>>12627193
Follow through. We decided to go check Oswald, and hope repairing the reactor is not that complicated a task.

In passing, ask Hroddard about this experiments by the Doctor, and what kind of ways of fucking us up the good Doctor would leave us with does he know of.

And how did he hijack/paralyze our body. If he can do it remotely...

+waits for other players to show up+

>>12627266
I concur with this. Any drones we see blast em with the carbine.

Good to see you back.

>>12627266
Chuckles gives an electronic "snort" at your question.

"You and your siblings were lab rats, freezer-meat. The Doc would wake you up, one at a time, and just let you run around this place, find a weapon or two, and just watch. Then he'd throw in a few "complications" like security drones or other Silicon Creatures such as myself to ruin your day. This time around it looks like he decided to give you a fighting chance.

"As for shutting you down like he did back there, he's probably got something stuck up inside you for that, or he got his hands on whatever tech allowed your own superiors to keep you in line. Might want to ask this Oswald guy about it, assuming the Doc didn't wipe him database of all the data. Which is something he would totally do. Other than that I think you'll be fine, at least until you catch up with him. He's a cruel, mean, tricky bastard, but I think he's curious as to whether or not you'll actually go chasing after him."

>>12627343
"Well if we make it outta this situation alive he's first on my list."

Can we make an estimate as to how long we have before drones start popping up?

>>12627363
Security is aware that you are heading for Oswald, and he has your location from when you contacted him and NANA, so chances are you'll run into them pretty soon, if you stay out in the open like you are. You estimate that a good deal are searching the corridor you are currently in, and there are drones at the Research block.

You are now in a stairwell. According to your schematics of the Installation, the Research block should be one floor down and across another Corridor. While there are several "routes" ultimately leading to Oswald, only one really seems practical given your time constraints.

>>12627392
Go forth and conquer. Time is an issue.

Callahan speaks up as you approach the Research Block.

"Hey, boss, I know we're in a hurry and all, but do you think we could try getting me a new body while we're in there? I reckon it'd be a big help if more of us could move around on our own. Whadd'ya say, Chuckles?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me. Oh, wait, I'm not compatible with the shit you guys have stored here. Thanks again, fuckhead."

You see a sign saying "RESEARCH BLOCK". Oswald's servers should be down on the left, the Research Labs and storage down the right.

You hear Callahan shout.

roll d100

rolled 43 = 43

Steady. Aim. Blow shit to hell.

If it isn't friendly of course.

>>12627476
You turn around, just in time to see a biped of some sort hurling itself towards you - a security drone, judging by the design, but not like the ones you encountered before. You manage to get a shot off, and the armor on it's chest explodes, sending it flying backwards and skidding across the floor.

You see more drones approaching from further down the corridor - it seems you just managed to beat them here.

The drones, seeing you, open fire as they approach like a swarm.

Declare action, roll d100

rolled 28 = 28

Finish off the first drone and then take cover, preferably in a room if there's a door nearby.

>>12627525
You finish off the drone with another shot, a cloud of dust erupting from its remains and enshrouding the corridor. You retreat into the Research Block, and note that there is some sort of blast-door, and a control pad on the wall. It is glowing red, and says "SECURITY OVERRIDE".

rolled 44 = 44

Have Cal attempt to hack it while firing at any drone that comes into view.

Here's the preemptive roll.

Callahan hooks up a prehensile cable into the control panel and begins his work.

"Oh for the love of... Security's all over this thing, this'll take a while. Hold on, boss."

Security drones leap through the dust cloud, claws scraping against the floor, shoulder-mounted guns firing.

You just barely manage to avoid getting riddled with holes as they focus their fire on you, and you hide against the wall.

Declare action, roll d100

rolled 96 = 96

Blind fire around the corner, also pull out the stun stick in case they move in.

>>12627616
"And... got it!"

The blast door slams closed... but not before letting one and a half drones through. One leaps through just in time, landing a couple meters from you. The other gets cut in half as it gets caught by the door. It steadies itself on its arms.

You get out your shock rod, but your particle carbine is overheated.

The bisected one takes a swing at you.

Roll d100

rolled 99 = 99

Dodge and zap it.

"Persistent little shit!"

>>12627729
You try to avoid its trike, but it catches you in the knee. There is a sicking crack as its claws rip and tear into the flesh and bone, and you fall to the ground.

The drone struggles to remain upright as you bring it down with you, and the other leaps towards you both.

Roll.

