Futuristic The Exile Battalion (Open for 2 more)

[Worthlessplebian]

Grom had managed to catch up with his teammate, Strider. Room clearing, this should be fun. Grom lamentingly thought. It is safe to say that Grom thoroughly rejects the notion of room clearing. A dangerous activity by itself but coupled with the aetheric influence that hung over the squad like Damocles' sword is certifiably overkilling. Grom hazard a guess that his teammates also felt the Abzu cryptically creep upon their bodies. Grom, himself, also suffered from the effects. A million tiny critters were tippy-tapping across his skin, serrated teeth imposed upon his neck, his limbs felt sluggish as if drenched in viscous mud. Despite that, he pressed forward, pistol straight and sweeping the areas that Strider wasn't.

Strider had then decided to impart an SMG to Grom. Strider tossed the firearm towards Grom while Grom simultaneously holstered his pistol and caught it. He shot Strider a silent nod of gratitude before resuming the incursion. The savvy sapper had reached a similar conclusion to Strider's although he aired on the side of caution in spite of the partner's thoughts.

Strider had positioned himself so that his killbox was directly on top of the possible opening. A wise decision as Grom moved horizontally, not daring to enter the firing zone. His feet moved determinedly—not with the level of skill of his commando battle buddy. His dim vision caught the damaged floor, at first appearing like cracks in the floor but who knows what caused that.

Eventually, the Engineer's movement had him come into contact with, what appears to be, a titanium crate. It was none the worse for wear, however, something caught Grom's eye. An electronic device, a tablet, rested on the crate. Grom unsheathed his combat knife from his hip holster and gently slid it under the tablet. Carefully he pushed it upwards. Reflexively, Grom tensed himself in preparation for an explosion that never came. A sigh of relief as he picked up the tablet with one hand. He placed the SMG that Strider gave him on the aforementioned crate then tried to activate the device. Nothing came from the blocky, gunmetal grey brick. It seemed to have suffered no damage so the obvious culprit was a depleted battery. Or so Grom hoped.

Grom didn't know what he could use this tablet for but it might have some interesting intel if he could power it. He returned by Strider's side. "Strider, found some potential ELINT.

(ELINT is electronic intelligence.)

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

A crackle sounded through the air as the PSA systems sputtered alive as the sound of shrieks and guttural conflict outside dimmed into a subdued, murky blur.

"Ambient ether levels have been reduced to a safe level. All returning personnel are to decontaminate in the purgation chamber. Entrance authorized for opening."

Just as it finished, pressurized air hissed out of a series of small gaps on the ground. An area in the bay marked by a yellow square not too far from between the doors on the left and directly opposite of the entrance began to shift as floor tiles began to slide over one another, sending small clouds of dust into the air. Through the grainy particles they could see the tiles rearranging into stairs lit up by neon lights, revealing a wide stairway and an equally large door, opening up to reveal a sub-chamber for scanning them prior to entering to the proper decontamination room.

"Warning: multple personnel have been detected with varying levels of ethereal infestation. Please enter the preliminary scanning chamber for diagnosis and analysis."

For 0001, Strider, Trapper, Ray, and Grom, it would appear to be a fairly straightforward way to fully cleanse themselves of any of the supernatural effects that crept through their skin and their thoughts.

Ray opened the crate and found a mishmash of various supplies. Initially it appeared to be miscellaneous minor items; screws, bolts, wiring, batteries, all kept in small transparent containers in small stacked internal sections. Digging further however and he'd find something more peculiar. It appeared initially to be a slightly smaller than usual flashlight until a series of thin wires sticking out of its base could be seen attached to what appeared to be some kind of small square shaped power source. Further examination revealed it was an attachable scanner calibrated for advanced ethereal readings and some of its clasps suggested it could be attached to a weapon.

In the meantime, the digital tablet Grom found appeared to be roughly at half power. Its contents seemed to be a cargo manifest similar to what Nova had found. There was a key difference here though; a notepad program was open and it listed a variety of supplies to take "for evacuation". Where to exactly wasn't stated but the supplies primarily seemed to be a variety of weapons listed by their technical product names. For a trained soldier like Grom, it wasn't hard to tell. Rifles, handguns, pistols, grenades, but a large part were heavier weapons. It almost appeared as if the base was meant to be denied to the enemy... yet there were no current signs of anything being destroyed and as Ray's searching had made clear, whatever they were in the process of didn't seem to be finished.

The note however was dated for roughly a few months ago.

 

[cybercrypt]

Strider's welfare was unequivocally assured with Grom by his side. A man among men, but together; lions of a pride. "Strider, found some potential ELINT." beckoned his attention as Grom approached him, Strider rose up from his kneeling position and turned his gaze over and down towards the tablet held in Grom's hands. "Good catch." Strider's machinegun was still primed at the slightest of openings. He focused, studying the tablet's screen and reading the information there on it with a furrowed brow. A realization was prescribed unto him that the opened document was a manifest of weaponry and Strider took a mental snapshot of the listing, watching as Grom browsed through the application. He wondered if these weapons could presently remain on-site, and in hands of the enemy. Abruptly:

"Ambient ether levels have been reduced to a safe level. All returning personnel are to decontaminate in the purgation chamber. Entrance authorized for opening."

