Droids 3, Its been far to long... Options

[Dinobot The Maxi...]

Yes people, I'm still working on Solidity, but hey, this is my 2000th post! Took three years, but do I care? Hecks no Now, before I get into this I'd definately recomend you read the following-
Droids
Droids 1 Review
Droids 2
Droids 2 Review
And check out all the characters in MOC form here-
Droids Archive

And PLEASE for the love of Pete, post ALL replies in the Review Topic! Thank you, now lets get this 2000th post and third epic in this series rolling-

DROIDS 3

Prologue: Depredation-

He clicked the communications panel again.
“Say again, this is Scar, tagline SECDT1V1, does anybody read me, I am severely damaged and in need of assistance immediately, my location is vector nine-oh-too-one-oh, anybody receiving this message be advised, situation is critical and visibility is dim,”
Static…white noise, that’s all he had gotten for the past hour. Then he heard a crackle and quickly adjusted his frequency.
“This is division one squad number five, of the Ta-Metru enforcement, squad commander 0912745 speaking, scouts are on their way, but we cannot guarantee that they will reach your position online, we recommend you hide under any rubble that is stable enough to conceal your position, over,”
He was speechless.
“Rodger, it’s good to hear another voice commander,”
“Do not get comfortable AI, your assistance is greatly needed to help fulfill our mission,”
The insult stung, he could not help who he was, he had been forced back into this position, but they should still trust him, after all he was the nearly undefeated Vahki chieftain before being reprogrammed and given a new body. He was interested to see what had happened during his time offline. He remembered stopping Dark Scar and hacking through part of a giant droid made up of Dark Vahki scraps, only to have a massive quake strike, forcing him underground. None of his comrades had responded, the last one he had talked to was Nylun. His younger ‘brother’ sounded like he was going crazy with fear though, but he also had to assume the Rogan and Varon were dead too, as they were the only ones left fighting the giant machine that Makuta was piloting with some of his essence. He had seen a living bolt of electricity leave Rogan and finish killed the mecha, and saw Rogan’s body get destroyed, he could only predict that Varon had suffered a similar fate. That left only Icthus, who couldn’t speak anyway, but Scar thought he might’ve come to find him by now if he was able to and had received his message. He quickly pulled down a virtual chart in his mind, listing his comrades, and remembered Kukra who had gone out to help save his people, he was also MIA. He marked down Kukra, Varon, Nylun, and Icthus as MIA, and Rogan, Zaker and the Razar all as KIA. Such a waste he thought, he could only hope that some of them were dormant under the rubble somewhere.
Scar took a moment to look over his damages one more time. Most of his armor had been melted severely. His phaser battery had leaked acid during his time underground, rendering that arm a limp piece of scrap. He could no longer summon his sword either, he tried to access the database in his mind that his creator, Zulu, had set up. It would allow him to teleport damaged parts off his body and replace it with other armor. He scrolled through the listings. The first one read “BASIC SETTING” his original armor, it had been scrapped during the conflict with an attacking mob of Dark Vahki, it read at 80% efficiency. The second read “FLAME TYPE” a fire proof set that’s set of weapons literally acted like a channeler of an enemy’s powers. Absorbing them and blasting them back out at their creator. It had also been nearly destroyed, by his evil twin, Dark Scar when he was fighting Zaker with his mind, and once he had killed Zaker. The third read “MATRIX TYPE” a hidden set Zulu had been working on since Scar had been placed back into a Vahki body. It finally got some use against Dark Scar, and the Dark Mecha. The second set was at 10% efficiency, and Zulu probably didn’t get a chance to finish repairs. He was wearing the third set, which was at 45%, he would have no choice but to mix and match armor bits when he was taken to the Vahki’s base of operations.
He looked up at the foggy sky, it had appeared to be dusk at first, but if his internal clock was functioning correctly, it was nowhere near dusk or dawn…something was wrong. That, and the fact that an odd lattice of webs covered the city that filled his vision on the horizon. Odd shrill noises picked up on his scanners, deathly howls of pained Rahi. And screeches of victory. The screeches struck fear in him; it was not an emotion Scar was much accustomed to. Something was very wrong in this city…whatever was making the screeches wasn’t native…and it wasn’t friendly…

Stay tuned next week for the next chapter
DtM

This post has been edited by Dinobot The Maximal: Aug 28 2006, 09:27 PM

[Dinobot The Maxi...]

