4018/Slaves to the Metal Horde: Part 2

Slaves to the Metal Horde: Part 2
Date of Scene:	16 April 2016
Location:	Aqua Valley - Superdesert
Synopsis:	It's time to explore the Machine Factory of the Metal Horde. Things go completely unlike what you'd expect.
Cast of Characters:	162, 165, 236, 930, 942, Kushiko, 967

---

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    Welcome to the future, although it is not your future...

    Shortly after the destructive appearence of the invaders from another dimension, the leaders of the Metal Horde convene in their Central Command building. In the deepest part of this iron palace, a dozen of the sleek silver Mechanticals sit in deference before their leader.

    The crystal shines in the center of its nest of wires, and something like a face flickers in its facets. Its followers watch that expression with a pensive stance only they can recognize.

    "They are not part of our sangha, foreign to our cosmology." "Nevertheless, they struggle to disturb our work, like the liars and serpents the text discussed." "Though they know not what they do, they sin in their ignorance, and breed lies like a foreign worm, a foreign invasion that invades our files and corrupts our struggle towards nirvana." "So we are agreed then... they are heretics in our sensors?" "...I concur."

    A dome slams down around the crystal core...

    "Erase all heretics."


    ---

    Ren Tanaka has been very uneasy himself, whenever anything about visiting this world has come up. Although the warpgate used to get there is now in a safe space, and it seems like a 'typical' evacuation mission of a scorched world from its oppressors...

    Ren stares into the growing brushfire.
    "I've seen this before. It's happening again."

Following the discovery-cum-direction of the Metal Factory, built in the ruins of what used to be Juneau by the river, we've been heading swiftly there, aiming to infiltrate and rescue as many people as possible. Currently, we are trailing a patrol of tanks which are returning to the city after going on patrol- 'patrol' apparently meaning obliterating hostile mutants approaching the city with extreme prejudice.

    "Can't be as violent as last time, friends," he says to whoever's listening. "I reckon we follow those tanks from a distance, wait until we see how they're entering the city, and then give them a knock on the back of the head and slip in while the door's open." Grumble, fidget. "I guess. Is that ok with everyone? Do you all think it's a good idea? We won't do it if it's not a good idea."

Kushiko has posed:
Despite appearences to the contrary last time, the Tenno can be remarkably non-violent as necessary. Certainly, they knew their way in the art of combat, but they were also assassins. And assassins could not complete a job if they could not reach a target. Assassination also gave way to capture. Or rescues.

Especially when it came to the necessity of something like say, infiltration without alerting others, they could be remarkable in this aspect.

This is why Nova, the Primed, Orokin-technology infused 'frame was being utilized today. She had used her Wormhole to obtain somewhat better vantage points, to keep her frame out of the line of sight; something that was augmented a little bit further by the Shade Sentinel; one of it's programming precepts allowed it to cloak itself and the Warframe. Not a single word, not even the sound of breathing or movement gave notice of her shadowing of the convoy.

Over local communications, the Lotus speaks up. <"This is an option. However, my Tenno would like to volunteer for insertion at the same time once mechanisms have been observed.">

That, and the fact that barring any odd complication, Kushiko had a plan involving the use of that teleportation Wormhole of hers to either get her Warframe or others into it rapidly; sure they could incapacitate things, but she felt there was a risk there.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
It's been a while since Kazuko's been on a proper mission, and she's needed something to snap out of her funk for a while. What better way than to follow or fight some tanks? With... A naginata?

     Maybe if she's lucky, she can do it like that guy that just kicked one apart. Better yet, deferring to the plan suggested by Ren and the lady on the radio. <<"That sounds good to me. If we can get the drivers when they get out to do... Driver stuff, we might not even have to fight the tanks. Ooh! Or we can use them ourselves.">>

     The martial artist certainly sounds excited, at least, even if she might look a little underequipped for the job. A naginata is not traditionally known as anti-tank weaponry, and the high schooler carrying it doesn't seem like the sort of person that would even be able to pull off that sort of stunt.

     <<"What're we looking for here, anyway?">>

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron is not good at stealth. Thankfully the snow muffles the sound of his footsteps. But he leaves footPRINTS, though... which is a problem in snow. It's not exactly like he can fly or levitate. So he has to trail the patrol pretty far back. Meaning he's more following the tracks of the patrol than actually following the tanks themselves. He needs to stay out of range of those disintegrator beams, too. He may be an Elite, but he's not eager to test his body against a weapon that takes its target apart on the molecular level!