Strider almost sent a blundering salvo of thundering lead into the chamber when a sudden hissing of pressurized air shook him to heed, snapping back his head and dropping to one knee in lightning reflex. The door opened with a jarring grind, displacing the tiles into an intriguing maneuver that then formed themselves into a wide staircase, flanked by a radiating, neon luminosity. Strider slowly stood back up and advanced, leaning around the door as it opened. He looked back to Grom then up the staircase.

"Taking point," he declared, then with a swift motion of his right hand suggested that Grom put his left hand on Strider's shoulder in order to form a two-man stack. If there's anything in that chamber - they'd get the bloody jump on it. Strider stifled his mirthfulness at their tactic which conjured up gleeful memories of their time as Arkradian operatives. "Give the tap when you're ready, mate."

"We'll make certain these chambers are clear before the family gets in."

Strider's gloves gave a subdued squeak as he tightened his grip and prepared to enter the sub-chamber. At the slightest semblance of opposition, once getting through here then the main decontamination chamber, Grom could snatch a stun grenade from Strider's belt and utilize it in staggering the enemy.

 

[SpazTheButcher]

Ray fumbled with the ether reader, attempting to attach the damn thing to his gun. The straps were not long enough(The mag feed blocked them), obviously built for slimer weapons, like an MA5D, so he used his tactical duct tape to put it on the M41A. Upon seeing them stack up, he pulled his rifle up and stacked up behind them, but not as close as he did not want to get in the way. The way he saw it, they would clear the room and if it went FUBAR Ray would get involved. His rifle was aimed down but in a ready position as he placed himself 2 feet behind Grom. "Give 'em hell," Ray said, trying to give what he considered the best pep talk of all.

 

[Remembrance]

0001's internals were mostly repaired, Nova's assistance and its own mechanites made sure of that despite the conditions that make it difficult to do so. With a system value check rating 0001's performance at 95% of its normal efficiency; the robot rebooted and became aware of its surroundings once more. Not much time had passed since but it could tell the conditions of its companions had worsened. The loyal android that assisted in 0001's maintenance had opened the entrance to the decontamination room. A breath of fresh air for those intolerant to ether. With the situation inside evaluated, 0001 turned to attempt to understand the outside situation. From what it could tell, the ether cloud still surrounded the structure, and ether levels were hazardous still.

Standing up, 0001 picked up its scavenged rifle from the floor tiles and wielded it within its lower set of arms. It ditched the additional magazine, rationalizing that whatever was in or outside this base wouldn't require the use of two magazine's worth of rounds. Positioning itself behind its biological peers, the robot played a supplementary role to what it could envision as a two-man stack. It would fire if need be but wouldn't get in the way of the two as they lead point and charge.

'Supplication: I apologize for my language earlier. I have a small understanding of mortal customs and culture, and can recognize when expletives are unwelcome.' The robot turned to face Nova, deciding to address her. 'Statement: Thank you.' It was certainly unnatural for 0001 to not only apologize but also show appreciation for a good deed done within a few seconds of each other. Perhaps this marked a change for the robot.
Clan Ize cybercrypt Worthlessplebian

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Grom had managed to activate the device after a moment of tinkering. Something or someone had shut it down on half-power. The screen lit up with electronic life, illuminating the grey exterior of Grom's helmet. He showed it to Strider, Grom nodded along with his conclusions of a 'good catch.' Grom shifted through the contents with his thumb while his right hand loosely grasped the loaned SMG. Obviously, these are weapons; the stranger part is the absence of ammunition stores. There is no mention of where the ammo was being kept: Is it kept on a separate tablet? Or, purposefully removed from this one.

Regardless of Grom's thoughts, the situation would further develop.

"Ambient ether levels have been reduced to a safe level. All returning personnel are to decontaminate in the purgation chamber. Entrance authorized for opening."

The speakers in the base released, at first, a crackle than an automated announcement. Grom's head tilted up to try and spot the megaphones for the system. Unfortunately, darkness obscured them. The spontaneous depressurization—releasing jets of steam—startled Grom, causing his trained instincts to trigger and aim the SMG at the doorway along with Strider. Grom almost released hot lead towards an empty position, a tad bit embarrassing for an experienced soldier.

The apparent staircase and neon tiles had been made quite inviting. Grom followed Strider behind him and returned a nod when he looked back at Grom.

It seems they were gonna two-man stack this. A coprophagous grin emerged on Grin's face. In situations like these, Strider shines like the North Star.

"Give the tap when you're ready, mate."

Grom gave the aforementioned tap on the Strider's shoulder to begin the assault.