Wow, this is the first time I've ever actually written TWO epics in tandem on a day to day basis, and I gotta say, its quite fun to jump between the two. Why not check out my other ongoing epic when you have a minute Solidity. And be sure to review this one here at the Droids 3 Review topic.

Chapter 1: Through our Optics-

They had found him eventually. And just as quickly as they had helped him out of his entrapment they disappeared into the mist, helping their new comrade along. Scar was amazed at the destruction that had been caused, it was truly a disaster. There were no Matoran, piping and electricity was obstructed everywhere. The power plants were all shot to scrap. Nothing was untouched by the destructive force of the quake. They finally made it back to the Nuuhrahk hive. His two rescuers quickly disappearing into the crowd of assembled Vahki, an occasional droid could be spied here and there among their ranks, but they seemed shunned by the larger, more important (in their eyes at least) mechanoids. The squad leaders were assembled along an elevated level of the floor, all facing the center, where what was once a Vahki sat.
The Vahki commander looked like his body was patch worked, all different pieces of armor covering his body. He was twice the size of a regular Vahki, and all the more impending in his appearance. He turned to see the crowd of fellow robots and pointed a jabbing finger at Scar. Scar looked from side to side, to see all the others in attendance take two steps away from him, making a path through the crowd. Scar was alone.
“SECDT1V1, once Vahki chieftain in the coliseum, and turned loose to stop the threat of Zaker, only to be returned to our ranks by command of that fleshling Dume, then illegally taken back out of your role as an honorable Vahki, making you more free willed than any of us, an AI!” the last two words were said with more emotion than Scar had ever heard a Vahki use. Something was wrong, Vahki don’t talk, they don’t judge, they correct what they’re told to, and use their programming as the backbone of all judgments they make. Scar looked up at the commander as he folded his arms across his chest, his stunguns folding back and resting against his forearms.
“For lack of a better question…what’s the situation?” Scar asked in a relaxed tone.
“The situation is this AI, we have been enlightened for the better by mother energy, cast away from our roots of father matoran, we have learned our true position in existence,” the commander’s rusty voice wheezed out. “We are few, but we are strong, the fleshlings of this city have destroyed it, and now others are trying to take root here, claiming it as their own,”
“So these new-comers are the ones who’re making the webs?”
“Correct, their destruction will only further our goal,”
“And what is your goal?” Scar could get used to an independent Vahki, at least there’d be someone to relate too.
“To rid the city of fleshlings,” the Commander snarled. He flipped out one of his stunguns, electricity bolted across it and a beam of energy unlike anything ever seen from a Vahki’s stungun fired out. Blasting a hole in a wall, revealing a dark room, filled with cages. Two Vahki quickly grabbed the closest cage and hefted it to the commander. Inside was a quadroped, hissing and fitting, spitting web all over the cage, it looked like it was trying to launch something of its back, but an energy absorber was strapped to it. Quickly sending all the energy to a generator that the spider thing was chained to, it was trapped, but somehow, Scar knew that this creature deserved it. The commander stepped down and knelt before the insect, and sneered at it.
“You are the scourge that plagues our city more than any other flesh,” he said with a voice of hatred. “And because of fleshlings, many of our people our dead, now, repent!” The commander ripped the cage open, and the generator/absorber off the animal. They were thrown with such force that they embedded themselves into the solid protodermis walls. Scar could see it now. This Rahi was limp, the Vahki had severed its front limbs and singed them with till they formed nothing more than charred stumps. The creature tried to stand up on its hindlegs, and attack its enemy, but it was no use. The Commander just laughed and raised his stuguns, both crackling with raw energy.
He fired. And after the dust had cleared, there was nothing left but a crater where the spider had once stood. Scar watched the entire scene in disbelief.
“Welcome AI, to the new world,”

See ya'll next week-
DtM

[Dinobot The Maxi...]

