Fantasy Action Adventure Scifi A Growing Menace - *Any Character, Any Genre*

[Fatal Nymph]

Zava had intended to go to Med Bay however with his last words, she was nearing heartbroken. She walked a few paces after him to the end of the ramp, like a lost and forelorn puppy that she seemed to be. The others weren't used to such otherworldly or was it other deminsional beings from universes untouched by their sense of reality. If anything the short exchange brought about a sense of yearning to learn more once again. Though perhaps a bit more on the people as much as the tattooing.

The ears laid back disappearing into the white hair, and that silken tail tucked and even curled around her leg, showing just how distraught her mind was over the issue.

An explosion rocked the building, not from outside but inside. The force was enough to cause her to not just fall backwards but cause the k9 anthro to fly into a wall, causing the wind to be knocked out of her. The ringing was loud, voices could be heard but not understood.

A vessel a bit bigger than Integra was hovering just outside the building having caused their own window into the building. A couple blast marks scorched the ground as though someone was a little too trigger happy. Demands of just giving them what they wanted if everyone stayed out of their way. And if they wanted proof of how bad it could get, they were willing to lay waste to the building, less people to interfere.

 

[Itcamefromthevoid]

After the embarrassment at the restaurant and losing his date, Davis was on the warpath to his office. His personal security surrounded him. "Who the fuck was that!" He shouted, looking at the men that surrounded him. "and where the fuck is Lynux?" His driver pulled over and the leader of the security opened the door. Davis stopped for a moment. "You better figure out if you like your cushy job." He stepped into the vehicle, the door closing, his driver left. "Take me to the office, Larry."

The drive to the office was quiet. With Davis fuming in the back seat, the fiasco left him without a woman and without a fine meal. How dare that Adjudicator think he can strong-arm me for her? Davis thought staring out the window clenching his teeth. The vehicle pulled over in front of the building where Davis worked. He had a plan to deal with them. That would put an end to this charade. The driver opened the door and Davis stepped out, heading to his office. Anger and bits of food smeared across his red face. Davis had even fallen back into his military days marching instead of walking into the building.

Davis Retts pissed and sullied by his own plate of food and Xybor with a chip on his shoulder, so utterly livid when he walked into the building where his office was located, he stomped through the lobby into the elevator. The magnetic lift took him to the top floor, and he walked out through the doors of his office. He dialed his secretary at the front desk. "Lydia, cancel my appointments." Was all he said and didn't bother waiting for a response. He stripped his tie and grabbed a cloth to wipe his face. Approaching the closet he picked out another suit. Hanging it in a tube he stepped into a rectangular booth device that enclosed him and stepped out dressed in the fresh suit. He approached his desk, picking up the phone and dialing a number. "Hi, It's Bounty Officer Davis Retts from SCAA. I am calling to allow the use of force in the apprehension of--"

​

Skitter! Skitter! Click, click, click.​

​

Davis looked around his office for the source of the noise that cut off his order to deal with Zava, her friend the Captain and walker. "Authorize the officers to use force in the apprehension of Zava Dimensional Terrorist and her associates." Davis hung up the phone and opened a drawer on his retrieving his X-Venus laser pistol. The weaponed whined charging as he looked around the office because the noises hadn't gone away. "Ahh! Goddamn it, Lydia." Davis stared at her, but then the clicking started emanating from her. That's when she turned into a large bug and grabbed him. The beetle attacked the head quickly crushing his head in its jaws. The pistol fires into the roof and Davis Retts' body goes limp.

***
​

After the restaurant, Walker decided it would be best to return to the Samurai. There wouldn't be much he could do at this point other than to wait and see. He knew there would be retaliation, knowing Davis it would be a flex of his position and power. As he approached the building where he crashed his ship. There was an explosion making him stumble. Walker sprinted to the opening he made in the front entrance rolling to get away from falling debris. The vessel was larger than his own and carried more weapons.

"Give us the terrorists and you will be unharmed."​

​

This was Davis changing the rules of the game. Walker used to this kind of treatment doesn't want to give in to their demands. "Integra, you need to keep everyone on the ship. They're both dead if we let them go with the guards." Walker said as he approached the ship. "I'm almost there." Walker picked up his pace and briskly jogged towards his ship.

Understood Walker. Nobody leaves.​

Walker ran up the ramp to where Captain Rochdale was coming down. "Not the time for this, Rochdale." Walker grabbed the captain's arm and dragged him back into the ship. "We're getting out of here." Walker grabbed Zava on his way higher up the ramp, knocked down by the explosion. Walker stopped in his tracks as the ramp came up and Lynux stood in front of them.