The engineer also noticed 0001 behind them, he/it should provide adequate backup if need be.

Remembrance cybercrypt

 

[cybercrypt]

Strider acknowledged both Ray and 0001 with a cursory nod. Upon feeling Grom's tap he immediately strode post-haste up the stairway then into the preliminary scanning chamber. Behind him he heard their footsteps, the shuffling up the stairs, the quietude spoke volumes between them as they moved in one coordinated manner. Strider began feeling tenacious - emboldened by the courage of his peers. The unit maintained its cohesion with great professionalism as they entered the sub-chamber before the main decontamination unit. They were in position and awaited analysis.

 

[Clan Ize]

Nova was quite satisfied with her work repairing 0001 and securing the decontamination chamber and was even more pleased to now see 0001 operational again even if only at 95%. When 0001 walked up to her and addressed Nova was quite surprised by his actions, she had calculated that 0001 wouldn't as much as give her a second glance of thanks for repairing her and much less approach her and give her his thanks. Now looking up at 0001 and a bit nervous, Nova had a small blush under her mask and scrambled for a proper response but couldn't as so much as even find the first letter to start one causing her o start stuttering for a response while her A. I attempted to fix any glitches which caused the vocabulary error and to account for the new feeling.

"Uh-uhm.........Error this unit has unexpectedly encountered a system error, a temporary shutdown lasting up to 5 minutes will occur before this units reactivation in order to successfully correct any errors which may be affecting this unit's performance"

As Nova issued the standard dialogue before a shutdown her eyes flickered from their standard blue and purple to a dull grey before simply going limp and falling on the floor.


Remembrance

 

[Solirus]

Joshua was getting confused by the events that were occurring, usually he was told what to do and where to be, like: 'go here' or 'bomb there' 'shoot that guy' etc. But now it seemed like he wasn't understanding anything, why was his so worried about the ether energy or why didn't this station have any people? So for a solid while, in his turtle mode, Joshua simply stood there speechless.

Eventually after standing doing nothing and getting bored of it, he noticed what seemed like terminals and tablets, "Maybe if I hijack one of those then I'll know what's going on, Yes that sounds perfect... but which do I pick?" he looked at the terminals and tablets, then at his team, they seemed to be doing some weird group exercise … like one of those that builds trust? "uhhhh... eenie meeny miney YOU!" he said moving his robotics arms through the tablets and terminals before abruptly stopping at one of the tablets. Joshua waddled over to the nearest tablet extending his arm and beginning the hijacking process, his robot body going limp signifying the process of the hijacking.

 

[Soviet Panda]

Vargr was much calmer than what one would expect from someone wrestling with their limbs just to get them to cooperate. The residual effects of ether poisoning and corrosion were wearing off, but something still felt a bit off, a feeling of a slight delay before his limbs obeyed him. "I need to get these ether proofed," he grumbled to himself as everyone else milled about him, finding things in storage and deciding it was best for them to lead a breach than one of the two heavily armed and armored personnel accompanying them.

"Move aside, ladies, don't want you breaking a nail." He said as he clunked his way to the front of the group. "Not that there's anything alive here. Place feels abandoned. Maybe some automated things, but nothing to heavy duty."

 

[Vahn]

Trapper was crouched low and kneeling while taking short breaths of air every so often while watching the entrance that was now sealed and closed since Nova removed the metal container that was previous placed and the words of Saul repeating in Trappers head to which Trapper would mumble under hs breath while speaking into the team communications link.

Trapper: "Good observation Captain Obvious.....This has classic bomber paradise tactic...Hyulk."

Trapper quickly lifted his helmet a bit so that he can press his free hand over his mouth to suppress his bodies attempt to vomit but none of the phlegm, mucus or any of his stomach contents pushed forward as if he was running on empty. However Trapper remembered what he had for breakfast and surely something should have come out if his body was trying to force him to vomit. Without any sign of his stomach contents he would wipe his hand at his Armour and came into contact to the soggy algaic growth as his gloved fingers touched it some of it would attach to his fingers as felt this strange soggy feel would Trapper bring his free hand to stare at what was this soggy feel. Upon realization of this and the announcement that seem to be broadcasting throughout this facility.

Broadcast: ""Warning: multple personnel have been detected with varying levels of ethereal infestation. Please enter the preliminary scanning chamber for diagnosis and analysis."

Trapper quickly used place his shotgun on the ground and used his other hand to place his helmet back as realization dawned on him...Ethereal infestation...Trapper has been contaminated and this is the physical infestation, now Trapper regretted not paying full attention to the handlers warnings about such a thing happening as he had thought it was more fluent in spaceships and things in space not on a planet...but then again the handler was speaking in mumbo jumbo pseudo science sounding terms but then again he never had to handle this sort of stuff. Black Hand ordered him to contain an area, Trapper booby traps the area if Black Hand ordered him to stop a convoy, Trapper blows up possible paths if Black Hand ordered him to frighten the enemy, Trapper wounds and hurts the enemy soldiers and then place them on traps to give the rescue team a taste of reality never was it that Black Hand ordered him to handle this kind of contamination.

