Forums » Sci-Fi Roleplay » Cyborg Recovery Project (SET Initiative RP)

Congratulations, you have been chosen to participate in the Cyborg Recovery Project, as a member of the SET Initiative. Your skills, experience, and uniqueness are the best in the country, which is why we chose you. Your team will meet for the first time at the SET Headquarters. The coordinates for your nearest teleport have been included within this package.

Austin was already out the door as he read the letter. His acceptance into the SET Project meant that they had overlooked his "history." It meant he had another shot. His overly-modified wristwatch had scanned and copied the coordinates into a GPS system he had plugged into his brain. Well, not literally, but there was a nearly seamless communication between it and his other technology. Once at the teleport, the male punched a button, and was instantaneously transported to the SET HQ. The Headquarters was actually a rather large, unmanned space vessel, which allowed for easier and quicker testing of the vehicles and weapons, which were mainly designed for space combat. Austin found himself in a room, where two others already waited. These two were the individuals known as Laurence, or Red, and Jack. Jack stood about a head taller than Austin, and was a lot wider, too. The dude was pretty big overall.
No wonder he uses those huge hammers. Thought Austin, who knew about the previous SET Project all too well. Red had muscles, too, but nowhere near the sheer size of Jack. He had shorter, blonde hair, and he seemed pretty grim, despite the supposed happy occasion of meeting his new teammates. Jack stood up with a slight smile when Austin appeared.
"Howdy! You must be.."
"Austin." The boy completed with another smile.
"Ah, Austin. Good to see you. That's Red, and I'm Jack. We're your new best friends for the next lifetime or two." This was merely responded to with another smile. "So, Austin. Unfortunately, we don't have much time. Hopefully the others will get here shortly. We were going to do some training, but.."
"There's been an attack." Red spoke up unexpectedly.
"Right. There's been an attack. If your friends don't arrive soon, we might have to go without them."

This was just perfect. Jumping straight into the action. No stupid training exercises or boot camp. At least, until after the problem has been contained. This would be fun.";

Amy dragged her feet all the way to the teleport nearest to her. It wasn't as if she were not excited to see this new job through, truly she was. It would be a challenge, that would hopefully make her feel alive for a little while longer. No, the problem this morning was more along the lines, of a raging hangover, and nearly paralyzing fear of meeting new people. Still, she wanted this job, she needed it. She had to get there, and she had to be on time.

The ride was seamless enough, and soon Amy found herself in a large room with three men. All of whom were talking, quite obviously having already met each other, if even for only a few moments. She checked her watch, fearful that she'd been late, but no. She was directly on time. She moved into the room, but was noticeably hesitant of approaching the group. She could feel the familiar feeling of panic rising in her, and she quickly stomped it out. No. She would not ruin this, by freaking out within seconds of arrival.

Jack was the first to notice Amy. The southern accent rang out, friendly as one could sound.
"Howdy, I'm guessing you're Amy." He offered with a warm smile. Red looked up, and then right back at his screen, where he was apparently working something out.

Austin saw Amy as well.
"Hello.." He teased, practically purring, before noticing Amy's shy demeanor and Jack's warning glare. "I mean, erm... It's nice to meet you. I'm Austin." Austin's arm made a slight sound like a motor as he held out his hand to shake, but it was barely noticable.

Great. We have shy people to help us take down the World's most dangerous and advanced intelligent life forms. Thought Red.

Jack's thoughts were somewhere along the lines of I just hope we can get this team to bond together.

Austin's thoughts would be fuzzy to Amy, as if something was interfering. Basic emotions could still be detected, such as excitement, impatience, annoyance (probably because of the wait for other members,) and slight attraction.

"So," Jack offered nervously, "Amy. I'm Jack, and this is Red." Red mumbled an annoyed hello. "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" A weak attempt to familiarize the team, but Jack was doing his best. His last team had ended horribly, and he didn't want a repeat with these kids.

Though Amy's demeanor suggested shyness, her actions in that moment clearly did not. She wasn't shy so much, and severely distrustful of the men currently occupying the room with her. She gave the leader a polite smile, but did not answer his question.

She scowled at the flirt. Definitely not the meek reaction one might have suspected. She didn't like this guy already. Mostly because she couldn't read his thoughts... and that made him a threat to her, in her mind anyway. She did not shake his hand.

Looking around at each of them, as they were introduced, she gave them a curt nod, but did not approach any closer to them. "There is nothing to tell." She said simply in response to Jack's request she tell them something about herself.

Yeousch, tough. Austin awkwardly put his hand down after a few seconds. The scowl definitely was noticed. Red chuckled slightly.

Jack frowned, obviously trying really hard to get these three opposites to at least get along. Already things were looking down. "Well, that's okay. We're all new, so I understand. We need two more people..." Jack checked the tablet he was holding. "A Miss Noin Shuler, and an.. Arrow, is it?" Aliases? No real name?

