Darwin's Soldiers: Disruptive Selection

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4860 on:** March 28, 2012, 11:22:23 PM

Sharon smiled sadly. "Thanks for your support, Neku. But you can't fight death. We created miracles at Pelvanida, but even we never created resurrection or immortality. And Death fought James' entire team to a standstill. I honestly don't know why he gave me the time he did."

Sharon looked at the horizon again. "I'm only glad he gave me a night with James. I can die knowing I got that much..."

---------------

Masters headed right for the SUV and got in. Neville grabbed a paper bowl of food first. "Come on guys, don't sit down. Let's get on the road," he told those who were eating.

In the car, Shelton slowly realized that he would be seeing Gustave soon. "What should I do about Gustave?" Shelton whispered to Masters, despite no one else being in the car. "What if he kills me?"

Since Masters had been present for Shelton's anguished apology at Deadwood, he was the only teammate (not counting Kerzach) who knew Shelton was responsible for the deaths of everyone in Gustave's family.

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #4861 on:** March 29, 2012, 10:16:29 AM

Neku shook his head.
"Maybe not, but I can still keep him from killing you. Even if I die doing it, I won't let him kill you. You still have someone to love. Someone to live for. I promise you he will. Not. Touch. You."
He said resolutely, fishing for something in his coat...

MrDrake · **Reply #4862 on:** March 29, 2012, 09:38:59 PM

Aimee stayed at the bar, still just sipping away rather lightly at her drink, taking her time with it, even if she could feel the alchoholic effects taking place on herself. Her eyes did gaze around somewhat, glancing to the others in the distance as she smiled to herself, leaning back on the stool....but a bit too far as she tipped over, falling onto her back as she did so.

"Yup....I think that's about enough for me to drink for the time being" Aimee laughed a bit as she staggered to stand back up properly.

Serris · **Reply #4863 on:** March 29, 2012, 11:06:15 PM

(Hotel Parking Lot)

"If he tries to kill you, kill him first! It's common sense!" Spc. Crota cut in as he pulled a fried catfish filet on a stick out of the cardboard box in came in. "Besides, what did do to him to make him so mad? Sexually harass him?" He placed the skewer down his throat, stripped off the catfish and swallowed the filet whole. He then threw the skewer on the ground.

"Specialist, sexual harassment is a serious matter. I will not tolerate any jokes about it!" Sgt. Masters said as he climbed into the SUV.

Neville facepalmed as he ate his vegan chili. He was sitting in the front passenger seat of the SUV.

----------------

(Bar)

Dr. Bailey paid for his meal and drink. As he exited he decided to help Aimee to her feet. "You okay?" he asked.

----------------

Dr. Zanasiu turned to Sharon and Neku. "Why not have Gustave fight him? He's already cheated death," he deadpanned. He sipped a bottle of water he purchased from a vending machine.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4864 on:** March 30, 2012, 05:35:27 AM

Shelton didn't seem comforted by his allies' words.

"Well, we'll find out in a few seconds," commented Neville, glancing at the hotel. "Here he comes."

Gustave stomped out to the SUV. "Shelton, can I talk to you in private?" he asked.

Shelton gulped. His face went completely pale. "O-okay..."

Gustave led him behind the hotel into an empty back parking lot. Then he grabbed Shelton by the collar and held him up to his face.

"I know exactly what you did to my family, and don't you think I'll ever forget it," he hissed, sending hot air washing over Shelton from the jaws inches away from his face. "And I'll never forgive you. But I had a lot of time to think in that hospital, and I decided I don't kill teammates, especially a defenseless wimp like you."

Gustave sent Shelton flying backward, where he skidded across the gravel. The collar of his purple shirt tore down the middle.

"But don't you ever talk to me again!" Gustave barked. "And I'm warning you; if something comes up where your life is in danger, I will not save you! From now on you're as dead to me as my family, and if you ever speak to me again, I can't guarantee that this arrangement will hold. Understood?"

Shelton nodded, not daring to get up. Gustave merely stood over his fallen figure for a few moments, breathing heavily.

"Have you ever even had a family?" Gustave finished angrily.

Shelton curled into a ball because Gustave looked like he was about to kick him. "No..."

Instead Gustave turned and started heading back to the others.

------------------

Sharon turned away from both of them. "Let's focus on the mission," she said. She knew they were trying to make her feel better, but it wasn't really working. "Should we have let Gustave take Shelton away?" she added, sounding a bit worried.

"He won't kill him," said Alfred, looking eighty percent sure. "Gustave wouldn't kill a teammate."

"Would he rip off a finger for every reason he has to hate a teammate, without killing them?" Crota asked.

Alfred didn't answer. At that point, though, Gustave came stomping back. Without another word, he boarded the SUV. Shelton arrived about a minute later, looking haggard and pale. His shirt was torn and gravel peppered his back and hair.

