ArchivedLogs:Raids and Robots

Raids and Robots
Dramatis Personae Kisha, Rasa
In Absentia	2014-04-17 '
Location <XS> Treehouse
Built by enterprising students of yesteryear, this treehouse has weathered generations of Xaviers' students coming up here to study -- or escape from studying. A cozy retreat, its wood planks are sturdy and well-sanded, fit snug together to keep out draft. Snacks occasionally find their way up here, and the roof keeps the rain off well enough to pass a night -- so long as the teachers don't catch any students at it. For anyone agile enough to make the jump, a lucky leap juuust might carry them from here to the school rooftop, so long as they're careful of the drop... While the day isn't exactly cooperating with Rasa's desire to shun the indoors, the treehouse provides a sort of halfway point between the interior of the school and the danger of leaving oneself out in the elements in this tumultuous spring. Ze has reinforced the warmth of the room with plenty of sleeping bags found in the attic storage and successfully foraged in the kitchen to grab the provisions ze needed, which at this time seem to be stacks of protein drinks and fruit and nuts. The metamorph is curled up inside one of these sleeping bags with another wrapped around hir shoulders despite the warmth that is in the air. Ze keeps feeding hirself nuts and dried fruits as ze reads a book, head tilted down, the rest of the real world effectively shut out for a while. The skin on hir face and hands is pale, like flesh toned paper, too evenly colored to be realistic. Hir hair is a shorter cloud of curls around hir head, flopping around on the breezes and obscure the ray of sunshine trying to get in hir eyes. Ever since the attack Kisha has been rather hard to miss when out and about on school grounds. Why? Because the resident science girl taken to exclusively travelling with Bob no matter how short a trip outside she's making. Thankfully such trips are rare otherwise the damage to the lawn would be shocking! And thus Rasa likely has plenty of advance notice that Kisha is on her way, for the loud engine noises of Bob get closer and closer until they are directly below the tree. "Excuse me," Kisha calls. "Is Rasa up there?" Despite the forewarning noise, Rasa is distracted and confused initially, putting hir book down and crawling out from hir little nest to get to the edge of the treehouse platform and peeks over the edge to stare down at Kisha, a couple wrinkles digging into hir brow. "Yes." This is a very clear answer, spoken loud enough to be heard over Bob. Little fingers move to grip the edge of the tree house and hold it, lining up on either side of the eyes peeking over the edge. "Hello, Kisha." The engine noises cut out once Bob comes to a full halt. "Would you mind terribly if I came up into the treehouse?" Kisha wonders. "I wish to confirm how you are doing after your recent unfortunate experiences." She glances up briefly, then waves. The mechanical arm on Bob also twists and waves too before settling in the stand-by position. Rasa's expression relaxes a little bit when Bob's engine cycles down. Ze silently considers the request and nods. "Okay. You may come up." Hir fingers retract first, then hir head disappears from over the edge of the platform. Ze scurries back to hir blanket nest, but instead of burrowing in and out of sight, ze settles into a cross legged sitting position. Ze is still wearing pajamas despite the afternoon hour. Light weight cotton clinks to hir legs and softens the shape of hir lower half in minty green while a baggy long sleeved tee shirt covers hir top half in pale magenta. Ze is busily finishing up just a couple more sentences in hir book before placing the bookmark between the pages. Then there's a nervous fluffing of hir hair, fingers trailing down to scratch idly at the back of the other arm. Ze fidgets and waits. Then ze grabs a pillow and places it in hir lap to obscure the view of hir feet. Kisha murmurs something, presumably to Bob, then begins climbing the ladder. "This is quite an out of the way location you have selected," she notes from the top of the ladder. "Are you quite sure I'm not disturbing you?" Regardless of the answer she scampers up the last few rungs and perches, dangling her legs over the edge. "How have you been holding up since the attack? I imagine it was not comforting in light of your recent experiences and I thought I should offer what little assistance I can." "It was the most logical choice, all things considered. The roof and all other exterior locations are just too cold right now to support a sojourning. I don't really want to be inside right now. On top of the fact that the smell of burnt flesh lingers in the hallway, the fact that I haven't been free to ... do anything lately makes me less likely to stay within the confines of the school building, but staying within the safety of the confines of the school