MonMusu Mekton Quest: Episode 19

8:38 PM - Mekton Ziti: Previously, Kari and Eve had just parted ways in the Progenitor facility; Eve to acquire and return Bunnlesworth's laptop and return it so that he might better research and control the facility from the safety of the security booth, and you to scope out the previously unsearched lower levels of the facility in search of the powerplant and potential mother unit to the nanomachine clouds with the goal to disable either one or both.
8:42 PM - Mekton Ziti: Eve with her head start stomps into the cave located in the barren cliffside ahead, which is dotted with several shipping containers and various sturdy prefab structures. She proceeds deep into the area and is soon out of sight. You enter in her wake, following the map provided by Bunnelsworth. The rocky cave walls soon transform into sturdy, well-kept concrete. You proceed further until you arrive at a large blast door, easily big enough to fit a Mekton. It appears sealed tight, and there are no visible controls nearby.
8:43 PM - Kari: "Sir? It looks like I found your door. Any idea how I'm going to get through this?"
8:45 PM - Kari: Kari looks over the large obstruction, rapping on it with her mek's knuckles.
8:51 PM - Kari is now Away.
8:51 PM - Mekton Ziti: The doors reverberate with a hollow metal clang from the shaft on the opposite side. Bunnelsworth hums in thought. "We haven't quite managed that ourselves. I suppose you could theoratically just pry it open, they aren't liable to have enough resistance to withstand a Mekton's hydraulics, though you'll have to hope that it doesn't trigger any security systems. Alternatively, you can attempt to find the controls in another room, though you will need to depart your Mekton to do so, as the control room is as you'll imagine not built to accomodate Mektons. It should be a simple matter of flipping the cooresponding switch."
8:51 PM - Kari is now Online.
8:54 PM - Kari: "Let's... do that then. If this place is automated, any 'defenses', zombies or otherwise, might only be in the area. An alarm might change that entirely. I'm leaving my mek then." Leaving her mek standing once again, Kari pops the cockpit. She looks around the area for a minute before leaping down with her wings buzzing rapidly. As she hits the ground, she staggers a little, and leans against the door to steady herself. "I'm really not cut out for high gravity... Where to now, sir?"
8:59 PM - Mekton Ziti: "From those doors, you'll have to follow the path straight, hook a left down the first cooridoor, then proceed along and follow the orange line on the wall until you reach the area. We had laid out some basic navigational assistance during our setup here to areas we suspected were of note, that control room being one of them. It is liable to have several of my collegues within, in a likely hostile state due to the influence of the nanomachines. I advise you to move carefully, but I'm sure a 'specialist' such as yourself already understands the risks to have made it this far."
9:04 PM - Kari: Kari unholsters her taser once more, holding it aloft as she moves slowly down the corridor. Her wings make the occassional buzz as she nervously scans the halls. "We did, yes. I've neutralized 4 already. They'll be sore, but they're still alive. I'm just lucky they weren't any faster. How many of your colleagues were in the control room last you checked?"
9:08 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Two, perhaps three, but that's not to say you won't see more wandering the halls on the way. They normally enter a shut-down sleep mode without stimulus, as I stated previously, but the ones within the facility seem to continue actively roaming. It is logical to assume they have no need to save power and are being wirelessly transmitted power from the facility's generator."
9:10 PM - Kari: "Probably... What about their senses? Do they see and hear as well? If their cybernetics were limited to their limbs and the neural thingie, do you think it's hard for them to hear and see well?"
9:16 PM - Mekton Ziti: "The neuralwear processor is a universal implant unit, required for most or all other forms of high-level implants. It is a piece of cyberwear implanted at the base of the base of the skull which processes input from across the body in order to send it back to the implants for appropriate feedback. It's likely they have some form of hearing, assuming the nanomachines have taken up residence in the processor as I suspect."
9:19 PM - Kari: "I know what it is, sir. I read the product description. But... the nanomachines aren't made for this kind of thing right? They just... collect stuff? And maintain the machinery? Do they understand all the sensory information they're stealing? All the people I've seen have these wide-open eyes like they're pleading for help. Doesn't really seem like the nanomachines know what they're controlling."
