The Gang of Five
Role Play => Random Role Play => Finished RP's => Topic started by: Serris on September 18, 2008, 04:06:48 PM
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This is a science-fiction RP with a slight supernatural twist.
This is the premise:
There exists a large installation known as Pelvanida Complex out in the middle of the Nevada desert. This installation focuses on creating the next generation of soldiers as well as weapons research. The experiments run the gamut from cybernetics to biological enhancement and even psionics. But there has been a disaster, a radical anti-technology terrorist group has attacked the facility and cut it off from the outside world. The experiments and scientists are attempting to resist but they are being systematically killed by the terrorists. An elite group of soldiers have been sent in to deal with the threat, but they underestimate the resources of the terrorists.
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Gameplay info:
You can play as the soldiers, experiments, scientists or terrorists.
Scientists - have access to all areas of the base and thus access to the advanced weaponry but they are physically weak and have no combat related skills.
Soldiers - have access to small weaponry (small arms, grenades and the like) from the onset and have access to many combat related skills but have limited access to areas in the base.
Psi-Experiments - have psionic powers but have almost no access to areas in the base and are not too good with technology. They also have no combat related skills.
Cyber-Experiments - masters of technology and have a cybernetic enhancement. But have almost no access to various areas. No combat related skills.
Terrorists - play similar to the soldiers except they have access to heavier weaponry from the onset and don't have access to as much combat related skills.
NOTE: Hybridization is not allowed. IE, you can't play as a combination of a Cyber and Psi Experiment.
NOTE: Scientists do not have access to heavier weapons from the onset. They have be armed with a pistol or an improvised weapon from the onset.
NOTE: Experiments have to be either unarmed or at most, armed with an improvised weapon from the onset.
NOTE: Experiments can side with the terrorists (resentment over being created, perhaps?)
NOTE: Soldiers and scientists are on the same side.
NOTE: All factions may use small arms (scientists and experiments included).
NOTE: Only soldiers and terrorists may use heavier weaponry (RPGs, missile launchers, etc.)
NOTE: Humans and Furries can be any faction.
Other notes:
This is a mixed human and anthro world.
You may have as many characters as you can control
An sample character profile:
Name:
Age:
Species:
Faction:
Specializations: If playing as a scientist replace with knowledge
Powers/Cybernetic enhancement: If not playing as experiment, put N/A or omit this category. Only 1 cybernetic enhancement OR 2 psionic powers are allowed.
Personality:
And please, join only if you are going to be dedicated to this RP.
Finally, PM me if you have questions and have fun!
Discussion is here. (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=4442)
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Okay! Count me in!
Name: PX-0715-91
Alias: Neku
Age: 6 Since Creation (Physically and mentally 17)
Species: Anthro Reptile
Faction: Scientists
Specializations: Psi-Powers
Powers: Kinesis (Can move most anything with his mind. Limited to approx. 600 lbs)
ElectroKinesis (Can generate and control electricity from his body, as well as "charge" objects)
Innate ability: Regenerative Factor (Can regrow lost limbs, albeit slowly)
Empath (Can sense strong feelings from others)
Psi-Pin-Lock (Using pins with certain markings, can use unique powers, but requires considerable time to recharge, and is limited to six pin types
Personality: Neku is a kind, though somewhat sarcastic young reptilian psi-experiment. He can usually be found rocking out to his headphones that he got from a researcher, and when he's not wearing them, keeps them around his neck. When the terrorists attacked, he revealed a second, darker persona that is reserved solely for those who have hurt him, and as such is utterly devoid of mercy. He has a basic knowledge of martial arts, which he can use to defend himself as a last resort.
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I've never been one to RP, but this one sounds really interesting, so I'm going to give it a shot!
Name: Dr. Rudyard "Rudy" Shelton
Age: 40
Species: Human
Faction: Scientists
Specializations: Great understanding of physics, technology, and (to a limited extent) temporal mechanics. He often uses analogy and historical references in his dialogue.
Powers/Cybernetic enhancement: none
Personality: Marginally sarcastic, but usually doesn't talk unless he sees a reason to. Attempts to solve any problem with logic, almost to a fault. Has no intention whatsoever of risking his life for anyone or anything, thank you very much.
Equipment: Other than standard lab equipment (and no weaponry), also carries a chargeable flashlight that doubles as a radio.
(http://www.alltro.com/flashlight.windup.jpg)
This image show the flashlight in retracted form, and being opened into talkie mode. The crank doubles as a mouthpiece.
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I have two characters
Name: Hans Donitz
Age:30
Species:Human
Faction:terrorists
Specializations: Ex German army experience with explosives and heavy weaponry has connections to several arms dealers.
Powers/Cybernetic enhancement: none
Personality:self centered,cruel when it takes a long while with many casualites inflected to suceed in a mission,annoyed with the anti technology group and their ways but keeps it to himself,has been think about defecting so he can see his family again.
Equipment:50 cal Sniper rifle,AK-47,RPG,MG-3 and 2 PPK's, 1 Luger,1 ColtM1911,and a remmington Shotgun
Name:Werner Donitz
Age:18
Species:Human
Faction:Scientists
Specializations:Degree in physics,biology
Powers/Cybernetic enhancement: none
personality:kind,meek and shy because of being the youngest human on the base
Equipment:two Beratta's and two daggers.
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I might join. If I do, here is my character.
Name: Siberys
Age: 25
Species: Anthro Dragon
Faction: Psi-Experiments
Specializations: psychokinesis (up to a ton)
Psi-Powers: telekinesis (mind-reading)
Personality: Siberys has kept his past secret. Until he was chosen as an experiment, he was a researcher on genetics. He used to work out daily, building up his physical strength. He now somewhat resents his experimentation on, though.
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Name: James Zanasiu
Age: 25
Species: Human
Faction: Scientist
Knowledge: First aid, some weapons familiarity, knowledge of facility layout.
Powers/Cybernetic enhancement: N/A
Personality: James is a jovial and friendly man. He appears carefree and irreverent but he can turn serious when the situation demands. He works mainly in the biologic enhancement department but he has spent some time in the weapons department.
Equipment: Colt .45 pistol with 2 15 round magazines.
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I have an idea. What if the the leader of the base, Commander John Shelton, has left for a hearing with the UN? That means the base is vulnerable, with nobody in official command, which is why the terrorists are attacking now.
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I have an idea. What if the the leader of the base, Commander John Shelton, has left for a hearing with the UN? That means the base is vulnerable, with nobody in official command, which is why the terrorists are attacking now.
That seems like a good idea.
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(OOC - I'm starting now)
James Zanasiu heard shouting and gunfire outside his lab. He ran to the office, opened a drawer and retrieved his pistol.
His assistant, an Anthro Clydesdale simply seized a large pipe from the utility closet and crouched behind a lab table.
He heard pounding on the door, after a few seconds a Human terrorist armed with a 9 mm Beretta kicked the door down and started shooting. James immediately shot the man in the chest and killed him. Another man, also armed with a Beretta entered and saw only the body oh his companion. As he turned to leave, the Clydesdale swung his pipe at the back of the man's head and killed him.
"Let's go!" James shouted.
The Clydesdale grabbed the man's pistol and went through the dead terrorists' equipment. He came away with 3 15 round magazines for the Beretta.
"Ready?" James asked. The gunfire had ceased
The Clydesdale nodded and he followed James into the hallway.
(OOC - A physically weak Clydesdale is still extremely strong by human standards)
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Werner was in the office when he heard gun fire he grabbed his Walter PP9 and pointed it at the door he ran out side to come face to face with james. He lowered his gun "James what is going on here,' Werner asked.
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"Werner, there has been a terrorist attack. We need to find as many experiments and scientists as possible and hold out until the military arrives. As long as you can shoot a gun you are fine." James replied.
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"Yeah I can still shoot,' Werner replied. As soon as he did bullets began wissing by. "Running time,' he said out loud.
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In the control room, Dr. Shelton frowned as he saw hundreds of red dots converging on the radar. Checking the security cameras, he saw the first of the attackers converge on Dr. Zanasiu's office, where he and a young scientist were under fire.
Shelton hit the intercom hurriedly. "Security Team B, this is Rudy Shelton. Report to Zanasiu's office. This is not a drill."
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"I agree!" James said.
Both he and the Anthro Clydesdale fired back at their attackers as they ran.
"In here!" James said, hurridly opening a steel door.
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(Ignore this post for now)
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"Where our support they should have been here by now,' Werner said to james.
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Shelton frowned.
"Security Team B?"
He clicked the button again. The radio wasn't crackling. He suddenly realized what that means.
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delete
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The terrorists were still firing when the recived a message from one of their commanders "Fall back,' they commander said. "Are you nuts we're fighting to the end,' the terrorist replied. "Fall back now we can deal with that experiement later there are others we can get to,' the commander replied. "Fall back to the rally posistion,' the terrorist yelled to the others as they ran from the area under fire from the security teams.
"We've got them on the run,' Werner said as he shot a fleeing terrorist.
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James got in one last shot to a fleeing terrorist.
"Well. The terrorists are gone but there is no security team." the Clydesdale said with a sigh.
"We'll have to make our own security team." James said.
James grabbed a M-16 and handed it to the Clydesdale, he grabbed a Remington 870 shotgun for himself and he took an AK-47 for Werner.
James and the Clydesdale went through all the bodies and came away with two extra 30 round magazines for each of the rifles and 10 shotgun shells.
"I guess if we are gonna hole up for a siege, then the Advanced Weapons Testing Lab is the place to go." James said.
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Shelton used his private radio-flashlight to contact Zanasiu and Donitz.
"Werner, I tried to get you security but the com's dead. I might be able to get it back up, but it'll take some time. Meanwhile, is there anyway I can help from the control room? I have access to all the base systems from here."
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the terrorists arrived at their rally point. "Why did we just leave we almost had them,' the terrorist complained to the commander. The leader took his shot gun and fired blowing his head off. "any other questions,' he asked the other terrorists. "None good now go find the other experiements,' he ordered. "Hans I mean sir where do we find them,' another asked. "Just look at the signs on the wall,' hans replied. As the other terrorists ran down the hall hans was unaware that a experiement was behind a wall. "I hate this job the only reason why I joined this group is because they threatened to kill my family soon they will realise that they made a mistake when they did that,' hans thought to himself.
A programmer was watching the scene through a security camrea "So we are dealing with professionals,' the programmer said.
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A voice from behind Werner and the others spoke up, clearly agitated by what had transpired.
"Wha-What the heck is going on? Who are these guys, and more importantly, why are they shooting at us?"
PX-0715-91, known as Neku asked, looking down the hall, a small spiral of electricity around his hand serving as a visible indicator of his nervousness...
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James grabbed the intercom and activated it.
"See if you can access the defensive turrets near the Advanced Weapons Testing Range. If you can you maybe able to keep terrorists from that area. We will be heading out there to arm ourselves. Also, see if you can call the US military." James said.
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Hans looked behind the wall and saw the experiement that was watching him. He looked around to make sure no one was around. "I'm gonna let you go this time,' he said to the experiement. the experiement had a look of shock on his face as he turned and ran from hans as fast as he could.
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"Roger," said Shelton, saluting the radio.
He had an idea. He broadcast a distress call over the international radio, knowing full well the terrorists would jam it. He then carved 'SOS' on a long-range probe droid, which was the same color as the Nevadan desert, and sent it off towards the nearest military base, smiling at his own brilliance.
"Now, onto those AWTR weapon turrets," he muttered, sitting down in a nearby computer console.
To his horror, when he logged into the remote-access mainframe, the screen erupted into color. He recognized the Zwings virus. The terrorists had injected the entire base's programming with bugs!
Shelton hurriedly contacted Zanasiu. "James, the military's been contacted, but the computer mainframe of the entire base has been compromised. I can't help you artillery-wise until you or another team gets to the Central Processing Unit. I'll tell you what to do from there."
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"Oh damn it!" James shouted.
"What?" asked the Clydesdale.
"Terrorists have hacked the Central Processing Unit. They may be able to lock us out of the AWTR or even turn the turrets against us."
"It's too dangerous to head to the Advanced Weapons Testing Range, those turrets will rip us apart." the Clydesdale said.
"Agreed. It's not like we can simply shoot them down either, it takes something like an RPG to destroy them." James said, "Our best bet is to go to the Central Processing Unit and see if we can reestablish control."
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"Sir,' the programmer said to Shelton "You may want to look at this'. The programmer played the video feed from the hall where Hans was from the minute when the other terrorists arrived to the point when he freeded the experiement that was watching him.
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From behind Werner, Neku spoke up again.
"Pardon my intruding sir, but I might be able to disable those turrets, if you need me to. Name's Neku. PX-0715-91, by designation. Psychokinetic and Electrokinetic, at your service, sir!"
Neku said, snapping a sharp salute...
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The experiement that hans released was a psy experiement known as joey to everyone ran up tho the group. "Joey what were you running from,' werner asked. Joey stood there trying to catch his breath "Some terrorist in hall 32B,' he said in between breaths.
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"Excellent!" the Clydesdale said.
"Uh, I don't think electrokinesis is going to help. These turrets are shielded from electromagentic interference." James replied, "However, battering them with a heavy object may disable them."
"So, what's our first target?" the Clydesdale asked.
"The AWTR. The terrorists may be very heavily armed and we need some weapons." James replied.
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After viewing the video feed, Shelton raised one eyebrow. He contacted Zanasiu.
"Also, if you come across a terrorist that looks like a 30-year old version of Warner. Don't kill him. He might be on our side."
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"Tells us about him,' werner said to joey. "Well I was watching him give orders to the others well he noticed I was there but he let me go for some reason,' joey told them. "That is strange,' werner said.
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"Copy that,' a security team member replied.
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(Note: If anyone ever needs Shelton to do something for them from the control room, just contact him, and you have my permission to make him do what you need. Just phrase it something like this:
The soldier activated the radio. "Shelton, get the lights on in Hallway 3-D!"
After a few seconds, the lights flicker on.
"Thanks!"
Just so the story can continue easily.)
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"What on Earth is going on?" Siberys thought to himself as he heard the gunshots.
"What is going on, Neku?" He asked one of the other experiments. HIs wings flapped in concern.
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Neku looked at Siberys, momentarily startled, then replied...
"We're under some sort of attack by Terrorists! I'm not sure how they got in here, or what they're after, but they're dangerous! We're heading towards the Advanced Weapons Testing Range, but who knows how many guys are between us and there. You gonna come with us?"
He then turned towards James.
"I was thinking option two. Are they shielded against being pulled out of the walls?"
He said, grinning somewhat...
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Siberys closed his eyes to think about it. On one hand, he could be injured by the terrorists. On the other hand, he could help to secure the base.
"Sure. I'm coming." He said after a few moments of thought.
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werner checked the clip in his AK and reloaded it. "I was running low anyway,' he muttered to himself.
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James turned to Neku. "I don't know how much force it takes to pull them off the ceiling. The turrets weigh a half ton, at least, thanks to that armor. If you can weaken the bolts securing the turret, gravity should pull them down."
"Shouldn't we take radios, so we can contact Shelton?" the Clydesdale asked.
"Yeah." James replied. He took 5 radios and handed them to the Clydesdale, Werner, Siberys, Neku and kept one for himself.
"Are we ready now?" James asked the assembled group.
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"Good to go,' werner said giving james a thumbs up.
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(OOC: Nuts...missed the opening... But I got most of my chars ready! Here they are:
Name: Victor “Vic” Summers
Age: 32
Species: Human
Faction: Soldier
Specializations: Medical & small arms, minor in engineering
Personality: Cunning, observant, resourceful, rather cautious as he has had no true combat experience
Name: Professor Josephine “Dr. Joe” Smithson
Age: 31
Species: Human
Faction: Scientist
Knowledge: Biochemistry, physics, & psionic research
Personality: Hard-working, independent, devoted to research and care of the experiments
Name: Snow
Age: 6 (maturity of 20)
Species: Anthromorphic White German Shepherd Dog
Faction: Experiments
Specializations: Psionic powers
Powers/Cybernetic enhancement: Telepathy (communicate with others to an extent), Pyrokenesis (create and control fire)
Personality: Shy, very cautious, reluctant to be with the scientists and other experiments, now frightened as the terrorists attacked the base
I have a terrorist in the works, so he'll be in shortly)
Meanwhile, things had not gone smoothly in other parts of the base. The research wing where Dr. Joe and two other scientists were also hit by terrorists. One scientist was killed immediately, and several compressed canisters erupted when the killers tried to shoot the second trying to escape. The entire room, and the terrorists, was engulfed in flames. Dr. Joe managed to hide in some metal cabinets when the chamber exploded, causing most of the ceiling to collapse and trap her inside. The explosion also shattered the glass of nearby holding containers, where several other experiments resided. All except one were killed in the blast, the lone survivor a frightened anthro dog, huddled in a corner of her room and shivered with fear...
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Neku accepted the radio, clipping it onto his belt.
"Right. I'm set. Hey, Siberys. You think you could give me a hand with getting those turrets off the walls? I could totally do it myself, but it'd get done faster if we teamed up."
He grinned, then turned towards James.
"Half a ton, huh? Then I might just be able to give those terrorists a little 'surprise'"
He chuckled, cracking his neck and turning down the hallway...
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A loud explosion tore through the air.
"What was that?" The Clydesdale asked.
"I don't know but we can't deal with it right now." James replied.
"I'll call for help." The Clydesdale pulled the radio from his pocket.
"Shelton, there's been an explosion in the Biologics Wing! We need you to send over a security squad."
After a few seconds, Shelton's voice crackled on. "Roger that. Security Team 6 is en route."
"Thanks!"
"The AWTR is this way." James said, walking down a large metallic hallway. There were bullet holes and casings everywhere.
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Neku walked besides James, scanning the hallway.
"What happened here? Whatever it was, it was pretty nasty, I'm guessing. How far to the Test Range?"
He asked, kicking at a bullet case idly...
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Werner looked around at the bodies of the scientists and terrorists "Well if any did survive the before the explosion they'd be dead no,' he said.
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Siberys ran to catch up to Neku. "So, what's the plan, James?" Siberys asked.
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"This reminds me of my grandfather's war stories,' werner said. "Still things were different back then you told me about that time in your history remember,' joey said.
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Neku gave Siberys a nod, then turned to Joey.
"Oh hey. I forgot to ask you. You're a psy, right? What powers do you have?"
He asked, smiling broadly...
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"I can move objects with my mind,' joey replied demonstrating by moving the debreis close to "DR. Joe".
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Neku's eye twitched for a moment, then he turned towards the rubble, tilting his head curiously.
"Hey guys...? I think there are people here. I'm gonna try to get them out."
He leaned as close as he could to the wreckage, saying...
"Okay...If anyone's in there, just stay calm. We'll try to get you out."
He then flipped on his headphones, shutting his eyes and moving several medium-sized pieces of debris. He saw Dr. Joe and Snow, a fellow elemental-control experiment, and he smiled faintly as he continued moving detritus away...
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"Same here, Neku. I can move up to a ton." Siberys replied.
Siberys began to help with moving the debris, moving some of the larger pieces away.
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Shelton's voice crackled through the radio. "Might I recommend we split into two teams, and one of them cleans out the Central Processing Unit? 'Cause I can't give you any technological or weaponry-related support until that virus is eradicated!"
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Neku shook his head.
"That sounds fine and dandy and all, but it's just too darn risky. We just don't know how many there are between us and the goals. I think we should stick close."
He said into his radio, looking at the group...
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"Neku, we should not split up. We do not know how many terrorists are present and what they are armed with." James said.
The Clydesdale said nothing as he headed over to where Neku and Siberys were moving rubble. He then helped in pulling away some smaller pieces.
"This...doesn't look... like a... lab accident.." the Clydesdale grunted as he lifted a large fragment of a lab bench away from the rubble pile.
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Shelton shrugged. "It's your call, mates. I'll see if I can make do up here. Oh, and FYI, I'm picking up a life sign or possibly more extremely close to your position, but the radar doesn't say whether they're terrorists or survivors. Recommend using extreme caution before approaching anything alive."
Shelton turned to the programmer. "Let's try and get the cameras working in their area. I'd like to see what's going on."
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James picked up the radio and listened to Shelton's statement.
"Roger that." James said into the radio. He then turned to Werner, "Shelton has detected life signs near us. We need to be on guard. It's possible that they are survivors from this explosion but I think they are more likely to be terrorists because it doesn't look like anyone survived."
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Dr. Joe struggled to get the door opened, but it was closed tight by the tons of rubble when the ceiling collapsed. She paused suddenly, hearing noises from outside, but it was hard to make out the voices. Her heart began to pound in her chest, anticipating the worst to happen when she is discovered...when she heard a voice call out. Perhaps other survivors?
"Who's out there?" she called back. "I need help!"
Snow continued to shiver as she cowered in her corner, her sensitive ears twitched as she picked up sounds of someone nearby, digging through the mess. She was aware the human scientist was still alive underneath the concrete, but her fear kept her from moving an inch to investigate.
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Neku shook his head.
"They aren't terrorists. I'm feeling no hostility from them. They're scared beyond belief, but that's all I'm feeling. I think we can trust them."
He said, lifting another piece of rubble and pushing it aside...
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Well we'll find out who they are when we finish clearing this debries,' werner said.
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"I'll stay here and guard while you guys are cleaning up." James said.
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In the control room...
"Can you make the image look a little clearer?" asked Shelton, frowning at the blue-tone monitors.
The programmer cautioned, "The FPS will be slower..."
"Just do it."
The programmer nodded, running the video feeds through a filter. The image cleared considerably, just in time for them to see the last of the debris cleared.
A soldier radioed up. “Who is that?”
Shelton knew the scientist by sight, but froze-framed and ran the dog’s image through the personnel files. “That’s Dr. Josephine Smithson from Biochem,” he responded. “And Balto there is Experiment 09-K, classified 'Snow.' " He whistled, reading about pyro-powers the dog possessed. "And I'd advise not pissing it off."
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Neku looked into the hole he had created, and his breath caught in his throat.
"Snow?"
He gasped, seeing a familiar member of the group he had been created and tested with sitting there. Not to mention, he had a bit of a soft spot for the canine...
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"We got a survivor!" The Clydesdale shouted, spotting Neku's expression.
"Who is it?" James asked, "Werner, stay here and guard the door, yell if you need help."
James then headed over to the Clydesdale, who was now moving some more debris so the survivor could be assisted out.
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Neku turned, pushing another piece of rubble away, then smiled at James and the Clydesdale.
"It's Dr. Joe and one of the other experiments. Her name's Snow, and she's a pyrokinetic. We were created together, same as me and Siberys. She's a little shy, but I think she'll be a big help."
He said, eagerly...
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werner nodded his head and clutched his AK tightly while watching the halls.
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"Are they all right?" James asked, concern obvious in his voice.
"We don't know until we get them free." the Clydesdale said, pulling Snow from the rubble.
James shrugged and reached down to help clear the debris away from Dr. Joe.
After a few moments, he cleared the debris away and nodded to the Clydesdale, who kneeled down and pulled Dr. Joe from the rubble.
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"We got company and it looks like they're not friendly,' werner yelled before letting off a burst into the hall.
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"Neku! Siberys! Monitor those two!" James shouted over the gunfire.
James and the Clydesdale ran to Werner's side. A group of terrorists charged down the hallway.
James fired twice with his shotgun and the Clydesdale let loose a burst from his M-16. A terrorist received a shotgun blast to the torso and went down, another terrorist received a .223 bullet to the head.
The terrorists returned fire as James and the Clydesdale ducked behind the doorframe.
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Snow heard her name being called as some of the rubble gave way, but the voice was familiar. She turned her head slightly so that she could see that the broken concrete was being pulled away. She saw a large hole in the pile and the anxious face of Neku one the other side. Her breath slowed a bit in relief, but she was clearly shivering in shock of the explosion as she was being pulled out.
Dr. Joe waited anxiously as the debris on top of the cabinet was cleared out and she could finally open the door to see a familiar faces of James and the Clydesdale. "Oh thank heavens," she let out a deep breath as she regained her footing. "Where are the others?" She looked around to find how much the room was truly damaged, and her eyes fell on Snow, the only other survivor of the explosion.
Snow gave nervous looks around as she slowly began to recognize the others around her...when a burst of gun fire nearby caused her to jump with fright. Danger was coming back...
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"We've got another squad coming from your 6 o'clock!" Shelton yelled through the radio. "I've airlocked the doors, but they've got an Anthro Dragon; it won't hold them for long! James, just FYI, there's a dead guy with a bazooka three feet to your left! Neku! See if you can convince Balto to give us some pyro-backup!"
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"Neku, do you think that if we worked together, we could keep these guys back for a little while?" Siberys asked.
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Neku nodded.
"I think we could do it for a moment or two. Hey, Snow. You think we should show them our joint abilities? Sparks and fire, that'll teach them, right?"
He asked, smiling at her, grasping her hand in his gently...
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Next to the approaching terrorists, a figure appeared out of thin air. Cale, an anthro chameleon who was dead-set against the humans who had made him, stalked beside the forces, holding a black, bloodied blade. He was also of the Psy-Experiments, a user of electricity, who used his power to destroy those who had created him...
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James picked up the bazooka. "I'm more comfortable with small arms." he said, handing it over to the Clydesdale.
The Clydesdale accepted the bazooka and prepared to use it.
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A soldier knelt on one knee, firing a Patton tribute pistol into the hallway.
Suddenly, what looked like a tazer blast knocked him into the far wall.
Shelton leaned forward. "What the hell was that?"
Whatever it had come from had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Shelton turned the camera to focus on the spot. He could barely make out an outline...
Suddenly a flash of electric blue light filled the monitor, and the screens turned to static.
The programmer turned to Shelton. "Sir, did you see--?"
"Yeah, I did." Shelton tried the radio. No one picked up. "And I sure hope they did too, because we have no way of warning them."
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A smell of ozone reached James's nostrils.
"Did something short out?" James asked. He stuck his head into the hallway and noticed the smell had gotten stronger. He noticed an unconscious soldier by the wall and he noticed the scorch marks on him.
He returned back to the lab. "Guys! There is a soldier outside and it looks like he was electrocuted but there's no loose wires." James said.
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Werner walked over to the soilder and looked around "I don't know guys I feel like we're being watched,' werner said.
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"Hmm, let me check the area." Siberys said, searching for minds with his telepathic abilities.
"There is a person here, but I can't see him."
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Neku's eyes narrowed, and he let a sharp hiss of breath escape from between his clenched teeth.
"Cale..."
He whispered to himself, then turned towards the others.
"It's another psy. Cale, the chameleon. He's electrokinetic, same as me. Watch out..."
He said, eyes flitting around the room...
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One of the experiements looked around and asked "Which one of them is cale,' he asked.
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"Let me guess Cale is an enemy right?" the Clydesdale said, readying his M-16.
"Be careful, I have heard from Cale's scientist that he has the ability to bend light around himself and make himself seemingly disappear." James said.
-
"Uh yeah. I can't really give a direction. However, he is in that general area." Siberys said, pointing down the way they were heading.
-
Neku looked in the direction indicated, creating an electric spiral around his free hand.
"Right. I'll flush him out, shall I?"
He asked, a menacing look crossing his face...
-
"Guys," Shelton warned. "He's armed. According to his profile, he has the ability to create glass weaponry out of superheated particles, similar to lightning strikes creating fulgurites on beaches. That means his blades are easy to destroy, but, due to their unstable nature, will shoot glass shards everywhere when you bust them. Keep your eyes covered if possible.
"Also, see if you can find a water source. Excessive contact with conductible liquids will short Cale out for brief periods of time. Just make sure not to short out Neku in the process."
-
"Roger that." James said into the radio.
The Clydesdale came across a bottle filled with saline. "I wonder if this will work against Cale."
"According to Shelton, Cale and Neku can be shorted out for a short time by conductive liquids. This should work fine, although if we do use it we must be careful to avoid hitting Neku." James replied, "Now we need to do something about his glass weapons. My lab coat should protect my arms and body but I need eye protection. I'm glad that my lab coat is acid and fireproof."
"I'll check the goggle cabinets." The Clydesdale then walked over to where a large piece of rubble blocked what appeared to be a goggle cabinet. He moved the piece of rubble aside and opened the cabinet, inside, undamaged was a set of goggles. He picked out a pair made for equines for himself and a pair of safety glasses that resembled shooting glasses for James.
He then handed the shooting glasses to James.
"We found a goggle cabinet, so if you want a pair come take one." James said.
(OOC- To get an idea of what type of goggles the Clydesdale would be wearing see this: Eye protection for police horses (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2041347740100115215ljLVXX) Only imagine that the shield fully encloses the eyes.)
-
"Actually, I think a saline solution would work better than water. Saline is more conductive than water. Something to do with the salt. Can we get a scientist's info on this. After we have dealt with the problem at hand, though." Siberys said, walking over to the goggles cabinet and grabbing a set that would fit him the best.
-
Neku walked over to the closet, grabbing a pair of goggles that closely resembled sunglasses, then shook his head.
"Wait a sec. Why am I so worried? I have my Psychokinesis to fall back on. I can just push the shards away, and I can keep the water away, too. Oh, ah well. Better safe than sorry, right?"
He said, grinning grimly...
-
Shelton cut in.
"You're right, Siberys. Salt water has an electrical conductivity that's from 100 to 1,000 times greater than normal water. That saline solution is your Holy Grail against Cale, use it wisely."
-
Werner found a pair of saftey glasses on a dead scientist and put them on. "Well we ready,' he asked james
-
James had just put on his shooting glasses. "Yep."
"Neku, do you know how we can detect this experiment?" the Clydesdale asked, "I don't want to waste either bullets or saline trying to hit him."
-
Neku nodded.
"I can try. Siberys, which direction is he in? I can flush him out with my lightning. Either he'll block it, or he'll light up like a Christmas tree!"
He said, sparks flickering around his arm...
-
"Down the hallway in front of us. Hes on the right, but I can't tell you how far away from us he is, movements he is about to make, or what he is doing." Siberys replied.
-
"Good enough, Neku." James replied.
-
Neku smirked.
"Right. You guys might wanna get back. Things are gonna get a little bright."
He said, unleashing a torrent of electricity in the direction Siberys had indicated.
Cale saw the blast coming, and in a moment, his own electrical attack met Neku's, forcing him to drop his camouflage...
-
"There!" James shouted.
The Clydesdale let loose a brief burst from his M-16 in the direction of Neku's lightning attack. "I think I got him!" he shouted as he changed the magazine of his weapon.
"Ok, Let's see if we can run before he gets back up." James said, "All ready?"
-
"I'll lock the doors and cut power to the hallway once you're out," interjected Shelton. "Go!"
-
Cale's eyes flared open, and he fried the door locks with a bolt of lightning.
"Ohhh, no. That hurt. So, since I'm clearly not wanted, I'll go for now. However, let me leave you with a...parting GIFT!"
He yelled, creating thousands of glass shards and hurling them at the fleeing group. Neku turned, knowing that he would be alright, thanks to his glasses, but then a thought hit him.
"Crap! Dr. Joe and Snow didn't get a chance to grab protection!"
He said, more to himself, as he turned around and projected a Psychokinetic wall in front of the group, stopping the shards as they made contact, scattering them harmlessly to the floor around himself. He stood for a second, panting, then staggered and started to fall...
-
"Damn," breathed Shelton, trying in vain to remotely dislodge the doors. "Slain by my own sword..."
He switched radio frequencies. "To any and all surviving medical-slash-security personnel, please report to the hallway proximal to the AWTR, if at all possible."
He scanned the radar. The red dots were regrouping. Zanasiu's team was safe from terrorists for now. It was Cale they had to worry about.
Which one of them was holding the saline solution?
-
"I've got an idea!" the Clydesdale shouted, holding up the bottle of saline.
"Go for it!" James said.
The Clydesdale ran to Cale and poured about a quarter of the bottle of saline on him. "Enjoy."
The Clydesdale ran back to the group. "Cale's out for a bit."
"Good!" James said.
They then followed the rest of the group.
-
Cale screamed in pain as he fell to the ground, electricity crackling over his body.
"DAMN YOU!!! You'll pay! I swear it!!!!"
He yelled at the retreating group, curses continuing from him as Neku and the others escaped...
-
...and all the doors locked and the lights cut out.
"Take that, sucker," smiled Shelton. He radioed back to Zanasiu and the others. "Are we all okay over there? Do we have time to go fix the Central Processing Unit now?"
-
James picked up the radio and radio Sheldon. "Yeah, I think we'll have time to get to the Central Processing Unit. Besides, there's a good chance we can't get into the other labs to rescue the scientists and other experiments, thanks to the electronic locks."
"Dr. Joe, are you capable of using a weapon?" the Clydesdale asked, "Uh, James is it necessary we keep the bazooka?"
"Yeah. We may need it in case some of the more dangerous experiments turn on us."
-
Neku nodded.
"Yeah. There are a few of the other experiments, a few that have powers far greater than most. I know of at least one that is housed in the deeps. Sublevel five. There's another one, a bioboosted cyberweapon named First Lieutenant Roy Hawkeye. Last I heard, he's being kept in the Weapons Test Range, in some sort of cryo storage. Once we get the CPU running, we should search him out. He might be able to help."
He said, then turned back towards Snow, offering her his hand.
"Are you coming, Snow?"
-
"I don't know, Neku. I heard that a few of the experiments in cryo-storage were considered extremely unstable emotionally. They could turn on us and join the terrorists." Siberys said, his tail swinging back in forth with some concern.
-
Werner kept a close watch on the hall as he held his AK closley.
-
Neku shook his head.
"If I remember right, Hawkeye was only placed there because of damage incurred to his armor and himself during a test flight. Crash, or something. It's the ones on Sublevel Five that we have to worry about..."
He said, suddenly a bit nervous...
-
Shelton clicked his tongue impatiently. "The CPU, people? We can wrestle with the Sublevel inhabitants after I've regained control of the weapon systems. CPU's two hallways, one staircase, and a locked door east of your current position."
-
Snow was paralyzed by the fight in the hallway, that Dr. Joe had to push her to get her moving. The white Shepherd was struggling to keep her heart rate under control, when Neku again offered his hand to her. She hesitated, but then took his paw with her own, and followed.
Dr. Joe wiped some sweat from her dusty brow as she listened to the Clydesdale. "I was taught to use a handgun when I was a teenager," she replied. "And I don't think a handgun is useful with these terrorists now..."
----------
Meanwhile, in another part of the base, Vic, fully-suited, medical bag over his shoulder, and rifle in hand, cautiously and quietly slipped through the dim hallways. He was in the soldier's locker room when an explosion ripped the metal door from its hinges and two gunmen jumped in and started firing all over the place. Vic had to dive away from the barrage and drew his Glock, hitting the first terrorist in the neck and putting three in the second's chest. Now he's on the move to find any survivors nearby...
-
Shelton sighed in relief when the team finally reached the CPU. "Awesome. Now let's debug.
"The Zed-Wings virus is composed of sophisticated micro-machines infiltrating the CPU's structural machinery, and hacking into systems directly from the motherboard. To get rid of them, you need to shut the CPU down completely, the plug connecting it to it's power source is underneath. Then, short out the circuts with a close-range disruptor charge; Neku, your eletrokinetic abilities will come in handy here. Then turn it back on, and I'll get you your defense turrets."
-
Neku nodded.
"Right. I'll try to do my best. Just tell me what to do, Shelton."
He said, connecting his headphones to his radio, ready to do his part to help. He smiled at Snow, then turned back towards the CPU...
-
"Dr. Joe, everyone who can use a weapon should take one. Even a pistol is better than nothing." James said, handing his Colt .45 and the magazines to Dr. Joe.
The Clydesdale was standing by Neku in case he needed to help lift anything.
Zach then resumed his position by the door, next to Werner.
-
"Before doing anything, Neku, pull the plug underneath the CPU. That separates it not only from its power source, but from the rest of the base's systems.
"Then, Neku, the circuit panel is on the left side of the CPU's outer casing. Remove the plastic covering, and give it a good zap directly into the flow wires. Nobody should be touching the machine while he does this. Once you stop, replug it in, and I'll check the status."
The radar blinked to his left. Shelton turned on the cameras in that area. A terrorist group with flame launchers inched towards a T-junction.
Shelton broadcast back to Zanasiu and the others.
"And all of you be on guard. There's a 33% chance a terrorist blast team will be coming your way."
(OOC - They're not going to. I've got other plans for these terrorists.)
-
"Right. I hear ya, Shelton. I'm disconnecting the thing now."
Neku said, puling the plug out from the machine, then setting to work on the side covering.
"Right. Got it off. Everyone step back. Okay...Here goes nothing..."
Neku muttered, unleashing a current into the two wires he had been instructed to, hoping it would work. He waited a moment for the excess charge to wear off, then plugged the CPU back in.
"Well, Shelton? We got anything?"
-
Shelton quickly logged onto the main server, and scanned the motherboard.
There was no trace of the Zwings virus.
"You did it, Neku! All systems go! Rerouting the self-defense systems to obey vocal commands from us scientists, Siberys, and Snow. If you need an auto turret to do your bidding, just ask it."
The flame thrower-toting terrorists had reached the middle of the T-junction and were deciding whether to go right or left. If they chose left, they'd march right towards Zanasiu and the others.
"C'mon, march to the right..." Shelton muttered.
Tense seconds passed in the control room. Suddenly, the terrorists pivoted and started running down the center hallway.
Shelton's heart leapt into his throat. He punched the intercom.
"Mayday! Mayday! They're heading for this control room! My control room! Help!"
-
"We need to act now. Who will go to take out the terrorists heading towards Shelton?" Siberys asked. He began to motion towards the door.
"I'm going. Who else is with me? By the way, sorry Neku. You need to stay here until the CPU is fixed."
-
I'm comming with you,' werner said puttin the ak in his left hand.
-
Dr. Joe took the gun and magazines and cocked the slide back to check, and then stuffed the extra magazines into her lab coat pocket. She stood next to Snow, whom was watching Neku work with the CPU.
----------
Vic turned some more corners when he came across a body of one of the soldiers, his back riddled with bullets. He knew he was dead, but he check his pulse just in case...when a static crackle and a panic voice came through the corpse's headseat. The voice belonged to Shelton, and someone's about to rain in on his parade in a few moments. He quickly unhooked the headset from the soldier's neck and strapped it on himself. "Shelton, this is Vic. Come in! I need your location so I can help!"
