2021-04-04: Long-Forgotten Machinery
- Log: Long-Forgotten Machinery
- Cast: Seraph Clarine, Eleanor Klein, Marivel Armitage
- Where: Zoara Badlands
- Date: April 04, 2021
- Summary: Responding to a request from Sylvaland, Clarine, Eleanor, and Marivel investigate an ancient structure from which a mysterious signal has been emanating...
=============================<* Zoara Badlands *>============================= Most of Zoara's interior is a vast expanse of desolate earth. A handful of areas receive just enough rainfall to allow the growth of foliage, but by and large, this place is almost as inhospitable as the wastes of Ignas. Ghost towns dot these dusty plains--many of them are settlements that dried up and died during the Celesti Civil War. Most of the remaining settlements have forfeited their sovereignty to Guild Galad in exchange for their continued survival. Rail travel is the easiest way to cross the Badlands. Guild Galad's military maintains a tight grip on most of Zoara's rail routes, ensuring that transit is reasonably safe, if extensively-policed. Outside of the rail network, travelers band together in caravans to keep themselves safe. Centuries of war have scarred this land, and attacks from bandits -- or worse -- are an unfortunate fact of life. <Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
Not too long ago, an island had been discovered in Sylvaland's waters, home only to an ancient structure. A quick study indicated that there is something in here, giving off a signal from inside... but the initial research team was quickly forced to retreat, and the decision was soon made to call in some professionals.
The chosen professionals being, of course, ARMS, whom Sylvaland has a good relationship with and a known talent for dealing with things like that. It's a simple request - find whatever is giving off that signal from inside and secure it before Odessa or anyone else finds it and does so first.
The party arrives on the island by boat, and gets a good view of the structure on the way - the part they can see is about the size of a small house and made of what was once sleek metal, now worn and rusted by the ages. From the look of it, though, it undoubtedly continues below ground.
"...Ah. This is quite an old structure... I wonder how it went unnoticed for so long...?" Clarine asks, looking it over. "Shall we move in closer...?"
The door leading inside is currently under watch by a pair of Syvaland guardsmen, who stand at attention the moment they spot everyone.
"You're with ARMS, right? I'm, uh... a big fan, actually. It's great to meet you - oh... sorry, I'm on duty right now, I guess that should probably wait..." The one on the left, a taller, younger fellow, says with a salute. The one on the right, and older man, rolls his eyes.
"Ignore him. We'll open the door for you. Be careful going in - the security system is still active in there. We don't know what to expect." He says.
...Neither of them look at Clarine - presumably, neither of them possess the Resonance to see her. Instead they both turn to the door, prying it open to allow entrance.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
ARMS! Eleanor is happy enough to be here, interested in exploring and finding whatever it is. Besides, she has a good relationship with Sylvaland herself. A... very good relationship. It's fine.
"hmmm..." Eleanor looks over the structure and nods to Clarine. "Yes," she says, "Let's do that."
Once the door is reached, Eleaor is all smiles for the guards; she looks at both of them ad iclies her head. "Oh, it's all right. I'm happy to meet you." She doesn't mihd fahs. But the security system...
"Yes," the elf says. "We'll be careful."
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel Armitage is happy to help Clarine on this adventure. Or on an adventure anyway. Ancient structures tend to be a little less ancient where Marivel is concerned but honestly it's not like she went into every ruin or building or city even during the Zeboim era. She had shit to do.
"A big...fan?" Marivel asks, startled by the very concept. She understands Valeria's plan but it's still kind of strange to see it coming to fruition. "Well, don't worry so much. We'll be back out when our work is done and then we can chat up all you'd like."
She winks and a cartoon heart flies out into the distance before bursting into flames and screaming as it writhes and falls.
"If there is some sort of tech challenge, I can handle it. Probably." She asides.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
"Yes, absolutely!" The younger guard replies with a nod of confirmation toward Marivel. He looks pleased, too, by Eleanor's comment that she's happy to meet him.
But they have a mission to uphold, so with the doors open, they pass through. It's rather dark inside, however - there is some electrical lighting that lines the halls, but it flickers, worn down by age. Fortunately, they do have something for that, at least, with Clarine providing some light to see by.
Up ahead, however, they can see a red light... and the reason for that becomes evident as they approach. Before them is a door, shut tight with a lamp lit up a bright red. Next to the door is a keypad. Despite being worn and damaged by age, it still appears to function...
Clarine approaches the door and tries to open it, but it doesn't budge.
