Fandom Fallout: Storage Wars

[Safton]

Vincent's eyebrows shot up as he came to realize that the stranger was none other than Cait -- the very woman that Mila had been gushing about to them earlier. He allowed his eyes one clinical appraisal of the woman that went beyond the bruising and obvious fatigue to determine that their companion's complimentary words hadn't been misplaced. Mila was soon running to the woman in what Vince had assumed was going to be a heartwarming embrace between parted lovers. He was wrong... very wrong as the slap echoed around the dining hall. His state of mind as he watched the exchange to follow could best be described as "bemused" as the two argued about Cait following her on the expedition. The Vault-Dweller shifted awkwardly in his seat as the two aired their dirty laundry without a care for privacy. On the bright side, he could hardly feel guilty for eavesdropping.

Once again Vince found it difficult to track much of the conversation -- unfamiliar names and references had that effect -- but he got the gist of it... especially when Cait held up her hand to show off the ring. Vince's eyebrows rose higher still and even from his angle he could see Mila's face reddening. The meaning of a wedding band was not lost on him -- he'd seen plenty in the old holovids, after all. There were only a precious few well-tarnished rings floating around back in Vault 44, passed down from generation to generation and no less-prized for their wear. He couldn't help but smile as Mila and Cait finally seemed to cool off and have the embrace and kiss he'd been initially expecting to see. While the argument had held his attention well enough, now he found himself turning away as if doing so would somehow give the two lovebirds some modicum of privacy and remove the other sets of eyes from them (fat chance). Even so, Vince only turned back as Mila finally turned back to speak to the table: "Ummm. This is Cait. You guys remember I talked about her right?"

Vincent chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, I gathered that," he turned to incline his head toward Cait with a polite smile. "Pleasure." He was soon rolling his eyes as his own partner saw fit to mention the... not-so-suitable-for-polite-company qualities that Mila had listed off about her girlfriend-turned-fiancee. Luckily the redhead didn't seem to mind and before long she settled in and dessert was being served. Vince was initially quite suspicious of the pudding placed in front of him and the first taste did little to dissuade those notions -- the concoction was almost sickly sweet to the point of overwhelming, but after the initial burst of flavor died down and his taste buds adjusted, the end result was surprisingly pleasant. Once they were finished, Adler directed them to their rooms where Vince glanced around at the metal bed frames, the pragmatist and scavenger in him appreciating the clever use of reconstituted material, even if it seemed to clash with some of the other items their benefactors used that looked to be fresh off some assembly line -- a puzzle he'd mull over later.

Vince headed to the bathroom to change out of his suit. Had it just been himself and Ava he wouldn't have bothered with modesty, but with Cait and Mila present it was a different story. Lee changed into a set of old-fashioned pajamas that had been provided for him... or at least, attempted to. The red-and-white pinstriped flannel bottoms slid on after some wriggling and muttered curses, but the shirt was simply too tight to manage -- it kept him from flexing his shoulders and the buttons looked precariously close to popping as he did them up, so he decided to forego the shirt entirely. He exited the bathroom barechested and crossed the room a bit self-consciously back toward the bed he and Ava were sharing. After a moment, he turned to glance at Cait and Mila on the other side of the room and cleared his throat to get the former's attention. "Hey. I'm, ah, not sure if Mila told you. I'm Vincent -- Vince -- and this is Ava," he said, gesturing to his partner. "We've heard a lot about you. The Commonwealth seems like... quite the place."

NanLia
Isaedras Cleditre
Gravitational Force

 

[NanLia]

Ava made a point of eating everything on her plate and then whatever Vincent couldn't finish on his own. There was a point she was going to ask Mila for the scraps left on her own plate. She hadn't had food like this since ... well since she was a child! Not since the vault had run out of it's fresh stores and started to rely on freeze dried, canned and heavily modified food stores. She ate until she couldn't possibly eat any more, to the point she might actually be sick from eating.

And then ... dessert was brought out. Ava groaned quietly but took up the mantle of eating everything. Soon enough they were dismissed from the evening meal, plus one from the night before. She didn't mind Cait having joined them, she knew how much Mila had missed her just based solely on how often she spoke about her girlfriend. Ava walked, more like waddled, back to the room where they were staying, groaning the entire way. She refused to complain, at least not yet, despite truly feeling awful. Along the way she took note of the reproductions, the objects of other use being repurposed skilfully to fit their needs. It was a wonder, the imagination of people. She often was awed by just how creative people could be.

Ava immediate dropped down onto the bed that she and Vincent shared, kicking off her shoes. She groaned pitifully, though no one really took pity on her, as she rubbed her over filled stomach. She watched Vincent leave the room to change in privacy, finding his modesty funny since neither she nor Mila were modest in the least. "Glad to finally meet you, Cait." She said from her prone position on the bed. "I'm surprised you made it out here, Mila mentioned you being pretty hurt before she left."

Before anything else could be said the bathroom door swung opened and Vincent stepped out. Her eyes widened and she beamed her amusement. She whistled to him. "Look at you!"
Safton
Isaedras Cleditre

 

[Isaedras Cleditre]

Mila and Cait continued their blithe bickering at the dinner table, Mila occassionally picking at her food and Cait eating everything within arm's reach even as the two were thoroughly engrossed in each other's company. They shared a flood of questions and hardly took a breath while conversing as they reveled in the familiarity that each had been missing from the either for quite some time. Being apart for so long had only strengthened their bond it seemed since being separated for so long only ensured that they'd be attached to each other like the heads of a Brahmin for the foreseeable future.

