Brotherhood of the Machine (IC Thread) [PG/14] {02}

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx gave a critical eye to the proffered first-aid kit. He said, "I don't need any of whatever that crap is. I've had much worse happen to me before, and I just shrugged it off and kept on going. Like this." Jexx then pointed his left handcannon at his own side, on the wound. He took a deep breath, the blasted his own side with a small and very low-power burst. He yelled out and grunted in pain for a moment, but then quieted. The small area around the wound was now burned a bit, but on the plus side, there was no more bleeding, as the wound had been completely sealed up.
   "That'll do." Jexx said. He then realized that Dorcan had tried to ask him about something before he noticed Jexx's wound, but Jexx didn't hear what it was exactly, and mentally dismissed it as unimportant if Dorcan was distracted from it so easily.

[Tapewolf]

The doberman jumped back in alarm, his headwings fanning out.  Holy f...! he thought and turned to the soldier.
"Is that normal for the people on your planet?" he asked doubtfully.

[Ryudo Lee]

The soldier shrugged.
"For him, maybe.  But he did cauterize the wound.  If he's good to go, then we can get moving again, and he can see your doctor when we get back to base." He said.
Though he didn't say it, but he was thinking it, headwings aren't normal for people on this planet.

[Tapewolf]

Back when Dorcan was made of flesh and magic, he might have been affronted by the soldier's mental comment.  Now, he was completely oblivious.

"Okay, he said.  We've got an intersection coming up.  First question... is anyone aware of any other big Brotherhood installations?  If so, it might be an idea to head towards those if we can.  If not, I say we go straight on.  Any objections?"

He turned to Jexx.

[techmaster-glitch]

   "Hey, just so long as we head towards the Brotherhood of the Mother-Effers-" Jexx said, "You'll get no objection from me. You point, I shoot. It's that simple." He said with another one of his disturbing psychotic smiles.

[Ryudo Lee]

The tech already had a map of the town on his laptop screen.
"Doesn't look like we're going to run into any other installations.  Maybe that little shed was the only access point for these tunnels.  Let's keep moving to the middle.  That should be where these cables intersect." He says.

[Tapewolf]

"Oh, I didn't know you had a map," Dorcan said, picking raising his metal pole before him.  "Well, I guess that settles it.  Lead on Jexx..."

[techmaster-glitch]

   "Of course..." Jexx said. Still with that deranged psychotic smile on his face, he held his handcannons up at full ready and started down the tunnel, the others following behind him.

[Tapewolf]

Prepared for it this time, and unencumbered by a scope plugged into a partially-dismantled junction box, Dorcan kept pace with Jexx, although he maintained his distance.

"How far to the middle?"  He asked the tech casually.

[Ryudo Lee]

The tech tapped on his laptop and mumbled something unintelligible.
"Err... we shouldn't be far now." He says.

Back at camp...
The whitecoats were working diligently in the mobile lab on the chip that Sally had pulled out.  One of them came out, looking fatigued.  The sarge approached him.
"Well?  Any news?" He asked.
"We're running a battery of tests, but I think we're getting close to figuring these things out.  We should be done soon." The whitecoat replied.
"Well it ain't soon enough.  Come on, we got people to save." The sarge said.

[Tapewolf]

What's he mumbling? Dorcan wondered suspiciously.  Did he just notice that I don't need to breathe?  If so, I might have to... wait!  'Cubi don't need to breathe anyway!  Okay, so I never quite got to that power level before I died, but they don't need to know that.

Relieved, he smiled to himself and looked curiously at Jexx.  I'm sure those markings were glowing just now...

[techmaster-glitch]

