Kiyone and Mihoshi noted bright flashes in front of their eyes as the alternate dimensional lab they had been in faded from sight.
After they blinked the brightness from their eyes, they noted that...they were in another large, metallic room, though this one looked more like a complex. The room, if it could be called that, was immense. There were glass domes of all shapes and sizes nearby, as though some sort of hydroponic work was being done here. The ceiling was very high, almost the size of an arena, with catwalks crisscrossing the area above them, and surrounded by mezzanine levels above the walls of the bay.
The faint sound of mechanical footsteps alterted them that they weren't alone...
<---->
Vash and Wolfwood approached the sand dune cautiously, slowing their steps as they heard a distinct whirring of servos and the sounds of patrolling footsteps thudding along the sand....
Calendar looked around to check for Cy. "Are you okay?!"
OOC: Sorry, guys. I've been grounded. I'll try to sneak on, and go to my friend's houses... but I'll still only have a tiny bit of time to post. But next week, my dad starts working nights, and the grounding will no longer be enforced.
"Yeah. As ok as possible in our situation. I don't think this is either Heaven or Hell so we're not dead which is a plus."
As he was speaking, Cy looked around for the source of the footsteps.
"Do... do you think we should hide?"
Her hands were clasped tightly as she spoke, and then she reached up to push a strand of hair behind her ears. Her other hand fell down just past her hip, and she noted the tightness of the cloth that strapped her gun to her leg. It was still there in case she needed it. "Do you still have your gun?"
Kiyone patted the spot where she hid her blaster and found it still there. "It's still there and you're right about hiding. Lets find something."
With that she began looking for a hiding spot.
OOC: M+K.
IC: There were numerous places to hide in the main room, as glass cannisters, taller than either of them were tightly packed around the large arena-like lab, interspersed with large metal pillars.
Even as they looked for a place to hide, the sounds of metallic footsteps drew nearer. Either there were several marching in unision, or one with many legs...
Kiyone grabbed Mihoshi by the arm and dragged her behind one of the matal pillars, then waited for the footsteps to stop.
Trembling, because she hated being scared, Mihoshi leaned against Kiyone. She opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it. What if they heard her?
Almost as an afterthought, Kiyone pulled her blaster out, and idly made sure it was ready for use.
Mihoshi blinked, and pulled up her skirt to reveal the blaster still tied around her leg. Pausing a moment, she let go of her skirt and let it fall back down, blaster untouched. It was always best to have a surprise element, right?
OOC: M+K
IC: From their hiding place, Mihoshi and Kiyone were fully concealed from view, yet they could see the source of the footsteps come into view.
A metallic snail shell, mounted on six suprisingly dextrous robotic legs, making it look like a bizarre new breed of insect.
The 'snail shell' body itself was upside down, the protruding end tipped with an odd-looking, flexible head that was slowly scanning the area with what looked like a largish sensor...
Kiyone took note of the two joints on each leg, then pulled back behind the pillar and waited.
OOC: Wolfwood.
IC: After a moment or two of slowly creeping up on the sand dune, Vash and Wolfwood lay against it, using it as cover. Vash had taken a small knife from his boot and was using it as a mirror to see over the top of the sand dune.
"Looks like ten of them," Vash said murmured. "And it's flat, so there's no cover there..." He trailed off and grimaced, clutching his stomach.
"Errr... you ok there? Are you sleepy? Dizzy? Gassy? It's gas, isn't it. I just know it is..."
OOC: Wolfwood
IC: Vash shot Wolfwood an annoyed look though the grimace.
"My stomach hurts." he complained.
OOC: M+K
IC:
The peculiar looking robot scuttled over in Mihoshi and Kiyone's direction, stopping directly in front of the pillar.
"Please state your identification code now." it announced, in a pleasant, feminine voice.
Calendar looked at Cy, then shrugged. Might as well take this one...
"What happens if we don't have identification codes?"
"Errr... you're gonna be alright, ne? You're not going to double up and throw up when we mow them down, right? Did you see if what kind of weaponry they possess?"
