Spacebox: The Original [Text Dump]

Elodie:
Elodie had soon arrived in the conference room. She sat down on one of the chairs and began to wait, while investigating the room she sat in. She completely ignored any present being, since she didn't seek any conversation with anybody. She then looked around, memorizing anything special, important, unusual or strange.
This went on for a while until she started to lose her patience. When that happened she usually either move on to do something entirely different, or starts screwing around with electronics. This time, the only thing around was the small service drone she had built herself. Since she knew that the being wasn't talking to her she could adjust the drone's settings without worrying. Elodie then proceeded to pull some tools out of the small box she had brought here, thinking that it would come in handy, which it did and started taking the drone apart.
She put it together at least twice before she cleaned up the mess that made and sighed, just staring at the wall, seemingly upset of the fact that she had to wait for, what seemed to her, like an eternity. Soon, the female drifted off into her thoughts, just enough to not sleep in, but yet she lost all feeling for her surroundings. She wouldn't even have noticed if anybody entered the room right now.


Rollerblade:
Some moons ago the soil and dirt of a planet joined the passengers of a ship and with this came something else. The captain of the ship would waltz his way to the metal figure with a stern expression. "Credits can be of your damn choosing girl but it's at least a thousand to board." He didn't mind how much he was paid, sure the conversion rates were different for forms of money and where or what they were converted to. If you knew the right people and numbers though one could play the system well.

"I'm not Girl I'm the Rolling Cosmos and Blade of The Stars..." The woman speaks a hand moves to brush hair back. It doesn't seem to sway or flop though but rather drift, a wave of stars on a midnight sky over anything tangible.

"Well all right Ollie Star, but it's still my ship and I expect pay."

"Does the scuff mark from that man's shoe pay? The dirt from that woman's muddy hair?" A small can once housing a beverage thunks against the brow of Ollie before dropping to the floor. The mud haired woman was from a planet where the nutrients of the soil were rubbed into the yellow skinned bodies to stay healthy. It was a entirely natural thing for the hair to sometimes drip of mud. Ollie didn't mind though simply looking at the captain with star like radiant eyes.

"The dirt doesn't pay no."

"Then I need not, as I am dirt. Lower even." There was a bit of a laugh from the collective bunch, annoyance from others. Certain behavior acted almost superior only to be met with a line putting ones self down.

"Look space dust you can stay. You get no room though or food. If you're dirt then you'll get no better treatment then it.

"This is fine, I don't need sleep or need food. An ocean does not eat, and I am such a place." And so the woman sat beside the door she had entered from. Ocasionally eyes closed and the mind drifted to trying to think of home. It'd been so long, it was as if on the window of the mind the cold of space had frosted over the windows. She could almost see it though, her sisters and brothers, celestial bodies among a clouded nebula. They laughed in asteroid belts and danced in planetary rings. Somewhere afar to where she needed to return.

A ship lands and from its opening a place enters into a new place. There was so much life abound, Ollie missed it. Something about the bustling life felt so familiar and welcoming. It hurt to though like when people dug to the core, for all the charming familiarity there was the sting of it being foreign. This wasn't her, she wasn't home yet. So next was looking for where to go, she'd heard that Iota could repair itself. Even now one could see it, those hints of life beyond the life. It wasn't just people places breathed to in their own ways.

Fortune favored Ollie though as she soon found a flier, Brendan was looking for people. He was not a place, but he was looking for help to investigate a place. Among the reasons was learning about the repairing itself starport. That capacity to recover sounded like a clue to Ollie on how she might go home. She would find this, and while not wanting to destroy a place she would consume what was needed to help find her place.

So she makes her way to the booked conference room. Metalic steps carrying her towards this place until she entered, there was no knocking or waiting. Simply entered and took a seat along a window frame. She liked the view over a chair. Chairs were more for people after all not places. One could perhaps argue a chair was a place, while willing to say she was lower then dirt though she found herself not wanting to call herself a chair. A pair of stars look to the other woman in the room. "You don't look like a Brendan. Neither am I, I'm just a Rolling Blade."


Elodie:
"Huh?" Elodie was pulled out of the dream-like thoughts of her trance-like stasis and returned to the harsh truth of the reality. She was still sitting in the conference room, waiting. Yet something new had happened. Somebody new was here. Somebody or something. They looked strange, they talked strange and they felt strange? She didn't know what it was but something made her feel strange. Like she was not looking at a being, rather an object. But her eyes saw a being and her mind could not object to the fact that said being talked. Objects don't talk- Well usually. She had met some talking objects but they were different. And what did they even say? 'Rolling Blade'? What a strange name. Elodie then sat up straight, as she had been taught to do. She didn't know the other, yet they were probably here for the same reason, so it seemed smarter for her to befriend the stranger rather than displease them, since she had no idea of their possible powers and abilities. So she just looked at them, trying her best to not let her curiosity mess everything up. She wanted to say something normal and uninteresting, yet she ended up saying something entirely different. "No, I don't think I look like a Brendan and you do not look like it either. What does a Brendan even look like? My name's Elodie. I'm here because of the- uh- the thing, you know?"
Goddammit, Elodie, way to screw things up.


Rollerblade:
Radiant eyes looked to the woman, or maybe other woman. That was relative to some, Ollie did consider to be of similar gender, her real self couldn't procreate like other races though. Rather what she considered her children was largely a race now gone. This wasn't one of those native to her, she liked humans though they were adrift as well. "Sounds like a guy of your species. Or another species raised by one. It's a rather earthly name." The mind or the celestial body tried to consider what other clues they had to unraveling who they were waiting for.

