Eden IC

Rob waited patiently for someone to answer him, he had used the mean time to send a City Guard to Fetch his weapon, and changed the orders for the second City Guard to deliver his motorbike to him, and it had all taken long enough for someone in the Temple to have given him a fully detailed report about what he should do and whether or not he should try to track down the Vampyre Noble.

What the heck is wrong, they should have answered by now? rob thought as he got onto his motorbike, reloaded his weapon and drove back to the Temple.

Parking outside the Temple, Robert replaced his broken Cyborg Ear with the one that he had taken from the City Guard, "This is Inquisitor Robert Jackson-" Rob started and then tried to enter the building...but everything was locked-"Can someone please tell me why there is no response when I am reporting back? And why, between heaven and hell are all entrances to the technical wing locked? Are there any Sinners inside?". Rob send the message out to anyone who was in the Temple, and then moved around, looking at where he could get in. The doors to the Technical Wing were locked, the air conditioners were probably locked as well, and the glass was bulletproof and bloody strong, so he would need a few claymores to get in through the windows at least. This is really bad...Something is happening inside the building, I need to get in, Rob thought

Entering the temple from the Sentinel Wing, he moved a few floors up, and then went to the Bridge between the the two Wings. Locked and shut down, I can't break through this, Rob thought, and then his cyborg Vision became even blurrier, which meant that it would soon shut down if it wasn't repaired quickly.
Cursing, Rob turned around and went back to his personal room where he began a raid to find any kind of tools he could use to temporarily fix his Eye though it all just turned out to be a waste of time...he didn't have anything to fix it. Tapping his Cyborg Ear, he saw that the connection suddenly disappeared and reappeared...if he was going to get anymore reports, it would hurt like hell in his head.

"I have been well, of late. Life has gone on much as it always has.There may be rough patches to come, but so has it always been. As the Chinese would have said, were they still alive, we have been cursed to live in interesting times. It is a sad world that has arisen from that world's remains." Mort seems suddenly melancholy at this recollection, turning to stare into the darkness to the left of his chair.

a rat comes scurrying along, from the direction of the Chamber of Whispers. It scales the fabric of the chair with difficulty, reaching the level of Mort's ear. After a brief chittering, he grimaced, and then smiled slightly.

"It would seem Malato has moved rather faster than expected. No doubt the Edenites shall be here before the week is out. Even if they choose not to listen, their Inquisition always has been happy to jump upon the slightest excuse. At least the delivery went as planned. I shall have to prepare the next one." he sits, musing to himself, seeming almost to have forgotten Jenna's presence.

Only Kendra’s running and the whirring of the two drones following behind her broke the silence that had blanketed over the Workshops, her frantic footsteps echoing up the stairway many a time before finally fading to be replaced immediately by the next. After what seemed like forever to the Architect, her study’s door came into view, only one floor from the top of the steel staircase, tapping the keypad outside of it rapidly and was rewarded immediately with a beep that announced the disabling of the door.

There was no hesitation as Kendra slid open the door, no reservations about what might be laying in wait for her, her sense of curiosity at last overriding her worry, blinking slowly as she realised that the darkened room was precisely as she had left it, despite the intrusion that Archie had alerted her to, clicking the lights on with the switch near the door. Then it became clear what this was about; the only thing different about Kendra’s design room was a yellowed scroll of paper bound by a red ribbon, sitting there as if it had the right to be. Taking a step into the room, watching carefully now in the light for some sign of a threat, the drones whirring behind her automatically but the Architect reached the letter safely, sliding herself into her seat with one hand and untying the ribbon with the other.

“Someone broke in, to deliver a letter?” she mused aloud, realising that if it was an Edenite it would have come through the correct channels, even it was secret, leaving little doubt in the intelligent woman’s mind that she was about to read the writing of a Sinner, the thought surprisingly not leaving much disgust in her mind. It was taught to them since they were small that Edenites and Sinners were too different to ever co-exist like they had before everything had changed.

Most Respected Architect,

As you are no doubt already aware, recently a most foul horde of zombies was unleashed upon Eden, somehow bypassing the formidable defensive system that you have installed during your time as Architect. You are no doubt seeking a solution to this problem, to prevent such a travesty from happening again. As a concerned victim of the events that the foul sinners set in motion, I consider it my duty to provide what aid I am able, to strengthen Eden against another such tragedy.

Perhaps not a Sinner then, as the writer called the Sinners ‘foul’, but Kendra was unlikely to understand the tactics employed, and somehow he had read her thoughts perfectly, her helplessness despite the gift she had been graced with. The sudden offer of aid surprised Kendra, who often felt incredibly alone in her task outside of the Technical Wing, silently accepting the offer through the further reading of the letter.