-
James and the Clydesdale looked at Siberys.
"We're coming." they said in unison.
-
A quiet voice from the doorway spoke up.
"I'll go with the group helping out Shelton. Name's Kagetora. Ex-Vigoorian Tactical Ninja."
The figure who had spoken was a man clad in tightly-fitted black cloth, holding a submachine gun in his hand. His face was covered in cloths, and his eyes were masked by a set of night-vision goggles. Across his back were a pair of swords. He looked at them for a moment longer, then spoke again.
"If we are planning to help Shelton, I suggest we move out now..."
Neku ignored him, focusing on the CPU, and even more so on Snow...
-
The programmer with Shelton slid open a desk, which contained two Derringers. He threw one to Shelton. "C'mon. we have to defend the entrance."
"Are you crazy?" Shelton exclaimed, fumbling and dropping the pistol. "I haven't fired one of these in my life!"
"Just me then. Stay safe." The programmer narrowed his eyes, and darted into the hallway.
Shelton started to call him back, but another voice interrupted him from the radio: "Come in! I need your location so I can help!"
Shelton didn't care who that was, just hit the button back and yelled, "Main control room, north of the AWTR, and there's only two of us! Estimate less than a minute before they get here! Hurry!"
-
James along with the rest of the group rushed to Shelton's control room.
"Shelton! We're at the end of the hallway and I don't know if we have enough firepower; we have one bazooka." James said into the radio.
"Ok, this is going to be intense." the Clydesdale said, preparing to load a rocket into his bazooka.
James reloaded his shotgun. "Ok, gang ready?"
-
A pyro-missile rocketed down the hallway, colliding with the blast door. The door was wrenched out of the wall with a twisting screech of metal, and crashed to a grinding halt at the group's feet. The terrorist flame squad appeared in the doorway, guns blazing.
Shelton stumbled to his knees as bullets went whizzing all around him. He dived to the left, rolling underneath the control panel. Above him, another jet of flame char-blasted the radar and computers above him into a mess of sparking live wires.
-
The Clydesdale fired first, he shot a rocket into the wall near the terrorists. The shrapnel and the explosion had its intended effect.
James also started shooting. He killed 3 terrorists and struck several more.
"SHELTON! ARE YOU OK?!" James shouted over the noise of battle.
The terrorists began to turn their attention to the rescue group.
James crouched behind the wall to reload, several bullets struck the wall just as he crouched behind it. "I have to get more ammo!" he shouted, "I only have 5 rounds left."
-
Werner fired off a clips and looked for more but couldn't find any "I'm out of ammo,' he yelled.
-
Just then, two of the terrorists fell, deep slashes across their backs. Kagetora stood behind them, blades unsheathed, and then lunged a third, kicking him to the ground before sheathing his right hand sword, drawing his submachine gun, and firing several rounds into his fallen foe before dodging a counterattack from the next foe.
"James, Shelton. Are you alright?"
His voice crackled over the radios, as he ducked into cover behind another wall...
-
"Fine," gasped Shelton. "Just fine!"
He crawled forward, choking on smoke as he hugged the wall, trying to avoid the live wires dancing behind him.
The smoke cleared for an instant, and he realized he was on the wrong side of the room: the others were firing from the far wall, and he was barely ten feet away from the terrorists!
He collapsed, and crossed himself for the first time in his life, when suddenly the window above him shattered, and a four-man squad of military troopers rappelled into the room. They instantly took up positions around Shelton.
"Come on, men!" yelled the leader, brandishing an Elite 1A. "Let's show these Tangos who's boss!"
(OOC: I'm intending this to be our military back-up; they only sent one team because Shelton didn't specify the nature of the emergency. But we can change this fact if need be. Serris, if you had other plans for the military back-up we can always just call for more.)
-
werner noticed 2 PPK's that had been dropped he picked them up and charged the terrorist position screaming at the top of his lings firing the two PPk's.
-
James ran to the nearby guard shack. He noticed that the guard had been shot. He grabbed 20 shotgun shells from the safe and 3 30 round AK magazines from the same safe.
He reloaded and ran back to the control room. He handed the magazines to Werner.
"James! We got some soldiers here!" the Clydesdale shouted.
"Good!" James took cover behind the wall. "Give me your rifle!"
The Clydesdale handed the rifle over to James and accepted the shotgun. James then provided some fire support for the soldiers.
-
Werner threw down the pistols and grabbed the AK mags as he ran by james let off a burst before getting shot in the shoulder and both knees falling to the floor still firing off his Ak.
-
"Werner! Are you all right!" the Clydesdale shouted over the gunfire. He shot three more terrorists; almost immediately after James shot two more terrorists.
-
Werner shot the last terrorist there before saying "I'm ok but it looks like I'll have to stay with shelton since I won't be walking fo a while,' werner said while cleaning his wounds.
-
A soldier nudged Shelton in the ribs with his boot. "Hey, Newton, you can get up now."
Shelton frowned at him while getting to his feet. "Overjoyed." He peered out the busted window. "Who are you? Where's the rest of you?"
The commander answered the first question. "Cobalt Squad, from Carson City Camp. Sent to identify and aid in the eradication of an unknown disturbance."
Shelton gawked. "You're our back-up?!? They only sent four jarheads to stop a terrorist invasion?!?"
"Hey," the commander protested, "you sent us a probe droid with 'S.O.S.' on the side, how were we supposed to know what that meant?"
Shelton turned away in disgust. "Never mind." He cast his flashlight beam through the smoky control room, catching Werner in the beam. He stalked over to Werner, ripping off a portion of his lab coat to use as a tourniquet.
-
"Werner. We'll have to leave you here with Shelton. Is that ok with you?" James said. He looked at the rest of the group. "So anyone ready for more adrenaline pumping shootouts?"
"Yeah. I guess the AWTR is our next target?" the Clydesdale said.
"Yep."
-
'Yeah it's ok I better get some rest while I heal up,' werner said.
-
Shelton whistled slowly as he examined Werner's knees. "This is pretty extensive damage, and I don't have a first aid or anything. I'll do what I can to speed up the recovery process, but I'm not a medical doctor by trade." He looked up at Zanasiu. "If you come across any surviving medical personnel, send them up immediately. I'll need all the help I can get."
"Take this then," said one of the troopers, throwing Shelton a small pouch.
There was a clink of glass as Shelton caught it. "It's a start," said Shelton, examining the contents. "Still, getting some actual medics at some point would be great."
-
"Well as my father used to say to me when you don't know use the manuel,' werner said.
-
"You're being very trusting of someone who hasn't taken Athletic Training since high school," commented Shelton nervously, looking around the room. "Everything in this room has been demolished. I need a laptop before I can check the medical database."
"We'll get you one," said the military commander. He made a hand gesture, and the troopers exited out the far door.
----------------
Meanwhile, the terrorist commander stroked his beard, watching his men's progress in the main lobby. He checked his gel-screen PDA. It showed five of seven objectives greenlit.
An aide ran up to him. "Sir, the Pelvanida's military back-up has arrived. No more resistance will be coming from outside."
The commander smiled. "Good, then we can move on with Phase Two of the Master Plan."
(OOC: Serris? Do you have some sort of plan with the terrorists, or is it okay that I add this substory in?)
-
Hans walked up to the terrorist commander and said "Sir our foward unit failed to take the control room.'
-
The commander scowled. "This won't be as easy as I thought. No matter. As long as we keep them out of this main lobby, away from the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, it's only a matter of time. Donitz, head down to the hangar and oversee the transportation of the concave mirrors."
-
'Yes sir,' hans said before walking off thinking to himself "it's only a matter of time before you will learn what happens to people who threaten my family,.
-
Kagetora nodded his head.
"Should I accompany the unit headed to the AWTR? Or shall I stay here and guard these two?"
"Yeah. Same here. I'll head towards the weapons room, if it's chill with you."
Neku said, stepping around the corner with Snow...
____________________________________________________________________
Cale appeared next to the commander, nodding his head.
"Master. I have returned. I apologize for my...failure..."
He said, bowing his head in deference.
-
Werner sighed "I learned some medical techniques from my father who was in the army but he went missing when I was 15 I don't know what happened to him,' he said.
-
Vic was late for the action when he arrived, and only managed to watch as only a few individuals disappear around the corner. He quickly and cautiously made his way to the control room to find a lot of bodies, dead and alive, and he lowered his weapon as soon as he spotted the military insignias on the soldier's arms. "I guess I was late to the party? I'm Vic, a combat medic unit."
----------
Snow was hesitant when Neku led them through the halls towards the weapons room, but she kept close to him.
-
Shelton gaped. "You're a medic? Then do I have a job for you!" He stepped out of the way, giving Vic a glimpse of Werner. "We've got two direct ballistic wounds in each knee, and a dermal laceration on the left shoulder, and to treat it, I only have," he squinted into the pouch, "a small bottle of iodine, a vial of what looks like alcohol, water proof bandages, cotton, and a makeshift tourniquet." He looked at Vic. "Well, MacGyver, take it away."
-
Kagetora looked at Vic for a moment, then he spoke.
"Vincent? So, you finally became a medic, mm? It's been far too long..."
He said, a slight awe in his voice...
-
Vic replaced his rifle with his medical bag and made his way to Werner's side, taking a better look at the wounds as Shelton described. The first thing he pulls out was a syringe of morphine. "This will hurt some," he said, "But I bet it'll hurt less than what you just got." Before Werner could have time to protest or prepare, Vic then jammed the syringe into his leg and lets the painkiller into the bloodstream.
He proceded to his surgery kit before replying to Kagetora. "It is too long, sir, to the point you forgot my name. It's Victor, sir."
----------
Dr. Joe tried to keep herself from pacing as she waited. "What do you think happened with the others?" she thought outloud.
-
James heard Dr. Joe's musings. His face suddenly darkened. "Damn! I forgot! I only hope that the terrorists ran into some resistance."
"James. The experiments possess great power and most of the scientists will fight to the death for their creations." the Clydesdale said, "Besides, a decent amount of the scientists can handle guns."
-
"Not including Stephen Hawking over there," smiled a trooper, as the four of them marched back into the room, and chucked a laptop at Shelton's face, who caught it and landed on his back, cursing.
The commander checked the cartridge in his Elite 1A, and looked up unexpectedly. "Well? Let's get cracking to that Weapons Room!"
Shelton grimaced as he got to his knees and opened the laptop. "Yes, why don't you? We'll be so sorry to see you go." His fingers flew across the keys. "I've still got authorization for the defense systems, but my controls are extremely limited, and touchpads slow me down a lot. Don't expect me to be as prompt as I was in the past. Especially if it's one of your asses on the line," he frowned in Cobalt Squad's direction.
(BTW, anyone can play as Cobalt Squad members whenever they want to. They aren't exclusively my characters.)
-
"I said a decent amount and that does not mean all." James said, grinning slightly. "So who's coming?"
Two Cobalt Squad members stepped forward.
"Ok. Then. Neku, Siberys, Snow, Dr. Joe, Zachary?"
Zachary nodded in reply. "Ready."
(OOC - Zachary is the Clydesdale)
-
Meanwhile, In the AWTR, a terrorist sharpshooter was kneeling out a window, carefully carving a hole in a faraway wall with a laser rifle. when she finished, she contacted Cale. "Sir, passage to the lower levels has been obtained. You can now go in and acquire Lockdown."
-
"I'm ready." Siberys said.
-
Vic continued to tend to Werner's injuries, using his tools to remove any remaining metal in the wounds and then beginning to sew and patch up the openings, starting with the shoulder. "Your knees have been taken a bit more than it should," he explained. "Someone will have to help carry you out. I'll give you some more morphine when you feel like you can't take it." He turned to the others. "Have we found any other survivors since those guys crashed in on us?"
-
James took a deep breath. "We were en route to the AWTR when Shelton was attacked. We had planned to arm ourselves and then sweep the facility." He handed Zachary back his rifle.
Zachary accepted the rifle and handed James back his shotgun. "We rescued the experiment known as 'Snow' and the associated scientist Dr. Joe from a lab that suffered an explosion. Those 2 appear to be the only survivors from that blast."
-
Neku nodded.
"I haven't felt any other presences here either. I'm guessing most everyone else either escaped or..."
He trailed off, unsure if he should continue his thought...
"Or they died."
Kagetora said, standing up and readying his rifle...
Neku nodded.
"Yeah. Let's head towards the AWTR."
-
"It would be better for me to stay here since It would only slow you all down and risk other experiemnts getting into the terrorist hands,' werner said as a computer tech helped him into a chair.
-
James and the rest of the gang headed to the AWTR.
Along the way they stopped at many labs. Most of the labs were ravaged by explosives, gunfire or both.
Just before the AWTR, James pointed to a lab door that was untouched. Zachary nodded and accompanied James to the door.
"Cover us." James said to the 2 Cobalt Squad soldiers. They nodded and readied their weapons as James unlocked the door.
Cautiously and with their weapons at the ready, Zachary and James entered the lab. A muffled yelp caught their attention.
James traced the noise to a utility closet and tried the door only to find it was locked. He readied his shotgun to shoot out the lock.
"James! There's someone behind there! You'll injure them if you shoot out the lock." Zachary said.
James lowered his weapon and scanned the room as Zachary kicked down the door.
Inside the utility closet was a Dhole scientist who was tied to a pipe. James used a pair of metal shears he found inside the closet to free the scientist.
"Am I glad to see you!" the Dhole said, "I've been stuck in there for the past 5 hours."
"Are there any potentially dangerous objects here?" James asked.
"This is a magentics lab. We work on magnetic levitation here." The Dhole reached for her ID. She frowned. "Damn! The terrorists stole my ID!"
"Ok. We'll deal with that. Now the question is, can you use a gun?" Zachary asked.
The Dhole nodded. "I've spent some time on the shooting range. But I'm not very good."
"Ok. Sorry. Dr. Joe has my pistol, so you'll have to go unarmed." James said.
The Dhole shook her head and grabbed a thin steel tube about 3 feet from one of the testing benches.
The group left the lab. The 2 Cobalt Squad members rejoined them. "So I see you found a survivor?" one of the soldiers said.
"Ok. Everyone. We have a new ally." James said. The Dhole stepped forward, holding her steel tube like a staff.
Zachary radioed Shelton. "Shelton! Should we find possible allies first or tackle the AWTR?"
-
"You've got a pretty impressive squad already, if you want my opinion," responded Shelton. "I think you can get away with running the gauntlet now and getting your hands some more advanced weaponry. Then we can risk entering the lower levels.
"One other thing: I don't have video camera, so if you come across anything visual you need analyzed, take a picture and send it to me, if you can. I'd appreciate anything regarding terrorist activity, so I can start piecing together why they attacked us in the first place."
-
"Yeah and if you come across someone who looks like me but older tell him that I'm ok alright,' werner said.
-
Shelton turned to Werner. "Is that the terrorist looking like an older you? I saw him on the cameras after Neku joined up with us. You know him?"
-
Werner looked at the camrea and said "That my father I thought he was dead he left when I was 10 I haven't heard anything since'.
-
"Your father?"
Neku asked, raising an eye ridge curiously...
"Orders understood. I'll do my best, Shelton."
Kagetora said, nodding his head.
"Well, we have our directives. We head for the AWTR."
He said to the group, starting to head down the hallway...
-
Across the base, Cale and his terrorist unit emerged from the hole in the wall to find themselves in a dank cross-hallway of the Sublevels. Thick titanium doors trailed down into the darkness. Cale looked around. "Lockdown could be in any one of these cells. Use extreme caution: there's a reason these experiments are kept locked down here." He unraveled a small slip of paper. It read: 2B.
Luckily, the door reported to hold Lockdown was nearby. Using a spun-glass shard, he picked the lock of door 2B. It swung inward with a creak.
Cale ventured inside warily. But Lockdown was not the inhabitant.
At a stained desk sat what looked like a demented Shakespeare clone. Its hair was trussed and its eyes were wild, and its gaze drilled into Cale as it put the finishing touches on its latest play.
"What ho, Chamaeleo?" it cackled, in a raspy, shattered voice, lifting a quill which dripped with blood.
Cale stepped backward, and unleashed a whirlwind of lightning and glass. Within moments, the wretch and his work was slashed to pieces.
As Cale stepped back out, grumbling, he looked at the slip of paper again. He turned it over. Now it read: 8Z. He looked at his men. "All right, down the first hallway. Looks like this won't be as easy as I thought."
(OOC: I hope this isn't excessive. I'm just trying to establish that the sublevels aren't a very friendy place to be.)
-
(OOC: It's good. Really sets up the mood. But I thought I was Cale? :confused )
From behind Cale and the others, a calm, collected voice spoke.
"You know...It's dangerous to be here in the sublevels...where we demons lurk..."
Standing there was what appeared to be a wolf, except that it seemed to be cut in half, with strange sinew holding the two halves of its' body together.
"Are you...searching for something? Or...Did you just come to die?"
Another cackle came from the nearby shadows, and a figure wrapped in a straitjacket stepped out, grinning madly.
"Heheheh...Visitors...are they kill-prey?"
-
Vic, whom has already patched up Werner of his wounds, left with the others to the AWTR, partially holding up the rear with two Cobalt soldiers. Snow and Dr. Joe followed in the center behind Neku and the Dhole scientist.
----------
Behind the man with a straight-jacket in the shadows, a copper-colored Hercules beetle made its presence known with a sinister clicking of its mandibles, its four arms replaced with mantis-like blades... (OOC: An idea to use as a formidable foe for our heroes.)
(OOC: Stupid question. What's a Dhole?)
-
Neku turned his head to smile at Snow.
"Hey...Something up, Snow? You seem like something's bothering you."
Kagetora followed Vic closely, rifle at the ready.
"How has life been for you so far, Vic? I haven't heard from you since I was deployed to Vigoor. What's happened to you since then?"
-
(OOC - a Dhole is a wild canid. See this picture: Dhole (http://www.predatorconservation.com/images/dhole4.jpg))
(OOC - Why would an advanced research installation use wood to secure its most dangerous experiments?)
James and the rest of the group headed towards the AWTR. As they reached it, the area was strangely empty.
"I have a bad feeling about this." the Dhole said, brandishing her staff.
"Yeah, something isn't quite right." Zachary added. He had discarded the bazooka and kept only his M-16.
James radioed Shelton. "Shelton! Activate the defensive turrets at the AWTR. We're going in!"
Shelton's voice came back on. "Roger that."
A mechanical whirring noise filled the air as several armored turrets lowered themselves from the ceiling.
James headed over to the card reader and entered his security code. The light on it flashed green and the heavy door began to slide open.
James reloaded his shotgun and went over to Zachary, who was crouched behind a cart carrying a heavy lab bench. Zachary checked the magazine of his rifle.
The 2 Cobalt Squad soldiers also readied their weapons.
"Ok. This is it." James said, "Neku, Siberys, Dr. Joe, Snow, everyone?"
Zachary took a deep breath and aimed his weapon at the now growing gap in the door.
-
(OOC: You're right, Serris. I'll change the doors to titanium.)
-
Neku nodded, a spiral of electricity dancing along his arm.
"I'm ready. What about you, Snow?"
He said, narrowing his eyes.
Kagetora checked the ammo in his weapon, then he too nodded.
"Set for action."
He muttered...
-
"As always, I'm ready." Siberys said.
-
On Cale's radio, the female sharpshooter said, "Sir, someone's--" but she broke off, turning her face towards the opening door. She hurriedly dropped the laser rifle and scrambled for her sidearm.
(OOC:Again, this character's fair game. She's not mine.)
-
As the doors opened, a burst of gunfire followed by several more came out of the door.
Terrorists, with guns blazing, seemingly appeared from behind gun lockers, crates and anything else that was could be used as cover.
Zachary and James opened fire, striking some terrorists.
One of the Cobalt Squad soldiers hurled a grenade into the room, killing some terrorists.
The other Cobalt Squad soldier was firing his weapon.
At the same time, the turrets targeted whatever terrorists were nearest. The .30 caliber bullets of the turrets shredded their targets. Several times the terrorists shot at the turrets, but their heavy armor shrugged it off. One terrorist destroyed a turret with a lucky shot from an RPG but before he could reload; James killed him with a shotgun blast to the head.
One terrorist foolishly left the weapons lab to try and flush James and Zachary out of cover but he passed over the steel crate that concealed the Dhole. She leapt out and swung her staff into the man's head, killing him. She then pilfered the man's AK-47, dragged the body behind the crate and searched it. She came away with some more ammo.
The Dhole then joined in the firefight. She attempted to draw a bead on some terrorists but a grenade explosion briefly disoriented her and she accidentally fired a burst into the wall. She cleared her head, reaimed and shot two terrorists who tried to flush James and Zachary out of cover.
James was sweating from the sheer adrenaline. He was surrounded by a pile of spent shotgun shells. He drew a bead on a terrorist and pulled the trigger but the shotgun clicked empty.
"Zach! Cover me! I have to get more ammo!"
Zachary obeyed and shot a terrorist who was trying to draw a bead on James.
James ran into a nearby guard post. He ran into the guard, an anthro Iguana who was armed with a H&K MP-5 submachine gun.
"There's a shootout at the AWTR." James said as he ran past the guard.
The guard nodded and ran in the AWTR's direction.
James entered the guard post, helped himself to a snack from the refrigerator. He opened the gun safe, pulled out a box of shotgun shells, quickly reloaded his shotgun and filled a pocket of his labcoat with any leftover shells. He then grabbed 3 40 round M-16 magazines and pocketed them.
James ran back to the AWTR. He handed the magazines to Zachary who reloaded his weapon.
The Iguana guard was also crouched behind the crate. He stuck his head over the bench and fired off a short burst.
"Dr. Zanasiu?" the guard said.
"Yeah." James replied.
"Why are you here?"
"You think I'm going to stand by idly and watch terrorists destroy what we worked for?"
"But... You... Are a... scientist." the guard finished lamely.
"So what of it?" James replied, he stuck his head over the bench and fired once, killing a terrorist. He then ducked back down.
(OOC - the security guard is not my character. Anyone can have him)
-
Kagetora spun out from under cover, unloading another barrage of fire at a group of terrorists. As he ducked behind another crate, a terrorist rushed him, a knife and a grenade held ready. Kagetora cut him down, then grabbed the grenade and flung it into a small group of hostiles.
"Blast! There are far more than expected. We're nearly outgunned!"
He swore, reaching for a fresh magazine and slamming it into his rifle...
Neku ducked under a crate with Snow, holding her hand.
"Alright, y'know what? These guys are seriously getting on my nerves. Stay here Snow. It'll be over in a flash."
He chuckled, then stood up. A barrage of fire was aimed at him, but before the bullets could hit, he caught them with a blast of Telekinetic force. He turned the bullets back at their sources, simultaneously charging them with electricity, before firing them back at the terrorists, killing several, and wounding most of the rest...
-
Shelton let out a low whistle as he heard the firefight over the radio. "Maybe we should have gone for more help first..." he muttered to himself.
A Cobalt squad member hit the radio. "How's things going, commander?"
The response was yelled through status. "Lots of...holding...cover...CLEAR!"
There was an explosion.
"Commander? Commander!" The soldier clicked it off, and picked up his rifle. "We're going down there." The other nodded.
"Hey wait! Who the hell's supposed to protect us?" protested Shelton.
"Why don't you give it a go? You can logic them to death!" the soldier called over his soldier, as the two left the room and trailed down the hallway.
Shelton clicked his tongue as he watched them go. He turned to Werner. "Well? Should I airlock the doors and force them to come back?"
-
"It sounds dangerous,' werner said
-
Snow watched as Neku joined the fray, when her eyes met those of a terrorist that has snuck by the others and now has a gun on her. She quickly raised her paw towards the human and a superheated charge of white-hot flame exploded into view as it flew and struck the man square in the chest, engulfing him in a torrent of flames too loud for anyone to hear him scream...
Dr. Joe tripped and fell to her side as she dodged gunfire from a female terrorist. She did not stop to think as she rolled to aim her weapon and fired back, striking the terrorist in the shoulder and the center of the forehead...
Vic ducked beside Kagetora as the team leader was reloading, sending a few barrages of fire at the enemy. "We're dealing with a small army here!" he called over the noise. "Why send so many to this place?"
-
"Nice move, Snow!"
Neku said over the din, smiling at Snow and blowing her a small kiss before resuming battle...
Kagetora shook his head at Vic.
"I'm not sure. There must be something that they're looking for."
He then turned to James.
"Zanisau. Is there anything that these terrorists may be here looking for?"
-
"I would think they're after the weapons." James shouted over the gunfire. He stood up and fired twice, striking some terrorists. He then crouched back down.
Zachary radioed Shelton. "What else is in the AWTR? There's literally a small army in there! Call for more reinforcements!" He put the radio away and fired off the rest of his magazine, crouched back down and reloaded.
The Iguana guard fired off a short burst from his weapon and crouched back down behind the crate. "How many are there?"
The turrets still kept up a ferocious hail of bullets, but 3 of the 6 turrets had retracted into the ceiling.
"I'm going to see if there are any more experiments or scientists who can help." James said, "Neku, Siberys, Dr. Joe, Snow, Zach, Kagetora, anyone wish to help me?" He looked up an noticed a 4th turret retracting. "And I have to reload the turrets."
-
Neku nodded his head.
"There's one here that can help. If I can just..."
Suddenly a terrorist popped out from under a nearby crate, aiming at Neku from behind, but before he could strike, he was blown away by a pair of force beams.
"What is happening? These guys after us experiments?"
First Lieutenant Roy Hawkeye, Cyber Experiment 1756 stood there, his arm cannons smoking...
-
"Yo, reinforcements at nine o'clock!" whooped the third Cobalt member, as he and his companion rolled into the room, laying down cover fire
Shelton had been searching the database after Zachary's request. "I dunno," Shelton finally conceded. "There's the experimental heavy weaponry, but since we're not even sure what half of it does I don't think they'd be crazy enough to risk using it. Some of the larger guns have the power to destroy that entire room."
-
(OOC - the Clydesdale, Zachary radioed Shelton.)
"Considering that these guys are willing to break into a high security installation where supersoldiers are created; we can't discount the possibility they'll use the experimental weapons." James radioed back.
"Nice to see you two!" Zachary said, "We got a small army in there!" He fired off his final magazine striking a few terrorists. "James, I'm coming with you. We need to get reinforcements!"
"Guys!" James shouted over the gunfire, "We're going to see if we can find some reinforcements. Anybody else coming?"
A Cobalt Squad soldier stepped up. "Ready to go."
-
Snow found herself blushing at Neku's response before a close rattle of gunfire snapped her back to reality. She made room behind cover for Dr. Joe as the scientist ducked out of the crossfire.
"Was it me, or did I just see you blush?" Dr. Joe said with an inquisitive but slightly humorous tone.
"It is a bad thing?"
"To see you starting to come out of your shell? Of course not!" Dr. Joe reloaded a fresh clip.
Vic also reloaded his weapon as he listened to the conversation over the battle. "I'll come with you, sir! There may be others that need medical attention to fight back."
"And leave us with these guys?!" Dr. Joe responded. She turned and fired around the corner, striking a terrorist in the knee. This caused the terrorist to jerk violently, holding down on the trigger as the rifle flew up to the side in a stream of fire and blew away a nearby comrade.
One of the Cobalt soldiers watched this and whistled in awe. "And she's complaining?"
"Wh-what about the dangerous ones?" Snow asked.
"You mean the experiments in the sub-levels?" Dr. Joe turned back. "Good God..."
-
(OOC - Any characters rescued can be taken by anyone. )
"Good!" James counted up, "That makes 4 of us."
James and the rest of his party headed away from the AWTR.
After a trek through a battle ravaged hallway, they stopped at a door with a card reader labeled "AWTR Turret Machinery Room".
"Ok, we need to reload the turrets; that'll give the guys back there some needed support."
Zachary and James opened the door and entered into the machinery room. The stairwell was well lit and showed no signs of prior entry.
They soon reached the room and saw several of the turrets. Even though they were inactive and waiting to be reloaded, the heavy armor and the barrel shrouds gave them a menacing appearence.
James grabbed a hand cart and moved it over to Zachary who was wrestling with a huge drum magazine of .30 caliber ammo. They soon loaded the drum onto the handcart and moved over to the nearest turret. Zachary removed the old magazine and placed it on the ground. James then helped him lower the new magazine into the slot and chamber a round.
James and Zachary reloaded the rest of the turrets. After several minutes, James went over to the control pad and hit the reset button. The turrets whirred and lowered themselves back into the fray.
"How'd everything go?" asked a Cobalt Squad soldier.
"Fine." James replied. He was rubbing his sore arms.
-------
A Cobalt Squad soldier was crouched behind the corner where Dr. Joe was firing. He fired a quick burst at terrorist, when a mechanical whirring noise caught his attention. He looked up to see the turrets activate and engage the terrorists.
"Well. It's not quite what I expected when Dr. Zanasiu and his crew said they're getting reinforcements but it's better than nothing."
-
"Hey guys werner here Dr shelton and i have some of the few remaning cameras in the sublevels operational we've discovered terrorists moving down the cell hall whatever their looking for it's there,' werner called over the raido.
-
"Right," murmured Shelton. He was still frowning at the viewscreen. Something wasn't right...
Suddenly, it snapped into place. He hit the intercom.
"Guys, I just realized it! I don't think they want anything in the AWTR at all! It's a diversion to keep you occupied while Cale and his squad get the real objective!"
-----------
Speaking of which, Cale and his surviving troopers finally emerged at the end of the dark hallway. Door Z8 swung open.
Inside was a young, scared looking man. He turned his head and his eyes opened wide as he beheld the strike team pile into his cell.
The first terrorist to enter the room pointed his gun right at the man's face and smiled wickedly. "Lockdown. You're coming with us."
-
Neku grinned.
"The demons of level five? I'll take care of you, my...beautiful angel of flames."
When he heard Shelton's announcement, though, he swore, creating an electrical spike to impale the terrorist he was fighting.
"Crap! They've reached the sublevels? This isn't good..."
Hawkeye let a mechanical snarl escape his beak, slashing two opponents with his razor-sharp wing feathers.
"The demons of five floors deep?! Damnable..."
_________________________________________________________________________
The enigmatic wolf and the straitjacket-bound man both leaned their heads around the troopers, each grinning madly...
"You...Lockdown...So we finally...finally see you..."
The figure in the straitjacket cackled, eyes leering.
"Lockdown...seen...is he...useful-ally?"
-
James and his group were near a locked laboratory door when the radio crackled.
James listened to Shelton's revelation. "Holy crap! We fell for a diversion!"
"What diversion?" Zachary asked.
"Those terrorists don't want anything in the AWTR! They're after the sublevels!"
"We must go back!" the Cobalt Squad soldier said.
James shook his head. "No one talks much about the sublevels other than a few scientists here. They are rumored to contain some of the most powerful experiments here and they may be unstable. I'd rather take on an entire platoon of terrorists with my shotgun than face one of those experiments. We will need reinforcements before we can even attempt to enter the weapons lab."
The Cobalt Squad soldier nodded his head.
Zachary pointed to the lab door. "Okay, so who's going to help me?"
The Cobalt Squad soldier backed away, "I'm guarding the entrance."
"Vic, James, you coming?" Zachary asked.
(OOC - if it's okay with everybody I want to add in a few mad scientist characters as villians. They will not have a character profile. This is based off a concept I saw realized in the other version of this RP.)
-
(OOC: Mad scientists sound awesome. All right with me. Also, just noticed what you said about Zachary contacting Shelton, and fixed it.)
Lockdown scrambled backwards, pressing himself against the far wall. "No, please," he begged. "I haven't done anything to you, I haven't bothered anyone--"
"Cork it," snarled a soldier. "Git up."
"This is the 'secret weapon' we're risking our lives for?" whispered a soldier to another. "What's so special about him?"
"He's kept locked up in the sublevels, so he must have some sort of power," responded the other.
The troupe turned to the psychotic experiments, hovering ominously outside the cell.
"Now, we just need to get out safely, and the commander's master plan can be set into motion. Remember, under no circumstances can anything happen to the prisoner. CHARGE!!!"
-
The wolf and the straitjacket-bound figure joined the soldiers, each running aside Lockdown...
____________________________________________________________________
Neku panted, then slumped against a wall, panting with exhaustion...
-
One of the Cobalt Sqaud soldiers went to Neku. "Sir! Are you all right?"
The Iguana security guard fired off his last magazine, killing a terrorist. He reached for his sidearm and crouched behind the crate.
------
James listened to Zachary's offer. "I'm coming. Vic? You coming?" James asked.
-
Neku nodded.
"I'm fine. I'll live... I just...used up a little too much of my strength. Sorry to worry you. And there's no need to call me sir. Just...call me Neku."
He said, pushing himself upright, smiling.
"See. Just fine."
Hawkeye turned, mechanical eye scanning the room.
"There are only seven left. I got this. Everyone cover your heads."
He projected over the radios of his allies, then unleashed a few wing feathers, cutting down the remaining terrorists...
-
"Right behind you, sir," Vic answered as he followed.
----------
Dr. Joe and Snow ducked as Hawkeye finished off the rest of the opposition. Dr. Joe checked her ammunition and even collected a few more clips from the dead terrorists.
Snow shivered at the aftermath of the battle, but then looked to see Neku against the wall in fatigue, but then got back up.
"That was fun," Dr. Joe implied, "but we have got to get down to stop those terrorists. There may be an experiment down there they're looking for."
----------
The insect experiment has slipped away on his own volition, making his way into a series of ventilation shafts and into the upper levels...
-
James used his ID card to unlock the lab.
Zachary, James and Vic entered the lab.
Zachary hit a nearby light switch, illuminating the lab.
"Sweep for survivors and anything that may be of use." James said, "Zach, take the back office. Vic, sweep the storerooms. I'll get the main section. Yell if you need help."
Zachary nodded and headed towards the back office, while James checked the main section. James opened every lab drawer he could find. He found a DVD in one of the drawers. He pocketed it. Finding nothing of significance in the drawers, he then turned his attention to the cabinets.
-
Neku walked over to Snow, smiling at her.
"Wow, Snow. You've gotten better. I'm impressed."
He said to her, giving her a small hug...
Hawkeye nodded at Dr. Joe.
"You are right. We had best be on our way to stop the terrorists..."
-
(OOC - the scientist with Hawkeye is Dr. Joe. My characters are looking for reinforcements.)
The Iguana guard dropped his submachine gun and picked up a shotgun from a dead terrorist.
-
In the main hangar, the terrorist commander was enraged to hear the entire platoon had been wiped out in the AWTR.
"I had half of my best men up there! Were you all asleep during the seven months in the desert that we trained for this raid?" he raved at the only survivor (the wounded sharpshooter), who had relayed him the information.
He turned away in disgust. "Send another team of men into the sublevels. Cale will need all the help he can get, and this Lockdown's transmutation ability is crucial in order for the bridge to work."
-
James radioed Shelton. "Shelton, can you see if there's any survivors in any of the labs?"
After a few moments, Shelton's voice crackled over the radio. "Will do, Dr. Zanasiu."
James resumed searching the main section of the lab.
-
Shelton scanned the labs and reported back. "Yeah, most of the cells seem to be occupied, but still sealed. Cells 1 through 5-B are open, and the inhabitants seem to be trying to free others. A team of about seven life signs is heading for the main hallway from cell 8-Zed and will collide with them in about thirty seconds. But the scanner only reports life signs; I can't tell you who is who."
-
Neku looked around.
"Hmm...Looks like those guys didn't take anything. What do you all say? Should we see what kinda gear we can grab from around here?"
He asked the team, smirking...
-
The Iguana guard shrugged. "Normally this is against protocol, but I'll make an exception." He gestured to the rest of the group. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
-
Snow blushed again as Neku hugged her.
Dr. Joe walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're getting some confidence," she said.
The white Shepherd nodded a little, and the two joined the others.
----------
Vic began a sweep into the different rooms for signs of life, opening each door as he moved. Now that the chance of coming across the experiments from the sub-levels is likely, he'd better be careful. "This is Vic. I've found no survivors in the storerooms," he radioed in.
-
Neku looked over a workbench laden with tools and equipment.
"Hey, check this out! Nice!"
He said, holding up what looked like a blade's handle, then hit a switch on it, igniting an energy blade.
"Very nice..."
He grinned, deactivating the blade, and placing it on his belt...
-
Werner saw on tha camrea what Neku had found and asked over the raido "Hey could ya bring one of those back for me'.
-
Curious, Shelton looked up and saw what was on Neku's belt.
"Careful with that. You remember those untested weapons I was talking about? You're holding one. Me and Dr. Kyle constructed those, but they don't work as well as the ones on Star Wars. That design you're holding uses rechargeable batteries, so I doubt it'd cut through much more than soft metal or human flesh, but you can recharge it anytime using your electrokinetic abilities. The gold-plated version uses J-batteries, so it's stronger, but it'll only last for a total of 60 minutes."
-
The Igauna guard opened a gun safe and retrived several shotgun shells. He reloaded and pocketed the rest of the shells.
"You got all these experimental weapons and you're not gonna use them?" a Cobalt Squad soldier asked.
"I'm just a guard. I use shotguns, pistols and other firearms. Dr. Zanasiu might know how to use them." the guard replied.
----
James radioed Vic back. "Have you found anything of significance like weapons or papers? I too have found no survivors in the main section."
Anthony had just gotten to the last office in the lab. He tried the door but it was locked and finding no key, he kicked down the door. He readied his rifle as he entered but finding no signs of life, he turned on the lights and entered.
On the ground were two dead scientists, one a Human male clutching a pistol and a male Anthro Cassowary.
Anthony's jaw dropped and he hurridly radioed the rest of the team. "J..James! Vic! There's... two dead guys here!"
James recieved Anthony's transmission and rushed to the back room. "Holy crap." he said, looking at the two dead scientists. "We'll need to search them." James ran to the main lab section and grabbed a pair of gloves for himself and Anthony.
Soon they had donned the gloves and they proceeded to search the bodies. The Cassowary seemed to have been shot and the Human stabbed.
"Uh, James, as bizzare as this sounds, I think the Cassowary killed this man." Zachary said, pointing to the Cassowary's bloody toe claws.
James had identified both the bodies by using their staff ID cards, the Cassowary was the scientist Steven Cass and the Human was the scientist Johnson Zenarchis.
"We'd better tell Shelton." James said.
Both he and Zachary threw away their gloves and left the room.
