Beast - Revision history

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	[[Stories\|← Story Archive]]		[[Stories\|← Story Archive]]

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	[[Category:DukeNukem 2417]]		[[Category:DukeNukem 2417]]

Spaz: /* Part 14 */

2015-03-05T03:45:59Z

Part 14

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Spaz: /* Part 13 */

2015-03-05T03:42:15Z

Part 13

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	=Part 13=		=Part 13=
			“...what do you MEAN you didn't see Epsilon?! The thing's HUGE, how can you---”

			Reaver's tirade was cut off by a glare from Rae. “We've got more important things to worry about than that,” she reminded him. “The panic signal came from Vicki---unless her systems are goofing, she's in trouble.”

			“Not just trouble,” Anton added. “Catastrophic system failure....just as bad---or worse---than what she went through on July 9, except without a cessation of function. We need to extract her from this complex as soon as we can, or---” A sudden gasp from Rae cut him off. “What? Rae, what is it, what did you.....find....”

			His gaze followed the crimson-haired gynoid's trembling finger. “Out there.....it's her.”

			Through the outline of a broken window, the roboticist could see the unmoving figure of Vicki Lawson, her head resting against the wall as if she'd merely been taking a short nap....but the wispy tendrils of smoke issuing from her leg and (most horrifyingly) part of her face told a far different story. “We need to get to her,” Anton muttered, heading for the nearest door. “Reaver, get a team to secure Oberon---”

			“They already did,” Reaver replied. “He gave up without a fight...they just got the cuffs on him a few minutes ago. Said something about him muttering under his breath....”

			It took the trio a few minutes to navigate their way through the doors, all the while hoping against hope that V.I.C.I hadn't been utterly destroyed. “You think Epsilon did all that?” Rae quietly asked. “Could Epsilon have damaged Vicki that badly?” She nearly outpaced Anton and Reaver while walking alongside them; “I mean, none of us have seen Epsilon up close,” she continued, “and---”

			“Can we just focus on getting Vicki out of here?” Anton curtly asked, brushing past the gynoid. “We should---”

			A hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Our chairman,” Reaver reminded him, “is currently being hauled off in full restraints. One of our best Field Agents is laying out there, damaged, due to unknown circumstances. And Project Epsilon is still on the loose.” He stared into Anton's eyes with a look that held equal measures of calm and anger---a veritable seething cauldron of emotions. “You focus on what you feel like focusing on,” he intoned, “and we'll deal with what we need to deal with. Are we clear?'

			The roboticist stared him down without a word.

			“I said,” Reaver repeated, '''''“are we clear?”'''''

			“No,” Anton finally replied, pushing past the Agent. “And I have a feeling we won't be for a very long time.”

			Rae stared at the floor, not wanting to watch; Reaver, for his part, was livid. “What the HELL does that mean, Anton?! What gives you the right to say we're not clear----”

			'''“LOOK AROUND YOU!”''' Anton snapped. “Oberon turning on the ALPA to hunt down Epsilon by himself! Our own people being held captive by reprogrammed House agents! Vicki Lawson, someone who wanted to bring Epsilon into protective custody, lying out there on the ground with God knows how much damage done to her systems....” He strode towards Reaver until he was almost nose-to-nose with the Field Agent. “I'm standing here in the middle of all of this,” he rasped, “and you're asking me if we're 'clear'?!”

			“Vicki knew what she was getting into---”

			'''“LIKE HELL SHE DID!”'''

			Rae stepped between the two before either one of them felt like trading punches. “Guys,” she pleaded, “let's just get Vicki and get back to HQ. Please.”

			After a full two minutes of silence, Anton nodded. “Fair enough.”

			By the time the trio had reached V.I.C.I, a few other Agents had laid crime-scene tape around her unmoving form and had begun the process of taking photos of the scene. “Oh, my God,” Rae breathed, staring in wide-eyed shock; the ALPA-issue field light perfectly illuminated the damage done to the brunette gynoid, including the exposed framework of the left side of her face. The only thing that kept the scene from looking like she'd been utterly killed was her posture---had it not been for her disfiguring “injuries” and damage, she could've very well been sleeping.

			“She's still functioning,” Anton muttered, kneeling down to examine Vicki more closely. “Barely....”

