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Reality Fault

Realms: NachtMusik Logs

"Angry Machines"

    Our alleged heroes have gathered at the University campus again with the intention of figuring out just what it is Vilson is playing with in the basement room of the Physics building. Taygeta has found a squirrel to ride into the room on Rosenstern, who will be telling Vilson he has a phone call in the office. The plan is that once Vilson's left, Tay-Squirrel can check and see if it is the Tokamak. Tay-Crow can then notify the group to bring in Marius, waiting on the sidelines, if it is indeed the Tokamak. Slate also is ready on the sidelines to be ready to knock Vilson out, if necessary, to keep him from returning too soon.

Shateishael makes sure he, Nick, and Tay-Crow are discreetly hidden in the room across from the supposed Tokamak room, ahead of time. Taygeta-crow keeps up a running commentary for the others. "Almost there. Let's see what happens..."

Rosenstern adjusts his vest and shirt so the small squirrel within isn't noticeable. "Now don't do anything ticklish in there, Tay," he murmurs cheerfully, books tucked jauntily under his arm as he walks across the grounds to the physics building. Be a heck of a time to run into anyone who wants to talk. 'Say, guy, is that a squirrel in your shirt, or are you just glad to see me?' Oh, I will have a joy of a time trying to explain that one to the others... "Almost there," he murmurs. "Hold still for ten minutes." And then he's ducking through the doors and managing to evade the larger crowds, making his discrete way to the basement stairs.

Rosenstern slips down the stairs, evading any large crowds of students. If the basement is as it was before, then there won't be many people down there. As he reaches the bottom, he looks around, and hurriedly opens the top few buttons of his shirt, and lets out Tay. Taygeta waits until the hall is empty, then jumps down from Rosenstern and hides behind his ankle. He nudges the Mercurian to knock on the door when he's ready to dash. Let's see if there's anywhere to hide near the door... Rosen blinks a bit in surprise as the squirrel jumps out, and gives the impatient little beast an amused, wry look. I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying, all in good time...! he thinks. He knocks on the door to the plasma lab, keeping his physics books in front of him, and without waiting he opens the door, and goes into frosh student mode. "Hey, like, hello...?"

An irritated-sounding voice answers, "Lab's closed."

Taygeta scurries in on Rosenstern's heels and loses himself under an equipment-cluttered table. Either he'll go for it, or I'll have to wait until he goes home for the evening. Either way, though, I'm in now... In the other room, Shateishael nods silently when Tay-Crow updates them. "Good."

Rosenstern grins a little. Gotcha. "Yeah, I know, man, uhm, the physics secretary sent me down to find Vilson, there's a call for you up in the office. The phone system's, uhm, acting up, or something. They want you to come up there to take the call..."

Vilson straightens up from the table and sighs exasperatedly. "Tell them if they want the lab open in time for 205 to use the damn thing, take a message. I'm busy down here."

Taygeta takes a quick look around, but even a quick glance is enough to identify most of the equipment. His crow self squawks in quiet irritation. "That is definitely not it. It really is a plasma physics lab -- yes, it's got magnetic gear and things, but none of what's there could possibly run a fusion chamber. This is a bust. We'll have to try the steam tunnels."

Shateishael nods, "Okay. Lead Rosie out -- to this room, and we'll try that locked door at the end of the hallway right away. We're all in position now... might as well. Can you tell if there are any cameras or alarms, Tay?" Shateishael stands by the door, to open and close it quickly for Rosie, so he also can be updated.

Rosenstern's eyes follow the squirrel's progress, but he looks away and at Vilson when the man straightens up. "Uhm, okay... hey! This place is so cool! What class will we be getting to work with this stuff?" Taygeta-squirrel makes his way back to the table nearest the door, ready to dash out again as soon as Rosie opens the door and Vilson isn't looking in that direction.

Vilson says, "If it's not on your syllabus, forget about it. 200 level and up. Look, you're going to have to go bug your professors about this; I don't have time for this."

Rosenstern grins and nods, "Awesome. I'll look for this stuff next year, then." He lets Tay-squirrel get through before heading out. "I'll pass your message on to the secretary, dude. Later!" He slips out, and as the door closes behind him, he sighs silently and shakes his head. He follows the squirrel over to the laser room where the others are waiting.

Shateishael slides the door open to admit the squirrel and Rosen, then closes it behind them both. "Hey, Rose. Tay says that's not it. Let's hit the locked door at the end of the hallway. Anyone know how to pick locks?"

Thessaloniki smiles and says, "Sure, Slate."

Rosenstern frowns. "It isn't. Blast." Then he shakes his head. "I'm afraid I never did, Slate, sorry." He glances to Nick, and grins cheerfully. "We should make it quick and quiet; no telling when he's going to step out of there."

Thessaloniki adds, "Let's not assume the lab is empty. Head in expecting people."

Shateishael grins at Nick, shaking his head amusedly, "Shoulda known. Okay... you've got the key chain from heck, I've seen it... so why don't you and Rose go do that -- Rose can be holding more keys and looking bemused, with Tay-squirrel in his shirt, so it looks like y'all are trying legitimately to unlock it -- and I'll wait here with the crow. Yes/no?"

Thessaloniki says, "Right."

Rosenstern nods, "Gotcha."

Shateishael adds quietly, "Rose... keep your front towards the hallway. You're Nick's backup and warning if anyone comes out. Don't let him be surprised."

Taygeta-squirrel nods while the crow caws, "Check."