Trapper used his clean hand to pick up his shotgun and while crouching low slowly makes his way towards the purgation chamber. Halfway there Trapper would stop and change to his side arm; the Double barrel sawed off shotgun. Trapper placed his shotgun on his back to keep it out of the way for now as Vargr made a declaration over the team communications link about automated things...so there are some sort of automated defenses...speaking of automated things Trapper looked at the automated dog that Grom lent him was still following Trapper and this only heighten paranoia that Trapper had of Grom as Trapper started to think maybe this is how the handlers plan to eliminate Trapper.

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

The stairs leading into purgation chamber was formed of two rooms. The first was a simple scanning chamber, quite large to fit in multiple personnel for larger scale diagonosis. It was empty and marked by reinforing arches alongside the half-octagonal walls, layered with densor bulkheads to reinforce it against any potential ether-reactive incidents that could happen from scanning. The door behind them sealed, hissing out air as they were prepared for scanning. A few lights in the chamber lit up a neon white, dimmed to a dull red, and a pulsing throb could be heard in the background. No strange affliction or sensation came over their bodies beyond what those already in the room felt as a side effect of ether poisoning.

A voice buzzed over the PSA.

"Analysis of personnel complete. Decontamination room is opening. Please enter for purification process."

What seemed like a wall save for a long black line extending from the top to the bottom split open, letting out a small gust of pressurized air. The lights returned to the same neon white in the large chamber opening before them, similar in design save for its snowy white colours, a large glass panel off to the left, and a gruesome sight slumped against the far right corner of the wall.

A large vrexul soldier lay there and based on its rougher, somewhat dated Balraktal regime type composite armour plating roughly integrated into its chitinous body, it must have been a loyalist with the Hlangodt. It appeared that it didn't really mean much; a hole large enough for a smaller humanoid to crawl through was blown through its torso. Its shrivelled insides, a mixture of long dried out centipede and grub like symbiote-organisms and its misshapen internal meat could be seen partially jutting through the gap like grotesque tree branches. Its mouthparts were open; an array of surgical tools attached to a smoother streamlined head with a few sharper ridges similar to that of some ground-dwelling predatory beetle. Both of its massive arms, lined with multiple gears and once-swivelling parts, were slumped on its side and its auxiliary limbs were gripping together like a dead spider's limbs imitating a human ribcage. It once would have bipedally stood maybe 10 feet tall but its oddly blood-less resting place remained a monument to whatever violence had so effortlessly snuffed out its life.

"All personnel must enter the chamber before returning to the base. Etheric infestation detected projected to worsen in a timespan of roughly an hour. Decontamination will begin once all scanned personnel have entered."

The synthetic voice repeated itself as it waited for them to do as it said. If they looked closely, there seemed to be a figure behind the glass but it was unclear, at least not without scanning or using augmented vision from a HUD or something similar to clear it up.

Back in the loading bay, Joshua managed to crack open the security of one of the tablets and gain access to its contents.

While it appeared to be a civilian model, it had been modified heavily for military usage and was connected to the greater network that ran through the entire base. This included security camera footage and access to various shared folders though it did not have the permission to open many of the files, at least not officially. It appeared more than a few were protected by a mixture of passwords, firewalls, and older dumb AI's set to activate upon detecting an electronic intrusion.

Oddly enough, most of this seemed to have been set-up not too long ago, maybe give or take a few weeks. Maybe this base wasn't so derelict. It was also unusual that a bunch of the camera feeds were blanked out but the cameras themselves weren't marked as being damaged, out of order, or tampered with.

It wouldn't be wrong to suggest someone had been using this base repeatedly but these tablets must have been left here in a hurry. It was clear this wasn't the listening post but auspicious it was located roughly halfway to it.

Over in the room hidden behind the aisles on the right of the loading bay, something could be seen peering through the door's window, silhouetted against neon light. Whatever it was, it pulled away before anyone still in the loading bay could get a closer look.

 

[Remembrance]

0001 watched as its group assembled by the decontamination room. It was never a surprise to see mortals collaborating together, it was in their nature but to see them so altruistically come together as a unit; brought the robot astonishment. Though as its rather brash teammate would show, altruism was not built in all mortals. Vargr's statements of there unlikely being any living life could be true though 0001 would prefer to be certain before moving further. The robot joined Vargr as he moved forward, keeping its rifle steadied as the decontamination room's door unsealed.

The robot scanned the room thoroughly before treading in, keeping a close sensor on the glass window. Maneuvering about the room, 0001 examined the long-deceased Vrexul soldier before kneeling beside it to get a closer view. A large being, it could hardly classify as a normal mortal. Akin to a beast if 0001 was in charge of classifying alien races. Tilting its head, it inspected the large gap in its torso, attempting to identify explosive residue or charred remains as a means to understanding what could do that kind of damage.

