Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: Short Change Heroes [IC]

[Sonitusia]

Ignus rolled his eyes, chuckling at the discussion. Ah, Warmind talk is comedy gold... He unscrewed Loken's chest plating, and opened it to reveal a rather well maintained interior, albeit a little dusty, with bits of dirt and grime here and there. He started out by taking out all the external pollution that had entered with a small vacuum, so that it wouldn't interfere with his work later on. Afterwards, he shined a light inside to have a better look, and found the wiring problems. Looks like something that happened during combat...

"Oh, do you still want your core switched out?" Koro asked, taking a core that was sitting on a nearby table. It was still neatly packaged inside of a small wooden box, with the letters B, I, and O stamped on it. "These are state-of-the-art, doesn't get any better," Koro said, "Although... I don't use them, seeing as how mine are still okay."

[The Krogan]

Loken turned towards Ignusto ask him a question before answering Koro's, My neck servos are going to need replacing after all this socializing, He thought to himself.

"So how does it look in there? And as seeing that I don't have much of a choice I'm guessing we'll still have to change out the cores Koro... There isn't any risk to my memories themselves is there?" he asked worriedly.

I can't lose them.. If they get corrupted or lost the Imperator's will be gone for good... I refuse to let us be lost to history so easily, even if I'm the only one that cares to remember.

[Sonitusia]

He looked at the warmind directly, smiling. "Well, it's cleaner now, and your wiring is going to be in good shape. The memory core you currently have is still unsavable, but the data inside is." He grabbed something nearby, and opened its console to prepare attachment.

"I'll back up the memories into this device first in a compressed file, and it will continue to compress a copy of the data inside," Ignus replied, showing Loken an object that had a flat surface and was the size of a fist. "Every time you switch out a core, it will instantly back up all the memories you've ever had into the new memory chip." He started to fix the wiring, and left a few untouched to attach the device into his system. "This may sting a little," he said, activating the device, a small spark coming up.

After a few minutes, the device hummed slightly louder than before, signalling the backup was complete. "Alright Loken, let me take out your old core for a minute..." Ignus muttered, as he disengaged the rusted chip, Loken's 'face' becoming blank. Koro unboxed the core, handing it to Ignus, who then inserted it into the device, as it beeped for a few seconds, and he closed the chest, awaiting for a reaction. I hope nothing bad happens...

[The Krogan]

The moment Ignus took out Loken's memory core everything went black, an empty vacuum like darkness, pure emptiness that he could feel himself floating in. He felt like he had been floating there for an eternity, but was really only a few seconds; Ignus replaced the chip with another and closed Lokens chest plate. For a few seconds nothing happened, then all the memories in the back up started to poor uncontrollably into his new memory core.

Loken's body immediately seized up in the chair and his "eye" lights flared painfully bright as the information poured into him faster then he could properly process.

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! SENSORY OVERLOAD IN PROGRESS.. MEMORY DOWNLOAD UNCONTROLLABLE... ERROR! ERROR! UNABLE TO.... ERROR!

Years of memory data was being shoved though Loken's processors in mili-seconds, overloading his sensors and all other processes throughout his body were being delegated to try and control the flood. Memories flashed before his eyes; the first being of his creation and the golden years of Warminds and V.I.'s. Everything was perfect, organics and military Warminds worked side by side on the field of battle, organics and Warminds were at peace. A.I. and V.I. units could openly walk through the streets of nearly any nation without fear. Things were good... Then came the decline.

The anit-robotic and radical religious factions became more powerful as the years went by, propaganda began to fill the streets and screens of the organics, and Warminds could no longer walk the streets safely. Soon "lynching's" and mobs against Warminds and their supporters became common place throughout a large part of the world. Gaining more and more momentum as it went, until it finally exploded.

The memory of that day came to the forefront of his mind, he was out in the field on patrol with a squad of Imperator's when all the comms went down. Seconds later, explosions, gunfire, and energy weapons fire could be heard in the distance all around them, instantly putting them on alert. The problem was that no enemy units had been spotted in the area, and Loken knew that they couldn't have moved to attack this quickly. So the squad stayed in place and continued to try and raise command, that is, until they spotted a friendly gun ship heading their way. One of his fellow Imperator's climbed onto a rock and began to signal it.. the only response he got back was a couple dozen rounds of armor piercing rounds from the gunships chain-gun and was instantly turned to scrap metal, along with two others, Without thinking the squad immediately dispersed and began to return fire, saving the implications of what just happened for later. Luckily for them, one of the Imperator's heavy forms was equipped with anti-air defenses, and by the time the gunship turned around for a second run it received a face full of hunter killer missiles.

