Invaders Must Die (Ch. 3b: Day 1, pt. VI)

Sheff · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 11:52 pm

Juke's warning was enough to snap the hedgehog back into battle-mode, crystal being donned and feet flying for the next possible opponent. There wasn't any hesitation as he charged the first robot; the things had been proven time and time again in the last few minutes to be pathetic against their defenses.

Geoff didn't lose a beat as he speared his arm straight through one of the enemies, protruding out of its back quite gruesomely. He actually smiled as he used the shish-kebab of a robot as a new battering weapon, sweeping it across one of its brethren with smashing results. Metal bits flew as the two rag dolls fell to the floor uselessly, another couple finding a similar fate as he swept a crystal covered foot to throw their legs out from beneath them, quickly curb-stomping both with the same hardened limb afterward.

He only barely acknowledge the pink blur that was Jam, probably a bit to focused on the fighting at hand.

Tau · Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 6:16 am

( Finally back into writing now that the blasted heatwaves ended, Hard to write in 100F heat. Pardon any crappiness in this post.)

The noisy clank and clatter of the far-side hallway armored security door opening hummed through the adjoined hallway followed by the paired sound and flash of several energy pistol shots just moments prior to a loud crackle and bright flash followed up by the charred, partially melted remains of several invading robots sliding across the floor as a familiar figure approached Rock's location and spoke up.

"I do not normally find the use of excessive force necessary... However."

As Tau moved closer to Rock's location the robot fired off several more shots from the CE auto pistol held in it's left hand towards the hostile invaders prior to raising the weapon integrated onto his right forearm a few seconds later and fired off another high powered plasma round from the newly fabricated custom plasma cannon towards a clustering of the invading robots.

"... It would appear this is one of the times it's required. "

It would seem Tau had made constructive use of his free time during his absence from the group during their exploration.

Mie · Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:40 pm

The insult of having one's own arsenal turned against them effectively put blinders on Jam, and whatever sparse opposition found itself unlucky enough to exist between her and her imitator wound up slashed, kneed, punched, stabbed, elbowed, or backfisted out of the way.

As she closed in melee range to her quarry, it served up another mimicked assault; the punch-hued target was ready for it this time, however, and as the snarling ball of lightning sailed toward her, she merely caught it in the electrically conductive palms of her gloves, whirling it around, and pitching it hard and fast (and maybe just a little vindictively) back at the bot in one fluid motion. It slammed back into the administering foe's face, followed swiftly by the monkey and her serrated blade, which she jerked with a harsh twist as she ripped it free.

NPC · Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:39 pm

The destructiveness of the small army did its work well, the hall now filled with scattered bits of robot, some even twitching in the spasms of their demise. The threat was removed, the stream of enemies having ceased, and the group was given a moment to perhaps relax.

Well, that is, until the door some of them recently came through erupted in a fiery mess of metal shrapnel.

Whoever was unfortunate enough to be right before the door at that moment would require a hasty dive out of the way as the remains of it slammed into the opposing wall before it, dark scars being left on the floor. Just beyond the entryway could be seen a trio of the spider-bots, their chest-cannons gleaming with green energy, and it was easy enough to put two and two together to know how they managed to utterly destroy the barrier.

The seething hall of robots buzzed in victory, preparing for conquest yet again as they moved turbulently forward, the six-legged weapon holders leading the way. More electric shields flared, buzzes were made, and maybe there even was a suspicious horn or two amongst the crowd. Whatever the way of preparation, they were coming in fast, starting to loom over the first possible person in the way.

Until they came to an abrupt halt.

They stood there, silent for a moment within the hall and door, maybe a twitch or two seen from a few of them. Eyes that were no longer alert dimmed for a moment, ceasing to be aware of their targets before them. And suddenly, without any trouble or more advancement, one by one they turned, jogging and scuttling back the way they came, heading towards the direction of the cargo bay.

psikeout · Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 6:27 pm

The door exploded open. Rock squinted and lurched back a step. He was at the back of the pack, farthest from it, but bits of shrapnel still at clattered down around him, even if not harmfully.

He had just fired his last shell, and needed to reload. He thought he wouldn't even have time to consider that, but the invading forces proved him wrong when they just stopped and left. If he was confused, there wasn't any kind of "tell" in his face about it. He just stared at their departing backsides, silent.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 10:40 pm

Wild Badge, having taken up the rear was the closest to the door. The explosion sent the door hurling toward him at ballistic force. He hit the deck, narrowly avoiding being hit. Bits of shrapnel, however, did manage to beat against his helmet, albeit with minimal damage to his person.

