A slightly smaller Mess

"Perhaps it is just for psykers."

"probably. you're more vulnerable"

"And more valuable."

"Aye"

"hmn... Not sure how many of these would be useful in combat."

she shrugs

"Get the more... animal. In to good places." He walks back out to see Sidonai waiting. their form having settled on female, curvaceous, with raven hair down to her hips.

she glances at sidonai with disgust masked only by her helmet, before looking back at laurence

Sidonai: "The machine is uncooperative. It demands your word."

she flips him off.

Laurence: "She doesn't mean you. She means the Jaeger"

"uhuh"

Laurence: "Not particularly surprising really. It might like you though... you're not once born."

"well that's not ominous"

Laurence: "Come on. You wanted to see what's down here right?" He leads on towards the now open largest door. Inside, the floor is a strange rubbery substance that is awkward to walk on, and the lights are overly bright. Morgue slabs and drawers deck the walls and floor space. Bodies lying on each, and a figure in a ragged duster coat stands by one, their back turned.

lyanna silently observes it all, bit by bit, taking it all in bit by bit

Laurence: "Shrike. I have need of your services."

The figure turns around. Revealing a gaunt, corpselike face, lips peeled back from the teeth, skull covered in inexpertly welded and riveted segments of metal, and green backlit glass circles covering his eyes. the left is narrowed to a slit by metal plates. His voice sounds like grinding metal, raising the hairs on the back of lyanna's neck. "DO YOU INDEED." He turns his head stiffly to look at lyanna. "WHO IS THIS ONCE BORN YOU HAVE BROUGHT TO ME?"

"Once born? Not quite buddy."

Shrike: "YOU ARE NOT ONCE BORN? INTERESTING. BUT WILLIAM DOES NOT OFTEN ASK MY SERVICE, WE SHALL HAVE TO SPEAK OF THIS LATER."

"riiight"

Shrike: "WHAT AM I TO DO?"

Laurence: "Hunt, what else?"

Shrike: "GOOD"

*watches*

Laurence: "The bombardment hasn't started yet. Wait until i call."

Shrike: "DO NOT TARRY."

Laurence turns to lyanna "Right, what else... what else."

"What the hell else is there?"

Laurence paces back out into the atrium, talking aloud to himself. "Me, Lazarus... Zara, Flyn, Katherine... Tyren, you... Shrike, the other jaegers... Sidonai..."

"What else do you have that I haven't seen?"

"Some weapons... a few xenos... Books..." He pauses, as if debating something. "Thats about it."

"....you're sure that's all?"

"Everything that is usable. Without killing myself... or the planet."

"well... that's not ominous at all"

"You contracted me to kill a planet once before if you don't remember. Life eater virus? Name ring a bell?"

"of course I do"

"So why is that ominous?"

"The implication you have more than that...also i'm just being a snarky fuck"

He pauses, looking at her like she just proclaimed to be the emperor himself. "Well, thats a disturbing level of humanity from you. Also yes i do, but its not the sort of thing you actually use."

"I still am human...sort of. And.,..well then"

"You're more machine than shrike is."

"so what?"

His lip curls into a semi smile. "My point exactly."

"machine in body only"

"No cogitators up in there?" he taps the side of his head

"Still my brain"

"I'll leave that for the philosophers."

"No i mean biologically"

"How've you got natural brain tissue to last that long..? Hormone treatments?"

"Like I'd tell you"

"I could always find out anyway."

"uhuh"

"You're no psyker." He walks over to another door, and opens it without ceremony. This room is simply row upon row of locked drawers.

"I'm rather glad I'm not"

"I doubt you would have survived this long." He pulls open one of the drawers. "If you were.... Yes... i think... this will do."