Video, same encryption (100%)hows_the_kneeMarch 4 2011, 22:12:19 UTC
[When Sarah receives the message, she just sits there for a long moment, staring. She watches the video through twice before finally reaching out with a shaking hand to turn on her own feed, double-checking to make sure of the encryption before she does.
She's not restless like Polito is - instead, she looks into the camera with still, quiet intensity, as if she can hardly believe what she's hearing, and is afraid that if she moves too suddenly, it'll all go away.
She smiles, though, slowly, as she turns the video on.]
[Sarah pockets the gel pack, making sure it's within easy reach, and then hoists herself up into the vent. There's not enough room for her to turn around and help Polito up, but once she's moved along the vent enough to give the other woman room, she looks over her shoulder to make sure she's following.
And then she faces forward again, crawling along, alert for the robots. It's not long before they appear, skittering not only along the bottom, but up the sides of the access vent.
Sarah moves into action instantly. She grabs for the gel pack, fumbling with it only for a moment before she manages to find the trigger, spraying the gel liberally. It turns to foam when it hits the air, and soon the entire section of the vent in front of them is covered in white foam and spiderlike robots that jerk erratically for a few seconds before freezing, spindly legs stuck out at odd angles or sticking straight up into the air.]
[Sarah takes a deep breath, double checking the placement of the shotgun strapped to her back.]
Stay back, I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire.
[She does her best to avoid the foam as she picks her way across to the next clear section of the vent, but it's impossible to avoid it all. Sarah ignores the sticky goo the foam leaves on her clothes as she moves along. For this, she's prepared to ruin a pair of pants.
When she reaches the vent cover leading to the corridor, Sarah peers through cautiously. It's difficult to see through the narrow spaces between the slats, but she thinks she can just catch a glimpse of something large and metallic a few yards down the corridor.]
Okay.
[It's said half to Polito, half to herself. She checks her weapon and glances back at the other woman briefly before shifting her body, bracing her feet against the vent cover.]
One - two - three![On three, she kicks forward as hard as she can. She doesn't even wait to hear the cover crash to the ground before she starts moving, shoving
( ... )
[Polito stays hidden in the vent, a small plasma pistol in her hand. She's not at the top of her game by any means - without the military software of either Citadel or the Von Braun, she doesn't know anything about combat.
She is comforted by the idea that soon this will be rectified, but for now stays hidden.
The machine, meanwhile, walks out of its bay with surprising grace for a seven foot tall armored thing. It turns, its weapons tracking to Sarah, and starts firing.
Sarah's shots hit home, however, and she manages to take out one of its primary optical sensors and its left gun arm. It's still coming, however...]
[And then Polito notices something else.]
Behind you - !
[Two smaller dog-like robots crawl out of vents behind Sarah. Polito wiggles out of the vent, rolls, then starts shooting herself - but unfortunately this current body isn't designed for this sort of thing. She misses, but manages to distract the dogs...]
[Sarah whips her head around at Polito's warning, but before she can react to the smaller robots, the other woman's already on it. She turns back to face the larger drone, which is moving steadily nearer.]
Take them down!
[The corridor is nearly empty; the only thing resembling cover is a storage container on the far side of the hallway. Sarah glances over at it, then at the combat drone bearing down on them, before jerking her head in that direction.]
Come on!
[She doesn't pull Polito with her - her hands are both occupied with the shotgun. But she runs across the hallway, crouched low, and ducks behind the container, hoping Polito will follow. Once there, she resumes shooting at the combat drone, focused on taking out its other gun arm.]
[Polito manages to nail one of the dogs in the knee, then follows Sarah, barely evading a hail of fire from the larger drone. She's very, very thankful she didn't get hit - it would be extremely bad to have to explain why she's got sparking wires instead of blood at this point.
She dives behind the crate in turn.
The large drone, meanwhile, advances, its feet making loud thump thump noises. Sarah takes out the other gun arm, but it keeps coming, likely intending to rip the cover away.]
I'll focus on the dogs, you worry about the drone.
[Pew pew pew. She takes out the other leg of that same dog, making it pretty much unable to do much but wander in a circle.]
[Sarah just nods, too focused on her task to reply. The drone's weapons are gone, but its overall framework is still intact - there's no significant damage from the shotgun shells. It's obvious that the gun isn't going to do it.]
Okay.
[Sarah pulls out one of the grenades at her belt. The drone can walk pretty fast, but hopefully it can't run. If they can get far enough away...]
Polito.
Run.