In the main lab section, James immediately radioed Shelton. "Shelton! We found two dead scientists in lab 252-B. They appear to have been fighting with each other. One is a Cassowary named Steven Cass and he was apparently shot by the other scientist, a Human named Johnson Zenarchis and he in turn appears to have been either stabbed or kicked to death by Cass. We don't know what they were fighting over. See if you can find anything on those two."
Zachary was looking over a thick lab notebook left on the table. As he turned to a certain page his expression darkened. "Oh no! I think I know what they were fighting over now."
James went over to Zachary and looked at the notebook. "My god! It can't be." James immediately radioed Shelton again. "Shelton! Zachary has apparently found out what they were fighting over! Zenarchis has apparently been abducting children, anthro and Human to work on his project, 'Dragonstorm'! And Cass apparently wanted no more of it."
(OOC - Yeah, the mad scientists will start appearing soon.)
-
Vic had rejoined the others as soon as they finished searching two dead bodies of scientists, and clued in to what may have happened. "Any ideas what this 'Dragonstorm' is about?" he asked.
----------
Dr. Joe looked about the room at the various weapons and unknown technology. "Good grief," she said. "The terrorists probably couldn't use any of this because even I don't understand what anything in here does..."
-
"No." James replied. "I don't know this man."
"Try the lab notebook." Zachary said.
"Good enough."
James looked through the lab notebook. "Not helpful either, it appears that someone ripped out all the notes that pertain to 'Dragonstorm' and they didn't do a good job, considering we were able to get the most damning piece of evidence."
"How about we find the other scientists who worked on 'Dragonstorm' and ask them about it?" Zachary suggested, "And I'll take this notebook as evidence." Zachary then stuck the notebook in a pocket of his labcoat.
James shook his head. "As paranoid as this sounds we'd better not risk it. Dr. Zenarchis is clearly willing to kill his fellow scientists to protect the secrecy of his experiments. It is possible the other researchers have the same attitude."
"Right you are." a cold voice said from behind James, "I believe you have something that belongs to Dr. Zenarchis."
-
Werner turned to shelton "do you know anything about this Dragon storm,' he asked.
-
Neku shook faintly at the mention of project Dragonstorm.
"D-Dragonstorm? Are you sure?"
He said, fear coloring his voice...
-
"Who are you?" James demanded.
"I ask the questions! Now give me Dr. Zenarchis's notes!" the voice demanded.
James turned around to look at the speaker; it was a thin anthro Ostrich who was wearing a lab coat.
"Dr. Zenarchis is dead." James said flatly.
"Give me the notes." the Ostrich reached inside his lab coat and pulled out a pistol and aimed it at James, "Or I will kill you."
Zachary reached for his rifle but the Ostrich noticed. "Don't even try. Now, are you two going to give me the notes or do I have to kill you both?" He moved his pistol from Zachary to James.
Zachary reached inside his lab coat for the notebook. "You want the notes?"
The Ostrich turned to Zachary, leaving James alone. James took advantage of the momentary distraction and slammed his body into the Ostrich, briefly unbalancing him and causing him to drop the pistol.
Zachary tossed aside the lab notebook and waded into the melee. He kicked the pistol away and joined James in his attempt to subdue the rogue scientist. The Ostrich caught James across the jaw with a brutal right hook. James staggered away and the Ostrich attempted to retrieve the pistol, but Zachary grabbed him from behind and dragged him to the ground.
The Ostrich shed his lab coat and attempted to retrieve the pistol but Zachary grabbed him again. "You're going nowhere!" he said as he grappled with the Ostrich. The Ostrich kneed Zachary in the groin, dropping him and he attempted to retrieve his pistol again. James recovered from the punch, unslung his shotgun and aimed it at the Ostrich.
"Get on the ground!" James shouted. The Ostrich stuck his hands in the air and dropped to the ground.
Zachary staggered to his feet and used the radio to call Vic. "Vic, we got a prisoner." He switched frequencies and called Shelton. "Shelton, what can you dig up about Dr. Zenarchis and 'Dragonstorm'? Also, we were attacked by a 'Dragonstorm' scientist, he's currently held at gunpoint by James."
--------------
The Iguana guard was looking near the back of the weapons lab. He noticed a large hole in the wall. He immediately went to the rest of the group. "Something has breached the weapons lab. There's a large hole in the back."
-
"Sorry I took so long, I cross-checked all the files to be sure I didn't miss anything," Shelton radioed in. "I don't know Dr. Zenarchis myself, but I think he worked in the Developmental Experiments section, with an assistant. I can't learn anymore online; he never activated his account."
"Shouldn't one of you guys have noticed something like that?" asked the Cobalt commander.
Shelton shrugged. "Just means he never gets paid. And there's no mention of Dragonstorm in any files, accounts, or budgets in the Pelvanida computers. Whatever it was, it wasn't on the record."
-
Vic rushed back as soon as he got the message, and quickly assessed what has happened. He readied his weapon and took a pair of cuffs off his belt. "I got a pair of bracelets for him," he said as he tossed them to Zachary.
----------
Snow watched Neku's sudden change in expression. "Neku?"
Dr. Joe felt extreme cold down her spine as she heard the iguana mention a large hole in the room. "Could it be something caused by the fight?"
-
Zachary got up onto his feet, picked up the handcuffs and handcuffed the rogue scientist.
"So now what? We've got two important things to bring to Shelton. The prisoner and this DVD I found." James said.
"I'd say we leave the prisoner here and deal with the DVD later." Zachary replied.
James's radio buzzed and he picked it up and listened to Shelton's transmission. "Uh, guys. I think we stumbled upon something that we shouldn't have."
"Huh?" Zachary asked.
"According to Shelton, there is no mention of 'Dragonstorm' anywhere in the computer records and Dr. Zenarchis has no computer records that pertain to him, which means he gets zilch for his work but more importantly, we don't know what the hell he was doing."
Zachary's brow furrowed for a moment. "That other scientist, Cass. See if Shelton knows anything about him."
"It's worth a shot." James said, pulling out his radio. "Shelton. Did Dr. Zenarchis ever work with a Cassowary assistant named Steven Cass?"
James then turned to Vic. "Shall we search for reinforcements or hand over what we found to Shelton?"
-
Neku looked at Snow.
"Project Dragonstorm was something I heard mentioned while I was under testing. There were whispers of kids being imbued with powers far beyond the norm. There were rumors that these kids weren't volunteers. I met one once. Something about him seemed...Inhuman...Evil. If there are more like him..."
He shuddered again, and then gave her a small smile.
"It's nothing. Don't worry..."
Hawkeye looked at the hole.
"There's something about this hole. It doesn't look like it's from combat. It looks like something...cut this hole here..."
He said, immediately activating a scanner...
-
The Iguana guard radioed Shelton. "This is Foxtrot 1."
Shelton's voice crackled over the radio. "Come in Foxtrot 1."
"There is a large hole caused by what appears to be a laser cutter in the back of the AWTR. What is in that area? Over." The Iguana put away his radio. "Hopefully, they just cut into a utility closet or something."
------------
James radioed Neku. "Neku! We have found something on 'Dragonstorm', a lab notebook but most of the data has been removed. And Shelton has discovered that there are no records of this project anywhere in the computer records."
Zachary radioed Shelton. "Shelton. James, Vic and I have captured a 'Dragonstorm' scientist who tried to take the lab notebook from us."
-
"Could you give me a description? Is it the Cass fellow you were talking about?" asked Shelton.
The ostrich suddenly convulsed and yelled, "I won't tell you anything!"
Shelton raised one eyebrow. "That sounded suspiciously like my good friend Oli. I'm surprised to hear you don't have your head buried in the ground, Oli. Remember the last time you debated me on 4th dimensional physics?"
"Shut up, you ignorant brute! Zenarchis will always be twice the scientist you ever were!"
"Shame the same can't be the same for his assistant. Your lack of opposable thumbs isn't your only handicap."
"Your insufferable self-confidence is one of yours! You will not always have computers and technology to hide behind!"
"Yeah, well until then, just remember that Big Brother is watching." Shelton switched gears. "James, the charming fellow you've got with you is Oli Struth, living proof that the Theory of Natural Selection is wrong. Feel free to take your time before shipping him up here. And about Dr. Cass, he was in charge of blood sample deliveries for Dr. Zenarchis' department. He'd show up every other week, refill a cart of blood vials, and leave. That seems to be about it."
-
James's brow furrowed in thought. "So Dr. Cass did not directly work on 'Dragonstorm'? Any other records that pertain to him?"
James looked over to Oli. "Shelton, Dr. Cass isn't an Ostrich. He's a Cassowary about 5 feet 4 inches tall with black feathers and he is dead. He appears to have been shot by Dr. Zenarchis during a confrontation of some kind. So you know Oli? Care to explain why your good friend wanted the 'Dragonstorm' notes even going so far as to threaten us with death and attack us?"
He then put away the radio and turned to Vic and Zachary. "Gentlemen, it seems Shelton knows our attacker."
Zachary went over to Oli and leveled his rifle at him. "I'd be better for you to be quiet." He then turned to James. "You mean Shelton knows this creep?"
James nodded.
(OOC - I'm going to be away for today and tomorrow. Seen you soon!)
-
"Whatever he's involved in," Vic replied, his gun still on the crazed scientist, "He's obviously not going to talk. We can lock him up in one of storerooms, also letting him know that half of the experiments are running amok as we speak..."
----------
"That means some of the terrorists managed to escape the room?" Dr. Joe asked.
-
"Can't say for sure," Shelton told James, grinning, "but I'd wager it'd have something to do with Oli having an IQ of about 6."
"Shut up, you wretch!" interjected Oli. "I've always been smarter than you!"
"Oh yeah? Who got accepted into Mensa?"
"Mensa is owned by idle-brained speciesists who don't know a quark from a quasar!"
"Let me guess: one of them is the size of your brain, the other your ego?"
"I swear, one of these days I will get my hands on you and gloat as I strangle the life out of your flailing body!"
"With what? You don't have arms, last time I checked."
"Zenarchis has taught me things! He promised me revenge on your kind!"
"Did you ever stop to consider that Zenarchis was probably planning on killing you once his project was complete? We might have saved your life. Come on, say thank you. I won't tell anybody."
"I would rather have my internal organs removed with a soup spoon!"
"Trust me, if I could arrange that, I would. James, Oli has always tried to take part in things that are much too big for him. Don't expect any sort of intelligent conversation. But he's also hopeless at covering his tracks, which is why I'd always kick his ass at Stratego. Search around for drawers left unlocked or loose papers in the garbage bin. Guaranteed Oli left something out in the open."
-
Hawkeye's mechanical eye flashed as it deactivated the primary scanner.
"I'm not sensing any life signs around here, besides our own. Whoever made this hole either is far away from here, or... or they ran afoul of some of the less pleasant experiments."
He said, looking at Dr. Joe kindly...
Neku shook his head as he walked back over to Snow.
"Hey Snow... do you think we could maybe settle down after this whole mess is over?"
He asked, smiling at her....
-
"I'll keep an eye on our friend here while you search," Vic replied. "I have no doubt he might try something."
----------
Dr. Joe shuddered. "Well that seems to put my mind at ease..." she replied low and wryly.
Snow tilted her head in confusion. "Settle down?" she replied, looking around at the scientists, soldiers, and other experiments, and then gave a shiver to the thoughts in her mind. "Is there really a possibility for us to have peace, knowing that we aren't normal?"
-
Hawkeye gave Dr. Joe a smile.
"Sorry. That's just my observations. If I was being too blunt, I apologize."
He said calmly...
"Sure thing. I don't see why not. I mean, if people don't accept us, that's they're problem, isn't it? I mean...We can just live like normal people, Snow..."
Neku said, wrapping his his arms around her affectionately...
-
"Just be careful guys I've got a bad feeling about this,' Werner said over the raido.
-
"Thanks Vic!" James said.
Zachary went over to Oli and glared at him after his diatribe with Shelton. "I'm not interested in your delusions. I want to know what the hell you did with those notes!"
Oli ignored him.
"Zach! Didn't you hear Shelton? You're not going to get an intelligent conversation out of him. Just give this lab another search! Shelton thinks that Oli might have left the notes somewhere." James said.
Zachary went over to James. "Any idea where the notes would be kept?"
"I'm betting that they are either hidden in the storerooms, the back office or some of the cabinets." James replied.
"I'll take the cabinets and the lab section. If they are locked, I'll be able to smash them open." Zachary said.
"Fair enough. I've got the storerooms and the back office."
James went into a storeroom labeled "Chemical storage". He opened the door and noticed the usual lab reagents except for one thing. He noticed that large bottle of copper sulfate was bizarrely labeled. He retrieved the strange bottle and placed it on the workbench.
"Hmm. I thought hydrated copper sulfate's formula was 1 mole of CuSO4 to 5 moles of water. This label says 1 mole of CuSO4 to 10 moles of water." James mused. He gently shook the bottle and noticed that it did not sound like it was filled with gravel. "Ok, this makes me suspicious."
He opened the bottle and tipped out its contents, several folded pieces of paper. He unfolded the papers and read them.
He grinned as he noticed it was roster of kidnapped children for the 'Dragonstorm' project. "Jackpot." He grabbed a plastic bag from a box containing several bags and placed his find inside it.
He then lifted up the bags and found another piece of paper inside. He retrieved it and noticed that it was part of a materials list for 'Dragonstorm'.
"Wow. Shelton was right. Oli isn't that bright."
He searched the rest of the storage room and found nothing.
"Zach! You found anything?" James said as he left the storeroom.
"I found the results of 'Dragonstorm Experiment #1' inside a locked cabinet; it was sandwiched inside the Merck Index and a chart detailing the stats of some of the kidnapped children was found inside a fake gas tap but the worst thing I found is a set of instructions on kidnapping, that was under a floor tile."
"We'd better get these back to Shelton." James said. He then radioed Shelton. "Shelton! We have found some Dragonstorm notes, but it seems the majority of the notes are either destroyed or held by other scientists. What shall we do with our 'guest', Oli, and the notes we found?"
"I'll get you for this!" Oli shouted.
"I'd like to see you try." James said icily, turning so Oli could see the Remington 870 shotgun strapped to his back.
----
The Dhole scientist wandered to the back of the room, near the hole and cautiously peered in. She noticed a rope dangling from a pipe.
"Guys! It looks like whoever made this hole is trying to drop down a floor." she said, pointing at the rope.
-
One of the terrorists at the next floor looked up and fired his M60 wildly upwards.
-
The bullets whizzed by the Dhole scientist, missing her snout by inches.
"Guys! There's terrorists below us!"
-
Suddenly the terrorist clutched his throat and started choking a figure steped out from the darkness 'I told you to hold your fire,' the figure saidbefore closing his fist with a loud cracking sound eminated from the terrosists neck and the thud of his body hitting the floor.
-
Shelton couldn't figure out why the radio wasn't allowing him to contact Zanasiu. "It's almost like some kind of sensory jammer's been put into place," he muttered to Werner. "I'll try to override it."
For a second, contact was made, in time to hear gunfire and "There's terrorists!"
"What the hell?" gasped Shelton, swiveling around in his chair. "They didn't even appear on the radar!"
"What's that mean?"
"Means they've either got some sort of frequency modulator that's screwing with our systems' command controls, or a rogue experiment that can do it naturally." Shelton gulped. "And again we've got no way of warning them!"
"Why should we warn them?"
"Anything that requires any sort of signal, such as radios, auto turrets, Neku's lightsaber, none of them will work. If Zanasiu's team don't know that, they might base their counterattack on a system or object that isn't functioning!"
-
Werner heard the the terrorists neck snap and his body hit the floor "What was that,' he asked shelton.
-
"If I'm not mistaken, sounds like they do have a rogue experiment on their side," Shelton shuddered. "And if it's part of Dragonstorm, Lord only knows what else it can do."
-
(OOC - The project's name is "Dragonstorm")
James tried to radio Shelton. "Shelton, this is Dr. Zanasiu, Zachary, and Vic. We are continuing our search."
The radio crackled with static but there was no response. "Zach! See if your radio works!" James said.
Zachary tried his radio, nothing except static. "Nope, mine's dead."
"Damn. We're on our own for now."
---
In the AWTR, the Iguana guard tried to radio Shelton. "Shelton! I can hear noises below us. We need to get more soldiers, pronto!" No response except static from the radio. "Great." He then turned to the rest of the group. "It seems like something is jamming the radio signals. We'll have to work without support from Shelton."
-
While in his embrace, Snow looked down at her paws and sighed, when gunfire echoed across the room from the hole the Dhole scientist was examining.
Dr. Joe grabbed the Dhole and pulled her back so she's no longer in firing range. There was an awkward silence from the floor below when she spoke. "They've stopped. What are they up to?"
----------
Vic knew his radio wouldn't work either, so he made no attempt and trained his weapon on the mad scientist. "I don't think we can take him with us," he said. "He's too big a risk, even if he isn't bright."
----------
A set of sinister red eyes peers through a ventilation shaft to home in on a group of prey that it has detected...
-
Hawkeye clutched his head in a wing...
"Gods...My head! It's splitting apart!"
Neku turned to face Hawkeye.
"What the? My...Something's wrong. There's a jamming signal being broadcast, and... Something bad's close... it's above us!"
He said, looking up at the vent...
-
"Thanks." The Dhole shrugged. "I don't know but I've got a bad feeling. I mean the radios just suddenly die." She readied her AK-47.
The Iguana guard looked at Neku, then the ceiling. "Something's very wrong. The radios die and gunfire erupts from below us." He readied his shotgun.
The three Cobalt Squad Soldiers also looked uneasy.
----
James nodded at Vic. "You're right. Oli may not be too bright, but we can't discount the possibility he could call for help or even lead us into an ambush if we took him with us. We can't leave him here either, again he may try and call for help.
"Vic what should we do if we encounter more 'Dragonstorm' scientists? Shall we simply shoot them on sight or attempt to negotiate? I find the idea of shooting someone who isn't shooting back repulsive; but these 'Dragonstorm' scientists probably have no compunctions about putting a few bullets in anyone who gets in their way." Zachary asked.
"It's futile to try and stop 'Dragonstorm'." Oli said.
Zachary grabbed the box of gloves and jammed a pair of gloves into Oli's beak. "Put a glove in it!"
At the same time, James bound Oli's legs with duct tape he found in a drawer. He handed the tape to Zachary who bound Oli's beak.
"Vic, James and I are going to carry Oli to Shelton." Zachary said.
James and Zachary left the lab and headed towards the control room.
After about a half hour of walking, Zachary placed Oli down. "Man, he's heavy."
James noticed a hand cart normally used for transporting furniture. "Easily solved." He pushed the handcart over to Zachary.
Zachary grunted as he lifted Oli onto the handcart and taped him down.
After about 15 minutes more of walking they arrived at Shelton's control room.
"Werner, Shelton, got something for you." James said.
Zachary pushed Oli, taped down to the handcart, into the room.
"I also got this for you." James placed a DVD on a table. "Found this in the same lab where Oli attacked us. By the way, what happened to our radios?"
-
(OOC: I fixed my above "Dragonforce" post)
"They've been jammed. I can't tell if it's mechanical or by a rogue experiment, except to tell you that of the experiments in the record logs, none of them were given the ability to jam sensors. Since these terrorists are anti-technology, I'm guessing it's someone that was created off-the-record, possibly by Dragonstorm."
Oli tried to say something, but only a muffled squeal came out. Shelton looked over at him.
"What, nothing to say? Keep it that way." He turned back to James. "Thanks for the DVD. I'll play it right now."
He slid it into the laptop's C-drive, and waited impatiently. "Sorry for the wait; this thing's slow as molasses. It's also why I'm not as responsive as before; takes forever to load the info you want."
Eventually the screen lit up. 0s and 1s began filling the screen, separated in six-digit intervals.
"What the hell?" Shelton interjected, swiveling his chair around.
"What?"
"It's BASIC! Who the hell uses BASIC anymore?" Shelton slid a green pen out of his front pocket, grabbed a notepad, and started scribbling furiously. "Give me a second. I got to decode this."
(OOC: Is there anything in particular you want me to find on this DVD?)
-
(OOC - You could have Shelton find some more data on "Dragonstorm". It's up to you what that data is.)
"Let's hope this DVD isn't a porn flick." Zachary joked.
"Nah, I don't think even Oli is that stupid." James said.
-
The numbers stopped scrolling down the screen. The only movement was the flashing cursor at the bottom of the screen.
Shelton sat back with a long exhale. "Okay, got it." He studied the notepad, now filled with shorthand. "Dragonstorm is a three-person experiment line headed by Dr. Johnson Zenarchis. The program composes of--" Shelton broke off.
"Composes of what?"
"Composes of, and I quote, 'continuing Pelvanida's genius while overcoming the flimsy moral issues of the mainstream staff." Shelton looks up. "This guy's nuts. Not even nuts nuts. Machiavelli nuts."
"Keep reading."
"Right." Shelton furrowed his brow. "According to this, Dragonstorm steals top quality embryos from the research labs, clones them, and returns them overnight. Then, it injects each embryo with an untested stream of DNA, chemicals, and/or hormones. It then uses --oh my god, how'd they get one of those? -- an Accelerated Growth Pod to speed up the growth process of the embryos to birth."
"I thought Accelerated Growth Pods were illegal."
"They are, due to the almost guaranteed retardation of the subject's brain waves. You'd think that would render the experiments worthless." Shelton kept reading. "Once born, the experiments that reacted favorably to the injections move on to the next phase. The others are disposed of." Shelton broke off. "This is just sick."
"Shelton..."
"I know, I know. Okay. Phase Two of the process involves altering and improving the surviving experiments through psionic and cybernetic enhancements."
"Wait, they use both?"
"Which, once again, would cause any normal brain to overload, much less these experiments' already mentally unstable ones. This just wouldn't work!" Shelton scanned the page. "Oh, God. This is how it would work."
"What?"
"Once testing is done, the subjects are placed back in the Accelerated Growth Pod and grown to fighting age. Then, after the subjects are removed, their brain, which had died long ago, is surgically cut out and replaced with a neural net." Shelton looked up. "This causes them to have little to no individual thought processes, and unswerving loyalty to Dr. Zenarchis! Not to mention cyber and psionic enhancements, and genetic superiority!"
(OOC: How's that? Is it too long, or are the bad guys too powerful?)
-
(OOC - It's good. The experiments seem a tad too powerful.)
James and Zachary stared at the screen in stunned horror.
"This man is even worse than the fictional Dr. Moraeu. Well, at least Dr. Cass killed him, so that means 'Dragonstorm' is dead too. But why would Dr. Zenarchis leave such a DVD with such damning evidence for anyone to find?" Zachary said.
"Remember, Shelton said that there are two other scientists as well. And there are an untold number of researchers who participate." James said.
The Cobalt Squad soldier suddenly entered the room. "Dr. Zanasiu, you forgot this." He handed a plastic bag filled with papers to James.
"Thank you." James said. He then turned to Shelton, "This bag contains some more notes we found on 'Dragonstorm' up to and including a kidnapping how-to guide." He placed the bag on the table.
The Cobalt Squad soldier then left the room.
"So, what shall we do? Find and destroy the 'Dragonstorm' experiments and scientists or deal with the terrorists?" James asked.
"I'll go back to Vic." Zachary said.
"Ok." James said, "Feel free to tell him about what we learned and let him decide the course of action."
Zachary then left Shelton's room and headed to the lab where they found Oli.
After about 30 minutes of walking Zachary entered the lab. "Vic! We've found more data on 'Dragonstorm'; it's a series of covert and illegal experiments that are designed to create what amounts to a private army for Dr. Zenarchis."
-
Werner was still stunned after watching the DVD and collapsed in a chair.
-
(OOC:Don't forget that a neural net can have a host of its own problems of its own. Maybe the Dragonstorm experiments have slow reaction time, or their cyber/psi-enhancements are weaker because they have both.)
Shelton read some of the new information. "Well," he said to Werner, "the good news is that each experiment takes a lot of effort to create, so there aren't that many out there. The bad news is, the ones that are out there seem pretty powerful. I'm going to look up more on the neural net. Maybe there's a flaw Zenarchis didn't think about."
-
"We may have to resort to using the experimental weapons." Zachary said.
-
"Supersoldiers for private armies? I'm not all that surprised..." Vic replied. "I cased the lab one more time, and I haven't found anything new. Plus, my radio still can't pick up anyone else in the building. Someone's cut off our communications for sure."
----------
Snow caught wind of a very high-pitched ringing in her sensitive ears, and turned to the vents where the others are looking. She raised both her paws and lets off a blast of white fire, melting open a large hole in the shafts...
...when an inhuman shriek pierces the room about them, stunned and very angry.
Dr. Joe looked about as she aimed her gun along the ventilation. "We've got more unwanted company..."
-
Neku and Kagetora wheeled about, focusing on the melted hole that Snow had created.
"What? How come I couldn't draw a bead on him? There's something going on here! Be careful!"
He said, an electrical current running down one arm, as he reached for his new blade...
Kagetora brought his rifle to bear.
"The enemy just keeps coming. They won't relent until we're dead or otherwise gone..."
He said, aiming at the hole...
Hawkeye lay on the ground, unmoving due to the mechanical interference in the area...
-
werner held his gun in a defenceive posture and said to oli "No funny business now ok'?
-
The Iguana guard and a Cobalt Squad soldier aimed their weapons at the hole melted in the duct.
The Dhole scientist and the other 2 Cobalt Squad soldiers kept an eye out for threats approaching from other directions.
------
"Vic, you aren't shocked that Dr. Zenarchis was trying to create a private army?" Zachary asked, "Since there's no communications, what shall we do, find scientists and experiments to help us out or get back to the AWTR?""
-
"I've seen too many mad scientist movies to be thrown too far off balance," Vic replied. "We'll have to rejoin the others. We're blind out here without communication."
----------
Dr. Joe runs to Hawkeye's side, checking for a pulse. "He's alive, but immobile. Snow, see if you can smoke the creature out?"
"I'll try," Snow responded, building confidence in her voice, and lets loose a steady stream of fire into the vents.
In a few moments, some of the ventilation shafts begin to glow red and begin to melt. The angry screams begins to intensify and four scythe-like blades rip through the near-molten metal of the vents...
-
Zachary nodded. "You're right, without communications, it would be too dangerous to attempt a search and rescue attempt."
"Vic? You coming?" he asked, just before leaving the lab.
------
"Shelton, are there any possible weaknesses we can exploit if we have to fight a 'Dragonstorm' experiment?" James asked.
----
"Shoot it!" the Iguana guard shouted. He aimed his shotgun at the scythe-like blades protruding from the vent and fired a shot.
The Dhole also fired a short burst at the vent. "Let's hope this thing isn't bulletproof." she said grimly.
-
"Definitely the head," said Shelton, bringing up a schematic of a neural net on his laptop and showing it to James. "Artificial or not, that sucker's gotta process over 100 tetrabytes of info a minute in order to keep cyber, psionic, and regular body functions working. A really well-placed headshot could neutralize it almost instantaneously. Bad news is, Zenarchis probably knew that too. He's probably got safeguards against K.O.ing his soldiers that easily. Also, knowing his style, the front of the head is probably more protected than the back."
Shelton pointed at a spot on the schematic. "Try hitting the spot below where the occipital lobe would be, the brain stem leading down the spinal cord. If the brain stem is natural tissue, it has to link technology with tendons, so the fusion will be very delicate. If it's severed, the net can say what it wants, but the body will be as paralyzed as Christopher Reeves."
-
As the creature made it's presence known, Neku drew his blade, and now activated it, the blade flaring to life, powered by his electrokinesis.
"Hey, good job Snow! What do you say we take this guy down...together?"
He said, flipping the blade to a backhand grip...
Kagetora jumped back, aiming at the melted opening in the grate, and unleashed a spray of rounds...
-
Zachary heard gunshots as soon as he entered the AWTR.
He noticed Kagetora, the Iguana and the Dhole shooting at something in the vents. He unslung his rifle and took up a position by Neku and started firing at the vent.
"Any idea what's in there?" he shouted over the gunfire. He quickly relaoded his rifle as it clicked empty.
----
James looked at the schematic. "Hmm. I think we may have a chance. Wait, are they vulnerable to toxins? Because if they are, we can potentially use some of the lab reagents against them."
-
"I don't see why not," Shelton mused, tapping his chin. "They're just like you and me, only with implants and psychic powers. They still need to breathe."
Unbeknownst to anyone else in the room, Oli had managed to slice open the bindings on his ankles. Keeping his legs safely out of view behind his body, he smiled to himself.
-
As werner continued to pace back and forth in front of oli he thought to himself "This is one smart guy not to try to escape'.
-
Vic followed as the two entered the AWTR room...just as the others began firing upwards into the red-hot ceiling above them. "What the..." Vic aimed his weapon up towards the blanketing holes in the ventilation shaft...
...when the four blades shredded through the melting metal and the beast fell through towards the ground, landing on its powerful legs. Black ooze bled towards the ground from a few good hits, but it did not slow it down any bit.
"Who in his right mind created THAT?!" Dr. Joe exclaimed as she ran for cover, sending her bullets in the monster's direction.
Snow was nearby when the experiment landed, and was knocked back by the shock wave by the brute's sheer force...
The insect gave an angry clicking noise as it turned around towards its prey with a sudden slash with three of its blades through the air in their direction...
-
"Jesus!" yelled a Cobalt squad member, diving for cover. "This wasn't in the job description!"
"You want job description?" yelled the commander, opening return fire. "Be an accountant!"
-
"This wasn't in the job description of 'magnetics research', but I'm not complaining!" the Dhole shouted as she fired several shots at the creature. She then ran behind a crate for cover and continued shooting.
The Iguana guard also ducked behind a crate where Zachary was shooting at the creature. The Iguana returned fire.
"Who the hell made that thing?!" the Iguana shouted over the gunfire.
"I don't know!" Zachary shouted back.
---
James heard gunshots in the distance. "Shelton, see if you can restore communications. Werner, keep an eye on our 'guest'. I'm heading to the AWTR."
With that, James hefted his shotgun and headed for the AWTR.
-
"Restore communications. right." Shelton resumed typing on his laptop. "Hmm, if the creature's broadcasting some sort of dampening field, then maybe a remote alternating frequency...but it would have to be able to continuously regenerate it's airwave integrity to compensate for the field... but if there's a grounding signal for it to lock on to at the other end...that might work! Werner, I need you to remember these frequencies: 15 hertz, 40 hertz, 60 hertz..."
Oli, seeing his guard move away towards Shelton, saw his moment coming...
-
"15 hertz, 40 hertz, 60 hertz got it,' werner said shifting his right eye back at oli.
-
James entered the AWTR and saw the group shooting at a large beetle.
"What the hell is that thing!?" he shouted.
"About time you showed up!" Zachary shouted.
James emptied his shotgun into the creature with seemingly little effect.
"Damn! We'll have to use the experimental weapons."
James then seized a large rifle that had cooling fins on the barrel from a nearby work bench. "Ah, so this is gauss rifle I've heard about. Time to give it a test." He powered it up and shot the the creature.
He tried to fire again but the gauss rifle beeped. He looked at the display. "Great, the power cell's dead."
He then crouched behind the workbench and reloaded his shotgun.
-
Werner noticed a small pack on the beetle leg "Try shooting the pack on it's right front leg,' werner suggested.
-
"They can't hear us yet," Shelton murmured. "But that hopefully will change right...riiiight...now!"
Suddenly there was a whirlwind of feathers. Shelton swiveled around.
-
Werner whirled around and saw oli standing right behind him "Back off,' werner said holding his handgun in a firing position.
-
But Oli wasn't slowing down, instead crashing into Werner before he could react. Within seconds, Werner was hitting the ground, clutching his head, and an enraged ostrich was bearing down on Shelton. Before he do anything, Oli grabbed him around the neck with one of his taloned feet.
"You were wondering how I would strangle you," Oli gloated in his ear. "Well, now you know. Looks like your Mensa status won't help you now..."
Suddenly, there were crashes of light, and Oli stiffened up twice. Shelton felt a bullet shoot past his head.
Werner was on his knees, a PPK in his hand. "Shelton, get out of the way, I don't want to hit you!"
Oli took advantage of Werner's hesitation, and charged him. Warner fired once, twice...
Both shots hit Oli hard, but when Werner fired again, nothing happened. Oli kicked the gun out of Werner's hands and jumped him, talons slashing...
But Werner wasn't finished yet. Bending backwards to avoid the talons, he withdrew a knife from his labcoat and pinwheeled it, stabbing Oli right through the throat.
Oli hit the ground hard, a triumphant smile embedded on his expression forever. Shelton rushed over and helped Werner to his feet. "Werner, are you okay?"
Behind him, the radio cackled. "What the hell is going on up there?"
Shelton jumped up. "It works! We got the radios online!" He broadcast an all-call to every member of Zanasiu's team. "We got radio! Big Brother's back in the saddle!"
(OOC: How's that, f-22? You want any changes?)
-
(OCC: It's good)
Werner stood there breathing hard letting reality catch up with him. "Yeah I'm ok,' werner said.
-
James's radio crackled. He picked it up and heard Shelton's voice. "Aw yes! Guys! We have communications!"
"Ok, we're good to go!" Zachary said.
"Shelton, we are fighting a large mantis-beetle creature, it does not seem to be affected by normal weapons. Shall we use the experimental weapons?" James radioed to Shelton.
-
Hawkeye slowly forced himself up, his systems rapidly rebooting, and turned towards Dr. Joe.
"Thanks. You made sure I was alright. I owe you one. For now, however..."
He turned around, facing the creature.
"This...problem needs to be taken care of."
He said, aiming his cannon arm...
Neku leaned back, dodging a swipe.
"Ummm...Shelton? Hope you don't mind, but...I'm using this sword right now..."
He said into his radio, striking upward to strike the creature's claw.
Kagetora swore into the radio, firing another round at the enemy...
-
Shelton hesitated before responding. "You've gotta make the call on experimental weaponry, James, I'm not there, but again, it's untested, unverified, unpredictable! Half the stuff I didn't work on, and have no clue if it works right or even what it's supposed to do!
"Knock yourself out with the sword, Neku, but remember that it works best on unshielded, fleshy areas, like the eyes, if there are any.
"Everyone, if it's a mantis-beetle creature, then you probably need to break through its exoskeleton before you can use your traditional weaponry. Look for something that either produces extreme heat or a concentrated beam. Both would work best against material shielding, but since Snow had already tried the heat thing, you might have to go with the latter."
-
"Geez,' werner said.
-
The monster swung its four blades this way and that, towards any direction where bullets were hitting its armor hide. It roared in frustration as it was too slow for its smaller prey...
Dr. Joe hid behind a nearby crate and gave cover fire as Snow joined her.
"I'm so sorry, Dr. Joe..." Snow began.
"It's not your fault," Dr. Joe interrupted as she reloaded. "You brought that thing out into the open. If we can find something around here to kill it, you can blind it long enough for us to close in."
Vic moved from box to box, firing as he ran. He found something that looked like a rifle crate and cracked it open. He pulled out what looks like a sharpshooter's rifle with a scope and a strange sort of power cell where the chamber resides. It didn't take him long to find a power switch and the rifle began to hum with life. Slinging his original rifle over his shoulder, he grabbed two more of the odd rifles and slid them hard towards the others...
-
Neku dodged back behind the crate with Snow.
"This guy's one tough nut to crack, huh?"
He then seemed to brighten as he had an idea.
"A beam, huh? Hey, Snow...D'you think you can manage another stream of fire at him?"
He asked...
-
werner sat down in a chair before noticing a large gash in his arm that was bleeding.
-
(OOC - lbt/cty_lover, I sent a you a PM briefing you about th whole situation)
James grabbed one of the rifles Vic slid to him. He slung his shotgun over his back and hefted the rifle.
James powered up the rifle, took aim at the creature and fired. He felt no recoil nor heard any noise from the rifle, just a loud shriek from the creature. "Nice choice, Vic! I helped develop these laser rifles, but I'm not too sure how long the lasing elements last." James fired again.
Zachary noticed the effect of the laser rifle James was using. He crawled out from behind the crate he was using as cover and grabbed the other rifle.
Zachary powered it up and fired two shots at the creature before the rifle vibrated. He ignored it and tried to fire again only to notice the words, "Power cell depleted." on the digital display on top of the rifle. He sighed and placed the rifle on the crate. He moved over to a gun locker and opened it. He grabbed a large rifle with cooling fins on the barrel and a magazine but also had a power cell attached.
He took aim at the creature with his new weapon and sent a high velocity steel slug into the creature's back. "Ow! The recoil on this thing is brutal!"
-----
Over in a lab a fair distance from the AWTR, a terrorist team leader was discussing the situation with his fellows.
"Ok, it seems the group that's been giving us the most trouble is holed up in the AWTR and thanks to Cale and his squad they'll have their hands full with some of the sublevel inhabitants. That should give us enough time to dispose of some more of these infidels. We head towards the experiment quarters."
"How do a bunch of scientists manage to eliminate one of our most well trained squads?" a terrorist demanded.
"I don't know but they aren't soldiers, we are." the leader replied.
(OOC - this group is controllable by anyone)
-
The insect reeled as a sharp pain pierced through its armor shell into its side, giving off a shriek of rage and agony. Black icor poured from the hole given by the new weapon...
Vic saw this happen and took aim with the new rifle and fired. A quiet beam of light shot through the air and into one of the scythe-arm shoulders, unhinging the arm as it dropped to the floor with a metallic crash. He looked back at his rifle and noticed it too was losing power fast. "We have to make our shots count!" he called back.
"I can try..." Snow answered Neku as she turned around and sent a wave of fire towards the monster, blinding it in bright flames...
Dr. Joe looked over to see Snow's handiwork. "It's distracted!" she shouted. "Someone take it out!"
-
As the flames burned around the creature, Neku used kinesis to take control of them, focusing them into a tight beam, which was amplified by his electricity. The beam struck the creature, burrowing into it's armored hide...
Hawkeye launched a beam of energy from his wrist cannon, further damaging the creature, and circled it warily...
-
"We need the help of that medical person I forgot what his name was here again,' werner said over the raido.
-
James fired another shot at the creature's back. He took a breath and fired his last shot at the creature's back before the laser rifle vibrated and powered down.
Zachary also braced himself and aimed for the creature's head and fired.
