• Blood & Dust - A Post-Apocalyptic Pseudo-Western Character RP
    391 replies, posted
"My ears are burning!" Diplo exclaimed from the other end of the train cart before bouncing down to meet his robotic friends, "How I survived? Oh my, I'd hardly call it surviving.. Well actually I suppose I would.." -------- \\17:51\\ \ --- UP-LINK STRENGTH: IIIII \\ [ UP-LINK STATUS: STABLE ] \\/ /\\ [HOST SERVER: NATO112:ERROR]/\ Diplo weaved through the alleys of downtown Houston in a panic, if his informants were to be believed something big was happening tonight and he needed to get to safety. [INCOMING: REYES] "Diplo, where are you brother? We're about to start the meeting and we need your report." It was his commanding officer, Reyes calling on his internal channel. He couldn't know what Diplo was up to. [OUTGOING: DIPLO|776] "Apologies, my ETA is 10 minutes, I was held up at a checkpoint. I will be with you momentarily." One more block to go.. Diplo was frantic by this point and had given up any attempt at being silent, gunfire crackled in the distance. He arrived at the Safe House, formerly known as Rothko Chapel. Such places of worship had little use nowadays and many had fallen into disuse, been taken over by squatters or by the rebels. One of the young rebels he'd come to like, Natalie was guarding the door, "Diplo! I thought you had the committee meeting? Reye's called me about you like.. 10 minutes ago.." She questioned, "Ah yes! I was one my way but realized that I'd forgotten my err.. binder! It's just inside, by the way, who else is around?" Diplo shot back without thinking, could he be any more suspicious? "Uhh.. Just me and Jones. Alec's team got held up on the East Side and everyone else is either at the committee meeting or out in the field." She explained, "Ah yes well I guess I'd better get to it!" Diplo exclaimed, practically pushing past Natalie and moving into the foyer. Another rebel, Dirk Jones was sat at a station in the corner staring at a wall of CCTV monitors, he was wearing a headset and hadn't noticed Diplo coming in. [INCOMING: GLOBAL CHANNEL] "Attention all agents, this is Reyes speaking. We've had word of multiple attacks across the eastern seaboard. I think this is it.. I need all field agents to report back to Rothko NOW." Shit. It was happening. Diplo could hear sirens in the distance but he paid them no mind and instead pushed forward into a side room in the chapel, pretty much a glorified broom closet and smashed his fist against one of the wall panels. Moments later a panel in the floor had opened with a staircase descending to the rebels underground bunker, he hurried down the flight of stairs and through a separate security door. The bunker itself was relatively cozy with it's maze like corridors and could easily sustain up to 50 people for an indefinite period of time. State of the art water filtration, hydroponic crops and hermetically sealed from the outside world. Too bad Diplo wouldn't be needing any of it. He reached the bunkers command room and logged in to the mainframe. What he was about to do was unconscionable but it needed to be done. Nobody on the other side of that door deserved to be in here. All the riots, lynchings, corruption.. It was because of them.. [REBNET] . . . [INITIATE BUNKER LOCKDOWN?] . . . [Y/N] . . . [Y] Diplo knew that if Reye's made it back to Rothko in time he'd be able to override the seal so he had to go one step further. He raced down the hallway to the utility room where he turned off the generators. The world was black for a second before his night vision kicked in. [INCOMING: REYES] "Diplo! Natalie says you've locked yourself in the bunker! What the fuck are you doing?! You need to open it now otherwise we're all going to fucking die!" Diplo slowly made his way back to the entrance, he could hear thudding from the other side. They were banging on the door. Ever since he'd been unchained from his Central AI he had faced a lot of difficult decisions, but they paled in comparison to what he was doing now. Was it right? Probably not.. He was just as much to blame as the rest of the rebels, he should've been out there perishing with the rest of them but then who would've sealed the bunker? Diplo had no idea what would result of the outside world, maybe he'd be trapped in there until his power source ran dry or maybe he'd just deactivate himself. Decisions, decisions.. The bunker shook and the banging on the door became more frantic.. Another tremor, the banging had become substantially quieter, it was more of a faint knock now. Ten minutes later the world was silent again. Diplo stood there for a moment, still fighting with himself internally. He decided he would go into hibernation and wait. Whatever happened, happened. \\18:30\\ \ --- UP-LINK STRENGTH: ...|| \\ [ UP-LINK STATUS: UNSTABLE ] \\/ /\\ [HOST SERVER: ..... ]/\ -------- 300 Years Later Diplo was awakened by his noise sensors, he was no longer alone. "Oi Leila! C'mere! I found this posh lookin' robot!" -------- "And that's how I single handedly destroyed a major domestic terrorism cell!" Diplo exclaimed to the others proudly, "And y'know, time just flew by really. I mean sure I've got a few more personality quirks due to the prolonged hibernation but it's nothing TOO bad.."
