X sighed, walking off the back wall, joining the group...
"Then it's lucky they can't interface with me, now is it?"
One of the terrorists gave him a sharp look, surprised, curious, as well as several other things, X just looked at him and hissed until he turned around.
"This ship... Reminds me of the Collateral Damages... Except it lacks a powerful main-gun, and the jump drive is... Well, let's just say it is inferior..."
He starts to scan the room and the controls with his mechanical eyes, ReLIC saving the data to the implants in his head.
"...Yet, it remains effective."
The same terrorist gave him another look, this time X turned around and slashed his face, 4 cuts run down his left cheek bleeding heavily, X just stood over him as he fell to the ground...
"What were you looking at, hmm?"
He laughed under his breath and leaned back against the wall.
Newton burst out laughing, but due to his robotic voice box it sounded more like a metalic wheezing. Suddenly his wheezing abruptly stopped, and he stopped what he was doing at the terminals. He lifted his body off the chair and jumped to the spot infront of Project X. He appeared to be smiling, but when he was close enough to X his smile turned into a raging scream.
'If you kill another one of our new army I will use your components to fuel this ship! The ship is far, far more advanced than anything you could of created with your tiny little brain. Human built, you always think you're the best. But you are not even worth the parts you are made of.' Newton glanced down at the body of the terrorist X had killed in cold blood.
'You are nothing more than a stupid killing machine. Do you realise how much we are stretched for resources right now, and you killing the only things we have until my AI is up and operational is not helping. Now, go join the others and try not to kill them. Because I may class myself as a scientist, but that will not stop me from ripping your pretty little mask off and ripping your brain out.
'We are in a delicate situation right now, and it does not help when you go killing those who are needed right now.' He snarled angrily and returned to his terminals.
* * *
Macdeath was shocked at Newton's outburst. He was also angry with X for killing every thing that looked at him, but he wouldn't of given a warning. He simply would of ripped his head off the next time he stirred up trouble. And that was what he was going to do the next time.
But X was the least of his concern, because his ship was deep within Omicron Iota with a Nomad force heading there way intent to destroy the Dunsinane.
***...'Confusion'...***
He could see it amongst the crowd stood before him, see that they could hear what he heard.
***...'Darknames'..."Breach"...('Anger')...***
***..."How"...('?')...***
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
Rikard nudged the body of the bleeding terrorist with the tip of his shoe.
"He isn't quite dead, yet..." Rikard stated, bending down to take a closer look. "Maybe one of your upgrades might save him? I mean if it is a choice between death and becoming the next puree-o-matic... I think he might choose the latter. It is a statistical probability."
Rikard straightened up and set his glasses back on the end of his nose. He was a certified mad scientist, thanks to the kind people on the LPI Asylum, and the doctoral degree he had in nano-science. Of course they didn't truly appreciate his artistic side.
None of them had tasted like strawberries, or were good with Chianti...
"Do I get a lab? Maybe a research assistant? I am rather good at the whole Nanobot reanimated corpse thing," he nodded around at all the dead bodies. "And if we are short on manpower, a few nano-zombies to fetch an carry might help... I promise they won't go eating brains, but all things considered they might die of starvation if they did..."
X's outburst had intrigued Adam somewhat, but not by the expected reasons. The injured man could be used as a subject for his experiment. He had just finished improving on the nanobots original programming. Quickly, he moved away from the wall and approached the downed man.
"Hold on, I want to try something"-he said, with a slightly sadistic grin on his face. He then put his metallic hand to the mans chest.-"Lets see if I can "fix" you."
A small pool of nanobots oozed out of the Adams arm and fell into the terrorists open wound. The man instantly started screaming in pain, squirming in the Forres's floors as the nanobots forcefully closed his wounds. A mere seconds later the man stopped screaming, and the nanobots exited his body through his skin, returning to Adams arm, who then picked up his PDA and pointed its scanner at the man.
"Seems the exterior wounds were healed, but the deeper ones weren't...I will have to work on that. Thank you for taking part in my little experiment."-he said, his slightly sadistic grin turning full sadistic.
Adam then turned his back to the dying man, but before he could even reach his comfort wall, his mind was filled with images and sounds.
***...'Confusion'...***
He merely grinned. It was much easier for nomads to control peoples minds by twisting their perception of humanity and values. Fortunately , Adam had none. He quickly looked at the faces of the others in the room. Some could hear it as well. He turned to Macdeath.
X just laughed as Newton screamed at him, adjusting his helmet slightly.
"Killing machine, eh? You don't even know the half of it. As for him, he'll live, it was a slash, not a kill-shot."
He checked his arm, making sure the hydraulics were functioning correctly.
"As for the parts I am 'made' of, there's only TWO. The arm, which is largely nanites, and the implants in my brain which are the 'home' of ReLIC. I don't think I'm the best, infact, most of the time I'm simply not used to it, maybe you'll want to get that through... YOUR, tiny. Little. Brain."
He pulls his bloody combat knife off his belt, running his finger up the blade...
"I can finish him off if you'd like."
He flinched slightly as he heard the voice, but straightened up as he realised what it was, and what it couldn't do.
Macdeath watched the images play before his mechanical eyes. He saw the Dunsinane in flame, and he saw the purple glow sweep across the ship like a wave.
Macdeath once again saw the Nomad ships destroying the Dunsinane, ripping through the reinforced Niobium hull and passing through the ship to the other side. He had not come here to be destroyed by the Nomads, he had come here searching for desperately needed allies in the war he was about to start.
'We come seeking assistance against a common enemy.' Macdeath thought. He did not know if they would hear him, but for an instant he did what humans did in situtations like the one he was in - he hoped.