----
Meanwhile, a thin anthro Beagle in a lab coat was walking through the halls. He entered one of the labs and noticed that the lab notebook he was looking for was missing.
"Hmm. This is not good. 'Dragonstorm' could be in serious trouble." He sniffed the air. "Dr. Zanasiu! You'll pay for this."
-
"Werner!" Shelton had suddenly noticed Werner's arm. Ripping off yet another strip from his lab coat, Shelton tied off the upper forearm, attempting to stop the bleeding. He grabbed the bottle of alcohol, then realized that disinfecting the wound might not be the best thing to do. He hit the intercom. "I'm with Werner on this one. Vic or that Cobalt medic, you either need to get up here or give me orders over the phone, because this slash looks way worse than the hits on his kneecaps."
-
'Yes yes it does' werner said.
-
James heard Shelton over the radio.
"Vic! You'd better get to the control room; Werner's been attacked and seriously injured." James shouted over the gunfire.
Zachary took aim and fired his last shot before the powercell on his weapon was depleted.
-
The experiment twisted and reeled in pain as hit after hit pierced into its soft interior and concentrated heat from Snow and Neku filtered its way through the holes. One shot each from Zachary and Vic has finally blew half of its head and face off. The creature stiffened and fell to the floor with a hard thud, twitching like a bug taking a can full of Raid. (gruesome, ain't it? :blink: )
Vic heard from James about the control room and dropped the dead rifle for his original as he moved behind cover out the AWTR towards the control room. "Vic to Shelton," he replied over the radio. "I'm coming to your position."
-
"Thank God," breathed Shelton. "He's bleeding extensively from a gash along his left forearm. I've used a strip of cloth as a makeshift tourniquet, but it's only slowing the bleeding. I've got alcohol and iodine, but I don't know if I should disinfect it."
-
Hawkeye and Kagetora walked over to Werner's side, each looking him over. Hawkeye let a small click of his scanner be heard, then, a moment later, spoke.
"The wound isn't that bad, save for the bleeding. If we can seal the wound, he'll recover with no lasting injury, but he'll have some scarring."
He said, clicking his scanner lens back.
Kagetora nodded.
"And...how do you propose we stop the bleeding?"
He asked, looking at the wound again...
Neku stood next to Snow, smiling at her.
"Hey...That was some heck of a job out there, Snow. You were awesome. I think that deserves a little...reward."
He said, leaning in and giving her a small kiss on the cheek...
-
"Well, like last time, I've got bandages, cotton, alcohol, and iodine," commented Shelton, squinting into the small grey pouch. "It's up for grabs. You got any more morphine, Vic?"
-
"I've got some,' a voice from the door said. werner looked up "Dad,' he said. Hans walked through the door and set his AK on the control panel "I'm not looking for a fight I've just had enough,' hans said.
-
"I think we'll be the judge of that," snarled Shelton, snapping up a pistol from off the ground. "Now keep your hands where I can see 'em."
-
Hans did as he was told keeping his hands raising his hands above his head.
-
Shelton kept the gun steady, secretly hitting the button on his handheld radio, so the conversation could be heard by Zanasiu's team. "Now, Mr. Lone Terrorist, why should we possibly trust you?"
-
"I have information that could help you,' hans said.
-
Shelton raised one eye. "So you're a turncoat? And you're honestly going Benedict Arnold on them? Werner, do you trust this man?"
-
"Yes since he's my father I know that he keeps his word when I last saw him he promised me that he would return and he has returned,' werner said. "I also happen to know a good deal about some of these rogue experiments since I was ordered by the German government to keep an eye on these terrorists,' hans said.
-
"Well that's good, because this gun's out of bullets," Shelton realized, sliding it back into Werner's holster. He looked Hans straight in the eye. "I'm only trusting you because I saw you freeing that experiment over the viewscreen." He held up his radio. "James, you catch all of that? Hans Donitz is on our side now. This might be a good opportunity to get a spy inside the terrorist ranks."
-
Hans embraced werner "It's good to see yuo again son,' he said. "It's good to see you again too dad,' werner said returning the hug.
-
"Roger that." James said. He then turned to the Iguana guard, the Dhole scientist and Zachary. "Looks like we got an ally. His name is Hans Donitz. Werner's father it seems."
"His father?" the Dhole asked.
"Apparently." James replied.
"Ok so now what?" Zachary asked.
"I'll call Shelton." James replied. "Shelton, Zachary, two other friendlies and myself are in the AWTR. What shall our next destination be?"
-
Shelton thought. "Cale has probably escaped the sublevels by now, but it might be a good idea to check out whatever he was interested in down there. It'd provide me with a big clue as to what the terrorists hope to gain by attacking this base. If we're lucky, Cale'll have killed off all the extremely dangerous experiments down there already, and we can just go in and out."
-
Snow blushed as Neku kissed her on the cheek, and looked to Dr. Joe, who simply smiled and looked away.
----------
Vic turned down a familiar corner when he saw a shadow suddenly move across the hall up ahead of him, and he froze, bringing his gun up towards the fork. He paused for a few tense moments before he called into his radio. "Shelton, I think we have something between control and the AWTR. See if there are any cameras that can catch this thing. It's not making any noise."
-
Shelton checked the laptop screen. "I told you, the visual relay's shot, I can't see anything. But if you can snap a photo or describe it or something, I'll do my best. Does it look human or experiment?"
-
(OOC - new noncombatant character:
Name: Dr. Yuri Kerzach
Age: 34
Species: Cassowary
Faction: Scientist
Knowledge: knows his way around the sublevels, knows about the sublevel inhabitants, has EMT-B level first aid training.
Powers/Cybernetic enhancement: N/A
Personality: Fearless, though sometimes crude and acidic. Has a twisted sense of humor.
Equipment: Handheld radio, small swtichblade style pocket knife (not a weapon).
)
Dr. Yuri Kerzach paced around in the utility closet. He did not know how long ago he had been stuck in there. He tried his best to ignore the duct tape around his head and the cable ties around his wrists.
The last thing he remembered was hearing the warning about a terrorist attack. His partner attempted to seal the door but a terrorist squad entered and shot him before he could do anything. They ransacked his lab, bound and gagged him and tossed him into the utility closet.
He waited for someone to rescue him.
---------
The Beagle scientist who had discovered that Dr. Zanasiu had the notes on "Dragonstorm" entered the cafeteria. He entered the walk in freezer and punched in his access code on what appeared to be a patch of ice. He waited as a small section of the wall slid back to reveal a staircase.
He descended the staircase and met with a thin Deer in a lab coat. He noticed other scientists behind the Deer.
"Find those notes?" the Deer asked.
"No. I picked up his scent in the lab where I left them and they are missing." the Beagle replied.
The Deer chuckled. "Ah, Dr. Zanasiu, the sentimental scientist. He'd be a great scientist, if only he didn't let his feelings interfere."
"It seems that Dr. Zanasiu has the 'Dragonstorm' notes."
The Deer stopped laughing. "Tell me you're kidding."
"No."
The Deer's eyes went wide. "If word of 'Dragonstorm' gets out to the public, our project is finished! Hell, we may even be lynched! Dr. Zanasiu cannot be allowed to leave with these notes. I don't care how you get those notes back, steal them back or kill him, just get them back!"
Three scientists; a Human, a Brown Bear and a Shire draft horse stepped up to the Deer.
The Beagle gestured to them and they followed him to the armory.
--------------
James listened to Shelton over the radio. He then radioed Vic and Neku. "Vic, Neku, we are heading to the sublevels. We only have the Cobalt Squad soldiers, Zachary, the Iguana, the Dhole and myself."
"Should we take some of these weapons?" Zachary asked.
"I don't know. I worked on the magnetic weapons but we haven't fully tested them and there's the problem of ammo, they drain the powercells very quickly." the Dhole responded.
"Good enough." James said. He retrieved the laser rifle he had used during the battle with the mutant and searched for some powercells. He went to the back and found the room where they recharged the powercells. He took 3 of them and stuck the dead powercell in a charger. He then swapped out the powercell in his laser rifle for new one; the laser rifle hummed as it powered up. He then grabbed 3 more of them, left the room and handed them to Zachary.
Zachary retrieved the gauss rifle he had previously used and swapped out the dead cell for a fresh one. He had also found 4 magazines of gauss ammo.
"You wanna upgrade your weapons?" James asked looking at the Cobalt Squad soldiers, the Dhole and the Iguana. They all shook their heads.
Zachary had decided to unsling his M-16 and place it aside.
"Whoa, whoa, not so fast. We don't know how reliable these experimental weapons are. We need to have something that we KNOW will work." James said.
"I'm out of ammo." Zachary said.
"There should be some in the gun safes."
Zachary opened a crate and retrieved several M-16 magazines.
The Dhole also opened another crate and retrieved several AK-47 magazines.
James checked his pockets. "I've got enough shells for maybe 4 full magazines."
"We ready?" a Cobalt Squad soldier asked.
"We'll see if Neku's group and Vic's group wish to come with us." James replied.
-
"It may be better if you leave those notes you found here james,' werner said over the raido.
-
"I can't tell, but I know it's moving around here," Vic replied on the radio. "I'll check it out." It was the most stupid thing he could've said right now, but he hopes it was another survivor of this hell he's in. He cautiously follows in the direction of the disappearing shadow down a new corridor, towards a laboratory that was clearly ransacked and riddled with bullet holes...
----------
"Should we meet them in the sub-levels?" Dr. Joe asked around.
Snow shivered and rubbed her arms in nervousness. "Maybe we should meet with the others in the control room..."
----------
One of the terrorists, an experienced hitman of Asian descent and an ice-cold personality, readied two handguns with silencers and a belt full of extra magazines. As soon as the leader gives him the go-ahead, he'll go hunting for the survivors in the base...
-
Neku nodded.
"Yeah...I'll give the sublevels a 'no' until we're back with the group. Who knows what Cale's been up to down there, and the rumors...brrr..."
He shivered, though the air was warm, and moved closer to Snow...
_________________________________________________________________________
Next to the Asian hitman, a figure wrapped in a long, black coat stood at the ready, holding a long katana in one hand and a silenced submachine gun in the other.
"Getting...antsy, are we?"
He chuckled, licking the dull edge of his blade...
-
Shelton waited for more information from Vic. He checked on Werner's bandages, then rechecked the radar.
He frowned. Something was wrong...
There was one more life sign in range on the radar then there had been before.
Shelton couldn't be sure which life sign was the newcomer, but it had to be one of the three solitary dots. And one of those solitary dots was approaching another...
"Vic or Siberys, one of you is about to make contact with a being of unknown affiliation. Problem is, I don't know which one of you. Please radio in your positions."
-
"We should plan our trek to the sublevels very thoroughly. No telling what's down there." Zachary said.
James nodded.
"Shelton, my group and I are heading back to your control room. We will discuss our plans there." James radioed.
-
"Gotcha. Snow and Neku both mentioned an intrest in their groups coming back here as well. That leaves Vic and Siberys, both of whom I'm monitoring. I'll call them back when they're respective forays are done. See you soon."
-
"I just walked into another laboratory," Vic replied into the radio as he looked around. "There's no name of the scientist at the door." He now knows someone is nearby, but he can't find it in sight...
----------
Snow took Neku's hand in hers. She didn't realize she did it until she had done it. Was it because she felt that Neku was cold, or was it something else...?
"Then let's get out of here before we run into yet any more unwanted company," Dr. Joe said, and she started out the room.
----------
The hitman gave no facial response to the swordsman's crude act with his weapon. "It would be better than watching the others pre-occupying themselves..." he replied coldly.
-
Neku felt Snow's hand around his. For a moment, he hesitated, then he smiled at her.
"Hey... Thanks, Snow...Um..."
He hesitated, wondering what he should say to her to let her know how he felt...
_________________________________________________________________________
The cloaked swordsman simply let a sharp breath out in response, then twirled his blade and sheathed it behind his back.
"I grow bored. When will orders come to move?"
He asked...
-
James and the rest of the group entered Shelton's control room.
Zachary heard Vic's radio transmission. "Vic, are there any clues to what happened there? James, the Dhole and I will be on our way." he said into the radio. He then turned to Shelton. "Vic has found an lab but the nameplate that has the name of the scientists working there is missing."
"Neku, Snow, Dr. Joe, Hawkeye, Kagetora. My group will be heading to the sublevels after we come back from assisting Vic. We can understand if you don't want to join us but we need as much help as we can." James said, looking at the others in turn. He then turned to Shelton. "See if you can get some info on the sublevels."
-----
The four armed scientists headed out from the cafeteria. The Human was wielding an M-16; the Beagle with an AK-47; the Bear with a Remington 870 shotgun; and the Shire draft horse with another Remington 870 shotgun.
"So what do we do if we run into the terrorists?" the Bear asked.
"Simple. Shoot them." the Beagle replied.
-
"Hold on a sec," Shelton held up a finger. Behind him, there was a whirring sound, and a glossy piece of paper slid out of a dirty, dented laser printer. Shelton handed it to James. "Here you go. An 8? by 11 layout of the lower levels. The dotted red line shows the pathway Cale & co. took through the sublevels all the way to room 8Z. The dashed blue line shows how they got back out."
-
Vic scanned the area of the room...and found a trail of blood leading to a body in a white lab coat. "Terrorists were in here," he replied to Shelton on the radio. "I found a dead scientist. He looks like someone's aide." He turned and found a switch on a nearby wall and flipped it, and the room brightened with overhead lights...
----------
Snow realized that Neku was wondering what to say next. But a glance past his shoulder and she could clearly see the still-burning remains of the sublevel experiment just a few feet away. "Let's get out of here, first," she said with a shiver. "I don't like this place anymore..."
----------
"Hopefully soon..." the hitman said, staring back down the dark hallway. "I sense prey is near..."
-
James pocketed the map. He then radioed Vic. "Vic, what is your position? " He turned to Zachary and Dhole. "We may have to help Vic."
They nodded and headed near James.
-
Neku nodded at Snow.
"Yeah...should we head towards the Control room?"
He said, smiling...
_________________________________________________________________________
The cloaked figure drew his blade, excitement clear on his shrouded features...
-
"Vic," radioed Shelton, "according to your position on the radar, I think you're in Dr. Kerzach's lab. He and his assistant, Eric Ashton, were working on a way to integrate the Swiss Large Hadron Colllider diagram on a molecular scale, to use mini black holes as a kind of weapon. I can guarentee the whole room's clear, except the utility closet, which is coated in lead because it was used to store unstable nuclear alloys right up to the last health and safety inspection. As a result, I can't see into it. There could be a legion of stormtroopers in there for all I know."
-
James overheard Shelton. He turned towards Shelton. "Thanks! We're heading to Dr. Kerzach's lab right now."
The Iguana guard and the Cobalt Squad soldiers stepped away from the group. "Shelton, we will stay behind to protect you." the Iguana guard said.
"Ok, we can't risk anything happening to Shelton." Zachary replied.
James turned to Zachary. "Ok, let's move out!"
James and his group left the control room and headed to Dr. Kerzach's lab. After about 30 minutes they encountered Vic inside the lab.
"Vic! You find anything significant?" James asked.
-------------
In the lab where the terrorists were planning their next move. A heavily built Brown Bear impatiently tapped the table.
"When are we going to make our move. I want to kill something." he said in a slightly Russian accented voice. He lovingly petted his weapon, a Winchester 1200 shotgun.
"Be patient." the terrorist leader said, "The commander may have something else in mind."
-
"Yeah, but do we really care what the commander wants out here. He's too busy building that bridge thingy to notice if we go kill one or two people," the bear grinned.
The leader shook his head. "We wait for the signal. You remember what happened to Udesky when he questioned the commander."
(OOC: I'll be away for the next six days or so. If you need Shelton to discover something, just radio him and have him give whatever response you need.)
-
After hearing Shelton's mentioning a lifesign inside the nearby utility closet, Vic watched the door closely, considering options until James' group arrived. "There's someone behind this door," he replied. "I thought it'd be safer with numbers, just in case of an unpleasant surprise..."
----------
Dr. Joe was the first to arrive at the control room, followed by the others a few minutes later. "Anything new happened while we were gone?" she asked.
----------
The hitman twirled his guns around, staring intensely into the darkness of the halls...
-
"Well, I'd say we open it." Zachary said.
"Remember, we don't know what's in there." James replied.
"We've been taking risks this whole time."
"Fair enough."
James then tried the door but it was locked. "Zach! Can you kick this door down?"
Zachary nodded and kicked the door several times but it still did not budge.
Zachary then turned to Vic. "Got anything we can use to break this door down?"
The Dhole was standing watch by the door.
-----
Dr. Kerzach heard noises outside the door. He held his breath. Please be soldiers he thought.
------
The Iguana guard greeted Dr. Joe. "James, Zachary and the Dhole went off to assist Vic in a search."
-
The Dhole's stomach growled. "Guys, I'm going to get something to eat."
"See if you can get something like an ax or a sledgehammer." James replied.
Zachary had now resorted to battering the door with a nearby chair but the door still did not budge.
The Dhole then left the lab and headed towards the cafeteria. As she entered the cafeteria she noticed it was strangely quiet. She then headed to the deli section and helped herself to a fish sandwich. She then got a large salmon salad sandwich for James and a grilled vegetable sandwich for Zachary. She also grabbed another sandwich for Vic.
That'll do for now. She thought.
She suddenly got a strange sensation down her spine. "It feels like there's something here but I can't quite place it." she muttered.
She then left the cafeteria and passed by an emergency station containing a gas mask, a fire ax, a AED, a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher and a haz-mat spill kit.
She opened the station and grabbed the fire ax and headed back towards the lab.
She soon ran into the 4 armed scientists.
"Are you searching for survivors?" she asked.
"Yes. We have found no survivors." the man replied.
"We need to speak to Dr. James Zanasiu." the Beagle said.
The Dhole's fur bristled under her clothing. "He was gunned down by terrorists while attempting to protect his work."
"Very well. Pity that we have lost such a great scientist." the Bear said with a sigh. "Come on, we need to help the other survivors." The bear gestured with his shotgun.
The group then left down an adjacent hallway.
The Dhole went back to the lab where James and Zachary were located.
"James, I got your ax and some food. Vic, Zach I also got some food." The Dhole then placed the sandwiches on the lab bench and handed the ax to Zachary. "James, I encountered a group of scientists who said they wanted to speak to you. I told them that you were dead."
"Why did you tell them that I was dead? We could have gained some extra firepower." James said, frowning slightly.
"I just looked into the Beagle's eyes and it looked like he could kill as easily as I could run a magnetic accelerator test. And the rest of the group. In short I got a bad vibe from them. And that cafeteria seems to be hiding something." the Dhole replied.
James held his head in thought for a moment. "Hmm. We'll check out the cafeteria later. And I'll err on the side of caution and avoid those scientists for now."
(OOC - Yep. Conflict between the Dragonstorm scientists and our heroes is coming up soon!)
-
"So I can see you've done good in your life I am pruod of you son,' hans said to werner. "Thanks dad,' werner replied.
-
(OOC: I'm back!)
Shelton filled Dr. Joe in on the situation. "So Zanasiu & co. are currently reinforcing Victor in Dr. Kerzach's lab," he finished.
-
(OOC: Ditto!)
Vic turned around as he listened. Could those be more of the Dragonstorm scientists? he thought. But the sight of the axe the Dhole found sparked an idea for opening the metal door. Putting his gun across his back, examines a security console on the door. Every door here needs security clearance, but most of the doors were either jammed open or shut when the place was being ripped apart by the attacks. This one, however, still works...and he might be able to open it! "Hey Zachary," he said finally. "Can you pop this top open with the axe?"
----------
"Then they must have found more survivors," Dr. Joe contemplated. "Shelton, can you track any other movements throughout the base? Including the sublevels?"
-
"I've only got readings on the labs, hallways, and sublevels directly below and around this control room, which is about 40% of the entire complex," Shelton responded, expanding the map on his laptop screen and highlighting the area he had radar on. "Problem is that the bio-indicators are only reliable if a bunch of them are near each other, and hundreds of them have been destroyed in various explosions and such around the base. But I can safely say that I know of everything going on in this area."
-
"Will do." Zachary replied. He wedged the ax blade in the seam between the console top and the console and pried the console top off.
James chuckled. "Normally, I'd complain about lax security but it worked to our advantage. Well the Dhole bought us some food so want to have a snack? We can't do any work if we're hungry."
------------
The four scientists passed by a hallway.
The Beagle stopped the group and motioned them to come back to the hallway. "Guys. Dr. Zanasiu's scent permeates this hallway. That Dhole was lying about him being dead. He's in there somewhere."
The Human grinned. "Good let's get those notes back."
They then headed down the hallway.
------
The Dhole heard footsteps and picked up the scent of four unfamiler beings. "Guys, a group of four is heading this way. I can't identify if they're friendly or hostile but we better be prepared."
James readied his shotgun. Anthony and the Dhole readied their rifles.
"Vic, see if you can open this door. We'll keep guard." the Dhole said.
"Come get some." James muttered.
-
While explaining the schematics to Joe, Shelton noticed movement near the edge of the radar. He contacted Zanasiu's.
"Hey, you guys are aware that a four-man team is headed your way?"
The response came back. "Yeah, we know."
"Then you might like to know that two of them look like they're planning on entering, and the other two are fanning out on both sides of the doorway. Once you incapacitate your attackers, there'll be a couple more waiting outside."
Shelton turned and grinned at Joe. "See? I come in handy once in a while."
-
Neku nodded.
"Should one of us go in case they need backup?"
He asked, raising an eyebrow...
Kagetora nodded.
"If that is the case, let me go. I have...stealth training."
He said, his goggles glowing...
-
The Beagle stopped a few meters from the door. "His scent seems to be coming from that lab." He pointed to the lab that James and the rest of the group were in. "You know what to do?"
The other scientists nodded.
"Ok then. Let's go."
The Beagle and the Human, with their rifles at the ready, stood out in the hallway. The draft horse and the Bear stopped outside the door and peered inside.
Seeing no one, they entered the lab.
------------------
"Hello." the Bear said as he entered the lab.
"Are you looking for something?" Zachary asked.
"Yes, but we need to search the lab."
"We searched already, everything of value has been taken." the Dhole said, keeping her rifle at the ready.
"Ok. Sorry for wasting your time." the draft horse replied.
The draft horse and the Bear left the lab.
The Dhole went to a lab bench in the far corner and kneeled down next to James, who was crouched behind it.
"I think those guys are after you or something in Dr. Kerzach's lab." she said.
"I'll call Shelton." James replied. He took out his radio and radioed Shelton.
"Shelton, this is James. We met 2 anthros, a Bear and a Shire draft horse. I think they're scientists because I managed to get a glimpse of them and they're wearing the standard issue lab coats and pants. They entered this room claiming they are looking for something. What is in Dr. Kerzach's lab could they want?" he said into the radio, keeping his voice as low as possible.
The Bear and the Draft horse went back to the Beagle and the Human.
"We didn't see him." the Bear said.
Suddenly, the Shire's ears pivoted towards the lab he had just left. "He IS in there! He's radioing someone!" he said.
"What are you waiting for! Get him!" the Beagle shouted.
The Shire and the Bear burst into the room brandishing their shotguns.
"Where the hell is Dr. Zanasiu!?" the Shire demanded. He looked at Zachary and leveled his shotgun at him.
"He's dead!" Zachary shouted back.
"Don't give me that crap! Where is he!"
"Get it through your damned skull! He's dead!"
The Shire clubbed Zachary across the ribs with his shotgun and grabbed Zachary's lab coat. "You know he's alive and if you don't tell me where he is, there's going to be a problem!"
James heard the commotion. He left the radio on, so Shelton could hear the commotion. "Shelton. Those two scientists from before. They're attacking Zachary."
The Dhole aimed her rifle at the Shire and fired but she missed.
"Get that dog with the rifle!" the Bear shouted. The Shire threw Zachary aside and leapt behind another lab bench. The Bear also leapt behind another lab bench. They fired at the Dhole but she ducked down and the shotgun blasts struck the lab bench.
-
Shelton racked his brain. "Try the utility closet! If they'd managed to build a Small Hadron Collider, that's where they'd store it!"
He downloaded the garbled sounds of the two enemy scientists, and ran them through a voice analyzer. "And if you give me a second, I'll tell you who you're attackers are!
(OOC: Is there anything in particular you want Shelton to tell you about these guys?)
-
Vic was crossing wires on the door console when a fight ensued behind him, and he glanced back to see Zachary and the Dhole engaging a bear and horse brandishing weapons. Gunshots forced him to duck down to keep from getting seen, but he continued to work the security to open the door. He's only got a few seconds to make one more connection...
----------
Dr. Joe listened as gunfire is heard over the radio, and then checked her handgun and started towards the door. "I'm coming too," she responded. "We gotta provide backup."
"I...think we should come with," Snow added. "The greater our numbers the better..."
----------
The hitman raised his head as the faint echoes of gunfire reached his ear. "I hear fighting," he said, not turning his head to the group. "It's not from any of our cells either..."
-
(OOC - Perhaps, Shelton could reveal the names of these scientists are and what their research area is. And incase you are wondering, these are some of the Dragonstorm scientists and the characters don't know that.)
James was crouched behind the lab bench as the gunfire erupted around him. He readied his shotgun, checked the magazine and prepared to engage his attackers.
"Stay down!" the Dhole ordered over the gunfire. She reloaded, stood up and fired a quick burst and ducked back down as the two scientists returned fire.
James nodded and remained crouched behind the lab bench. "Shelton! Who are these scientists!?" he shouted into the radio.
Zachary managed to crawl behind a lab bench where he checked his ribs. "Damn that hurts." He gently palpated it and grimaced as a spike of pain shot through him. "I don't think it's broken but I can't do anything for now."
-----------
The Iguana guard headed towards the door with Snow and Dr. Joe. "I'll come too."
The four Cobalt Squad soldiers stood in place. "We need to guard these two. They are a vital contact to Dr. Zanasiu's team." one of the soldiers said.
-----------
The Bear crouched behind the bench as the Dhole returned fire. A piece of metal struck his lab coat but the tough cloth easily stopped it. He reloaded his shotgun.
The Human scientist outside the lab made a move to enter but the Beagle stopped him. "We need to guard the entrance. If terrorists enter the lab and we're in there. We'll be trapped between two hostile parties."
-----------
Dr. Kerzach heard gunfire in his lab. Please be soldiers he thought. He paced around the utility closet.
-
Neku nodded and joined the others.
"Yeah. I'm with you there!"
He said, his eyes resolute...
Kagetora simply turned to the door, loading a fresh magazine in his weapon...
Hawkeye's lens eye flickered.
"I'll come too, Doctor. We should all stick together if we want to maximize our chances of survival..."
He stated, calm and composed as always...
-
The Iguana guard turned to the gathered group. "Um, I managed to overheard Dr. Zanasiu's transmission to Dr. Shelton. It seems that the attackers are not terrorists but scientists. Now my main question is, why the hell would other scientists attack Dr. Zanasiu's group?"
-
"Who cares?" shrugged a Cobelt soldier. "They're enemies. Let's kill them."
"That is why you're a soldier, not a scientist," said one of the scientists.
"Still," said the Cobalt commander, hefting his gun, "we need to get going. Follow me."
"Bye," waved Shelton, as the collective group left the control room. He turned his attention back to the laptop. It was still scanning.
"C'mon, you damn thing..." muttered Shelton. When was the last time this laptop was defragmented?
Suddenly, it bleeped, and two scientist profiles came up.
"Gotcha. James, the horse is Kegan O'Neill, minor scientist from BioChem and member of the Equestrian Scientific Union. The other is Petr Kozlov, in Weapons Development, only achevement to date is the unpatented flare shotgun. Only thing I see in common of the two is they both got their degrees at University of California Three Rivers. Which actually is where Oli went too."
-
"Gotcha!" James said into the radio. "Got any more info? Like who their assistants are and what O'Neill's research was? Any guesses why they want me dead?"
-
"Hold on," muttered Shelton. "I'm cross-referencing the graduate degrees of every Pelvanida scientist to see who else went to UC3R.
"You were also curious about O'Neill, right? O'Neill was working on a genetic compound which increased the immune, cardiac, sensory, and muscular systems of equestrian species. Current status of the project according to the logs is Failed, though he might just want to keep the formula to himself. Looks like he's worked on-and-off with every equestrian scientist at least once, even Zach, back in '04. That might be how he knows your name, James."
The computer finished it's search.
"All right, here we go. Three Rivers is a small school, but we've got three other graduates stationed at Pelvanida. Lester Montgomery, a Beagle; and two humans, Howard Hicks and Greydon Zenarchis."
-
"Wait. You mentioned a 'Greydon Zenarchis'. The only Zenarchis I found was Dr. Johnson Zenarchis who was killed by Dr. Cass. Something isn't right. Now, about Montgomery, Hicks and Zenarchis - this one- what did they work on?" James said.
Gunshots from the two enemy scientists rang out every so often as they tried to hit the Dhole as she returned fire.
Zachary managed to crawl to James's side. "Ugh. I'm out of the fight for a bit."
"It's okay. Now did you work with a certain Shire draft horse named Kegan O'Neill?"
Zachary nodded. "Yeah, back in '04. We tried to work on a serum that would supercharge cell division in an attempt to speed up healing; unfortuately it was strongly carcinogenic in all species except equines. I stored it away until I could get it to work with all species but I never got the chance. In late 2006, all those samples went missing. I assumed that someone threw it out by mistake."
James's eyes widened. "Shelton, Zachary worked on some kind of equine specific accelerated cell growth factor but shelved it due to its carcinogenic effects in other species and claims that the samples were lost in 2006. See if there is an incident report on that. I have a feeling that O'Neill is responsible." he said into the radio.
Zachary growled under his breath. "I'll kill him."
-
"It's not like 'Zenarchis' is an extremely popular last name. I bet they're the same person," said Shelton, checking the dates of the pages.
"Ah, here it is!" Shelton exclaimed. "The college report is archived, so that's where the problem came in. Greydon Zenarchis was involved with a security breach shortly after being posted at Pelvanida, and his job profile was impounded. Afterward, it was decided that his role in the breach wasn't as important as previously believed, and he was allowed to resume his job at the base. But he had to reate a new job profile, so he used his middle name, Johnson, as the given name. I was wondering how Johnson could be a first name.
"Anyway, Zenarchis, Hicks, Montgomery, O'Neil, Koslov, and Oli never specifically worked on the same project, mainly because they all have diferent credentials, but, reviewing these old lab arrangements, the six of them were nearly always stationed in adjacent programs to each other. Whatever they've been doing together, it's been going on for a long time."
(OOC:This actually is a bit of a problem. How do we justify the datafile? Maybe some of the rogue scientists had their names removed from the files because they feared incrimination. Oli and one other just wasn't smart enough to do that.)
-
(OOC - the rogue scientists could have bribed a computer tech to delete their personnel files and make it look like it was lost due to a computer glitch or they could have deleted it themselves)
"What exactly was the security breach? And his 'role', are you stating that he was involved with others in a breach?" James asked as he tried to ignore the exchange of gunfire.
James turned off the radio and thought. Six scientists with different credentials are stationed in lab arrangements next to each other, Oli tries to steal those notes I found, Johnson and Graydon Zenarchis are the same person. This only points to one thing. He immediately turned the radio back on. "Shelton! Those scientists you mentioned! I think they work on 'Dragonstorm'! They know I have the notes, that's why they're trying to kill me. Do you have someone guarding the control room?"
The Dhole crouched behind her lab bench and loaded her last magazine. "Great. Hopefully those guys are..." a shotgun blast to the lab bench cut her off.
James remained behind the lab bench.
-
"Not really," Shelton replied. "Everybody except Hans and Werner just left to reinforce you."
-
James frowned. "Shelton. Try and see if you can get some guards. We cannot discount the probability that they'll come after you."
"What is taking so long?" Hicks demanded.
"They probably ran into resistance." Montgomery responded.
O'Neill ceased firing and crawled towards where James and Zachary were. Kozlov still fired at the Dhole but with much less frequency than before.
-
Kagetora and Hawkeye reached the lab quickly, and Hawkeye swiftly set a single explosive feather on the door.
"You might want to step back about now..."
He said, prepping the charge...
-
"Anybody up some poker,' hans asked holding up a deck of playing cards.
-
(OOC - the lab's doors are already open and two of the rogue scientists are outside the entrance.)
"How did these scientists manage to escape detection for so long? And the last time I checked the personnel roster, which was back in '05, right when I started working with Zachary; Zenarchis, Hicks, Montgomery, O'Neil, Koslov, and Oli all showed up on the personnel roster. I didn't have clearence to see anything other than their names and their current project so I don't know. How could six names disappear from the computers in three years and not be noticed?"
O'Neill had crept behind James as he was talking to Shelton.
Zachary turned his head and noticed O'Neill behind James. "James! Look out!"
James immediately turned around and saw face to face with O'Neill. James tried to escape O'Neill but he reached out and grabbed James and forced him to the ground.
"Kazlov! I have Dr. Zanasiu!" O'Neill shouted.
"Good! Let's get out of here." Kazlov shouted back. He had stopped firing.
O'Neill grabbed James and dragged him to Kazlov.
Zachary staggered to his feet and went over to the Dhole. "O'Neill's got James."
"Who's O'Neill?" the Dhole asked.
"The Shire draft horse."
"He's not getting far." The Dhole readied her rifle and pointed it at O'Neill's head. "You! Let James go or I shoot."
Kazlov went over to James and placed the barrel of his shotgun to James's head. "Lower your weapon or he dies."
Unbeknownst to Kazlov and O'Neill James's radio was still on, allowing Shelton to hear everything.
-
As Kazlov raised the shotgun, Neku turned to face the door. He quickly brought his focus onto the weapon, and used a small surge of electricity to disable the mechanism. At least he hoped so...
Kagetora brought his rifle up to one of the scientists guarding the door.
"Hello, sir. Care to explain what you're doing and why you want James?"
Hawkeye aimed carefully at the second guard, arm cannon at the ready.
"Stand down, or perish."
He said calmly, eye glowing red...
-
Shelton listened wide-eyed at the conversation going on in Kersach's lab.
"Well?" asked Donitz, who heard it as well. "Do something!"
"Like what?" snapped Shelton. "Turn on the sprinklers?"
The radio cackled. "Hey, who was that?" said someone on the other end.
Shelton paled. They'd heard him.
There was a burst of static as somebody tapped the mic with his finger. "Hey, who is this?"
Shelton reluctantly hit the intercom. "I'd prefer to remain anonymous, if that's okay with you."
"Suit yourself. Hicks, get over here," the voice snapped, away from the mic.
"What are they doing?" asked Donitz. Shelton put his finger to his lips.
A second later, a third voice spoke. "The signal's coming from the control room."
"Really..." The first voice came back on, muffled, as if he was shielding his words from the others in the room. "Control room guy, shut the lights off in this sector."
"What?"
"You heard me. Make it pitch black in here."
Shelton glanced at Werner. "I can't. The central mainframe was destroyed in an explosion."
"So you were going to turn the sprinklers off with what? Your mind?" the other person, who sounded like Koslov, laughed. "The lights. Or Zanasiu dies."
"You can't kill him," Shelton retorted. "He's the only one who knows where the Dragonstorm datapad is."
"Then it won't be found again. That's what I want."
Shelton hesitated. "Let me speak to Zanasiu first."
"No."
"Then shoot him, and die in a hail of gunfire," Shelton countered. "The lights stay on until you put Zanasiu on the line."
-
Vic kept his mind on the console, and worked the last set of wires when he hears a click and a whiz of air as the door unlocked and opened a good foot before stopping. Crouching low, he pried the door further open and peered inside, turning the rifle back in front of him for safety. "If there's anyone in here," he called in, "then come into view and give your name." With his focus solely on the closet, he hadn't really paid attention to the hostage situation right outside the lab...
----------
Dr. Joe aimed her firearm at the rogue scientists, but held her fire as she saw James with a shotgun to his face.
Snow stood behind Neku as the situation is being played out...
----------
Deep in the corner of his dark cell, a silouette sits in meditation, although his unblinking compound eyes kept track of every corner of the room. He has been waiting, and somehow he knows very soon he will be released...
(OOC: Thought I could throw in a Dragonstorm experiment for future mayhem. You think he'd be in the sublevels or in a different place?)
-
(OOC - in one of the earlier posts it is mentioned that the Dragonstorm labs are accessible only through a false door in the cafeteria freezer. It's more likely he'd be in that lab.)
Dr. Kerzach was sitting by the far side of the closet when the door opened. He knew it was futile to resist, so he walked towards the figure.
---------------------------------------------
"So, Dr. Zanasiu, you're getting help from someone in the control room? I thought your motto was 'if you want something done right; do it yourself'." O'Neill sneered.
"O'Neill, you are a disgrace to the prestigious Equestrian Scientific Union. Nice spot on their record; one of their scientists is an amoral sociopath!" James spat.
"Shut it!"
Zachary and the Dhole were still crouched behind the lab table.
"Zachary, we need to get Vic. We may be able to trap these rogue scientists between two lines of fire." the Dhole said.
She then crawled to Vic and tapped him on the leg. "Vic. James is being held hostage outside the lab."
Koslov kept his shotgun aimed at James's head. Montgomery and Hicks still kept their weapons at the ready in defiance of the armed group.
The Iguana security guard leveled his shotgun at Montgomery. "Drop your weapon."
Montgomery chuckled. "And that is why you are a security guard. Are you oblivious to the fact that we have a hostage?"
"Are you interested in committing suicide?" The Iguana's finger twitched on the trigger of his weapon.
Montgomery nodded to Koslov who grinned and jabbed the barrel of his weapon into James's face. "Kill me and Zanasiu dies."
The Iguana sighed and lowered his weapon.
---------------------------------------------
Inside the secret lab, the Deer scientist impatiently paced around the entrance hall. "Where are Montgomery, Hicks, O'Neill and Koslov?"
"You don't suppose they ran afoul of some terrorists?" a Rat scientist asked.
"Nah. Koslov would scare the crap out of anyone who crossed him. An angry Brown Bear with a shotgun is not pretty sight."
"I guess. We can't continue with our creation unless we have those notes. And come to think of it, what happened to that DVD that outlined the basic principles of Dragonstorm?"
-
(Ignore post)
-
(OOC: Uh, f-22, are you planning on embellishing where the heck he came from? And what he's going to contribute to the hostage situation?)
