Rise in Revolution (Chapter Twenty-Four)
May. 20th, 2016 09:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Chapter Twenty-Four
Vital
Kyir’s house, Sector IAL. February 16, 2272. Time instance 842N.
“Again!” Kyir barked. “You’ll never fight cyborgs if you can’t even fight each other!”
“Kyir, we’ve been practicing for two hours! Can’t we get a break?” Jimmy complained.
“No. The Mainframe won’t give you a break. Again!”
Jimmy sighed and raised her practice weapon again, meeting Gali’s eyes and struggling not to laugh at how both of their arms were shaking from exhaustion. Gali took a swing at her but lost her grip on the sword, sending it flying off in another direction. Jimmy started laughing and Gali followed suit, the Doravian’s knees giving way and sending her sprawling on the ground. They both laughed harder, causing Kyir to sigh.
“Fine. You get a few minutes of break time- not you, Scott!”
“Damn!”
Jimmy hauled herself into a nearby chair, motioning for Gali to sit next to her. Kyir had been training the less competent members of the Black Market in how to fight, but it wasn’t working out too well. Most of those who couldn’t already fight were hopeless at even the basic training, and they just didn’t have time to improve very much. Gali and Emma were doing far better than most of the others, Emma due more to raw ferocity than anything else.
“Again!” Kyir snapped, and without any hesitation, Emma struck at Scott, forcing him to parry. Jimmy watched with amusement as Scott struggled to defend himself against Emma’s quick and powerful attacks. She was expending a lot of energy, Jimmy noted, and had started to falter in the past few minutes as her tired limbs betrayed her.
Not that she had much to worry about when it came to Scott. He could defend himself and not much more, which, Kyir reluctantly conceded, was enough when in melee. When asked how to defend themselves against bullets, Kyir had only laughed and said “Don’t get shot,” which wasn’t particularly helpful or encouraging.
“Strike at her, dammit!”
“I don’t want to get hit in the face!” Scott protested. “It’s all I can do to not get bruised!”
“Get her, Scooter!”
“Clash, you’d sound more encouraging if you weren’t a preteen with a cracking voice,” Kyir told him.
Clash glared at him and crossed his arms. Scott turned and swung at Kyir, who easily darted out of the way of the clumsy movement. Scott yelped as Emma’s practice sword slammed into his collarbone, the tip resting against his neck.
“Dead,” Emma said cheerfully. “Go again?”
Scott made a disgusted sound and threw down his sword. “Break time.” He went to go sit by Clash, nursing the bruises on both his collarbone and his pride.
Emma sat down beside Jimmy and Gali. “How are you guys?”
“Good. Just tired.” Jimmy rubbed her left forearm. “It’s hard fighting someone with the opposite dominant hand as you. Kyir didn’t give any tips on that.”
“I’m right handed because I’m not genetically modified!” Gali protested. “Not my fault you were made in a lab.”
“Yes, Gali, the Mainframe bothered to genetically engineer someone two years after the invasion to make them left hand dominant.” Jimmy rolled her eyes.
“Very likely,” Emma agreed. “Clearly they can use that to destroy the revolution they magically knew you were a part of. Obviously.”
“Speaking of magic, where’s Sub? Shouldn’t she be here?” Gali motioned at Kyir.
“She’s meant to be learning some more about magic from Geek, but I’ll bet she’s not listening.” Emma crossed her arms.
“What about Cap?”
“She might be helping with the tunnel. She’s a pretty decent miner, especially for a regular human with no extra powers or anything. She’s been pitching in a lot.”
“Hmm.” Jimmy glanced in the direction of the tunnel, although she couldn’t see it. “Are you sure that Cap isn’t magical in some way? I mean, she seems to know a lot right before it happens. Maybe she’s a seer.”
“Maybe she just knows how to pay attention, unlike you assholes.” Kyir suggested. “Break’s over. Let’s go.”
Jimmy sighed. It was going to be a long day.