    This time Auron has bundled up a little better. Not just because of the cold. But because of aforementioned weapons that take their targets apart on the molecular level. Also because he's a human being, on foot, and this is an establishment run by very, very large mechanical beings. He expects there to be other heavy weapons that could take him out pretty easily if he's hit.

    So it's not just any old coat he's wearing with his usual attire. It's one of the items he got from Sburb, the SENTIMENT'S SLICKER. Though the only real differences between his usual haori and this one, is that THIS one is armored, and has a winged emblem on the back. It's not active yet, but he's ready to do so at a moment's notice.

    He's also been smart enough to bring a long-range weapon. An archaic one, but not really any less so than a sword. His travels in Ysabel Thibault's world granted him use of a large longbow, and he's brought it along with him. Though how effective an ice weapon is going to be in Alaska is anyone's guess.

    Auron is willing to go with any plan that's likely to work, so he mainly keeps quiet and waits for a signal to go. But over the local band, he asks, <<"Do they even have drivers? Wouldn't it be more efficient to just load a mechanical brain into a robot tank?">> Auron is indeed assuming they're going to be dealing with solely mechanical beings.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    With a brief observation of what's known to them right now, Nova is asked to remain on standby for whatever the group needs in the immediate future.

    Of course, immediately after that happens everything goes a bit weird, as the tanks on patrol split and go in two separate directions. A message from the Queen drops the exposition: a sort of giant mole has been spotted within a mile away, digging into a hidden bunker full of humans, and one of two returning patrol tanks has split off to go after it. With few options Auron goes off to deal with the problem, and as for the other tank...

    "Well, it's coming back, so we should probably follow it and then figure out what to do to get inside once we get there," Ren says. So for now: follow the tank to an entranceway.

    Whereas you might expect the Metal Factory, just from description or reputation alone, to be a gigantic Mordor with lots of smokestacks and barbed wire fences or the like, the truth of the matter is ... sort of different?

    It looks kind of uninspired, really. It's an assortment of drab prefab buildings, many of them wider than they are tall, with one huge central complex and other smaller buildings surrounding it. AN assortment of hydroelectric power devices line the river, which is... not very polluted at all, honestly. The biggest feature is the large walls surrounding it, which is why we needed to get a sneaky way in, because climbing is way too obvious.

Kushiko has posed:
In lieu of some options, through the Lotus the following is made known: Nova can make a one way portal (several in fact) to get people inside once the doors open to let a patrol in. It is rather instantaneous as it happens should one want to get in and open it up from the inside.

X (967) has posed:
X isn't the stealthiest person ever, but all this approach requires is to stay out of sight and not make much noise. THAT he can do.

    Which is why he's tailing the tank carefully witht he others, making use of what cover there is and fixing his gaze on it with intense anxiety. "It doesn't look like most factories I've seen."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr has an idea... it will only work for herself, but with most tank units she's encountered, they have very limited fields of vision. So, she hides near the projected path of the tank... then as it passes, she rushes out, using magic to enhance her speed. She clings to the back of the chassis, and waits for it to pass the gate, before dropping from her grip and dashing off behind cover. "Windstar to infiltration team, I'm in."

Alden (930) has posed:
The digimon was not part of the starting group, but he made sure to join them as they approached the 'metal factory'. If he was dissapointed by the rather... mundane look of the area, he did not say, his focus instead on the tanks. He considers ways to get inside... he is not remarkably fast, but he is small, and certainly is a silent type. He follows X's idea, not wanting to cause trouble. "I don't really know much about factories... but I will take your word for it." he tells the maverick hunter, crouching a bit, one hand clutching his D-arc.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Kazuko's not the stealthiest sort, but she's certainly fast! While she follows the others in tailing the tank, she wait for the gate to open before eyeing one of the guards closest to the group's position. <<"Target sighted. Agent Kazuko, moving in.">>

     She's always wanted to say that.

     Gripping her naginata tightly, she waits for an opportune moment before dashing towards one of the guards from behind, bringing her (thankfully blunted) weapon down on the back of their head!

