nysalogs | let's get dangerous ][ closed

Entry tags:

let's get dangerous ][ closed

Who: Cain (

baguablade), Koltira (

respired), & A2 (

atwo)
What: sneaking into the Institute
When: early January
Where: Olympia
Warning(s): n/a

[ Cain's a big fan of finding out all the dirty little secrets going on in the background of a prosperous nation. It's something of a personal stake to him, a painful reminder of his past. He hadn't needed an offer of a reward, though he hadn't agreed to take this task on for free, when Cree had approached him with it. He probably would have done it on his own anyway, but he has no intention of giving up secrets to Cree so easily, not when he still doesn't trust the man. Still, it'd been an easy sell. Find out what sort of corruption is lurking in Olympia's shining streets. He doesn't want to see another kingdom fall the way his had. Not that he's letting on about that particularly personal motive to his two co-conspirators.

No, the reasons he's given are much more practical, though they're also true: the Institute is the source of Violet, and it's dangerous not to know why the virus was developed, or what else is going on in the Institute's halls.

It hadn't taken much convincing to get Koltira and A2 on board with sneaking in and finding out as many answers to all their questions as possible.

Armed with a helpfully provided map, a couple "borrowed" uniforms, and a well-used lockpick that Cain's produced from his pocket, Cain crouches beside the door they'd been assured would be left unguarded for a few minutes. As he works at the lock, he reminds his companions, not for the first time, of a few of their mission's basic rules. ]

Remember, no killing. If we run into anyone and I can't talk our way out, just knock them out. [ He pauses to slant a very pointed glance at Koltira, hovering over his shoulder. That means you, mister. ] We're here to find answers, not hurt anyone. Hopefully we can manage to keep anyone from finding out we were ever here.

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[ Koltira's not sure why Cain hats the ruthless and proven efficiency of murder so much, but he has a modicum of respect for the man, so he'll go along with it. He returns the look with one of his own, though, sour and grim--but not defiant. ]

Dead men tell no tales.

[ Just. Saying.

He trudges forward, regardless. He's not wearing his long cape or gleaming armor, in service to the stealth mission; he wears only a black tunic, black pants, and soft-soled boots. Even so, he is a tall man, and his steps are not silent. ]

Have either of you spent any time in this place? Or shall we search about at random?

It's okay, I can stop Koltira if needed.

[ maybe. she hopes. she weighs a lot so all she needs to do is sit on him and that should be fine, right? or something along those lines. it isn't like a2 can really kill humans because she's supposed to protect them. then again, she has yet to try to do that. ]

It can't be helped if someone gets hurt. [ it won't surprise her if it ends up happening. having her arms crossed, she shakes her head at the question. ] I've never stepped foot in this place, been avoiding it ever since we found out that a machine was part of a cause.

No one's going to need to stop anyone.

[ He looks between A2 and Koltira, glaring a little. Especially glaring at Koltira for that comment. No fighting amongst themselves! That's a surefire way to get caught. Fighting will make noise, and what's more suspicious than walking in to see someone having to hold another person down? So no, no fighting, no killing to begin with!

Besides, Cain's not interested in testing whether the robot can beat the undead knight. Those are things he's not interested in having to find out. ]

And of course it can be helped if someone gets hurt. We're here to sneak in and out, not talk to anyone. We've got directions and a map, it shouldn't be too hard to get where we need to go undetected.

[ He turns back to the door, and a moment later, there's a soft click. With a quiet aha, Cain straightens and turns the handle. The door swings open easily. ]

[ Koltira gives A2 a look like 'make my day', which is probably not super productive right now. But he's been spoiling for violence for weeks now, and any challenge--real or imagined--gets his slow blood running. But he'll behave. They're here for a purpose, and he does mean to serve it.

Hopefully someone will try to interfere, though. As A2 said, some things can't be helped. He glances back to Cain, his expression grim as ever, but resolved. ]

Lead the way, then. I'll keep watch.

[ He presumes the same of A2, but he won't speak for her. ]

[ If Cain says so. That doesn't mean she won't be keeping an eye on Koltira. She's never met him before so naturally, she's unsure of how he will behave. Her main propose of being here is just to babysit.

Mostly. ] At least we won't get lost.

[ The map should be easy for him to read. She'll give a small nod, pulling back just a little to be behind. ]

Likewise.

In that case...

[ Cain pushes the door fully open and slips inside. They're in a dim hallway in a less-trafficked section of the building, half the lights not even turned on. The rooms they pass as Cain picks his way through, glancing at the map, are dark.

He pauses at every corner anyway, checking for any sound and sight of any of the actual workers at the Institute. They make it through several twists and turns before Cain jerks to a halt, holding his hand up, gesturing Koltira and A2 to silence.

A pair of workers pass them, carrying— a pile of what looks like scrap metal, rods and strangely curved wedges. And a face, the metal mouth gaping slightly open.

Cain waits for the men to pass before he turns to his companions. ]

That looked... odd. Should we follow them?

[ Koltira squints. Despite his medieval heavy metal appearance, he comes from a world rife with technology--including many advanced robots. He starts after the men, at Cain's suggestion, moving with surprising subtlety. Well, he was a ranger, once upon a time.

The two workers seem to be heading towards a laboratory--or maybe the trash chute next to it?

Koltira glances back to Cain; murmuring. ]

Shall we incapacitate them?

