There's a pause, as the ambient humming cuts out.  It comes back, and then the voice firms up a little, more coherent than before.

Doc. Tor.

...Doc-tor...?

Hhhurtss.

Hhhhelpmmee.

Down ahead.

Down to the cccccenterr of the cold and the sssharp.

Hhhhurrry.

Cant stop the signal.

"Sereth. We never ignore a cry for help, no matter the risk. Your warning is noted, however, please be our eyes." She aims the sonic in the direction of where the cry is coming, past Stan. "Yeah, a trap, maybe, but things get bad for trappers when I'm trapped. Also, I trust Stan's instincts."

OOC: Awareness+Tech+Sonic?

Trav's scan isn't too revealing: since the voice is being generated from the modulated manipulation of the electronics and machinery all around them, the effort is rather like to deduce the location of the brain's speech center from inside a person's larynx.  It's clear enough that the control signals are propagating from ahead of the group, but it will take moving ahead and perhaps working some triangulation to get a better idea.

OOC: You won't need a roll to do that; if you just want to follow the scan as you go, whoever is narrating that can just say so.

Brave and bold as a Kang should be. Smoke Alarm told herself, thinking of the Doctor's inspiration long tick-tocks ago. She would certainly never be unbrave of an unalive cleaner, nor unbold to be outgoing on. She made herself as strong and unbending as concrete and girders, but kept her unbraveness, to make her run faster and hear sharper. Brave and bold as a Kang could be.

Smoke Alarm pulled out her arrowgun, fitted a bolt, and started footing it down the carrydoor again, feeling bolder though not braver with the weapon in her hand. She'd give a cleaner cold and sharp.


OOC: I'm out at the zoo tomorrow and likely won't have a chance to post.

Trav on the other hand is quite fearless, doing a little trot as she tracks down the signal. She wants to find out what is generating it - partially out of concern if it is someone, and partially because she really wants to get to the bottom of this place and why the hell it's nagging the depths of her memories so.

"We are going to try and find you. Just stay where you are. Don't worry." Stanley replies to the voice, becoming more and more convinced that this isn't a trap.

Stanley turns to Sereth, before following Trav and Smoke down the corridor. "I am sorry Sereth, but I really believe that this is someone asking us for help. This isn't a defence system: not everyone would try to help."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:42, Wed 17 Sept 2014.

OOC: Story point to Stanley for being true to his Code of Conduct.

As Smoke Alarm and Trav foot it ahead in advance of the others, they come up to the crossing corridor.  Now they can see that it curves slightly as it goes off in either direction, like it's running around the outside of a big circular area.  This matches up with what they recall observing from outside the complex.

Trav's scan shows that the control signal source seems to be coming from the center of this circle -- at the moment it's still ahead of them and angled down a bit.  Everyone can feel a rhythmic throbbing through their feet -- it's fairly mild, but noticeable.

All at once, they hear the clacking Smoke Alarm noted earlier, off to their left and clockwise around the curving corridor they've ended up at.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:09, Thu 18 Sept 2014.

Trav immediately flattens against a nearby wall and grabs Smoke's wrist join her. Hopefully it's enough to hide from whatever is coming!

OOC: Coordination or Awareness+Subterfuge or Athletics+SP?

OOC: Coordination + Subterfuge would be apropos.

As usual, folks, don't feel like you need to play Simon Says to attach a roll to your actions: the rules usually aren't that ambiguous, and it helps things progress.  If you haven't rolled and I want you to, I'll let you know.  If you spend an SP on a roll I thought was unnecessary, you won't lose it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:09, Thu 18 Sept 2014.

Smoke Alarm tensed as she felt the doof-doof sound through the floor. There was some very big mechinery somewhere, mayhaps a hair-conditioning unit, but she thought darkly of a basement masher or a shredder, gobbling up and recycling Kangs into soylent green. Whatever it was, she was determined to find out for Traveller.

Then she eyespied Traveller was behind her anyway, pulling her against the wall as they earspied the clickety-clackety cleaner down the carrydoor. Smoke Alarm pictured the oltrimotive bi-curval scraping blades of a Cleaner, and didn't need to be told. But Smoke pulled Traveller away from the wall, pointing her to make a better hide-in in the carrydoor they'd just come from, crouched behind some protruding puters, before she followed.


OOC: I think we're still in the T-junction, so the corridor we came from should be good to hide us. Smoke will try to help Traveller hide (Cooperation for +2?) as well as herself.
19:29, Today: Smoke Alarm rolled 14 using 2d6+8 with rolls of 3,3. coordination (5) + subterfuge(3).
19:30, Today: Smoke Alarm rolled 17 using 2d6+8 with rolls of 5,4. coordination (5) + subterfuge(3): hide Trav.

While Smoke Alarm and Trav start to pull back along the wall, they get a little tangled up in each other, and the thing making the noise makes its way around the curve of the corridor before they're out of sight.  It whips around to focus on Smoke Alarm.

