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The Personality Dysfunction - Tomtomrawr - 11-11-2009
//Feedback Thread
//To understand what is happening you must read Chapter One: The Concealed Foes and Chapter Two: The Armoured Mind.
![[Image: TheDunsinane.png]](http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr360/John-Sheppard/TheDunsinane.png)
The Dunsinane shuddered as it's hull was impacted by the docking tube. The warship had been dragged into the Altair docking staton - a docking port large enough for a Liberty Dreadnaught conveniently installed.
The legend of the Complex preceeded it, and the only reason Macdeath knew what it was is because one of terrorists aboard told him. 'Legend has it,' he eagerly announced to the group, as if he were a teacher addressing a group of students. It was as if he enjoyed telling them about something they had no knowledge of.
'Legend has it, the Altair Research Complex was once in the control of Liberty. They wanted a place, in complete secrecy, to study Nomad artifacts. They constructed the station and it was moved to the most barren and secret system, the system we occupy now, Omicron Iota. It was designed to be completely self sufficent, and thus no need for supplies to be shipped to it.
'But - as legend has it - the Liberty Government suddenly abandoned the project and destroyed all evidence of it's existence. But the legend continues, and now we have justified the truth of the legend.' By the end of the "story" Macdeath was aggrivated by the man's tone of voice. It was as if he was mocking them with his "superior" knowledge. But Macdeath had no doubt all the others in the room knew of the myth of Altair.
Macdeath and Newton now stood at the place the docking tube had locked to the ship, the air lock specifically designed for access from the docking tubes. The air lock windows allowed them both to stare down the length of the tube, and at the three figures cautiously approaching from their air lock.
They appeared to be human, the two left and right wearing combat armour and carrying large assault rifles. The middle wore a qhite T-shirt, with grey trousers and black, mysteriously polished shoes. All three obviously were descended from Libertonian ancestry, but there was something different about them. A purple haze that could not be recognised through the translucent reinforced glass.
The first step has begun, Macdeath thought to himself as he reached his large arms over to the air lock control console. He opened the door and immediately stepped into the tube, with Newton quickly scuttling behind him. They could now see the three figures in full detail, and saw where the purple haze originated.
The haze originated from their eyes. Their small, yet empty eyes. All they saw within them was the glow.
The Personality Dysfunction - lw'nafh - 11-12-2009
X paid little attention to the armed men, leaning against the wall, scratching his snout again...
Nomads, eh...?
Affirmative.
He stood up, looking to Macdeath and Newton.
"Oi! Why Nomads? Personally, I have no issues with them, but I'm curious, is all..."
X picked up his plasma-gun off the ground, realizing it was active again, checking the cylinder in the back.
"Hoping I won't have to use this little toy of mine..."
The Personality Dysfunction - Tomtomrawr - 11-12-2009
Staring through the eyes of the scientist, the Nomad examined the mechanical body that stood before it. The Nomad - which was known as Jek'resh - was curious to discover the reason for the visitor. Why was it allowed through the defences that kept Dur-Shurrikun safe from outside dangers.
But Jek'resh also felt so much more. It felt happiness, for some of it's brethren had destroyed a large ship belonging to those known as "The Order". It felt a mild pain, for some of it's brethren had been damaged. And it felt anger, for a few had been destroyed. But it placed these feelings behind it and focused on the one it was experiencing the strongest: curiousity.
It continued to examine the seperate entities that occupied the ship, and noticed one was preparing a weapon.
'That will not be necessary,' Jek'resh assured the smaller mechanised suit. 'The reason you and your ship were not harmed is because we are interested in what your ship was broadcasting. It delved deep into the Mindshare without even encountering the Guardians. But that would mean you accessed something built into the Mindshare.'
The larger of the machines stepped forward. It's voice was strong and metalic, as if it was designed that way.
'It was left behind by our creators for our use. We are the Strekra K'Rea. And you are our children. Our brethren. Our only hope.'
The Personality Dysfunction - lw'nafh - 11-13-2009
X sighed slightly, angling his rifle toward the ground, looking at the Nomad...
"I hope it won't be necessary."
He scratches his snout, lifting his helmet off, the ocular replacements glowing a fluorescent blue, the sockets replaced by a steal frame that extended several inches beyond the original eye-socket.