Flier posted, there was so much tech out there so an old soul of some kind perhaps? Someone who liked papers over everything being plugged in. Perhaps stemming from work? "If I had to guess, uniformed in some way. Probably has a suit and better maintained hair then us. Or you, I've no hair." This was said of course as she brushed a loose strand of night sky from the eyes.

"But they're not here yet. So why is Elodie here? Said the thing but that's not much a reason. I'm interested in what helps Iota heal, I want a piece of it." Which was surely to anger someone along the way but she didn't mind. Because nobody got all that mad when someone set a rock from one place to another, it wasn't theft just a new home for stone then right?


Elodie:
Elodie took several minutes to process what the other said, mainly trying to make sense of it. They talked strangely. Like they were present but somehow not. From here and somehow from far away. That was quite irritating, since she had never met somebody like that. "Why am I here, you ask?", she said, looking up at the other. "Curiosity, personal gain and perhaps because I was just bored." She could've said so much more about why she ended up here, at this moment, why her life went like this and why she had decided to take the path she took, but that was not a story she was comfortable telling and it definitely wasn't the time and place to go into such depths of her past. She hated that she couldn't change her past, she hated her present situation and the uncertainty of what will happen to her in the future. She would rather be with her parents right now, but they were gone...She was drifting off into her thoughts again, staring at the other, but somehow just staring past them into some kind of empty void that was an illusion of her own mind. She forgot where she was and just sat there, whereever that was meant to be and thought about where she would be if her past went differently. She was entirely absent...

Rollerblade:
Ollie found herself both enchanted by and frustrated by the answer she had gotten. It was a free spirited response befitting of so many life forms, made her miss that forgotten group of people she had called her own. There was also a annoyance though in the lack of trajectory, perhaps a sort of jealousy in ones freedom of choice and freedom to not yet make a choice, where as she was in a dire need to return home. There wasn't much room to respond though as soon more arrived.

First came a machine seeming at burst with life, a energy vibrant as the parental star or the children who's tiny feet ran along earth. Ollie wondered though if it was a personality that had formed or if it was just built in. A question comes but so to does another face. A four armed man, but what drew Ollie's radiant eyes was the knives. They had a element she desired, she wasn't sure the knives alone was enough to satiate her, they had traits though that pulled at her being. He looked at her and then seemed to sort of recoil. Another arived though this one human the man who had called them here, and needed a second to collect himself.

"I'm just a portion of the rolling cosmos a blade among stars. That's rather long winded though so some have taken to calling me Ollie. And I'm not a race, I'm a place. Or at least a fragment of a place I want to return to and I need a sample of whatever heals Iota to return. As for specialties I don't know how to describe it best...lets just say I'm good in a fight and intuitive?"

It was the best answer she had. She was a place and with it seemed to come a decent understanding of places but that wasn't like a field of work really to state. She sometimes could understand races quite well if around them long enough but that wasn't from being any sort of doctor. "In the end I'm just a incomplete planet." She thought that said plenty on the matter, it probably sounded like madness though.


Elodie:
Elodie looked up at the strange being that, after entering had seated down and adressed her with a question. White-Hair, he called her. Strange. She seemingly scanned the being before opening her mouth and answering. "No, I don't think we have met. If we did I couldn't remember. My name's Elodie by the way..." After answering, she went back to sitting there, silently, waiting for the man that put out the flyers, who soon arrived. She barely paid attention to what he said. To her, his actions were far more important. She watched every step, until she was sure that he had no hostile intention. After he finished, the strange being, she could not yet identify. This time she paid attention to every word. A planet, they said? Or at least a sentient part of it. Would explain the strange vibes they were giving off. When they finished, she raised her voice to introduce herself. "My name is Elodie. I'm a human. My profession is Mechanic. I sometimes work as a translator or researcher. Against money of course. That's all necessary information for now." She didn't want to say too much. Of course she had a hidden agenda. But such a thing should stay hidden. Nobody should know why she was really here. She had gotten into quite some trouble in her past because people didn't quite like her plans. They never did to be exact. They were scared of this thing in her. Though they really did have good reason too.

Katpride:
Movement in the corner of their vision makes Curiosity look over, and they watch as a Coilosian walks into the room. They've seen Coilosians before, though none of the ones they've talked to have been particularly open to conversation. Not even for Science! Maybe this time they'll have more luck. They're distracted before they can begin another thread of conversation by the human who walks into the room soon afterwards. He seems disoriented for a moment, but recovers quickly enough that they dismiss it as nothing.

While she listens to his speech about investigating and leads and giants, Curiosity swings her legs and summons a holo-screen. It bobs at her fingertips, though she tries to keep it low in her lap as she begins the formatting for a new section of notes. She leaves space for the "leads" that Brendan mentions.

Then Ollie begins her introduction, and all of Curiosity's attention returns to the planetary fragment. He listens intently to her introduction, notes and theories flying by on the screen too quickly for the casual observer to read. The prospect of a planet splintering and developing sentience is intriguing, and he can't help but wonder what would lead to that event. Surely someone would notice if the life force of their planet left and started wandering the galaxy, right? Though she did say she was only a portion of it, so maybe there's enough of it left that no one can tell.

The thought doesn't even cross their mind to question if it's the truth. Ollie says it like fact, and that's enough for them. Though they now have many more questions, they decide to wait until introductions are over before asking them. That's polite, right? They're working on being more polite.