"Jesus. I've missed so much." Mila gasped, wondering just how much else was left to catch up on now that Cait had filled her in on a moderate chunk of all of the going's on that had taken place back home involving her friends and family. They two were both stuffed from their meals and the desert hardly helped. Their eyes had proven to be a bit bigger than their stomachs and the two were both a bit sluggish now from overindulging on the food that had been set before them. It wasn't often such good food, or any good food for that matter turned up in the Wasteland so it was best to make the most of it while it was right there instead of waiting for another chance to revel in such an opportunity that likely would never come again.

"So much and then some. Things have been pretty shit without ya, Red." Cait huffed as she followed Mila to the room she and the others were staying at before giving her companion a nudge with her shoulder.

"Haven't been causing too much trouble have you? I haven't exactly been there to reel you in. You been playing nice?" Mila inquired as she felt Cait's arm slip around her shoulder and give her a reassuring squeeze.

"About as nice as I've ever been if that's what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean. There aren't any new scars I need to be worried about do I? Trying to get you to explain those is like pulling teeth. Which I'd like for you to avoid getting knocked out of your pretty little face, thank you." Mila reached up and gave Cait's cheeks a firm squeeze, looking over her features for any fresh cuts or bruises, any fresh marks on her chin or lips, maybe a black eye. She immediately lost all focus though the second the two locked eyes causing her to pause for a bit as the two arrived into their meager sleeping quarters.

The little moment was short-lived however as Cait broke free before plopping down onto the bed they would soon be sharing and stretching out, kicking off her grimy combat boots and stretching her legs as best as she could.

"I'm fiiiiine. Honestly, Red. If you're so worried about me and I'm oh so difficult to get answers out of why don't you just come over here and do some looking for yourself?"

Cait's lack of subtlety was not lost on Mila as she caught the devilish grin being flashed at her and had half a mind to undo the tie she was wearing and take her up on her offer. Being away from her so for so long had definitely not made any improvements to her stressful nature and a bit of tension-releasing definitely didn't sound bad by any means but being freshly stuffed full of dinner and dessert on top of the audience they'd have was all the deterrent Mila needed to convince her to exercise some self-restraint.

"Rain check?" Mila groaned as she too laid out across the bed and huffed before Cait was too preoccupied by conversing with Ava to pounce like she had likely been aiming to.

"Glad to finally meet you, Cait." NanLia

"Yeap, that's me. The Fireball herself." Cait chuckled as Ava issued her greeting from a bit across the room on her own bed causing Mila to once again flush red.

Mila had half a mind to throw a pillow or something in Ava's general direction just in retaliation to immediately getting Cait feeling all big in the head but she lacked the energy and the determination currently as she was much more content with being a bit lazy.

"I'm surprised you made it out here, Mila mentioned you being pretty hurt before she left."

"Ahhh, it was just a scratch as usual. But SOMEONE had to go worrying their little head so I had to be shelved until further notice. Now I've actually caught up and Lil Miss Quinn here doesn't want to give me any love for all my trouble."

Mila propped herself up onto her elbows and rolled her eyes a bit before looking to Ava and Cait as they conversed. Her face was a bit red but by this point, she was getting used to it. Ava didn't seem to mind much judging by how quickly she spilled the beans earlier and Cait was always going to continue to be Cait no matter what.

"I think just dinner minus the show is more than enough for one night. Don't you think." Mila huffed, getting ready to lay back down before being caught off guard by a very shirtless Vincent strolling into view. "Fuck..." She knew what was coming and hardly had time to prepare as Cait cast her glances back to Mila now after taking a look at Vincent. "See? He's got the right idea. What's dinner without a little show before turning in? Now it's your turn."

Mila was too dumbfounded to respond and opened simply to raise an eyebrow at all of the strange goings on that had taken place just this day alone.

"Hey. I'm, ah, not sure if Mila told you. I'm Vincent -- Vince -- and this is Ava," he said, gesturing to his partner. "We've heard a lot about you. The Commonwealth seems like... quite the place."'

 

[Safton]

Vincent arched an eyebrow -- first at Ava, then at Cait's remark -- about him putting on a "show", glancing down at himself with a slight reddening of his cheeks. He glanced around, briefly considering trying to squeeze himself into into the uncomfortable shirt he had abandoned lest he end up with more of the vaguely intimidating -- if not predatory in Ava's case -- stares of the three women in the room. However, instead he just gave the three of them a shrug before crawling onto the bed beside Ava, slipping beneath the covers. The four of them exchanged small talk well into the into the night: about themselves, their homes, or what they thought the figurative pot of gold at the end of their rainbow -- the the vault -- might hold in store for them. Before long, Vince could feel his eyelids growing heavy and he suspected that Adler had an early morning in store all of them. With a sigh, he had given Ava a small chaste kiss on the cheek before turning over onto his shoulder to try and get at least some rest before the the day ahead.

***
​

Lee managed a fairly restful sleep, all things considered, before his eyes snapped open with a light gasp to the sound of a broadcast -- thankfully not from the DJ his sleeping brain had been half-expecting. His muscled relaxed in the wake of the sudden stimulus and he listened: breakfast in an hour. He could hear his companions rousing and rose to a sitting position (disentangling himself from the sheets and Ava's limbs in the process), before rotating twisting to work out the kinks in his neck and back. With a sigh, he rolled out of the bed to get dressed.