After that the memories became blurred and stuck together, days turned into months, months turned into years. Loken watched as years of war passed by his eyes, some memories sticking out more then others. Such as the sight of a city aflame, Warminds and Organics being executed in the streets, and of him doing... Morally questionable things. Then came the long sleep, followed by 50 or so years of wandering the wastes, settlement s, and cities. Then came.. Rage.

The whole time this had been happening, which actually hadn't been that long, Loken had been spewing out random half sentences or words, so fast as to be nearly incomprehensible. Now though he had gone eerily silent...

.... Standby... Systems Reboot... Standby... Systems Rebooting.. Stand.. ERROR! ERROR! RESTART OF UNIT NEEDED! PROCESSORS MALFUNCTIONING! ERROR! COMBAT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED! RESTART OF UNIT NEEDED!

Loken burst out of his sitting position and into full combat mode, his normal personality and thought processes completely taken over by the combat systems. Scanning the room, he saw an Organic and a fellow Warmind close by. He quickly barged his way in between them, drew his dual pistol, and stated in a loud commanding voice,

"Meatbag!! Step away from the Warmind immediately or face extermination!"

[Ardavia]

Suppressing some nausea at the thought of eating rats, cooked or no, Alec quietly thanked whoever had invented nutrient bars. Nutritious, taste-neutral, easy to store long-term and quickly consumed. The only complaint he really had was the cardboard-like texture. Well, suppose I'd have to get to sleep then. Didn't exactly manage to get any before now.

"Hey, you mind taking the first shift of watching? I'll grab a few hours of sleep, wake me when you want to turn in, yeah?" With that, without even waiting for confirmation, Alec unrolled his blanket and spread it onto the ground before lying down and closing his eyes.

Quite exhausted, he didn't stay awake for many minutes and soon fell asleep.

The cold air bit at his exposed skin as the wind howled around them, a stray few snowflakes swirling in the air. Turning his head to look at the other members of the squad, he smiled beneath his mask, reminiscing about the past few years. Smile fading, he turned his attention to the machine gun hanging at his side with the sling over his shoulder, gloved hands gripping the weapon and rapidly pulling the charging handle to chamber a round.

"You all know the drill. The mortar teams start off with a few rounds, then we take down anything that moves inside the perimeter before moving in and sweeping the place for any stragglers. Lewis!"

He yelped, having been slightly distracted, then turned his attention to the squad leader. "Yes, sir?"

"You're on suppression duty. I want you on this ridge here. Anything that fires back, you'll suppress so we can kill it. Well, you've got your orders. Move out and godspeed, lads."

Heading for the ridge that the sergeant had pointed out, Alec soon laid down in the snow, taking a moment to press down and move aside some snow so he'd have a more stable firing platform before placing the bipod onto it and laying down in the snow. With a glance at his watch, and knowing the attack was scheduled for 1200, in three minutes, he turned the safety on his machine gun off and experimentally swung the barrel side to side and up and down.

Well, those three minutes passed quickly, Alec thought. Seeing bright explosions bloom in between the houses, and the distinctive sound of more shells inbound, Alec trained his sights on the first moving form, highly visible against the snowy field, and opened fire. As his weapon hammered away, he saw the form collapse and released the trigger, eyes searching for a new target immediately.

[Ameriganastan]

Ruins of Teglah, Uadas
Meravynn

Meravynn watched the conversation between Galen and the Unbroken play out, amused and annoyed at the same time. When the Warlock came back, she merely shrugged. "Eh, don't talk to me about 'em. There's why I stayed here." The Nisse sat herself down on a rock, watching the Unbroken taking a drink from a flask he had taken from his hip. "Probably best to spare the poor Colonel having to explain everything again to those new arrivals." The Nisse gestured to the three that had just arrived with her hand, motioning for them to come over.

