Log:Da Vinci's Daleks

2020/03/05 Arthur Jinxy Cade Victory 1

With a FLASHFzzzt, Arthur Aevus appears in the Alien District. He's in a crouch, touching a metal conical-cylinder type automaton that's laying on the ground. He has a pink tabby kitten clutched against his chest with his free hand. "Ah, there we go. I think this is the right place and time," he says as he straigthens up, using his newly freed hand to pet the kitten between the ears.

The kitten seems to agree, voicing as much with purr motor firing up. Pets are definitely the way to go. And of course it's the right time and place. For petting.

He's on foot and has already passed the pair of time-traveling companions when a familiar voice catches his ear over the din of alien tongues & metropolitan conversations being held all around.

He turns his head and spots Doctor Aevus and a kitten, both of which prompt a smile from the Starguard Guardian.

He pauses and watches a moment as his eyes scan the conical-cylinder and then return to the duo.

"Hey Professor, looking good. Popping in for a lunch break?" He asks curiously before offering his hand to be sniffed by the kitten before he attempts to pet it.

"Hm?" Arthur looks up from his tiny furry cargo and smiles at Cade. "Oh, yes, thanks. You, too," he compliments. "I hadn't realized it was lunch time. I'd just had a little snack before collecting this fascinating automaton and rescuing this kitten." The kitten's fur is a little singed in places, with most of the soot wiped off. "I thought I'd get this little one to a modern veterinarian for a checkup, but she...hmm." He cradles the kitten on its back to check. "Oh, sorry, -he- seems to be quite well after his ordeal." He returns the kitten upright for Cade to approach.

The kitten in question does not appear especially biased nor finicky on the subject of pets. There is a little twitching of pink nose at the offering, and no refusals. Of course, the nose isn't the only thing about him (since Arthur checked) that is pink. His entire body is, or, rather, his fur is a stark pink. Well, other than the stripes and swirls, which are a contrasting magenta hue. Like a little lump of cotton candy. That purrs!

He leans in conspiratorially as he reaches to pet the kitten. "Unless he's some kind future hybrid or something." He quirks a brow.

"He was this color when I found him. I think he got into some painting supplies. Perhaps I really should take him to a vet, then," Arthur considers. He chuckles at the conspired suggestion. "Quite the opposite. I picked him up in the past," he explains. "Along with this thing that was chasing him," he taps his foot on the bronze automaton.

Watch out! The little guy might be a flerken in disguise! You could lose an eye! Or, yeah... he could just be a poor little feline victim with a bad dye job... or got really, really wasted at a club one night...

"The past huh?" He says as his hands reach out to touch the device. His well trained mind begins pulling the device apart in his imagination, looking at how things connect and work together. "How 'past' are we talking here? I mean- bronze hasn't been used in machinery in a while, not for anything meant to last or be durable." He asks as he knocks on it. Clearly his interest is piqued.

"Oh, about...600 or 700 years ago, where it certainly shouldn't have been possible," Arthur comments as he idly scritches under the kitten's chin. He offers a smile. "Don't fret, I'll make sure the kitten is well taken care of. There's some excellent vets in the future if local ones don't suffice."

"Oh my." Crichton says a moment later as he pulls his telekinetic companion field away from the kitten and apply it to this temporal anomaly.

He glances up with eyes full of curiosity & a silent plead to pull this thing apart right here, right now.

A question occurs to him. "Did you see it do anything other than chase our pink compatriot?" He inquires as his hands slide across the cylindrical body as he feels for seams or any other connection between two parts.

"It accepted voice commands from its creator, and responded to them verbally. I know DaVinci was a man with vision, but nothing in the histories indicate he crafted something like this," Arthur explains. "And it has a type of flamethrower installed in that protrusion," he points to one of the strange extended ports. Some of Arthur's jacket appears to be singed as well, though mostly on the back.

Arthur cradles the kitten closer and lightly rests his chin atop its fuzzy head. "Poor little kitten wouldn't have stood a chance against it."

