Chapter Four: Court of Appeals

  Chapter: Four

Court of Appeals

A couple minutes later my anger was at a manageable level. Leaving me with the burden of thought in face of terrible circumstances. The only option with any viability was the dubious proposition of the Icarus Array. My mind was running the problems with the teleporter.

1. It’s Teleport away function may not even work.

2. The thing might have hazardous side effects.

3. I HAD NO IDEA WHERE THE FUCKING THING WAS.

Still it was the only opportunity presenting itself so it won by the default. Needing to find a complete map of the facility. I looked at the parts of the local map I had filled in already with my wanderings. Finding administrative offices in the filled in parts of my map I set up a marker on that location and started off towards the place.

After about fifteen minutes of monotonous walking through the expansive facility,  I entered the office. Locating a terminal on what I assumed was the receptionists desk I broke the security system on my first password guess. After a brief search in the terminals files, I found and downloaded the building plans.

Perusing the building plans I found where the Icarus array was located. “On the lowest level, Of Course.” Relegating myself for another hike down desoulate passageways that contained nothing of interest. As I took off towards Icarus thinking those thoughts. Learning shortly to regret those thoughts.

Walking downwards steadily slipping to those thoughts that assail those who are alone with alot on their minds.

This prevented me from being particular perceptive about the environment around me. This would prove to bite me in the ass very shortly. Without any sort of warning a Crazed Mr. Gutsy  came randomly through a doorway in front of me.

“Who’s ready to have their ass kicked”!? It yelled at me in a manner reminiscent of a drill sergeant.

It said while firing it’s plasma caster at me hitting me in the chest, Heating up the saturnite plating of my armour. I grabbed my ten millimeter out of it’s holster and emptied a magazine into the main body. Luckily one of the bullets struck the plasma caster as It was preparing to fire. This in turn causing a small explosion, destroying the plasma caster.

"There's nothing I like better than making some other poor bastard die for hís country!" It was not happy having it’s primary armament destroyed. Closing the distance between us as I reloaded my pistol. I learned too late that the thing was also packing a circular saw, It sliced  deeply into my leg.  Firing point blank into what I assumed was it’s optical sensor, and the rest of it’s upper chassis. My Gun giving a (then) terrifying clicking noise, I had to grab the arm of the robot that held the circular saw with my left hand. The brutal primeval part of my mind kicked in, I flipped it in my hand so that I could assume the classic pistol whip position.

Striking the but end of my sidearm against my attacker again and again, it couldn't attack because of the fact it’s only close range weapon was being held in place. I barbarically decommissioned the manic machine. After that ordeal was over my adrenaline was wearing off and I noticed the amount of blood that was flowing from the wound.

Injecting a stimpack into my leg was the action my increasingly tired mind did next.

I must admit that the next couple hours were pretty hazy, probably arising from the fact that I lost a good amount of blood.

---===*===---

Waking up on a dingy hospital mattress was frighteningly similar to the last time I had come to consciousness. The sight of my equipment laid close to my bed was kept me from freaking out too much. I slowly crawled out of bed, then starting the herculean task of putting on my riot gear. Checking my equipment in my pip-boy I found out that my armour was still in almost mint condition, Epilogue had 30 rounds of 5.56 ammunition less than when I had last observed it; the condition of the gun was only slightly decreased.  That was where the good news ended...my pistol was broken! I didn’t shed any tears but the need to find a replacement sidearm was pressing in my mind. (Quest added: Big iron on his hip).

The strangest thing was when I switched to the aid tab. I had a butt load of drugs on me. Jet,Med-x, Buffout, Hydra, and the ubiquitous Stimpack. “ Guess a side effect of stimpacks was the need to gather anything ‘medicinal’,  Yeah!”.  Looking around I seemed to be in a standard hospital although when I looked around I saw a what looked like a terminal attached to a standing tube. Upon activating the terminal interface I discovered it was an autodoc MK1.  On it’s list of functions was the implantation of cybernetics.

“So this is where my spine was replaced.” I said  in a sardonic tone.