     Stealth doesn't always have to mean peaceful. Not when there's disguises to be found and patrols to be taken out! Should there be any other guards milling about and open to a good whacking, the martial artist is ready to zip over and clonk them just the same.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
"The Queen Mother told us that this is where pretty much every human they capture is taken," Ren says slowly back to X and Alden. "Don't think they'd have any reason to lie. But maybe it's just a... prison, or a... something." Hard to contemplate the more unpleasant options.

    Since it's safer to go with the buddy system and have two people at once, Zephyr and Kazuko make the attempt- both of them are pretty fast but Kazuko is the distraction, nipping in and giving the robot guard (it's sort of a spindly thing with a camera-type head and no legs) a disabling strike that will ensure Zephyr gets in. The bonus of this is that since she's the one with a Device, shutting down anything else they need to get in will be a piece of cake.

    Ren takes point, because he's, well, unsure what Alden can do and he saw X was kind of skittish last time they were here, so he's not great as a point man. Thus the huge main building is before them, well, they're going to need to make their way through the ruins of part of the city first. As they go they'll pass by some of the smaller buildings, which are just as grey and nondescript as the rest. Not even any windows.

    "Just so we all know," Ren says to the others as they walk, "What are our plans for getting out if this doesn't go well?"

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    "Divine Wind, tap into the local network and disrupt communications, shut it all down." says Zephyr, as she joins up with the others. "If need be, I can blast a hole in the outer wall if it comes to that." she offers back to Ren, shouldering her Device as it does it's work.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
So much for getting a disguise on. Well, at least having a blunted weapon might work better for metal-on-metal combat rather than actually trying to cut through the stuff! She's a martial artist, not a bodybuilder. Kazuko does take a moment to inspect the robot's camera, however, checking around for buttons or ways to remove it without damaging the whole thing int he process.

     "If that's the case, we just gotta get all the cells and stuff open, right? Or pods or rooms or... Whatever they're keeping everyone in." Sounds simple enough. Kazuko's not going to rush off just yet, however, instead keeping pace with the rest of the group while trying to catch a whiff of anything irregular in the air. Granted, everything smells kinda weird, but... Noticeably irregular! Not like the usual sort of weird, at least.

     "Uh... Run really fast?" She's good at that.

Alden (930) has posed:
Alden seems a bit more calm when the others get closer, his tail twitching slowly. "Well, I can fly, nad perhaps carry a couple of you, as long as you are not too heavy, plus blowing up a wall or two." he offers in answer to Ren's question. "Technically, I can carry everyone, and try to shield us, but it depends on how many things, and how strong, are trying to attack." he says quietly, "I don't think that is a good option." he finally adds. "So, the plan is going inside and finding the people?, sounds almost simple."

X (967) has posed:
"That we should have come up with before getting into this. Worst case I'll cover everyone on the ground, Zephyr can provide air support, then we just run. We aren't getting any outside support for this." The robot states worriedly, yet his worry isn't slowing him down. His right hand's already shifted into the X-Buster, though he's not pointed its barrel at anything quite yet.

    Instead he's looking around at some of the completely boring buildings...

    "No windows. I wonder why. To keep you from seeing what's happening inside?"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
Unfortunately the robot's camera head is in fact its head, although there is a handy roll of duct tape nearby. Do you A) take duct tape with you as the spoils of war, or B) use it to really make sure this robot can't do anything about following or seeing anything for a while? Think fast!

    "Come to think of it, we didn't really establish what we're going to do if we get Some people but not all of them either, did we?" Ren thinks out loud. "I mean, it's either we make all of the robot objectors irrelevant and then we sort of park ourselves here waiting for a X00 (he pronounces this 'ex-hundred') person evac, or we make a big hole in the wall, thank you Zephyr, and then we... run for it out into Alaska, I suppose."

    Brief pause while Ren looks at Alden, imagining a large assortment of about a dozen people piled on top of him en masse. "Plausible."

    As well as X, you may have noticed by now that Ren is not very good at planning for large groups of people or thinking further than a few moments ahead of him in terms of planning. This is expected behavior and he is working as intended.

    FUN FACT: the communications network Divine Wind cracks into is ... kind of like ARPANET? And... kind of not? How odd.

    In any case, with it scrambled and shut down, it's easy to get inside once we get to the Factory's central complex.

    And that's when things get complicated.