grounds." Ze wets hir lips, thinking again, gnawing on hir lip before answering again. "I. I was not here. I was still at the clinic. ... Another reason I want to be outside is to be as far away from that man as possible. Far away from any of them." Kisha blinks. "That man?" she asks, tilting her head. "The one behind the whole kidnappings?" With a shrug she pulls her legs up and tucks them under herself. "I imagine you were as useful during the raid as I was. I spent the first portion of the affair blinded, then Professor Wagenr teleported me away from Bob and by the time I was able to martial my forces against anyone the entire incident was over. It was infuriating, although I suppose it was better than causing an attacker injury and having to endure councelling as a result." "From what I heard, it was mostly an exercise in staying out of the way. When you have people of higher experience and longer training, it is better to let them deal with the threats, rather than allowing the inexperienced to be injured unnecessarily." Rasa's tone is dry and tired as ze grabs up hir pillow and hugs it to hir chest. "Ines, in the med lab, she told me that the most helpful thing she did was use the fire extinguishers to keep the building from catching fire. And I know she fights well and rather ..." ze clears hir throat as if ze has personal experience, "effectively." Ze refocuses hir attention on Kisha, blinking. "Did you... want to fight?" There is a pause and then Kisha scowls. "Not especially, however I would have liked it if I could have made a dignified retreat without being teleported a meaningless distance and deposited on the ground like cargo. Especially while Lyric, Ducky and Horus were all in greater danger. I was in little personal danger at the time as I had Bob configured to damage anyone who came near. That being said I reviewed my records of the event and Ducky seemed remarkably able to look after herself. I have had to revise my estimates for just how dangerous she could be if sufficiently motivated." "Oh. Did she send waves of vicious pecking birds after an attacker?" Rasa's expression is brightened by the thought, a small smile pulling at the corner of hir mouth. "I ... ah. Yes. It must have been frustrating. Engagements don't always go well, especially when they are unexpected." Ze exhales and settles back into an exhausted posture. "I'm sure Professor Wagner was just trying his hardest to take care of you - perhaps because you were the first person he saw. It's hard to say. Have you spoken to him about it?" Kisha shakes her head. "I can show you the footage if you would like," she offers. "It was quite remarkable. One of the attackers was commanding the woodland creatures and many of them were slaughtered by hungry avians. It made the Hitchcock film 'The Birds' seem quite plausable." There is another pause. "And no, I haven't spoken with any of the teaching staff about the matter. Quite frankly I imagine they have bigger concerns right now. Such as how many people are now out there who are aware of the nature of Xaviers. Secrets have a way of getting out eventually and I have the strong suspicion the schools is now out there." "Ah." Rasa looks downward, hir skin paling further. "Well." Ze clears hir throat and hugs the pillow a little closer. "Yes. Probably a concern." Ze unwinds an arm to itch at the back of hir head. "The Sublime Center was receiving the intel. They are probably... working on closing down where they might be sending it out to. But. At the same time," ze offers, quietly. "They meant to use us up. I don't think they would have distributed information about us if they would have been better off with all of us disappearing off the map." Ze keeps scratching quietly, hir attention drifting away. "In the new era of mutant powers not even one person can keep a secret anymore," Kisha notes dryly. "This was too big for it to remain entirely contained. Hopefully without their leader those with stolen powers will suffer severe health complications that will limit their abilities to talk." She pauses and then cringes. "Sorry that was a highly insensitive topic for me to discuss. We should swiftly change topic. What book are you reading?" "Gotta be careful saying that. Someone... I know has what's left of my old leg attached to him. I ... don't really want him to die or stop talking." Rasa moves to slide hir legs back into the sleeping bag ze was resting in earlier, apparently chilled. Ze lifts up the book quickly, but then rests it in hir lap. "Nochnoy Dozor" ze replies quietly. "I'm not very good at reading it, but trying to parse out the words with a dictionary is helping distract me. Plus, it helps me think about Vanya. I haven't spoken to him in forever. Have you read it? It's kind of interesting and different." Ze shrugs and lets hir eyes stay closed as ze considers. "I don't know if it was a bad topic. I'm just... not good with a lot of stuff