[IC] The Call to Infinity

Ulysses wakes up from the stasis. He sits up with trembling hands, feeling the temperature rising inside him as his body regains consiousness. "I will never get used to this crap..." he thinks as he watches the others around him waking. He crawls off the coffin and touches the cold deck floor. A headache is killing him but it's the process of the waking. After some time, he goes to the designated area with his locker. The room smells of sweat and feet. He gets dressed· boots, dark blue cargo overalls and a brown leather jacket. He checks the backpack too, his few personal belongings are all there. He pops a painkiller, closes the locker and exits the shuttle.

He sees his teammates but he does nothing that can break his cover. They would meet at the designated point in a few hours. But there is something that stirrs the crowd, a familiar and not in a good way presence. "Joder!" he curses when he sees the Leviath agents. "What they want here?" he thinks, as he tries to move with the flow of the crowd but tries to find the closest exit or dark alley to avoid any possible check by the enemy agents.

Waking from cryosleep was never fun, but you dealt with it. Got better at pushing through it and shrugging it off despite knowing the physiological toll it took on a body. As a medical officer she knew the science behind it and accepted it.

She scoffed as she realized that even in a coffin, there was no escape from advertising. Coporate greed dug its nails into you even there.

Rummaging in her pack, she donned her glasses, checked her appearance and headed down the ramp, her observant mind assessing threats and picking out her teammates, almost subconsciously. Not sensing anything out of order she was about to approach her fellow agents when she saw them. Cool was her middle name. She had nothing in her pack to raise suspicions. She would acquiesce to being searched. The chances of these grunts knowing who she was were minimal at best. But Ulyses, no! She saw him eyeing the exit. To run was to be caught. She hoped he wouldn't.

Legionnaire units of this size are not typically active on the station, and their presence now can't be a mere coincidence. The fact that the rebels off-station provided you with no warning of their arrival is concerning--even if Leviath forces acted faster than expected, there should have been tip-offs that filtered through the system from their movements.

Dell can only hope that the Legion has been alerted to the presence of the target in the area (likely) and that is what they are seeking and not his team specifically.

His ID lists him as a contracted delivery driver for a small local delivery corp that operates as a logistics front for the rebellion.

He does his best to read the ebb and flow of the crowd to arrive at a Legionnaire just as they were about to question one of his teammates and interrupt them.

"Good morning! As busy a day as I can recall seeing at the port recently! Is something out of the ordinary going on?" Dell presents his chip confidently for a scan.

To Switchblade, cryostasis is a barely noticeable inconvenience - too little of his human body remains to be discomforted by being frozen, and the multitude of secondary core processors hidden inside the chassis of his neck is enough to monitor the condition of his metal parts and control the heating elements as needed. In other words, he exits the transportation vessel spry as a very metal cucumber, and very cheerfully slides down the edge of the ramp - prompting a number of confused side looks and attracting enough attention for the Leviath Legionnaires to notice him. Although before they can beeline to the engineer, a fellow agent intercepts them.

Switchblade is not very concerned by the search - the only things he has on him are what he needs for repairing his cybernetics, plus a currently empty pack for potential scrap and repossessed valuables. His weapon is his arms, and even Leviath authorities would think twice before declaring them contraband; not a good look to confiscate prosthetics, after all, might cause a commotion. However, he isn't as sure about his fellow agents, so a distraction is what might be prudent. Or at least an assist in one, since the ISOmorph - Dell, was it? - seem to be well on his way to handle it.

So instead of passing by, Switchblade settles for hovering in Dell's vicinity, incessantly shifting his mechanical parts to bring attention to himself and block the Legionnaires' view of the crowd as much as possible. People do tend to stare at him; these shouldn't be an exception, if only at a first impression.

"Sure, here you go," Switchblade complies readily, showing the passport while offering the Legionnaire an easy smile. "I'm here for cheap materials. Corners of the system like this one don't get many traders, you know? And those who come by are usually not interested in scrap metal, so there is often a surplus. Remnants of broken down tech no one would fix, discarded industrial waste, decommissioned ships. Practically a paradise for an opportunistic mechanic who can afford a small journey!" He gestures towards the landscape around. "And among the scrap, sometimes one can find a metaphorical diamond."

He continues to lazily wiggles his fingers while the guard scans the passport. "..Might also look for opportunities while I'm here. Have you good gentlemen heard of any interesting bounties lately? I don't imagine a place like this gets many troublemakers, but might as well check."

"Of course," says Dell, without missing a beat.

Though the agents were supposedly arriving with the tools they needed, Dell had taken the precaution of putting together a small package of water, protein paste, and vitamin pills in case anyone had had a problematic recovery for cryostasis.

He pulls out the delivery paperwork and hands it over. The package is addressed to Dr. Renn, upon arrival at the station. Dell would much rather have not had to present it to the Legion, since it would offer a piece of evidence to tie them together, but it seemed to present a reason to be here and not cause them to look deeper.

Ulysses takes the opportunity and bypass the Legionnaires. He tries to blend with the crowd down the line. When he sees that he is safe, he sits on a makeshift bench, made by scrap material, and lights a cigarette. "That was close, I am in no mood of dealing with those damned corpo dogs today..." he thinks.

Ava heaves a sigh of relief when she sees Ulysses stay out of harm's way and find a "bench" and sit down. She smiles at Switchblade's antics to draw attention. Smart! she thinks. Ava feels safe, at least for the moment. Being recognized was the only threat. She carried nothing of importance.

She spies Dell and a package and watches to see what will happen next as she nonchalantly strolls toward Ulysses bench.

Switchblade lazily struts through the crowd, pausing a few times to look around at the worn down buildings and the people milling about, taking in the atmosphere of the station. Only a part of it is for show, since he is genuinely curious about this place, but it's probably not the best time to appreciate the views and consider the possibilities.

