(So, I might have gone a little bit (massively a lot) overboard with this first post, but I needed to make it epic enough though, needed to put some groundwork for people to build off of)
"Oh you have got to be kidding me" Engineer Jacob Murrue mentioned as he hung from a pipe, in a partially destroyed section of a building, above acid with pink fleshy monsters known as Mutants were coming towards him from all sides growling. He manged to get his weapon out, but unless he came up with a solution quick, he was screwed.
"Alright, wait a second. Hold on. Sorry for interrupting the story like this, but we started out on the wrong foot. Hi, my name is Jacob Murrue. I am an Engineer, trying to keep the city from falling apart. And we should not start the story here, but fifteen minutes earlier..."
ARCNet Main Datastorage Building, Tefani Plaza:
The guards were letting people in as normal. Everything was running fine, and the people were all going about their normal business. A mailman came through with some packages, and behind him, a special agent came through with some important tech. It was supposed to be the new advanced Processing Unit, that would enhance ARCNet's systems so that it would be able to tell them who was with the Revolution, Interwhere, and Shadows with a 98% chance of success per target. He quickly got into the elevator, and headed towards where he needed to insert the device.
"Hey, you hear? A member of the High Council is coming to visit. Wants to see the new system at work, and apparently they hired some mercs to help defend it during the next few days as well. I wonder which Councilor it is" one of the guards for the next shift said as him and three other guards walked into the building with some new expresso coffee they created across the street at the new Starlight Cafe. They got onto the elevator, and proceeded to head to their posts.
And then, just about twenty seconds later, it happened. The ARCNet building came online, and then seven seconds after that, a series of explosions rattled the area and devastated the building. Four explosions in total. One in the main reactor, two along the powerlines and datafeeds, and one in the data storage area. ARCNet just took a hit.
"And now, this is where I come in. That's me, sitting at the table at the Cafe across the Plaza. And lucky me, I was on call for Rapid Response Duty. Basically, that means that if there is a technical emergency, like a building blowing up and needing repairs, I would be called in to help do initial fixings and structure stabilization, as well as making sure to eliminate the risk of additional damage. Of course, this can sometimes be hampered by people's prejudice towards Drevs and Half Drevs. Anyways, ima stop interjecting with comments here".
Jacob quickly started getting his gear together, and began running towards the building. He scanned the ID code on his left arm at the door, his Hazard level clearance giving him access. He approached the front desk. "Engineer Murrue here. What is the situation".
"ARCNet data drives are down, and our power core just went boom in the basement. Or its highly damaged" the guard told him as he looked up. "Hold on, aren't you a little young?"
"I am fourteen, which makes me a legal adult. I just had inherit slow aging from my mother so I look nine or ten, but I inherited my Psion father's, whoever he might be, intelligence. Now, I assume you are having security sweep the area. Have you encountered any mutants or tunnel breaches?"
If the explosion breached into the tunnels below, mutants could be crawling into the building as they spoke, and they would make his job more difficult.
"None yet, but we do have an issue. This building has two backup fusion engines to power it, but the fusion lines on both are damaged or something. If you don't get those patched, everyone trapped on the upper levels is dead" the guard told him, as Jacob took out his tools. He began setting up the Tri-pod that would connect to his harness. He had his Grav-Shoes on, but the simple fact is the plasma residue on the walls would likely make it impossible to work. Additionally, the exhaust a hoverboard gives off to prevent overheating would likely trigger the fusion gas filling up in that room, causing another explosion. So, harness was the only way to go in.
As Jacob went lower, he saw the full extent of the damage. Data drives in pieces, Plasma residue everywhere. Just being in the room was toxic, but thanks to Jacob's Dreven DNA he was able to withstand it...so long as he did not touch the walls. The catwalk below him was already clear of Plasma Residue. "Hey, what happened to the clean up drones?"
"There is too much residue for them to get all of it, but they managed to clear away some areas. You should have a clean path to the fusion lines".
That was when Jacob heard growling below. "Guys, we need a containment team down here stat. I think I just heard Mutants".
Jacob looked around. He did not see anything, but he could smell them. They were barely making any noise either. He reached into his toolkit, and took out a standard Engineering issue Plasma Pistol G-X9 series, known for destabilizing mutants genetic structure on contact. He then made a run for the fusion line, getting to it as a Mutant jumped up from below and charged towards him. Luckily, his support drone known as Blue showed up and zapped the thing back off the catwalk. Blue was run by a Level 4 AI. AIs had ten levels. The higher level an AI, the more powerful it and its processing power is. However, it also is less human, has less emotions. Lower level AIs are more like people, but are not as powerful or efficient.
Jacob managed to seal the Fusion Lines using some sealing gel and spreading it among the breach. The fusion lines reconnected to the engines, causing the lights to turn on. This revealed dozens of mutants crawling up the walls out of a breach. "Blue, we need to get out of here now!" Jacob tugged on the harness so that they knew to pull him up. They started to, but before he made it out of the hole in the ceiling/floor, a mutant lept across and severed the nano-rope with its claws. Jacob just barely managed to grab a pipe before he fell.
And now, he was back in this position. He fired at any Mutant that got close, but even he knew this level of a mutant breach was too much for how much energy was left in his weapon. Before the mutants got any closer though, a rope was dropped down. He quickly attached it to his harness, and tugged on it again.
Now that he was back up, he sighed with relief. "Make sure security and the engineering team that will be headed here is ready to deal with a level 4 Mutant incursion".
With that, he then noticed there was some plasma gunk on his shoes. He took them off, and put them into a containment bag so he could safely transport them home later. His feet had some bandages on them, from his new hobby of learning a variety of martial arts. He made a mental note to change them later, and he got out his spare pair of shoes.
That was when he spotted someone entering. He didn't know the guy, but Jacob was good at spotting people who were hiding things. And this guy, he had something to hide. BUt what he was more curious about was who did this, why did they do it, and how did they do it.