MonMusu Mekton Quest: Episode 18

8:18 PM - Mekton Ziti: Last time, Kari had just effectively stunned one of the nanomachine-possessed Human colonists, who had suddenly risen from their previously catatonic state in a frenzy! Still standing around the room are 3 more of these unwillingly hostile persons, shambling towards you with crooked postures. In the front of the warehouse, the previously disabled Mekton which you had tipped over begins to unsteadily rise, and Eve quickly takes action, clearing the distance towards her while gracefully sidestepping one of the humans below.
8:21 PM - Mekton Ziti: She hails in over the comms, "Kari, take care of the civilians on foot! You say they're still conscious, so use nonlethal force to subdue them." As the arrives at the fallen Mekton, it finally stands to its full height, though it is bent and crooked at an odd angle. It raises an arm to block one of Eve's punches, and you hear the clash of metal-on-metal, watching with a terrified awe as the two multi-ton machines clash no more than a few dozen meters away.
8:21 PM - Mekton Ziti: "But in the worst case..." she trails off, grunting as she leaps aside a thrown punch. "...lethal force is authorized."
8:24 PM - Kari: "G-Got one...!" Kari says, trembling and looking from side to side as her taser charges with a whine. As the titans of steel collide, she yelps and backs away, trying to steer clear of the brawl, and to also lead the zombies away. "U-Understood, Ma'am! Three left! Just keep that hunk of junk away from the truck!"
8:24 PM - Kari: (10 initiative)
8:29 PM - Mekton Ziti: The colonist to your left takes the initiative, charging forwards with a hunched back in a stiff gait, but with surprising speed considering their posture. They speed around the truck, closing the distance with a rapid pace. Thankfully, they don't quite reach you yet, but the colonist to your right moves with a similar speed, and is much closer!
8:31 PM - Mekton Ziti: Watching defensively as they approach, you can see in their eyes - just like before - that they're terrified and pleading. The colonist lets out a warbled groan, sounding distorted and electronic as they move a hand to swipe at you. Roll to dodge!
8:32 PM - Kari: (15)
8:34 PM - Kari: Kari takes a few staggered steps back, raising her hands as the zombie takes a swipe. With a little squeak, she ducks beneath the hit, letting the limb smash off the side of the truck. As she rises to her feet, she gives her foe a rough shove, forcing them back just enough to avoid a followup hit.
8:36 PM - Kari: Shoving her handgun in its holster, Kari raises the taser up once more, taking a shot at the one who just swiped her. (14)
8:37 PM - Mekton Ziti: 10, success~
8:38 PM - Mekton Ziti: aaand a 11 on the stun roll, bzzp
8:39 PM - Mekton Ziti: The prongs fire into the chest of the colonist as they stumble backwards from your shove, the high voltage coursing through them as they stand rigid for a moment before collapsing in a twitching heap on the floor. That's another one down... but two to go.
8:42 PM - Kari: As the first one drops, Kari leaps over the fallen zombie and unleashes a spin kick on the one behind them. (26)
8:47 PM - Kari: (20)
8:47 PM - Mekton Ziti: still beats his 11~
8:48 PM - Kari: (7 damugu)
8:51 PM - Kari: The kick whips into the zombie's head before it can respond, being caught completely offguard. As the suited foot smashes into their head, a resounding clang of skull off truck rings out. The limp form slumps down to the ground unconcious and with a serious migrane as Kari turns to see the last zombie closing in.
8:55 PM - Mekton Ziti: The final zombie approaches at a dead sprint, arms held forward menacingly. Opening its mouth wide, a directed, pinpoint lance of nanomachines juts out of its mouth like a spear, intending to pierce you. Roll that dodge~
8:56 PM - Kari: (10)
8:57 PM - Kari: (10>12)
8:59 PM - Mekton Ziti: Reacting in a panic, your wings buzz instinctually, and you throw yourself to the floor as the spear of nanomachines pierces the end of the truck with ease, right where your chest was a moment before. The machines retract within the colonist once more as it continues its approach.