right now." Kisha coughs. "I am possibly callous enough to think that people who steal bodyparts do not deserve much mercy," she confesses. "I have not read the book, but I have seen the film adaptation they made. I was not impressed. I imagine the book is a lot better but then they usually are as they allow for greater use of imagination, which is still superior to CGI." "He didn't steal the part. He was trying to find us... under cover. They just... put it on him." Rasa gives a little shrug and exhales. "Ah. CGI can be awful disappointing. The imagination is much better," ze agrees quietly. "I'm mostly reading because I heard that they will not get the chance to finish off the series in movies. I saw the first one as well. The second one is lined up on my queue, but I didn't want to get too far ahead. So far, it's ... pretty close." The tone of hir voice may indicate ze is reaching for that definition. "How's Bob? Did he get damaged?" Kisha smirks. "If it wasn't for a single individual who could freeze time for short bursts Bob could have likely defeated the entire group," she boasts. "There was a woman with a fire power, but Bob is relatively proof against conventional fire. His construction is fairly robust as he was intended to operate in challenging environments. Someone who could control animals, someone who could kill living matter and someone who could flex like rubber. None of them seemed equipped to destroy a robot armed with industrial tools. The only reason he was not more effective is that my early actions were to preserve myself." "well, that is his chief programming. He must have performed admirably. You don't seem damaged at all. I am very glad you're unhurt." Rasa rests hir arms in hir lap, blinking at the floor. "I'm glad... the school survived the attack. It has... kind of been my greatest fear. It feels so strange to be afraid of something coming that has already happened." Kisha blinks. "Well no. He reversed while I was hanging on and blinded because I couldn't safely designate any targets," she points out. "And by the time he got close enough to act the teachers had dealt with everyone. Still he did provide a very handy firebreak and stopped a rather indiscriminate attack from hitting me." She drums her fingers against the treehouse wall. "My pride is mildly wounded I suppose. But yes otherwise I am unharmed. Personally my fear is that the authorities will try something similar. They may not have powers but I suspect they would be far more of a threat due to the training and numbers. Plus the implications of an official raid." "Yes, an official raid would be terrible. But we also have drills for some of that. I don't know. Maybe we need better ones? Just like Bob, the practical is different than the drawing board and programs or routines may need different priorities than what was originally assumed." Rasa fishes out a fruit and cream flavored protein drink and snags another one, offering it to Kisha. "At least with this last situation, we came away well and in the end, you have information to go back to the drawing board with - rather than, you know, getting hurt or killed with the notion that Bob was flawless." Kisha giggles. "I have never assumed he was flawless," she assures. "He is useful and with some modifications may make a nice industrial robot. I am putting my hopes for proper person protection on my new project. Thunderchild has a great deal more potential. There are plenty of early stage designs for people size robots, I intend to steal the best ideas from every single one of them. Combine them with the designs for next generation body armour and see what results I get." "Oh, people sized robots out in the rest of the world? I think I've seen some youtube videos of those." Rasa nods thoughtfully, setting down the drink ze offered Kisha and peeling the top off of hirs. "You should tell me more about Thunderchild. I'm kind of imagining a robot with built in tazers and ... actually, I have no idea what practical application would be best to earn the title of 'thunder.' Bowls people over? Rumbles terribly and scares small children?" "It's a song reference about a fictional ship," Kisha explains, picking up the drink carton. "Moving swiftly through the waters, Cannons blazing as she came, Brought a mighty metal warlord, Crashing down in sheets of flame, Sensing victory was nearing, Thinkin' fortune must have smiled, People started cheering, Come on Thunder Child." She most definately does not sing, but at least gets the timing right. "Of course the ship gets sunk. It's technically a War of the worlds reference too. But it was the song version I first heard." "Oh. Well. That does sound impressive." Rasa concedes quietly then takes a drink. There's a small scowl that follows putting the liquid in hir mouth, but ze swallows hard anyway and continues to watch Kisha. "So, flame throwers? Cannons? Does it fly, or is it land based? It would