"Observation: It appears this Vrexul has been dead long before we arrived. It sustained a large wound of unknown origin in its chest and was possibly alive shortly after sustaining the wound though it could have been alive for more than a few seconds." 0001 looked back at the team, seeking approval for its observations before standing up and waiting for the rest to join it in the decontamination room. "Request: We should hurry this process so that we may leave sooner."

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Grom had followed into the decontamination room alongside his colleagues. Spotting the Vrexul carcass prompted a look of disgust. Grom had developed an iron stomach, but you never get fully used to this. Wafting the air in front of him, he waited for the gas filters to activate. "Hate the corpse stink." An off-handed, disgruntled comment. 0001 began sharing its' thoughts on the matter as Grom closed in on the body's corpse. He assumed a position opposite of 0001, setting the loaned SMG on the ground. Staring intently into the flowering ribcage, Grom began to hypothesize how this creature died. "Consideration:..." Grom said mimicking 0001's speech design. "This wound is outward, the insides appear mauled. Likely conclusion, something ate through this Vrexul."

He rose, grabbing the SMG. Grom then paced away to lean against a wall. "In spite of Vargr's comments," pointing to the corpse. "I reckon we have ourselves a parasite on the loose." A disappointed sigh could be heard. "You know the drill: tight groups, no lone wolves. If you have time, you cannot account for then you're compromised"

Grom tapped his foot, anxiously waiting for the procedure to begin.

Remembrance Soviet Panda

 

[Vahn]

The sight of a dead Vrexul soldier in the decontamination was not surprising since there has been quite a few surprises already as Trapper thought maybe this is one of those illegal laboratories that the news media keep on blabbering about but Trapper was usually bored with that topic and opted to watch something else whenever something like that appeared on his television...Ahh yes Trapper thought he still has payments to make on his house and television plus extras.

With the declaration from 0001 and Grom did nothing to quell the paranoid mind of Trapper and only made Trapper voiced a simple concern that no one has yet to point out about the dead Vrexul wearing Kadamalan Hlanglodt colours.

Trapper: "I'm wondering if maybe the decontamination room has a trap protocol for anyone wearing Kadamalan Hlanglodt colours.....Not going to be a lone wolf but if you hear a loud blast that is probably me firing boomer at whatever the parasite is....or if Vargr is right then probably on whatever the automated defenses are... "

Trapper would begin his short walk into the decontamination room before pointing at the following drone dog and saying out loud.

Trapper: "Go to Nova. She needs you more than me right now."

Trapper would now step inside the decontamination room along side Grom and 0001.

 

[Clan Ize]

UC-34, NOVA

As Nova rebooted herself automatically and warily stood up again she ran a system diagnostic to ensure the problem from earlier wasn't there anymore and couldn't happen again before taking a glance over where 0001 had been to make sure he hadn't just stood there the whole time and went into the decontamination room which as far as she could tell they had. Taking a full look around the room to make sure nothing had changed Nova spotted something peering through the door but it quickly disappeared far before Nova could successfully scan it. Confident that she had indeed seen it though she unslung her rifle and opened a communications link to Vargr as the rest of the team appeared to either be in the decontamination tube or busy doing something else.

"Vargr, I believe to have spotted a creature or machine of unknown origin inside the facility. However, I was unable to complete a scan or successfully obtain a clear view of it. Please remain on the lookout and notify me immediately if you see anything suspicious"

Turning back around to glance at where she had seen the creature she thought she could see the faint outline of a figure behind a glass panel but she wasn't sure. Perhaps this was what she had seen earlier or it could just be boxes or other items casting shadows out of pure coincidence. Either way, she kept her rifle with its safety off and continued to monitor her surroundings for any trace of life taking up a position next to BU11Y to keep him company.


While waiting for the rest of her team to finish up and petting BU11Y occasionally Nova abruptly detected an organic being in the ether dimension approaching them. Estimating where they would emerge Nova loaded a non lethal but high energy shock round into her rifle and waited for them to emerge. Soon enough a being appeared followed by black wisps and Nova took the shot watching whatever it was make contact with the round fall onto the floor emitting small sparks of electricity.

Soviet Panda Worthlessplebian ChasmOfOrganicMatter

 

[Clan Ize]

SC-40, IKA

Why had she been sent out alone? At a steady pace, Ika walked through the dense foliage updating her estimated position of where the Damnation's Hunger team had gone based on the smoldered carcasses they had left behind. It was for the most part enjoyable but still lonely that she didn't have anyone to talk to, at the base there had been many kind technicians who were happy to chat with her about various topics while they made upgrades and modifications to her body and programming. Granted sometimes one of them would remove something they shouldn't have and other technicians would have to put it back but for the most part, her time at the base had been enjoyable. And the upgrades she had received were quite nice, her default settings had left little to no room for free thinking and learning but now that she could she wished that they would never have to be confined to only following orders again. As she felt a wave of what she could only describe as "cold" washed over her she soon confirmed she had entered the mass cloud of concentrated ether which meant that soon if she was on the right course she would arrive at the facility where she had identified the Damnation Hunger team to currently be located at.