8:59 PM - Mekton Ziti: Your go~
9:01 PM - Kari: As Kari drops to the floor, she brings her taser up just as it finishes its whine. The trodes fly out as she slams into the ground, aiming down the sight the whole way. (18)
9:02 PM - Mekton Ziti: 17
9:02 PM - Mekton Ziti: u won~
9:02 PM - Mekton Ziti: aaaand 8
9:02 PM - Mekton Ziti: he woulda passed without dat stun
9:02 PM - Kari: (Wamp wamp.)
9:04 PM - Kari: As the trodes connect with the zombie's chest, it siezes up with a rapid series of soft clicks. Kari winces in pain, and as her foe falls over in a convulsing mess, she retracts the trodes and leaps up to her feet in one swift motion. "Civilians secure! Wh-what now?" As she has a moment to breathe, she drags the last victim to the side of the truck, keeping them clear of the mek brawl.
9:08 PM - Mekton Ziti: In the background, Eve's machine continues to clash with that of the colonists'. Throwing a left hook, the zombie's Mek grabs the hand, throwing it aside before unleashing a punch of its own that clangs against Eve square in the torso. She yelps in surprise at the sudden burst of coordinated motion, where before it was shambling and awkwards. Her Mek takes several steps backwards from the knockback, closing on your position. "Incoming!" is all Eve manages to shout in time. Eve's foot clashes down near the colonist you just now tazed, her next one about to fall involuntarily into place atop them. Roll Reflex to save them!
9:09 PM - Kari: (17)
9:09 PM - Kari: (15)
9:12 PM - Mekton Ziti: Your wings buzz fiercely as you watch Eve take the hit, then as she stumbles backwards you dive headlong into the disabled colonist, skidding along the floor and dragging them out of harm's way. As Eve regains her footing, she sighs, noticing both you and the colonist are safe. Hanging her head low, you can practically see the anger on her face, both at herself and the colonist Mek.
9:15 PM - Kari: As Kari pushes herself back up to her feet, heaving as she starts to wear down from the intense gravity, she looks over both mektons. "Ma'am...! I... What happened?"
9:16 PM - Mekton Ziti: "It was playing me for a fool, is what. But I won't let that happen again. Secure the civilians and take cover, I'm engaging with my weapon."
9:17 PM - Kari: "Wh-what do you mean playing? You were doing fine until-... M-Ma'am! I think it was spreading itself thin between the people and the mek! What if it has a main brain?"
9:20 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Possible. We'll investigate once I subdue this one. Weapon's free, I'm engaging. Stay down, it may get a little warm." She withdraws her weapon, taking a bead on the enemy Mek's leg. As she steadies her aim, you take note of the gun and a stencil on its side reading "High Oxidation Manipulator Unit."
9:21 PM - Kari: "M-Ma'am! If you destroy the mek, the swarm may just get stronger! Or smarter! The more it tries to do at once, the weaker it gets!"
9:23 PM - Mekton Ziti: Hesitating as she speaks, the Mek charges with a fist drawn, unleashing a vicious punch that she effectively dodges. Tracking it with her gun, she says, "I'm not destroying the Mek, I'm simply subduing it by removing the legs. Have you a suggested alternative?" She intones the final part with genuine interest.
9:25 PM - Kari: "If... if it were to infect more units, it might slow down, but you be dealing with two units at half-strength. But... but it must be communicating somehow right? If we find what's controlling it, we can jam the signal, or break it. That should stop them all! If the swarm abandons that mek, we have no way of knowing what it will do."
9:28 PM - Mekton Ziti: "A fair assessment. I will keep the Mek busy, you bring the civilians to one of the inner offices, then remount your Mek."
9:29 PM - Kari: "G-Got it!" Kari grabs a pair of the civilians, dragging them off as quickly as she can. "But Ma'am? What if the artifact is what's controlling them?" she asks, still working as fast as she can.
9:32 PM - Mekton Ziti: "It's possible, but I don't believe that to be the case. That merely looks like it is producing the nanomachines, not commanding them. If we were to investigate the procurment site of the artifact, we may find more information. It's possible this... infection, spread before excavation was complete, so there may be more to find."