OOC: Wolfwood
IC: With visible effort, Vash shook off his discomfort. "It's nothing. Anyway, each of them has a sensor on their heads, which detect objects that radiate heat." he explained. "And, just under that is a small port that fires a laser...." Vash trailed off, wondering if he'd need to explain that....
OOC: M+K
IC:
The robot didn't miss a beat at Mihoshi's question.
"ID codes not recieved, please leave the premises immediately, or you will be removed...."
The head of the robot began to hum ominously.
"...by force."
Kiyone decided to pull a Ryoga. "We're lost. Could you show us to the exit?"
"Whats their spread among the dune?"
OOC: Wolfwood
IC: Vash drew his gun slowly, leaning against the dune.
"There's five clustered together in a central location, and the other five are making random sweeps." he replied.
"Hmm... if you think you're a better shot, I'll let you pick of all the outer ones, while I mow down the middle ones, ok?"
OOC: Wolfwood
IC: Vash raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Sounds fair. What's your ammunition load?"
OOC: M+K
IC: The robot appeared to consider this for a moment.
"Request to leave the premises met with not compliance. Preparing countermeasures...."
The omonous humming grew louder.
Mihoshi blinked. "But you said you'd remove us from the premises by force. What are countermeasures?"
OOC: M+K
IC: Mihoshi got her answer, a split second later, as a laser beam erupted from the head of the robot, fired straight at her.
However, by some bizarre stroke of luck, Mihoshi managed to stumble forward, just at that moment, unfortuantely banging her head on the pillar they were behind, but luckily avoiding being beheaded by the laser beam which struck the pillar, and burned through, carving a small groove through the metal, where her head had been moments before, doing no more damage than burning a few hairs...
Noting that in had missed, the robot whirred slightly and began to advance on the hiding place of the two women.
Oh. Good answer, really. Although the robot was being stupidly contradictory.
Mihoshi grabbed Kiyone's arm and ran past the robot, hoping the time it would take the huge thing to turn around would buy them enough time to hide or find a convenient door.
"Well, I got these two .45s, which should have 8-10 shots a piece *Ginn checks on the spot*, and I always have the cross, which has quite a bit of firepower."
OOC: Wolfwood
IC: Vash nodded, oddly serious.
"You have to be very precise," he cautioned. "Those things aren't vulnerable in many places, and there's a little girl around here who could get caught with a riccochet, or a wild shot. Are you up to it?"
"Why didn't you mention the girl before? If thats the case, then we should switch jobs, as I'll have some leeway to work with if I aim slightly off."
Kiyone eeped as she was dragged off.
As Mihoshi pulled her along, she took a couple quick shots at the sensor on the top of the thing, then followed her partner.
OOC:
IC:
Vash smiled and nodded cheerfully. "No problem. By the way, the armor on these patrol units is weakest in the head area. Even if you don't disable it, that's where they keep the sensor that detects things than radiate heat, so aim for them, if you can."
"Ok, then... on the count of three."
"One."
"Two."
Ginn cocks his pistols.
"THREE!"
Ginn shifts to the right a bit, before springing up and firing at one of the robots on the side.
OOC: M+K
Scene music! 'Brimful of Asha (Fatboy Slim remix) - Cornershop. Everybody dance!
IC:
As Kiyone was dragged off and fired her shots, the first shot went wild, a burst of light erupting from the muzzle of the GP issue blaster, and carving a deep, scorching groove in the metal of the ceiling.
The second was a bit low, but the struck the robot in the neck. The white hot beam was a level of technology that the robot was ill equipped to deal with, and met absolutely NO resitance from the metal of the robot's neck. The blast sheared off the head, which exploded in a shower of sparks...stopping the robot dead.
Calendar looked behind her, hearing the shots. Seeing the damage to the robot, she blinked. She blinked again.
"That... was very lucky."
"Yeah."
With that Kiyone looked at her weapon. "Though it seems these things are fairly powerful too."
Keeping the blaster in hand, Kiyone started looking for the exit once more.