Once safely out of view of the Legionnaires, he swerves towards the questionable scrap construct Corvis choose as his smoking perch and then stops a few steps away from it, pretending to check something in his bag. "Colleagues, I suggest we move further away from the landing platform," he speaks quietly, just enough to be audible to Ulysses, Ava, and Dell - if the latter follows. "In case there are cameras in the area. Always a possibility."

Dell makes his way through the line to join the others where they're seated.

"Dr. Ava Renn, I have a delivery for you if you'll just sign here. " he greets the doctor, then in a quieter tone pitched only for the agents seated around him. "And those troops have your name and probably some of the others'. I'd suggest we make ourselves scarce."

"Oh? Oh. Right." Taking the package she begins to move away, keeping her eyes out for troops as casually as she can. "Why do they have my name?" she asks calmly. She was used to situations like this.

"It's getting better by the minute..." Ulysses scoffs. He gets up and is ready to go with the rest of the team.

Switchblade pretends to have found whatever he was checking for in his bag, and, seemingly completely ignoring the others, walks off whistling - roughly in the direction he saw Ava looking in, but faster than the others so it doesn't look like they're together. It is but a temporary measure, but hopefully will at least make it less obvious that they're a team to any observers. As he walks, he tries to look around for any sort of public establishment which is unlikely to have a camera or law enforcement inside. A bar, perhaps, or a workshop? Even a dark alleyway or tunnel would probably work.

"Not sure, it looked like their system was cross- referencing arrivals against another list and yours was on both," Dell says softly. "I'd bet you were just lucky enough to come up first and it's just a matter of time until we all match."

His eyes glow a momentarily deeper shade of red.

"Which feels like a set up. If we've got everyone, I'd suggest we leave the area now."

"Yes, of course," she says to Dell, a little startled by the eye color changes those like Dell could make. But she adjusted. It was what she did. Go with the flow and do it calmly, was her motto. With no time to peruse the contents of the envelope she was nevertheless curious about it.

"Do you have any idea what's inside?" she asks, wiggling the envelope and walking briskly nodding to her fellow teammates now that they were together again.

"I'll open it when it's safe to do so. We need to keep our eyes and ears on the area before then." Ava smiles at Ulysses. She doesn't mean to be harsh, but they really can't afford to be ambushed by shadow lurkers.

"The package is just some simple supplies--supplements in case anyone was suffering from their transit state, I'm afraid." Dell nods toward Renn. "Directed to you as our certified doctor."


"As for where to look next, I'd suspect that his home and his work will be the first places anyone checks--so if that's where he is, it's likely he's already been found and we'd have better luck elsewhere."

Dell wracks his brain, trying to think of the area around LVL112 where the last citing occurred, especially any under construction. Maybe the target was hitting a random location for real to make it hard to track him, but it would make sense if he'd chosen a location near where he needed to make a purchase.

(Dell's ride is a small van--colored a vivid royal blue with 'Speed E. Partz' stenciled on the side in bright yellow. Though it's basically just a box van, with a second row of seats that can be stood up in the back or laid down to make room for more cargo, the front section is highly angular and almost entirely glass, giving it a very aerodynamic look, the sides have a number of dents and areas of pitting, all of which are covered over by the paint that appears to have simply been applied over them without any thought of repair.)

"Ah, I see. Alright. Good. No top secret missives then," she says with a chuckle. Yeah, I have to agree with your assessment, Dell. But where to look?"

Switchblade is leaning against a building wall closest to the corner, quietly listening to his companions and watching the street for any unexpected appearances - pursuing Legionnaires, or troublemakers lurking among the alleyways.

"If he was withdrawing reál regardless of the threat of being spotted, then he probably intended to use them for something worth the risk. Likely escaping the station." The mercenary looks over his shoulder, his head turning nearly full 180° to observe the others. "But I wouldn't discard the idea of going to his place of residence. We might not find him, but we might find information about his connections. Neighbours often notice more than folks expect them to."

He shrugs, head snapping back in place with a mechanical whirr. "Although I'm fine with anything. Definitely not here for my non-existent espionage expertise."

"Risky, going to his place. It's probably under observation. Good point though about clues being there." She looks to the others.

"What do we think, folks?"

"What if we do a fly-by of LV112 on the way to his home? If we see a likely hideout nearby we scope it out. If not we see whether his house appears monitored and if we think it's worth risking paying it a visit?"

"Sounds good to me," Switchblade makes finger guns at Dell. "Just see how it goes, act accordingly. If anyone spots us, blow up everything to cover the tracks." He says the last part completely seriously, although it is very likely not.

As he waits for the group to come to a conclusion, Dell will lead them to where his van is parked, throw open the side door, stand up the additional seating, and ensure they are safely buckled in.

Ava does a double take on Switchblade when he suggests blowing everything up. That would be less than ideal. Maybe he was kidding. Ava decides that must be the case as she walks briskly to Dell's van, envelope in hand.

Switchblade leans over the back of Dell's seat to examine the area through the front window - despite the whole section of the vehicle being glass, apparently he just has to look precisely through the front. Or maybe he just likes getting into others' personal space.

"This place seems busy," he remarks, gaze sweeping over the street. "Think our target is the type to try and hide in the crowd? Then again, I bet there are cameras everywhere around, they'd be able to detect him in a few minutes." The cyborg pauses thoughtfully, then adds: "The decommissioned power plant probably doesn't have as much security, but would a spy choose something like this for a hideout?"

"If it's safer, why not? No or fewer cameras, no guards? I'd choose it if I was hiding, which I probably should be doing now, she says, chuckling.