"Alright," she began, "here's the deal. This down was just perfectly fine a day ago. Last night, something destroyed it, changing it into what it is now. That's why we are here. The Arch-Regent will pay us gladly for finding out who or what did this. So far, we know there's been some massive Aether activity last night - bigger than ever seen before, I believe?" The Nisse looked towards Galen, before continuing. "There's also a single survivor, who hasn't been able to tell us much before erupting into terrified screaming again - however, whenever he speaks he speaks about some sort of ghost riders in the sky, with burning eyes and hair. That's all we've got."

Meravynn paused for a second, looking around. "However, I believe I may have something worth checking out. Last time I was in the area - which, granted, was quite a while ago - I heard some people speak of some sort of haunted cave, only an hour or two of walking to the north of here. It's probably some superstitious local folklore, and it'll most likely turn out to be nothing, but I don't believe there's anything else that could possibly be a lead. The man did speak of ghosts, after all, and a haunted cave could be related to that." Again, the Nisse looked around. "Anyone got some other suggestions, or questions? I'll be going to that cave tomorrow, anyone who wants to do so can come with me."

"Oi, why wait until tomorrow? You have us all here right now!"

He drew Delilah from his back, spinning it around like a showoff.

"Just point me in the direction of what needs smashing, and we'll be done by lunch."

[Sonitusia]

Oh shit, I knew something like this would happen. Ignus stepped aside, not showing any terror on his face, lest he be obliterated by the now enraged Imperator before him. His eyes glanced around the room, and he saw the object needed for this situation. Koro looked at Ignus terrified, but he didn't give her any reply. But he did notion slightly to behind Loken, and Koro nodded.

"Loken!" she exclaimed while walking outside. She took out her M1911, pointed it at the Warmind, and emptied a magazine into him. All the .45 caliber rounds bounced off harmlessly, but it must've gotten his attention. "Come at me!" Koro yelled, starting to run.

[The Armed Republic of Dutch Coolness]

Meravynn looked at the Unbroken as he drew his warhammer from his back, spinning it around. Truly, the man was a showoff, then. Still, he had somewhat of a point. The Nisse shrugged.

"Eh, I have no objections to leave now. It is, however, turning into night soon and I'm not sure if everyone won't need their sleep, or if they're even comfortable travelling at night... although I'm sure there won't be anyone suffering from the latter. If everyone's alright with it, I don't see why we shouldn't start right away, I guess."

[The Krogan]

Oh shit, I knew something like this would happen. Ignus stepped aside, not showing any terror on his face, lest he be obliterated by the now enraged Imperator before him. His eyes glanced around the room, and he saw the object needed for this situation. Koro looked at Ignus terrified, but he didn't give her any reply. But he did notion slightly to behind Loken, and Koro nodded.

"Loken!" she exclaimed while walking outside. She took out her M1911, pointed it at the Warmind, and emptied a magazine into him. All the .45 caliber rounds bounced off harmlessly, but it must've gotten his attention. "Come at me!" Koro yelled, starting to run.

Loken felt several rounds hit his armor plating, all bouncing harmlessly off. Quickly spinning around to confront his attacker, he just barely stopped himself from shooting the retreating figure in the back when he saw that it was the Warm..ERROR..

Koro? Why would she shoot at him? He was trying to protec... ERROR... ALERT, CHANGE IN MISSION PARAMETERS.... PROTECT KORONIAN ROBOTICS, SERIES L, MODEL 3.. AKA KORO.. AT ALL COSTS

Without a second thought Loken dove through a nearby window and into the street, executing a perfect roll upon landing and coming right back to his feet. He began to scan the street in search of Koro, and was confronted with Organics in every direction.

Scanning... ALERT! MULTIPLE ORGANICS! PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION... Scanning.... ALERT! Objective Located, thankfully Loken's combat systems knew enough not to start firing on random Organics, as he was without any back up and could be overwhelmed.

Loken spotted Koro a little ways down the street and immediately took off after her, yelling, "Koronian Rob..ERROR... Koro! Cease and desist hostile actions! This unit is tasked with your protection, Stop!"

Loken was gaining on her though, barging his way through Organics and causing quite the scene in doing so.