Roll for your life.

rolled 14 = 14

Firing at the jumping one. D:

BLAM

Or whatever the hell the particle beam sounds like when it fires. You can't quite hear it over the sound of how awesome your shot is.

No longer overheated, you raise the carbine with your free hand and fire at the leaping drone, fire. The beam nails it right in the face, and it explodes, it's AI Box destroyed. Shrapnel from the drone flies out, ripping into the crippled drone on top of you - a strip of metal slams into the wall not an centimeter from your face.

What do?

>>12627928
Push the fucker on top of me off. Stand up, feel like a badass. Make sure the crippled one is dead and move on my merry way to Oswald's server room.

>I miss you, weird.

Your push the shredded drones off of you, and attempt to stand. Your internal repair systems have already gone to work to try and fix your knee - it is very stiff, won't bend much, but you can stand on it and move.

You rip the head off of the crippled drone and smash it into the wall, then go on your way to the server room.

You hear the drones tapping and clawing at the blast doors, and Security is no doubt trying to hack it open again. You won't have much time.

Oswald's server room looks as you would expect, save for it being powered down and inactive.

>>12628071
>I miss him too.

Search for a way to activate it, levers, switches, on buttons, plugs, the like.

There is a central terminal in the back of the room. It appears inactive.

You note that one of the access panels appears to have been freshly replaced.

>>12628170
Not sure is this is good or bad. Have Cal check it out.

>Where is everyone? D:

>>12628180
>weird is probably asleep or busy with something, I imagine, and everyone else is probably at a Halloween party or something.

Do you wish to remove the panel?

>>12628203
Preemptive "It's a trap!"

Remove it.

>>12628247
You carefully remove the panel, revealing a mess of wires.

It's horrible.

You lift Cal from your back and position him before the mess, and he lets out a low whistle.

"Yeah, this is pretty fucked up, I can tell already." A couple of manipulators extend from his cybernetics, inspecting the innards of the terminal. "Gimme a few minutes, and I'll get this up and runnin'..."

You hear a dull "thump" from above.

>>12628271
Shoulder carbine and aim at whatever the hell it is.

"Chuckles, if you see anything let me know. Otherwise I'm feeding you to the next drone I meet."

>>12628271

Lose control of my robo-bowels.

Then glance up.

What see?

>>12628292
Good ta see you. I'm sure CyberDM was getting bored of it being just me.

You look above towards the source of the noise and see... the ceiling. The paneling seems to be slightly deformed along a path leading across it. You hear more thumps.

"Get read, freezer-meat... looks like Doc left some friends to play with you."

>>12628308

Good to see you too. Unfortunately, I'm about to crash after a 16 hour workshift. Sorry Broseiden.

>>12628363
Look for an opening and prepare to stun whatever comes out.

Holding your shock rod at the ready, you hear a creaking directly above you.

roll d100

"FOR GLORY!"

rolled 96 = 96

>>12628516
Damn it. Herped and derped.

rolled 1 = 1

>>12628526
Ow.

"FOR GLORY!"

Unfortunately, while you were busy acting all big and bad and shouting your fuckawesomeness to the heavens, something came tumbling down from the ceiling, crashing into you. You feel something vicelike grip your torso, and toss you against the wall.

Regaining your senses, you see a creature similar to Chuckles and Doctor Cialsock... but far more feral. It stands on all fours, knuckles on the ground, cybernetics weaved into pale patches of flesh... or perhaps the other way around. Its eyes, simple and predatory, regard you and then turn to Callahan, who lays helpless as he tries to repair the terminal.

Act and roll, brave anon.

rolled 76 = 76

>>12628557
"No more battle-cries..."

Stand up and charge it with the stun stick. Feral or not we could use the body.

rolled 49 = 49

Disrupt rod! Time! Is! Of! Essence!

rolled 56 = 56

>>12628577
Disrupt the head and jam Chuckles on the neck. :D

>>12628610
Good point. I'd prefer this.

>>12628577
>>12628592
Shock rod in one hand, disruption rod in the other, you throw yourself at the feral silicon creature.

Your strike with the shock rod gets its attention, drawing it away from Callahan, but not much else... your slash with the disruption rod takes off one of its hands, though.

With hiss, the silicon creature lashes out at you with its good hand.

roll

rolled 93 = 93

>>12628631
Dodge and counter!

>>12628669
Ow. Your rolls are going up and down on the extreme scale.

>>12628696
It happens a lot when I roll dice. One moment everything dies, the next I'm getting shredded by rabbits.

>>12628669
The blow meets your midsection, and blood comes flying out of your mouth as your innards are smashed. You fly into one of the server towers, and your head cracks against the metal and plastic.