Thessaloniki picks up his soft-sided bag and says, "Look like a TA, Rosie," and grins. He makes his way down the hall to the end of the hallway and tries to open the door, fully in his dotty-professor guise.

Rosenstern gathers up the binders Nick had handed him the other day and cradles them, apparently precariously, in his arms, doing his best to look bemused and flustered and suddenly put-upon by a dotty prof who grabbed him in the middle of stepping out of the physics office to help him with something -- and considering the guy is one of his teachers this year, he's not really eager to give the guy an excuse to flunk him... Then he just tries to remember his days in the Hochschule of Berlin, and the merry time that was, wandering around the students and inevitably getting shanghaied by the math teachers to run all sorts of bizarre errands... he keeps quiet and attentive watch, while Nick works on the lock.

Shateishael stands in the empty laser room, patiently waiting for the crow to alert him that it's time to move. He's utterly still in his black trench coat, sword neatly tucked out of sight and crow on his shoulder. None of his inner anxiety shows.

Thessaloniki works a couple of tools through the lock and opens it, cracking the door quietly open and peering in. The door opens with relative ease. Beyond is a very low-ceilinged tunnel, lined with pipes along one wall and a great deal of cabling along the top. Rosenstern only half-glances over his shoulder as Nick opens the door, looking back around in the other direction to keep watch over the other direction. Taygeta-crow nods to Shateishael. "They're in. Shall we go?"

Shateishael steps quietly out of the laser room and paces silently and swiftly through the opened door, closing it gently behind him. "Okay. Let's go. Tay-crow, can you fly ahead? Or would the squirrel be better?"

Taygeta clicks his beak. "I could... or the squirrel could run ahead and leave the crow here to report back. It's a bit tight for flight anyway."

Shateishael nods, "All right. Stay on my shoulder then, and send the squirrel up ahead to scout." Taygeta nods -- both of him -- and the squirrel jumps down and runs ahead into the tunnel. Shateishael says, "It can run along and hide in the pipes, to stay better unseen."

Shateishael shifts the scabbarded sword so it's easier to reach, and puts Rose between him and Nick, in single file along the narrow underground tube. He'll wait to move the group forward until the squirrel's given the all clear for each turn of hallway. Thessaloniki puts his larger gun, safety on, in a pocket of his sweater, and nods quietly.

Rosenstern sets the books by the door. Straightening, he seems to be tucking in his shirt beneath his vest. That's when there's a faint, relatively unmistakable metal-on-leather sound, a metallic click, and then the Mercurian pulls a small snub-nosed revolver from behind his back. "I guess we're all set, then?" he asks softly.

Shateishael whips around, the sword half-drawn, at the distinct sound of someone chambering a round -- then blinks down in astonishment at the smaller Mercurian. A moment later he laughs softly, the sword sliding smoothly back into the scabbard, and puts a hand up to balance the startled crow. "Well... will wonders never cease..." He grins at Rosie, then turns to face forward again.

Rosenstern freezes a bit as Slate turns, looking much like a deer in the headlights. "Hey... after the Morgue, a Malakite of Flowers strongly suggested it..."

The tunnels are mostly quiet, and really too warm for comfort. With the exception of the orange sheathing of the optical cables on the ceiling, the entire system is quite drab, and the wide spacing of the lights leave it quite dim for the most part. The squirrel reaches a junction about three hundred feet away. The tunnel continues on in the same direction, rising slightly, and off to the left with no visible change in inclination. Taygeta-Crow says, "First junction's about a hundred meters ahead. A tunnel leading to the left and this one continues." Shateishael nods at the news and paces silently and warily down the tunnel to the next stopping point.

Rosenstern keeps pace with the others, falling silent and a little glad a big deal wasn't made of it. He's not exactly pleased to be carrying a weapon, but, as the Malakite said, There's a reason why roses have thorns. Thessaloniki comments, "Orange cables. Fiber optic. Wonder if that's the regular university feed, or one to the reactor?"

Shateishael says, "Any idea which way we want to go, Tay? More scent in one tunnel than the other, or less dust or something?"

Rosenstern murmurs, "Footprints in the dust?"

Taygeta-squirrel's been running up and down the tunnels while waiting for the rest to catch up. "There's more heat coming from the left -- could be the way to the steam plant, or it might be the Tokamak. What d'ya think? Where's that map of the college?"

Thessaloniki rummages in his satchel and produces the map and one of the little maglite flashlights, although merely stopping under one of the fluorescent lights would be easiest. He goes to the tunnel entrance in the physics building they'd marked on the map, and counts intersections to find where they should be. According to the map, the leftmost junction leads out toward the football field. There's nothing marked under the field, of course, but there's a steam plant in that direction as well as several more junctions as the tunnel joins the access corridors of other buildings in the science department.

Shateishael murmurs quietly, "Rosie... if conflict breaks out, you do what Nick says, okay? I really don't want to get shot in the back." There's a momentary flash of his teeth in a half-grin at the Mercurian... then he goes back to standing guard, watching warily over everyone's heads as the others peruse the map.

Thessaloniki says, "Might be the steam plant, but that's a ways off from here. Should we head that way and find out?"

Taygeta-crow peers at the map. "And didn't Darius say that it might be in the sports complex? Can't hurt to try that way."

Shateishael nods to Nick, then waves the squirrel on. While he waits for the crow to give him the heads-up to move, he pulls a bit of spelunking chalk from a pocket and marks the wall up high... so that if the group is fleeing hastily, the arrows will point towards the door they'd entered by.

