[Video] Arrival of A Terminator

[unclebob]

[At first glance, the face on the screen looks handsome, though perhaps a little intense. Staring off into the distance, the Terminator holds the locket in a fragile grip, like he’s afraid he might break it. Then he turns his face into the camera’s view and the once-handsome features turn into a nightmarish looking visage. The right side has mostly been ripped away, revealing the metal skull and glowing red eye beneath the bloody organic covering. He looks like he's been put through the ringer and no mistake. A fairy hovers in and out of the video, occasionally perching on his shoulder. He keeps shrugging it off. With only one working hand, he can't swat the little pest away.]

Is this device working properly?

[He doesn't wait for an answer. If it is working correctly, he'll know soon enough by the response he gets. The Terminator stares off again, turning the locket so that whoever’s watching gets a good shot of what he’s staring at: the flowery barrier between the Station and the rest of the Drabwurld.]

I cannot cross.

[His voice is flat, but underneath, there’s a current of wonderment. He’s never found anything able to keep a Terminator in check before. To have it happen now is a curiosity that he wants to explore further. He takes a few steps more, until he’s right at the edge of the line, but he doesn't cross over. He's had enough of the sensation of glitching and his systems shutting down for one day, thank you very much. He stands there, far too still to be natural, like he's waiting for the barrier to just disappear and let him cross. Hey, in this place, anything could happen.]

Comments

[Video]

[notavirtue]

[Javik hadn’t paid much mind to the locket, finding it even more clumsy and useless than his omni-tool. Thus far it contained nothing of interest to him, too reminiscent of the extranet and the chatter there. There was enough to see inside the castle without worrying about what was going on everywhere else. Familiarizing himself with Caer Scima was a priority, but that didn’t stop him from fiddling with the device when he tired of walking.

It was during one of those breaks that he caught the transmission, and the sight of it made his blood run cold. The exposed metal, the cybernetic eye - it was unmistakable to him. A synthetic. Here. Here, where his guns wouldn’t work and his shields were dead, but there was a machine with the facsimile of a human face staring out of the locket just the same.]

How is that you function here, machine!?

[unclebob]

[He stares at the face in the locket, his brow furrowed in a question of his own. The Terminator had never seen a non-humanoid, excluding other Terminators, before coming here. But even the fairies, for all their annoyance, were still human-looking in appearance. This....creature looks like nothing he's ever seen before. The extra set of eyes keep throwing him off. Finally, he answers.]

I don't know. My systems only function normally within a certain mile radius.

[notavirtue]

[That answer contained equal parts dissatisfaction and relief - if the machine was confined to one area, all the better. He needed more details to be certain.]

What radius? Tell me your exact location.

[Because he either needs to avoid it or go there as soon as possible.]

[unclebob]

[The Terminator's eyes narrow in suspicion. This....thing, who or whatever he is, has taken an interest to him. He's not entirely sure that's a good thing.]

Tell me what kind of creature you are first.

[notavirtue]

[It really wasn't a good thing. The only machines he'd ever tolerated, and just barely, were the ones Shepard barred him from tossing out the airlock.]

I am prothean. Tell me where you are, now.

video;

[chromosomes]

It's working.

[ Things are a bit busy, but honestly -- this... uh, guy, could be useful. Depends fully on his alliance, though. ]

What happens when you try to cross?

[unclebob]

My CPU ceases to function normally and my systems begin emergency shut-down procedures.

[In other words, he turns into one big glitching computer.]

[chromosomes]

More so than it otherwise would, considering your... damage?

[ Can you insult robots? He doesn't even know. ]

[unclebob]

[Not this particular robot. Insults go right over his head.]

Yes. My systems can function in a normal capacity despite my damage. This is different.

[He sticks the stump of his bad arm across the line in demonstration, holding the locket out to catch what happens. Immediately, it begins to twitch in a spastic fashion before going completely limp. He jerks it back across.]

[chromosomes]

[ Oh good, he can continue to be bad at people then.

Also, that is not something he particularly ever wants to see again. Thanks. ]

And I don't suppose your little friend there -- the fairy, that is -- has said anything that helps?

voice

[duplicitoussight]

[Ah...... he really wishes Kido wasn't making him do this.]

Say, would you mind turning off the video?

[unclebob]

Why? Is something wrong?

[He honestly doesn't think there's anything wrong with the way he looks. Being oblivious social cues is a certain disadvantage in situations like this.]

[duplicitoussight]

[... what was with this guy?]

... ah, haven't you noticed? Your face is, how would you put it?

[Pause.] Falling off.

[unclebob]

[His bad arm automatically jerks, his phantom limb trying to reach up and touch his face. He hadn't thought of what others here might make of a Terminator. The only humans he interacted with back in his own time were used to the sight of half-metal, half-human machines walking around.]

Damage done to my organic covering will heal in time.

[Well, mostly heal. The eye is a lost cause.]

[duplicitoussight]

['Organic covering.' So, that did make him a robot. The closest thing he's seen to one wasn't as damaged as this one was, but staring at the screen for too long sent an ill feeling sitting in the bottom of his stomach. He's glad that the other can't see his expression right now, though he doubts it knows how to process that.

A different tactic, then.]

You won't raise as many unnecessary questions as you would've without showing your face. You're looking for information after all, aren't you? Does that make sense? Eh, really, all I'm asking from you is to keep your face out of sight until it heals.

[chiot]

[ He wants to talk to the stranger, and from what Gavroche sees it's fine--until the head turns. He screams and out of reflex throws his locket away, but not before thinking better of it and snatching it up, hastily getting it to play video.

Brave face, Gavroche. Though it's a little obvious he's wary and scared, he doesn't think he is, and that's what's important. ]

'Ey, what kinda thing are you?! You ain't no nature!

[unclebob]

[There are children here? Oh, that is unacceptable. There's a war going on. This immediately puts the Terminator right into protective mode. Damn his inability to leave the Station.]

I am a cybernetic unit with an organic covering. [.....good luck with that explanation, Gavroche.]

[chiot]

[ He'll wrinkle up his nose, narrow his eyes, and think really hard about that, though. ]

...

I know you're sayin' an' speakin' words, an' I know what mosta those words mean, but...

I still don't understand nuffin'.

[unclebob]

[He searches his databank for the simplest terms applicable to the situation.]

I am....a machine. Human on the outside, metal inside.

[chiot]

Like a printing press?

voice;

[altercate]

You're really worried about walking around right now?

[ half your face is missing, man!! ]

[unclebob]

Yes. I do not want to be confined to one area.

[His priorities are a tad skewed, but that's what happens when one can't feel pain the way humans do.]

[altercate]

How far can you get in your condition?

[ this is a serious question, derek's interested. ]

[unclebob]

As far as I need to go.

[Just because he looks like he's on the verge of collapsing into a heap doesn't mean he's there yet. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking, that's what this machine-man does.]

[altercate]

[ ironically, derek absolutely understands that statement. for a long time, it wasn't about how broken and fucked up derek was, it was just about going the distance, however far that turned out to be. ]

It might be better to stay there. For now, at least.