9:34 PM - Kari: "That... that makes sense. Okay!" Kari drops off the last of the civilians and rushes off to her mekton. Panting from her exertions, she makes one last staggered leap up to the cockpit. Clambering inside, she runs through her basic systems and stands the mek upright as the canopy hisses shut. "Ready!"
9:37 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Excellent," she says, grabbing another punch from the Mek and tossing it aside. "Push the artifact outside and let's move!"
9:40 PM - Mekton Ziti: You do just that, gently nudging the truck with the artifact on back outside the warehouse as Eve ducks under a thrown shipping container. Looking back and seeing you and the artifact secure outside, she gives the Mek one hard shove towards the back of the warehouse before sprinting out, turning around in an instant and snapshotting the two locking mechanisms keeping the large metal door of the warehouse's entrance aloft. The superheated streams of oxygen from the HOMU melt the mecnahisms, and the door slams shut with a resounding metal ring just before the Mek could reach. You spot a sizeable metallic dent in the door pound its way through, but nothing else comes of it.
9:43 PM - Kari: "A-Alright. That might not hold it for long... If we don't hurry, it may infect the other two. You think the controller is at the dig site?" Kari repositions the truck, preparing to guide it back to where it was discovered.
9:49 PM - Mekton Ziti: "That would be my hope. If it is located elsewhere, we may have a bigger problem than we expected. But it's best not to ponder what-ifs, let's continue moving. Leave the artifact here for now, we'll retrieve it on our way out. ...though if it produces more nanomachines, there will be another problem entirely. We may either attempt to contain the artifact elsewhere, destroy it where it stands, leave it here, or perhaps take it with us. Unless you can conceive of an alternative, these are our choices. What do you believe is the wisest course of action?"
9:55 PM - Kari: "I... think as long as we hurry, we should be fine. Three stun gun injuries and a head injury took those colonists out. As long as they don't wake up, I doubt they'll throw themselves to the artifact to make more... The mektons may even need pilots... That would be why it didn't take over my mekton when I was out of it. If we carry it around, we'll just get slowed down, and it's just not worth thinking about. We need to hurry, so let's go with plan A." Kari hesitates for a moment, knowing she's only supposed to speak with Eve. Finally she says, "But... if there's a signal... we could ask my ship's communications officer to track any signals other than our own."
9:58 PM - Mekton Ziti: She considers the option intently, apparently about to make a decision. Roll Persuasion to convince her of your plan?
9:59 PM - Kari: (3)
10:04 PM - Mekton Ziti: "This is a highly classified mission, under which no outside personnel are allowed to participate, despite their capacity or skills. Additionally, your training as a Wraith hinges upon your ability to act as an individual or with those on-site. Relying upon assistance that may not always be available is tantamount to suicide. Under normal conditions and if the vessel was that of the Wraith's, I would approve, but this is being performed under the pretenses of both training and secrecy."
10:05 PM - Kari: "O-okay. Then... if you have any experience with comms... maybe we should run some scans while we go to the mines. Right behind you when you're ready."
10:08 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Understood. My Mekton is equipped with a variety of extrasensory equipment, which I have been scanning with. Given the opportunity I will perform more in-depth scans. For now, as you said, we're on the clock here. Let's get a move on and I will keep an eye on the scans as we move."
10:08 PM - Kari: https://www.trycaviar.com/seattle/cedars-on-broadway-1753)
10:15 PM - Mekton Ziti: https://www.trycaviar.com/orders/o0cdBfim-68FSW92htjiqQ
10:20 PM - Mekton Ziti: You and Eve make haste through the streets of the colony, passing by a number of disabled Mektons and spotting the occasional comatose civilian on the way. You make your way through the outskirts of the colony until you reach a hilly, mountainous area. There is a sparse amount of vegetation, the area being mostly brown and rocky. You can see a well-worn rut in the dirt and rocks that appears to be a makeshift road used to travel to the dig site. The two of you follow this with caution, when you both receive a hasty call on your comms.
