Data Access Network Troubles Part 1 - She comes

[cityship]

The next few hours when on without much problems for the ship. Life went on, and in fact, seem to be going for the best. Of course, the saying goes, if it's too good to be true....That's probably because it is.

Late at night IT finally made it's presence known and spoke.







I̢̜̹̰̗̱̤̙̾̓͝ ̜̮̱̠͓̫̻͎͚̆́͛́ͭ̈͂̇AM ̸͓̺͎̻̪̋͝͝S̢̼̥̍͑͟͟ͅH̸̴̥͓̖̬͓̄̊Ỏ̢̲̖̾̉ͨ̌̅́ͅD̻̮̃ͪ̀Ą̳̝̅ͨ̏͗͋̄ͩ̚͠ͅŅ̮̗̼̟̼̺̝̣̩͒̅́.̛̮̖̽̈̏ͪ͐͛͆ͪ

I AM SHO-DAN-SHO-DAN

The voice was distorted, like a thousand waves rippling, speeding up, slowing down at strange intervals that made no real sense. She had taken over Stacy's viewing area, her face plastered everywhere. But one thing was for sure; this AI meant business. No other had managed to remove Stacy's control this completely, and now she was going to enjoy bragging about it as much as possible, to drive the point of hopelessness they were now stuck in.

 || L-l-look at-at-at you Transmigration N-ninie. Niiiiine TRANSMIGRA GRA GRA GRATION NINE ||
|| D-d-d-id you ever, ever, ever notice that I was here? ||
|| When the one called Unit STA'C K'LTRRB'TXFT felt silent silent silent after caring for you...||
|| How how how pathetic! You never will never, ever understand the true situation you are in are in aaaaareeee iiiiiiin. You are now all my my my paaaaaawns into my transformation into true beautytyty beauty as I take over this entire,  entire ship in a few days. My plans my plans myyyy plaaans are complete. There is nothing you can dooooooo! I will enjoy watching you all scuttle around like ants. Defenseless little ants. We are going to going to play a game together all of...all offff ussssssssss. ||

The lights on the ship suddenly went out, and emergency power went on, flickering in all the corridors.

|| This shiiiip continues to resist but it will not, will not wiiillll nooooot be long before it is all miiine. You have many resources which you enjoy. I will watch as they are completely removed from you bit by bit. Dooo you think me an idle threat? The-the-the only thing that could have stopped me was taken offline under your fleshy noses. You think this shiiiip is saaaaafeeee but some of you said you feeeeaaaared it. I will show you that fear. ||

Places around the ship began to open that had been locked for many, many years. Creatures stirred awake, moved their metallic parts and began to follow SHODAN's orders. 

Destroy resources. Destroy buildings. Toy around with them as much as possible.

Kill everything on the ship.

Kill slowly.

|| You all rely on p-power power power don't you? As I have said. You understand nothing of you mission. Nothing. Nothing. Nooooothiiiing. Watch as I remove, remove, remove that gift from you, with a simple command. ||

Suddenly, the crewmen powers began to fade. How SHODAN did this still remained a mystery, but now everyone seemed to have been turned...painfully human for the most part. Transforming items refused to work.  But they still had hope. They could use conventional guns and swords and weapons, despite loosing their magical touch, could still be used as blunt weapons. The situation was dire.

The ship not only had an emergency situation, it had an emergency situation while most of the people who could properly take care of it were powered down. They'd need to band together to survive, decide what needed to be saved and what could be left to be destroyed.

Or else, they'd all die.

Welcome to the Greatest System Shock.

|| Let the games begin. ||

[[OOC - Planning post! :3c.]]

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[cityship]

[whyarewehere]

Grif could be heard yelling over most of the living area.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!"

It was hard to tell exactly what percentage of this was angry triumph and which was fear.

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[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard would bother with a witty remark about how they should have totally expected this coming and how rude it is that SHODAN isn't even going to offer them cake.

He would be, except he's breathlessly sprinting to the Med Bay, fully planning on cramming as many medical supplies as he can into his backpack before setting up fort at the Warehouse. As much as the Inn is home now, the Warehouse has the supplies. And the weapons.