Ulysses sat at the back and was silent during the transit. He observed areas of interest as they passed the station sectors. Where structural damage would be catastrophic (he missed his mecha and thought of some old battle), where people were gathering, escape paths and other minor stuff. He listened the rest of the crew and thought the same too. "I agree about the Power Plant..." he said as he checked his cigarette pack, mostly out of habit to keep his hands busy rather than wanting to smoke.

"I think we do need to consider the possibiity this site was chosen for a withdrawal because it's both crowded and accessible--and that may mean the target chose it because he could slip in and back out without being immediately identified and he didn't plan to remain anywhere in the area and is on a completely different level by now," says Dell. "However, I too am intrigued by the power plant, his construction credentials could give him a valid cover for accessing the location."

"We don't exactly have many leads, so might as well follow on all possibilities," Switchblade leans on Dell's seat fully, now without even looking out the windows and just being a nuisance. "Let's quickly check the power plant for signs of activity. If not our target, maybe we can at least find something useful. A little bit of scavenging of Leviath property, and all the fun stuff."

Switchblade looks up, his mechanical pupils narrowing like a cat's, their soft cyan glow briefly intensifying as he focuses on the power plant above. "I suppose this counts as activity, although I doubt it is caused by humans." He watches blue sparks with curiosity. "Movement might be, but it's just as likely remnants of the plant's mechanism. Do you all think it's worth checking? I can quickly get back and forth..." The way he says it doesn't even hide his excitement about visiting this derelict wonder of technology.

"Impressive..."says Ulysses as he sees the station up close. It reminds him his life before the war, how many years have passed? Too many to start counting. "I guess this is our stop?" he says and is ready to get out of the van.

"If you can check it quickly, why not, Switchblade? Be careful though. We can't really see who might be watching us. Don't walk into a trap. We can keep our eyes out for you while you have a look."

So many nooks and crannies to hide in. It made her nervous.

Turning to Ulysses, she nods. "That it is. Very much so. It was probably quite something back when it worked properly."

Dell looks for a parking spot that obscures them the best from eyes either on the road and in the plant itself and pulls over.

"Want me to wait here with the engine running or help you scout around?" he asked Switchblade and Ulysess.

"It's best to be prepared to do a quick getaway just in case," Switchblade stretches, checking the flexibility of his joints before jumping out of the van. "Although you just sitting here will be a waste, and probably boring for you. Perhaps we can split? Ulysses and myself will quickly check out the interior, while you and Ava circle around the exterior?"

"Sounds okay. I just have to make sure I'm not spotted by a camera or otherwise. You can start up that jalopy pretty quick Dell, so come on. Let's take a walk. I'm pretty good at spotting things that don't belong."

Ava's eyes case the area quickly followed by a more intense scrutiny of the areas in shadow.

Dell pauses, looking back at the Speed E. "She's not an old..." he begins to protest, then rushes to catch up when he realizes Dr. Ava has already started moving to investigate.

Dell is too newly arrived at the station to have delivered to the plant when it was in full operation, but he figures any signs of traffic or activity are worth noting as he tries to skirt the perimeter without making himself too obvious.

Ava just catches Dell's voice in the air as she strides quickly on their reconnaissance stroll.

"Whose not old?" she asks the isomorph, more out of making conversation than wanting information. "Did you mean me?" she asks with a chuckle as they scan the area for threats and cameras.

Ulysses takes point and goes through the steam. He is careful because he doesn't want any surprises, neither from security personell nor from any locals. He stops before the checkpoint, in a way that they are not visible if it is occupied. "There is a checkpoint but I do not know if it's empty. Want me to go through it and check?" he wispers to Switchblade.

Switchblade extends his neck to look over Ulysses shoulder, examining the checkpoint through the steam before humming in consideration. "That would work. And if there are guards and you get spotted, I can try to sneak in while the security is distracted. And if it's empty, you can just wave back at me to signal it." The cyborg blinks. "And if you want *me* to raise some trouble - clap your hands, how about it?"

"Ok, see you on the other side." Ulysses says and walks in the middle of the pathway. He tries to look like he is lost, in case someone sees him, he scans the surrounding area for any threats.

"No, not you! Argh, which is not to say you are old!" the way Dell hangs his metallic head somehow conveys embarrassment. He eyes a momentary flash in the plant window, trying to determine the source, a welding torch?"I was just mumbling to myself. Err, how much do you know about why this target defected?"

Ulysses sees that the booth is empty and signals Switchblade to come carfeully. He will step a bit further into the checkpoint with the intention to blend with the shadows. The intention is to regroup after the checkpoint and move further into the hallway. He will whisper to Switchblade what he sees and to be careful for possible contacts when he comes closer.

Switchblade slips out of the steam to join Ulysses at the security booth, briefly looking around it before following the man into the hallway. He scoffs when they pass remnants of a Ghiseling bottle on the floor, muttering something about trash taste, but otherwise remains quiet and silent, staying alert of their surroundings.

"Not anymore than you, Dell.

Ava chuckles at the isomorph's attempt to wiggle out of his faux pas.

"We should go in, quietly and see if we can figure out what's going on in here and who is in here. Be ready," she warns, all playfulness gone from the woman now.

Switchblade looks at Ulysses in silent question and mimics smashing a fist against something. He seems to be ready to indulge in a little bit of violence with the guard, unless his companion prefers to retreat or talk it out. It might not be the best course of action when the guard is talking to someone, but it is what Switchblade does best (aside from the cybernetics).

Ulysses does not want to hit the guard. He sees Switchblade's signal and interpents it as to create a distraction. He picks up a broken bottle from the floor and throws it into a room (that looks empty) near him. He then tries to blend with the shadows and will wait to see what happens. He will regroup with Switchblade down the corridor or he will attack the guard if he sees him approaching.