In retrospect, a bit of singe, soot and scare is more than made up for in the compounded bespoilings. One might wonder if Doctor Aevus has hidden catnip in his coat. That, or perhaps the little guy was just exhausted from his ordeal... or is a lush. Like, say, a cat.

As for the automaton, there are seams and the internals, or what remains, are mostly cogs, springs, escapments, and similar clockwork mechanisms. There is even a keyway for winding in the rear (though the key was not included). Nothing in it is inherently, physically or mechanically utterly anachronistic. "That's crazy. I mean- I know here are some World War 2 era machines recovered that had similar capabilities- but they were created by clear metahuman intelligence or by groups of the brigthest, most well funded minds humanity had to offer back then. And even then it was vinyl spinners, mechanical switches and the like- nothing like you're talking about." Crichton says dreamily.

"I wish Baker were here. He could feel this thing out without opening it up." He mentions before giving it a second thought. "I take that back. Taking it apart is going to be the best part of my day." He says, looking up with a smile at the sooty-travelers.

"I've never seen a clockwork mechanism like this before- I mean, I assume its clockwork, but with it responding to voice commands- man. Anything is on the table." He says, trying to consider what materials & known technology would even allow for something so advanced three quarters of a millennia ago.

"I'm not quite sure what it was built for. I just know it was tasked to get rid of the kitten after it had apparently caused a disturbance in the workshop that started a small fire," Arthur informs Cade. "I suppose I could relinquish the automaton to Starguard for scientific research."

Rapt as he is, he's forgotten they're on the busy streets of the Alien District at lunch time.

"Perhaps," Arthur suggests with a pet of the kitten's head, "We should get it to a location where we won't misplace any nuts or bolts, hm?" He looks around the street to demonstrate his meaning.

"Got caught up in the mystery!" He says, laughing before surrounding them all & the pair's spoils with a bubble of telekinetic force.

As the bubble closes he adds, "We can take this to the autopool & find an unused bay or the air field for an empty hangar to make sure its away from anything too critical."

Arthur smiles as they get bubbled, leaning against the back and sliding down into a sitting position so he can place the kitten in his lap. "That sounds optimal indeed. Onward, Agent Crichton. I appreciate the lift."

"Well I always appreciate being caught up in your whirlwind, so we'll call it even." Cade says with an appreciative grin as the bubble lifts off the ground, propelled by will alone.

Despite the cuteness of Arthur's companion, Crichton seems to only have eyes for the mystery automaton.

And Arthur has eyes only for the kitten that almost distracted him from retrieving the robot. "Oh sure, you say that now," he teases Cade as they fly towards their destination.

So the kitten is now only doted upon by one. Oh, no! The tragedy! The horror! The-ooh, scritches!-mmmrrrrrr... Ok, so he doesn't mind. Plus, the lap allows him to stretch and sprawl.

<<"That'd be perfect- thanks Dispatch. Over."

Okay, so an adorable kitten can't cover for the Professor. "So, find a place where we can examine this device?" Arthur asks with a smile.

"Hangar 22B had an incident and had to be cleaned out. Nothing's requisitoned the space yet, so its ours for a while." Cade replies eagerly as the bubble jets over the outermost security fence. His trajectory takes him around the actual runway and towards the hangars.

"Nothing dangerous, I hope," Arthur comments as he pets the kitten in his lap.

"Well you disabled it right? So I'm sure its fine- but nothing wrong with being cautious since we know... well nothing about this thing." Crichton says confidently, slowing the telekinetic bubble just enought to see the closest hangar's number so he can navigate to 22B.

"Well, more accurately, it malfunctioned. Backfired. It hasn't moved since," Arthur clarifies. Sure, it misfired -because- of Arthur, but he leaves that out.

"Oh." Cade says, seemingly not disuaded by any perceptible margin. "Well either way- all the more reason to take it apart so it won't pose any danger." He adds as he finds the hangar. He moves to set the bubble down in front of the side door.

Arthur gets back up to his feet as the bubble lands, cuddling the kitten against his chest. He scritches behind its ears. "Yes, true. I'm rather curious how it managed an auditory response. Its weapon was sufficiently dangerous."