OOC: M+K
IC: Kiyone saw that they had ended up near an access door directly beneath the mezzanine level of the area, and there were no other doors in her line of sight. Though this didn't really mean anything as the obstacles and pillars scattered about the large room could easily have blocked them from sight.
Even as they took in their surroundings, they could hear the distant clank of more or the robots making their way to the area where the one Kiyone had destroyed was...
OOC: Wolfwood! Music for this scene is 'Breathe' - Prodigy
IC: Vash seemed startled by Wolfwood jumping out of hiding.
"Eep! Hey, wait!"
Despite being the first time with this particular set of guns, they fit in Wolfwood's hands as though he'd been handling them for years. The bullet slammed into the small laser cannon mounted beneath the sensor, blowing to pieces...and taking the sensor with it. As the spidery robot, blinded, slowed to a stop and powered down, all the others began turning toward him, their weapons systems humming.
Vash, who had watched the whole thing from his cover, grinned and shrugged to himself.
"That's no ordinary priest...Ah, well...at least he can take care of himself..." Vash's eyes narrowed as the robots began to move toward Wolfwood.
"Can't be helped, I guess." he shrugged. "Time to go." The blond man leapt out of his hiding spot, drawing his gun as he landed and began to slide down the dune seperating the two men and the mass of mechanical foes.
Somehow, he managed to keep his balance as he slid, footsurfing down the dune. There was a single loud, but oddly elogated report from his giant revolver...and the heads of three of the robots blew apart, in a shower of glass and wiring...
Cy headed for the door and looked for any opening mechanisms as he approached. He also took note of how the door possibly opened.
Calendar followed her partner to the door, looking around again when they reached it to see if anything else was revealed when they looked from another direction.
Taking Vash's distraction in stride, Ginn ducked back behind the dune and started moving around the other robots.
Wow... I haven't fired a gun in months, and I managed to hit? Hmmm...
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ginn popped up in a different spot, took aim at another outer robot, and fired a couple of shots.
OOC: M+k
IC:
Kiyone noted that the door had a simple metal knob, and, judging by the placement of the hinges, it swung outward.
Mihoshi's examination of the large room didn't turn up anything new, but she did note a strange gleaming inside the glass cases surrounding them.
As they moved to the exits, the sound of marching robots grew louder....
OOC: Wolfwood.
IC:
Wolfwood's luck wasn't all good, though. His second shot slammed into the base of the robot's head, snapping it back and staggering it back a few paces, but not stopping it, as the third slammed into it's armored carapace.
After staggering slightly, the robot moved forward toward his cover again, and so did another, swerving off it's patrol route...
In the distance, Vash was busy dodging lasers, occasionally dispatching another of the robots, systematically wearing them down...
Ginn ducked back down, and moved another 10 paces under the cover of the dune, before popping back up and taking aim this time, before firing again.
"I'm going to open this door, hopefuly there is nothing dangerous behind it."
With that Kiyone kept the blaster ready in her right hand, and turned the knob with her left.
Cy shook his head. "An airlock doesn't mean we're in space. It be a spaceship, but it could still be on the ground."
Grinning at his partner he asked. "Want to check it out with me?"
Ginn brought up the back, checking behind him every so often for those robots.
OOC: Long time no post. ~_~
OOC: My apologies for an unexplained and prolonged absence. @_@
IC: Vash nodded, winking at Kiyone. "Whatever you say, cutie." he grinned, and began marching down the hall.
A few feet away, he turned and called back to the group. "The patrol routes start again at the end of this corridor..." he warned.
Calendar nodded slightly, then looked to Cy. She could deal with them, and if worse came to worse... her hand rested lightly upon her leg as she walked.
She had her blaster, and this time around, she would shoot.
Of course, she had never exactly shot off a weapon before, so she'd probably miss, but the comfort was nice.
Vash came to the end of the corridor, and he glanced cautiously around the corner.
"Wai! Coast is clear!" He shouted cheerfully, and began walking down the joined corridor, headed in roughly the same direction Kiyone and Mishoshi had come from.
