

"... arcane," he sighed, and continued lowly, leaning toward her privately as he spoke. (At around this time, Badge excused himself; Rock shot a glance back, but just nodded. He didn't assume for a minute that Badge forgot Tracer of all things.) "It's weird," he explained. "I mean, if Angel Island is still working after who-knows-how-long, and ARK's Eclipse Cannon was still working after 50 years of disuse before... well, let's just say this 'ancient technology' stuff's pretty reliable.

The primate followed the robot into the tunnel, with remarkably little reaction to the ... stench. He just adjusted his pack and duffel for comfort, pulled out his pistol to give it a quick check, reholstered it, and continued walking, following the impressively informed AI.

Tau · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:45 am

Tau took a few steps into the hallway before the high powered LED light cluster embedded in his chest flickered on, illuminating the path ahead. It wasn't really that he needed the light, sensors and all, but felt the others might wish the path ahead lit.

"I advise against unnecessary interactions with equipment inside maintenance corridors as it may result in loss of consciousness," he commented as he ventured further into the corridor, although the warning probably could have gone without saying he felt the need to point it out regardless.

Greens · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:02 pm

Perhaps predictably, Ace followed suit from the monitor to this newfound hallway, while the level of trust he had for Tau was slowly but surely building substantially. He'd already lost count on how many times he'd saved their collective asses... Of course, that didn't mean he could stop being a smartass with him. "Gee, thanks," he uttered, gently waving a hand in front of his face. Unlike Rock, he had no qualms about letting everyone know the hoary, moldy hallway was irritating his nostrils.

"I guess we can count out coming home in time for dinner, in any case." But despite his words, he didn't seem rushed in following their mechanical tour guide, judging by his slow steps and the way his slightly furrowed eyes drifted from side to side. He almost felt like they were walking into an ancient tomb chock full of booby traps. The biggest difference was that their would-be torch was a robot.

"Hope there's enough leftovers for Caz," he could be heard muttering.

Mie · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:35 pm

Wrinkling her nose both at Rock's response, and at the sudden change of tolerably breathable air, Jam continued to silently ponder their immediate future; to be frank, the pinker primate had no doubt that if they were all interested in finishing what Eggman and Gerald had started, they were well-equipped. Her doubts, however, originated mostly from the purely theoretical nature of re-purposing it to help things live, rather than die in a fiery explosion.

"Noted," she muttered in reply to Tau's warning, frowning distrustfully at the very walls themselves. "Not like I touch crap like that anyway, 'less it needs messin' up..."

Rachel · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 6:31 pm

The Llama-shaped-luggage was however no where to be found. At the very least neither where Wild Badge's special hand cuffs...

Seafarinhare · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:15 pm

Not good.

Wild Badge looked around for a bit, but it looked like she flew the coup. So to speak. He gulped silently to himself but decided to go ahead and catch up with the others. He ran back the way he came, in the direction that Rock and co. were headed. He slowed to a stop behind the group and started to walk behind them as they conversed about the situation at hand.

He came within auditory distance just in time to catch Tau's warning regarding touching foreign equipment, which he silently noted. He walked quickly to bridge the gap between himself and the group. Drawing as little attention to himself as possible, to make it seem as though he had never left, so as not to disturb anyone's train of thought with his presence.

Diluss · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 2:52 am

A short space of time after Badge had left, Coop stepped in. He cast around the interior of the shuttle, before his mind directed his eyes to the blotch of negative space where Tracer should've been.

He stared at the empty space where Tracer was, some moments before; his face was blank with a lack of comprehension.

He jerked upright, startled, as the realization sank in that Tracer was no longer where she should've been; he sprinted outside the shuttle, skidding to a stop on the polished hangar floor, and cast around the hangar feverishly for a sign of the llama.

"Oh," he said.

"Good."

He dashed over to the service entrance that the robot had pried open some minutes previously, skimming across the ground with his wings stretched out. Colliding roughly with the hatch's frame, he stopped himself by grabbing onto it, and leaned out into the hallway, shouting after the group.

"Hey!" he hollered, "Tra—the prisoner escaped!"

His voice sank into the recesses of the long shaft, and was rendered nearly unintelligible as the echoes rang out for seconds afterwards.

He looked down the length of the shaft, uncertain if he could see the light from the group.

Coop scowled, and turned around on a heel, staring sharply out at the hangrar.

Llama llama llama llama llama.

Llama llama.

He began to rove across the massive room, looking for some sign of her.

Rachel · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 4:10 am

Tracers luck was in that Wild Badge wasn't really a cop, and if he had been one, he was the worst the SIPD had. It seemed that Coop was more worried about her escape then the supposed police officer. Enough so that he even tried (in vain) to alert the others. This only served to cement her believe that the 'hero' wasn't here by coincidence, nor was the betrayal and unprovoked attack by her supposed team mates.

She shambled after him, cutting his search short as he mulled around some dusty old crates. Her silhouette filled up the window over looking the alien planet below as Tracer stepped out from behind the farthest crate. She slowly made her way towards him in an awkward and clumsy shamble. She dragged her feet like both had fallen asleep, which it felt like they had, her arms hung behind her back still safely restrained by the cuffs. She'd managed to get her helmet off but the rest of her scorched armor still remained firmly in place. The llama leaned heavily against one fo the crates as she looked up at the black eagle.

"Coop." There was no rage or hate, there was nothing, just cool magenta eyes upon him.

Diluss · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 11:11 am

Coop's head snapped around to look at Tracer.

"Oh, hi," he greeted the llama flatly.

He turned the rest of the way, squaring up to face her, and put his hands (sort of) on his hips (such as they were).

His brow furrowed, as he stared at her in appraisal. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"…What," he said, and then, "what is it? What do you want?"

The Dashboard Melted But We ... (Ch. 3b: Day 1, pt. III)

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