Once Arthur's feet are planted firmly on the ground Cade drops the bubble and grabs the automaton with the freed companion field. He floats on towards the door and keys the entry lock with his Starguard PDA. The machine follows him inside. He pauses and holds open the door for Arthur and the kitten.

Arthur follows along behind Cade, having switched the kitten to being cradled and belly up for belly scritches. "Thank you, Agent Crichton," he smiles as the doors is held, ducking past and into the hanger. "I can't wait for you to crack it open and take a look inside. I do believe it was made by a genius of its time, so do try to be careful while disassembling. There's much to learn!"

"Don't worry Professor- I'll be mega careful with this beaut." Cade says as he flies along with the machine towards the center of the hangar. He pats it as he speaks.

Crichton imagines the machine pulled apart as he sets his hand on it and his companion field does something unexpected. The whole machine begins to slowly pull itself apart the way an industrial designer might create a design plan with all the components expanded away from the center.

Cade's eyes glow as his field is pressed to its maximum but he memorizes the whole pattern and where each component originated.

Arthur's green eyes widen a bit as the machine disassembles under Crichton's own glowing gazy. "Astounding!" he utters in awe.

Cade looks just as amazed by this sudden turn of events as Arthur but he keeps his focus on maintaining this particular aspect of his telekinetic abilities.

"Oh man- I wish I could do this back when I had Doctor Spencer's Engineering course. Would have saved me hours." He says wistfully.

This seems to get the kitten's attention, as well. He even climbs his way up to perch on Arthur's shoulder for the best view. Also the safest. Just in case.

Arthur lets the kitten crawl up him with its tiny claws, looking at the intricate artisanry of the clockwork like interior. "Just amazing. DaVinci was way ahead of his time."

"And you said DaVinci created this? I guess I wouldn't expect one of the greatest minds of the Renaissance to be such a kitten-hating jerk." He muses as he reaches between a few components to touch something that's caught his eye inside.

"I suspect the kitten knocked over something that caused a small fire in his workshop," Arthur suspects. He turns his head to smile at the kitten and scritch under its chin, saying in a higher voice, "You're just a little troublemaker, aren't you? Yes you are!"

The inner workings of the automaton are well crafted, though the parts are relatively simple despite the whole being rather complex. Springs, gears, escapements, bellows, pulleys... The materials are a mixture of brass, bronze, and wood. Nothing anachronistic, or mass-produced. Hand-crafted with insight, ingeniuity, and a great amount of patience.

The kitten purrs loudly and leans into the scritching. Whether this is an admission of guilt is up to interperetation... but that's probbaly a reasonable conclusion.

"I suppose fires were a lot more devastating than they are today- especially in a workshop full of wood components and paper designs." Crichton says with a shrug. "Still- just seems a bit disappointing, when you encounter one of the 'Greats' doing something like that. I suppose most engineers aren't exactly known for their people skills or their empathy. I probably shouldn't expect any less of DaVinci."

"Yes, it was rather disappointing," Arthur lets out a mournful sigh. "But they're all human, ultimately. Flaws and all," he smiles faintly.

Now Arthur is the one getting pets. Well, nudges and rubs, that is. Perhaps The One Who Giveth Scritches And Pets is not allowed to be sad. Protect the TOWGSAP!

"Perfectly imperfect, one and all." Crichton says with a nod. "Still, we've come a long way since then- as a species. So as long as we're moving forward, well that's enough for me."

He wills the bracket back into its place on the ground and waves forward another piece- the heart of the winding mechanism so he can examine how much force is required to wind & therefore power the neo-archaic robot.

"This reminds me of a report I read once, where it was implied that pigeons were the result of a meddling time traveler despite us all remembering them. Was the clockwork motor re-invented by Da Vinci or was it invented by someone else later on? Or did Da Vinci run across some decendant of the Antikythera mechanism?" He inquires aloud, though he's mostly thinking things through, trying to put the pieces of this mystery together.

Listening to Cade theorizing, he smiles broadly, though avoids the mention of pigeons or who was responsible. "Very astute. You're asking all the right questions. It's a wonderful mystery, isn't it?" he comments excitedly. Perhaps Cade would make a worthy companion after all.

