Re: Tick Tock Timebomb

[LeilaniAlexandra]

Hanna jumped. "Shit, Vic. You scared me..." She ran her hand through her hair. "I'm fine. Just... Going over my... Shopping list. I have to get a lot of stuff. Don't want to write it down. Gotta save paper. Save the Earth, ya know."
Shaking her head she finally turned to look at him. "So what did the docs say?" She grabbed the mission file and opened it up. They still had to go over it.

Adrian grinned. "I'll follow up with Victor and see if he confirms." He prepared himself in case Jamie needed to cut off his hand.

[bookcrazI]

Lucy grabbed the folder and handed it to her with a shrug, "Nothing really off from the usual. We go in, retrieve the package and get back to base with the least amount of disturbances as possible.. but.. the wording confuses me.. and I could have sworn.. it just seems like the package.. ain't so inanimate."
Lucy rubbed her face and sighed, she wouldn't have to do field work unless the mission went to hell, but she hated the waiting. The waiting at the rendezvou point and only have a few bots and screens to let you know what was happening.
Plus she'd be in close quarters with Jamie again.. she didn't know what she'd about that.
She never banged the same guy twice.
Never.

"Good as new, though I gotta eat more.. seems like I'm burning calories faster than usual.." He murmured, standing by the seat with a grimace.
It wasn't for a lack of trying, he ate whenever he could and as much as he could, and yet he still seemed under weight for his size.
Older tech could only be modified so much, Hanna could only do so much.
"So.. what's it say?"

[LeilaniAlexandra]

((Hey bookie, wanna sorta pause the characters that are connected to open's charries to continue on in here and Vlad or do you wanna wait?))

[bookcrazI]

(We can wait...I'm on a little trip too until monday :/)

[OpenTheDoor]

Thanks for waiting!

Jamie gave a small laugh, "Play it cool, Aid. You can't just waltz in there and try to prise all of the info out of them. You have to be tactical."
As he continued to fine-tune his cyborg partner's mechanics, he gave a small sigh. Surface work was always easy. All he had to do was make sure that he didn't unplug any important cables and he was fine.
And he only did that once and that was only because Lucy had been talking loudly to Sierra right next to him.
"No, we'll wait until the mission."

The girl couldn't help but furrow her brows as she scanned over the words for herself. Usually they liked to make the wording near-uncomprehendable, but that was taking the biscuit. Sierra was just lucky that her computer-brain could work around that.
"Its definitely not going to just be a crate of Chem XI like last time," she murmured, "They don't say what, though."
It could have been a person for all she knew, or a couple hundred dogs, all needing to be transported back.
Cyborg Dogs were one of the first creations, so she heard, and she had seen a few in cages dotted around the base, though at that point they were rather old and grey.
"But we're travelling. Its something very specific..."

[LeilaniAlexandra]

Hanna shook her head. "Honestly I dont know. I haven't had a chance to read it yet." She opened the folder and started reading. Leaving it tilted enough that it was facing him but it was closer to her. "But what I do know is that we leave for it within the next few days..."

Adrian nodded. Jamie had made gossip a must in his life. Gossipless days were boring and he used those days to hook up with someone. He didn't have those days too often though.

[bookcrazI]

Lucy scratched her nose speculatively whilst scanning through the papers again, a frown on her face.
"Looks like it's gonna be an over-nighter...Infiltration into the zone and then back for a rendezvous point up to the east and then back to collect the package after about six hours of wait time. Seems like we have to bypass the night guards or whatever...hmm..." She mused, scratching her eyebrow with a frown.
Two points, different points where they'd have to move to, to meet up with the go team. Strange, it seemed like extra precautions were being taken.

Victor nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with an encouraging smile whist leaning in close to read it as well. He wasn't gifted with techno eyes to see from far away, and his 20/20 seemed rather unimpressive compared to the others here.
The font was rather small, though, and Hanna smelled rather nice. It left his face with a light dusting of pink as he attempted to catch the multitude of words on the page.