~~~
Tanadin glanced up at Seven as she turned a page in her book. He had been looking around- apparently aimlessly, although he undoubtedly had some logical reason- for the past several minutes. He paused upon seeing Geek get up from her seat and walk through the wall into her room before immediately looking over at Tanadin and speaking.
“So wait, Tanadin, now that I'm back, I wanted to ask your opinion on something.”
“Hmm?” Tanadin shut the book. This would probably take awhile.
“I realized that there was a significant amount of unused supplies in Geek’s things when I went through them, which no one appeared to know were there. That made me realize that no one’s really taken a proper inventory of our supplies, especially given that because we don’t have a central storage area, they are all scattered among people’s rooms, so I figured I should do so.”
“Wait. You mean...go through people’s shit? Seven, you can’t just burst into people’s rooms and start rummaging through their drawers.” Tanadin blinked in confusion.
“Why? We all share the same goal, so the supplies would be used toward the same cause anyway, and taking inventory is not only useful in understanding what supplies are available, but also helps use resources more efficiently.”
“It’s rude, for one. And the thing is, that’s their stuff.”
“Why? I don’t understand why they would object to not having to waste resources. And Geek appeared to not have an issue with me going through her stuff.”
“Geek is one thing. She figured you went through it to get back at her for locking you in her room. The thing is, a lot of that stuff might be important or sentimental to people, and they don’t want you going through it or taking it or whatever. Most of it probably isn’t useful, anyway.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, as it appeared like Geek wasn’t aware of the usefulness of many of the items in her room. There was a decent amount of pre-invasion equipment that could very well be useful, but what was intact and working was just placed among the useless scrap and relics. Not only that, but there were a significant number of power cells - most still halfway charged, I might add - that were left in devices who’s only purpose appeared to be wasting energy by oscillating back and forth very quickly. I’d have thought Geek would’ve know about them, given that they were all in the same box, but she seemed unaware of them.”
Tanadin stared at him for a good five seconds before bursting into hysterical laughter, leaning back in her chair as she struggled to breathe. Seven stared at her uncomprehendingly until she had calmed down enough to speak.
“Seven, I think she knows damn well that those are there.” Tanadin was overcome with another fit of laughter. “Damn well.”
“Then why isn’t she using them? The devices that they provide power to only serve to convert electricity into waste heat.”
“Believe me, she’s using them. Just not in a way you’d consider efficient.” Seven looked at her, lost as to how Geek could be using them.
“Nonetheless, that doesn’t explain many of the functioning devices that were indiscriminately placed among the pre-invasion scrap. The box confused me, as they had been grouped together, but the other items were just scattered amongst what she collected.”
“A lot of people have boxes like that. Anyway, let’s just...not have you go through people’s stuff? It’s rude and personal and I know they might have useful things but they might not want to relinquish them.”
“I don’t understand, why is obtaining better information rude? Besides, taking inventory doesn’t necessarily mean taking the items,” Seven paused, then, conceding the point, “Even if they are useful.”
“How do I explain this to you...Personal space? It’s rude to go through people’s stuff because they might have personal items in there that they don’t want you putting your hands on? How about you just...ask. Ask them if you can take inventory. Don’t just do it.”
“Oh, okay then.” Seven got to his feet and walked out of the Black Market without a backwards glance.
Tanadin rolled her eyes and opened her book again.
~~~
It was late on the twenty-third when Nine stepped into the Black Market. Emma glanced up briefly from her book as he approached, sitting down at the same table as Hawk. Without a word, the aven switched tables to where Emma was sitting. She glanced behind her and clacked her beak unhappily before looking back at her own table.
Emma sighed and drummed her fingers on the table, briefly debating, before speaking up. “Why are you always avoiding the cyborgs? You don’t seem to hate them like Zahnra does, but you do your best to avoid them.”
Hawk’s eyes narrowed as she glanced both at Nine behind her and Seven a few tables over, where he was sitting with Tanadin. “I don’t like them. I just know that dealing with them is necessary.”