"I've got it all memorized now. I can duplicate at my desk and we can pull it up in a CAD3k capable holosuite- like the one at Steele's. The ones here on base would probably work too but they wouldn't have the same weight." He comments before looking up to Arthur & the pink kitten. Then he asks, "Anything else you want to see before I put it back the way it was?"

Arthur chuckles at Cade's defense of his dreams. "Fantastic. We'll need dreamers like you." He remains quiet and watches in excitement as Cade works.

"Marvelous," Arthur claps his hands together at Cade's revelation of the plans being memorized. "Do you think, based on your observations, you'd be capable of extrapolating a key design for the winding mechanism?" he asks curiously.

Cade pulls those components to him. "I might need to measure these if you're wanting to restart this big bad brass." He grins. "I think there's a compound I can get in there, let it harden and then we can print out a new key in the Autopool's stacks." He answers, sounding as if he thought Arthur might ask that. "I'll need a little extra time for that. Probably a half a day for the stuff to dry and then for me to talk Agent Gibbs into letting me slide my design into the queue. That might take some doing, unless he's still out of town. Then I might have a little more pull. But it'll take some finagling since I'm assuming you want to keep this off the books. Otherwise, I bet I could probably do it in less time once Command was aware of this kitten killing treasure."

"Hmm, yes, off the books is best for now. I appreciate your discretion," Arthur grins. At the mention of kitten killing treasure, he worriedly lifts a hand to scratch the kitty.

"No problem, Prof." Agent Crichton says with a nod. "I'll go get the molding compound and be back. This hangar should be clear for a couple of days more, so its probably best to leave it all here for now." He adds as he puts the parts of the device down and flies towards the door.

"Very good," Arthur says as Agent Crichton flies off. "I'll await your return." And love on this kitten some more while waiting, he thinks.

Kittens. Loving upon. It's a natural pairing. Part of the ordained, cosmic order of all existence! On the other hand, fur tends to shed. So, alas, Arthur's coat is getting some pink on it. He may want to invest in a Sonic Lintroller.

Fortunately, not all of it lands on him! Some is carried by the breeze to wafter wherever. Including onto the disassembled parts of the automaton.

Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to most, said fur does contain the occassional nanite or three (billion). Little soldiers whose most recent microscopic mission was to rebuild and repair. Especially those in the singed hair that is most easily blown about. That were damaged, themselves. Not to mention dormant, since their work was done.

Until they suddenly find themselves upon a new medium that is broken, disassembled, damaged.

A bit later, Cade arrives carrying a gun-like applicator device with two liquid-filled reservoirs, one liquid is blue and the other white.

"Alright Professor- I've got the stuff right here." He says gleefully as he pats the device.

Arthur pets and strokes the kitty, oblivious to the nanites and where that poor singed hair is landing. "Excellent. I'm looking forward to seeing how this thing communicates and functions in a controlled, protected setting. It never should have existed when it did, so it's best to find out how this came into being."

He puts his hand on the device and imagines the thought he had before running in reverse. His companion field moves to surround the area of the dismantled robot and lifts its parts up into the air.

"Oh me too, Prof. Me too. I mean- an impossible mechanoid? Who wouldn't be excited to see this thing take its first steps in 700 years?" He replies, smiling happily at the thought.

His eyes glow softly with the effort but otherwise he seems perfectly in control of this new ability of his.

The pieces are scanned by the nanites, but, perhaps unlike Cade, they do not share his appreciation for fine craftmanship in outdated materials. The general design is sound, but no one uses brass and wood anymore! The wood, and the organic adhesives, do, however, make for excellent fuel. Thus, they replicate, heavily, and move off in search of more appropriate raw materials... such as one of the nearby vehicles!

Fusion power source? Anti-gravity frictionless bearings? Cruise control? Who knows what modifications were made? (other than perhaps VSA Malcolm Gibbs) By the same token, who will miss those as they are deconstructed, replicated, enhanced... (probably also VSA Malcolm Gibbs)

The first indications that something has happened and/or may not be right are the reflections of blinking lights off the motor pool wall, along with the announcement(s):

"Reactor online. Weapons online. All systems online."