After a few more minutes of walking through the facility had soon came into sight and Ika had been wandering around the exterior of the building to find a way inside. As far as she could tell all the doors were either sealed or reinforced and the one door which appeared to be slightly less strong still was too dense for her to either cut or blast through leaving her only remaining option to phase through a door. Walking to the back of the facility she spotted two large doors which she guessed she could phase through without too much worry of getting stuck in if she phased through the middle due to its large size. Activating her void frames Ika took a deep breath in and went into the ether. Focusing only on her task at hand she took a couple steps forward monitoring her location as best she could in the real world and exiting the ether on the other side of the door. Appearing on the other side of the door she had only a millisecond of a moment to react before her system reported that her energy threshold had been reached and she collapsed on the floor

 

[Solirus]

Joshua​

"There we go, easy as can be" Joshua said to himself as frankly no one was able to hear him through the tablet having left his body limp and still, this also meant he couldn't really hear or see anything unless it was through the cameras. "Alright alright... what do we have here"

Joshua's first observations first allowed him to figure out that the tablet he was in was inherently designed for civilian use, but many of the components and functions in it appeared more military focused, "heavy modifications then... but how much?" Joshua asked before finally being able to see through the cameras, not paying much attention to any in particular and mostly just seeing how many he had access to. "Sweat... but I can't seem to move the cameras..." Joshua moved back to the files, many unlocked but others were protected by either fire walls, old AI's or other methods, "Well, I could break through these, but I don't think that's good for my health, especially so many in a short timespan... what should I do then... maybe I'll just........ uhh" Joshua pondered a bit before deciding to just investigate the open files he had access to, noticing a certain pattern with them... they were all created rather recently, "Wait... but the base seems abandoned... but these were made recently... this thinking hurts, I'll bring it up to the rest of the squad."

Joshua finally decided to hijack his mech back gaining his hearing and proper sight this time, "Feels good" Joshua quickly looked down at the tablet, he was still holding, "I think, for the best I should carry this around... I don't want to go all the way back here to hijack it again, waste of time kinda." he spoke to himself again before finally opening up his team comms

"Uhhh, I hijacked one of the tablets, they appear to be civilian design but heavily modified for military use, the one I hijacked also had access to some cameras in the base and some files which were locked behind extra security, weirdest part is that the files seem to be rather new, are we sure this place is really abandoned... it's possible the tablets came from the outside... but why would it have access to cameras then." He rambled on before shutting himself up and slowly making his way to where everyone else was.

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

The doors of the decontamination chamber quietly slided shut behind them as the neon lights flickered with a electronic buzz. The silhouetted figure behind the glass remained still against the blurry translucence of the reinforced glass. The synthetic voice buzzed again and the corpse remained still. It was hard to tell what had killed it but through the gaping hole in its corpse, the part of the wall visible between its clutching auxiliary limbs looked discoloured, as if some immense heat or flame had partially melted or distorted the wall after ripping through its form.

"Purification process imminent. Please remain within the yellow outlines on the floor. You may-may not experience symptoms of light headedness and slight nausea. Please refrain from exiting until purification has finished."

What looked like circular silver armour plates on the upper wall corners flipped around to reveal a reflective, mirror like material with a throbbing, pinkish glow in their middle. The temperature of the room began to drop, nearing only 10 degrees celsius as the air began to blur as if by an immense heat rather than the chill that pierced through armour, past their flesh and metal, and into consciousness and being. It was an intrusively personal chill, the sort associated with cold fear and anxiety but evoked not by their thoughts but imposed by something unearthly and foreign.

A fog began to follow suite, seemingly emerging from nothingness as the ethereal residue clinging to their forms began to dissipate. Grom would feel like dead skin was peeling off of his body as the semi-parasitic growths squirmed in futility, purged out of existence. 0001's internal malfunctions, once flooding with false positives and blaring warnings, rapidly began to dissipate as their internal systems were freed up to run diagnostics and internal repairs. A sense of relief would flood over Trapper, as if he was recovering from a hangover in record time. For Ray, it would be as if the world's worst sunburn had just simply been undone.

The panels flipped back to their non-reflective sides and the fog diminished. Both the door they came through and another set of automatic doors opened.

Whoever or whatever was behind the glass in the decontamination chamber had vanished as it had fogged up.

"Ethereal residue levels at 0%. All subjects are now welcome to enter the forward base."

Through the doorway, they could see a long corridor with a sign further ahead, shrouded by some of the light-illuminated dust, indicating a control room further up ahead a stairway around the left corner. Gas hissed out of pipes and an ambient buzz sounded through the wide corridor as piercing white glow from neon strips clashed with a warm, tired orange emanating out of wall mounted sources.

