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 Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:04 pm
"For that he'd need legions. Looking at this you could outfit maybe one, if it was smaller in size" Langer replied, examining the blade on the knives.
"Could be a gift. All that he could spare for someone who wishes to rebuild a fallen empire. Only reason I can think of for stashing an armory in a crypt. Much better to just plain hide the stash otherwise" he commented.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:40 pm
Romulus walked out of the armory and onto the platform.
"But there are hundreds...if not thousands more the further you go down. Remus must have hidden an entire legion of dead Praetorians in this crypt of his. I understand if he wanted to hide his weapons for somebody wanting to outfit a new army. But why bother putting all this equipment in with the dead, then?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:47 pm
To the corner of his vision, a red light flickered to life with an exceptional lack of stealth. It whirred painfully, until managing a constant red stare. Its once silent and well-oiled joints crackled and knocked as the machine that once remained inactive among the rifles and swords approached Romulus. Though no doubt neglect had irrevocably damaged many facets of its processing capabilities, much of the robot's strength and speed were not sacrificed, as evidenced by its powerful gait, despite its dangerous-looking motor ticks. It went quiet as it stopped a meter from the imperator, and it would be silent but for the gentle hum of processing ticking coming from inside the error-plagued mind of the robotic guardsman.
"Voi-voi-voi recOOOgnition ver-fi-cat-n requi-I-ired," it managed to squawk.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:01 pm
Romulus jumped slightly at the automaton that had sprung to life. He hadn't noticed it before. The model wasn't one Rom was familiar with. Perhaps it was a new line of legionaries that his brother designed for Techno Legion. Well, new at the time anyway.
"Romulus." the Imperator replied. He doubted that his voice was in the system. But maybe it didn't matter. The thing looked ready to fall apart anyway.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:12 pm
Somewhere in that glitch-riddled mind, untold 0s were replaced with 1s, innumerate 1s substituted with 0s. At last, it reached a conclusion as to how it should best deal with the situation it was given.
"GRE Model P009 beta release, praepositus," it whirred with a preprogrammed bow, as it was intended to do. To its superiors. "Offline mOde. 0 of 150 guard-dsmen under cOOmmand remAIning. How may I-" and the voice synthesizer gave out briefly, terminating its sentence.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:21 pm
"0 of 150 Guardsmen. Hm. Somebody should probably look into that." the Betrayer replied sarcastically. Though the robot wasn't likely to catch it.
"I'm looking for the resting place of the first Supreme Imperator, Remus Fletcher. Can you lead me there, P009?" Romulus asked politely.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:29 pm
The machine's overclocked head beeped several times, almost convincing Romulus it was about to blow, then rapidly switching to an audio file--- "didididiAHAHAHAYAYAggd---" It squawked disconcertingly in response. The grating audio terminated as suddenly as it began, letting it echo the empty halls briefly before answering the second query directed at it. "Remus Fletcher. Sublevel 03." A swift pivot of direction and the machine was off to its instructed destination.
Glitched and ruined as it was, it still seemed to have some semblance of sanity inside. Towards the stairwell it went, leading its superior onward. Not that it would be wise to follow too closely to the circuit-crackling scrapper.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:38 pm
The Imperator followed the robot and hoped that it would lead him to Remus' final resting place before falling apart or exploding. They walked past more armories and mausoleums, going ever deeper.