"Reactor online. Weapons online. All systems online."

"Reactor online. Weapons online. All systems online."

Arthur looks around while in mid-scritch at the alert. "Oh my." He picks up the kitten off his shoulder and slides it into a large outer pocket at hip-height on his coat.

Crichton immediately lifts his hands from the machinery and looks to the Doctor. "I'm not doing that! I don't think I'm doing that!" He shouts urgently but with a notable twinge of heartbreak in his voice as the machine's most fragile (and organic) components are consumed. He can smell it in the air.

"There's no way this thing belonged where you found it." He adds, calming himself a bit.

The source(s) of the sound and light become apparent as three cylindrical constructs float around from the vehicle in the next bay. Just don't look under it's hood, especially if you are Malcolm Gibbs, or you might cry. Alot. The three objects are passingly familiar, at least to Arthur. Possibly also to the kitten, but he (thankfully) cannot see them at the moment. Their shape and general form is familiar, but the rest is not: brass has been replaced with metal allow that is likely far more sturdy and gray, the appendages and eye-scope appear far higher in technoology level, and there are blinking lights. Oh, and they are hovering. No squeaky wheel this time.

The trio immediately take note of the other trio. And whisk-like appendages turn. And start to glow.

The Daleks loose their technological fury upon the trio (even if they can't see the kitten). ZAP! ZOT! PEW!

Cade immediately throws his hands in front of him and instinctively throws up a telekinetic barrier between he and the blasting mechanoids. He'd planned to protect them all but he wasn't fast enough. Luckily the Professor proves himself far faster than Cade imagined.

Arthur ducks, jukes, and protects the kitten. With a bit of a cry of surprise. The blasts each strike some surface behind him, begin ricocheting about, and luckily strike their points of origin.

"Ok- so these things clearly aren't playing. What do you want to do, Prof?" He asks Arthur with eyes locked on and his combat training dialed in.

Is is so surprising that the anti-kitten ray is especially angry? Not really. In this case, however, the anx is turned back against the aggressor! Take that, Vile Anti-Kitten Evil robot! The second shooter is upended and sent rolling backwards by the d'awwsome power of ducking. The first has its bolt all but fizzle against it's suddenly-glowing shell, while the final splats against Cade's field.

The tumbled construct hovers to right and re-orient itself. The one singed by its own blast now switches to ... The Plunger! (-looking appendage) and floats aggressively at The Doctor! Shall it plunge his mind? Crush his skull with suction? The third similarly approaches Cade with the threat of Plunging Doom!

Cade's bubble wobbles and flickers but holds during the first shot. The second cracks it like an egg and thoughts made real fall before disappearing before they can strike the earth.

He sighs and takes a breath focusing his mind, summoning another barrier like field before hurling it forward at the closest Dalek-like entity.

The target is not rocked loose, but the impact imparts a notable dent in its alloy chassis.

Arthur prioritizes keeping the kitten safe first. He twists aside to spin the kitten-pocket away from the Dalek, then ducks as another blast tries to take his head. More blasts go ricocheting about and hitting the machines.

Switching from blow to suck doesn't seem to have improved their results. The Doctor and his Companion, as well as Cade, remain woefully un-sucked in addition to non-disintegrated. Inferior organics can't even die properly!!

Crichton sees that the good Doctor has his own defense well in hand, so he continues dodging and weaving - always looking for an opening.

He sees his and he lunges towards a Dalek only to cut away at the very last moment and dart around its backside. There he tries to line up a shot so he can hit one with the other- if he can even get this thing off the ground.

WHAM! Cade does inflict another dent, and even wobbles the overgrown pepper pot! Though it does not tumble, and doesn't shift far enough to impact one of the others. Almost!

Arthur can't stay on the defensive forever. He studies the structure of the Dalek carefully before trying to give a flick in a particular spot.

PING! Or is it PONG? For such a comparatively light flick, it leaves a substantial dent in the Dalek. Obvious he picked a good weak spot!