9:24 PM - Mekton Ziti: It would depend entirely on the machine. 'Nanomachine' is a catch-all term, as I'm sure you're aware. There could be two similar nanomachines with entirely separate functions. And a wide-eyed look, you say? It could be that they're simply making the most of their host, ceasing the process of blinking in order to not have any frame loss."
9:25 PM - Kari: "Maybe... I'll just hope you're wrong then..."
9:31 PM - Mekton Ziti: You continue through the facility, following Bunnelsworth's directions as you approach the next hallway ahead. You hear the shambling and dragging of feet up ahead. They don't seem to have noticed your presence yet, so it's likely you can duck behind a support beam and pray they don't walk your way. Or you could simply save the time and blow past them.
9:32 PM - Kari: Kari ducks behind the beam. She holds her taser close, and does her best to still her breathing. (16)
9:34 PM - Mekton Ziti: Poking your head out cautiously, you watch the two shambling humans clad in labcoats stop at the intersection, look both ways, then continue forwards into the hall beyond. They didn't even spare a second glance at your position.
9:37 PM - Mekton Ziti: Sighing in relief, you head back around the corner they came from and continue down the path. Eventually, you spot the colored lines on the wall that Bunnelsworth mentioned, and you follow that as instructed. You come to a halt outside the control room, peeking your head in to spot three humans walking at awkward angles around the area. They seem to be... actively controlling certain aspects of the panels and switches. That or they're randomly twisting dials and flipping switches.
9:40 PM - Kari: Kari peers inside, taking her eyes off the zombies and instead looks at the controls. In a hushed tone, she whispers, "What does the door control look like? Is there a way I can open it and lock it open?"
9:45 PM - Kari is now Away.
9:46 PM - Mekton Ziti: "The switch is liable to be big and weighty, a simple flip lever with a handle that goes up or down. Knowing what we do about Progenitor methodolgy of building and wiring..." he trails off, mumbling several various things to himself before finally coming to a conclusion with himself. "...It is liable to be located on the far wall closest to the door itself. There may be a screen located above or nearby it, usually to view anything incoming in order to open the door when necessary, though that does not mean the cameras will be active, so your cover may not be blown."
9:46 PM - Kari is now Online.
9:47 PM - Kari: "As long as I can open it without being seen you mean..."
9:50 PM - Mekton Ziti: You take a look around the room, glancing at the zombies as they do whatever it is they do. At last your eyes alight upon a large lever located beneath a black-screened monitor. Though you can't read whatever language the text is in, the lever is currently flipped up. One yank down should cover it.
9:53 PM - Kari: Kari takes a couple deep breaths, checking around the halls for any sign the zombies are coming back. "Alright..." she whispers, and then slips into the room. She does her best to find a spot to hide and get closer to the switch.
9:54 PM - Kari: (16)
10:00 PM - Mekton Ziti: You creep low and slow, keeping your eyes peeled and paying keen attention to the zombies as they perform their tasks. The closest zombie is no less than three meters away, so you make extra sure to be as careful as you can. The increased gravity is absolute hell on your bent knees, but you suffer through it and make it to the switch, pulling it cautiously and expecting a loud click to alert them once it is complete. Much to your relief, it does nothing of the sort. You assume that it did as you expected, and make your way out carefully.
10:03 PM - Kari: As Kari slips out of the room, she skirts around the edge and out of sight before letting out a relieved sigh. She takes a few seconds to just breathe and then makes her way back down the hall toward her mek. "Okay... The door should be open. How are things looking with your computer?"
10:09 PM - Mekton Ziti: "I believe she has encountered resistence, but is taking the long way around to avoid a confrontation. She mentioned how the infected increase in ability when their bretheren are disabled?"
10:11 PM - Kari: "Yeah. When I disabled the 4 earlier, the last one got a lot faster and more accurate. We're trying to avoid fighting so things don't get any worse."
10:13 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Fascinating! I would be ecstatic to acquire a sample of these nanomachines if at all possible. We cannot be sure how the production tubes will function once power to the facility is ceased."
10:15 PM - Kari: "They should still be okay if we turn them off right? I mean.. the tubes might not make any more, but the ones that are already made won't just break will they?"
