Ex Machina; Infiltration

[animusmods]

Characters: Riki and the infiltration team
Setting: administrative levels
Format: any
Summary: Riki's efforts must be sabotaged. Stealth is the name of the game and time is of the essence.
Warnings: psychological horror

Though the chipped unit does not follow, he sees to it that the team advances the rest of the way. At the end of the lit corridor is a set of double doors, heavy-duty polished metal with small windows set into each one.

Through the windows, a massive machine is visible, connected to thousands of holographic screens that are hard to make out at the speed at which they're being manipulated. The machine sits in the center of the room and is networked to four elaborate terminals stationed along the walls via a complex tangle of panels, wires, and towers. Each of these terminals controls its own set of floating screens; the sheer amount of holographic monitors in the room is disorienting, and really, it's hard to tell what's connected to what.

In the chair in the middle of the enormous set-up is Riki, maneuvering all of the screens with the same ease with which most people breathe. His back is to the doors that lead into the room, and for the moment, he is utterly engrossed in his work.

Comments

[crouching_sin]

[Naoya frowns, and approaches the terminal. Even if it's some kind of unknown language there should be at least a pattern. He scans the lines and tries a few commands. Hopefully he doesn't typo.]

[bloodyashes]

[All yours up there, dude. Asch tucks himself against the side of the terminal, keeping low and keeping an eye towards the other, drifting monitors, watching them for any changes.]

[morphballin]

[Unfortunately, what abilities Samus has regained of her suit usage do not include her scanners, so she's a bit up shit creek in regards to this. She hangs back and low to keep an eye on the group at large, and to be ready if things go south.]

[no_longer_a_king]

[It's pretty safe to say Naoya and the third terminal are surrounded by protectors while he works. Arturia takes up her own position, watching for any sign of danger.]

[animusnpcs]

[Naoya's basic commands seem to be working; the screen seems to be reacting to them, in that the symbols - while still unreadable - do seem to be changing as he inputs those commands.

Those guarding the terminal find nothing out of place. For the moment, all is well.]

[crouching_sin]

[... Right. Ugh. The experience of looking at a totally unfamiliar language is starting to give him a headache, but he digs through his memory of programming knowledge. He takes a deep breath and lets it out quietly, before starting to type in some more commands. On a whim, he tries typing out 'translate' using the keyboard layout the terminals upstairs use. It's worth a shot.]

[animusnpcs]

[The screen goes blank.

Then, a moment later, it starts to glow again: Faintly at first, with an increasing intensity, before it flashes back up to its starting brightness and more gibberish appears on the screen.]

[crouching_sin]

[Well that didn't work. He winces slightly and tries a few more commands. There should be a 'shut down' command somewhere... he just has to keep trying.]

[animusnpcs]

[Around them, the lights flicker -

And then go out. The screen Naoya is working at goes blank again, too. For a few long moments, there is utter silence, before there's a faint whirring that sounds almost like a computer fan.

Slowly, the terminal's primary screen flickers back to life, its glow much more faint than before, and pulsating slightly: from black to glowing to black again in sequence.]

[crouching_sin]

[Though he's careful not to swear out loud, he takes a moment to curse in his head. Hopefully this is a sign that the terminal is starting to overload, though? That would be nice. He types quickly, trying to catch the computer when the screen is on.]

[sageprincess]

[Zelda, tense enough from simply being around one of the administrators like this, can't help rising a bit on her haunches when the lights go out, ready to bolt like a coiled spring. Naoya is continuing to work, though, so she forces herself back down, eyes glued to Riki to see if he's noticed their meddling yet.]

[bloodyashes]

[Oh, look, someone's breaking the silence. Asch isn't so quick to get ready to bolt, but he does give the single remaining screen a nasty look.]

Tell me that was at least somewhat intentional.

[crouching_sin]

[Naoya makes a vaguely non-committal noise.]

I don't know this language. It's slow going.

[morphballin]

Keep at it, just. Caution over speed.

[Samus clenches and un-clenches a fist repeatedly, jaw shut tight after speaking. The tension here could be cut with a saw, and to say she's on edge would be a horrendous understatement.]

[animusnpcs]

[When Naoya continues to type, more symbols appear on the screen - finally, it goes black entirely, and the sound like a computer fan stops.

The group is left in silence and darkness.]

[no_longer_a_king]

[Arturia rises, cautious.]

Did you intend to do that?

[Please let it be the right thing.]

[crouching_sin]

[Naoya nods. Hopefully it's shut down whatever's connected to it, too - and hopefully the other groups will finish their work soon.]

All we can do now is wait for the others.

[sageprincess]

[Zelda follows Arturia's lead, standing and quietly moving towards the direction of the metal door. Fortunate that those other screens were turned off first - it's a bit easier to adjust to the darkness that way.]

We should head back to the hall before Riki notices something is wrong.

[bloodyashes]

[No disagreement from this corner.]

Let's get going. I'll take point.

[C'mon folks let's jam.]