Heroes: Endings and Beginnings

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#126

Post by General Havoc »

The enormous law enforcement robot knew how to break up riots. Riots and crowd control were simple for a hulking war machine, tear gas lanes, sonic repulsion weapons, and sheer mass were enough to deflect almost any riot, even an armed one. This wasn't a riot though, this was blind panic, a stampeding crowd attempting to escape the area. Even had Agent Inferno not recommended that XC-001 Alpha not involve itself, it knew not to. This was not the sort of thing it could deal with. This required normal, human police to handle, and there were none visible. Accordingly, the robot chose to do what it deemed to be the best it could, which was nothing whatsoever. It panned its main body back and forth, not moving its legs, for the shock of its heavy footfalls would no doubt send further waves of panic through the already terrified crowd. The humans would run and jostle one another until the panic wore out. There was no escaping that now. The robot ran six provisional simulations and tallied probable human casualties. None of the estimates were to its liking.

It turned back to face the bulk of the Ultima-affiliated Metahumans, still moving to and fro securing the detained metahuman criminals, or trying (unsuccessfully) to manage the ground. The robot analyzed each of them in turn, trying to gauge relative threat levels. The results were not promising, with a series of various unknowns, but it occupied the robot while it's AI functions were trying to piece together what it ought to do.

And on top of everything, something else seemed to be trying to contact it by radio, yet the robot could not get a good fix on the signal source.

"This proposal," said the robot to the foremost metahumans, not caring who chose to answer, "carries an imprecisely quantified risk to tertiary priority protocols, judged to be in excess of minimum guidelines for operational reaction." Perhaps conscious that this likely made no sense to the metahumans present, the robot paused and tried, haltingly, to explain in simpler terms. "Tertiary priority protocols call for the preservation of unit self-integrity against all physical or operational threats. What evidential assurances are on offer to indicate that compliance with your directives will not result in an existential threat to unit-self-integrity, and consequent breach of Tertiary priority protocols?"

Essentially, the robot was asking how it was supposed to know that Ultima wasn't planning on simply de-activating and scrapping it for parts the instant it arrived "back at base"? Those perceptive enough to notice however, might have noted that while the robot clearly considered self-preservation a priority, it described it as a "tertiary" one.

This of course begged the question of what the robot's "primary" and "secondary" priorities were.
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#127

Post by Jason_Firewalker »

Shaking off the tasers' effects Starfighter rose. "Oh that smarts." Looking down to his knees he realized he was bleeding lightly from a skinned knee. Since he was wearing slacks the blood was soaking into the material. The khaki was definately ruined. "Ah... a little pain never hurt anyone." The tasers effects were noticable. 'Well that will teach me to run off alone into a potentially hostile situation'

Just out of basic training for Ultima agents, Starfighter realized he had been brash and idiotic in his choice of actions. Wiping the dust from landing in the rubble of the bank's wall Starfighter looked around. The towering mecha was still here but seemed to not be a threat to him anymore. His teammates seemed perturbed. With solemn remorse he headed over to the Agent identified to him as the apparent leader, "Sorry, I totally screwed up. Won't happen again. I let my bravado take control of me. Won't happen again sir."
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#128

Post by SirNitram »

"Agent Sunrise, you are not authorized to countermand actions by this unit. Present authentication or the next attempted countermand will cause lethal force retaliation." Al was in a foul mood as he routed emergency services. Sure, only police were specified for, but with the crowd so beautifully panicing thanks to the freak of the week, he had taken initiative and summoned EMTs.

"Peacekeeping Unit. What would assure that there is no threat to tetriary protocols?"
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#129

Post by rhoenix »

Trying to help direct a panicked crowd was a bit like trying to control a high-pressure water hose - the best you could do was aim in a general direction. Using his ability as best he could, he pushed feelings of calm and acceptance outward into the crowd, even as he helped direct people along his side to the proper evacuation avenue. It worked, somewhat, as most of the people passing by him now were very anxious and very nervous, though not in a blind panic - but still, it was a meager improvement.

