Old School — Legacy Forums — Strolen's Citadel

Re: Old School

#241

Anya spoke up, silent to that point.

"No Carnegie, my shot killed _it_, whatever it was. I don't think I killed a person there. Those eyes were empty before I shot them."

It'll happen someday, poor Carnegie. This world is too harsh for that.

Re: Old School

#242

Asha squeezed her companions shoulder reassuringly, Ayna's interjection cutting her her response as it poised on the edge of her tongue. She turned and gave the sniper a grateful smile as helping ease Carnegie's burden. "That thing was long dead, just a machine crammed inside a corpse, none of us can rightly claimed to have killed something that wasn't living to begin with." She reassured her, the sight of the machine riddled corpse making her recoil mentally.

"Let's hope who, or whatever made that thing and the robot dog we killed yesterday is long since pass on." She grabbed the vest and gauged it's weight, before tossing it to Marcus with a shrug. "You like to get all up an personal with problems, chances are you'll need that more than we will."

I may find you disagreeable on a personal level, but the fact of the matter is the town needs you, and we need you, so making sure you stay this side of the reapers blade is in all our bests interests, for now at least.

Re: Old School

#243

Carny found herself nodding gratefully, with a weak smile for both of the women. Anya ought to know, being an ex soldier after all. And Asha... she wasn't sure, but she knew few people had been fortunate enough to grow up as sheltered as she herself had. Heavenly Haven hadn't been free of death or violence, but if something happened it had been dealt with quietly and discreetly, away from the eyes of children and those of frail nerves. The christ cult wasn't really clear on how that kind of thing was supposed to be viewed. On the one hand it said something about eye for an eye, but at the same time it contradicted itself by saying turn the other cheek and something about throwing stones only if you wasn't the kind of person who would throw stones in the first place, and that's not even mentioning some of the more obscure holy pamphlets saying things like insert plug A into port B and only use the device in ambient temperatures of 41 - 95 degrees. Still, she vowed to herself that she would not ever kill anything human if she could help it.

She adjusted the shoulder strap on her rifle and stepped outside waiting for the others to finish divying up the spoils. She looked down the corridor. They might as well continue down the same one, she figured. The door on the opposite side of the locker room didn't have an apparent way of opening it, odds were it could only be opened from elsewhere. The strange thing was, she hadn't seen any cctv cameras, but that didn't mean there weren't any, and lord knew how far sound could travel in these metallic corridors. No doubt whatever was left out there, was waiting for them.

Re: Old School

#244

Asha gave a short nod of agreement, stepping past her to take a slight lead, her Glock held in a low ready position. "Whatever is waiting for us no doubt heard the gunfire, but if the machine man is any judge of the inhabitants I would guess finding a sane, or alive person in here is unlikely." She waited patiently for Marcus to don the vest, taking a swing from her canteen to wash the taste of cordite from her mouth.

"If this place can be secured and restored a bit it may make a suitable place for our townsfolk to shelter in the event of danger, or a particularly harsh winter." She paused for a second as she realized yet again she had referred to the town as ours, not theirs, realizing that already she was growing attached to the place, even with its dangers and oddities.

Keep going and others will be calling me a actual towns member before long, but compared to the pest hole I came from this isn't half bad at all, at the very least the baron seems agreeable and his sec men are the kind of people I can trust and come to call friend, perhaps even more in time.

Re: Old School

#245

Carnegie's loyal canine stuck close to her heels, the gloom of the underground labyrinth a unsettling mystery, but one his master seemed intent on exploring, panting contentedly as he sensed her unease and unhappiness fading.

Re: Old School

#246

Ayna adjusted the twenty plus pound rifle on her shoulder, quietly regretting carrying it into such confined quarters, but accepting there was little she could do about it now. With a sigh she turned and helped Marcus adjust the armored vest to his bulky frame, drawing her pistol and taking up a rear guard position as they continued down the corridor.