An hour later, he smelled the food long before he saw it -- or Adler, for that matter -- the man looked every bit as comfortable in the kitchen as he was having a man thrown off a roof. He was a study in contrasts, that one. In all honesty, the fact that he was a ghoul was probably the least interesting thing about Adler... and the least intimidating. Vincent accepted the plate with thanks, tucking into it when their host made it clear that the time for talk would come after eating. He almost found himself wishing he had waited when he found out that the (admittedly delicious) eggs -- enormous and hearty with their juicy yolks -- were from deathclaws. He and Ava had only ever seen one and that was from a distance. That and the horror stories from passing travelers had been more than enough.

Vincent leaned back in his seat, fingers drumming lightly against the tabletop as Adler explained the situation at the Museum of Natural History. The man's intriguing definition for "troubleshooting" aside, Lee wasn't sure what to make of the terms "coordinated" and "feral ghouls" being placed in the same sentence. He'd never heard of any group learning to use the creatures as... what? Attack dogs? Slaves? Something else? Still, the knowledge that they would have a power armored, Minigun-armed companion was reassuring certainly reassuring.

In the armory, Vincent elected to keep with what the firearms and melee weapons he was already carrying -- though he did slip a small, sharp survival knife into his boot and topped off the ammunition for his assault rifle. The arsenal here was well-stocked including some quality armor-piercing rounds, no less. They looked too new to be Pre-War military surplus, however. Adler's pockets must've been deep. After grabbing two fragmentation grenades and clipping them to his belt, Vincent left the armory to wait for the ladies.

The journey to the Museum was, thankfully, quiet. Vince had no qualms about allowing "Mad" Rose, female or otherwise. She was the one encased in a few hundred pounds of steel and servos, after all. As they approached the Smithsonian, Lee looked over its pale white facade in awe. The golden dome that sat atop it had dulled and developed a patina with time, though it was still a sight to behold all the same. He had never really imagined he'd get to visit this place despite his hopes and dreams after seeing holo-films about the attractions here. He took a deep breath, turning to nod at the women behind him as he grabbed the brass door handle. "Watch each others' backs. We do this together," he said flatly. With that, he pulled the door open for Rose to step inside before following the rest of the women in, the door closing behind them.

Vincent scanned the lobby cautiously, seeing no signs of movement in the structure. He was surprised to find that the interior was lit. No ghouls. No robed figures. No items of interest, either. But they'd hardly scratched the surface of this place, and it was clear it had had visitors that he doubted were run-of-the-mill prospectors. Vince found himself feeling like he was waiting for the hammer to fall. Just as they began to move, it did. The security gate fell into place, cutting off any hope of escape. The room became a black void as the lighting went out. As if by some unbidden instinct, he ducked low and back, flailing back with either arm to push whoever was standing next to him in the dark -- Ava, Mila, Cait, he wasn't quite sure -- back toward the gate.

A pneumatic woosh had whipped within feet of him, so close it had picked up the hem of his duster and made his ears pop, like a large bird flying right past one's ear. But somehow he doubted what shared this room with them was any bird. Especially judging by the horrific wet, crunch that followed. As his eyed adjusted to the sickly off-green glow and he saw the ruined form of what remained of Rose, he pursed his lips. "Fuck," Lee hissed, glancing up and tightening his grip on his rifle, raising it instinctively to bring to bear on the giraffe looming over them. He only stopped himself from pulling the trigger when he realized that the animatronic creature could not -- in fact -- reach them from where it was standing.

He let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, glancing instead toward Rose... more specifically the Minigun she had dropped. Given how quickly the beast had struck out at her, Vince wasn't going to risk recovering the weapon without some kind of distraction. "Killer animatronics wasn't on the itinerary. I would have preferred the ghouls at this point," he remarked dryly, scanning the room amidst the glowing sigils, trying his level best to ignore their eerie portents in the process. "According to Adler, only way out with that gate up is the basement. And we can't get there with these things baying at us. Anyone see a power source?"

NanLia
Isaedras Cleditre
Gravitational Force

 

[NanLia]

Ava, showered and dressed in the provided pajamas looked nearly as ridiculous as Vincent but for the opposite reason. They hung loosely from her much smaller frame where she had to roll them up her legs and arms just so she wouldn't trip over herself on her way back to bed. She was well rested, well enough that she hadn't heard the initial wake up call over the p.a. system; it was only when Vincent started to removed her arms and legs from his that she came to realize it was morning and they were calling for breakfast to be served.

An hour later she gladly collected the offered plate before taking her seat. Much like Vincent she was quick to tuck into the glorious egg; it was nothing she had ever had before and with good reason. She'd only ever spied one deathclaw from a distance and never thought she'd see another ... much less consume one. While the information should have disturbed her but it was far too luxurious to stop eating now. She settled into her seat to listen to their instructions for the day. Coordinated feral ghouls certainly did not sound good or like anything she wanted to dig further into. Sadly it wasn't like she or the others had a choice, Adler made it clear if they wanted into the Vault and a chance of getting away with the replacement parts for their own Vault this was on the to do list.

Thankfully the trip the smithsonian was uneventful and let her digest both her breakfast and their instructions for the day. She had to pause outside the building in dedicated awe. She had seen pictures of this building, like plenty of others, in her Vaults library. She knew the contents of the building possibly better than the librarians themselves, but never once thought that she would ever be able to see any of its collection and possibly even intact!

She had to keep her mind clear, following Rose and the others into the building. Long Distance at the ready. She was shocked to find the building undamaged on the interior and frankly well lit but that shock quickly turned to terror as she could plainly see the exhibits were ... wrong. The noise behind her forced her to turn and witness Rose's headless body, still wrapped in her power armor, crumble to the floor.

