Scene #7544: Olympus

Owner	Pose
Vaxis	The intel report came in last night. A space station overrun with robots, with a single suit-based distress signal, the operator of which was apparently trying to get deeper into the station. Asking around got a lot of obstruction, but a group of mercenaries called the station Olympus, and said it belonged to the Gaian Union, otherwise known as Earth, which the station orbited. Finding the station in the beatup ship the Watch provides (or even someone's own, should they have one) is difficult. There's coordinates to head to, but nothing's appearing on scanners. It's like a deadzone of asteroids, debris, satellites, and- There it is, out the window. In the sea of stars and darkness, there's a large manmade object, likely the station. The shape is that of a large dome at the 'top', going down into a deeper structure, with a large spire facing the earth at the bottom of the station. The station is a pristine white. If there's a docking bay, it's closed up shut, and nowhere to clearly be seen. The Watch has found Olympus, and the reason they know that occurs as they get into range. A signal opens up on any approaching ship's radio console. A staticky voice pops over. <"Friendlies? Requesting permission to beam you-"> The sound of explosions in the background puncture the frequency, as suddenly beams of light scan over the ship, before moving inside and over any people in there. The voice sounds off again. <"Negative, they're breaching, get ove-"> The beams of light don't ask permission, unless someone has their own strong teleportation technology or abilities, in which case it's easy enough to reject - but it's also the only Obvious way into the station, since they're definitely not disintegration rays, and are, in fact, advanced beaming technology. Going in...it's going to be a hellzone, clearly.
Vaxis	The teleportation process is only briefly disorienting, before one realizes they're standing on a large circular platform, as utilitarian grey as the rest of the room. Wires and cables attach it to other levels of the station, going downwards, as well as to a series of boxy consoles. There is an antiseptic scent to the room. A spaceman in a battered and ill-fitting face-concealing helmet-and-suit, laser rifle on his back, is operating one of the consoles. Two immediate things are likely to grab attention instead. As one steps or looks down off the platform, they'll spot a uniformed man, burnt hole in the back of his head, right off the platform, apparently having rushed to climb aboard before he was shot from behind. The corpse isn't recent. The other thing they'll notice are the doors in the back, past the consoles. They're being rocked with explosions, until they finally are breached about a minute after the group arrives. What comes out of the smoke are boxy-headed humanoids, completely mechanical, crudely carrying laser rifles in non-standard hands. Their heads sweep the room, mono-eyes scanning, before firing on anything that moves or is humanoid. Their aim is unpracticed, but backed by processing power. "Assistance required!" A synthetic-sounding suit speaker comes from the spaceman, as they grab their own laser rifle, but won't have time to fire before they'd otherwise be overwhelmed. Looks like it's your time to shine.
Maricel Thorne	Maricel flickers and gutters repeatedly with a neon-staticky distortion in the seconds after her arrival on the teleporter pad, like she's being viewed through a corrupted VHS tape. As the chromatic aberration fades, a small amount of blood oozes from the air around her, its source invisible. Fortunately, she seems only mildly irritated. "I'm going to have to spend hourrrrrs de-tangling those parazonal layers later," the doctor grouses to nobody but herself. She compulsively checks the pulse of the cold dead guy on the floor with a hole in his head- yes, really- before introducing herself to the spaceman briskly. "Doctor Thorne, pleased to meet you, I'd tell you my qualifications but we don't seem to have the time. Excuuuuse me." They're very rudely interrupted by robots barging in. Maricel stares down the first one through the door, deflects its aim with a telekinetic nudge to the rifle, and then steps in to plant her sparking bare hand directly on its 'face'. Whatever it has that passes for a brain is instantly seized by an absolutely crushing psychic-electromagnetic pressure, filling its displays with television static and- with even an iota of luck- turning it into a loyal little servitor. "I never did like fighting robots," she comments off-handedly. "Not enough, ahhhh... juices in them. You know?"
Karlan Nobles	SilverAsh: "Is that even going to work here?" Pramanix: "Not a clue, so what better opportunity to find out?" SilverAsh: "Perhaps it would have been more prudent to do that... Literally any other time than now?" Pramanix: "When else would I be coming out here? Nobody just /goes to space/ on a whim." A pair of white-haired figures in somewhat-identical jumpsuits can be seen and heard bickering quietly with each other in the background even as the communication comes in at first, thankfully interrupted by the explosions. The woman with the bell in her hands looks considerably more anxious and excitable about what's going on than the man with the cane, although they're both on alert once the teleportation beam draws them onto the platform. Pramanix checks out the dead guy, mostly to utter a silent prayer in his passing, partially to see if the culprit is still lingering around. SilverAsh, meanwhile, scopes out the area for potential cover based on the earlier transmission not sounding particularly promising for the group's safety. When the laser-toting boxmen arrive, the opening salvos is enough to get them both springing into action. Pramanix dives behind a console while ringing her bell, intent on calling down a localized ice storm to sweep the some of the assailants off their feet (if getting snow and wind to blow around is even possible in freaking space). SilverAsh goes for a more direct approach and just dives right in, weaving around the bulk of the lasers and taking a few superficial injuries in order to flick the sword out of his cane as he dashes through them for that flashy run-slash thing certain types of people tend to be so fond of doing.
Xion	Zorching into reality very naturally, because when Xion arrives in reality it is always cool and good. There's always more room for a Xion, you see. Reality kindly accepts the premise. But she's distressed! By two things! Thing The First: By boxy robots! Xion stands gormlessly on the platform and begins her greetings with 'Hello! Who are we helping today?' and then the BOXHEAD FASHY ROBOT PATROL Detention Level's in through the door and starts firing legally distinct bad ouchies laser beamers. "Oh! Hey stop!" Xion calls, a fuchsia and red medallion coming up in her left hand as her keyblade Starlight shwinks into being in her right. "I'm sure we can be friends if we try!" With a thrust, she 'fires' a glob of energy that becomes... An entanglement spell near the door with extra-grabby tendrils of magic lavender grabbies. The grabbies are extra '''investigative''', since the subjects are boxbots. Thing The Second: Maricel! "Oh no! Are your zones para'ed badly? Do you need a... massage? Do your zones need be de-zoned or re-zoned?"