(at the GM's request I am temporarily taking over Ayna, and will be posting for her until such time as her player returns.)

-Lady Wolf :moon:

Re: Old School

#247

Marcus was unusually quiet as the ladies helped suit him up. It was not too difficult - it seemed whoever wore it last was not much smaller than the barbarian.

They exited the Armory and back into the hallway. The door opposite revealed no hints as to its contents - any sign it may have had was missing. It did have a keyhole though.

Marcus eyed the door holding his ax, but figured if it was as thick as the armory door he might break his ax before breaching it. He grabbed the door handle and tried to open it.
Of course it was locked - it didn't even budge. Everything in this place was built thick and strong.

Carnegie shrugged and made to continue down the hall, Elvis in tow.

Re: Old School

#248

The hallway had a layer of dust that had been disturbed - apparently recently. Two more locked doors on either side, no keycards. Then a short set of stairs dropping into a much larger room, extending out further than the torch's light could reach.

Asha's eyes could reach out further, actually able to use the torch's light to better use than her companions. Room was probably 50' square. A couple openings on the north wall (left), tables here and there in the room and some odd machines against the east wall (ahead).

She noticed it was getting brighter in here, and looked up. Panels on the ceiling began to glow, and it wasn't long until her companions could see better in the room. The ceiling was fairly high up - maybe 20'.

It was obviously some sort of giant kitchen - table, chairs, plates and utensils scattered about. The machines she saw earlier started to show small lights coming on.

At that moment, a humanoid figure emerged from one of the North doorways, about 40' distant. Just an outline at this moment.

Re: Old School

#249

Asha raised her pistol, training it on the humanoid silhouette as she flattened herself against the wall. Cautiously she raised her voice and called out, just in case it was a person and not another corpse bot, ready to begin firing if it proved hostile. "Hello? Identify yourself!"

Re: Old School

#250

Startled, Carnegie quickly raised her rifle and looked through the scope at the figure.

I'll take a perception check, +7 +2 for scope (+9)

Re: Old School

#251

The metallic figure seemed to flinch at Asha's voice and put its hands up.

"Apologies, Madam." it said in a clearly artificial voice. "Would any of you require some refreshments? Darts? Cards? I apologize for the mess, but the maintenance robot has been reassigned."

The robot had stepped a little closer but had stopped, hands still up.

Marcus growled and looked ready to charge it.

Re: Old School

#252

Ayna froze as the robotic voice echoed through the room, searching for cover before deciding to kneel down and aim her pistol at the servant, the words putting her at ease. "I don't think it's dangerous." She told her friends, looking over at Marcus and shaking her head. "Axing electrical things will get your ass fried sooner or later."

Re: Old School

#253

Elvish growled in warning as the familiar scent of machinery and the noise of robotics assaulted his senses, the obviously inhuman voice making him bark a challenge and advance a couple steps in front of his master, ready to defend her from this latest possible threat.

Re: Old School

#254

Carnegie lowered her rifle and put a hand on Marcus's arm, she silently shook her head. Watching the robot with a mixture of awe and suspicion.
"Elvis, heel." She said in a hushed but sharp tone.

Re: Old School

#255

Asha lowered her pistol and holstered it, the mechanical voice of the robo butler striking her as both amusing and saddening at the same time, a lone servant catering to ghosts for untold ages. With slight hesitation she approached the machine, partially dreading it would turn out to be another cyber animated corpse, speaking slowly but loud enough for her voice to carry across the room.

"Refreshments sound great, but first tell us how long has it been since you've served anyone in this place?" Almost as an after thought she added, "What exactly is this place anyway?"

Re: Old School

#256

The robot visibly relaxed when Ashas' gun was hostered and lowered its hands, crossing them in front of it self.

"I am afraid my visitor log has been purged. My original install date is 47 years, 6 months, 3 days, 12 hours 15 minutes and 16 seconds, warranty period has been exceeded by 27 years. Visitor log retention period is 400 days."