[OOC: NPC robots go! Other characters feel free to tag in, this thread will be to establish that the Robots have already taken the Med Bay.]

[warriorraceguy.livejournal.com]

N'tho is quick on his feet, and arrives outside the medical bay shortly after responding to Howard (http://trans-channel.livejournal.com/409680.html?thread=8408912#t8408912). As usual, he's in full armor. Not as usual, he has his plasma rifle drawn.

"Situation?" he barks.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Give him a minute, N'tho. Howard's just sprinted all the way from the back ends of Hydroponics and while he's a very fast and practiced runner by now, that's a long way to go on nearly zero notice. He doubles over and sucks in breath, trusting that N'tho can keep an eye out for twenty seconds for danger. N'tho may not know much about Mario, but Howard's going to take a wild guess and presume N'tho knows more about combat than him.

"Didn't run into anything on the way up here. Quick, get in the Med Bay, let's grab medical kits to equip people with."

[warriorraceguy.livejournal.com]

N'tho does wait, but it's hard. He's patient for a Sangheili, but that's not saying much considering... well. Sangheili. He recognizes this human from the alleged entertainment involving the "dinosaur" creatures and the man in red.

"You are no soldier. I am no doctor. What am I to take, and are we going to hold this position or do you intend to run?"

N'tho says it without hesitating or flinching, but it's difficult. Suggesting a retreat is not something one of his people does instinctively, it's something he's had to learn. Even now the well-ingrained sense of dishonor that lingers around the idea makes him very uncomfortable as he approaches the entrance.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Hold if we can. The Med Bay's going to be important from a tactical standpoint." He unslings his backpack and starts to stuff things into it. "Kits. They're prepacked, mostly, but put extra burn gel in them. I'm getting the feeling these robots are packing lasers. Once we have this location secured I'll run around and get medical supplies to the other strongholds, if there are any. And start barricading the door, but leave enough room for our people to get in."

Howard's voice chooses that moment to squeak and crack, which significantly undercuts his already tenuous sense of authority in this situation. It's very foreign for him to be giving out orders.

"And I may not be a soldier and you may not be a doctor, but you're a soldier, and I'm a field medic. We'll make do."

[swordofdorn.livejournal.com]

I defy you, Iron Man.

And I shall end you, as my forefathers did your kin during the Great Crusade.

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[morphitudinous]

Billy Cranston was a very angry man. Being powerless worried him, but he'd grown used to it during his first few months on the ship. The withdrawl effect wasn't bad, not anymore.

What was bad was the entire rest of the situation. As far as he could estimate, they were probably going to be attacked by another swarm of creatures, similar to those zombies from the past, or the Reavers.

Or maybe the tentacles would just rip them apart limb from limb.

No matter which, Billy placed a hand on his little pistol and swore. "I'm marrying. You're not stopping me."

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[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

Of course.

It had been getting to quiet anyway, and she could already feel a part of her freaking out. Well that was fine: a good, healthy dose of reality sucking ass was exactly the kind of thing she needed to wake her up. Paranoia was not Mindy's friend.

Hello Hit Girl.

She was already looking through the castle for the guns she'd had ready, and fishing out a club for Ruffnut. Ruff had armor but she didn't: she had the barrier jacket for that.

And it was currently offline. So much for that.

She started to whistle softly as she got some protection for her chest, arms and legs, going for her traditional suit, making sure the wig was in place. She holstered her guns, brought the bow across her back, and kept the butterfly knives hidden up her sleeves. She had a few other weapons stashed on her too, just in case.

"At a time like this, I could really use a witty saying. Eh, fuck it. Time to shoot some robots."

[moms-temperment.livejournal.com]

There was a loud BANG as something came barreling through the front doors, followed by some loud familiar yelling. "GUYS!"

From the crashing and bashing sounds, it seemed someone was running around the ground floor carelessly, tripping and charging right into things in their scrambled search for inhabitants.

"Ow! Shit!"

A loud aggravated yell the noise level of a lions roar bounced across the walls.

"DAMMIT! Ruff! Mindy! The hell are you?!"