In his prone position, he looked up as the smoke cleared to see the cause of the door being blown apart. He quickly scrambled to his feet, backing up toward the others as the robots advanced through the doorway. Expecting a fight for their lives, he was quite surprised when the robots just...turned and sauntered off.

"Wha..." He looked back at the others, to see if any of them were as confused as he was. His expression lost behind the tinted visor of his helmet.

Whatever the case, it seemed wrong to complain about it.

Greens · Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 4:10 pm

Before the proverbial top blew its proverbial lid, Ace was somewhere in the middle of the mess, clearing out the last remaining. His keen eyes darted about the premises, but when he found no opposition, he suddenly almost felt like he should be pumping his fist and shouting hoo-rah with how well they all handled themselves-- when the door at his side blew the hell up.

He was smart enough to land face-away stomach-down as (most of) the debris clattered against his backside, but with no lasting injuries. Once it passed, and he whipped his head back, his expression almost seemed like he was peeking into the gates of Hell. But, out of nowhere, they all rounded themselves up, and... walked away.

Somehow, this didn't comfort him. "This is bad," he wheezed hoarsely, slowly stepping himself up and eventually ending hunched over while looking back, hands on his knees. "They're taking orders, and they're after something..." He turned his head in the monkey's general direction. "...Oh, hey, weee're back now." Huff. "You know what these things are?"

Mie · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:08 am

When the smoke cleared, and the brief rain of shredded metal had subsided, Jam quickly stowed her shield, ready to rumble once again... only to have their violent robotic company suddenly bail, leaving the primed primate figuratively all dressed up with no place to go. If anyone bothered to look, the utter confusion on the reddish girl's face must have been entirely tension-breaking. It was still caught awkwardly in its transition from a fierce scowl, while placating a bewildered frown beneath her still slightly beady eyes; her fists were still balled and at the ready (knife firmly in one), but wavering with the sudden lack of things to sic them on.

Eventually, she deflated, puffing a sigh out her nose, and sheathing her blade, before sidling up behind Rock, slipping her fingers over his one good shoulder, while nodding a short greeting to Ace; it segued into a blunt shrug of a reply.

"Posers," she answered contemptuously, with a tired scratch at her forehead. "Other'n that, we still dunno much. I think we can agree they definitely got a goal that don't directly involve us. You get anything useful outta your field trip?"

Kazz · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:59 am

Rodolf, having had to leap out of the way of the door (and only barely managed to do so). looked rather unimpressed and unfazed as their metal attackers turned tail and ran. As Jam spoke, he tossed a glance her way. Being cautious not to creep up behind the punch-coloured monkey, likely for fear of getting stabbed in the gut, he took a few steps in approach.

"We didn't find a nice booklet outlining their motives, no," he said (this was mostly to himself, but he made no effort to make it inaudible). Back in a normal volume, counting off on his fingers and speaking in the same clipped, business-like tone that he had been slipping in and out of since the incident on the abandoned ship, the unicorn continued:

"Seems that all the other ships have been attacked by them if the one we inspected is any example, lots of dead crew members, whatever was attacking was interfering with communications systems, we probably shouldn't trust a damn word that comes over the intercom, and--" (he here had to use his other hand to count off, to account for his four-digited hands) "and this is a shocker, really- they're probably going to try to kill us."
He spoke in a very even tone, though quite fast-- indeed, all of this was said in one breath -- as though to impart as much information as quickly as possible.

"That answer anything for you?"

Mie · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:08 pm

OOC: Conversational back-and-forth with me and the mister.

The signs were all there for anyone who knew what to look for: From the onset of the navy blue ungulate (whom Jam couldn't remember ever addressing, funnily enough)'s unnecessarily terse intrusion into conversation, both sets of eyelids encroached on the whites of her eyes, which grew indignantly beady. Her chin jutted out, her fists balled at her sides, and her nose wrinkled in a way that would surely threaten no one. The redder than usual monkey's ribcage sloooowly expanded with a deep, slow breath in through her nostrils; the last and final warning before the can of worms was effectively blown to hell.

She took a confrontational step forward.

"Excuse me--"

Rock set a rigid hand on her shoulder.

When she turned to look at him, she would find that he was giving Rodolf a tired, dead, empty glare, the likes of which could wilt flowers, sour milk, and make children cry. The hard look was soon retracted, though, and with a nudge and a quick motion, he tried to step back a bit and pull Jam aside. "Give'im a break," he mumbled.