Also, Arthur isn't the only one who can't stay on the defensive forever. Sometimes, a kitten's gotta do what a kitten's gotta do!

Which is why he struts out of the pocket to perch briefly on Arthur's shoulder. Studies his foe warily. Tenses. Wiggles his butt (required Gestures?) and finally...

... leaps the .25 meters to KERPOUNCE!

The eye-stalk lens..er... thingy.

Which seems to tick the thing off.

"Vision is impaired!"

It could be enough to make it see red... if it wasn't already stuck seing nothing but pink!

Daleks 1 and 3 each make one more attempt at indivdual deadly suction vs Arthur and Cade. While #2 attempts to blindly deal with FaceKitten.

Cade deftly rolls out of the way, dodging being sucked by the deadly dalek-like droids. "Ok Prof- not sure I can keep this up all day. So if you've got any of that Aevus Magic on standby, now's the time!" He shouts in time to see some of the droid's shot get through the Doctor's defenses.

Cade evades! The Good Doctor is miraculously unscathed. The kitten is ... almost unscathed. It was a great plan! Maybe it would've just gone crazy while blinded and fired out random shots to nowhere... and it might have... if it were a 20th century automaton.

These, however, have the advantage of 21st century technology, and one of the more powerful of these scientific breakthroughs?

Elbows.

The kittened robot's Plunger of Doom appendage articulates in the middle. It cannot see the kitten, but it knows right where he is. Because he's on its eyestalk. So it puts plunger to kitty with a sound like a Dsyon that inhaled nothing but coffee and cocaine. And fur flies. With alot of squealing and other unpleasant sounds.

He reaches out with his TK and attempts to break the eyestalk.

There is a satisfying crunch and crackling as the stalk crumples and lenses shatter.

The kitten is still on the end of the plunger, looking significantly worse for wear. He looks very scrawny, considering a large patch of fur is missing. On the bright side, he isn't mewling and flailing in pain. On the other hand, he isn't moving much at all.

Arthur's scarf and coat begin to flutter as his eyes glow white, reaching out for the still and quiet kitten. He stretches out a hand, and bands of white light streak towards the tiny kitten to retrieve it.

Arthur now has in his possession on kitten, not-so gently used. He's alive, but out, and is missing a large chunk of pink fur. The skin beneath is less cute and more 'so that's the scrawny pasty under there.' Like a skullet.

The one formerly suctioning the kitten seems annoyed, and points its wiskenator at Arthur. The other two continue their vacuumatorial assaults on Arthur and Agent Crichton.

Their vision may not be impaired, but their aim sure looks to be.

Agent Crichton slides horizontally, flipping back to his feet with ease- completely going around the suction-killer device. This instance was so smooth you might think Cade's been practicing, but sometimes things just work out.

Arthur places the injured pink tabby kitten in his pocket again after giving it a gently brush against its cheek with a finger. He's so tender with the kitten. So once he turns his gaze upon the Dalek, the simmering rage is a sharp contrast. "I've had quite enough of you," he says as he walks up to the Dalek that harmed the kitten, rolling up his coat and shirt sleeve. He means business! Even as he goes to flick that flimsy whisker appendage it has. "It's one thing to harm me. It's entirely another to harm a helpless kitten!"

Arthur flicks with a judicious application of physics, engineering, and luck, striking a structural weak point.

TINK

It's not the force, as we all know Arthur doesn't use The Force. It's all about good vibes. Such as the flick at the joining of plates instigating a reverberation. One that just happens to be at precisely 1.21 gigahertz; the resonant frequency of the unit as a whole.

Good vibes become bad as the construct begins wobbling, eyestalk flapping in the breeze. Then it...

...just collapses, very much looking like the ancient one that Cade had disassembled to the last nail and cog.

This all occurs in the SG motorpool, where three (now two intact), cyclindrical constructs or robots of some kind appear to be threatening Arthur and Cade. Well... they were. The two currently upright swivel their telescopic sensor stalks towards each other, and down at the companion suddenly reduced to a pre-assembled state. Then back up to each other. Then to Arthur.

Analyzing...

