-Month:12 Day: 28 Year: 2177 Time: 1400 EST Location: Sector 101/Quadtrent 34C-

The powered servos in Xavier's armor whirled as he scaled the half-crumbled building, bits of snow and debris falling and rolling down the lopsided structure as he did. Xavier's AI, Clyde, chirped onto his com, "Four hours until rainfall, I recommend placing a recovery beacon and returning to base." Xavier pulled himself up to what looked to be a stable enough ledge and took a breath. Even with the aid of the suit's enhanced strength, forty stories is still forty stories.

"What, and let next hunter have all the fun? Where's your sense of adventure, Clyde?" Xavier teased between baited breaths. Xavier rubbed at his forearm, but it did little to help the growing pain with the armor in the way. 

"I believe I left it back at base, along with my wanton disregard for safety," Clyde remarked, his tone almost scolding but jesting as well. Xavier shook his head and couldn't help but crack a grin. "Smartass..." Mumbled Xavier as he once again started his climb. 

It was only a few more stories until he reached where the company data banks were supposed to be, at least that's what old-world blueprints had shown. In truth, the building was so wrecked it could be a few stories lower now or under rubble.

Dakota needed those schematics, though, to rebuild the west purifier. She said so herself, "If I'm going to get this thing running right, I'll need the schematics for it. If you come across them, grab them, but please don't risk your neck for them." Xavier was quick to ignore that last part, though. He was a hunter. Hunter's whole job description was risking their necks to get important things.

Finally, Xavier pulled himself up and through a broken window on the fiftieth floor of the building. The wind howled through the crumbling space. Large chunks of fallen and collapsed walls littered the floor, a thick dusting of snow laying over them.

Clyde once again chimed into Xavier's com, "I'm not detecting any abnormal movement in the area, and a quick scan says that the floor should be stable enough to walk on." Xavier slowly moved forward through the floor, his mag-rifle at the ready. 

Entering further in, the building became dark. The rubble covering most of the window, and only a few stray beams of light slipped through the cracks. The visor of Xavier's helmet pulsed briefly before a green tint covered it; suddenly, everything became clearly visible as Clyde activated the helmet's night vision.

Unfortunately, it also revealed a gaping hole where the data bank was supposed to be. Xavier moved closer to the hole to see that it went about a dozen floors down. "Well, shit..." Xavier cursed, pausing a moment to think. Clyde was quick to chime in, "It seems we will have to get Dakota's schematics elsewhere. When we get back, I'll-" Xavier interrupted, "They would keep backup data banks in the basement, right, in case of file corruption or something?"

Clyde answered in a mournful tone, "Yes, but I don't see how that matters. With the state of this building, I doubt the building's lower levels would be any easier to access." Xavier moved through the floor, doing his best to recall the blueprint of the level from memory. Finding the elevator doors, he was quick to pry them open. The suit's enhanced strength, once again coming in handy.

Xavier cracked a light rod with the doors open and dropped it down the shaft, watching it as it free fell. A few moments passed before it finally hit bottom. There was a bit of a sloop in the fall, but it seemed to go all the way down to the lower levels.

Clyde came onto the coms again as Xavier gave an exploratory tug on the cables attached to the elevator car at the bottom, "I want it noted that I think this is a bad idea and a new high for your recklessness." Xavier fastened his rifle down onto his chest plate and grabbed hold of the cable. "Noted," Xavier retorted with a grin as he leaped onto the cable and started to zip down the elevator shaft.

Ten stories, twenty stories, thirty stories; Xavier speed down the cable, rocketing towards the lower levels. All was going according to plan...that was until suddenly Xavier heard a snap as the cable went loose in his grip.

The old and rusted cable had buckled under the full weight of Xavier's armor and kit, and he soon found himself free falling just before the sloop in the shaft. Thinking quickly, Xavier reached out towards the sloop, hoping to grab hold of it and stop his fall.

He was falling too fast, though, and only caused himself to crash off the side of it, sending him now spinning and free-falling down the shaft. Xavier bounced back and forth down the shaft, hitting metal supports left and right. If it weren't for the thick plating of his armor, he would have been dead three times over already, but instead, he was only in growing pain.

Finally, Xavier hit bottom with a heavy crash as he slammed through the empty elevator box at the bottom of the shaft, and his vision went black.