Gloria steps out of cover and fires again at the same Protectron!
Energy weapons:
Damage, AP 2:
Brand moves as quickly as he can after the signal is given, although the pitch and strength of Jack's scream surprise him, and he takes a moment to respond. Once he's moving he's well on his way, though, and brings his axe forward in a powerful swing against the nearest protectron.
Round 1
Lynx Drone takes flight on two small propellers similar to that of a helicopter, gaining in altitude until it is some 30' in the air. It targets Jack and sends a Laser Beam in his direction 1d10 ⇒ 1
Jack falls prone and fires his plasma weapon the bolt of plasma burns a hole in the Protectron's carapace..it clatters to the ground.
Vulture puts two bullets into the Lynx Drone, the first clangs into it causing it to veer off course, the second punches a hole into it and it crashes spectacularly into the ground.
Roland plants a round into a nearby protectron, it staggers backwards.
Gloria fires her laser, which misses the mark. She then hustles and takes cover.
Protectrons
P1 recovers and returns fire at Vulture
P2 moves forward Error! Communist Infiltrators detected. Error! and fires its internal lasers at Roland Damage= 10AP2 (Hit plus Raise?)
Brand dashes forward and clangs his axe into a metal framed monstrosity...the thing looks unfazed.
Round 2
Gloria fires at the protectron but her laser fails to pierce its innards.
Protectrons both fire their hand lasers at Brand one of the lasers scorches Brand but not his flesh, merely his armor.
Brand
Jack
Roland
Vulture
Round 3
Gloria (JOKER)
Vulture
Brand
Protectrons
Roland
Jack
New initiative
Red Joker Gloria
Nine of Spades Brand
Two of Spades Jack
Four of Spades Roland
Queen of Hearts Vulture
Nine of Clubs Protectrons
Brand strikes in a fury, swinging first again at the Protectron before him...
...and then he moves to the other robot, swinging the weapon once more.
*hand wave*
Brand swiftly brings an end to this fight with two blows of his axe.
The speaker announces Good. Now, this door is locked and its subroutines were damaged. I cannot open it from my current location. Can you open it?
A nearby terminal looks promising. Someone could always try and inspect the door..maybe there's a more visceral way to open the door.
"I'll take a look at it, hon- but who are we talking to here? And how'd you get stuck in there?"
Gloria investigates the door.
Repair:
"Oh no, this won't do."
"Jack, hon, you want to give that terminal a look?"
The speaker doesn't respond to Gloria's question and remains silent.
Seeing that Gloria can't make heads or tails of the door in her technical overview, Brand decides to give it his own try, with the best skills he has.
"Ow?"
If the locks were disengaged then Brand would have been able to shove the heavy doors open...but they are still hydraulically sealed.
The doors are massive edifices of steel...it would take explosives to get them open if you cannot with Repair or Computer Hacking.
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Jack surreptitiously looks at the door. It might be something he's familiar with...or it might not.
Always hard to tell with doors. Especially security doors like this. Might be easy, might not.
He wasn't feeling good after Gloria didn't have luck with it. He'd had a bit of an upset stomach for awhile, and was hoping the ghoul could tackle the door so he wouldn't have to approach it. Or squat down. He'd need to use the bathroom once they got inside, but at this point he was just hoping he wouldn't mess his pants messing with the door.
He approaches the door, slowly. He rolls up his sleeves--more just to buy some time than to give him any more mobility. He checks the sun, the wind. He picks up some dust and sees where it floats in the wind. Then nods, as if getting a result he's expecting.
Finally he takes knee, manages to not poop himself, and starts looking at the door.
Jack spends five full minutes wrestling off an access panel, then spends 30 seconds unscrewing the nut and slipping the hydraulics arm off its articulation with the door.
"Entrée vue?"
Jack manages to disable the hydraulics keeping the door shut and locked, and Brand shoves the door open.
The speaker crackles to life Proceed to the central computing laboratory. The way should be safe.
Entering the complex you are at a reception area that is dusty but relatively undamaged. There are placards that point the way to the following areas
Medical Wing
Biological Testing Center
Central Computing
Living Quarters
Defense Systems
Repair Bay
Reactor Tram Access
Notice:
Gloria pats Jack on the shoulder.
"Looks like I still got a thing or two to learn about machines."
The scrapper's eye takes in the dusty reception area, stopping on the box in the corner. Gloria picks up a card after seeing the box is empty. Blowing off dust, she turns it over.
"Thanks for forgetting your card, Harv. What do you say, boys- we want to follow this mysterious voice that won't answer our questions?"
"Well, it's somebody who wants help, right? So maybe we should help them?" Brand scratches his head. "Or maybe it's a trap, huh? So we don't. Or at least explore more around here before helping them. That sounds good too."
Gloria looks at the floor.
"You see any tracks in here, hon? Awfully dusty for someone to be trapped in here recently- you'd figure they would disturb this dust at some point, rattling around in here...."
There's no tracks. The entire area looks undisturbed.
"Knowing our luck it's a robot or somethin' that got clever."
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Jack nods at Gloria's praise.