When Smoke Alarm gets a peek at what is approaching, it's not exactly as expected.  Most of it is eight thin and snakey segmented arms, connected together in a little metal box at their center -- from the way it's standing, apparently tinkering with some of the gizmos on the inner wall, she imagines the arms reaching out from the center of a box to the corners at its top and bottom.

Trav's reaction is rather more visceral.  The design of the thing overall isn't something she's seen before, but extending from the small central body of the thing, there's one component that she recognizes all too well:



OOC:

The Guardian, for the NPC Clacking Thing, rolled 17 using 2d6+6 with rolls of 6,5. Detecting Trav & Smoke: Awareness(4) + Subterfuge(2).

Trav gets a look of unadulterated horror, then rage - it's like she's seeing something from a nightmare.

It could be something else. In one hand is the sonic, and in the other hand is the turbo pistol. Her thumb swipes, and the whine changes pitch, and the circular chamber glows red.

Trav hisses as quietly as she can - "Everyone, stand back, behind me. If there are gods in this world, please don't let this be what I think it is."

ooc:Do I need a roll to confirm with a scan if this thing is some form of Dalek?
This message was last edited by the player at 13:33, Thu 18 Sept 2014.

Caught out of the hide-in, Smoke Alarm suddenly found herself eyespied by the long-legged spider-like pool cleaner. Cleaner! Quickety-split, Smoke Alarm raised her arrowgun, matching Traveller's own reaction but not nearly her depth of hatred and unbraveness.


OOC: Taking the Movers or Fighters turn.

Stanley notices the change in Trav's behaviour and the unusual choice of words. Trav and Smoke brandishing their weapons also concerns him, so he does as Trav says and stands back.

"Why the weapons?" he whispers to Trav. "Isn't that the person needing our help?"

"Stan," she says, quietly. "I don't think I ever told you about the Daleks."

Trav continues to scan. What's at the center of that contraption?

In an even voice, Trav says, "I'm the Traveller. We're not hostile, we're here to help. Please identify yourself." Smoke, who is closest to her, can tell she's shaking. However, the Turbopistol, with much effort, is being lowered, down, towards the floor. It could just be some other ocular device. It could just be flotsam or jetsam. Relax, keep it together. Trust your companions. This isn't Relnax.

350 years ago, and it still seems like yesterday - the day that the 2nd Traveller lost everything.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:43, Thu 18 Sept 2014.

Smoke Alarm wasn't so quick to lower her arrowgun. 'Brave and bold.' she reminded Traveller, eyespying her unbraveness. There was nothing wrong with being unbrave or unbold, the Kang knew; the key was in overcoming it. Pex the Cowardly Cutlet, Pex the Brave, had showed them that.

Trav's scans are puzzling.  The central unit hadn't looked nearly large enough to contain a live Dalek mutant in the first place, and the reading on the sonic isn't turning up anything biological.  Nor, when Trav addresses it, does it respond; it briefly focuses on her as she speak, but seems to lose interest.

But the thing still holds a menacing stance, bobbing back and forth on its four lower tentacles with two upper "forearms" craning up like the pincers of a mantis.

As Trav lowers her gun, it focuses in on Smoke Alarm, and its "legs" tense and bunch up....

A simple look; then steps between the -whatever- and Smoke Alarm.

He still believed his companions were making a rather crucial error in judgement; but it wasn't his job to ensure they made no errors. It was his job to ensure those errors didn't cost them.

Until -they- decided that maybe it was a mistake though, his sword remained at his side - but not in his hands.

"It's a machine," says Trav. "Smoke, lower your arrowgun. It seems programmed to respond to hostile moves." Trav gets some color back again, and exhales. She carefully holsters her turbopistol, but keeps her sonic out. "I don't think it wants to throw you down the trash chute, Smoke, just unfriendlies." The sonic is pointed at the floor, but everyone knows that she can use it against the robot in a second. And to Stan: "Stan, I think whoever was calling out for help is past this thing. I'd rather let it go past us. It probably has rudimentary self defense protocols. I'd rather not get into a fight."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:24, Fri 19 Sept 2014.

At Traveller's words, Smoke slowly lowered her arrowgun, though she too could shoot it pretty quickly if she needed to. She still didn't trust the spider cleaner; the Cleaners in the Towers had been said to be safe and friendly, until they attacked. 'And if mayhaps I am unfriendly?'

"It's allright. Easy. easy. I have my sonic out. It's just a confused old machine, that's old. Let's just let it pass."

Trav is hoping that's not a real Dalek eye stalk, and that thing doesn't have Dalek programming in it.

The robot's eyestalk remains fixed on the group, but it backs away from them by several steps, and several of its arms reach up to an area on the wall where Trav and the others can see opened panels and exposed circuitry.  It starts working on the electronics there: there's the bright blue light of a micro-welder and Trav can see the tentacles extending probes and tools to carry out its work.

Trav motions for the team to tip toe past the machine, and let it do its work unmolested.

Out comes the sonic again. She's seeking the source of the cry for help.

''Ware the spider cleaner.' Smoke warned Sereth and Stan, then led the way past it, footing it carefully and ready to roll out of the way of its many attachments.