Austin raised a brow. "Arrow? Like, the dude that shoots lasers? That's the name the Rangers gave him, anyway. I was sent on a reconnaissance mission to Russia. There was apparently some illegal human experimentation being done on US citizens over there. The dude helped us out, although he refused to speak. He was a bit uncontrollable, though. His lasers went everywhere. I built some energy harnesses to help control the lasers as a thank you for the help taking the group down, but I couldn't find him."

Finally, a connection. Jack thought gratefully.

Red's interest was finally involved, now, too. A person who can shoot lasers? How does that work without some sort of firearm?

Jack began to get impatient, now, too, however. "If no one else arrives in 5 minutes, we suit up and neutralize the Cyborg threat, okay? I'm sorry to put this on y'all so suddenly, but peoples' lives are at stake." As if on cue, a boy a little younger than Amy appeared at the teleport, with ginger hair, green eyes, and a grim expression. He didn't smile, or acknowledge any of the others in the room besides Amy, who he nodded to with respect. Jack didn't bother with introductions this time, seeing as the boy obviously wasn't willing to talk, or perhaps was unable to.

Amy would look more and more uncomfortable during the course of their conversation about the human experiments that had taken place in Russia, she was all to familiar with them. So familiar in fact, that she quite nearly broke into a cold sweat. She crossed her arms in a subconscious defense.

She turned as Arrow joined them in the room, and nearly sagged with relief, this may or may not have been noticeable to the others. She nodded back. Her eyes held just a glimmer of joy, though the rest of her remained seemingly unaffected.

She turned back towards the others, realizing she'd left her back open to them, even momentarily. She would not worry about putting her back to Arrow though.

Austin smiled as Arrow appeared.

"Hey, buddy, how have you been?" Arrow merely nodded, possibly a sign that he was doing fine. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Jack checked the tablet once more.

"Alright, everyone, it's time to suit up. Ms. Shuler will have to get here later." Austin mentally fist-pumped, while Red smirked. First day, already fighting baddies. Jack gave the guys directions to where the lockers were, and then walked over to Amy. "Your locker is across the hall from theirs. I've made sure no one can get into the room without your permission. Privacy is kind of important, isn't it?" He chuckled nervously before heading over to the men's locker.

Amy gave him a curt, grateful nod, and turned to her own changing area, glad for the privacy, not necessarily out of a need to hide her body, but simply because she didn't want to have to explain her scars to them.

She suited up in what was provided for her , and then made her way back out to the main room, if her team mates were already out, she would stand well apart from them. If not, she would wait for them quietly, enjoying the rare silence.

Arrow was first to get out, and his uniform was different than the others, being a dark black with yellow stripes through it. His helmet was already on as well.

Knowing full well of Amy's telepathy, he thought at her. How are you holding up? Everything okay so far?

Amy gave him what might have been a smile. Though her look was still uncertain, she was much more relaxed though, when it was just the two of them, a rare moment of peace for Amy, being around someone she trusted.

I'm fine. She lied. Implanting the thought into the man's head. She wasn't fine. She hadn't ever been, likely never would be. "How are you?" She asked out loud, though her voice was quiet.

Arrow nodded, understanding full well that Amy wasn't truly fine: He felt the same way. However, he didn't press further for the same reasons. The job seems exciting. Apparently there's some kind of energy harness in this suit as well, it should allow me to control my plasma better, without much risk of hurting the ones I don't intend to. Besides, we're helping to save innocent people. That's always good. Not a lie, but not really directly answering the question. As the thought finished, Austin, Red, and Jack appeared once more. It might be noticable that the right arm on Austin's armor seemed different from the rest of it, but not clear as to how it was different. Red's armor was a deep crimson, combined with streaks of blue, and Jack's was dark grey with white. The original SET colors.

"Alright, team, we keep in contact using the helmets. Arrow, I'm sure you realize that your helmet is thought-sensitive, so all you need to do is think hard enough at us to send a message out. Don't worry, it doesn't eavesdrop on you, so you can keep thinking in private." Austin chuckled as Jack explained this. "The SET Armor acommodates for different weapons' uses, so you can adapt your aim for optimum performance on each. Our materialization tech also allows. For lighter movement, and weapons to appear only when needed for use. Your helmet should allow you to do this via thought. Understood?"

Arrow, Austin, and Red nodded.

"We make the jump in thirty seconds, there is a drop bay on the wall. Be ready."

What? We just fall out of the sky? Austin thought frantically, but before he knew it, the team was lined up against the wall, waiting for the mark.

She nodded in agreement to Arrow. The job, at the very least seemed good enough.

Amy wondered what her suit did, probably nothing. She had no need for the helmet in truth as she did not need it's functions to communicate with her teammates. It would however protect her some, so she slipped it on anyway, joining the line by the wall, though she had no idea what they were about to do

As their helmets were put on, a seal was formed, and the suits seemed to connect to the helmets, protecting the wearer's necks as well. It was obvious that SET Tech was by far the most advanced. Austin, of course, was working out modifications he could make to his armor, but that would have to wait.

"Cyborg Recovery Team ready?" Jack's voice rang out with surprising clarity at a comfortable volume in each of the team member's helmets.

"Ready." Came Red's reply.