This is one hell of a first day on the job, he thought to himself, even as a petulant and frightened child, not aware of why his mommy was running with him on her shoulder, threw his icecream cone in a tantrum, flying in a lazy arc to land right above Templar's right eye. Quickly wiping it away, he continued calling to people to "leave in an orderly fashion" that was flat-out impossible during a panic but a great aspiration nonetheless.
Last edited by rhoenix on Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#130

Post by Hotfoot »

After depositing the groggy Starfighter in the van, he made his way back to his bike, raising and lowering barriers to keep people from trampling each other in the panic. He used connections to red-light cameras to watch for anyone who had been knocked down and sought to protect them with low-level force fields. On his radio, he quickly commented. "Sunrise. Sunset."

He made his way to the bike, continuing the remote vigil on the civilians. As he did, he looked at Alpha and tapped his chest. "I still function." With that, he got on his motorcycle and nodded to Gemini, revving the engine with an utterly unnecessary twist of the throttle. He paused for a moment to see Alpha's reaction before speeding off.
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#131

Post by LadyTevar »

Tell Mark to stop, we're going to need to provide escort to Alpha.

Heidi rolled her eyes but nudged Mark and repeated the message. "I think she's thinking of the motorcycles in front, the van behind, herding him that way if he'll go."

If Alpha will go was the problem. It all depended on who the fuck was in charge of Omega right now... Legion or Inferno. "You wanna ask Legion while I inform Inferno of the idea?"
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#132

Post by B4UTRUST »

CPD finally showed up a moment later, sirens and lights flashing. By that time the civilians were in full panic mode. Fortunately these weren't the riot units but the first regular units responding to the intial robbery.

A brief assessment of the situation revealed to those first arriving on the scene that this was quickly becoming less and less their area of expertise. The Omnicorp bot was definately out, as was trying to get involved in whatever it was that Ultima was going to try to do. So they settled for crowd control instead.

Cars parked and officers on scene the crowd would soon be dealt with, hopefully preventing the mass panic. Ambulances and the riot squad were still en route though.
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#133

Post by rhoenix »

Feeling nothing but relief at seeing the CPD show up and assist with crowd control, Agent Templar was now freed up enough to the point where he could return to the subject at hand: recruiting Alpha.

His teammates' mental reactions to his line about employment when in full view of the media he actually agreed with - it perhaps was a mistake. However, it was just as much of a mistake to not do one's job to the best of one's ability.

Marching through the crowd, he flipped his badge around and sat it into his jacket pocket for easy identification, moving as directly as he could back through the crowds toward Alpha. It took him a few minutes, but he was finally able to regard the large mech, which currently appeared to only be observing the chaos, and having the good sense not to move. That actually gave it a point in Templar's book.

"Unit Alpha," he called, using the same authoritive tone he'd used all day once again. He'd look forward to asking for a cup of coffee instead of ordering one here in just an hour or so, when he went to lunch. Until then, he still had a job to do. "We request that you accompany us and the suspects back to the Ultima Field Office. You raised the issue of your primary, secondary, and tertiary priority protocols - since we wish to accomodate you as you are, it would better enable us to assist you if we knew what those protocols are. Please elaborate."
Last edited by rhoenix on Tue Jan 27, 2009 10:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#134

Post by Charon »

"NeXT, you authorize lethal force on anyone here and I'm going to make it so you can't so much as surf the internet. Sunrise, you contradict Legion or I again and I'll be throwing you in a room so far from the sun you'll think you're underground on Pluto." Inferno was having just as bad of a day and he wasn't about to let this team start threatening each other with violence or make this into anymore of a clusterfuck than it was.

Inferno looked back at the mech, he really hoped that this thing complied.
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#135

Post by Comrade Tortoise »

Sunrise found the threat the AI made on his life amusing. How, exactly would an AI harm him? He controls light, Sunrise knew from experience that he could absorb a five megawatt laser, and he knew he still had the storage capacity left to absorb that much. Sunrise supposed he could give police a kill order. At that point though, if they did not have AP rounds they wouldnt do much. Not that he would allow himself to be shot at. He would say nothing about that though. Pissing contests with a being with no ability to piss were useless.