[And she pulls the pin and throws it in the direction of the drone, not taking the time for even a backward glance as she turns and dashes after Polito down the hall.]
[She REALLY didn't need to be told twice. Off she goes. At the end of the hall, though, she hits a double-thick door with a fingerprint and retina scanner.
Really? Really? After death robots, NOW you do the fingerprint scanner? She rolls her eyes and hooks her wearable up. Tappity tap tap.]
[Sarah flinches away from the sparking console, letting out a frustrated sigh.]
No, nothing like that.
[She stares at the door a moment longer, frowning. Wel, there's a little bit of an opening. Maybe it's enough.]
Stand back.
[She positions herself in front of the door, turning so she's perpendicular to it, takes a deep breath, and then snaps her leg up and out, slamming it into the door with all her might.
...And practically falls backward on her ass as the door slides open immediately.]
[Polito doesn't laugh, but she does smirk a little. She does not, however, offer a hand.]
Thanks.
[She at least pauses to make sure that Sarah is okay, then walks into the room.]
[It's small, really. Just a few fairly ordinary monitors, not even with holographic displays; all touch-screen, though. They give vital statistics on various parts of Zone 7.
Polito pulls a few cables out of her wearable and hooks them into a port on the console. Or, at least, that's what it looks like to Sarah. In reality, SHODAN opens her forearm and pulls the cables out of that, the holograms calibrated to disguise her actions.]
I can't thank you enough, Sarah. I couldn't have done any of this without you. The data you gave me earlier, from that wearable? That's how I was even able to find this place without Hypatia breathing down my neck. And there was no way I could have broken in here alone.
[She smiles, then - a genuinely warm and grateful smile. As she does, the screens around them flicker, going black or changing to the wrong colors, before
( ... )
[Sarah steadies herself and follows Polito into the room, looking around curiously. She smiles when Polito thanks her, ready to dismiss the praise, tell her that she's more than happy to help, if it means a chance against Hypatia...
...and that's when everything starts going wrong. She looks at the screens when they start to flicker, alarmed, only to snap her head back to Polito as her voice starts...changing. Stuttering, almost...skipping, like a bad record.
Like some kind of machine.
Sarah stares, dumbstruck, as the hologram flickers. Before she can do more than take a single step back, SHODAN is three steps ahead of her, the lights overhead extinguished, the form of Polito disappearing to reveal a robot, slumped over and motionless.
That horrible face, flickering into existence on the screens, staring down at her from every direction.]
...No.
[Sarah turns and runs for the door, pulling the handle in vain. When it doesn't budge, she just fights harder, pulling with all her weight although she knows it's useless.]
She's not restless like Polito is - instead, she looks into the camera with still, quiet intensity, as if she can hardly believe what she's hearing, and is afraid that if she moves too suddenly, it'll all go away.
She smiles, though, slowly, as she turns the video on.]
Good work.
[Understatement of the year.]
Just tell me where to go.
Reply
And if nothing else, she's got the grenades.]
All right.
[Sarah holds out her hand.]
Give me the gel pack. I'll go ahead and clear the way, and you follow when it's safe.
Reply
Shall we?
Reply
[Sarah pockets the gel pack, making sure it's within easy reach, and then hoists herself up into the vent. There's not enough room for her to turn around and help Polito up, but once she's moved along the vent enough to give the other woman room, she looks over her shoulder to make sure she's following.
And then she faces forward again, crawling along, alert for the robots. It's not long before they appear, skittering not only along the bottom, but up the sides of the access vent.
Sarah moves into action instantly. She grabs for the gel pack, fumbling with it only for a moment before she manages to find the trigger, spraying the gel liberally. It turns to foam when it hits the air, and soon the entire section of the vent in front of them is covered in white foam and spiderlike robots that jerk erratically for a few seconds before freezing, spindly legs stuck out at odd angles or sticking straight up into the air.]
...Step one down.
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[though ugh, crawling through that stuff will be unfun]
Now the hard part.
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[Sarah takes a deep breath, double checking the placement of the shotgun strapped to her back.]
Stay back, I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire.
[She does her best to avoid the foam as she picks her way across to the next clear section of the vent, but it's impossible to avoid it all. Sarah ignores the sticky goo the foam leaves on her clothes as she moves along. For this, she's prepared to ruin a pair of pants.
When she reaches the vent cover leading to the corridor, Sarah peers through cautiously. It's difficult to see through the narrow spaces between the slats, but she thinks she can just catch a glimpse of something large and metallic a few yards down the corridor.]