The human with the drone goes next, and Curiosity makes a separate section for brief notes on her. Humanity has been well documented, of course, so she doesn't have quite as much to add.

Then there's a pause, and Curiosity jumps in with his own introduction. "I go by Curiosity, I'm an android, and I run a repair shop in a nearby section of the Starport. I'm here because I thought it'd be fun to investigate this place; research and repair are my specialties, though I'm not much of a fighter."

Laika bumps against their leg, and they look down at it then back up again to finish with, "this is Laika, my personal assistant."


illirica:
A mechanic. Two mechanics. And a... a... space? Al Kievicz found himself blinking at Ollie's description of herself. He'd lived on Starport Iota all of his life, and encountered many different life forms of all compositions, but this was a first even for him. "Um. Well, that's... that's one I haven't heard before. Welcome, Ollie. Are you - do you - no, no, wait. Sorry, wrong time, wrong - er. Place?" Perhaps that wasn't the best phrase to use right here, but as curious as he was about this young l- er, location, he hadn't brought everyone here to ask them personal questions.

No, Brendan al Kievicz was an engineer, and he had an idea in his head, which meant that everything else took second priority until he'd found out more about that. The other greetings were easier by comparison - humans and androids were commonplace, after all, and more importantly, they were mechanics. Al Kievicz understood mechanics. They were almost engineers, really. "Elodie, Curiosity, it's good to have you on board as well. I'm not sure what we're going to encounter down there, but the more talented mechanics we have, the better. I don't know what we'll have to adapt, or how Iota is going to react to it."

He rubbed his hands together, excitedly. The rest of them could introduce themselves, or choose not to - that was on them. Some individuals were very private, after all. Especially in engineering - no sense talking about everything before you'd gotten the patent, was there? He wasn't quite sure how that applied to interpersonal relations, but there had to be a parallel somewhere. "Anyway. So, ah, I've been an engineer working on Iota for... well, ah, thirteen years officially, let's say. Mostly I work on adaptive systems engineering, slotting in new reactors or electrical systems or data storage and seeing if Iota will take them. Very interesting stuff - turns out that for practical purposes there are really almost two Starport Iotas, you know, there's the one that, ah, takes care of itself - the regeneration, that sort of thing - and then there's a subroutine, almost, a number of systems run by people that have, for whatever reason, failed to incorporate into the main system - really it's fascinating, could go on for hours-"

A pause, and a sudden stop. "No, better not. You all aren't here to listen to my Zed talk. Sorry. Includes any AI, though, did you know that? No one's ever gotten an AI system to successfully integrate with Starport Iota - see plenty of them running around individually, but - ah, wait, there I go again. Back to it. I've been working all over the Starport, and the last few times I've been down in a particular area, things are just... different down there. It's hard to explain, ah - well, you're mechanics, some of you. Have you ever come across something where most of the work was done by someone, but some of it was done by someone else, and for the most part it's pretty seamless, but there might be one or two places where you can just barely see that there were two hands at work? It's... it's a bit like that, really, except less mechanical and more... well. As I said, it's hard to describe. But you get a feel for it, and there's something down there that just feels different. I don't know what it means, but I want to find out."

illirica:
A very large creature made an introduction, of sorts. Brendan glanced up at it - them? They'd introduced themselves as a "we," anyway. There was a lot of them to look up at, to be certain. For a moment, he was uncertain, but his eyes brightened after a minute. "Contract? Oh, yes. I would love to read your contract. Not signing it, of course, not until I've had a chance to review it in full and fine-tune some of the details, of course. You would be surprised how many people out there don't read the contracts they sign! Ridiculous! Anyway, should take... two, three days? Bit busy right now, you see, I have this, ah, exploration mission going on."

Which was, it occurred to him, what the contract was supposed to be about. They seemed to be trapped in a recurring loop. "Well. You're welcome to come along without a contract, anyway. It's, ah, it's not exactly a formal sort of thing. In any case, yes, let's... let's just head down there, shall we? We're going down to R-Theta-57, could be there a while, so make sure that you have along any laboratory equipment, monitoring devices, personal medications... oh, and maybe food and water, too, if you're the sort of biological that requires... think I've got a nutribar in one of these pockets somewhere, at least half of one, should be fine - energy supplies if you require them. We'll meet in the engineering prep area just outside - L4-11977-C, I'll ping it out to your devices. Two hours from now? Yes. Well. That... settles that, I think!"

At least, it did in Brendan's mind. He patted his pockets absentmindedly, then went to collect a few more tools that might be useful. He didn't think it would take most of them more than twenty minutes to get what they needed and another ten to get down to where they were supposed to be, but if he'd learned anything about working with sentients, it was that everything always took at least three times as long as one thought it should. He was there early, anyway, and stood by the door to Section R-Theta-57, poking the automatic opening panel and letting the door slide open and closed, open and closed.

The hallway on the other side was quiet, for now, but there was something about it... something about the way the metallic seams joined to one another, perhaps. Something that a welder would notice more than an engineer, but... indeed, there was something there. There had to be, didn't they? Someone ought to solve this mystery!


Katpride:
Although they would love to stay and talk to everyone some more, Curiosity dismisses their holo-screen with a quick gesture and hops off the table pretty soon after Brendan takes his leave. They have to go lock up their shop properly, and let people know they won't be taking appointments for a few days. Ah, the struggles of being a savvy business-bot.

So she waves goodbye to the room at large, calling out a cheery, "See you guys soon!" before scurrying out of the room and starting down the hallways back to her shop. Laika bobs at her side, occasionally nudging her out of the path of walking traffic as she digs through her bag to see what she has and what she might need to pick up.