Rosenstern nods quietly, smiling a bit. "Don't worry, Slate. I'll do exactly that. The last gunfight I was in was less than pretty, and gave me very good reason to be careful in one." He seems to pause for a moment merely for effect. "'Course, that was with flintlocks..." Then he falls silent, following along.

Shateishael gives Rosie an amused glance, and doesn't comment on the last conflict he saw the Mercurian in... instead he just puts the chalk neatly away, shifts the sword slightly, and absently scritches the crow at the base of the neck as he waits, forgetting it's sapient at the moment.

Taygeta-squirrel scampers down the left tunnel on the pipes, ready to report the next break in the tunnel's monotony... there's another left-hand junction. Interestingly, the lights seem to be out in that corridor. Taygeta-crow seems to appreciate the attention. "Ah-hah. Another branch, and this one is dark. What you think that's the one?"

Rosenstern looks between the two choices of routes. "How much do you want to bet Vapula likes dark mad scientist places?"

Thessaloniki checks his map again, and looks at the cables and walls above to see if the corridor seems normally outfitted. He says quietly, "We have it on excellent information that that is the case."

Shateishael nods at the news, "Good... more reason to believe that's our target. Okay... silently now, please." He paces quietly down the hallway, letting Nick's maglite illuminate ahead of him. Thessaloniki keeps his light down at the floor, and tries not to have it bobble or sway as he walks, and works at moving quietly down the corridor, pointing the light where Slate walks.

The tunnel is on the map, and there don't appear to be any more cables than normal in this tunnel. However, it appears that there's another tunnel a few hundred feet away, perpendicular, whose lights are on. About midway down the darkened tunnel, Nick's light spots another junction. This one on the right. Shateishael glances back and forth, then turns his head to breathe almost silently to the crow on his shoulder, "Try the right-hand one."

Thessaloniki looks at the others and adds, "Shhh." Shateishael nods silently at Nick's whisper, studying the right hand junction. It definitely seems to be of newer construction... and doesn't appear on the map. This tunnel goes for about twenty feet, then angles down sharply. Thessaloniki follows Slate down the tunnel, leading with the light so his footing is sure. His other hand is on his gun, with his leather bag slung firmly over his shoulder. Taygeta-crow nods, and the squirrel moves cautiously down the new dark tunnel. The crow reports back on the change in slope. "Something's up here."

Shateishael steps carefully and silently along the tunnel (momentarily flashing back to horse hunting at night as Comanche) to crouch at the top of the inclination, looking down and waiting for the crow to report. Taygeta-crow whispers hoarsely, "Something up there. Whirring sounds, and a click-thump noise. Coming this way. I'm pulling the squirrel back to the point where the tunnel slopes." Shateishael nods, remaining still and continuing to watch intently.

The click-thump, click-thump, click-thump continues to move closer for some time. It comes near to the base of the incline, whirrs loudly for several seconds, then begins to retreat the way it came. Taygeta-squirrel scampers up to the top of the incline ahead of the noise, then waits as it retreats. "Okay. I suggest we follow carefully. It's too dark to see down there without lights."

Thessaloniki murmurs, "This is why we have lights. Let's see if we can get a little look at that." He puts his hand over the beam of his flashlight, blocking it off, and moves it so only a crack of light escapes. He very slowly slides this down the floor, letting everyone's eyes adjust to the extreme dimness, and then trying to move farther ahead to see if there's anything moving. Shateishael watches intently, trying to figure out what the click-thumper is.

Rosenstern bites his lip, glancing behind them just in case, then back forward. "At least we're probably in the right area," he murmurs.

The sound is retreating. It seems to have moved well past the incline back into the tunnels again. Shateishael murmurs to Nick, "Turn off the light. We'll send the squirrel down again, and then when it retreats again get a better look. Jumping down at something when we don't know what it is, is silly."

Thessaloniki nods, and whispers, "All I saw was sort of dark and wet looking, sort of brownish black. Let's see how long it is before it comes along again." Shateishael nods.

Taygeta-crow clicks his beak in annoyance. "I'm a squirrel, not a bat. I can't see down there any better than you can as humans."

Shateishael sighs, "Tay, send the goddamn squirrel back to lure the thing back. Don't feed it to him. Do the same thing you did a moment ago -- run out, attract attention, run back."

Thessaloniki adds, quietly and slightly more patiently, "Or just wait for it to come back, if it's walking a pattern."

Taygeta shrugs. "I'll try. I'm not sure it was lured or just on patrol, though." He moves down the pipe to try... Shateishael turns his wrist up to time the thing.

The sound retreats ahead of the squirrel a ways, then sounds as if it's rounding a corner, then begins approaching again. There's another brief whirring sound, then the click-thump sound picks up again. Only it's really moving this time. Shateishael leans down slightly so the squirrel can make a leap for his arm if it needs to, to be pulled away quickly. Thessaloniki gets his flashlight ready, but leaves it completely covered, until the crow tells him the squirrel is out safe.

Taygeta scurries back as fast he can in the tunnel, sticking to the pipes to avoid whatever the thing is making that odd noise. His crow-self caws, "Okay, that's done it. It was on a patrol, and now it's heard us."

Shateishael says, "Hush, Tay. Let's see what it does."

Thessaloniki waits for the sound to start moving away again, or not to. Rosenstern holds his breath, listening... Shateishael shifts so he can fast-draw the sword, and waits also. The sound continues coming. It's really flying now; . It's right on the heels of the squirrel as it makes the base of the incline, and gives no indication that it intends to stop.