Although my influence in the world is small indeed, I believe I will be able to help in at least one small way: information. I have always been an observer, and it was by this trait that I was able to discover the means used to enter Eden, the unexpected holes in your ingenious constructions. Of what I have seen, the main pathways used are as follows...

The letter goes on to describe, in astounding detail, the routes and methods the sinners used to enter Eden. The faults range from gaps in the patrols over the walls to the precise melting point of insulation used in various security pads. Small suggestions abound as to possible solutions. Finally, it reaches a conclusion

I thank you for reading this letter, and allowing me to do my part. As always, Kendra, I shall watch the results of your future choices with utmost interest. You are a great inspiration to me, and no doubt to many within the walls of Eden, a veritable font of invention and innovation. So it has been, so it is, and so shall it be.

With My Greatest Regards,
The Watcher


Now Kendra was interested in the individual who had penned the letter. Not only had they caught onto the faults that Kendra had known herself and had been striving to fix prior to the most recent zombie attack, he knew of many others, ones that she was sure that the Technicians and Eos should have been aware of through their frequent testing. But this mystery writer knew them all; indeed he was an excellent observer, most likely a skilled peddler of information, using that to make his mark on the world. Well, nonetheless, Kendra was feeling quite respectful of them at this moment; though part of her frowned at their underhanded means to deliver the information, but then again... If this kind of information made it onto the public streets, it would cause an uproar among not only them, but Eden’s government as well.

The tastefully made compliment made at the end of the letter drew a small smile from Kendra’s concentrated face as she read, disagreeing with the words written there. Most of Eden knew who she was, but it wasn’t her she felt that they owed their thanks to. No, their thanks was owed to those who constructed her designs and they were who Kendra herself respected the most. It did disturb the young woman slightly that the writer seemed to have a close eye on her, but then again, if they were going to be of an aid rather than a hindrance, she could live with the uncomfortable feeling.

Setting the letter aside, Kendra drew out a pad of paper and her favourite purple pen out of a drawer, beginning to copy the list of the faults in Eden’s security system, the language it was written in occasionally boggling her but supposed it would make sense to the Technicians and Eos. It took little more than a few minutes to complete the transfer, her quick handwriting owing to her sharp mind. In the final step, the Architect unclipped Archie from her belt, holding him over the paper, scanning it with Archie and immediately mailing it to the security room with an added note attached.

Technician Dominic,

I have received this information from an unknown source about the faults in Eden’s defences and whilst I know little about the language he has used, I expect it will mean more to you. I already knew of some of these faults in the design process but tried to prevent them through tweaking. Apparently I did not do a very successful job. I ask that you scan this letter at your earliest convenience.

Architect Kendra Lawrence.

After sending the message, Kendra set down Archie on the table looking at the letter with curious eyes. It could have been either a Sinner or an Edenite who sent this message, despite the language at the top so she quickly sent a message to the Scientists, hoping for a prompt reply.

Whomever this message may reach,

I know you have extensive databases created about Sinners in general and you even have some specific files centred around particularly interesting Sinners. I was wondering if you had a file on someone called ‘The Watcher’? It might be an alias, but I thought I’d try anyway.

Thank you kindly in advance for your efforts,
Architect Kendra Lawrence.


The messages sent, Kendra eyed up the ribbon that had been sent with the yellowed scroll, guessing it wasn’t long enough to wrap around her arm, but it seemed a shame for the ribbon to go to waste, seeing as it was such a nice colour. Smiling jovially the Architect took off her headband quickly, her long fringe falling into her face immediately, bringing a brief scowl to her face but she worked quickly, tying the ribbon around the middle of the headband so that it would sit at the top of her head. There, now it’s not wasted. Kendra thought proudly, slipping the headband back onto her head quickly, nodding in satisfaction in the small mirror at her desk.

Perhaps it was a little odd to attach the ribbon to her headband, especially seeing as the writer might see it and read too much into it, but at the end of the day, Kendra’s mind was mostly of an intellectual nature and not one tuned into the social or political correctness of normal society. To Kendra, the ribbon would be wasted if she didn’t use it and it had been a while since the Architect had invoked a change in her headband.

Signal operational again. No answers, What is going on here? I called out a stress for anyone in the building and no one answers...I smell a Daemon here, Rob thought, found a rocket for his rocket launcher, got some more ammo for his rifle and a spare gun along with more Acid bullets, they were useful against any foe that the Sinners would throw at them.