-
(Yes I plan on telling on where he came from and what he will do to help with the hostage situation but if you want me to edit my last two posts i will)
-
Vic was anxious as the figure moved into the light, it was a scientist alright. There was no certainty about him being involved with the Dragonstorm scientists, so he has to be cautious. As he felt the Dhole scientist tap him from behind, he glanced back and answered, "I just found another survivor in here. He could be another Dragonstorm scientist." He called into his mic. "Shelton, I need you to get ready to check profiles again." He then turned to the scientist inside the the closet. "As I said before, I want your name."
----------
"Neku, what can we do?" Snow whispered...
----------
The terrorist hitman stared back down the hallway, before he turned to the leader, but said nothing. With possible fighting nearby, he was almost starting to feel anxious to hunt...
----------
The siloulette moved quickly and smoothly to his feet as he approached the door, where a tiny sliver of light pierced the chamber through a partially closed slot...
-
The Dhole looked at the new scientist. She motioned to Zachary who staggered to his feet and moved to where she was.
"Vic, Zachary and I will deal with this new scientist. You deal with the rogue scientists outside." the Dhole said.
The Dhole kept her rifle trained on the scientist as Zachary patted him down. He retrieved a switchblade and a portable radio. "Hmm. He doesn't seem to be carrying a gun."
Have the scientists gone insane? Why are they treating me like a criminal. Dr. Kerzach thought as he looked at the rifle pointed at him.
Zachary used the switchblade to cut away the tape gagging Dr. Kerzach's mouth.
"Thank you." Dr. Kerzach said.
"Ok, now let's get down to business." Zachary said, "What is your name?"
Dr. Kerzach gulped. "It's Yuri Kerzach, Dr. Yuri Kerzach. Now will you please free my hands?"
"That will be sufficient. And sorry, we can't trust you yet, so please step into the closet." The Dhole said, keeping her rifle trained on Dr. Kerzach.
Dr. Kerzach sighed and complied with the Dhole's order. The Dhole then stood in the doorway, keeping her rifle aimed at Dr. Kerzach.
Zachary pulled out his radio. "Shelton, the new scientist is a Cassowary named Dr. Yuri Kerzach." He then turned off his radio and readied his M-16.
-
Neku shook his head.
"I don't know. We should probably just sit this part out."
He said, uncertainty in his voice.
Kagetora stood a short distance back with Hawkeye, silently observing...
-
The Cobalt Squad soldiers arrived at the lab only to see hostage situation unfolding.
"You! With the shotgun! Drop your weapon and move away from the scientist!" the Cobalt commander shouted, aiming his weapon at Kozlov.
The other Cobalt soldiers also readied their weapons.
O'Neill looked at the soldiers and chuckled icily. "Don't think your weapons give you leverage. We have a hostage." He gestured to Kozlov.
The Cobalt Squad soldiers backed away and headed to a corner where they couldn't be seen.
"What do you want?" the Iguana guard asked.
-----------
Inside the lab, Zachary radioed Shelton. "Shelton, Vic, the Dhole and I are inside the lab and those rogue scientists don't know it. We can potentially trap them between the group outside and us. Can you set off a distraction of some sort?"
(OOC - I'm going with the "Kozlov" spelling of the Bear's name.)
-
"Can I?" grinned Shelton. "One distraction coming right up. And Vic, Zach, Kerzach is clear. It's his lab you're standing in."
Shelton got to work. "All right, mate," he muttered to himself, "I know bears have good eyesight, but what about hearing?"
He opened communication. "Hey, Kozlov, I got a question for you."
The bear put the radio to his ear. "What?"
Shelton blasted radio feedback through the ear piece. Simultaneously, the fire alarm went off, a shrill, screeching burst.
"Aaugh!" yelled the bear, clutching his ears.
"Don't lose the hostage!" yelled O'Neill, spinning to look behind him, shotgun raised. But before he could register James' position, the lights suddenly switched off and the sprinklers clicked on, dousing him and the entire room with ice cold water.
O'Neill fired off a flare, which was instantly doused. "Kozlov! Where are you? Find Zanasiu!" he yelled.
-
James took advantage of his captors' distraction and ran into the lab, pushing Hicks aside. Hicks tried to grab him but missed.
"What? I can't hear you!" Kozlov shouted.
O'Neill groaned. "Montgomery, Hicks! Find Zanasiu!" he shouted. He pulled a flare out of his lab coat and ignited it only to have it extinguished in mere seconds.
"I can't find him." Montgomery said, "The water is inhibiting my sense of smell." He turned his head and noticed a dim blue glow from the lab door. "I'll see if he's in there."
Inside the darkened lab, Zachary tapped the Dhole's shoulder. "Dr. Kerzach is with us. Cut him free." Zachary then handed the Dhole the switchblade he'd confiscated from Dr. Kerzach.
The Dhole nodded and cut Dr. Kerzach free using the blue emergency light in the closet. "Dr. Kerzach, stay in this closet until everything is clear." The Dhole then wrinkled her nose. "I smell wet dog."
"It's Montgomery. He's looking for James. I'll get him." Zachary said. He then positioned himself in the closet and when Montgomery entered the lab and peered into the closet; he grabbed him. Zachary quickly pinned Montgomery and Dr. Kerzach and the Dhole bound and gagged him with some duct tape.
Hicks had also followed Montgomery into the lab but passed over the blue-lit closet but didn't get far before Zachary grabbed him and dragged him into the closet where Dr. Kerzach and the Dhole bound him.
The Iguana security guard radioed Shelton. "Shelton turn the lights back on. I can't..." he was cut off by O'Neill who heard him talking and tackled him.
"Kozlov! Get over here!" O'Neill shouted as he struggled with the guard.
-
(OOC:Serris, did you men for O'Neill to call for Kersach, or did you mean to type Kozlov?)
"What?" asked Shelton. "Repeat!"
"He said hit the lights! Do it!"
"Sorry!" Shelton entered the command. The lights flickered, but before they could fully warm up, Kozlov shot the laboratory light out with his shotgun.
"Not yet!" he yelled cheerfully. "I'm in my element in the dark!"
He let off another round, missing Neku and Snow by inches. Cobalt commander, next to them, wasn't so lucky, and was hit in the side. He fell, cursing.
Kozlov grinned, peering over at the utility closet. "Peekaboo, I see you!" he crowed, vaulting a lab table.
But he didn't see the body of the stunned terrorist on the floor. Tangling his feet up in the landing, he slid headfirst into the wall, busting a hole through the metal-reinforced plywood. Stale fluorescent light filtered in from the adjacent room, leaving a contrasting bluish tint on everything.
-
Neku smiled.
"Thank you, Shelton. I've got an advantage now. Everyone, cover your eyes!"
He said, looking at the water on the ground. Thinking quickly, he raised psychic barriers around all of his friends, then sent an electrical current into the floor and the water coming from the ceiling, shocking any enemies nearby...
-
The Iguana guard was still pinned under O'Neill who was viciously pounding any part of the the guard he could reach. The Iguana tried to roll O'Neill off of him but was thwarted by the fact that O'Neill outweighed him by 120 pounds or more.
The Iguana saw a bright flash and heard the sound of electrical arcing. Suddenly, O'Neill stiffened and fell over. The Iguana then staggered to his feet and looked at Neku. "Thanks. Now can someone find a med kit and a change of clothes?"
The Dhole marched a dazed Kozlov to the closet, where Dr. Kerzach bound and gagged him.
James, then ordered him to stand by the other two rogue scientists. He kept his shotgun trained on them. "Dr. Kerzach, can you use a gun?"
Dr. Kerzach shook his head. "No. I have never handled one in my entire life."
Zachary radioed Shelton. "Shelton, we have rescued Dr. Kerzach and captured three of the rogue scientists. What shall we do with them?" He then overhead Dr. Kerzach. "Um, shall we bring Dr. Kerzach to you? He can't use a gun and the only weapon we have that's not a gun is a fire ax."
The Dhole trained her rifle on the three captives and tapped James. "James, I'll watch them, and you can get a change of clothes."
-
"You got three of them?" asked Shelton. "Who escaped, no don't tell me, Hicks, I bet."
Down in the laboratory, the Cobalt commander got to his feet, hands covering the wound. He glared at the bound and gagged bear. "I promise I'll repay you for that. If you escape, you better come lookin' for me first."
Shelton smiled. "Oh yeah, and make sure to thank Koslov for the lights idea. Pure genius on his part."
"What about Kerzach?"
"Sure, bring him up. Swipe another computer from somewhere while you're at it. Yuri, you any good with technology?"
-
O'Neill staggered to his feet. "Well. I have to congratulate you on that technique. But I have something for you. Catch!" In one fluid motion, O'Neill ignited and hurled a flare at the group. While the group was trying to move away from the burning object, O'Neill ran away.
James radioed Shelton back, "We have Hicks, Montgomery, and Kozlov." Just then the Iguana security guard staggered into the lab, his face bloody.
"What happened to you?" Zachary asked.
"The Shire horse beat me and threw a flare at the group as a distraction. He ran away."
Zachary grabbed a med kit from a bracket on the wall and treated the guard's injuries.
James left the room and entered an adjacent locker room, in a few minutes, he reappeared in a dry lab coat and pants. He still wore the shooting glasses style safety glasses.
Dr. Kerzach spoke into the radio. "Sorry, no computers here. My lab got ransacked and completely shot up. I'm about 'normal' in technology."
The Dhole's stomach growled. "Hey, how about we hit the cafeteria?"
James nodded and held up the remains of the salmon salad sandwich which was shredded from a shotgun blast. "Yeah. Those sandwiches have probably gone bad. Vic, you up for seeing what the Double Helix Eatery aka the Pelvanida Cafeteria has to offer?"
Zachary stuck his head outside the lab door. "Anybody up for a quick journey to the cafeteria for some food? And Cobalt Squad, please escort our three 'guests' and Dr. Kerzach to Shelton."
Dr. Kerzach left the lab and stood by the three Cobalt Squad soldiers.
The Dhole patted Montgomery down and confiscated 4 20 round AK-47 magazines, including the one in his rifle.
Zachary patted Kerzach down and confiscated 2 flares and 5 shotgun shells which he handed to James.
James patted Hicks down and confiscated 2 30 round M-16 magazines, including the one in his rifle. He placed them on the lab bench.
James and Zachary marched the three to the Cobalt Squad soldiers. "Ok, you may head out."
The Cobalt Squad soldiers left the area with Dr. Kerzach and the captives.
"Shelton, the group and I are heading to the cafeteria for some food. I sent Dr. Kerzach and the three prisoners to you." James said into the radio.
------
O'Neill made his way back to the cafeteria and entered the secret lab by way of the freezer.
"So, O'Neill I see you didn't get those notes back." the Deer scientist said.
"It's worse, Hicks, Montgomery and Kozlov were captured by Dr. Zanasiu and his allies. But he is getting help from someone in the control room, I have a feeling that's where he kept those notes he found." O'Neill replied.
"We'll hit the control room later. For now, work on the experiments we have."
-
"We'll be ready for them when they arrive, James." said Shelton. "But you might want to know that the cafeteria is out of range of my sensors. Once you're in there, I'm blind."
The door to the control room slid open; Kerzach and the Cobalt squad members dragged the prisoners in.
"Oy, Werner and Pa, can both generations help us over here?" panted the Cobalt medic.
Montgomery stared at Shelton. "I know you by face, but your name escapes me."
Shelton doffed an imaginary hat. "And I'd prefer to keep it that way."
Hicks looked at him too. "Hey, ain't you that chess champion guy?"
"Yup. And you're the 'falls-for-en-passant-five-times-in-one-game' guy. That was probably the funniest game I've ever played."
Kozlov noticed the bloodied carcass of Oli. "Oli! Oh my God, what have you done to him?"
"I thought bears have good eyesight. Can't you see for yourself?"
Kozlov looked stricken, then turned and glared at Shelton. "You'll pay for that."
The Cobalt Commander stepped forward. "Hey, not until my score's settled. You want to avenge the ostrich, you fight me."
"You two have fun with that." Shelton turned to Kerzach. "Unfortunately, with one computer, you'll have to function more like my assistant than my technician. Sorry about that."
"You think you've won, but you haven't," spat Hicks. "Just you wait until-"
"Hey, Hicks, you know what?"
"What?"
Shelton slid one of Werner's playing cards to land next to Hicks' face. It was a king, and showed a White King from chess. "Scoreboard."
While Hicks and Kozlov were busy hating specific people in the room, Montgomery had disengaged the conversation, and was silently scanning the control room for the datapad...
-
James listened to Shelton. "Guys, I've heard some bad news from Shelton, the cafeteria is out of sensor range. Is everyone okay with that conclusion?"
Zachary nodded. "We cannot be dazed by hunger at a time like this."
-
Vic reloaded his clip after he had fired away at O'Neil when he ran off down the hall. He lost track of the scientist after he turned multiple corners to escape. Somewhat frustrated, he had to regroup with the others as they all started towards the cafeteria.
Dr. Joe puts her gun away when everything began to settle down. She was starting to get thirsty, and with all the terrorists, mad scientists, and evil experiments about, she hopes she also wouldn't die of heat stroke...
Snow kept close to Neku. Nothing has been all that well since the explosion in the lab with Dr. Joe and the others. Hopefully she could get something to eat before she passes out from fear alone.
----------
The experiment listened with his antennae to the conversation outside, his eyes faintly catching sight of the scientists outside. His talons slowly scratched the metal door, making a low screech as it left marks in the steel...
-
Neku took Snow's hand.
"You hungry?"
He asked, fishing inside his vest pocket and producing a candy bar, offering it to Snow.
"Here. This'll help, I think..."
He said, smiling at her...
Hawkeye stood next to Dr. Joe, then looked at her for a moment.
"Doctor. Your body temperature seems to be a little high. Here, take this. It should help, at least a little."
He stated, popping a bottle of chilled water out of a pocket on his armor...
-
James turned to the Dhole. "You said you felt something strange inside the cafeteria?"
The Dhole nodded. "Yeah, like there's something 'extra' there."
"Hmm. We may want to check it out after we eat. Um, did you pick up the extra ammo we confiscated?"
Zachary and the Dhole nodded.
The Dhole sniffed the air. "It smells like O'Neill was here before."
James frowned. "We cannot discount the possibility that O'Neill might try and ambush us."
The Iguana security guard and Zachary readied their weapons.
After a short time the group arrived at a locked door under a sign that bore the words "Double Helix Eatery" superimposed on a stylized DNA strand.
James readied his shotgun as the Dhole tried the door. "No luck." the Dhole said, letting go of the door handle.
James then radioed Shelton. "Shelton, we are at the cafeteria, we need the door unlocked and the lights turned on."
"Something about this place makes me feel uneasy." the Dhole said, looking around. She nervously cradled her rifle. "It doesn't help that O'Neill escaped." she added.
-
There was a whirr and a click emanated behind the doorknob. "You're in," radioed Shelton.
-
James opened the door. "Well, enjoy. And no need to pay."
The Dhole went in and tried the drink refrigerator only to find out that it was locked. She broke the glass door with a chair and took out a bottle of iced tea and drank it.
Zachary went over to the deli cabinet and tried to open it, only to find out that it was locked. He kicked out glass door and took out a grilled portabella mushroom sandwich for himself and a salmon salad sandwich for James.
James accepted the sandwich and began to unwrap it. He looked at the glass shards on the ground. "Custodial is going to flip about this and the mess that we left in the AWTR and the labs."
Zachary began unwrapping his sandwich. "Well, tell them that since we saved their asses, they shouldn't be complaining."
The Dhole kept watch by the entrance. "James, once you're done. Take over for me." She took a swig of the iced tea.
The Iguana guard reached into the broken deli cabinet and retrieved a fish sandwich that he heated in the microwave.
------------
O'Neill left the secret lab through the secret door in the freezer. He crept around the kitchen, he heard the James's voice.
He then hastily reentered the secret lab. "Dr. Zanasiu and his group are in the cafeteria. They may find the lab."
The Deer scientist frowned. "Hmm. I'll prepare a welcoming party for them if they do decide to come. If James gets near the kitchen, toss him into a freezer but not the seafood one."
"Will do." O'Neill said. He then exited the lab and hid in the corners of the kitchen.
The Deer scientist looked over at the group of 7 scientists all armed with shotguns who guarded the entrance foyer.
(OOC - edited this to explain why Zachary and the Dhole broke the windows on the refrigerators.)
-
Snow smiled as she accepted the candy bar and tried it. It at first tasted odd, as she never tried anything like this before. She was warned long before that candy contained ingredients that could make her sick, but she learned what is poisonous and by reading the wrapper she knows this snack food is safe.
Dr. Joe accepted the bottle from Hawkeye and drank some of the chilled water, which began to cool her off. "Thanks," she replied. "I needed that."
Vic looked down the clear doors of the refrigerators at what was there. He pulled the handle of one of the doors...and it opened easily. He then pulled out a Caeser salad and took it to where the others are resting.
----------
The Dragonstorm experiment watched the gathering of scientists and their weapons for what looks like a war. It clicks its talons against the door as it waits...
-
James looked at Vic. "So how's the food?" he said in between bites of his sandwich.
The Iguana guard took his sandwich out of the microwave and sat near the others.
"So, what should are next target be? Search this area for survivors or hit up the sublevels?" Zachary asked.
"I'll call Shelton." James said. He then pulled out his radio.
"Shelton, my group is in the cafeteria, shall we search the cafeteria for possible allies or dangers or shall we immediately head to the sublevels? Also, shall we get you something to eat?" James said into his radio.
--------
Dr. Kerzach glared at the three captives. He then turned to Shelton. "Shelton, I'm going to try and find a computer."
One of the Cobalt soldiers stepped up to Dr. Kerzach. "I'll escort you Doctor."
-
"Awesome," Shelton called back to Kerzach. "Just make sure it isn't one of the Lisas from the staff room."
Shelton pondered the food question. "Maybe a bag of salt and vinegar chips, if they have those? Last time I checked the chef said they hadn't been restocked.
"And I can't imagine there'll be anything important in the cafeteria; if you're snacking on food, that probably means the terrorists didn't even bother invading it. But if you want to relax a bit before braving the sublevels, that'd be understandable. Heck, you wouldn't catch me dead entering the sublevels with less than a squadron of machine gun-toting Green Berets."
-
"Will do." Dr. Kerzach replied, "I'll see if I can get some of the computers from the presentation hall."
He and his escort left the control room and headed to the presentation hall. It was unlocked and Dr. Kerzach's escort entered but there was no gunfire and Dr. Kerzach followed.
He looked around, several laptops were scattered on the tables. "Hmm. One of the scientists must have been presenting something when the attack happened." he said to himself.
He selected the nearest laptop and took it, along with its charger. He then left the presentation hall.
"Got the computer, Doctor?" the Cobalt soldier asked.
"Yes." Dr. Kerzach responded.
Dr. Kerzach and his escort returned to the control room. He placed the laptop on a table, plugged it in and booted it up.
"Okay, Shelton. I have a laptop. It's from the presentation hall and it's probably another scientist's but hey. It looks like a presentation was going on before the attack." Dr. Kerzach said. "Tell me what to do."
----------
James radioed Shelton back. "We never know. It would be wise to search everywhere."
The Dhole tapped James.
James got up, readied his shotgun, tipped over a table and took up a defensive position behind it.
"Hey, Zach! Mind giving me an extra gun?" James said.
Zachary finished off his portabella mushroom sandwich, readied his M-16 and took up a defensive position near James.
The Dhole checked her pockets to ensure she had enough ammo. "Yep. I'm good for another shootout, thanks to those scientists and their ammo." She tapped one of the confiscated magazines.
Zachary took out one of the confiscated magazines and tapped it. "Yep. I'm good too."
James checked his pockets and the magazine of his shotgun. "I'm good too."
--------
O'Neill waited in the corners of the kitchen. He swapped his Remington 870 shotgun for a SIG-Sauer P229 pistol chambered in .357 SIG.
He checked the magazine.
"I know you're here James. Come and get me" he whispered.
-
Shelton shrugged. "Knock yourself out. But if you're gonna stay a while, make sure to try an appliance and see if the power is still on in that area. Knowing whether the stoves and blenders are working might provide an edge in a tight situation."
"How?"
Shelton thought about it. "Beats me. I'm just throwing out an idea. Knowledge is power, you know. Shelton out."
Shelton turned to Kerzach. "First, we need to get you control of all the base's functioning systems. Log off whatever that guy was doing, and hack yourself into the main network. You can use my late technician's password if need be."
-
Vic rarely had a bite of his salad when he saw some of the others immediately readying their weapons for another skirmish, and he raised his weapon and crouched between two tables, tipping them both over in opposite directions.
Dr. Joe and Snow tipped over another table and hid behind it, the scientist pulling out her handgun.
----------
There was a long silence since the gunfire ended until the hitman finally turned away and holstered his weapons. "Have we heard anything from Cale yet?"
-
The Dhole wrinkled her nose. "I smell O'Neill."
James and Zachary looked around. "Strange, I don't see him." James replied.
"Maybe we should see if everything works here."Zachary said.
"Why not? I'll get the kitchen. Zach, you take the the dining area."
James headed to the kitchen with his shotgun at the ready. "It looks fine in here."
He turned on the stove and found that they worked.
He then entered the walk-in freezer and proceeded to check for anything suspicious. Suddenly, there was a click and the door locked behind him. He turned around at the noise and noticed the face of O'Neill leering at him through the window.
"O'Neill, you bastard!" James shouted. He raised his shotgun and fired, breaking the glass window but missing O'Neill. He then tried the door but noticed that O'Neill had wedged a nearby table in such a way that it was impossible to open the door.
James quickly pulled out his radio and radioed Zachary. "O'Neill is in the cafeteria! I don't know if he's armed but I'm sure he is. Shoot him if you see him!" He then switched frequencies. "Shelton, O'Neill is still alive and he was in the cafeteria. And the stove works. And I'm currently stuck in the freezer."
"How'd O'Neill get in here when it was locked?" Zachary asked.
"I don't know but we have orders to shoot on sight." the Iguana security guard said, readying his weapon.
---------
Dr. Kerzach logged off the computer and logged on under the systems administrator's account. "Ok, Shelton. I'm currently using the systems admin's account."
-
"I have some C-4 with me we could use that to get James out of the freezer,' hans said after hearing james on the raido.
-
(OOC: Serris, Zachary mentions himself in the 3rd person near the end of your post. Did you mean O'Neill?"
"The others need him right now," said Shelton. "James, all walk-in freezers by law need to have an emergency release switch somewhere on the inside. Look for a flourescent lever or a knob that turns, proabably somewhere near the door. Since the stove was still working, it's a good sign that the release switch will be too."
He turned to Kerzach. "See if you have can find a way to interact with the remote systems active around the base, especially the exterior motion sensors. The terrorists identified my IP address early on and blocked it."
Shelton turned to Hans. "If James is stuck in the freezer, he may need help. If you want to head down and help, I'm sure he'd be grateful."
"We'd go with you," said a Cobalt soldier earnestly, the others nodded their head.
-
James radioed Shelton. "It doesn't matter. I looked outside after I shot out the window; O'Neill blocked the door with a table. I'm not strong enough to push it aside."
-----
Dr. Kerzach tapped a few keys and a list of the active sensors showed up. He looked at the screen.
"Shelton, most of the exterior motion sensors have been destroyed or rendered nonfunctional by damage. Most of the life signs sensors in the complex have suffered the same fate." Dr. Kerzach said
Suddenly the screen flashed a warning message.
"Shelton, the exterior motion sensors in the main hanger are reporting activity."
-
"That means a bunch of people either just entered or just left the hangar bay. The terrorists are up to something. See if you can find out what. If you can hack into a voice recognition device and activate it, we might be able to hear what's being said. Good luck."
Shelton switched gears. "James, so you don't freeze to death, you should find the temperature control module. If there's no on/off switch, you'll need to adjust the reading manually. Then I guess you're reduced to sniping through the little window, unless you can reach the table or shoot out its legs, from in there."
-
Hans picked up a bag by the door containing the C-4 and his AK-47 "So Dr. Kerzach I guess we'd better get to the cafertira,' hans said.
-
James was shivering by now. "I swear, I'll kill O'Neill for this." He then listened to Shelton and found the temperature control module. He quickly turned the freezer off.
O'Neill was creeping around the cafeteria. "If I take out that Dhole, maybe they'll lose a sense." He took out his pistol and crept closer to the Dhole. But he was soon detected.
"Someone's near." The Dhole said.
The Iguana guard and Zachary turned around but saw nothing.
-----------
Dr. Kerzach looked at Hans. "Do you know where the cafeteria is?" He then turned his attention to the computer. He highlighted an item labeled "Main hanger auditory sensor #16" and clicked it. He soon had the words of the terrorists on the screen.
"Shelton, the sensor's pretty damaged so not much is coming through. I can tell you that the words that made it through are troubling, 'experiment quarters', 'Cale', 'sublevels', 'mirror', 'Einstein' and 'bridge'." Dr. Kerzach said.
-
"Yeah I know where it is,' hans said. "What about me,' werner asked. "You are staying here where you're safe,' hans said.
-
Snow's sensitive nose also picked up an odd scent, and motioned to Vic, who saw her and nodded. From his belt, he grabbed a flash grenade and positioned himself against the table he took cover behind. As Dr. Joe and Snow covered their ears, the soldier pulled the pin and tossed it over the barrier. The canister gave one metallic bounce before exploding...
----------
Although the noise was faint, the Dragonstorm experiment clearly picked up the explosion with its antennae. Whatever it was, it was very close...
----------
The terrorist hitman turned his head as he too caught the muffled noise of a loud explosion. This is not where the others are, he thought....
-
Zachary, the Dhole and the Iguana guard covered their ears as Vic threw the flash grenade.
After it exploded, they rushed behind the sculpture and found a dazed O'Neill.
Zachary dragged O'Neill to his feet as the guard and the Dhole trained their weapons on him. They then marched O'Neill to Vic.
"Sit." the Dhole commanded.
O'Neill remained standing.
"Sit." the Dhole commanded. She trained her rifle on him and the Iguana guard trained his shotgun on him.
"Vic! We found our interloper, O'Neill." Zachary said.
The Dhole kept her weapon on O'Neill. "Now, I have a few questions to ask. Why were you in this cafeteria?"
"To get something to eat." O'Neill replied.
"The cafeteria was locked when we came in. I know you are hiding something."
"What?!"
"Cut the crap. You locked James in the freezer so he'd be out of your way. You want those Dragonstorm notes."
"What the hell are you talking about you crazy dog?!"
"Not a Dragonstorm researcher huh? Explain why you, Kozlov, Montgomery and Hicks took James hostage."
While the Dhole was interrogating O'Neill, the Iguana radioed Shelton.
"This is Foxtrot 1." The guard said.
"Come in Foxtrot 1." Shelton's voice said over the radio.
"We have captured O'Neill. He is being interrogated but we aren't getting anywhere. Over." the guard put away his radio and went up to Vic.
"Vic, should we transport this prisoner down to Dr. Shelton?"
James heard a loud explosion from the dining area. "Oh, great. Now terrorists are attacking."
----------
The Brown Bear terrorist also turned his head. "It sounds like someone's near, but not any of ours."
Another terrorist, a muscular light-skinned man suddenly pounded his fist on the table. "Damn it! He's been screwing around with that bridge thingy for what seems like days! What are we supposed to do?! We know from the survivors or should I say, survivor of the shootout at the AWTR that these scientists are tough foes. If we don't kill the scientists now, they'll find US and kill US!"
-
"Dr. Kerzach I can go to the cafeteria with or without you you gonna be staying here,' Hans asked. "I'd like to go,' werner said. "No I want you to stay here son,' hans said. "But just in case' hans said throwing a PPK that was on the control panel "I'd like you to have this just in case these dragon storm scientists come here.'
-
"I'm against it," Vic replied. Too many prisoners near our eyes and ears is too great a risk, he thought.
Dr. Joe had an idea. "I agree," she added. "We need to start getting answers anyway."
----------
"I think these scientists are fighting amongst themselves," the hitman thought outloud. "But if they can indeed last this long, then they do pose a threat. We must make sure they don't meet with Cale..." He paused for a moment. "We let the other sublevel monsters loose..."
-
"Hans, I must stay here. I cannot use a gun." Dr. Kerzach said.
------------
The Iguana guard looked at Vic then O'Neill. "I'm with Vic on this one. It's too much of a risk to place this prisoner with the others. Even with Hans, Werner and the Cobalt Squad, they could still pose a serious risk. Especially O'Neill, I used to be a Las Vegas police officer and I know from experience that when a draft Horse clashes with a Human, the draft Horse almost always wins." he said.
The Dhole kept her rifle on O'Neill. "So what do we do? Lock him in a freezer?"
Zachary turned to Dr. Joe. "Dr. Joe? What should we do with him. Interrogate him here and lock him in a freezer or let the Cobalt Squad interrogate him?
------------
The muscular terrorist blanched. "We do WHAT!? Those sublevel freaks are a greater danger to us than to the scientists!"
-
"Alright then I will be back after freeing james from the freezer,' hans said walking out the door.
-
"Bye," waved Shelton, as he and the Cobalts trouped out of the room.
"Uh...shouldn't the soldiers stay with us?"
"Why?" asked Shelton. He looked at the prisoners. "It's still three-on three. And they're all tied up. Kerzach, lemme borrow that headset."
He listened in on the activity in the main hall, frowning slightly. "There's the name 'Einstein' again...maybe they're building an atomic bomb?" he guessed.
-
Hans started walking down the stairs to the cafeteria keeping his AK-47 at the ready.
-
Dr. Joe paused. "Well, we can simply drop him off in the sublevels," she answered. "Maybe someone down there knows him..."
"That actually sounds like a good idea," Vic said as the laser sight of his gun rested on the rogue scientist's chest. "I hope someone down there likes you."
----------
"The freaks down there are the scientists' creations," the hitman said without changing his tone. "And we'll be certain that they become the scientists' undoing..."
-
"I've got an idea for what to do with him,' hans said over the raido.
-
Zachary's radio crackled. He picked it up and heard Hans's voice.
"Ok, what do you plan to do with him? We were going to leave him in the sublevels or the freezer but if you want, we can hand him over to you. See if you can get anything from him." Zachary said, after listening to Hans.
The Dhole kept her rifle trained on O'Neill. "You're in luck, we've arranged a little 'trip' for you."
--------
Dr. Kerzach shook his head. "I don't think Pelvanida stores enough nuclear material to make a bomb."
-
"Just keep him there I'll deal with him after we get james out of the freezer,' hans replied.
-
"They could create nuclear materials, but it would take forever to get a sizeable amount, unless..." murmured Shelton. He suddenly snapped his fingers, spun around, and started clicking on his laptop.
"What?"
"I think they made some experimental case back in '01 that could convert regular matter into a new form. I don't think it was nuclear isotopes, but it might have been something similar..."
-
"10-4," Vic replied to Hans, and then turned to Snow, Neku, and Kagetora. "See if you can find James in the freezer. He'll need help getting out."
-
Hans finished walking down the stairs and walked into the cafeteria. "Well we gonna get james out of the freezer or what,' hans asked carrying the bag of c-4 over his shoulder.
-
"Go for it!" Zachary said.
"Need any help?" the Dhole asked.
---------------------------
The muscular man slammed his fist into the table. "Damn it! I'm not going to wait until that damned bridge is built to get some action."
"It seems like there are scientists in the cafeteria. Maybe we can eliminate them?" another terrorist, a black Panther said.
The man grinned. "Good idea."
Another terrorist radioed the squad in the sublevels. "Release the sublevel experiments."
"What the hell!?" the voice came back.
"Do it!"
The man turned to his fellows. "Ok, there are some scientists in the cafeteria. We lead an attack."
Another terrorist, a Golden Retriever looked around nervously. "Are you sure? These scientists are almost like soldiers."
"We've killed soldiers before."
"Ok, fair enough."
The man readied his weapon, an AK-47. "We ready to go?"
The terrorists nodded and headed out towards the cafeteria.
-------
Dr. Kerzach looked at Shelton. "I have worked in the sublevels before and I know about the experiments there. What else do you remember about this experiment. I may be able to find the information in the Pelvandia Complex's data files."
(OOC - If no one minds, I'm going to have the terrorists attack the group inside the cafeteria and I'm going to get O'Neill to be "allied" temporarily during this attack.)
-
(I don't mind) Hans made his way to the kitchen and got on his raido "there are four freezers here james which one are you stuck in bang on the door if you have anything heavy so I can locate you,' hans said.
-
James listened to Hans over the radio.
"Hans, look for the freezer with the window shot out and a table in front of it." he said.
-
Hans looked to his left and found the door and place a some what large piece of C-4 on the table "You might wanna cover you ears,' hans said on the raido finishing the final hook ups for the charges.
-
(OOC - F-22, there's a table blocking the door.)
James nodded and took cover behind a shelf containing frozen vegetables. He covered his ears.
-
(OCC :slap I'll edit my previous post) Hans pushed the button after getting under coving blowing up the table and blowing the door off it's hinges.
-
James waited until the roar of the explosion died down. He walked out through the remains of the door and the table.
"Thank you Hans. I'll take you to our prisoner if you want." James said, slinging his shotgun across his back.
-
"Yeah I left the others in the cafeteria in charge till we get back so it would be good to check on them,' hans said.
-
Shelton sat back. "Aha." He tapped the profile photo, a grainy, sepia image of a thin, wiry man. "Robert Ludlow, more commonly known as 'Lockdown.' Since nobody bothered with records back then, we don't know exactly how Ludlow's chemistry was altered, but he remains the only non-integrated surviving experiment from the 90's."
"What can he do?"
"He apparently can transmogrify matter into anti-matter. Obviously, this caused a whole lot of problems, and an executive order from President Bush in 2001 required that he be kept under constant surveillance and in isolated confinement. That's where the nickname came from." Shelton looked up. "If the terrorists got their hands on him, that would be really, really bad."
---------
In the hangar, the terrorist commander eyed the shivering, cowed man standing in front of him. "Good job, Cale. Tie him up and keep him somewhere for when we're ready for his services."
-
As Hans left the others to break out James from the freezer, Vic continued to watch O'Neill.
Snow, who stayed as Hans was using explosives to blast James' cell opened, caught a whiff of a scent and wrinkled her nose. "Something's coming this way," she said. "It smells bad, too."
----------
The terrorist hitman held the rear of the group as they headed towards the base's cafeteria...when he suddenly and silently made a left turn down another hallway into the darkness...
----------
After waiting through a few tense minutes of silence, the experiment caught another sound of a smaller but more destructive explosion outside the lab...
-
Shelton suddenly gaped when he glanced at the radar. "Holy crap!"
"What?" radioed back a Cobalt soldier, the last to arrive at the cafeteria.
"The number of life signs on the radar just jumped by about 80%! I don't know where they came from, but all of them are sprinting right towards your position!"
-
"Alright I think we should prepare for a fight what do you all say,' hans asked as he walked into the dinning area of the cafeteria.
-
Zachary saw James. "Hey, James! You're all right!"
"It takes a lot more than a freezer and a pissed off draft horse to take this biologist down." James said defiantly, looking at O'Neill.
The Dhole noticed a pistol sticking out of O'Neill's lab coat. "Give me the pistol."
O'Neill complied and handed the pistol to the Dhole, who placed it on a table.
A Cobalt Soldier burst into the cafeteria.
"So any news?"
"There's a large squad of what I assume are terrorists heading this way." he said.
James looked at the rest of the group. "We have an impending assault. Take defensive positions and fire at will."
Zachary, the Dhole and Iguana guard readied their weapons and took cover behind the overturned tables. James took up a defensive position behind an overturned table about 30 feet from the door. The Cobalt soldier took cover behind the sculpture.
The first terrorist to enter the room saw O'Neill and fired but missed. James took out the man with two quick shotgun blasts to the torso.
At the sound of the gunshot, more terrorists rushed in and started shooting.
The Dhole and Zachary each took out 3 terrorists with a short borst from their weapons.
The Cobalt soldier also fired at the terrorists.
"Watch the back!" the Iguana guard shouted over the gunfire.
Zachary nodded and shot a terrorist who was trying to flank them. The Dhole shot another terrorist who attempted the same maneuver.
The Cobalt soldier shot a terrorist who was attempting to throw a grenade, he ducked behind the sculpture and reloaded. He heard some bullets bounce off the sculpture.
The Dhole shot a terrorist who was trying to flank James.
---------
Dr. Kerzach tried to radio James. "This is Kerzach, we have gleaned data on a sublevel experiment named Robert Ludlow, alias 'Lockdown'. He can convert matter into antimatter. Make sure he is safe."
He got nothing except the sound of shouting and gunfire.
He then turned to Shelton. "How powerful are Lockdown's transmutation powers? Like how much matter can he convert at once? I looked through the database and there were almost no records on him or for that matter, any experiments made before 1999."
-
(Just a Heads up. I won't be on for...a while... so Neku, Kagetora, and Hawkeye are up for open use. I'll be back...I hope... :cry :cry )
-
Hans fired his AK taking down two terrosists before leaping over the counter where he found an old style double barreled shotgun which he picked up before running out from behind letting loose two bursts of of fire before taking cover behind an over turned table "I just found a shot gun and need some rounds for it can ya give me some james,' hans yelled out over the gun fire.
-
James fished out 4 shotgun shells and rolled them to Hans. He then took out a terrorist with a point blank shotgun blast to the chest.
The Dhole and Iguana guard fired several shots, killing several terrorists.
O'Neill took advantage of the chaos to retrieve his pistol.
The Dhole saw a terrorist about to lob a grenade at James but she heard several gunshots behind her and the terrorist fell to the ground. She turned around to see O'Neill with the pistol she had confiscated.
"I thought you wanted James to die?" the Dhole asked.
"Listen, I couldn't care less about James. I just want to save my own ass." O'Neill spat. He then took aim and shot another terrorist in the stomach 4 times.
"Suit yourself. I'm just happy we got some backup." the Dhole said. She fired off the rest of her magazine, killing a terrorist with several shots to the torso. She crouched behind the table and reloaded. Two shotgun blasts struck the steel table.
Zachary glared at O'Neill but he still managed to shoot a terrorist. He ducked just in time to avoid a shotgun blast but the metal fragments sprayed out from the impact site. His lab coat and goggles protected him from injury though.
-
Hans loaded both barrels of the shot gun and fired at a terrorist hitting him "Eat lead,' hans shouted.