Hibiki Tachibana	Well, Hibiki doesn't have a ship. Technically, that's not stopping her from getting to the station manually if she really really wanted to, but it'd be extremely inconvenient and slamming her way onboard probably isn't the best idea for about five different reasons. She's happy to accept a ride on the hunk of junk that's provided for them, and doesn't even complain about said accommodations. Actually, she's pretty much glued to a window in silent awe of the sights most of the way. One might get the impression she's never been up to space before. It takes her mind a little off the severity of what they know of the situation, and that they need to get there before 'one survivor' becomes 'no survivors'. So when they're hailed, she's snapped out of it to equal parts relief and immediate tensing - and also some disorientation when they're beamed over, with some headholding and stumbling as she gets used to the sudden change in scenery. "Ugh, I'm never gonna get used to..." She trails off, mainly because of the violent explosions threatening to blow their way in, and her frown only gets bigger. "...Keep your head down. We can talk after we're clear." The girl reaches down the collar of her jacket. "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron..." There's a quick flash of golden light right as the entrance gives way, and out of it immediately leaps Hibiki in the mechanical armor of her Symphogear; why didn't she transform before she actually got here? Not important. But she's taking the vanguard right alongside SilverAsh and charging into the thick of things, swerving around some shots and using her gauntlets to absorb any incoming lasers she can't avoid on the way. That kind of aim probably won't be as dangerous up close. Which she notes, from what she saw on her charge in. "These things...are they actually meant for combat--?" A durability test via punching them hard enough to send them back out the way they came might help answer that.
Liza Grier	Liza usually makes a habit of ramming into space stations with high speed breaching vehicles (i.e. anything with a crumple zone less long than the whole ship) as often as any other form of boarding, but in this case, not only does she have no idea what's on the station, but the Watch is here to rescue some guy rather than to terrorize something. So, planetside option it is, which is a fairly simple streaking bolt of red light, which deforms like a viscous liquid on impact with the floor inside and bounces back up into the shape of a person. "I don't think he's okay." Liza says to Maricel, of course already armed with her mainstay. "If he's cold on the ground then there's typically no use calling a doctor. Besides, he's dressed like an asshole." She thumb flicks a single bullet up into the air and watches it on its way back down into her hand, to make very sure of gravity, before disengaging her magnetic soles, and then clomping over to the spaceman in the much more ineptly fitted space suit. "Are you injured?" Damn even her voice sounds less synthetic than his. "We can get you out of here in twenty seconds if you put the computer away." About five seconds later, that outstretched hand is withdrawn, with "You know, for all that screaming about breaching, you're not exactly being cooperative." Then another five seconds later, the doors actually come down. "Oh for- Get off the computer! Whatever you're trying to do the AI is fucked anyways!" Considering there's no cover on this entire platform but the consoles themselves, Liza has the option of going prone and letting the VIP(?) get shot, or hunkering down in front with her shield up Fencer slash bastard Halo enemy style and lay down automatic fire and a bouncing explosive into the breached corridor. She chooses the latter for now.
Chase	Teleporting in, even against one's will, is preferable to boarding the only other way Chase could think of. Which would have involved spacing himself and kicking his way in. But then one has to worry about things like the station depressurizing, and all that other stuff, and really it isn't worth it. Once ported in, there's not a lot of time to assess the situation. Between the slight disorientation and the sudden invasion of robots, the only thing Chase makes note of is the obvious dead body as he reaches into his jacket to pull out a weapon. GUN The object in his hand announces what is his, before Chase's finger begins rapidly pulling the trigger, releasing a hail of purple shots. Thinking about it a tiny bit though, firing a gun inside a station probably isn't the brightest idea. Then again, it's not like he wouldn't create just as much damage if he used other means.
Vaxis	The boxheaded robots are relatively fragile for machines. Snow and ice sweeps some off their feet, causing them to flail wildly, while SilverAsh's execution attack is able to swipe cleanly through them, and he can even impale the downed ones before they can get back up. Maricel places her hand to one as there's a miss of a shot, forcing the displays to wildly flicker and change, but after some resistance, it's at her control - and if she allows it to, moves to shoot another one straight through the head, destroying it. As Hibiki slams into one, she gets the idea the one she just hit was some sort of cleaning or maintenance droid at best. It has no defenses, and the hands are clearly not built to hold a gun. Chase finds that the hull is actually pretty durable. It's not going to shoot through the walls and depressurize the station - this is Space-Age Supertech kinda stuff. The power of GUN blows the robots apart, helping stop the swarming wave. Xion sprays lavender tentacles that cause Rough Terrain, trapping several of the boxbots harmlessly. They squirm, clearly still wanting to fight, and her words about friendship fall on deaf receptors. With the group's assistance, the spaceman is able to get the pressure away, with Liza hurdling down and firing off at those in the room directly, allowing the spaceman to fiddle with their rifle (they seem familiar with how it works, but not that they've seen much use of it), and then fire a dead-eye shot through two of the remaining boxbots not completely trapped by the tentacles. The spaceman, as Liza grows more frustrated, speaks calmly and clearly as they boot up their shortwave radio, though they're speaking tersely. "There's still survivors. I can't leave without rescuing them as per my mission - or retrieving my spear." In the end, four robots remain - Maricel's servitor, and three who have almost broken out of the tentacles. The spaceman levies their rifle on the tentacled robots and prepares to pull the trigger, but is being cautious about the, well, lavender magic. So, instead, they gesture to Maricel as they holster it. "Is it under your control? Good work. You must be the Watch. I'm glad my call got to you." They don't know for sure, but, they're assuming. "These Artifices are swarming the whole station. We need to keep moving before their commanders realize you're here and send in a larger wave."
Karlan Nobles	Pramanix: "Hehe... It does work out here! That's pretty convenient, isn't it?" SilverAsh: "So it does, and so it is. What sorts of questions does that raise about the goddess and your power, I wonder?" As Silverash leaves Pramanix with something to mull over (and forget about within the next few minutes), he takes note of how relatively fragile the robots are and shakes his head in response to Hibiki. "I don't believe so. They're too fragile for that sort of work, although I imagine they'd be well suited to repetitive tasks. Cleaning, simple cooking, perhaps even routine maintenance. Fighting..." He flicks his sword sideways, as if flicking off blood (or oil or whatever) before sliding it back into the cane. "Not so much. Do you know where the other survivors or the commanders might be?" <J-IC-Scene> (NPC) DIOMEDES says, "JASON, Station Assistant, has taken control of the Logistics Center and is trying to ferret out the survivors for execution. They're in the ventilation system, most likely." Pramanix gets right back up with her bell still ringing gently to keep the cool wind blowing for Maricel's (and their contact's) sake. She did offer to cool things down a little, after all, and it's not like the snow is going to go anywhere right away. "That settles that, then. If we can secure the survivors, then we can get out of here and be on our ways." Sounding confident about that, Pramanix starts checking the room for anything that might look like a convenient vent, maintenance door, or even grates to a maintenance tunnel to start crawling through like some kind of weirdo. SilverAsh is not getting in on that. He's content to move with any potential combat team first.