"I think I have enough materials to build a sensor of some sort, though I may need to pick up that modified laser gun if everyone is really worried about running into something dangerous down there," Curiosity mumbles to no one in particular. Laika beeps back at him encouragingly and he smiles.

They reach their shop soon enough and are reaching for the doorknob when something in their databanks beep-bloops at them. Oh, right, they never did turn off that recording, did they? They turn it off now, saving the video to review later. Maybe when they get a minute they can run some facial-recognition software and see if that gets any hits, just to learn more about who they'll be working with. Wait, do they even have facial-recognition software? They mentally review the programs they have installed. Why do they even have all these visual filters? Dog ears, cat ears, soft twinkling lights - these aren't exactly helpful, but they might be funny.

Laika beeps at her again and she blinks back into focus to find herself standing in the back room of her shop, laser gun in hand. Oh, Laika is such a good assistant. She should give it a reward for being so helpful.

A quick check of the time confirms that he still has well over an hour left before he'll be expected at the meeting spot, so Curiosity spends a few minutes throwing things into his bag before settling down and giving Laika a quick tune-up. It wouldn't do to be anywhere below 100% for an Adventure. System diagnostics show that Curiosity isn't in need of any repairs, himself, so after another quick look around he strolls back out of his shop. He locks the door and activates the metal shutters that come down over the door and windows. The security camera turns on and he checks that he can access it remotely before dismissing it again.

Satisfied that their shop will be fine for a few days, they head out for L4-11977-C. The trip down to the meeting spot takes a little longer than they anticipated, but they arrive with about half an hour to spare. They spot Brendan and hurry over to him.

"Curiosity, reporting for duty!" They joke, doing a mock salute. Laika mirrors their pose and they give it an approving pat between the ears. "What are you looking at?"


HighVoltage:
Gardan kept sharpening his knives, occasionally tossing them in the air and catching them by the blade before getting back to work. It was all presentation, after all. He'd been in the mercenary game for so long that he knew anyone who worked with you could turn on you as soon as the job was done and the payment was delivered. He had the scars to prove it.

Even though he'd had his fair share of contracts with unsuspecting folks, he nearly burst out laughing when he saw the man who had posted the flyers that brought them all together. A nervous stuttering engineering-type who seemed to be severely lacking in the area of social skills. He introduced himself as Brendan, and he wanted to do more research into the guts of Starport Iota. Fair enough, every expedition needed some muscle, and Brendan barely looked like he could lift a weapon, let alone use it. His eye flicked to all the people as they made their introductions. The woman on the window was apparently Ollie, and she was a part of a planet. How the fuck did that work? She also seemed to be broken? Or at least looking for something to regenerate the rest of her planet. Curious.

Speaking of curious, there was also an android named Curiosity who ran a repair shop nearby and who insisted on taking notes at a blinding speed. He also had a robot as his assistant, a small one named Laika. White-Hair introduced herself as Elodie, another mechanic with some skills in translation and research. God, was this group all going to be nerds? Fortunately not.

The second he walked into the room, Gardan's breath hitched and he stopped his sharpening. He couldn't believe his eyes. Sigma-008, the last Acridi, had just joined the group. He was a legend in mercenary circles, for multiple reasons. His reputation for being honest to the contract and brutally efficient made itself well-known, and stories of those that tried to stop him or hide from him when they were his targets were told to scare new mercs. And once you learned a bit more about his race, he became even more feared and respected. He introduced himself bluntly, as was to be expected. Warfare was his life, and killing was his currency.

Gardan's head darted up as Ollie seemed to talk to him, asking about his knives. Before he could answer, Brendan spoke up, mentioning Sigma's contract before telling them the place and time to meet. After a couple had left, Gardan's attention turned back to Ollie. He forced all his eyes opening, bracing himself for the near-sensory overload he got from just looking at the fragmented planet. He twirled one of his knives before stabbing it into the table. "These are special knives. Forged by an old buddy of mine from the core of Coilos, my planet. Bastard's currently 6 feet under with another of his blades jammed in his throat." Gardan didn't feel sadness. Donovan had simply taken on the wrong customer. Happened to everyone sometimes. Bringing one blade up between both his hands, Gardan snapped off the blade and slid it across the table to Ollie. "Better be quick. In about 5 minutes, that'll be broken down and reformed on this hilt."

His attention shifted to Sigma with a smirk. "What I want to know is what the last Acridi is doing delving into the bowels of Starport Iota. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have more mercs along, especially one with a reputation as lauded as yours. Mine isn't nearly as decorated, but still impressive." Gardan turned to address those left in the room. "Gardan Natassi, Coilosian. You might know me form such great hits as the Burnell Prison riot, the Lebedev Works fire, the Verrezzano explosion, the internal attack on Musabayev Enterprise Jail, and the heist at Elswick in Zeta Tucanae." Gardan didn't care who heard, everything he said was most likely public record anyways. Beside that, he was proud of his life of crime. "I specialize in intimidation, assault, and any acts of the life-ending variety." He chuckled before gesturing with his other knife. "I'm also a damn fine chef, owner of Rook and Castle here in the 'port."


Drake:
Verbal contracts weren't his deal, mostly because the usual moguls requiring his assistance wouldn't honor them in the slightest, which meant bad business practices would run them out of the business. That and a well-placed headshot. They had two hours to research and prepare, the man's hastiness significantly supporting the concept of this being the first deal that engineering meatbag had ever conducted amongst professionals. Flyers are fine and dandy when they attract only worthless adventurers and curious cats, but one should always be ready to employ professionals if the task at hand is what truly is their goal.