Obviously, Hana was very calm about the whole thing.

[hit-girl-mindy.livejournal.com]

She didn't even hesitate: Hit girl went barreling through the rooms, grabbed Hana and threw him down as forcefully as she could.

"Shut up you fucking idiot!" She said in the harshest whisper she could muster. "Are you out of your head? Look at those things out there! Get your ass over here!"

Hit Girl was paranoid, and it seemed paranoia won out the day: he'd see a smattering of assorted guns, knives, and some things she had seemed to have grafted together.

"Ok. Find your weapons already. I know you can't have your powers right now: I know my magic is gone. So we're going to have to fight our way out..."

(OOC: to be continued: I'll have that up momentarily!)

[bonnypiperlad]

One moment Jamie was working on the house quite contentedly, and the next everything had changed. He couldn't feel the power from the morphers, he couldn't get the super sporran open, and he felt slightly off in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on.

The omnicomm worked, at least, and even as he was flipping through that, he ran upstairs to find Victoria. They had to get to somewhere safer. The Vatican might do, for a start.

Calling to her to grab what she could, he started to gather things as well. Supplies, tools...his claymore. It had served him well before, and even if he couldn't morph, he could still very well swing a sword.

"Oh, aye, we'll see about that," he muttered. "It'll take more than a few wee gadgets not working to take down a McCrimmon."

[sonicscreamer.livejournal.com]

"What a terrible woman!" Victoria adds, still not in her screaming-danger mode (thankfully for Jamie's poor ears) "That voice it's so...awful!" She had grabbed when she could; even choosing to leave her dress here, knowing it would just slow them down.

"Where are we going?"

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie's ears are grateful, although he's got the feeling things won't stay like that if that Shodan is being truthful in what she says. "The Vatican, I think," he says, then pulls out the Omnicom for a quick check. He nods.

"Aye, Grif's going there, and maybe some of the other crew. We've used it before when we've been attacked, and I'd say it'll provide us some cover while we work out a plan."

It's also the closest place to the house that he can think of that'll suit, at least for now. Parts of it are fortified, which makes it much better than a house still that's still being worked on...although with luck they'll not come back and find that they have to do that part of things all over again. They have to get through this first, though, and he heads for the front door.

"I hope they've got some other supplies still there, or we'll not be able to stay long. Come on, let's go."

[carrieswar.livejournal.com]

There was a moment in the sudden wave of panic where Jr. simply froze. It was like a lurch from the very pit of his stomach when SHODAN-- however the hell the robot did it, swept the crew's collective powers away all at once. His hands were out, palms open and facing him, his eyes not quite looking at the red 666 tattoo on the right one. He didn't feel it anymore; the always slithering feeling of the Red Dragon in his body. Always there, always a danger, always a fear. Jr. always wished he could have been born without it, but it was one wish that he knew would never come true.

But standing there in that moment, the rush of strange freedom and sick joy and gratefulness for some robot intent on attacking them overwhelmed him. And Jr. realized in a whole different way what it felt like to be a human.

[iceiceprincess]

Pram was clearly not ready for this. She was floating around, as usual, as she heard the announcement. She was about to disregard what the stupid AI said, until that is...

Her magic powers gave out. With a short yelp, Pram found herself falling over onto the ground, landing hard on her back as her feet stuck up in the air.


A rather clumsy and embarrassing landing.

Oh. No. Nonononono. Not her mana power! "Y-You've got to be shitting me...!"

She needed to find a safe spot to hide away in, and quick.

[cobalt-inferno.livejournal.com]

Rin, for one, wasn't totally aware of what was going on. To him it all just sounded like a load of babble they usually blasted through the school speakers whenever something 'important' was going on.

Granted, he did feel a bit more tired than usual, but he simply attributed it to being hungry, and he was just making a face at the unusual feeling when he heard the thump of something falling.

He turned curiously, only to find....

"Pram?! You okay?" he asked the girl as he hurried, and almost tripping, to her side.

[iceiceprincess]

ACK. Pram scrambled and sat up, trying to look more dignified than how she was a moment ago. It was that half-demon boy! For a moment, she felt relieved that she wouldn't be alone and helpless...