-
"Like I told you," Shelton said to Kerzach, "the personnel back then sucked at record-keeping, so I can only tell you what was mentioned in online diaries. Dr. Richard Anderson on September 22, 1995 mentions Lockdown turning a cabinet into an equivalent amount of anti-matter, which instantly broke up into nonexistent ether particles due to insufficient atmospheric pressure to maintain cohesion. Earnest MacElroy, his assistant, shares a similar story a month later with a clipboard. Seems like Lockdown can only take individual objects and transmute them into a proportional amount of anti-matter, which, at only 1 atm, soon vaporizes."
-
Hans saw a dead terrorist with a shot gun and several shells laying nearby "I need some covering fire,' hans yelled out before letting out another burst of automatic fire with his AK.
-
James nodded and emptied his shotgun into the mass of terrorists, striking several of them. He crouched behind the table and reloaded. "Great, I'm almost out. Hans! I need some more shotgun shells." He then sw
O'Neill fired his pistol into the mass of terrorists. He crouched behind the table and reloaded.
The Dhole stood up and fired several shots into a terrorist killing him.
Zachary also fired several rounds.
Kagetora sneaked behind some terrorists and shot them. He kicked another terrorist and put a few rounds of 9 mm into his chest.
The Iguana security guard shot another terrorist.
--------
Dr. Kerzach radioed Zachary. "Zachary! We need you guys to search the sublevels for 'Lockdown'."
Zachary's voice came over the radio. "We're a little busy. We got ambushed by terrorists!" Several gunshots were heard.
"Zachary! Are you okay?"
Zachary's voice came back on. "Yeah. I just shot some terrorists."
-
"Zach," said Shelton, "the only thing I could do for you is shut the blast doors. That'd prevent any more from getting in, but you'll be trapped in there too."
"That'd be nice," replied Neku, "But either way we won't be heading for the sublevels any time soon. Sorry."
"Roger. Good luck." Shelton sat back, severing the connection. "Let's get some terrorist audio on file, in case they say something we might need later." Shelton ejected a disc from his laptop and replaced it with a blank music CD. "You never know."
"But our connection is glitchy at best. We can barely hear individual words, much less information specifically on Lockdown. We need someone to search the sublevels. We'll just have to-"
"Wait," Shelton interrupted, snapping his fingers. "I got it. Even if they're trapped," he opened his radio flashlight. "There's at least one other person who isn't."
He switched frequencies. "Syberis, come in. Syberis, do you read?"
Behind him, Montgomery suddenly perked up. He had spotted the Dragonstorm disc, now sitting inches from Shelton's left hand...
-
Hans ran forward and snatched the shotgun shells off the dead terrorist before running back behind his cover where he threw 8 shells to james.
-
James quickly picked up the shells and reloaded. "Thanks!" He then aimed and killed another terrorist with a shot to the head.
Zachary and the Dhole were still firing. A pile of spent casings was at their feet.
"How many terrorists are there?" Zachary asked. He swapped out an empty magazine of his M-16 for a new one.
James grabbed a nearby terrorist's rifle and pulled his body behind cover where he ransacked it.
He came away with 4 M-16 magazines of 30 rounds each. "Zach! Need more ammo?"
Zachary nodded. "Yeah! Send it over!"
James slid the magazines to Zachary.
---------
Siberys was in the hallways looking for James and his companions. Suddenly his radio crackled. He picked it up.
"Shelton this is Siberys. What do you need?"
-
Vic hid behind one of the tables as the fight began, popping up every now and then to fire at the terrorists.
Dr. Joe turned and fired just as a terrorist cleared over a table, striking him dead in the air.
Snow hid next to Neku while the battle escalates...
----------
The hitman silently maneuvered his way around the battle zone, making his own way towards the control room...
-
"Damn, where have you been this whole time?" Shelton exclaimed. "We need somebody to check out the sublevels, and check on the inhabitant of cell 8Z. Are you in any position to do that?"
-
" I was lost. I am currently in position to check the sublevels. Though I do not have clearance to do so. I do believe James does though." Siberys said.
-
Siberys followed the signs until he arrived near the heavy steel door that was labeled "Sublevels. Authorized Personnel only."
Siberys radioed the control room. "This is Siberys. I am at the sublevel entrance," He tried to open the door only to have it lock on him. "And I can't get in."
Dr. Kerzach radioed Siberys. "Siberys, I have clearance to enter the sublevels, unfortunately my ID was stolen. I'll see if I can bypass the security system."
Dr. Kerzach tapped a few keys until he got to the security systems control panel. He grabbed a dead technician's USB memory stick and inserted it into the computer. The computer let him access the control panel. He quickly disabled the lock on the sublevels.
He radioed Siberys "This is Dr. Kerzach, you are now in. Keep me in communications at all times. I'll guide you."
Siberys nodded and pushed a button near the door. The heavy door slid open with a groan. He gulped as he noticed the staircase descending into what seemed like a well lit abyss.
------
James kept shooting at the terrorists. He noticed that the group had thinned substantially.
O'Neill had run out of ammo for his pistol and was now using a terrorist's H&K MP-5 SMG. He fired off a short burst from his weapon and caught a terrorist in the stomach, causing him to accidentally shoot a female terrorist in the neck. He crouched behind a table as a female terrorist sent two shotgun blasts his way.
The Dhole and Zachary were down to their last magazines and were almost buried in spent brass. The Dhole and Zachary simultaneous popped up and put several rounds in two terrorists with a short burst of fire.
The Iguana guard radioed Shelton. "This is Foxtrot 1. The terrorist forces in the cafeteria have thinned out. We should be finished soon. What is our next destination? Foxtrot 1 out." He popped up and caught a terrorist in the chest with a shotgun blast.
(OOC - Starfall, would you like your characters back now?)
-
Hawkeye leaned out from the table he was hiding behind, firing a set of rounds into a terrorist.
"Antimatter? That seems an odd ability for the terrorists to pursue. Any clue why they needed it?"
He said over his comlink to Shelton...
Neku reached out with his mind, turning several terrorists bullets back on them, killing them quickly.
"You okay, Snow?"
He asked her, ducking back under cover...
-
"Awesome," said Shelton. He brought up the virtual map. "James you still got the map I gave you? Next, I vote we move on to the--"
"NOW!" yelled Kozlov, ripping the rope bindings off his arms. Shelton swiveled around, but had barely gotten out of his chair when Kozlov hit him with a fully-charged uppercut. Shelton pinwheeled into the far wall and crumpled to the ground, knocked out.
Werner pulled out his side pistol and let loose. Three shots buried themselves into Kozlov's side before it was wrenched out of his hand. Kozlov fired a shot at Kerzach, blowing up the monitor near him. Kerzach fell backwards through a maze of sparks.
With one claw, Kozlov freed Montgomery and Hicks, taking care to keep the ropes long.
"Tie up those two," he ordered, referring to Karzach and Werner. He went over and sat down in Shelton's chair. "Let's give Zanasiu a little Congratulations gift."
(OOC: I hope you two don't mind I borrowed your characters for a second. I made sure not to hurt them or anything. And the reason for incapacitating Shelton: I will be gone from this board indefinitely, so I took my character out of the mix. If you want him back, just have him wake up. I don't mind. See you all! Keep up this great RP! :wave)
-
(OCC: I don't mind) Hans heard the commontion on the raido and shouted "What's going on up,' there before fireing his AK until it jammed.
-
(OOC - Neither do I. I'm actually going to work with that.)
Dr. Kerzach reached for his switchblade as he tried to stand up. He pulled it out and brandished it as he staggered to his feet.
He tried to stab Kozlov but Montgomery and Hicks tackled him from behind and wrenched the knife away from him. They soon pinned him to the ground and tied him up.
Kozlov, clutching his side, looked at Werner. "It takes a lot more than that to take a Brown Bear down!" He then tried to tackle Werner.
-
Werner dodged Kozlovs attack and pulled a knife and threw it at Hicks.
-
"I'll feel better when this is over..." Snow replied.
Vic ducked under as he checked his magazine. "You know," he thought outloud. "I think we may be putting a dent in their numbers now. It took them this long to find us out."
Dr. Joe fired several more rounds before taking cover. "OR we're just playing with a rogue group of trigger-happy terrorists..."
----------
Just then, two laser sights bounced off the wall and rested on Koslov's head. "You're right," a dark voice replied. "But that's no problem for me..."
The hitman, with silenced automatic handguns in each hand, lets loose a volley of muffled gunfire...
(OOC: No one minds if the terrorist kills someone before being shot himself? He's up for death in the control room.)
-
Hans switch to the shotgun and fired a barrel at two terrorists wounding both of them in the legs.
-
Kozlov fell as the bullets struck him.
Montgomery and Hicks glared at the gunman. "You're next!" the gunman snarled.
Unknown to the gunman, the channels were still open allowing James and his group to hear everything.
----------
James shot and killed the final terrorist when the radio came on. He heard muffled gunfire through the radio.
"We need to move to the control room!" James shouted.
"I thought we have to go to the sublevels?" Zachary said.
"Shelton is under attack!"
James then radioed Siberys. "Siberys, forget about the sublevels for now! Shelton is under attack."
"What about me?" O'Neill asked.
James glared at him. "Stay here! We don't trust you enough"
James, Zachary and the Dhole began to leave the cafeteria.
----------
Siberys nodded and he left the entrance to the sublevels and headed to Shelton's control room.
-
Hans stood in in front of O'Neill watching his every move with his shotgun slung over his left shoulder.
-
The hitman fired at the armed scientist with one and fired a sweep of bullets across the computers with the other as he continued the attack...
----------
Vic followed James to the control room, while Dr. Joe examined her ammunition.
Snow got up next to Neku as the battle ended.
-
Suddenly, the hooded figure struck, his sword piercing the other assassin's chest.
"Rest easy. You've fulfilled your duty. Now die quietly."
He said, eyes gleaming under his hood...
Kagetora wheeled about, facing the figure.
"You...I realize that voice...Murakami!"
He said, drawing his swords and facing the figure...
_________________________________________________________________________
Hawkeye ducked next to Dr. Joe.
"I hope that's not the case. If it is, we have problems. They seem too organized to be a random group."
He said, leaning out to fire another burst of rounds at his foes...
Neku tried to smile at Snow.
"Yeah...I agree. But right now, I guess we're stuck in this hell. The only thing we can be glad for is that we...have each other."
He said, patting her shoulder gently...
-
James, Zachary and the Dhole all quickly readied their weapons. Siberys, not having a gun, telekinetically ripped a piece of rebar from a rubble pile. He caught the rebar and brandished it.
James looked at Murakami then Kagetora. "Kagetora, you know this man? Why's he here?" He kept his shotgun at the ready.
Montgomery and Hicks were crouched behind some wrecked computers. Dr. Kerzach was between them. Montgomery had the confiscated switchblade held to Dr. Kerzach's throat.
Kozlov's bullet riddled body was near the unconscious Shelton.
-
Hans sat down on a stool while keeping his eye on O'Neill "So what made you join,' hans asked him.
-
The hitman's lifeless body dropped to his knees before falling forward feet away from where Shelton and Koslov lay on the glass-covered floor.
Vic also readied his weapon as the group encountered the sword-wielding terrorist in the control room. He caught a glimpse of Dr. Kerzach and the remaining Dragonstorm scientists nearby behind cover, and then to Shelton on the floor. "Zach, James, Kagetora," he whispered, "Shelton's still alive, but he won't be for long if this nut starts swinging away. If someone can distract him, I'll grab him and get him out."
----------
"Are you serious?!" Dr. Joe argued. "You're actually going to question him?! He tried to have us killed off! We can't trust him."
-
"Never the less we still have to treat him like a human being,' hans shot back at dr joe. "If we just start to beat him we're just stooping ourselves to his level,' hans said.
-
Zachary looked icily at the new ninja. "So what brings you here? Are you after the scientists or did you just come here to cause trouble?" He readied his rifle. The Iguana guard and the Dhole aimed their weapons at Murakami.
The Dhole glared at Murakami and bared her teeth. "Drop your weapon and step away from the scientists." she commanded, keeping her rifle trained on Murakami.
-
(OOC: I thought James is in the control room.)
"Do I look like I want him tortured?!" Dr. Joe nearly screamed that time. Snow moved in to hold her back from Hans.
----------
Vic also has his gun on the swordsman, but he started to move around the side to get himself some room to get to Shelton...
-
Murakami smirked wickedly.
"Oh, the only reason I'm here is to kill one person. That's you, Kagetora. A certain someone wants you dead very badly..."
He chuckled, eyes glinting red under his hood...
Kagetora simply faced him, swords held ready...
_________________________________________________________________________
Neku turned to see Dr. Joe lunge, and quickly created temporary Kinetic restraints around her arms and legs.
Hawkeye placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eyes.
"Dr. Joe. I can understand your anger, but that isn't justification to fly off the handle like this. We have to keep our heads if we want to survive here..."
He said, gently...
-
(OOC - Fixed continuity error. James is now in the control room as he should be.)
James kept his weapon on Murakami. "So who would that 'someone' be? Is it the same people who invaded Pelvanida, killed the scientists and experiments?!" he demanded.
The Dhole kept her rifle on Murakami. "Fight with Kagetora, fight with all of us!"
Zachary nodded and bought his rifle to bear.
-
Dr. Joe looked at the others until she stopped at Snow, who looked back with a worried look. The scientist finally calmed down and turned to Neku. "Let me go, please..."
----------
Vic inched his way to the side of the confrontation, now in view of the scientists hiding behind the pile of rubble, but he keeps his gun trained on the terrorist assassin. This is not one to keep his eyes off of...
-
"Let's try and stay on the same side here," said the Cobalt soldier nervously, pistol still held with both hands and pointed at O'Neill. "Otherwise we'd be playing right into their hands..."
-
(OOC - Siberys is already at the control room.)
O'Neill looked at the Cobalt Squad soldier. His SMG was still in his hand. "Fine. Only because there's terrorists running around."
-------------
Montgomery and Hicks looked at Vic. "Looking for someone?" Hicks said icily.
-
(OOC: Should I wait for the situation to resolve itself in the control room before waking Shelton up? Or can I revive him now? Most definitely the bad guy would hold him hostage if he wakes up now.)
The Cobalt commander and the other Cobalts marched into the cafeteria. "There you are, mate," smiled one of them at the first. "Here we're marching through the base to find you, and you're getting a bite to eat!"
The Commander looked at the carnage around the room, the subdued O'Neill, and at Dr. Joe being held back by Neku. "...Did we miss something?" he asked.
-
"Only the terrorists trying to take this part of the base,' hans said.
-
Vic turned with his rifle towards the scientists behind the rubble, his sight bouncing off their heads. He's at a good distance away so they can't easily spring out and attack without him putting holes in them. This position also keeps them from flanking his friends or making a quick escape out the only way out. But his quick assessment of the deadliest of enemies in this room caused him to turn his gun back to the assassin...
----------
Snow, still next to Dr. Joe, turns her head to Neku. "Please, Neku. She's as tired and stressed like the rest of us. She's nothing like the terrorists, or these rogue scientists."
-
Shelton groaned quietly, getting to his knees and rubbing his head. "Ow, what hit me?" he muttered.
In a flash, the assassin grabbed him around the neck, hoisted him up, and slid his katana to within a millimeter of his neck. "Nobody move, or he dies," Murakami ordered, eyes glinting.
(OOC: Just wanted to get this RP moving again. If StarfallRaptor had other plans for the character, or Serris had other plans for the RP, than I can delete this post)
-
"Murakami, what is it you want?" James said looking straight into the assassin's eyes. James's voice showed no sign of fear.
Zachary turned to Siberys. "Hey, do think you can pull something off?"
Siberys nodded. "We have to wait until he's distracted."
-
(It's good. Sorry I haven't been here.)
Murakami smiled.
"The only thing I want is to kill Kagetora. After all, he betrayed the clan, and as such...must die."
He said, looking at Shelton, lightly prodding his neck with the sword.
"Of course, you can resist, and watch this man die..."
____________________________________________________________________
Neku nodded.
"Right. Sorry, Doctor. Guess we're all tired..."
He said, releasing the restraints with a small sigh, looking away at the ground...
-
"So you're not after the experiments?" James said.
Zachary looked at Murakami. His rifle was at his side but he still kept his eye on Murakami.
Siberys brandished his piece of rebar like a sword.
The Dhole looked at Kagetora. "I'm confused. What clan? I thought you came with the Cobalt Squad." She then shifted her icy predatory gaze to Murakami. "Regardless, let Shelton go." she said. She bared her teeth in a predatory grin and readied her rifle.
--------
Dr. Kerzach looked at Montgomery and Hicks. "Please, let me go. You are being targeted."
"By who?" Montgomery chuckled.
"Look at the rubble pile."
Montgomery and Hicks looked and they saw a rifle barrel pointed straight at them.
"Is that Zanasiu?" Hicks demanded.
Dr. Kerzach grinned. "Nope."
-
Shelton looked around wide-eyed at his companions. "What the hell does this guy want?" he demanded. "And why aren't we giving it to him?"
"He wants Kagetora's life," said Syberis.
"Well, obviously he doesn't expect Kagetora to just keel over and die!" snapped Shelton. "He wants to duel or something, and I for one say we give him that chance before he gets any more irritated and kills me instead!"
-
Kagetora looked at Murakami, lowering his rifle and drawing his twin katana.
"Murakami. I invoke the ancient right of Tenchu! We duel to the death, here and now. No hostages, and no interference. If you win, then you will have the honor of avenging the clan. If not, then you will die for naught. Do you accept?"
He said, aiming one at his opponent...
Murakami smirked, then threw Shelton against a nearby pile of rubble.
"I accept the right. We will duel now. And by the way, Dog, Kagetora is far from a member of the Cobalt Squad. He is nothing but trash. A rouge from the Vigoorian Empire and the Black Spider clan."
He said, holding his sword ready...
-
"Oh what hit me,' werner asked waking up and putting his hand on his forehead.
-
"My thoughts exactly," agreed Shelton, rolling over to hide behind the rubble. "Welcome to the land of the living. Now take cover!"
-
The Dhole glared venomously at Murakami. "Call me 'Dog' one more time and I'll..."
Zachary grabbed the Dhole before she lunged at Murakami.
The Dhole looked at Zachary. "Sorry, being called 'Dog' really sets me off and it doesn't help that we're trapped inside a huge military complex with terrorists, rogue scientists and rampaging experiments and now a ninja bent on revenge."
Zachary then let go of the Dhole.
"Should we just shoot Murakami?" James asked.
"I'd say 'yes' but I don't think we should interfere with Vigoorian customs." Zachary replied.
Zachary, James, the Dhole and the Iguana guard backed away from the two duelists.
Zachary turned to the rest. "I'll go see if Werner and Shelton are all right." He then headed to the back of the room, being careful to avoid Murakami.
-
Shelton lay behind the rubble pile. He had been dealing with a dislocated shoulder since he had woken up. He tried revolving his shoulder, and felt it pop back into place, but there was nothing to be done about the stinging cut on his neck.
Shelton glanced at Werner, who appeared to be in worse shape than himself. With a glance at the uncomfortably close ninjas, he crawled over to Werner. "How you doing, mate?" he muttered. He checked on Werner's old injuries. One of the bandages covering his left knee was slipping off, and the wound looked partially inflamed. In addition, there was a pretty nasty bruise forming on Werner's forehead. Shelton waved at Zachary. "Med kit!" he mouthed.
-
Zachary pushed the smoking ruins of a computer away and discovered a med kit, dented but otherwise undamaged.
He picked up the med kit and headed to where Shelton and Werner were located. He the handed the med kit to Shelton.
"Shelton, do you think you can still use the computers?" Zachary asked.
-
"Here? Yeah," Shelton nodded, unwrapping Werner's knee and readying a tourniquet. "Kozlov was careful not to damage the system, since I think he was hoping to have control of them." Shelton gave Werner a shot of morphine. "Unless those two tear the place up in their duel, we're good. Is everyone else okay?"
-
(OOC: Sorry for being out of action for a while. Been down with a serious cold.)
As the assassin released Shelton, Vic carefully moved his way and joined Shelton , Werner, and Zachary, now training his weapon on the rogue scientists behind the nearby pile. "Well, that's one problem down," he said. "Dr. Kerzach's behind those computers with the Dragonstorm scientists. I'm sure I saw a knife at his neck." He paused to look at Werner's injuries and unhooked his larger medkit from his belt. "I got saleen (sp?) solution to clean all that out. Do that as soon as you finish the the tourniquet."
----------
Snow guided Dr. Joe to a nearby table and set her down to relax her legs, and then walked back to Neku and placed her paw on his shoulder.
-
Zachary nodded. "I'm fine. I think everyone else is too. Is there some other control room, maybe a backup or something, we can use. It's going to be dangerous when these two start dueling."
-
"Auxiliary Control," responded Shelton, staring blankly at the proffered saline. "Wait, I'm supposed to apply that after the tourniquet, or before? Maybe you should take over, since you've got medical experience."
He passed the goods off to Vic and turned back to Zachary. "Auxiliary control is stationed near the back of Pelvanida base. It's located below ground, in a password-protected bomb shelter of a room. I can get us in, and I know how to get there."
-
Vic gave a small sigh and handed his rifle to Shelton. "Here, keep an eye out if those Dragonstorm scientist make a move." Then, with strange efficiency, Vic got to work on Werner's injuries, using both med kits to stop the bleeding, clean the wounds, and patch the man up. "That should hold for a while, as long as you don't get riddled with bullets again..."
-
"It may just be best for me to stay here in the control room,' werner said.
-
Shelton held the rifle awkwardly. "Trust me, you don't want me to fire this thing. I'll take somebody's eye out."
Shelton heard what Werner said, and nodded. "I'm actually with Donitz on this one. This control room is fine for now, no need to make our injured travel any more than he has to. Though, just in case, we should fashion some sort of stretcher. One of those fiberglass tabletops in the staff room would work, if Werner could just hold on."
The radio cackled. "Sorry to eavesdrop," said the Cobalt commander, his voice emanating from Shelton's radio-flashlight, which was laying on the ground, "but you never turned the radio off from the Dragonstorm hostage event. We're on our way up; we'll pick up a table on the way."
(OOC: The powerout you're planning, Serris, could double as the reason our heroes have to make for auxiliary control. The current control room could be hit by the powerout.)
-
Kagetora looked back at them for a moment.
"You should go. This might get hectic, and I don't want you to get..."
He was cut off by Murakami lunging, his blade stabbing Kagetora through the heart in a flash...
_________________________________________________________________________
Hawkeye walked over to where Dr. Joe was sitting, gently placing a metallic wing on her shoulder.
"Are you...okay? You seem tense. Any way I can...help?"
He asked, hesitantly...
Neku looked up at Snow, putting a hand on hers.
"Thanks, Snow. I'm really glad you're here with me..."
He said to her, looking deeply into her eyes...
-
Zachary's mouth fell open. "Shoot him!" He fumbled somewhat has he readied his weapon and aimed.
James raised his shotgun. "Drop your swords!" he shouted.
The Dhole also readied her rifle. "Get on the ground!" she shouted.
The Iguana guard added his weapon to the mix. "Someone go see if Kagetora is all right!"
-
"You volunteering?" asked Shelton, fumbling with Vic's rifle and dropping it.
-
"Don't worry about me! Just go!"
Kagetora said, as the 'him' that had just been stabbed disappeared into a puff of smoke, and he reappeared behind Murakami, swords raised...
-
Zachary's mouth fell open in shock. "Okay gang, I think we should listen to the disappearing man. Let's roll! We'll meet by the magnetics lab just down the hallway."
The Dhole, the Iguana guard and James left.
"Shelton, I'll carry Werner." Zachary said.
-
"Don't worry I think I can walk without support,' werner said before falling on the floor after a few steps "Or maybe not,' werner added.
-
Shelton debated between grabbing the rifle or the flashlight, finally choosing the latter, which he tucked into his lab coat pocket. "C'mon, mate," Shelton said to Werner, heaving Werner's arm over his shoulder, and helping Zach lead him out of the room and down the hall.
-
"Guys! What about..." Dr. Kerzach began to say.
"Cram it ya ugly bird!" Montgomery hissed pushing the knife further into his neck.
-
"Thank you shelton,' werner said.
-
"Uh, Monty?" asked Hicks, with a glance at the dueling ninjas. "I don't much feel like gettin' shish-kebab'edó"
"Then stay over here," snapped the Beagle. "There's plenty of room for us to remain safe, and once we kill the victor of their little skirmish, this control room, and therefore the base, will be under our thumb..."
-
"Kill them with what? Our bare hands? Kozlov and O'Neill could get away with that because they're so damn strong." Hicks shot back.
-
"The victor will be exhausted from the duel, and an easy kill," retorted Montgomery, spinning the knife. "But if you want to run off like a chicken and turn your back on our 15-year plan for Dragonstorm, then just do so!"
-
Vic quickly rehooked his kit to his belt and strapped the other over his shoulder, and then quickly picked his rifle back up towards where Dr. Kerzach called out. He paused for a moment, and then moved his way towards a wall and a fallen concrete column and took cover away from the sword fighting, but still with the rubble pile with the scientists in view...
----------
Dr. Joe looked up and sighed. "I never thought my job here was going to be this stressful..."
Snow looked back into Neku's eyes, and then lowered her head to rest on his shoulder.
-
"Shelton what's going on up there,' hans said over the raido.
-
"Wait, we forgot Dr. Kerzach!" James shouted. The group was running down the hallways.
"Should we go back to get him?" the Dhole asked. "I mean those 2 ninjas could kill him in their duel."
"Shelton what do you think?" Zachary asked. He seemed not to notice the weight of Werner.
-
"If it were me back there, I know I would want to be rescued," replied Shelton. "But let's only send people good with firearms. I'll stay here, watch over Werner, and debrief our friends in the cafeteria."
-
"Yes that does seem like a good idea,' werner said.
-
James looked around at the group. "I'll go. I am taking two more."
The Dhole stepped up. "I'll go."
Zachary stepped up. "Sorry, Shelton said people good with firearms."
The Dhole blushed. "Oh yeah, I remember saying that I've spent time at the shooting range but I'm not that good. Besides, didn't I see you and James doing some of that 'practical shooting' stuff at the local range?"
Zachary nodded. "Yep, it's as close to real-life combat as you can get."
The Iguana guard stepped up. "I'll go. Guard Shelton." he said to the Dhole.
The Dhole nodded and took a defensive position with her rifle at the ready.
"Shelton. We are prepared. And I have the urge to just simply shoot Murakami and just get the whole thing over with." James said.
-
"Wouldn't bother me all that much. Good luck," Shelton gave a thumbs up, and then opened his flashlight-radio and began informing Hans of the situation.
" 'Lo, Hans. To make a long story short, we've been forced to evacuate the control room. Werner's with us, and he seems to be in one piece, but James is sending a squad in to rescue Dr. Kerzach and possibly Kagetora. I'm in an adjacent laboratory with your son."
-
"I'm glad you all got through ok,' hans said over the raido after shelton told him what had happened.
-
"Well, don't start pouring the champagne 'till James gets back with Kerzach," said Shelton, peering down the hallway.
-
James's squad eventually reached the control room. They carefully skirted around the duelists and found Montgomery and Hicks. Zachary, the Iguana and Vic were hidden behind some rubble.
James confronted Hicks.
"Hello Hicks." James said. "Care to explain what you want with Dr. Kerzach?"
"He's our key to seizing command of this base!" Hicks said.
"You wish. Now let him go."
"There's 2 of us and one of you!" Montgomery spat.
"Oh yeah?" James countered.
At his words, the Iguana and Zachary leapt from the rubble pile and aimed their weapons at the two scientists. "Let Kerzach go or die in a hail of gunfire." Zachary said. He fired some rounds into the wall near them.
Montgomery and Hicks looked at each other.
"Monty, maybe we should give them Kerzach?" Hicks said.
"Hicks, are you nuts, we'll lose the..." Montgomery suddenly smiled. "I have an idea."
Hicks released Dr. Kerzach. "Here, take your ugly bird!" Hicks then shoved Dr. Kerzach towards Zachary who quickly broke the rope binding him.
"The knife too!" James demanded. Montgomery slid the switchblade towards Dr. Kerzach who pocketed it.
"Okay, let's deal with Murakami!" James said, "Yuri, stay behind us when we deal with these two."
James and his group confronted Murakami.
Zachary leveled his M-16 at Murakami. "Murakami, there is no way to win. If you kill Kagetora; you will die in a hail of gunfire. Just make things painless and surrender."
The Iguana guard escorted Dr. Kerzach to the lab where Shelton and Werner were located.
"Dr. Shelton, we have rescued Dr. Kerzach. James and Zachary are currently confronting Murakami, the ninja who is trying to kill Kagetora." the guard said.
Dr. Kerzach sat in chair. "Man, is there a computer here I can use?"
-----
Meanwhile in the cafeteria, O'Neill was arguing with a Cobalt Squad soldier. "Look, I'm willing to help."
"How stupid do you think I am? You tried to kill Zanasiu!" the soldier shot back.
"That was mostly Hicks's idea!"
"Forget it, to use one of Dr. Zanasiu's favorite expressions, 'I'll trust you when there are two electrons with the same spin occupy the same atomic orbital'. I don't even know what the hell that means but I think it means he doesn't trust you."
-
Something we can agree on, Dr. Joe thought as she sat...
----------
Vic joined in the removal of Dr. Kerzach and met where Werner and Shelton waited. He kept by the doorway, keeping an eye out for anymore gun-wielding lunatics coming down the halls...
-
Deep in the Dragonstorm labs, the Deer scientist was arguing with a Golden Retriever scientist.
"We need to send more out, Montgomery, Hicks, Kozlov, Struth, O'Neill they're all dead or captured and we still haven't gotten that disc that Dr. Zanasiu found." the Deer said.
"Look, we can't sacrifice anymore of the scientists here. We've already emptied out the equivalent of a large lab just to guard the entrance." the Golden Retriever countered.
------
Hicks reached inside his lab coat and retrieved a radio.
Making sure no one could see him, he spoke: "Pergama, this is Laocoon. Gorgythion and I are in Tenedos. We have two Greeks in Tenedos."
-----
In the Dragonstorm labs, the Deer's radio beeped. He listened to the transmission. "Hmm. It seems, that Hicks and Montgomery are at the control room. But there's two unknown persons."
He then spoke into the radio, "Laocoon, Gorgythion, this is Calchas, ensure the serpents don't enter Tenedos."
-----
Syberis entered the control room with a computer and a charger and handed them to Dr. Kerzach.
"Thanks. Now I can get back to work. Shelton, what shall I do next?" Dr. Kerzach said as connected the computer to the outlet and booted it up.
-
"Hack back into the sensor readings, so we can tell where people in the base are. I can give you my administrative password if you find you need it," said Shelton. "Also, check on the status of auxiliary control. If we don't get our control room back, that might be the place we'll have to get to next."
-
The experiment listened to the rabble between the scientists outside, sitting idly near the corner of its room. If it have had lips, it would've been grinning...
----------
Vic kept watch while the computer experts plan out what to do next. "I'll be surprised if there's anything left in that room since almost everything was shot out."
-
Dr. Kerzach tried to get into the sensor readings only to be blocked by a password. "Gah! Shelton, I'll need your password, the USB stick I used before is in the old control room."
-
"Username's 'rshelton', like normal, and the password is "killapp123" Shelton told Kerzach.
As Kerzach typed, Shelton listened to Vic. "You'd be surprised. Not counting the durable casings around the consoles, the circuitry goes deep into the floor, with the most critical systems protected by the lesser so. Also, it gets the best reception in Nevada just from its longitudinal position. At auxiliary control, it'll take twice as long for commands to get executed by the surviving systems, especially with all the rerouting we'll have to do to get it to where we want it to go."
-
(OOC - do we need StarfallRaptor to post to continue moving the story along?)
Dr. Kerzach typed in the password. "Okay I'm in."
He then opened the base sensor control panel.
"Shelton, the aux control room is uncompromised. However, sensors near the fusion reactor indicate some kind of activity. And it appears to be hostile. Also, sensors in the sublevels indicate that Lockdown and 2 other sublevel experiments are missing. Sensors also indicate activity in the hanger."
-
(OOC: I guess so, unless he passes off control of his characters. Or we can ditch them and abandon the control room altogether. Now might be a good time for your power out.)
"The hangar is the terrorist HQ," said Shelton. "Remember the audio we picked up? And Lockdown is probably with the group molesting the fusion reactor."
"What makes you say that?"
"If the commander already had Lockdown in the hangar, there'd probably be bad stuff happening right now."
-
"I'll see if I can..." before Dr. Kerzach could say anything the lights in the room died.
"Damn it! They must have cut the power." Dr. Kerzach said
"I hope James and Zachary can see fine." the Dhole said.
"What about you?"
"I'm fine, I have natural night vision. The emergency lights are good enough for me.
---------
James and Zachary were confronting Murakami when the power was cut.
"Great." Zachary said. He pulled out his radio. "Shelton, should we make our way to the temporary HQ or stay here?"
-
As the lights went out, Vic grabbed a pair of infared glasses and placed them on. "I still got visual of the halls," he said. "This entire section may have been taken out. Could this be because of the fusion reactor?"
----------
Dr. Joe looked up as the lights in the cafeteria went out. "Now what..."
Snow held close to Neku. "What happened?"
----------
The experiment was aware of the power out as the glimmer of light through the door dimmed, but was unphased as his vision immediately adjusted to the blackness...
-
Shelton clicked on his radio-flashlight. "We might have to check it out," he said. "The base has emergency power, but the cables might've been cut. And yeah, if they messed with the reactor, it could easily have overloaded and shut down, but it should have taken another minute or two for the lights and other facilities to drain the power already generated."
Shelton opened his radio. "James, Zachary, get out of there. It's hard enough to fight a ninja when you can see him!"
-
James and Zachary immediately left the room, using the emergency lights. They made their way to the lab just before the lights died.
Dr. Kerzach groped around for flashlight. He found one and turned it on.
"Zach, James you and I should see if we can restart the fusion reactor." the Dhole said. She had attached a small flashlight that she found to her rifle.
"Shelton, once we get into the reactor silo, we'll need you to walk us through the steps on how to restart it." James said.
-
Shelton nodded. "While you do that, I think the rest of us should head for auxiliary control. Despite what I just told Vic, even I'm not sure if the control room can survive all the damage it's taken. Besides, Werner should be kept as far from the enemy as possible, and right now three of them are just a hallway away."
"We'll need a stretcher of some kind," said Syberis. He pointed his claws at a lab table, and the legs bent sideways, forming the table into an H. Lifting Werner onto the tabletop in the middle, he and the Iguana guard held up the legs on the opposite sides like handles. Syberis looked at Shelton. "We'll follow you."
Shelton looked at Vic. "You're call. You want to come with James or us?"
-
"I'll stick with you and provide cover," Vic replied. "You'll need an extra shooter to keep you alive to the auxiliary control room."
----------
Snow held out her arm sideways and a bright blue ball of flame emerged around her paw, illuminating the cafeteria...
-
"Awesome, we'll need the help," said Shelton. He looked in the direction of a door on the far wall. "We'll be heading that way, my team." He looked at James. "Good luck, mate."
-
James nodded. "Thank you."
The Dhole shone her flashlight on a map on the wall. "It looks like the fusion reactor is in the basement. We won't need to go to the sublevels but it's still dangerous as it is possible that terrorists are using the darkness to their advantage."
---------
O'Neill took advantage of the darkness to stumble to the back of the cafeteria and enter the Dragonstorm labs.
"O'Niell, so you're back?" the Deer said.
"Yep! The power's out so they'll have a bit of a hard time finding us out but we're stuck too." O'Niell replied.
-
Neku smiled at Snow, though something seemed to be troubling him as he whispered his thanks into her ear...
Hawkeye sat quietly next to Dr. Joe, silently pondering whether or not to tell her how he felt about her...
_________________________________________________________________________
As Kagetora and Murakami dueled, the darkness claimed them.
"Hah. The darkness was never your strength, was it, traitor?"
Murakami laughed as he circled around to Kagetora's flank, lunging him and driving his blade deep into Kagetora's heart.
"And so you die in the darkness, like the coward you are..."
He boasted, then felt Kagetora force himself forward, driving the blade deeper into himself as he heard the other ninja whisper in a weak hiss...
"If I am to...die in the darkness...you're coming with...me..."
Kagetora laughed, taking a grenade and an incendiary shuriken from his packs, and priming them both.
"And so...we two shadows that were bound by fate...die in a final lock..."
He chuckled as the grenade and shuriken both detonated, killing the pair in a fiery explosion, one final blaze of glory for a fallen ninja...
-
"I wonder if news of what has happened here has broken out,' werner said.
-
"If it has, they're sure taking their sweet time to send us some reinforcements," commented Shelton. Flashlight on, he led the way down a dark hallway. "Kerzach, you read any incoming life signs?"
---------------------
From the cafeteria, the Deer suddenly recieved a transmission. "Quiet! We've got mail!"
From the radio, Montgomery spoke: "Pergama, this is Gorgythion. We've taken Tenedos."
The deer looked up excitedly. "We've got the control room!" he told his mates excitedly. Switching back to the radio, he ordered, "Gorgythion, this is Calchas, I and the Coterie are trapped in Pyrimidines, use your new powers to clear us a way to Tenedos."
-
Montgomery grinned. He locked the armories and the AWTR. "Let's see them deal with this!" Montgomery then disabled the emergency lights in the compound except for the ones in the control room.
Hicks chuckled. "Let's see them get through this." He then went over to the remaining terminal and engaged the blast doors, blocking off the back of the base.
---------
Dr. Kerzach looked at his laptop. "I don't have much power left but there are no life signs approaching. But there is activity in the hanger."
Suddenly a message popped up on the laptop. "Blast doors closing. Evacuate personnel from Area 312"
"Area 312? Isn't that the back of Pelvanida? Shelton! Someone's got the aux control or the main control room! Let's hope the backup generators die before they do something worse like gas the labs with the CO2 fire extinguishing system or set the autoturrets on us."
----------
The Dhole took advantage of the emergency lights to make their way down into the basement. Suddenly the lights completely died, drenching the area in darkness.
The Dhole switched on her flashlight. "Be careful, there's is very little light here."
James and Zachary followed the Dhole.
