Breach of Protocol
The Dreamer stretches his wings, eyes cautious for a brother yet seen, and hones in on the machine planet of Aballon, where the Anacites tinker and toil for a purpose, their masters long since gone beyond the Infinities. We pass over the Horse Eye Orbital Plate, across the shining city of Striving, to the edge of its warehouse district, where the cronies of House Marcus lounge about the halls...
Rel: "This is unlikely to succeed."
Fish: "That means 'good plan'!"
Qwerty: "Both of you, shut up." Qwerty's fingers danced in the air, hovering just over the computer interface, text filling the screen as she made modifications to the unit's source code. The guard at the end of the hall was asleep again, bored out of his mind after many weeks of uneventful watch. It was what Qwerty had been counting on, and now was the time to strike. To escape. The last Night-Breaker in the warehouse's inventory was relatively tiny, meant to be placed on a smaller ship, but it was perfect for her purposes. The flash of Day light would blind nearly everyone in the facility, provided they were looking the right way... Rel flexed his own fingers, picking the manacles hanging from their hands and feet with a suspicious level of expertise, and Fish... Fish was picking his nose. Qwerty sighed, gave Rel and her husband the signal, and pressed submit on the keyboard. The Night-Breaker hummed to life, teetering on the edge between dormancy and release, soon to be broken by the press of a button. Rel clambered underneath it, pulling a sharpened sliver of his own arm out of a hiding place in his chassis. Fish burped. Qwerty: "Will you take this seriously?"
Fish: "Who, me?"
Qwerty: "Yes, you!"
Rel: "Incoming." Boots thudded on the ground, waking their ever-observant floor guard, as a squad of House Marcus thugs burst into the room with guns levelled, the sensors on their belt warning them of the live explosive. By protocol, Fish and Qwerty weren't supposed to be able to turn the bombs on... But that was a mortal limitation. It was not obstacle to a Tanuki of her skill. Marcus Thug: "Everbody down on the ground!"
Rel: "Greetings, everyone! Look in this direction!" Qwerty groaned, but they all looked, and so she pressed the button. There was a flash of light and heat, the smell of a warm summer's day filling the air. The guards all screamed, confusion blanketing their minds as they realized their blindness. Rel dove in with his shiv, Qwerty right on his heels, with Fish right behind her. As the first corpse hit the ground, Qwerty was already picking up its comm unit, bypassing the meager security and accessing the warehouse controls. General alarm was already thrown, which she silenced, and all the doors were locked. A tap or two in the air, and all was right again... No one ever invested in security, not until it was too late. Qwerty: "Doors are open, let's go!" Rel spun on heel, leaving another guard on the floor, the rest colliding into each other and the walls. He shouldered open the door they'd come from, and the other two followed. Qwerty disabled traps and countermeasures as she came on them, making sure to re-arm them as they were past. They heard a few shouts as they activated, but thankfully none got close enough to be a thr-- A guard turned the corner, a machine gun strapped to his chest, and opened fire. Rel ducked into a door, and pulled Qwerty with him. She reached for Fish, but his fur slipped through her fingers. The bullets ripped through him, splashes of blood and tufts of fur covering the walls. Fuck. Qwerty: "Calm down, honey. We gotta go."
Fish: "Deceivers."
Qwerty: "I know, baby. But we can't fight right--"
Fish: "Flesh dealers." Rel whined in fear as Fish's back surged, growing nearly double in size. Qwerty grabbed his chin, pulling his gaze away, and pointed to a door on the other end of the hall. Qwerty: "He'll catch up. We have to move." The Android nodded, and ran across, ignoring Fish's monstrous visage with his eyes, and the next round of gunfire that filled the hallway. Qwerty gave her husband a gentle pat on the rear as she passed, already at terms with what was about to follow. Qwerty: "Give 'em Hell, sweetie."
Fish: "Kin stealers." Rel pushed the door open, which led to a small service corridor, and then... Sweet freedom. It was twilight, the early morning, with the majority of the city still in their slumber pods. A barbed wire fence surrounded the facility, but Rel used his weight to burst through it, and they were on the street. A black SUV swerved onto the sidewalk, its hover plates groaning with the strain, and the passenger door slid open. At the same time, the roof of the warehouse exploded, brick and mortar flung into the air. Along with a body, which thudded onto the hood of the SUV, denting the frame. Nicholas Carter: "Come on! I just got this thing fixed!" Qwerty pushed Rel into the back of the car, and got into the front seat. Qwerty: "Fish will pay for it, Nic. Just drive." Nicholas slammed his foot on the pedal, the hover car leaning forward from the pressure, and the SUV took off down the street, following the destruction that was making its way through the warehouse. Nicholas Carter: "Is that him?" Qwerty nodded, and Nicholas groaned, turning the wheel as they reached the end of the block, putting them at the official entrance to the warehouse. He went over the sidewalk and through the fence, rolling his window down with an elbow, and pulled a gun from a holster strapped to the dash. He shot the two men standing at attention, just as the front door buckled inward, and Fish came charging out of the building. Qwerty: "Rel, door." Rel grunted, sliding open the door, and Fish came barreling in, shaking the car with the force of his charge, shrinking rapidly so that the door could close behind him. Nic was already spinning the car around, slicing through another section of fence, and dipping through the side streets on his way out of the warehouse district. By the time they got to the next neighborhood over, Fish was already asleep in the back seat, his seatbelt tucked securely around a blood-soaked belly. Nicholas Carter: "Why didn't he do that in the first place?"