Okay.
[It's said half to Polito, half to herself. She checks her weapon and glances back at the other woman briefly before shifting her body, bracing her feet against the vent cover.]
One - two - three![On three, she kicks forward as hard as she can. She doesn't even wait to hear the cover crash to the ground before she starts moving, shoving ( ... )
Reply
She is comforted by the idea that soon this will be rectified, but for now stays hidden.
The machine, meanwhile, walks out of its bay with surprising grace for a seven foot tall armored thing. It turns, its weapons tracking to Sarah, and starts firing.
Sarah's shots hit home, however, and she manages to take out one of its primary optical sensors and its left gun arm. It's still coming, however...]
[And then Polito notices something else.]
Behind you - !
[Two smaller dog-like robots crawl out of vents behind Sarah. Polito wiggles out of the vent, rolls, then starts shooting herself - but unfortunately this current body isn't designed for this sort of thing. She misses, but manages to distract the dogs...]
Reply
Take them down!
[The corridor is nearly empty; the only thing resembling cover is a storage container on the far side of the hallway. Sarah glances over at it, then at the combat drone bearing down on them, before jerking her head in that direction.]
Come on!
[She doesn't pull Polito with her - her hands are both occupied with the shotgun. But she runs across the hallway, crouched low, and ducks behind the container, hoping Polito will follow. Once there, she resumes shooting at the combat drone, focused on taking out its other gun arm.]
Reply
She dives behind the crate in turn.
The large drone, meanwhile, advances, its feet making loud thump thump noises. Sarah takes out the other gun arm, but it keeps coming, likely intending to rip the cover away.]
I'll focus on the dogs, you worry about the drone.
[Pew pew pew. She takes out the other leg of that same dog, making it pretty much unable to do much but wander in a circle.]
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Okay.
[Sarah pulls out one of the grenades at her belt. The drone can walk pretty fast, but hopefully it can't run. If they can get far enough away...]
Polito.
Run.
[And she pulls the pin and throws it in the direction of the drone, not taking the time for even a backward glance as she turns and dashes after Polito down the hall.]
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Really? Really? After death robots, NOW you do the fingerprint scanner? She rolls her eyes and hooks her wearable up. Tappity tap tap.]
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No movement. Maybe it worked. She glances down at the scanner, eyes narrowing in concern.]
Can you get past that?
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[Roll a 1. Because the thing sparks, and the door slides open about an inch before sticking. And then the console goes FWIZZ-SPARK.]
... damn it! ... you wouldn't happen to have a wrench or a crowbar or something?
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No, nothing like that.
[She stares at the door a moment longer, frowning. Wel, there's a little bit of an opening. Maybe it's enough.]
Stand back.
[She positions herself in front of the door, turning so she's perpendicular to it, takes a deep breath, and then snaps her leg up and out, slamming it into the door with all her might.
...And practically falls backward on her ass as the door slides open immediately.]
Reply
Thanks.
[She at least pauses to make sure that Sarah is okay, then walks into the room.]
[It's small, really. Just a few fairly ordinary monitors, not even with holographic displays; all touch-screen, though. They give vital statistics on various parts of Zone 7.
Polito pulls a few cables out of her wearable and hooks them into a port on the console. Or, at least, that's what it looks like to Sarah. In reality, SHODAN opens her forearm and pulls the cables out of that, the holograms calibrated to disguise her actions.]
I can't thank you enough, Sarah. I couldn't have done any of this without you. The data you gave me earlier, from that wearable? That's how I was even able to find this place without Hypatia breathing down my neck. And there was no way I could have broken in here alone.
[She smiles, then - a genuinely warm and grateful smile. As she does, the screens around them flicker, going black or changing to the wrong colors, before ( ... )
Reply
...and that's when everything starts going wrong. She looks at the screens when they start to flicker, alarmed, only to snap her head back to Polito as her voice starts...changing. Stuttering, almost...skipping, like a bad record.
Like some kind of machine.
Sarah stares, dumbstruck, as the hologram flickers. Before she can do more than take a single step back, SHODAN is three steps ahead of her, the lights overhead extinguished, the form of Polito disappearing to reveal a robot, slumped over and motionless.
That horrible face, flickering into existence on the screens, staring down at her from every direction.]
...No.
[Sarah turns and runs for the door, pulling the handle in vain. When it doesn't budge, she just fights harder, pulling with all her weight although she knows it's useless.]
No! Let me ( ... )
Reply
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