"I'm sorry, Walker... But I need you to hand them over." Lynux stood relaxed, but Walker knew better. He was ready to draw.

"What do you mean, Lynux?" It was clear his old friend wasn't on their side, worse yet potentially working for Davis.

"You know what I mean. I let you have your fun with Davis, but now it's over." Lynux said.

"You don't have to do this Lynux." Walker tried to be diplomatic. "You know they're innocent."

"Walker, I am giving you a chance to walk away because we are friends." Lynux narrowed his eyes.

"You know I can't do that." Walker said.

"Neither can I." Lynux drew his pistol, Walker shoved Rochdale and Zava out of his line of fire charging Lynux and shoved the pistol upwards. Bang! Bang! The shots ring through the ship and sparks fly out from the damaged electronics. Lynux kept firing the pistol while Walker struggled with him to keep the shots from hitting anything vital on the ship or Rochdale and Zava. Walker tosses Lynux to the ground and gets on top of him, punching Lynux. The metallic skin of Walker cut Lynux open. Lynux struggled, but Walker was stronger and not as susceptible to melee damage as someone made of flesh and bone. Walker kept hitting Lynux until he stopped moving. With every strike, Lynux's body convulsed. Walker stood up and looked at the other two passengers.

"Everyone alright?"

 

[Hekazu]

Rochdale observed the destruction that followed, feeling his temperance wearing thin. If there had ever on this journey been a moment when he had wanted to be back on his trusty Poltroon's Regret, this was a strong competitor for it. Among people most of whom tolerated him, far more than the one presently, on the calm Unterzee where any threats that came at you were sensible enough to do so with fang and claw and without teetering on the fence about it, in his cabin where he could focus on something for even one solid minute. But no. He was here instead, in a city he hated, among people he loathed albeit likely less than they loathed him, and being pushed and pulled from one altercation to another at a pace that no sane person could keep up with.

Thankfully, Captain Rochdale had not counted himself among the traditionally sane for a good long time.

He'd pulled out and prepared his bone-harpoon for self-defence when he found himself instinctively ducking, grabbing on to the arm that begun to pull upon him. He glared this 'Walker', obnoxious and high-and-mighty as they came, again believing himself to know the situation better than anyone else. He didn't ask, he demanded, thought still of him like he was some newborn that had not seen danger stare him in the face twice on a good day, more on less so, and he was saying that there was no time for 'this'. Hah, he could just tell where Walker could shove his 'this', but on a quick analysis of survival opportunities…

It was not to the benefit of Walker, he told himself. He was dragging him in, and trying to wrest himself free would take too long, cost him those precious moments. It was the same with an Angler-Crab. If it nabbed you, you leaned into it, hitched the ride, and punished it for moving you about. He would refrain from shoving his harpoon where the sun didn't shine, but that was about the level of grace he was going to offer as he followed, with much less apparent reluctance than his internal monologue would tell.

He ignored the display Walker did before them, walking deeper into the vessel with no desire to remain here to observe his sloppy means of dealing with the old 'friend' of his. Of course, he had the harpoon that could have ended this more quickly and more cleanly. But let him flail. He liked doing that, didn't he? Finally, at some point, he deigned it was time to stop and turned to ask from them if they were 'alright'. "Just fine, thank you for asking", Rochdale said coldly. "If you must keep me, least make my suffering quick and do whatever you must with haste", he added and continued on his walk, eventually finding his way to the darker recesses of the vessel where he could settle down, out of the way and out of people's minds. There was but one person whose company, including the ship trying to address him, that would not be responded to with "Kindly let the crusty sea dog lie, will you?", and that person was Zava. To her, a simple tip of his hat would do, and a slight scoot over if she kept on approach.

 

[Fatal Nymph]

One second her breath is crushed out of her lungs from her own weight upon impact, the next a disoriented pull. Voices collided and crashed, her vision swam in and out, voices finally becoming coherent. By the time Zava was a semblance of her herself, it was all over. Her hand was precariously protecting her skull, where she was certain at the very least a knot had formed.

"No!" There was a slight whine to her voice from the pain. "I need a drink for my pride and my head." It was easy to hear the pain in her voice for as much as the female tried to hide it. Her eyes however looked to Lynux upon the ground, thankful not to be in his position.

When had she become so frail? Not that long ago, that wouldn't have been a second glance besides maybe to give one final kick out of frustration. Now instead of finding a strong drink and moving on, she sought comfort, as if this world would even allow such a comfort to her. With a heavy sigh, she took her hand away from her head and dared not look.