10:15 PM - Mekton Ziti: "I would presume so, unless they have a self-destruct mechanism installed that triggers upon the ceasation of the presumed mother-signal."
10:20 PM - Kari: "Well I guess there's no point guessing..." Kari pauses for a minute, and then makes a quiet, chittering laugh. "I hope they don't break then, if only so we can find a way to keep this from happening again..."
10:23 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Do mind your own safety over recovery of a sample, should you choose that route. I may be interested in the potential research, but I am not so far gone as to demand you risk your life needlessly for it."
10:24 PM - Kari: "Thanks. But, sir? If they do self-destruct like you said... do you think that would hurt the people they're inside of?"
10:28 PM - Mekton Ziti: "To be quite honest, I had expected them to be braindead if nothing else. I have no clue how the infected will react to the destruction of the nanomachines. It would be significantly more cost-effective for them to simply dissolve rather than explode in any fashion. With that in mind, the victim's body is more likely to simply process the remanants of the machines rather than destroy itself entirely."
10:30 PM - Mekton Ziti: As you conversed with the doc, you eventually find yourself standing before your Mekton once more, thankfully unaccosted. The doors to the elevator are indeed open! You can walk the Yuida through onto the lift without trouble.
10:32 PM - Kari: Kari leaps up to her cockpit, spinning around into the seat with a grunt. Stepping the mek into the elevator, the cockpit hisses shut. "Okay. I'm in the elevator. I'll see what I can do. If we lose the call, tell my partner where I went."
10:35 PM - Mekton Ziti: "Consider it done. She should be returning soon with the laptop, and with luck I'll be able to use that to reconnect to you after the fact. I wish you luck."
10:40 PM - Mekton Ziti: Stepping into the lift, it seems to clunk and grind, pause a moment as though waiting, then descend of its own volition. The steady hum and whirr of the thick cables and chains winching the lift downwards reverberates throughout your cockpit as the lift descends quite a ways at a fair pace. Perhaps a minute later, it comes to a stop, and the doors blocking your path open. This area is eerily lit with dim lights. They don't seem to be emergency backup lights so much as simply power-saving ones for disused areas. A low hum resonates through the halls.
10:43 PM - Kari: Kari Hesitates for a minute, and the slowly lumbers her mekton through the doors. She peers into the dim room, deciding to flip on her spotlight. "Alright. Looks like I'm in an area with power-saving lights..."
10:45 PM - Mekton Ziti: Your comms are a dead air in response. Seems they're unable to reach you... however far down you are.
10:45 PM - Kari: "Great..." Kari mutters. With a sigh, she peers around the area, shining her spotling along the walls, floor, and ceiling.
10:51 PM - Mekton Ziti: Your lights illuminate a vast sea of pipes and wires trailing the walls, all leading in one direction. The humming noise, too, seems to stem from that direction. You continue glancing around, and note that the area is otherwise similar to above, with reinforced concrete making up the walls and floors. These halls are quite large enough to suit your Mekton though, or even two of them.
10:56 PM - Kari: Kari marches down the hall, and opens her mouth to speak every now and then only to shut it when she remembers no one can hear her. She chitters nervously, the noise barely any help for her nerves.
11:01 PM - Mekton Ziti: You come to a stop at another large, sealed door. The humming sound and wires seem to come from beyond it, while there is a separate path that leads to the right. You can see a faint, blue glow coming from the end of the hall on the right.
11:06 PM - Kari: "Another step forward, another locked door... guess this is the one they had trouble with..." Kari mutters to herself. "This one probably has alarms too..." With a deep sigh and a shake of her head, she turns the light down the separate path. Eying it over, she finally decides to march down the path to the right.
11:10 PM - Mekton Ziti: You march steadily right, approaching the blue glow with all due haste. Rounding the final corner, you enter what you can only describe as a Mek-scale briefing room. The room is circular, with a large domed ceiling upon which a projection of a starry sky is plainly visible. Three raised rows of flooring circle the room, so as to give those standing in the back a plain view of what is happening below. A vast array of computers and screens lights the room faintly, while in the center of the room, displaying a holographic projection shaded blue, is a featureless blue sphere. The setup seems fairly similar to that of the bridge of your ship, and the holograph reminds you of that which displays the planets when you receive your briefng.