"And that's how I single handedly destroyed a major domestic terrorism cell!" Diplo exclaimed to the others proudly, "And y'know, time just flew by really. I mean sure I've got a few more personality quirks due to the prolonged hibernation but it's nothing TOO bad.." "I assume that it was your mission to do such, and congratulate you on your success." Aegis states, his gaze panning between both Diplo and Eagle slowly. "I had my own mission to uphold once crisis had struck, yet such details are irrelevant to this conversation. Last official orders given three hundred years ago; failure to connect with database or network has meant that this unit has had to create his own parameters to follow."
> "I assume that it was your mission to do such, and congratulate you on your success." "I mean.. Technically, sure! Go me!" Diplo's visor displayed a grinning face. >"I had my own mission to uphold once crisis had struck, yet such details are irrelevant to this conversation. Last official orders given three hundred years ago; failure to connect with database or network has meant that this unit has had to create his own parameters to follow." "Geez, an AEGIS using its own AI long-term? I mean don't get me wrong, I remember you guys, you're hardy little fuckers.. And resourceful! But how are you holding up now? What is your plan long term?" Diplo queried, he seemed concerned.
"I guess we've all done bad shit, huh." Said Eagle. He drummed his fingers against his assault rifle. "The people who reactivated me forced me to kill refugees during the end of the war. I'm not proud of it but I believe in a world balance and I believe that I can help balance out all the bad shit in the world by doing good." He chuckled. "That's how life is I guess. Always trying to find purpose."
"Geez, an AEGIS using its own AI long-term? I mean don't get me wrong, I remember you guys, you're hardy little fuckers.. And resourceful! But how are you holding up now? What is your plan long term?" Diplo queried, he seemed concerned. The unit seems to stare off blankly into space for several moments, not looking at either of them before finally getting the gears to turn to the point of being able to muster a response. "Complete societal collapse was not a foreseen possibility, or a predictable scenario when it comes to contingency plans. I surmise that many units such as myself have perished due to conditions or circumstances over this long period of time - I have been fortunate enough to remain functional. I am able to adapt to all manner of situations, yet coming to understand that this land is practically lawless has been informative enough. My primary goal is to establish order and law, I will see to its completion." "I guess we've all done bad shit, huh." Said Eagle. He drummed his fingers against his assault rifle. "The people who reactivated me forced me to kill refugees during the end of the war. I'm not proud of it but I believe in a world balance and I believe that I can help balance out all the bad shit in the world by doing good." "It is not our place as autonomous machines to question orders. We have to believe that those who engineered us have the best intentions, even if their actions may not match such intentions. Conflict is inevitable. Hardship is as well, by extension."
Masterson nodded. "I think Mariuz is a mechanic. He might can patch you up...how the hell are you even walking around anyway?" he asked, looking at the gaping hole in Eagle's forehead. Mariuz woke from his nap to see just about everyone in the train car with him, conversing or mending themselves. He swear he heard someone say mechanic and his name in the same sentence. He looked around and saw the three robotic companions conversing in the corner, one of them with a large bullet hole in his head. Ouch, that's a nasty wound. He realized it was Eagle, who was on top of the train and fell off after being shot. He also took note of how interesting it was to see such differently designed AI conserve so...fluently with one another. "Wonders of technology I guess," Mariuz whispered to himself as he got up and stretched. He walked over to the group. "Hey guys, how ya'll doing?" nodding to Diplo and Aegis. He pointed to Eagle's head wound, "You need someone to look at that?".
