Broken Generator

[Neru Amhran]

Olivia's dactylic hand was warm to the touch. Her worried look was still on her face. It was born of her concern for the contents for that PDA. Lucretia Ludem, or Lu Lu for short may have been stolen government property, but only as long as those interested were not privy to the truth.

Although it seemed odd, if anyone were to ask the good doctor, she would say simply, 'I saved her from a fate worse than death.' And in an odd sort of way, it was true. It was also related to her perpetual unease towards men in suits.

With that she disregarded the man and looked towards the other woman. "I'll ride with you considering one of my many passions is sitting so close and dear to your bosom. I would go mad if not for her, and at times I think it's because of her."

"Aww, just when I was feeling loved." Came a despondent voice from the woman's breast pocket. "Are these C's? They're nice and soft, least that's what I understand from Olly's hentai collection. "

"Lucretia!" Olivia exclaimed as she blushed a little. Shaking her head she sighed, "Pardon Lu Lu, she's umm.." She had it hard to explain how to describe Lu Lu in one word. It was an impossible task. With that she walked up to the quad and raised an eyebrow. "I've never ridden one of these.." She mumbled.

[Zach Kaiser]

For a few moments, Christoph could only stare and wonder if he was hearing right. Admittedly, since it was possible they'd be tasked with repopulating the world there was a certain amount of passion necessary, but things would be much smoother if those present knew how to be profession, too.

It also wouldn't help if they were passionate about the wrong gender, but that was a speculation he was most certainly keeping to himself.

There was a moment where he thought to tell Olivia to remain here, but he figured convincing her to be separated from her AI--to whom she seemed almost unhealthily attached--would take more time than their current situation allowed for. Instead, he simply picked out a vehicle for himself, a motorbike that resembled the one he'd had before he was frozen.

"We should hurry," he noted, hoping to insert some sense of urgency in his partners, "that girl's life may reside on our ability to get the generator running in a timely manner."

[paper_stars]

Jodie just smiled at the other woman, she understood and she wouldn’t argue with her wanting to go. Besides, arguing would just take up more time..but it wasn’t only that Jodie knew, far better how this woman felt about her AI. It may be unhealthy in a sense.. but there are just some attachments you just cant help. “Oh well, its kinda like ridding a man, or a horse for that matter. “ she said as she grabbed Olivia by the arm and pulled over to sit on the bike behind her. “Just make sure you hold onto me.” Jodie glanced toward Christoph as he picked his vehicle. She understood.. he didn’t have to remind her of the situation at hand.

Nodding her head she looked at the keypad on her bike, each vehicle was equipped with one. Basically it will act like a garage opener. Her fingers hovered over the buttons as she tried to recall the codes. There were so many numbers running around in her head it would take her a second or two to sort them out and figure which number, or which code belongs to what.

“Christoph, I have one favor to ask you.” She said as she started to put in the numbers. “whatever happens outside, if its something dangerous. You get Olivia back inside.” The last number would be entered and for a moment there would be nothing but silence..

“Oh by the way Lucretia, they are nice plush C’s.” Jodie grinned, and then a rumbling would rattle through the whole building as the large fully reinforced door would slide open. Cold stale air would rush into the hanger from the tunnel..Jodie twisted the handle which started the gas. (Of course giving enough time for her helper bots to attach themselves or however else to the bike. And also giving Olivia time to get on as well.)

The bike jerked forward and she started into the nearly pitch black tunnel. “wait..” she said mainly to herself as she flicked a switch that would turn on the front headlight of the bike. The sound of her bike would echo against the walls of the tunnel.

The engine would automatically shift gears as the incline started as they made for the surface. Once they would all be clear the doors would slowly close behind them.

They would ride about 150 yards before coming to another door.. obviously the door to the outside. Jodie would slow the vehicle. The code to open the first door, would be the same code to open this door.. you had to be so close for it to work.. being that’s why when she used it the first time it didn’t open this door at the same time. She was to far away.

There was no time to wait, so she did the same thing as before and waited for the door to open.

When the door does open, they would be greeted with the cold night air.. the sand would shift and be drawn towards them little by little. It was chilly, but also refreshing and the air seemed almost cleaner than it has in a long time..

The stars sparkled in the sky with little to no cloud cover, and they would find that they were in the middle of a desert. They were met with nothing but silence.

Jodie pulled out the PDA. “Lucretia, locate the generator.”

[Neru Amhran]

"Horseback riding. Yeah, I'll add that to my list of things I haven't done, but will when I grow older." Olivia said as she wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist and held on tightly after getting on the back. She may have never ridden a quad, but they went fast, or so she remembered. "Till then, I'll keep it under the words of 'like a man'." She laughed slightly.