Footsteps could be heard down the hall, hurried and fast but far from silent. Something had taken notice of them but by the gradual dimming of the sound, they weren't moving towards the party.



Back in the loading bay, it wasn't footsteps they heard. Fast and rapid movement, almost galloping, could be heard off behind the doors. Whatever furniture and objects littered the inside of this false-derelict could be heard clattering and falling over along with scratching and clanking in the pipes above. The base was coming alive, at least until the sounds also began to dim as they travelled further away from Nova and Joshua. As Ika manifested in the chamber, unconscious coincidentally, the sounds of bestial struggle outside began to diminish; perhaps whatever had driven those creatures into conflict had simply stopped being an issue.

Joshua however would notice something on one of the cameras. It was the second floor on a hallway right beneath one of the main control ones. Soldiers dressed in grey and dirt brown fatigues, half-visible through some sort of static fog and blurs in the air. It was difficult to make out the specifics but some of them appeared wounded by the gashes and holes on their lighter semi-biological metal-laced armour and sparks that emerged from the power-frames built into kevlar-like protection or in some cases their own bodies. At least a few of them were human but the sickly, transparent purplish skin of one seemed to be a voidhanger with two or three tarrhaidim who seemed to cause the camera to become almost complete static as they walked by.

A few of the other cameras had begun to obscure themselves in static but given by the strange glowing lights following some sort of low-profiled, bestial figures it appeared to be some sort of ethereal rather than electrical interference. There was now visual confirmation of both Hlangodt combatants in the structure and some sort of unidentified entities. It would appear the team's presence here set somtehing off.

 

[Remembrance]

0001 took Grom's consideration to its internal heart and didn't think briefly on the matter. Its comrade could be right, the wound appeared as if something had bored right through it. The robot searched about its memory drives for any example of a wound that resembled the one it could see. No results. For a tactician A.I such as 0001, it was an abnormality and thus a new discovery for it. This came with new variables on whether the one who made this abnormality was still present. Nevertheless, 0001 replied to Grom's comment in kind. "Mockery: Your organic conclusions amuse me."

The chamber filled with a coolness that cleansed 0001's internal hardware. No longer were there contact icons stretched across its sensors nor unknown sounds being picked up by malfunctioning sensors. Its internal diagnostics fired up automatically, running test programs to see whether or not its effectiveness had returned. For all it was worth, 0001 was near complete combat effectiveness on account of its hydraulics and servos having cleared up and receiving proper instructions on their movement. Though 0001's internals were clean, the outside situation had evolved.

Previously the robot had kept a sensor on the glass pane on the wall in case anything dared enter. Once the room fogged up, 0001 was incapable of sensing whatever presence was behind the glass, and now with it no longer foggy; it became a dangerous variable in 0001 and its team's survival. "Recitation: Grom is correct; stick together."

Past the doorway, 0001's sensors picked up a fleeting sound coming from a long corridor that stretched out of the doorway. The robot's internal programming came up with a rational situation evaluation. They weren't alone. 0001 unholstered its pistols, disregarding any trigger discipline and keeping its mechanized finger ready. "Request: I require 2 to 3 volunteers for a scouting down that hallway; should anyone join, we reconvene in the loading bay in an hour."

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Grom swept the room left and right with the SMG, careful not to flag his squadmates. The automatic doors closing heightened the combat engineer's vigilance. If he had to be an alien parasitic life form, he would've attacked now to at least wound or kill one person. While he lowered his weapon, Grom began to observe the interior of the decontamination chamber. Attempting to detect an opening. His robotic companion, Zero-Zero-Zero-One, mocked his deduction. Grom promptly replied. "Bite me, Bot. This ain't my first rodeo with parasites." Bitterly spoken.

"One... Two... Three..."

Grom was counting the seconds in his head, a habit he developed during his street thief days. It happens when things might go wrong. When the fog completely overtook Grom's vision, he tightened his perimeter. His suit status began to inform of the temperature drop, but Grom knew this was normal. The weighty feeling slowly began to fade away as the preternatural corruption dissipated. Grom glanced over at BU11Y to see him by Nova's side. Tapping his wrist pad, Grom told BU11Y to begin audio and intelligence recording from this point on.

Then he saw it! A faint glimpse, a moment's brevity. The silhouette of a creature behind the glass. "They don't pay me enough." He muttered.

When the doors opened, Nova had attempted to shoot whatever she saw but to no avail. Zero-Zero-Zero-One requested volunteers to hunt this thing down. "Fine, I'm up first." Grom declared as he ready his weapon forward.