			“You think Oberon did this?” Reaver quietly asked. “Maybe he just....snapped---”

			“Hardly. Look at the damage to her face---this was an open-palm strike, with at least four blades, finger-level, spearing and ripping into her dermal covering....” The roboticist sighed. “It wasn't a directed attack,” he stated, gently turning V.I.C.I's head. “I have a feeling Epsilon was...lashing out, when it...he did this.”

			Rae was quietly sobbing by now. “So he did attack her.....”

			“Out of blind rage,” Anton added, “not a cold, calculated assault. This was as far from the July 9 incident as one can get...Faceless planned that attack, and he executed it with his typical precision. This....was like a gorilla with a sledgehammer.” He carefully turned V.I.C.I's head again. “Her upgraded form was built to withstand a lot of things....but this kind of blunt force trauma is just.....”

			“Just what?” Rae wailed.

			Anton chuckled mirthlessly. “Ever smack your computer on the side of its case when it's not working right?”

			“I owned five Dells when I was in college,” Reaver tonelessly replied. “They'd have turned me in for abuse if they'd been sentient 'bots....what's your point?”

			“Hit a computer hard enough, you can unseat components, disrupt the hard drive.....smack a human being in the skull hard enough, you can concuss them, break their skull, possibly kill them.” Anton gestured for two other Field Agents to carefully lift V.I.C.I's unmoving form onto a stretcher. “The hit that she took to the head,” he quietly informed Reaver, “should've torn her cranial assembly clean off. If she'd still had her old body, the one she had before July 9, that one punch would've ended her...” He turned away. “If she'd been human....it would've been the end. If that punch had hit me....if it'd hit you, Eric.....”

			Reaver stared at the ground. “And you're saying Epsilon did this out of....blind rage?”

			“We can talk more about it back at HQ. Vicki's going to spend at least a full day getting repaired....”

			“And what about Oberon?” Rae queried. “What happens to him now?”

			“To be quite honest, I couldn't care less,” Anton admitted. “I just....we just need to go home. Back to HQ, back to square one....back to whatever the hell we need to get back to.....” His hand brushed against the stretcher as the Field Agents guided it towards a waiting van. “She'll need all the help she can get,” he added, “to return to full functionality....otherwise....”

			He let the sentence hang, already feeling the tears on his cheeks. “The car's waiting out front. We should---”

			Again, a hand on his shoulder stopped him....followed seconds after by Rae pulling him in for a consoling hug.

			Reaver just stood by, watching as the two grieved. Jen had expressed fears of finding herself in a situation similar to Vicki's, and he'd refused to acknowledge them....

			….but now, staring at the gynoid's unmoving form, they all came flooding back.....
			---------------------
			“And he gave himself up without a fight?”

			Even amidst the ALPA field operatives, the girl asking that question was a rather interesting slight---neon purple hair, a flash of silver beneath a custom-tailored uniform jacket. “If my understanding is correct,” Selwyn McElvoy replied, “there wasn't much of a fight to be had. Three shots, just as you advised.....”

			The girl nodded. “And the second one hit him in the hand?”

			“Went straight through it. I have to ask, Miss Galatea.....how did you---”

			“I knew, Selwyn,” the girl replied, “because I've worked with him for years. He told me that if he ever went this far off the rails, he wanted me in charge of the team that would be taking him down.” She sighed; “Something tells me the list of charges against him will be really, REALLY long,” she murmured. “Any word on what the sentence might be?”

			Selwyn frowned. “If the High Court is feeling merciful....he's never going to be Chairman again. Ever.”

			“Figured that.”

			“You seem to be taking this in stride,” Selwyn mused. “Considering what's happened---”

			“Look,” Galatea interjected. “I....did some things, once. Stupid things. '''''Really''''' stupid. And I was hauled over the coals just like he's going to be....and out of everyone I knew, everyone I thought I'd have at my back and on my side in the time of trials....he was the only one who stood up for me. He's the only reason I'm here right now.....” She sighed again. “I'm not saying he's just misunderstood, or anything,” she continued. “He crossed too many lines to count this time....and he does need to be made to pay for it....but he's not the issue here.”