"This place is the Level 1 Recreation Room, designed by Adreacorp to provide services for up to 60 individuals. Due to system failures only analog entertainments are currently available, though a priority request for repairs has been logged with the main system. Warm food preparation is unavailable due to supply wastage and unavailability of kitchen staff, however some ready to eat options are available. Premium features require elevated credentials."

Marcus just stared at the thing. He had never heard a machine speak before. Like as not none of the others had as well. While speaking, the robot only displayed the most rough approximations of body language, and it was clear some of its joints had problems.

Re: Old School

#257

Asha let out a low whistle at the time reference, realizing if the robot spoke the truth the place was more of a tomb now than anything. "Can you direct us to the barons office?" She paused as she realized the word baron likely was a foreign concept to the machine. "Your leader, commander, chief, the office of the person in charge." She clarified, hoping there they could acquire higher level access and perhaps find an intact map of the facility so they could better figure out their next move.

She turned to her friends and spoke lower, "The cyber dog came from here so it could be there's some kind of automated factory or something making those? or maybe it was a guard animal that just got loose? Getting to the commanders room might let us get enough clearance to find the answers."

Re: Old School

#258

With a slight whine of protest he quickly returned to his masters side, standing alert and sniffing the air, the thing that was not alive yet spoke in the language of the two legged ones filling him with uncertainty and unease, his instincts telling him it was not to be trusted, yet his master seemed more in awe than fear.

Re: Old School

#259

Ayna remained silent and began circling the machine slowly, hoping to flank it should a fight become necessary, letting Asha hold its attention as she took up a more offensive position, although by the sounds of it the machine posed little thread, a construct meant to promote laziness among the places inhabitants, no wonder they died out she thought derisively, nodding in approval to the rest of the group as she awaited the answer to Asha's interrogation.

Re: Old School

#260

"Baron? I am afraid I do not understand that title, but the Chief Administrators office can be found on level 3, room 21. You will need to make an appointment with his administrative assistant.
Unfortunately, the kiosk needed to book such an appointment from this level is non-operative. A repair request has been issued but is pending. You will need to make this appointment either in person, or possibly with the Level 2 kiosk."

The robot started to prepare a table, removing old tableware, plastic packaging and disposable cutlery.

Re: Old School

#261

Carny just blinked. "Dat's sum fancy talkin bot..." She mumbled. Services for 60 people, and at least 3 levels, this place was huge! "Uhm s-scuse me mister... robot sir, how d'we get ta level 3? Issit up or down? ... Mabbe you could tajk us dere? Uh...a-after...we eat, Ah Guess..." Her words trailed off as she looked at the others and shrugged with a nervous giggle.

She slung her rifle onto her back and went to help the robot set the table, they were guests here after all...Sort of.

"Uhm uh A-ahm Carnegie by de way, d'you....'ave a name?" She asked the fascinating construct. It talked like a human at least.

Re: Old School

#262

Elvis whined uncertainly, lifting a leg and marking the nearest chair, the desire to claim his territory as much a cause of instinct as nervousness. With a sniff at the air he slowly circled the room, poking his nose into dusty corners and familiarizing himself with the envrions, his masters unease keeping him from sitting comfortably.

Re: Old School

#263

Ayna holstered her pistol and joined the others at the table, shaking her head at the amazement of it, a question tickling the back of her mind. "Wait up now, if they had the ability to make fake people like this one, why did they go and use a corpse for the janitor security guy? It doesn't make sense." She looked at the robot and voiced a question of her own. "What happened to the original occupants of this facility? Did they leave behind any messages or warnings?"

Re: Old School

#264

Marcus wanted to trash the robot - there was something wrong about it. Maybe later..

The robot continued to putter and began to move towards the machines against the wall.