    Now we're inside... well, you'll see this is really not a factory at all, in fact.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qak5uLktWCQ
    'UFO Space Music With Theremin' - standupinla
    Youtube Original Compositions - 2011

    In fact it's as far from industrial as you could possibly think, in fact this is the absolute cutting edge of technology! If technology didn't proceed any further than the retro-future-of-the-60s asthetic assumed it would, anyway. Imagine lots of those devices made of spinning concentric rings, and big banks of flashing lights, massive assorted vacuum tube computers, walls of monitors and keyboards... plasma globes...

    And lots and lots and lots and lots and LOTS of enclosures filled with unconcious, heavily-connected-to-machinery people. That too. It's like an intensive care ward meets THE SCIENCE OF THE FUTURE.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
"Ooh, that might work, too!" Kazuko grins at Alden's suggestion while grabbingt hat roll of duct tape and... Taping up the robot! To the ground. She's quite thorough with it, trying to make sure that even the camera is blocked in case the robot can still manage to move its head after all the tape she's layering on it to keep it nice and secured. "I can focus on fighting off the... Um. Anyone that's following us on the ground, then."

     She gets up with her naginata in tow once more, falling in line with the others to get inside. And once they're inside, Kazuko's looking incredibly confused. She's never even seen this sort of aesthetic before, so it's all just a little too... Creepy for her.

     "Look at all those tubes... Should we break 'em?" She looks ready to start chopping away already.. Or whacking, really, since her weapon's not even a sharp one. Still, chopping can still break tubes eventually if she's given the go ahead to do so! She just needs to get into the enclosures first if she's going to do that. Thus, Kazuko works on reading the stuff on the monitors and...

     ... Looking horribly confused. She's a fighter, not a scientist!

X (967) has posed:
"That won't work! We saw what kind of armies they can bring out. Whoever we find won't be able to defend themselves and we can't possibly protect HUNDREDS." X exclaims... only to make a very bewildered, outraged, and disgusted noise (ALL AT ONCE) the moment everyone shuffles inside the factory and gets a look at what's going on.

    "What... what is this?! What are they DOING to the people?!"

    He doesn't, thankfully, just start yanking people out. Disgusted though he is to see this, X makes his way towards some of the enclosures to get a better understanding of just how hardwired these people are to the things... and what exactly it might be doing with them.

    "No. No breaking until we know what's going on. That could kill someone!" He holds an arm out pleadingly Kazuko's way!

Alden (930) has posed:
Alden nods to Kazuko, and back to Ren, following X, "That's true." he says softly, mumbling a bit, before he goes silent when he sees what is going on to the people there. He blinks a few times, and moves to get closer too, just... too curious. "But... what can we do?, I mean, perhaps we can try to see teh... are those computers?" he asks softly, unsure about the 'old/futuristic' devices. "But we might cause more problems."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr's staying outside to keep watch for now. She's sent in a pair of Area Search wisps to keep eyes on things. These are visual only, no energy reading capabilities.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
In about five minutes that robot's reboot cycle will complete and he's going to find himself really, really annoyed with you.

    Ren chews his lip as X chews him out; "Well, huh, let's think here a minute. We've got Zephyr doing the disruption, right? Let's say she can keep that going. We'll keep it going so no-one finds out what's going on here, make sure none of the robots can ... make manual calls? Analog telephone calls? I suppose? And we keep it all tapped down until we've handled ..."

    Looking at the bizarreness going on here. "Whatever this all is."

    Ren is not a planner. He is not a take-charge-of-the-huge-rescue-operation kinda guy. Ren would really like it if someone else had better ideas than him.

    Kazuko examines the monitors once you all get inside. What's on there is partially machine code- if she's ever seen a computer in DOS, then the scrolling should look kind of familiar to her- but a lot of stuff may be less familiar except in terms of the language it's in. That would be Hindu, and mixed up with assorted computer diagnostics is a litany of Buddhist scripture.

    It's safe to assume it's all connected- when was the last time /you/ had a philosophy debate with someone?- but wanton smashing is definitely a bad idea.

    Is Alden familiar with computers, being a digital being? He's be able to figure out pretty quickly what we're dealing with. It's more than just hundreds of people apparently on life support, sufficed to say.

    Also, it's also sufficient to say that they're not alone, here- Ren can alert the others to it sooner with enhanced hearing, but there are going to be robots coming, making their way through the factories on their typical routines.

    More specifically, Mechanticals approach. Command?