As they walk back, Dell nods to the Comet Construction truck, "Seems our hunch may have been right--that's the target's employer."

"She's not old junk!" Dell mutters to himself quietly as he hunches behind cover to observe the pair. He turns to the doctor.

"It sounds like they're looking for a specific vehicle, but who would be expecting us here? We only just selected this destination and they don't look like legion security who would have tracked us from the port," he whispers. "Perhaps if we wait they'll leave?"

"Cameras!" she quietly hisses. "That's the only way. We can watch and wait but they might steal our wheels." Hunching beside Dell she looks around for surveillance cameras they might have missed.

"The others and us might be in imminent danger."

Seeing Ulysses go with a distraction route, Switchblade withdraws back as well, hiding in the shadows until his companion joins him. He then inclines his head towards the end of the hallway, silently asking if they should try to sneak by the guard or return to the entrance.

"I say we move forward" wispers Ulysses.

"Oh hell. We have to stop them trashing our wheels. You ready to rush them? They are only kids."

With no time to lose, Ava bolts toward the van. She intends to yank the driver out of the seat and presumes Dell is right behind her. She figures these kids are opportunists.

"Isn't the guy an engineer or something with tech?" Ulysses asks.

"Which guy, our target? His cover job is listed as a weld breaker, I wouldn't necessary classify it as engineering. Although from a certain point of view, breaking things is a part of creative process..." Switchblade replies as he examines the signs, then looks around at the two corridors. "That said, we thought he'd be here because the plant is abandoned, and it isn't; is there even a reason to continue investigating?"

He hums in consideration, then points at the directions. "If he is working or hiding here, it might be worth checking the lockers - less chances for anyone to be here. However, I see no reason to suspect that he does, so I wouldn't be opposed to visiting the engineering area out of professional curiosity."

"Ok, lockers it is. Let's hurry, I do not want any more guards on our asses..." says Ulysses with a bit of worry.

"But I just said-" Switchblade looks taken aback at Ulysses' response, his mechanical eyes narrowing in confusion, but then just shrugs it off: "Alright, why not. I wouldn't want to rob their engineers either way in case they're not affiliated with the Leviath. Although I still wouldn't mind a quick detour on the way back!"

"How dare they!" Dell is already moving as Ava asks if they should charge. He'll tackle one of the kids before they can board if close enough. If he can't reach the kids themselves, he wants to try and grab the back of the van and work his way through the back (opening the keyless locks) before they drive away.

Ava fast on the heels of Dell grabs the other kid and roughly tries to place her hand over his mouth while wrapping her other arm around his chest, rendering him as immobile as she can manage.

Shut your mouth," she hisses, "or we really will be killing you!"

"Stop struggling, " Dell tells the other, attempting to keep him pinned down but not further injure him. "If I were killing you, you'd already be dead. But that is still an option. "

"I want to know what you think you're doing, breaking into our vehicle."

Switchblade looks around the locker room with an evaluating expression. "Quite a mess," he remarks as he steps over a small heap of discarded papers flowing out of one of the abandoned lockers above. "Wonder if this is all that remains from the times this plant was in operation, or if it changed hands recently. Maybe both?" The cyborg sighs and nods to Ulysses: "You take the right, I take the left, let's search for any names of note?"

"Damn-it!" Ava hisses. "We better get the others and get out of here with that shrieking lunatic warning everyone within twenty miles. Might as well let the other one go."

"Oh hell. They're onto us," Ava says when she spots the security guards. "Three of them. What do we do, Dell? We can't leave the others and we can't stay here. I don't think killing is the answer either."

"Ok, but not go far. We are already thin.", Ulysses says and goes to check his side.

"Ah, good, security." calls out Dell, rising and pulling the other kid up by the arm. "These individuals have vandalized our vehicle. They should be reported to the proper authorities."

With his other hand, he triggers the Speed E.'s automatic starter.

More quietly, just above the roar of the engine, he tells Ava. "If we want to make a break and circle back later, we probably have to do it before they get any closer."

Ava plays along with Dell's quick thinking. "This is why I am a research scientist and not a .... Quickly easing into the ruse, Ava plays her part.

"Yes, officers, these rapscallions need to be arrested right away!"

Switchblade looks up at the duo of newcomers and offers them an easy smile: "Something like that. We were looking around, judging the abundance of curious debris, and I got derailed a little by a familiar name," he nods towards the potential locker of their target. "I used to work with the guy of the same surname a few years back, wondered if it's the same one. Do you know him by chance? DeVie?"

He steps closer to Tucker and his ISOmorph companion. "The one I knew owes me a few hundred reál for some tech repairs - would be quite ironic if that's how I catch up with him." Switchblade clicks his tongue and rakes a hand through his hair. "You help the guy to fix his car, and he bails on you without paying., can you believe it? Some people have no class whatsoever. Although admittedly, at least he had a sense of style." He pauses, then demonstratively looks over Tucker. "..As do you! Hazard suits are hardly the height of fashion, but you two pull them off well. Love the visor, by the way - is it infrared?"

Ava knows that they are likely to be ID'd now and is happy for the temporary distraction of the whining kid. While Ava slowly makes the motion of withdrawing her ID, she glances at Dell as if to say, we've got make our move now whether it's a bribe or violence!

She wasn't thrilled with the odds especially since these sec guys had weapons drawn already but what resources did they have to pay off these goons?

"Let's just cool it for now, put down your weapons and we can talk," Ava says nicely as she tries to buy them time.

"Hansy? As in Hans? I'll be damned, it is him then." Switchblade chuckles and shakes his head. "World is smaller than one would think. Is he around? Might as well reminisce about old days over a cup of probably dust-contaminated tea, or whatever is the local drink of choice. I'd appreciate it you point me in the direction where I can find him after work. I'll even promise not to mention you, if you'd like!"