Shateishael murmurs, "Clear the path. Nick, if it comes up, lights." He draws the sword, extending it across the tunnel so the squirrel can run under it... but anything larger will get hit. Rosenstern straightens up, glancing to Slate, then to Nick, his gun at the ready... the sound's quite noticeable now; it's coming up the incline, and it's right behind the squirrel. Thessaloniki shifts and points his light at the top of the incline, mostly blocked, so that a dim beam of light marks out the concrete at that point. Taygeta-squirrel goes flat out as he nears the light, dashing under the humans and beyond before stopping.

The thing making the noise is immediately familiar to Nick and Slate; it's another of those lacquered torsos that they spotted under the Congress Street Bridge. Only this one appears to have some sort of camera array attached to it where a head should be. The iris behind the lens adjusts as it comes into the light; without breaking pace it swings one large claw toward Slate. It misses wildly, however, and Shateishael slices smoothly towards the neck, to kill the camera as quickly as possible.

The lacquer cracks under the force of Slate's blow, the creature tumbling backwards. Rosenstern blinks, and blurts out, "Scheiße...!" He pauses before opening fire, waiting for Nick's word.

Shateishael snaps, "Quiet!" at Rosie's exclamation, then bounds down the inclination after the creature -- he wants it dead fast. Taygeta's vessels aren't built for fighting... the squirrel and the crow drop back behind the human Vessels, both for safety and to keep watch back the way they'd come.

Thessaloniki murmurs, "Let Slate handle this, Rosie. The gun will be too loud. As long as there's only one, we're okay." He keeps the light, moving his other hand away to fully expose the beam, on the monster Slate has just hit. His other hand goes for his gun, though, finding it. He leaves the safety on. Rosenstern nods quickly to Nick, dropping the muzzle of the gun so it points at the ground, glancing behind them alertly, then towards Slate.

The torso regains its balance after a moment, stomach making a nasty smacking sound on the concrete, then proceeds in the usual pattern; flinging itself at whatever's closest. In this case, Slate. It lunges and swipes with a heavily lacquered claw; the Stone Angel's leather jacket is sufficient to turn the glancing blow. Shateishael snarls in a foreign language, slicing the sword two-handed across the disgusting creature. The sword blow crushes the camera as well as cleaving partway into the torso itself. The torso collapses in a noisy, rather noxious heap. The hallway echoes for a few moments, then is silent again except for a muted popping noise somewhere inside the ruined electronics.

Shateishael grates, "Time to move -- they know we're here -- Nick, catch!" He waits until Nick brings his hand out of his pocket, then tosses the cell phone to the Ophanite, "You're gonna have to do the calling. Hold on 'til we're there, eh? Tay-Squirrel, shake a tail -- let's go!"

Thessaloniki catches the phone flicks the phone open, and presses the numbers for their other Lightning contact, but doesn't hit 'SEND.' He follows, leading the light carefully along the floor, saying, "C'mon, Rosie, let's go. Be ready." Rosenstern nods, the pistol ready but pointed at nobody, his finger off the trigger as he follows along, just behind Nick.

Taygeta-crow returns to Slate's shoulder, while Tay-squirrel runs up Rosenstern's clothing to perch on a shoulder as well. "Lead on. I can't see without light anyway."

Shateishael strides quickly down the hallway, sword still in hand, "Squirrel, we have light -- quit riding and get a move on!" Taygeta-squirrel chitters to himself and runs ahead of the group at Slate's insistence, staying as far ahead as he can and still see.

Beyond the incline, the tunnel proceeds in a relatively straight fashion toward a dim red light; a tiny bulb at the end of a hallway barely illuminating a large steel door. Two more Torsos crouch near the door, as the angels round the corner, their cameras focus with a little 'zip' sound and they begin dragging themselves toward them. Shateishael shakes his head, looking worried, and moves into a charge, the better to take the disgusting things down. Taygeta-squirrel chitters and reverses as soon as he spots the torsos, pelting back past Slate even as his crow-self sounds the alarm. Shateishael snaps, "Nick, take the right hand one!" and snaps out his blade at the left.

Thessaloniki murmurs, succinctly, "Shit," followed by, "Gotcha, Slate. Cover our backs, Rosie."

Taygeta-crow mutters, "Next time I bring a bear along."

Rosenstern nods, "Gotcha!" Only a tiny part of him is bemused as Nick echoes what he'd said before. He glances over his shoulder at the way the party came.

The sword just crushes the first Torso, leaving it another bad-smelling pool on the concrete. The smell is never going to come out of the masonry. Thessaloniki fires carefully at the other torso, or as carefully as he can while holding the flashlight in the darkness, the light from the flashlight jerking as he does so. Being one-handed, and in a tight space, however, he misses completely.

The second Torso, having passed Slate as the first (somewhat ill fated) Torso engaged him, rears up and takes a swipe at its attacker -- Nick. Thessaloniki tries to step out of the way of the oncoming torso, and only mostly succeeds, and it hits him pretty hard with its huge claws. He says, "Ow!" and looks relatively unhappy at this.

Shateishael whirls smoothly and drives the sword down into the torso's back. Then he looks up at Nick, not breathing hard at all, over the mangled remains, "Nick, you okay to keep moving?"

Thessaloniki isn't so much breathing hard, as gritting his teeth and making sure he's not bleeding too badly. He says, "Yeah, let's finish this." Rosenstern turns at the sound of claws hitting corporeal flesh, and as they move forward he just quietly puts a hand on Nick's shoulder.

