Post by AimMan on Dec 8, 2008 4:34:02 GMT -5
Jean had, in the end, found the robot technology seminar much less interesting than she thought she would. All that had been shown were small scale models and a few common workplace robots that she'd seen around the office before. "Big deal!" she exclaimed, slamming her briefcase down upon the bathroom sink irritably. Her lip quivered as she brought out her recruit's uniform. The helmet was somewhere else, but the familiar, musty scent reminded her of her days in training, back when she thought she'd be out on the field. "Why can't they put me out there, with the real combat robots and the weapon-carrying operatives?" she asked her reflection in the mirror. The dumb glare that her reflection, dressed in its stuffy suit jacket and tie, returned frustrated her more than if she'd simply been talking to the wall, so she moved into the stall.
Slowly, she stripped out of her work uniform, hanging it clumsily over the side of the stall. Her hips pressed against the stall as she shot her legs into the pants of the uniform, then brought it up to her shoulders, zipping it shut loudly enough for anyone to hear outside of the bathroom. Once she finally got the old suit on, she stepped out of the stall, admiring her bold and heroic form in the mirror with a fond smile. "Private Jean Darling!" she thought, resting her elbows down on the sink. She pocketed her pistol with a smile. Who could stop her from walking around like this for a while? She doubted anyone would mind.
After packing her stuffy work outfit back into her stuffy work briefcase, Jean strode back out into the technology department. Suddenly, with a surprised start, she noticed a long line of recruits heading into a room marked "Project Testing Room 04" with a note flashing beneath it on an electronic board, reading "Testing In Progress." Jean took a deep breath, then ran to get at the back of the line. With her suit on, she figured she'd blend in perfectly with the rest of the recruits... Only she didn't have a helmet. She was sure they wouldn't mind though.
Indeed, after a long period of waiting, Jean discovered there was almost no screening process whatsoever. The recruits that lined up seemed to simply vanish into the office, one by one, not returning back out. Not finding this in the least suspicious, she continued waiting patiently until finally her turn had arrived. Proudly, she stepped through the double doors, surprised by the darkness of the room inside.
The room itself was very dark, populated only by two robots in front of an enormous machine, highlighted by a single large spotlight from the ceiling. Jean had no idea what the machine was supposed to be, but from her view, it almost seemed like some kind of device like a Medieval catapult. This frightened her, but it was the military, they'd probably tested this thing pretty extensively before. These guys were smarter than her, right? They probably knew what they were doing, she reasoned.
"Have a seat, beep beep blip beep," an egg-shaped robot told Jean in an electronic voice, leading her over to the machine's massive cup. Frowning, she sprawled her body into it, her legs seeming to hang over the side.
Fear had overtaken her adventurousness and faith in her government momentarily. "Is this really all there is to it?" she asked. "I don't get strapped in or anything? Should I at least go grab my helmet?" The robot seemed to be ignoring the fear in her voice and provided her with a helmet, hung on a hidden rack to the side of the dark room. She fitted it on gingerly, happy that she'd already tied her hair into a ponytail for work. "This is really safe though, right?"
"This is a one way trip, beep beep. We do not know how long you'll be gone, beep, so please record a message now in case we must inform your listed relatives," the robot buzzed ominously.
Jean's mouth widened and she broke into a loud shriek, trying to gather herself up out of her slouched position to jump out of the cradle. After enough of the screaming, the robot's lights clicked off. "Enjoy your trip [RECRUIT JEAN DARLING], blip beep," it whirred, backing up a safe distance. Just as Jean had finally managed to get up to a seating position, the catapult fired, slinging her across time and space.
Everything around Jean blackened out, sights moving past so quickly that she had no time to observe them. The recruit traveled across worlds, skimming Celestia briefly before a sharp dissent into the underworld (Vulcanus certainly didn't want any humans ending up in Celestia by accident). She had no idea where she'd end up, or really much of an idea of anything, as she flew through dimensions into an unknown land...
Slowly, she stripped out of her work uniform, hanging it clumsily over the side of the stall. Her hips pressed against the stall as she shot her legs into the pants of the uniform, then brought it up to her shoulders, zipping it shut loudly enough for anyone to hear outside of the bathroom. Once she finally got the old suit on, she stepped out of the stall, admiring her bold and heroic form in the mirror with a fond smile. "Private Jean Darling!" she thought, resting her elbows down on the sink. She pocketed her pistol with a smile. Who could stop her from walking around like this for a while? She doubted anyone would mind.
After packing her stuffy work outfit back into her stuffy work briefcase, Jean strode back out into the technology department. Suddenly, with a surprised start, she noticed a long line of recruits heading into a room marked "Project Testing Room 04" with a note flashing beneath it on an electronic board, reading "Testing In Progress." Jean took a deep breath, then ran to get at the back of the line. With her suit on, she figured she'd blend in perfectly with the rest of the recruits... Only she didn't have a helmet. She was sure they wouldn't mind though.
Indeed, after a long period of waiting, Jean discovered there was almost no screening process whatsoever. The recruits that lined up seemed to simply vanish into the office, one by one, not returning back out. Not finding this in the least suspicious, she continued waiting patiently until finally her turn had arrived. Proudly, she stepped through the double doors, surprised by the darkness of the room inside.
The room itself was very dark, populated only by two robots in front of an enormous machine, highlighted by a single large spotlight from the ceiling. Jean had no idea what the machine was supposed to be, but from her view, it almost seemed like some kind of device like a Medieval catapult. This frightened her, but it was the military, they'd probably tested this thing pretty extensively before. These guys were smarter than her, right? They probably knew what they were doing, she reasoned.
"Have a seat, beep beep blip beep," an egg-shaped robot told Jean in an electronic voice, leading her over to the machine's massive cup. Frowning, she sprawled her body into it, her legs seeming to hang over the side.
Fear had overtaken her adventurousness and faith in her government momentarily. "Is this really all there is to it?" she asked. "I don't get strapped in or anything? Should I at least go grab my helmet?" The robot seemed to be ignoring the fear in her voice and provided her with a helmet, hung on a hidden rack to the side of the dark room. She fitted it on gingerly, happy that she'd already tied her hair into a ponytail for work. "This is really safe though, right?"
"This is a one way trip, beep beep. We do not know how long you'll be gone, beep, so please record a message now in case we must inform your listed relatives," the robot buzzed ominously.
Jean's mouth widened and she broke into a loud shriek, trying to gather herself up out of her slouched position to jump out of the cradle. After enough of the screaming, the robot's lights clicked off. "Enjoy your trip [RECRUIT JEAN DARLING], blip beep," it whirred, backing up a safe distance. Just as Jean had finally managed to get up to a seating position, the catapult fired, slinging her across time and space.
Everything around Jean blackened out, sights moving past so quickly that she had no time to observe them. The recruit traveled across worlds, skimming Celestia briefly before a sharp dissent into the underworld (Vulcanus certainly didn't want any humans ending up in Celestia by accident). She had no idea where she'd end up, or really much of an idea of anything, as she flew through dimensions into an unknown land...