He watches with genuine curiosity when Calli flexes their arms, his interest in engineering briefly eclipsing the nature of their mission as Switchblade lets the conversation derail. With enthusiasm, too. "Impressive partnership you have here! And as for my augments, these accumulated over the years; used to be a cybernetics engineer back in the day, and old habits are hard to break. Especially when they are literally your limbs now!" He grins and wiggles his mechanical fingers. "Nowadays I just work whatever jobs are available, really - being mostly metal gives a lot of advantages in searching for contracts. Building, engineering... even bounty hunting and scavenging, sometimes."

Ulysses is staying silent. His patience is running thin but he knows that there is nothing he can do, especially with that large ISO. "Damn I wish I had my mech!" he thinks. He goes next to Switchblade and tries to show relaxed.

Having removed his bulk from the child, Dell releases his hold on the kid's arm and steps back, palms raised toward the weapon trained on him.

He regrets not following his instinct and driving away immediately, but he hadn't wanted to abandon the others inside the complex.

"The registration is in the glove box if you wish me to retrieve it. I've unlocked the vehicle if you wish to do so yourselves. Careful of the fallen glass caused by their breaking and entering. "

"Control, you say? Much appreciated!" Switchblade grins and makes finger guns at Tesker. "We should grab a coffee later, talk an engineer to an engineer, commiserate about overqualification and component shortage. Been a while since anyone's been willing to listen to me blather on about cybernetics!" He lightly slaps Ulysses's shoulder, projecting "we're work buddies and I love annoying him" energy. "But for now, don't let me interrupt your break, gotta go find the boss before we earn ourselves a lecture. And grab some stuff from the outside... See you two later!" He cheerfully waves at Tesker, nods at Calli and turns to leave.

Provided no one interrupts their retreat, once Ulysses and Switchblade are out of the earshot and the field of view, the cyborg leans to whisper to his companion: "Should we risk it and try to find him? We have the confirmation that Hans is here, meeting him right now might be stretching our luck. We can probably just retreat. Although... can't say I'm completely against hitting the metal while it's hot."

"I agree, we should search for him. This is probably the best lead we have.", Ulysses says and starts walking at a quick pace.

Switchblade nods and follows along, keeping an eye on the corridors they pass, to hopefully avoid running into any more employees. "We should be careful not to spook him," he notes while they make their way back to the crossroads. "Make it clear that we aren't the Leviath enforcers trying to track him down. Any ideas on how to do that?" Switchblade's eyes blink. "I can pretend to be a worker, but I doubt I can convince someone cautious that I am a revolutionary."

"Ah well, it's ... uh ... in the van." Ava was going to put off showing any ID for as long as possible. She was also surreptitiously keeping an eye on Dell to see what was happening there.

Ugh, this just keeps going from bad to worse. The vagrants seem to be working for the guards, who may be on the lookout for the doctor if they're somehow associated with the Legion, and there are now too many guns trained on them for him to just grab her and escape safely.

Dell's ISO unit was not really designed with deception in mind regardless of his work for the rebellion, and he did not see a clear route to defusing this situation that will not put the doctor in further danger. He feels quite certain he is about to make matters worse regardless of what he says; but he decides to start spewing some type of nonsense in an attempt to at least keep a conversation going while he watches for a moment when the guards' weapons are lowered or not trained on the two of them.

"At the beginning? Of what precisely? I delivered the engineer to this facility per my instructions," he motions towards Ava. "But she seemed uncertain where to report. I was also unaware as I thought this plant was no longer in service and this information had not been detailed in my work order."

The ISO pauses and some portion of his hardware emits a hiss of steam; often times normal humans do not fully understand the way ISO's think or operate and perhaps he can lean into his 'programming' as an excuse for his ignorance or lack of quick submission. He figures casting doubt as to Ava's identity is better than admitting her name if it has already been flagged by the Legion's system. Probably an error, but too late to go back now.

"I offered to drive her around to locate the proper entrance, but I gather she did not want to make a bad first impression by appearing lost--so I pulled over and we stepped from the vehicle to survey which buildings were in use. Fortunately, I followed standard procedure and applied a full lock down when exiting."

He stabs an accusing finger at the two ruffians, watching to see if this shifts the guards' attention.

"We had walked perhaps a few dozen steps when those two began attempting to smash their way into my vehicle. I protected it as required by my programming. I will be happy to make a statement to this effect to the proper authorities."

Ava tries to catch Dell's eye as if to say it's now or never. The now or never meaning what, she wasn't sure. She'd follow Dell's lead whether it was to rush the van or run away, using the distraction to buy a small amount of time, for she had no weapons.

With the one guard still keeping his weapon trained on them, Dell doesn't love these odds. However, with their leader turned away and the other inside the Speed E., they certainly aren't going to get any better. Any hesitation and they're just going to revert back to three, possibly five against two.

He wishes his and Ava's positions were reversed, so that he had the alert guard within his grasp, but that's just his usual luck.

He'll have to hope that his actions cause enough of a distraction for the doctor to either overcome or escape from the other opponent, and that he moves fast enough not to be too much of an easy target.

His ISO model is built for speed first, and his transition from a standing start to a lunging sprint is nearly instantaneous.

Dell's left arm wraps around the neck of the distracted guard leader while his right is already grabbing at the man's weapon to either seize or negate it; but again he relies on his weight and momentum as his main weapon--crashing full on into his opponent in an attempt to slam him up against the side of the van. If he's lucky the squad leader will at least end up positioned to obstruct fire from the man within the Speed E.

As for the armed guard behind him--he'll just have to pray he's a poor shot.

"Aw crap. Don't tell me this is us!"says Ulysses and turns his head around, trying to figure out how far are they from the rest. "Joder!" he curses in spanish.