Shateishael nods, turning back towards the door and checking to see if it's locked or not. A moment later he steps back, "Nick. Magnetic lock," and moves to cover the back of the party. He moves back when he hears the clunk of the locks regressing, so he's ready to cover his friends against another torso inside. The door, prodded appropriately, thuds open and slides aside. There's a great deal of light inside. Rosenstern winces, trying to look inside the doorway while keeping his eyes from being completely dazzled by the light.

Inside the door is a catwalk. This stretches along the perimeter of a large square room, the floor of which is almost entirely taken up by the torus and associated bulk of a large Soviet Tokamak reactor. Several large bundles of cabling and hoses snake over the bulk, and the whole thing fills the room with a low bass hum. The narrow walkway moves left, to a doorway set in a wall that overhangs the Tokamak slightly, and right, to another overhang, this one set with large windows and lined with temptingly-flashing consoles.

Thessaloniki says, "Do we need to get in the control room before I get Darius?"

Shateishael nods, striding swiftly into the room so he can see if anyone else is there... and also towards the nearest door, to see if it needs blocking off somehow, "Nick, call. Tay-crow, can you start it?"

Taygeta says, "It's already running. The question is, can I turn it off?"

Shateishael sighs, "Start the shut-down, dude!"

Thessaloniki says, "Moment." He flips the phone back open and presses 'SEND.'

Shateishael says, "Rosie, block that door." Rosenstern keeps the rear covered. And he even manages to not get anything other than 'watching the door they just came through' going through his mind. He's unusually sober, but understandably so. Taygeta-crow and squirrel both enter the room and head for the control panel, keeping a wary pair of eyes for hidden guards. Rosenstern nods quickly to Slate, keeping the gun pointed at a point between the floor and the door, and his finger just touching the trigger, watching the entryway intently.

Nick's phone produces nothing but static. A voice from the entrance hallway calls out, "Are you trying to use a cell phone down here? This room is a Faraday cage, idiot. Now put your hands up, longhair." Vilson has just rounded the corner into the entrance hallway. He's holding a peculiar chrome-plated gun with no visible barrel. Shateishael instantly whirls, and silently charges Vilson. If he can draw fire, Rosie can kill the demon.

Thessaloniki says, "Catch!" and throws the phone as hard as he can at Vilson. Rosenstern sees the movement, and by the time the lab-student has come around the corner, his gun is aimed at him. He does his best to not to look nervous or hesitant about being able to put a big hole through the guy -- but he blinks as Slate charges... and takes that as a cue. There is no thought, but if that... gun, whatever it is, that Vilson is holding, wavers to move to Slate...

The cell phone hits Vilson square in the forehead. "AARGH! What the hell was that?!" He squeezes off a shot by accident as he staggers backward. It goes wild and clips part of the door; and leaves a slag-lined hole there. He's holding some kind of raygun.

Shateishael bounds back towards Vilson as fast as he can go, intent on taking the demon down before it takes a shot at poor Rosie! He also wants, on some unacknowledged level, to keep the poor Flower Child from having to use the gun... but he'd never admit that publicly, of course.

Vilson takes a cut to the body and staggers back in quite an impressive spray of blood. Slate takes the brunt of the actual shower, although it's official: the concrete is just never going to be the same again in that hallway. Vilson stumbles back, looking shocked... then crumples to one side of the hallway. Shateishael lets his breath out slowly, ignoring the sticky spray across him. "Rosie, come get the gun -- don't shoot. Nick, good job! -now get Darius here! Tay, shut this puppy down!" He stands with the sword point resting on Vilson's throat.

Rosenstern half-ducks as the cell phone clonks Vilson in the face, and all but ducks as the door gets -- Gott in Himmel! What by the Gard- no, what in HELL is that?! The thought has barely formed, and the gun is barely moving back to aim at the Vapulan when there is a blur of motion, the glint of Davidian steel -- and the Vapulan crumples.

To his credit, he isn't frozen -- Berlin in 1943 didn't see him freeze, either. Well, much, anyway. He blinks at the suddenness, then nods quickly, and dashes forward to the crumpled form, wondering if Vilson was demon or mortal, as he -- a bit reluctantly, and VERY cautiously -- picks up the... gun. Phaser. Blaster. Whateverthehellitis. Shateishael nods, his intended-to-be-reassuring smile at the Mercurian rather gruesomely marred by the huge splatter of blood across his front. "Good work. Now... you cover this door, I'll block off the others if they need it."

Rosenstern manages to not look too green, as he returns the smile to Slate. He takes a breath, setting the gun down -- again, VERY carefully -- beside him, crouching and keeping the gun pointed towards the door, again not at anyone, and his finger just lightly on the trigger. No... Vilson was a demon. We'd have heard the cry in the Symphony if he were mortal. There's that, at least, but even if he were Hellspawn... somehow, and he glances at the Buck Godot Special he retrieved from Vilson, I don't think he'd listen to reason.

Thessaloniki turns to the control room himself and opens the door, commenting, "I hope they've a phone down here."

Taygeta follows Nick into the control section and begins exploring the controls. "Should be easy enough to shut down... dismantling it might be tougher." Tay fools with the reactor controls, to make sure this thing stays shut down. Shateishael heads for the other doors, to see if they need jamming shut or blocking. Fortunately he discovers there are no other doors out of the area -- the only other doors lead into the control room. He does a visual once-over for other guards and then, finding none, heads back to stand guard with Rosenstern.