Moving out of his room again, Rob wanted to be a more specific about who he called out for, "This is Inquisitor Robert Jackson to Inquisitor Abbadon. If you read me please tell me what has happened, why doesn't anyone answer my stress calls? Where are everyone in the Temple? What is your location? Rob called over his Cyborg Ear to his fellow Inquisitor, hoping he could get some answers for why everything was so quiet.

Rob wasn't too sure about where Abbadon's location was so he stood outside his room, got out a cigarette, light it and then began to smoke so he could kill time, How this is suppose to make my health worse? I smoke about seven cigarettes a day just to stay calm and patient...and I don't feel like I'm loosening my fitness...weird, Rob thought as he smoked.

Maeve remained in the technical wing where Spiritual Adviser Lythande had left her, a strong, commanding figure amidst the scrambling technicians and whirring robots. Though her face did not show her anxiety in this time for decisive leadership, she was inwardly worried and appalled. What had happened today? The thought echoed and rebounded through her mind, and she resisted the urge to massage the stiff muscles of her neck as the tension began to knot there. The city of Eden had taken a hit today, several of them, in fact, and that was unacceptable. This was not something she had planned for and she hated unpleasant surprises. When things did not go Mauve’s way, she turned into one pissed off bitch, and someone was going to answer for this, for all of it.

What she needed right now was information. Messengers ran up to her and departed quickly in a steady stream as she barked orders and compiled information. She was in the middle of chewing out a technician for not knowing why the security systems in the technical wing had been activated when a pale, quaking man in robes came running up and grabbed her hand, shouting, “The Spiritual Advisor has been kidnapped!”

As the entire room fell silent with the horror of the news, Maeve did the first thing that she could think of to neutralize the situation: she slapped the man hard across the face, and then raised her voice so that every man and women could hear her clearly. “That is an unconfirmed claim. Do not panic. Return to your jobs or you will answer to me!” She dragged the man to an unoccupied part of the room and lowered her voice dangerously. “You will tell me what you know, now, without blubbering. Begin.”

The man was visibly shaken and upset, but any Eden citizen would be that way if they believed what this man thought he knew. His body was shaking as if he was violently ill, but Maeve did not have time to play nice with him. The look in her eye must have said it all, for the man quickly started to stammer, “Th-that’s all! She’s b-been kidnapped. By a demon! On her way to see The Communicator! I…know…nothing else!”

Maeve turned from the man, pointing a finger away from herself in an indication that he should leave her. Her job now was to insure that The Communicator was safe. If Lythande had truly been kidnapped, the city had sustained a much larger loss than anyone yet understood, but Maeve could not worry about that now. It was her duty to step up and take command of the situation, and she would do so. She raised her left hand to ear, touching the delicate, green jewel that rested there. Her personal AI was always on, but by pressing a small button on the edge of the unit, she could communicate with any personnel that she required. “This is Diplomat Maeve Jordan. I have just received word that Spiritual Adviser Lythande has been abducted. I need confirmation or negation of this information. More importantly, I need confirmation that The Communicator is heavily guarded and safe. If I do not receive said confirmation in 30 seconds, I will dispatch every able bodied man to The Communicator’s side. Standby for this order.” Releasing the button, she dropped her hand and looked at her wrist, waiting for the replies to begin flooding in as she started to count down the seconds.

Technician Dominic Markai

The tense silence in the security room that had followed Dominic’s outburst was interrupted a couple of minutes after by Eos, her calm voice having now returned following the passing of the stormy situation.

“Dominic; The Architect wishes to inform you that dinner is going to be considerably more interesting.” As a computer, Eos didn’t need to understand comments like that; only relaying them forward, but the Technician on the other hand knew exactly what his colleague was referring to. Evidently the drones had found the Architect without too much trouble and she obviously wasn’t terribly happy about that change of protocol, but for now Dominic knew that she would at least be protected as much as he could provide at the moment, allowing him to focus a little more on the task at hand – dealing directly with the security of Eden.

There were a number of communications and messages flitting through the system, but none that Dominic could address or answer adequately, choosing to let others with more immediate knowledge deal with the tasks, scanning the screens to keep an eye on the stable defences around the crisis area of the moment – the bridge between the Technical Wing and the Temple. It looked suspiciously like the situation had come to a close, but he couldn’t be sure without solid information and as the Technician reached for the keyboard to obtain that very information, Eos spoke once more, this time as a confirmation.

“Email sent from Architect Lawrence via a secure link; it has been attached with an urgent tag. Would you like to read it now or later?” Eos asked of the young man, who stopped for a moment considering before nodding.

“Now please.”