"Come on, stay awake!" Chuckles? "He's coming! Get on your feet, freezer-meat! Take off his head!"

rolled 34 = 34

>>12628707
Scared to roll.
Well, here's to the sweat release of death? /raisesglass

"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

>>12628731
Whoozy, you see a a silhouette approaching you. A dull roar in your ears.

A claw, going for your face, already dripping with your blood. You damn near wrench your guts open as you twist away from the claw, and it smashes into the server tower. It sparks, temporarily blinding the feral silicon creature.

You have the disruption rod in hand... swing...

Off with his head indeed.

Groggy from damage. Use next Regen. Jam Chuckles on, hope it is not a mistake.

"Cal?"

>>12628763
Groping your belt, provoking a cry of outrage from Chuckles as you poke him in the eye, you find a third CRP, and jam it into your gut. Your leg, you note, has reached near full mobility, and your midsection begins stitching itself back together with the help of the cellular regeneration pack.

Picking Chuckles's head off your belt, you look to the now headless silicon creature.

"So... do I just jam you on?"

"Pretty much."

You do so, and you see countless silicon tendrils gripping together between Chuckles and his new body. They glow for a moment, heating, and the head is sealing onto the body.

Chuckles stands, hunched over, and retrieves the other hand you had chopped off.

"Cal?"

"All done here. What the fuck happened? I can't see behind me."

Chuckles lifts Callahan up with his good hand, the other being reattached similarly to his head.

If Callahan had the capacity to gulp, you think he would've.

Fix ourselves up and beware the creature's entry point.

Check the exact point where the Feral breached the ceiling.

>>12628814
Watch Hroddrad/chuckles carefully. "Let's get to it?"

Chuckles sets Callahan back down, his back now against the terminal.

You stand shakily and inspect the gaping hole in the ceiling where Chuckles's new body came from - your flashlight illuminates it, showing nothing of interest. You can't hear anything either.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few more running around," says Chuckles. He experimentally walks around the room, testing out his new body, and shaking the freshly reattached hand. He picks up the severed head, and hooks up a cable into it from his neck.

"Figures. This thing doesn't know anything - just a half brain-dead bruiser." He crushes the creature's head in his new claws.

The terminal is now online.

>>12628907
See if we can contact Oswald. Maybe do something about the security. Or better yet, the reactor!

>>12628920
Agreed. Security first please.

>>12628907
"The Doctor sounds like a character indeed. How did you end up with his... 'Brood'?"

Are we in Oswald's place? I hope that server-tower isn't anything vital.

Accessing the terminal, the three of you manage to start up the boot process for Oswald. The towers around you come to life, a low hum filling the room. The damaged tower sparks and whines, before shutting off. The terminal informs you of a damaged component - fortunately, it will have no effect on Oswald himself, just data loss.

The screen goes blank and is replaced with a caricature of a spider.

"Oh, good mor- What the fuck is this?"

>>12628956
The screen darkens for a moment, the spider entering a "thinking" pose. You see a message in the corner indicating that he is communicating with NANA and Security.

"Oh dear... oh dear... no, seriously, what the fuck? Okay, Security's gone off the deep end, and since #2glFr$ is gone me and NANA have shut him down by vote.

Now, how may I help you?"

>>12628999
"We need a body for this guy and we need to get to the Reactor, immediately."

Let him know the situation with the good Doctor.
"Can you keep the reactor from blowing up? Maybe give us some equipment to help us out here? Maybe we can help get the utility 'bot up and running? And it would be nice to wake up some other... people like us."

>>12628907
"Oswald, quick recap. Facility in ruins for centuries. Reactor set to blow. Security is in shoot all mode, NANA cannot move from her area. We want to go to Reactor to stop it. Can you help?"

>>12629022
Body for Callahan, that is.
Chuckles has been seen to.

>>12629022
>>12629042
>>12629051
"I can see that... yes, the Reactor's programming has been tampered with. Fortunately, as the Central AI of the Research Block, I am also capable of assisting you in the Reactor's repair. Any required materials should be accessible from the room."

Behind you, you hear a click-clacking sound... a spider drone.

"Take this utility drone with you, his name is Peter. As for your brethren, I agree - this situation warrants their awakening. NANA and I will proceed with this while you go and repair the Reactor. Security has been shut down, and I have reset the Drones to their patrol programming. You and your... er, companions have been tagged as VIPs.

As for a new body for your mummy friend there, I run a search of our inventory." You see an optical scanner on the terminal zoom in on Callahan, and a grid of light is projected, examining his cybernetics.