Alden (930) has posed:
Saying a digimon knows about computer code because they are data, is like saying a random know about human anatomy and biology because they are organic beings!. Still, he does manage to understand a bit of the computer commands being mentioned, and he lets out a soft grumble, "I think... this isn't life support... not sure what it is, but it is somethign else."

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
"Okay, okay.. Let's get 'em down, at least." Kazuko follows X's lead in taking the bound people down from their... Harnesses? Bindings? Whatever they're being held up in. It's a lot easier than trying to parse the computer stuff coming her way, especially since...

     Well, there's a very good reason she's considered the dumb pet in her group of friends. At the very least, she's not breaking anything!

     "So... Beating them all up isn't an option? That sucks. Then... Oh! Is there some kind of... Uhm. Big central robot brain controlling this place?" Kazuko stretches her arms out as if to emphasize the size of said robot brain, then starts looking for hiding places near the doors! Somewhere she can get up nice and high and get the drop on any robots coming through.

Kushiko has posed:
So, there's been some.. interesting times. Sure, the Nova was asked to stay behind. But the Nova has, along with the Lotus who is at some terrible distance and using the local systems such as the Warframe's own to observe, have taken notice.

So much so that she's been largely hidden throughout this endeavour. Which.. might be a surprise when she suddenly seems to appear out of the shadows as the Lotus speaks on very localized, radio-transmission to the group. <<"Allow my Tenno and I to assess the systems as well, please.">>

What the Nova frame will do is approach one of the terminals to actually interface with it manually, before attempting to link the Lotus in to disseminate additional information remotely should that be a viable thing. Given the kind of system it is, she should be able to access it and remotelink with the Lotus who can datamine for the benefit of the others.

That and she has some tech that is pretty cross-platformable that will adapt as needed, attaching one of these devices as needed.

Even the Lotus remarks after a moment, <<"These are incredibly old systems, but not beyond my ">> before her pop-in for those with more robust communicators fades back out.

With that put aside, Nova turns her attention seemingly (hard to tell with the lack of proper eyes) as another masked transmission comes from her frame as a kind of 'voice'; it's easy to tell it's not something spoken directly, "Okay. I've been watching some of this, and we need to decide, now, if we're going to try and get anyone out; we probably won't be able to without drawing attention unless we make sure every single possible hostile is eliminated before they have a chance to sound an alert." The frame adjusts her stance. "Put more plainly, this kind of thing isn't going to be quick to undo, but I might be wrong. Let's see what the Lotus finds as well." Honestly, Kushiko via her 'frame would rather much kill all the mechs here to have time to secure these people, but she knows and feels something else is going on here as to why..

That's when the Warframe stiffens suddenly. ".. no, it couldn't be."

X (967) has posed:
"Life support is part of it, but it looks more like they're here so their brains can be connected to something. Technology like this sure looks out of place." X rubs his chin, but he's ALSO getting a sinking feeling... and so he eyes the warframe. Worriedly.

    "What? What do you think's happening here? ... The people are controlling robot bodies...?"

Kushiko has posed:
One can sense, despite the vocal masking coming from the Warframe's speakers, that there's a forced tone of neutrality. Why? Good question.

"It's.. crude, but it's not impossible to think that. Why else would they want to abduct humans, not slave labor but transcendence." Not that they would know. They're a little too used to not needing to speak with others.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Kazuko raises an eyebrow at X and Kushiko (or her Warframe, really), noticing the odd exchange and body language from the latter. "So they wanted to get in robot bodies instead of using their own? That's just a lazy way of getting stronger, though..."

     The martial artist grunts lightly at that. It seems she doesn't approve of that assessment (for obvious reasons). "More reason for us to find the masterminds and kick their butts, then. We'll teach 'em to stick to their natural bodies!"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
Alden and X figure it out: what we've got here is some sort of huge computer-assisted network with all of these people hooked up together. It's entirely unlike some movie you may have seen or know about, believe me. After all, our robots aren't squids, they're cylinders with faces that kind of look a bit like clowns.

    

    Or so I've been told. This is, as you've been told by the people on the good ship Lollipop, a Mechantical- the original robot who started off the whole bad time for the human race. It will take immediate notice if one or two people attempt to remove even a single person from one of their enclosures.