"Don't kid yourself Olly." Came Lu Lu. No matter how serious everyone was, Lu Lu was bound to be a teenager in the form of data packets.

Upon hearing the engine take off, she closed her eyes. In truth Dr. Iverson hated moving at high speeds. At least high speeds without safety measures. It was then there was a 'Whoooo hooo' which came from the gearhead's pocket. Evidentially Lu Lu did like it, even if she couldn't sense the positive G's or many other sensory details. However, it was certain Lu Lu was enjoying herself.

Upon reaching the second door, Olivia was clinging tightly to the woman in front of her. It was impossible for her not to. Give the fact this was her first ride on a quad, and also she didn't like this mode of travel, fear wasn't impossible. However, when Lu Lu was taken out of the woman's pocket, Olivia straightened and loosened her grip. Being a scared cat was only so good when there was someone to jib her about it.

However, Lucretia was all business by this point. The sprite was wearing the same overalls as it pulled up a map of the complex exterior and displayed them on screen. "It would appear that it's two-hundred yards due west of our current position. The actual generator is housed in a concrete infused steel bunker with a security pad access entry point on the south side of the building. Keypad entry possibilities are too numerous to list. Compiling and removing invalid possibilities. Keypad function is running off backup power, password is-" It was then Lu Lu listed off a nine digit access code used for the door hangers.

"Next Directive?" Lu Lu prompted as she waited.

[Zach Kaiser]

In response to Jodie's request, Christoph was silent. Decisions like that--decisions that had to be made in the blink of an eye, that could potentially determine who lived and who died--were his entire reason for being on the mission. Unlike the others, he had no specialized skill, no field he was in the top of, save for quickly analyzing situations and coming to the best decision possible.

Whether he would need to leave someone behind or not was something he would only know when the time came, but if it was at all possible he had to avoid losing anyone; each person, other than him, had a role to fulfill that was irreplaceable.

Jodie's quick acting to get them through the security doors forced him to reassess his earlier judgment; despite the banter, she seemed focused and prepared. He followed silently behind her, unable to hear what she or Olivia were saying from his own bike, keeping his eyes out for potential threats.

The sky is clear...the air is nice...it certainly doesn't seem like a world on the verge of destruction.

[Toneh]

Two of the mechanic bots fell in a single file line behind Jodie, and quickly move with her pace and began climbing onto the bike. Actually they were pulling them selves up using their delicate claws to grapple onto the back cage of the bike and hoist them selves in securely.

The claws would remain locked acting as security lines to hold them in place in the event they had to endure a bumpy ride. Once both were on board they would retract their wheels and cameras so that they would appear as nothing more then humble, a bit oddly shaped tool boxes,. They contained numerous parts necessary for repairing the station. Not to mention their small parts could actually be guided to help Jodie do some of the more intricate repairs, thus cutting down the time it would normally take a group of humans

[paper_stars]

“I’ll let you know, Thanks Lu.” She tucked the PDA back into her pocket, grabbed Olivia’s arm since she felt her loosen her grip and pulled her arm tighter around her waist. “Hang on Chicka, don’t want ya fallin off.” She said as she suddenly gassed the vehicle and went speeding off into the sand. The ground was fairly smooth, because of all the sand.. there were a few large boulders sticking out from the sand, but they were visible enough to get around without smacking into it.

She didn’t glance back, as she figured Chirstoph would still be following, and as they passed the doors to the outside they would close behind them. The three of them might not be able to hear it, due to the two bikes roaring engines but the sound of power shutting off echoed from underneath the ground. The amount of oxygen left reduced from four hours to two and a half.

It was a beautiful sight, with the stars shimmering in the clear sky.. no city lights to block them out, no pollution to make it hard to breathe. It truly was strange, when one thought of the world’s destruction.. you couldn’t imagine the planet at peace in such a way.

As the shed came into view Jodie would rear the bike to the side and slid it to a stop right in front of the door. So that way, the bots didn’t have far to go to get to the door. A light grin was on her face as she removed Olivia’s arms and stepped off the bike and cutting the engine. “Remind me, to take you horseback riding, before your too old.”

Jodie then lightly ran her fingers over the keypad to wipe away some of the dust before she would input that nine digit code that Lu lu had given her. When she did enter it, the door opened about three inches before it jammed and the power to the keypad went out. “Ah shit..” Jodie placed her fingers between the opening and started to pull, for a second it didn’t budge. So to get herself some more leverage she placed her foot against the frame of the door and pulled harder. This time it budged a little.