"We are on level 1. Level 3 is two levels beneath us. Closest access to Level 3 is via the Elevator at the end of the hallway through that door." The robot pointed to the other doorway on the north wall he hadn't entered through.

"I am assigned to this room and cannot leave without orders from an Administrator."

"My designation in YSN-456723 dot 12."

The robot brought over a number of what appeared to be sandwiches in plastic, several sealed cans of some beverage label 'SuperFuzzyDrink3.60' and what appeared to be some brownies also in clear plastic. All appeared to be okay - no signs of fungus or rot.

"I am afraid my visitor log has been purged. My original install date is 47 years, 6 months, 3 days, 12 hours 15 minutes and 16 seconds, warranty period has been exceeded by 27 years. Visitor log retention period is 400 days." the robot said in response to Anya's question.

Re: Old School

#265

Carnegie took a seat and opened a sandwich pack, she took a nibble and looked at Anya. She shuddered at the thought of the janitor-made-bot. To distract herself she reached for a can. "Hmm...Ah think Ah'll jess call you Dot12, iffin you don't majnd." She smiled at the robot, but was startled back to the can as a fizzy fountain enveloped her hands with sticky soda. She blushed and sucked desperately at the can trying to contain her fumble. What was this, it tickled her nose as she drank it! "Uhm, w-what is dis stuff..? Never had a soda do dat afore. It tastes kanjda funny, did et go bad?"

I dunno if soda would actually stay fizzy for that long, probably not but since the food is so well preserved...

She looked around and frowned, she bent down. "...Elvis! What are ye doin?! Bad dog!" She whispered harshly. She could understand his confusion, this place was huge, but they were technically indoors, and in someone else's home no less... Or it could be like a ruin, she wasn't sure yet. She gestured for him to take his place at her feet, but there would be no treat for him now!

She winced and looked at the robot but he didn't seem to care much. She still wasn't sure how to designate him. He could understand them and he could talk, but he also seemed awfully repetitive, still she had met a lot of...original people in her days. "Sorry bout dat...'e must be feelin nervous..." She mumbled.

"So uhm, iffin those logs 'ave been cleared n'd wut not, how d'ye know who de administrater is, mister Dot12?" She asked out loud, then she leaned forward and whispered at Asha. "D'ye wanna tajk 'im wit us? Mabbe we coudd be 'is new administraters."

Re: Old School

#266

Amazingly the soda is fully carbonated. The miracle of Prior Science!

"An Administrator is a person member with Administrator clearance." The robot completely ignored Elvis's antics.

Another machine emerged from the same doorway Dot12 had entered from. Unlike the silver-metallic humanoid form of Dot12, this robot looked like a mild-steel shelled wheeled footstool.
The sound of brushing accompanied it as it began to scrub the floor.

At this point, the lighting had grown to the point that all shadows were eliminated.

Re: Old School

#267

Asha ate slowly, finding the pre-packeged food unusual, but surprisingly edible, discreetly holding down a few pieces of her sandwich for Elvis, the odd bubbling liquid at first making her suspect it was near the boiling point before a cautious finger touch assured her it was certainly not the case.

She shook her head at Carnegie's suggest the bring the robot with them, "It would prove helpful but I think they run off bigger batteries than you have in your packs, and it would certainly draw a lot of attention, assuming it's capable of operating outside this... Place."

She shrugged and eyed the cleaning robot with curiosity, "That thing however would be great at the inn, help her keep the place all ship shape, if we can figure out how it's powered." She bit into the brownie and smiled, the rush of chocolate and sugar a welcome surprise. "How many more of these do you have dot 12? I think I just found my new favorite ration for the road."

She grinned and knocked back more fo the carbonated beverage. "Once we're done lets see if we can find this admin office and get some higher clearance, I wonder..." She turned to dot 12 again, "Is there a map of the place for visitors? We don't want to get lost and wander into any his sec areas by accident."