10:21 PM - Mekton Ziti: "H-hello, hello? Can you hear me?" the male voice says with some obvious panic.
10:24 PM - Kari: Kari opens her mouth to reply, but stops partway, looking to Eve from her screen. She seems a bit unsure of how to respond, especially given the previous result of asking to talk to someone. After second of thought, she clears her throat and responds. "Loud and clear, sir. What's your situation?"
10:26 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Oh thank god... I'm holed up in a security station at the dig site right now. Who are you people? I thought everyone got... w-well, I haven't come up with a reasonable term for it yet, but I've taken to calling them..." he trails off, seemingly unwilling to continue before he reluctantly finished. "...cyberzombies."
10:28 PM - Kari: "We're..." Kari looks over over to Eve again, unsure of just what she should divulge. "Specialists, sir. We are aware of the machines at the... 'zombies'. Who are you, sir? Are you safe?"
10:29 PM - Kari: ((*and the))
10:34 PM - Mekton Ziti: "I'm... I'm Walther, Walther Bunnelsworth. I'm an Usamimi researcher with the Federation who came here to investigate the artifact. I am currently safe within the guardhouse, though I can't be sure if any of those cyberzombies are going to stage another attack and try to break in."
10:36 PM - Kari: "An Usamimi? Wasn't this a human colony? And... sir, not to flood you with questions but.... do you posess cybernetics?"
10:39 PM - Mekton Ziti: "This is indeed a Human colony, but that doesn't mean it's barred to outsiders, especially since I'm Federation. And no, no I do not possess any cybernetics. It's made working moderately more difficult on this planet, but I've taken it as a challenge."
10:41 PM - Kari: "Good," Kari says, breathing a sigh of relief. "Sir, what do you know about the situation?"
10:46 PM - Mekton Ziti: Eve nods on-screen. "Indeed, tell us what you know. The better a grasp we have on the situation the more precisely we will be able to handle it."
10:46 PM - Kari is now Away.
10:54 PM - Mekton Ziti: The man sighs shakily. "I know that four days ago, we unearthed a small, apparently self-maintaining facility deep within these mountains. There was a tube-like construct of some kind that was the first object we removed from the facility. There are several more within the compound, as well. We moved it back into the colony for transport onto a Federation ship that was inbound, but then it apparently opened up, revealing what the workers reported as 'gray dust'. When the dust became animate and began forcing its way into those augmented workers' bodies, they lost control and went into a frenzy, assaulting any of those non-augmented before driving them away from the object. I was told that following this, they entered a sort of shut-down 'sleep mode' state. I am stiill speculating on possibilities, but when the device in the colony opened up and produced the nanomachines, so too did the ones present here."
10:56 PM - Kari is now Online.
10:59 PM - Kari: "Looks like I was right..." Kari mulls aloud. "We noticed that the more zombies we neutralized, the more skilled the others became. So.. it seems like they're being controlled by something else. Did you notice any strange emissions or a primary device the pods came from?"
11:06 PM - Mekton Ziti: "We scarcely had the time to do proper research. We were still working on moving our equipment in when the incident occured... I watched those infected simply tear into their un-augmented compatriots... it was horrifying." You can hear him shiver as he recounts the tale before regaining a more stable, professional tone. "I suspect that the nanomachines perform a hostile takeover and reprogramming of the Neuralwear Processor that is required for cybernetics in order to achieve this zombie-like state.."
11:08 PM - Mekton Ziti: Eve hums, taking in the information. "How do you suggest we stop the incident?"
11:10 PM - Mekton Ziti: "I can conceive of a number of ways, with my limited knowledge... but how would you like to get it done? Because the quickest suggestion I can give you is to simply destroy the place, but that would be a blight upon the name of science to simply destroy such valuable technology."
11:12 PM - Kari: "Any way that avoids a body count... those 'zombies' are still alive."
