forum The War That Stole It All | One on One | Closed

Started April 11, 2021 by @Mojack group

tune

(no worries at all!! life gets busy)
(also I wasn't sure what kind of approach the soldiers would take to this sort of thing? lmk if this seems wrong)
Although Kohmir hung back as they entered the room, he couldn't help but slide his way into the middle of the group as they inched their way across the room. There in the middle he could have a clear view of the room and– it.
Just as he'd thought, the grey had not been dirt, but a hard dark metal or something armour, or skin in this case. The thing stood tall and almost seemed scared in its hunched posture. Kohmir hands tightened on the gun, his heart beating hard and irregular. This was it, the enemy.
But even as they stood there with their guns out, the machine didn't move an inch or make a sound. Yet another thing he thought he knew– everyone, his parents especially, had never stopped telling him that, up close, machines would either attack or run. He paused, and nudged one of the patrol men who hadn't moved either. The man glanced over his shoulder and nodded at Kohmir to go ahead.
He took one small step into the room, now just an inch ahead of the others. Testing the waters. Should he speak? He should speak.
"Hello." The word came out raspy and he cursed himself silently. He cleared his throat and repeated himself. "Hello. I'm going to come closer to you now, so that my colleague can–" Handcuff? Tie up? "–tie something around your hands there. Just a precaution." His gun was still raised.

Ryh held their hands - claws could be a better term for it, given how pointed the end of their fingers were - closer to themselves. They finally stood up to their true height, looking at the ceiling momentarily, then back down to the humans. The words came to them and they listened - restrain? Why would that be needed? - not quite keeping eye contact with the humans as they looked around the room. Although they didn’t really have visible eyes, or the human definition of them. Then again, what machine did?
The closest thing they had to their ‘eyes’ was the long black ‘visor’ displayed on their head. It was blank, up until a few seconds later; a small red dot coming to life upon the screen, almost like some sort of eye, moving around the visor like a pupil would.

“Is it scanning us?” One of the patrol members wondered out loud, whispering. He seemed to tighten his grip on his weapon.

Truth be told, Ryh was scanning them - everything really, the difference being that Ryh was their own independent thing, not connected to any of the ‘machine networks,’ or at least, those were the terms humans would use for it.
They didn’t like this. First they shoot, then they pretend that it was a mistake, and now it looks like they’re taking them to god knows where..Ryh lowered their neck this time, but the next few events happened in a couple of seconds.

Ryh didn’t lunge forwards far enough to hurt any of the humans, physically at least - their jaws opened slightly, revealing that what they wore was not their mask or helmet, but rather, actually their face.
As they opened their jaws, a low, but slightly louder rumble/growl emerged from their being, as if saying, ‘no’. They backed up with surprising speed though as the other members of the group took their weapons and raised them, all aimed at Ryh. The doctor backed off.

Kohmir narrowed his eyes at the sight of the red dot. This felt more like what he was expecting.
Stood to their full height, the machine was actually intimidating, and Kohmir had to crane his neck to keep watch of them. Suddenly, as Kohmir watched them carefully, the machine lunged for them with a gaping jaw full of dark, razor sharp teeth. Although his entire body felt like it had been dropped into an ice bath, Kohmir flinched but did not move, his gun still steady and trained on the machine's chest. What was he supposed to do now, if restraining them wasn't an option?
The growl was deep and Kohmir felt it in his chest– it was extremely unsettling. He hadn't come face to face with a machine in so long.
"We're not going to hurt you," he called to the machine, who had backed into the corner of the room. He had to look up to it to speak, which didn't help him to feel confident. "We just need you to come with us. You've been treated and healed, and now we just need you to cooperate with us. You will not be hurt."

Ryh stared at all of them, all of the humans for a long while, just in silence. Their focus was drawn to the one who was speaking, though.
The red dot also focused, but faded away, leaving only the shiny black ‘visor.’ It seemed Ryh could see with or without the red dot, the exact purpose of the dot being unknown.
A low sigh - it was among the lines of a hiss, really - escaped their being, as their jaws parted slightly, and they looked around the room.