“Can I uh.. get some help?”

It would probably take all three of them to get the door open enough for them to get inside. Or at the very least, Christoph and Jodie together. If it was just Jodie and Olivia they'd probably have a hell of a time getting it open.

In the distance desert around them, as the darkness seemed to settle strangely against the land they were met with nothing but a sweet and almost uncomforting sound of silence.

[Neru Amhran]

"Chicka?" Olivia murmured to herself as she felt her arm be tugged tightly back around Jodie's waist. Honestly it wasn't bad there. Warm, and sort of alluring in a way. Although that was something for Olivia to fantasize about later. There was a soft murmuring giggle tucked away in thought. "Never been called that before."

It was then the engine revved and Olivia found herself clinging to Jodie's waist. Well, by waist more of back. Olivia had managed to scrunch up behind Jodie well enough considering her bosom and body. For one, it was a little chilly, and for two, they were moving fast, and Olivia didn't want to see it. However, after a few moments, she hazarded a glance through squinted eyes.

There were many things Olivia enjoyed. Cheesecake, vanilla, walks on sandy beaches and kissing in the moonlight. Somewhere on that list, cleverly hidden between lab work and cleaning the toilet --anyone who knew Olivia knew approximately where on that list those were in relation in the spectrum-- was merely standing out in fields and looking at the stars. This activity was preferably done with some home-brewed concoction made in the lab. However, because it involved driving far away from her home and the city itself, it was seldom done, and seldom still with the aforementioned brew. What Olivia's eyes were met with was astounding to her. Stars, to her were wondrous. She almost forgot her fears at that moment to watch the night sky, however the roar of the quad's engine was too much to ignore.

When they came to a stop, Olivia loosened her grip and slid odd the quad onto her feet. "Looks like even emergency power is strained. Lu Lu, switch to powersaver. I don't want you conking out when we need you most." She said as she watched Jodie try and pull the door open. "I would apreciate the horseback riding."

"Yes mein doctor!" cried Lu Lu.
"Smartass." She muttered as she made her way to Jodie and grabbed a hold of the door.

Again, there were many things Olivia enjoyed. Lab work, tissue and polymer development, hentai, and the occasional Cary Grant movie. Tucked somewhere between sushi and project audits there was the occasional trip to the local YMCA to swim laps.

Amidst the phone numbers, Olivia managed to get something just as valuable. Muscles capable of defying the drag even her womanly swells made through water. Also a decient figure.

However, this would take a group effort to be effective, or efficient.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Certainly," Christoph replied. He took a second to glance around, but there was nothing else in the area, just empty desert. Nothing would be able to sneak up on them without them being able to see it miles away.

He added his own strength to the effort; he kept in shape, but he was by no means a muscular man--he spent most of his life behind a desk, after all.

"Tell me something, Miss Jodie," he asked through gritted teeth as he pushed. "Is there any practical reason for the generator to be all the way out here?" It seemed completely inefficient to him, and while the government was certainly known for such lapses of logic he would have thought all effort would be made to keep their mission running as smoothly as possible, given what was riding on its success.

[paper_stars]

Well..Jodie mused silently to herself. If there is even any horses left. Hell! If she had to make a robot horse she would! Now she was determined. Then with not just two of them, but all three of them working together they would be able to get the door open enough, not all the way.. but enough to get inside. Little bits of sweat were starting to form along her hair line, as the adrenaline went through her body causing her to feel a tad shaky. After all, she along with the rest of them were doing this on an empty stomach.. and though they were frozen for some time and well preserved, the effort that was going into these little tasks.. as getting the door open, could be somewhat straining on the body.

“Well.” She sneered with a bit of distaste as her helper bots went into the bunker (I’m NPCing his bots temporarily until he comes around to post. Cause I need them and I’m not waiting.) “I really don’t have any idea why they would put it so far away from our facility. “ The bots would light up the room, and there in the middle of it sat the generator in its thousand year old glory. Dusty, a bit burnt here and there were it had shorted out. Jodie also realized, the solar panel that needed to be replaced was on the roof. Inside the room it was all clear.

Jodie slipped in after the bots, and around the generator as she examined the outside before she would pull out a screw driver and undo the cover to the inside of the generator. “You’d think they put it closer, or even accessible from the inside. “ she mused and frowned at the sight of the circuit panel.. it was nearly decaying in the corners and there was a big hole in the middle.