"I admit that our benefactor is a bit...terse. But maybe he's just being pragmatic? And if there are more robots around, we might want to talk to him and get what data there is to get before we start wandering at random?"
Jack consults the placards and starts heading to the computer lab.
PREVIOUSLY...
The party had to navigate a broken lift/elevator to get to the dusty reception area. The entire complex is a bunker several hundred feet underground...its not Vault-Tec but this place looks like a government installation.
"You sure you guys don't want me to scout out? I'm used to that kind of thing. I love digging through old prewar ruins, and I'm pretty dang silent when I want to be. I ain't the chief tribe warrior, but I can scout with the best of em."
Vulture smirks.
"This could be an ambush, after all. Again."
"Good points. Let's scout it out."
Gloria will sneak down the corridor toward central computing.
Stealth:
Vulture heads down the disused corridor slowly and quietly, he follows the placards labeled "Central Computing"
He comes to a standard sliding door that is closed, near the door is a placard labeled "Central Computing: Level 5 access only"
The door whisks open as Vulture approaches showing a brightly lit room about 30' by 30'. In the center of the room there are several large monitors displaying blank screens. Around the edges of the room are six workstations that look pristine. Each has a computer terminal that is currently off.
No one is present in the room from what Vulture can tell looking in through the door.
"How is it so damn clean in here?" Roland wonders.
Notice:
Benny notice:
"Um... hello?", Gloria calls out.
Vulture is stealthy as all get out when he sneaks down the halls with Gloria, but he's totally oblivious to cameras. He facepalms when she calls out and gives her a "are you kidding me?!" Look.
"Ghoulie G, why, pray tell, are we going to be scouting ahead if you want yo announce our presence?"
Gloria puts a hand over her mouth.
"Sorry!"
Roland and Gloria enter the brightly lit room, which is odd considering the dimly lit hallways and reception area.
Immediately the door swishes closed behind them and the center monitors flare to life displaying lines upon lines of code.
I am P.H.E.O.N.I.X. I welcome you. I was created to assist survivors of the Great War. Please allow me to help you. My systems have been degraded since my construction. I require systems maintenance. Are you a qualified technician?
Brand creeps behind the others, letting the stealthier folks take the lead. He regards most of the inside area with some disquiet, but outright jumps when the door closes behind Roland and Gloria. "Uh... Vulture, you know what just happened?"
Gloria glances around.
"... you called it, Roland. I owe you a nuka cola."
"Well... Phoenix... we came in response to your distress signal. I can fix hardware stuff but if you have a software thing, the most qualified person is on the other side of this door."
P.H.E.O.N.I.X. responds to Gloria
My apologies. and the door swishes open again
My communications array is only 13 percent operational. To fulfill my mission parameters I require a minimum of 97.044 percent system effectiveness.
"Um...Brand, I think this is an AI. Kinda like a robot with a spirit. Okay, let's see, what did that Zinc Man comic say when he was talking to the Scent android? Hey, Phoenix, diagnostic protocol requires affirming your primary directive before system restoration to...hmm...reaffirm your status and...make sure your memory systems are in tact? So what is your mission?"
Vulture starts looking around to see where the computer base may be.
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Jack joins the rest of the group and his eyes bug out when he hears that a minimum 97 plus percent -anything- is needed. He's pretty much used to keeping things at the "not broke" level of efficiency, so the high-nineties is a daunting task by any measure.
He's about to open his mouth when Vulture the -exact- thing that he was thinking.
"How...did...you..." is about all he stammers out when he decides to be quite and wait for an answer.
"Comic books dug up in ruins. Zinc Man is my favorite. Anthony Krats is a super genius whose nemesis is a robot named Ultimateron he fights with his friends The Huge Guy and Lieutenant United States, and the Greek God Zeus." Is all he replies.
Gloria glances around.
"... you called it, Roland. I owe you a nuka cola."
"I'll hold you to that. Last two times I had it it was almost good enough to make me stop smoking."
The P.H.O.E.N.I.X. AI responds to Vulture My mission is to assist survivors of a Nuclear War. I require 97.044 percent system effectiveness.
P.H.E.O.N.I.X. states To restore me to full operation, several repairs are required.
P.H.E.O.N.I.X. goes on to list the repairs that are necessary to assist it in becoming fully operational
1) Communications Array must be repaired
2) Repair Bay must be brought online and repaired
3) Fusion Reactor must be brought up to full capacity, it is currently operating at 13% capacity
4) The Automated Defense system must be repaired.
5) The Lift must be repaired.
Notice:
Gloria's eyes alight on a panel, but she doesn't say anything just now.
"Okee dokee... but what do you do specifically to assist us survivors?"
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Jack absent-mindedly says, "Do you have anything that can help us? A spare parts bay or something?"
He only waits briefly for the answer. His mind is already spinning at the sublime opportunity of working on something new. Something different. Some piece of really -neat- lostech like this.
He starts looking about heading for the Repair Bay.
My functional goal is to assist in restoring the United States of America. Once restored to functionality I have access to vital records and facilities that might aid in reclaiming the United States from the clutches of vile Communist ideology.