Obviously, though, this could be a fluke. A not-so-friendly contact sent him, after all. For that prospect, Sigma made a mental note to blast through Brandon at the slightest hint of inimity between the two. He would need to accept the vocal confirmation of payment and of the mission, getting the man from point A to point B for the meddling bunch to ogle some advanced hardware and argue it's implications. The lack of other bodyguards seemingly meaning there wasn't much oposition to be expected, a sordid mistake.

Sigma-008 didn't pay much attention to others aside from Brandon, none captured his attention enough to require profiling and study, none seemed to be particularly beneficial to the Swarm, planetary anomaly aside. The Last Acridi prepared to leave, his insectoid limbs extending over the table as he rose from his seat. Until, of course, yet another lousy fleshman called him by his moniker. A brutish yet respectful one at that, being possibly the last of his kin, a far-fetched conclusion that instigated fear on the heart of those who knew better. It questioned his motives, a grin crossed on it's face, four limbs similar to the living bio-weapon itself, and a quaint taste for knives. A decent weapon of choice if all they were expecting was some rogue drunktard bumping them wrong.

Sigma watched the self-proclaimed mercenary's every movement, particularly his hands so playfully dealing with sharpened objects, displaying the obvious familiarity that one had with weaponry. He named a few of his works, naturally it all fell flat to the Acridi, having no relation to prisons thus far, and no interest on anything other than what directly affected him and his. Nevertheless, it did color quite an intriguing character in the shape of Gardan Natassi. Apparently this mission was not so short-staffed, which meant he could spare himself a few kilos of equipment and leave it on the Razor. "We required work. This might be valuable information." Sigma-008 responded bluntly, his sights zooming in on Gardan's visage. "Gardan Natassi. Do not disappoint us." The Acridi warned adamantly, judging the man's skills to prove useful to the completion of the task at hand, Sigma's mentally prepared loadout changed to adapt to a close-quarters combatant entering the fray, leaning less heavily on being prepared for all on his own.

Sigma, however, did not stay a second longer in the room, leaving for his ship immediately after, dialing his trustworth contacts in Iota to gather any information possible on Section R-Theta-57. Open field, corridors, a circular room with few to no cover. It was going to be straightforward combat if they encountered anything, and keeping all those fools safe would prove quite challenging on it's own right when faced with odds like these. Sacrifices, indubitably, would have to be made if they were assaulted. While his fellow hired explorers would carry the standard waste of space meatbags required, such as food, water and superfluous items to embellish their garments, Sigma-008 and, hopefully, Gardan would be carrying most of the firepower. Having close to no need for sustenance on short periods, and with the possibility of organic life attacking them on the way, Sigma didn't have to worry about bringing rations or anything of the sort.

Instead, he could focus entirely on combat, leaving utility for those better equipped to deal with it. His role was clear enough already, if they did not comply, their lives would be at stake moreso than his.

Razor was a quiet vessel, it's metallic interior was rudimentary, tribal depictions of spacial warfare and triumphant conquest garnished every corner one's eyes could lay on. There were not many added details by the ship's inhabitant, the leisure table and kitchen barely even touched, the armory entirely modified to double as a research and experimental development locale, yet still neatly organized as if nobody had ever walked in there. Hanging on a zero-g chamber, the traditional attire of Acridi special forces remained immaculate. Sigma's top left hand seized it, sliding his gigantic body into the obsidian fabric. The suit served as a statement of leadership, a better stealth option during nighttime and improved armor when compared to his natural hide, being capable of dissipating some kinetic impact upon contact.

His golden helm came last, a large 8 on each side. That was proof of his ranking, proof of the brothers he led into battle, proof of his unwavering loyalty to the Swarm, no matter how distant they may be.

As for weapons?

The others would be surprised, as when Sigma punctually arrived in the location pinged to him, he carried on his back a small arsenal. His two lower arms carried hard-light shielding devices tied around his wrists - for if the place offered no cover, he would make his own. On his hip, a single holstered hand-cannon was held together by a tactical belt, five obscure orbs split asymetrically on each of it's sides, shrapnel grenades of top quality. Attached to his back, a sniper rifle shied away contracted into a smaller shape, directly beneath it, two machine guns descended vertically, spitting copies of one another. The most astonishing, however, was what crossed the lower session of his back, a white gun large enough to require two of his four arms, a wingspan enviable by many lesser humanoids that could not dream to hold it. It was famously developed by a human scientist with a soft spot for botanics, dubbed Belladona due to the projectile's similarity to a blossoming deadly nightshade. Rounds that split upon contact, maximizing damage to the insides of anything it punctured through. The large barrel was clearly split in the middle, and with such a lengthy size, it obviously was no ordinary gun, rather, it used electricity to magnetically propel these deadly flowers of doom into the thickest power armor, tank or mech. A railgun with no equal, Sigma's favored anti-vehicle weaponry.

In an open-field, something firing off with such speed and possessing such devastating power would certainly cleave through any bad surprises possibly waiting for them.

He did not direct a single word towards anyone, moving to a corner and checking the last piece of weaponry he had - a large knife attached to the opposing side of his pistol. Just in case things got too close for comfort.

Katpride:
Curiosity doesn't linger long on the vents or hallway, their eyes drawn, instead, to the inner wall. Oh, that's... very red. It must get really hot in there. The android takes a few pictures before switching the filter off again.

