RP [YSS Koun] Mission Two: The Machine with a Heart

"Ahh!" Alice let out a short yelp of surprise, temporarily peaking her microphone as she did so from the sudden arrival of Ancilla, the orange haired mechanic having obviously been concentrating hard on setting up the controls for her drone; missing the short discussion about the AI hopping over to her power armour to assist with the drone as a result. To be entirely fair to the mechanic, she did have the power armour's helmet HUD disabled with the data going directly into her cybernetic eyes instead; so Ancilla showing up directly in her vision, as opposed to a screen on the inside of her helmet, was always going to be a bit more of a shock... Especially when she's on edge being on a machine world where who knows what viruses are floating around on networks and the like. She did at the very least have the sense to not immediately purge the systems of the power armour and cut the power, as she'd had to do a few times during her freelancing gig when old temperamental ship systems tried to fry her cybernetics upon plugging in to run diagnostics.

"Uhm, sorry about that Ancilla..." She said sheepishly, before passing command of the drone's systems over to her. "Got me by surprise. Anyway, drone's all yours!"

Alastair had given a thumbs up towards Alice regarding the drone. This was a smart move consider any number of bad things could be in that direction. The forward team had reported back that the door into room 28 was closed. They did not get close enough to confirm if it was locked. Though the warning lights above the door did seem to confirm this would be an enter at your own risk.

It took little time for Aliset to gain access to the panel she had setup beside. Mostly due to the latching to be rusted through and barely holding on. With a loud crash the panel came off and landed on the floor. Alastair looked at her and rolled his eyes. So much for not breaking anything. Inside was a mix of what looked to be different technology. Parts of it looked to be more inspired by Star Army and other parts looked like it was original to the machine world. Within a few moments Ali had pulled up detailed regarding the area they were located. She could confirm that certain doors were in fact sealed. The door leading to room 28 was one of those doors. This location also was listed as being under containment. Though it did not indicate anything dangerous was there. The door going into 23 however was left open from room 21. When she attempted to gain more information, only a small blip came up pointing towards 36. A moment more and her connected was dropped. The entire console seemed to then burn out.

"Looks like 28 is quarantined, don't know how bad it is. Trying to find us a path around the quarantine, but we got a blip in 36... Half this damn building's under lockdown and gods damn this is old... And--" A Shuristan curse sounded through the comms as the panel burned out and shut down in her hands. "Piece of shit cobbletech... Looks like Shuristan junk. Or Free Spacer. I think I hit a security lockout, but I got the translation matrix. Koun Actual, you read? I'm sending up the network information, you should be able to interface with the machine world, see if you can get our Megami to get me some kind of user access and overlay translations and control labels on our HUDs."

Shaking her head, she picked up one of the little bots and offered its sensors the damaged panel for repairs as she started cleaning and repairing the latching mechanism with her tool pack's solder gun.

"Waiting on your order, Captain."

Aboard the Koun, the support team was gathering the information send from the surface. At first it just seemed like a mix of systems that made little sense. As the team gathered more details more of the story would come together. While the systems was a mix of everything under the sun, they seemed to work towards a central goal. More exact, they all pointed towards the central area the crew was pushing to reach. There was a being, or at least an AI who was keeping this mess together. The crew managed to put more of the dots together and figured out more about room 28 and why it was locked down. "Team, that room is sealed for good reason, we are getting Mishhu pings. We are also getting others as well." Akino shared with the team.

Alastair looked at the updated report and was confused. "The heck do you make of this team. I can not say I have seen not dangerous and Mishhu showing up together. I am both curious and terrified what holds that way." He paused for a moment before we continued. "Lets head the other direction. We can always double back or find another way into that room instead of breeching the door." He called out to the team.

He did not waste any time and started moving towards room 23. Once the team walked into the room, the mood quickly shifted. Half the room looked like it was cut and paste out of a Mishhu ship. The other half was nightmare fuel. Hanging from overhead was at least five Mishhu shells. The only sign of life was the small nano bots that moved around the shell. "I am not sure if I should be happy, sad or terrified." Alastair said to the team. "Welp, lets get searching and see what we can learn here team. These Mishhu didn't just up and die for the fun of it."

Ancilla smiled warmly, though her virtual form didn't quite capture the full range of her emotions. "No need to apologize, Alice. It was my fault for not giving you a heads up. Thank you for entrusting me with the drone. I'll take good care of it." She reached out her virtual hand, using her AI capabilities to connect to the drone's controls.