It took no coaxing from Vincent to swiftly back away from the display as it held Rose's head towering off the ground, slowly dripping blood and no doubt brain matter on to the otherwise polished spotless floor. Her eyes started to search the scene; the displays were limited. They weren't free roaming and couldn't chase them down bit was very clear their range of reach was vast - certainly with the long length of the giraffe.

"Anyone see a power source?" Kneeling down beside where Vicent stood she brought her rifle's scope up to search along the base of the display, searching. She couldn't see a power source but she found something else; a thick cabled wire running down the side of the display and out of sight down the hall. She pulled back the lock on her rifle, the bullet dropping into place. Taking careful aim she pulled back on the trigger. The bullet sliced through the top of the thick wire, sending sparkes out.

The giraffe raised its head, mechanical jaws parting in a silent death howl before the light faded from its eyes and it dropped down on itself, powerless.

Gravitational Force
Safton
Isaedras Cleditre

 

[Isaedras Cleditre]

"Fuuuuck!" The groaning of a half-asleep Irishwoman could be heard blaring alongside the mighty P.A. system as her raspy-voiced expletives were only mitigated by the pillow she had smothered herself with.

"Mm! Fuck! Is it morning?" Mila muttered, hastily propping herself up onto her elbows and doing her best to wrench her eyes open. As much as she was squinting you'd think she was staring into the sun as she groggily got to her feet and began stumbling around for her bag. "Shit!. Cait get up..."

"Frrrkkrrff!" Cait moaned into her pillow prompting a shove from Mila's foot as she hastily began slipping on her gear.

"Come on. You'll miss breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

There she is.

"Yes. Breakfast. Now come on." Mila huffed, doing her best to tidy her mess of red hair as it flopped about before pulling Cait by her ankle to get up.

"i'llfoehckinkeckdeshetouttayouifyadahnletgoofme!" Cait muttered before stumbling to her feet as well as the two began getting dressed and prepared for the day ahead.

An hour later the two were quick to practically inhale the meal in front of them, paying no mind to the honestly strange inclusion of eggs and simply being grateful there was such a hearty meal in front of them at all. Opportunities to eat this much and this well were beyond rare and neither of them were keen on wasting it even as the briefing went on. Mila's face grew flushed a few times during the conversation as Cait made a few off-color comments just to pick at her whilst addressing a scuffle she'd gotten into with someone named Laura. Mila was almost afraid to ask and decided against it considering the two seemed pretty comfortable with a simple rematch. That aside it was a fairly uneventful briefing outside of all of the danger this job seemed to be crawling with as Adler laid out the mysterious disappearance od a team that gone missing on what was supposed to be just a simple routine job. Ain't that always the way?

The instructions they were being given were simple enough but the mere mention of having to deal with more feral ghouls made Mila shudder. Cait took notice of the sour expression on her lover's face and gave her a nudge.

"What's eating you? You look like you're about ready to blow chunks."

"Just...not looking forward to more feral ghouls is all..."

"More?"

"Yeah. Had a not so fun time the other day...we'll talk." Mila quickly shushed Cait and they both began to pay a bit more attention as Adler went on and the vault popped up in conversation. After taking their fair share of what the armory had to offer, Cait looking like a kid in a candy shop as she did, the group set out.

The trip to the Smithsonian was quiet and strikingly uneventful as the two hardly spoke about anything much of substance and simply bantered the day away as their little group made their journey to the famous museum. Neither Mila nor Cait were much impressed by the building itself but instead were eager to see what rested inside its walls as there could be all kinds of loot to be had in a big building like this.

They followed the group into the building, weapons at the ready as the interior looked to be relatively untouched much to their surprise. It didn't take many steps however for Cait to feel intensely uneasy as the groups footsteps echoed through the massive halls.

"I don't like this. Not one bit. Feel like we've got eyes on us..." She muttered under her breath, gripping her rifle a bit tighter to better comfort herself before a chill went down her spine as the security gate slammed shut. Before the two redheads even had a second to adjust to the reality of their sudden entrapment there was a sickening scene being illuminated by the glowing paint that had been pasted all over the walls. Just bright enough to reveal every gory detail but dim enough to be hiding the unknown just out of eyesight.

Mila felt a hot coal fall into the pit of her stomach and Cait swallowed hard as the two backed up into each other on instinct as they were prone to doing many times before when faced with uncertain dangers.

"Never did like giraffe's!"

"Always thought it was a height thing but I'm starting to see where all the dislike came from."

The two chuckled nervously as they looked about, taking in the details of what initially looked to be nothing but haphazard paint splatters as closer inspection revealed them to be a language of some sort. The repetition of certain "alien" symbols clearly being deliberate and displaying a message of some sort.

They hastily backed away from the assumed range of any of the nearby displays as the sound of blood and guts pitter-pattering on the cold polished floor only made the atmosphere more tense and dreadful as a result.

"Oh fuck this." Cait grit her teeth as her eyes darted around for signs of any sort of movement. Mila stepped away from Cait and began searching around for any solution to the current problem as they were currently stalled by the lack of light and a reliable direction to take.

"Anyone see a power source?"

"Not fucking likely." Mila huffed as she searched their surroundings over and over again in search of some sort of way to dispatch of the surrounding animatronics. With their luck she was sure that any sort of power source or solution at all would be out of reach or at the very least the power would be in some sort of far-off room guarded by a slew of enemies as was the typical setup for hostile places such as this. ((wink wonk)).