"I'm not much of a fighter, for lack of better terms, but I can help where needed." Her skill set was useful only up in person and the only long range weapon she was a 'decent' shot with was anything that was high powered and sniper-esque.

 

[Itcamefromthevoid]

Looking at both Rochdale and Zava, he could sense the tension within the ship. Rochdale was grumpy as usual, but there was something larger going on and while he was sure the escalation of the force used by the agency was directly related to Davis. There was something else that was causing the decay of the dimension and if they didn't make it stop or get out quickly, then it they would definitely turn into cosmic dust. So far everything seemed relatively okay aside from Lynux, who was lying on the floor. The toughest part of corruption was proving which side was corrupt. Walker walked a fine line with his own actions by treading lightly into the waters of corrupt activities. "Good..." Walker looked over at Zava. "There's some whiskey around here somewhere." He said to her as he then stood up. Walker stood up, looking at Rochdale. "Look, I know you've got this grumpy old man thing that probably worked for you in the past, but we need to come to some sort of understanding. I am not trying to keep you from doing your thing. I am trying to keep you from incriminating yourself." Walker tried to explain, though it may have fallen on deaf ears. "I feel it is time we paid Rett a visit." Walker said as he ventured into the cockpit.

"Integra, give me a sitrep." He called out as he entered the pilot seat.

"Things aren't looking good. This might be worse than Lyra Palioxis." Integra's voice said over the intercom. An overview of the ship's integrity came on the display atop of the console.

"Is the hyper drive functioning?" Walker asked.

"Yes, but we only have enough power for one jump." Integra replied.

"We'll have to save that for a failsafe." Walker muttered to himself.

"Get us to the Agency office." Walker commanded. The ship lifted off, and it thrust them out of the building, making another hole, letting Lynux's body fall from the cargo ramp before it sealed. Their shields were still working at about 40% capacity, so at least they had some protection. The ship's cloaking device activated as the vessel above them took chase allowing them to escape without attracting too much attention.

They would travel at a relatively slow speed as they approached the office. The tracker planted on Davis had gone offline, but as far as Walker knew, he hadn't left the office. When they arrived, the power to the building had gone offline, leaving the office building darkened. The ship hovered above the building. Walker gave Integra control of the ship as he left his seat. "Rochdale and Zava meet me in the armory. It's time we figured out what's really going on here." As he walked into the armory, he opened the gate and looked at his options. Having stockpiled a variety of weapons. Walker pulled out a couple of pistols and some assault weapons. He placed a sub machinegun and shotgun on the counter along with a high-powered revolver and a small laser pistol. "Take what you want to use."

 

[Hekazu]

Captain Rochdale glared at Walker from under the brim of his hat, the blacker than black irises still managing to bring forth the fierceness of a thoroughly vexed man. His emotions, while dulled, still resonated with the level of callousness and misunderstanding, deliberate or not, that this overly bossy figure was shoving in his face moment by moment. "And you, Walker, have this act of thinking you know everything so much better than anyone else that you feel yourself not only compelled to overlook them but to slot them into your own little strawmen of their true selves and neglect to ever consider that perhaps, for but a moment, your intuition, for what else did you ever base your thoughts on, was in the wrong", he retorted. "If you desire proof of the fact that I do not bark at everyone like I do to your thick skull, you need only ask my company from the time you found us, Miss Zava, whom you and your vessel seem much more fond of."

If he had to guess, this was some sort of a ploy to tear a rift between him and her, though he could only think of one reason to attempt such a thing. Zava, per her words, was a sought after woman. If they had understood that Rochdale was a competing suitor, that would explain plenty of the behaviour especially with how eager Walker was to play a hero to her. Well, they were free to. They could just leave him out of it. Yet with no proof of this being the case, Rochdale knew better than to accuse Walker of this, let alone hurt Zava by so loudly proclaiming disinterest in her. After all, he had just let Walker hear their worth about slotting others into roles based on lacking information. He was not hypocritical enough to immediately assume the same of them.

He could only hope this would make Walker think a moment longer before they were to next address him, and once that order, for that it still remained, came to him next to his pleasure Rochdale could hear it was less loaded with presumptions. The veteran monster-hunter was presented with a veritable arsenal of weaponry, most of it far too different from what he had come to know to recognise. But every here and there more archaic notes shone through in the design and he could make out something familiar. Such a this short-barreled lead belcher, or whatever equivalent of one this would turn out to be. It reminded him of his days as a simple rat-catcher, and would serve to cull hordes of lesser foes should they be coming at him. But nothing would replace the bone-harpoon as his main weapon of choice. "What is is that you expect, Walker?" he asked as he measured the tip of his harpoon against the lights of the armoury, the gun hanging in an extended arm by his side. "What sort of a war are we walking in?"