"Give him a--?!"

The incredulity spontaneously erupting across her features was the facial equivalent to a seven-car pile up. It took evidently inhuman restraint to stifle her comments, and stalk away from the unicorn, even if in a transparently agitated manner.

As soon as Rock stopped, but probably not yet out of earshot, replete with emphatic, seizure-like spasms, she whisper-exploded, "WHY THE F**K DOES EVERYONE HERE GET TO TALK TO US LIKE THEY PISSED PRICKLY PEARS THIS MORNING?!"

"These guys aren't used to this," replied Rock levelly. "Look, look: it sounds like they just got back from their first time seein' dead bodies. Most people've never dealt with stuff like this. They're gonna be irrational and scared."

He hadn't made too much of an effort to be quiet, but he glanced back for just a second to make sure no confrontational PTSD sufferers were stomping their way, then looked to Jam again. "Ace can give us the report—then we'll decide what to do."

Jam looked like she could have said more -- a lot more on the matter, and her mouth opened, but quickly shut after she too, threw a cautious, but residually acidic glance over her shoulder.

"Yeah, whatever," she grumbled, still surly, but simmering down. "I was tryin' to ask Ace; not my fault Miss Traumatized had to invite herself over and b***h."

A pause, and then,

"This really must be another dimension," she added with a shake of her head. "Since when're you the sympathetic one?"

"It's probably the drugs," answered Rock, deadpan. "Speaking of."

He fished out his rattly medicine bottle and canteen.

Tau · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:53 pm

Tau, having entered from the distant alternate security door, hadn't yet moved down the hallway far enough to be in the line of fire in regards to the oncoming shrapnel and had simply continued onward towards the others regardless of sudden explosion.

With the current threat waning despite the recent explosive show of force, Tau quietly stowed his CE auto pistol into its storage compartment in one of his stabilizer pods while simultaneously lower his heavier weapon arm to his side. Afterwards he briefly visually inspected the lot of them a few moments prior to addressing the medicated simian shortly after he fished out another dose of Pillz.

"I am uncertain as to the purpose... but at this time, the life signs of those in this immediate area would appear to currently be the only ones aboard the colony."

Seafarinhare · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:41 pm

Wild Badge took note of Rodolf's stress-filled response, and Jam's reaction. The tension was palpable, but Rock jumped in to stop her from saying anything to make the unicorn cry. He sighed, and stepped in.

"It's like Rodolf says. All we found out was that those robots were also responsible for the ship graveyard. Their motives are still a mystery," He said, "But I think it's fair to say that they don't really want us here."

Badge then glanced back at the other members of the Away Team, "Funny, that. I wouldn't mind going back to Earth, myself..."

Sheff · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:26 pm

Tau's computed observation may have gone unnoticed at first, but it took a moment or two before Geoff's eyes snapped to the towering robot. His mind was busy, twirling with questions without answers, debating what the motives of the now-fled-and-gone robots were, but Tau's statement broke through somehow.

"Wait, we-"

He allowed the words to roll around in his head, as if testing their value.

"...we're all that's left."

The hedgehog sighed, and it was almost as if he could physically feel the new weight come to a sizable rest on his shoulders. Yet the statement wasn't clear, in a way. What was everyone's actual fate?

His voice was a bit lower, quieter even, as he addressed the robot. "Dead or taken? Either of those could be why those things were up here."

psikeout · Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 12:17 am

Rock's mind was set turning by what Tau had to say. He probably didn't intend to fail to acknowledge Badge's statement—he at least glanced at the raccoon—but he couldn't just glaze over the announcement that everyone else aboard the colony was indeed gone. It was kind of big news.

... But also not something he was surprised by, apparently.

While Geoff pried for crucial clarification, Rock stepped back a couple small paces, bumped his shoulderblades against the cool, metal wall, and leaned there for a moment. "Taken," he interjected, answering for Tau. "I saw'em draggin' some people off on the surveillance feeds just a little before you guys came in. No fatal casualties in sight."

He tapped on the steel shutters next to where he was leaning—the window to the sector's main security office. At least that answered the question of who opened up the armored door for Juke's ridiculous ride.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:22 pm

It hadn't really dawned on him what Tau was talking about until Rock and Geoff spoke up. That's when it got serious. He looked between them and swallowed.

Gone. It answered a few questions, but Badge still didn't understand why.

"Wha... Where did they take them?" He turned toward Tau, then Rock, hoping against all odds that one of them knew that too.

Invaders Must Die (Ch. 3b: Day 1, pt. VI)

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