Ava seemed to have it handled however as she fired at a thick wire running from the display just down the hall. Upon severing it the giraffe croaked and seized before it's grisly jaws went limp and the light faded from the glowing orbs it called eyes.

"Well, there goes one." Cait muttered before looking to the other surrounding animatronics in a mixture of fear and disgust as she strained her eyes looking for another such cable. "Think the others will be that easy?"

"Nothing's ever that easy." Mila huffed, praying that the sound of Ava's bullet didn't attract any unwanted extra attention from those coordinated ghouls they'd been told about, or even worse whoever wrote those mysterious symbols and phrases on the walls.

Were they one and the same? Possibly but that didn't matter. At the moment, Mila wanted to only concern herself with disabling the rest of these deadly creatures before it quite literally bit them in the ass later on.

"How much you wanna bet something pretty fucking important and relevant is in the basement of all places?" Mila scoffed as she did her best to disable what looked to be an evil hippo by preparing to cleave into a thick wire leading away from it's display. "Just our fucking luck."

"Hey, genius!" Cait snapped prompting Mila to freeze.

"What? We've gotta keep down the noise, yeah?" She muttered waving around her melee weapon of choice as she was ready to do some hacking of an animatronic hippo's life support right then and there.

"I'd rather you do that WITHOUT turning yourself into a conductor if ya don't mind."

"Wha-....oh." Mila sighed, realizing her machete was in fact metal and the handle wood, which while not being the best conductor of electricity in the world would have no problem giving her a good shock of the output was high enough.

"So much for keeping quiet." Mila muttered pulling out her rifle and giving the wire a good 1-2 pop as the bullets swiftly severed the power to the semi-aquatic mammal leaving it lifeless as it's mouth fell agape.

"I'd rather you not cook yourself to bacon, love. I like my meat about as raw as me knuckles after a good fight and as fresh as your mouth during some porking." Mila could practically hear the grin on Cait's face as she shuffled back through the darkened corridor and held her gun up at the ready just in case any funny business came about. She didn't want to give Cait the satisfaction of an outburst or some nagging but she knew she'd have to get back at her for doing her best to embarrass her in front of their accompanying group members, especially when Cait muttered a "No pun intended" before Mila had the chance to turn the situation back to the very serious matters at hand.

"We got a game plan here or do we plan on just sitting here like ducks in a row just ready to be snapped up?" Mila cursed her lack of a flashlight at the end of her weapon as the eye-straining was getting to be a bit much before immediately cursing her imagination as well as she feared that just cause she'd let the thought cross her mind that there would eventually be some sort of horrible alligator equivalent slinking around the museum ready to snap them all in two and shred them between their jagged metal teeth.

"Cause I'd rather we find a way out of this mess rather than sit tight. We best get to doing something worthwhile but while the getting is good." Cait chimed in as the two slowly progressed down the treacherous building, anxious to see what awaited in the many rooms that it held around every corner and down every path.

Gravitational Force
NanLia
Safton


///Agghhh its not that good. Sorry x.x I tried though. I feel like its missing some flavor but here yall go

 

[Gravitational Force]

As you descend into the lower levels you're thankful to see that they're well-lit. You're far less happy about the fact that the lighting means you can see the blood splatters and insane scrawl covering the walls. Overhead you can see a sign proclaiming the area you're entering to be the "Hall of Minerals," but the glass is smashed and the exhibits are long gone. Turrets line the hall, their setup making it impossible to traverse the room without getting perforated. But you need to get through here to get out, so you'll have to figure out a way to disable them.
The exhibits had been mirrored, and the reflections from those allow you to see the generator powering the turrets. You could hit it to depower the turrets, but anything that could do that would alert anyone listening to where you are. From their design any of you with technical knowledge would guess the turrets are movement-activated, so you might be able to get them to take each other out if you can knock a few of them over. This would also alert anyone listening. There might be other options though.

 

[Safton]

Vincent's eyes were still searching the darkness for some sign of a generator when he saw Ava level her rifle, clearly with some target in her sights. He barely had time to avert his eyes (hoping to preserve his natural night vision) and plug his closest ear with a finger before the rifle barked, filling the room (and his chest) with the sound of the report. Looking back, his eyes widened as he saw the monstrosity of a giraffe wilting, collapsing in on itself before falling still.

Lee watched the animatronic abomination for a moment later, suspicious that it might be somehow playing a trick on them before finally taking a deep breath and moving forward. He saw, then, what Ava had spotted and fired on: not the giraffe's generator, but a thick electrical cable running to it. Well, thick was a relative term in this case. It was still a small target and in the dark, no less -- and he hadn't even seen it at first. The woman never ceased to surprise him with her feats of marksmanship. He was a fair hand with a pistol or a rifle, it was true, but Ava was a surgeon when called upon.

"Good shot," he murmured lowly to his partner as she drew up near him at the base of the giraffe's platform. Vincent agreed with Mila the basement was likely to hold something of importance... and it wasn't just the fact that Adler's map (which he had taken great pains to memorize) indicated it was their only way out. A voice in the back of his head, that gnawing dread in his gut told him that was the case, as much as he dread to acknowledge either of the two. He was about to turn and acknowledge the woman's concerns when his attention was drawn to Cait nearly snapping at Mila instead, turning to see the latter about to cleave through a hippo's power cable. Luckily the brawler managed to talk her out of that course of action and a quick double-tap managed to send the rotund beast to sleep with its long-legged friend. It wasn't quiet, but Vince would take the safety of a teammate and companion over stealth. Besides, he doubted that the residents of this place hadn't been alerted to their presence by now, all things considered.