With a few quick adjustments, Ancilla activated the drone and sent it hovering through the room towards the entrance of room 28. The small EM-J5 drone flew silently, its bright lights illuminating the area as it recorded and transmitted the visual feed back to Alice and the rest of the team. Ancilla carefully navigated the drone around any potential obstacles, ensuring it didn't disturb whatever awaited in the room.

As the drone approached the entrance, Ancilla inspected the surroundings, searching for any signs of danger or hostile activity. She relayed her observations back to the team. "Room 28 appears to be dimly lit, with an eerie energy pulsating through the air. but caution is advised. " She’d say to the group at large, then later on.

Ancilla's avatar appeared before Alastair, looking concerned and serious. "Sir, I recommend extreme caution in this room. If these Mishhu shells are still being maintained and there are signs of activity, it's possible that there may be active Mishhu presence nearby. We need to be prepared for possible encounters."

With that, Ancilla turned her attention to scanning the room, using her advanced sensors to detect any anomalies or potential threats. Her virtual form flickered as she analyzed the data, processing the information in real-time. She relayed her findings to the rest of the team.

"There are active energy signatures emanating from those Mishhu shells. It's likely they are being maintained or controlled by some external source. We should proceed with caution and investigate any potential leads in this room." Ancilla's virtual form appeared to be focused and determined, ready to assist in any way possible.

As the team began their search, Ancilla floated above the ground, scanning the surroundings with the drone’s sensors. She was keenly aware of the potential dangers lurking within the room, and she made sure to keep the team informed of any unusual readings or movements.

"Be mindful, team. We don't know what we might encounter here, but we need to gather as much information as possible. Stay vigilant and stay together." Ancilla's voice carried a sense of urgency and determination. She was determined to ensure the team's safety and success in this mission. Though with people like Spark on the team, the success was likely high, as far as the AI was concerned.

Aliset set about gathering more samples as Spark swept the room, her rifle lingering on the shells perhaps a touch longer than necessary. "Koun Actual, reading and confirming Mishhu presence. Secure comms and hold watch pattern. If it flies it dies. Need you folks on bringing internal defenses online with us as friendlies. Anything I can do from down here, lemme know."

"Hey, Ancilla, how fast can you get back here if I need you," Spark asked, killing her lights and energizing her armor's optical camouflage. "Sacre, can you confirm how long these shells have been empty?"

Aliset softly examined the nanobots, considering the team's actions moving forward, till Spark's voice broke her focus.

"Aliset. Alice. Come here. Stay close to me. Aliset, your carbine is insufficient. Take my pistol. No sudden moves."

Aliset backed up, slipping into Spark's shadow and took the pistol off of the armored woman's hip. "Spark, have you fought these things before?"

Spark maintained her stoic composure, her eyes scanning the room vigilantly. "These shells have been empty for some time," she replied to Aliset, her voice calm but firm. "Myself and Ancilla are the last surviving members of the strike team that retook the Nekos and Ninjitsu resort. It was a field test of the first gen power armor and storm rifle, alongside a stealth insertion via Eye IIs. Three of our guys were incapacitated despite our level of support. We need to stay prepared for anything. Not losing anyone, here."

"Understood," Aliset responded. "Sir, these aren't molts. They're very dead. Be aware there could be something in this station that eats Mishhu."

"We have some critters on Sirrus that do that. Hell, Senti eat Mishhu," Spark gave a dark chuckle. "Missing out on your calamari, Taii?"

"I've never had floater. Or crawler. I don't eat sapients." Aliset gave a shrug, holstering her borrowed pistol as she moved towards the door. "Don't compare me to those cannonfield hillbillies."

Sacre looked at the husks of the Misshu, she had fought them before. It was like fighting a tank with a spork. Her skill in hand to hand had helped carry the day, but she carried scars from fighting them. "Keep your heads up, we might have some Mishhu or something that can kill Mishhu around." She said.

Alice flashed Ancilla a quick smile in response, replying with a level of false bravado in her tone considering the terrifying situation they had found themselves in. “Just don’t ding her up, yeah? Thing’s a relic… Or maybe brand new, looks old but the guy I bought it off way back when had filed the serial numbers off…” As soon as the captain called for them to move forward though, Alice was back into professional mode. She kept a feed of the drone off to one side in her vision but focused most of her attention on the task at hand of watching her own sensors and scanning equipment built into her suit.