 

[Fatal Nymph]

A downtrodden female was left to tend to her own wounds, as she finally looked into a mirror, blood everywhere but it seemed to be stopped for the moment. A rough feel told her it was a just smashed open skin, no cut. With not much else to do, she braided her hair back and out of her way, a red hue now a part of her hair. It would have looked like it was done on purpose if not for the matting and the bits of pinkish color where the blood ended up at odd spots.

She met back in the armory and her hands wandered over the weapons, her eyes looking around realizing that what he put on the table made for loud and a large AOE. They were walking into a Hell-storm. Her skills and marksmanship with close range and long range would not help here. "A bit old fashioned in a sense but any ion or plasma swords? Guns and heavy ammo only go so far." It didn't take but a bit of digging before finding something akin to what she had been looking for. Then she spoke up once more. "Based on your weapon Captain I might have found a weapon or two that has a similar trigger system with no reload, the damage is massive, but they overheat easily. And I might be able to rig something to make your harpoons much more volatile." Her movements and voice seemed to actually consider him and his predicament, Her mind thinking of the small things to make him feel more comfortable.

When Rochdale spoke up, it was then that she realized he either knew what was up and wanted it confirmed verbally or truly had no idea. The hunter surely had a gut feeling. "A monster hunt. And more than likely zealots along with misguided people. At least in my perception that's the way it always is." Puppy dog eyes watched him for a reaction. It wasn't going to be easy and to say things would go back to normal for him wasn't an option either. Honestly Zava wanted to comfort the captain but as mistrust got as he was currently, she doubted that was an option either. She walked over to the two. "I think it would be better if you Walker worked with your ship as you are both in tune and have much more experience fighting these types a certain way. I would like to team up with the Captian as he has his own experience fighting creatures. I don't have much experience fighting in such a way, however I am more able to roll with the punches and be flexible to what Rochdale may or may not need. The ship can communicate with us if any one of us is in dire straits. Does that sound like a plan?"

Zava wasn't expecting much from Walker or his ship currently as she had suddenly voiced something. Though they weren't her concern and that was plainly obvious as her eyes were solely on Rochdale, how could she not? It felt like everything lately pushed him away and it tore her apart to know this, that all her so called 'help' was just putting him out.

 

[Hekazu]

Rochdale was weighing his current weapon of choice as he was suggested a completely new kind of weapon. He turned to Zava with a nod, but the words that came out of his mouth clarified that he was not looking to pick up on the offer right away: "While that sounds interesting, I am already in unfamiliar territory. I do not have time to learn a new weapon which might get me killed by working differently than what I expected. I'll avoid that uncertainty when we cannot be sure what is out there to get us." That was his best attempt at a gentle refusal, which would have to do. After all, if it was his best what else could he do? "I will see to broadening my horizons in the future", he added. After all, he did not mean to say categorically no to the suggestion.

However when it came to his harpoon the answer was much sharper. "No", he put it very bluntly. "My harpoon may look like a useless relic to you, but it is the tool of the trade of a Monster-Hunter of my home realm. I assure you, this has slain many a zee-beast before I ended up here." He was not up for discussing this. He would also not elaborate for the time being, dismissing it as 'trade secrets' and 'long story'. He was about as ready as he would ever be. And so all that was left was to wait for the opportunity to move on. To leave this ship behind and have just a little bit less to tolerate. Though apparently Zava was trying to talk Walker into staying behind. Yes. Please do. Though when the individual seemingly agreed, Rochdale could not help but raise an eyebrow, mostly to himself. Well then.

It wouldn't be long before they arrived at the building of their target, the roof easily off limits due to the landing pad being well-guarded even under these circumstances. An 'easy', or perhaps more accurately 'simple', solution was to mow down part of the wall composed of steel and glass and enter the building through one of the meeting rooms. High up enough, but not too much so. And immediately it was rather clear things were not under control here. Primarily, that the alarms had been ringing well before they had arrived. And that on the hallways there were all too familiar looking beetle-like monsters munching on a few bodies. Rochdale crossed himself, a force of habit. "All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well", he mumbled something between prayer and a mantra, but delayed no longer.