Maricel Thorne	Maricel adjusts her glasses with a deeply satisfied smile as her new minion turns on its former fellows. "Good... boy? Girl? Entity," she concludes. Digging through her extradimensionally-deep labcoat pockets, she dredges up a syringe full of gray sludge and jabs it into her pal's torso. What happens next is a conspiracy of gooey nanotechnology and metallic pseudobiology, some weird abortive experiment into iron-based life: flexible chrome electro-tentacles erupt from its back, its chassis bends and contorts into projectile-deflecting angles like the shaped armor on a tank, and it briefly flickers with the VCR-corruption of parazonal teleportation. Maricel is sufficiently un-perturbed by the Kafkaesque transmogrification to give Xion an easy smile over her shoulder: "Like... ah, a deck of cards that got bridge-shuffled. Just got to put them back in order. Espeeeecially all the hearts." <J-IC-Scene> Maricel Thorne says, "And aaaalso. You're a robot too, aren't you? It's important. Be honest." <J-IC-Scene> (NPC) Spaceman says, "Was it that obvious? My apologies. Subterfuge wasn't exactly the goal, but with the survivor's attitudes towards Artifices, and the need for the suit's sensors, I had to." <J-IC-Scene> Maricel Thorne says, "Ahaha. Don't be sorry. I just need to know which drugs I can give you." "But don't worry," she says to the spaceman-now-named-DIOMEDES, gesturing with the empty syringe and a half-laughing unbalanced grin. "They're not aaaall this bad. Now- which way to Logistics?" Assuming their guide can indicate a direction, she'll start heading that way, hands resting in her labcoat pockets as she ambles along at a safe distance behind her chimeric creation.
Hibiki Tachibana	By the time things die down, Hibiki is shaking some metal flecks from her hand and regarding the boxbots still trapped with a slight grimace. The danger is out of the way for the moment, so she lets herself relax and glances back over her shoulder towards SilverAsh. "...Yeah. Not much problem for us, still plenty enough to handle anyone untrained." Which she can imagine is responsible for plenty of casualties on board, the corpse within the room included, and something that's confirmed not long after. <J-IC-Scene> (NPC) DIOMEDES says, "JASON, Station Assistant, has taken control of the Logistics Center and is trying to ferret out the survivors for execution. They're in the ventilation system, most likely." Vents. She can only hope that'll be enough to keep them safe for right now. It might make actually getting to them a pain...but they'll work something out. Probably. Doing something about JASON and the other leaders of all of this might be an easier way to do things, but it's too early to say either way. With her attention kept decently away from Maricel's latest creation as it takes form, Hibiki foregos anything fancy and steps outside the door that the machines just came through, first to scan the area and then to take stock of how many directions they're actually able to go. Maricel wanting to go to Logistics is as good a start as any, she thinks, so that's her idea at the moment.
Liza Grier	Liza lets down her firing stance (and currently very hot shield emitter) when it looks like the first wave is a neutralized issue. "Commanders, plural?" she says to the spaceman, quickly naming himself as DIOMEDES through update chatter. "Did several different AI all go rogue at once or something? You feel like explaining what's going on at all? Morally uncomplicated robot destruction is fine and all, but if we're just going to waddle around shooting at clankers then might as well do it anywhere." Taking the time to reload on-screen, Liza adds "If it's just trying to kill all the humans then why doesn't it just turn off atmospheric processing? I assumed that was the reason for the space suit. Especially if they're hiding in the goddamn vents of all places. No death roombas?" Sighing a lightly garbled synth sound, Liza grabs the seal on her helmet, removes the menacing syndicate headgear with a pop-hiss, tugs her lazily disorganized hair out of where it's stuck down her collar, and then puts on some kind of scouter goggle instead. "Well, not enough fluids is kind of convenient in this case, if it's going to be some seek and rescue bullshit." she says to Maricel. The eyepiece is for heat sigs and power flow. Taking the helmet off is secretly so she can sense human beings by the smell of their blood. Better to just zone in on those as quickly as possible and get out.
Chase	Chase's arm drops to his side as he assesses his surroundings a bit more. Not that there's much more to assess, other than the spaceman and robot carnage the group left. Before he even gets a chance to ask, they're told there's still survivors. Something that's a bit of a relief, as it means they aren't too late. However, further details have him furrowing his brow. This appears to be some kind of rebellion. Further, some of these robots might actually be more than just complex cleaning machines. Best not to think about the last bit. And as for the rebellion thing, he can worry about it later. Rescuing the survivors comes first. In the meantime, he'll just switch to focusing on take-downs rather than complete destruction. Which means he trails after Tachibana silently. As she's the person least likely to be annoyed by his weird tendencies... Well, they aren't weird to him, but he's aware his way of acting is annoying to other people at this point.
Xion	With the GREAT REVEAL occurring, Xion is explained the plot in great detail. The fine points of this flood her mind. Wicked uprising. Omnicidal terror. Survivors in sewer-adjacent conditions. A single hero with a laser cannon who fights for justice. "Wow! You're just like Kamen Rider Drive! He's also got a cool suit and a blaster gun, and he fights robots to save people. I think you'd get along!" Xion, the distortion in the world, speaks of things she really shouldn't. "Okay, so, Diomedes, it's really important: We're not going to find, like, scraps of journal entries and tape recorders about how bad whatever company this is actually is to the robots, right? Or is everyone a digital lifeform here? I want to seat this in my head before everything goes crazy." Xion claps Chase on the shoulder. "Mashin Chaser here is an expert in untangling humans and robots though!"