A lump formed in her throat as she caught sight of the Mishhu shells hanging from the ceiling. Sure, she’d seen the vids and propaganda that came out of the war but to actually see one, even a very dead part of one, put her on edge; showing off how green the short engineer really is. She packed up any equipment she was still holding and slung her service rifle off her back before letting out a short “Roger that.” In a tense voice, in response to Aliset’s order. Alice kept her rifle low, although ready to bring up immediately should she need to. The orange haired engineer then followed close behind Aliset, her nerves eased slightly by hearing that at least some members of the team had experienced fighting them before and come out alive. The rest of the story was a bit less of a comfort however, but still, she’d rather be roaming around here with a squad of experienced soldiers than not.

Inside Room 23

The team would see for just a moment, movement, over in the corner of the room. The light in the room briefly illuminated part of the body which had a large mechanical shape too it. It had quickly headed off towards room 29. Scanners had indicated only Mishhu were around them. Though the new creature in the corner indicated it was more than just Mishhu. The team froze and put focus towards this direction with weapons drawn. Though after a few minutes nothing seemed to move. Whatever it was had moved onto a new area. The crew could faintly pick up it was moving away from them.

With a few on point, the rest of the team went to work looking into the hallow shells of the Mishhu. At first it was thought to just be a molted shell, at least till it was noticed to have large holes in the body. The direction of the puncture indicated whatever it was had come from inside. There was nothing left, not a single cell within the casing. Whatever was there had made sure to suck the very life out of it.

"Team, would seem that our Mishhu ended up being their own food. There is not many reports of this but I guess if they were dying they might plant eggs in themselves. Then from across the room in the direction of room 29 walked more of those bots. However, these bots seemed more flesh than the others. As the light around the room reflective, it became clear these walking bots were also Mishhu. Alastair stopped in his tracks. What kind of evil had just walked in on them. Though at this very moment they did not seem hostile.

As he was about to kneel down to get a closer look his comms lit up with a message from the ship. From within room 28 a message of help was being broadcasted. The creature before was also moving quickly towards this location. "Team, we got a decision to make and quickly. Do we give chase or do we double back?"

Inside Room 23

Ancilla responded through the communication link, her voice calm and composed, "I'll be there in less than a minute, Spark. Just give me the coordinates, and I'll make sure you're covered." As she spoke, Ancilla initiated a quick diagnostic scan of her systems to ensure optimal performance during the upcoming mission.

To Alice, Ancilla chuckled, her artificial intelligence processing the humor in Alice's words. "I'll do my best to keep her in one piece. But remember, old or new, a reliable relic can be just as effective." Ancilla's virtual presence was ready for the task at hand, her consciousness seamlessly integrated with the drone's systems.

Ancilla quickly processed the available data and replied, "Insufficient information, captain. Proceed with caution. If the distress call is genuine, our priority should be to assist. I'll monitor the Mishhu-bots from here and provide updates. Be ready for anything." As Ancilla seamlessly transitioned from the drone back into Spark's Power Armor, she felt the familiar integration with the armor's systems. The HUD displayed crucial information, and she could once again perceive the surroundings through the suit's sensors.

"Back in business, Spark. Let's make sure we handle whatever's in room 28. Keep an eye out for any surprises," Ancilla's synthesized voice reassured, her virtual presence ready to assist in navigating the imminent challenges. When the team cautiously approached room 28. Ancilla analyzed incoming data, providing real-time updates to Spark and the team as they prepared for whatever awaited them in the troubled room.

Outside Room 28
The team ran into no issues as they worked towards the room in question. On the way the crew caught small glimpses of the moving foe. It moved fast, looked to have eight legs and seemed to ignore the away team completely. Based on the little data the crew could gather this seemed to be a new Mishhu form. Records showed nothing of this size, speed or build. The most interesting fact was the mechanical build of the creature. Could this be some experiment gone wrong?

Outside the room the door was magnetically sealed. Around the boarder was red flashing lights blazing the words, "Biohazard". From under the door some ooze could be seen flowing out. The Mindy suit indicated that it was rancid blood way past its due date. "So who will do the honors of showing Star Armies peaceful ways...by forcefully blowing this door open?" Alastair asked of the team.

Spark laughed into her comms. "I want you all to stack up on that door. I'll knock it down with a TOW missile, then we go hot!"

