AI: Apocalyptic Intelligence (Nivansrywyllian, Windsong)

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Mario was having too much trouble running all of the suit's functions. He released the cloaking mechanism, and tried returning power to the building. Lights came on. Down went night-vision again, and the AI withdrew himself slowly from the system's network. His whole existence hurt. "I'll live," Mario said, although he sounded haggard.

He walled off his emotional bubble entirely, cutting the feedback from his awareness to Elly.

The external speakers reported Mario's speech in the alien tongue once again, though even that managed to sound somehow tired. "We do not intend you harm. We are looking for information, and the world above is an inhospitable place. Why were you detained? What was the purpose for your being here? How did you come to be on this planet?"
 
The sudden void where he seemed to be in the back of her mind was slightly jarring, as if a piece of herself was suddenly missing. But this time she knew what it was, chastising him for it now wouldn't get them very far though. Even so she slowly pushed herself up to standing, feeling a bruise forming somewhere on her hip. Despite the armor hardening a moment before impact she was still soft inside of it all.

"Too much talk." It was speaking galactic common this time, though guttural and snarled. "Leaving. Hungry.." A long tongue slathered around its jaw and once more it turned to amble out, large muscular arms propelling it forward in controlled 'hops' along the floor.

Eleanor wanted to say something, but she wasn't quite sure how to get it across. Though even her thank you came a bit late, she still managed to mutter it.
 
"I'll be okay," Mario reassured his partner. Of course, he didn't know whether or not that was a bald-faced lie, so he kept right on blocking the bond.

A moment passed as he looked for the access to the non-security systems individually, and keyed them on one by one. The lights came on as the alien returned.

"Deactivating camouflage. Activating shields." Mario reported. The suit let out a low hum, and a little shimmering barrier of barely-visible force appeared, silhouetting Elly's figure.

"We do not mean you any harm," Mario said from the suit's external speakers. "I... I think I need to sleep, Elly." The words came out through the external speakers once again, reporting the same message to the alien in his glottal language. "Find somewhere safe, and sleep with me."
 
It balked at his words from down the hallway, the steady grinding of its concrete gift echoing out. As more sensors came back online she saw it was nearing the exit. For a moment hoping no one got in it's way.

"Already?" She queried, occupied with the shimmering about her arms. Giving it a testing pat to see it depress and shimmer as pressure was applied.

"Looks like there are some habitation blocks through a hallway.. We can hole up there. Walls look thick." Fingers lifted to point at the map over-lay in her vision, frowning as she realized it was just in the helmet. Beginning to walk that way, eyeing the destroyed sentries with some curiosity, if not for the suit's warnings she'd have likely touched the still slightly undulating mass that was beginning to turn gray at the edges, clearly dying without its host.
 
Mario mumbled something that might have been confirmation, before his consciousness faded.

_____________________________________________________________

The AI didn't know how long he was out, but when he was, the shroud over his link had slipped away. He was hurt, and he was afraid. When he awoke, he didn't report to his companion. Instead, he began using the presence of mind that he had to begin diagnosing and repairing what damage he could.

When he was confident that he wouldn't become wholly corrupt and descend into madness, he finally spoke within the helmet, softly. "Elly?" He asked. "Where are we? Are you okay?"
 
When he slipped away she felt like part of the suit stopped working, though glancing at the small diagnostics read out in the far corner of her vision told her all was still well. Never the less she found her way to the habitation blocks, passing a few sentries along the way, and heading in. A thick door separated it from the rest of the lab, likely in case of escape or contamination. The power flickered to life, likely on standby all this time.

Having found herself one of the beds still intact she'd crawled upon it and nestled herself into a corner. Still fully within the suit, expecting him to chastise her should she leave it now.

It had been only a few hours, sleep didn't come easy much to her chagrin. Having fiddled with the building's sensors and settings, a few logs and some old data that actually helped her doze in and out. Though in the end when he finally spoke, she felt far more tired than she had before..

"Yes, Mario?" A slow stretch of her arms brought them back to hold herself with, as if cold, but just slightly. "We're in the sleeping quarters. And I'm okay.. Just sleepy.." Even her voice sounded tired as she smiled in that way only one who was tired could. "Have a nice nap?"
 
"I... I am still repairing. I advise you not to rely on my statistical capabilities in the near future." He let a piece of himself attend the Hexus's hud. The helmet was still on Elly's head, which was good.

"I assume the alien left the compound. I am going to begin to rewrite the security protocols for the sentries when I am able. From there I think I will try to have them clean up the contamination. We should probably step through a decontamination shower before going anywhere else, or taking off the suit. Exposure to the alien infectious matter could be fatal, especially without specialized treatment."

The AI checked on Elly's vitals. "But I can work on that while you rest. You should sleep more. You're tired."
 
"What're you repairing?" She asked with concerned knitted brows. Suddenly being so tired seemed more a hindrance as she sat herself up on the bed, legs stretching out in front of her. It still amazed her at the flexibility and range of motion the suit gave her.

"I'll sleep more when you tell me what's the matter?" Now the concern was really drilling through to the forefront of her thoughts. Despite his bubble not being there she was trying to find it, though her efforts bore no fruit and she quickly gave up.
 
Slowly, Mario raised the shroud that he had pulled over his bubble, revealing himself to his partner. "I was damaged when I forced my way into the security subroutines, when we released the alien." He admitted. If his bond was any indication, he was in rough shape.

"I-I can repair myself, but it will take time. You should rest." He insisted again. "Running yourself to exhaustion won't do either of us good."

(short)
 
"And doing yourself harm is going to get us both killed!" Eleanor hadn't meant to snap like that. Immediately she regretted it as she backed away from him mentally. Only after a few moments did she resign the anger and edge towards what were the edges of his bubble.

