Ace looked down The memories of the hot sticky blood on his fur, the smell of copper in the air, and the bits of pony in zebra alike still in his head It was making him feel sick "Max....got anything for nausea?" He asked sitting back He did look a bit greener
Aces face returned to its normal grey and he smiled "Thanks....and I think I co-" ace said before he was interoupted by gunfire from the first floor Maxs pipbuck came up with an alert as well as a camera showing them the front door [Threat Level: Blue, enforcing appropriate counter measures] the alert said as the turrets on the camera opened fire on the raiders that were attacking
Max watched in concern, but the turrets were none the worse for their years of inactivity, and tore through the raiders with ease, sending the survivors scrambling for cover. The few shots the raiders had gotten off had done little more than dent the turret's casings, and scuffed the apparently bulletproof glass of the doors. Max was suddenly even more grateful she and Ace had managed to get control of the systems. "Well, at least we know that works properly," She said quietly, watching her pipbuck screen as the remaining raiders continued to cower behind burnt out carriages and piles of rubble.
"and i guess its a good thing i didnt get shot by those my first time here" ace said looking at her pipbuck "and we havent even seen the sentry bots in action yet" he said remembering the hulking pony like creatures with wheels rolling around "i even found one for me to tinker with in the sttorage room....one of those experemental bypass matrix Gatling lasers on it....is i was studying the matrix right it can shoot thru any obgect and only hit its intended target.....but it will take a lot of tlc for that to work porperly" ace said seaming to brighten up with his own persanal challenge hes given himself for later
Max glazed over as he started talking about weapons and robots, but she could see he was happier, and was glad of that. "Uh... Yes, that sounds great," She said, smiling, "But what should we do about the rest of these raiders?"
"well they saw what happens if they get too close, and the security can tell the diference between raiders and settlers so i say let them go....they come back sick the sentry bots after them and show them they should have stayed away when they had the chance" ace said showing max he did care for there lives.... he was choosing morals over smarts but hopefuly this wouldnt bite them later
Max nodded, then pressed a button on her button on her pipbuck to stop the turrets from firing, and open the intercom channel so she could speak to the raiders. "If you leave now, you will not be shot, but if you return, you will suffer the same fate as your commrades," She announced, trying to keep any trace of emotion out of her voice.
one raider cursed at her and lobed a granade at the door but a turrets self defence protacol kicked in and shot it mid air killing the raider who threw it as the others ran
Max turned off the pipbuck screen and sighed. "We're probably just going to have to kill them later anyway..." She said, sadly, "They're obviously still holed up in the ruins somewhere, and if we leave them, they'll attack anypony trying to teach the hospital..."
Max looked at him, surprised. "Not really... I mean, I know we probably should, but..." She sighed. "It's still snowing, and I'm so tired of death."
"me too" ace agreed "maybe these a diplomatic approtch?" ace asked hoping as he turned to her and sat down
"Maybe..." Max said, slightly doubtfully. "We'd need to understand why they act the way they do before we can try and stop them though, I'm concerned that none of them responded verbally to me just then." She turned her pipbuck screen back on, and looked at the entrance, where a few raiders still lay dead. "Maybe if I could autopsy one of them, study their brain..." She suggested, obviously not keen on the idea, "They seem to display a lot of symptoms of brain damage, and if that's the reason for their behaviour, negotiating may not be possible..."
ace looked at her like she was speeking rocket science "ya you do that" he said a bit confused on what she was getting at ace figured they were able to speek....or at least the one that threw the granade when he was cussing at them
Max smiled faintly. "I just need to get one into the morgue," She explained, nodding to the room across the corridor from the mainframe, "Study their brain, to see if it's like a normal pony's brain, or if their aggression is the result of some kind of damage or disease." Part of her wanted that to be the case; it was easier to believe that healthy ponies could never act in the way they did, but another part of her told her that was not the case.
ace nodded understanding that a bit better "ill grab my duster and get one thats brain is intact" as said standing up before kissing her and began walking to the elevator "i shouldnt take that long"
Max kissed back and smiled. "Thank you, Ace," She said, standing and heading to the morgue once he'd gone, setting up a table and the appropriate tools.
soon ace came down carrying a raider that had died from a heart shot she looked like she had been staved and dagged thru hell but seamed to be strong he laid her on the table before taking off his duster