Victory had been fairly close to the motor pool area, as the alarm starts to go off. Perhaps it's those rats again? Trying to steal a vehicle? He shakes his head and makes his way into the motor pool itself to assess the situation. He doesn't have his shield turned on, as of yet.

He charges his personal field with his telekineitic potential and attempts to drop kick the Dalek-like device.

Cade's method is good but his execution could clearly use some work. His feet pass right on by the Dalek before he flips back to his feet. Since they aren't going for style, this is a fail- and that can only mean more Hand to Hand Combat training is in store for the Agent.

Arthur rolls down his sleeve again and steps up to the next D.A.L.E.K. "Now you listen here. The kitten is out of the workshop and your mission is completed. Given your origin, I doubt you have the processing power to consider self preservation, but unless you want to end up like your friend there, I suggest you consider your objective complete and stand down." As stern as he tries to sound, Arthur is a skinny man, and doesn't look like the type to be able to carry out a threat. If he hadn't just obliterated one of the machines.

Victory turns on his shield and runs over closer. He's still trying to make sense of what is going on. "What are we dealing with here? What are these things?"

Crichton is surprised by Victory's arrival- almost dumbfounded into silence but after a stuttering start he manages to give the senior agent an appropriate SitRep.

"Sir! Its- ugh-uh-uh... some kind of time anomaly! It started out as a clockwork mechanoid but 'evolved' into these things! Be careful- they're aggressive and will try to get a hold of you with those werid plunger things!" He shouts.

Fortunately for Arthur, their processing power (or lack thereof) continues to relate to targetting ability. The plunger doesn't connect and the energy beam from the wisk flies wide.

Arthur twists and turns to just avoid the attacks. "Well, then...I suppose I have my answer."

"They don't seem to smart, Professor! Let's just dismantle them and ask questions during a post-mortem!" He says as he runs towards that closest DALEK and attempts to perform a sidekick- still looking to line them up and see if he can at least stagger the pair to buy his allies time.

THUMP

Agent Crichton hits this time... though it doesn't appear to have much effect, if any.

Victory doesn't quite have time to close to hand to hand range, so he just fires his shield's charge at the Dalek that Crichton isn't engaged with currently. He brings his arm around and sends the disc of energy hurtling toward his target.

Victory sighs as he misses wide. He shakes his head and the shield reforms on his forearm.

Arthur turns to one of the Dalek's and flicks at their eyestock.

Arthur carefully flicks at a structural weak spot.

The Dalek wobbles and rattles. A few pieces fall off. There are still some left, but they look to be attached by the 21st century equivalent of bubblegum and bailing wire.

Victory closes the rest of the distance to one of the daleks...and tries to strike it with a side kick. Hopefully being in close will be safer. They dont' seem terribly nimble.

Victory whiffs again and furrows his brow. . o O (What the...) He shakes his head as he tries to center himself.

"Ok- I don't know what's happening but I'm going to grab this one in a prone position if I can!" Cade announces.

Perhaps it is due to the slightly less rattled (and rattling) contraption turning towards Victory that he missed? Plungers are scary... or can inadvertently get in the way. Such as it being turned towards Victory... with defeat-inducing suction! The wibbly-wobbly one attempts to distance itself from Arthur with retorgrade movement! This is very similar to running away. Or floating away, that is. Just in slow motion.

To no effect.

Cade focues on the DALEK he indicated before and tries to hoist it into the air so his allies can unload on it.

The D.A.L.E.K. is hoisted, though its outer casing is resistent to being crushed.

Arthur watches the one that's fleeing, jogging after it. "Not so fast!" he challenges, hoping its systems are still in flux. Incompatible. Maybe something will break.

Nothing appears to break. Which can happen when one wants something to. As opposed to when one doesn't want anything to. But... them's the breaks.

Both constructs, either held aloft or attempting to retreat while barely being held together, loose wild shots of whisk-based disintegration! They hit like wild shots, meaning wall, floor, ceiling, or possibly VSA Gibbs' formerly souped-up vehicle.

Victory manages to hit the fleeing one with his shield, but its components remain in place. Mostly held their by its own energy shield that dissipates the thrown energy shield.