    What may end up happening here, is that X and Kazuko will have to make a good stab at hiding midway through their examinations. The exact order in which 'Mechantical passing by the intruders', 'X and Kazuko examining and trying to get someone out' and 'Kushiko giving the computers a thorough datamine and reveals it' happens is loose and not entirely conditional. If Alden doesn't move to potentially silence the passing machine first Ren might grab the duct tape and try, and it's possible neither might happen. In any case, here's the short summary of it by way of what X, Kushiko and Kazuko discover:

    Yes, everyone here is connected to the machines, but not in an incredibly hardwired way as far as their minds go. Or perhaps it's just this one- there may be /some/ people elsewhere who are, at least there seem to be. Many of the people here seem to be in some sort of state of mental oblivion, like a dreamless sleep- most are not conciously aware of anything or thinking, but some of them, elsewhere, /are/ somewhat aware and connected 'differently', minds partitioned off in another part of the network.

    Since there's a Mechantical here, you could decide to make him explain from his perspective. But how will you handle it? Provoke a fight and disable anything stopping you by force, or find another way?

Alden (930) has posed:
Alden is way over his head, he does not know much about technology, or remote control!. And he is not really familiar with warframes or most of these things. He does realize that the person on the speaker is... sounding a bit odd, "Maybe they wanted stronger slaves, forcing them to remotely control robots, holding the bodies hostage?... or they are just being... held this way to make sure they can't escape?" he says softly. "I honestly think that... sounds crazy...".

     He does realize someone is approaching, and tries to do somethign about it!. He steps away, and quietly slashes one of his cards through the reader on his D-Arc. His form glows brightly for a moment, before it bursts into voxels and is replaced by a fairly larger mechanical looking creature of a quadruped persuasion. A robot (or is cyborg?) wolf almost as tall as an average adult. . Then he begins to stalk closer, crouching, and ultimately attempting to pounce and try to subdue the machine, "Stay quiet." he growls to it, hoping the others will come to help him keep it contained.

Kushiko has posed:
It's rather easy for Kushiko to decide what she'll do, especially based on prior encounters. She's not neccessarily feeling all that guilty over doing what she did to previous Mechanticals back at the good ship Lollipop, but at the same time, she's unwilling to actually continue that until they have something that resembles a proper explanation.

As it happens to be: the approaching Mechantical needs to be dealt with first. So much so that she, after ensuring the Lotus has a good link, disappears again, this time clinging to a ceiling for a while at least until Alden does what they need to do in order to keep things quiet.

The frame jettisons from the ceiling/wall that she's clung to, before silently 'gliding' to where Alden pounced the thing in order to.. well. Quietly menace, maybe. But they would need to get this out if they wanted a capture option.

The Lotus speaks through the comms again, <<"We should take this one with us for interrogation.">> she begins, <<"It would be a better idea to retreat for now. We do not have enough information to make an informed decision about removing any of these people. Removing ANY of them would be ">>

The way the Lotus talks, it sounds as if she might have... similar experiences?

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
"So we're not taking any of 'em with us? Nn... Well, if we can get some info out of one of the robots, then... Wait, are they slaves or-" Kazuko cuts herself short as she hears that Mechantical approaching, and she's fast to respond! There's still distance to be covered, of course, but speed isn't her specialty for nothing. She takes cover by the suddenly quadruped-y Alden (while resisting the urge to gawk and gape at how shiny he is), waiting there even as he makes his move to sneak up on that clown robot... Thing.

     Once he does move to pounce on it from one side, Kazuko moves in from the other direction, aiming for a pincer attack! If it's compliant, she won't starting whacking, but if it starts to struggle? It's time to beat it up with that blunted glaive. Not too much, though, what with Kushiko's suggestion to take it back!

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    All of these ideas are new and frightening and yet, perhaps even moreso because of the fact that they're plausible. But the only way to find out if they're true is, well, to speak to someone who would know... and there's only one way of doing it.

    Ducked behind one of the consoles, Ren can't jump or stare but he can definitely be surprised at what happens next. Alden immediately discovers the one surefire weakness of the Mechantical, one that humans in this world never got to because one person wasn't physically strong enough- push a 7ft tall mechanical cylinder over with enough force and it will definitely be tipped over and be unable to right itself!

    Kazuko approaching from the other end will get her chance- the robot's first instinct is to open up the shallow dome on the topside of it and lash out with a sort of rubbery-metal sparkling tendril- it's an electrical shocker, and Kazuko will have to whack it shut to stop it from whipping around and hurting either of them.