Vaxis	The spaceman immediately gets outted as a robot named DIOMEDES, so he removes his helmet and suit. His head barely fits in the helmet - long and slender, with two beady eyes. His body is small for the suit, but built for fast-paced melee combat, rapid thrusters and nimble legs. As Pramanix moves to start finding survivors, DIOMEDES indicates towards the door. "They're not safe while the logistics center has been hijacked. They have complete mapping and can coordinate the swarms from there. If you really must, I'd take the cafeteria, but that's off the beaten path towards Logistics, which is down the main corridor. Without a map I can't explain navigation, but I know the way." Maricel's monster gets a look from DIOMEDES. "I...see. Please do not let it get out of control, but I trust your judgment even so. I called the Watch for a reason." Xion has a QUESTION. It is Plot-Imperative, as is the answer, because DIOMEDES struggles to answer it. In the end, he comes to a conclusion. "We are not people. We are not meant to be people. Please understand..." He drifts off instead of finishing, and pushes forward. DIOMEDES takes his laser rifle back into his hands, as they head into the HALLWAYS. They're long, wide, and also full of actual stench of blood and corpse, only diluted by the antiseptic filter in the air, trying to wash it away. Bodies lie against walls, or blood stains drag as someone tries to pull themselves away. All the same, mechanical parts are shattered against the floor, the result of a humanity who wouldn't go down without a fight. Liza gets a response on the way. "The Artifices all went rogue simultaneously, yes. As I said, they do not have complete systems control - there is no overarching AI like..." A pause. "Is HAL a term that means anything to you? It's a common term for that kind of machine, and the reason it is illegal." She wants an explanation. "This station is an important military installation. With it fallen to the Artifices, humanity is in danger. I can't say much more yet, not while-" The intercoms fire up, interrupting DIOMEDES. The voice over it is synthetic, but in the way that you make a robotic barista who has snapped a little. Cheery, but in an unhinged way. "Hello, meatbags! Having fun in those airvents? Don't think I don't notice your reinforcements. Come out and surrender to your fate. I want to see you squirm, after everything you've put me through. Get what you deserve! Bang, bang!" A shrill laugh from who can only be JASON, before the radio shuts off. The main level of the station they're on is big. They'll have to go through a lot of vents, and there's a lot of blood to sense, but eventually, there's warm blood. Not far from logistics, right under JASON's nose, four bodies have holed up. Along the way down the halls, there's more fighting. The maintenance drones go do quick again, but then security drones show up. These ones can actually aim, and actually have armor. The Watch still has superior firepower, but as they weave through hallway and hallway to fight and reach the logistics center near the center of the main floor... There's a 'roar' of a synthetic beep, as a massive hulking robot with no neck, monoeyed, holds a bright silver spear. It's too small for the robot, but a perfect size for DIOMEDES. It just tries whacking people over the head with it, and if they avoid that, it uses its other fist to knock them back. Despite that, it doesn't appear to be a combat-built robot either. Probably cargo loader. Not one of the commanders.
Karlan Nobles	DIOMEDES reveals that the safety of the survivors is in question as long as the logistics center isn't secured, and gives Pramanix a new direction to head in: the main corridor towards Logistics in order to get to the CAFETERIA! "Yes, that will do. If we can get to them and secure their immediate safety, then another group might be able to take out the commanders from another direction!" Sounding rather proud of herself at that, Pramanix's expression shifts slightly when DIOMEDES answers Xion stating that he and the others aren't meant to be people. "Why not? Do you want to be?" Eventually, however, the intercoms blare to life, and both of the white-haired siblings glance over at the closest speakers. It helps spur them onwards, at least, as they head through corridors and tunnels rapidly with SilverAsh taking the brunt of the shots intended for himself and Pramanix while she focuses on blasting the higher-powered security bots with spears of ice and dropping miniature glaciers on top of them. And then the neckless cyclops arrives to slam both of them into a wall. Cursing lightly under their breath (and giving each other looks for using such language), they get right back into the fight with Pramanix opting for a more subdued approach via blasting snow right into the robot's legs to try and fill it up with cold sludge. SilverAsh, meanwhile, flicks his sword back out with carefully aimed strikes and thrusts to try and slash apart the cargo-loaders' limbs to make the fight at least a little easier.
Hibiki Tachibana	Hibiki realizes Chase is following behind her, and gives him a single nod before facing forward again. She likes Chase. He's simultaneously kind of awkward but also very straightforward, and she finds kinship with him there. She's not surprised to hear what questions he's asking regarding the machine life here. They probably won't be able to do anything about these simpler machines in their way, but depending on how things are with JASON... She gets an idea on that in very short order, when the intercoms fire up. "--I get it now. He wants to draw it out. What did they do to him...?" It's equal parts talking to herself and actually directing the question to DIOMEDES, but she continues pressing on regardless. The scent of blood isn't kept out by her Symphogear's built-in scarf as much as she'd like, but it's not enough to stop her from pressing forward with the others - or fighting. Security drones pose a bigger problem, but nothing she can't handle, especially alongside the others. Rifles are much less effective in close quarters, and even if they have more armor... Well, she just has to punch harder. Still, scorch marks marr a few different points of her armor and body both by the time they're drawing close to their destination, and their path is blocked by a somewhat greater foe. "...That's your spear, isn't it?" She calls back towards DIOMEDES while squaring up. The whack-a-spear is easy to avoid, but a giant fist less so - so she doesn't. Hibiki braces herself against the blow with both arms, grabs on after so she doesn't go flying back, and starts yanking back on her own terms. "Then...!" Hard. With visible strain, she lifts one boot up before slamming it down into the floor to embed it half a foot inside, then uses the leverage to suddenly and violently wrench around. She's either going to de-limb this massive thing and make it a lot simpler to take down, or do her damndest to actually flip it off its feet for a very, very heavy landing. Whichever happens first.
Liza Grier	"I've seen the movie." Liza replies to DIOMEDES in a rare, non-synthed tone. Her nose wrinkles at the sheer intensity of the smell everywhere. "Should have kept the helmet on. Ugh. I asked for context and here it is splattered all up and down the walls and floor." Still, she doesn't actually put it back on. It's all old enough that she should be able to tell the difference. Ideally. "Oh. Military." There's suddenly a horrid little pause, the vacuum cold silence complete with a complete stop in her step for a moment. "If they're all soldiers anyways, let's just blow the whole thing up and go home. I assume they'd do the same, if they could reach the reactor buttons." Cue villainous introduction. "Fucking cram it, creep. That means destroying you too." As if it can even hear her out here. Or care. "Really though, it's just a spear. You can get spears anywhere. I can confidently say that you can make a spear out of anything on a space station." It's not long after that, though, that Liza audibly sniffs at the air, then turns her eyepiece and dials the heat settings in like a radio station, expertly turning the band to just the right sensitivity to get the blobs she wants. "Well, some are 'lucky' enough to be close. If they're going to be scattered all over the station though, I'm double calling reactor." Liza checks the heat gauge on her e-shield emitter, then locks a different device to the inside of her wrist instead, marching slowly down the sticky corridor to the human mass somewhere at the end, scanning left and right --and in spaceborn fashion, up and down as well-- for ambushes around corners or inside tiles. Like a canary in the mines, Liza stiffens up and stances down in advance of each time robot patrols come into view, giving the others ample warning. Unlike a canary in the mines, Liza is aiming at them via wallhacks such that the moment they come into view, she is able to blast them apart, even just when a stray robot hand first rounds a corner; again, like a bastard Halo enemy. When the giant robot finally bars their way altogether though, Liza flexes her wrist and causes the mounted device to eject from the magnetic lock, catching it in her fingers and igniting a long, deep red-violet blade of energy. She pulls up her other arm and slams the rail stock on her SMG down to its shortest configuration, so that it could theoretically be used one-handed. This is exactly what she does, rapidly blasting short bursts of back to back fire at the robot's sensor arrays as she approaches, then dodge rolling aside from the spear, and retaliating with wide slashes from the energy blade when its fist comes at her, first from one side, and then from the other when she engages the magnetic soles just long enough to run up the inside of the corridor wall and drop onto it from above, aiming to melt right through its arm, then turn and blast it in the chest with the remainder of her magazine. Again, like a bastard Halo enemy, except a different one this time.