“I will not be..restrained.” That hiss became a voice, and the voice that came from Ryh had some sort of distant, albeit a bit hard to detect, accent to it. Maybe Eastern European? It was weird - machines could speak, yes. Some of them could, as long as they had the ability to do so. But those voices sounded somewhat metallic, rarely carrying the emotion or pitch that most emotions had.
“Not again.” Not again. Their voice was somewhat masculine, and instead of the robotic voice, it actually sounded clear, as if they were actually producing the voice themselves and not just their programmed voice.

There was another pause as Ryh surveyed the room. They were big enough to push past all of them and dart out - as if considering the option, Ryh shifted their feet slightly, their claws tapping against the floor. But it probably wouldn’t be a good idea they quickly realized - they didn’t know this place, they didn’t know an exit, and surely it would be a quick way to sustain even more injuries.
“I will go with you,” they finally said, “but I will not be restrained. Not again.” Ryh repeated.

Kohmir stare flitted up and down as the robot hissed, shifted around.
Although Kohmir had not moved when the machine had lunged for them, the voice caught him off guard. It sounded round and real. If Kohmir closed his eyes and listened without thinking, he would be hearing a man. Something like a frown drew lines across Kohmir's forehead.
He was brought back to sharp focus as they spoke. Not again? They would probably have to be careful then, if the machine had… trauma. Trauma was too human a word but it somehow felt right. Anyone with trauma was unpredictable, especially such a combination of human attributes and mechanical strength.
"I thank you for your cooperation. I'm going to lower my gun now, just me. My name is Kohmir. Can you tell me yours?" If they had a human prisoner, it would be important to built a rapport, so he assumed he should follow the same protocol.

Ryh exhaled, much more of a sigh at that point as opposed to their previous hiss. They stayed still, but it wasn’t that machine sort of stillness. They still moved around, subtly; be it the twitch of their claws or the slight movement of their head.
“Kohmir.” They repeated, nodding to themselves.

They hadn’t introduced themselves to anyone, not ever- not even as they woke up from..no, they wouldn’t remember that place, that they spent god knows how much time trying to get out of. Perhaps the only memory they hadn’t forcefully pushed out of their mind was their ‘name.’ They didn’t actually know if it was their name. But it was the closest thing to a name they could remember.
“Ryhkor.” They spoke, just after a few seconds. “My name is Ryhkor.”

Kohmir imitated them, nodding and repeating their name. "Ryhkor. Thank you," he said quietly.
He studied Ryhkor for a moment longer, the ease of their movement and their so realistic humanness. It was chilling.
"Okay, so. These men here," he started, waving back towards the patrol men, "are going to lead us to where we need to go. I'll be right behind you." Make sure the prisoner felt safe and like they knew what was going on– calm meant predictable. Kohmir turned his head slightly, searching for a sign of assent from the patrol men. A couple of them nodded silently, their guns still very much drawn. Kohmir nodded back at them and turned back towards the machine– Ryhkor.
"Can you follow them then?" he encouraged as softly as he could without losing his sense of authority.

Ryhkor seemed a bit less hesitant this time as they nodded. They still weren’t completely sure about the situation - the trust they had for the humans was minimum, but it was a start. They walked forwards, consciously lowering themselves like they had previously as to not stand at full height.

“Good, that’s..good.” The doctor mumbled, as she watched the ‘machine’ exit the room alongside their escort. The doctor lead the group on, towards another area. An office - or a meeting room, one might call it.
The base had its authority figures come and go, but it usually retained its commanders and whatnot. Some of the other ones visited now and then, usually just for business. This particular man had come to the base a few days ago, and was due to leave in three days.
Most people just knew the man by his last name, Atkins. Atkins is one of the authorities, not exactly of this base, but of the whole military operation against the machines. He’s an older man, but he also happens to be a Modified Human - meaning even if he looks old now, he’s got to be at least 100 in normal years. Since Mods age a bit slower. Physically, anyways.
The doctor had already planned to meet with Atkins - she knew he’d be interested in a case like this. But she hadn’t predicted the ‘machine’ to wake up so soon.

Eventually, the group would end up entering the meeting room. The room was already occupied - Atkins himself, along with some of his colleagues. He nodded, first at the doctor, then at the escort. His eyes were almost immediately on Ryhkor, though - who entered the room, almost immediately looking around, studying basically everything.