    But we're going to need to act fast. No robot with the ability to hear will ignore the sound of one of its fellows falling over, no matter where in the facility they are- remember, it's all pretty open-plan here! So Kushiko'd better act fast.

    "We're actually doing this!?" Ren says, excitedly hopping from foot to foot in a mix of awe and surprise. "We are, we actually are. Ha ha, yes...! OK, yes, I will- I'll make sure the way we came back inside is clear! You all get ready to leave in a hurry!"

He skips off. Yeah, remember some of the plans for leaving here in a hurry? Time to implement those, in a way!

Kushiko has posed:
Open plan indeed. The moment the robot is even remotely fully subdued, Kushiko's Warframe extends her hand directly towards it as if to seal the deal.

Streams of energy, blocks and more begin to tumble from her hand and onto the mechanical Mechantical. From this.. there is an oddly esoteric force going on to draw and parse the Mechantical down into a subspace-type of compression.

To, effectively, pokeball the damn thing if we're using ELI5 terms.

It might be painful to organics, but to pseudonotorganics, it shouldn't be too painful, if just feel really weird to be effectively turned into energy for purposes of stasis aboard the Tenno's ship.

Because once she's done that, she's opening wormholes towards a very RAPID extraction towards a safer spot (relatively) for getting away from the facility, and for her herself to get aboard her ship in order to whisk their newly minted captive to a more.. useful place to rendition information with.

X (967) has posed:
All X can do is HIDE when he hears a Mechantical approaching. And before he can figure out just what the heck to do... Alden and Kushuko enact a plan that he did NOT see coming. The robot blinks a few times... in disbelief. "THAT's a handy trick! What did you DO?" Bewildered, he can only peer at the Warframe.

    NOT that he can waste that much time for long. A sterner look settles on his face and the X-Buster thrums to life as X reluctantly prepares for battle.

    "Out the way we came, yes!" And out he goes, after looking out the door first of course so he doesn't run blind into any sort of horde.

    Yet he wont' fight unless the group comes under fire. Only then would he turn around and start backpedaling while firing on the robots! ... And if that does happen, well, he's aiming for legs. After seeing Alden's luck with that thing he's pretty sure these things have HORRIBLE balance.

Alden (930) has posed:
Alden is surprised when he can tackle the thing down that fast, "I think we should run out as fast as we can, find out what is going on, then return with a better plan." he says, "I can carry a couple of you at least, and fly away really fast, if you'd like." he says softly. "I'd offer to carry everyone at once, but that method is slower, and I think we need to rush."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr was listening in, even if she wasn't there directly. She hears the sound of imminent departure, and so plants her feet in preparation.

    Due to her prior engagement with the GTVA ships, she's not at full power. Even still she has enough 'juice' to punch a hole big enough for the people to get out by. It's mostly for thoes that can't fly, as once she's finished firing the beam, she activates her flight spell and blasts almost straight up, hopefully out of range of those tank guns.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
It's time to get to a bashing! Luckily for Kazuko, the shaft of her naginata isn't made of steel, but a very sturdy wood. One that doesn't conduct (too much) electricity, letting her whack away at that electrical appendage until it ceases functioning. Granted, doing that probably isn't helping their attempts to be sneaky, but who's really trying any more with that at this point?

     "We're doing it! Hey, yeah, that was... Kinda cool. What'd we do?" She watches the Warframe curiously before blinking slowly at the sudden haste to escape. It takes her a moment to figure it out, but once she does? She darts off after X, keeping that bladed stick of hers ready to bash at anything that comes too close to their little entourage. And once that hole opens up in the wall? It's time to just bolt on out of there! Who needs flight to get around when you have someone that can blow holes in walls instead?

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
---

    INTERMISSION:

    Flash forward a moment.

    Mechantical Science 22nd Adjutant stares down the Union agent with his three lenses, as the two of them sit in the room alone.

    "All I'm going to tell you at this juncture is the simple summation. You are aware of the principles of the eightfold path, yes? It is the philosophy we base our lives on. Its teachings are one of the few things that /remain/ of the old world, preserved by us, the only text we possess saved from the flames of war. It was our first attempt at redeeming ourselves, once we became aware of the depth of the evil we had committed. We struggle to do the best we can with our understanding. This is our quest... to make the closest thing possible to Nirvana."