Rel: "I had a similar inquiry." Qwerty shrugged, placing her head back against the head rest. She knew the answer, but the Tanuki secrets weren't for her to share. Qwerty: "Just drive."
Fish: "That means 'good plan'!"
Qwerty: "Both of you, shut up." Qwerty's fingers danced in the air, hovering just over the computer interface, text filling the screen as she made modifications to the unit's source code. The guard at the end of the hall was asleep again, bored out of his mind after many weeks of uneventful watch. It was what Qwerty had been counting on, and now was the time to strike. To escape. The last Night-Breaker in the warehouse's inventory was relatively tiny, meant to be placed on a smaller ship, but it was perfect for her purposes. The flash of Day light would blind nearly everyone in the facility, provided they were looking the right way... Rel flexed his own fingers, picking the manacles hanging from their hands and feet with a suspicious level of expertise, and Fish... Fish was picking his nose. Qwerty sighed, gave Rel and her husband the signal, and pressed submit on the keyboard. The Night-Breaker hummed to life, teetering on the edge between dormancy and release, soon to be broken by the press of a button. Rel clambered underneath it, pulling a sharpened sliver of his own arm out of a hiding place in his chassis. Fish burped. Qwerty: "Will you take this seriously?"
Fish: "Who, me?"
Qwerty: "Yes, you!"
Rel: "Incoming." Boots thudded on the ground, waking their ever-observant floor guard, as a squad of House Marcus thugs burst into the room with guns levelled, the sensors on their belt warning them of the live explosive. By protocol, Fish and Qwerty weren't supposed to be able to turn the bombs on... But that was a mortal limitation. It was not obstacle to a Tanuki of her skill. Marcus Thug: "Everbody down on the ground!"
Rel: "Greetings, everyone! Look in this direction!" Qwerty groaned, but they all looked, and so she pressed the button. There was a flash of light and heat, the smell of a warm summer's day filling the air. The guards all screamed, confusion blanketing their minds as they realized their blindness. Rel dove in with his shiv, Qwerty right on his heels, with Fish right behind her. As the first corpse hit the ground, Qwerty was already picking up its comm unit, bypassing the meager security and accessing the warehouse controls. General alarm was already thrown, which she silenced, and all the doors were locked. A tap or two in the air, and all was right again... No one ever invested in security, not until it was too late. Qwerty: "Doors are open, let's go!" Rel spun on heel, leaving another guard on the floor, the rest colliding into each other and the walls. He shouldered open the door they'd come from, and the other two followed. Qwerty disabled traps and countermeasures as she came on them, making sure to re-arm them as they were past. They heard a few shouts as they activated, but thankfully none got close enough to be a thr-- A guard turned the corner, a machine gun strapped to his chest, and opened fire. Rel ducked into a door, and pulled Qwerty with him. She reached for Fish, but his fur slipped through her fingers. The bullets ripped through him, splashes of blood and tufts of fur covering the walls. Fuck. Qwerty: "Calm down, honey. We gotta go."
Fish: "Deceivers."
Qwerty: "I know, baby. But we can't fight right--"
Fish: "Flesh dealers." Rel whined in fear as Fish's back surged, growing nearly double in size. Qwerty grabbed his chin, pulling his gaze away, and pointed to a door on the other end of the hall. Qwerty: "He'll catch up. We have to move." The Android nodded, and ran across, ignoring Fish's monstrous visage with his eyes, and the next round of gunfire that filled the hallway. Qwerty gave her husband a gentle pat on the rear as she passed, already at terms with what was about to follow. Qwerty: "Give 'em Hell, sweetie."
Fish: "Kin stealers." Rel pushed the door open, which led to a small service corridor, and then... Sweet freedom. It was twilight, the early morning, with the majority of the city still in their slumber pods. A barbed wire fence surrounded the facility, but Rel used his weight to burst through it, and they were on the street. A black SUV swerved onto the sidewalk, its hover plates groaning with the strain, and the passenger door slid open. At the same time, the roof of the warehouse exploded, brick and mortar flung into the air. Along with a body, which thudded onto the hood of the SUV, denting the frame. Nicholas Carter: "Come on! I just got this thing fixed!" Qwerty pushed Rel into the back of the car, and got into the front seat. Qwerty: "Fish will pay for it, Nic. Just drive." Nicholas slammed his foot on the pedal, the hover car leaning forward from the pressure, and the SUV took off down the street, following the destruction that was making its way through the warehouse. Nicholas Carter: "Is that him?" Qwerty nodded, and Nicholas groaned, turning the wheel as they reached the end of the block, putting them at the official entrance to the warehouse. He went over the sidewalk and through the fence, rolling his window down with an elbow, and pulled a gun from a holster strapped to the dash. He shot the two men standing at attention, just as the front door buckled inward, and Fish came charging out of the building. Qwerty: "Rel, door." Rel grunted, sliding open the door, and Fish came barreling in, shaking the car with the force of his charge, shrinking rapidly so that the door could close behind him. Nic was already spinning the car around, slicing through another section of fence, and dipping through the side streets on his way out of the warehouse district. By the time they got to the next neighborhood over, Fish was already asleep in the back seat, his seatbelt tucked securely around a blood-soaked belly. Nicholas Carter: "Why didn't he do that in the first place?"
Rel: "I had a similar inquiry." Qwerty shrugged, placing her head back against the head rest. She knew the answer, but the Tanuki secrets weren't for her to share. Qwerty: "Just drive."
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