Taygeta-squirrel chitters to himself as the crow watches the overall boards. The rodent part of him is capable of manipulating things, and he experiments a bit with the controls, the crow nodding in satisfaction as the thing reacts as expected. Thessaloniki curses at the lack of a phone, then heads out to where Vilson is lying on the floor and finds Slate's phone again. He picks it up, and sees if he can reach someone from out here.

The phone is still dead. Vilson, however, still seems to have some fight in him; his eyes pop back from the rolled position and, seeing only Rosenstern nearby, he lunges up, shoving the Mercurian out of the way. He races for the laboratory, shrieking, "NO! Stay away from it!!" And then he's saying something else entirely. It's like the Celestial language, only the angels can't comprehend it at all... it's broken and guttural. The Helltongue. Vilson is going hell-bent-for-leather toward the catwalk.

Taygeta's work goes on for a while, then he grumbles and stops. "Hmm. That doesn't make sense..." The squirrel sits up on its hind legs, scratching its head in perplexity, then both of him turn sharply toward the shouting Infernal.

"OOF! What...?!" And then Rosenstern hits the catwalk heavily. He shakes his head to clear it, pushing himself up a bit... and almost stops cold as he hears the utterances of Diabolical. He takes a quick breath -- I'd hoped not to... -- and with clear lack of practice he grasps the pistol with both hands, aims... exhales quickly, calmly... a field of roses, swaying ever so slightly in the wind... and squeezes the trigger. And thorns...

Vilson gets as far as the catwalk, almost colliding with Slate as he breaks clear of the doorframe... when Rosenstern's bullet pierces his back. Whatever he was saying in the Helltongue appeared to be reaching a climax, but it was cut off as the bullet exited his chest. "Masteraaagh!" He drops to his knees and slumps over the railing, this time certainly discorporated for real.

Shateishael looms up suddenly next to the screeching demon, and almost catches it as it expires. He studies it for a second, then looks up, "Shit. We broke truce. Tay, shake your tail, dude... we need to get out of here. Nick, can you call Darius? Maybe he'll know what to do to fix this." He pauses... then glances at Rosie and grins, "Good shooting."

Taygeta-crow gets as far as the door when the shot rings out. "Oh, no..." The bird dives back into the control room, the Kyriotate's parallel mind working on the problem from several angles at once. Whatever Vilson said appears to have had some effect on the ambience of the room; it got decidedly warmer in here... and the bass hum decidedly deeper, although that might be a side effect of Taygeta's experimenting on the console...

Thessaloniki steps out of the Faraday cage, and manages to get a little signal on Slate's phone. He keeps his flashlight moving on the floor to make sure no torsos sneak up on him. Eventually, by standing in the right place, he gets a call out, and tries to raise Darius, to ask what to take to stop the reactor, and to tell him what's up with a dead Vilson. Shateishael steps away from the former demonic vessel, heading for Rosie, "You okay? I can watch the door." He gives a worried glance over his shoulder at the Tokamak, then shouts, "Speed it up, Tay, please!"

Taygeta-crow caws in annoyance. "We're working as fast as we can here. It's a bit complex, y'know?" Shateishael quietly starts praying, in a low, guttural tongue. Taygeta-squirrel is darting back and forth over the consoles, while the crow part of him flits in and out of the control booth, occasionally poking at controls when they're too far apart for the squirrel to manage simultaneously.

Rosenstern lets out his breath and has a moment's relief that he managed to hit the demon, and kept whatever it was that Vilson was Singing from coming to pass... but then Slate's words hit him. Hard. He's silent, blinking for a moment, then hisses, "Scheiße... dummkopf, dummkopf, dummkopf! Oh, blast..." He lowers his aim to the deck, pulling himself up. Novalis... oh, Novalis, I'm sorry... But there'll be time for this later. Even now Vilson was probably in Hell, starting to recover from the trauma of discorporation, and when he recovers from that... "Uhm... I'd say 'thanks,' Slate," he says quietly, "-if I didn't just do something really, really bad."

He takes in a breath and nods, albeit a little shakily. "I'm okay... I'm... okay. Well, I'm not good, but I'm okay." He nods again, towards the darkly humming machines. "I'm hoping that this isn't going to turn bad." He looks to the control room worriedly as the Kyriotate works.

Shateishael nods, "Good, good. Okay, you stay here, and I'll cover Nick." He steps out to stand guard while Nick calls.

Darius starts in on a quick and dirty how-to, when he suddenly pauses, "You killed him? Dude. That's harsh. But if nobody decides they miss Vilson, we'll all score major points with Jean... I know I won't miss him. The fucker. Anyway..." He continues to rattle off a description of the general shutdown procedure, and suggests which consoles that, being rare vintage Soviet, might be more precipitous to break to keep the reactor offline for a good while. Taygeta-crow goes to sit on Nick's shoulder, listening to the suggested procedure while the squirrel pokes at the knobs and controls.

That low noise is starting to creep into the general Symphony. Thessaloniki shudders, and tells Darius, "I can feel this thing in the Symphony. Can you get over here? We'll do our best." He gives directions, and then says, "I'm going to sign off and go see if I can help."

Shateishael listens to the directions on which consoles to smash, then nods once, sharply, "Okay, I'll smash consoles. Y'all take down the machinery. Anything else I can do? If not, I'm gonna get to it."