Eagle turned towards Mariuz. "Hey!" He scratched his head. "Yeah, that'd be great. If you can keep it a bit scarred though that'd be great." He winked. "Chicks love scars."
Diplo chuckled at Eagle, "If anything, I'd say it's an improvement."
"Hahahaha can do, I'll leave the exit weld untouched so it'll look cool," Mariuz responded with a wink. "Let me grab my tools for the 100th time today and I'll be right back hahaha." Mariuz hurried to the train car carrying his motorcycle and found the correct circuitry and equipment he needed to fix Eagle's head as best he could. He's never worked directly on an AI before but he's seen others do it and experimented himself on a couple dead ones out in the waste. Time to put memory to good use. He stopped and looked down at a handbook he was carrying titled, "Advanced Circuitry Repair for Androids Part IV". Surely this will also come in handy. He hurried back to the passenger car and sat Eagle down to begin working to repair the flashing electronics back to a usable state. Say uh, "Do you feeel anything when you get shot, or when I'm prodding around in there?" He looked at Diplo and Aegis, "What about you guys?"
"Do you feeel anything when you get shot, or when I'm prodding around in there?" He looked at Diplo and Aegis, "What about you guys?" Aegis stares on at the man as he goes about the repair work, standing rigid and motionless as ever before speaking up. "It is inefficient for automatons to feel pain. Most combat drones such as myself do not experience any sensations whatsoever. Negative stimuli such as pain is only necessary to promote self-preservation, which may be paramount to humans yet is optional to machines. I was not designed to fear termination, but I possess the innate self-preservation to insure that the data I have collected does not cease to exist."
Eagle stared at Mariuz. "Yeah, uh, about that... If you touch the wrong circuit I may get a sudden urge to crush your skull, wear your skin as a suit or self-detonate my onboard battery core." He winked at Diplo and Aegis.
"If by pain you mean the crippling emotional distress and isolation from being locked away inside a bunker for a few centuries then yeah, I get that sometimes. If we're talking the physical sense though, then no. I'm quite good at imitating it though!"
Mariuz stopped working and thought for a second. "Hmm...well isn't that the point though? Self preservation? I would imagine that lasting longer makes you MORE combat effective, especially if facing overwhelming odds. Wouldn't you have programming that lets you know, 'Hey take cover things are gonna be more than you can handle?' in some way? I feel that would be a good balance. I'm glad I can feel pain, lets me know what I'm still fighting for out here." Mariuz responded starring at the ground. Eagle stared at Mariuz. "Yeah, uh, about that... If you touch the wrong circuit I may get a sudden urge to crush your skull, wear your skin as a suit or self-detonate my onboard battery core." He looked up at the robot, and a smile spread across his face. "No senses of pain but ya'll understand humor and deliver it well hahahaha now that's amazing. Don't worry, I have some experience working with your technology, even though I never formally trained it. Picked it up from experimenting on dead robots, making parts of circuits come back to life. Plus I got his handy notebook." He showed Eagle the instructional book on robotic circuitry he's been referencing and handed it to him. "What you think?" he asked as he got back to repairs.
Eagle gestured with his hands while Mariuz worked on him. "I mean, taking cover in face of overwhelming odds sounds more as a logical or tactical decision rather than an emotional one but I guess I can see your point." He then grabbed the book and skimmed through it. "I was about to comment on the age of this but then I realized why I shouldn't." Eagle handed over the book to Diplo. "If we ever get the time you should take a look at my datacore. Original core armor got pierced- when I died during the war- and now some of my memories are scrambled. A dozen or so people have tried their luck but they only got me fragments."
Mariuz paused for a second and thought about what Eagle said. "Hmm...I don't know if I wanna poke around in there. I'm definitely not that qualified. Although..." He looked back into his bag of tools. "I got some stuff in here that can read diagnostics. If I can just get a reading of where your core integrity is at and I can work from there? It would take me awhile so whenever you got some to sit for a reading let me know." He said as he continued patching up the bullet hole.
Eagle did a thumbs up then fell silent, waiting for Mariuz to finish.