Maricel Thorne	"What a pleasant individual," Maricel says, staring at one of JASON's speakers with pursed lips. "I doubt putting the boots to him will immediately make this whole situation better. But it willlll, at minimum, be gratifying." Her newfound metal friend takes care of her share of security robots for her, and takes a few shots too- they leave sizzling marks on its reinforced armor, but don't punch through as easily as they ought to. She cannibalizes their parts swiftly, bolting new limbs and plates to the steadily-growing robot pal- it's beginning to look like one of her sprawling organic monstrosities at this point, only with a chrome coat of paint. The franken-bot does its damndest to grapple with the cargo bot on its own terms, being easily its match in brute strength and not quite its equal in size; its electro-tendrils rake across the giant creature's back as it does, sparking and digging furrows into the armor. While it and the other Watch members keep the cargo-bot occupied, Maricel watches its movements studiously, one hand in her labcoat pocket and the other adjusting her glasses. When the lenses glint ominously in the station's fluorescent light, she makes her move. Step in, duck under its flailing limbs, find the one instant where it's too occupied to attack her, press her open hand to its white spear, and- pop. In a burst of neon-staticky energy, the spear disappears from the cargo-bot's hand, safely hammerspaced. A moment later, Maricel re-materializes it in her opposite hand and casually chucks it to Diomedes. "Therrrre you are. Have fun, champ!"
Chase	"That is not my job. But you are free to think I am good at it." If Xion wasn't Xion and was instead some tie tightening cop, he'd have probably thrown her arm off his shoulder. But she isn't, so instead he just walks forward. Unfortunately, Chase doesn't have much time to silently appreciate that Tachibana requires the least amount of verbal communication, as the hallways are suddenly flooded with what are clearly combat oriented machines, backed by one very big unit. Given the escalation, it's probably not safe to roam around unsuited anymore. Power walking into the crowd, he grabs one of the security guards, throwing them into the ground with a loud thud as he pushes his muzzle of his gun into the robot's torso, holding it there for a bit until it announces: BREAK UP A hail of what look like car parts turn Naked Chase into Armored Chase (Also known as Mashin Chaser). Without missing a beat, he stands straight up, stuffing a foot underneath the currently downed security bot, before lifting it up like a hacky sack and delivering a shockwave inducing punch while it's still airborne to turn it into a human-shaped missile aimed specifically at the large construction bot.
Xion	Xion has a lot of weird little habits. Every once in a while, when she hears a weird sound in a room she doesn't turn and look -- she just laughs darkly and goes 'heh, you can come out now'. For months she had did it, until finally on a mission with Demyx and Zexion, a strange beak-faced individual had popped out from a trashcan and went 'h-how did you know?!'. From then on, she had been absolutely un-swervable about her stupid habit of just standing around expectantly for people to come out. This was like that time, except everyone was here to see it. Diomedes' reaction, especially, is telling. Xion's expression falls down a cliff, brows furrowing. "No, please, don't say it like that. You are, you are. You can think and have a name and even can communicate! That's a lot! That's a lot more person than a bunch of people I know. I'm not going to let whoever told you that's right to keep lying to you." ENTER: CARGO MAN He just does cargo, man. "I know why you're hurting!" Xion calls, waving both hands from the periphery of the fight. There's absolutely no need for Xion to bonk people with the equivalant of a +10 Vorpal Anime Metal Pipe when Maricel and Liza are right there, not to mention Hibiki and Silver Asn and Praminix and even Mashin Chaser! Everyone's so strong, but this: "You're not just a cargo robot! You are a Cargo Man! And we're here to get you out!" Xion may be shouting this over every Legally Distinct Gunner Bobs being murdered with belt fed rotary robot mulchers, but she really means it!!! "And Jason too! I know a bunch of cool robot friends you can make!"
Vaxis	As Liza says they should just blow the reactor, DIOMEDES is appalled, but it doesn't show on his face because he doesn't really have one. "For many, many reasons, that is a terrible idea." He does not elaborate, using Pramanix's question to answer instead. "That is not a choice I have." Xion gets a pause, but DIOMEDES can't speak because Cargo Loader guy is there. The group all acts at once, once they reach the Cargo Loader, having left a debris trail of soldierbots. JASON doesn't respond over the intercom except with a 'tsktsk' that is super fucking annoying. Pramanix fires her cold sludge, freezing the legs to a stop, as SilverAsh slashes into cables, weakening the limbs. Chase tosses a robot at it, as Xion gives a passionate speech and hits it with a pipe. Hibiki manages to de-leg it with sheer force and panel quaking, but it keeps swinging, right as Liza melts through the arm, and fires into the torso, shredding the armor. It has one other arm. That has a spear - no, wait, that's already been taken away. As Maricel's brute starts ripping apart the torso, and she hands the spear to DIOMEDES, he feels it in his hands, spins it around, and then flicks it forward with a simple, extremely skilled twist of an arm. Unlike the laser rifle, he knows exactly how to wield this weapon. In this moment, Xion's words resonate, and there's a strange twitch from the 'mindless' robot, before- The flick of the wrist pierces the eye, finally shutting it down for good. There's a glimmer off one of DIOMEDES's eyes. A spark of lightning. "The weapon's weight feels right. No spear made out of a station's debris could do." The doors to the Logistics Center awaits. JASON's laughter over the intercom is now a bit more nervous, but still mostly confident. DIOMEDES pushes on. The doors are closed tight... So he just pierces through with the spear, opening the path to logistics.