Whoa...totally fell off the radar on this one didn't I?

Anywho, been trying to write longer chapters, with not much avail, this chapter is a decent bit longer than the last two sorry excuses, hoping that Chapter 3 will be longer than this

Chapter 2- Energy

The smoke had finally cleared the damaged Nuuhrahk hive, but the air was just as stale and foggy as before. Scar was still trying to process what his optics had just taken in. An obviously tortured Rahi vaporized. It was something a little extreme, even for the weathered type like Scar.
“…you blatantly killed that thing, just like that?” Scar remarked.
“Foolish AI!” The commander stomped towards him. “These foul flash bags have conquered what’s left of our once marvelous city! Filled in the gaps with their foul organic substance, and taken root like some sort of foul weed!” he flipped his stunguns back into storage mode inside his arms, exposing his real three fingered hands. “They are our primary target, that fool Makuta did one thing decent when he tried to take over this city, he got rid of those tiresome little Matoran, but even then we were quickly overrun by these things in a matter of months!”
The reality had dawned on Scar once again, he had been in stasis lock for several months before he was able to dig himself out, even then, that took a couple weeks. Still, if what the commander said was true, he had gone from the foundry and into the forge itself. The situation definitely didn’t look good from the way the city was in total ruin, and the commander’s explanation would definitely give some rhyme and reason to the webbing that traversed the entirety of the city. But that wasn’t all Scar had realized in the passing moments, if he had a mouth, he would smile.
“You need me,” he said. “You’re under staffed, you lack the forces, let alone the fire power to continue fighting this horde of Rahi you speak so foully of, and with my superior technology and intellect you think you could use me as an asset in your crusade against cleansing this city-scape of all that is organic,”
The commander stood proudly, looking Scar up and down, not showing the slightest crack of emotion. A true robotic soldier, cold, heartless and cunning.
“Question is, do I help you?”
“Do you have a choice?”
“You’re weak, even with your superior abilities; my troops could still terminate you without a moment’s hesitation,”
“But how many of them will have to be slagged before they can finally deliver the killing blow?”
“They will willingly sacrifice themselves for the betterment of the cause, we have no self worth programming like yourself,”
“Self worth means self preservation, we know when its to hot and to pull out before we’re wasted into scrap,”
“Then AI, tell me WHY you’re the only one of your kind to survive the quake?” the commander took a step forward. “Tell me WHY all of your comrades are dead, and yet hundreds of mine function on, they’ve not only survived, they’ve EVOLVED!”
Scar looked up into the commander’s optics. Scar, while the size of the average Toa was still several feet shorter than this brute of a Vahki. If he hadn’t seen this frame in person, he wouldn’t have believed it possible for a Vahki to be modified to such a large extent.
“My friends gave their lives trying to protect this city, a job your troops failed at when Makuta took direct control over them,” Scar snarled. “Zaker, he drove himself to insanity trying to eliminate my dark clone line by line of code. Rogan, he expended all of his energy to the point where even stasis lock wouldn’t have saved him, trying to destroy a monster made up of parts from your converted troops. Icthus, Nylun, all of them, they all set their own ‘self worth’ aside, just to try and STOP that thing,”