The old captain kicked himself into motion, the two beetles making note of him before he was in striking distance. they scattered at first, but simple creatures as they were they had not prepared for the eventuality that their opponent would be able to deal with a pincer-attack. The captain's harpoon struck left and without even turning right again, spearing each of the beetles onto the weapon. They twitched still as he lowered the weapon and looked around at the wounds. "Cannot have been these two", he noted, kneeling down by the body. "In fact, I think these are pretty freshly born. Look. Egg fragments." He turned a few of them over, examining the mangled cavities of the carcass. "Something more grown took her out", he concluded. "These were just offspring left behind." Back to it, then. Rochdale rose to his feet and forced the bugs off of the harpoon, looking around for the next direction to head to.

 

[Fatal Nymph]

The doglike female looked between the males and gave a nod. " Integra if you would please keep a monitor on all communication to include our own and relay anything pertinent to any party lacking the knowledge. I appreciate any help you can give, and if you can't thats alright. I know you will come through and help when we need it."

With that, she pulled one of the larger AOE weapons just in case and pulled an ion cutting weapon. As she walked with Rochdale, words of encouragement echoed in her head but she bit her tongue and held it all in. This was not the time to push him away with her version of help.

The roof was a bit much but if she had too it was something that could be taken care of. With a simple jump she was inside the building and shook her head for a second. The alarms almost an instant headache, however she pushed forward.

The bugs were everywhere. Joopis said that they had been contained... Or was there something else going on here. There was common knowledge that these blink bugs came from something, but what, was a bigger issue. Her ion blinked on and she swung hard slicing right through a bug. Instantly she puked though. It wasn't easy having to back to who she had been. The anthro had been showing her belly for far too long now. And here and now it showed, the female was disgusted with herself.

His revelation made it sound like whatever was laying the eggs was close at hand. Zava could only hope it was a mature blink bug and not whatever the unknown was.

"Most buildings this size have multiple elevators and two types of stairwells. Up looked like they were ready for war, we may be able to catch the thing off guard." However she really didn't want to find out what that thing or things really were. So instead of voicing her concern. She began clearing rooms.

The sweet natured and easily upset Zava began to see a turn in her behavior.

 

[Hekazu]

No. He had misjudged. He might have recognised not any outward threats, but those were not the only threats one needed to take into account on a battlefield. How did one's allies fare? Could they do their part, or would trust be misplaced? Did they need help holding themselves up before they could commit to the fight? Rochdale looked over his shoulder at Zava's movements, and determined that it could not yet be time for them to move. He spun the harpoon in his hand, once, and suddenly its strap was around his shoulder once more and the tip hung just an inch off the floor, threatening to scrape against it on any step he took.

What he did then was stuff his fingers down the breast pocket of his coat and fish out a long yellowed handkerchief, its pristine white having bent before the glacial, inexorable pace of time. He stepped towards her and swung it open in his hand from its many folds and offered it towards her. "Combat sounds not like your strong suit", he commented. "Will you wipe the remnants off, or shall I?" The question was, of course, aimed at what still hung in the hairs beside her mouth from her throwing up immediately after having made a kill.

Once the immediate concern was seen to, Rochdale would turn the same handkerchief unto his harpoon, that being if she did not commandeer it for herself for a longer period of time. He'd join the fluids of the beetles unto the fabric, and only then stuff it back away, again in several neat folds. "Are you able to do this?" he asked her directly, "Do you wish to follow me onwards, can you protect yourself if something threatens you? I need to know." He could not move into combat blindly. While he had spent most of his fights alone, he could not pretend just doing that would be an option here. He had someone with him, for all that it entailed.

 

[Fatal Nymph]

The handkerchief was a gesture that was so far removed from her mindset, that it took a moment for her to process exactly what was going on. With a hesitant hand she took the cloth and wiped up her mouth. "Thank you." Her hand held it back out to him, which he took. It was more odd to see him use it the way he did before putting it away in such a sacred place. Her head titled and eyes watching his movements, an open curiosity by her cultures standards. Zava would have to ask about that later if she ever got the chance.

His questions of her abilities came to the surface which was understandable. "As you are a hunter, so was I. It will take me getting back into the swing of things. I will be able to hold my own." The female anthro replied. What she had hunted was quite different than what he had hunted. Still a monster was a better combatant than people at least in her opinion. Not to say that monsters didn't have intelligence or cunning but they certainly didn't cuddle up to you, take care of you, all while plotting your murder.

The skills of her former trade revolved around stealth, close range or extreme long range. It was different when you needed to be a soldier or like the captain and be able to assess how, when, and where to kill a beast before acting and following through all within moments of seeing the target with no prior knowledge to minimum information.