-
"Crap," swore Shelton. "If they close all blast doors, we'll be cut off from auxiliary control."
"We've got to keep going anyways," said Siberys. "Maybe there's a way through the doors anyway."
"They wouldn't be very effective blast doors if there were." Shelton thought. "change in plans. This way."
"Where are we going?"
The beam of Shelton's flashlight showed the bottom of a flight of stairs. "We're going around all the blast doors. Or, to be specific, over them."
"But they're on every floor."
Shelton rapped a sign as he climbed past it. It read: ROOF ENTRANCE.
"Like I said, we're going over them."
-
Snow blushed for a moment from Neku's response, when without warning, the rest of the cafeteria goes dark, leaving the German Shepherd's fire as the only light source.
Dr. Joe sprung to her feet. "I hope this doesn't get any worse..."
Sounds of an explosion echoed nearby.
"Where was that coming from?"
----------
With his special glasses on, Vic could still see clearly in the darkness. He took the lead as they reached the door on the top of the stairs. He spots a keypad, but there were no signs of light through its circuitry. Undeterred, he uses the stock of his rifle to crack the cover off and inspect it. "Anyone have some sort of power source?" he asked. "We can give this pad enough power to open the door...or if someone has something that can blow the door out instead..."
-
"Hmmm..." muttered Shelton. "Maybe if we tinker with the circuitry, we can override the doorlock, or demagnetize the hinges with a polarizing burst, if we double back and look for a portable sensitizer..."
The Iguana guard heard footsteps coming. "Don't think there'll be time for that," he announced, putting Werner's stretcher down and holding rifle at the ready.
"This isn't good," said Siberys. "We're in a corner!"
"Hold them off for one minute!" said Shelton, grabbing Kerzach's laptop. "We'll have to get you a new one of these, sorry." And he quickly got to work. "Just one minute!"
-
The Iguana guard looked over the Nevada desert. It was noon but he was sure that at least 3 days had passed. He readied his shotgun and kept his eye out. He heard voices but they did not sound friendly.
Siberys gestured and the rebar he was using as a weapon hovered in the air.
"What do I do if they start shooting?" Dr. Kerzach asked.
-
There was a large electrical sizzle from behind the door, and it opened. Standing on the other side of it was Cale, his right arm still smoking from the discharge.
"Quickly! This way!"
He hissed, looking around for any guards...
_________________________________________________________________________
As the lights died, Neku slid slightly closer to Snow, grateful that she could malipulate fire as well as she could.
"Here...Let me help with that..."
He said gently, creating a small, bright sphere of electricity in his own hand, then levitating it into the air, creating a brighter light around the room...
Next to Dr. Joe, Hawkeye stiffened, and then quickly looked around the area, filters clicking in his scanner eye.
"That explosion came from...the central command room. That...That's where Kagetora and Murakami were! What could've..."
He trailed off, worry apparent in his voice...
-
(OOC: I'm confused. Is Cale at the door where Shelton's team is, or is he in the central command room?)
-
(OOC: He's near Shelton and the others. And he's now marked as a hostile to the terrorists. He's switching sides.)
-
Vic jumped back as Cale appeared from the other side of the door. "What the..." He immediately raised his gun to fire...
----------
Snow looked up and smiled at Neku, his own powers adding to the light she's giving for the others.
Dr. Joe felt a cold shiver run up and down her spine, when she noticed something as Neku brightened the room. "Hey...did we lose someone?"
-
Cale raised his hands.
"Don't shoot. I'm not here to cause trouble. They turned on me...And now I'm asking for your help...I can understand if you don't trust me, though..."
He said, then shot a bolt of lightning out to strike a terrorist guard rounding the corner...
_________________________________________________________________________
Neku smiled back at Snow, then leaned in and lightly kissed her on the nose...
Hawkeye nodded.
"Besides the others who went off to look for the renegade scientists, Kagetora stayed behind in the main control room, fighting the other ninja. I'm worried for his safety..."
He said, lightly placing a wing around Dr. Joe's shoulders...
-
"Shelton! What do we do?" called Siberys, looking back and forth at Cale, and then the attacking terrorists.
Shelton scrambled behind Cale. "I'm willing to take my chances!" he yelled back. "He could have brought the ceiling down on us if he had wanted to!"
The Iguana guard ducked behind a corner and opened fire from close range. "It's too cramped in here!" he yelled. "We should retreat to the roof so we have some elbow room!"
-
The Cobalt Squad soldier in the cafeteria was finished doing his search. He was holding a flashlight.
He then turned to Dr. Joe and Hawkeye. "O'Neill has escaped."
-
"I thought he would pull something like this,' hans said.
-
Vic hesitated for a moment before turning his gun in the other direction moving next to the guard. The light of day radiating into the stairwell forced him to knock his glasses off to dangle around his neck with the help of a chord, and then aiming down to fire at the oncoming threat. "Get Werner outside! I'll provide cover!"
----------
Dr. Joe cursed under her breath when the word of O'Neil escaping reached her ears. But then an idea popped into her head. She turned and looked up at Hawkeye. "I have to get back to my lab for something, and I need someone to come with me."
Snow smiled back as Neku kissed her, but her attention then turned to Dr. Joe's sudden request.
-
Hawkeye looked at Dr. Joe, then smiled the best he could, and nodded.
"In that case, I'll go with you, if you'll have me."
He said, his eyes lighting up slightly...
Neku smiled at Snow.
"You want to go with Dr. Joe too? I'm okay with that. We can go together."
He said, his eyes bright with happiness...
_________________________________________________________________________
Cale turned towards the roof, then looked at the others.
"Go on ahead! I'll stay back and cover the rear!"
He said, looking for any approaching enemies...
-
Fine by me, thought Shelton, sprinting the rest of the way up the stairs. He led the way onto the roof.
Below them, terrorist sharpshooters guarding the perimeter spotted movement on the roof. Training their scopes at the people on the roof, they started popping off shots.
The Iguana guard fell as his rifle was blasted out of his arms by a well-placed shot. "Get down!" he yelled.
Shelton rolled behind a solar-paneled square of roofing jutting out of the roof. Opening Kerzach's laptop, he scanned the roof, calculating the relative location of the exit they needed to depart down.
-
"Does anyone have some gernades,' werner asked from behind his cover.
-
There was a quiet sound of the roof door opened, and an invisible Cale stepped out. Without the snipers seeing him, mr moved to the roof's edge, and in several swift movements, unleashed a set of daggers to slay the snipers in view.
"There. That should make life more pleasent up here..."
He smirked, uncloaking near the others...
-
James, Zachary and the Dhole were in the basement.
Suddenly the Dhole stopped. "I hear footsteps ahead."
James and Zachary crouched behind a wall. The Dhole immediately opened fire on a terrorist she had caught by surprise.
"Hmm. Amazing they still persist." the Dhole said. "Let's continue."
Zachary was using a flashlight he found on a dead guard. He looked at the wall. "It looks like the main fusion reactor is close."
James quickly radioed Shelton. "Shelton, are the backup generators functional?"
-----
The Iguana guard drew his pistol and knelt down. "Any signs of reinforcements?
-
"It helps," agreed Shelton, as return fire emanated from the roof doorway. He ducked down behind the extension.
Beside him, the Iguana guard spotted Werner, isolated form the rest of them, and out of sight of the enemies in the doorway. Unclipping a grenade form his belt, he rolled it in Werner's direction, hoping he'd be able to grab it.
Shelton beckoned Cale closer, as sniper fire flew overhead. "We need to get through that hatch over there," he pointed, at a seemingly flat stretch of roof. "You can't see it from here, but it'll stand out once you're closer. Open it, and we can get out of this crossfire!"
"We'll cover you," said Siberys. The Iguana guard, withdrawing his side pistol, nodded akin.
-
Werner pulled the pin from the gernade and tossed it at the snipers below.
-
Cale nodded to the others, then ran towards the hatch that had been indicated.
"Alright. Thank you for giving me this chance."
He said, quickly sending several electrical pulses into it, opening it easily.
"Alright. Got it open. Let's go."
He said, a smile on his face...
-
The Iguana guard ran towards the hatch. "Thanks, Cale!"
---------
Hicks looked at the monitor. "Monty! There's activity on the roof and the fusion reactor!"
Montgomery furrowed his brow. "Must be those people. No matter." He then activated the autoturrets in Area 312 and the reactor silo.
Suddenly, a beeping arose from the console.
"Damn it! The backup generators are running low on fuel. We have about 10 or so minutes. The autoturrets and this console will not function once the power dies." Hicks said.
-
Siberys telekenetically lifted up Werner's stretcher, then grabbed one side. "Shelton!" he called, sliding the stretcher across open fire to him.
Shelton dragged Werner's stretcher behind the extension, though now neither of them were very covered.
Siberys rolled over, re-grabbing one side. "Let's go," he said.
The two made a run for the hatch, as the terrorists spilled out of the doorway onto the roof. Recovering quickly, the terrorists pivoted their weapons, refocusing on the three men.
Suddenly, from their other side, an auto turret rose out of the roof, and also pointed at them. It fired an energy bolt.
"Sorry, Werner!" Syberis dropped his end of the stretcher, and used his power to push the shot away from them. It crashed into the ground, causing a discharge that knocked Siberys to the ground and sent Shelton skidding into and down the hatch.
Syberis went sprawling, coming to a stop fifteen meters away from the others. With sniper fire from above, rifle fire from his left, and auto turret fire to his right, he focused instead on Werner, pushing his stretcher over to the hatch, to safety.
Shelton and the Iguana guard hauled Werner down. "Werner, are you okay?" panted Shelton. "Where's Siberys?"
-
"Yes I'm quite alright,' werner said
-
Seeing Siberys in trouble, Cale quickly leapt into action. He focused a glass shield onto his left arm, then lunged the turret. It fired at him, the beam striking the smooth surface of the shield and reflecting off. Cale himself then leapt into the air, and unleashed a set of electrical strikes into the turret, destroying it.
"Are you alright, Siberys?"
He asked, as he landed...
-
"Yeah. Thanks!" Siberys responded.
------
Down in the basement, near the fusion reactor. James, Zachary and the Dhole were dealing with the autoturrets.
"Why are they shooting at us?" the Dhole shouted.
"Electrical malfunction?" James suggested.
"Forget about that! We don't have any weapons that can take them out."
"Oh, yes we do!" Zachary said, retrieving the gauss rifle strapped to his back. He activated the infrared mode, took aim at one of the turrets and fired, disabling it.
Suddenly the turrets stopped firing.
"Let's move ahead! We're almost there!" James said.
-------
Montgomery swore as the console died.
"Hmm. The backup generators must have ran out of fuel." Hicks said. "No matter, Zanasiu and his team are probably going to restart the reactor."
-------
Inside the Dragonstorm labs, the Deer scientist was looking at O'Neill. "So, O'Neill have you found anything?"
"No." O'Neill replied. "The base has no power."
"Well, lucky for us we have a small fusion generator powering these labs."
-
"Why are we just waiting here?" interrupted an angry lemur scientist. "There's nine of us, and like five of them. I say we kill the infidels in the cafeteria and move on to the control room to join Monty!"
---------------------
The Iguana guard looked at Werner and Shelton. "Am I the only one with a gun?" he asked, brandishing his pistol.
Shelton nodded. "I try to stay away from them myself."
The Iguana guard shrugged, and then popped his head back out of the hatch. "Vic, Kerzach, over here!" he yelled, laying down intermittent cover fire for them.
-
The Deer glared at the Lemur. "We can't sacrifice anymore. Dragonstorm takes priority over everything else. Hicks and Montgomery already have the control room. If they wanted to, they could override the safeties and turn the CO2 fire extinguishing system in the cafeteria and basically kill everyone there."
O'Neill listened to the conversation and radioed Montgomery and Hicks, "Hey, Hicks, Monty, turn on the CO2 fire extinguishing system in the cafeteria."
Montgomery's voice came back on. "The back up generators are dead. There's no power to do anything."
-
"I'll just be glad when we reach the cafeteria,' werner muttered under his breath.
-
Gunfire rang out behind the group, followed by a loud bang coming from a flash grenade, as Vic hurried his way back to the team, his body armor riddled with bullet holes, but it easily kept the medic alive and in one piece. "I think we're safe from behind for now..." he said after a deep breath.
----------
Snow smiled back at Neku and gave him a kiss on his cheek, then turned to Dr. Joe. "We'll come too," she replied.
"Ok then," Dr. Joe responded. "Four of us can make it in and out really fast. I just hope what I'm looking for is still in one piece..."
-
"Vic! You're alive!" The Iguana guard exclaimed.
Dr. Kerzach ran to the hatch and dropped down.
-
Cale followed last, dropping onto the ground gently.
"I took the liberty of shutting the hatch again, so that nothing can follow our tracks. Where are we headed?"
He asked, a small smile lighting his face...
_________________________________________________________________________
Neku nodded.
"Let's head out then."
He said, blushing at Snow's kiss...
"Right. Oh, and Doctor? What are we looking for, so we can help you find it?"
Hawkeye added, looking at her...
-
"Okay, we're all accounted for?" asked Shelton, turning his flashlight beam from the team to the looming hallway behind them. "Now that the blast doors are behind us, we should have a straight shot to auxiliary control. The good news is, we shouldn't have any problems since the blast doors keep the rest of the base from reaching us."
Siberys caught his tone. "And the bad news is...?"
Shelton took a deep breath. "Anyone already past the blast doors is now trapped in here with us."
-
"So if there are any dragonstorm scientists past the blastdoors we're stuck with them well that not good,' werner said.
-
"No, it's not," Shelton agreed. "Still, it's not like we can just wait here. It’s time to start moving towards auxiliary control. Cale, Siberys, can either of you fuse that trapdoor shut? We don't want anyone sneaking up on us, especially in the dark."
-
Vic checked his vest to see if he may have to ditch it, but the armor the scientists here have made kept together and strong enough for another war. He placed his shades back on to accomodate the darkness. "It looks like I am alive," he replied to the guard.
----------
"It's best if I tell you after we get going," Dr. Joe answered. "Whoever's playing with the power now could possibly be able to listen in on us too."
-
"Do you think we can re establish communication with the others in the cafeteria,' werner asked shelton.
-
Siberys nodded at Shelton and used his telekinetic powers to jam the hatch shut. "Okay Shelton, how far are we to the destination?"
-------
James, Zachary and the Dhole finally reached the reactor control room.
"Now how to restart this thing?" The Dhole asked.
"I'm a biologist not a fusion reactor operator." James replied.
"Call Shelton." Zachary suggested.
"Good idea." James then pulled out his portable radio. "Shelton, this is James. I have reached the fusion reactor and I am at a loss at how to restart it."
-------
The Iguana guard looked at Warner. "Communication with these radios is not dependent on the power so we should be able to reach them."
-
Shelton nodded. "Right. However, whoever shut the blast doors must be in the control room. That means they can intercept our messages and possibly block them from reaching the others, depending on their level of expertise. But that'll change once we've got auxiliary control, which isn't far from here. Follow me." And he began leading the way down the hall.
-
Vic again takes the rear of the group as they started again towards the auxiliary room.
----------
Dr. Joe takes the lead of the party away from the cafeteria towards the ruins of her laboratory. Although "untouched" since the intitial explosion that killed everyone in the room but Dr. Joe and Snow, the darkened room gave a new aura of dread in the survivers' spines as they entered...
-
Hawkeye flicked his mounted flashlight on, scanning the room warily.
"Can you now tell us what we're searching for?"
He asked, though there was no impatience in his voice, but rather a quietly affectionate tone...
Neku flickered an electrical orb into his hand, scanning the rubble with a small shiver of unease...
_________________________________________________________________________
Next to Shelton, Cale faded out of view, following in close formation to the team...
-
"Kerzach," asked Shelton. "You getting any readings on life signs? Or maybe directions? I don't want to get turned around in the dark."
He switched to James. "There are several ways to juice the fusion reactor. You'll need to generate an electric pulse, which is usually done with--"
He broke off when a loud creaking sound came from either side. Everyone froze.
Suddenly the floor collapsed underneath Shelton. He let out a cry as he fell to somewhere below their level.
"Shelton!" cried Siberys, peering down.
"Do you see his flashlight beam?" asked the Iguana.
"No," replied Siberys. "But at the same time I don't think he fell that far."
There were other noises coming from inside the trapdoor,
"Guys, do you hear--" Siberys started, before his feet were knocked out from under him. Dark figures started crawling out of the trapdoor.
"We're under attack!"
-
The Iguana flicked on his flashlight and readied his pistol.
Dr. Kerzach pulled out his switchblade.
Siberys telekinetically hurled his unseen attacker away and got back onto his feet. "We'll have to find Shelton but these things could be dangerous."
"My laptop has no power." Dr. Kerzach said.
--------
"Shelton! We need those directions!" James said.
"Is there an instruction manual somewhere?" Zachary suggested.
"A fusion reactor is a complex piece of machinery it takes several hundred hours of training to operate properly. And we don't have time for that."
-
Cale swore, creating an electrical orb to strike the nearest attacker, and grabbed a radio.
"Shelton! You're right about us not..."
He paused to create a glass sword to strike at another group of the attackers, then resumed.
"About us not having time! Should I just give the reactor a kick-start?"
He asked, fending off another attacker as he charged an electrical aura around himself...
From the shadows, the halved wolf and the straitjacket-bound figure watched silently, contemplating their next move...
-
"Who are you!?" James demanded.
The Dhole was listening to the conversation over the radio. "The electromagnets that compress the plasma need a strong electric current to start and the backup generators are dead."
-
Meanwhile, below them, Shelton had been bound and gagged. He tried to struggle or shout, but to no avail, as he was dragged down a dark tunnel, away from the scuffling above.
-
Cale smirked.
"It's me, James. Cale. Yes, the same one who attacked you before. But now, I'm working on your side. I'll clarify later. If we have a later."
He said, clasping the radio to his armband, then turning to face the generator.
"Right. Strong electrical current. Shouldn't be a problem."
He said quietly, forcing all his power to his hands, firing a massive surge of energy into the generator...
As he did so, a pair of the shadowed creatures lunged for him, but were batted aside by the two other rogue experiments...
-
Werner felt something smack across the back of his head before blacking out.
-
The Dhole was monitoring the console. "The electromagnets are online." She then pushed a button labeled: "fuel injection". A loud hiss was heard as the hydrogen isotopes were injected into the reactor.
"The computer should take it from here. It will take a bit for the generator to warm up." the Dhole said.
The lights in the area flickered and gradually brightened.
James then radioed Shelton."Shelton, we've got the power back on."
"'Several hundred hours of training' huh?" Zachary said, somewhat mockingly.
"I trained as a fusion reactor technician before. It is complex but this console is mostly automated." the Dhole countered.
------
Dr. Kerzach stabbed one of his attackers before he was choked out by another one. He managed to retract and pocket his switchblade just before losing consciousness.
Siberys was hit by a tranquilizer dart and collapsed.
-
Cale started as a sting from a tranquilizer dart struck him in the neck. He staggered, firing a few more shocks into his attackers before succumbing to the drug and falling to the floor. The wolf and the straitjacket-bound figure were struck, too, each lashing out with a few more attacks before they too fell into darkness...
-
As Shelton was dragged down the hallway, he realized the ground had been sloping upward for the past few minutes. That means he's probably being taken back onto the main floor.
Light was coming from the end of the hallway. At the same time, he started hearing voices.
" 'Home'! Try Home!"
"I did, you idiot! It wasn't right!"
"Are you sure you typed in correctly?"
"CafÈ!" suggested a third voice. "Do CafÈ!"
"We only have one more try before it locks us out, I'm not wasting it on--" the second voice broke off as Shelton was dragged into the room by his two assailants.
Shelton recognized this room as the entrance to auxiliary control. But the door was sealed shut, and one of the three men was standing at a control panel.
"Will this guy know the right answer?" He demanded.
"Probably. He was the one that wouldn't shut up the whole time his group was hiking here," responded the man holding Shelton's left arm.
One of the other men pulled Shelton forward, and slapped him across the face.
"Ow! Pleased to meet you too," Shelton muttered, feeling his lip. It was cut.
The man glared. "What's the password to get into the control room?" he demanded.
"How the hell should I know?"
The man pulled him over to the control panel. It had a keypad and a single question blinking on the monitor. Two of the three answer boxes were filled in, reading 'home' and 'work'.
"A four-letter word for where someone left the cake?" Shelton read, laughing. "I don't even listen to that kind of stuff and I know it's rain. Are you all musically deficient or--" he broke off, realizing what he'd just done. "Uh oh."
The man typed in 'rain'. The door unlocked, and the five men, with Shelton still a prisoner, piled into auxiliary control.
-
"Shelton!? Are you all right?" James radioed.
"We need to get out of here." the Dhole added.
The group then headed back to the surface.
----------
"Hey, the power's back!" Hicks said.
"Excellent, let's see if we can slow Zanasiu down a bit." Montgomery said. He then activated a defensive turret near the basement entrance.
----------
"Siberys? Neku, Dr. Joe, Vic, anyone?" Zachary radioed each in turn.
"I have a bad feeling." the Dhole said.
Suddenly an autoturret popped from the ceiling and aimed at the group.
"Scatter!" Zachary shouted.
The group dove for cover as the turret started shooting. Zachary took cover in small alcove between two heavy concrete pillars. The Dhole and James took cover in a nearby hallway.
James fired a shotgun blast at the turret, only to see that it had no effect.
"These turrets are designed to withstand small arms fire. We need something like a RPG to destroy it." Zachary shouted over the gunfire.
-
"Pietrson, you've established the connection?" the first man to enter auxiliary control demanded.
"No, sir, we seem to be blocked from an outside source," reported the first guard.
The first man turned to Shelton. "Where's the block coming from? How do we get around it?"
"Beats me. Your buddy Pete's the one at the controls."
The first man made a hand gesture. Pietrson stepped back, and two other men pushed Shelton forward.
Shelton grudgingly took the center seat. "You're experiencing feedback from the primary control room. The system is giving it precedence."
"Can you fix it?"
"There's nothing to fix, the program's working correctly. What you're asking me to do is exactly what the program was designed to prevent, there's no way around it."
The first man looked at the fifth man. "Sean?"
"He's lying," Sean said.
Pietrson slapped Shelton across the face. "You're a pretty bad liar, science-boy!" he hissed.
Shelton glared. "All right, because the people in the control room are logged in under my account, all I have to do is convince the computer that I'm actually down here via a security question, and it'll lock them out."
"How long will it take?"
"Five to ten minutes."
"Lying," interrupted Sean.
Pietrson raised his hand to slap him again. Shelton started typing. "Okay, one minute! Done."
----------------
Above them, Montgomery entered the command to flood the cafeteria with carbon dioxide.
ERROR. INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE the computer read.
"What the hell..." he muttered.
"Monty!" Hicks cried. "The autoturret shooting Zanasiu just shut down! What'd you do?"
"Not me," Montgomery said, brow furrowed. "It's what someone else did..."
-
The gunfire from the autoturret stopped.
"That's odd." James said.
"Who cares. We need to get to the aux control room, since we can't seem to contact Shelton." Zachary replied.
The group then headed towards the back where the aux control room was located only to be cut off by a heavy blast door.
"There's no way around this." the Dhole said.
"If we can get to the hanger, there may be a cutting torch there that we can use but we don't have time. We'll head to the control room and see if we can retract the blast doors." James said.
James and his group then headed to the control room only to find Montgomery and Hicks at the controls.
"What did you do to the base's security systems!?" James demanded. He had his shotgun at the ready.
-
"Anyone want me to get them anything while I'm in the kitchen,' Hans asked everyone in the caferteira.
-
"Are we in control?" demanded the first man.
Pietrson yanked Shelton out of the chair and threw him back to the two other men. "Yeah," he said.
"Good. Contact the hangar bay."
"Hey, wait," Shelton protested. "Not sure if you know this but the hangar bay's loaded with--" One of the guards clapped their hands over his mouth.
The terrorist commander's voice came over the intercom. "Identify yourself."
The first man spoke. "This is Colonel Carstairs, with some loyal members of the former Sublevel Guard. We are currently in command of the base and all its facilities."
"Congratulations. Why are you telling me this?"
"We'd like to offer an alliance."
Shelton broke free. "What!?!" Both of the guards tackled him.
Carstairs continued. "We'll give up control over this base, and in return, you ingratiate us into your ranks. We'd also each like a unit of troops to command."
The commander was silent for a long time. The only noise came from Shelton struggling behind Carstairs and Pietrson. Finally, the commander said, "Of course. We are in alliance."
"Good. We're in auxiliary control. Once you've reached the blast doors, we'll open them for you, and you can claim your prize."
-
"How should I know?! I was trying to activate the CO2 fire extinguishing system in the cafeteria..." Montgomery broke off as soon as he saw Zachary's face twist into a scowl. "Oh, crap." Montgomery said, realizing he admitted to something he shouldn't have.
Zachary calmly went over to Montgomery, picked him up with one hand and pinned him against the wall. "You were going to kill our allies in the cafeteria with a system designed to save lives!?" he said between gritted teeth.
James went over to the console and tried to unseal the blast door to no avail. "Zach! Something's overriding the commands here. I'll radio Shelton."
"Go do that!" Zachary said. He then turned back to Montgomery. "You touch the CO2 fire extinguishing system again and I will kill you with my bare hands." He then dropped Montgomery to the ground.
"Shelton! Something's locking us out of the computer systems!" James said over the radio.
The Dhole was keeping guard.
-
"Carl, somebody's radioing Shelton again," reported Pietrson.
"Does he ever shut up?" exclaimed Carstairs, exasperated.
"Not until he gets a response," Shelton said through gritted teeth. "Would you like me to request that he not call again?"
Carstairs shook his head. "I can't trust you." He pointed at Pietrson.
Pietrson called back. "Stop contacting here. If you do again, I'll have you--"
"James!" yelled Shelton. "I'm in Auxill--!" He was cut off as both of the guards beat him to the ground once again.
Carstairs swore as the connection was broken. "Dammit, you two, keep him under control!" He turned to Pietrson. "Can you lock up that part of the base?"
Pietrson shook his head. "I'll try, but I'm not familiar with this system. We'll have to hope the terrorists can help when they get here."
-
James heard Shelton's call for help and the sounds of someone being beaten.
"Zach, we need to hurry to the aux control room. Shelton's there and the terrorists have got him. We need to hurry in case they try and kill him or set off the CO2 system."
Zachary glared at Hicks and Montgomery. "Touch the control panel and die."
He then stood by James and the Dhole.
They then ran out of the control room. James took a quick detour to a safety cabinet and grabbed three firefighter's airpacks and handed them to his companions.
"Why do we need these things?" the Dhole asked.
"In case the terrorists try to flood the corridors with CO2 or use chemicals against us." James replied. He had the air cylinder on his back and the mask dangling from his neck ready to be put on at a moment's notice.
"So how are we going to get through the blast doors?" Zachary asked.
"We can either try to cut through them or go below or over them." James replied.
"So we'll need to be on the roof?" the Dhole asked.
"Yep. But let's not do that because there's terrorist activity outside and the autoturrets on the roof can be turned against us. Let's try and cut through the doors."
"Metal cutting equipment is in the hanger. That's pretty far walk from where we are. We may not have enough time." Zachary said.
"So that leaves...the basement." James said.
"Worse, I looked over the maps and I remembered that the blast doors that seal the back of the base also seal off entry to the back through the basement. The only way is through the sublevels."
The Dhole gulped. "Eww. The sublevels. That's gonna be nasty. We got terrorists and freaky things right out of Silent Hill or Resident Evil down there."
"We have no choice."
------
As soon as James and his group were out of sight and earshot Hicks radioed the secret lab. "Pergama, this is Laocoon. Gorgythion and I are in Tenedos. The serpents have left Tenedos but the Palladium has been stolen."
In the lab the Deer received the transmission. His brow furrowed. "Not good. Control over the base has vanished."
"Isn't there an aux control room in the back of the base?" O'Neill asked.
"Yes, but Hicks and Montgomery accidentally sealed it off in an attempt to keep Zanasiu and his companions from reaching it. We now have no way of opening it."
------
The Cobalt Squad soldier looked at Hans. "What shall we do now? Meet up with Dr. Zanasiu or go with Dr. Joe or head to the control room?"
-----
Dr. Kerzach gradually regained consciousness. He found that he was staring into the muzzle of a shotgun. "What's going on?"
-
"Double up!" yelled the terrorist commander, and activity snaked throughout the hangar. "We're taking full control of this base! Units Lambda through Theta, rpepare to march! Broughton," he ordered one of his sergeants, "Bring the prisoner. His abilities may come in handy as we encounter obstacles throughout the base."
Broughton saluted, handlebar mustache bouncing.
The commander hit the radio. "Lieutenant Donitz, take your team and meet me at auxiliary control. I require your assistance, and I trust you will not fail me."
-
Hans heard the message and put his finger to his lip signaling everyone in the room to be quite before responding "Message reccived over and out'.
-
"Who was that?" The Cobalt Squad soldier asked.
-
"My former boss who doesn't know I've joined you guys,' hans said.
-
James radioed the Cobalt Squad soldier. "Hey, we need you guys to help assault the aux control room; it's been taken over. We're near the sublevel entrance."
----
"Roger that." The Cobalt Squad soldier replied into his radio. He then turned to Hans.
"James and his group are leading an assault on the aux control room. You may want to accompany us." The Cobalt Squad soldier said.
-
"Right let's move,' Hans said picking up his gun.
-
"On it!" The Cobalt Squad soldier said. He then radioed James. "Zanasiu, this is Cobalt 3. Donitz and I are en route to reinforce you."
"Roger that. We are by the sublevel entrance." James replied through the radio.
---------
"Where am I?" Dr. Kerzach asked.
"You are currently in Pelvanida's holding cells." a cool masculine voice replied.
Dr. Kerzach looked at the source of the voice. The speaker appeared to be a canine of some sort but his features were not visible through the visored helmet and heavy armor.
"Okay, why am I here?" Dr. Kerzach asked.
"You were found in a restricted area."
"Mmhm. And you do realize that I as a scientist have every right to go where ever I please?"
-
Werner groaned and got to his feet to find that he was alone. "What happened,' werner asked out loud.
-
Shelton got to his knees, glaring. "You certainly aren't banking on Stockholm Syndrome, are you?"
Carstairs glared back. "I'm banking on shooting you the second I don't need you anymore."
-----------------------
In the now deserted sublevels, the other Cobalt members were poking around when they got a call from Cobalt 3.
"What are you guys doing?" he radioed.
"The needle pricks the eye that blinks."
"What?"
"It's on a scrap of paper we found from a play, Jessica Boyle of Escondido. She says it to 'Nick'."
"Have you done anything productive for the last fifteen minutes?"
"We've secured the sublevels. What about you? Left the cafeteria yet, huh?"
"I'm about to. Whole team's besieging auxiliary control. You want in, get over there."
"We'll be there," replied the commander. He turned to his team. "Double time it! Finally some action again!"
-
In the real control room, Hicks' eyes bugged out when he saw a giant group of dots coming their way from the hangar.
Hitting the intercom so quickly he forgot to speak in code, he blurted out, "There's a crapload of terrorists coming our way! We gotta get out of here!"
"Return back to base," said the deer. "We don't want to lose you two as well."
-
Montgomery and Hicks literally leapt from the console and ran back to the cafeteria.
In their haste to enter the secret lab they forgot to seal the door.
-
The Cobalt team navigated the sublevels, trying to find the way to auxiliary control.
The leading soldier was about to turn a corner when he heard voices. "Terrorists!" he mouthed to his comrades. They retreated further back and watched.
The commander, flanked by guards, walked past, followed by a sergeant leading a nervous-looking Lockdown, and a small troupe of ground soldiers.
The Cobalt commander silently gave the order for one his men to tail the terrorists. The man nodded and inched down the hallway a safe distance. When he and the terrorists were gone, the commander radioed James. "We got good news and bad news. Bad news: Terrorists are on their way to aux control. Good news: We're tailing them, and will be able to tell you how to get to aux control through the sublevels."
Next to James, the Dhole nodded. "The map Shelton gave us should come in handy."
-
Dr. Kerzach looked at the armored canine. "Listen, terrorists are running rampant through the base. We are trying to stop them and we need all the help we can get."
-------
James took the map from his pocket and looked at it.
"Hmm. It looks like they went straight to Lockdown and straight back out." James. He then turned to Zachary and the Dhole. "Ready to rock?"
The Dhole nodded and readied her weapon.
Zachary simply nodded.
James and his group descended into the sublevels.
-
The cafeteria team arrived behind them. "Hey, James," said Neku, smiling. "Are we ready? Let's go!"
------------------
The Cobalt soldier tailing the terrorists ducked behind a corner when he spotted the entrance to Auxiliary control in the next room. The terrorist commander, his guards, and the sergeant with Lockdown strode into auxiliary control.
He got out his radio. "They're at aux control; Awaiting further orders."
------------------
The commander marched into auxiliary control. "Give me the controls," he ordered.
Carstairs and Pietrson backed up. "Aye aye, sir," replied Carstairs.
"Broughton, the controls."
Broughton chucked Lockdown into the back, near Shelton, and got to work. Reinforcing outer perimeter," he reported, shutting off the main opening into the sublevels from the rest of the base. "Primary sublevel entrance locked up."
"That won't help us if there are enamies already in the sublevels," said the commander.
"I doubt it," replied Broughton, "But I'll do a primary sweep anyway. It'll take about a minute."
Behind them, Shelton glanced to his left, at Lockdown, who was white-faced and shaking like a leaf. Remembering the files he read, he grabbed Lockdown's left wrist and pressed it's palm against the wall. A circle with a radus of about a foot turned blue around the hand and disentigrated. He glanced warily back at his captors. Nobody was watching.
-------------
The Cobalt commander and remaining soldier noticed James and co. coming their way. "Nice to see you," he whispered. "This way. We're almost there."
-
James grinned and gave a thumbs up sign to Neku.
"Neku, try and use an electrical bolt to strike one of the terrorists. Once they're distracted the Dhole, Zach, the Cobalt Squad and I will blast the rest of the terrorists." James said.
----------
"I am Dr. Yuri Kerzach." Dr. Kerzach said. He showed his ID to the armored canine.
The armored canine looked at the ID photo and Dr. Kerzach. "Okay, Dr. Kerzach you are free to go." He opened the holding cell.
Dr. Kerzach stepped out of the cell and retrieved his switchblade, which was now clean.
-
"Revive them," the canine ordered his men. "They're Pelvanida personnel, like us."
"Why would the commanders tell us to attack our own personnel?" asked one of them, as they got to work.
"I think the commanders are working for someone else now," said the canine grimly. "We'll have to 'discuss' this with them, sooner than later."
-
The group released Siberys and Werner.
"What happened?" Siberys asked.
"I think the commanders turned on us." Dr. Kerzach said grimly.
-
Neku nodded. As the group advanced, they spied their final Cobalt soldier signaling them from down a hallway. Creeping closer, they spotted the soldiers guarding the entrance.
"Let's do this," whispered Neku, shooting a blast of lightning. The furthest soldier collapsed in a spasm of blinding electricity.
"Now!"
-
James, Zachary and the Dhole immediately opened fire. They mowed down some of the rogue soldiers in a hail of gunfire.
-
"Scan complete, sir!" cried Broughton. "They're right on top of us!"
The commander jumped to his feet. "Surround me!" He yelled.
His guards did so. Carstairs and his four men took the entrance.
"Sir!" cired one of Carstairs' men, "The prisoners! They've escaped!"
He stuck his head through the perfectly circular hole in the wall, and cried as his body disentigrated into a haze of anti-matter.
"Don't let them enter!" Cried the terrorist commander. "Protect me at all costs!"
Outside, the Cobalt team made a break from cover to take up positions on the other side of the room, catching the remaining terrorists outside the control room in a crossfire. Another of Carstairs' men fell with a cry.
-
By now the terrorists were trying to return fire against James, Zachary and the Dhole.
James reloaded and continued pouring blasting any terrorists he could see. He caught a terrorist in the chest and grazed another one. He ducked behind the wall to avoid a retaliatory burst.
The Dhole swapped out another magazine and continued shooting. She shot one of the rogue guards several times. "It feels so wrong to shoot at the Pelvanida guards!"
"Well, they're working with the terrorists; thus they're terrorists!" Zachary countered. He took aim at another rogue Pelvanida guard and shot him in the chest.
--------
The sounds of gunfire were faintly heard by the armored canine.
"Wait, they're shooting. We must hurry!" the canine said. He ran to the armory and handed Mossberg 500 shotguns and a pouch filled with shotgun shells to Dr. Kerzach, Werner and Siberys.
"I don't know how to use this!" Dr. Kerzach complained. He handed the shotgun back.
-
The canine took it. "Let's go!" And he led the way out and towards the sound of shooting.
-------------
Hawkeye fired a burst from his wrist launcher, eliminating the two guards on either side and hitting one of the two remaining Pelvanida guards in the knee. "James," he said. "I have a gas grenade that'll give us a major advantage in this fight, but I don't want to use it if Shelton is in there."
-------------
Pietrson cried as a bullet broke his kneecap. He fell to the floor. "Help!" he cried, extending a hand to Carstairs, but Carstairs retreated further onto the control room, leaving Pietrson alone and exposed in the doorway.
-
Siberys warily took the shotgun. He was used to striking his foes with telekinetically thrown objects. He then followed the canine and Dr. Kerzach. "Werner! You coming?"
------
James, Zachary and the Dhole pushed further. James's two shotgun blasts killed 2 other rogue guards. Zachary's burst of M-16 fire killed 1 rogue guard and wounded another. The Dhole's burst of AK-47 fire, killed 2 more rogue guards.
"We're almost there!" The Dhole shouted over the gunfire.
"Hawkeye! Don't use the gas grenade! Though my companions have airpacks, Shelton doesn't." James said.
-
The final sublevel guards followed Siberys out of the room, leaving Vic and Neville Iver, the Iguana guard, still unconscious on the floor...
---------------
Another minute of shooting, and the remaining guards were dead. The team inched closer, keeping out of sight of those in the control room.
As everyone took up positions to either side of the door, the Cobalt team crept over from the other direction. As they passed the wall, one of them peeked into the nearby lab, and quickly alerted his companions. The commander took out his radio, and covered his head in his jacket as he whispered into the mouth piece.
"James," he whispered. "Shelton and some other guy are safe in the next lab. We can fire at will."