11:11 PM - Kari is now Online.
11:14 PM - Kari: Kari slows her pace down as she enters the room. She comes to a full halt to the take in all the sights, and as she fixates on the holograph, she moves the mek in closer to the projector. Chittering a quiet exclamation, Kari says, "What... is this place...? Everything's so big..." She looks the sphere over, trying to figure out what it could be. "Is.. that supposed to be a planet?"
11:19 PM - Mekton Ziti: As you approach closer, the sphere blinks out for a moment. Then, you hear a pulse. No... you don't hear it, you /feel/ it. It strikes at the walls of your skull, again and again, bouncing like a pinball trying to escape. The feeling escalates in scale until it is utterly unbearable, and you clutch your head in agony.
11:19 PM - Mekton Ziti: Then just like that, it stops. The holograph reappears, displaying a planet.
11:21 PM - Kari: Kari clutches her helmet in agony, trying to claw at the outside to make the pain stop. She chokes and panics, and just before the building scream can escape, the pain fades away. Her eyes stay wide, as the cool, blue light from the holograph hits her again, she blinks. Looking back up at her screen, she eyes over the planet being shown, trying to understand what just happened and what she's looking at.
11:23 PM - Mekton Ziti: The planet is not one you've ever seen or heard of before, but considering your status as a newbie to the galaxy, that isn't saying much. Upon completeing a rotation, the holograph vanishes once more, this time for good. Your computers beep with an informational update, and you cycle over to spot the fact that you've just downloaded a system map to your Mekton.
11:25 PM - Kari: "Wh-what?" Kari looks over the new information, and then checks it a coupe more times. She shakes her head and looks back to the former location of the projection. Though she half-expects the holograph to come back, she looks over to the array of computer screens, moving the mekton towards them. "What's happening here...?"
11:34 PM - Mekton Ziti: The screens all flicker at once, changing their picture to make up bits and pieces of a much larger picture; fully displayed, you spot the ghastly image of a pale, almost ghost-like figure. Their eyes and mouth are wide open, but only distinguishable from the rest of the flat white face in the fact that they glow yellow. Its body is humanoid in nature, with two legs and arms, as well as a vaguely defined chest that indicates the presence of breasts. Trailing off its body and limbs aree strips of white cloth, and the background is entirely white as well. She seems to float there motionlessly for a moment. Then, as you continue to watch, she slowly turns her head towards the screen... towards /you/. You can feel her, for certain, boreing down on you.
11:36 PM - Kari: Kari's heart skips a bit, and she can feel her blood run cold. She stares back up at the screen, at the woman looking at her.
11:36 PM - Mekton Ziti: She raises an arm slowly, and you notice she appears to be floating, as though either in water of zero-gravity. As her head turns towards you, a quiet hum resonates in your skull, growing louder and louder with each passing second. When her arm is raised, it reaches a fever pitch, then the figure moves with an alarming speed directly into the cameras. Your vision is filled with nothing but a closeup of her face followed by a ghastly screech that cuts off as the monitors all burst, one after the next.
11:42 PM - Kari: Kari stares at the woman, even as the screaming builds in her mind. She trembles, her heart racing as her blood continues to chill. As the figure lurches forward into her view, she pushes back in her seat and shrieks as the screaming starts. When the monitors burst and the screaming stops, she tries to shield her face as she tenses up in the cockpit. The time alone in the quiet dark of the room starts to calm her just enough to stop her scared chittering. Finally taking her arms from her face, she takes a chance and looks around the room, half expecting yet another painful or terrifying portent in her mind. "Wh-what the hell's going on...? What's h-happening?"
11:48 PM - Mekton Ziti: The darkened room offers no response. After taking a moment to build up the willpower, you march back out of the room, feeling there's nothing left to see. When you arrive, you notice that the blast door that was previously closed is now, in fact, open.