His train of thought was interrupted by the exchange between Cait and Mila about how the former preferred her "meat". Vincent cleared his throat, shaking his head before stepping past the two of them to take point at the front of the group, his rifle at the ready. As he took measured steps forward, he spoke over his shoulder in reply to Mila's question: "We make our way to the basement. It's the only way out of this place from what I remember of Adler's map. It's this way. I think we're gonna have to pass through the Minerals section." He paused before adding, "I don't like it any more than you do."

As it happened, Vince was correct. They soon arrived at the Hall... and he peeked inside to survey the scene. He froze instantly upon seeing the gleam of metal upon what looked to be a half-dozen gun barrels peaking out from the darkness. He immediately held up his hand as a signal for the others to halt before slowly backing away, a safe distance away from the entrance to kneel down next to them. He knelt down with a sigh a safe distance outside the entrance. She was right. Nothing's ever easy.

"Turrets," Vincent remarked. "A lot of them, lining either side of the room. I think I saw a generator in the back left, behind some of the plate glass. Alternatively, we could..." he paused, lifting his left hand, palm-up. With his right hand, he placed his index and middle fingers down like two legs atop the palm, before simulating "toppling" the fingers over sideways. He lowered his hands, shrugging. "Either way, it would be loud. I'm no expert. Ava? You want to take a look?" he asked his partner. She had been trained extensively as a mechanic and electrical technician in the Vault growing up.


NanLia
Isaedras Cleditre
Gravitational Force

 

[NanLia]

Ava's cleared the bolt from her rifles, the used shell flying out in an arc and the bouncing along the crack marble stones. She reloaded a new bullet into the chamber, setting the pin back and at the ready. Long Distance had his merits but in close quarter he would be near useless. Even still she wanted him at the ready. She slung him back over her shoulder as Vincent went over the only plan the quartet could come up with. She vaguely recalled the map - precision planning was more Vincent's thing, she was far more a brute force kind of gal.

She was mildly surprised by the banter of the two women in their current situation, it was far from what she was used to working with Vincent solely. They were all good for banter and play but not while 'on the job' and certainly not while still in danger. She said nothing, shaking her head as the descended deeper into the museum, it somehome becoming even creepier than it had been before.

Ava stopped at Vincent's signal to do so. She waited at the ready, pistol in hand, as he peered around the corner and quickly leaned back. She couldn't explain why she felt a sudden boding dread as he went on to detail what he had seen. A hall of turrets? Of course, why not? Mechanical giraffes and ghouls. Why not an unstoppable force? She nodded as he suggested she take a look, maneuvering into a position on the floor beside him - a move they had done plenty of times in the past. She pressed her boots against his thigh, waiting for him to hold her ankles before she pushed away, letting her slide into the hall and view quickly before she pulled herself back.

She wrinkled her nose in the low light at Vincent and shook her head. "We haven't been quiet so far, it's not like whatever is here doesn't know that already." Between her previous shot fired, the shouting from when the giraffe attacked and Mila and Cait bickering there wasn't a chance that they could maintain their stealth. "The stands they're on look like they're pretty sturdy. Whatever we use to knock them over needs to be heavy."

Safton
Isaedras Cleditre
Gravitational Force

 

[Isaedras Cleditre]

"We make our way to the basement. It's the only way out of this place from what I remember of Adler's map. It's this way. I think we're gonna have to pass through the Minerals section."

"Fucking basement...." Cait muttered to herself, recalling every other time she'd ever had to traverse into a mysterious basement out in the wastelands. She wasn't quite fond of it that was for sure, and wasn't looking for

"Well, okay. Minerals....how bad could it be?" Mila chuckled sheepishly as she and her partner traded looks before following the other pair down towards the hallway. As they approached, Mila and Cait held back watching as Vincent peered down the hall. His immediate reaction caused both of them to tense up as his hand shot up for them to hold back.

"Turrets,"

"Oh fuck me." Cait murmured, eyeing the entrance of the hall. It wasn't even one turret, which would be bad enough, it was multiple and they were grossly underpowered.

Mila was silent but the displeasure on her face was grossly apparent as they all grouped together to formulate some sort of plan to work around this lethal obstacle.

"A lot of them, lining either side of the room. I think I saw a generator in the back left, behind some of the plate glass. Alternatively, we could..." he paused, lifting his left hand, palm-up. With his right hand, he placed his index and middle fingers down like two legs atop the palm, before simulating "toppling" the fingers over sideways. He lowered his hands, shrugging. "Either way, it would be loud. I'm no expert...."

"I doubt any of us are expert in much of anything but it's as good a plan as anything." Mila sighed.

"Definitely better than nothing." Cait nodded in agreement before they both looked to Ava for some sort of guidance on how to go about this. It wasn't as if they had much in the way of tech knowledge so between the four of them she was most definitely their best bet.

As Ava mentioned the stands you could practically see the lightbulb going off in Mila and Cait''s heads as they each turned and peered around the corner. "Well, it's either toppling them over or getting to that generator. Looks like trying to topple them would put us in the crossfire. Look. I might have something powerful enough to topple one but they ain't exactly dominoes here. Check it." Mila pointed to the space between the turrets before immediately recoiling as one of them turned to her almost immediately. She retreated behind the wall and swore under her breath.

"And they're motion activated which is...fun." She took a moment to catch her breath before scooting away from the wall again.