			“You think we should turn our attention back to Epsilon.”

			Galatea pulled her jacket tighter around herself. “I think,” she replied, “we need to make sure Epsilon doesn't lose what little is left of Tony Sanderson before we can get to him. If the wrong people find out about all this, we'll be lucky if this ends without anyone getting killed.” She turned away just as Miss Hynde walked up to hand Selwyn a smartphone. “If we can end this without any more suffering---”

			“I'm afraid your hopes for that have already been dashed,” Selwyn replied, frowning as he read the news displayed on the phone's screen. “It seems that the Coalition's ruling board has....departed.....”

			The news did little to phase the silver-skinned gynoid. “So the DVS shows their true colors. How does that---”

			“It gets worse. Their first new order of business is the capture and....removal....of Epsilon.” Selwyn handed over the phone; “I assume you recall the name Drake Bradford?” he inquired.

			“Brought in to re-acquire the Franklin fembots some time last year, I think,” Galatea murmured. “And he drew the short straw when it came to rounding up Epsilon....” She handed the phone back to Selwyn. “The notice mentioned that Delacroix is being brought in to help 'remove' Epsilon, too...we need to get this under control now, before the DVS calls in every single 'specialist' they have on retainer.”

			Miss Hynde looked more than a bit worried at the mention of the DVS, but Selwyn shook his head. “I have a feeling we won't need to worry about them yet.”

			“I really hope you're right about that,” Galatea quietly replied. “For all our sakes....” The words trailed off as she watched a stretcher bearing the unmoving form of Vicki Lawson being guided out through the complex's entrance. “I have a feeling we're all gonna need time to recover from this....”

			''….and some of us will need more time than others. A '''lot''' more.''

	=Part 14=		=Part 14=

Spaz: /* Part 12 */

2015-03-05T03:36:28Z

Part 12

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Spaz: /* Part 12 */

2015-03-05T02:44:09Z

Part 12

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Spaz: /* Part 11 */

2015-03-05T00:40:11Z

Part 11

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	=Part 11=		=Part 11=
			“....y'know, if I was human, I think I'd start feeling sick right about now.”

			Mary Robinson's remark earned her a slightly annoyed glance from Selwyn McElvoy, but given the state of the E-Lin gynoid on the table before them, it wasn't completely unwarranted. “I take it you've read the report of how she was found?” he queried.

			“Face-down, and face-less, in a hotel room,” Mary replied, “shirt missing, still in terminal mode.” Indeed, the front of the gynoid's head was utterly bare---save for a touch-screen where her face should've been. “Charging cord reported missing---later found in her luggage.....nothing was taken out of her room, and everything checks out with the other reports of E-Lins being...well....'accessed' and left in terminal mode.” She glanced at the lithe body of the E-Lin, currently clad in a black silk bra/panty set and---apart from the missing face---looking impressively healthy.

			“We've received similar reports from all over Silicon Valley,” Selwyn informed her. “Despite her temporary lack of a voice, Miss Hynde has been responsible for setting up my calendar and all appointments regarding the repair of every E-Lin unit affected---”

			“What does her missing her voice have to do with setting up your calendar?” Mary asked.

			Selwyn paged through the E-Lin's recovery report. “I have to answer the phone in her place....not exactly the most convenient arrangement, especially in this particular situation.”

			“Well, at least Miss Hynde didn't have to put up with the marionette treatment from the Chairman,” Rae muttered, adjusting the Cliff Richard t-shirt and jean shorts she'd been asked to wear in lieu of her preferred attire (she'd stashed the clothes in Anton's repair lab during a previous session). “Why the hell the House lets their girls have the option for external control is beyond me....”

			Mary gave her a look. “They're probably set to run on external control in emergencies---”

			“External control by ''their own'' people,” Rae countered. “I'm pretty sure they never would've volunteered to be puppeteered around the building the way they were...and not by the Chairman.”

			“I never said they did,” Mary replied. “I'm just saying....oh, forget it.” She returned her attention to examining the E-Lin. “This whole thing...one of our own going so far beyond what we know as acceptable just to destroy Epsilon.....it feels wrong. Like....”

			“A bad dream you can't wake up from?” Rae quietly offered, her tone now more sympathetic than adversarial.