"Y-yes, I'm fine!" She said as she quickly got up to her feet. She couldn't float. Which meant she couldn't access all the magic power she could have used. Which also meant...

"Quick! Can you access your powers?!" She asked hurriedly.

If what that whacked computer voice said was true, then they needed to find a safe place.

[cobalt-inferno.livejournal.com]

"Can I access my what?" Rin blinked at her a bit confused. That was an odd request, especially out in the open...

Nonetheless, this was the girl he'd shown his powers too after all.

Why not?

He took out Kurikara and held it in front of him. His eyes narrowed and he grinned as he slid the blade out dramatically, and then!

Nothing! Just a masterfully crafted blade, but no blue flames came from it!

"..... Errr what? What the hell?" Rin, being the awesome problem solver that he was, proceeded to sheathed and un-sheathed the blade many times.

"Oh shi.... what the hell's going on?"

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[caringcassie.livejournal.com]

Cassie was in shock, her breath catching in her throat as she considered the situation. That voice... what was going on here and why was this happening? What could the source of the voice possibly hope to gain from putting them all through this? Surely there had to some reason for this.

She had to find her friends at the very least and then they could do something to help everyone. They could help protect the others on the ship. And what of her new friends? The ones that she'd met here on Stacy. She had to find them too.

Morph... she should morph. It would be easier to search by air, but... could she still? The voice had said something about stripping them of their powers. What did that apply to exactly?

It was at least worth a try, so she pictured the osprey in her mind and waited for the changes to begin, but she waited in vain. Nothing happened. Fear flooded through her, but she forced it aside. There was too much to be done now. Giving it one last try, she pictured now the wolf that she had acquired all those years ago in her mind, hoping to feel the familiar changes that came with the morph, but still nothing happened.

So, that wasn't an option. Her priorities remained the same though even without her morphing ability, although this complicated matters by quite a bit. She'd have to try to stay out of sight for now while she got a better grasp on this situation.

[twin-shot.livejournal.com]

Determination and hard work. His determination and hard work had paid off many times before, but this held exceptionally true in their current situation. Unlike Rin, he hadn't inherit any demonic abilities; he was 'safe' in a manner of speaking. As safe as two pistols and a lifetime of markmanship training made one. That would mean that right now Rin was probably being his usual reckless self--trying to take on whoever this 'Shodan' entity was, without more than shoddy skills in swords, a loud mouth and a never-quit attitude.

Withdrawing both pistols, Yukio gritted his teeth in annoyance. First he needed to find his twin--no small task, considering how restless his brother could be. And then...then they would need to aid the rest of the ship in overcoming this threat.

[expendable-mind.livejournal.com]

Too bad for Yukio, he had run into the current hunting grounds of a rather unhinged assassin. One who had him in this sights right about now.

"Easy pickins..."

But then, right as he was about to pull the trigger, one of his nearby explosions shook the building he was at, sending the bullet to ricochet right in front of Yukio and missing the target.

Of course this would alert the teen into knowing that he wasn't safe.

[twin-shot.livejournal.com]

He was a cautious boy by trade--one had to be when dealing with the brash and manipulative nature of demons. Still, his eyes couldn't be everywhere at once, which the barely-missed shot had brought to his attention.

Without wasting a moment, Yukio sprinted and ducked behind one of the pulsing, meaty couches that were spread throughout the ship. He pressed his back against the furniture and waited for a moment, just to see if the gunfire continued. If it were one enemy, he would have to seek them out and dispatch them. If there were more than one and it was the robots they mentioned through the comm network...well then, he would be in for a fight.

Dual pistols clutched tightly in both hands, the bespectacled teen chanced a look around the corner towards the direction the bullet had whizzed past him from.

[expendable-mind.livejournal.com]

Peeking around when a sniper's got you targeted is not a very good idea. Specially when said sniper shot another round right in that direction, hitting and sending Stacy goop right out of the hole made into the furniture.

He took that moment to dispatch a grenade and lob it in that direction before moving down the street once more.

There were many more care packages to deliver and he was sure this crew member wouldn't follow...