"Whoever caused this, we won't be able to find Hans easily now," Switchblade stops in his tracks, his mechanical fingers flexing and whirring in preparation for a potential fight. "We should either rush towards him or leave before we get noticed to maintain our cover." He looks around as well, searching the area for a sign to an emergency exit. "Although if Dr. Renn and Ivers are in trouble, it might be more beneficial to ensure that they don't get arrested and interrogated."

Dell grabs the fallen guard's stunner, mainly to disarm him, and dives forward through the shattered window into the rear of the vehicle, vaulting over the extra seating and rolling forward next to the driver's seat, he shifts the Speed E into gear to take out the guard hiding in front of the hood.

"Dell what do I do? I have no weapons and that guy is still back there." Ava looks around the floor where she is sitting for any kind of makeshift weapons.

"In the meantime, drive like a madman. Slam on the brakes and accelerate. Keep him off balance. If we're lucky he'll hit his head."

Switchblade grins when he notices the sign. "Ha, I haven't took a tramway in ages! There is probably an emergency exit somewhere around there, so we can avoid being too obvious in fleeing the scene. We can also scout out whether we can enter through it at a later date." He inclines his head towards Ulysses: "Your thoughts?"

"We should not waste time. Let's book it." says Ulysses as he glances behind them worringly.

Switchblade nods in agreement and quickly walks over to the door, intending to make his way straight to the tramways. Even if there is anyone inside, they can simply pretend to be trying to leave the building because of the alarm. Use the emergency exit in the intended way, if anything.

Switchblade watches the vehicle retreat, then surveys the area below, squinting at the bodies on the pavement in evaluation. "Seems like something went very much not according to plan," he snorts, then gestures at the scaffolding around them. "Let's get away before law enforcement arrives, I doubt we can convince them that we are local workers. There should be a ladder somewhere around here, I imagine..." The cyborg taps his chin in thought and looks around, trying to see a good, camera-less way to exit the scaffolding. "Then we can think of how to reconvene."

"Dell! We have to take him out. Get that helmet cam!"

Ava doesn't think about the consequences because there is no time. She rushes the guard, hoping that Dell is right there behind her. If not, she will scrap with the guard until something happens one way or the other. Doing nothing was not an option.

Switchblade examines the ladder for a moment, then shrugs and swings himself over the edge of the catwalk, half-climbing half-sliding down the ladder. Once he is on the ground, he waves cheekily at Ulysses to indicate that all's fine and then goes to try the door.

Ulysses checks around him and then he follows Switchblade down the ladder.

Ava struggles hard...

"We can book it," Switchblade comments to Ulysses as he skeptically looks down the highway. "There is always a risk of running into the law enforcement coming this way, but at least we can duke them in the industrial zone. Or..." He glances back at the power plant building. "We can hide somewhere around here and see what happens once they arrive. But I'm not very good at stealth - even without some bottles ruining my vibe - so it's probably not a good idea. But I'm willing to try if that's your preference!"

"We are spread thin as we are. I say we leave and try to reconnect with the others. The mission seems botched from the beggining..." says Ulysses as he checks the surrounding area.

"I'd say it was successful enough!" Switchblade follows after Ulysses, keeping watch on the highway so he can alert the other man when it is time to take cover. "We know that DeVie is here, seemingly still working his job, we can find him again later unless the Leviath spook him. Perhaps even try to infiltrate the facility, even..." He gestures towards the direction Speed-E left in. "I think our best bet is to reconvene by the terminal we looked at earlier, it is the only location of note we were at together. Excluding the station."

As Dell first gains the driver's seat, he initially swings the Speed E. in a wide arc toward the building entrance, paying little mind to any parking lot signage or right of way. He's aiming to see if they can catch any sight of the others to extract them. (With the general approach that if he had an unobstructed path to them, he'd make a beeline and then slow down long enough to pick them up before heading out, otherwise he'd complete the circle and head back out to the highway, ditch the Speed E as soon as possible, and go to ground with the good doctor to meet up with the others when it seemed safe).

As the guard stalks forward, he's of the same mind as Ava, and even as she calls out a warning he's already trying to shimmy the vehicle aggressively from side to side in an attempt to knock the man off his feet in hopes they might be able to simply shove him out the back.

The stunner striking his headrest makes it obvious that plan won't be successful. As Ava grapples with the guard to neutralize him, Dell keeps one hand on the wheel and attempts to use the other to rip off the guard's helmet (if it proves detachable) and attempt to break it against their opponent's face. If doesn't come free with a good tug, he'll aim to smash the helmet cam into the side wall of the vehicle along with its occupant's head until neither one appears to remain functional. All while trying to keep one to one half an eye on the road.

"Whew! I thought we were goners," Ava says, heaving a huge sigh as she almost collapses into the passenger front seat, rolling the guard off of her.

"We have to keep circling and try to grab the others. I don't know about finding DeVie, now. The place will be crawling with security any second."

Ulysses walks with Switchblade through the zone, giving glances behind their backs now and then.

"That was far less of a quiet hit and run than I had hoped,"Dell observes. "However, I'm not sure circling is the best approach. I had hoped to extract the others, but I believe we have become a liability. Security was already alerted to our presence and even away from the power plant, the visible damage to our ride will arouse more suspicion the longer were on the road. However, we have no reason to assume they themselves have been compromised. I will defer to your opinion, but believe we may need to ditch it at the next exit and proceed to locate the others on foot. We should have established a fall back point, where would they head?"

"I'll defer to you. This stuff isn't in my wheelhouse. Let's go with your plan. Let's go."

Ava massages her shoulder. Wrestling with men wasn't something she did every day, or even at all. Once the adrenaline in her body had dissipated, the pain of the struggle became apparent.