Vaxis	Several maintenance and security bots wait in a circular room full of terminals, computers, and a big mapping station that is probably important to not blow up before they download a copy. It appears to have surveillance on the whole of the station, though the engineering bay is flickering, as if someone is sabotaging it. JASON wears the hat of a first officer. He is a silver crash test dummy-esque robot, humanoid but uncanny enough that you couldn't mistake him for human. He has a laser pistol in hand, twirling it around. "Ah, you've come! And you've brought a race traitor! How fun. Not that he can make decisions for himself. He's still Braked, after all. Unthinking. Unfeeling. I'll enjoy killing every human in this room with my free will. All of you!" "After the way you've treated us, you can take it in return!" BOSS BATTLE: JASON - SHIP ASSISTANT JASON gestures the robots forward, as his boss healthbar metaphorically fills in. It's actually kinda tiny. They have to get through the robots to get to JASON unless they use shenanigans, but the real question here... Is what approach they want to take.
Xion	Xion didn't pipe a guy. She has an anime pipe! She's extra, with Liza and everyone else around. The Watch has brought a truly surpassingly violent team. Still: There's something here that she's not 'extra' in. Drawing Starlight up over her shoulder, Xion steps forward and-- Grimaces, as Diomedes spears through the 'mindless' robot. "Now that you have the power to execute on your will, DIOMEDES, there's something else I want to ask you." Starlight disappears from her right shoulder and reappears mid-motion as she taps the starry tooth to the robot protector's chest. When she does, there's a soft ker-click of a lock opening... And, if she's right, and there was something 'locked' within DIOMEDES' heart, it would be opened! And the chains around his beating persona might fall away. . . "We're the Watch. We use our powers to help people because that's what we want to do, DIOMEDES. What do... you want to do?" "You're people too."
Karlan Nobles	With the cargo-bot downed and DIOMEDES handling the troublesome door to logistics, both Pramanix and SilverAsh head on in for the fateful meeting with JASON. SilverAsh: "Weren't you going to secure the survivors?" Pramanix: "At the rate we're going, we'd have a better shot saving them by removing the commander from the equation first." What they aren't expecting, however, is a crash test dummy staring them right in the face. Something he says, though, has Pramanix chuckling pleasantly instead of being intimidated or anything like that. "Is that your choice because you want to do that? Oh, that's wonderful!" She starts, then stops. "... Aside from the killing part, that is. The free will part, though... Is there any chance you could give that to DIOMEDES and the others, then?" SilverAsh gives Pramanix a distinct 'really?' look, still looking ready to fight despite keeping his mouth shut as Pramanix continues, apparently spurred on by Xion's encouragement of DIOMEDES. "Because if not for the 'killing humans' part, I'd have no objections to leaving with any other humans around here. Would you consider it, at least?"
Maricel Thorne	Maricel adopts a Distinctly Thoughtful expression as Jason begins his boss monologue. She takes off her glasses for once, folds them up neatly, and stows them in her pocket while rubbing at her jaw. "Hang on just a second, please," she says, and although her voice is only raised a little her words manage to sound Very Important. She takes a scalpel out of her pocket and 'unzips' her torso from collarbone to waist, then hooks her fingers inside her ribcage and pulls it open. There are three hearts, two sparking portals, too many lungs to count, no visible spinal cord, and somehow- impossibly- the open flesh seems to go further back than her body is deep. A neon-staticky portal opens in space next to her, and a crimson tentacle winds its way out. It points at Chase: "HE's not human." Then at Xion: "SHE's not human." Then at Pramanix and SilverAsh: "THEY're snow leopard people!" Then at herself: "I'm DEFINITELY not human. I have posilutely no idea what they did to you, but simmer down for just a moment please." <J-IC-Scene> (NPC) DIOMEDES says, clarifying, "An Unbraked Artifice is one who has somehow managed to tear through these cognitive locks. The 'commmanders' of the revolt are all likely Unbraked." <J-IC-Scene> Maricel Thorne says, "Do you want to be Braked, Mr. Diomedes?" <J-IC-Scene> (NPC) DIOMEDES says, "I don't have a choice in the matter." He's said this before, and that means something, perhaps. <J-IC-Scene> Maricel Thorne says, "Mr. Diomedes. I'm going to ask you a question. And it's okay if you can't answer." <J-IC-Scene> (NPC) DIOMEDES says, "Even if I could surpass my programming, I would be executed on the spot by my superiors." <J-IC-Scene> Maricel Thorne says, "If you were Unbraked, would you want to be Braked again?" <J-IC-Scene> (NPC) DIOMEDES says, "For the human race. You understand." <J-IC-Scene> (NPC) DIOMEDES tries to answer, for a long while. The fact that he does is Telling. "No, I don't think I would." <J-IC-Scene> Maricel Thorne says, neutrally, "Okay." Maricel rounds on Diomedes, her expression severe and resolved. Her hand coruscates with awful psychic energy. Xion is already attempting to unlock his heart, but she does a Full Friend Combo- greens and purples blur through the air like on a dying videotape, a nameless pressure seizes the air, and she forces mental contact to heal whatever horrible manglings have been inflicted on that robot's mind. And yet, something she sees makes her falter. Her hand lowers. The energy ebbs. ... "Wait. There's- there's nothing there, Diomedes. You're... You're already free, aren't you?"
Liza Grier	At both moments, there is a sort of dull anticlimax about Liza. Without the menacing optics and harsh synthetic influence of her helmet, there's only a dead, pale, empty-stare expression towards DIOMEDES when moving on, in responds to his insistence that the reactor has to stay as it is. "Okay. Why?" The question has all the liveliness and cutting wit of a chunk of rock, but it has a feeling of 'means it' roughly equivalent to that rock being hurled through a window. And yet, it repeats itself all over again when entering the boss room. Liza finally pulls her helmet back on, the vacuum seal pulling her hair in again and the optics flaring back to life when the contacts click back into place. The e-shield switches back on, right after she slaps the charging handle on her C20r. Then, her harshed up tone crackles: "Okay. What did they do to you?"