“The only reason I can really think of, which doesn’t really sound all that logical to me.. is it was put outside so that, whoever was left could monitor it without going inside our bunker and disturbing the sterile environment. “

She went about removing some fuses and pulling out the old rotting wires. “This thing is in worse shape than I thought and this is just the circuits. “ Jodie left the panel alone for a moment as she rounded the large metal encased machine looking for something. “All the wires that go into our facility are underground…soo there has to be…” she tapped her foot lightly on the cement floor listening for the hollow spot. “Here. “ the handle was broken off the slab, so she had to use a small crowbar from her ‘tool box bot’ she slipped the bar between the crack and pushed the slab open. “Of course if any of the wires that go deeper than this are damaged.. I cant fix them. “

She hoped what she could do with here, would fix the generator well enough.

She pulled Lu Lu out of her pocket and set her on top of the generator. “Lucretia when I start the generator I need you to find where the problem is if it shuts down and I know it will once I get these wires into place here. I need to know if the wires under us are damaged or not.”

She said as she replaced the ones on the broken circuit panel, and the fuses as well.. the solar panel would be last on the list since it was just one panel that was broken, she wasn’t worried about it. Then once she was done, she hit the big ON button.

Sparks flew, smoke spurred out of the machine as it rumbled on. But it only stayed on for five seconds before shutting itself off. However, when it did turn on it did temporarily light up the underground bunker.

Smoke also came from out of the hole where the underground wires were installed.

[Neru Amhran]

There was a slight hmm as Olivia pondered the ideas. Why was this place so far off from the facility. "Maybe in the case of the generator going critical, there would be less danger in it being this far off." She mused, looking at the equipment. She may not have been a engineer, but that generator looked toasted.

"Will do." Lu Lu said as she hmmed, the sprite pulling up a schematic for the generator and support systems. "I'll denote bad equipment with red dots on the schematic and we'll go from there Luv." It was then The generator started, for all of a few seconds. In retrospect Olivia was pretty useless here, save for pointing out the things the technician more than likely spotted easily as reading a big neon sign.

"I may not be a supercomputer, but smoke coming from the lead power lines is a bad thing." Olivia said as she peered down the hole, covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve. She hated smoke of most kinds. Meanwhile Lu Lu's screen was going red.

"Forward power relay, damaged, in need of replacement. Rear power relay, damaged, likewise in need of replacement. Magnetic brush contacts 1,2,4,5,7,11,12,20, and 21 in need of replacement. Storage inverters 1,3,4,5, and 7 in need of service. Relay batteries 1 through 9 in need of replacement. Power terminals operating at sub-service level, in need of cleaning. Solar panels 1,2,5, and 7 in need of service. Solar panels 3,4, and 6 are not operating, unknown status. Lead lines to satellite facility are in need of replacement, the outer, and inner wire housings are melted away in places, bleeding power. Stick a fork in it, it's done."

Olivia whistled slightly at Lu Lu's status report. "It sounds like a tall job jodie."

[Zach Kaiser]

Christoph nodded in agreement with Olivia's assessment. He didn't understand most of Lulu's list of things that were wrong, but the fact that there were that many problems with the generator did not bode well. The way it sounded, repairing it for long term use was impossible.

Fortunately, they didn't necessarily need to. "Is there any way you can get it running, at least for a little while?" he asked Jodie. If they could get it going long enough for them to evacuate to the main facility--or failing at that, long enough to ensure the mysterious little girl was safe--it would be enough.

[paper_stars]

Jodie worried her lips a bit as the smoke filled the room and trickled out through the door and into the desert. She went to the toolbot and searched through the tools it had in its box, thinking. She listened as Lu sounded off everything that was wrong and considered what she could do all the while. Also partly paying attention to Olivia as she also pointed out some things that were wrong, that were easily spotted..

But to give the old girl credit some things that a person has no experience with and they can see, mainly because its obvious can sometimes be over looked by someone who knows what they’re doing because they aren’t looking for the obvious.

“Oh sure.” With one hand holding a few tools and the other placing a little flash light strappy hat on her head. “Not all hope is lost.” She was optimistic, but she knew that she could get it running for as long as she had said. Three days, four pushing it.

“And you are right Olivia, it is a bad thing.”

Jodie said as she got to her knees, then her on her stomach as she pushed her head through the hole. The whole was wide enough to fit a person through, but it wasn’t deep enough and there were wires everywhere. The hole was made to be accessible, but not something you could crawl into.

She turned the little switch on so she could see the damage. She could definitely smell it, besides the slight haze of smoke, she could smell the rubber that enclosed the copper wires.

Right now, her best companion was tape.