While it might be easier to climb or cut the fence, it is also much more noticeable and won't take long for the drones to investigate - so Switchblade dashes towards the locked hatch instead. He tries it, testing the strength of the lock, and then shifts his stance and flexes his fingers. "Let's see if we are authorized," the cyborg grins as he grabs whatever part of the door is grabbable and attempts to force it open.

Wide-eyed and watching as the prowlers shriek by, Ava turns her head, eyes following them until they are out of view and then picking up the scene in the rear-view mirror, her eyes growing wider by the second.

"Oh hell, Dell. Hey, that rhymes. Funny on an ordinary day which this most definitely is not! But ... uh ... a bunch of drones just got released from those prowlers. That's bad. Really bad. Isn't it?"

Switchblade brushes off the residue of mold from his fingers before walking over to the corpse. "Looks like we aren't the only ones who had an idea of hiding from law enforcement here." He picks at the electrical wire and, with a disgusting squelching sound, pulls it off the body's neck. "Considering that the hatch was closed, either it's automatic or whoever stole this person's uniform came and left through some other entrance. Do you suppose they were a guard?" The cyborg flips the corpse onto its back, intending to investigate further. "Ah, human organisms, always so fragile."

As he examines the likely asphyxiated victim further, Switchblade spares a glance towards the radio. "No mention of either of us." He notes. "Let's hope they manage to lay low until we can reunite."

Ulysses brushes the moss from his hands. "I don't like it, it gets worse the more time we spend in this hellhole. Stray frosty, we may not be alone down here.", he says and goes to the terminal, wiping the screen and trying to power it. "Is he stiff?" he asks, trying to determine if the death of the unknown man was recent.

"Frosty? Ha, I don't even need to try, this place is freezing on its own," Switchblade points off-handedly over his shoulder, at the broken coolant pipe. "At least according to my sensors, I don't really feel cold. Just like this fellow here now..." With this morbid comment, the cyborg continues his examination of the body. "Let's see how long this body's been inoperational..."

"I'd say they've been dead for a few weeks - three minimum, likely no longer than five." Switchblade looks between the dusty screen and the frozen corpse a few times, comparing what little features remain. "Whatever this terminal station is intended to handle, it must not be very important if no one had checked it out in over a month. This fellow must've not had a very caring employer, either; or anyone else for that matter."

The cyborg stands up from where he was crouched over the body and walks over to join Ulysses at the terminal. "Are we snooping?" He grins, eyeing the rows of delivery records before them.

"That is a very accurate assessment," Dell agrees. "We need to get away from this vehicle as well as out of sight, NOW!"

Dell will take the first turn off the main road that is available, as fast as he deems is safe to do without looking like reckless driving that will draw the attention of the drones and their minders.

Dell continues to wonder at the linkage between the Leviath forces present on station and the employees at the power plant. It seems as if the kids vandalizing the SpeedE had been looking for them specifically as if they'd been instructed to find them--but the plant security shouldn't have known about them unless they were in touch with the Leviath security at the spaceport. Now the Leviath throughout the station had reacted the moment that the plant became aware of the issue? That all seemed too coordinated, he hoped the others hadn't stepped into some fully active Leviath operation unawares. And what did it mean that the target deserter was actively working in what appeared to be a Leviath run construction project?

Enough other problems to deal with in the present, however; if he's aware of a safehouse nearby, he'll head for it, failing that he wants something with a garage that will at least temporarily obscure the location of the SpeedE, optimally with an attached closed or abandoned-looking building to get themselves out of camera view.

"Yeah but the hornet drones, Dell. I don't suppose there is some kind of rifle in this jalopy that I could shoot them down with." She's only half joking with that question.

"I'm afraid I'm not much help in the weapon department."

Dell picks up the stunner from the guard he had tackled earlier, which has been sliding about aimlessly on the floor and hands it to the doctor. "If one gets near enough, you're welcome to see if this works, but my goal is to not let it come to that."'

He nods toward the road.

"A couple of possibilities here, but I think we'd be conspicuous in the school since it's not clear everyone's invited. Let's head towards the area around that tower, but I wouldn't assume the crowd will hide us from the drones, we want to get inside a building out of sight, but there should hopefully be enough foot traffic in and out for our presence to seem unremarkable."

He drives in that direction and looks to stash the SpeedE in the jumble of buildings.

"Uh, thanks," Ava says as she accepts the stunner, not sure it could knock a drone down if need be, but certainly a person wouldn't enjoy being by it.

Thinking about the school idea she nods her assent. "That's as good idea as I've heard all day."

"Tell me about it," Ava replies jokingly, trying to keep the mood light. "Payment?" she asks, perplexed. Then it dawns on her.

"Oh no. We're not here for that." Then she wonders if she should play along but where would that get them, unless they could leave with another vehicle as a form of payment.

"You know what? How about you pay us with a similar running vehicle?"

"Yes, some frat boys near where we were parked earlier vandalized our vehicle, and to be entirely honest I'm not quite sure what sort of things those inebriated kids sprayed on it. I believe fluid from those goats they had may have been involved at some step?" He looks at Ava and shrugs, then back at the man. "You're braver than I to touch it, I probably wouldn't recommend that--first place I'm heading is to find an autobody shop that will hammer it out and detail it."

Dell puts an arm around the doctor and attempts to hurry her out of the garage and the attendant's sight before the man can connect the damage to the front of the vehicle and the red stain to a hit and run. He's hoping the general damage to all sides of the vehicle will somewhat distract from the overall impression of a collision to the front.

Ava nods, perhaps overzealously, while Dell tells his tale. Her eyebrows arch when he mentions goats and fluid, but otherwise she keeps quiet.

"Thanks. You saved my stupid ass, or our asses, mine being the stupid one. But meanwhile now what? Hope to find the others for a ride?"