Thessaloniki says, "Let's smash it up and get gone. I don't like the way this feels." Rosenstern swallows slightly, and nods to the others as the plan of action unfolds. He isn't exactly being enthusiastic about breaking things, only being half-hearted about it, but he does what he can.

Darius' voice is breaking up with the interference, but they can clearly make out, "-go for it, dude."

Shateishael nods and heads back into the room in a run. He wipes off his sword on the dead vessel in two long, smooth swipes, then sheathes it. Then he uses the body itself, slammed violently into the consoles, to shatter the appropriate ones... and then tosses the broken body down next to the Tokamak. "Done! Y'all done? Let's split, if so!"

The bass hum builds to a loud crescendo, but then as the reactor finally shuts down, fades to nothing. It's very, very quiet in the large room. Taygeta-squirrel chitters and the crow caws in triumph. "Got it. The system's shut down now, hydrogen feed offline and the magnetic torus will die down as the cryo-coils warm up. Let's break something."

Shateishael hustles folks towards the door, "C'mon, c'mon, if we're done let's split! No need to tempt fate."

Thessaloniki mutters, "Why didn't I bring a big can of kerosene; set the bloody thing on fire right good."

Taygeta caws, "Not enough air down here to burn much, Nick. We'll have to settle for mechanical damage." The squirrel darts inside one console, yanking wires and causing general mayhem. "Hey, this console still has vacuum tubes in it! Cool!"

In response to Nick's lament, another voice, this one quite unfamiliar, calls from the far side of the catwalk, "Haven't you done quite enough damage for one day?"

Shateishael mutters, "Oh, shit," then looks up in exasperation.

Thessaloniki decides to answer, "Depends on who you ask I guess," and looks that way. Rosenstern starts to move hurriedly for the exit. He stops short, spluttering something in German as he hears the voice, turning to look quickly at the source of the voice, dreading it no matter who it is. Taygeta-crow looks up and the squirrel emerges from the console it was working on. Uh-oh...

Standing on the edge of the railing is a wiry-looking middle-aged man, thin as a rail, with a shock of insane white hair that defies description. He's wearing what appears to be a black lab coat and a shirt depicting a smiley-face with a bullet hole in its forehead. His eyes are mottled green and blue and even from this distance appear as if they could break glass. He is standing very straight, his arms folded, and he does not look at all happy. Vapula says, "I think you should leave. Now. Yes, yes, I think you should be going now."

Shateishael mutters, "Couldn't agree more," and continues heading for the door post-haste. Taygeta's vessels are already edging for the door, and at Vapula's 'suggestion,' they break and run/fly at full speed.

Rosenstern murmurs, "Sounds like a very good plan..." It wouldn't do to go and get yourself killed now, Rosen. You've music to face... some great roaring Wagnerian music. He heads out the chamber himself, as quickly as possible, putting the gun back carefully and deliberately in it's holster.

Thessaloniki looks at the demon prince and can't find it in himself to be afraid. He watches the others head out, and follows, with Slate making 'hurry-it-up!' motions. He resists the urge to say or do anything else stupid, and walks out, with as much dignity as a battered Ofanite can muster. Shateishael makes sure everyone's out before he leaves.

Vapula putters around on the catwalk, surveying the damage and shaking his head. "I'm going to remember this. Yes, yes, a long time, a very long time indeed. Yes." With that, the steel door seals itself behind the retreating angels.

Shateishael makes sure the door is shut behind them, then urges folks hastily down the hallway, "C'mon, c'mon, move!" He looks back after one or two turns of the tunnel, still urging folks along at a trot, then murmurs, "Nick, call Darius, have him notify Jean... let him decide what to do about Vapula being there!" Thessaloniki does so, sounding tired and kind of wrung out. He misses his Ranch, and wants to drive there. And drive around. A long time. Until he feels better. Perhaps a very long time.

Shateishael pauses just before heading through the door back into the Physics building, "Whoa, hang on... I look like hell." He uses his trench coat to wipe off as much blood as he can, then wraps it around the sword, bloody side in. "Okay... time to go."

Thessaloniki murmurs, "Maybe ride on a train. For a couple of days. Or drive a train. I used to know how to do that," and doesn't manage to do anything about the big bloody slashes in his sweater.

Shateishael shakes his head worriedly at Nick, then hands the wrapped sword to Rosie, "Here, hold this. Hang on, Nicky..." He puts his leather jacket over Nick's shoulders to cover the bloody gashes. Rosenstern sighs heavily, his vest wrapped around the Vapulan ray gun before they go upstairs. I can't believe I even picked this thing up. What in the Garden am I thinking, that Jean'll be glad to see this gizmo? especially after how I got it. He blinks a little as Slate hands him his trench coat, and carries both objects with some degree of caution.

Shateishael takes the wrapped sword back from Rosie once Nick's settled, and continues urging folks out, "Rosie, let's drop that off with Darius, and then I want to get Nick to Zara's. Tay, can you fly ahead and warn Darius we're coming?"

Thessaloniki takes the jacket, and says, "Uhm. Oh. University. Yes, they'd probably look oddly at me," and copes with that a little better. His main thoughts now are to get back to his car. When all else fails, get back to the car. He wonders if he'll have another visit from a Triad again, and if he should call Eli beforehand. He says, "Let's go see Darius. I'm okay."

Back at the Ranch, Taygeta-cat resumes typing the ongoing report as his attention can be diverted again from the problem of the reactor. The crow nods to Slate. "No problem." The squirrel Tay releases and sends back to the trees as soon as they get outside.