11:16 PM - Mekton Ziti: "They are? I half suspected the shock of instantaneous neural-rewriting would have sent them into a vegetative state, but if that's the case, this changes everything..." he goes silent, considering the possibilities. "Well, in that case, I may have a solution. If you can get me my laptop from within the facility, I can review my notes and wirelessly control several of the systems within the area. With that I may be able to provide you with more details and a manner in which we can stop this."
11:18 PM - Kari: "Can you give us a map of the facility? All we have right now is one of the colony."
11:20 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Of course, the computers within here should have the details you need. I shall upload them to your Mektons. Do take caution when entering, we have yet to fully investigate the area, so something may be lurking that we are unaware of."
11:21 PM - Kari: "Alright... How is the facility powered? Did your research team ever get that far?"
11:24 PM - Mekton Ziti: "We suspect it to be some sort of bioenergy reactor; using the force of a living object - possibly some ancient vegetation of their homeworld with vast stores of energy - to fuel itself. Knowing about the nanomachines, it is my suspicion that the facility was maintained by them, and the reactor especially cared for and provided resources gathered from outside. Hence this area's distinct lack of vegetation as opposed to other parts of the nearby terrain."
11:26 PM - Kari: "Do you know where this reactor might be?"
11:31 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Likely on the lower levels of the facility; we've been unable to access them due to sealed bulkhead doors."
11:32 PM - Kari: "Do you think a pair of heavily armed mektons could get through?"
11:34 PM - Mekton Ziti: "...theoretically, yes. We /were/ attempting to circumvent that to avoid damage to the facility, but desperate times as they say. And it /is/ just a door."
11:34 PM - Mekton Ziti: "An acceptable compromise," Eve says in her usual stoic voice.
11:36 PM - Kari: "Exactly. Right. Guess we have a plan B then if we can't get to your computer. What about the signal idea? All those nano-machines have to be controlled from the facility, right? Is there a certain frequency or something they'd be communicating with?"
11:37 PM - Mekton Ziti: "It is highly likely that they are being remotely controlled from some sort of mother unit. It is in all likelihood housed in the higher-security areas below."
11:39 PM - Kari: "Likely, yes. But is there any way you can find out what kind of trasmission tells them what to do? If we have to fight them again, we might be able to figure out where it is, or to jam it so we can prevent more fighting. If it's something simple like a radio, maybe we can even mimic shutdown orders, and make them all go to sleep."
11:43 PM - Mekton Ziti: "I will attempt to detect and head off any transmissions from the workstation here, but I can promise nothing without my computer."
11:46 PM - Kari: "Got'cha. We'll be there soon." Muting the call with the researcher, Kari opens a private comm with Eve. "So what do you think, Ma'am? Should we go for the computer? It... might help, but we'll lose time and it could be risky. Course... it might save us on fighting, and he might figure out how to get the door open so we don't have to tear it down."
11:51 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Perhaps splitting up is a wise alternative. We can cover greater ground and still perform both tasks." Eve cups her chin on the holoscreen, considering the options. "I am willing to acquire the laptop if you will investigate the reactor. Should there be a need for me to depart from my Mekton I will equip my environmentally sealed combat suit to keep the nanomachines out."
11:58 PM - Kari: Kari chitters uncomfortably, mulling over the option. She starts to protest a couple times, but just never gets the words out. "I.... I suppose that makes sense.... Alright. Just... just be very, very careful okay? If you got taken I... Watch your back, okay?"
Thursday, January 14, 2016
12:01 AM - Mekton Ziti: "I will proceed with the same caution I would expect of you. Now knowing full well what threat we face, I cannot take unnecessary risks."
12:01 AM - Kari: "Good," Kari says with a relieved sigh. "Then let's save some people~."
12:04 AM - Mekton Ziti: "That is precisely why we're here," she intones in a slightly more singsong voice. "Contact me or the emergency frequency I provided should the worst happen."
12:05 AM - Kari: "You got it, boss~," Kari replies, equally singsong.
12:10 AM - Mekton Ziti: With a nod, Eve cuts the vidfeed. Her Mekton readies itself, and she withdraws her rifle, stomping across the open grounds and into the facility through the cavern ahead.
12:10 AM - Mekton Ziti: we'll end here then