[Sonitusia]

Ignus dashed to the object he needed earlier the instant Loken got out of his shop, and unclothed it, revealing his Mark VII Laser Rifle. Custom built, not meant for hunting organic life forms. He quickly ran out of the shop, and followed the trail of chaos Loken was creating. "Oy Ignus, your bloody customer destroyed the street in front of my shop!" exclaimed the Unbroken man from earlier. "I'll get it fixed, Gregoravich, just let me stop him before I have to pay more people!" Ignus shouted in return.

Koro looked back, seeing Loken had started running for her, and Ignus was some ways back. "Alright, I'll stop!" Koro said, as she stood still, and could hear the whirring of energy in the air as Ignus took his aim.

For once in my life, I will fucking hit at this range! He fired off a large bolt of electric energy towards Loken, in an attempt to tranquilize him. It actually did hit, landing on the Warmind with a crackling thud.

[The Krogan]

Loken came to a sudden stop in front of Koro as she complied with his request to stop running, and said,

"Miss Koro! We must leave before the Organic's... *Crackling thud of the energy shot hitting Loken*... AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRR!!" Loken roared as the energy shot hit him in the back and his servos and systems started to seize up. Slightly stumbling into Koro, Loken was otherwise able to stay on his feet, even with his systems enduring the extreme shock that the energy weapon had given him.

"Mizzzzz Korooo, RUnnnn, I wuLL CovER Youssss" Loken said, his voice box malfunctioning, before turning around to confront his attacker.

He spotted the Draconid from earlier coming towards him with an energy weapon that had just been fired and yelled, "CooooMEE at Mee Meatbaggggg!!", stumbling off towards Ignus.

[Sonitusia]

Ignus set another charge for a lower voltage, and couldn't help but smile as he aimed another shot. "Forgive me for this Loken!" He fired, the smaller laser hitting the Warmind somewhere not too vital, but enough to send a wave across his body. When the being hit the ground, Koro sprinted into action, but Ignus told her to halt. "There're still currents running through him, you'll only hurt yourself."

A small crowd gathered to watch as Ignus stepped closer to Loken, and he picked the being up, so that he seemed to be sitting sleepily. Opening a small hatch on the warmind's head, he switched some levers, to allow Loken to reboot calmly. "Alright, Koro, you watch him. I have to talk to Greg." Koro nodded, and Ignus walked away as she watched Loken start his rebooting process.

[The Krogan]

........ System's reboot in progress...Standby...System's reboot in progress..Standby... Software check in progress... Complete, No Issues... Hardware check in progress.. Complete, No Issues.. All Systems Green, Restart Authorized...

Slowly the systems and processor's within Loken began to restart themselves, his eye lights began to glow a bit brighter, and he began to come back to consciousness. The first thing he noticed as he looked around was that he was sitting in the middle of the street with people looking at him funnily. Wait... Wasn't I inside a second ago?.. How did I get out here? he thought to himself, and upon seeing that Koro was standing beside him turned towards her and asked.

"Ummm Koro, what are we doing in the street? I thought we were going to replace my memory core not go for a stroll."

[Sonitusia]

"Oh, your core is changed. You just went a bit crazy afterwards and almost killed Mr. Ignus," Koro replied, helping Loken to his feet. "I'm a bit tired after all this, I should have a seat..." she muttered, looking at a nearby chair that awaited an occupant.

"Not so fast, Koro," Ignus chuckled, "We've only just opened shop." Koro nodded reluctantly, and followed Ignus back to the shop. "Loken, I'll do something really bad if you don't pay my friend," Ignus said to the Warmind behind them, "I don't do things for free you know!"

[The Krogan]

Loken automatically followed the pair back towards Ignus' shop, both to pay him back and because the angry looks he was getting out in the street. Damn... Must have done something pretty crazy to get the whole street all riled up like this he thought, kind of like walking around the cities in the old days, he thought, before answering Ignus.

"First of all Mr. Ignus I apologize for nearly killing you in my... craziness?.. And yes I have money with me, how much will the change cost?" He asked.

[Sonitusia]

"Just call me Ignus," he grumbled, "Only Koro ever refers me as mister, no matter how many times I tell her not to." Koro nods, saying simply, "It's more polite, Mr. Ignus." The Draconid put his hand on the table, leaning his body against it, and says, "Custom built core-port, brand new B.I.O. E-6 memory core, a leakage repair... That'll be 1.7-kay credits."