"Cool. Lets go then." Kiyone followed Vash down the hall.
Ginn brought up the rear, checking behind him for enemy robots.
For the most part the corridor they had turned into was a virtual match for the others. There was no sound except for Vash's humming as they wandered through the semi-darkened corridors...
"Where are we going?"
Vash smiled over his shoulder. "The central power node controls should be nearby." he called back to Wolfwood. "The moment we shut down the power there, the robots should shut down."
Ginn follows cautiously, hoping that they get there soon.
Vash finally leads them to a raised platform, overlooking a huge room, several times larger than the area Kiyone and Mihoshi first entered, almost the size of a sports arena.
There are several man-sized glass storage units scattered about the room, and, in the center, a large, opaque room can be seen, towering above the glass cases, a small building in it's own right, though sleek and rounded, futuristic looking, with a single window in it, allowing a glimpse of electronics within.
Unfortunately, at nearly the exact moment they looked out over the railing, the lower bay doors entering into the large room opened, and what looked like scores of the robots that they'd faced began pouring into the room...
Ginn calmly (externally) turns to his party and poses a question.
"Shoot first, ask questions later? Or flee like rabbits?"
Mihoshi darted a look down at the room before pulling her skirt far enough up to pull out her gun from its place tied to her leg. "Fleeing like a rabbit... doesn't appeal to me."
Looking towards Vash, Kiyone pointed at the small 'room'. "Is that where the controls are? Can we just blow them up to shut everything off?"
Pulling out her blaster she prepared to run either way.
Vash looked over to Kiyone and shook his head.
"I'm afraid not. This IS the main control room, but there are redundant nodes all over the ship. It has to be manually shut down. I can handle that, if you all think you can cover me...?" he said, a question within the statement.
Taking aim at one of the robots, she lightly pulled at the trigger but didn't fire yet. "How long do you need?"
Vash's eyes bulged as he made a sound, deep and in the back of his throat, along the lines of...'gleep'.
He grabbed at Kiyone and pulled her down behind the platform's metal railing, narrowly avoiding a brace of laser fire in their direction.
She landed heavily on top of him. He looked up at her with an odd expression. "Um...those sensors on the tops of their heads have a motion detection function..."
Ginn hit the deck as laser fire arced in their direction, and scanned the room once again for DETAILS of the room and the contents within.
Mihoshi ducked as the lasers fired just over her head.
Kiyone smirked at Vash. "You know, this would be almost the perfect set up for the old 'Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?' line. But I'll settle for the answer to my other question. How much time?"
With that she rolled off Vash and took a couple quick shots at the robots before taking cover again.
Calendar choked and her eyes bulged out a bit. Then she burst out laughing.
That was Cy, all right.
She ducked again as more shots were fired.
Vash grinned cheerfully at Kiyone. "Well, I'm not sure this is the right time to be asking, cutie, but if you remind me later, I'll make time..." he said, winking.
"But, in the meantime, I'll jump down there to get their attention, if you'll cover me?"
OOC: Ginn, get in touch with me so I can find out exactly what you're looking for, and provide the necessary detail, okay?
Wolfwood's second examination revealed not a great deal more than the first. They were on an upraised level, similar to a mezzanine in a big arena style area, not unlike a gym. However, the 'gym' was packed full of man-sized or bigger glass cylinders, and various other assorted 'lab-style' equipment. All of which would make handy cover, if need be...
Ginn took cover behind some of the equipment, and took an aimed shot at one of the robots.
Vash gave Kiyone lovestruck glance, that, combined with his fair haired looks made him look fairly goofy.
"Be back in a minute, cutie!" he winked, and hopped over the railing, and down into the mass of robots, and began dashing for the control booth...
"Just don't get hurt down there."
Diving behind some cover, Kiyone aimed a shot at a robot's sensor array and gently pulled the trigger.
Vash hit the floor running, dodging blaster fire as he went, and immediately, the robots turned to pursue, swarming the blonde man as he twisted and turned, weaving around the laser shots...