11:50 PM - Kari: Kari's eyes are wide, and she's still shaking in her seat as she looks over the open door. Turning her mekton back toward the elevator, she sweeps the light around, looking for something that might have come out, or, hopefully, Eve. Whipping the mek back around nervously, she rounds the blast door, and looks around inside.
11:56 PM - Mekton Ziti: Unfortunately, there is no sight of Eve. The hall back to the elevator is completely empty. Tunring around, you peek through the blast doors. The inside is utterly black. Your spotlight illuminates a spacious room filled with a variety of mechanical equipment, both at Mekton scale and 2-meter user scales. In the center of the room is an enormous glass bubble, though your mecha lacks the resolution required to get a good glimpse at the vague shadow floating within the center.
Friday, January 15, 2016
12:00 AM - Kari: Kari slowly steps into the room, looking around at all of the devices. Ever so slowly, she calms down the further she walks, and her eyes swirl with vibrant splashes of colour. She comes to fixate on the bubble, stopping for a moment as she looks over it. Turning the spotlight towards it, she moves in closer to the center of the room.
12:03 AM - Mekton Ziti: You take a step forwards, only to spot a shadow drop from the ceiling and onto the floor. You immediately turn your attention to it, looking at the floor at the small pile of dust. Looking back up, you watch as more and more of it falls to the floor, accumulating before swirling to life. It billows up in a cloud around itself before dispersing into thin particles around the room. The door seals behind you, and you have the distinct feeling you're gonna have a bad time.
12:05 AM - Kari: Kari takes a step back, her blood running cold once more. She holds her drill at the ready, frantically looks around the room for a possible control unit or power source.
12:12 AM - Mekton Ziti: As the dust disperses, the room becomes lit by a bright, white light. The glass in the center of the room comes to life like an enormous lightbulb, arcs of blue electricity flitting throughout the interior. The shadow from before is revealed as none other than the ghastly girl you saw on the monitors from before. Your head begins to ache, though no deafening screams or crippling migranes assail you. The girl in the glass floats slowly up to the end, pressing her hands against it and turning her head to watch your every move. Meanwhile around the room, three piles of nanomachines form up into vaguely defined bipedal shapes. They have round heads, long arms and legs, and squared torsos. Their bodies constantly seem to flow, while in their hands are rigid-looking melee weapons.
12:17 AM - Kari: Kari looks over to the figure in the glass. She stares at the form for a minute, trying to figure her out, and silently consider asking for help. As the shapes form up, she raises the drill, and casts another look around for the controlling unit. "C-come on... where is it...?"
12:22 AM - Mekton Ziti: Roll Awareness, then initiative
12:23 AM - Kari: (14)
12:24 AM - Kari: (7)
12:26 AM - Mekton Ziti: You look to the far end of the room, finding that a significant source of non-solid nanomachines are pooling around one particular machine. You can't make out much through the dense cloud of flitting machines, but you suspect that they're attempting to protect it.
12:30 AM - Mekton Ziti: Stunned and transfixed by the glowing girl in the glass bubble hanging from the ceiling, you fail to respond in time to the three charging nanomeks. Your blood runs cold with panic as you fumble to get into action.
12:31 AM - Mekton Ziti: The unit to your left charges towards you at a dead sprint, its sword drawn and held back in a wide swing.
12:32 AM - Mekton Ziti: The unit directly ahead of you steams forwards, bringing its sword to swing at your left leg. Roll to dodge!
12:32 AM - Mekton Ziti: Beat 10
12:33 AM - Kari: (13)
12:34 AM - Mekton Ziti: You finally grab hold of the controls and reseat your legs into position, twisting handles and flooring pedals as you leap aside, narrowly avoiding the swing.
12:34 AM - Mekton Ziti: Lastly, the mek on your right blazes forwards at maximum speed
12:34 AM - Mekton Ziti: Your go~
12:38 AM - Kari: Deciding her best bet to get to that machine is to punch through the swarms right in front of her. They won't just sit there and let her rush it, after all. "I've had enough of this nightmare for one day!" She lurches forward after the narrow miss, making the shove the drill right up the nano-mek's gut. (23) (13)
12:38 AM - Mekton Ziti: 14 and 10
12:46 AM - Mekton Ziti: You rev up the drill, giving it a good-luck hand spin before triggering the motor. Roaring to life, the diamond-tipped Zythium-powered drill spins with the force of a girl and her burning soul. Thrusting madly into the chest of the closest nanomek, you watch as the nanomachines fly off like piles of sand, enjoying the sight as they smoke an shatter in piles. Pulling out with a hard yank, the nanomek has a gaping hole in its chest. It looks down at this for a moment before collapsing into a pile, which then proceeds to disperse itself around the room.