"The price of a used hunting rifle, sir?" Koro asked. "Not a lot of that was expensive, just the E-6 was quite the price," he explained. He then looked directly at Loken. "The next time you switch out a core, you don't need to come to me. It's simple to operate that device, just eject the old one and put in a new core. It will automatically restart your system, and then you're good to go."

The Draconid scratched his chin curiously. "You could also set it to just take the core instantly, which would put you in a state of rage and saves time."

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Shijō, the Chosen One

Not stopping to rest nor delaying his journey by interacting with outsiders, the Chosen One traveled day and night for a solid six days. While he passed by quite a few humans and other outsiders, and even passed near two human villages, Shijō didn't bother to so much as acknowledge their existence, ignoring other people on the road (and killing anyone who tried to steal from him or attack him). He had not forgotten about his tribe's policy towards outsiders, and, staying true to his tribal code, did not even bother talking to the barbarians. Of course, after almost a straight week of traveling east, Shijō's provisions were starting to run out, and he contemplated how he would replenish his stockpile. On the one hand, Shijō had a rather sizable amount of money from back home, but on the other hand, trading with the barbarians would be breaking his tribe's tradition of refusing to associate with the outside world; it was a difficult decision, one that Shijō had to think long and hard about.

While it was entirely possible for him to simply kill every non-Draconid he saw on sight, bounty hunters and retribution seeking barbarians would no doubt become a hindrance to his journey if he did that. There was also the possibility that, hidden amongst vast and unending swarms of barbarians and savages, there would be a small handful of like-minded Draconids, people who could help him on his holy quest to save Arroyo. Shijō was conflicted on what he wanted to do, but he figured that sooner or later the Gods would give him some sort of a message to guide him towards the right decision. In the meantime, there were barbarians everywhere around him; from the massive increase in human activity around him, Shijō guessed that he had come across another human settlement. He had also run across a few more Nisse, which he killed on sight without second thought.

It was because of his endless distrust for outsiders that Shijō stayed away from the main roads, avoiding any contact with the barbarians; the fact that a couple of humans had tried to rob him during his travel only reinforced his distrust. While he was going to need to find a way to restock his supplies sooner rather than later, he had made up his mind to stay as far away from the barbarian settlements as he possibly could; wandering straight into a swarm of savages wasn't exactly a bright idea. No, if he decided to purchase supplies from the barbarians, he'd find a caravan on the roads and buy from them, or, if he decided to take a more violent approach, simply kill everyone else he saw on the roads and take their provisions; either way, he didn't trust outsiders anywhere near enough to go into an entire settlement of them.

Of course, there were outsiders everywhere around this human town, making it somewhat difficult to avoid them. One such example was what, from the distance Shijō was at, appeared to be a couple of tents; while humans weren't exactly known to be nomadic, he wouldn't put it past the savages to live as nomads. Shijō had never really come to associate Draconids with a nomadic livestyle, since his own tribe had settled down at Arroyo many many centuries ago, and since Shijō didn't talk with outsiders enough to know what the other Draconid tribes were like, he figured most of his race had done the same thing and settled in a village somewhere.

[The Krogan]

Loken awkwardly stared at Ignus and Koro, unsure of what to say next, Uh oh... I don't have that much money on me.. he thought to himself. In an embarrassed sounding voice, Loken said,

"I.. I'm sorry you two.. but I don't have that kind of money on me... I've only got a little over 900 creds..*shruggs*.. work hasn't been very lively lately.."

[Sonitusia]

Ignus sighed, looking at his claws lazily. "Well, you can always sell me a foot, lots of people need robotic parts nowadays..." Koro glared at him. "Mr. Loken!" The draconid chuckled, putting his hands onto the table. "It's just a joke, Koro. But it's great to see you defending him." Koro looked away, in... embarrassment, it would seem. "It's just not right to ask for that..."

Ignus coughed a bit of fire, and thought for a moment. "Tell you what, I'll give the service for free, but you'll need to do some errands for me," Ignus offered, "Koro will come along with you as well, because they're some rather tough duties for a single person."

[The Krogan]

Loken looked at the two in relief at Ignus's proposal that he wouldn't have to pay as long as he did a few errands. As long as the Draconid didn't make him water plants or some such nonsense he was fine, heck it'll be a nice to actually be doing something again other then wandering the wastes all the time, especially if I have some company he thought.