Serris · **Reply #4865 on:** April 06, 2012, 01:52:39 AM

"Bad day?" Spc. Crota asked as he tossed another skewer out the window.

"Come on, we don't have all day!" Dr. Zanasiu called from the driver's seat.

MrDrake · **Reply #4866 on:** April 06, 2012, 02:27:08 AM

Aimee patted Dr. Bailey on the cheek "Hey, you wanna know something....trivial? I grew up in Springwood....you know, that town that's borded by the states of Maine, Washington, Hawaii and Brazil" she laughed a little before letting off a quick hiccup.

(ooc: And yes, I did that on purpose....I do at least realize that Maine and Washington are on different sides of America, while Hawaii is of course, the island state....and Brazil's not even a state in general XD)

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4867 on:** April 06, 2012, 04:39:16 PM

"You have no idea," groaned Shelton. He crawled into the car and sat as far as he could from Gustave.

"I think we're all here and ready to go, James," said Sharon as she helped Bailey carry Aimee into the car. "Oh dear, you don't hold your liquor very well," she smiled.

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #4868 on:** April 08, 2012, 12:46:18 PM

Neku sat down, sighing and holding his headphones.
"Heh...must be nice having a place you grew up, rather than a lab..."
He said softly...

Serris · **Reply #4869 on:** April 08, 2012, 09:56:41 PM

"Hey, where's Aisha and Dr. Landon?" Dr. Zanasiu asked as he looked around the SUV.

"Aisha went to get clothes for Gustave," Spc. Crota said. "Though, I have no idea why," he added under his breath.

"Because I don't fight in the nude!" Gustave shouted. Zachary and Sharon flattened their ears back in response to the loud noise.

"Damn, you don't have to shout!" Dr. Zanasiu said, sticking a finger in his ear and wiggling it to make sure that Gustave hadn't deafened him.

Neville returned from throwing out his trash and his trip to the bathroom.

"Oh, by the way, we don't have any ammo," Dr. Bailey said. "We'll need to stop by a gun store."

"Thanks for noticing," Spc. Crota said bitterly, holding up an empty magazine for his pistol and then pocketing it.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4870 on:** April 08, 2012, 11:56:05 PM

Shelton continued to not say anything.

"Let's move out, then," commented Sharon, anxious to get on the road. "Does anyone have any way of contacting Aisha?"

"Landon has a thought chip," said Masters.

So Sharon focused on Dr. Landon. <Hey, doc, how soon are you and Aisha going to be back? The crocodile's getting testy.>

Serris · **Reply #4871 on:** April 11, 2012, 01:10:49 AM

"Whoever's got those thought chips, tell those two to forget about the clothes! I'll go kill someone at our next destination and steal their clothes," Gustave said. He then looked around the SUV. "Anyone who makes jokes about me fighting naked or in a hospital gown will have their head shoved up their ass."

"Hey Doc," Spc. Crota whispered as he nervously twitched his tail-rattle. "Can we get moving? I don't want Gustave to rip someone apart."

Nick22 · **Reply #4872 on:** April 11, 2012, 04:25:04 PM

Aisha and Dr landon returned a few minutes later carrying three pairs of extra-extra large clothes " sorry about the sparse selection, but these were all they had in these sizes " aisha said , handing them to Gustave. " Now as you probably want to get going, lets not waste any more time " she saids getting into the UV and Buckling up. Landon climbed in after her " so we miss anything while we were shopping? He asked the others.

Serris · **Reply #4873 on:** April 11, 2012, 04:35:18 PM

"Thanks," Gustave said. "Hold up for a bit while I get dressed."

He then got out of the SUV with his clothes in hand and ducked behind a large bush.

A few minutes later, he returned wearing a large T-shirt that showed his muscles, a set of stone washed blue jeans and a denim biker's vest over it.

He then got in the SUV and shut the door. "Ya got good taste," he said to Aisha.

Dr. Zanasiu drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. "Ready to roll?"

A chorus of "yeses" resounded. The former Pelvanida biologist nodded, put the SUV into gear and headed out of Platanna Town.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4874 on:** April 13, 2012, 06:35:45 PM

After refilling their ammo supplies, Sharon felt the lingering after-effects of the alcohol dissipate. With it went the predilection on the coming assault with Death. Finally she found herself able to concentrate on the coming mission.

She was also able to think about somebody's problems other than her own. "Hey, thanks for trying to cheer me up," she smiled at Neku. She hoped to return the favor. "It looks like something is troubling you as well. Do you want to talk about it?"

Shelton, still remaining uncharacteristically silent, was coversing with ROSS on how to get what they need done at New Peenemunde.