"P009? Why did my brother put all these armories and dead Praetorians down here with him? What purpose did he expect them to serve?" Rom asked, seeing if he could get any information out of the robot before it inevitably malfunctioned.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:49 pm
The robot did not take much time to answer, but it would have been nice if it were capable of taking its time. "Weapons dd-d- to protect against malfactio--- aetorian war before Gamma anomaly, predi--- Gamma anomaly. Protect against malfactio--- aetorian. But it is not yet. Prepared for to---" God, this thing was near-useless! At least it seemed to know where it was going. It continued its jarbled explanation for several more paces, not allowing Romulus an opening to shut it up, until at last the thing gave out and fell down the remaining flight of stairs, clanking horribly, until its shattered husk landed before a marked, important looking tomb. The fall had all but destroyed what was left of the robot, but for what it was worth, it still managed to lead Romulus where he intended. (( New avatar unrelated ))
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:12 pm
Romulus wasn't surprised. He hadn't expected a real answer anyway. Still, the robot served its purpose and it lead the Imperator to exactly the place it needed to go. Romulus looked up at the tomb. Yes, it was Remus' all right. Guarding the door were two golden art-deco legionary statues, naked except for a helm. One was female, the other was male. They wielded a pilum and a shield. The doors themselves were gold plated and featured an amazing etching of space battles, the Battledome and the faun Empress, Kaok. Rom stood for a moment and wondered if he should just turn around. No. He had come too far. He had to retrieve the laurels. Then why was there this intense fear? Ghosts didn't exist. Rom saw a panel jutting from the floor in front of the doors. He rested his hand on it.
"Fletcher Bloodline Identified." An automated voice announced.
The heavy vault doors slowly swung outward, pushing the broken robot aside in the process.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:29 pm
Langer had stayed behind. The armory seemed to not be Romulus' intention, so he was content to examine it while Romulus searched for what he sought. He picked up a pulse rifle and set about disassembling it, recording the process so he could put it back together if need be.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:33 pm
The Great Betrayer walked into the tomb and was awed by what he saw. There was a platform that overlooked the biggest metal statue Romulus had ever seen. He gazed up at the statue and realized it was of Remus himself. However, something was strange about it. The chest portion was open, revealing a skeletal structure underneath with an open spherical cavity within. Large cables were connected to the back of the statue's neck. Romulus stood gazing at it before he remembered what he had come for. There, at the end of the platform, laying on peacefully on a marble slab, were the remains of Remus Fletcher.
Rom cautiously walked up to his brother's corpse and looked down at it. The Imperator's synthetic flesh was gone and all the was left was a metal automaton skeleton, garbed in a dried up ceremonial military uniform. Then Rom's eyes fell upon the laurels mounted on Remus's head. Rom wore them once, too. Until the Resistance overthrew him.
"I regret that you no longer need these, brother. Hope you're resting well." Rom mused as he reached for the silver laurels.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 4:04 pm
Rom grinned a just as he was about to grab the laurels-Remus' hand shot up and grabbed Rom's arm, digging his skeletal thumb in and drawing blood.
"REMUS FLETCHER 2.0. BLOODLINE ACTIVATION. INITIATING GALACTIC PURGE." Romulus gasped in pain and yanked himself from the dead man's grip, clutching his forearm "What?!" Remus' skeleton was suddenly propped up by mechanical arms from under the marble slab and from the ceiling. More mechanical devices and metal tendrils began appearing from the floor and adding metal panels and glowing circuitry. A
hum and metal clanking grew louder and louder as the first Imperator was reassembled. Romulus could only stand in shock. Remus' eyes opened and they had a strange ethereal glow about them. "This...this can't be! You're dead!" Romulus said, staring at the First Imperator. Remus said nothing. The platform on which he stood then floated backward across the chasm and Remus stepped into the heart of the large statue. The chest piece then closed and the cables holding the statue in place were released. The statue stirred with an ominous metal groan. Then...the eyes opened.
"I.....am awake. Who has awakened me?" The First Imperator's voice was different than what people would have remembered. It was sounded metallic and echoed throughout the crypt.
Remus' eyes fell upon Romulus, who was staring up slack jawed in disbelief. Remus' eyes narrowed.
"YOU!"
Romulus had inadvertently awoken a sleeping giant. Remus had turned himself into a doomsday weapon.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 4:06 pm
((And I will pause this here. Gonna go outside for a bit.))
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 4:50 pm
((Actually, I'm gonna be on SWTOR. We'll continue later.))
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