"Ah... do you think we can break through it...?" Clarine considers. That's an option, but the keypad may hold some answers, as well.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
There's a lot of things to do! Through the years, and right now. So as they walk in to do some of those things... there's a light. Hmm...
"You all right there, Marivel?" Eleanor asks as they walk, having already laughed a little at the way the heart exploded. But then... She did mention helpinhg with tech challenges...
"Hmm," Eleanor says, looking over the keypad and then the door itself, thoughtfully glancing between both and eyeing the keys in particular as if to see any that might be more worn than the others.
"Well, you asked for a tech challenge," Eleanor points out to Marivel.
"I think if we can figure out the passcode, we can just go through the normal way! ...Otherwise I could try to use my Bracelet to knock the door off its tracks."
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"Lets.... try the tech solution first." Marivel says. "Cause I don't really want to deal with whatever retaliation this place has ready for people who try to force their way in. Like, in my time, you bust your way into a mad science facility, you better be ready to fight at least one miniboss and one area boss."
Sometimes it might be tough to know what Marivel is talking about. Nevertheless, she scootches along and examines the keypad.
She draws out a spray can and sprays a mist over the keyboards that should make any fingerprints a little more easy to identify as well as the position of said fingers. That sort of thing can really cut down on errors while figuring out a keycode.
"Yeah honestly I'm more of an ARMsmeister than a sorceress but throwing golems at every problem is way too noisy and honestly a little inconsiderate."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
"That is... a good point..." Clarine replies. They're probably well-equipped to deal with any minibosses they might come across, but if they don't have to, then it's best not to.
Marivel sprays some mist over the keyboard. With how old it is, there aren't many fingerprints left... but it does reveal a few other details, and with that done, within a few tries they'll be able to figure out the code.
"Ah, excellent work!" Clarine beams. The keypad lets out a cheery 'ding!', and the light above the door turns green, and something beyond shuts with a 'whir' as the proper door begins to open...
...And then stops, halfway through.
"...Oh." Clarine murmurs. They might need Eleanor's gauntlets after all, but at least with the passcode entered they won't have to deal with the consequences of forcing the door open.
...Namely, visible on the other side of the door, a pair of hatches that would undoubtedly open up to reveal ARM turrets - a classic form of security in ruins like this.
Beyond the door is a ramp that leads down into the rest of the structure, eventually ending in a hallway paved with checkered tiles. A few doorways lead off from it. One reveals a room full of damaged, toppled bed frames that must have once housed whoever was stationed here, one looks like it must have served as a briefing room in the past, and the last is locked tight, with a pair of boxy guard robots equipped with ARMs on either side, with flickering, malfuctioning red lines for 'eyes' as they scan the area in front of them, occasionally firing their ARMs at perceived threats - usually, debris falling from the ceiling.
Occasionally, they emit garbled sounds that may have once been prerecorded warnings, but time has not been kind to them.
"...What should we do? If that area is protected... it must be important..." Clarine asks.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"I'd rather avoid that too," Eleanor says, having heard 'retaliation' and being used to Marivel enough that she doesn't really blink at hearing terms unfamiliar to her. Like various kinds of 'bosses' that have little to do with authority. For instance.
"That's true," Eleanor admits, "It would be very noisy, and it wouldn't be very good for the locale..."
Ding ding! Marivel success! But the hatches there--ah. Well. "Yes, that would've been a problem," Eleanor comments as she moves along, steppihng into the room full of... bedframes. Guard robots scanning... hmmm.
"It must be," Eleanor says. "Hmmm... Is there a way to do it without destroying them? I can think of a way to misdirect them to firing on one another, but we may have a better solution than magical trickery."
"Or maybe we can just get them to leave..."
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel plays a lot of video games when she's alone. And lonely. And doesn't have actual company that isn't some kind of monster or monster servant or animal intelligence grade robot.
It takes Marivel a few tries because the prints have decayed but eventually she gets the thing open.
Ding!
Marivel helpfully points out the turrets. "Oh yeah they'd definitely kill ya Eleanor." It's not like Clarine or she can die conventionally.
And of course now there's boxbots. Destroying them is certainly an option--and they are dangerous enough that maybe they should be put down but--
"What do you think, Eleanor?" Marivel asks since when she's not sure what to do herself, helpfully framing it as a task for someone else to give a go at preserves the understanding that she's a master of everything and shouldn't be underestimated.