"However, I do not intend on becoming a tool of your... 'Agenda'. I won't, and it is physically impossible. To disconnect ReLIC would make me 'useless' at best."
A sharp, robotic voice is heard throughout the room, sounding of no gender.
"....And Commander, we cannot have that, now can we? As per orders, the matter transfer array is online, in-case you decide to leave."
He turns his head slightly...
"Of course, and was it necessary to speak, ReLIC?"
"I felt I needed to speak, Commander."
The Personality Dysfunction - Tomtomrawr - 11-13-2009
The Strekra K'Rea I hear you ask. Who or what are they? You do not understand the thrill Macdeath recieved from saying that name outloud for the first time. It had not been heard for millions of years, and there was a reason for that.
There is so much information contained by the Slomon K'Hara there is obviously some that the human race will never learn about. The Strekra K'Rea were what the Daam K'Vosh had named the entities created for their experiments. But do the Slomon K'Hara know about this race created before even they were given life by their creators?
Buried deep with the Mindshare, the knowledge could be contained. Buried deep because the knowledge was not needed, but now being dragged back up by Jek'resh and once again gazed upon. But is there enough knowledge? Or could the Slomon K'Hara believe the entity had simply recovered the knowledge elsewhere and destroy the ship and it's occupants?
Only time will tell.
The Personality Dysfunction - Tomtomrawr - 11-24-2009
Walking through the cramped corridors of the Altair Research Complex, two guard either side with a third infront, Macdeath was observing the station. Organic tendrils lined the walls and covered most of the metal. A purple light passed through them and they pulsated with life and energy. The only sign the station was built by humans was the fact the doors were left uncovered by the alien tentacles.
Macdeath played the events through his mind again. Once he had mentioned the Strekra K'Rea the infested human that had asked him his purpose had ordered the guards to escort him to a lab. An extra guard had joined the convoy once the other occupants of the Dunsinane were out of sight. Most likely a security precaution Macdeath thought to himself. His large metalic feet squelched on the tendrils that were spread across the floor. They interlocked, rising and diving in the large pile. Macdeath found it hard for his large feet - I should of made them smaller he said to himself - to move across the unbalanced floor.
But the guards moved across it with no trouble. They knew where every tendril was positioned without taking an eye of the thing they were escorting. Perhaps they could sense the tendrils, or the energy within them? I must study this later.
The Personality Dysfunction - Tomtomrawr - 11-24-2009
The convoy rounded another corner and stopped infront of a small door. Macdeath saw one of the nearby tentacles flinch, and the door groaned as it opened. The lack of maintenance on the metal that was the exoskeleton of the Altair Complex was obvious, and it would be the factor that forced the aliens dwellers to leave the complex to rot in peace. But for the structure to become uninhabitable by the infested humans would take a few decades, most likely sufficent time for the Slomon K'Hara to complete what they started on the station.
The room that Macdeath was escorted into was different from the others he had seen. The tentacles were not stretched - they dangled elegantly from the ceiling of the lab. They looked like curtains, as if blocking the outside world. As Macdeath was bending his head down to move through the door he saw the lone figure in the room.
He immediately recognised the figure from earlier, who had greeted him when the Dunsinane was dragged into the dock. He had been studying a human device - which Macdeath believed to be a microscope - when the door to his lab had opened. He had looked up from his examination and had immediately recognised the robotic exoskeleton Macdeath had crafted.
His expressionless face immediately transformed into a grin.
The Personality Dysfunction - lw'nafh - 11-25-2009
X scanned his environment with his replacements, taking note of every tendril, everything and anything biological in the rooms he traveled through, seeming to follow the guards, though his intentions were quite the opposite...
ReLIC, find any areas we can duck in to?
None, Commander....
None?
None.
Ugh.... Does the camouflage I got from the Talons still work?
Yes, Commander, it should rend you ninety per-cent invisible.
Think it would be enough?
Indeed.
He continued to follow, looking around curiously, his eyes rotating rapidly. He waited for the perfect moment to duck away, using his biomechanics to shield -most- of his biosignals.
The Personality Dysfunction - Tomtomrawr - 12-01-2009
Whilst X and Macdeath's other "guests" were being escorted around Altair, Jek'resh studied the mechanised suit that was moving into his laboratory. The feet were large and loud, obviously designed for good balance. The legs were thick - housing electronics and other devices needed for the maintenance of the ten foot suit. The torso blocked Jek'resh's view of the door behind the suit. The arms appeared to be of similar construction to the legs, although instead of seven toes to provide balance a hand was installed onto each limb - five dark fingers flexing silently and constantly.