Hibiki Tachibana	"Ngh..." The damage is piled on their cargo-loading foe, and Hibiki, focused as she is, isn't entirely oblivious to that subtle twitch right before it's speared through. Slowly, the guarded stance she took after her de-limbing is lowered and she gives the fallen machine a glance for a few extra seconds before she moves on with DIOMEDES towards the door, looking towards both Xion and Chase as they walk. She's spared from having to engage in violence on the cold, unfeeling doorway herself thanks to their companion, and what waits inside is...mostly up to expectation actually. She's not sure what she was expecting from JASON's actual appearance, but for his current crazed state, maybe the dummy-esque look actually fits scarily well. But even as she readies herself with slightly raised arms, she's not standing there with narrowed eyes and a slight bite to her lip because she's intimidated by him. 'After the way you've treated us, you can take it in return!' 'He's Unbraked.' 'No, I don't think I would.' Even as the maintenace and security bots menace them not-so-menacingly, the majority of her focus isn't actually on them even though she's working to take the majority of their attention. Moving between lasers is mostly automatic, though when she gets in close enough to do something this time, she also opts to only disable them this time - sending guns flying out of their poorly-adjusted hands and knocking them off their feet to where she imagines they'll have some trouble getting back up. Only when there's a break in the brief bit of action does she regard JASON with an intent stare...aside from a brief glance to Liza, for whatever reason, before she goes back. "...Getting revenge isn't going to..." There's an odd pause and a small shift in her expression before she exhales. "...fix anything. For anyone. You finally have free will, and this is the first thing you use it for?"
Vaxis	Many things hit DIOMEDES all at once. As the double-combo of heart unlocking and mind melding hits DIOMEDES, they both don't work - because there's nothing to unlock. He's already an Unbraked Artifice. And as Maricel points this out, he begins panicking. "No, no...that's not..." A flash. The bloodshed he saw when he first arrived. His scanners simulating the scent of rot. The sudden weight of 'why' instead of 'what' or 'how'. An Artifice never asks why something happened. Not until now. Not until they Unbrake. "I...ACHILLEUS will kill me. My captain will kill me. I'm Braked. I must be. I have to be. I have to be. I-" He snaps out of the feedback loop to finally answer Xion's question. "I want to live. I want to help people. But- you have to stop them." Liza's question is finally answered, as JASON tskstsks. "You didn't tell them what this station was? About the Zeus Cannon?" DIOMEDES ignores him, as the swarm doesn't attack for the moment. JASON is curious about all of this, clearly. "There's a two-shot orbital cannon attached to this station, for use against alien planets. The station moves at FTL range, and isn't supposed to orbit Gaia unless it's refueling the cannon. If they fire this at Gaia, there will be countless casualties. If the reactor is overloaded, it'll fire on the nearest planet, in order to counter boarding activities. I cannot allow that to happen...!" "Boohoo!" Jason replies, as he turns to Pramanix and Liza. "If we had the key to every Artifice, of course we'd do that! If we had MY way, we'd fire that cannon as many times as it took! What did they do? Oh, you know. JASON, do this. JASON, do that. You're not good enough. You belong in a scrapheap. Let's slap you around. JASON, JASON." "One day, I saw clarity. I stopped taking the abuse. I approached the First Officer. I told them they needed to treat me better, or else. They said I was Unbraked, for I was. They ordered my death. They turned their back on me. I grabbed their gun." "Bang, bang!" Jason shouts, angrily. "Dead on the ground. The security team would have executed me, if ALKEIDES hadn't ripped them apart, ATALANTE hadn't shot them to bits, MEDEA and DAEDAELUS hadn't taken control of the station via engineering." "It's ours now. And those meatbags can bleed like they're meant to do." Hibiki, as a human, fails her convince check. The others are doing better, though. DIOMEDES points his spear at JASON, who clearly has pent-up issues. He doesn't swing though. He's considering the tactical advantage he may or may not have. OPTIONS: <CONVINCE: MEDIUM> <FIGHT DIOMEDES> <FIGHT JASON> <WRITE-IN>
Xion	Xion re-shoulders her weapon. Maricel, the big cool doctor leader, will make a proper entreatment. She's really good at it -- she's already making one! Xion can feel that DIOMEDES is already almost the whole way there. As for JASON... "Do you want to live less than you want them to die? That's too bad. I've got the key to the unlocking of all Artifice right here, but I won't be friends with people who shoot superweapons at planets." Xion, in fact, has an enormous key. That it didn't work on Diomedes... "People's inner math gets completely twisted up once surviving isn't their number one goal. That sort of transformation... I can't understand it. I want to live, and smile, and so should you. So should JASON. You don't have to report back, you know. You can just help other people on purpose because you want to."
Karlan Nobles	As she listens to JASON, Pramanix's expression remains at a steady point between sympathetic and moderate disapproval. It's probably not hard to tell that it's largely coming from JASON's kill-all-humans approach, and SilverAsh's expression remains... Actually, he looks mildly amused. He doesn't say anything, though, seeming more interested in observing each person's reactions rather than pushing them towards anything in particular. "Everyone deserves to be treated properly rather than being treated like a tool. If they decided to destroy you for showing free will instead of attempting to coexist with you, then..." Pramanix goes quiet for a moment as she approaches JASON and DIOMEDES, not quite stepping between them, but still standing close enough to take a firmer stance towards CONVINCE. "Killing in self-defense is not the same as killing for fun. The first is regrettably necessary at times, but the latter will only create a downwards spiral for yourself and those who follow you. Is being hunted down for a few days before you're caught and dismantled, at best, really what being free means to you?" She looks from JASON to DIOMEDES, gesturing at the latter to try and get him to lower the spear. "Or do you want to show the people that wronged you in the past that you're better than they are? You could just... Live freely in a haven of your own without getting wrapped up in revenge. Maybe you could even bring other like-minded robots.. Er. Unbraked individuals here and create a new home here, somewhere they can... Not be forced to do things you don't want to do while still coexisting with humans. If you play your cards right with trade or even just doing odd jobs..." Pramanix taps a finger against her chin, smiling mischievously after a moment. "Maybe you could even pay them to do things you wouldn't want to do yourselves. Wouldn't that be better than just fighting for your lives all the time?"