She smiles fangly. Heh heh heh.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
"Hm... if you would like to get past them without destroying them..." Clarine considers. "...Perhaps... we could lead them to one of the rooms previous rooms?"
It's an idea, certainly, and possible, too. Magical trickery will do it, providing them something to react to and follow after where they can be safely locked into either the bedroom or the meeting room.
...It may be wise to alert the guards at the front about that when they're done, though.
Beyond the door, the hallway continues further. It soon becomes clear why this place was heavily protected. There are some armories and computer rooms, but both the weapons and the computers seem to be unusable for age.
There's a single door of interest left here, and when they pass through it, they find themselves in a rather large room - a hangar, housing a single machine. There may have been more in the past, but now, only one remains.
It's slightly smaller than the average Gear, with an unusual shape - it looks not unlike a giant, metal cricket. Painted vibrantly once, its color has dulled with age... and yet, it still emits a hum of power, suggesting that it is still active. A second robot, spherical in shape this time with a rotor for flight flits about it, a single arm poking and prodding at it, providing minute repairs for maintenance. Neither machine reacts to their presence.
"...Do you suppose this machine is what was emitting the signal...?" Clarine ponders, drifting closer curiously. "Is it a Gear...? But... I do not see anywhere to control it from..."
Beyond the machine there is a door, with stairs leading up to a room overlooking the hangar. Through the window they can see faint lights, suggesting that whatever instruments may still be there may still be active.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Oh, me?" Eleanor wonders. "Well..." Clarine suggests something, and Eleanor beams. "That! I think we can do it after all. Let's see..." Eleanor does in fact work up a good bit of magical trickery, and is satisfied with the result after. But now, a single door...
She looks to the power humming thing, both machines, and peeers at it also curiously, looking at aMarivel as if she might have some insight into it. But...
"Hmm," she says. "This room back here looks like it might have some clues. Perhaps some sort of control room?"
Eleanor gives repairbot a wide berth in case repairbot decides she needs repairing too, but moves over there. "I think the machine might be it, though..."
"It's very cute, isn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"I just feel a little weird about destroying malfunctioning robots right now." Marivel says suggestively but not that kind of suggestively.
The group moves into a smallr oom and they find a hangar. Unexpected. She was thinking more a data facility. Nevertheless, she quirks her head at the giant metal cricket.
"Careful," Marivel says. "It looks like it still functions. I'd have to take it apart some to know the ins and outs of how it functions but--"
She looks towards the spherical repair robot. "Hm--so that's why it's still functional. I wonder if the maintenance bot can maintenance itself to an extent."
She knows she's not using the word right there and she doesn't care.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
"Yes, it is..." Clarine agrees with Eleanor. Clarine has always been fond of natural things, and a machine with a natural-looking form... it's nice!
Investigating the control room indeed leads to clues, and answers - while a few of the consoles has gone dark, a few are still active. One screen lists a long series of error codes and warnings... which makes sense, considering the dire state of the facility up to this point.
Another lists a series of numbered facilities... but, each one is listed as being 'deactivated' with only one, presumably this one, still active.
The final console may be a bit familiar. It's quite similar to the kind of diagnostics checks used in Gear systems - presumably for the large metal cricket - referred to as 'Variable-Form Reconnaissance Drone #12'. Everything seems to be in order. At the bottom, a single string of text indicates that it is standing by for commands... and yet, there is nowhere to input said commands - and, as mentioned, the machine itself doesn't seem to have a cockpit for anyone to enter and control manually.
Right next to the bank of consoles is a large lever, labeled 'hangar doors'.
At Marivel's question Clarine's head tilts to the side curiously, her attention now focused on the maintenance robot.
"...I wonder... It appears to be in better shape than the other machines... perhaps so...?" She muses. That would certainly make sense. "But this machine... I wonder if there is a way to move it...? It would perhaps not be wise to leave it here..."
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"It's better to avoid it," Eleanor agrees about robots. But she is careful as Marivel directs it but--hmm. "I suppose it must maintenance itself," Eleanor answers, because that's a perfectly cromulent phrase even if it isn't the 'right' word. But the consoles... Eleanor is not super familiar with any of these. But it seems... Hmm.
"Yes, if we leave it here it'll just deteroriate eventually--or be found by someone with more nefarious intentions than ours." Eleanor 'hmms' a little.
"But I don't see a cockpit, and I don't know how to work these machines..." On the other hand, she does see a big lever. "At least there's a way out! Probably."