You note that you have an hour and twenty minutes before the Reactor starts going om nom nom.

"There are several compatible bodies available - mostly blank units, a few combat units, and two recreational units. If you wish, you may also take him to the labs and have a new body prepared identical to his natural one, but this will take some time."

>>12629115
Ask what each body entails.
Then ask Cal's opinion.
Then Chuckles'.

>Be back in roughly an hour.

>>12629142
The Blanks are standard, synthetic humanoid bodies. Typical applications are for heavily injured medical patients who cannot afford or, for whatever reason, cannot use their own DNA to have a new body developed. Androgynous and "average" overall to be mass produced. Alas, we never got to production before we were shut down.

The combat units are similar to the blanks, except reinforced to sustain greater damage, are faster, stronger, and have many in-built weapon assisting features. Military and security application, part of a joint project with several other corporate entities.

The recreational bodies include a male and female design catering to several sexual fetishes."

There is a moment of awkward silence.

"Uh... how about we just stick me in a Blank and then make me a new body once we're done with the reactor."

>>12629115
"Does the repair need any specialized tools? If not, w better leave now. Sorry, Cal. We'll get to it later."

>>12629212
Promise we'll help later though

>>12629190
Pull the Blank, put on... How exactly do we do this?
Give Blank-Cal pistol and shock rod, Chuckling-Hrod shotgun if he can use it.

"In case your brethren chooses to blow up with the facility instead of letting us repair the Reactor."

>>12629190
Make the awkward moment last a bit longer. "We may need some backup. Military body, THEN a new specified one." Besides, I don't like relying on Chuckles as the heavy.
Have military-grade Callahan carry Peter.
Ask for quickest way to reactor, then BOOK IT!

Blank or Military model?

>>12629237
Good idea, go with that and tell Cal to back us up till we reach reactor.

>>12629262
I can't vote again, but how much time would it take to put Cal in either?

>>12629262
If each costs the same time and Cal is not hindered in repairing with military, military it is then.

A few moments later, several more utility spider drones come in carrying a man-sized case. Opening it, they remove Callahan's new body - A hulking, beast of a "man", bald with what appears to be stubble.

"This will only take a few minutes..." Oswald says. The drones pick up Callahan, hooking his cybernetics to the body. The "brain" within the combat model is reformatted and imprinted with Callahan's memories, personality, and he is transferred into it.

He stands.

"I'm not exactly the fighting type, boss, but I guess if it's just you, me, and Chuckles here, I'll do what I can."

That done, you book it for the Reactor Block, Peter trailing behind you.

Timeskip to next obstacle unless Hrod is willing to answer my prior questions. Repeat inquisitiveness with Cal.

>>12629308
>Military Model ACQUIRED

>>12628949
Along the way, you ask Chuckles about the Doctor and his "brood".

"When did I become a part of his brood? I always was. All from the same batch. He wasn't the "boss" initially, but after a while he got sick of following the other Silicon Creatures around, fighting safeguard and raiding human settlements, so he left and we followed. Never thought he'd ditch me... he was always a slippery fuck, but he did right by us. Or at least tried to keep us liking him."

>>12629336
"What's your story, Callahan?"

"Well, like I said before, I was one of the engineers coming along for the expedition into this shit-hole - ("Hey!" shouts Oswald from the Peter) - and then I spent a few years hibernating in that maintenance shaft. Before that I worked at a factory back in Urtza, where I'm from. It's a couple days walk from the installation... probably written me off for dead by now." He falters for a moment, then returns to full running speed alongside you and Chuckles.

"My girlfriend is gonna be pissed as all hell."

>>12629343
>I'm making this official.

Make sure that the link through Peter the spider(man) robot to (Norman) Oswald is maintained...

"Once (and if) we get this place up and running again, we'll check up on that installation. For now, run an inventory on your weapon systems, and see if any of them can be also be used for repair work."

>>12629440
>Actually it's a .hack//G.U. reference. And It's Norman Osborn. Pic is Oswald's "I'm gonna fuck you up" avatar.

You arrive at the Reactor Block unhindered, although Oswald informs you through Peter that the security drones have encountered more feral silicon creatures through the installation, heading for the Habitation Block.

You have half an hour left until the Reactor goes apeshit.

Will you try to shut it down or will you try to undo what Doctor Cialsock did? Callahan and Peter hook up to the Reactor, with Peter running a diagnostic.