[OpenTheDoor]

Jamie truly liked having his buddy around. It made the days a little easier to handle, and training him in the art of gossiping was certainly very enthralling.
After a few more moments of minor tinkering, the mechanic leaned back and gave a contented sigh, "How's that?"
Often he would have to test the mechanisms about a hundred times like that before he got it right. It was something about Adrian's hands, the fact that his were pretty old, which meant that they needed a lot of TLC.
Not that Jamie minded. He liked to be working on some real mechanics rather than doing paperwork all of the time. It was what he signed up for.

The cyborg gave a sigh, "I guess we'll find out soon."
Typically, the meetings for it were held a little bit before lunch, often overrunning into it. You could tell when people had been called to go on a mission when they all flooded in when you were halfway through you're stale sandwich and moving onto your soured yoghurt.
Running her hand back through her hair, Sierra leant back on the chair again, giving a sigh. She wasn't really in the mood for missions or incognito. Really, she wanted to lounge around and do nothing. Sure, there was probably going to be a good few hours drive in a blacked-out government van in which she could do nothing, but...
She didn't know. She felt depressed.

[LeilaniAlexandra]

Hanna cleared her throat and put the open folder down on her desk and ran her hand through her hair. She tried to think of an excuse to get out of there but she couldn't. Jamie had her flustered and distracted. She couldn't think about anything but what he had said to her. She couldn't believe him- walking in here and prying her secrets out of her then saying things and leaving without an explanation to them.
Victor was still pretty close to her and she could smell him. She was going mad. "I uh.... Uh... I gotta..." She took off down the hall towards their living quarters.

Adrian nodded. He worked his hands, which felt much better, and looked at Jamie. "So when's the meeting for this" he said as he pointes at the folder. He needed out of this place, if only for a little while. Being a secret from society was hard work. Add being on top of the gossip chain to that and keeping up every physical and mental aspect of you, and you were always exhausted. Too bad he couldn't sleep.

[bookcrazI]

Lucy pouted lightly and made her way to stand behind Sierra, letting her hands come and rest on her shoulders to start a little massage. Sierra was her top priority, if anything was wrong she dealt with it.
Especially if it was a frown.
She gently dug her fingers into the tense muscles and coaxed them into relaxing. Lucy always thought that if she hadn't been a mechanic she's be some sort of physical therapist. She hummed along and snuck a few glances over to Jamie, trying to work out her own knots in her mind with him.
Why did she feel attracted to him still?

Victor frowned, standing still and confused in the middle of the room like some dumb mute. Had he done something wrong?
Did she not like him to be close?
Was she afraid of him?
Victor looked around, scared of himself for a moment.
What was wrong?
His lips thinned into a line as he decided to follow her, he had to know. He soon found himself outside her door and waiting for her to answer after three gentle knocks on her door.
"Hanna?....Are you alright? Is everything okay? Have I done something wrong?"

[OpenTheDoor]

Jamie gave a small and contented sigh as Adrian tested the tweaking. He hated to admit that before some of his movements were rather jolted, however, right there and then he could say that they were perfect.
The mechanic slipped off his goggles, letting them hang around his neck and peered up to the large digital clock nailed to the wall. Typically, they started around eleven o'clock and were meant to last an hour but never did.
"We have about ten minutes before the agents come and round us up," he concluded, leaning back in his chair, "Nothing else need fine-tuning?"
And then the fun would begin.

Happily, Sierra shut her eyes as Lucy massaged terribly her stiff shoulders. She truly did have magical fingers, that girl. She didn't know how she could be so good.
The girl sighed happily enough, her mind lolling back into its very few memories. Her mechanic did mention becoming a therapist at one point to her, however, she was rather glad that she did go down the mechanical route. She couldn't imagine having someone else as her mechanic. Hell, her and Hanna wouldn't have got on; they were both downers. Yet, despite that, she was sure that Jamie would have just gotten on her nerves all of the time.
"Are you sure you haven't got mechanical fingers?" Sierra asked gently, the words slipping from between her slightly-smiling lips.