"Primed to jump!" Austin enthusiastically responded.

"Ready." Said a robotic voice that could only be explained as Arrow's thought translator. After years of thinking at Amy, thinking at his helmet wasn't a big deal either.

If Amy didn't reply, Jack would repeat his question. If she did say that was ready, Jack would say "Cyborg Recovery Team, prepare to drop!" And then the floor would give out.

Amy answered well enough though she absolutely refused to use the helmet, when she could simply do it herself. Ready was implanted into Jack's mind, and for their benefit, the other's as well. This would not be like the voice coming from their suits. It wasn't really a sound so much, as a knowledge ringing in their minds.

Freefalling was an exhilarating experience- Right up until the point that Austin realized there was no parachute. "Hey, Jack, buddy. How are we going to save these people from certain doom if we're pancakes on the sidewalk?" The message came through the helmets. Austin didn't have much time to process the strange feeling he had when Amy replied. He knew she could do the whole thought thing- She was pretty famous that way. But it was weird. Having a thought that wasn't his own?

"Simple- We don't turn into pancakes." Came the response on the comm.

"How?" Queried Red.

"The suits are sturdier than you think. Plus, they have built-in landing systems. SET has the most advanced weapons tech you'll ever see. Don't underestimate what we've done." Austin thought he detected a hint of pride in Jack's voice.

Boom. The concrete hit hard and fast. Five craters were made, and each member of the team didn't feel a thing. Jack was up first, however. Jumps could be pretty hard to recover from the first time, even if they didn't cause pain.

"Austin, I want you to establish a sniper position up on that building. Red, Arrow. You establish a perimeter. Make sure you evacuate the area. We're dealing with Hologram, from the reports I've been hearing. He's dangerous: He looks kind of like an alien from Mars. He can make fake 'clones' of himself, and he can disguise himself easily, thus his name. Anyone you evacuate, be sure to check them for anything unusual."

Austin nodded, and headed to his perch, while Arrow and Red each left to go evacuate the area. Arrow seemed to move faster than was natural. (An ability I'll explain later. )

Jack turned to Amy. "Amy, you and I will go in and try to analyze damage done, and search for the son of a gun himself. He's sneaky, so be on the lookout." As he said this, a giant hammer-like weapon materialized in his hand, seemingly from what looked like a hologram. It had a long handle, for two hands, and the head of the hammer seemed to be loaded with many different forms of attack: A sonic blaster, gravity manipulator, and lots of other unidentifiable tech. "Pick your poison, hun. We're here to destroy it, not take it in."

And with that, Jack moved out.

The free fall was really something else. She might have even been frightened during the drop, had she cared what it's outcome was to be. She got up quickly enough after the drop, not first, but not last either. She surveyed the suit for damage but found none. Nicely done. She directed at Jack.

Amy followed Jack closely. She did have a gun on her person, though she was hardly versed in using it. No, her talents lay more in the realm of sub doing the problem before it had a chance to touch her. If that failed. She was deadly with her hands.

For now she simply followed, listening for anything.

Jack smiled at Amy's compliment, and nodded to her appreciatively. He held his hammer closely, and moved into a building that seemed to have the most damage done. "How the hell did he have access to this much explosives?" He said as he moved through the bottom floor. It seemed abandoned, except for the unfortunate people who didn't make it out in time. "Hologram was designed to deceive, not destroy... Unless he had help. Austin, I need you to give us support. Do you see which building we're in? Roughly Nine O'Clock from your position. The one with the most holes in it."

"I see you."

"Good. I need you to scan the windows for signs of life. Amy, stick close to me. There may be more than we originally thought."

The two moved through the building, sweeping the floors, and checking for signs of life. "Amy, I think you might want to switch to thermal vision. Hologram is able to hide his heat signature easily, but he can still leave traces of his body heat where he walks. If you see anything out of the ordinary, let me know."

Amy did as she was asked. surveying the area for anything out of the ordinary. She was also focusing on finding thoughts in the room, listening for anything that would give away a position of some sort. Her heart was hammering in her chest. This was her first real encounter with real threat since Russia, and she was understandably more then a little nervous.

Austin watched carefully through his sniper scope. He wasn't really sure what kind of a rifle it was, but he was sure it shot energy beams. The clip had little cartridges filled with plasma in it. Not sure how they pulled that off, but then again, it was SET.

Red and Arrow worked hard at establishing a perimeter, making sure no one got in, and tried to help everyone get out as soon as possible. Red working the evacuation, and Arrow keeping from breaches.

Jack held up a closed fist, signaling to Amy to remain motionless. He slowly knelt, and signaled to her that he heard something around a corner. The comm link reverted to thought translation, the robotic translator almost faithfully recreating Jack's voice, without alerting whatever was there to his presence.

"Can you hear its thoughts?"

Amy stopped where she was and shook her head. She hadn't heard anything yet. She listened carefully though for something, anything. She also scanned the area with her eyes, looking for a heat signature of some sort. At the moment all she would be able to hear, were the thoughts of the man with her, and the sound of her own heartbeat.