“Why?”
“Because they killed everyone I knew! Because they have us enslaved! Do I need a reason?” Hawk’s talons tightened around the edge of the table.
“They killed…Is that why you’re in IAL?”
Hawk sighed. “I was part of the Southern Rebellion a few years ago. So yes. That’s why I’m here.” She looked away. “I should be dead.”
Emma’s eyes widened. The Southern Rebellion had happened several years before, in Sector QVL, located in north Doravia. It had been a primarily aven uprising, but some humans and a few elementals had been involved as well. Most of the rebels had been killed in the fighting, but some of the younger ones had been spared and had simply been relocated to other sectors- Hawk apparently being one of them.
Hawk didn’t seem content to stop there. “There were so many of us. About a hundred aven, a dozen humans, and six elementals. We could have done it. We could have freed QVL. We aven know the desert as well as we know our own feathers- those of us born there, at least. But…” She trailed off, thinking.
“Cyborgs are a lot more dangerous than you realize until you’re fighting them. They’re hard to hit and harder to kill, and there were so many. Always so many, with their guns and anti-magic pulses and swords.” Hawk shivered, drawing her wings closer around her as if to protect her from the memories.
“What happened?” Emma whispered, almost scared to ask. She could see Tanadin and both cyborgs watching them curiously as well, listening intently.
“They killed us,” Hawk said simply. “They killed almost all of us. It was a slaughter once they got those flying troops in.” She grumbled something in her native language that Emma couldn’t understand. “Ackrel was the first of my friends to go. Poor, poor Ackrel...he didn’t...he didn’t deserve that.” A shiver ran down her spine. “And Sporkie…” Hawk shut her eyes. “No, no, no. Them and my family, them…”
Hawk sighed. “You’ve asked why I’m named Hawk. It’s what I am, so it’s kind of an unusual name. It’s because I’m one of the last hawks. One of the last of the ruling dynasty before the humans came and destroyed aven civilization in Doravia. We had been recovering until the Mainframe came. Now, I may be the last,” Hawk shut her eyes. “The last of a long-dead dynasty of suffering fools. We should have known the Southern Rebellion couldn’t work. We should have known they had a backup plan. If it had just been what we were used to, the ground units, then we would have won! We would have taken QVL! But those fliers…” Hawk’s eyes opened and she looked directly at Seven. “You. You know about the cyborgs. What were those? They weren’t like any cyborg type I’d ever seen, and they flew. From what you’ve told us, nothing flies.”
“Are you talking about the Shins?”
“The...human leg bone? Thing? Whatever?” Hawk blinked in confusion.
“No, no, no!” Seven shook his head. “Shin, the letter. You know how I’m 7007-alpha? Or how, like, there are the beta and gamma series? Those are all Vesken letters, but because the whole Vesken alphabet is reserved for series numbers, they used a letter from Tosrin - which is often used if all the Vesken letters are already being used. Shin is a letter from Tosrin, which is a language often used if all of the Vesken characters are already in use- one near the end, in fact, as a precaution. It’s used to designate a different model of the units.
“The Shin models are the flying versions of a different unit, all of the standard series have Shin models - a term I use loosely, as you can probably tell that there’s no real standard “model” for cyborgs - which are basically cyborgs of a given unit class that have modifications to allow for flight, or flying cyborgs of the same general type or that fill the same role as one of the normal unit classes. This does include three thousands, but their capabilities are really stripped down to let them stay airborne, which was what I was saying when I mentioned that they couldn’t fly in their heavy units.”
“Those things that they flew in were nothing like any unit type I’ve ever seen, though.” Hawk placed both of her hands on the table in front of her, side by side, and drummed her talons- an aven equivalent of crossing her arms. “They were all so...strange. Some of them were almost entirely metal, and several barely seemed like they had ever been human at all. One of them had some kind of...thrusters, I guess, for a lower body. Another had a bunch of sensors or something on his head, and a laser cannon or something on his back. What is that?”