Watchful eyes saw the sea dog was in pain with every movement and still acted as though nothing was wrong. She wanted to take care of the wounds and work on his tattoo more. Couldn't Zava go back? No, it meant that she would push the captain away again, alienate him, and from everything leading up to this point had made him want to walk away and on a lonely path. Why was her kind so set on everything needing to work? Fusterstion was slowly building at the lack of Rochdale understanding her, at her own lack of understanding him, and the situations that seemed to be walking them down a path that wasn't an answer to any current problems that couldn't be run away from.

"I'll follow your lead and keep things clear or help as you need me to." That was all the woman could offer.

 

[Hekazu]

Whilst folding up his handkerchief and still stuffing it into his pocket, Rochdale could not help but read between the lines what she had meant just now. She spoke of hunting only, and she had been quite open with him before and then not mentioned any shared vocation. He nodded slowly, the feather of his hat wagging along with the motion. "Something of a Licentiate then", he commented, "or perhaps a more plain sort. Not in service to powers that be." Something in Zava told him she would not have had the kind of life as one of his past friends, the Steel-Gazed Charter. Not the least because of what leaving such a life behind would take from one. Or perhaps, just because of that, she was someone of said background and why digging it up hurt her so much?

Yet would it not be more likely that she was simply lying? He weighed that option for a moment, only to shake his head as he turned away and raised his harpoon back into his hand. No, she would have no reason to lie about something like that. She would have said less. But if she was not going to talk about it in more detail, now was not the time to pry. What she claimed would have to be enough as he had no reason to believe time to be on their side. "Let us go then. We do not have any reason to remain on this floor. Whatever it is, the way to clean it out is up." In that both of their assessments lined up.

A beetle's carapace crunched under his boots as he moved on, seeking out one of those promised stairwells in order to make for movement between floors that would make sense to him. Elevators were not reliable, the machinery likely functioning at this time not to mention that the operators would hardly be willing to risk their lives for some idiots trying to get up in this mayhem. To his surprise this floor didn't appear to throw at them much of a challenge, mere five beetles more meeting with his harpoon, their fluids staining his bone-harpoon yet not managing to disguise the trickle of red that flowed down his glove onto the bone. The thorns dug into him on each forceful jab and wider swing. Another swig of the once powerful Tincture of Vigour stashed in his breast pocket barely warmed his chest. But it would have to do. And do it would, at least to the point where yet another door gave way, only this time one had been able to see the stairs on the other side through its glass panes.

"Onward and upward…" Rochdale murmured, followed up by a sigh and putting one boot in front of the other, his eyes scanning the still peaceful ceiling. Yet he heard crunching from further on up. Was it just the next floor, from behind the door, or higher up in the stairwell itself? Whatever it be, he didn't believe in taking every single fight. The hunter has only so much stamina, and by the looks of it the numbers of these foes were more than enough to outlast that.

 

[Fatal Nymph]

As much as Zava wanted to be helpful it was clear that she was merely a background character in these scenes. Rochdale was fighting the blink beetles without much effort or so it seemed. His body going through motions that probably had been so long ingrained into him that it wasn't even a thought anymore, just mere reaction. Even still, white covered ears were up and listening. The clicking and screeches couldn't be heard upon this floor as it only further made her theory more concrete than jello, or however that saying went.

"Agreed, as long as we take on only what we must." The idea that some people wanted to just fight everything in sight was appalling to her. Why would one want to waste that much energy and time? Some people turned out to be good use later on whether they knew it or not. Potential was always a possibility that Zava liked to keep open and the less one had to kill the easier the assignment had been. Now not to say that it wouldn't be more time consuming but, in the end, it felt like it had been much more worth it.

Sounds echoed through the stairwell which always made things a bit trickier however, if one were to lock the door on the way up it wouldn't be a big issue or even a worry later on. This was the hope as she really didn't want to take on any large-scale fights. Honestly if others were given the information of higher importance, they might be able to do a better job perhaps. Then again it seemed this was needed for Zava as she reminded herself of how soft she had become in not wanting to hurt others unless she really had to which became not hurting others at all because it would work out if she could just bare through it. Honestly it was a brutal path in which she was on, and it meant that she would need to give up her passion to stay alive. However, she wasn't willing to give up that desire or need rather that filled her. it might not gain her wealth or fame, but it would be fulfilling to bring everything together and keep it from becoming a lost art.

However, this probably wasn't the thought she should be having in the middle of a battlefield. For now, she needed to clear the stairwell down, or at least keep an eye on it and help Rochdale as much as she could.