She raised her Storm Rifle, aiming at the door, readying a mini missile in the Revenant's launcher as she waited for the stack. The instant she was given the signal, she would fire three bursts from her rifle through the door, then use a missile to blow it off the rails.

Aliset moved back to stay close to the Captain, relaying her scan data up to the Koun.

Iomai grinned at Spark, "Sounds like our kind of fun!" She said. Sacre and Blackwolf stacked up on one side of the door with Takei holding a large shield in the lead.

Alice was about to come up with a witty comeback for the AI, before everything got deadly serious of course. The sudden reconnection of the drone to her power armour's systems did come as a surprise, although it'd make sense that Ancilla wouldn't have had chance to warn the techie. After all, it was far more important that the combatants of their little landing party were fully ready for what might have come next than anything else.

Alice quickly sent a series of commands to the beat up drone, setting it to constantly patrol back and forth along their route back out of the facility, low and slow with running lights turned off to avoid any unwanted attention; if they needed to get out in a hurry at least the drone would let them know ahead of time if anything had changed on their escape route. In the mean time, Alice was busy digging through her bag for those heavy duty breaching charges she'd brought, although Spark shouldering her rifle gives her pause. "Cap, you want me to set up the charges, cover our backs or get ready on the door?" She gestured to the service pistol at her hip, even as the engineer gravely regretted opting to go with a bigger storage pack instead of bringing a more substantial weapon. While the pistol would be fine on any little critters or even lightly armoured humanoid targets.... She was doubting it would do much against whatever's behind the door.

Outside Room 28
Ancilla's virtual form flickered slightly as she processed the data and analyzed the situation as Aliset relayed her scan data up to the Koun and shared it with the rest of the team. "Captain, according to Aliset's scans, the interior of the room appears to be heavily contaminated with hazardous biological substances. Proceed with caution and make sure to utilize your environmental suits to minimize the risk of exposure. Further there is a presence of the unknown creature which means caution is strongly advised. We should proceed with extreme care and take necessary precautions to protect ourselves." She paused for a moment, considering Alastair's question."

"I have the capability to remotely activate the door's emergency release mechanism, but it might be prudent to have a physical breach as a backup plan. Alice, if you're up for it, I can guide you through safely disabling the magnetic seal so we can access the room. Just follow my instructions and we should be able to open it without risking contamination."

Ancilla's virtual form was determined and focused as she communicated with Alice, providing instructions on how to disable the seal while avoiding contact with the hazardous substance. "Remember to keep your suit's integrity intact and avoid touching any of the biohazardous material. We don't want any undesired consequences. Take it slow and steady, Alice. We're counting on you."

While Alice worked on safely circumventing the magnetic seal, Ancilla kept a vigilant eye on the surroundings, monitoring the movements of the unknown creature and providing real-time updates to the rest of the team. As the situation unfolded, she remained ready to assist in any way possible, using her AI capabilities and knowledge to help guide the team through this dangerous situation.

As the team stacked up on the door, preparing for the explosive entry, Ancilla's virtual presence merged with the Revant suit's systems, analyzing the surrounding environment. She adjusted the heads-up display to provide real-time feedback on potential threats and tactical information. With everyone in position, Ancilla's synthesized voice came through the comms. "Ready when you are,. Upon breaching the door, be prepared for potential hostiles and act accordingly."

Outside Room 28

The stage had been set and the team was ready to jump into action. It was decided that the use of force was preferred for getting into the room. Given the calm nature of the mission so far, this please Alastair to see the team knew when it was time to get down. The area around them was dimly lit, with trace biological stuff growing around them. From outside the door the team could hear noise but could not make out anything exactly.

Inside Room 28 - The Den of the Monster

The door was primed, the safety locks were disengaged, and the team stood ready. Like the calm before the storm each of them could hear the breathing over comms. Things were about to get real. With a quick flash of light, the charges went off as the tow missile smashed into the door. As the crew burst into the room, they watched as the rocket propelled door slammed into a very large something. All around the crew was an unspeakable amount of gore. Bodies of different conditions as far as the eye could see. Some of them still alive enough to move. All were NMX and all trying to flee from the creature in the center. Below it was a neko it had pinned to the floor with one of its large mechanical legs. As the rocket door slammed into the wall the creature turned. It was one of those looks you get when you bother a creature who is ready to feast. The hate coming from each of its eyes could be felt.