Switchblade squints at the terminal screen - less out of a desire to see better and more to emote his feelings on the matter. "Same cargo for months, recorded in a weird sewer hole ways away from the actual storage? Things just keep getting weirder." He snorts in amusement, then pokes at the console: "Think this thing can display the contents of the delivery? Eh, I'll leave this to you, I'm not that good at computers which aren't going inside one's brains."

He leaves Ulysses at the console and instead circles the room, checking for anything else of note it might contain. Mostly scrap which he can poach; but also any indication of another exit that they can take, or anything curious enough to grab his attention. While he does it, Switchblade also listens for activity above them, in case the Leviath are still around.

"My hope was to hide until things quiet down," Dell replies. "I think we're more of a danger to the others than an aide if we show up with a swarm of drone and guards pursuing us."

He shrugs and a puff of steam huffs from vents along his shoulders.

"I'm not too worried they'll find a way to meet us when it is safe. It perhaps says something that they were able to enter the building undetected and we raised alarms just walking around in a parking lot."

Switchblade gives the improvised sewer access a look. He's not squeamish, but cleaning his cybernetics from liquid contaminants is an absolute pain. Not to mention how many diseases one can acquire from wading through dirty water.

The noise from the radio attracts his attention away from the sewer dilemma, and Switchblade makes a note of the location it relays. "At least we know where not to go." He sighs, eyes the floor again and then promptly closes the door. Not today, sewer spirits. At least not until they absolutely need to. "I don't hear any activity above us, so the law enforcement is likely back at the power plant. They'll probably head out to the parking lot now, so we might as well wait until they pass us again and then get out. It's not like either of us is connected to Dell or Dr. Renn... aside from us arriving at the plant in the same vehicle."

He returns to the terminal again and pokes Ulysses with his claw-like finger. "There is also a way into the sewer," the cyborg motions towards the door, "but I'd prefer not to use it unless under significant threat. Perhaps we can go back to the highway and make it to the fence without being noticed, then go through the industrial streets while all of them are focusing on finding the car."

Ulysses agrees with Switchblade. "Let´s wait some more minutes and we leave this hole." He leaves the terminal to his comrade and thinks by himself about the shipping logs and the dangerous materials. "Could all these be relevant to our cause?"

The cyborg hums in agreement as he takes over at the terminal and quickly checks the logs. He's mostly curious about any specific information in them about the cargo: contents of the deliveries, companies and services involved, even minutiae like weight and height - anything which can help to determine what is being transported. It might or might not be relevant, but he's not losing anything by checking either way.

"Uh oh. It just got more difficult to blend in, Dell. It's not like we can slip into one of these shops and hide because then they'll figure out it's us the alert is about. I presume the alert is about us."

Switchblade clicks his mechanical fingers against the terminal's panel. "Preparing for a big bang, aren't they? With how long this log is, it's going to be quite a firework show." He snorts dismissively and closes the log, before stepping away from the screen. Maybe someone else in his place would be more alarmed, but it's hardly in his nature to care too much. "Mhm, maybe they're going for a repeat performance of Bluhte. Just can't stop playing with the metaphorical blowtorch."

He examines the wall near him, brushes the dust off it and then leans against it, intending to wait until the sirens pass them. His eyes slide over the body still lying in the middle of the room, and the cyborg points at the cadaver: "Think anyone is going to come looking for him now that we poked a hornet nest? Might be worth wiping the area off your fingerprints. Although with so much mold and dirt, I doubt anyone can get a good one here..."

"You can be certain of it." Dell tells Ava.

Ah well, so much for laying low until the heat died down. He's curious what the device that gave off the alarm was-- seems it must have identified them immediately by visual recognition or some other indicator. If the merchants hadn't closed he would grab the doctor and himself something loose and concealing.

He glances around, looking for either unsecured vehicles or, failing that, at least an alleyway leading away from the sound of advancing dogs.

"Get him!" Ulysses shouts to Switchblade and stands above the gaping hole. He thinks about it and makes a grimace "Awww, helvete!" he curses and dives into the sewer. He hopes that his comrade follows him.

"We have to blend in somehow or steal a vehicle and run. Maybe that's the only option we have at this point. The dog will get us soon if we don't move. See anything promising for easy break-ins?" she asks Dell.

Switchblade sighs in overexaggerated dismay as their target and Ulysses both disappear into the sewer, then jumps after them. He lands into the disgusting sewage water with a splash, and immediately notes how uncomfortable the narrow tunnel would be for a prolonged chase - not to mention the humidity and the fouls smell. But at least tunnels are good for acoustics.

"DeVie!" He yells after the man, hoping to either distract or perhaps even stop the man. "We aren't with the Leviath, we are here to help!" The cyborg hurries after Ulysses, lighting up his path with his own glowing eyes. "...I know Tesker and Calli!"

"I think this is our last chance to decide if we think we can hide well enough to evade them," Dell says, without slowing down. He motions towards the factory and the former school. "Or if we think we have enough of a head start to outrun them and make it through their perimeter before we're caught in a net. "

He nods toward the sprawl of decrepit businesses.

"Doesn't look like a great section of town. But to be honest, I'm inclined to keep going. "

"I'm with you. It's pretty creepy with many hidey holes. Maybe we could slip into a vacant building if we find one until the worst of it passes."

Clenching her fists, nerves beginning to settle as she gets used to the crazy situation, she finds herself wondering how the others are making out.

"Let's keep going as fast as we can and if we find a suitable place to slip into, let's do it, but also keep our eyes peeled for the others."

Dell nods to Ava and sets a swift pace through the sprawl of abandoned businesses along the ruined streets and out away from the market area, trusting in his courier instincts to find him a clear path out of the area the Legion is collapsing on.