"The rest of the hallway is pretty normal, but the welding is hot. Like, really hot, and it goes way further in than welding typically goes. There must be some pretty advanced heatsinks in there, cause otherwise you guys would probably be burned alive!" She says this in the same cheery tone that she normally uses, smiling brightly. The cooling system must be immaculate. Or maybe the hallway is just insulated very well. But there would still be heat coming from the welding if that were the case. Curiosity doesn't have any external heat-sensors, finding them pretty useless in her day-to-day life, so she wouldn't be able to tell.

"You said there were doors? Let's see if we can find one!" With that, he starts walking further down the hallway, half of his attention on looking for a door and half on recording notes. He doesn't look to see whether the others are following, not accustomed to working in large groups. There doesn't seem to be anything threatening down the hallway, so he should be fine, anyway. Laika hums along in his wake, its LED-light "eyes" moving to the back of its wraparound sensor to look back at the rest of the group as though silently watching them.


HighVoltage:
Gardan's mind raced the second he called attention to Sigma-008. The cold, calculating visage gave him a once-over, giving no recognition to any of the acts he laid claim to. Not that Gardan expected him to know any of it. The Acridi most likely only looked into information that involved him or current contracts. As his low, metallic voice delivered his ultimatum to Gardan, a smirk spread across his face. Of course he wouldn't let him down. Letting down a fucking Acridi usually meant death. As he was the only one left, Gardan waited for his knife to reform before heading back to Rook and Castle.

Surprised to see it all in one piece, he wandered in and immediately grabbed Celine by her shoulder as he walked towards his office. She let out a yelp as he grabbed her, followed him quickly. Gardan's office was simply furnished, almost reminiscent of the cells he spent much of his life escaping. A smooth black desk and a comfortable chair where the only things that filled the space. Even the walls were bare. Sitting at his desk and quickly digging through for papers, Gardan scribbled a few things while the one-eyed redhead stared at him in silence. As he signed the last thing with a flourish, he opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of gloves, slapping them down on his desk.

Celine finally broke the silence. "Why did you bring me in here, sir?" Gardan laughed, shaking his head at the title. She never called him 'sir'.

"Relax, Red, I'm not firing you." The tension in her shoulders lessened slightly. "I'm leaving for a few days, got the itch again." Celine nodded. Of all his workers, she was one of the few who knew of his criminal past. Not that he'd told her on purpose, but after several drinks his tongue had slipped. "It's only mostly illegal, and if I get caught nothing'll get tied back to the restaurant. So you're in charge while I'm gone, got it?" She nodded again, not saying anything. After a few moments of awkward silence he waved a hand and she left the office, most likely headed to the walk-in. Gardan cracked his knuckles and got up out of the chair, tucked the gloves into his belt, and walked out of the restaurant. As he did so, he heard a yelp of joy coming from the walk-in and rolled his eyes. One of these days she was gonna figure out that it wasn't sound-proofed.

Gardan was a tad miffed to see that he was the last one to arrive, but also nearly guffawed when he saw the amount of weaponry Sigma brought. While weaponry and violence were his modus operandi, he apparently had a tendency to go a touch overboard. As they switched to talking about welding and doors, Gardan groaned and opened all his eyes and began scanning the walls. He almost never opened the electromagnetic eye in the Starport, just because the amount of feedback gave him a headache. But at this point, it might help find what they needed.


Rollerblade:
There was no celebration to the corpse in a sack Ollie brought with her. She wasn't surprised though but rather felt something warm and reminiscent in her center. The memories of her world were vague and of her people a mystery in large part. She saw it all though and throughout countless generations, well not countless it did end she just couldn't quite remember when it began in relation to then. Point was many places of residence had such instances, the feast hunted, bought, prepared and the recipients often indifferent until it was ready to eat. They would be grateful later she told herself. She told herself this not paying mind to the fact if they needed it cooked it wasn't going to be her likely. After all she couldn't remember her own address let alone a recipe, unless she just stuck to her address being herself.

That same warm feeling at her center was felt as a hand ran along the walls. The surface was cold but she could feel it. Various devices were likely in place to keep the heat from spreading out, some of it though just came down to good metals though. Something thick enough or well made enough to bare what lay beyond. It reminded Ollie of her own skin both current and old in a way. Like the crust around a planet core but metalic, after all wasn't that what so much of sentience was? Trying to recreate a world so they could call it their own?

"I'd be fine need not worry." She did wonder if her body currently adapting to be like the metal of these walls would endure the heat alone. She got the feeling though that even if her body was destroyed by the heat it wasn't the sort of thing that would kill the core of a world. which wasn't to say she was immortal or indestructible one could even perhaps argue she was dead but this wouldn't rekill her at the very least.

Similarly if one was to scan her they would likely find a similar sort of intense heat and assortment of energies to her. It was why someone in the party experienced what they did at the meeting. Because Ollie was a sort of container for a small fraction of the energies of a world. A walking battery, a living volcano, the various forms of radiation both safe and not in a container. It was a mountain worth of fuels seeking to grow into something the size of a world, housed in a shell the size of an average being.

As for actions the iron maiden moved down the hall. A left hand exploring the wall seeking to try and "know" the place. One might compare it to a navigation system trying to survey the land to better work as a gps. Meanwhile her right hand was open, a fog was around it. A flowing mist of nightly shade that was odd and perhaps menacing to some in image but mostly nothing at the time. All it would take was to close her hand though and the mist would be her signature weapon. Odds were if someone was down the corridor at any given intersection they would go for guns not a blade. Still Ollie wished to go first because she was living cover for others if things did become a mess.

