Third Play

Posted on Thu Feb 22nd, 2018 @ 1:56am by Commander Bertrand Cuprum & Captain Elijah Michaels & Commander Cor Cordale & Lieutenant Commander Alec Wescott & Lieutenant Hel Samedi & Lieutenant Simon Stevens & Lieutenant Jaton Alyl & Lieutenant Sara'draphia T'eseri & Lieutenant JG Scotty Kayne & Lieutenant JG Asvit Hap
Edited on on Wed Feb 28th, 2018 @ 12:40am

Mission: Of Machines and Men

Bertrand flipped the com pin shut and threw it back to Stevens an instant before they were engulfed in a red glow.

"Tracking device," Bertrand told the remaining away team; Cor, Sara and Asvit. "Cor should be able to lock onto a direction and distance."

The Thux gave a nod, already reaching for the tricorder on his hip. "Let's see what I can see..."

"If this is going to play out we need to start to plan. We have seen the robot is adaptive to threat. It ramps up depending on what it is faced with. If I am right, Sara and I are next to get taken, then you two. We can plan now, though. Suggestions?"

Sara clenched her fist, causing a slight glow to emanate from her fist, "I am going to crush that machine under its own weight, then we can find a way out of here before anyone else is hurt"

Bertrand looked carefully at Sara, "Are you strong enough to do that? I won't lie, that would be a fine thing to see, but I don't want you over taxed if we have another option."

"I would agree, but I'm afraid we don't seem to have any other options. we seem to be at the mercy of whatever or whoever is in control of this Coliseum" Sara responded

"The drone adapts to how it's defeated. The first time was a hack, and I imagine the second time we saw the drone it would have a hell of a firewall installed. Second time, brute force. So we can expect more armor or less centralized internal systems with this drone. More armor means it'll hopefully be slower to maneuver, but it could also just mean a shield." Cordale added, "It's like fighting the Borg, two on one, at one millionth the adaptation speed."

"If I knew more about their tech, I could tell you how to better pierce their shielding. If it's a shield." he pointed out. "Bertrand, any luck feeling anything other than us?"

"Other than us? Do you think there are other 'competitors' here somewhere?" Sara asked

Bertrand suddenly gave a shout, "HA! That's the missing piece! We've been looking at this wrong."

He turned to the others, ignoring the blank screen, "We've been thinking of this as a Gladiatorial show; a fight to win, but it is not. It is a show. The greatest show in the universe. That robot is capable of far more than it has been showing. It could have cut Jaton and Scotty apart, but it didn't. Why? Why only ramp up its aggression to match its opponent? Because it makes for better TV."

"Whatever is behind this wants a show, entertainment. But look at Val. When 'half' of her died, she wasn't upset. In fact the one half was drawing fire. Same with Jaton and Scotty. They knew they were not in real danger."

"Listen to the language, this is an Introduction. They are showing us off before some big event. If we want to win this we need to be entertaining. Draw the fight out, thrills and spills."

"So what you are suggesting is that we cooperate with this performance? I can follow your logic, but how can we be sure of their intentions?" Sara asked

Tag: reactions.

As if in answer to Bertrands assessment the screen lit up again. The screen lit up and a new set of figures were displayed. Scotty and Wescott appeared on the arena already running to cover.

A voice boomed over the arena, "Ladies and gentlemen, and other viewers. I present to you Combatants 1338547 Lieutenant Simon Stevens and 1338548, Lieutenant Commander Alec Wescott!"

The cheer went up and the same robot rolled slowly out to face the pair.

Sara watched the fight closely this time rather than just the medical read out. Hopefully she could pick up on something that may help her when her turn comes. “Perhaps it is good that we are the latter competitors. You don’t want to show off you’re best tricks before the performance begins.”

There was a sudden commotion on the field. The robot began to rotate slowly and smoke started to pour between it's tracks. the Commentator jumped in.

"I am sorry to report, we appear to have a technical issue with our Opponent droid. Looks like the repair house has struggled to keep up with demand. As per the rules, without a fitting opponent, both combatants are automatically through to the next round. Disappointing, but the next fight, promises to make up for it."

With a flash both Stevens and Wescot were removed from the field.

Tag: reactions