[LeilaniAlexandra]

Hanna was sitting on the other side of the door. "No, no, Vic. You didn't do anything wrong. I just gotta- get some stuff done before the goons round us up. Dont- dont worry about me I'll be fine." She put her head against the door. "I mean, I am fine." She shook her head. She was usually a good liar, but she could never lie to Vic. He was too sweet.

Adrian shook his head. "Nah. Everything else is fine. Doc only wanted my hand fixed." He stood up and looked around. "What time is the meeting going to be?"
He continued to fist and unfist his hands. Now that they were actually working properly he had to get used to them again.

[bookcrazI]

Lucy smiled slowly, her own body growing more relaxed as she felt her friend lose her tension.
"You'd think.. but no, I just got magic fingers.. among other things.." She said, chuckling darkly to herself.
Ah, innuendos and maturity were just not a fit pair, thus why be mature and lose the fun of innuendos.
Lucy finished by kissing Sierra on the cheek and sitting on her working stool infront of her.
"Better?" she asked, hopefully.

Victor's brows furrowed more, she didn't sound fine or even like her usual self.
"Are you sure? Would you like me to get you some ice cream? Or.." He blushed bright red and found himself fiddling with the zipper of his jacket, "Uh..F..Fem..Feminine products...from..the supply store?"
She never looked too comfortable around that time, he only knew because Lucy had told him one time why she looked not as easy going as normal. He wasn't very comfortable around Lucy, but she had a remarkable amount of knowledge that stood at par with Jamie and Adrian.

[OpenTheDoor]

"Was until you kissed me," Sierra frowned, sitting up, "Thanks."
She didn't get her humour. It was strange. It was very immature, but she could hear Jamie chuckling to himself at the same not, not-so discretely.
Why didn't they just become a couple already?
Sitting up and wiping away the spittle with the back of her sleeve, the girl sighed, peering up at the clock herself.
It was eleven o'clock.
"We're gonna have fun now," she sighed.

Jamie finished off his chuckle. He could vouch for what Lucy just said. Those fingers certainly were something.
And those--
"Sierra, Adrian."
Tapping on the glass to the room, the mechanic frowned as the goon in the suit frowned at them, watching the four of them as if they were monkeys at the zoo.
"All right," Jamie nodded, putting his thumb up at him, "Come on, Aid. Let's go."

[LeilaniAlexandra]

Hanna laughed and stood up to open the door. "I'm fine Vic... You don't need to get me anything." Her cheeks were flushed and she tried to hide as best she could behind her short hair. "Thanks for being concerned though."

Adrian walked out the room behind Jamie and the goonie. Filing down the hall always made him feel like a kid and he hated it. He was a grown man he did not need to walk down the hall with an overgrown steriid-filled line leader.

[bookcrazI]

Lucy skipped after them, daring the guard to tell her to step back in line just so she could let out a retort involving his rather small manhood in comparison to his rather large gun.
She'd know too.
He was much less impressive than he told his friends her was, she thought with disappointed sigh.

Victor smiled lightly, "No reason to thank me..", then glanced as the little line of cyborgs and mechanics were paraded down the hall.
"I think... that's us.."

[OpenTheDoor]

(Sorry I paused this for a week and a half :oops:I just wanted to do it when I had time as I thought it would be a long post. College got in the way...and I still have a load of French homework to do -.-)

Third Peep:

The two guards led all of the cyborgs and their mechanical partners into the meeting room on the edge of the compound where they were allowed. It was a room which usually had a 'NO ENTRY' sign pinned to the front of it, a place where you could only go when escorted, even the mechanics. Why? It was filled to the brim with archives.
The actual room was all ready rather dark with a projection aimed onto the far wall, putting a picture of that particular government branch's number, in front of the six chairs for the mission-goers. Standing around the edge, about a dozen people in labcoats, each carrying a clipboard and a serious frown, however, at the front, arms folded behind his back, was The General.
Honestly, he looked very much like your stereotypical serious army general, complete with a grey crew cut and a dark scowl. No-one messed with him. He was the law of the place. Even the scientists would obey him.
Well, the gun slung from its holder was very much daunting.
As all of the pairs sat down at the front, the door was shut and no words were spoken by anyone. For a good few moments, The General just stared at the cyborgs in front of him. It was almost as if he was working on a plan right there and then with them. Sierra fidgeted in her seat slightly, trying to ignore the man in front of her. He always made her feel terribly confortable.
"Right!" he suddenly shouted, "You all know why you're here."
Of course they all did. They had been given their files and had been taken to the room they were only allowed in a couple of times a year, well, depending on the Cyborg.
Suddenly, the projector's image changed. The case number came on screen and, more importantly, the code name.
Enigma.
"This mission is similar to the ones we normally assign to you, Cyborgs. We wouldn't assign you this type, however, there are elements which you offer to this which will help us complete it. Be warned, this isn't a long one."
The General stepped back, instead of standing in front of the projection and blocking it, he let everyone see what was on screen. It was simply a map of America and Canada, their current location lighting up on screen -- somewhere in the middle of what used to be called the Nevada desert. But then, a new light appeared on the screen, blipping away, found somewhere near what was New York, but was renamed Old York in around 2085.
The General cleared his throat, "We're sending you guys here by plane, dropping you a few miles away. The next step is breaking into a building, here."
The General pointed to the map, where the second point had come up. He never gave away too many details, though. Details led to questions. Questions lead to calamity.
"We do not want to use brute force, only by sneaking in, disabling the cameras and connecting them up to your mechanic's eyes, as well as disposing of the guards quietly, will this work. We've been watching the area for a while and the best time to strike is at 04:30. Guards are late through their shifts and won't be swapped for another two hours. That's how long you shall have to do your job, before the new guards start their shifts and realise what has happened."
Compared to other previous times, two hours seemed like ages. Before they've had less than half of that time to retrieve something and they've come back safe and sound with plenty of time to spare. Other times they wished that they had two hours.
The General continued, the image next to him constantly changing as he spoke, "The difficulty lies here: if they get spooked, they will run. They will know that there's people after them and will ruin the plan. We only have one shot for this. If you guys fail, it will be near impossible to complete this mission. Of course, we will give you everything you need to complete this. Mechanics, you are trusted in being the eyes, feeding down the information to your 'Borgs. At 16:00 we shall kit and move you out. Understood? Any questions?"
Of course, nobody ever did. Most of the one's in their minds were classified and only could be found out on the actual mission, normally when you're staring death in the face.
"Good," he concluded with a nod, "You may all leave."

[LeilaniAlexandra]

Hanna was last in line to walk out. The General always scared her but she felt like she had the words "fallen for my Borg" written on her forehead. They were led to the cafeteria were everyone else had already started lunch. She grabbed her tray and went to the table in the back corner. She couldn't believe she had fallen for Victor. That was a lie, she could believe it because he was the sweetest guy she could meet. He broke her out of her tough shell like no one else can. She rubbed her oil stained hands on her face and shook her head. Jamie's offer was looking more and more tempting as she realized her feelings. Feelings which were only made stronger by the Cyborg walking over to sit with her. "Stay calm and act normal" she told herself under her breath.

Adrian went through the line like a good like Borg and sat down his and Jamie's table. He watched as Hanna went through what looked like an internal fight with herself. He felt bad for her but the prospect of gossip from Victor while they packed was just too tempting.

[bookcrazI]

Lucy grimaced away her distaste for the General, her face molding into one of 'bitch mode' as they were briefed, though she had to break it once and a while as she noticed the blushes from a few of the guards and lab jockeys.
Oh yes, Lucy got around but she also got what she wanted.
The briefing seemed to take forever and Sierra seemed to be a little worse for wear, Lucy's massage magic dissolving into thin air. She sighed roughly and took Sierra's hand as they left, trying to coax a little more comfort into the poor girl's tense body.
She led her towards the food line, knowing that she would be reluctant to eat after being so uncomfortable.
"C'mon luv, let's get some grub then pack up." She murmured softly with a smile.
She ignored the stares she got from a few of her past bedmates, some looking a bit put out and others lustfully. Easily ignored.
They weren't as nearly important as Sierra, no, not even close.