Taking a moment the radiant eyes looked back down the hall. "Are we looking to get closer to the heat source or is your quest away from it?" She wasn't sure about anyone else but even if she could come to know the lay of the land that didn't make her a mind reader knowing if someone wanted to go to the heart or the kidney, or maybe it was go to one coordinate or another most didn't think of places as apart of a body.


illirica:
"Doors, yes." A very fine idea, as far as Brendan was concerned. Curiosity certainly had the right sort of mind for science! Metaphorically and artificially speaking, of course, but he didn't judge that sort of thing. Some of his best friends were computers... and not even intelligent ones, either. Perhaps this said more about Brendan's lack of a social life than his lack of prejudice, though.

"Doors... doors... doors." He wandered down the curving hallway. There were a number of doors along the outer wall. He opened a few: one room that was more or less empty, one room that was filled with various storage crates with labels like 'living room decor' and 'clocks,' and one room that contained... cleaning supplies. None of these seemed particularly meaningful to science, although it was always good to know where the cleaning supplies were in case science got away from you. "Doors." Another expostulation, as he looked at the smooth inner wall, then back at the outer wall.

He finished his circuit. The curvature of the hall did, indeed, come back to itself, meaning that after a little walk, he was back where he had begun. He pointed to the outer wall - "Doors" - and then the inner - "No doors!"

Science! Of course, it was the inner... area? - that they were interested in. He wasn't sure if 'chamber' was the right term if it didn't have a door. Ollie was asking if they wanted to get closer, which was the sort of question that Brendan thought had a very obvious answer and didn't need to be asked at all... and also the sort of question that his supervisors tended to ask right before something exploded or caught on fire. Perhaps he should be a little more... cautious, this time. Brendan looked to his assembled group. "Now what?"


Katpride:
Curiosity follows Brendan as he makes a loop of the corridor, peeking over his shoulder into the rooms. Hmm. It doesn't look like the outer doors will be of much help, they don't see any other passageways within them. Unless the passageways are secret and sneakily hidden, but they would rather just get straight to the Science rather than continuing the search.

"If we can't find a door, maybe we can make one!" Curiosity is already digging through her bag as she says this, looking for her tools. After a second she unearths what appears to be a mix between a welding torch and a laser gun. It's a bulky, heavily modified laser pistol with three buttons on one side and a few different dials on the other. With the press of a button, a short spout of flame shoots from the tip of the pistol, before she turns it off again. She doesn't want to use up the fuel before she actually needs it.

"Now, I'm not an engineer or anything, but I think we can get through at least this outer layer." He raps a metal fist against the wall as he refers to it, trying to determine how thick it is. "There should be crawlspace for maintenance, if we're lucky, and then we can see the inner workings better."

Flicking on the heat-mapping filter again, Curiosity runs a curious eye over their assembled group, taking mental notes on their ambient temperatures. Ollie in particular is interesting, and they would love to investigate her more but right now there is an adventure afoot. They also check the hallway once more, looking for any sneaky air currents that might indicate a hidden entrance along the inner curve.

illirica:
The welding in the walls pulsed. What information they conveyed to Ollie might have been entirely her own conjecture, or there might have been something there, a rudimentary form of understanding. The movements, though, seemed quicker now - tighter, more intense. Certainly, something was reacting to all of this, one way or another. If Ollie felt after her brief conversation that whatever-it-was had been soothed, that may have been entirely made up.

Or it might not have.

For a moment there was nothing, as the more flammable members of the group sought shelter, leaving behind Ollie and Curiosity. The latter was all questions, as was to be expected. Whether or not Ollie had answers, it seemed like she was focused now on the wall in front of her, and the blade she carried. The tip of the sword parted the wall, and heat spilled out - intense, all-consuming. It filled the ring-corridor, bringing the temperature up well past the point where most life could be sustained, but the station seemed secure against it going any further - those within the other room would be fine.

Slowly, the heat began to fade, but it would be some minutes before it returned to normal levels at the least. The wall hadn't resisted being parted - the blade had slipped right through, opening a cut, moving her blade enough that a rudimentary "doorway" could be developed. As they had expected, there was a room within that hadn't been accessible before. For now, most of what was there was thermal energy. Lines of welding came inward from the outer chamber, not just along the floor and the ceiling, but through the open space, like spiderwebs.

In the center of the room was what looked to be a lump of very hot metal, to which the thermal welds were attached.


Rollerblade:
"Many places are alive are they not? The wires are the veins, electricity the rivers. What is a battery if not a heart? That doesn't mean you speak the language though. I'm a trespasser maybe I just think I know what's being said. But yes I would say I do and they talk to me." Actual scientists might have compared it more to empathy or some symbiotic relationship probably. The life forms usually had more quantifiable terms and explanations for these things. She was not a scientist though, she was a place.

And she said all this with a casual tone as if just maintaining conversation. Even though it was done as her sword cut at metal. As slowly heat escaped from its container and flowed into the room.

She felt soothed for a time as it washed over her skin. It reminded her of home, or perhaps more specifically when she was the core of a world. A home to a now dead race. Then though it started to hurt, the metal she was now was not her the real her. It was a casing and it had its limitations. It began to glow somewhere between silver and orange as the heat escaped more. "I should have picked another metal, if this was any hotter I'd be dripping."