My discoveries didn’t end there, next I spotted a shelf with three holotapes. Since they used the same encryption system as the last holodisks I found. The decryption process was nigh-instantaneous. Finding my position on the map In my delirious state I had traveled considerably closer to the Icarus Array.

The notification that the decryption process was complete made a small ding, I inspected the names of the files. The first of the files was an audio file titled To anyone who finds this… ,the second was a text file titled The procedure and finally the last was dated to just a few days ago. Promising candidate was the title of the audio file.

I turned on the first audio file while I was eating my personal breakfast of champions.(Dry Sugar Bombs)

[Audio file begins]

“I don’t want to do this but…” Voice trails off it sounds like Dr.Stone.

“Well I’m trapped here but I *pause* have a solution of sorts. Most people in my situation would probably consider suicide as an option then, quickly implement such a plan.”

Dr.Stone sounds like he is on the verge of tears.  “ Well I’m not most people. Then again most don’t have access to a cutting edge cybernetics lab.” He lets out an anxious chuckle.

“Brains have been put into vat’s before. But they have never kept the original memories and ‘personality’ intact”. Voice shifts to a more haunted tone  “but then again we haven’t tried to”.  “well If you’re wondering how i’m planning going to actually accomplish this” his voice is now full of equal amounts disdain and sarcasm. "Check the next Disk"

[The file ends here]

Having finished my dry cereal, I turned on the second audio file as I set off towards what I hoped as fell as feared would be my final confrontation in this place.

[ Audio file begins here]

“Subject is at the end of adolescence ” States a dry mechanical speaker.

“Subject has significantly higher than average intelligence” The same monotone continues.

“Subject comes from a Non-irradiated world”

“He is lacking in physical strength and agility but would be one of the best candidates acquired so far”

“Judged worthy of Cybernetic enhancement, Insertion of subject into autodoc in progress”.

The Next few minutes passed without anything worth recanting happening.

---===*===---

Finally I found something worth noting. It was the Badass Grandma of all chemistry labs. Inside was a bounty of chemicals fit for a drug kingpin. I went over to a research terminal, contained within were the recipes for all the chemical goodies you could ever want. Downloading them all to my pipboy,  I then went about trying my best to make some of these substances. Unfortunately, I lost about half of the chemicals in my experimenting process. When the smoke cleared, I had 3 stimpaks, 2 containers of Mentats and a few inhalers of Jet. This was hopefully enough to get by for now, but it proved a good learning experience regardless.

With the chems loaded in my jacket, I prepared for my final confrontation by loading a magazine of armor piercing rounds, and storing the rest of the magazines in close reach. I sharpened my combat knife with a convenient whetstone. The few grenades I had left were put in the right pocket of my duster. I was ready, maybe not emotionally but physically ready for my confrontation of Dr. Stone.

I set my maker to where I assumed was the right room and moved swiftly. My mind wondered whether or not I could actually kill stone as I moved towards the room. Our fates were now intertwined and it seemed as though one of us were not leaving alive. Although I hoped for the contrary

I was surprised to see that I had encountered little to no resistance on my way to Dr. Stone. Although the terminal outside his room was a bitch to hack. I decided I would pop a mentat to give me a nice little focus. The effects were immediate, my brain was precise and clear as though the drug rounded up all stray thoughts and focused them into one. Although the terminal was still challenging, with that boost it finally cracked. I delayed and contemplated on whether or not I should open the door, but I had come too far to turn back now. The door hummed and started to crack open…

Once the door opened I spotted 8 hostile marks on my E.F.S.  plus one non-hostile mark. I then heard the same mechanical voice that was on the last holotape that I had listened too.

“So you have arrived” It was mechanical with just a hint of smugness in his voice.

“With questions no less. Come closer now let’s talk” the voice states in an almost fatherly tone.

“ Ok I’ll talk, Just don’t try anything or you're gonna end up with a plasma grenade in your mechanized ass” I stated tersely.

Moving into the room I spotted 8 beefy robots aiming at me. While they were doing that I pulled out a grenade, continuing walking towards the middle of the room.