Follow, yes, but I think if we incapacitate them then we should be careful. Someone will notice all the sound that will be made when that metal falls.

[ because no doubt it will bring attention. metal isn't a very light material (she would know) and the floor doesn't look like it'll give them a soft handing, either. ]

We should just keep an eye on them for now.

[ Cain's glad that A2's said it before he could, and he nods in agreement with her. He's a bit surprised that she's showing such restraint, though; usually she seems a bit more hot-headed? But he's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He motions for her and Koltira to stay back, trailing the men at a distance.

In a low murmur, he answers: ]

A2's right. It'd be better if we can avoid anyone knowing anyone was here, even if they don't know it was us. [ He hesitates a moment, though, curiosity licking at him. He really wants to check out that golem-like pile of limbs the men are carrying. ] But if they're going to dispose of that thing, then we should stop them. I'd like a look at it.

[ Koltira's inching along ... closer and closer. The two workers are coming up on the trash chute. It does look like they intend to dispose of the robot. A failed experiment, perhaps. ]

I can take them from here. They will collapse, and know nothing of it when they wake.

[ But he is politely waiting for permission. ]

Do you expect us to catch the items?

[ because that still propose a threat to them, at least in her mind. she's all for going in and having a fun (rough) time, but a2 also likes to not get caught. ]

[ Cain glances between the two, considering. Do they value stealth more, or what they might learn from the discarded remains of whatever experiment is about to be disposed of? That pile of parts is worrying, reminds Cain of the dolls he's seen back on his own world. In the end, risk rather than safety wins out; otherwise, what was the point of coming here? ]

Let them get as close to the chute as possible. [ He's trusting that Koltira can do what he says, however that works. ] Let them think they've thrown it away, and then we move. [ He glances at A2 and grins. ] As long as they're out cold, it'll be no problem to grab that thing, right?

[ He glances at A2, and says, without a shred of humor or sarcasm: ]

Yes.

[ A swirl of magic rolls around his boots, a sickly green curl of smoke that wraps around his legs--and then both of theirs, in turn. The magic smells like rot but its effect is empowering, granting them unnatural--unholy--speed.

Koltira waits, as Cain asked, until the two men are pulling the chute open. They're about to heave the parts into the maw of the chute, when suddenly Koltira reaches out. Whips of shadow energy lash forth from his palm, grabbing the men by the throats, choking them into unconsciousness. They gasp in surprise, struggle briefly, and then fall. Some of the parts are still on the lip of the chute; the rest are rapidly clattering to the floor. ]

Go.

[ Giving a shrug, she remains silent.

Nothing more needs to be said so she'll stay in the back and just watch for the time being. She isn't exactly fazed by the smoke, sure, she raises an eyebrow, but she has no smell sensor built in so she won't be making any faces about it.

The second she see's them fall, A2 will move quickly to grab the parts that are rocking back and forth, threating to spill over. She'll knock them on the ground, a slight look of disgust on her face. ]

What are these...

Wow. [ Soft exhalation, Cain's brows lifting as he watches Koltira so neatly dispatch — into unconsciousness — the researchers. Well. That's one way to deal with the problem, and he'll trust Koltira's claim that he can make them think they dumped the automaton and nothing out of the ordinary happened. ] Now that is a neat trick.

[ He slants Koltira a glance and pads over to A2 and the broken parts she's holding. Cain wastes no time in crouching down and poking at them, picking them up and turning them over, flexing the joints, studying the way they all seem like they should fit into a cohesive whole.

He ends up with the "face" in his hand, tilting it this way and that, then looking thoughtfully from it to A2. It's probably in bad taste to say that it seems kind of similar to her, right...? Not in appearance, but what Cain understands her to be... ]

It looks like some sort of... machine. A robot. [ He's seen some like it himself back home, none with A2's human semblance. ] I don't think there's a power source, but all these parts would fit together, wouldn't they?

[ Koltira shrugs in a 'hell if I know' kind of way. He isn't an engineer. ]

I cannot say. Such things are beyond my expertise. But perhaps we should take it, and think on it later.

[ He glances back down the corridor, his long ears twitching. ]

It is not wise for us to tarry here.

Destroy it.

[ her tone is flat when she says it and she glances away. any sort of machine or robot that isn't an android is an enemy in her eyes.

of course, she isn't going to snatch what cain has. in fact, she won't even throw the parts she has away as she drops it on the ground instead. no need to get her hands dirty with that. ]

I agree. We should move on.

—destroy it?

[ He gives A2 a completely bewildered look. She hasn't told him the difference between androids and machines in her eyes, and he doesn't understand why she's so quick to destroy something that might be the same as her, a machine that could have its own humanity — or the potential for it. It's hard to say how far the experiment's gone from what seems to be scrap parts, but that's all the more reason not to just destroy the automaton as the researchers had intended.

He crouches to gather up the parts A2's dropped, clearly intending to take them along with him; they're both right, of course, they can't risk lingering. ]

If we do that, we can't figure out what they're up to. [ There's no time to ask why A2'd spoken with such vehemence, not right now. ] And we're lucky, they won't notice this missing since they were going to throw it out anyway.

[ Koltira has no opinion as to whether or not the thing should be destroyed; he isn't an engineer, and he can't tell what purpose those miscellaneous parts would even serve. ]

I leave that matter to the two of you. I know nothing of automatons.

[ Magic swirls again about his feet. He looks to the hallway, his ears twitching. ]

But we must go. Now.

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