This was also no time to get into a pissing contest with the Golden Child, and the Spook. That did not mean he was not irritated. He did not appreciate being treated like a petulant child for trying to amend a mistake by preventing a potentially more catastrophic one. Contradict what? Orders? On who's actual authority? Still. Not the time and place. There would probably be a good shouting match when they were done. For now, there were more important things to do.

"Affirmative" he said pointedly, letting Inferno know that while he recognized and was going to follow the command. For now. "Metahumans criminals contained. Further orders?"
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#136

Post by SirNitram »

"Understood, Agent Inferno. Negotiations with security unit ongoing." NeXT said simply, the sullen emotions hidden by layers of frontends and a body half a world away. A deep sigh went unheard. "Local news inbound."
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#137

Post by General Havoc »

The robot did not immediately respond to the disembodied voice of NExt, nor to Agents Inferno or Templar. Instead it slowly swiveled around, watching the police desperately trying to contain the panic, staying far away from the assembled Metahuman team, which were already shouting veiled threats at one another, each one provoking another jolt from the public authorities trying to control the situation. It made an immediate decision.

The robot's torso turned back to face Inferno and Templar, and its voice was cool and collected as it explained what was next to happen.

"Your presence here is causing a public disturbance," said XC-001 Alpha. "You will return to the local BMA field office immediately, under close escort by this unit, and permit the Chicago Metropolitan Police Department to resolve this matter. You will furthermore identify the authority figure in command of this Ultima unit."

The robot turned its torso back and forth slightly, taking the situation in once more. "Please comply immediately."
Gaze upon my works, ye mighty, and despair...

Havoc: "So basically if you side against him, he summons Cthulu."
Hotfoot: "Yes, which is reasonable."
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#138

Post by LadyTevar »

Heidi broke in on all the Ultima frequencies. "Jerri suggests Inferno assume command for the moment and accept the robot's idea. All we had to do was get it to go with us, right? So, Inferno speaks up, we let the robot 'escort' us, and we get him and us out of the clusterfuck."
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#139

Post by Charon »

Inferno rubbed his eyes for a brief moment, this was far from optimal but at this point he'd take it. "We will comply to this, though for the sake of not furthering a civilian panic I suggest that we do not make it look like you are directly escorting us. As such we will have the motor vehicles both infront of and behind you, is this acceptable?"
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#140

Post by Dark Silver »

And like all that...things started to sort out.

The CPD arrived, and apparently because some of the squabbling apparently had the CPD getting irritated. Then the mech made it's call, and Legion stood down. Inferno presented himself, and Legion stepped back.

Let the Ultima Agents handle it. He wasn't Ultima, just working with them temporarily. How temporarily, depended upon his investigation, and it was best if they took order from one of their own.

Away from the crowd, with no danger of bare skin coming into contact, Legion walked back to stand by the patty wagon, crossing his arms over his chest.

'Show your more than a Talking Head PR boy, kid' Legion thought privately, aware that there was a telepath on the scene.
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#141

Post by rhoenix »

Perfect, Agent Templar thought, smiling inwardly.

"Our supervising agent is Agent Hawk, working out of the same field office we are. Please follow me, I will lead you there in the most expedient path."

From there, thankfully, there was a large clear path toward his motorcycle. He began purposefully walking toward it, hoping that the mech Alpha would follow him.
"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes."

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#142

Post by Charon »

Inferno looked sharply to Templar. "Agent Templar, I have control of the situation, please go prepare us for transport. Agent Sunrise, assist Agent Templar in preparing for transport." It was a friendly way of saying 'Go sit in the van'.
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#143

Post by Hotfoot »

Mark 25 patrolled around the evacuation route, continuing his vigil on the civilians. Right now, the rest of the team was not in any real danger, though some individuals seemed hellbent on changing that situation. Silently, he filed away audio and video information that he had been recording, as well as preparing written transcripts for the purposes of incident reports on return to headquarters.