"I am more then willing to be of service in order to pay off the repairs and trying to kill you, what will you need me and Koro to do?" Loken asked.

[Brusia]

Meravynn looked at the Unbroken as he drew his warhammer from his back, spinning it around. Truly, the man was a showoff, then. Still, he had somewhat of a point. The Nisse shrugged.

"Eh, I have no objections to leave now. It is, however, turning into night soon and I'm not sure if everyone won't need their sleep, or if they're even comfortable travelling at night... although I'm sure there won't be anyone suffering from the latter. If everyone's alright with it, I don't see why we shouldn't start right away, I guess."

Galen shrugged as well "I'd be alright with heading out now, as long as you're sure you won't have any trouble navigating to and from this cave in the dark. Though, I have to imagine it would be easier heading out in the morning, and by then we might have more people here looking to assist in the investigation, but I'll leave it up to you."

[Saleon]

Meravynn looked at the Unbroken as he drew his warhammer from his back, spinning it around. Truly, the man was a showoff, then. Still, he had somewhat of a point. The Nisse shrugged.

"Eh, I have no objections to leave now. It is, however, turning into night soon and I'm not sure if everyone won't need their sleep, or if they're even comfortable travelling at night... although I'm sure there won't be anyone suffering from the latter. If everyone's alright with it, I don't see why we shouldn't start right away, I guess."

Asha and red looked at the Unbroken as he proposed going in the night. He was violent to say the least. He seemed like good fun just in how laughably "silly" he was, for a lack of a better term.

The nisse of the party seemed to be on board with the idea. Asha was not too afraid of it either. " I don't think a bandit will find it fun to attack all of us in the middle of the night. No sense in making any serious plan, we don't have a thing on what we are going against."

She tapped a portion of her cigar, to dust a portion of the burnt edge off. In the back of her mind she chuckled at the thought of both a nisse and an unbroken agreeing on somethibg.

[The Armed Republic of Dutch Coolness]

Ruins of Teglah, Uadas
Meravynn

"Pfft. Trouble? Navigating? Me? As if." Meravynn shrugged off the notion, the Nisse turning her eyes to the human and the Warmind as the human began to speak. Meravynn nodded in agreement. "While I'm pretty sure bandits have different ideas on what is 'fun' and what isn't, it's safe to say they probably won't try and attack us - not if we travel with this group." She stood up, clutching her hands together. "So that's decided, then. While we could wait, leaving now might give the lot of us a bit of an edge on anyone that'll try and investigate as well, which'll also mean we'd be closer to cashing in that bounty... Alright then, let's go."

Meravynn checked her own gear, and waited on the others until they were ready as well, before setting out from the now ruined town of Teglah. The Nisse led the group through the nearby area, navigating by using some landmarks that were mentioned when she had heard the story about the haunted cave. As they traveled, the Nisse introduced herself. "Name's Meravynn. Realize I haven't introduced myself properly to all of you yet, so there's that. Used to be somewhat of a famous gladiator back in Thanedice, got bored, and ended up here eventually. Not much else to know about me, I guess." She took a sip from her canteen, relishing the fresh water before continuing onwards. "Shouldn't be too far away, now."

[Sonitusia]

Ignus took out a small photograph, showing the two what appeared to be a high-tech weapon. "This is a Number 6 Plasma Cannon, shoulder mounted and very deadly to anything it hits." He also slides over a photo of a rather vile looking man, the picture seemed to be taken from a distance. "That's the 'owner' of this weapon. He took it from my shop, and I need it back. Problem is, he's got a gang of bandits surrounding him."

"You need us to... Relieve him of this gun?" Koro asked. "Yes, that's correct. He usually hangs around south-east of Zufbridge, harassing travelers and rival gangs. That weapon is one of my signature weapons, him using it is ruining my reputation, so please get it back."

[The Krogan]

Loken analyzed both the weapon and the man that Ignus had showed them, and stored the pictures of them into his databases for later. Loken looked up at Ignus and asked,

"Do you want us to terminate the Organic? Otherwise he will undoubtedly seek revenge, plus the city guards may have a bounty on him and his crew, and I'm sure you can always us the credits."