 

[Sylent Hyll]

>System boot

>Initializing…

>Run emergency diagnostic

>KRMX-1337-SPK

>Model 665.9

>Tactical Adaptation Module (TAM)

>Network adapters detected

>No networks available

>Failsafe 1 loading…100%

>Failsafe 2 loading…100%

>Failsafe 3 loading…100%

>Failsafe 4 loading…100%

>No Operator Directives Program (ODP) found

>Regenerative Replication Modules (RRM) loading…100%

>Maintenance protocols loading…100%

>Queuing activation sequence

>---Defense protocols loading…100%

>---Offense protocols loading…100%

>---Reactive adaptation protocols loading…100%

>---Target acquisition protocols loading…100%

>---Utility protocols loading…100%

>---Weapon systems initializing…100%

>Tactical Combat Protocol Module loading…100%

>System online

>Activating UNIT KRMX in ready state

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>Insufficient illumination detected

>Activating night-vision

The first thing she saw was darkness. Blinking once cleared this, replacing her field of view with a low-intensity green tinge and her standard HUD. She detected no life forms, but her tactile sensors picked up the mold-like encasement that whose hydraulics had now pushed the lid out and up. Her network cables had been automatically disconnected as part of her activation, and she stepped out of the mechanical box onto the lab floor. Turning her head slowly, she scanned for any bio-signs but found none - at first. A sudden spark drew her attention to cables running along the far right wall, damaged to the point of severance but not at one of the relay junctions. Above the wall-bound casing of clustered cable, however, was something much brighter - a glowing circle with a hole in the center where the wall should have been. There were traces of biomatter that formed the circle along with a high-yield electromagnetic field, indicating that this was an organic production despite the improbability of an organic body being capable of producing such a strange bioelectrical emanation. However, continuing her scan, she found no further evidence of the presence of an organic target. Sensing there was no immediate danger, she switched her combat protocols to stand-by.

Walking over to a mirror, she examined her body in the dark. Her diagnostic file presented her with an internal image of her particular model of combat-capable android, the nigh-indestructible 95% encasement having a blue-silver finish but being roughly one-tenth the weight of the carbon-steel alloy it visually replicated. However, the mirror showed her an exterior humanoid formation consisting of olive skin, amber-colored eyes, and a wavy bob of ash-blonde hair hanging to her shoulders. She stood 5’ 2” tall, weighed approximately 150 pounds, and registered her physical measurements as 37-26-37. She was probably heavier than the average human with her height and build in a healthy state, accounting as much for the structure itself as for the internal mechanisms (including weapon systems), but she could not verify this comparison adequately without access to a network. She detected no active networks or any active energy currents other than her own, however, which meant that her first priority should be to restore power to this building.

No. Her first priority was to dress herself. There was only a mediocre likelihood that her exterior, which was visually identical to that of a human woman (and likely the orchestrated reasoning behind her specific height and endo-exterior build), would be an adequate distraction for hormonally driven biological specimens. Of greater importance was bolstering her current defensive potential by applying an armored bodysuit tailored to her figure. Thus she turned toward the lockers to her left, along the same wall as the bank of android beds.

None of the others had activated, each one showing a red tab. Their individual backup generators were active, but they were only providing enough power to keep them charged and ensure that they were locked, thus preventing tampering or inadvertent activation. This meant one of two things: either whatever threat that activated her was minimal, thus requiring only a single unit to be initially active, or an error was preventing them from completing their activation. Perhaps they were unfinished models…no. This was a storage room, not a development room. Despite this being set up as a mechanical laboratory, all of the units here were marked as complete but had yet to activate. She did not have activation clearance.

The skin-tight bodysuit she chose was a blood-red color, according to the tag; she wouldn’t be able to verify this until adequate light was provided. The bodysuit left little of her shape to the imagination but had the look of a flexible crosshatched mesh. The material was specially designed to withstand extremes of heat, cold, and pressure such that it acted as body armor; potentially, it was capable of showing no wear even while in the immediate blast radius of an exploding bomb. It also blocked radiation and acted as a Faraday cage, preventing damage or disabling of the wearer via EMP.

The matching boots were also designed for light-weight, heavy-duty combat and survival situations over an extended period. She also strapped on an advanced tactical harness (ATH) and began to select her weaponry and associated ammunition and supplies.