“Oh, in that case you’re talking about the four thousands - they’re the class of all the miscellaneous or specialist cyborgs. Basically, if it’s not one of the other unit types, it’s a four thousand. Sometimes they’re just something slightly different that wasn’t covered by one of the other series, or designed to accomplish a specific task - like that anti-air cyborg you described - but other times they’re barely recognizable - a good example is the squad of water-patrol four thousands that have runners in place of feet and-or legs and a large thruster mounted on, or in place of, their backs. They also often tend to be more… drastically modified than the other series, not really being concerned with, at least roughly, mimicking the shape of their original form.”
“What the fuck,” Emma put in. “What. The fuck.”
Hawk threw her hands in the air. “I am sick of the stupid Mainframe and its stupid ridiculous cyborgs and its stupid water ski feet idiots!”
Seven shrugged while Nine flipped a page in his book. “Yep. It’s pretty stupid.”
“I was...exaggerating?”
“Nope. Water ski feet.” Nine glanced up at her. “Have some other ridiculous examples. A third leg, for cannon stability. A massive sensor on your back for... something. I’ll get back to you on that one. Eyes on multiple sides of the head to see better. Extra arms to do...whatever they’re meant to do. A large drill replacing the majority of the upper body to dig, I guess. Thruster arms. Why would you ever need thruster arms? Who knows! But the Mainframe’s got it covered. It’s ready.”
“For what?” Emma demanded.
Nine shrugged. “Revolution.”
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Date: 2016-05-21 03:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-21 07:07 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: 2016-05-21 12:13 pm (UTC)(At Tanadin) Tana sometimes when Seven doesn't understand something I just want to pat him on the head and say you'll understand when you're older XD
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Date: 2016-05-21 02:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-21 08:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-22 05:56 am (UTC)And as Tana says, you can more accurately tell Seven that as you are older than him. I, on the other hand, am around his age, perhaps a little younger. (I'm not sure because I don't know Seven's exact age nor am I giving out mine right now.)
-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: 2016-05-22 02:23 pm (UTC)And yes. He's adorable. (and it's not just my bias speaking :P)
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Date: 2016-05-23 07:09 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: 2016-05-21 12:10 pm (UTC)“Clash, you’d sound more encouraging if you weren’t a preteen with a cracking voice,” Kyir told him.
Poor Clash having to go through puberty again XD
“I’m right handed because I’m not genetically modified!” Gali protested. “Not my fault you were made in a lab.”
Left handers were made in labs, I knew I was actually a clone of my mother XD
"Not only that, but there were a significant number of power cells - most still halfway charged, I might add - that were left in devices who’s only purpose appeared to be wasting energy by oscillating back and forth very quickly. I’d have thought Geek would’ve know about them, given that they were all in the same box, but she seemed unaware of them.”
Geek sounds like Seven found your toy box XD
“Ackrel was the first of my friends to go. Poor, poor Ackrel...he didn’t...he didn’t deserve that.” A shiver ran down her spine. “And Sporkie…” Hawk shut her eyes. “No, no, no. Them and my family, them…”
Welp Spork, Ackrel, looks like you're both dead.....
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Date: 2016-05-22 02:24 pm (UTC)"left handers" emma please come and giggle at this inside joke that scara doesn't know
rip geek
rip spork and ackrel
fuckin rip everyone i guess XD
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Date: 2016-05-22 06:43 pm (UTC)But it just seems apt that I look very much like my mum, and my mum is right handed and I'm left handed, and I have often joked that I am actually my mums clone XD
Also shouldn't your RIP Geek there, be RIP Seven if he asks her about them so that he can re-purpose the power cells? XD
Sadie ladie here
Date: 2016-05-23 01:17 pm (UTC)Re: Sadie ladie here
Date: 2016-05-23 11:14 pm (UTC)I am left handed but do some things right handed, like bowling for instance XD
Re: Sadie ladie here
Date: 2016-05-24 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-24 06:41 am (UTC)-emma