-
(Heh. Well, I guess I should be glad you guys didn't kill off my guys. Looks like...I'm back here to stay!)
As a small detachment of terrorists closed in on the group from behind, a ceiling grate broke loose, and Cale, the halved wolf, named Slash, and the Straitjacket bound figure, Agito, dropped from the opening accompanied by a familiar black-clad figure. The four quickly cut their way through the group, running to join James and the others...
-
"Hawkeye! Use the gas grenade!" James shouted. He then put on the mask and turned on the airflow. Zachary and the Dhole did the same.
James and his group reloaded their weapons. "When the commander gives the signal we rush in." James said, his voice carrying through the built in radio in his mask.
-
Hawkeye pulled the pin and rolled it into the control room. There was a cry from inside and the sound of shooting, just before it went off, sending a rush of acrid smoke billowing out of the control room. Screams were heard coming out of the control room.
The Cobalt commander sent a burst of static across the radio, his signal to go. His team charged into the control room, weapons drawn.
-
As the static came over the radio, Kagetora's group joined the attack, each protected by an electric filter created by Cale.
Slash lunged forward, his power compressing the air in front of him into a blade, cutting through a pair of terrorists. Agito was next into the fray, projecting spikes from his sleeves and spinning about to terminate another foe. Cale and Kagetora were the last two in, with Cale casting two bolts of deadly lightning into the gathered enemies as Kagetora opened fire with his submachine gun...
"Heads up! Here comes the Calvary!"
Yelled Cale, grinning...
-
James, the Dhole and Zachary moved forward as the radio crackled with static and charged into the control room.
One of the terrorists turned around at the noise and saw 3 figures wearing firefighter's masks. The smoke from the grenade made them look like demons.
He opened his mouth to scream and tried to draw his weapon but James killed him with a shotgun blast to the chest. Another rogue Pelvanida guard tried to shoot at James but the acrid smoke made it hard for him to aim. His burst went wide and struck a nearby wall. James quickly shot the offending guard twice and killed him.
Zachary and the Dhole cut down 4 more terrorists with a well aimed burst of gunfire.
"Shelton! Where are you?!" the Dhole shouted into her radio. She dove behind a console and reloaded.
-
Broughton fell, clutching his throat, as the commander wheeled around. In the smoke, he couldn't see anything.
"Men?" he gasped. "Rally around me! I must be defended at all-"
A flash of red, and then he saw darkness. Nothing.
--------------------
All was quiet as the smoke cleared. Then Shelton, waving fumes out of his face, stepped back through the hole into the control room. "Great timing, guys. They'd been giving me the Guantanamo treatment for the last--" He broke off, noticing the commander, who'd been shot through the eye. "Woah. Which one of you got him?"
Everyone looked at each other.
-
Cale smirked, looking rather amused.
"That...would be me, I'm afraid. Was I...supposed to not?"
He asked, looking somewhat embarrassed...
-
James was reloading his shotgun. "Well, it doesn't matter. Okay, Shelton, we need to see where the terrorist HQ is; once we find that out, we will lead an all out assault on there and eliminate the terrorist threat."
Just then the armored canine walked in. "Well, it seems like I missed the party."
Dr. Kerzach went up to Shelton. "Hey, Shelton! Need any help now?"
-
Shelton grinned, whacking him on the back. "You bet! We need to pinpoint the terrorist HQ for an attack, with damaged computers. Same old thing." He crossed over to the monitors and began typing. "Say, you didn't perchance see my radio-flashlight lying on the ground and grab it, did you? I didn't turn it off, luckily."
Behind him, there was a groan. The Pelvanida guard in the doorway with the shattered kneecap tried to get to his feet.
The canine looked over. "Pietrson. You traitor. Do I have permission to do with him as I please?" he asked James.
-
"Well it looks like we've just about defeated the terrorists,' werner said.
-
Dr. Kerzach handed the radio-flashlight back to Shelton. He found a console that was undamaged by the gunfire and booted it up. He bought up the scanners. A warning box popped up on the screen. "Damn it! There's a fire in the cafeteria."
James turned to the armored canine. "Extract info from him then kill him if you so desire."
-
"Sprinklers still work," said Shelton. "We can put it out. Hey, wait..." He tapped the monitor. "What's that?"
(OOC: He's referring to the opening leading to the Dragonstorm Base, which Hicks and Monty left open. Just in case we want Kerzach or James to say that.))
-
Dr. Kerzach looked at the monitor. "Hmm. It looks like some construction workers were careless." He then activated the CO2 system. "Well, the fire's out."
--------------
The alarms blared inside the Dragonstorm base as several tons of CO2 flooded the cafeteria and entered the base.
"Hicks! You idiot! You...didn't...seal..." the Deer managed to cough out before he collapsed from the lack of oxygen.
(OOC - I'm not going to have the group assault the Dragonstorm base. I'll leave that for the sequel.)
-
The canine walked back into the room, followed by some lieutenants. Pietrson was not in sight. The canine addressed the group at large.
"I would like to apologize for the damage my superiors have caused towards you and this facility. I am acting commander Atticus ?delwulf, the chosen leader of the remaining sublevel guard. My men and I shall perform whatever actions you desire to make up for our commanders' traitory."
(OOC: Serris, I just made up the name for the canine guy. If you had a name you were hoping to give him, or wanted him to say something different, I can delete or edit this post, if you like)
-
(OOC - the name's fine)
"Commander Aedelwulf, I am Dr. James Zanasiu." James said. "These are my allies: Zachary Johnson and Sharon Varma."
Dr. Kerzach looked at Commander Aedelwulf. "I am Dr. Yuri Kerzach."
Siberys introduced himself. "I am Siberys. Just Siberys."
"Hey, Shelton! We need to plan with Commander Aedelwulf!" James shouted.
(OOC - Sharon Varma is the Dhole.)
-
"I'm Werner Donitz werner said.
-
"Rudy Shelton, at your service," Shelton replied offhand, still focused on the computer screen. "James, Kerzach and me have scanned for life signs. The terrorists have all grouped together in the main hangar, and I'm getting a strange energy reading from one corner of the room. My guess is they've finished whatever they're working on and have activated it. We might not have much time."
The Cobalt commander reloaded his pistol. "We need to get over there now and stop them."
"With my troops, you'll have a fighting chance," said ?delwulf.
-
"I'm Cale. Renegade experiment, and ally to these fine people."
Cale said, nodding his head at the troops coolly.
The halved wolf spoke next.
"Name's Slash. Also a rouge experiment, if you couldn't tell."
He said, bowing slightly...
The figure in the straitjacket was the next to speak up.
"Agito is my name. A pleasure."
He added, inclining his head.
"Kagetora, ex-Vigoorian tactical ninja. At you service, sir."
Kagetora stated, saluting AEdelwulf
-
"I'm Hans Donitz former German Army Major but was later re assigned to take part in a undercover operation within the terrorist unit that took some control of the base by Kommando Spezialkr‰fte the special forces division of the German Army,' Hans said.
-
"Commander ?delwulf, what are your plans for the moment based on the intel we have received?" James asked.
Sharon looked at the computer monitor. "Hmm. It looks like the terrorists set up some kind of fusion reactor in the hanger."
Zachary frowned. "A fusion reactor? What are they planning to do with a fusion reactor? Unless they are...nah. They wouldn't be trying to set off some kind of EMP pulse would they?"
-
"Whatever it is," said Cobalt commander, "I say we destroy it."
Shelton scoffed. "Typical military response. What if it is a fusion reactor, and we blow it with C4? This whole base go up in smoke. Or should I say a mushroom cloud."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bill Nye, I don't hear you giving any suggestions."
"Here's one, then," Shelton brought up a shematic of the area around the main hangar. "The inherent danger in fusion reactors comes from the threat of power excursions in the reactors themselves, which would result in steam explosions that expose the core and send radioactive particles and gaseous debris into the atmosphere, like what happened at Chernobyl. That is the worst case scenario."
"Will it come to that?"
"Under normal circumstances, no. Since Chernobyl, a safety device known as a 'core catcher' is a required installment, stopping the meltdown from escaping the reactor. The problem is, I don't know if the terrorists have installed one or not."
"How could we find out?"
"Aren't we jumping to conclusions?" asked Syberis. "We don't even know it is a fusion reactor."
"I'm just thinking worse case scenario," said Shelton. "If we charge in like Spartans, we might cause a nuclear fallout."
"I don't see us having any other choice at the moment," interrupted the Cobalt commander. "They've turned the thing on, and if we don't get down there soon, it'll be too late to stop them. we can't stop them from up here."
"We have an army now, let's use it," agreed Siberys.
-
"Well since they don't know I've joined you I could go find out,' hans said.
-
Dr. Kerzach was working with the sensors. He looked up from the console and spoke. "That will not be necessary Hans. The auditory sensors are heavily damaged but I gleaned some info. Something called an 'Einstein-Rosen bridge' was mentioned. Lockdown was also mentioned but the feed is garbled and not much else that makes sense can be gleaned from it."
James frowned. "Hmm. So it is not an EMP weapon. But we must stop them. If they plan to turn that fusion reactor into a dirty bomb, it could render Pelvanida and parts of the surrounding area unusable for several decades if not longer."
Sharon nodded. "We cannot wait too long to act."
-
"Right but how are we going to destroy it, I mean would using explosives would cause it to go off right,' hans asked.
-
"Right," said Shelton. "I just said that."
-
"The fusion reactor could be shut down and we could simply destroy the Einstein-Rosen bridge." Sharon suggested.
"But that reactor is an improvised instrument, we don't know what it will do." Zachary countered.
-
Shelton snapped his fingers. "Your mentioning Lockdown gave me an idea." He reached back through the hole in the wall, and pulled Lockdown through. "What if our friend here turns the bridge into anti-matter? It experienced molecular discohesion, disintegrates, and there you go, problem solved. Only bummer is there'll be no evidence to examine later, but I personally can live with that."
?delwulf thought. "That means we'll have to get him close enough to be able to touch the bridge. That won't be easy."
-
"I'd suggest that we don't get Lockdown involved in this." Zachary said. "If my memory serves right, the terrorists took Lockdown from the sublevels; thus they want him for something. If we bring him there, we could be giving the terrorists exactly what they want. "
"I still think blowing up the bridge with something like a rocket is the best bet. The only problem is we risk damaging the fusion reactor and we could potentially turn it into a huge dirty bomb." James said.
Dr. Kerzach was monitoring one of the computer consoles. "Hey, something is consuming most of the power output from the base's fusion reactor. The consumption is over 75%. I've never seen a power consumption so high."
-
"Then we need to get over there as fast as possible!" exclaimed Shelton, looking worried.
"Why?" asked Sharon.
"At that rate of consumption, the machine will have completely depleted the base of energy in less than an hour!"
"So? That's good, right?" asked Siberys.
"No, because obviously the terrorists will have calculated that into their plan," Shelton snapped angrily. "Meaning once the power's gone, they've finished what they've wanted to do, and it's too late."
"Then what're we waiting for?" said the Cobalt commander. "Let's git over there, and then figure out what to do."
----------------
Meanwhile, in the main hangar, the second lieutenant addressed the first, who was currently in charge. "Event horizon established. Should we begin sending troops through?"
"Negative," replied the first lieutenant. "Commander gave specific orders not to start troop transport until he got back."
A third lieutenant, from the control panel on the bridge, called over, "Well, in twenty minutes, we'll have to start with him or without, in order to get everyone through."
-
Cale nodded.
"Worst-case scenario, I can power the base for a moment. Hopefully, I won't need to do that. In fact...I have a plan. That reactor...I can drain it's power. If I can get close to it, and you guys can keep these people away from me, then I can drain the electrical energy, so that it's useless."
He said, calmly...
-
Shelton nodded. "That might work," he said. "But we'd still need to send the bulk of the forces to the hangar, to stop the terrorists from blowing the fusion reactor once they realize that we're on to them."
(OOC: If we go with this plan, I still want Shelton heading for the hangar with the large force, if that's okay. Kerzach could go to assist Cale, if need be.)
-
(OOC - not sure how 2 non combatants would work in this case but I'll allow it.)
"Sounds like a plan." James said.
"Let's do it." Sharon said. Her eyes flashed with resolution.
"For Pelvanida!" Zachary shouted.
(OOC - cue Scharze Sonne (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxQxqm_jInU&feature=related) by E Nomine)
-
?delwulf and his men took up James' cheer, and fell in line behind him as the adrenaline-charged mass headed for the main hangar.
-
"We should stop at the armory. We might need heavier weapons." James said. "My shotgun is only effective against infantry. And remember, the hanger also has armored vehicles; we need to be able to destroy vehicles in case they are used against us."
"And I think it will take a lot more than rifle fire to destroy that bridge." Zachary added.
-
"It's now that I wish I didn't leave my RPG at the hanger,' hans said.
-
Kagetora nodded.
"You are right. We must have something with high firepower if we are to destroy any vehicles, as well as if we must disable the bridge itself. To the Armory."
He said dispassionately as he followed the team...
"Let Agito and I accompany the team to the hanger. You'll find that our...unique abilities will come in handy. "
Slash said, grinning...
-
"There should be one near the back." James said.
"Wait! My gauss rifle!" Zachary exclaimed, unslinging it from his back.
"We should try the AWTR." Sharon said. "And that gauss rifle is designed to smash apart personnel armor not vehicle armor or structural material."
-
"We're running on borrowed time here, probably ten minutes at most," Shelton reminded everyone. "If you're cashing out rifles for RPGs do it fast!"
-
"10 minutes!" James shouted. "Screw the AWTR! Get to the armory!"
"Got it!" Zachary shouted. He handed the gauss rifle to James. "Take this. I'll use an RPG."
"But you haven't used one before?"
"When we rescued Shelton, I used a stolen bazooka, this isn't much different. We've got to hurry!"
James and Zachary then ran, at full speed, down the halls heading to the armory.
-
The Cobalt commander looked at his three men, all armed with rifles. "You!" he jabbed his finger at one. "With them! Grenade launcher!"
"Yes sir!" The man saluted, and jogged off after Zachary and James, entering the armory seconds after they did.
-
Zachary grabbed an RPG and several rockets. He also grabbed a bandolier and clipped several grenades to it.
James grabbed more shotgun shells.
Sharon reloaded her rifle and all of her magazines.
-
The Cobalt soldier slung his rifle across his back and loaded a grenade launcher. "Ready. Let's get back and head for the hangar."
-
Zachary, James and Sharon nodded.
"Let's rock." Zachary said.
The group then headed back to the hanger.
"I hope we have enough time." Sharon said.
"Once we destroy the bridge, we'll have all the time we need to kill the terrorists." James replied.
-
"Lucky us," replied Shelton.
?delwulf nodded, and raised his bayoneted shotgun in the air. "All right, men, listen up! Primary objective: destroy the bridge, secondary objective: punish the invaders, tertiary objective: protect the lives of the scientists who fight bravely by your side! Next stop, the main hangar! Hit them fast, and hit them hard!"
A battle cry roared from his followers, and with renewed force the charge for the hangar continued.
-
One of the terrorist officers was using a stolen laptop to monitor the actions of the base personnel. His jaw hit the ground as the sensors showed a large group heading towards them. He then switched his view to the cameras and saw the soldiers and the scientists heading towards the hanger.
He turned to one of the terrorist leaders. "Sir, the Pelvanida personnel are making an assault on the hanger and they have the sublevel guards with them."
The leader frowned and looked around. He noticed several armored vehicles, mostly armored Humvees and Stryker fighting vehicles, scattered around the hanger.
"Take control of the vehicles!" he commanded.
Several of the terrorists forced their way into the armored vehicles and started them. The roar of the diesel engines soon filled the hanger as they moved the vehicles into defensive positions.
"Close the hanger doors!"
One of the terrorists went over to the hanger door controls and tried to seal it.
The heavy doors closed partway and stopped.
"There's too much damage; we can't close the doors!" the terrorist shouted.
"Well, get ready to start shooting!" the leader ordered. He readied his own weapon, a stolen gauss rifle.
-
A faint yelling reached their ears. The terrorists were all starting to pay attention, but many were a bit unnerved.
But 'unnerved' probably isn't the right word to describe their expressions when a hoard of screaming Pelvanida personnel blasted into the hangar, guns blazing.
-
The shocked terrorists returned fire in earnest.
"Take out the bridge!" James shouted. He took aim with his shotgun and killed a terrorist.
Zachary, with Sharon providing cover, took aim with his RPG and fired a rocket at the bridge.
-
It hit the event horizon and disapeared.
"What the hell?" exclaimed Siberys, pushing terrorists out of the way with a flick of his hand. "What happened?"
"Incredible," breathed Shelton. Oblivous to the ensuing carnage, he stood stock still, staring at the bridge. "They did it. They actually built a portal capable of inter-dimensional travel! This is amazing!"
"Yeah, well, enjoy it while you can, 'cause we're blowing it up!" The Cobalt commander signaled his launcher-toting soldier while laying cover fire. The soldier launched a grenade, which barely missed the bridge.
"The good news is, with all the explosives going off around it the terrorists can't get through!" ?delwulf cried. "Reload!"
-
Sharon lay covering fire as James raised the gauss rifle to his eye and used the scope to shoot one of the gunners on a Humvee as he tried to aim at the Cobalt soldiers.
Zachary loaded another rocket and fired it at the bridge, this time he aimed it at the support structures around the portal. "How can we destroy that thing?"
-
"The frame! You have to hit the frame!" cried Shelton, jumping to the left as Joey sprinted past with a hunk of rebar. "Anything fired at the wormhole itself will shoot through like the first missile!"
"Sucks to be the dudes on the other end," commented a sublevel guard, firing at the end. His bullets merely caused dents in the frame's structure.
(OOC: do we want to destroy the bridge, or wait for Starfall to sap the thing's power? Remember that terrorist said it would only work for another twenty minutes.)
-
Zachary ducked behind an out of service APC as 20 mm cannon fire exploded against it. He reloaded his RPG and blew up the offending Stryker.
He loaded another rocket and fired it at the frame of the of the bridge.
Sharon and James were raking a terrorist contingent with gunfire. James ducked back down to reload. A terrorist threw a grenade at them but Sharon grabbed it and threw it back.
(OOC - I guess we could wait for Starfall.)
-
(OOC: yeah, the other RP'ers would probably like to get in on this action. They wouldn't be too pleased if we fight the whole battle without them.)
The first lieutenant fell to sniper fire. The second lieutenant took charge.
"Flank them, men! Divide into two groups, and come at them from both ends!"
The terrorists started to do so, but they were slow to execute the orders due to the heavy barrage of fire.
Shelton dove to the left, rolling behind the APC. "This is good," he told Zachary. "Long as we're fighting, the terrorists aren't thinking of escaping through the bridge. If we can hold out for five to ten minutes, the bridge will shut down due to lack of power!"
"Five to ten minutes?!?"
"Less, if Cale's helping to drain the energy!" Shelton cried, as another wave of fire flew over the downed carrier. "Not long though!"
"We're losing men fast!" cried ?delwulf, as the four sublevel guards around him fell to enemy fire. "We can't hold on much longer!"
"Once the bridge is destroyed, it doesn't matter what happens to us!" yelled the Cobalt commander.
-
Hans fired his shotgun taking down two terroeists before fireing a RPG round at one of the hummers.
-
The Cobalt soldier let loose another grenade, which stuck to the side of the bridge, and exploded. When the dust cleared, the part of the frame that was hit was blackened, but otherwise undamaged.
"That was a direct shot, and it didn't do any good!"
"We can't destroy it from here!" Shelton realized. "We need to fight our way to the bridge and either shut it down manually or C-4 its support structures!"
"It thought C-4 would cause a Chernobyl!" yelled Siberys, sniping a tank gunner with a dented rifle.
"The power levels low enough that we can risk it!" Shelton replied. "Slash! Agito! You say you have unique abilities? Mind using them by covering our flanks?"
"I think that's a bad idea!" yelled ?delwulf. "We'll be cut down before we get close!"
"We're already being cut down!" yelled a sublevel guard, as shrapnel from an explosion cut into his leg, downing him.
-
Suddenly, the bridge flickered and died, shortly before a part of the wall nearby blew out. Neku and Cale stood there, their hands glowing with the energy they had drained.
"Somebody mention my name? Now that the gate's powered down, let's take these guys apart!"
Cale yelled, forming a glass sword and shield and leaping into a group of terrorists.
Neku was right behind him, flicking his wrists and creating a storm of electricity around his enemies.
Agito and Slash looked at each other, then nodded before lunging into the fray, Agito's sleeves bristling with blades, and Slash using his invisible blades to cleave his foes apart.
Kagetora lunged around enemy groups, finally stopping and creating an arcane hand sign.
"Enryu, Dragon of Fire, grant me thy blazing rage. Smite my foes! Ninpo! Art of the Inferno!"
He yelled, flames rising around him before firing as several fireballs into the enemies...
-
James sniped another gunner out a Humvee turret with his gauss rifle as Sharon poured more fire into the terrorists, mowing down several of them.
Zachary fired another RPG into an enemy Stryker, disabling but not destroying it. He reloaded and fired another shot into the disabled Stryker, destroying it.
Sharon ducked to reload as shotgun fire raked the forklift that James and her used for cover.
-
Shelton ran for cover as the APC's engine was hit by tank fire, shattering the wrecked hull in a haze of black smoke. A chunk of the plating hit him between the shoulder blades, sending him sprawling. He got his grips, and crawled out of the smoke cloud, coughing.
"I swear," he choked, "After this I'm leaving America and going home!"
-
"You're not American?" Zachary asked, reloading his RPG and destroying a Humvee.
James used the last of his gauss rifle rounds to snipe the gunner on a Humvee. He then switched to his shotgun and killed 2 other terrorists.
Sharon darted over to Shelton. "Shelton, are you okay?"
-
"Aye to both," Shelton groaned, staggering to his feet. "Thanks." He ducked as a rocket shot over their heads, blowing a hole in the far wall. "The return fire doesn't seem to be getting any sparser."
-
Zachary peeked out from behind cover and noticed that he had destroyed several armored vehicles. "Well the vehicles are getting sparser."
James fired 4 shotgun blasts into a terrorist mass, killing at least 2 and wounding several. "But the terrorists aren't getting sparser!" He ducked behind the forklift as a shotgun blast rocked it.
-
Agito, Slash, and Cale spun back to rejoin the others.
"No joke. Is there any end to these guys?"
Cale asked, frying several more enemies with lightning...
-
James reloaded his shotgun and continued firing. "Where are they coming from?!"
Sharon continued firing bursts at the terrorists. A piece of shrapnel hit her but was stopped by her labcoat. "The forklift's going to give way!"
James dropped prone and crawled behind a piece of spare Humvee armor. Sharon followed.
Zachary reloaded his RPG and blew up another Humvee.
-
Across the hangar, behind the forgotten bridge, the third lieutenant and a team of engineers carefully attached wires which ran to a backup generator safely hidden outside the base. With the flick of a switch, the bridge flared to life again.
The second lieutenant having fallen, the fourth lieutenant took charge. "Fall back men! Through the bridge!"
"Crap!" swore Shelton. "We need to get to the bridge and defend it!" Despite himself, he picked up a fallen pistol, and accidentally shot the ceiling light out.
"Advance!" ?delwulf yelled at his remaining soldiers. "Target those attempting to escape through the bridge!"
As the remaining Pelvanida personnel dashed for the bridge, shooting all the way, Shelton took James aside. "This has made me realize a way to destroy the bridge. But I need you to guard me!"
(OOC: Starfall, don't drain the bridge's power. I need it where it is to blow it up.)
-
"Got it!" James said.
Zachary destroyed the last enemy Stryker vehicle with his last RPG. He readied his rifle and stood by Sharon.
Sharon and Zachary obeyed ?delwulf's command and began picking off the terrorists.
-
Shelton weaved his way through the m’lÈe, taking advantage of the low light. When he emerged on the other side of the hangar, he followed the wires leading outside the base. While they jogged, he explained his plan to James.
"We were so busy trying to think of how to drain the bridge of power, we never thought of a quicker and more effective solution. We could overload it! The circuits will fry, and it'll never work again!"
They emerged from two glass double-doors, and were outside the base. To their left sat the generator, guarded by a single oblivious terrorist.
"Can you take him out for me?" Shelton whispered.
-
James nodded and killed the terrorist with a shotgun blast to the head. "You're clear."
James reloaded his shotgun and stood guard.
-
"Thanks." Shelton rushed over, and confiscated a screwdriver and an allen wrench from the dead guard, and got to work.
After five minutes, he looked up. "Done. But there's gonna be excess energy left over, which will overload the inner circuitry of the bridge in what I'm guessing will conclude in a pretty nasty collapse of the entire bridge frame. Zachary and the others need to get as far away as possible in the next thirty seconds!"
(OOC: As an added bonus, the terrorists, who don't know this, will die in the collaspe.)
-
James radioed the rest of his group. "Sharon, Zach get away from the hanger! You've got 30 seconds before the bridge explodes!"
He then turned to Shelton. "We'll head towards that guard post in the distance."
James then started running.
------
Inside, Zachary and Sharon obeyed James's command. They ran towards the exit of the hanger, leading into the base.
-
Shelton stood there, blinked twice, and followed.
------------------
?delwulf and his remaining soldiers hasilty followed them.
"Come on, boys!" the Cobalt commander hissed over the radio, taking to his heels. "Let's blow this taco stand!"
"Sir," grinned one of his men, "sounds to me like it's gonna blow itself!"
-
Hans and werner ran out of the hanger behind ?delwulf.
-
Zachary and Sharon were inside the base.
"I hope it doesn't destroy the whole complex!" Sharon shouted.
---------
"We won't make it!" James shouted, looking at a guard post several hundred meters in the distance.
-
"No?" Shelton huffed and puffed behind him. "Do you know the last time I exercised like this? My mile time is 10:30!"
-
"You want to live?" James panted. "I sure as hell do! I've got a whole life ahead of me!" He continued running after a short break.
-------------------
Zachary and Sharon were running through the halls at a very fast rate.
"That thing will blow in like 10 seconds!" Zachary shouted.
"Head to the aux control room!" Sharon commanded.
Zachary and Sharon, breathing heavily, turned down a hall and ran towards the aux control room.
-
Cale and Neku, seeing that they weren't likely going to be able to escape the explosion in time, called the other two renegades, Kagetora, and Snow over to them, then combined their powers to create a massive electrical force field over the group, hoping to use it to weather the explosion...
________________________________________________________________________
As the group ran from the complex, a winged figure flew down towards them, lifting them into the air and flying towards the distant guard post...
(OOC: Guess who!)
-
"I've lived a full life..." Shelton panted back. "I'm 40...my Erdős number is 7...I got into Mensa, I'm...I'm flying...What the?"
-
"I'm flying?! Ah yeah!" James whooped.
--------------
One of the terrorists was trying to correct the overload of the bridge. "Damn it! They overloaded it."
The bridge's structural supports bent outwards as the powerful electromagnets strained them. The heavy structural supports creaked as their tensile strength limits were approached by the intense magnetic field.
Suddenly, and with an enormous crack, the bridge tore itself apart.
The remaining terrorist commander tried to flee but a fragment of the structural support impaled him to the wall.
The terrorist at the console turned around at the noise. The last thing he saw was piece of the electromagnet flying towards him before it tore his head off.
The backup generator, sensing that there was no load, automatically shut down.
All around the hanger, the terrorists were cut down by the fragments of the bridge.
A large fragment broke open a drum of solvent and a loose wire, torn free by the blast, ignited the solvent.
Flames quickly engulfed the part of the hanger where the remaining terrorists were taking refuge, burning them alive.
The screams of the dying terrorists were soon overshadowed by the shrieking of the fire alarms and later the roar of the CO2 fire extinguishing system activating.
Any terrorists who survived the explosion and the fire were suffocated under the cloud of CO2.
-----------------
Zachary and Sharon had just arrived at the aux control room.
Zachary quickly looked at the console. The words, "Fire suppression agent discharged in main hanger. Oxygen levels dangerously low."
"Hmm. Looks like all the terrorists are dead." Sharon said.
"I hope Kagetora, Neku, Snow, Dr. Joe, Siberys, Cale, James, Shelton and the others survived." Zachary said, sitting down in a chair.
-
"But why are we flying,' werner asked James.
-
(OOC: Isn't Kerzach in aux control also?)
In auxiliary control, Lockdown sat quietly in the corner, staring wide-eyed at the slowly reddening hangar in the computer projection of the base.
-
(OOC - He is. Zachary and Sharon didn't notice him.)
"Ah, Sharon, Zach. Nice work! We'll never see those terrorists again!" Dr. Kerzach said. He swiveled his chair so he faced them. "Of course, custodial and the mechanics will flip 20 different kinds of crap because we trashed all the armored vehicles and the labs and the AWTR and the control room and the hallways and the cafeteria. Ah, hell, let's saw we probably put half the base into the crapper. But, who cares? We achieved a crowning moment of awesome in taking this base back."
"Several crowning moments of awesome actually." Zachary said. "Of course, we're probably screwed because we ruined half the base and the prototypes in the AWTR and of course that Dragonstorm is going to cause massive publicity problems."
"We'll probably be known as the 'Heroes of Pelvanida'" Sharon said.
"Or we'll be hated by everyone else."
"Where's James and Shelton?" Dr. Kerzach asked.
Zachary sighed and suppressed a sob. "They were running away from the hanger. I'm not sure if they made it."
-----------------
"Thanks for helping to save us! And Who are you?" James asked.
(OOC - I had to throw in that phrase "Crowning Moment of Awesome" because there seemed to be so many in this RP.)
(OOC - the RP is ending soon but I will let everyone make their final posts and I will cap off the posts.)
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Cale and Neku let the shield drop, then gave each other a weak high-five as they passed out from over-exertion...
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"Me? I'm an ex-experiment from the labs here. Name's Adrian. Adrian Starr."
The winged fox said, smiling broadly at them...
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"Thank you very much Adrian." James said. "My friends are still back in the hanger."
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"Starr, eh?" Shelton felt his heart rate returning to normal. "Well, thanks for dropping by. Name's Shelton. Rudyard Shelton." He peered at the ground below them. "The Air Force won't be happy when they hear about this, or at the very least, see Google Earth..."
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'Yeah I'd have to agree on that,' hans said. 'I don't think so either,' werner said. "So is it over," werner asked.
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"Yep it's over." James said. He then turned to Starr. "So, where to now?"
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Neville entered the control room. "Sorry I'm late. I was caught up in the sublevels. Where's James and Shelton?"
"They may have died in the explosion." Sharon replied.
"We'll never know until we search." Zachary said.
"It'll offer some closure to know their fate."
Zachary, Sharon and Neville headed back to the main hanger.
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"Uh, how about back down?" asked Shelton tentatively. "I mean, I'm good with heights, but only in short regulated intervals."
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"We should be heading back to the base." James replied.
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Zachary and Sharon put on their masks and turned on the airflow. They entered the ruined hanger.
"Hmm. It looks like everyone's dead." Sharon said, looking at the mutilated bodies of the terrorists.
"Not everyone." Zachary replied. He was pointing to Neku and Cale.
"Let's move them out of here."
Zachary picked up Cale and carried him out of the hanger.
Sharon dragged Neku out of the hanger following Zachary.
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Shelton staggered slightly as his feet hit the ground again. "Thank you," he said gratefully. Then he turned and looked back at the base. A plume of smoke wafted up from the ceiling of the hangar. "James," he said. "Do you think the others got out?"
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"Thank you very much." James said. He then turned to Shelton. "Only one way to find out."
James then radioed Zachary. "Zach, are you there?"
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Over in the edge of the hanger Zachary received James' transmission. He radioed James back.
"James! You're alive!"
James' voice came over the radio. "Shelton and I are heading into the hanger."
"James! Put on your airpack and enter. Tell Shelton to stay outside. There's almost no oxygen in the hanger. Sharon and I are currently treating Neku and Cale. They were overcome by the CO2." Zachary said into this radio. He then switched frequencies to Sharon's radio.
"Sharon! James is alive!"
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James beamed as he got the news. He then turned to Shelton. "Zachary and Sharon are alive!" His face then turned somber. "Unfortunately, Cale and Neku may not be. I have no news from the others."
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"You'll be going to help them out, I presume?" asked Shelton. "While you do that, I'm going to make use of the guard tower's radio to phone the military. Can't imagine them not already being on their way after that explosion, but it'll get me a sound clip on the inevitable documentary."
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James nodded. He then headed towards the hanger.
(OOC - I'll probably end the RP once the military arrives. I'll leave it open for everyone to do their final post then I'll have it archived.)
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Shelton trudged toward the guard tower. "Well," he sighed to himself, "after terrorists, mad scientists, ninjas, and a completely unnecessary trip to the troposphere, Europe's looking better everyday."
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Just before James entered the hanger, he put his mask on and turned the airflow on.
He then entered the hanger. The fog of CO2 and smoke was still visible. Though the emergency lights provided light, the visibility was still poor.
After several minutes of searching, he found no more survivors and he made his way to the base entrance.
He continued journeying until the mask's sensors indicated that the air was safe to breath. He then took his mask off and headed towards the aux control room.
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(OOC: Are Sharon and Zach in the aux control, or just Lockdown, Neville, and Kerzach?)
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(OOC- Sharon and Zachary dragged Cale and Neku into the aux control room.)
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Hans sighed before giving up his shotgun to the cobalt commander "well when the military gets here I'm still going to be considered a prisoner,' hans said.
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"I'll try to vouch for you; but I can't guarantee results." the Cobalt Commander replied, accepting the shotgun and handing to a Sublevel guard.
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Lockdown jumped as he heard a figure approaching the control room. Neville noticed, and grabbed his rifle.
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"Dunno if that'll be enough," one of his soldiers replied, scratching his head. "Some evidence would be nice."
(OOC: I'm thinking of the footage the technician showed Shelton real early in the RP, of Hans rescuing the experiment from it's cage. I just can't think of a good way to mention that.)
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"Still they'll have to contact the German Embassy first before they can do anything,' hans said
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Werner's radio went off. "Got through to the illustrious Armed Forces," said Shelton, who was simultaneously calling James. "And they none-too-kindly informed me that they were aware of the situation and 'taking steps.' You all good?"
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"I think we're all ok shelton,' werner said. "Yeah the footage from earlier will be of some help,' hans said.
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(OOC: I was hoping you'd mention the problem with Hans.)
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(OCC: oops I'll be editing my last post so it has this)
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"Wha'?" asked Shelton, puzzled.
The Cobalt commander took the radio. "We're talking about a way to clear Hans, so they don't lock him up when the army gets here. You remember getting anything on the security cameras that would help him out?"
"Oh, totally. Assuming the tapes are still in good condition, we'd have loads of footage of Hans' heel face turn. Starting with him rescuing that experiment from its cage. The Witness Protection Program would probably help too, assuming they want more on these terrorists' activities. And the truth is, people will realize you were on our side regardless of what the official story is. I think you'll be exempted, if not like Ellsberg, than like Sacco and Vanzetti."
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"We've got a bunch of credible witnesses." The Cobalt Commander replied.
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James arrived at the aux control room to find Zachary and Sharon trying to revive Cale and Neku.
"I think they're dead." Zachary said sadly. "We've tried using our airpacks on them. It's not working."
James sighed. "Well, we can't say we didn't try. On the brighter side, the military is en route to clean this mess up and investigate."
"Should have arrived earlier." Sharon said. "They'd have saved hundreds of lives."
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As Zachary said that he thought the two were dead, Cale and Neku both coughed heavily, sitting up weakly.
"Don't...Don't count us out just yet, guys..."
Cale said quietly, shutting one eye in a feeble attempt at a wink...
"Y-Yeah...I...won't die...not yet..."
Neku laughed, his voice ragged and tired...
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"You're alive!" Zachary said.
"Nice to see you." James said. "By the way the military is en route."
He then radioed Shelton. "Shelton! How long until the military arrives?"
(OOC - how do you all want to work with the ending? I'll see you all in the sequel!)
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"'Shortly.'" Shelton quoted. "They weren't too specific on the details. But I'm pretty sure they won't stop for pizza on the way, so it can't be long.
"Also, James, I never said it, but good job. You led us through hell and back, and I think we all owe you our lives twice over, at least. I'm bummed I didn't get to know you a little better before it became a matter of life and death."
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"Thank you." James said. "Zach, Shelton, Cale, Neku, Sharon, ?delwulf, Kagetora, Snow, Dr. Joe, Siberys, Cale, Slash, Agito, the Cobalt Squad thank you all. We would never have been able to hold out against the terrorists had it not been for all of you. I thank you."
"Thank you too, James. You too have provided inspiration, courage and leadership to our group. We have defied the odds." Zachary replied.
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"Well at least this battle ended in our favor,' hans said.
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Kagetora nodded.
"It's been...a true honor to have fought alongside you, James. Perhaps, if the gods are willing, we will see each other again. In...quieter times."
He said calmly, as he took off the mask he wore, revealing his face, and a broad smile...
Neku smiled warmly.
"He's right... You were...something else out there, James. I guess...I owe you one for letting me stick around. Thanks"
He whispered, weakly extending a hand...
Cale looked at James for a moment, then looked away.
"You...you were willing to...trust me, even after I attacked you. I...I...Thank you, James..."
He finally said, laying his head back on the ground...
Hawkeye gave James a warm clap on the shoulder.
"I've been a soldier for a long time, but I've never met anyone quite like you before. I hope to have the honor of working with you again in the near future, sir."
He said, giving a salute to James, a smile on his face...
Slash nodded.
"I haven't known you very long, but... You're one heck of a leader. Anytime you need a hand, feel free to try and come find me, alright?"
He said, flashing James a thumbs-up...
Agito bowed deeply.
"You gave us renegades a purpose. You gave us back a reason to be alive. And for that, I, too will be happy to help you whenever and wherever I can...Master James."
He said, rising and looking James in the eye...
Neku laughed.
"Heheh...Looks like...you won't be getting rid of any of us anytime soon, James...Guess you could say that... all of us...are a team now, huh?"
He said as cheerfully as he could. He looked around at the various Scientists, Military personnel, and Experiments, and he smiled broader.
This is more...than anything I could have asked for. From now on...we're a team. We are, I guess, in a way...Darwin's Soldiers. The next evolution of warriors...
He thought to himself, as he fell into a light, but dream-filled sleep...