((Click to enlarge.))​

>Weapon identified

>---Advanced Tactical Pistol (ATP) Mark XIII

>---Delayed Fission Detonation Rounds (DFDR) compatible

>---Rate of fire = 30 rounds per second (RPS)

>---Loaded magazine capacity = 30 rounds

>Ammunition identified

>---Delayed Fission Detonation Rounds (DFDR) magazine

>---Magazine capacity = 30 rounds

>---Magazine status = loaded

>---Load = 30 rounds

She registered two firearms and holstered them. She also registered eight magazines and stored them in the harness. Oddly, no helmets were available in these lockers. There were, however, sixteen canisters of fast-acting concealment-and-sedation gas; she took two of the thigh straps, each bearing four canisters, and buckled them around her legs. Finally, she took a wrist-mounted Automation Access and Database (AADB) device, colloquially identified as a wrist-computer (or wrist-COM) and affixed it to her right forearm.

Now properly equipped, she scanned the glowing ring and the room beyond the hole in its center once more. She could determine nothing useful, so she walked toward the sliding door. Activating her x-ray mode, she quickly discovered its weak point and dislodged the door enough to lift it. The noise it made was unfortunate but unavoidable, and she immediately drew both of her pistols. Checking both left and right as she reactivated her night-vision, she found herself in an equally dark corridor and completely empty corridor.

She decided to proceed cautiously to her left, keeping her weapons drawn. She stopped moments later when something began eating its way through the floor ahead of her. Watching as two insectile organic creatures made their way into the corridor, she checked her knowledge bank. She had no access to an exterior database, however, and had no information on these creatures. They were organic, they were insects, and their energy signatures matched that of the glowing ring she’d found in the laboratory. When they turned their attentions to her and began to advance, she fired one round with each of her pistols.

The rounds hit them in the heads but they kept coming - until the agony of the expanding rounds stopped them in their tracks. The spot where each of them had been shot began to glow brightly, putting out a significant enough amount of light and heat that KRMX temporarily disabled her night-vision. Then their heads exploded, sending fluids and biological shrapnel in all directions. KRMX reactivated her night-vision.

She scanned for more bio-signatures but found none and approached the hole cautiously. Scanning it from all angles, she found no immediate threats below her. The elevator at the end of the curving corridor was out-of-commission, so she dropped into the corridor below her. Her pistols remained at the ready and she swept the corridor from where she stood, searching for additional threats.

>Objective established
>---Search for and destroy energy-based organic insects

 

[Hekazu]

A blur of events broke the monotony. He had taken but a few steps more before a rain of beetles had sent him reeling, the harpoon now employed more like a staff to swat the collection of juvenile, bite-happy opponents to the sides. He felt the thorns digging into his shoulder as he forced his body to move against the constraining vines, gritting his teeth together as he guided his weapon to swat away the wide-brimmed hat of his. He needed to see above, and for now that would only be an obstacle. He hoped it would not fall all the way down, that he could still see it one day and wear it upon his head, but such desires had to be left to the background for now as he sought to see just what it was that awaited them. And to see that it was more or less just what he expected sent a brief lash of dread down his back.

He hadn't seen much of these creatures before, but he knew a matriarch when he saw one. A monster whose body was cracking at its many joints, spewing forth the smaller blink beetles from spaces that they should not reasonably fit into to begin with. Spawning from an impossible space between dimensions, if he had to guess from the other taxonomy of these creatures. Well, there was only one way to deal with this, not to mention that it was partially blocking the door he wanted to go through here and now. The only way ahead was through.

He breathed in deep and readied his weapon. The path of least resistance would be through the limb, not the creature itself. But these sodding beetles could follow them. They knew of them. They could yank them back like he had been yanked to this realm to begin with. Behind the darkness of his eyes he found the only reasonable resolution. "Zava. Keep the herd off me", he stated and rushed forth, bouncing up the railings in a show of agility that one would hardly expect from the seemingly hobbling old zailor. Sure, he had a backup weapon. But there was no use firing the gun at the little things that would simply keep on coming. The pace might be slower now that the initial, concentrated drop was over with, but the amount would still be too high.

Taking on an unfamiliar foe was always a risk, but some things never changed. First, you prodded at them. Tried a few spots with the harpoon. Found the weaker parts. The you lodged it. Find a spot where one could jam the harpoon into. Followed by prying. Take apart the protective exoskeleton, force the squishier parts into view. And finally, the stabbing. As many times as it took, tearing more plates out of the way if need be. Despite the violent nature of the assault, it was all a rather clean job with how little this mass of chitin bled in the end. There was a crash as it fell from the ceiling and Captain Rochdale could pick up the backup weapon again and attempt to assist Zava in helping the cleaning of the lesser creatures.

That was, of course, until he found that the creature was only half-done, when from its neck drew forth another form of the same monster, using its existing jaws, a centipede-like presence that threw its limbs around him, flailing without getting much done yet still disarming him from the battle at hand. And it was still coming out from the bulging body. Just what was the anatomy of these creatures?