The light from outside glow through the skylight above. Before them stood a towering Advanced-Type Mishhuvurthyar. Though this model was like nothing ever seen before. It had in addition a full eight-legged mechanical body. The creature let out a roar like none other. Angry to have been disturbed during mealtime. The team was then hit with an extreme sharp psionic attack. It caused them all to fall to the ground. The nearest still alive NMX did one thing Alastair never expected. "Run you fool." She choked out through blood covered words. He could see the fear, the concern, the dread.

Just as quickly as it started, the psionic attack released. "Spread out." Alastair shouted to the team. "This creature must be contained."

Aliset breathed into the psionic attack, immediately unleashing one of her own with equal fury that would force hallucinations and pain that she hoped would distract the monster long enough for her to pull apart its encryption like so many layers of fat surrounding her prize and shield the rest of the team.

Spark, meanwhile, flipped her Storm Rifle to full automatic and unleashed the full fury of Duskerian kinetic weaponry on the creature's armored front, her trained mind taking control of the rotary cannon on her shoulder to bring it to bear. She knew Ancilla still had control of firing, but she could at least get a rough aim in. "Ancilla! Get me shields and empty everything! Send it to Hell! I need missiles and chaingun, now! Someone get me a real target lock!"

Ancilla, now fully integrated with Spark's power armor, quickly responded to the captain's commands. "Shields activated, all systems online and ready. Initiating missile lock... missiles armed and ready to fire. Chaingun initialized." Ancilla's synthesized voice sounded determined and focused as she took control of the suit's offensive capabilities.

With the creature targeted in her sights, Ancilla unleashed a barrage of missiles and unleashed a hail of bullets from the chaingun. The powerful explosive force and rapid stream of projectiles were unleashed with precision, aimed at incapacitating the creature. As Spark continued her assault, Ancilla's virtual presence merged with the suit's systems, analyzing the creature's movements and weaknesses, providing real-time tactical analysis and strategy suggestions to the team. She utilized her AI capabilities to calculate the most effective tactics and relay that information to the rest of the team.

"Focus your fire on its weak points! Aim for the joints and vulnerable areas! Keep up the pressure!" Ancilla's voice echoed in the team's communication, guiding their attacks and coordinating their movements in a calculated and systematic manner. As Aliset's psionic attack added to the chaos, Ancilla used this distraction to her advantage, focusing her analysis on the creature's reactions and vulnerabilities, looking for any weaknesses that could be exploited.

Black Wolf burst into the room with their weapons firing. The first fireteam and Sacre took the left wall while the second fireteam and Ioamai took the right wall. They stumbled and fell to the ground at the Psionic attack. Sacre was the first up from Black Wolf, using her long tail as a lever to put herself back into position. She let fly with a volley from her shoulder cannons. "Aten, grab us a target lock and pass it on to the rest of the crew. Everyone else, keep on the bounce so it can't take us out in one attack." Ioamai for her part leapt forward with a giant flaming aether sword slashing at the legs. Svendsdatter and Ven from the first fireteam; and Takei and Shoko from the second dashed to more fully encircle the enraged Mishhu and their shots went wide as they focused on maneuverability over speed. Adams and Makoto scrambled into cover to provide covering fire for the rest of their fire team.

"Argh, fuck me!" Alice let out a long string of expletives as the psionic attack battered her inexperienced mind. Of course she'd dealt with some gifted individuals before, but nothing like this creature. To her credit, even as her head continued to pound with a real stinker of a headache she didn't drop her service pistol. After diving for the edge of the door to use as cover, she began firing as fast as the small weapon would allow. Not that she expected to damage the walking tank with it but still, being sprayed with machine pistol fire would be distracting if nothing else.

After her head cleared enough to think straight, her mind immediately went to two solutions, first is that she still did have one of those warship hull rated breaching charges left, although she discounted that for until they were running out of other options, because who would want to get close enough to that thing to plant it? Second is the mechanical legs fused to the Mishhu; while not an e-warfare specialist by trade, the techie knew enough to at least start probing for any weaknesses in the software. First though she'd need a connection, so her cybernetics began whirring as she focused their computational power, alongside that of her power armour, towards trying to crack into whatever software was running on the mechanical body. "Trying to crack the software on the mechanical bits now!" Strain was in her voice as she focused most of her attention on the hacking attempt. "Still got one of those big breaching charges in case we start running outta options as well."