Crichton keeps his companion field locked on his target but he tries to push the weapon bearing section of the construct away from he and his allies.

Arthur keeps trying to catch up with the Daleks, hoping for an emergency shutdown or malfunction.

It seems that walking (or floating) and chewing gum (or spitting out disintegrator rays) finally catches up to the fleeing one. Its antigravity sputters and it drops to the motorpool floor. The impact is enough to cause it to fall apart into a pile of plates and struts.

The lone survior fires at... the direction Cade twisted its weapon, which is at nothing or no one important. Not even any kittens. Victory thunks it with another shield, but it doesn't even leave a dent. Perhaps it is shielded. Against shields!

Shield-proof shielding!

Crichton keeps his attention on the device while he explains, "This thing is way tougher than it looks- but it multiplied. Used component parts from the environment and multiplied."

The field brigthens in his outstretched palm before streaking towards the DALEK. He's trying to hit something important based off the positioning of the componets inside the original model he took apart and memorized.

Hmm. Perhaps this one is a girl robot? Things don't seem quite in the same places... but Cade does manage to yoink out something moderately important.

Arthur reaches out and tries to knock on a rather shoddy looking plate to try and stop this thing. For Truth. For Justice. For...kittens?

KNOCK KNOCK

Well, the lights are on, but perhaps no one is- Oh, wait. The lights are flickering. And now they're out.

THUD

It drops to the floor and wobbles before tipping over with a whirring dopplered 'falling headless AT-AT' noise.

Arthur walks over to the nearest Dalek and taps it with his foot. "Hmm. Well, I apologize for this, Agent Crichton. This was entirely unexpected."

Victory turns off his shield, as the fighting is now over. "Can I get a more detailed explanation?"

Arthur looks to Cade to see if he wants to explain first, not wanting to get the agent in trouble. He looks into his left pocket and gingerly extras a pink and magenta stripped kitten that's missing a fair bit of hair. The pitiful thing is unconscious still, but alive despite its ordeals. He carefully hugs it against his chest. "Well, I'm sure Agent Crichton will be able to provide a report."

He sighs and nods again. "Yes Sir. I bumped into the Professor here on my lunch break, he had this ... well let's jsut say 'vintage' clockwork robot with him. He advised it had attacked a kitten but fell apart. So we brought it back to base so I could dismantle it after I cleared space with Dispatch." He shrugs. "I went to get the molding epoxy to recreate the key to wind the engine and when I came back it was mid-transformation into /these/ things."

Victory nods slowly as he listens. "If it happened right here, there should be some video footage."

"Let's hope. I'd love to know what kicked things off. When I left the machine was in its componet parts. Nothing looked out of place for the era- not materials wise anyway. The construction on the other hand, it certainly was. Way ahead of its time- but nothing I saw indicated that any of this was a possibility, Sir." Agent Crichton replies.

Arthur shrugs. "I was merely waiting for Agent Crichton's return while I was stroking the kitten I rescued when it happened."

Arthur sighs softly as he looks about. "I suspect there was some sort of catalyst here that triggered it. There was no way something from its time of origin would be capable of this."

Arthur nods over to a vehicle that looks like it's been through a chop shop. "It seemed the automaton used that vehicle to reconstruct, upgrade, and replicate itself."

Footage is, indeed, available. It shows Arthur and Cade arriving with two accessories: Arthur with a pink and magenta-striped kitten on his shoulder and Agent Crichton transporting the clockwork automaton within a TK bubble. It is then disassembled and Crichton departs for materials. While Arthur dotes upon the kitten.

In the interim, there is no other visible activity. Not until there are some blinking lights behind a nearby parked vehicle and the trio of much more modern versions of the automaton emerge and toruble ensues.

Victory raises a brow, "Well, they clearly weren't there before that moment. So, they teleported in? Or...came from another time? Or dimension?"

"Those are great guesses. Each one as likely as the last because I don't have a clue." Crichton says after reviewing the footage.

"I'm afraid I have no way to tell for certain. Perhaps Starguard would be more equipped to find out," Arthur offers.