The commander started to vocalize something, but Scar cut him once more.
“So, commander, don’t even THINK about preaching to me about self worth, feelings, independence, and any of that other stuff the AIs have in their programming, because at least we can’t be tricked into enslaving an entire people, at least we know when logic won’t solve our problems, and when you have to think outside the proverbial box that is backbone programming and try something different to accomplish the task at hand. My friends all sacrificed themselves, just to ensure that this city had a future, sure, it wasn’t enough, but at least they did SOMETHING besides force little ‘flesh bags’ into spheres and gun down whoever rebelled with stun fire. At least they TRIED to stop this cataclysm!” Scar shouted at the commander’s face. “I’ll be slagged if you soil their good names with your derogatory vocabulary and your uninformed slurs, you want my help? Star treating me, and the memory of those who gave their sparks to ensure that we could still be here to keep fighting the good fight, otherwise, get out of my sensory node, you’ve been able to hold these rahi off for so long, I’m sure you can do just fine continuing to do so by yourselves!” Scar drew his armored fist that would’ve normally been his sword wielding hand, and slammed its extra strength metal coating into the cranial casing of the commander. The commander sailed into the wall, leaving an impressive indent where his frame had smashed into the protodermis concrete.
Scar drew his hand back and flexed it, little rays of energy flexed out of it, what would’ve normally been his sword had he been functioning at full capacity. By now the surrounding droids and Vahki were either backing off to give the two some space, or drawing around in a tight circle to make sure Scar didn’t kill the commander.
“C’mon commander, you just going to sit out on a single punch!?” Scar was pumped now, this is what the Matoran designated as “anger”. “All talk and no walk? Oh sure, I can vaporize a disfigured prisoner of war, but I can’t stand up to this sorry excuse for a true machine that calls itself an AI? No wonder you were never upgraded to Coliseum security with my platoon! You don’t have the strength to fight your way through a sticky situation!”
The concrete collapsed a little more, chips following from the top of where the commander had landed, dust stirred, and machinery could be heard. The commander stepped slowly out of his little hole in the dark and into the spotlight in the center of the floor where Scar stood surrounded by Nuuhrahk. The red Vahki troops made an opening for the commander to enter their makeshift “ring” and quickly closed it by falling back into formation whence he had made his way in.
“You want to fight AI?” the commander asked softly, his neck and right shoulder units sparking from damage. “Then, let us FIGHT!”
The commander charged, and Scar suddenly remembered something his creator Zulu had told him once. Don’t let your anger take control over you, there will be beings out there who will drive you to the point of infernal rage, you must remain calm and cool, otherwise, you won’t last very long, the people who pick the fights often do so because they know if one breaks out, they’ll be the one walking away unscathed.
Scar really wished he had remembered that lesson a couple minutes ago.
“Aw, SCRAP!” Scar swore and got into a fighting stance.
Time to show these protoforms what he was really made of.