Re: Old School

#268

Ayna picked at the food hesitantly, the strangeness of the meal and oddness of the circumstances in which it was served to say nothing of the recent conflict curbing her appetite. "Is there a doctors place here?" She asked the machine quietly, looking over at her friends and speaking softer. "A sawbones office might have more medications and a book stating what it all does, having some fresh meds for the town could come in handy if more trouble shows up and I don;t see the docs being a security area like an armory."

Re: Old School

#269

Content at the intermittent offering of food Elvis laying quietly at Carnegie's feet, licking the side of Asha's hand every few moments to remind her he was still hungry. The metallic scents and even stranger food smells were foreign to him, and the nervous energy of his pack kept him from relaxing completely, the near by arrival of the cleaning robot causing him to eye it uneasily and growl softly in warning before deciding it posed no immediate threat to any of them and smelled like nothing remotely edible.

Re: Old School

#270

"It would prove helpful but I think they run off bigger batteries than you have in your packs, and it would certainly draw a lot of attention, assuming it's capable of operating outside this... Place."

Continuing in a hushed tone, Carnegie replied.
"Oh, no... Ah meant inside 'ere, s'long as we're 'ere... We coudd use a guide. Ah dunno iffin 'e'd wanna leave. But iffin it comes ta dat, we'll ask 'im."

With the appearance of the clean bot, Carny had reached for her glock, but seeing it pose no apparent threat, she relaxed a little.

"A sawbones office might have more medications and a book stating what it all does, having some fresh meds for the town could come in handy if more trouble shows up and I don;t see the docs being a security area like an armory."

Carnegie turned to Anya.
"Dat's a great idear! We uhm still got those pill bottles n'd all, we coudd do wit finding out what they're good for..." She looked at Asha.

The admin's office or the doctor's. If they split up they could cover more in less time, but at a greater risk... Even though this place seemed cheery by comparison to before, there was still a lingering feeling she couldn't shake. It wasn't quite like being hunted, but something akin to being in the den of a bear, with no idea where the bear was.
And hadn't it gotten brighter all of a sudden? They hadn't touched any switches or anything, so why... They couldn't be alone in here, someone had used the access cards on the door and someone had wiped the memory of the bot, and then there was.... No, she didn't want to think about that...thing. In either case, a map would help immensely in helping them decide what to do next, so that was priority one as far as she was concerned.

Re: Old School

#271

"Medical facilities are located on Levels 2 and 6, with the primary facility on level 5."

"This facility is not equipped to handle visitors. I am unable to reach the primary communications network - map not found."

The robot picked up the waste material from the meal and disappeared back through its doorway, leaving the scrubbing bot to get the floor scrubbed clean.

Re: Old School

#272

Asha rose to her feet and brushed the crumbs from her fingers before pulling her gloves back on, giving a nod to her comrades, "Let's get going, if we bring the robot guy with us he might alert security when we start forcing doors and otherwise accessing places we're not authorized to." She shook her head at the apparent size of the facility, "At least six levels, this place is huge, it could hold the entire town and then some, still, I wonder what happened to the original residents? Do any of you know how Kenebac got it's start? Could be refugees from this place settled on the surface for some reason?"

She turned and gestured to the beckoning hallway ahead, adjusting her sunglasses against the glare, "If you want to take the lead Marcus say the word, otherwise I'll do it."

Re: Old School

#273

With a shrug she tossed the rest of her sandwich to Elvis, shouldering her rifle and sighing, "Next time we head underground remind me to leave the 30lb sniper cannon at home eh?" Her comment wasn't directed at anyone specific, but the bulk and weight of the rifle was beginning to take it's toll. "If there's an armory here maybe I can find a lighter caliber sniper rifle in .7.62 or .308 for situations like this."

Re: Old School

#274

Panting happily Elvis helped himself to the offered sandwich,licking at stay crumbs on the floor before growling at the approach of the automated cleaning bot, looking up at Carnegie for guidance.