She’d remove the melted wires, and some all she needed to repair were the rubber casings. That’s where the tape came in. A few yanks here, some curses there.

A light pounding of the head of the screw driver to pry this and that loose, the tightening of bolts and screws.

She was pretty much finished and was ready to leave the hole when she noticed something. “Well that’s weird.” Reaching her arm down she moved a few wires to the side so she could see the ones behind it. As she examined them, she realized that it looked like it was chewed. Maybe by a rat..a big rat.

She reattached the chewed wires and taped them up but as she started to withdraw she froze. Her entire body went stiff as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Her arm was still in the hole, her shoulder partly sticking out and her face looking down.

Jodie had felt something, that light, creepy sensation. Kind of like a spider crawling up your arm. She felt it on her arm, but it wasn’t as small as a little spider. Bugs always made her skin crawl, spiders made her squirm.. But she could tell, this wasn’t a bug, it was too heavy and in truth she didn’t want to turn her head and shine her light on it. She didn’t want to see what it was.

But there was that urge to look, a quick glance. She didn’t really turn her head, but when she looked there was nothing there. She relaxed. So she was just imaging things.

As she relaxed something unthinkable happened. When she moved again, there was a sudden sharp pain running through her shoulder.

Olivia would be able to witness it first hand, though Christoph would be able to see it as well. Little drops of blood splattered into the air as something ripped through the back of her jump suit. For a second there was nothing there, just blood and a tear in her jumper. But then the ‘invisibility’ disappeared to show a somewhat large silver scorpion shaped tail, it wasn’t any bigger than your average household butcher knife.

The owner of that tail was hanging off Jodie’s arm, it looked almost similar to a Chihuahua sized scorpion. The only difference between this creature and the actual bug, was that its feet were sharp and claw like and it didn’t have pinchers at the front of its head. It’s face and jaws were elongated like a dog and it had little black beady eyes set deep into the sides of it’s skull. It’s hide almost shimmered like silver armor as the creature nearly seemed unreal.

Jodie was in a potion with her head just a few inches above the bug as it sat on arm. It’s claw like feet no doubt digging into her arm so it wouldn’t be shook off. From where Christoph was standing it would be a perfect, but dangerous shot. If he was skilled enough to take it with the gun he has.

But there would be movement in the dimly light room, in the corners as they went unnoticed, as they had sat invisible they now moved. Their feet skittering lightly up the walls and floor of the building. It’d be hard to say how many there was, perhaps four or five not counting the one lodged into jodie’s shoulder.

Slowly one by one, their camouflage would disappear and their silver hides would become visible against the dark walls.

[Neru Amhran]

There was a gasp as Olivia suddenly witnessed something spectacular. Blood sprayed in the air for a brief moment before something appeared. It was hard to imagine what it was. It was silver, and had a sharp tail. The carapace which made up what Olivia assumed was an exoskeleton. It was spectacular, wondrous, and dangerous.

There was a chill through her spine as she snapped, reaching for the first heavy thing she saw. Of course these things would be faster than her, but arming herself was the best bet. As for Jodie, her best hope was Christoph. That heavy item was the pry bar. That was when Olivia noticed the rest of them. Her blood ran cold. Maybe it was the fact they were faced with an unknown creature to try and vanquish. Maybe it was her secret desire to take one back to the lab and study it. Maybe it was the fact, in some odd way, she found them beautiful.

There wasn't much to do in this moment. Keeping everyone alive and safe took prerogative over capturing one of these things. Holding her newly acquired pry bar in front of her, Olivia frowned. She wasn't really cut out for fighting, but she knew the job was dangerous when she took it.

[Zach Kaiser]

For a moment Christoph could only blink in surprise; it seemed impossible. One second there was nothing, the next something, appearing from thin air it seemed. A scorpion was the closest approximation, as far as he could see, and a silver one at that. As far as he knew, there was no animal like that in all existence.

But that was only for a single moment, and then his mind shifted into overdrive. Five, possibly six in total. Claws, tail--perhaps poisonous. Jodie is injured, Olivia is holding a crowbar but she clearly has no combat training. The one on Jodie's arm is the biggest threat. A missed shot risks hitting her. His right arm whipped to the holster at his belt and drew his pistol.

At this range, the chance of missing is infinitesimal.

He fired, and his shot would strike with the accuracy only a man obsessed with precision and efficiency could possibly put forth.

"Olivia, help Jodie to the door--we need to get out of here," he ordered calmly. These were creatures that could camouflage themselves well enough to be essentially invisible; while he could possibly shoot all of them he could see, there was no telling how many more there were.