DtM

[Dinobot The Maxi...]

No, this project isn't dead, I've just been...busy is all >.> (same goes for Droyds!)

Chapter 3- Intervention

Alright Scar thought silently to himself, just keep the stance until the last possible moment AND! Scar leapt into the air, causing his battered body to spark and twitch in minute gears, he was in no condition to fight, even a brawl like this with a modified Vahki could destroy him. Yet, he would fight on, partly to take his beef out on these stupid know it all Vahki, partly to avenge the honor of himself, his friends, and all other AI’s, and partly because he was just plain ticked at this point.
“Haha!” the Commander looked up and pointed a clawed digit at Scar who was falling swiftly back down to the floor, “We’ve got ourselves a regular gymnast here!”
“Can it and sod off slag heap!” Scar front flipped and pile drove his feet into the Vahki’s shoulders.
“Argh, you’ll have to do better than that AI!” the Commander howled in mid fall, grabbing Scar by the ankles and slamming the droid’s frame into the ground with a sickening crunch.
“Vrzzzzzzzzzzrraaahhh,” Scar’s mouth sparked, “VZRAH!” Scar launched himself back onto his feet, drawing his sword wielding hand he clenched it, enough so that he could summon plenty energy to surround the gauntlet. Slamming the burning, balled up fist into the Commander he crammed his phaser rifle into a gap in the outer armoring of the Vahki’s chest armor, keeping the safety on, he still spun the barrel as if opening fire. The sharply pronged end spun faster and faster scraping its way through the Vahki’s thin inner armor and gnawing its way into the Commander’s circuitry.
“AHHHK!” the Commander howled as soon as the barrel hit a nerve point, “You piece of scrap, I’ll rip out your optics!” the Commander raised his left fist and dug his claws into Scar while bringing his right hand up next to Scar’s neck, flipping out his hydraulic loaded stun rifle with remarkable momentum, Scar was flung backwards into the edge of the Vahki circle. The Vahki started swearing and hissing at him in their hushed metallic tones, kicking him, saying things like.
“Get up slag heap!”
“C’mon AI, show us what you’re made of!”
“Frakkin piece of scrap, finish him off Commander!”
“SHUTUP!” Scar lashed out, springing to his feet, he grabbed one of the closest Vahki and slammed it full force into the ground, shattering its optics and crushing its Kanoka tray. Grabbing the spazzing machine he heaved it into the air and tossed it at the commander, “See how you like your men being used against YOU!” Scar screamed, raising his phaser arm, he clicked off the safety and let loose a full auto attack. Phaser beams lanced out by the hundreds, something that would’ve taken his original armor’s weaponry almost an hour to fire off.
The Commander withdrew to his end if the circle, absorbing and dodging most of the bursts, he had sustained more than enough damage at this point. Flipping out his stun guns he tossed the Vahki off of him and returned fire. Kanoka disks teleporting into his mouth tray, he tried to freeze Scar’s weaponry, but it was a no go. Scar leapt into the air, and brought his fist down to bear on the Commander’s head. Raising his phaser to the Commander’s head, the two stood still, if they had organic lungs, they’d be gasping for air at this point. But the two stood perfectly still in their pose right of a Po-Matoran’s sculpture collections.
“You’re out,” The Commander sneered.
“Wanna bet?” Scar rammed the barrel into the Vahki’s head harder still.
“…”
“SAY IT!” Scar grabbed the Vahki by the neck.
“Very well, you win this round AI,” the Commander teleported his kanoka away and withdrew his stun guns back into his arms. Scar landed on the ground in front of his fellow machine.
“Now, are we going to start getting along, or are we always going to be trying to put the other in the other’s place?”
“I’m a Vahki, not future reader,” the Commander stalked off towards one of the backrooms of the hive, “Show him his board, and where he might find some spare parts, he needs them that’s for sure,” and he disappeared behind the usually Matoran accessed door.
“Slag it,” Scar spat mech fluid in between his feet.
“Thiz way AI,” a Keerahk nudged him with its razor stun gun.
“Yeah, yeah,” Scar muttered and followed the oddly out of place Vahki. As soon as they were far enough into the back corridors of the hive, and Scar felt comfortable amongst the more diverse variety of machinery in their presence he spoke up to the smudged white armored Vahki, “So what’s your story?”
The Vahki paused in mid step, flashed a glance back at Scar and clicked its mandibles. Looking back, the Keerahk resumed its pace.
“C’mon!” Scar grabbed the Vahki by the shoulder and pulled it back to face him, “I know you hail from Ko-Metru and all, so excuse the pun, but why all the cold shoulder?”
“You’re assumptions are correct, I do not belong here, I am not welcome here, I only exist to serve the cause of our kind’s future existence,” the Keerahk brushed Scar’s arm off, “It would be wise for you to watch your back in this neck of the city, the local Ta-Metru machinery are, how you say, ‘hot headed fire spitters’,”
“Pretty sure I got that back in the actual gathering,” Scar jerked a finger back from whence they had come.