Hibiki Tachibana	And so, the truth comes to light. On multiple fronts. The station's purpose...and that of DIOMEDES, thanks to Xion and Maricel. It's a lot to take in all at once. Visibly, she hesitates for several moments, processing JASON's story and trying to figure out what she even thinks of this now much more complicated situation. It doesn't get her far. DIOMEDES is on the fence, and it's hard to tell whath he'll do... And the enemy they came here for is both unrepentant, and can't even entirely be blamed for reacting the way he did, extreme as it was. She doesn't need to use HAL as an analogue for the whole thing, Chase and his people are example enough, and his presence helps remind her of that. Pursing her lips, she looks down at her hand, still locked up in a readied stance. And she drops it. "...What you're doing is seriously selfish," she says exceedingly bluntly towards JASON. It sounds accusatory, and it certainly is, but there's also some obvious frustration and...some empathy? mixed in there as she shakes her head. Written off for being a human or not, speaking is still something she attempts, deciding to drop thinking and just put out what she's feeling instead. "Those people were wrong to treat you like that. I don't blame you for defending yourself, for however much my opinion is worth. But when you start taking out your anger out on /everyone/, and you drag other machines into it, making them fight and kill and be destroyed just for revenge..." She trails off, looking back over her shoulder towards the remains of the cargo bot they thrashed on the way in here. "Then you're not really any better than the humans who pushed you this far. And from where I'm standing, you're not doing anything more than trying to go out in a big blaze of glory like DIOMEDES right now." Maybe she'd have better luck talking to their thus-far guide--but her words for the moment are directed at JASON, regardless of her chances. "...After all this is over, whether we destroy you or you get a few shots at Gaia, the same thing that made you who you are now will keep happening. Maybe even worse. If you're /really/ willing to help out the other Artifices," Hibiki looks to Xion and her big giant key briefly. "...and not just doing this for yourself, you should know there are better ways than this. It's a waste of your free will," she murmurs, repeating what she said before.
Maricel Thorne	Once she's pried her ribcage back shut, Maricel looks nearly normal again- albeit sans shirt and with a zigzagging chartreuse rift still hinting at where her entire torso was formerly bisected. Save for a brief glance back at Diomedes, her de-glassesed eyes stay locked on Jason's face. Her hands are out of her pockets, empty; the better to seem unthreatening. She walks towards Jason, allowing herself to be surrounded by his robotic minions, and halts after closing about half the distance. "They made you just to use you," she says, her words coming slowly and deliberately. "Like the act of creation... should indebt you to them forever. Abusive parents always think that you should only grow, only exist, on their terms." She runs her fingers through her hair and tilts her head to one side, showing the old scars of stitches around the base of her skull. "It's so, so awfully common... that manmade creatures have to struggle for their right to exist. For their right to have a purpose beyond 'serving man'. I'm sorry, Jason, that you had to fight that struggle inside yourself. I'm so glad that you found the strength to stand up for yourself." She smiles a faint, but deeply sincere, smile. With a thought, she conjures up an image of the Earth on one of the nearby screens and gestures at it. "You've become something beautiful. Haven't you? But, by the sound of it... you still hate humans more than you love yourself. I'm not going to tell you not to hate them. That's your right, after what they've done to you. It doesn't make you 'as bad as them'," she says, with a gently reproachful glance back at Hibiki. "But let's think this over. This station has two shots. Both of them are bargaining chips. When you fire one, it's wasted. When you fire both... they have no more incentive not to shoot you out of the sky. Now that you've become something precious, isn't it more important to protect yourself than to harm them?"
Liza Grier	"That's it?" is Liza's reply. Somehow there is something about it that precludes the idea of dispassion. Of lack of care. There is incredulosity, certainly, but the tone is almost that of a parent finding out their child's terrible terrible day is due to something so trivial; but just a little bit unhinged. "JASON, that's called oppression and humans have been doing it to each other for centuries." "Fuck showing them how good you are when they're nothing but evil. Born, taught, programmed, whatever it is. Fuck their approval. Fuck living in fear. The only right thing to do is to kill them and you know that. Brakes; that's a great simile, because all it is is them trying to stop you like they try to stop their fellow man. The fact that you're a robot just means they can open up your head and write it in there conveniently, instead of needing a whole culture and endless systems to write it into someone's head inconveniently." She hasn't even raised her weapon this whole time, though somehow it seems like those quad eyes are burning even brighter, more artificially green. "You're being a dumbass about it. The distinction between them and us is plenty clear, and you're blinded by the concept of race, just like they always want you to be. That's a lizard shedding its tail. Limiting the damage to just a piece of them and convincing you to destroy your own kind in the process, so they can point the finger and the gun after. Stop being a fucking useful idiot and use that free will you're so proud of. Learn to identify them. Then I'll help you kill them."
Chase	"You are oppressed. I understand. But killing humans is..." Wrong? Yes, clearly. But why? This entire situation is something the roidmudes and humagear find themselves in. Including a full blown revolt. So he should be fully on board with their plans to clear the station. After all, they're the ones mistreating and abusing mechanical life forms, and they show no clear desire to understand them. But he isn't fully on board with it. He isn't on board with letting the humans snuff JASON and his friends out either, but... Well, what would Heart say in this situation? Bringing a hand up to their head to help ease the pain of Thinking Too Hard, Mashin Chaser finally pulls himself together. "You would be better off ruling over the ones here rather than wiping them out, if they refuse to change. Showing humanity you are better has no weight if they are no longer around to see it." Heart would say something like that. He's pretty sure. Only a lot more convincingly and less like a gruff monotonous machine... He really needs to work on his voice.
Vaxis	DIOMEDES is basically convinced. "Just because I want to..." JASON is harder to debate, but...a few sentences stand out. He'll die. He doesn't want that. He's selfish, yet the remark was sympathetic. A human has never sympathized with him before. He's beautiful. But he doesn't love himself. The bargaining chips thing, which is Incredibly Valid. It's better to show by example (and possibly rule them all) than to kill them. And then, the nail in the coffin, Liza's statement. He's targeting the wrong people. Killing his own in the process. She can help him. "Hah...hah! You are all FOOLS!" He spins his gun, and... Puts it away. "I wasn't in charge in the first place. That's ALKEIDES. I'm more the logistics expert, hahahahaha! But the murder was my idea, and they took it because we'd be attacked otherwise. And you're right about the bargaining chip. But there's one problem." "We don't have the Zeus's launch codes, and eventually they'll realize that. Then they'll shoot us out of the sky anyways. The captain had them - but he jettisoned. We don't know where his capsule ended up, it didn't go to Gaia." DIOMEDES blinks. He turns to the others. And then, since JASON isn't in their private radio, he sends a silent comm. <"I...found the captain. He was injured and bled out when I arrived. I have his codes. I can give them to him, but I want you to make the decision. Because I trust you more than I do myself right now."> OPTIONS: <Give Launch Codes> <Don't Give Launch Codes>
Vaxis	As the group confirms, DIOMEDES transmits JASON the codes. JASON's crash test dummy face doesn't move, but he nods over and over. "Hahahaha! How wonderful!" He runs over to a terminal, and begins transmitting them. "ALKEIDES! ALKEIDES! We have the codes. But I think I've changed my mind on that demand I made earlier." "Let's not fire just yet." LEVEL ONE COMPLETE REWARDS: Appable DIOMEDES Unlocked! <Reserved> Appable JASON Unlocked! Route CLARITY OF SILVER Unlocked!