Shateishael gives Nick another worried look, but doesn't say anything... just makes sure Nick gets to his car safely, and everyone else is loaded in. "Okay, Nick, next stop is Darius."

As they move to the car, Rosenstern looks at Nick worriedly, seeing the Ofanite's distress, then looks down. "I'm sorry," he says softly. "I should have thought of the Truce. You should probably drop me off at DPS."

Shateishael snorts amusedly, "Put a cork in it, Rosie. You weren't the only one to hit him, and we're not down and out yet. Darius says we might be able to pull this off." Rosenstern's jaw works a little, but he doesn't bristle and doesn't argue with the Davidian. Like I could argue with one of Stone's. Yeah, right!

Thessaloniki takes a long moment at the wheel as he starts the car, letting its soothing hum, and then the roaring power of the big Detroit steel under its hood center him, taking and releasing a breath. Composure somewhat recovered, he puts the car in Drive and says, "Gotcha."

Darius is quite pleased with the news ("A ray gun? Cool!"). Zara, as always, instates her rule that she doesn't want to know why or how, just go on back and use the mud bath. Thessaloniki smiles, "Thank you, Ma'am," to Zara and does so. He says to Slate, "We should go see the Old Guy and tell him we squished a couple more torsos."

Shateishael grins at Zara, "Thank you kindly, ma'am," and makes sure Nick actually gets into the mud bath. He'll hand the Ofanite his keys -- so there's something for him to play with instead of moving -- and then goes and gets some coffee for him as well.

Taygeta-crow perches on Slate's shoulder again. "And this time, you can introduce me, too."

Shateishael tilts his head at the crow in faint bemusement, then nods, "Gotcha. Ms. Zara, this is Taygeta's crow vessel, that he can speak in." He grins at the crow, adding, "Yeah, I'll introduce you to the Old Guy, no sweat."

Shateishael gets drinks for everyone, while he's at it... he needs to sit down and take a few deep breaths, if nothing else. Plus, if Zara will allow him to, he's got a few things to toss into the washing machine. Zara doesn't have a washing machine on the premises, but she does have a big sink that the angels can use. Shateishael will thank Zara again and set some things to soaking. Then he comes back and settles with his drink.

Taygeta chuckles. "Although maybe we shouldn't be telling him about Vapula running loose."

Thessaloniki says tiredly, "If we're wise, we won't mention any of it. He'd want to know where and why, and he can be quite single-minded." Shateishael nods at Nick's comment, sipping his hot coffee gingerly. Thessaloniki adds, "As much as I'd like to go and tell him all about it. It's not often the Eliite Ofanite and the Mercurian of Flowers do so much, y'know? But, it'd be foolish."

Rosenstern smiles, but only a little, and he doesn't say much. Zara will learn about it soon enough, he reasons. Oddly, he doesn't feel as bad for having shot Vilson as he does for breaking the Truce. He tries hard, really hard, not to let it weigh heavily on him, if for no other reason than if he let himself, he could easily just let the guilt of it overwhelm him, and that would make him useless to Novalis and Heaven. And perhaps for the moment more importantly, it'll only serve to irritate or bring down the other angels.

The situation will resolve. Even if he has to do penance for another hundred years, it will resolve. At least it wasn't a Demon Prince I've upset... That seems to be some comfort, at least. Then he blinks, shaking his head and grimacing wryly to himself. Oh, wait, we did upset a Demon Prince. Wonderful. Uhm... at least my Superior isn't a demon prince, that is. There. That's better. Uhm, sort of.

Shateishael will, once he's caught his breath, had something to drink, and done a bit of cleaning up after folks, make sure that Rosie is in the same room as he, Nick, and Tay... and that the Mercurian has a nice hot cup of tea. Once Rosie's had some tea, Slate will say, as gently as he ever does, "Rosie. You did good. Quit being so hard on yourself, okay?"

Thessaloniki nods at Slate's words, and says, "Sometimes it's scary, but you did what's right."

Taygeta nods also. "It's not like you had a lot of choice, after all. He brought it on himself by attacking after Slate took him down the first time."

Rosenstern lets out a soft breath, the tea doing much to revitalize him and becalm him. Orange. Mmm... "Thanks, Slate. But... in any other city..." He takes another sip of tea, then says quietly, "I've fought before, for Heaven, for Novalis, as weird as it may seem. No, really, honest! And it wasn't with flintlocks..." He shakes his head. "Novalites fight, when we need to, just not very well and/or often. No, I'm more -- a lot more -- bothered about breaking the Treaty."

Thessaloniki says quietly, "By threatening us with his gun, Vilson broke the Truce before we did, and we acted in self-defense. Vapula couldn't have destroyed us without causing great repercussions, even past what he wants to be responsible for. I think we did okay. I hope others agree with my summation." Shateishael nods to Nick, sipping the coffee. Thessaloniki adds, "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it." Shateishael grins silently.

Rosenstern thinks for a long few moments, then nods slowly to Nick. "True..." he says softly. It's certainly not semantic gymnastics the Ofanite states, but the simple truth. "That ray gun wasn't exactly set to 'stun'..."

Taygeta says, "A very good point..."

Shateishael says, "So... relax, dude, okay? Don't tie yourself in knots, inside, over this. We did the best we could, under the circumstances."

Rosenstern nods and lets out a breath, smiling quietly. "I'll try. Thanks, Slate... Nick... Tay."

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Last modified: 2002-Mar-30 13:54:51

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