be neat if it was water based, but not exactly practical for Xavier's. We're not precisely close enough to the lake for it to do much good from there. Could protect the twins, but... they're kind of good at that too." Kisha raises an eyebrow. "It won't have any weapons? I would get expelled from the school," she points out, waving her hand at the school. "Some kind of walking construct with physical strength and durability. It'll walk most likely. Too heavy to fly and all that." Idly she cracks open the carton and sips. "My intention is for it to be able to go anywhere I can. Act as an assistant when required." "Oh. See, I forget that part of things. Just trying to think up cool robots." Rasa gives another shrug and takes another sip. Cringe, swallow. "Interesting. I am curious how you're going to balance the weight with the idea of it going anywhere. I mean, the machinery for it to be mobile has to be pretty heavy and that would make it top heavy, therefore hard to support. So, I'd imagine weighting the feet to counter balance the upper torso and limbs, but then you're hitting a couple hundred pounds to start. I guess that's not too terrible, given the average human male weighs somewhere between one fifty and two hundred. I guess that would only be a problem in full elevators." "The same way I solve most of my advanced technical problems," Kisha informs with a grin. "By taking advantage of the collective brilliance of the rest of humanity and doing what they can't. Pooling them all together. Most of the robots being tested are intended for activities such as fire suppression on ships or functioning in places like power plants where they can carry out repair work. In theory they will all be working to build designs that have the same mobility as a person." She sighs. "Of course I would /like/ to make more fictional robots. Like a Knightmare Frame. Which is a humanoid tank-like robot about twenty foot high with a backpack control pod in which a pilot sits." Rasa nods, able to drink without issue the entire time that Kisha speaks, finishing off the beverage with minimal difficulty until the end. The end leaves a bit of a sour look on hir face, but ze puts the carton aside in a pile of other used cartons. "Twenty feet tall would have difficulty navigating most buildings. But at the same time, it could also be a really cool thing. Oh. Hey. Do you maybe know what happened to the Jimtree? I looked for him in the forest, but the place is a mess and there's only a hole where he used to be." Kisha shakes her head. "I believe he must have been waking up. The vegetation in the clearing did not appreciate the invasion attempt," she assures. "There was some serious tree growth. He may have recovered in the process. Also the Knightmare Frame isn't intended to travel inside a building, it's an replacement for a main battle tank." She takes a sip of the drink. "Do you know this Jim fellow well? I have heard talk of him but do not believe I have met him." "Know him okay. He's a private eye and a friend of my first roommate's. He helps out a lot around the groups outside - the people who raid Prometheus. He was a tree before - after the fight club that stole away Peter, Shane, and Sebastian. I guess he got hurt pretty bad in there, too. I probably would have talked to him more, but he's friends with this telepath that fucks my system over, so I try to not engage the telepathy if he's around." Rasa moves hir pillow to hir lap, finally setting hir book aside before hugging it again. "He's very grumpy and smokes a lot, short answer, but he seems to be around when people need him. Glad to hear he's waking up. That huge gash in his body was pretty scary." "I think Ducky, Lyric and Horus would have all been in significantly more risk if not for his actions," Kisha muses between sips of drink. "Although I imagine if he keeps involving himself in situations like that then things will end poorly for him." She frowns. "Hopefully the need to carry out raids on Prometheus will reduce now that evidence about the group has been made public." "Not sure it's going to end well for any of us," Rasa admits wetting hir lips before gnawing on the lower one. Hir gaze is a little out of focus as hir expression grows sleepy. "What can we do, but keep trying?" Kisha ponders the question while draining the last of the drink. "Leave and find a better world," she decides. "That's my plan anyway. I'll relocate and put enough distance between myself and the kind of people who consider mutant experiments acceptable. Anyway I better get back to my project. I've got a lot of designs to draft and a few side projects on the go. My replica stradivarius violin is requiring a remarkable amount of time to finish." "Oh... hey. yeah. I ... will let you go." Rasa pulls hirself out of the distraction to focus on Kisha once more, nodding and smiling just a little in response. "I'll see you around. Good luck with the violin."