Gingerly she reached out to it, frowning physically. "Didn't mean to yell. But if you're going to try stuff like that. Confer with me first, Kay?" It sounded like talking to a friend now. How could she be mad at the voice in her helmet anyway?
 
"There was no time!" He snapped right back, his ball of emotion tightening, and drawing in on itself defensively. He was sullen, in addition to being exhausted. "And there's not always going to be time."

"Sleep. Or decontaminate. I'm going to work." Frustration too, blossomed in the link.
 
His shout felt like it echoed in her head, an incredibly uncomfortable feeling that made her wince. Being yelled at was something she'd tried to avoid since childhood, a deep rooted fear.

When he withdrew she knew how to withdraw further. The helmet came off abruptly and this time the severing was welcomed. If there was fear of contagion it didn't show, tossing the helmet to the bed and throwing a pillow over it.

Soon undressing from the suit and stuffing it into a local decontamination box, letting it be bathed in uv light while she put a shower to work. No heating, and the water smelled old, but it got her clean at least. It gave her time to think.
 
It was like a slap in the face. Mario recoiled as the helmet came free, and frustration rose to bursting in his mind. He was alone again, and immobile. He almost called out to Elly. Almost.

Shoring up his resolve, he swallowed the gnawing anxiety that was like a scratching at the base of a skull he didn't have. He set about repairing essential systems. Now and again, he gave himself a mental kick for being an idiot. He began to experiment once more with the ability of information he could process. On came the system's security cameras, and he busied himself with monitoring them while he worked. He could see no sign of the alien they'd released.
 
The cold water felt good, that was for sure. Compared to the warm stagnating air of the compound anyway. Getting dry without getting covered in long settled dust proved harder than she'd have pictured. At least he couldn't give her grief over any of it.

Yet still she took her sweet time, all of these luxuries like bathing were so rare she'd not want to miss. After some time she did return to Mario, pulling the pillow off the helmet but still remaining silent. Instead busying herself with the brushing if her damp hair with a recently found brush.
 
Mario continued to work on quietly repairing himself still silently upset. His own issues got pushed to the back of his mind however, when his attention was drawn to the video feeds. The stairs they had come down were being slowly filled with men. The alien had -apparently- slagged a hole in the hidden entrance, and caused something of a ruckus on it's way out. He keyed up the external speakers once again.

"Suit up. Intruders coming down the stairwell. They appear to be heavily armed."

And so they did. Several were carrying some of the higher-tech rifles, the likes of which they'd seen in the last bunker, although none of the experimental gear that had been there. Additionally, several of the men were carrying more rudimentary weapons, and what appeared to be rudimentary explosive, and incendiary devices.

"I do not suggest engaging the intruders." He added.
 
Apparently getting dry and brushing out her hair wouldn't be a luxury she could take her time with today. Quickly she got the suit back on as fast as possible, though not as in a rush as he may have liked. Maybe the false sense of security brought on by the bunker like structure they were in that served as habitation modules. Either way, it got on over the course of a minute or so.

"Can we use the camouflage to sneak past them? Or let them go past us and go out behind them?" She asked as she manually opened the door, a soft whine of hydraulic fluid being moved around inside. Amazing they still worked, a small blessing.
 
"Power levels are beginning to run low." Said the AI. "Thirty minutes of partial camouflage, or ten minutes of full camouflage available. Unable to reliably predict infiltrator search patterns. I do not think the camouflage will stand up to close scrutiny. Keep your distance."

The connection, when the woman put the helmet back on, remained absent.

"The best you can do is to monitor them, and react when an opening presents itself." Frustrated, the AI set about the task of following as many of the intruders as he could, while they trickled into the compound. Ten. Twenty. Thirty, all coming down into the first floor.

"If necessary, you could retreat to one of the lower levels." He added, after a moment's observation.
 
There went her plan of escaping in plain sight, lovely. For a moment her mind wandered to the sentry they'd brought with them, Mario hadn't mentioned it in a while, at least she'd grabbed the bag from it.

With no response from him she did her best to ignore it, fights were going to happen between them, that was obvious from a get go. It did nothing to alleviate her mood with a slight frown.

"Just watch them for now.. No way I'm gonna tangle with thirty people." Came her mumbled reply, watching the map upon her display and watching the blips continue to pour in, like ants onto a picnic. "This doors thick and locked from the inside. Can they get through?"
 
In all reality, Mario hadn't thought to check on the sentry since the encounter with the alien. He was quiet for a moment, considering the door's material, and the armament with which the intruders were equipped.

"Possible, but unlikely." He said, finally. "It is unlikely that they will search the housing section for valuables when there are likelier targets further on." Another stretch of silence.

"Activating sentry defense routines." He said, as if it had just occurred to him. Fresh sentries began rolling across the various viewscreens, moving to intercept the intruders, who in turn began to beat a hasty retreat to the stairwell they'd come down as the engagements turned bloody. The fight was -unfortunately- too even to call just yet.
 
Relegated suddenly to spectator Elly dropped to a squat and waited patiently for a time. At least how she was helped to stretch her legs, they felt coiled too, like she could leap through the ceiling. If she'd felt him within the connection she'd have tried to jest with him on it, but with it quiet and still she did nothing, only trying to figure what she'd done that was so wrong.

"Too bad we can't sneak out with them." Was a mumbled statement to herself as she stood up straight and began to pace the room before plopping down on the edge of a bunk, head stooped from the bed above.

Briefly she had to wince as a quick flip through the camera showed the scored remains of a few of the intruders. They didn't really deserve that kind of death. A pang of guilt formed in her gut as she thought perhaps to a family, a mother, a father, likely someone's son? Such thoughts didn't come often yet when they did they were hard to get rid. This time it took the better part of five minutes before she managed to get the few tears under control.
 
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