Victor sat across from her with a simple little grin, pointing to her food with his fork and sending her a questioning look.
"Is it that bad? You haven't touched it.." He asked, glancing down towards his food with apprehension.
It could be really, quite bad at times.
He envied Sierra, she always managed to find junkfood somehow.

[OpenTheDoor]

(I'm an idiot. I was waiting for Gifty to reply but she isn't even in this chat!... I need more sleep -.-)

Normally, Sierra would have beaten away Lucy's hand, murmuring that she was okay, however, that time, she happily took it. There was just something comforting about it, something which she needed.
She hated The General. There was something in his stare, one that could cut right through you... It was obvious he didn't see the 'Borgs as 'people', just tools to use, 'things' that were easily disposed of if it was necessary.
Sierra had seen it.
With a rough sigh, the girl sat down with her tray and her mechanic, ignoring the steaming mess that was in front of her. Though she knew that she would be watched like a hawk to make sure that she ate it -- by both Lucy and the labcoats -- she couldn't bring herself to it right away.
"It's a person, isn't it?"
She felt as if she was stating the obvious, there. How it had been explained to them, there couldn't be any other alternative. They would have to kidnap someone.

Jamie watched Adrain watch Hanna, a small frown on his face. He did feel slightly sorry for her. Victor was a nice guy and they spent so much time around one another -- all their waking moments together. She always seemed to go by the rules, and unfortunately she was about to break the biggest one.
He would think of something, though. Jamie was a clever boy.
But, until then, he shovelled in a spoonful of slop -- probably leftovers from breakfast -- and sighed, "You get all that?"
In all honesty, in the canteen, you weren't meant to talk about the mission, for fear that other pairs would listen in... Nobody went by that, though.
They simply whispered.

[LeilaniAlexandra]

Hanna looked up at Victor. "Oh. No its fine. I'm just... I'm not hungry." She knew what she was going to do. And even though every fiber of her being was against it, she was going to talk to Jamie while everyone was packing. She needed his help. She was spaced out, thinking about what the consequences would be if she got caught.

Adrian nodded and took a bite of his slop. "Yeah, it just seems kinda sketchy this time around. As he watched Hanna he could she the wheels turning in her head- no pun intended- as she made her decision.

[bookcrazI]

(nah bb, just a little confused :PAlso, hope you don't mind some of the little liberties I took with this post.. and we've been talking about the new set of Borg and mech, do you want me to make another charrie for one of them?)
Lucy looked up from her mess of gruel, the prisoner food thing was getting old, and paused her bitter contemplation of the humankind to address Sierra.
She swallowed slowly and bit her lip.
"...I...I think so yes.. but.. I think this isn't any ordinary..person.. I think they might be.. a potential cyborg or perhaps...something more unlucky.." She responded somberly.
It was no cute and fluffy thing to become a cyborg, if current company's experiences were true, and the candidates weren't... weren't treated the best, usually lost souls with an unlucky set of DNA strands. Lucy grimaced, it had been a while since the last new borg, too many of the little newbie's bodies' reject the tech. The worst thing was, was when you were the one who installed it, there was a little rotation for the existing mechanics, they were shifted in to work alongside the doctors.
Most borgs didn't know, it was a private thing between the mechanics, kind of like soldiers with war stories, and Lucy found herself looking in Jamie's direction with a sad look in her eyes.
She shook it off and forced a smile, Sierra needn't worry more than she normally did. It couldn't be all that bad, they were getting a new team mate! Plus the group would meet the newer partnership too.
So.
Not that bad.

Victor frowned a little, though he looked down before she could catch it. She had been very distant, ever since she re-calibrated him.
Was she mad that he hadn't told her earlier?
Was that it?
She sad it wasn't anything to do with him..
What was wrong? It bugged him that something was bugging her so much, she was the nicest person he knew, and she was his mechanic. They were as close as people could get in this place.
"Hanna." He said finally, clenching his metal fists as he steeled himself, "What's wrong? Really? I know something isn't right..and.. I'm worried... is it the mission? Can I do anything? Tell me?"
He looked at her with pleading eyes.
This had never happened before and he was worried.