“You also proved you are very similar to them, and your AI capabilities did not assist you in that matter,” the keehrahk replied, “You can all go sod off as far as I’m concerned, some of the bots here are decent, but others…I wouldn’t mind them being scrapped by those Rahi who’ve taken control of the city,”
“Glad to know we’re on the same page,” Scar chuckled.
“There are no pages,” the Vahki hissed at Scar, “We are not Matoran, we will not Chronicle our history for the glory of it all, we will continue to serve this city by eradicating all biomechanical life on it, all the flesh must burn, that much is true,”
“…” Scar stared at the Vahki.
“When our combined efforts start to cleanse the city, which will you side with AI, creator, or brother?”
Scar’s stare transformed into a scowl like lightning.
“Ah, I see how it is, you don’t like choices, they’re not quite so logical to one like yourself without any serious backbone programming, you’re too much like a Toa,” the Keerahk pointed to Scar’s own personal hive cell built into the wall. This sector of the hive was the equivalent of a Matoran slum, not exactly the best conditions for anything, biomechanical or not. The Keerahk stalked off deeper into the hive as Scar quickly jacked himself into the power plugs extending out of his hive cell. The usual electrifying jolt he had expected turned out to be nothing more than a short fizzing process.
“Great…” Scar muttered, “At this rate it’ll take DAYS to recharge,” he started to shut down to help pass the time, but a small assistant droid waddled into his cell awakening him before he could complete the process, “What?”
The droid replied in a series of chirps, beeps, whistles and squeaks accompanied by a very vivid usage of body language. Scar was to follow the droid to the “junk-heep” to aid him in his repairing. Looking down at his well used Matrix Armor set he had been donning since his battle against his dark clone a few weeks ago he knew he had no choice. One more fight like the one against the Vahki commander may cripple him permanently, and it wasn’t like anybody would stick around to help to his feet. He’d rot on the moldy floors until he became one with the void from the sheer neglect his body would’ve suffered.
“Fine,” Scar ripped the plugs out and stalked out of his hive cell after the scampering assistant droid.
The odd pair of AI and lower class droids followed the path that the lone Keerahk had taken earlier and quickly took an access tunnel heading left away from the main corridor. Scar could see dim, very pale light up ahead. As they emerged, they were back outside again; large piles of scrap dominated their views, an almost effective fortress made from a converted Matoran parking lot; brilliant.
Four arms sprang out of the closest scrap pile and latched onto Scar. Shrieking like grinding iron filled Scar’s audio receptors as he grabbed the source of the arms out of the pile and chucked it into the ground. The awkward assembly stood up and tried to regain its balance.
“Nucknucknuck,” it muttered, brushing itself off with its four arms.
“You would be?” Scar queried.
“JDT1V1!” the droid’s cranial unit burst out of its previously headless body via a pose able cable. The head casing was rather odd, nothing more than a round ball with a single large blinking optical sensor.
“What’s his call sign stand for?” Scar started to ask the assistant droid that had accompanied him.
“Junkyard Droid Type 1 Version 1; at your service, Scar!” the droid waved its four arms before the assistant could answer.
“Junkyard droid eh?” Scar chuckled, “What’ll they think of next?”
“You’re in obvious need of some new materials, follow me, yes?” the junkyard droid waved him along. Scar followed as the assistant droid turned and waddled back from whence they had come.
Following the insane living sculpture of scrap, Scar could finally get a better look at the thing. It had huge feet, attached to joints that were identical to its arms that spat out from a square body. Each arm ended in a different tool, Scar noted a Matoran hammer, a Merge Droid static blaster, a pair of clamps, and what looked like an oversized fishing hook.
“So what exactly did you have in mind for me?” Scar asked, trying to sound remotely interested.
“You one of me greatest works,” the junkyard droid nodded, pointing to a large husk of a Vahki transport, “Follow, see, yesssss,” the droid sped off into the transport. Scar quickly followed and was surprised at what his optics beheld. It a modified Vahki, but obviously meant to look like him, right down to the Bohrok Va-ish helmet.
“What is he?”
“Guardian droid, made dark Vahki from,” the droid nodded swinging his tentacled neck all the way around his “work”, “emulate Scar, I try, not so great, but keeps Rahi out,”
“I see,” Scar said, staring the inert droid in the optics.
“Project minute fail, me continue work, make set of armor from your spare parts Zulu leave behind!”
“Zulu…my other armor sets!” Scar exclaimed, “But…my readouts said they were still in his facility…”
“Silly, refresh page!” the droid knocked Scar upside the helmet with its hook hand. He was right, Scar refreshed the readout and everything changed, all read out blank, “I rewire greatest parts of sets armor, make better them!”
“Right. . .” Scar started to back out of the transport.
“NO!” junkyard droid shrieked, “Stay you!” at that, cables lanced out from the ceiling and attached themselves to Scar’s armor, tossing Scar into the wall and binding him to the transport’s circuitry “Transformed, you be, like will!”
“Great, what next?!” Scar yelled out.

DtM