Remembrance Clan Ize ChasmOfOrganicMatter

 

[Vahn]

Trapper would a sense of relief however that does not reflect on Trapper himself as his mind was still pointing out certain parts of dead Vrexul soldier composite armour and as Trapper reached out to check the composite armour did his paranoia was satisfied. The Vrexul soldier was using composite armour that was tougher and thicker compared to the Hermes Mark 1 that Trapper was wearing as Trapper mentally thought that if the parasite could do that in its...infant stage? Not sure if there are stages to it.... What is it going to do when its at an adult stage?....Does parasites grow up? Or do they fatten up? Or am I thinking of tumors?

However 0001 announced that they were going to scout the hallways while Grom seems to be under the impression that they are to hunt this parasite. Trapper would slowly holster the Double barrel sawed off shotgun at his side holster and reached for his Pump action shotgun with the Shotgun suppressor already attached as Trapper pulled his shotgun forward before crouching low and placing it on the floor. Trapper took his time to then remove and put down his knap sack as he rummaged through the knap sack to pull out the two anti-personnel mines, the special gel explosive spray gun, a fuse and a detonator. Trapper suspected that his squad mates must be staring at him now as Trapper decided to calmly speak up.

Trapper: "Not going to volunteer.....Requesting permission to setup a kill zone just in case if you find said parasite and that your weaponry are not sufficient to exterminate it.....or in the off chance if nothing deters the parasite an explosive kamikaze send off.....you know the save your last bullet for yourself sort of thing?"

As Trapper was explaining this he had already finished pulling out his selected equipment, fixed his knap sack, place his Pump action shotgun with the Shotgun suppressor sling back at his left arm, had his fuse placed in his left pants pocket, the special gel explosive spray gun in right pants pocket, detonator firmly attached to the Shotgun bandolier and was already setting one of the mines to forward facing position directed towards the hallway that 0001 had suggested to scout ahead but not yet activated.

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

The hallway did not grow any more welcoming as they began to make their way down the corridor. Gas hissed out of pipes that hadn't seen maintenance long before their incursion. A few wires sparked and the neon lights whispered as they passed, buzzing static nothing into their periperheral hearing. The maintenance robot sitting in its harness buzzed irritatingly as whatever interference its probably semi-derelict form seemed to lightly fog their HUD's. The footsteps they had heard dimmed and dimmed until they were replaced with a series of ascending clanks. It seemed there were stairs off to the left at the end of the corridor, past the empty storage pod at the end of the corridor based on the sound.

It wasn't the only auditory sign of what presumably were additional Hlangodt forces. A series of staggering footsteps could be heard, echoing through the floor directly above and the maze of pipes and grates. A hair-raising tension enforced by just how loud some of it was; odd given that most of what Joshua's camera footage had captured didn't suggest any were wearing heavy duty powered armour. It was as as if they were marching on purpose or staggering awkwardly; hardly a fitting image for a militant force supported and trained by the remnants of the great Arkradian empire.

Voices, distorted by the layers of flooring they had to travel through, but voices nonetheless. Indistinct and formless, some sort of ear-scraping gargles, snarls, and growls - mostly some sort of tarrhaidim dialect but it was difficult to make out the specifics. Syllables slurred, phrases stuttered and paused, and their voices lacked usual fetid vibrancy of the fungoids. It was almost reluctant sounding, as if they were un-used to speech and were forcing their phrasing, blathering something concerning security on the lower floors and awaiting reinforcements.

From Joshua's view of the security cameras, they were blurring again. Not enough that the machine couldn't notice the soldiers beginning to filter out to a surrounding office space on that floor but that something large and blurry had rapidly passed by them. It seemed at first like another trick of the static interference but with how one of the soldiers staggered as it moved past, shoved and bumping into a chair, its predatory at least quadripedal form and lengthy body suggested this was not a mere spectre.

As they neared the corner, a click was heard. Motion sensors would detect a small object flung their way coming from the right of the derelict storage pod; spherical and covered in small square-shaped bumps - a grenade.

It bounced lightly off of the wall at the end of the corridor, diagonally descending and stopping just a few feet to the left side of Joshua. Trapper and Grom would be further from it but based on its design, it wasn't the blast force they should be worried about but the ripping shrapnel. There were precious blinks-of-a-moment to react in the partially cluttered corridor.

A blast of piercing, ear-ringing sound and a storm of shrapnel. The blast force would be enough to jolt Joshua and jostle him but the shrapnel would ping off of his armoured body, unfortunately bouncing further backwards and towards the rest of the team. Pipes were torn open vomiting through hissing smoke, diminishing as emergency failsafes shut off the flow. The dim lighting dimmed further as neon lights sparked and flashed, snuffed out by deadly iron fragments. Faint orange emergency lights flicked on as a clanging, metallic stomping could be heard behind them.

A humanoid shape stomped towards Grom, an iron multi-jointed arm swinging to send a steel fist directly at his skull.

 

[cybercrypt]

(God damn I fucking miss this roleplay).
- lj2k (drunk) X

 

[ChasmOfOrganicMatter]

(God damn I fucking miss this roleplay).
- lj2k (drunk) X

If it's any consolation, I'm working on a reboot.