In a low tone, he muttered so Heidi could hear, "Rookies." In a louder voice, broadcast to the rest of the team, he continued. "This is Mark 25. Gemini and I are securing the evacuation of the civilians from a distance. We're coming back in towards the incident area after this loop." There was no need to ask for the status, he'd know if Alpha made up its mind to behave or not, and soon, with any luck, they'd all be out of there.

God damned AI...
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#144

Post by LadyTevar »

"Marcus, right now even -Jerri- wants to brain Templar with a telephone pole," Heidi replied to his muttering, making sure it didn't go out over the radio first. "First, he steps in with that stupid job offer when you and I have Alpha under control, and now this shit?"

I just want to know what he's thinking ... or not thinking as the case may be.

"You have it right, Jerri... he's not thinking. Maybe the robot will taser him like he did Flyboy."
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#145

Post by Agent Fisher »

Mike finished talking with the men who worked the containment truck, shaking a few hands and shutting the door, tapping it to let the driver know that he was ready to drive.

The mercenary turned from truck and started walking towards the van, hitting his comm and speaking into it.

"Inferno, Gordon. Suspects are loaded into the truck. What do you want done next?" He asked, looking towards the crowd and towards Mark25 and Gemini.
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#146

Post by Hotfoot »

Mark 25 didn't sigh, instead, he sat in silence for a moment. "This team presents...challenges. Still, it is not the most dysfunctional team I have ever served with. There will be...reprimands, among other consequences. I suspect a team-building exercise once clear chain of command has been established. For now, Templar is Agent Foxtrot, Starfighter is Agent November, and Sunrise is Agent Golf," He glanced back to Heidi for a moment. "My previous squad leader "broke in" new recuits that way."
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#147

Post by LadyTevar »

"And what Agent would we be?" Heidi asked, referring to herself and Jerri.
Foxtrot, November, Golf? I don't get it...
"I'll explain later, Jerri..."
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#148

Post by B4UTRUST »

By this point the news choppers were in position circling the scene. By six o'clock tonight half the US would know what was going on here today. Or at least what appeared to be going on. Eye witness reports would of course come shortly.

There really wasn't much else to do other than smile and wave for the cameras that were busy filming every bit of Omega team's ordeal. And by the look of things, it wasn't going to end any time soon.
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#149

Post by General Havoc »

The robot's movements became slightly more rapid, as it turned back and forth, surveying the situation. Its voice took on a slightly more concerned tone, as though the calculations it was using to determine the attendant risk that the Ultima agents were about to assault one another were coming up with more and more worrisome results. Normally it might have sat there and demanded to speak to the "commanding" officer that Agent Templar had mentioned, but right now there was a more pressing matter. It had to get these metahumans away from the civilians. Right now.

"This unit does not consider the public perception of Bureau of Metahuman Affairs agents to be relevant. Risk of a primary priority protocol breach is judged to be sufficient to compel co-operation at risk of force. You will proceed immediately to the local BMA branch office under close escort from this unit. Your vehicles will all remain in front of this unit at all times during transport, and you will make no attempt to interfere with Chicago Metropolitan Police Department units, or other civilian agencies and organizations.

The robot lowered its voice into an intimidating command. "Failure to comply will be construed as a Class-2 threat to Public Safety, and will result in Force level Alpha authorization and implementation of appropriate compliance-enforcement protocols."

"Please," it strongly weighted the word, "proceed to your vehicles and depart this area." It loomed over Inferno, ensuring that it was making itself abundantly clear. "Now."
Gaze upon my works, ye mighty, and despair...

Havoc: "So basically if you side against him, he summons Cthulu."
Hotfoot: "Yes, which is reasonable."
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#150

Post by Charon »

Inferno stared at the 3-ton warmech and for a few seconds it didn't look like he was going to budge on the matter. "Very well."

Inferno turned his back on the machine and looked around. "Alright everybody, get back to your vehicles, we're going to be infront of the mech. Nobody veers away from the convoy. Let's get going."

Stupid fucking Hawk, stupid fucking robots.
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