12:52 AM - Kari: Stepping partway over the fallen nanomek, the Yuida crunches down on the machines and dust underfoot. She turns to the closest nanomek, unleashing a volley of 3 rockets at it. (8)
12:54 AM - Mekton Ziti: 16
12:56 AM - Kari: The rockets veer off as a swarm of nanomachines dart past the camera. They fly off in a rising patter, pocking up the wall and far corner of the room. Kari chitters with frustration, trying to prepare for the counterattack.
12:58 AM - Mekton Ziti: The nanomachine colony on your left awkwardly marches forwards, bringing its sword to swing on your right arm.
12:58 AM - Mekton Ziti: 10~
1:00 AM - Kari: (12)
1:02 AM - Mekton Ziti: You once more leap aside, skidding across the floor with the help of your thrusters as you swerve the strike. The nanomachine sword collides with the ground, distorting to avoid damage to the facility before the Mek pulls back up and the sword reforms into a more rigid stance once more.
1:02 AM - Mekton Ziti: The final Mek lumbers rapidly over to you, twisting and doing a spin-slash as it aims for your opposite arm, the left one.
1:02 AM - Mekton Ziti: Another 10, spectacular work boys
1:03 AM - Kari: (16)
1:04 AM - Mekton Ziti: You floor your thrusters a short moment, hopping completely up and over the swing, over the head of the Mekton and then falling back into place as it stumbles from the lack of connection.
1:04 AM - Mekton Ziti: You're on
1:11 AM - Kari: As Kari touches down, she lets out a warcry, chittering like a flock of cicadas. She brings her mekton full force forward to attack the last mek to take a swing at her. The drill spools up, aimed right at the chest cavity of the nanomek with the hope of plowing it into the other. [(11) (9) (11) (10)] [(15) (14) (14) (13)]
1:13 AM - Kari: (2 luck on that 10 there)
1:13 AM - Mekton Ziti: [(14) (11) (28) (11)] [(13) (13) (9) (0)]
1:17 AM - Mekton Ziti: You rev the drill, spinning it with all the might of your passion. You swing with reckless abandon several times at the first Mek, and its morphic body distorts and alters to avoid most of your attacks at first. It's only through sheer luck that your backhand knocks it off-balance, giving you a chance to drill straight through it and into the Mek beyond.
1:19 AM - Mekton Ziti: The furious roar of your drill increases in pitch as it whines, eating into the nanomachines and sending the two colonies collapsing in piles, which themselves disperse throughout the air. The girl in the glass watches with apparent curiosity.
1:23 AM - Mekton Ziti: You sigh in relief, marching across the room towards the dome when... you watch as the nanomachine cloud surrounding the machine looses two clouds. They form together and solidify, being shaped similarly to the three you just offed, but... larger, and more sturdy-looking. This time instead of swords, they're wielding vague-looking beam rifles.
1:26 AM - Kari: Kari takes a half-step back, swallowing hard as she looks over the beam rifles. "Oh crap..." She tightens her grip on the controls, trying to decide whether to attack the meks or the machine.
1:26 AM - Kari: (11 initiative)
1:27 AM - Mekton Ziti: You get first move! Now prepared for a stunt like this, you adjust the grip on your controls and react as they form and solidify.
1:29 AM - Kari: Kari kicks on her thrusters, gunning to the side and barreling towards the nanomek to her left. As the mek takes her curve, she whips it around and extends the leg forward like a flying kick. (13)
1:30 AM - Mekton Ziti: a whole
1:30 AM - Mekton Ziti: 2
1:34 AM - Kari: With a loud, girlish "Hiyaa!" Kari kicks straight through the chest cavity of the first mekton. It bursts into a cloud of nanomachine, most of which rain down to the ground uselessly like grit from an explosion. Landing on the ground with a lound crunch, Kari spins the torso to the side a bit, firing off another 3 missiles. (9)
1:34 AM - Mekton Ziti: 14
1:36 AM - Mekton Ziti: Your missiles streak off-course, the nanomachines dispersed throughout the air throwing off their trajectory and sending them careening harmlessly into a wall.