"Well, that's a bust. I don't fancy being turned to mincemeat so. I guess it's off to the generator unless one of ya has a better idea. We can't exactly avoid being loud but we can avoid being 'several turrets emptying their mags' loud." Cait huffed, hesitantly peering down the hall as carefully as possible.

"There's gotta be another way!" Mila pondered and propped her chin up in her hands. "Uhhhh fuck....okay lemme think. What are we missing here? There's the generator behind the glass and motion-activated turrets down the scary fucking hallway. There's something we're not seeing....OH!"

Mila grinned and looked at the group. "Okay, so they're motion activated right? Why not just toss something at turret level and get them to fuck each other up? I mean I'm not sure what the sensitivity is on the things right but it's worth a shot."

"That ain't exactly much less loud, Red."

"Well, it's something." Mila huffed. "Look I'm trying to think of a clever way around this. If we need something heavy to knock them over what would we even use? We can't push em or we'd get blown to bits. We can't blow em up because that would make both MORE noise and would only take out one or two at best instead of toppling them as we need, right? Like, I get we haven't been quiet but I'd like to avoid actively trying our best to alert everyone within a 5-mile radius to our location." Mila scoffed as she did her best to ponder their way out of this situation. What were they missing?



NanLia
Safton
Gravitational Force

//alot weaker than id like but here ya go. Meant to post this like 3 days ago but well...Life xD

 

[Gravitational Force]

You decide to try to knock the turrets over by throwing something at them. There's plenty of debris to pick from and a chunk of masonry does the job. Except the turrets are capable of distinguishing between living and nonliving targets. While one turret is knocked away, that does nothing but cause the others to reorient to point in your direction. Luckily they don't have line of sight so you avoid dying in a hail of bullets. But the way forwards remains blocked off, leaving you stuck between a hall of turrets and backtracking into certain death.

But it's not just bad luck. The piece of masonry you threw was keeping a hidden door closed. With it out of the way you now have a third option. Which is the Hall of Aquatic Life.
On first glance the Hall has been stripped clean of exhibits. But as your eyes become accustomed to the brighter light you realize the stuffed animals aren't gone. They've just been moved. Or more accurately combined.

A monstrosity of metal and preserved animal flesh lies before you in the lower area. Weaponry bristles from it like spike on a hedgehog, massive robotic legs hold it upright, and the cloying stink of chemical preservatives and motor oil invades your noses and mouths as you approach.

It's currently inactive, but you don't want to risk anything by getting close to it. There's a set of doors up to the right of the monstrosity, hopefully they'll lead you to safety.

But you shouldn't let your guard down, you can hear the distant sounds of footsteps.

 

[Safton]

Vincent didn't hesitate as Ava dropped onto her stomach on the tiled floor beside him, letting her slide into position and press the soles of her boots against his thighs -- which he held steady against the floor -- before grasping her ankles and allowing her to slide freely out toward the deadly corridor. She soon came sliding back -- luckily sans any new holes -- and her reaction was just as he'd expected. The two of them had never dealt with a situation remotely close to this before.

Vince turned toward Mila and Cait as the two began to discuss the prevailing plan of toppling one or more turrets, with Mila at one point even going so far as to round the corner and point at one of the death machines. Judging by the woman's immediate jolt of surprise and retreat back around the corner, he guessed one of the turrets had swung to engage her -- thus confirming his suspicions. They were motion-sensing, as she stated moments later. Vince chewed his lip thoughtfully, cradling his rifle in his hands. He wasn't deaf to their concerns of noise (no pun intended), but Ava had made a valid point: they had hardly been quiet thus far getting past the giraffe automaton.

Eventually Mila seemed to come around to the idea and bring Cait around in turn. The quartet scanned the darkness for a suitable projectile, finding a piece of fallen masonry leaning against a nearby wall. Vincent and Cait grabbed opposite sides of it, walking it toward the doorway precariously before counting down and turning the corner as tightly as possible to heave the the piece of marble into the room at the nearest turret. Their would-be battering ram careened through the air, crashing into the hulk of metal before skidding across the floor. The turret wobbled on its base, getting knocked aside with a clang. Vince saw the others spinning... not towards their fallen "comrade", but towards him and Cait. Luckily, the two retreated back around the corner long before any shots were fired.

The group was about to get into discussing a Plan B when one of them caught sight of the door... one that had been hidden behind the masonry until now. Vince took a step closer. "Hall of Aquatic Life," he announced lowly. Part of him wanted to hope that the fact that this door had been blocked off meant that there would be no surprises waiting for them behind it... but he knew, deep down, that that was a fool's hope. It didn't take long for the four of them to decide that it was a better idea to give this new route a try than to continue mucking about with the turrets. Once again, Vincent took point. He examined the door for any sign of traps. Seeing none, he pushed the handle down slowly before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

The first thing that hit him was the smell. Oil along with some kind of chemical he couldn't quite identify but that reminded him of the infirmary back at Vault 44. It filled the air and his nostrils; he felt like he could taste it. Vincent's stomach churned. Moving further in, rifle at the ready, he froze when his eyes adjusted and he saw the massive shadow of a monstrosity looming overhead. "Wait," was all he could choke out to the women behind him. "It's-- Fuck me," he murmured.

The giraffe had been enough to fill his nightmares for years to come. But this... thing was worse. Some kind of macabre mix-and-match project of various animal exhibits, with machinery grafted onto to make it move -- and presumably -- kill. Lee's eyes fixed on the doors to its right, but he didn't dare moved toward them, especially when his ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps. Moving toward them? Hard to tell.