[OpenTheDoor]

(Go for it! I don't mind a bit of adding your own things. I've only really got the idea for a rough plot -- just as long as its plausible Umm, I don't mind. You can if you want. I might have to make another character anyway -- not one of the new cyborg pair. LA, if you want to make another than you can, too. But I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do )

Sierra furrowed her brows as she watched Lucy's brain tick over. Having spent so much time with her, she could pretty much read her like a book.
And it was obvious that she was worried.
Giving a shaky sigh, the girl picked up her spoon and swallowed a tiny spoonful of the slop, gently getting her stomach used to the strange texture.
It tasted slightly spicy that day, but was slightly gelatinous. It was rather strange.
But could the gov be working on some new cyborgs? Was what Lucy said was true? Were they going to be working on something new?
...would she become outdated?
They could have a new update, something which would make her unwanted. They were probably working on some parts for the brain; they usually were. She was made of some of the older gear.
All of those thoughts were honestly making her feel sick.
"I guess we'll see," Sierra murmured, pushing the mush about her plate, "We'll know soon."

Jamie gave a small nod to Adrian, "I'm sure it'll be fine."
Glancing over to Lucy, though, he gave her a small, weak smile. He could see that Sierra was beginning to panic about the missions. Though most pairs did, that little 'Borg seemed to more than most.
She'd probably have a heart attack if she knew what was going on with the new cyborg.
Then again, most of the crew probably would have done. The labcoats didn't think that the cyborgs were people, that was the problem. They didn't care about the turmoil they went through.
That was why so many weren't making it through at recent times.

[LeilaniAlexandra]

Hanna shook her head. "I'm fine, Vic, really." She looked over at Jamie with her mind made up. "Vic, I really am fine. But I'm going to get a head start on packing. I'll meet you at the garage?" She didn't wait for him to reply, just flashed him a smile and rushed over to Jamie and Adrian. She put her hands on the table but didn't sit down. "Okay. So its obvious to you and your buddy that I have feelings for Victor and I get that this is a short mission but if your deal is still on the table, I'm... I'm good with it." and with that she walked off as fast as she could.

Adrian looked confused. "What offer? Did you offer to help them get together?" He hated it when Jamie did that and didn't tell him. He looked over at Victor. "I guess I really need to talk to him now..."

[bookcrazI]

(timeskip here perhaps?Or soon to the mission?)
Lucy rubbed the back of her neck and began to force the slop down her throat with the promise of the frozen mac and cheese lingering in the back of her head.
She just had to eat enough so it didn't seem too suspicious, with a look up at Sierra she set her mind on sharing it. A little grin sat on her face now, so delicious creamy goodness would be the best thing before a hard mission. She reached out to tap Sierra on the hand and licked her lips before winking, a little sigh that they came up with.
She had better food.
Just eat enough.
With a sudden thought she pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and began to jot down a quick list for Jamie, the pen materializing from somewhere in her pink hair. She stood quickly, nodding to her borg, and sauntered up behind Jamie, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her lips by his ear.
Simple flirtation between friends.
"For your present..."She whispered while slipping the paper into his shirt with a grin.
She made her way back to the mech labs, a little wave to Sierra to follow when she was ready.

Victor was left a little shell shocked and less hungry than before, which, for him, was rather out of character. He ate almost anything, his tech burning all of his calories so he always felt a ravenous hunger.
But.
Not now.
The moment was made all the more confusing as the silverware stuck to his hands, the metal bowl too, and he was left a bit upset with tableware magnetized to his stupid hands.
His sad face was all the more pathetic.

[OpenTheDoor]

(Yeah, I'm going to do a timeskip -- not now, I need my sleep, so sorry -.- Umm, I'll probably take it to the packing stage, just before they head out so that Hanna and Jamie can talk about Vic and Adrian can interrogate Vic on Hanna... Sound good, everyone?)

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