1:37 AM - Mekton Ziti: The remaining Mek takes several steps forwards, shoulders its weapon, and prepares to fire at you. The barrel of its nanomachine weapon glows a bright yellow before a lance of what appears to be sunlight is fired out, careening towards you.
1:38 AM - Mekton Ziti: 16
1:39 AM - Kari: (14)
1:40 AM - Mekton Ziti: 4 damage to the torso! The beam of light scorches the front of your chestplate, searing into the armor and melting the plating.
1:41 AM - Mekton Ziti: It takes its last two steps forwards, prepared to fire once more.
1:41 AM - Mekton Ziti: But alas, tis your turn
1:43 AM - Kari: The damage is surface level, burning away only a thin layer under the cockpit, but Kari's feeling the pressure. Shrugging off the brief tremors, she punches her thrusters again, going for the trademark kick of hers. (11)
1:44 AM - Mekton Ziti: 6
1:46 AM - Kari: As the mek's foot connects, the nanomek takes part of the hit, the foot lodging partway inside. With a flourish, Kari rips her mek's foot free, spinning back around and using her thrusters to come down hard with the drill. (26) (13)
1:47 AM - Mekton Ziti: 15, 14
1:48 AM - Mekton Ziti: Upon landing, you don't give your thrusters a second to cool as you floor them once more, drill brought to bear on the damaged torso. Extending your arm, you twist for extra torque, piercing clean through the tougher hide of the nanomek and continuing through its quickly collapsing form, nanomachines erupting in clouds around you.
1:48 AM - Mekton Ziti: Roll 1d10+Psi
1:50 AM - Kari: (31)
1:52 AM - Mekton Ziti: While your ears hear the soul-shattering screech from before, your mind... hears something completely different. You scarcely notice the shriek through your ears as you listen to the gentle voice in your mind, whispering sweetly a warning into your ear. "There's one more... watch out..."
1:53 AM - Mekton Ziti: The dull ache from before seems to vanish, being replaced with a soothing calm. You almost feel as though someone caressed your cheek in a passing gesture.
1:55 AM - Kari: Kari calms down from the tender feeling, turning to look at the woman in the tank. She looks the figure over, trying to piece together what just happened. "O.. one... who... how...?"
1:59 AM - Mekton Ziti: The large cloud surrounding the machine in a protective embrace disperses entirely, swirling around in a vortex before reforming into a sturdy-looking Mekton a fair bit larger than your own. It has two horn-like protrusions spreading from its head, a pair of glowing eyes. Its armor plating moves around the Mek's surface, attempting to decipher your next move and plate the particular area as densely as possible. In its right hand is a tubular-shaped launcher, while in its left hand is a matte black, pointy spear. Its left arm is laced and glowing with the yellow sunlight energy and features a barrel, apparently used to fire said energy.
1:59 AM - Mekton Ziti: It gives its weapons a firm shake, then prepares for combat.
1:59 AM - Kari: (17)
1:59 AM - Mekton Ziti: 14
2:03 AM - Kari: Kari turns back around slowly, watching the large mekton forming to loom over her. The calmness that had overcome her now fades, and her eye twitches as she looks over the intimidating swarm. Snapping out of her initial shock, she grips her controls tight. "I have had enough! Feel the fire of my passion foul machine beast!" Punching her thrusters forward, Kari tries to go for a hat trick on the drop kicks, rocketing straight at the mass of nanomachines. (16)
2:04 AM - Mekton Ziti: 11
2:06 AM - Kari: [Follow-up drill attack (16) (5)]
2:12 AM - Kari: Kari's feet connect solidly with the mek's chest, and with a backflip, she launches into the air. With a little maneuvering, the wings come out to let her float just long enough to lock on and burn thrusters right towards the nanomek. With her drill held out, and the colour in her eyes swirling like a visualizer, she plows straight through the nanomek like a missile. When she comes out the far side, she stops just short of skidding into the machine the swarm was protecting. "Should have brought more friends."