The head was small, mostly dominated by the eyes. But a mouth grate was also present - more for show than for necessity. The two eyes contained dark red dots, constantly examining it's surroundings and storing the information in the fifty terabytes of information available to the inhabitant of the exoskeleton.
Jek'resh used the mouth of his host to express his excitement of having a new entity to study with a grin. The machine was about to speak, but Jek'resh quickly cut him off.
'Leave us.' He gestured with his hands to the threee guards that had escorted his guest to the lab. They turned in unison and slowly left the room. Jek'resh saw them take up positions next to the door on the other side before it was closed - a nearby tentacle flinching as it transmitted the command to the computer. 'I am glad to have the time to talk to you privately.' He waited for the machine to respond, but the exoskeleton merely nodded. 'You mentioned the Strekra K'Rea. That name has not been heard for millions of years. And never mentioned with human tongues.
'I have currently drawn to possibilities to which this situation can be rested on: One, you are what you say you are. Or two, you are simply an Artificial Intelligence that was created by the humans after discovering artifacts leading to the proof that the Strekra K'Rea existed. Fortunately for you, I am currently believing in the first scenario.' He hoped the machine would respond, but only silence followed. So he continued.
'For years a small group of Slomon K'Hara - a name that is known to few humans - have searched for artifacts. Artifacts that could prove the existence of the Strekra K'Rea. We only have the knowledge left behind for us by the creators - our creators if you are truthful. Without that we would not even know a race previously existed before us.
'What we found in the information left for us states that a race was created to experiment with the idea of perfecting us - the Slomon K'Hara. Several different entities were created - all with different personalities. They were created in the same place and scattered amongst the Daam K'Vosh empire's many colonised systems. We believe thirty were created, but we can not be sure. Little information was left - barely enough to create that estimate.'
The machine continued to remain in silence, obviously absorbing all of the information being presented to it. It's dark red eyes had been replaced with a blue. Suddenly the machine did not appear as threatening. It knew it was amongst what it believed to be friends.
Suddenly, as Jek'resh was about to continue speaking, the machine finally spoke.
'You seem different. You are not destructive, you embrace the body you inhabit. The grin was a sign. No other infested humans have made any facial expressions; except you. Do you - like your brethren - have the human's destruction as an interest? Or is it a problem for you?'
Jek'resh was surprised by the machine's question. He thought about it often. His behaviour was being influenced by the previous controller of the body he now occupied. The human he had infested was a scientist, who did not believe in war. All of the man's secrets were open to Jek'resh the second he had entered the mind.
Although Jek'resh had felt that the human race was worth studying instead of destroying before infesting the scientist, the fact that his human host also believed in this strengthed his belief. Just as those who had infested soldiers were more aggressive, Jek'resh and those who had infested scientists were more peaceful.
The machine noticed the hesitation, and the face appeared to move. The metals plating that constructed the face moved to form a grin. Jek'resh chose his words carefully, and began to answer.
The Personality Dysfunction - arvg - 12-02-2009
Rikard was sticking very close to the big lizard with the gun, a block of his nanites on hand, just in case. He kept an aloof look on his face, despite the fact that he was assessing the situation he found himself in. He hadn't expected to end up abducted and a prisoner/guest of the Nomads.
Of all the bad days he'd had that had to rank 1493rd.
His ididic memory made note of every twist and turn they had made from the mad-tin-can's ship. At least he'd be able to navigate back if he had to.
Of course there was still the problem of being neck deep in Nomad space. He certainly hadn't expected to be there.
He admonished himself, he should have predicted the suicidal factor of MacDeath... but then his curiosity had gotten the better of him.
"I am no Xenologist," he said quietly to the walking Lizard. "But I'm not exactly fond of the prospect of being eaten by sushi. If things go south, I'll watch your back if you watch mine. I may not be much in a fight, but there isn't a door made yet I can't get through, or a computer I can't turn inside out... though..." he satred at the doors and what looked like alien computers. "I've never tried these.... well if all else fails, you could always eat me as apacked lunch after we get out of here... soI do have some use."