Masterson eventually returned to his seat as the robots talked away and Mariuz joined in. It was gonna be a long ride, and he wanted to continue the nap he was taking prior to the raiders engaging the train. Jasper returned to where he had been sitting before, while Eliza found a spot away from them to doze off. Now came hours of riding...across desert plains towards the settlement of Memphis. They roared past the halfway point of Boughton, a few citizens there simply waving as they past by. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcTQCNntGEs The Mississippi River hadn't changed much since the nuclear fires that turned the world into what it was now, beyond growing much larger. It was still its murky green-brown color, and still had ships travelling up and down it between Memphis and Orleans. Prior to reaching the river, though, the ground outside began to shift dramatically. From dusty drylands and plains to grass and hills. Lush green trees started to appear as well. And the number of mutants that were spotted in the vicinity of the tracks also began to rise. They were nearing the Bayou, and it clearly showed. They crossed the Mississippi using a reinforced bridge which arched over the mighty river. The bridge also rattled like crazy, which didn't exactly ease any tension. Just on the other side of the river sat the settlement of Memphis. It was much different compared to that of Dallas or Houston. Much more populated, a good chunk of them being civil mutants. The defenses around the outside seemed to be of military make, probably scavenged from old military outposts which had popped up across the US during the war. The weaponry was different here as well, compared to out west. Revolvers and lever actions were less popular, replaced with semi-automatic pistols and assault rifles. Laser weapons were also being toted around as well. Quite a shift compared to the Republic. As the train rolled into the station in Memphis, Masterson stood from his seat. "Alright, boys and girls. Lets head out."
Eagle casually strode down onto the station platform. He waved at some of the mutants. Wasn't his first time being here. His now-patched up head looked towards Diplo, the smll circular metal plate welded on to cover the bullethole reflected the light from a nearby lamppost. "The people here can get a bit frisky sometimes with our kind. Make sure to keep your privates close." Eagle then pointed at Aegis. "You'll be fine. I think." ---------- Malin departed the train after saying goodbye to the crew onboard and wishing them a safe return. She found herself recording every detail of the station as, at least as far as she knew, she was the first UNC diplomat to visit Memphis. After taking several still images she turned to Jasper and Eliza. "So, who runs this place?"
"Pffft" Diplo sighed, "Manual, Shamanuel, It's all in my head, data cores are the shit. I used to work with your model all the time." A grin flashed on his visor, "Mostly as bodyguards but you were certainly effective." ---------- > "The people here can get a bit frisky sometimes with our kind. Make sure to keep your privates close." "Privates? What privates? I might have been built to mimic humans but I'm not exactly.. Err.. Anatomically correct..."
Aegis stared on as the repairs continued, mostly staying silent as the landscape rapidly flew by. Once they reached their stop and the train was slowing down he took heavy steps toward the exit and stood just outside the door. He scanned and evaluated most every person that stepped out of the train, checking for potential criminals as his head clicks in processing. Once the retinue of deputies stepped out, he moved out to them and offered a nod. Eagle then pointed at Aegis. "You'll be fine. I think." "In residential areas my primary function is peacekeeping. If any of these citizens have a problem for me, they have a problem with the law. Their deformity is no excuse, they will be judged all the same."
Mariuz continued working on Eagle's head, till he figured the repair was gonna be as good as he can make it, and closed the would with a quick plasma weld. He left it a little rough so Eagle could brag about it. He packed up his tools, nodded to the robots and returned to the his bike to put everything away. He then laid down across the seat, using the his pack as a pillow and quickly fell asleep for another nap. Nothing else to do now, he figured. He suddenly felt a jolt wake him, and he grabbed his holster looking around the dark as his eyes adjusted. He realized he was still alone, and the jolt was the train's brakes. Guess were here. He stepped out into the passenger car where everyone else was and took a peak outside the window. The view left in awe; greenery everywhere. More than he's ever seen in his entire life, he didn't even know something like this, a natural oasis, was even possible in the nuclear world. He felt way more comfortable here than he did in the deserts of Texas and the wasteland behind them. He followed Masterson and Co. off the train and took a peak around, noticing many more mutants here than his own kind. Better keep my wits about me. He nudged Masterson, "What's the plan boss?".
Eagle chuckled at Diplo's answer. "I was talking about the components you're made of. Last time I was here a mutant tried to rob me of my own internal components." He shrugged. "Perhaps it's because I tried to rob them of their guns?" The robot then turned towards Aegis and did a thumbs up. "You're gonna be popular."