2:14 AM - Mekton Ziti: Against all odds and beyond their construction's sensibility, the nanomachine mekton explodes in a fireball as you pass through, scattering dead nanomachines across the room. Those in the cloud still floating around the area also drop to the ground uselessly.
2:16 AM - Mekton Ziti: The machine they were protecting so feverently is now bare and exposed, and you get a good look at it. It appears to be a highly complicated mechanism, there are all sorts of dials and switches, a number of confounding screens and readouts, and just plain too many colored buttons that look like the big, arcade-machine-style satisfyingly clicky ones you just want to mindlessly mash.
2:18 AM - Mekton Ziti: Again, the scream resonates throughout the room, though your mind hears the gentle whisper. "Allow me..." your peripheral vision shows the transparent image of the girl in the glass, only in your cockpit. She smiles at you, her eyes closed as she once more caresses you on her way through your Mek's sealed cockpit, and outside. Your Mek's cameras don't seem to pick her up, strangely enough, though before long you watch as the machine simply... shuts down.
2:19 AM - Kari: "What.... what's... happening...?"
2:20 AM - Mekton Ziti: As your normal hearing returns to you, you're made keenly aware of a loud banging on the sealed doors to the room, which then open up. Into the room stumbles Eve uncertainly, her weapon drawn and pointing every which way. She trains her gun on you. "Kari, come in, do you read me? Can you understand me?"
2:23 AM - Kari: "Huh?" Kari snaps out of her trance, shaking her head and then looking around to try and find the girl. "E-Eve? I'm here. Where did-.." Turning her mek around, Kari sees the girl still floating in the tube. She looks the girl over, confused and a touch mystified. "There..." Her mek moves closer to the bubble, and places the drill on the clip behind her back. "It's done, Eve. The machine's off."
2:25 AM - Mekton Ziti: Eve sighs in obvious relief, lowering her weapon. "You mean... you managed to do it? I would have come sooner, but by the time I returned the laptop, a slew of other problems cropped up around the lab that needed immediate tending to. Power fluctuations, strange readouts causing machines to go critical, and most of it was inaccessable through my Mekton."
2:28 AM - Kari: "Yeah... we did it..." Kari's still a bit distant, watching the compassionate stranger with great interest. "I'm glad you're okay, Eve. I... wasn't sure what to think when the comms went out..." Very carefully, Kari moves her mek's hand up to just outside the bubble. Popping the cockpit, she stands up to see the girl with her own eyes instead of the cameras.
2:33 AM - Mekton Ziti: Eve holds out a hand to stop you as you move, though you pay her no mind. "Kari, you must be careful. The equipment is almost certainly fragile." Popping the cockpit, you stare into the eyes of the girl. Her eyes are again like glowing pools of sunshine, and though her mouth is closed in a smile, you're sure it is too. Up close, she looks significantly more solid, and you can easily make out details from the curvature of her rear to the small, pink nipples on her bare and pale chest. Hanging loosely across her body are a series of transparent cloth strips that wave behind her like ribbons. Her hair is a stark white, and she floats in her glass imprisonment as though in water.
2:35 AM - Kari: "I know, Eve..." Kari leaps from her cock pit up to the hand of her mek. Standing the palm, she looks over the beautiful figure. With a soft hiss, she pulls off her helmet to tuck it beneath one arm. Though she hesitates for a moment, she steps a little closer, reaching out to place her palm on the side of the bubble.
2:36 AM - Mekton Ziti: The girl stares at your palm in confusion for a moment, then turns her attention to her own hand before placing her palm against the glass, opposite your own as though your hands were meeting.
2:37 AM - Kari: Kari smiles softly, her eyes swirling more calmly now. With a little nod, she says "Thank you".
2:38 AM - Mekton Ziti: Her eyes glow a little brighter as her smile widens. She nods in return, pushing off the glash and returning to her resting position in the center of the bubble, floating idly and spinning slowly.