			Silently, with more than a hint of fear in her eyes, the blonde gynoid nodded.

			McElvoy ascended the stepladder set up so that he get a better look at the E-Lin. “Her personality shell programming should more than likely hold up even after the full, ALPA-spec defragmentation of her hard drive,” he noted. “Unless Oberon has gone so far as to alter her core files and programming...” He frowned. “Miss Lawson had a theory, earlier....she was under the impression that Oberon might be following us. If I were more paranoid, I might be under the belief that we're being observed by him as we speak.”

			“You're ''kidding'',” Mary groaned. “We're inside ALPA HQ, there's no way---”

			“This building has, if I remember correctly, been breached before,” Selwyn reminded her. “I wouldn't depend entirely upon the security systems, if I were you. And has anyone made any progress on apprehending those responsible for the security breach---”

			Rae and Mary stared daggers at him for a moment.

			“.....my apologies. I was only inquiring---”

			“Just do yourself a favour, mate,” Rae quietly replied, “and don't mention it again. Please.”

			Even as Miss Hynde moved to stand near Selwyn, taking a defensive stance, the roboticist nodded. “I was mistaken in thinking that the issue had ceased to be a sore point here,” he admitted. “And for that---you can stand down now, Miss Hynde---for that, you have my humble apologies.”

			“Apology accepted. Now, then...” Mary turned her attention to the E-Lin. “Think we can use her to track him?”

			Miss Hynde's eyebrows arched in surprise at the idea---and Selwyn was quick to offer his opinion. “That,” he declared, “is an intriguing example of conjecture, Miss Robinson....if Professor Malvineous finishes repairing the myogel leak in Miss Lawson's leg soon, we may in fact be able to back-trace Oberon's activity through our unfortunate E-Lin....” He paused, noticing Mary's perturbed look. “By 'unfortunate', I was referring to her encounter with the Chairman. She can be repaired, reactivated and sent on her way with no lingering memories of her involvement with this sordid tale...”

			“Sounds good to me. SO.....is Anton done fixing Vicki's leg?”

			Rae's question was answered by the sound of something being knocked over in the other room, followed by Anton calmly (but urgently) asking Vicki to please stop kicking at things with her good leg.

			“Guess that answers that question,” Mary replied. “So....”

			Three minutes later, Anton and Vicki---sporting a freshly-sealed left ankle---entered the room. “Apart from your reflexes going into overdrive,” Anton stated, “you've got a clean bill of health.” His attention turned to the E-Lin on the work table; “I assume you need my help getting inside her head?” he inquired, striding over and taking a look at the gynoid.

			“We were just posing that question,” McElvoy admitted.

			“Figured that....just give me a moment to---Vicki, what are you doing?!”

			The brunette gynoid was standing over the E-Lin, staring at the touchpad built into the other robot girl's cranial casing. '''“Expanding my sensory horizons,”''' she stated, not looking back at Anton. '''“It's getting me a lot farther than the old method would have---Oberon put in plenty of ways to trip up anyone who might try to use an ordinary computer to look through her file indexes.”'''

			“Fascinating....” Selwyn climbed up the stepladder once again to get a better look. “Care to tell us what kind of view you can get inside her mind?” he asked.

			Despite her focus on the task, V.I.C.I managed a smirk. '''“Ever see Johnny Mnemonic?”'''

			“Once or twice.”

			'''“Well, it's nothing like that. It'd be impossible to describe in purely human terms....just be thankful for stuff like GUIs and OS shell programs. As for why that wouldn't help you out right now....”''' Despite her robotic monotone, V.I.C.I gave a remarkably lifelike sigh. '''“Fake index tables of contents, dummy files and a metric ton of encryption....on practically worthless files. Oberon must've figured that he'd be under fire from the ALPA's best and brightest....”'''

			Her eyes narrowed. '''“...and more importantly, he wanted me to be the one to find all of this.”'''

			Without warning, the E-Lin sat up, the screen built into her head lighting up and projecting an image onto the far wall. “Guess he wanted us all to see it,” Rae began, only to stare in wide-eyed shock at the display.

			''“Mother of God,”'' Anton whispered, crossing himself instantly.

