Black Box Recovery Report
Black Box Recovery In Progress
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Total Recovery Failed
Damage Assessment And Reconstruction
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Beginning Replay Of Events Leading To Failure
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There we all were, standing ready for the battle to come. Scourge had his army, and we had our coalition. The local non-sapient species had the presence of mind to flee. There was only silence in the air as Scourge padded forward to make his address. Fur bristled at his approach. Despite his lackluster size, we all knew well what those claws could do. It is fascinating how such a small form can make such an intimidating presence. His eyes wandered over us, cold and aloof as if he was watching a particularly uninteresting nest of ants futilely trying to defend their nest from being trod upon. He demanded we either flee or die. We chose to fight.
The initial charge was furious. It was like looking at a battle of old as bodies met bodies in a violent crash. Screeches of pain and fury filled the air. For a while, there was a semblance of battle lines, but that dissolved rather quickly into a barely sensible brawl. The only indicator of friend or foe was if the opponent wore claws or a collar. I, at least, could participate in this fight.
Before this battle even had begun, ESRAI imposed upon me some rules. I could not go beyond a normal cat's strength or speed if I were to participate. It was an honestly fair concession. This was a battle for the clans. They did not need to be eternally indebted to an outsider such as me. The only advantage I would keep would be my metallic frame and reaction times.
While I was allowed to brawl, I mainly focused on rescuing whatever clan cats I could. Deadfoot, the Windclan deputy was entrenched too deep. I used my near indestructability to make some room for him to get out. Deadfoot briefly gave me a nod of thanks before retreating for some medical aid. This rescue did not come without cost. While my frame may be near impervious to cat claws, that did not mean the synthetic skin had the same properties. Swaths were ripped from my frame, removing many microscopic touch sensors and causing a flood of warning alerts to have to be processed. The sheer slew of information caused my head to ache. Regardless, I couldn't back down.
The battle was going on far longer than I hoped. More cats than I'd be willing to count I had to pull from the lines and treat. I dare not count how many actually died. I knew I could always look back and count, but I feared to look. I don't even know if every cat I "rescued" even survived my treatment. The damage I sustained and all the alerts was overwhelming me. I couldn't properly run medical scans under threat of frying myself.
I saw Whitestorm go down. The wound had been deep and jagged. I forced myself to run a medical scan to see if he could be saved.
Results: shredded carotid arteries.
Calculating Solutions
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0 Results Found
Conclusion: Patient is beyond the point of no return.
My head pounded with all the information of the scan, but it was my heart that hurt worse. While I saw clan cats die here, it was a shock to see one I knew fall. Tis mechanical body could shed no tears, but I felt the grief all the same. Unfortunately, I did not have time to act upon my grief. Instead, like a machine, I rescheduled grieving for later. A chilling calm swept over me. There were still lives to save.
I bore witness to Firestar and Scourge fighting. They briefly looked evenly matched, but that was not the truth. While Firestar was faster, Scourge was better armed and his collar acted somewhat like armor, protecting him from a scratch that could spell his end. Firestar stumbled briefly, giving Scourge his opening. He cut Firestar's throat. Maybe I could still save him.
There was plenty of ground between the fallen Firestar and I. There were also plenty of enemies between too. I may not be strong, but I am durable enough to make it.
Running Ranged Medical Scan
Result: damaged carotid artery
Time Until Point Of No Return Is Reached: 32 seconds
Never have I strived for anything harder. Based upon what I'd calculated, I could stabilize the cat in three seconds. It would be a patch job I'd have to fix later, but it could save his life. I pushed into the crowd, ignoring the many new alerts ringing out from more skin being ripped from my frame. One cat even managed to catch the end of the cover over one of my cameras acting as eyes, pulling it free revealing a fisheye lens. It managed to lightly scratch the lens as well, blurring one eye's straight forward vision. I sealed the eye to prevent further damage.
10 seconds. I was nearly there, just a little further.
5 Seconds. Only a couple feet between us. Only one rogue between.
Unfortunately, that rogue proved just enough of a hinderance. I missed my window. I couldn't save him…
Scan complete
Result: Diseased
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Recalculating
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Result: Inconclusive. Ongoing faith events result in too many variables.
He was coming back! I needed to see… But then a certain yowl of fear caught my attention. It was Snow. I managed to get some height to see what had him distressed. He was not far away. A rogue had him pinned and was moving in for the kill.
Danger! ESRAI Employee In Peril
Overriding Limiters
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Warning. Data Overload. Use Of Override Will Overload A Processor.
Risks. Damaged To Existing Stored Data. Potential Loss Of Drive 0.
Continue?
Snow's life was at risk and it was prompting me about data loss? My skull was pounding, but I had to make a choice. Should I risk this data? I scoffed at the option. Of course a life was worth more than whatever this Drive 0 was.
Yes
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Initiating Override
Damage To Drive 0 Detected
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Ignoring Damage And Continuing Override
I felt pain lance through my skull. I think I might have gone into a seizure fit as well. So that's what it meant by drive 0. Well, it was too late to stop now. Somewhere in the back of this mind, I knew the risk. I made my choice.
My metallic frame smashed through the horde. I was not holding back anymore. I needed to save Snow! I was like a small titanium bull, throwing cats left and right. I saw the fear in Snow's eyes as the rogue's teeth grazed his neck. Then flesh met steel. He went flying into a tree with a sickening crack. I now stood over Snow, probably looking like some kind of Terminator monster. Roughly half of my synthetic skin was gone, exposing raw metal to the world.
"Are you alright?" I asked the dazed and fearful cat.
"Sparky?" He mewed slowly with a tilt of his head.
"I swore I'd protect you." I answered.
Another rogue took the moment of opportunity, latching his teeth onto my ear, somehow managing to snap it off.
Drive 0 Critical. Shutting Down For Recovery.
As my consciousness faded to black, I heard a muted voice call out "Sparky!"
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Reconstruction Success
Drive 0 Recovered Onto Drive 1