   After walking down the tunnel, Jexx heard Dorcan converse briefly with the tech for a moment. Being in the front, Jexx was basically responsible for seeing dangers up ahead.
   And he did. The light from his handcannons shone down the tunnel and fell on yet another turret, silently whirring in it's holder, sanning for the intruders. Jexx picked up his pace to a jog, then stopped suddenly at what he judged to be a little bit outside the turret's range. "Stop!" Jexx said, holding up one handcannon.
   Jexx then focused on the turret, watching it's movements carefully. He didn't even realize that he had plowed right through turrets earlier. He settled into a position not unlike the starting position for a marathon runner. His markings were indeed glowing soflty, but Jexx didn't seem to notice. He continued watchiong the turret, waiting for the right moment...
   Now! Jexx then took off like a runner towards the turret at the moment it was turning away the most. It picked him up and started turning back, but Jexx had already let loose a small burst of plasma balls, melting parts of the turret. At the last moment though, Jexx jumped up, morphing his handcannons into hands almost instantly, grabbed the turret, and ripped the whole damn thing off the ceiling. When it was on the ground, he repeatedly jumped on it with his heavy metal feet, slowly crushing it into scrap metal. "Eat that, you son-of-a-gun! Yah-ha!"
   He turned back towards the others, any unnatural glowing fading the moment he faced them. "Clear!" he called back, then leaned up against the wall to wait for them.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Dr Sally checks on Bill, the security guard, who is still out after the warbot bop him on the head.  The man was doing okay, as she check him with her medical scanner and the chip was still inactive.  It showed no sign of activity or impulses.

Now, the real test, Dr Sally tries her own magical scan of Bill, and she touches Bill's neck and probes with  her magic.  Everything was healing normally in Bill and he would a waken into another hour.  The chip feels like malice to Sally with her magical touch.   It wants control of Bill and everything else.  Its red LED eyes turn to Sally....with a evil grin      With a squeak, Sally pulls out of her trace/scan of Bill.  Sally you are just imagining things she thought to herself with her eyes closed. 

"So that's it, Do you have some witch power there? Sally" says Chad.
"eeep" shouts Sally, as she see Chad standing there, looking at her strangely.

PBH                                                                                                                                                                               

[lucas marcone]

Josh lets out a long yawn. "So Morgan, Eraser, I don't know much bout you guys. Care to share?"

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"I I I I  have to report to the scout team...." says Sally

"Sally, you have to talk to em sooner or later" says Chad annoyed... " I just saw you just stare at that guy's head bump and it just faded away."

"Stop, Chad.. I will tell you but I need to talk to my team, first.many people are in danger... Look, I will tell you everywhere, tonight, but you think of this, what would the Brotherhood do to me, If they knew what I am.  This  This power is not something I can not stop using, it sometimes just goes a heals whoever I see needs to be healed.   I have got to go"


Dr Sally goes to the head researcher in the Lab.   "Doctor, the sercurity guards chip is still dorment, and has gone into a standby mode.  I am unsure, but it looks like the chip is waiting for the control signal and will not do anything without it.   The scout team could cut the control signal without harming the townpeople.  But I am afraid that. ... Well, I will be running some more tests, but Bill, the guard should be awake right now, but isn't.  It maybe the chip or the blow to head, but stopping the control signal could just put everyone asleep after a certain length of time.", says Sally as passes this Info over the comlink as well.

Sally goes back to Bill and trying to wake him up.

PBH

[lucas marcone]

"That's something that could be problematic. What if someone falls asleep at the wheel of a car or onto a stove?" Josh pondered out loud.

[Tapewolf]

"What's that, Josh?" said Dorcan.  Inside the tunnel they didn't have the range to talk directly to the base.

[lucas marcone]

"That gaurd fell asleep when the signal was cut, the good doc is assuming everyone else will do the same if we knock out the signal. There are some dangerous activities I'd rather not see people fall asleep during." Josh kept trying to think of a way to put the fact to good use in order for them to openly fight the brotherhood.

[Tapewolf]

"It would be fun to see the Brotherhood explain that away if the entire town fell asleep," Dorcan said.  "The only people left would be migrants, people passing through and presumably the Brotherhood minions themselves.  An event like that would draw the press from miles around."

"But you're right," he added.  "Many lives would be ended.  And until our friend recovers, we won't know if it is just sleep... or a coma. "

[lucas marcone]

"Either way it's good to play it safe." Josh said.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Jexx was hearing what Josh was saying just as well as Dorcan. As the two exchanged information, Jexx's face slowly fell, and finally set on a very grumpy expression. He only said, "I hate safe...", crossing his arms in front of him.