			The image on the wall was Oberon himself, stripped to the waist and looking as if he'd just been assaulted---more than likely, by Epsilon. ''“If you're watching this, things have already gone too far for the ALPA as a whole to contain,”'' he stated, ''“and either someone's been killed or Epsilon has descended into rampancy. I have a feeling that Agent Lawson is among you....”'' V.I.C.I scowled as Oberon's lips twitched up into a smirk. ''“....and since we've already had one exchange of truths,”'' he continued, ''“I feel it only fair to let her have one final chance to see if her...preferred tactics will be enough to stop me.”'' Shouts in the background, the crackle of nearby flames and screaming pedestrians confirmed everyone's worst fears---the message had been recorded at the sight of Epsilon and Oberon's earlier clash....before V.I.C.I had confronted Oberon.

			“He '''''planned''''' for us to find this now?!” Mary gasped. “How---”

			A single glance from V.I.C.I silenced her as Oberon continued. ''“This ends where Epsilon began---the currently abandoned Block G facility on the outskirts of Palo Alto. We'll have had our little talk by this point, and I have a feeling I know how it'll turn out....but whichever way the pendulum swings, Epsilon will return to Block G, where its existence will come to its inevitable end. If you want to keep me from killing it....”''

			Everyone but V.I.C.I flinched at the chuckle that ended the sentence. ''“...I think a twelve-hour rest should give you the time to decide how best to...'handle' me.”''

			Within the projection, a car screeched to a halt somewhere behind Oberon. ''“Don't keep me waiting.”''

			The image faded to nothing, and the E-Lin sank back to a supine position.

			“So....he's planned for this,” Selwyn muttered. “I think---”

			'''“How soon will I be able to get to the Block G facility?”'''

			Anton, Selwyn and everyone else in the room stared in wide-eyed shock at V.I.C.I; “Vicki,” Anton quietly stated, “the Block G facility was owned by the Baron himself until very recently. The security systems haven't been deactivated, and if Oberon himself is there---”

			'''“He'll be waiting for me,”''' V.I.C.I finished, '''“meaning I have to do this alone.”'''

			“And risk getting obliterated,” Selwyn replied. “Need I remind you---”

			'''“I know he's trained to fight androids, and I know he'll pull out all the stops to take me down....and I don't care.”''' V.I.C.I paced the floor before the table where the E-Lin lay; “If I don't stop him,” she continued, using her human voice once again, “he might.....I don't even want to think of what might happen. It's nearly 3 AM right now...most of you need to rest.”

			Mary arched an eyebrow. “You're actually suggesting---”

			“I'm saying that I don't want him striking while we're all still tired. Kirsten's already been damaged....I don't want to lose anyone else.” Another sigh escaped Vicki's lips. “Anton, Selwyn....you can fix her, right?”

			The two roboticists didn't hesitate. “It won't be easy...but she can be repaired,” Anton replied.

			“It may take some time to reverse the effects of the magnet on her drives,” Selwyn added, “but we'll do what we can. Miss Hynde is certified to assist in repairs of this magnitude---her assistance will more than likely make our jobs easier.” The cinnamon-haired gynoid nodded in silent reinforcement of McElvoy's assessment of her repair skills.

			Vicki returned the nod. “The more help you have, the faster she'll be back on her feet. As for me...”

			Her eyes glowed a vibrant blue. '''“....anyone up for a few sparring sessions?”'''

	=Part 12=		=Part 12=

Spaz at 00:30, 5 March 2015

2015-03-05T00:30:57Z

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	With a sigh, Vicki laid back, resisting the urge to count ceiling tiles. “Just tell me when it's over....”		With a sigh, Vicki laid back, resisting the urge to count ceiling tiles. “Just tell me when it's over....”

	=~~Page~~ 11=		=Part 11=

	=~~Page~~ 12=		=Part 12=

	=~~Page~~ 13=		=Part 13=

	=~~Page~~ 14=		=Part 14=

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Spaz at 00:30, 5 March 2015

2015-03-05T00:30:35Z

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	With a sigh, Vicki laid back, resisting the urge to count ceiling tiles. “Just tell me when it's over....”		With a sigh, Vicki laid back, resisting the urge to count ceiling tiles. “Just tell me when it's over....”

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