>>12629471
Callahan's computer interface systems are similar to what he already had, and his weapons systems consist of what would prove to be great proficiency at hand to hand combat, a combat knife built into his thigh, and computer assisted targeting with whatever gun you gave him.

>>12629408
"Try hibernating for 5 centuries and the possibility of getting cloned over and over and probably getting killed each time by this one. Heck, if I ever had a girlfriend or some sort of SO, I hope they got back-up memory..."

. . . Do we want to be the little girl? :D
Just kidding.

>>12629492
Both.
Have Callahan work on undoing what Cialsock did while Oswald talks us through shutting down the reactor.

> by this one.
Pointing at Hrod. :D

Ballpark the time for doing either. If it is too late to reverse, we can turn it off and TRY to rebuilt it later.

>>12629526
>>12629528
Callahan gives you a look that could rot steel.

"Not funny." He looks like he's about to say something else, but seems to think better of it and gets back to work.

"Oswald, how do we shut this thing down?"

"There should be a terminal of some sort that you can access. I can give you the passcodes to operate the reactor, provided this Doctor Cialsock character didn't change them."

There is indeed a terminal, and as you approach it lights up.

REACTOR CONTROL TERMINAL
>Status: Online
>ALERT: REACTOR UNSTABLE. COLLAPSE IMMINENT.
>Shut Down Protocol
>Operation Commands

Callahan speaks up.

"The Reactor itself seems to be working just fine... it's the computer system that's been fucked around with."

>>12629577
(Forget that first bit with Callahan. I thought you were joking about putting him in the fetish body)

>>12629577
"Can you bypass the system entirely? I fear the Doctor might switch the commands just to mess with us. Estimate of time to do it?"

> "Not funny."
"Indeed, it isn't."

>>12629577
"Focus on that. Isolate what's been tampered. Use backlogs from Oswald if possible to determine where you should focus on. See if NANA can be consulted via Oswald for further analysis."
"Chuckles? Any idea where we should start? You have the most experience with Cialsock. And watch our backs. It's awfully quiet."

Oswald provides what he could recover from the Utilities AI through Peter as he and Callahan work on the Reactor's computer system.

Chuckles watches the doors, pacing before you.

"Doc was always the type to pull a switch on these kinds of things, probably little traps and the like. You're probably better off linking in directly like Callahan than trying to do anything through that terminal."

A loud "clang!" comes from the Reactor.

"Hokay," Callahan says, "I've managed to get the Reactor to stabilize so long as it's under a certain output level - turns out some of the power management software has been pretty fucked around with, I don't have the time to set everything right just yet. You, Chuckles, and Peter need to pull out the power rods from the Reactor - A1 through C3. Leave the rest to themselves and we can keep the installation operational, but it'll be on minimum power. I'll keep power directed to the important stuff like Oswald, NANA, and your brothers and sisters' life support. Elevators and non-essential crap will be out of commission, though, and the security drones will be outta juice once their internal power supplies run dry."

>>12629718
"Oswald, you and Nana to put down your best barricade. Those feral ones might cause damage if the drones power off."

Ready to do action? Proceed since we have no other clue.

NANA and Oswald begin organizing the security drones to guard the Habitation Block and Research Block, setting up barricades and fighting off the feral silicon creatures.

You, Chuckles, and Peter manage to remove the designated power rods without difficulty, and the Reactor seems to become more stable. The lights in the chamber, and throughout the installation, go out, replaced with the red emergency lights.

Callahan emerges from the computer and stands.

"Well, that's done... what now, boss?"

+poke+
Looks like action has slowed down.

Rearm/defend/lock area? Then hunt Feral. Ask Hod if he wants to reason with his brethren, or leave, since there is no longer meltdown threat.

>>12630139
>Yeah, I'm guessing everyone's asleep or something.

Chuckles, or "Hroddard" as you've taken to calling him (at least in your head) gives a dark, hollow laugh.

"Reason with them? Freezer-meat, they're not even sentient. They're wild. Feral. Only good for pointing them in a direction then backing up as they kill everything in sight. If you're worried I don't wanna kill my own kind, don't be. They're no brethren of mine."

>If nobody else is playing let's call it off for this week.

I'm here, but only lurking. I dont like to choose or anything, just along for the ride.

> One player, one lurker, one DM. :P
> Guess it's time to close. Next week again?

Yeah, I don't want to leave Hawkes and Nanosapien out of this and get everything too far.

See you next week, folks. Thread's already been archived.

Damn. I went to bring in Halloween with a little L4D and my GF commandeers the computer long enough for me to miss the rest. I'll look forward to next time.

>witestia constantly
You know it, captcha.