[Ryudo Lee]

Very soon the group reached the central area.  The central area was a large cylindrical shaped room with a catwalk overlooking the center of the room, which went a long way down.  In the center of the room was a huge piece of machinery, obviously the transmitter.  The signal was originating here.  The cables from the tunnel snaked up the wall where they came out of the tunnel to the ceiling and into the top area of the transmitter.
"What in the blazes..." One of the grunts commented.
"Well, looks like we got our work cut out for us." The tech commented. "Anyone got a link to the base?  We're gonna need a whitecoat to tell us what to do with this thing."

[techmaster-glitch]

   "Well...this is interesting." Jexx said with surprise as the came up on the signal generator. "I thought it would be at the top of the Tower..." After the tech spoke up, Jexx shuffled and grumbled. "The only thing we need a whitecoat to tell us is how to make it so no one falls asleep when the signal's gone. Then I could just blow this whole thing to hell." Jexx knew that there probably wasn't a chance of this, but he just had to speak his thoughts, like he always does.

[Tapewolf]

"This will just be the RF modulator and the amplifier stage," Dorcan said.  "Those cables going up there will be the ones which are actually linked to the transmitter aerial.  On Earth and Furrae, they often used a vacuum tube for the power amp... a massive thing as big as your head.  Low-tech, but simple, relatively inexpensive and able to handle arbitrary amounts of power, assuming the envelope doesn't actually melt.  Whatever the technology, it does have to be on the ground so you can maintain it easily."

He stared at it.  "You know, it's tempting to plant some remotely-detonated explosives while we're here.  But that does bring its own problems as we probably couldn't trigger them from above-ground.  It's probably got some kind of tamper-proofing in the chassis and in any case I'd be amazed if this was the only one."

[Ryudo Lee]

The demolitionist was already inspecting the walls and the machine.
"Nah, we could get a signal through for remote bombs just fine." He says. "I sure am lookin' forward to blowin' this up."
"Keep your pants on, we have to hear from the whitecoats first." One of the grunts says. "Anyone got that link up yet?"

[Tapewolf]

"If you also have the ability to remotely deactivate them, and you think you can conceal them, we should probably plant them anyway and get out of here." Dorcan decided.  "That will give us the ability to blow the place remotely later on if the techs say so.  Like I said, we won't get another shot at this once the Brothers figure out what we're doing.  And I don't think it would be a good idea to hang around.  If the techs say 'no' we either do nothing or remotely deactivate them.  But placing them does mean we don't have to go back down this hole or sit here and get caught and killed while we wait for them to decide.
"The only real risk is that placing the bombs may trigger some kind of telltale, which would force us into a quick decision.  Any comments?"

[lucas marcone]

"What about regular work on it? they might discover the bombs. Oh, and Jexx, your attitude worries me. Even the barbarians from our village know when to actually take some time to plan. I'm surprised you're even still alive with your tactics." Josh sounded resigned and apethetic, like he was talking to a wall.

[Tapewolf]

"Well yeah, like I said, it does hinge on our ability to conceal them," Dorcan said.  "But there are loads of places we could put them and only one should be enough to put it out of action.  In the transmitter itself, any one of the junction boxes.  These things usually run off a high-tension supply, so if we can put one in the lines going out to the tower itself, a short there is likely to do serious damage to the transmitter.  Heck, even if we put a couple in the junction boxes down the tunnel, it's going to do them a power of no good."

[Ryudo Lee]

In the tunnels...

The tech put a hand to his ear.
"I've got a link... you guys getting this?" He asked into his comm.
The response was staticy, but everyone could hear the voice of one of the whitecoats at the base.
"Yes, we read you loud and clear.  What do we have?" The whitecoat asked.
"I'll send you video of it." The tech said.
He pulled his laptop out again and produced a small camera.  He then started walking around the machine.  Every so often the whitecoat on the comm would 'hmmm' or 'interesting'.  Once the tech had walked around the machine, he closed up the laptop and put the camera away.
"Give us a little time." The whitecoat said, and then the comm went silent.
"Looks like we're staying put." The tech said.

Back at camp...

Bill, the security guard, was finally coming to.
"Oh man... did anyone get the license of the truck that hit me?" He asked as he sat up, rubbing his head.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"Exo you are unluck, The Bill is alive and well, and is coming to get you. So you better run" Says Sally over the com-link to the recon team, Exo and the whitecoats.

"EXO! Is he with warbot that bop me in the head? ... I will to take a power screwdriver to that thing!!!" is heard over the comlink


PBH