All around him he could see the madmen and women who had joined him take the building pain differently. Some rubbed their temples, some concentrated on other things. Some just dealt with it as if they were accustomed to it.
'No. They are the common enemy. I come to prepare this galaxy for our creators return. Our creators.'
***..."Darkmachine"..."Lies"/"Deceives"...***
'If you believe that then you can destroy us right now.' Macdeath casually approached the closest terminal, and accessed the system. He activated the warship's communications and activated the system he wanted. His fat fingers missed a few keys, and several times he had to undo what he had already typed, but eventually he managed to enter the command he wanted. It began to broadcast, and he turned his attention back to the humans aboard his ship. He could see some of them were in pain, but most treated it as if they were used to it.
'Perhaps they are,' he thought to himself. 'Perhaps they are.'
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
X continued to lean against the wall, not speaking, just listening to what the Nomads were saying...
Commander, they will destroy this ship, I'm certain.
Then, you know what to do, a simple matter transfer... And everyone else dies while I.... We, return to the Former Glory...
Affirmative, array online, locked and waiting.
Good... But let's hope it doesn't come to that.
He rubs his snout, running his tongue along his teeth.
He winced at the sensory overload flooding through him. What exactly was the Thane planning? Everything seemed overwhelmingly chaotic, like many plans that had been hashed out over a breakfast table while eating cheerios.
Rikard stepped back, noting who were, and who were not sensitive to the onslaught of the Nomadic telepathy.
"I know it is rare," Rikard bit out through the pain, "but I prefer my Mediums well-done... could you arrange to shoot these things before I have an aneurysm?"
He chose a chair and sat down in it heavily, holding his head and unlatching the collar of his PVC lab coat, allowing it to fall open.
"They have this problem at Willard, every time someone brings in a fresh batch of 'brains'... it's a psychic resonance issue. Maybe with a little... time... I could devise a counter... but for now... please make it stop!"
What did Macdeath turn on, I hear you ask? The truth is, I can not tell you what it is, only what it is believed to be.
Millions of years ago - during the creation of the Slomon K'Hara - Macdeath believes that the Daam K'Vosh created a failsafe. Perhaps the Slomon K'Hara were an experiment and the Daam K'Vosh needed protection? But besides the point, he believes the Daam K'Vosh created the device to act as their failsafe.
The Slomon K'Hara use what is known as the Mindshare. It links them together in thought, so all information is shared. But what if this network was hacked, and changed to suit a certain purpose? Impossible. There is a group of Slomon K'Hara - known as the Advisors - that protect the Mindshare from tampering. It would be impossible to hack into the Mindshare.
Unless, perhaps, the function was already built into the Mindshare, and just required the right key? The Daam K'Vosh theorised - or at least, Macdeath believes that they theorised - that certain parts of the Mindshare would never change - to change them would disable the Mindshare due to the fact it could not function.
The Slomon K'Hara used to evolve in Shifts and Cycles , but when the human race became a problem they chose a process in which a small group experience Micro-shifts. Not all changes were beneficial, but those that were were passed on to the others. Normally Shifts and Cycles affected all at once and hibernation needed, but with the threat the human race posed that method was abandoned. These Micro-shifts gave little compared to the normal use of Shifts, but it was the only way to preserve their kind.
The Mindshare is incredibly complex and the Slomon K'Hara can not control what they change in the Micro-shifts. That means it is possible the failsafe still exists. Another reason it may of been created was if they somehow returned. No one - not even the Slomon K'Hara - know what happened to the Daam K'Vosh. But - as Macdeath believes - they may one day return to reclaim their vast empire.
But what if they returned and their creations had evolved so far they see the Daam K'Vosh as enemies. Possibly not recognising their creators. But the device - the failsafe - may have been created for that situation. For their creations to be influenced not to attack.
That is what Macdeath believes. And that is what he activated. The device was linked to the communications array, and whatever was stored on it was now activated and broadcasting, searching for the Mindshare and connecting to it. The failsafe is being activated.
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
All those on the bridge of the Dunsinane, along with PSI-Borg in the vent, were silent as the Slomon K'Hara force rapidly approached. They watched the dots approach on the monitor as if they were watching a Chess game. Nobody knew - except those two who were playing - what would happen next. The players were Macdeath and the Slomon K'Hara.
Macdeath stared at the screen as if he was staring at his opponent, with a glare so strong nothing could break it. He wondered what his adversaries - what the humans called the "Nomads" - would do next. He hoped - once again acting too human for his liking - that what he thought of as the "K'Hara failsafe" was working. But he wasn't sure.
The wave of ships on approach had neither slowed or sped up. They kept the same speed, which happened to be just over the maximum cruise speed of a human ship. Perhaps they decided that this ship could not move faster than the other human ships and that they would inevitably catch up to the Dunsinane. But the warship was not moving. Not because it couldn't outrun them, but because Newton wanted all power diverted to cooling the Jump Drive. But by the time the Jump Drive could be used again the Slomon K'Hara force could of reached them three times over.
Macdeath knew he had made a big gamble coming here - if he was wrong it would definately mark the end of his crusade. That's what he liked to call it, a Crusade. He wanted his creators to return to the Sirius Sector without the human infestation. Why he liked the Daam K'Vosh so much was a mystery - but he believed it was because they had created him to like them.
The ship's systems had calculated the Slomon K'Hara force would be able to fire at the Dunsinane with relative accuracy in twelve minutes. It had been thirty minutes since the jump into Omicron Iota had been made and since the end of discussions - twenty three minutes earlier - the moods of all terrorists had not changed. Most leaned on the wall, some paced around, and some just stood completely still in the middle of the group.
There was a timer on the screen showing how long before the approaching armada could attack. It changed to eleven minutes. And those on the bridge continued to wait.
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.