<So ROSS, what is the extent of their security measures? Will I be able to use a rotating password cycle to bypass most firewalls?>

<I don't know,> ROSS responded. <New Peenemunde has one of the few systems I don't dare go anyhwere near. Soundwave has created a base in his own image: utilitarian, ruthless, and deceptively straightforward. It is almost impossible to predict what he'll do, considering the last base he defended was completely destroyed, and he will no doubt adjust his strategy.>

Neville seemed to be thinking of the same thing. "So, what's our strategy for when we fight this AI?" he asked.

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #4875 on:** April 15, 2012, 01:22:20 AM

Neku smiled a little at Sharon.
"Just...looking back on my life so far. Since I have a feeling that I won't be alive after this mission, it's a good chance to... I guess to find some closure, y'know?"
He said softly...

MrDrake · **Reply #4876 on:** April 17, 2012, 01:14:50 AM

Aimee looked over "AI? What AI? Am I missing something here?" she asked, seeming to have sobered up a bit by that point "Listen, I know I just got here....again and all that, but can someone at least explain to me briefly, about what we're up against this time?"

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4877 on:** April 17, 2012, 01:34:58 AM

"I have an AI in my head, and it's warned me that New Peenemunde has been taken over by Drake's old sysadmin, Soundwave," Shelton spoke up, the first time since re-entering the car.

"What do we know about him?" asked Neville.

"Not much, ROSS' only experience was in a virtual environment, completely different from the real world."

Sharon nodded to Neku. "I guess closure is what's at stake here. If you can help me survive Death, I'll owe you in the future. Hopefully we'll both get through this."

"We're close to New Peenemunde," Zachary announced. "Everyone get themselves prepared; we can't predict what sort of reception we'll get."

(OOC: So, there are no humans, right? Soundwave's just got the whole base completely automated, with the possible exception of Breathtaker as a second-in-command?)

Serris · **Reply #4878 on:** April 18, 2012, 12:47:45 AM

Dr. Zanasiu overheard Neku. "Don't say that! I swear I will get everyone through this mission alive." He put emphasis on his last word.

Gustave looked over to Dr. Bailey who was apparently working on some computer program. "What the hell you doing? Shouldn't you be getting ready for battle?" he growled.

"Shove it."

Gustave cocked his fist and got ready punch out the arrogant Monitor Lizard but then realized that Alfred was looking at him.

A few minutes later, Dr. Bailey handed Shelton a USB flash drive. "I just put the finishing touches on a computer virus I started a few days ago. I don't know if it'll work on the AI but it's worth a try. What I am fairly certain is that if we can inject it into the mainframe computers at New Peenemunde, this virus will completely wipe everything there; research data, budget info and security/safety systems will be completely wiped."

"Excellent work, Keith!" Sharon exclaimed. "But I do worry that the security and safety systems will have a manual backup."

"They will; I didn't say that this will make it a cakewalk. All it will do is make it somewhat easier to get in and not be detected."

Zachary opened a can of soda and tossed one to Alfred. "Well anything's better than nothing."

Twenty silent minutes later, they arrived at New Peenemunde. The parking lot was eerily empty and silent, save for the sound of waves.

Dr. Zanasiu shut off the engine and grabbed his Remington 870 shotgun from under the seat. He clicked the safety off and looked around. "This place is abandoned."

Neville grabbed his 9 mm submachine gun from the case sitting next to him. He spotted a shadow on a pier about 300 meters away; luckily, being an Iguana endowed him with extremely sharp eyesight as well as the ability to see in the ultraviolet range. "No. This place has staff."

Dr. Zanasiu looked around. "Are you sure? All I can see is parking lot and ocean."

Spc. Crota and Sgt. Masters slithered out with their customized weapons - a shotgun and a rifle respectively. Both of them repeatedly flicked their forked tongues in and out to sense the air.

"He's right," Sgt. Masters said. "It's faint but I can taste the presence of living beings."

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4879 on:** April 18, 2012, 02:30:23 AM

<Wow,> observed ROSS, going over the specs of the flash drive because Shelton didn't bother to hide his thoughts. <That's an ingenious sequence of rootkits and backdoor Trojans. I think we should start seeing other people; he has a thought chip right?>

"Bailey, would you mind if I'm the one to install this?" Shelton asked. "This would wipe out some connections that I need to send something. Alternately, once you're in place just wait for my signal."

"The whole point is to make sure they don't get an SOS out," said Zachary. "Would your message tip them off that the base is compromised?"

Shelton paused. "Well, kinda, but the base is already compromised..."

"But it gives our position away," protested Zachary. "I don't think you should send anything."

Both turned to James for the final say.

Sharon, meanwhile, had her weapon at the ready and exited the vehicle. For the first time, the view of the harbor and the new environment had caused her to forget about Death.