The voice lanced out again “Sentry bots Deactivate”.  This time I could see the abomination that had spoken the last few times. It was a robobrain modified to have more advanced manipulator arms.

“Mr.Stone I presume, we meet at last.” I say in the most diplomatic tone I could muster.

“Subject Z-34, Or would you mind if I called you Jake?” he replies in an inquisitive tone.

“I guess.” I clear my throat before speaking “ Why In the hell did you pull me to this hellhole?”

“You are better suited to what I need you to do. You doing anything less is a waste of your potential. Now what I need is someone who can go where no-one has ever gone before and returned”  He replies in his own version of a diplomatic tone.

“The gateway; You want me to go there?( I take his silence as a sign of affirmation).  To go there and return, that is what you want me to do?” As soon as I finished stating this I got a pleasant little noise and A little XP indicator popped up and moved to the right.

“Well yes actually, but you seemed to want to go there of your own volition.”

“Only as a way to escape this doomed facility.” I reply with anger.

“You on some level want to go there just because you have no idea whats on the other side. I have seen you act around here, you see any lack of knowledge on your part as a personal challenge.” He says with almost fatherly pride.

“You see me as a younger version of yourself?”  I ask astounded.

“In a way, But onto the more pressing topic. You’re probably asking yourself whether or not you want to end my existence.” *Pauses* “I will let you end me if you really want to, Just let yourself think about what you would have done if you were put in my shoes.”

“ Abducting people and replacing their organs how is that excusable.” I reply with a Righteous tone.

“Don’t you see, it was all a test to figure out if the candidates could deal with circumstances beyond their control. Judging their adaptability and will to overcome was the purpose of this all.”

“And I passed?”  I state noncommittally.

“With flying colours, no one else has ever figured out what this facility houses.” He says happily (which sounds weird when the speaker is almost all machine).

A few seconds pass without me speaking. Because of this he speaks again.

“So about that grenade up my mechanical ass?”

“I’m not gonna kill you in such a way, or anyway at all. I’m not sparing you because what you have done is redeemable, no you have ruined probably hundreds of human lives. I am sparing your life because I understand why you did such things. I put in your situation, would have as you said before done the exact same things.” I end my expository rant.

“Well said but do you want to journey to the other side now or in a day or so?”

“There is no time like the present. Fire the thing up Doc.”

---===*===---

Walking into the Icarus array chamber I let my thoughts wander about what had just happened in that place. He was letting me take two sentry bots with me to the otherside. He had modified one with a gatling laser, the other with an adaptive learning proccessor. Dr.stone had showed me how to use the pipboys radio transmitter for back and forth communication. [ Dr.stone voice comes through the radio]

“ Once you enter the center of the chamber the gateway activation protocols will begin”

“Okay is that big circle drawn in the floor where you want me to be.”

“Affirmative.  You don’t know how many years I have waited for this moment.”

“Probably quite a few years.”

“Remember to dictate the what happens when you’re there into the Pipboy!”

         “Okay I’m in position”

“As the device activates it will fill the airwaves with static so after this it’s radio silence.” He states with a little bit of disappointment. “ So good luck, Stone out.”

A mechanical whirring could be heard as the generator strained to meet the massive power demand.  At the same time tesla coils at the outskirts of the chamber were erratically exchanging electricity. Me I was thinking all this seemed a tad cliche. Those thoughts would be interrupted by a second of not existing except in a small pocket of space time. I was being thrust into another universe entirely.

---===*===---

As the pocket of space time I had hitched a ride evaporated it left me and my sentry bots in a room eerily similar to the one I had just left using the 11th dimension.

Standing on the other side of the room though was a four legged creature wearing what looked like high tech metal armour. It quickly spun around to face me while leveling the weapons that were attached to it’s sides at me as well.

“Hello.”

End of Chapter: four

Perks added- Comprehension:

You gain one additional skill point for reading books and double the skill points for reading magazines.

Quest perk- Chemistry Novice:

You have access to all basic chem recipes and you are 25% more resistant to addiction.