She wasn't fond of that sensation. That feeling of melting, of ones self cascading off of themself. Better her then the squishy ones though. They didn't spring back as quickly most times. At any rate eventually the way was clear a new door having been made. There was a spider web of welding lines and Ollie pointed to them briefly. "Tell me those don't look like veins. Hey can I take a piece of this?" Of course she knew most of them likely just wanted to study it. She had other goals though, and sometimes a planet needed to eat to.


Katpride:
Though they had known about and anticipated the heat, Curiosity wasn't quite prepared for the reality of it. As the temperature of the hallway rapidly rises, so too does the temperature of their external metal, turning orange-hot in the android equivalent of a bad sunburn. They are suddenly very grateful that they don't have external heat sensors, because if they did they would be frying right now. As it is, a little warning blinks in the corner of their vision, and they glance at it briefly as they continue to cut through the wall.

[Warning: Heat levels unsuitable for organic life. Subroutine activated. Cooling chassis interior... Regulating internal temperature... Reinforcing wire insulation...]

Well, that sounds good. Reasonably assured that she won't be melting into a little puddle today, Curiosity blinks out of the text even as it continues to scroll and returns most of her attention to her conversation, pondering Ollie's words. "I see what you mean. After all, that's kind of how androids work, so I guess it could also apply to places. Huh. I never thought about it that way." It would be nice to talk to places, but Curiosity doesn't feel too bitter about it. She would much rather talk to people.

Finally, the doorway is open, the slab of metal falling inward to reveal a room. Curiosity lowers his pistol and looks into the room, taking in the lines of welding and the hot lump of metal in the center. Is that what's been giving off so much heat?

Rollerblade wrote: ↑
Wed Jan 13, 2021 9:23 am
"Tell me those don't look like veins. Hey can I take a piece of this?"

"Yeah, they kind of do." It's a little weird that the welding isn't just... you know, holding two pieces of metal together. Curiosity is pretty sure that this isn't how welding is supposed to act. Again, the organic appearance and behavior intrigues them. Is the lump the core of this place? Is that what's making everything move? They can't quite shake the feeling that, whatever it is, it's going to spontaneously decide that it doesn't want them there. That would be a fun twist, if it jumped up and started hassling them. Is it moving?

Before she goes to get a closer look, though, Curiosity looks up at the closest welding line, the one Ollie pointed to. "I don't see why not. If you do cut it down, could I have some to study?" It doesn't look like the lines are supporting anything, after all. Surely just taking a little couldn't hurt. She's sure Brendan would want some, even if she isn't able to figure it out herself.

"Are we supposed to be waiting for the others before we investigate?" Curiosity thinks to ask, glancing back down the hallway at the door they came through. Then at the lump in the room they've opened. The heat should go back to normal soon enough, but they itch to investigate now.


illirica:
If Ollie did have some way of communicating with places and wasn't just deluding herself, the time at which she inquired whether or not she could have a little piece of the starport system, she would get a response that was very much a negative. Indeed, the very webworking seemed to clench up a little, inasmuch as such a thing could happen - almost as if whatever it was very much did not want to be eaten.

It didn't much seem to like Curiosity's idea of hacking off a bit to study, either, for that matter. The heat in the room was, indeed, dissipating slowly. It was still hot, but dropping down into mere hundreds of degrees, rather than thousands.

In the center of the room, the lump of metal quivered. Unlike the vague pulsations of the weld-works that one had to question whether or not anything was really happening, this was entirely visible to the eye - or, in the case of the robot and the space-place, whatever optical senses they had in place of those. It quivered again, shaking a little, and one of the connecting welds dropped off, falling down unused while the others continued to pulse.

A few seconds later, there was another contraction, and another release of a couple more welds.


Rollerblade:
For a moment her eyes widened, she remembered. Not the fugu clouded recollection she usually had but something more solid. It was so long ago, the kind of time one didn't measure in simple lunar cycles. The kind of time small even to the orbit about a sun. There was a people, a race looking to hunt. They couldn't track the beasts though that ran along her skin and continue to live in a cave. They needed a refuge from the environment that was more mobile. And so as many races had done on other worlds before and many would in the future they invented "tents" different names perhaps but basic ideas were there. And the method used was digging and sinking materials into the planet surface.

They didn't just explore her, now they left marks they bit at her and took of her beyond the original parameters set. It was the first memory of pain, and she knew now she had come to know much more of it. Taking from this place was she could feel it closer to the deeper cuts she still could only remember as a haze. What mattered to Ollie though was, she was right.

If she took of the welding, perhaps of the makeshift door or ideally of the metal stone in the center she could feel more whole. She was a broken and incomplete thing, this place didn't want to hurt, but that pain was Ollie's survival. Her next step in restoration to being a world. It may have been greedy but how far would one go to stay alive?

"It doesn't want us to take of this. As we continue I would expect antibodies." Maybe that didn't need saying but it was where the mind of Ollie's went. That the research, that her needs meant they would likely continue regardless. Way the stone rumbled and welding fell though it was going to respond. She didn't know if the station had its own measures, or if it would be some staff who worked here but she expected counter measures of some kind. She felt like Iota was more alive then her, more prepared. Like a healthy prey ready to run or try and fight against a wounded predator.

She wasn't in charge though so for now she scooped up the falling rope like bundles of welding. A food source shaken free rather then ripped away. "Not to rush anyone but if you won't melt now would you mind grabbing what you can and or came for?" She didn't know how long she had been a world and knew her time as this place rather then her rightful place wasn't long. What she did know though was patience, she didn't mind waiting if need be. She also was in a state of survival though and knew the wayward group could maybe use being more alert or on the move.