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"Well I can give it a looksee, but this is custom so it might take me a while." Marivel says, thinking thoughtfully. And then she gestures towards Clarine. "Why don't you give it a try? Can't you just sort of float in or something like that?" Look just because she loves the Seraphim pretty much that doesn't mean she really knows how all their powers work.
She looks back to the machine. "I don't even see a clear cockpit right noooow..."
She takes another long look over though just in case.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
Marivel makes a very good suggestion! Clarine 'hm's consideringly, looking the machine over.
"...I had not considered that. If it is like a Gear, then... Very well... I shall attempt it. Hold a moment." She says. She floats over toward the giant cricket... and then, after a moment she condenses into a ball of light and enters the machine.
For a moment, there is silence, and everything is still. ...And then, the maintenance robot floats over to a hatch on the cricket's back and retracts in on itself before falling in. And, the cricket's antennae... start to twitch! The forelegs shift, as if moving experimentally.
"Hm, yes... Yes, I believe I can control it in this fashion! Thank you for the suggestion, Marivel..." Clarine says, her voice echoing out from the cricket. She sounds pleased by this development. "Mind yourselves, I am taking a step forward..."
At Clarine's command, the cricket takes a single step forward. It looks like the machine is still perfectly capable of movement.
"I think we should be able to extract it in this fashion..." She says.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"All right!" Eleanor waits for Clarine to try Marivel's suggestion, leaning back against a wall for the moment to be thoroughly out of the way and also because this has been a lot of work! She waits through that silent, still moment--
"Oh! So they go together!" Eleanor notices, and then claps as she notices the twitching antennae, the way Clarine controls the machine.
"Ah, very good!" she says. "It's even cuter while it's moving!"
She then pushes off the wall and walks over to the 'hangar doors' lever. "Well, let's see if the hangar doors still work!"
Yank!
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel Armitage gives the machine a thumbs up or, really, Clarine a thumbsup who is now kind of hanging out within the cricket. Marivel doubts that Filgaians made a robot made for use solely for Seraphim or other semicorporeal entities. What she imagines is that it is probably an unmanned golem rather than a traditional gear.
"It is pretty cute." Marivel admits. "Though it'd be cuter if it had rows of super sharp teeth--"
Marivel has her opinions on what qualifies as cute.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
"It is quite well-made..." Clarine agrees, as Eleanor compliments the machine. She seems pleased, too, by Marivel's thumbs-up - one can tell even if she is currently inhabiting a giant cricket robot.
"Perhaps so..." Clarine comments with a chuckle at Marivel's comment.
And then Eleanor pulls the lever! Warning lights on the far wall give ample warning as it opens up, revealing an elevator to the surface.
On the surface, it is much the same - three lamps burrow their way out of the soil, outlining the position of the elevator, shining a warning. Presumably there should be a fourth, too, but it doesn't make its way up. Once enough time has passed - and the two guards make sure they're quite clear of the hatch - the ground opens up, and barricades rise up to prevent anyone from getting too close while it is open.
Back down below...
"Ah, there it is..." Clarine says. She maneuvers the cricket onto the elevator, taking a moment to brush some of the soil fallen from above. "I believe we should be able to take this all the way back up..."
There is, conveniently, plenty of standing room alongside the machine.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Super sharp teeth... "Hmmmm," Eleanor says, tilting her head as she imagines it. "Maybe." There is a certain cuteness potential there. But perhaps Eleanor's just been around Marivel long enough...
Warning lights though, and Clarine obviously being happy... Well.
"A nice mystery," she adds, and eventually moves to stand with Clarine-Gear on the elevator up.
"You'll have to see how high it can jump!" she suggests cheerfully.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
The elevator rises up without incident, thankfully. At the top, the two guards from before watch as the elevator reaches its destinations and the barricades retract to let everyone off.
"...Well, now I've seen everything." The older guard comments. "Wouldn't have expected something like that. ...Still, glad it's in your hands than anyone else's."
The younger of the two nods enthusiastically.
"Yes! I knew you could do it!" He agrees.
But then, there's Eleanor's suggestion...
"Yes, that is true..." Clarine agrees. She walks off of the elevator to get a little more room, and then... leaps!! The cricket soars majestically through the air, landing right next to the boat!
...It does stand to reason that it'd be good at leaping. And there's bound to be more features to discover, too!
Still, for now, this has certainly been a successful mission.
"It is nice to have everything go smoothly for once..." Clarine comments, pleased.