“You can all stay.” Atkins clarified, to the escort.

(sorry!! I just had a couple big exams and had to focus on that)
Kohmir walked in behind Ryhkor, who he noticed had lowered themself– some sort of deliberate way to make themself look less threatening? He was having trouble decoding this machine's actions… but machine didn't feel like the right word. He was having trouble decoding anything that was going on, if he was being honest with himself.
Outwardly he looked composed as ever, slipping into the meeting room silently behind Ryhkor and settling in against the wall. He spotted Atkins immediately and his heart skipped a single beat– he had always enjoyed seeing other modified humans in superior positions. It felt validating to him, like he could project.
He shook his head slightly at himself and nodded back at Atkins. "Thank you, sir." Kohmir tried to make himself scarce and found his gaze drifting back to the– to Ryhkor. They were curiously looking around, and he could almost make out an expression on their face, something like intent, or focus. It was fascinating, if not terrifying. It would take him some time to adjust to so many human attributes on such a metallic body.

((That’s fine, I understand!))

“Sir, this is what I told you about. Two men of the escort were also there for the capture of it.”
It. Ryh dwelled on the wording, while the conversation continued. Atkins walked forwards, arms held behind his back as he inspected Ryhkor.
“I haven’t seen anything like this before. Even before the war, I hadn’t seen such an innovative looking machine. If it is even a machine.” Atkins tilted his head forwards the doctor. “What did you observe, while treating it?”
The doctor moved to speak, but Ryh interrupted with words of their own. “They,” they reminded, in a low tone. Surprisingly, Atkins didn’t stop Ryhkor from continuing - although he was also known for his patience among the command and soldiers. “I have a name as well. Ryhkor.”

“Well,” Atkins breathed out. “Interesting meeting here..Ryhkor.” The expression on his face was unreadable. Ryhkor turned to Atkins, noticing the ring of gold around his pupils. Wait- didn’t one of the other humans have that, too? He hadn’t really been focusing on eyes at the time.
The doctor looked nervously between the two. “May I continue..? Sir?”
“Yes Doctor Flandin, you may.”
The doctor nodded, taking a deep breath, as she started speaking again. “As I was saying- as we treated i..them, we noticed that the machine had bled. It was not oil, but it was black blood. I took some samples in for testing, although they’re still being processed. In addition, they also had…a heartbeat.”
“A heartbeat.” Atkins repeated.
“Yes. The presence of those two things, implies that this machine - if they really are one - has a heart. An organ, present in a mechanical body. Or at least one that looks mechanical from the outside.” There was a brief pause.
Atkins began to speak again. “While I was listening, I was also thinking. Machines are known to replicate themselves - it’s quite easy, once you have the resources, and the knowledge to do so. The latter not being a problem for most machines. With that being said, they,” he gestured to Ryhkor, who had kept silent, “are unlike any machine ever recorded in the history of this war, and before. We could be dealing with the machines making new versions of themselves, to better their offensive in the war. However, there is one key thing that ruins this theory.”

Most of what was said was confusing to Ryhkor. They hadn’t even known there was a massive conflict.
“And that is…?” One of Atkins’ colleagues prompted.
“Their behaviour. Machines may know how to make new models of machines - but we know for sure that they’re unable to mimic the complex thought and emotion that we have. When the machines declared war, they didn’t think that they were declaring war. They saw it as a means of defense - to eliminate the threat. A machine has no concept of right or wrong, or morality. If we truly had a machine here in our midst, they would have attacked us already, or transmitted the information they’ve collected back to the machine command. The latter could have very well resulted in this base being overrun, if they were truly a machine.” A cold air set upon the room as most people realized that to be true - they kept Ryhkor ‘alive’ and around, which meant they were perfectly able to transmit messages through the machine network this entire time. Most people realized it did not take that much time for machines to plan an attack once they had the information.