Re: Old School

#275

"At least six levels, this place is huge, it could hold the entire town and then some, still, I wonder what happened to the original residents? Do any of you know how Kenebac got it's start? Could be refugees from this place settled on the surface for some reason?"

Carny shrugged in response, she looked at the others. Could be that Luc had told her at some point, but if he had, she couldn't really remember. She finished her brownie and got up.

-

Carnegie frowned and crossed her arms at Anya. How was she supposed to train this dog when her efforts were being undermined, pee inside and you get a treat? Training a dog involves consistency and discipline. Something a soldier should have known something about. She shook her head, she shouldn't even be here, what's a hunter doing underground anyways. Why did she get roped into this, and who would be supplying the town with meat with her running around playing explorer. This wasn't her kind of enviroment. She shrugged her rifle into place, head down, lost in her own thoughts, she followed wherever they decided to go, gesturing Elvis at her side.

She remembered to wave goodbye to Dot12.

Re: Old School

#276

Marcus paused for a moment, then decided. "Sure, I'll take point. Don't trip over yourselves back there."

Marcus headed for the second doorway, near where the robots came in. "The nearest 'Elevator' he said was through here, " Marcus said by way of explanation. It was clear that like most of the others that an Elevator was not a familiar concept to him.

As they left the cafeteria, Carnegie looked back at Dot12 and waved. The machine waved back, its hand rotating 90° on its wrist.

Interestingly enough, the hallway beyond was partially lit by dim, slightly greenish panels in the ceiling, and was fairly clear of debris. They passed four locked doors - two on either side that bore numbers - 1-R12, 1-R13, 1-R14 & R1-15 and came to a large square room. The room had 3 doorways, one directly ahead with what appeared to be two sliding doors and a small control panel with a blue lit button on it, and two on either side. Above the sliding doors was another light, currently a dim white and a sign reading ‘ELEVATOR 1-4’.

Again, Elvis’s sharp ears picked out a noise in the distance, though it was too far to get a clear picture. Too far away for it to be the funny machines they just encountered, but loud enough for him to hear.

Re: Old School

#277

There should be a stair well around here somewhere for people to move between levels," She paused long enough to remove her sunglasses, grateful for the gloomy interior lighting in this area. "I can imagine people in a place like this getting lost, maybe they have some kind of interior street signs painted on the walls somewhere pointing people to the Admin office, armory, medical area and the like?" As she spoke she scanned the walls, hoping to find a you are here type of map, or even just plaques with arrows leading in various directions.

Re: Old School

#278

Elvis whined uncertainly, pricking his ears at the distant sounds, the noises unfamiliar to him, but not immediately threatening, the scents in this area of the complex older, less frequented by living things than other places. He kept close to Carnegie's side, scenting the air cautiously, his claws faintly clicking on the tiled flooring as they journeyed deeper into the complex.

Re: Old School

#279

She shrugged indifferently at Carnegie's frown, "Where I came from wasting food was the last thing you ever did, and down here who knows when he'll get another chance to eat? I figured he deserved it more than the trash bin."

She rolled her eyes at Marcu's commentary, "Is it the inbreeding that makes you so rude all the time, or do you see some benefit to pissing off the people watching your back?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she trailed behind at the end of the group, keeping an eye on their six, ready to drop the rifle and draw her pistol should anything dangerous appear.

Re: Old School

#280

Asha scanned the walls while Ayna and Marcus verbally sparred. Any signs seemed to escape her, but then she noticed that over the two side doors was a faded place where perhaps a sign once sat.

Elvis picked up more sounds now, footsteps moving quickly but quietly. No new scents, but the air moved little here.

The side doors had simple loop handles and the hinges were clearly visible.

Behind them, they could faintly hear a voice - sounded like Dot12. "Welcome Sirs! May I off--"

Elvis heard an odd snapping noise, and something hit the floor, but not hard.

Marcus had already wheeled about to present his shield to the rear, axe in hand.