His eyes instantly began scanning the room, searching for any sign of nearby cover -- or, having learned from the giraffe -- a power source or some other weak spot should this abomination come to life.

NanLia
Isaedras Cleditre
Gravitational Force

 

[NanLia]

Ava didn't have a better plan than throwing the piece of debris at the rows of turrets. She watched as Cait and Vincent hefted a large piece of concrete down the hall, it skidded until it felled a turret exactly how they wanted it to. Unsurprisingly it didn't help their situation. She knew then that the turrets were infrared and would only target things with heat signatures. So them, but not the mechanical army of taxidermied misfits.

She started to try and think of a way to trick the turrets into annihilating each other. If it followed heat they were limited - maybe something light on fire? It didn't matter because they soon found a door behind the masonry they'd just launched.

Ava checked her weapons, making sure the chambers were cleared in both her rifle and her pistol before following behind Vicent into the darkness. She paused perfectly still as Vincent warned them, the stench of chemicals burning her eyes, she pulled the cloth of her shirt up over her nose to try and reduce how much she was inhaling. She didn't doubt the medical staff in the infirmary back home would have some choice words about exposure for the pair of them when they returned … if they returned.

Her eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness, helped along after she wiped away the tears from the stinging with the back of her gloved hands. Only then was she able to see the stilled monstrosity. Fuck me, her head echoed Vincent's choice of words. She didn’t have the time to wait and consider backtracking as she heard footsteps closing on them.

Ava caught Vincent's hand with her own, she pinched his index finger before tapping the back of his hand, 'follow me' in their quiet code. She could only hope that the pair of fighters behind them would get the gist and follow suit.

She started slowly towards the doorway she could partly see through the darkness, making slow and steady work of her pace.

Safton
Gravitational Force
Isaedras Cleditre

 

[Isaedras Cleditre]

"Fuck!" Cait muttered through gritted teeth as the mechanical whirring of the turrets turning in their direction nearly caused her to jump out of her skin. There wasn't much that scared her anymore but certain death still got a rise out of her even now. If it didn't was she even human? She grumbled and began brushing off her palms against the knees of her pants as she looked up to Vincent and shook her head. "Worth a shot, eh?" She huffed and did her best to catch her breath as quietly as possible. The two of them had put quite a lot of effort into tossing that hunk of marble and since it hadn't exactly panned out the way they'd planned the four of them were all at a loss for words for a moment.

Mila and Cait traded worried looks before the two began searching the darkness for any other elements that could be turned into a Possible Plan B. As they did their best to "silently" rummage around before spotting a previously hidden door that'd been tucked away behind the makeshift projectile they'd just haphazardly tossed across the room. "No way. Take a look at this." Mila muttered, running her fingertips across the surface of the hidden entrance.

"I don't like the looks of this."

"Bad feeling? Ditto. But when do we ever feel GOOD about this kind of crap?" Mila and Cait took a moment and sighed before mentally gearing up to descend. "Fair enough." Cait murmured through bated breath before the group descended into even more pitch-black uncertainty, the tense atmosphere only growing as they made their way further into what seemed to be just a death trap with vile mechanic creatures at every turn ready to rip them to shreds //not actually done xD but I've been sitting on it a bit and felt like yall deserved this reply way sooner. Sorry for the wait

 

[Gravitational Force]

The footsteps get louder as they get closer and you realize that they're coming from someone fleeing just as their shouts reach your ears. A robed figure sprints in front of you, only to trip on their own garments and fall. They scramble back as their pursuer rounds the corner and lumbers out after them.

An amalgamation of irritated flesh and metal stares at you before it turns back to the noisier prey in front of it. The cultist is pleading, desperately entreating the twisted abomination for mercy even as it raises it's foot and demolishes his torso. It stares at the smear beneath it for a moment before turning back to you.

 

[Safton]

Vincent whirled, turning to face Ava in the inky darkness of the chamber as she seized his hand. She couldn't see his questioning glance and just as he was opening his mouth to ask what she was about, he felt the gentle squeeze at his index finger, followed by light taps on the back of his hand. Immediately, he understood -- following behind her as she began walking slowly toward what appeared to be (hopefully) an exit... just to the right of the monstrous behemoth that still lay dormant above them.

As he cast a glance over his shoulder to try and gesture for Cait and Mila to follow them, he heard the footsteps grow louder until they were right on top of them -- their owner soon clattering into view around a corner. Vince reacted immediately, stepping protectively in front of the others between them and the robed figure, sliding his rifle onto his back and instead drawing either of his hook swords to assume a fighting posture. He didn't want to risk firing shots with the giant mechanical monstrosity looming over them -- for all he knew that could end up waking it up.

That didn't appear to be a concern as the cultist seemed less than interested in them... until he realized the reason for that as a second figure appeared behind the robed figure, snuffing out the person's life with contemptuous ease. The stomp Vince of the way he he had read about and seen people disposing of ants in old holovids... back before ants were enormous, irradiated killing machines, anyway. Lee held his ground as the new creature -- another twisted combination of flesh and steel, albeit in vaguely humanoid form this time -- turned to assess them. He braced himself, still brandishing his blades. He would defend himself and the group if need be, but he didn't fancy his chances in close combat with that... thing, despite being a seasoned fighter and imposing figure himself.

"Go," he whispered tersely behind himself. "Get to the door."

NanLia
Isaedras Cleditre
Gravitational Force