“If they are not a machine,” Doctor Flandin questioned, “then what are they? And who- or what were they made by?”
“Biomachine.” Atkins didn’t answer the second question. To tell the truth, he didn’t know that. No one did - not even Ryhkor. Speaking of Ryhkor, the machine seemed to perk up at the mention of biomachine.
“Biomachine..you mean…?”
“Yes. Partially a machine, partially a biological organism like almost everyone in this room. Although, the definition varies.” Atkins said. He paused.
“And it’s just a guess,” he admitted. “A rough one. I’ll write up a report on this and receive the tests from you, Flandin. I’ll fire it off to high command after that- they may know more than I do.”

“I’ve heard of biomachines before, but nothing as complex as this.” One of Atkins’ colleagues commented.
“Yes. Like I said, it’s a rough guess..Ryhkor, do you know what you are?” Atkins had decided to question.
“No.” They shook their head.
“Hm.” Atkins paced around the room. “I can say this meeting is reaching its end, and I do have other matters to attend to.”
“The ma..biomachine, sir?” Atkins stopped, looking to the doctor. “What will we do with them?”
“We’ll keep them in the base for now. Ryhkor does not seem to have any intention to hurt us, so we won’t be imprisoning them, unless they give us a reason to. For now, they will be under watch. Ensure that they do not go into restricted areas or attempt to leave the base.” The doctor seemed unsure of Atkins’ choice, but didn’t question it. “If I am understood, then you are all free to leave.”

As Atkins and Flandin exchanged, Kohmir followed the conversation with irreproachable focus. Blood, a heartbeat, emotions… not to mention Ryhkor had no connection to other machines. As Atkins had said, they truly were one of a kind. Kohmir looked over at them, and found that there was significantly less reproach there for them.
Kohmir had talked to them, with a perfectly civilized result, and despite having the ability to destroy the entire base here everyone was, still standing. Maybe, possibly, Ryhkor was sufficiently different from the other machines to be an ally or similar. They didn't even know who they were, or where they were from.
Kohmir cleared his throat. "Thank you, Atkins sir." He stepped away from the wall and nodded at the rest of the escort, indicating they should open the door and lead Ryhkor out. Kohmir gestured to Ryhkor to follow the men and gave one last glance over at Atkins. How powerful he was.

Atkins had turned back to his colleagues, only giving the leaving occupants a glance.
Ryhkor stood still for a moment, peering around the room, then turning tail and walking back over to the escort to follow them. None of this was familiar to them. None of the people, the terminology- there was a war? - nothing made sense.
Almost immediately out the door, the question arose before they could even get a chance to consider it. “There was a war mentioned. What is this…war?”

Kohmir, who had pulled ahead of the group to lead them back, stopped walking. He turned his head to look behind him, clearly puzzled. How could anyone not know what was going on at this point?
He turned around completely. If they told them the truth, maybe they would warn their own kind— or not their own kind, but the machines. They weren’t exactly a machine apparently. He glanced at the other men but had already made up his mind on what to say.
“There’s a war going on, quite a big one. It’s been years. How haven’t you heard about it?” he said quietly. He made sure to keep any antagonistic tone out of his voice.

((Sorry for delayed response - a lot of stuff happened, and the end of my school year was super busy. I’m in a much better mental space than I was before and feel good enough to start responding to RPs, however!))

“I had realized something had been going on when I first set out from my…” Ryhkor paused, considering the correct term to use. “My…containment,” they decided. They remembered their first awakening in great detail, but they weren’t yet sure as to trust everyone that was here, enough to tell them about everything.
“I just didn’t think it was a war.” Ryhkor dipped their head down slightly.

Kohmir didn't move, his mind swimming with thoughts. Ryhkor wasn't a machine, and hadn't contacted any machines. They seemed reasonable. Smart, aware, but containable. If they had been isolated to the point of not even being aware of the war. Could they really have any sort of connection to the machines? Kohmir thought not, which then meant that this was a perfect chance to develop enough of a relationship to have Ryhkor on their side.
"Well," he began, starting to walk again, "yes. It's a war, and a fairly bad one at that. Opposes a lot of… people. Two principal sides. To be honest, Ryhkor, you gave us a bit of a shock, being brought here. You didn't look like you'd be as reasonable as you've been."
That seemed acceptable. Clear enough to be informative, but open enough for Ryhkor to keep talking.