Immediately another window on a screen directly to Dominic’s left, his eyes quickly scanning through the attached note with considerable alarm. What did she mean faults in Eden’s defences? He knew that the defences were by no means perfect, but to discover that the Sinners and zombies had obtained access to the city via these weaknesses was something that the Technician was finding very difficult to handle. “Eos; relay this information through the security systems and find out if these gaps and weaknesses exist,” Dominic demanded of the security software, his voice tight.

“Acknowledged; estimated analysis time – ten minutes.”

The news that it might be the fault of Eden’s flawed defences that the attack occurred today was not easy for Dominic to take in, once more distracted from his work, but now for an entirely different reason.

~*~*~*~*~

Architect Kendra Lawrence

Although Kendra had only waited for a few minutes for a response for either Technician Markai or a Scientist, she was beginning to get anxious, fiddling with her new addition to her headband nervously, deliberating avoiding eye contact with the slightly curled up letter, remembering for a moment the design in her back pocket. Gently the Architect removed the paper, unfolding it with deft fingers to reveal the basic blueprint for a large melee weapon, definitely a sword. It looked like a ideal solution to what Inquisitor Abaddon had wanted and seeing as there wasn’t much else she could do other than listen to the communications and help wherever she could. At last making a decision, Kendra pulled up the most recent blueprints she had for a new defensive piece of hardware, scanning it now critically for errors but after only half a minute she gave up. The design was hers but she had absolutely no idea what most of it meant, the structural estimations and values meaning nothing to her.

Sighing dejectedly, Kendra reverted back to what she now called Abaddon’s blueprint, continuing the sketching that she had been doing before the alarm had broken out, her eyes focused on the task at hand, but her mind completely elsewhere, fearing for those of Eden and those who carried heavy burdens, closing her eyes momentarily as she remembered the explosion near Avex. That will not happen again.

Technician Dominic Markai

Almost immediately after Eos had started to work on the analysis of the portion of the letter that the Technician had received, a message came through on the network, one that had been highly anticipated. “This is Inquisitor Abbadon. The devil and the daemon have been destroyed. The Spiritual Adviser has been taken to Avex by a noble. All guards will report to the Inquisition HQ for debriefing. That is all.”

Unreservedly, Dominic let out a cry of relief despite his frustration, for at least this meant the end to one of his problems. “Eos; disable the defences of the Technical Wing and recall all droids immediately,” he commanded, receiving a sharp ‘affirmative’ in response, pausing. “Keep the droids on Kendra for now.”

Even if the attack had been unsuccessful, neither Kendra or Dominic were sure whether the break-in to her quarters was related and the Technician refused to take the chance, his fingers flying over the keyboard before him as his eyes took in the damages to the Technical Wing and Eden, which were considerable to say the least but nothing that couldn’t be repaired.

It took only a moment to relay a message across the relevant networks. “This is Technician Markai; the defences around the Technical Wing have been disabled.” There was no time for Dominic to worry over the missing Spiritual Advisor, although the news was greatly worrying. It was not his job to recover her; that was the military’s job and the Technical Wing would only get involved if asked.

The message relayed, the Technician immediately returned to his assigned work, scanning the screens to prioritise repairs and assign jobs throughout the team.

~*~*~*~*~

Architect Kendra Lawrence

The message came through Archie whilst Kendra was taking a break to admire the ribbon in the small mirror at her desk, the ends of her mouth twitching upwards into a relieved smile. “Thank God,” she whispered as she spun, facing the letter on her desk once more. Surely someone should tell the military about the intrusion? Well, it could wait until after Eden was reasonably back to normal and that would take time. For now, all the Architect could do was wait patiently for instructions, deciding that the Inquisitor’s equipment would be her next project just as the message came through the channels from Technician Markai, who sounded decidedly relieved to be declaring the Technical Wing’s defences disabled, the heavy clunking of metal confirming the message.

Inquisitor Abbadon’s message had shook something within the Architect; the Spiritual Advisor taken? That surely was a bad sign for Eden, much worse than any physical damage that had been done during the brief fighting. It would be a significant blow to morale, both public and military but alas, there was nothing they could do until they had organised their resources and regrouped.

Her pencil scratched noisily against the crinkled white paper in the whirring quiet that accompanied the Architect at the moment, causing her to turn to face the drones inquisitively. Hadn’t Dominic said that all drones had been recalled, how odd.

~*~*~*~*~

The metal cover and shutters that outwardly indicated a Technical Wing lockdown now disappeared into appropriate compartments, the very visible damage to the bridge between the Technical Wing and the Temple the only reminder that there had been a fight extremely close to home only minutes before.