"Ah yeahhh.. I think I'll be sticking with the big guy in that case." Diplo said gesturing to Aegis.
Aegis gives a nod to the both of them. "Understood. You will assist me in peacekeeping duties. No delinquent shall be attempting robbery of any kind."
"So, who runs this place?" Eliza glanced to Malin. "How the fuck should I know? I never went through here. I jumped the river up north." she responded. Jasper ended up having to explain, as he stepped up next to Malin. "Its run by a Bayou-born man named Nathaniel Lancaster. He owns most of the businesses here too. His brother Nicolas Lancaster is the local sheriff. They're friendly to the Republic and most of the other smaller settlements and groups in the area. Not particularly friendly to Union or Motor City types." he stated. "The mutants here are mostly locals, but some are from farther out in the Bayou or from the northeast. They're friendly if you are, but I'd still watch your belongings." "The people here can get a bit frisky sometimes with our kind. Make sure to keep your privates close." Masterson nodded. "He's right. Make sure to keep an eye on your stuff. The locals are friendly, but can be a bit too friendly." he said, looking to the others. "Understood. You will assist me in peacekeeping duties. No delinquent shall be attempting robbery of any kind." "Don't cause too much racket, and use non-lethal force unless authorized. We're not in the Republic anymore, so we can actually be arrested if we do something wrong. These badges we have only go so far here, even if the Lancasters are friendly to Texas." said Masterson, looking between the three robots. "What's the plan boss?" "We split up, and poke around Memphis. Its a fairly large settlement, so we'll have to ask around about the thieves and the artifact. Remember, the artifact is in a freight container, and I've shown you what the men look like. Check the bars, resteraunts, shops, hotels...you get the idea." explained Masterson, before he began to dig into his duster's pocket. A moment later, he pulled out a few devices that appeared to be thin black watches. In actuality, they were short range communication devices. "I'll give one of each group one of these. Goes on your left arm. If you locate the thieves and the crate, tap the screen and speak into it. That'll alert the rest of us, and we can assist." he said. "I think you robots already have short range communications suites built in. Tune to channel 17. That's the one we use."
Mariuz took the communicator device and clasped it around his left wrist before giving it a quick spit shine. He looked at the group in front of him. "Who wants to come with me and search the shops? Figure they might have a fence or maybe somewhere to unload or store this thing." He openly offered to everyone in hearing distance.
Eagle raised his hand. "I'll go with him," he said while gesturing at Mariuz. Malin on the other hand opted to stay with Jasper and Eliza. "I'd rather not take any chances outside of the Republic."
Aegis stares on at Masterson as he speaks, his head clicking quietly soon after. "Understood. Switching to local communications channel 7." he states, looking between the group as they began to break off into smaller ones. "Marshal. I will need to quickly scan those photographs of the men to commit it to memory. After which I will begin checking the local bars for their presence." Suddenly he cocks his head toward Diplo, one of his mechanical arms whirring as he brings it to bear and points his index finger at the synth. "You will accompany me."
"Marshal. I will need to quickly scan those photographs of the men to commit it to memory. After which I will begin checking the local bars for their presence." Masterson drew out the folded up paper with their pictures on it. Also listed were the names they went by back in the Republic. "Nicolas Ortega, John Harris, Lionel Walker, and Richard Travers. There may be others here helping them, so be careful." he said, handing the paper to Aegis. He then looked to the others. "I'll bring Slade and Ozzie with me. Roadrash, tag along with Eagle and Mariuz. Boombox, tag along with Aegis and Diplo." he said, before handing out a communicator to those that needed one. Afterwards, he motioned towards the exit. "Lets get moving. We're wasting what little daylight we have left."
The unit takes the picture and his eyes flicker with a bright blue, their names and photos being instantaneously uploaded to his suspect list with nothing more than a few low-toned beeps. With a nod Aegis passes back the paper to the Marshal, looking toward the robotic companions he was assigned. "They will not be able to hide from us. I will send you updates of our progress every fifteen minutes." Aegis states before looking between Diplo and Boombox. "You two seem to be built for diplomacy. We will question them kindly at first, but if they grow belligerent or withhold information you may leave interrogation to me."
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.